Categories
Dessert

A salted caramel pie is quite ‘apple’ing

Salted caramel honeycrisp apple pie is a great twist on a classic, with the crunch of pecans and the sweetness of caramel and apples.

One of the cooking habits I have developed over the years is to push recipes just a bit.

I love to double spices, add extra ingredients and play with proportions. Normally, that works out really well for me. I love the extra flavor an additional teaspoon of vanilla can provide, and there’s nothing like the taste of a bit of extra cinnamon.

Of course, sometimes that doesn’t work out for me. This week, I pushed the envelope a little too far. For the salted caramel apple pie I tried, I purchased a jar of salted caramel dessert topping, and while the recipe only called for one-half cup of it, I looked at the rest of that jar and thought, “Yeah, but what if I just empty the whole thing on there?”

It was a fantastic idea, until the caramel decided to create a steady, sticky stream inside my pie carrier. I mean, it was still delicious, don’t get me wrong, but cleaning up caramel wasn’t the most fun I’ve had lately.

So, the recipe I tried comes from the blog “Inspired by Charm.” You can find the original at https://inspiredbycharm.com/salted-caramel-honeycrisp-apple-pie/. I did double the cinnamon and nutmeg in my version below, but if you want to push past the listed amount of salted caramel, I’ll leave that up to you.

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Salted Caramel Honeycrisp Apple Pie

Salted caramel honeycrisp apple pie is a great twist on a classic, with the crunch of pecans and the sweetness of caramel and apples.
Course Dessert
Keyword apple pie, honeycrisp apples, pecans, salted caramel

Ingredients

Pie Ingredients

  • single pie crust
  • about 5 to 6 large Honeycrisp apples peeled, cored and sliced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter cold
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup quick oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup pecans chopped
  • 1/2 cup or more salted caramel dessert topping

Instructions

  • Roll out the pie dough and place into a deep pie plate. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
  • Preheat the oven to 375, and place a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil on the bottom rack for catching overflow from the pie.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
  • For the topping, combine the butter and flour using a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the brown sugar, oats and salt.
  • Pour the prepared apples into the dough and then crumble the topping evenly over the top of the apples.
  • Bake for 60 minutes, and then add 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans and bake an additional five minutes.
  • Let the pie cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
  • Pour the caramel sauce over top of the pie and then top with the remaining pecans.

This pie seems like it would be overly sweet, but it was actually really well balanced, thanks to the pecans and not a lot of added sugar on the apples. 

We really enjoyed it, even though I had to nest my pie into a second pie pan to try to contain the mess. Joey just rolled his eyes and enjoyed his piece of apple pie. At this point, he knows better than to try to stop me.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 10, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert Side Dish

Candied pecan casserole makes for sweet memories

The only thing missing from this candied pecan sweet potato casserole to turn it fully into a dessert is a graham cracker crust.

For the last few years, some dear friends of ours invited us over for “Friendsgiving” at their home around Thanksgiving time.

It’s always been a great time to get to know new folks and share in a huge potluck meal.

Of course, this year, that meal couldn’t happen, but instead, Joey and I might have begun a new Thanksgiving weekend tradition. I call it “Strunksgiving.”

Adam Strunk and his fiancee, Sam, have been a part of our “COVID bubble” over the past few months, as we’ve been careful to maintain very little contact with folks. During the summer, Adam and Joey spent several weekends hanging outside, smoking a variety of meats, and when Thanksgiving rolled around, they decided to try a turkey.

That idea ballooned into all of us adding side dish after side dish to the menu, ending up with enough food to feed an army. As I often do to my friends, I made Adam and Sam into my guinea pigs and decided to try some new recipes, one of which was a sweet potato casserole that may as well have been on the dessert table.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Creme de la Crumb.” You can find the original at https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/candied-pecan-sweet-potato-casserole. (I doubled the vanilla in my version below.)

