Apple Slices in Cinnamon Red Hot Syrup

September 22, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

It’s apple season! I’ve been in a canning frenzy this month and I had to do apples. I got a bushel and a half of apples; a variety of apples because the combination of sweet/tart and textures makes the best apple sauce. I made several batches of apple sauce. I use minimal sugar…maybe a half cup of sugar for 7 pints worth of apples and a bit of cinnamon. Mostly I just want the bright, natural taste of apples in the sauce. Apple sauce is very easy to do. Peel, core and slice the apples, put them in a large kettle, add just enough water to keep the apples from burning and cook over medium high heat until the apples are tender. I like chunky apple sauce so I mash the apples with my potato masher or you can use an immersion blender.

Ladle hot applesauce into hot, sterilized jars leaving a half inch of headspace. Use a wooden or plastic spatula remove air bubbles and put the two piece lids on the jar. Process pints in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Remove and put hot jars on a towel or wooden board to cool. Voila! You have applesauce to enjoy all winter. Well I did a LOT of applesauce and wanted to try something different so I got out my Ball Blue Book and found a recipe for…

Apple Wedges in Cinnamon Red Hot Sauce

8-10 pounds of apples (use firm apples)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cinnamon red hot candies

2 cinnamon sticks broken into several pieces

2 tsp whole cloves

1 tsp ginger

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups white or cider vinegar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

More peeling, coring, and slicing! You may want to treat your apples with fresh fruit produce protector or lemon juice to keep your apple slices from browning while you work.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large heavy kettle and slowly bring to a boil.

Add apple wedges to syrup mixture, stir, cover and simmer 4-5 minutes. Pack hot apples into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Ladle hot syrup over apples leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles. Adjust caps and process in hot water bath for 15 minutes.

They look beautiful! They will be wonderful to serve as a side with pork or poultry. The red hots and ginger give them a little kick. Apples are all canned. Now I need to find space to store them all!

Spiced Peaches

September 15, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

I have been in a bit of a canning frenzy lately. Produce has looked particularly beautiful this year and once I got started I didn’t want to stop. One of my favorite new recipes is for spiced peaches. I bought a bushel of peaches and did half of them in a light syrup, spiced nearly half a bushel and made jam out of the remainder. I found peeling peaches much more time consuming and challenging than peeling beets and tomatoes. I dropped them into boiling water and then into an ice bath just like tomatoes but the peach skin wasn’t quite as cooperative. The first thing you need to do is get rid of the fuzzy peach skin and then we can start spicing the peaches.

As with any canning project you will need to sterilize your jars in a boiling water bath.

You will need:

Approximately 40 peaches peeled and sliced

7 cups of sugar

2 cups of water

1 cup white vinegar

2 cinnamon sticks crushed (I wrapped them in a dish towel and smashed them with a hammer)

12 whole cloves

Combine sugar, water, and vinegar in a large heavy kettle. Bring to a boil and continue to simmer until liquid begins to thicken. Add peaches and spices and simmer until peaches are thoroughly heated.

Once the fruit is heated fill your prepared jars with the peaches and cover with the syrup leaving a half inch of head space. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes. Remove jars to a towel to cool.

You can can your peaches whole, halved or sliced.

These peaches can replace syrup on your pancakes or waffles, spice up your oatmeal, add interest to ham, pork chops or chicken, or serve as an ice cream topping. Or just eat them out of the jar. If you like peaches you will love these!

Swedish Cinnamon Twists

September 10, 2014September 13, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

A friend recently gave me this recipe and since it’s a dreary, rainy day I thought baking would be a good idea. The house smells wonderful. I know, this is the Finnish Dish and these are Swedish twists so if I make them for my Dad I will put cardamom seeds in them and tell him it’s an old Finnish recipe. The recipe is fairly simple and made enough for a very large coffee klatch. Thanks to my friend and neighbor for sharing this recipe with me.

Let’s get started with our Swedish Twists.

