sugar

#BrunchWeek: Biscuit Bar with Flavored Sugars

~ lk529 ~ 12 Comments

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Happy Friday, everyone!

While there’s one more day left of #BrunchWeek, today’s my last posting of the event. I hope you’ve enjoyed all of our brunch recipes and are ready for celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend.

I don’t think #BrunchWeek could be complete without biscuits. At least not a good southern brunch anyway.

In 2015 I made Cheddar Biscuits for breakfast sandwiches during #BrunchWeek, so it was time to go in a sweeter direction.

A biscuit bar with flavored sugars.

If you’re having a brunch party, a biscuit bar is the perfect way to go. You can use any biscuit recipe you like! Offer some classic biscuits, sweet biscuits, and savory biscuits. Offer honey, softened butter, and jams. And offer flavored sugars. (Those sugars can also be turned into party favors!)

Flavored Sugars for a Biscuit Bar for #BrunchWeek from Sew You Think You Can Cook

For my first foray into flavored sugar making I went with Lavender, Blood Orange, and for a little something different, Chile Lime.

These sugars are great on more than just buttered biscuits. They’re lovely on English muffins and French toast.

I actually used the chili lime sugar the last time I made my favorite black bean and corn salsa for tacos in place of agave.

Biscuits

Ingredients:

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In a food processor fitted with the dough blade, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Pulse. Add in the cold butter and pulse until the mixture looks like crumbs. Add in the milk and mix until just combined.
  3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Roll to 1″ thickness. Cut out biscuits using a biscuit cutter and place on a silicone mat lined cookie sheet.
  4. Bake 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden.

*This recipe is adapted from Damaris at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/damaris-phillips/spiced-biscuits*

Lavender Sugar

Ingredients:

Steps:

  1. Place sugar and lavender in a small food processor and pulse.
  2. Store in an air tight container.

*This recipe is adapted from Rita at http://www.food.com/recipe/lavender-sugar-with-vanilla-101039*

Blood Orange Sugar

Ingredients:

Steps:

  1. Place sugar and orange zest in a small food processor and pulse.
  2. Spread sugar onto a rimmed baking sheet and let dry.
  3. Store in an air tight container.

*This recipe is adapted from Gabrielle at https://www.designmom.com/diy-flavored-sugar-valentines/*

Chile Lime Sugar

Ingredients:

Steps:

  1. Place ingredients in a small food processor and pulse.
  2. Spread sugar onto a rimmed baking sheet and let dry.
  3. Store in an air tight container.

*This recipe is adapted from Sommer at http://www.aspicyperspective.com/flavored-sugar-recipes/2/*

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway and be sure to check out these other great brunch recipes:

BW 2017 logo FINAL

BrunchWeek Beverages:

Blackberry Mint Bellinis from Sweet Beginnings
Cardamom Rose Cocktail from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Lemon & Blueberry Mocktail from Girl Abroad
Mango Pina Colada from The Spiffy Cookie
Sparkling Mojito Lime Rickies from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures

BrunchWeek Egg Dishes:

Cheesy Asparagus Bacon Quiche from The Nifty Foodie
Creamed Asparagus Omelet from Wholistic Woman
Eggs in Hell from kimchi MOM
Asparagus and Cheddar Frittata from My Catholic Kitchen
Spring Veggie Quiche from A Day in the Life on the Farm

BrunchWeek Breads, Grains and Pastries:

Apple Cheddar Cream Cheese Danish from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
Apple Cinnamon Bread from It Bakes Me Happy
Gluten Free Apple Waffles from Gluten Free Crumbley
Banana Bread Buttermilk Pancakes from Love and Confections
Blackberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls from Pink Cake Plate
Brown Sugar Poptarts from Big Bear’s Wife
Creme Brulee French Toast from The Barbee Housewife
Cherry Almond Coffee Cake from The Chef Next Door
Cheddar Dinner Rolls from Family Around the Table
Cinnamon Apple Danish from Nik Snacks
Garlic and Herb Pull Apart Bread from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake from Books n’ Cooks
Mocha Eclairs from The Redhead Baker
Sweet Apple Hand Pies with Cheddar Shortcrust from An Edible Mosaic

