Homemade Butterscotch Pudding

Alright buddies, today we're talking Butterscotch Pudding. Now, if you had asked me ten years ago how I felt about Butterscotch Pudding, I probably would have told you that I thought it was gross and didn't understand WHY you would choose it when there were so many other awesome flavors of pudding out there. Thing is, guys, I had never had homemade Butterscotch Pudding before. When I pictured Butterscotch Pudding, I pictured that cloyingly sweet orange stuff you get in the pudding packs.

Real talk: Butterscotch refers to a mixture of brown sugar and butter. Brown sugar and butter!!! Could there be a better combination??? Well, with that in mind, you see, Butterscotch pudding is really one of the best kinds of pudding ever to exist. Creamy, caramelly, and all around awesome.

Here's how to make it:

Butterscotch Pudding: Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 egg yolks (technically "large" egg yolks, but have you ever had small egg yolks? Sheesh.)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp butter cut into small pieces (for easier melting!)

1. In a large, heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the milk and then set aside. You'll want to whisk it until it's nice and smooth!

2. Heat the remaining 2 1/2 cups of milk to a boil in a medium sized saucepan. Heat over medium and whisk constantly to avoid scorching the milk.

3. As soon as the milk comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and gradually pour it over the egg mixture, whisking constantly until smooth. It is a small miracle that I managed to take this picture.

4. Once everything is well mixed, transfer the mixture to a large, clean, heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat while whisking constantly. Cook the mixture for 3-5 minutes or until it thickens. I love this part. You go from whisking and thinking, "is this ever going to happen?" to, "Woah! Pudding!" in the course of a few seconds. You'll know when it's done, promise! And when it is, remove it from the heat!

See? Obviously pudding now. But we've got a few more steps before we wrap things up!

5. Add the vanilla and butter and whisk until well combined. If you happen to be concerned about lumps (I'm certainly not, and didn't see any anyway!), you could strain the pudding through a fine mesh sieve at this point. I say skip it unless you're dead-set on the smoothest pudding of all time, ever.

6. Choose your container(s) and pour the pudding into it/them to set. You could use a big bowl or a serving dish,  but I happen to be partial to single serving containers so I recommend putting your pudding into cups, or better yet, half pint mason jars! If you use mason jars, and happen to have a canning funnel, I highly recommend using it to get the pudding into the jars.

7. Ah, pretty little jars all in a row! Once you've got your pudding in your containers, put it in the fridge to cool and set. If you are concerned about that pudding film (once again, I am not), you can cover the pudding (not the jar, the pudding!) with saran wrap while it sets.

8. Once your pudding has set, cover the jars/bowl/serving dish/cups and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat it. I have been waging a losing battle against saran wrap for many, many years now so I love making pudding in little mason jars because I can just screw on a lid for storage.

When you are ready to eat your pudding feel free to add toppings! I tend towards whipped cream, myself, but you could also add some strawberries, chocolate shavings, or toffee. Or all of the above. Yum!

Til next time!

-Becca

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Peanut Butter and Honey Cookies

Alright buddies, today we're talking peanut butter cookies. Peanut butter and honey cookies to be exact! This is one of my favorite cookie recipes because it's super fast (I've literally whipped these up in a 30 minute window between work and a holiday party), super easy, and I almost always have the ingredients on hand.

These cookies have a dreamy, slightly chewy texture and lots of peanut butter flavor, so they tend to be a big hit.

Want to make them yourself? Here's how!

Peanut Butter and Honey Cookies:

Makes approximately 24 cookies if you can resist eating the dough. If you can't it'll be more like 20-22. I usually end up with 20-22...

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter (I use creamy, but you could totally use crunchy if that's what you've got!)
• 7/8 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Salt

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F

2. In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, sugar, and honey with a wooden spoon.

It will take a little while to come together, but you'll know when you're there because the ingredients will form a dough of sorts.

3. Add the egg, vanilla, baking powder, and a pinch of salt and mix until well combined.

4. Measure out a tablespoon of dough at a time and roll it into a  ball using your hands.

5. Roll the ball of dough in sugar, then place on a baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the dough. You will need 2 cookie sheets and should place each ball about 2" apart.

