Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps

A few years ago I fell in love with a luxury cracker called the "Raincoast Crisp" by Lesley Stowe. Lesley (a Vancouver gal) has come up with brilliant flavours including: Cranberry Hazelnut, Fig and Olive, Salty Date and Almond... I have been known to eat a whole sleeve in one sitting. Mmm.

So, whats the problem? Well.. The problem is, that they are "luxury" - They cost 7-8 dollars for approximately two crackers (okay, per box).. Outrageous - I refuse to pay this price for even the most delicious of crackers.

This is where my mum comes in... She has perfected (with ease) a raincoast knock-off - and they are awesome!

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp mollasses
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Add the buttermilk, brown sugar and mollasses and stir a few strokes.

Add the raisins, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sesames seeds, flax seeds and rosemary and stir until just blended.

Pour the batter into two 4 by 8 loaf pans that have been sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake for about 45 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.
** You can use four little loaf pans and decrease the baking time to 30 minutes or so.**

The cooler it is the easier it is to slice really thin. You can even leave it in the fridge or freezer briefly and then slice.

Slice the loaves as thin as possible and place the slice in a single layer on an un-greased cookie sheet.

Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake them for 15 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 10 minutes.

Voila!

Cupcake Time

My wonderful friend Lauren inspired this post. Lauren is one of those girls that walks into a room and lights it up. She is gorgeous, smart, funny, laughs at all of your (my) jokes and is just all around charming. However, this December 28th she is taking it to a whole new level. She is MAKING a WEDDING CAKE for her best friend. Can you say Nobel Prize? Order of Canada? Saint-hood? uuhh huh!

Anyways, we were chatting about this buttercream and thought it was time to do a good old frosting post.

Martha Stewart paved my way with this icing. It works everytime and is a showstopper if you are willing to use a pastry piping bag to decorate.

1 1/4 cups of sugar

5 large egg whites

2 cups of butter (4 sticks)

1 tsp vanilla extract (the real stuff)

Food colouring (if you desire)

1) Place sugar and egg in a heat-proof bowl (if you have a double-boiler - this is the time to use it). Set bowl over pan of simmering water and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch. Test mixture, by rubbing between your fingers - you shouldn't feel any sugar granules.

2) Transfer bowl off of heat and beat with mixer until it has cooled completely and it forms stiff/glossy peaks (Martha says this takes 10 miunutes - I say more like 20)

3) Add room temperature butter - one peice at a time. Have faith during this part of the frosting experience, it looks like a complete failure until the end. Keep beating and adding butter slowly. Add vanilla once all butter has been added.

4) Use a spatula and mix by hand to eliminate air pockets.

NOTE: Use ROOM TEMPERATURE butter. If you rush this and use it when it is too cool, it will ruin the consistency of your frosting.

SKOR Oatmeal Cookies

My dad is a huge fan of peanut brittle and toffee-like treats. These cookies combine a crunch and sweetness that I am sure he would appreciate - I will have to make him a batch over Christmas.

They are gluten-free but they don’t have any replacement flours or xanthan gum. Sometimes I think recipes that don’t try to substitute the “real thing” for something else are best. Meatless burgers, flourless cake, and dairy-free ice cream will never be as good as the real thing.

Adding chunks of full SKOR chocolate bar’s to desserts has never led me astray. It’s the ultimate in gluttony, but I figure if you are going to indulge in dessert then it may as well be delicious.

1/3 cup salted butter (melted and set aside)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats


½ cup of ground oats (grind in a food processor)

1/2 cup granulated sugar


1/4 cup brown sugar 


1/8 tsp sea salt


1 tsp vanilla extract


1 egg


2 SKOR bars broken into small chunks

1) Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly.

2) Place oats (whole and ground) in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in both sugars and the salt and blend to break up any lumps.

3) In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vanilla extract, and egg.

4) Stir this egg mixture into the oat mixture and add chocolate chips or raisins (if used), mixing with your hands or a large wooden spoon to work in the ingredients.

5) Chill the dough about 30 minutes.

6) Preheat oven to 350ºF.

7) Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

8) Bake for 8-12 minutes, until edges are slightly browned.

ENJOY!