Wednesday 31 October 2012

October Foodie PenPals!

This was my third month participating in the Foodie Pen Pals program created by Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean. I've had so much fun doing this! If you want to meet new people and try some new treats, sign up here.

This month I sent a package to Sarah. I received a really great package from Kathryn.

Kathryn is from Vancouver so my package was full of lots of yummy things from the Granville Island market. I loved the added touch of using a brochure from Granville Island as packing material. This was such a special package!



These apple chips were so delicious. They were the perfect snack while I was waiting for a birthday cake to bake!


My package also had masala chai spices in it. I can't wait to use these!


It wasn't all healthy though. Kathryn also sent a pumpkin shaped dark chocolate lollipop from Roger's Chocolates. I'm not usually a fan of plain dark chocolate but this was really good. If I'm ever in Vancouver I'm definitely going to Roger's Chocolates! The note she wrote me was on a little card from the chocolate shop, too. Kathryn really made this package scream Granville Island with every little detail :)


 And finally, the best part. Homemade peach jam! I love jam and the homemade stuff is always better than anything you buy in stores, but every time I think of making some of my own I decide it's just too much work (and I don't trust myself not to kill anybody). So Kathryn's homemade jam was a wonderful surprise!



Thanks for all the delicious goodies and the special way you packaged them, Kathryn! You're awesome :)


 FPP post Foodie Penpals

Want to know more about the program? Here's the info, straight from Lindsay:
  -On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treatsThe spending limit is $15The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

***If you’re in the UK, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!

Monday 29 October 2012

Halloween Treats: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes and Halloween Peanut Butter Cookies

Have I told you yet that Halloween is my favourite holiday? I love it. Carving pumpkins, making spooky decorations, baking scary treats. Best. Holiday. Ever. (Of course, come December I'll tell you Christmas is my favourite holiday.) So as a treat for you, I decided to make some tasty Halloween treats and post them here!

These Halloween cupcakes are made with wrappers from CupcakeEssentials and a recipe from Canadian baking icon Anna Olson. They have a rich chocolate flavour and are spiced with tasty fall flavours like cinnamon. Yum!

Since I love Halloween, one recipe wasn't enough. So I also made peanut butter cookies. These flaky shortbread-like cookies are flavoured with peanut butter. And if that wasn't good enough, they also have Reese's Pieces baked inside!


These super easy cookies are made in one bowl, they only have five ingredients, and they're egg free. They start with butter and peanut butter.


Once that's creamed, add in powdered sugar.

Then flour.


And the best ingredient, Reese's Pieces.


The last step is to roll the dough into 1" balls then flatten slightly before baking at 350F for 12-15 minutes.

Halloween Peanut Butter Cookies
1/2  c  butter
1/2  c  peanut butter
1/2  c  confectioners' sugar
2     c   flour
1/2 c   Reese's Pieces

Cream butter and peanut butter. Beat in powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla and melted peanut butter cups. Stir in flour. Mix in Reese's Pieces.
Form into one-inch balls and flatten slightly. Bake at 350F on parchment lined baking sheets for approximately 10 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown.

Happy Halloween!

Thursday 25 October 2012

Coming Soon

Here's a sneak peek at some upcoming blog posts.

Starting in November I'll be writing a series of three posts about sending care packages. There will be ideas for sending goodies to loved ones over the holiday season and for military care packages, some big batch recipes, desert safe recipes and creative package ideas. 

Sticking with the holiday/gifts-from-the-kitchen theme, I'll also be reviewing the book Desserts in Jars by Shaina Olmanson, talking about treat packaging and giving tips and recipes for holiday cookies swaps. In December, look for a special post about my cookie swap party, and a recipe for Christmas Morning Breakfast Cookies along with some other tips for breakfast on the big day.

And don't forget to stay tuned for some Halloween goodies and Foodie PenPal reveal day at the end of the month!

Thanks for reading!

