EatSavvy Blog

Topic —  Baking,

The Great Savvy Bake-Off Recipe #6

December 10, 2009
Denise Smith

Despite the fact she works from her home office, when Holly, our Production Manager and EatSavvy photographer, discovered that we were having the SavvyMom bake-off at the office she did not want to be left out. She chose to submit one of her children’s favourite holiday recipes—gingerbread. We thought about asking Holly to courier the cookies to the office for testing, but figured her own children would be the best judges. Both of her kids loved the cookies (and took some for their school snack). So did Alice (the kitten), who snuck away and was found snacking on a gingerbread Christmas tree.

Holly’s Gingerbread Cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies

You’ll Need

Cookies

• ¼ cup trans-free margarine or butter, softened
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup dark molasses
• ⅓ cup cold water
• 3½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• Smooth vanilla frosting (optional)

Smooth Vanilla Frosting

• 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ cup hot water
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Prep and Cook

Cookies

• Beat margarine, sugar, molasses, and water with electric mixer or by hand until smooth. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, salt, and cloves.
• Add flour mixture to molasses mixture, stirring by hand just until soft dough forms.
• Divide dough in half, shape each piece into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F.
• On lightly floured surface or between 2 pieces of wax paper, roll out one disk about 1/8” thick. Cut out cookies using 5” gingerbread man cookie cutter.
• Place 1” apart on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until set. (Bake a few minutes longer for crispier cookies).
• Transfer to rack to cool. Repeat with remaining disk, re-rolling scraps once to get as many cookies as possible. When cookies are completely cool, decorate with smooth vanilla frosting, if using.

Icing

• Combine all ingredients until smooth. This makes enough for 4 dozen cookies.

Good to know: For added nutrition, use half whole wheat and half of Robin Hood’s Nutri-Flour Blend instead of all purpose flour. If you want to use the cookies as ornaments, cut a small hole near the top with the end of a straw before baking. Once the cookies have cooled, thread a ribbon through the hole. To save time, Holly used Cake Mate cookie icing.

What is your favourite holiday cookie?

Photo copyright Holly Sisson Photography

Grains—Taking Us by Storm!

January 28, 2010
Denise Smith

Hi. My name is Denise and I am a carb-oholic. My addiction begins at breads and includes bagels, toast, English muffins, breakfast pita, and my strongest vice, muffins. I love muffins! My biggest challenge with this vice is avoiding temptation. Each morning on the way to work I walk by four bakeries and three coffee shops, all of which sell muffins. The muffins look delicious from the outside, but if you take a look at what’s on the inside, you will discover that most are made with white flour, void of whole grains, loaded with sugar, and very high in fat. Is it is a muffin or a cake?

In my previous life, I would have picked up a coffee and a muffin from my local coffee shop every day of the week, without considering the nutritional (or lack of) value. Today, I am more health conscious and therefore more selective when it comes to the muffins I eat. The most effective way to manage this is to make my own muffins.

I love to bake, and over the years I have compiled a collection of ‘family-favourite’ muffin recipes. Unfortunately, by the time the homework is completed, the bedtime routine is finished, and the dishes are done, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to make muffins from scratch. This is where Grainstorm baking mixes come in. SavvyMom was first introduced to Grainstorm products a couple of years ago and we loved them. Recently, they reconnected with us to let us know about some improvements they had made to their production facility, website and product line. We thought we should ask for some samples. I, of course, chose to try the muffin mix. Grainstorm muffin mixes come in two blends—Ancient Grain Muffin Base and Kamut Muffin Base. These freshly-ground, organic grain muffins are quick and simple to make, rich in wholesome ingredients, lower in sugar than other muffin mixes, and best of all—delicious.

My sons love them just as much as I do, and because they are nut and peanut-free, I can send them to school. I fill a combination of mini and regular-sized muffin tins—perfect wholesome snacks for recess and mid-morning coffee breaks. I am no longer tempted by the ones in the coffee shops. You can either make the muffins from the instructions on the packaging or create your own variation by adding dried fruit, chocolate chips, or ripe banana. These mixes are great to have on-hand in your pantry, too. Available at www.grainstorm.ca.

What is your favourite packaged mix?

Topic —  Kids in the Kitchen,

C is for Cookie

March 04, 2010
Denise Smith

One batch of cookies doesn’t seem to last very long in our house. On Thursday evening of last week I baked a whole batch, but since it’s difficult to resist freshly baked cookies, I lost a few that same night. And, after a full weekend of skiing and playing in the snow, everyone’s appetites were huge. By the time I went to pack lunches for school the next morning, there was only one cookie left in the cookie jar. So just in case there was time later, I removed the butter from the fridge to soften. 

Fortunately for me, my kids enjoy baking (and I always have chocolate chips on hand). At age 10, Cameron can confirm the measurements and Spencer loves to crack the eggs and do the mixing, as most six year-olds do. After a snowball fight, snow soccer and tobogganing off the end of the neighbour’s deck, they were ready for a snack (and a break). In my experience, baking and cooking are both great activities for calming kids down after an active day. Store the cookies in the pantry, cookie jar, or freezer in an airtight container. Cut a round or square shaped piece of vanilla ice-cream and sandwich it in between two of the cookies for a quick and easy dessert idea. Or serve a cookie wedge with a scoop of ice-cream. I can’t promise that your cookies will last any longer in your house, but with a recipe as simple as this, you can always bake more.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies (or 1 cookie wedge)

You’ll Need

• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Prep and Cook

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown and white sugar.
3. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.
4. Combine the oats, flour, soda and salt together in a separate bowl.
5. Mix the butter ingredients with the dry ingredients; add the chocolate chips.
6. Using a teaspoon, scoop the cookie dough out of the bowl and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
7. Or, alternatively, press the cookie dough into greased large spring form pan or non-stick pizza tray.
8. If making small, individual cookies, bake for approximately 15 minutes or until cookies are slightly golden around the edges and firm. If making one large cookie wedge, bake for approximately 35 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool before removing them from the tray.
10. While it is still warm, use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the cookie wedge into slices.