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Candied Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole

The only thing missing from this candied pecan sweet potato casserole to turn it fully into a dessert is a graham cracker crust.
Course Dessert, Side Dish
Keyword brown sugar, marshmallows, pecans, sweet potato casserole, sweet potatoes

Ingredients

Base Ingredients

  • 5 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup milk

Topping Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup butter melted
  • 1 cup pecans chopped
  • 3 cups mini marshmallows

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and set it aside.
  • Place the cubed sweet potatoes into a stock pot and just cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
  • Drain the potatoes and dump them back into your stock pot.
  • Mash them, and then stir in the eggs, vanilla, melted butter, brown sugar, salt and milk until everything is well combined.
  • Spread the potato mixture evenly into your prepared dish.
  • In a small bowl, create the topping by combining the brown sugar, flour, melted butter and pecans. Stir until they’re well combined and sprinkle the mixture over top of the potatoes.
  • Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the topping is caramelized a bit.
  • Remove from the oven and spread the marshmallows over the top. Bake for another five minutes. (If your marshmallows aren’t as browned as you like after five minutes, flip your oven over to the low broil setting and let the casserole cook under the broiler for a couple more minutes.)
  • Serve hot.

If you enjoy sugary sweet potatoes, this is the dish for you. The brown sugar and marshmallows contribute their traditional sweetness, while the pecans offer up a nice, extra crunch to take it all over the top. I actually halved this recipe and made it in an 8-inch dish, and it was a great amount for us.

It got two thumbs up from the tiny assembly.

We had a wonderful time with just the four of us, with great conversation and way too much overeating, but we decided before the pie was served that we were definitely making a regular tradition of sharing a meal together. It looks like “Strunksgiving” is here to stay.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 3, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Cookies Dessert

You won’t have to ‘mull’ over trying this recipe

Oat “mull” cookies use mulling spices for flavor along with plenty of butter and oats to create chewy cookies.

I have to confess to a new addiction. 

I’m hoping that if I say it out loud, I will have more of a will to fight it, but I’m pretty sure I’m in too deep.

In true addict form, though, I want you to know that it isn’t my fault. The blame lands firmly on the shoulders of a local business and supporter of ours: Main Street Co. & Kitchen Corner in Newton, Kan.

Owner Tina Ostrander has set up her website for extremely easy online shopping, and if there’s one thing I love more than shopping at local businesses, it’s not having to leave my house to do so.

On one of several recent shopping “trips” to their site to try to satisfy my Christmas shopping list, I, of course, found something on sale I needed to purchase, because not only did it sound delicious, but Tina promised a cookie recipe to come along with it. Not only that, but the title of the recipe was a pun, and if you’ve been reading my column for any length of time, you know how much I love a good food pun.

So this week’s recipe for oatmeal cookies comes from Main Street Co. & Kitchen Corner and uses the Aspen Mulling Spice they carry in store and online. I used the original flavor, but they also have caramel apple and sugar-free versions that you could totally use instead. I doubled the vanilla in my version below.

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Oat “Mull” Cookies

Oat “mull” cookies use mulling spices for flavor along with plenty of butter and oats to create chewy cookies.
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, mulling spices, oatmeal

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup Aspen Mulling Spice
  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 cups quick oats or rolled oats

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Beat the butter, vanilla, brown sugar, egg and mulling spice until it’s well combined.
  • Beat in the flour and baking soda. Mix in the oats.
  • For about two-inch cookies, drop by the teaspoonful about one-inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
  • Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
  • Let cool for a bit before transferring to an airtight container.

These were so delicious. I’m guessing that had something to do with how much butter was in the recipe, but the mulling spices gave them a light, autumn-like flavor that we really liked. They were just a little crispy around the edges and were a good, chewy cookie.

Plus, the recipe made just over four dozen cookies, so if you are planning on a cookie exchange or giving some treats to folks this holiday season, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of this recipe.

Also, this didn’t use the whole container of mulling spice, which means I will definitely be making myself a nice steaming cup of apple cider one of these evenings.

Shopping locally is important all of the time, but it’s especially essential this year, if we want to make sure that our favorite local businesses are still around after the pandemic is over.

