Orange Chocolate Walnut Biscuits

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Something Sweet     baking, biscuits, chocolate, dessert, quick and easy, recipes

What you’ll need…

2 cups flour

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup walnuts (loosely chopped)

1 TBSP orange zest

2 TSP cinnamon

3 TSP baking powder

1 TSP salt

1/2 cup butter (chilled, 1/2″ cubed)

1 cup milk

2 TSP vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg (for egg wash, optional)

I’m not much of a baker. So, when I ‘bake’, I make biscuits. They’re simple and consistently delicious no matter what you decide to fold into them. Since I’m not much of a baker, I don’t often excel in the dessert category of awesomeness. These orange biscuits are just sweet enough and can pass as a delicious dessert if you slice them in half, add a dollop of whipped cream and some orange slices (from the orange you zested for the recipe, peel to pulp cooking, right?). One day I’ll learn to make a one-of-a-kind cake or something…I promise…Until then, enjoy this biscuit-y goodness I guess?

So, this recipe will be easier to make than your bed. Unless you have a really complicated linens system…Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Place the first 7 ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the chunks of butter and loosely mix in with your hands.

Next, mix the milk, vanilla and sugar together in a separate bowl, stir until sugar dissolves. Pour the mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix together with a spoon, or by hand, until a dough forms. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and form into a circle-esque shape, 2″ thick. Slice into 12 pieces and place onto a prepared baking sheet. Brush the top of each piece of dough with the egg wash and let bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the biscuits start to brown.

Let cool slightly before eating, however hard that may be…

As previously mentioned, slice in half, add a spoonful of whipped cream, some orange slices, and you have yourself a simple, ‘rustic’ if you will, dessert. Happy eating!

Yields 12 biscuits

Total cook time…20 min

Hipster Sun Tea

Dan    Recipes, Something Sweet     drinks, hipsters, Iced Tea, recipes, refreshing, summer, tea

What you’ll need…

1 TBSP organic earl grey tea

1 TBSP organic rooibos tea

1 TBSP organic honey

2 TSP organic cane sugar

1 organic lime (zest and juice)

1 vintage jar or bottle (approx 1L, as vintage as possible)

lemon or lime slices for garnish (not optional)

1 pair Ray-Bans (not optional)

(Disclaimer: Slight sarcasm in the following sentences) In a world that has become so ingrained with a ‘the faster, the better’ mentality, it’s sometimes nice to just plain take your time. Whether that means riding a one speed bicycle through a hilly area of the city, or using a vintage typewriter to make some labels for your spice collection (Rob Waye), or just steeping some tea in the sun…Ok, with the exception of the tea steeping, maybe sometimes faster can be better…I’m surprised hipster culture has not yet embraced the refreshing drink that is sun tea, or maybe they have, but I just wouldn’t of heard about it…Regardless, it’s time to embrace your inner hipster. I strongly encourage a trip to your local antiques shop (with that faithful one speed, of course!) to find a totally awesome vintage jar. Then toss it in your bicycle basket, and head home to make the sun tea of your dreams.

This is pretty much as simple as it gets. Place all ingredients in jar (please tell me you did take a field trip to the antiques shop?), then fill with water. Stir until the sugar and honey have dissolved. Place on a window ledge in direct sunlight (placing jar outside in sun will work as well). Let stand for an hour and a half. Well the tea is steeping in the sun, feel free to pop in that new Bon Iver vinyl and just relax. You deserve it!

When it’s time, take the jar out of the sunlight and place in the refrigerator to cool. Once chilled, strain, serve over ice and garnish with a lemon or lime slice. Earl grey + rooibos tea = the best home-made iced tea ever. Trust me, I wouldn’t lie! Now pop on those Ray-Bans and get outside!

Yields 4 cups sun tea

Total tea time…1 1/2 hours (not including chill time)

Creamy Coconut & Apricot Couscous ‘Cake’

Dan    Recipes, Something Sweet     awesome, coconut, couscous, dessert, quick and easy, summer, sweet

What you’ll need…

Cake:

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

1 1/2 cups homogenized milk

1/3 cup sugar

2 TSP vanilla

1 TSP cinnamon

1/2 TSP nutmeg

3 cups couscous (uncooked)

1 cup apricots (dried, chopped)

1/2 cup butter (melted)

Walnut sauce:

1 cup walnuts

1 cup homogenized milk

1/2 brown sugar (firmly packed)

shredded coconut (for garnish, optional)

(Disclaimer: Please look away if you like rice pudding) I’ve never liked rice pudding. Ever. I didn’t mean to break any hearts, but I really can’t stand it. Consider this my ‘ode’ to questionable dish that is rice pudding. Anyway…I first tried out a version from FoodNetwork.ca of this couscous-based dessert in my Kick The KD  Start From Scratch class, which went over very well. The coconut milk adds a nice creaminess. Although not completely guilt-free, you won’t feel too bad after eating a generous portion of this!