Two .25-oz packages active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp if you buy yeast in jars like I do).

1/2 c warm water

Dissolve yeast in warm water.

8 T unsalted butter, melted

2 c warmed buttermilk

2 large eggs

6 T granulated sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Add the warmed buttermilk, butter, sugar, eggs, salt and baking soda to the dissolved yeast. Mix well.

7 1/2 c all purpose flour

Stir in flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 6-8 minutes).

Place dough in a greased bowl turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours). I always think that using my grandmother’s bread bowl makes my yeast breads extra special.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each into a 16×19 inch rectangle. For the filling:

4 T unsalted butter melted

1 c packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Brush each rectangle of dough with the melted butter and then sprinkle with the brown sugar cinnamon mixture.

Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise and pinch edges to seal. Cut into one inch strips and twist each strip a few times. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. While the dough is rising a second time preheat your oven to 375.

Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Combine the following ingredients to make a glaze and drizzle over twists while they are still warm.

1 c powdered sugar

1 T unsalted butter melted

1 T hot water

Whisk together and drizzle over warm twists.

When I’m baking or cooking I find it easier to prep all my ingredients before I start…measuring out everything so I don’t have to stop and start continually and so I don’t forget if I’ve added something.

Whenever I make a recipe the first time I mostly following the instructions. I will try adding some cardamom seed to my dough next time and perhaps a tablespoon of orange juice in place of the water and some orange zest to the glaze. But these are awfully good just as they are. Tomorrow I’ll pack some up and take them with me to share with my knitting lady friends. Thanks for sharing your recipe Deb.

Granola

August 25, 2014August 25, 2014 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

Granola is great with yogurt and fruit, as a topping on ice cream, adding a little crunch and texture to hot cereal, or just as a snack by itself. I’m sure there are many other ways to enjoy it!

I made a batch this morning and am looking forward to having some with my yogurt as soon as I’m done posting this recipe.

In a large mixing bowl combine:
3 cups of oats (I use old fashion oats)
1 1/2 c nuts, rough diced (I use a combination of pecans, walnuts, and almonds)
1 1/2 c coconut shavings (not the sweetened coconut you find in the baking aisle)
1/2 c wheat germ, quinoa flakes, or flax seed…I used flax seed in this batch
2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a smaller bowl combine wet ingredients:
1/4 c coconut oil (warmed), mild olive oil or canola oil (I like to use the coconut oil)
1/2 c agave syrup, honey, or maple syrup (I used 1/4 c each of agave and honey)

Pour over dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, stir well. Pour mixture onto a large jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with sides) and spread evenly.

Bake at 300 for 30 minutes stirring mixture every 10 minutes. Granola should be a light golden brown when it’s done.

I spread butcher paper or parchment paper on my counter top and spread the granola out to cool.

While it is still warm stir in:
1 c dried cherries
1 c golden raisins
Or 2 cups of your favorite dried fruits (apricots, cranberries, figs, etc)

Once the granola has cooled store in tightly sealed containers.

Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 24, 2014October 1, 2014 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This morning I made chocolate chip cookies. I had an admirer who, years ago, studied for the priesthood. He said my chocolate chip cookies were quintessential…apparently Latin for an A-one cookie! My daughter says they are the best…sweet and a little salty.

Here we go. You too can make the quintessential cookie!

Preheat oven to 375°F

Cream together:
1 c shortening (I use butter flavored Crisco)
1 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
2 tsp good vanilla

With a wooden spoon stir in:
2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 generous cups chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)

Using a small scoop, place dough on un-greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 11 minutes.

Enjoy!!

A couple notes:
I use Airbake cookie sheets exclusively. I love them!

Once you put the cookies in the oven, don’t open and close and open and close the oven door to check on their progress.

These cookies, like most, are best right out of the oven. But I’ve found the best way to store them is to package individual servings (three or four cookies) in Ziploc sandwich bags in the freezer.