Getting into the stores is sometimes tough, especially for those who aren’t comfortable getting out and about right now, but there are plenty of local businesses who have adapted to the times and have online shops and will ship or let you pick things up locally.

Before you shop on “Amazon” or another online retailer, do a quick search for local entrepreneurs you can support with your dollars. Those big box stores are doing fine without your contribution, and they certainly aren’t going to send you a great recipe to try with your order.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 26, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Breakfast Dessert

Pastries are dish worth ‘scone’ing on about

With walnuts and chocolate chips mixed in, banana bread scones are a great choice for breakfast or dessert.

I don’t get a chance to listen to the radio much on the weekends, but when I do, I try to catch the public radio show “The Splendid Table.”

It’s a fun listen, if you’ve never heard it. The show isn’t just about sharing recipes. They tend to jump into all aspects of food—the culture, the techniques, the cooks. Strangely enough through, despite listening to quite a few episodes over the years, I haven’t tried very many of the featured recipes.

That changed this week when I was once again looking for some way to keep using up the rapidly browning bananas on my countertop, and I realized I should have tried more of their dishes a lot sooner, because this one was delicious.

This recipe is on “The Splendid Table” website and was written by Samantha Seneviratne for her cookbook “The Joys of Baking.” You can find the original post at https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2020/01/17/banana-bread-scones. I doubled the vanilla and changed the directions just a tad in my version. I also used walnuts instead of toasted hazelnuts.

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Banana Bread Scones

With walnuts and chocolate chips mixed in, banana bread scones are a great choice for breakfast or dessert.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword banana, chocolate chips, scone, walnuts

Ingredients

  • 1 large over-ripe banana, mashed
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream plus some for brushing tops
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter cold and cubed
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup walnuts finely chopped
  • Sugar for tops of scones

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
  • Beat the banana, cream, egg and vanilla together in a small bowl.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt and then cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or a fork. Once the mixture looks crumbly, add in the banana mixture and stir until just combined.
  • Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.
  • Using a large cookie scoop, place scoops of the batter about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Brush the tops of the dough with cream and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

We had to make sure to give several of these away, because Joey and I were going to quickly eat all of them by ourselves. If you like banana bread, you’ll definitely like these, too.

The only problem is this recipe only helped me get rid of a single banana. I may have to make a second batch this weekend. I already know what I can listen to while I do.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 29, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Banana dessert can foster sense of warmth for ice cream

Bananas foster is a great, warm dessert, which is easy to make and fun to light on fire.

I believe it was sometime during college that I first got to experience going to one of those Japanese restaurants where the chef makes a big show while cooking in front of you.

If you’ve never been, I recommend it. It’s nice to be entertained and fed at the same time.

One of the tricks they inevitably do is to stack the rings of an onion up to resemble a volcano, dump in some flammable cooking liquid, and then light it on fire. The result is an inferno that shoots straight up for a moment, and it’s a big crowd pleaser.

I’ve always been fascinated by recipes that let chefs light things on fire. It’s just the right amount of danger I need in my life—a very, very low amount—and it satisfies my inner desire to safely play with matches every once in awhile.

So, since I still needed to get rid of lots of bananas this week, I decided to try my hand at one of those fire-lighting recipes: bananas foster.

I will warn you that bananas foster includes the use of alcohol, which you can totally leave out if it’s not your thing, but then you’ll also skip the fire lighting step, too. The recipe I used is on the blog “Baking a Moment.” You can find the original post at https://bakingamoment.com/bananas-foster/. I doubled the cinnamon in my version.

