Cherry Squares

I got this recipe more than 25 years ago from a sweet elderly neighbor and it has become a yearly must for our family; a favorite of one of our kids. The texture is somewhat like a butter tart and I cut the pieces quite small, so it' s like eating a little candy bar.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¼ cups brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• ½ cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup maraschino cherries

Method:

1. With pastry blender, cut butter into flour and brown sugar until well mixed. It will be moist and crumbly.
2. Press into ungreased 9x13 inch pan. (one that has a lid, makes it easy for storage later)
3. Bake at 350° F for about 12 min.
4. In the meantime, beat eggs slightly, add combined sugar, flour and baking powder,
   then the rest of the ingredients.
5. Spread over baked layer.
6. Return to oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown.

Icing:

• 2 cups icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons soft butter or margarine
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 4 – 6 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice

1. Beat together in small bowl to make a smooth spreadable frosting. 
2. Spread over cooled cake. 
3. Cut into 36 - 48 squares. (a wet knife helps) I cut them up before freezing and then I can lift out what I need for a cookie platter.

Cover with lid or slip into plastic bag and freeze.

Pfeffernuesse (Peppernuts)

Christmas is around the corner and it's time to be thinking of making Pfeffernuese. This is a great recipe to make with a friend.  It takes half the time and is twice the fun.

There's a bit of history to these tiny spiced cookies.

 I remember being told that Mennonite grandmothers used to keep a few peppernuts in their purses during church services. When the children would become a bit noisy or restless, they would pop one of these hard nuggets into their mouths and the necessity of sucking the hard cookie and the surprising spiciness would distract the child and silence was achieved.

There are many recipes for Peffernuesse but this is my favourite.  I make them at the beginning of November so they have time to ripen.

They are always number one on the list of Christmas favourites at our house and are a bit addictive.

It's a big recipe and I have often only made half of it.  However if you make the whole recipe, you can pack the Pfeffernuesse in pretty Christmas tins to give as gifts.

Here is the recipe I use - it is easily halved if the whole amount is intimidating.
Be sure to read the recipe through before starting.

• 4 cups Roger's Golden syrup (this is different than corn syrup)
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 cups margarine or butter
• 2 cups milk

1. Combine the above ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Let mixture cool completely before continuing.

• 2 beaten eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tsp. peppermint extract (use the clear extract not the green tinted one)

1. Beat eggs in a small bowl and add extracts. Set aside.

• 12- 14 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground star anise (not anise seed)
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Place 7 cups flour in a large mixer bowl.
2. Add spices and baking powder and stir until completely blended with flour.
3. Add syrup mixture to the flour, stirring well until blended.
4. Add beaten egg mixture and continue to stir until blended.
5. Continue to add flour until dough thickens but remains sticky. You will still be able to stir it with a wooden spoon however it will take a bit of strength.The amount of flour may vary depending on your flour and the amount of humidity. Please note that the dough will harden considerably once it has been refrigerated so be careful not to add too much flour.
6. Refrigerate dough overnight or for several days.
7. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper. These cookies will stick to the pan however if you use parchment paper, they will just slide right off and you can reuse the paper.
8. Using a tablespoon (from your cutlery drawer), spoon out a good handful of the dough.
9. Sprinkle a little flour on your counter and roll the dough into a long rope about the thickness of your ring finger.
10. Using a bench scraper or pizza cutter, cut the rope into 1/2 inch pieces and place on your prepared pans. (I get 99 cookies on each large cookie sheet)
11. Bake at 350º F  for about 15 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown. This is where having a convection oven comes in handy as you can bake 2 or 3 cookie sheets at a time.
12. Remove from pan and cool. Store in ice cream pails in a cool place.
13. The Pfeffernuesse will keep for a long time - at least 6 months - but only if you hide them..

Rhubarb Bar ~ Flash Back Friday

The last time I posted this Rhubarb Bar in 2010 these little girls were not even born.  Now they are well on their way to making it on their own.  This recipe is also in our first cookbook Mennonite Girls Can Cook available here and also on Amazon.    This is our family spring favorite recipe.

