Cinnamon and Pecan Twist Bread

Today's recipe is insanely long but so worth every step and so very yummy. It's a rainy day here what's it like at your Asylum?

Cinnamon and Pecan Twist Bread
Food Network UK
Ingredients For the Dough:
13½ oz (380g) plain flour
2 oz (60g) caster sugar
1 oz (25g) baking powder
Pinch of salt
2½ oz (70g) butter
2 eggs
0.3 pt (190 ml) milk

For the Filling:
3 oz (85g) plain flour
1¾ oz (50g) dark brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1½ oz (40g) butter, soft
3½ oz (100g) pecans, broken pieces
2 egg whites

For the Egg Wash:
1 whole egg

For the Apricot Glaze:
10½ oz (300g) apricot jam
5¼ oz (150g) water

For the Icing:
8¾ oz (250g) icing sugar, sifted
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp butter, melted
Hot water, added a tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency

Method

1) For the filling mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice and butter in a bowl. Add the egg whites a little at a time. Whisk well until you have a smooth creamy paste and set aside.
2) Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Rub in the butter until you have a soft crumb texture. Whisk the egg and milk together and pour slowly into the dry ingredients, mixing all the time. Your dough should be smooth, light and very soft. Heavily flour your work surface and tip the dough onto it. Sprinkle with a little more flour and very gently knead for a few seconds, pulling the edges of the dough towards you, working in a circular motion until you have a neat ball of soft dough. You can cut this in two or make one large loaf. Roll out your dough to approx 25cm square with a rolling pin. Spread the filling over the dough with a palette knife, leaving one inch untouched along the longest right hand edge. Sprinkle the pecans all over the filling.
3) Starting away from the clean one inch, roll up the log into a swiss roll. Beat your egg for the egg wash and brush your clean edge. Secure the roll closed with the egg wash strip underneath the roll. Place the roll on one large lined baking sheet each and with a large knife, cut through the centre of the roll vertically, leaving one inch at the top still adjoined.
4) Carefully taking one half at a time, twist over to form a plait, working all the way down to the bottom. Secure the end by pressing lightly with your fingers and brush all over with the egg wash. Bake for 30 minutes at 190 degrees.
5) Meanwhile make the apricot glaze by melting together the jam and water in a pan over a gentle heat. Whisk to form a smooth liquid and strain this through a sieve, leave to one side.
6) Make the frosting by whisking together the sifted icing sugar, melted butter, lemon zest and several tablespoons of hot water until you have the desired consistency. Leave to one side.
7) Once the bread has come out of the oven, brush over immediately with the glaze and leave to cool. Once the bread is cool (not before) drizzle the icing all over the loaf until evenly covered.
8) Serve right away with a big mug of tea.

Peanut Butter Pecan Pie

Ahhhh Saturday.  Cold Saturday lol.  Hope things are warm and cozy at your Asylum's.  Ok, I'm pretty sure those of us that put on the Thanksgiving meal have already started purchasing our long list of items.  I certainly have and so being in the Holiday spirit I am going to share one of the Resident's absolute favorites!  So good.  Geez, I'm gaining weight just talking about this stuff.  It's gonna be a long Holiday season LOL.  Really appreciate you guys, hope the recipe does you well.

We haven't had a Holiday meal without this since I stumbled on it in a Family Circle Magazine November '07.  Mmmmmmmm

Peanut Butter Pecan Pie

1 unbaked pie crust for a 9" pie

3/4 Cup light corn syrup

12/ Cup creamy peanut butter

3 eggs

3/4 Cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 Cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/2 Cup coarsely chopped peanuts

1.  Heat oven to 350°.

2.  Fit pastry into pie plate.  Decoratively flute edge.  Set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk corn syrup, peanut butter and eggs until smooth.  Whisk in granulated sugar and vanilla.  Then stir in pecans and peanuts.  Pour into crust.  

4.  Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until browned and center is set.  Cool completely on a wire rack at room temperature.  Slice and serve.

Let the Holidays commence!  :D

Cranberry Tea Cookies

So I have been talking to Saucy about how I would some day like to open my own tea shop.  I would love to have a place to share a cuppa and maybe even have little girls birthday tea parties!  So that is now added to my 10 year bucket list (am I truly crazier than I thought).  By then kids will be graduated and hubs will hopefully be out of the military.  So I have been doing a lot of research and looking for recipes that I could serve in a tea shop.  I found this one and remembered making it with my Aunt when I was little (probably where my tea obsession began).  So thank you Aunt Gladys for showing me the things girls should have been into instead of the mud and overalls I was...


Cranberry Tea Cookies
Makes 35-40 Cookies


2-4 oz sticks salted butter at room temperature (8 oz total)
1/2 cup sugar
2 T milk or cream
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 c chopped pecans
3/4 c chopped dried cranberries
1/4 c extra sugar

Cream butter and sugar til fluffy. Add milk and vanilla - mix. Add flour and salt - mix well.  It might seem crumbly at this point but if you keep blending it will come together eventually.  Add the cranberries and pecans.


Roll into 2 logs about 8 x 1 1/2".  Wrap and chill for 2 hours in the fridge.  I've also put them in the freezer for 30-60 minutes and this works the same way.  You just want it to be firm enough to cut without misshaping the round cookie.


Slice cookies about 1/4" thick.  Roll edges of cookie in sugar (if you want.  But I highly recommend!)

German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

No, these are not healthy at all! They go against all the new healthy habits and thoughts I have for myself! But, I could not resist sharing these with you. We had them last year for Christmas! I hope your Asylum's are running smoothly this week!

German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

3 cups pecan halves
1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 & 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 large eggs
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Arrange pecans in a single layer of a shallow baking pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Stir halfway through baking.

Line bottom and sides of a 9"x 13" baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on two short sides. Grease foil.

Whisk together flour, confectioners' sugar, and cocoa. Add cold butter, and combine with a pastry blender* until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture into bottom and about 3/4-inch up sides of prepared pan.

Bake crust for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over crust. Allow to cool on a wire rack at least 30 minutes.

Place eggs in a large mixing bowl, and beat lightly. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and melted butter. Whisk together until smooth. Stir in coconut and pecans. Pour evenly over partially baked crust.

Bake 28-34 minutes, or until edges are golden and filling has set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Then, refrigerate for an hour.

Using foil overhang, lift bars from pan and place on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut into bars.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes!

Time for more fall recipes!  The other day, on Monday date day, my hubs took me to DQ for lunch and we shared an Apple Pie Blizzard.  It was amazing!  I am going to have to figure out a home version. It got me thinking of fall and craving some caramel apples.  So I went through my recipe stash and found this.  The hardest part is peeling all those caramels, but so worth it.




Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Quick Cooking 2001




1pkg (18 1/4 oz) spice or carrot cake mix
2 cups chopped peeled tart apples
20 caramels (I like the Werther's)
3 TBSP milk
1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted (chopped peanuts work too)
12 popsicle sticks (optional)




Prepare cake batter according to package directions, fold in apples. Fill 12 greased or paper-lined jumbo muffin cups 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes our clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to a wire rack to cool completely.  In a saucepan, cook the caramels and milk over low heat until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.  Sprinkle with pecans/peanuts.  Insert a wooden stick into the center of each cupcake.




You can also omit the popsicle sticks and make regular sized cupcakes.