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Bananas Foster

Bananas foster is a great, warm dessert, which is easy to make and fun to light on fire.
Course Dessert
Keyword banana, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark rum

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 bananas
  • 1/4 cup dark rum
  • vanilla ice cream for serving

Instructions

  • Combine the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large skillet (you’ll need to fit the bananas in there later, too) over low heat.
  • As the butter melts, keep whisking the ingredients together until they’re smooth and fully combined.
  • Slice the peeled bananas in half lengthwise and crosswise to get four equal pieces out of each banana.
  • Add the bananas to the sauce and gently stir to coat them in the sugar mixture.
  • Let them cook for about five minutes or until the bananas are fully warmed through.
  • Now, you could skip this next step and go straight to the ice cream, but I highly recommend doing it.
  • Remove the bananas from the heat, and drizzle the rum over the top. Using a long match or a wand lighter, light the surface of the liquid on fire (you’ll barely be able to see a flame, and you’ll be able to hear a soft whooshing noise). Let the fire burn until it burns itself out.
  • Serve the bananas over scoops of vanilla ice cream, making sure to drizzle the sugar mixture over top, too.
  • Refrigerate any leftovers to reheat and use later on.

This was nice and warm and perfect for a cold evening while still getting to enjoy a little ice cream. If you’re not a big fan of the taste of rum, what I would describe as the “alcohol taste” burns off, so it really just adds some depth of flavor. It doesn’t taste like you’re taking a shot of liquor.

And, if you have no use for a full bottle of dark rum, I’d recommend buying one of those mini bottles like you’d see in a hotel bar. They are generally about 50 milliliters, and since 1/4 cup is about 59 milliliters, you could get away with just using one little bottle and not have to deal with leftovers. Plus, they’re often about $1, so that’s a pretty cheap, quick investment for a delicious dessert.

Also, in my case, bananas foster gives you a chance to light something on fire, if just for a moment, and that’s just the kind of excitement I need in my life these days.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 22, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Breakfast Dessert

Banana cinnamon rolls aren’t monkeying around

Banana cinnamon rolls have great banana flavor, paired with warm cinnamon, walnuts and a delicious cream cheese frosting.

My parents recently gifted me with bananas—a lot of bananas.

So, looking at the bunches lining my countertop, I decided it was time to try every banana recipe on my Pinterest board.

As I perused the large number of recipes I’d set aside, one popped out at me for banana cinnamon rolls. Not only did they look amazing, but there was no yeast to wait for, so I was excited to try it.

Plus, it got rid of a banana.

Yeah, just one banana. But, hey, at least that’s one fewer banana on my countertop, and these rolls were phenomenal.

This comes from the blog “Inside Bru Crew Life.” You can find the original at https://insidebrucrewlife.com/banana-nut-cinnamon-rolls/. I doubled the spices and vanilla in my version.

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Banana Cinnamon Rolls

Banana cinnamon rolls have great banana flavor, paired with warm cinnamon, walnuts and a delicious cream cheese frosting.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, quick, walnuts

Ingredients

Filling Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup walnuts finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter melted

Roll Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large ripe banana, mashed
  • 7 tablespoons butter divided
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk or use regular milk with a touch of vinegar

Frosting Ingredients

  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup walnuts finely chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter the inside of an 8-by-8-inch baking pan, and set it aside.
  • In a small mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the filling until well combined, and set it aside.
  • In a separate bowl, for the rolls, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir with a fork to combine. Add the banana, two tablespoons of the butter, melted, and the buttermilk. Mix by hand until the dough comes together.
  • Dump the dough onto a floured workspace and begin kneading with floured hands. Once the dough is together (it will likely still be a bit sticky), spread it out with your hands into about a 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Spread out two more tablespoons of the butter, melted, on the dough. Sprinkle on all of the filling, evenly, leaving about one-half inch empty around the edges.
  • Starting on the long side (so you create a nice, long tube), start rolling the dough. (I had to use a flat, bendy spatula to help mine along, because it was firmly stuck to the counter. It also tore as I went, but don’t worry if that happens. Baking will cover all your sins.)
  • Cut the tube into nine slices and place them, spiral side up, in your prepared pan. Go ahead and crowd them together.
  • Melt the last three tablespoons of butter and drizzle it over the top of the rolls.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops of the rolls look golden brown.
  • While the rolls bake, combine all the frosting ingredients, except the walnuts, until it is smooth. Spread the frosting over the warm rolls and sprinkle the walnuts on top. Serve warm and store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

Despite only using a solitary banana, the flavor really came through in these rolls. They were soft, gooey and so, so good. If you’re looking for a good fall recipe to get cinnamon in your life, I highly recommend giving this a try. 

