Outlander: Jam Tarts

Happy Holidays! 

Christmas is here and I decided that this holiday season needed some delicious Jam Tarts and boy was I RIGHT!

This Outlander treat called for 1/2 Short Crust Pastry recipe and 1/2 cup of Fraser Strawberry Jam.

To start set the oven to 375 degrees and prepare your muffin tin. For the dough, mix together flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor. Pulse until you have mostly pea sized lumps. Then whisk together ice water, egg yolk and lemon juice. Add to the bowl and pulse a few more times. I eventually had to mix a little more thoroughly by hand.

Sprinkle some flour on your counter and knead the dough into a ball. Flatten with a rolling pin and roll to about 1/8 inch thick. Use a 4 inch "cookie cutter" to cut out 12 rounds. If you don't have one, I used a large mason jar. Press the pastry into each muffin tin cup and poke the bottoms three or four times with a fork. Bake for about 5 mins. Don't worry, you will be baking the pastry a bit more once the jam is added. 

The tasty Fraser jam is at the back of the Outlander Cookbook, detailing how to make and can preserves. For this strawberry jam, you will need Granny Smith apples, strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Start by cutting the apples into 1/2 inch cubes and the strawberries into halves or quarters. 

In a pot of medium heat stir the fruit and lemon juice together. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir constantly to avoid any scorching. Next stir in the sugar until it's dissolved. The jam needs to reach about 212 degrees which takes about 15 to 25 minutes. 

It was kinda fun making a fruit compote, I always see chefs turn to this 'filling' solution on the Food Network and they make it look effortless. Turns out it is pretty easy and quick to create. I'll definitely have to make it again. My mom kept wanting to add in a thickener and I had to convince her that I needed to follow Theresa Carle-Sanders recipe exactly. It was pretty funny!

Hindsight, I should have cut the apples a bit smaller but their size did not take away from the old-fashioned compote-style jam. It was just a bit chunkier and there's nothing wrong with that he he! 

Now you're ready to create your tarts. Fill each cup with about 1 teaspoons of jam (I was a bit heavy handed) and return them to the oven. Bake until the jam bubbles and the pastry is golden. This took about 15 minutes. 

Gently remove the tarts from the muffin tin and set on a cooling rack. The recipe says to let them cool completely and they were right LOL! I didn't want to wait and tried to eat one a bit early. I topped a few tarts with a strawberry slice and plated them. Voila! Outlander Jam Tarts! Thanks Theresa! 

These lovely creations were both savory and sweet. I couldn't get enough and my whole family really enjoyed them. Craig described these as tasting like the original strawberry pop tarts of his youth and he's not wrong!

Thanks for readin!

Cheers, Bun

Bunny Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Happy Friday!! 

To celebrate a bit of spring showing through all of the rain, I made bunny shaped vanilla sugar cookies. My sister-in-law gave me this little kit for Christmas! It came with mix, marshmallows and a cookie cutter. 

I simply added an egg and some butter, mixed until the it turned to dough. I covered it in saran-wrap and put the dough in the fridge for about an hour.

I preheated the oven to 350 and began rolling out my dough on a cookie sheet using plenty of flour. I cut out little bunnies and arranged them on the tray to bake for about 10 mins. *check on them to make sure they are a little brown on the edges but be careful not to leave them in for too long. A couple of my bunnies didn't make it...they were cut a bit too thin LOL!  For added awesomeness I sprinkled a few of the bunnies! I do love my sprinkles! 

After baked and still warm, add the marshmallows for little cute bunny tails. Voila! Vanilla Sugar Cookies ready to serve. Super adorable and tasty! 

 I thought that Craig might like them with some chocolate so I melted a half cup of dark chocolate chips and drizzled them on top. He was thrilled he he! Thank you Amy for this wonderful gift, perfect for a Cake Bunny!

Thanks for readin!! xoxo

Love, Bunny

Mint Chocolate Chip Fudge

Good Morning!! 

Last night I made some yummy Mint Fudge! 

They turned out great so I decided to bring them into work. Mint has always been a favorite of mine so when I saw this simple recipe for fudge I had to try it out. Plus who doesn't love mint chocolate chip....a crazy person that's who!

What you will need: 

3 1/4 cups of white chocolate chips

2 tablespoons of butter

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

2 to 3 teaspoons of mint extract, NOT peppermint

Green food coloring

and 3/4 cups of mini chocolate chips

First you need to line an 8x8 square plan with tinfoil and some cooking spray, next microwave the white chocolate chips and butter for 1 minute. Stir together and make sure that all chips are melted.

Mix in the condensed milk and mint. Add the green food coloring, about three drops. Once mixed completely let the mixture sit and cool off a bit, then fold in half of your mini chips!

Add the fudge to your pan and press evenly. Add the remaining mini chips to the top of the fudge. Refrigerate for about 2 hours then VOILA! 

Mint Chocolate Chip Fudge! Make sure to share he he!

Thanks! Bunny

The K Club

Morning! 

Our final stop and last night in Ireland was The K Club in Kildare. This pristine 5 star country club had so much to offer and sadly we didn't get to see much of it. Please check out their webpage, bottom of post, this place is HUGE and just stunning. Our few photos really do not do it justice. Check-in was smooth which was nice, considering we were tired from our travels. We had stopped in Waterford for the day and the Nicholas Mosse Pottery house on our way up.