BrunchWeek Main Dishes:

Country Ham Biscuits with Peach Mustard from Palatable Pastime
Ham, Apple and Cheddar Melts from Cookaholic Wife
Ham, Egg, and Asparagus Breakfast Pizza Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
Shaved Asparagus, Herb Cream Cheese, and Smoked Salmon Pizza from Sarcastic Cooking
Yumbo Sliders from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

BrunchWeek Fruits, Vegetables and Sides:

Rhubarb Crunch from Cooking with Carlee
Biscuit Bar with Flavored Sugars from Sew You Think You Can Cook
Low-Fat Apple Coffee Cake from Hardly A Goddess

Disclaimer: Thank you to #BrunchWeek Sponsors: Red Star Yeast, Dixie Crystals, Cabot Cheese, Nielsen-Massey, Rainier Fruit, and Michigan Asparagus for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek recipes. All opinions are my own. The #BrunchWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Six winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. The #BrunchWeek Bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or any other social channel mentioned in the #Brunchweek posts or entry.

Cracked Sugar Cookies

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

I don’t know how it happened, but my little man will be ONE this week!

In introducing foods I was careful to avoid too much sugar and overly processed, salty foods. Those restrictions were laxed the closer he kept getting to one.

At 10 1/2 months I decided it might be a good idea to introduce him to sweets prior to the big day. The last thing we need is for the birthday boy to get sick from his cake. (If he even eats any of it!)

We started with pancakes (no syrup). A huge hit.

cracked sugar cookiesI then decided to make cookies! He really liked these cookies! In fact, after having a taste, I couldn’t go grab myself a cookie without him practically begging for a bite. And who can blame him? These cracked sugar cookies should come with a warning label – they are addicting!! They’re almost-thin, chewy cookies with a touch of salt that keeps you coming back for “just one more.”

This recipe makes 24-30 cookies.

Cracked Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 C vegetable shortening, at room temperature
  • 1 C sugar, plus more for rolling
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 C flour
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg and beat until combined. Mix in the vanilla extract, flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt until a stiff dough is formed.
  3. Roll dough into balls, about the size of a golf ball. Roll in sugar and place on a baking sheet.
  4. Bake 9-11 minutes, until just golden. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

*This recipe is adapted from Nicole at http://www.heatovento350.com/2013/09/cracked-sugar-cookies.html*

Cracked Sugar Cookies | Sew You Think You Can Cook

CIC: Basil & Lemon

~ lk529 ~ 9 Comments

CIC-header
We’re setting our thoughts and minds on spring and summer with today’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge. When it was announced that Lemon and Basil were to be February’s ingredients my first thought went to muffins.
Lemon and Basil is a pretty classic combination – perfect for seafood, chicken, and pastas. I wanted to try going in a different direction by baking!
I was scrambling to get this recipe made and photographed. With the winter storms that have been blowing by I didn’t get a chance to get to the grocery store until Wednesday night. Hey, at least I’m not in the Northeast! First thing Thursday morning these babies were baked. Happily the sun was shining and there was a lot of light being reflected off of the white snow. I did have to take down the beach towels that are duct taped to the sliding glass door. Yes, folks, beach towels have been severely downgraded now that we live in Ohio! They now protect against drafty doors and windows, act as a resting place for snowy wet boots, and are used to protect the carpet underneath my son’s booster seat when he’s eating. Okay, that last use might be an upgrade. 😉
These muffins are bright and help you forget about the negative temperatures outside. They make you want to lie down on those beach towels amongst green grass and flowers reading a good book.
There is a lemon sugar glaze that gets poured over the muffins after pulling them out of the oven – I didn’t use all of the glaze and even used more than was probably necessary. I also found these muffins to be a little too eggy for my personal preference – next time I’ll see if it would work with just 2 eggs.
This recipe makes 12 muffins.
Lemon Basil Muffins
Ingredients:
  • 1 stick butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/4 C sugar, divided use
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 C sour cream
  • zest 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
  • 1 C flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • juice of 1 large lemon
Steps:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the butter and 3/4 C sugar.
  3. Add in the eggs until combined. Add the sour cream, lemon zest, and basil. When incorporated add the flour and baking powder. Mix until a consistent batter is achieved.
  4. Pour batter into 12 lined muffin cups. Bake 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly.
  5. Whisk together remaining sugar with the lemon juice. Spoon lemon-sugar mixture over top the muffins while hot. Allow to cool in the muffin tin 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
*This recipe is adapted from Lesa at http://www.edesiasnotebook.com/2011/07/lemon-basil-muffins.html*
Lemon Basil Muffins | Sew You Think You Can Cook
To see the other bloggers who participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge click on the link below.

