Gingersnap Bars

 

Our family likes things spicy! I found this bar cookie recipe and we are all in LOVE. A batch of these doesn't usually last the day, especially if Papa Riddle is visiting. We like these because they have a crunchy outside and a soft, sweet spicy inside. Also...being a bar recipe it is easy to execute.

Gingersnap Bars

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 cup unflavored oil (I use avocado but vegetable, canola or grapeseed also work)
• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon coarse decorating sugar, for sprinkling on top

NSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line a 9×13 glass baking dish with parchment paper.
2. In medium bowl, sift together flour, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda; set aside.
3. In a large bowl add the oil and sugar; whisk to combine. Whisk in egg and molasses, taking are not to over mix. Stir in the flour mixture just until flour is combined.
4. Spread the cookie dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Use your hands to push the dough into the corners and evenly press the dough into the pan. Sprinkle evenly with coarse sugar.
5. Bake 22-25 minutes just until the cookie bars are cooked through. The edges will be golden and crispy and the center will be just sent. Take care not to over bake. Remove the bars from oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack. The bars will continue to cook in the pan while they cool. Cut into 24 slices.

Karidopita, Greek Walnut Cake

 

There was so much baking this Easter. We really got excited! One new recipe we tried this year was Karidopita, or Greek walnut cake. We had purchased a bulk bag of walnuts a while back and they really needed to be used. This recipe is a great way to feature walnuts without being overwhelming. My walnut-averse son loved this cake. The key is to really pulverize your wallnuts into a fine crumb. It keeps the cake moist and lends the beautiful nutty flavor. 

That is my finished soaking karidopita in the back :)

Karidopita, Greek Walnut Cake

Ingredients   

1 cup sugar
2 cups self raising flour
1 cup walnuts crushed coarsely (option to add another 1/4 of chunky walnuts pieces if you like more crunch)
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla 
1 tsp cinnamon & 1 tsp clove ground
30 ml brandy
1 cup olive oil

Syrup
1.5 cup sugar
1.5 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1/2 lemon juiced and the other half sliced

Directions:

1. To prepare the syrup, combine all the ingredients, bring to the boil and remove from the heat after 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Please note the sugar syrup must be completely cold to be used on the hot cake.
   
   
   
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Grease a  10 inch round cake tin with a little olive oil.
4. Combine eggs, oil, sugar, spices, brandy, walnuts and vanilla sugar, then gradually add flour. Mix for a few minutes until well combined.
5. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a golden colour.
6. Once the cake is ready, make some small holes on its surface with a skewer and pour the cooled syrup over the hot cake bit by bit, allowing each spoonful to be absorbed before proceeding with the next. It is essential that it absorbs well. The longer it stands, the better the result as it will soften even more.
7. Serve with ice-cream or a Greek coffee.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

 

We have a few things we do for St. Patrick's day as a family. Ironically, while we live in Boston, we have never been to the St. Paddy's Day parade in Southie. We are much happier to bake yummy things and stay at home. 😆

We always make Irish Soda Bread, and have for a long time. And a Guinnes stew is standard. Recently, we started baking this Chocolage Guinness Cake. It is a delicous, moist and flavorful cake. You can eat it straight, or dressed with some whiskey butter cream.

Chocolate Guinness Cake:

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup Guinness stout beer (drink the rest while you cook)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9-inch springform pan by greasing and laying a parchment circle in the bottom. 

2. In a saucepan heat the butter and Guinness over low heat until the butter is just melted. 

3. In a medium bowl combine eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Set aside.

4. Combine the brown sugar, instant coffee and cocoa powder to the beer and sugar. Whisk to combine. 

5. Slowly add the butter/beer/cocoa mixture to the eggs/sour cream/vanilla mixture. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir until just combined.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 - 55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake rest for 10 minutes, then eat or ice to your liking. Enjoy!

Throat Punch: Roasted Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce

 This season I got a lot of scotch bonnet peppers in my farm share. Scotch bonnet peppers are super hot, and I have not learned quite how to use them in cooking yet. I am kind of afraid to just "Throw one in the soup." the way my West-Indian friends advise, but I figured that if I made a hot sauce and it was too hot, it would only ruin the sauce and not dinner. 

Such a pretty color!

I decided to roast the peppers with some other seasonal veggies and see what happened. It ended up being magical! The sauce is creamy, savory smooth, and then it punches you in the back of the throat on the way down...hence the name. It is really tasty, I will totally do it again. We used it on fish, chicken and sandwiches, and then we ran out. I am excited to try it again next year. This sauce needs to be stored in the refrigerator.

Throat Punch

Ingredients:

12-15 Scotch Bonnet Peppers

1 large onion

3 carrots

2 medium zucchini

4 cloves garlic (keep in the skin)

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

2-3 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

Dorections:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. While the oven heats, half the peppers and chop all vegetables. Add all veggies to a large baking pan and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.

2. Roast the veggies for 30-45 minutes until they are soft and slightly browned.

3.Transfer all the veggies and all pan juices into a blender or food processor. *Be sure to remove the garlic cloves and squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins into the blender or food processor*

4. Blend until smooth. Add more olive oil or water to get the consistency you desire. Add 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar at the end to taste. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Store in a jar in the refrigerator.

Homemade French Onion Dip

 I came across an Alton Brown recipe for homemade french onion dip. It was just before Super Bowl weekend so I figured I would try it out. My family are fans of store bought french onion dip, and I grew up with my mom stirring the freeze-dried and powdered french onion soup mix into sour cream, but I had never tried making it from scratch with actual onions. Alton made it look pretty simple, so we made it for our game night snack. 

The first try came out pretty great. We loved the fresh onion taste, and the method of deglazing with the vinegar added the perfect tang, but my boys felt it was just a little bit too rich. So I made some tweaks and came up with this version that we now enjoy very much. We substituted non-fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and mayonaise. It is still rich and creamy but not overwhelmingly rich. For us, a great change. 

French Onion Dip

Ingredients:

4 Large Onions

1/5 teaspoon plus one pinch Baking Soda

1 tablespoon Salt

1 tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Apple Cider Vinegar for deglazing

1 tablespoon Blasamic Vinegar

2 cups non-fat Greek Yogurt

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 teaspoon Pepper

Directions:

1. Thinly slice the onions and put them in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. 

Remember that cutting onions with glasses on is a bad idea

Sprinkle the onions with baking soda, salt & brown sugar. Stir the onions to break them up and evenly distribute the salt, soda and sugar. Cover the pot and let the onions rest for 10 minutes.

2. After the onions have rested, uncover the pot, and place over high heat. Drizzle with olive oil and cook, stirring often until the onions are reduced by 75% and are a light golden color. 

3. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking approximately 15 minutes, stirring often.

4.When the onions begin to brown, deglaze the ban with a splash of apple cider vinegar. I did this three times before the onions were the desired dark brown. 

When the onions have reduced to about 1 1/2 cups in volume, deglaze one last time with the balsamic vinegar, stir a few times then remove from heat and let cool.

5. When the onions are cool, stir them into the 2 cups of yogurt. Add the garlic powder and pepper. Cover the dip and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. It is best when it sits overnight. 

I had just the right amount of yogurt left in my container so I just mixed the onions and seasoning right in. :)