Staff were very helpful and offered to bring our items to our room, the Fitzgerald. This time they used a trolley/bag cart! We were shocked at the room they gave us...it had a sitting room, walk in closet and a gigantic bathtub! You can see more of my love for the tub in my A Bath in Each post he he! The only problem was the bed...which Craig found out the hard way. He dove onto it and much to his surprise it wasn't a king but two twins put together and he landed right in the middle. Ouch!

 Decor fit with the overall feel of the country club, fancy but cozy and antiqued. Our room was very dim inside much like the rest of the hotel. It could have been because we were there later in the day and it was a bit dreary out. Our bellhop must have tried a million switches to give us more light but he couldn't figure it out he he! We did not mind the dim light, it was the evening and we planned to sleep soon.

 Once settled, Craig and I went downstairs for dinner, admiring the artwork along the way. I loved the unicorn tapestry they had hanging above a mantle. So pretty!

We ate at The K Club's River Room Restaurant and much to our surprise there were not many guests. They seated us in the middle of two other couples, one German and the other French. The room was big too and really quiet. That had to be one of the most awkward dinners we've had lol! Service was good though and our meal tasty. Craig's winning streak continued as his steak was perfect!

After dinner we walked around the K Club and took a closer look at their unique rooms. All decorated differently with big couches, chandeliers and fireplaces. I loved the furniture and patterns as well. This couch (below) had a pretty blue pattern that went well with their hydrangeas and purple flowers. Coincidentally my favorite thing at our first Castle was there many colorful hydrangeas! Funny!

Back in our room I took advantage of their huge tub, nice photo op he he! Actually Craig went outside for a quick smoke and instead of starting my bath right away I was super sneaky! 

He had expressed that he really liked this Guinness watch in the store cases down stairs. I quickly called the front desk but since it was late in the evening they did not have the key. Staff were so sweet and offered to order it etc. But I reassured them that I could find it online and have it sent to our home in time for Christmas.

So there I was, naked and heart racing, nervously surfing the web! It didn't take long to find the watch so I ordered it, closed the laptop and jumped into the half full tub. Craig returned a few mins later and was none the wiser! Muahaha!

That night we tucked ourselves in and dreamt of staying in Ireland indefinitely. The K Club was so lovely, hopefully we could visit again and be able to truly enjoy all it offers. Before we left that next morning, I wanted to note that staff brought us coffee, cocoa and some pastries to-go! So sweet of them!!! They were making it hard to leave. 

This trip had been so magical...the only negative, if it could be called that, is that we simply wanted more...more of everything! Thank you Ireland for the wonderful stay. We will miss you dearly!

Thanks! -Bunny

See it here: http://www.kclub.ie/

Christmas Spirit

Check out @BauervanStraten's Tweet: https://twitter.com/BauervanStraten/status/674986573948133376?s=09

Inglorious Bastards Strudel

Good Morning! 

For the holidays and my love of Quentin Tarantino movies I made an apple strudel based on the movie Inglorious Bastards. 

I started by putting on my red lipstick and preheating the oven.

Then looking over the recipe from Dave Watts, head chef at the Cotswold House Hotel. Link Below.

First you start by mixing the apples (sliced of course), sugar, spices, salt and sultanas (raisins). Mix and cook until the apples have started to break down.

Then remove from heat and let cool.

While you wait, toast bread and pecans on an oven tray. Then use a food processor (few pulses) to chop up the bread and nuts. Once apples have cooled, add the chopped nuts, bread and rum.

Next, take about 8 sheets of filo pastry, the melted butter and a pastry brush and begin making your layers for the crust/pastry. Brush layers with the melted butter and sprinkle Demerara sugar (I used brown sugar) on each. This is the part where I get a little overzealous....and probably add too much sugar he he!

Try to: "Place the first sheet of filo pastry length ways away from you and brush liberally with melted butter. Next, take another sheet of filo pastry and overlap on to the first by three fingers. Brush with butter and sprinkle the pastry with 2 tsp of Demerara sugar. Repeat this process with the other filo pastry sheets. Butter the second layer, butter and sugar the third layer, and then only butter the fourth layer. "

When finished spoon the apple filling onto the pastry, leaving space to fold in the sides and roll the pastry up. Brush with butter as you go. Once finished rolling, place in the oven on a large baking tray (buttered). 

Sprinkle more sugar on top and bake for about 25 mins.

Remove from oven, sprinkle lightly with icing sugar and make sure to serve warm with cream, yum!

 

In lieu of creme, I added some vanilla and caramel ice cream. Delish! I am sure Hans would approve.

Link: http://www.shortlist.com/instant-improver/food/how-to-make-the-apple-strudel-from-inglourious-basterds

Bon Appetit -Bunny

Goodie Bars

Good Morning, 

Last night I made some yummy candy using my Great Grandma's recipe. They are Nut-Goodie Bars (as she called them). 

While I want to keep this recipe a secret...they are not hard to make. Let's just say there are two kinds of chips, some peanut butter and marshmallows. 

These are one of my favorite treats during the holidays!

Thanks! -Bunny

Hint: Place in fridge to help with cutting later.

Engaged

Wooooooo! Found my prince! He he! Oh wait that's my Jack! ;)