6. Press a fork into the cookie dough horizontally, then turn the fork and press it into the dough vertically to create criss  cross lines.

7. Sprinkle just a touch of salt on top of each cookie. I like to add the salt because it balances out the sweetness and really brings out all of the flavors. Plus, I just really love things that are sweet and salty!

8. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes, then remove the cookies from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

9. Once the cookies have cooled in the pan, carefully move them to a baking sheet using a spatula. Using a spatula is important because the cookies are pretty delicate just out of the oven. If you use your fingers you'll smash the cookies so quick you'll feel like the Incredible Hulk (Smash!!!). Moral of the story: use a spatula to move your cookies.

10. Once the cookies have cooled to your liking, have at it.

So there you have it! Delicious peanut butter and honey cookies. Could it be any better? Actually, yes. 

Put a scoop of chocolate or vanilla ice cream between two of the cookies and you've got yourself a delicious ice cream sandwich!

Seriously, guys. These cookies are perfect for an ice cream sandwich. Not only do they taste amazing, but they also manage to hold up through to the very last bite!

Til next time!

-Becca

Easy Cherry Hand Pies

Well guys, as summer fast approaches and I still have a cupboard full of preserves, I'm looking for new ways to use them up. I eat them in yogurt almost every day, I put them on toast, make milkshakes with them, but I'm always looking for more ideas. Last week I made this Apricot Custard Tart, and since I had  leftover dough from that, I decided that this week I would make hand pies using sour cherry preserves!

Now, I'll say this: it was not my most, er, elegant work, but they came out super tasty and with a little more care they will look as good as they taste!

Ingredients:

• Prepared pie dough for a double crust. I used the recipe found over here. If you would like to use that recipe, double it or you'll only end up with 3 hand pies since it's for a single crust! I would also recommend doubling the sugar called for in that recipe for a sweeter crust.
• Two half pint jars of Sour Cherry (or other fruit) preserves
• 1 egg
• Approximately 1/8 cup granulated sugar (fine granules are ok, but coarse would be better if you've got it in your cupboard. I did not.)

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.

2. Roll out your pie dough to 1/8" thick. I like to roll my dough 

   between 2 sheets of greased saran wrap since gluten free dough 

   tends to get quite sticky.

3. Cut your dough into 4" circles. I used a 4" tart pan, but you 

   could use a biscuit cutter, a bowl, etc. To maximize the use  

   of your dough, you may need to re-roll it after you've cut a 
   few out so you can keep cutting more.

4. Place half of your dough rounds on a baking sheet lined with 

   parchment paper, and reserve the other half.

5. Place 2tbs of cherry preserves in the center of each round on 

   your baking sheet. This picture makes me drool. Yum!

6. Top each pie crust round on your baking sheet with one of the 

   ones you reserved. Then, using a fork, pinch together the 

   edges to seal the pie, and poke two sets of holes in the top 

   of the pie using your fork.

7. Got any holes or imperfections on the top crust of your hand pies? Me too! I always use leftover dough scraps to make cute little shapes to cover them up. Easy as, well, pie. Cue sad trombone noise.

8. In a small bowl, beat the egg well. Then using a pastry brush,  

   brush the pies with the beaten egg.

9. Sprinkle sugar over the top of the pies. No exact amount here, 

   just enough to give it that lovely bit of extra crunch and 

   sweetness when they're all baked up.

10. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until golden brown, bubbly, 

    and dreamy looking.

11. Let cool to warm but not hot. Serve with vanilla ice cream, and eat up!

Til next time!

-Becca

Apricot Custard Tart

Today I'm going to show you how to make this Apricot Custard Tart. And boy is it dreamy. It's made using apricot preserves, which are one of my favorite things because they can give you a taste of summer all year round. I'm always looking for new ways to use my stock of preserves and was super happy to use them for this tasty treat.

Tart shell ingredients and filling ingredients.