Thursday 11 October 2012

Apple Shortbread with Caramel Drizzle

I love experimenting with cookies. I also love fall flavours, so coming up with these cookies made for a fun afternoon. Not only are they tasty, they're really easy.



They start with butter, apple jelly and powdered sugar.


Next, spices are added.

Then some flour. The dough is formed into a disk and chilled.
 

The chilled dough is rolled out and cut into rounds.


The rounds are topped with apple slices and baked.


Once baked, the cookies are drizzled with caramel made from melted caramels and cream.
 


  
Apple Shortbread with Caramel Drizzle
3/4  c  butter, softened
1/4  c  apple jelly (or apple butter or applesauce, whatever you have on hand will work)
1/2  c  confectioners' sugar 
1      t   vanilla
1/4  t  cinnamon
1/8  t  nutmeg
2     c  flour
24       Kraft caramels
1     T  half and half cream

Cream butter, apple jam and sugar. Beat in spices and vanilla. Stir in flour in two additions. Form dough into a disk and chill until firm (about 2 hours).
Roll dough out to 1/8" thick. Cut into rounds about the size of an apple. Top each cookie with a thinly sliced round of apple. Bake at 350F on parchment lined sheets for about 15 minutes or until cookies are golden.
Melt caramels and cream in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Stir smooth. Drizzle onto baked cookies.

Saturday 6 October 2012

Perfect for Fall...Pumpkin Spice Shortbread with Chopped Pecans

I love Fall. It's absolutely my favourite time of year. The air is crisp, everything smells better, the leaves turn beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. Yes, I know it gets chilly, but who wants to turn the oven on when it's eighty degrees outside? So in honour of my favourite time of year and the best baking weather you could ask for, here's a recipe for shortbread cookies made with a bit of pumpkin and aromatic spices, and rolled in chopped pecans.

First cream butter, pumpkin and sugar.



Then add spices and vanilla.


Add flour.


After the dough chills a bit, form it into balls and garnish with chopped nuts.

Bake and enjoy!



Pumpkin Spice Shortbread with Chopped Pecans 
2/3  c  butter, softened
1/3  c  pumpkin puree
1/2  t   vanilla
1/2  c  confectioners sugar
1/4  t  cinnamon
1/8  t  nutmeg
1/8  t  all spice

pinch of ginger
2      c  flour

            chopped pecans, for garnish

Cream butter, pumpkin puree and sugar. Beat in vanilla and spices. Add flour in two additions, mixing gently. Do not over mix or your cookies will be tough.
Chill the dough briefly (30 to 60 minutes should do it). Roll dough into 1 inch balls and garnish with chopped pecans (you can either sprinkle a few on top of each ball if you don't like your cookies super nutty, or roll the ball in the nuts to cover completely).
Bake at 350F on parchment lined baking sheets for 15-20 minutes or until the bottoms start to turn golden brown.

Tuesday 2 October 2012

September Foodie PenPals!


Each month Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean  pairs up foodies who sign up to exchange little packages of goodies. This was my second month participating. I received an amazing box from Jill.



Two of my favourite things in this package were Jill's sweet handwritten note and a recipe for vegetarian sausage. I'm so excited to try it!






Also in the package were:
Hemp Hearts
Sea Salt Roasted Almonds - so good I don't think I'll ever be able to eat a plain old almond again
Gluten Free Pretzels - yum, yum, yum, yum!
Pomegranate Mint Gum - at first I thought this might be a bit weird, but it's actually really good. At first you get a deliciously fruity taste that turns into a refreshingly minty gum. Tasty!
Abba Zaba Bars - that's right, I said bars. I know there's only one in the picture, but there were actually two in the box. If you send me something that combines taffy and peanut butter you should expect that some won't make it to the photo shoot :)


Thanks, Jill! Your package was so perfect I'd swear you know me :)


Want to know more about Foodie Pen Pals? Here are the basics, straight from Lindsay herself:
-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 

-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.