Sugar and Spiced Nuts

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

Have you ever been to a carnival or amusement park and had the purple paper cone filled with candied nuts? For my husband, it’s a not-to-be-missed treat.

We spent our first anniversary at Universal Studios, where I conquered my fear of rollercoasters. I have a slight obsession with Harry Potter and was so excited to step into Hogwarts and shop the streets of Hogsmeade. I highly recommend a trip… or two! (We went again the following year for my birthday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Omfiz0c1I0) I could go fly with Harry on The Forbidden Journey all day. Stuart’s favorite ride is still The Incredible Hulk.

Image

Sorry, I got a little carried away there. Before we left the park on our last day, Stuart was determined to find these magical candied almonds. We finally found them in Seuss Landing.

This recipe for sugar and spiced nuts isn’t an exact replica, but they are delicious. Like Stuart said, “It’s like Christmas in my mouth!”

Image

Sugar and Spiced Nuts

Ingredients:

  • 1 C almonds
  • 1 C walnuts
  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. In a bowl, combine sugar, salt, and spices.
  2. In a separate bowl whisk together egg white, 1 tbsp water, and vanilla until it foams.
  3. Toss nuts in the egg white mixture. Strain nuts and toss in the sugar mixture. (I forgot to strain the nuts, they still turned out great, but instead of individual nuts they turned out more like balls of candied nuts.)
  4. Spread nuts on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Toss and roast another 15 minutes.

*This recipe is modified from Kristi at http://www.30poundsofapples.com/2012/09/sugar-n-spiced-pecans/*

Image

And here’s a bonus recipe idea – I reserved 1/8 C of the sugar and we sprinkled it over buttered bagels before putting them in the toaster oven.

Copy Cat: Almond Joy

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

After this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge, I had a lot of coconut in my house that needed to go! I decided to make Stuart’s favorite candy – Almond Joys. I thought it could be fun for him to take to the office, but this recipe didn’t make as many candy bars as I thought it would! I didn’t have enough coconut to make two batches either.

I ran into another small problem – apparently I’m a little challenged when it comes to dipping the bars into melted chocolate. They were not pretty. And definitely not food photography worthy. I am very pleased with the beautiful bars I did create by simply drizzling the chocolate over top the candy.

Copy Cat: Almond Joy

Ingredients:

  • half of 14oz can sweetened condensed milk (7oz)
  • 2 C powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • 2 1/2 C sweetened shredded coconut
  • whole salted almonds
  • 1 lb chocolate, melted

Steps:

  1. Stir together condensed milk and sugar until smooth – I found this to be best done by adding in the sugar in installments.
  2. Mix in vanilla and salt.
  3. Add in coconut – do this in one batch.
  4. Spread coconut onto a greased foil lined tray. Press into desired candy bar thickness. Gently score the coconut, outlining rectangles, with a knife and place two almonds onto each bar, if desired. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour.
  5. Cut candy bars along your previously suggested lines. Coat candy bars in melted chocolate. (Or give up on that and drizzle them like I did!)

*This recipe is adapted from Elizabeth at http://www.ohnuts.com/blog/almond-coconut-candy-bars-recipe/*

Image

recreatedbysrc