Crust

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup shortening  (or use all butter)
• 2 egg yolks
• milk to make 2/3 cup

Filling

• 7 cups finely chopped rhubarb
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup minute tapioca
• 2 egg whites

Icing

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons warm water

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt, cut in the butter and shortening until the crumbs are the size of oatmeal. You can use your food processor for this too. Pulse, don't run at full speed.
2. Put the egg yolks in a measuring cup and add enough milk to make 2/3 cup.
3. Slowly add to the flour mixture and pulse with the food processor until it begins to come together or mix in with your fork.
4. Turn the pastry onto the counter and knead it into a ball, just until it comes together.
5. Wrap in a plastic wrap, shaping it into a flat rectangular disk.
6. Refrigerate.
7. Chop rhubarb into about 1/2 inch square pieces.
8. Add the sugar and tapioca and set aside.
9. Take the dough from the refrigerator and divide in half.
10. Roll each piece out thin enough for a 10 X 15" pan or use the same amount of dough for a 9 X 13" pan plus a 5 X 7" pan.
11. This dough is rolled very thin. Use a bench scraper to carefully lift the dough.
12. Don't be afraid to add a bit of flour if you need to.
13. Once you have the rhubarb covering the first piece of dough, cover with the second piece of dough.. . and crimp the edges together.
14. Whip the egg whites until they just begin to stiffen.
15. Use your hands to spread the egg whites over the pastry.
16. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes. . or until golden brown.
17. While the bar is still warm, combine icing ingredients and drizzle over top.

Carrot Potato Bake

In this dish, carrots and potatoes are married together in perfect harmony under a crunchy crust.

Perfect served with Mushroom Stuffed Meatloaf or Salisbury Steak. 

• 6-8 potatoes 
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 - 2 teaspoons salt
• dash pepper
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine
• 1 cup soft bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. Seasoned salt 
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1.      Heat oven to 350°.  Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  
2.      Peel and shred into cold water, enough potatoes to make 6 cups. Drain thoroughly and pat dry with paper towel.
3.      In large bowl, combine potatoes, carrots, onions, cream, salt and pepper.  
4.      Spoon into prepared dish.  
5.      Melt butter; stir in bread crumbs, seasoned salt and parsley. 
6.      Sprinkle over potato mixture.  
7.      Bake at 350° F for 50-60 minutes or until vegetables are tender

Beef Stir Fry

Stir Fry is a good dish to make when you have things in your fridge like a half a pepper, a few mushrooms and the end of a zucchini .

When we buy a whole beef tenderloin to cut into steaks, I save the narrow ends for this stir fry.

This recipe can also be used for a pork stir fry.

For the Marinade:

• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Spice

Stir fry ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil divided 
• sliced mushrooms
• sliced onions
• red or yellow pepper strips
• zucchini, cut into strips (discard the soft centre)

Sauce ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• reserved marinade
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1-2 tablespoons cold orange juice

Method:

1. Marinate meat for at least an hour - not more than 3 hours
2. Drain meat, reserving the marinade, and saute' in 1 tablespoon hot olive oil just until meat is browned.
3. Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.
4. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan.
5. Add onions and mushrooms and peppers and stir fry until vegetables are almost tender.
6. Add zucchini strips and meat.
7. Add Hoisin sauce, balsamic vinegar and orange juice and as much of the marinade as needed to make the amount of sauce you prefer.
8. Cover and let cook for 2 or 3 minutes.
9. Mix 2 teaspoons cornstarch with a little more cold orange juice and stir into the sauce in the pan. Cook until sauce thickens. If needed, you can add more cornstarch and juice to thicken it to your liking.
10. Serve immediately over rice or thin noodles.

Tapioca Dream Pudding

Tapioca pudding takes me back to eighth grade Home Ec, one of the first things we learned to cook. More recently, my sister mentioned making it for friends for whom it is a favorite dessert. I just had to go back to it. The lightness in this recipe comes from beating the egg white separately and adding it at the end.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, separated
• 4 tablespoons sugar, separated
• pinch salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons Minit Tapioca
• 3/4 teaspoons vanilla 

Method:

1. In a 4 cup glass bowl, beat egg white, adding in 1 tablespoon sugar as it gets foamy.
2. Beat until stiff peaks form.
3. In saucepan, whisk egg yolk and 3 tablespoon sugar. Add salt and gradually stir in milk and then tapioca. Let sit 5 minutes.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat.
5. Immediately, with hand mixer on low speed, slowly add hot tapioca mixture into beaten egg white OR fold beaten egg whites into hot tapioca pudding with spatula. Add vanilla. 
6. Stir after 20 minutes and scoop into dessert bowls. Serve warm or chilled, plain or with fruit. Yields 3 - 4 small servings

Note- naturally gluten free