And be prepared for some more banana recipes from me over the next few weeks. I have to do something to reclaim my countertop, and unless I get a visit from a troupe of monkeys, it looks like it’s all up to me.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 15, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Time commitment not a deal-‘baker’ for no-bake pie

This no-bake chocolate peanut butter pie has quite a few steps that require refrigeration in between, so have plenty of time to prepare—and plenty of people to enjoy—this decadent dessert.

As a general rule, when I see the words “no-bake” in the title of a recipe, I assume I’m about to have a really easy time in the kitchen. 

Those are the types of recipes I save for when I need a quick dessert to bring at the last second.

Well, this week’s recipe completely defies its no-bake moniker, my friends. I’m a little embarrassed to tell you that I started this recipe on a weekend and didn’t finish it until the end of the next week.

Despite that—and I mean this seriously—you absolutely have to try this. It’s delicious and created a pie that was completely demolished during a backyard get-together.

This no-bake monstrosity comes from the blog “Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons.” You can find the original at https://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com/no-bake-chocolate-peanut-butter-pie. I added extra vanilla in my version, and while calories are the least of your problem with this pie, you can substitute fat-free cream cheese and whipped topping with ease for this.

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No-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

This no-bake chocolate peanut butter pie has quite a few steps that require refrigeration in between, so have plenty of time to prepare—and plenty of people to enjoy—this decadent dessert.
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, M&Ms, no bake, Oreos, peanut butter, pie

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

  • 15 to 20- ounce package double-stuffed Oreos
  • 1/4 cup mini M&Ms
  • 1/2 cup butter melted

Filling Ingredients

  • 16 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 8 ounces whipped topping
  • 1/4 cup mini M&Ms

Ganache Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips plus a handful for sprinkling
  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup mini M&Ms

Frosting Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  • For the crust, pulverize the entire package of Oreo’s with a blender or food processor. In a bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, butter and M&Ms until everything is well mixed, and press the mixture into a 9- to 10-inch springform pan (or a pie pan, but the springform is so much easier!), going up the sides.
  • Place the crust in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • For the filling, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the whipped topping, and then fold in the M&Ms. Spread the filling evenly over the crust, and refrigerate for one hour.
  • For the ganache, combine the chocolate chips and cream into a glass bowl and microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between each, until the mixture is smooth. Pour the ganache over top of the filling and spread it evenly. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips and M&Ms, and refrigerate for another hour.
  • For the final step, beat all the frosting ingredients until it’s fluffy, and then transfer to a piping bag or a plastic bag with the tip cut off to pipe the frosting around the edges of the pie. Or, if you’re exhausted at this point, just spread it on there and decorate with a couple more M&Ms and call it good.
  • Serve immediately and keep any leftovers in the refrigerator.

I highly encourage you to cut this pie into small slices, as it is sinfully rich. Joey called it comical after it was finally done. It would be absolutely a show stopper for a birthday celebration.

And even though it took me a few evenings to finally get through all the steps, it was worth it, especially since I might have “accidentally” purchased too many M&Ms and had to clean those up myself. Waste not, want not, right?

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 17, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Bread Breakfast Dessert

I ‘concha’ take my eyes off this gorgeous sweet bread

Manteconchas are mini versions of the traditional Mexican sweet bread and are loaded with cinnamon.

Several weeks ago, over at our office, we were gifted something I’d never tried: conchas.

If you’re unfamiliar, like I was, a concha is a Mexican sweet roll. It gets its name from its crispy topping, which looks like a seashell.

Well, I was completely hooked after trying them. It was like getting to have bread and dessert all at once, and what midwesterner can resist such a combination?

