Cinnamon Buns

 This recipe is one I've used for years and the original recipe 

I followed was from a free cookbook from 

the 1980's "fleischmann's CREATIVE WORLD OF BAKING". 

The book is getting very tattered thus my motivation for 

putting this recipe on the blog.

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk

1/4 butter (original recipe called for margarine)

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup warm water

2 teaspoons sugar

2 pkgs or 2 tbsp. Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast

2 beaten eggs

4 to 5 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

Combine milk and butter in a saucepan and heat over low heat until 

liquid is warm and margarine melts.  

Stir in 1/2 cup sugar and the salt.  Set aside to cool.

Measure 1 cup warm water into a large bowl.  

Stir in 2 teaspoons sugar and the active dry yeast.

Let stand for 10 minutes then stir well.

Add the cooled  milk mixture to the dissolved yeast.  

Add the eggs and whisk together.  

Add 1 1/2 cups of flour.

  Stir in and additional (about) 3 cups of flour to make a soft dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic,

 about 8 to 10 minutes.

Note: If using Kitchen Aid with dough hook I whisk the first amount 

of flour in before transferring bowl to the mixer with the dough hook 

to add the final amount of flour.   

If using the dough hook and mixer to knead mix 

on slow speed for about 5 minutes.

Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top.  

Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, 

about 1 hour.  

I use the Bread Proof function on my oven.

Punch dough down, then turn onto a lightly floured board.  

Divide in half and shape as desired.

For cinnamon rolls:  Roll each half into an 18 x 9 inch oblong. 

(My oblongs were more 12 x 10). 

Brush with melted butter.  

Combine 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 2/3 cup raisins and 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.

Sprinkle 1/2 of mixture over each piece of  dough.  

Roll each up as for a jelly roll to make 18 or 12 inch rolls.   

Cut each roll into 12 pieces (or 9) about 1 1/2 inches wide.  

Place cut side up in 2 greased 9 inch round cake pans.  

Cover and let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.  

Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) about 25 minutes, or until done.  

Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

Serve plain or if desired frost with confectioners' sugar frosting.

Dried Cranberry Sticky Toffee Pudding

Reminiscent of Christmas Puddings from the past this pudding is the perfect fit 

for a holiday treat.  Pat brought over four individual puddings along

 with the toffee sauce as a finale to our New Year's Eve dinner celebration.  

Thank you Pat and Grant.

For the puddings:

1 cup water

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan.  Add the vanilla and baking soda.

Add the dried cranberries and set aside to cool.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Lightly beat the eggs and gradually add to the butter mixture. Lightly mix the flour and baking powder together and gently fold into the batter.  Fold into the cranberry mixture.

Puddings can be baked individually in ramekins or muffin cups and size 

can vary according to what you have available.

This recipe makes 8 half cup ramekins.  Butter and flour the ramekins or muffin cups.

Bake at 350 for  25 to 30 minutes.

Toffee Sauce

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup whipping cream

Combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and stir over low heat 

until the sugar dissolves.  Simmer until the sauce thickens.  

To serve remove the puddings from the ramekins, invert on a plate and 

drizzle with warm toffee sauce.

The puddings can be made ahead (even frozen) but it best served warm (reheat in 300 oven).  The sauce can also be made ahead and reheated. 

Happy New Year

Jenny's Apple Custard Pie

Ingredients for Pie

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 lbs.  apples 

(Pink Lady or Honeycrisp are good options) (4 to 5 apples) (sliced for pie)

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. dark rum (optional)

1/4 tsp. table salt (divided)

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 blind baked pie crust

Ingredients for Topping

1 cup sliced almonds

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp. unsalted softened butter

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Melt butter in sauté pan.  

Add apples and 2 tbsp. of sugar. Sauté until apples are soft but not mushy.  Stir in rum and salt. 

Spread apples over the bottom of the blind baked pie crust.

Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, cream, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and 

remaining 1/8 tsp. salt.  Pour over apples in pie crust. 

Bake pie about 30 minutes at 325 degrees

 until custard is barely set in the centre.

For the almond topping combine almonds, sugar, softened butter

 and a pinch of salt in a bowl. 

Remove pie from oven and sprinkle with topping.

Return pie to oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until custard is almost set but still slightly jiggly in the centre.  Cool pie completely before slicing. Can be refrigerated but remove from fridge to serve at room temperature.

NOTE:  Topping can be varied.  Another variation would be a topping that would be used for apple crisp (flour, sugar and butter OR flour, oats, sugar and butter). 