What is your child’s favourite afterschool snack?

Topic —  Baking,

Wedding Part 1

August 19, 2010
Denise Smith

Saturday, August 7, 2010 was the perfect day for my wedding. Gord and I were married at 4:30 pm at our island cottage on Lake St. Nora, in Haliburton, Ontario. It was a magical day for all in attendance.

As is the case with most cottage weddings, this summer wedding was anything but traditional—it is a second marriage for both of us, we were married beside the lake, our children stood up for us, our playlist included hits from The Black-Eyed Peas, our dance floor was a dock and we served chocolate wedding cake for dessert!

While planning the menu for the wedding, there was unanimous consent from our children for a chocolate wedding cake. Pastry chef, Leigh, from Farmer’s Daughter in Huntsville, Ontario, worked her magic and created a gorgeous dark chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting and fresh raspberry filling, iced with a vanilla buttercream icing. Vertical rows of beautiful, hand-piped flowers encircled both layers of the cake. It was rich, moist and absolutely delicious.

I know I could never reproduce my wedding cake, but I couldn’t help wanting to try. Besides, chocolate cake will never go to waste in our house. I have a number of different chocolate cake recipes I use, but one more than the others. With a few modifications to that recipe, I have come up with something pretty close. As much as I love chocolate, I think a chocolate frosting would be a bit too much chocolate, even for me.

Decadent Chocolate Cake with Chocolate and Raspberry Filling

You’ll Need

Cake:

• ½ cup butter
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1½ cups sour cream
• 4 squares (4 oz) unsweetened chocolate
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cocoa
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt

Filling:

• 2 squares (2 oz) unsweetened chocolate
• ½  cup butter
• 4 cups sifted icing sugar
• ⅓ cup (75 mL) light cream
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

Frosting:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• ⅓ cup light cream
• 2 tsp vanilla

Prep and Cook

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Butter and flour 2–9” cake pans.
3. Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
5. In top of double boiler over hot, not boiling, water, melt together chocolate and butter, stirring frequently.
6. Remove from heat and let cool.
7. In a large bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
8. Add cooled chocolate and sour cream to the bowl and combine.
9. Divide batter evenly between cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
10. Let cakes cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and place on racks to cool completely.

Filling:

1. In top of double boiler over hot, not boiling, water, melt together chocolate and butter, stirring frequently.
2. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. With an electric mixer, cream butter in a mixing bowl.
4. Gradually add icing sugar to the butter, beating well after each cup.
5. Add the cream and vanilla and beat until well blended and fluffy.
6. If too thin, beat in more sugar; if too thick, beat in more cream.
7. Arrange one cake layer on a serving plate, spread with chocolate filling and a layer of fresh raspberries.
8. Place the second cake layer on top.

Frosting:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter on high speed, scraping the sides, until light and fluffy.
2. Add the powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy.
3. Ice the top of the cake first and then the sides.
4. Serve with a few fresh raspberries.

More details (and photos) about the food to come in my next blog post.

What is your favourite cake recipe?

Topic —  Baking,

SavvyHQ Bake-Off Recipe 3

December 07, 2010
Denise Smith

It is with great remorse that I admit to not having started my holiday baking. My late start is certainly not due to a shortage of ideas. In fact I have a file overflowing with great holiday cookie and square recipes, both old and new. I just couldn’t seem to find a good time to start. But our annual SavvyHQ Bake-Off finally gave me the impetus I needed to get started.

Inspired by my children’s love for cheese and crackers, I thought I would begin my holiday baking with something savory. When my kids were little, I was actually crazy enough to make homemade goldfish crackers…needless to say, I only did it once. A month or so ago I came across this recipe while flipping through a magazine at the doctor’s office and, with a couple of modifications, I thought I would give it a try.

Despite having puff pastry in the list of ingredients, making homemade cheese sticks is actually very easy. They make a perfect hostess gift, either tied together in bunches with some ribbon or presented in a festive cookie tin.

Savoury Cheese Sticks

Makes about 25–30

You’ll Need

• 2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted
• Flour
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp milk
• ½ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
• ½ cup cheddar cheese, finely grated
• Smoked paprika or cumin to sprinkle (optional)
• Salt

Prep and Cook

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Roll out each sheet of puff pastry (Tenderflake has 2 sheets) to 25 x 30 cm.
3. Beat egg and milk together and brush over the top of the puff pastry.
4. Sprinkle each sheet of pastry with equal amounts of parmesan and cheddar cheese.
5. Sprinkle the cheese with spice, if using, and gently press the cheese into the pastry.
6. Using a pizza cutter, cut each sheet into 12 strips.
7. Twist each strip and lay it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Sprinkle with salt.
9. Bake cheese twists for approximately 12 minutes or until golden, turn them over and then continue baking for another 3 minutes.
10. Cool and serve with a big bowl or soup, chili or stew.

Good to Know: Puff pastry isn’t nearly as intimidating to work with as one would think.