I looked up how to make them, and of course, it’s an art form, but since I sometimes like a good challenge, I decided to try an easier version in the form of “manteconchas,” a mini version of the classic dish, and they did not disappoint.

The recipe I tried comes from the company website “Bread Stamps.” You can find the original at https://breadstamps.com/manteconchas. I added extra cinnamon and vanilla in my version and converted the amounts from grams.

Print

Manteconchas

Manteconchas are mini versions of thetraditional Mexican sweet bread and are loaded with cinnamon.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword conchas, manteconchas, sweet bread

Ingredients

Bread Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons yeast (1 packet)
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon lukewarm milk
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/16 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

Topping Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3-4 drops cinnamon oil flavoring
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • Food coloring

Instructions

  • For the bread, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Combine the milk mixture, along with the butter, sugar, salt, egg, vanilla, cinnamon and about half of the flour into a mixer with a dough hook or start by mixing with a wooden spoon. Knead/stir for four to five minutes, and then add the rest of the flour and knead for seven to 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. It will be sticky.
  • Spray a bowl with cooking spray (spray your hands, too, to make handling the dough easier), and transfer the ball of dough into it. Cover it and let it rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature.
  • For the topping, combine all of the ingredients, adding as much food coloring as you like at the end (you can split the mixture into several sections and get multiple colors, if you want). Knead the topping until it is smooth and then flatten it into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for about 20 minutes.
  • Once the dough is done resting, line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners and then separate the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball, and place them in the lined cupcake tin.
  • Now split the topping into 12 equal pieces (I rolled mine into a snake to do this, and it was super easy to split evenly). You’ll want to minimize how much you touch the topping, because it will get sticky quickly. I recommend working with it on a piece of waxed paper to make it easier to pick up.
  • Take each piece of topping and roll it into a ball. Using the heel of your hand, flatten the ball out to a disc about the same diameter as the cupcake tin wells.
  • Stamp the piece of topping with a cookie stamp or use another tool to make a shallow design in the top. Do not cut all the way through the disc.
  • Transfer the stamped discs to the tops of the bread, and let the manteconchas rest for another 45 minutes.
  • When the time is almost up, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 13 minutes. The bread that is peeking through the topping should be lightly browned and fully set.
  • Remove the manteconchas from the cupcake tin and let them cool before storing them in an airtight container.

These had a great, warm cinnamon flavor, and they were so pretty, too. The best part about these is that you can choose your color and design for any time of year.

I didn’t have a cookie stamp, so I used my biscuit cutter and just cut partway down to create a bunch of circles or curves. Just be creative with it.

Obviously, this is a bit of a time consuming recipe with having to wait for the dough to rise, but the excitement when you take these out of the oven and the bread has risen through the cracks in the topping is pretty palpable.

And now that I found this recipe, I might just stick to the mini version of conchas. It’s just as delicious but a little kinder to your waistline.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 10, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Bread Breakfast Dessert

Bread will ‘apple’solutely get you ready for fall

Apple butter bread has lots of fall spices and is a great breakfast or dessert.

I remember once spending an entire afternoon helping my mom make applesauce. My sister and I loved the apple-peeling machine that cut each apple into cool spirals, and we took turns manning the crank.

Mom was at the stove, cooking down the sliced apples and then ladling it off into containers as the applesauce was finished.

We thought it was so cool. I think our freezer was full of containers of applesauce for quite awhile—we were probably a lot more excited about making it than eating it, I’d guess. But I always remember that as such a fun experience, and the taste of any kind of baked apples has always been high on my list.

I’ve had an unopened jar of apple butter in my pantry for a few months now. If you don’t know, apple butter is really just super-concentrated applesauce. It’s cooked down even more to give it that pretty brown color. It’s fantastic on toast, but I kept thinking I could do something special with this jar, and that’s when I came across this week’s recipe.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “KJ and Company.” You can find the original at https://kjandcompany.co/2019/09/21/spiced-apple-butter-bread/. I added more vanilla and extra spices in my version.