Other nuts could be used for the topping as well.

Enjoyed this pie at Jenny's in Boylston on a Pre Christmas Visit 2024.

Crockpot Pierogi Casserole

 On our pre Christmas visit with the Lewis Crew 2024 we chatted about pierogi comfort food and Jenny shared this recipe.  Grandmaman is hoping to try it out soon as who can resist pierogies, cheddar cheese and kielbasa on a winter's eve.

Ingredients

about 36 frozen cheddar pierogies

4 cups chicken broth

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 kielbasa sausage (sliced)

salt and pepper to taste

Layer 3 cups of chicken broth, frozen pierogies, sliced kielbasa

 and shredded cheddar cheese in 4-6 quart crockpot.

Set the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6 hours.

Prepare the cream cheese mixture 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.  Warm the block of cream cheese (in microwave or on stovetop) with the remaining one cup of chicken broth. Once warmed whisk the mixture until smooth.

Pour the smooth cream cheese mixture into the crockpot, stirring well to integrate.  Sprinkle the remaining cup of shredded cheddar cheese over the top.  

Cover the crockpot and set it to cook on low for an additional 30 minutes, 

Serve the casserole hot, garnished with sliced green onions if desired.

Sweet and Sour Spareribs

One of Oma's go to recipes.  Very simple to prepare, with simple ingredients and a comfort food for sure.  Great for an autumn meal and can either be finished in a crockpot or in the oven.  Oma sometimes simmered the ribs on the stovetop as well.

Ingredients

1 cup cold water
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar (or pickle juice, sweet or sour)

ketchup (original recipe calls for 1/2 bottle so take your best guess as to amount)

1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

soy sauce as desired

Combine water, sugar and vinegar.  Bring to a boil.  Add ketchup. 

Mix cornstarch with a little water and add.  

Add 2 pounds browned spareribs (cut for sweet and sours) to sauce and simmer for 2 hours.

Notes: Cut for sweet and sours is generally small pieces of individual bones.

  I find that they are seldom found at the grocers these days. 

 The butcher can be asked to saw them, they can be sawed at home

 or I generally just prepare with longer ribs and they are just as yummy.

I usually double the sauce for 2 pounds of spareribs

 as we like plenty of sauce for the rice we usually serve with the ribs.

This recipe is also found in the Centennial Cookbook.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This recipe was from our good neighbour Esther many years ago.  Not only did Esther make a great zucchini cake but she was very generous with the zucchinis she grew in the garden.

 Blend til smooth:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup oil

1 3/4 cup sugar

Add:

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sour milk

Sift together and blend:

2 1/2 cup flour

4 tbsp. cocoa

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

Stir in:

2 cups grated zucchini

Put the batter in a 19 x 13 x 2 inch pan.  Top with 

1/4 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup chopped nuts.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Kathy's Mustard Pickles

Thanks for the Crowsnest Mountain Cabin Getaway Gerry and Kathy.   Kathy sent us home with a jar of relish and the recipe.  

Mustard Pickles 

2 large onions, diced

5 or 6 English cucumbers, cut to desired size 

1/2 cauliflower, chopped 

1 red pepper, cut into small pieces 

1 cup sliced celery (optional)

Sauce

3 1/2 cups sugar 

1/2 cup flour 

2 tablespoons turmeric 

2 tablespoons celery seeds 

1/2 cup mustard powder 

4 cups vinegar 

4 tablespoons pickling spice for pickling bag

Make a brine of 1/2 cup coarse salt to 4 cups water to cover vegetables. Add more water if needed to just cover. Let sit 4 to 5 hours or up to overnight.

Drain vegetables.

Make a pickling bag. Put spice in 3-4 layers of cheesecloth and close tightly with string.

Boil 3 cups vinegar with 3 cups sugar with pickling bag. 

Add drained vegetables and cook until vegetables are tender crisp, 10 to 15 minutes.

Watch carefully to not overcook. Remove pickling bag.

In a small bowl, combine remaining sugar, flour, mustard powder, turmeric, celery seed  and 1 cup vinegar. 

Add to hot vegetables and stir continually until sauce is thick.

Ladle into hot sterilized jars while mixture is still hot.

Process jars.

Makes about 8 pints.

Note from Kathy: 

I forgot to add that I peel the cucumbers but I like to leave a few bits of green for colour. You don’t need to seed the cucumbers (which is why I like English cucumbers!).