Cheezee Hearts

For any of you out there who on occasion have been known to sit down and devour handfuls of the little goldfish cheesy snacks (guilty as charged), this one is for you.  Now I'm not pretending that these are going to be a healthier alternative, lets face it the main ingredient is cheese!!, but at least this way you can adjust the ratio of flours if you want and even reduce the salt even more, although when an 1/8th of a teaspoon is divided among 100 or more crackers it's not really that much.  More than anything though, if you're anything like me, you've pretty much always got these ingredients on hand, so within an hour of a cheese craving taking hold of you, you can have these little bites of 'love' in a bowl next to you :o)

Cheezee Hearts (or whatever shape you make them :o)
makes 100-120 crackers

1 1/2 cups sharp yellow cheddar cheese, grated
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp salt

• combine all the ingredients in a food processor and mix until it all comes together into a ball of dough - about 2 minutes.
• press the dough into a disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, to make the dough easier to roll out.
• when the dough has been resting for about 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• on a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness.
• using a small cookie cutter (I used my 1.5 inch heart), cut out the crackers and place them onto an ungreased cookie sheet, spaced about 1/2 inch apart;  re-roll the scraps a couple of times to get as many crackers as you can (today I managed to get 112 :o)
• bake near the middle of the oven for 12-15 minutes until just beginning to brown.
• let them cool on the cookie sheets over wire racks and then store in a jar or airtight container.

 Cheeze Hearts ingredients.

place everything into a food processor and mix for about 2 minutes until...

it all comes together in a ball of dough (don't worry about little bits being separate, just press it all together)

flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

choose your favourite cookie cutter - you want it to be about an inch to 1.5 inch (I used my mini heart cutter....cuuuute!!)

roll out the dough to approximately 1/8 inch and cut out your crackers - you can re-roll the scraps a couple of times to use up as much as you possibly can.

place them onto ungreased cookie sheets about 1/2 inch apart and bake for 12-15 minutes.

leave them on the cookie sheets, on top of wire racks to cool.

they come out golden and puffed.

....and just the right size for nibbling....

....mmmmmmm.

I stored mine in a large 1 litre mason jar with a screw lid, but any airtight container will do.

yummy....a big jar of love :o)

Fruit Yogurt Popsicles

Fruit + yogurt + popsicle molds.....need I say more?  Lay back in the hammock, listen to the birds in the trees and move the clouds with your mind......mmmmmmmmm

Fruit Yogurt Popsicles
makes 6 popsicles, depending on mold size

2 cups diced fruit of choice (I actually had a mixed bowl already diced up in the fridge of strawberries, raspberries, mango and orange segments)
1/8 cup honey
2 Tbs water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt

• using a potato masher or fork, mash the fruit to a fairly fine pulp - if the fruit is quite firm you can always microwave it for about 30-45 seconds to soften.
• in a bowl (or I found a measuring jug easier for pouring into the molds), combine the honey, water, lemon juice and yogurt and mix well.
• place a fine mesh sieve over the yogurt mixture and press through the fruit puree to remove any seeds or pulp.
• at this stage you can either mix the fruit sauce and yogurt together just a little bit to get a 'swirl' effect or mix completely to have a more even colour.
• pour the mixture into your popsicle molds, pop on their 'lids' and find a space in your freezer for them.

 Fruit Yogurt Popsicle ingredients.

mash the fruit to a fairly fine consistency.

in a measuring jug (or bowl) combine the honey, water, lemon juice and yogurt.

mash the fruit puree through a fine mesh sieve into the yogurt mixture.

either mix very lightly to try and keep a 'swirl' effect or....

....mix completely (as I did) for a more even colouring.

pour into your popsicle molds.

pop on the 'tops'

and try to find room in your freezer for them - amongst the frozen peas, corn, prawns and garlic sausage :o)

Now the hard part.....wait long enough for them to set completely.

Honey Mustard Sausage Bites

One of the things that I find about the summer months is that some days you just don't feel like having 'proper' meals, especially on warm days when the hammock is calling to me - those are the days that we more often than not end up snacking most of the day or having something like these little mouthfuls on hand to nibble on with a cold can of beer :o)

Honey Mustard Sausage Bites
makes 20

1/2 pack puff pastry (1 square)
1/4 cup honey mustard sauce
1 cup grated cheese (I used a Tex Mex mix)
4 hot dogs (I had these all beef wieners in the fridge)

• preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• on a floured surface roll out the puff pastry to a sheet approximately 12" x 10"
• brush the pastry all over with the honey mustard sauce.
• sprinkle the cheese evenly over the surface and using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the pastry into quarters.
• roll each hot dog tightly in a quarter of the pastry.
• cut each 'rolled' sausage into five even pieces and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet.
• brush lightly with either egg wash or milk and bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown.

Honey Mustard Sausage Bites ingredients.

roll out the pastry to approximately 12" x 10" square

brush the honey mustard sauce evenly over the pastry sheet

sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top and with a sharp knife cut the pastry into quarters.

roll each sausage tightly in the pastry quarters....

....overlapping the edges.

cut each 'rolled' sausage into five pieces and....

space apart on a baking sheet.

bake for 15-17 minutes until gold brown and puffed.