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Apple Butter Bread

Apple butter bread has lots of fall spices and is a great breakfast or dessert.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword apple butter, cinnamon, cloves, gingerbread, quick bread

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter melted
  • 1 cup apple butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Prepare a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper and spraying it with cooking spray (cut the parchment so it lines the bottom and goes up the long sides of the pan to hang out over the edges).
  • In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, apple butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Beat in the rest of the ingredients until everything is combined well.
  • Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let the bread cool for about 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
  • Slice it (it’s easier to slice once it’s cooled completely) and store in an airtight container.

If it didn’t feel like September before I started baking this bread, it definitely did by the time I was finished. My whole kitchen smelled like warm, fall spices, and I was practically ready to go grab a cardigan.

This was a nice, lightly spiced quick bread that we ate both as a dessert and for breakfast, and we really enjoyed it. I actually doubled the recipe so we could share with the office, and it went over well there, too.

And it was also a lot easier to let somebody else make the apple butter instead of that long afternoon of applesauce-making with Mom all those years ago. I’m all for cooking completely from scratch, but sometimes a jar is a nice addition to a recipe.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 3, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Cookies Dessert

It’s time to get salty about your sweets

Salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies combine the sweetness and gooey-ness of chocolate and caramel with the saltiness of pretzels and are a perfect pairing for a glass of milk.

Years ago, when Jimmy Fallon was on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream came out with a flavor called “Late Night Snack,” which was inspired by the show.

The combination was “vanilla bean ice cream with a salty caramel swirl and fudge-covered potato chip clusters.”

Being slightly ice cream obsessed, I tried it out, despite the seemingly weird combination, but it was amazing.

I thought about that ice cream recently when I ran across this week’s recipe, and it got me to thinking about that flavor combination. Why is it that sweet and salty go together so well?

So, of course, I looked it up and found a great article from Debra Ronca at “How Stuff Works.”

“Salt isn’t just a nutrient, either,” she writes. “It’s a flavor enhancer. So, it stands to reason that if you mix sugar and salt, the salt enhances the sugar flavor. Chefs call this flavor layering, and the right mix—not too sweet and not too salty—gives your brain a positive biological response.”

If you’re like me and love the combination of sweet and salty, you’re not weird—it’s science. And, if you’re in my camp, then you definitely want to try the cookies I made this week.

This recipe comes from the blog “Two Peas and Their Pod.” You can find the original at https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/salted-caramel-pretzel-chocolate-chip-cookies. I added a little extra vanilla in my version.

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Salted Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies combine the sweetness and gooey-ness of chocolate and caramel with the saltiness of pretzels and are a perfect pairing for a glass of milk.
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate chips, cookies, pretzels, salted caramel

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt or sea salt
  • 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup pretzels chopped
  • about 11 ounces chewy caramels
  • about 36 pretzel twists whole
  • coarse salt for sprinkling

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Cream the butter and sugar together until it’s light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth, and then beat in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.
  • Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pretzels.
  • Scoop the dough in about two tablespoon scoops and place a caramel piece in the center of each scoop, forming the dough completely around the caramel. (Cut your caramels into about half-inch pieces if they’re the long kind.)
  • Place the dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them about two inches apart and press a whole pretzel into the top of each cookie and sprinkle each lightly with salt.
  • Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies cool until they are set up enough to remove from the baking sheet and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. (Some of mine were oozing caramel, so I cooled them upside down.)
  • Store cookies in an airtight container.

Holy moly were these good. They did take quite awhile to set up, and even though I thought I had the caramel very well covered by the dough, it still leaked out of the bottom of almost all of the cookies a bit, so be prepared when you start removing them from the baking sheet.

I had to take these to the office, because Joey and I were going to demolish the whole batch by ourselves if I didn’t. We still ate an embarrassingly large number of them.

As much as people looked at me strangely when I talked about potato chips in ice cream, I still had quite a few takers for these cookies, so maybe times have changed, or maybe there are a lot more secret lovers of salt and sugar than I thought.

This piece first appeared in print on July 16, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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