 Place the coconut milk, milk, sugar, vanilla and spices in a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring regularly until the sugar has dissolved. While you’re waiting for that to heat up, place the uncooked couscous in a large mixing bowl. Once the liquid begins to boil, remove from heat and pour over-top of the couscous. Give everything a good stir to ensure that the liquid will be evenly absorbed. Cover, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Next, add the apricots, melted butter and give a few good stirs until the mixture is nicely combined. Now, to form the sweet couscous into ‘cakes’ you’ll need six ramekins. In lieu of ramekins, feel free to use some short tumbler glasses, small bowls, or any other item in your kitchen that may fit the bill. This is purely for shaping the ‘cakes’. Place spoonfuls of the mixture into each ramekin (or similar facsimile of…), and firmly pack it in. Set aside until to dish them out.

Now, for the sauce…Place the walnuts, milk, and brown sugar in a blender and puree until smooth. Place in a small pot and leave on low heat, just to warm the sauce. When it’s time to serve the dessert, take a plate, place on top of a ramekin, and flip it over. Then, left up the ramekin and you should have a beautiful looking couscous cake on your plate. If it does not simply slide out, give it a few taps and it should come out intact! Spoon some sauce on top and top with some shredded coconut for good measure. Yum!

Take that rice pudding!

Serves 6

Total cook time…20 min

Sweet Strawberry Salsa with Brown Sugar Chips

Dan    Recipes, Something Sweet     appetizer, delicious, dessert, mint, refreshing, spring, strawberries, summer, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

Chips:

5 white medium-sized pitas (opened and quartered)

1/2 cup butter (melted)

1/4 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

Salsa:

3 cups strawberries (trimmed, finely cubed)

1/2 granny smith apple (finely cubed)

1 cup fresh mint (minced)

3 TBSP cane sugar

2 TBSP orange juice

1/4 TSP vanilla extract

Sick of less than wonderful spring-time weather? So am I. Making this sweet (both literally and figuratively) strawberry salsa will enable you to go on a mental tropical getaway. If the weather happens to drastically change while you’re prepping this dish, then I would say this dessert version of chips and salsa are best enjoyed outside…with BBQ’ed anything.

For the chips…start off by preheating your oven to 40 degrees. In a small bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar. Using a pastry brush, apply brown sugar/butter mixture to each pita ‘chip’. Lay out chips evenly on couple of prepared baking sheets and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the chips turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

For the salsa…combine all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Toss until everything is evenly mixed and the cane sugar has dissolved. As with any salsa, if you give it some time to sit, chill, and flavour intermingle, it will taste that much better. I left the strawberry salsa in the fridge for 45 minutes before serving, longer probably would have been a bit better. Whatever time allows. (Hey, it’s your fake tropical vacation, right?)

Serve this up the same way you would serve standard-issue chips and salsa. Best digested with a mojito in-hand. Sounds like summer to me! Bring on the sun!

Serves 4-5

Total cook time…1 hour (or so)

Hot Honey Apple Tarts

Dan    Recipes, Something Sweet     apples, baking, delicious, dessert, honey, quick and easy

What you’ll need…

3 apples (thinly sliced, skin on)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

1/4 cup honey

2 TSP cinnamon

1/4 TSP nutmeg

1/2 TSP chili powder

corn starch

12 prepared tart shells

Everyone needs a little bit of spice in their lives, and since the Spice Girls have not put out any new tunes for a while, it’s a pretty safe assumption that the only way left to spice things up is with some chili powder. Anyway…I don’t really know how to follow a Spice Girls reference so…Just make these, ok? They’re very tasty.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place the apple, orange juice, and brown sugar in a large pan. Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Reduce to medium heat, stir in the honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chili powder. Let everything cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 10 minutes, if the mixture has not thickened up, whisk together some corn starch and a small amount of water. Pour into the pan, stir, and you’ll have a better consistency in about a minute. Remove from heat.

Spoon the apple mixture into each one of your prepared tarts and bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry starts to turn golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. Tarts and pies are best devoured warm!

Yields 12 tarts

Total cook time…35 minutes

Vanilla Blueberry ‘Cheat’ Jam

Dan    Recipes, Something Sweet, Vegan     berries, breakfast, jam, no pectin, quick and easy, vegan

What you’ll need…

1 pint fresh blueberries (approx. 2 cups)

1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

1/2 cup apple juice

1 1/2 TSP vanilla extract

2 TBSP corn starch

.

This is going to be easier than, well, I don’t know…most things in life? The reason I’ll call it ‘cheat’ jam, for lack of a better term, is the fact that there is no pectin, nor jarring required. Not that I’m knocking preserving at all. I just think it’s best left to the autumn months. Not to mention, it makes a superb grandson-grandmother bonding activity.

Super simple. Combine the first four ingredients in a small pot. Stir a few times to combine, and bring to a simmer on medium-high heat. Now, reduce to medium heat and let the mixture bubble away for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. After this time, the berries will have broken down and the sauce should have a nice blue colour to it (we are using blueberries after all…).

Now, to thicken things up a bit…In a small bowl, whisk together 2 TBSP of corn starch and a 1/4 cup of water. Pour into the pot, stirring until the combo has been completely absorbed into the mix. Within about a minute, the sauce should thicken up considerably. If it’s still a bit runny, just add a bit more corn starch/water to the equation. Problem solved.

Remove the pot from heat and let cool. Transfer to an air-tight container and into the fridge. This ‘cheat’ jam will last up to two weeks. Keep ‘er covered.

Now, shall we toast to the jam?

Yields 2 1/2 cups of jam

Total cook time…20 min