I had to sacrifice one, purely for taste-testing purposes of course :o)

Honey Oat Scones

Who doesn't like scones?!!!
Whether they're the plain, round English ones slathered with Cornish whipped cream and strawberry jam while on a summer picnic with "lashings of ginger beer" (sorry - I don't know what came over me - a flashback reference to Enid Blyton and the Famous Five there!! :o).  Or maybe they're the large, melt-in-the-mouth triangles of awesomeness that you might get from your local coffee shop, like a little gem in one of our local towns called Sundance Java Bar, where I had THE most scrumptious raspberry and white chocolate scone a while back with a friend - as you can probably tell, I still have dreams about it :o)

I haven't quite reached the 'nirvana' state yet with my own attempts in the kitchen, but this ones comes pretty close if I do say so myself - they have enough flavour to be able to eat on their own, but also they're not too sweet if you want to do some serious 'slathering' with your favourite preserve.

Honey Oat Scones
makes 8 scones

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1 very heaped Tbs baking powder
1 heaped Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, cold and cut into pieces
1/4 cup runny honey
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten (to glaze)

• preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• in a large bowl whisk together both flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt.
• using your fingers or a pastry blender, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients until you have the consistency of large breadcrumbs.
• in a separate small bowl, mix the honey and milk until combined, then add to the flour/butter mixture.
• blend everything together with your hands to form a 'softish' ball of dough - add a little more milk if the dough seems dry, but not enough to make it sticky.
• pat or roll the dough to approximately a 3cm thickness disc.
• either cut into wedges with a knife or if you prefer, you can cut out circles with a cookie cutter.
• place a couple of inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet, glaze the tops with the beaten egg and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

 Honey Oat Scones ingredients.

whisk all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

work the butter into the dry ingredients until you a large breadcrumb consistency.

blend together the honey and milk....

....and add it to the dry ingredients.

blend by hand to form a soft dough.

pat or roll into a 3cm thick disc.

using a large, floured knife, but into wedges.

place on the prepared cookie sheet and brush with the beaten egg.

bake until golden brown.

we were lucky enough to be given a jar of homemade peach jam that went tremendously with these scones.

Hot Cross Buns

In just two short weeks it will be that time of year again when, regardless of your religious beliefs behind the celebration, the more secular customs of fluffy bunny's and colourful eggs will undoubtedly find their way into your life, somewhere, somehow - even if it's only being bombarded with images of it all as you make your way around Walmart!!

I'm sure I'll be making some Easter cookies with you all very soon (after all I do have a new 'egg' cookie cutter which I haven't used yet), but as requested from my hubby, the first Easter treat had to be hot cross buns.  Since moving to Canada we have yet to find a hot cross bun in any bakery or grocery store that doesn't contain, in varying quantities, the colourful green and red candied fruit that seems to be the norm over here.  Coming from the UK where usually only raisins or currants are added, we just haven't quite been able to succumb to the chewy little additions.  This is a recipe that I've adapted from the wonderful Dinner With Julie website, and they're pretty close to what we've been used to growing up;  flavourful, sweet, a little denser but very yummy!!
So, these are especially for you honey.....enjoy :o)

Hot Cross Buns
makes 12 buns

Dough
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 large egg
1 cup raisins, currants or whichever dried fruit you like

Paste for crosses:
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp water

Glaze:
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp water

• place the yeast, a little of the sugar and the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer and let stand for about 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
• add all the remaining dough ingredients to the yeast mixture and using the dough hook on your mixer, blend everything on low to medium power for about 5-7 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic ball of dough.
• remove the hook from the dough and leaving it in the bowl, cover with a tea towel, place in a warm place and let it rise for approximately 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
• once risen, divide the dough into 12 balls and place them into a 9"x13" baking dish or onto a cookie sheet.  Depending on whether you prefer the 'pull-apart' buns or individual ones, space them from each other accordingly.
• cover again with a tea towel and set aside in a warm spot until doubled in size again - about 30-45 minutes.
• preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• meanwhile prepare the paste for the crosses;  in a small bowl combine the flour, sugar and water.
• place the paste into a small ziploc bag, cut off a small piece of the corner, and 'pipe' crosses onto each of the 12 buns.
• bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and well risen.
• combine the sugar and water in a small bowl for the glaze.
• while they're still warm in the pan, brush the tops with the prepared glaze and after a couple of minutes transfer them to a cooling rack.  The Easter celebrations have begun....

 Hot Cross Buns ingredients.

let the yeast, a little of the sugar and the milk stand for 5 minutes for the yeast to become active.

add all the other dough ingredients...

and mix for 5-7 minutes until you have...

a ball of smooth, elastic dough.

leave the dough in the bowl, covered for 1 hour (you'll see that the sides are nice and clean where everything has been kneaded well).

divide the dough into 12 equal portions and forming balls, place into a 9" x 13" baking pan.

after letting them rise for another 45 minutes or so, prepare the 'cross' paste ingredients.

put the paste into a small ziploc bag, clipping the end to form a small hole.

pipe crosses over the risen buns.

bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and then brush with the glaze mix.

(oh, and by the way, your kitchen will be smelling divine!!!)