Pecan, Caramel, Chocolate Squares

I've tasted this once, made it never. Until this afternoon. We attended a baby shower in spring where this was served. Apparently it's from a 1994 newspaper.

2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup butter, softened

Sprinkle of salt

1 1/2 cup pecan halves or pieces

1 1/3 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

Sprinkle of salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

optional: chopped pecans for on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together sugar and butter, and then add flour. Press firmly into 9x13 pan. Arrange pecans over crust.

Combine second amount of butter and brown sugar in saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly for one minute. Pour over pecans. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbly. 

Sprinkle chocolate chips over top, let stand for three minutes and spread chocolate.

Cool completely and cut into small squares.

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and pack in flat tin box. Keep in cool place until it's to be given or sent.

Makes 40.

Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe is inspired by Tastes Better From Scratch. I reduce sugar in nearly every recipe I make, so what I've written out here is the reduced sugar version. I also changed the frosting and a few other things.

1. Take cream cheese and butter out of the fridge or freezer and bring to room temperature.

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

½ cup salted butter

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree 

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp epicure pumpkin spice mixture

OR, use these spices:

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup 18% cream or heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 Tbsp corn starch

pinch salt

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 block of cream cheese

Instructions

Add butter and sugars to a mixer and cream together until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla then mix.

In a separate mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet. Pour batter into a jelly roll pan (10×15 inch). Bake at 350 degrees F for about 27-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

For the Frosting: As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, make the frosting. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cream, brown sugar, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Whisk in cream cheese. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Mix well. Add a little extra powdered sugar, as needed, until you get a soft and slightly thick, but pourable frosting. Gently spread warm frosting over bars. Allow to cool before serving.

Hot Chocolate Mix

I have wanted to make a low-sugar, few-ingredient hot chocolate mix for years and this is finally the time to give it a go.

1/2 cup monk fruit sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 cups powdered milk

1 cup cocoa

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

Combine sugars with vanilla. Spread on a baking sheet and allow to become fully dry. Crumble it or even put it into a blender so it isn't chunky.

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Store in a tightly sealed jar.

For a cup of hot chocolate, add 2 to 3 Tbsp of dry mix into 8 oz of hot water.

Notes:

I used Trensite brand whole milk powder (from Walmart). I wasn't interested in skim milk powder.

This also makes a nice chocolate pudding. I'll write out the measurements the next time I make it.

Fridge Pickles

This recipe is from my mother-in-law, so you know it's going to be a keeper!

Bring to a boil:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups vinegar

2 Tbsp pickling salt (Himalayan salt works as well, but pickling salt gives a clearer brine)

1 Tbsp mustard seeds

1 Tbsp turmeric

1 Tbsp celery seed

Cool and pour over:

an ice cream pail of cucumbers (4L)

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves

Cover, let sit for 24 hours. This gave me 4 (pasta sauce sized) jars of pickles.

I added one red pepper, cut into short strips. Looks nice, tastes delicious.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

I was looking for a recipe to make a dozen chocolate zucchini muffins and I decided to try the one from My Baking Addiction. Phenomenal. I recommend it! 

I wanted to double it and made several changes so this is my adaptation. It's still a work in progress and I will likely make additional changes. But this is what I'm working with for now:

2 cups zucchini, washed, dried, grated

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

4 eggs

4 tsp vanilla

3 cups white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare preferred muffin pans. I love the Pampered Chef stoneware pans.

Cream butter and sugars together until it has become a pale, fluffy mixture. Add in eggs, beat until everything is very well combined. Add vanilla.

Time for the dry ingredients, chocolate chips, and shredded zucchini. Stir only enough for ingredients to be combined. Really get down into the bottom of the bowl to ensure everything gets mixed thoroughly. Don't over-mix! (About 18 to 20 stirs should be good.)

Using a large scoop (the Pampered Chef one holds about 3Tbsp of batter), put one scoop of batter into each spot. 

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Sourdough Sandwich Loaf, 3 loaves

This is the recipe I use every week. 

• 100g active, stiff sourdough starter – make sure it’s bubbly and fed about 12 hours before baking.

• 560g water – lukewarm water helps activate the fermentation process.

• 90g butter – adds moisture and tenderness to the crumb.

• 30g honey – adds just a touch of sweetness; maple syrup or sugar can be substituted.

• 300g whole wheat flour – I don't prefer to use more than 30% whole wheat flour in my bread.

• 700g all-purpose flour – this provides the structure and strength the bread needs.

• 18g salt – essential for flavor and helping to control fermentation.

You don’t need any fancy flour or equipment here — just a mixing bowl, a loaf pan, and a little care.

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Instructions

Mix the Dough

Start by combining the sourdough starter, water, butter, and honey in a large bowl. I prefer to use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer for making bread.

Knead and Rest

Mix it with the dough hook on speed 2 for 8 minutes until it becomes smooth, soft, and slightly tacky. If kneading by hand, use the heel of your palm to push the dough forward, fold it back, and repeat. Cover the dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for a few hours (for several) at room temperature.

Overnight Rise

After the initial rest, form the loaves, place into greased loaf pans, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for an overnight cold fermentation — about 10–12 hours. This slow rise improves both the flavor and the digestibility of the bread. By morning, your dough should be noticeably puffier and roughly doubled in size. This recipe gives me 1800g of dough, so each of the three loaves will be 600g. Yes, I weigh them every time.

Final Proof

Let the shaped dough rise at room temperature for several hours, or until it domes nicely near the edge of the pan. The exact time can vary depending on your kitchen temperature — don’t rush this step. A properly proofed loaf will feel airy and spring back slightly when pressed.

Bake

Preheat your oven to 400°F (232°C). Once the dough is ready, place the pan on the middle rack and bake for 35 minutes. The top should be a rich golden brown, and the loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. If your oven tends to run hot, you can cover the top loosely with foil halfway through to prevent over-browning. The internal temperature for a loaf of sourdough bread should be between 96° and 99°.

Cool

Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes to finish setting. Then gently remove it and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Slicing too early can make the bread gummy — so give it at least 60 minutes before cutting.

Coconut Pineapple Rolls

Okay let's grab the tried-and-true cinnamon bun recipe and switch up a couple of ingredients.

Bun dough:

1 cup mashed potatoes
2 tbsp yeast
2 cups warm milk or potato water
3/4 cup softened butter
2 eggs beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
6 cups of flour

Inside the buns:
3Tbsp melted butter (to spread onto dough)

1 can of crushed pineapple, very well drained (save the pineapple juice)

3/4 cup sweetened coconut

3 Tbsp cornstarch

(if you want it to be sweeter, add 1/2 cup brown sugar)

Mix potatoes and oil in blender. (Potatoes can be blended with the milk.)

Add the other ingredients and mix well. Add 6 cups flour and knead until soft. Cover and let rise 1 hour.

Punch and make rolls with pineapple/coconut filling. Let rolls rise 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.



Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup heavy cream

all of the pineapple juice
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp butter
pinch of salt

Mix. Heat to boiling. Pour over rolls when done or just before serving. Enjoy!