To get started, you'll need some ingredients!

For Tart Shell (for a 9-10" tart pan):

• 1 1/4 c multi purpose flour (I used Manini's Multiuso gluten free flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 c (1 stick) butter cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/8 c super cold water

For Tart Filling:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split with seeds scraped out
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 heaping tbs sugar
• 12 oz Apricot preserves (or 1 1/2 half pint jars). I used homemade apricot vanilla bean preserves, but you could use store bought, too. Heck, you could even use preserves made with a different kind of fruit (raspberry would be dreamy!).

You'll want to begin by making the tart shell because it needs to be cool when you add the filling.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and   

   pulse a few times until combined.

3. Add the cubed butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse

   meal.
4. Add the water and pulse until forms clumps and starts to look

   like dough (you can add a tiny bit more water if your dough

   looks dry).

5. Carefully pull the dough out of the food processor, form into

   a ball, then flatten it into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap,

   and refrigerate for 1 hour.

6. After pulling the dough out of the refrigerator, roll out the 

   dough to just slightly larger than the tart pan, then place in

   the tart pan and press up the edges. I'm usually a mess at     

   putting dough into pans so i tend to have to press lots of

   cracks together and push the dough up the sides with my 

   fingers. And that's ok! It doesn't have to be perfect, just

   delicious!

7. Place a piece of parchment over the tart shell and fill with 

   pie weights or dried beans. This will help avoid any bubbling

   of the crust and is called blind baking.
8. Put the shell in the oven for 10 minutes, take out, remove 

   parchment, and cook for 10 more minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

While the crust is cooling, you can begin work on the filling. The preserves are already ready to go, so you'll just need to make the custard. Here's how:

1. If you turned your oven off, now is the time to re-pre-heat it

   to 350°. Then, in a small pot, combine the milk and the  

   vanilla bean and seeds and bring to a boil over medium heat,   

   stirring occasionally.

2. When the milk comes to a boil, remove from heat, cover, and 

   let sit for 30 minutes so the vanilla bean can infuse into the  

   cream.
3. After 30 minutes, strain the mixture and put it back on the   

   stove over very low heat, just to keep it warm.
4. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar 

   until they become light and somewhat pale in color.

5. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking as   

   you pour.

6. Return the mixture to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, 

   stirring constantly. Don't let it boil as that can cause it to 

   curdle. Cook it over the stove for 7-10 minutes, until the 

   mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
7. Remove the mixture from the heat immediately and pour it into 

   your tart shell.

8. Bake for 10 minutes, just long enough to slightly bake the 

   custard, then remove from the oven and spoon the preserves 

   over the top. You'll want to add just enough of 

   the preserves to come to just under the edge of the tart 

   shell.
9. Return to the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the 

   preserves begin to bubble and thicken slightly. I used a 

   fairly loose preserve so this took some extra time. The 

   easiest way to tell if the preserves have thickened is to 

   shake the pan. If it's real jiggly, then it will need a little 

   more time. If it has just a touch of jiggle, it'll be perfect!

10. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature, cut and  

    serve!

I hope you get a chance to try making this delicious tart soon!

Til next time!

-Becca

Friday Night Dinner with Levi

Levi came over Friday evening for a simple meal and some good conversation. While he sipped on some Russian Caravan tea with some of my homemade sour cherry preserves, I whipped up a quick meal of fresh pasta with over easy eggs and roasted asparagus.

Other than preheating the oven, the meal itself took about 15 minutes to make from start to finish! Wanna make it yourself? Here's how!

Ingredients:

• Fresh pasta (I used Manini's Gluten Free Roasted Garlic Fettuccini) 
• One bunch of asparagus
• 2 eggs (or enough for 1 per person)
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Pecorino Romano cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Rinse the asparagus.
3. To remove the woody stalks of the asparagus, simply hold each piece at each end and bend lightly until it snaps. Discard the bottom tough part of the asparagus. (Discard it well or your asparagus thief cat might steal it in the middle of the night and put it on your bed. Seriously.)
4. Place the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil (use your best judgement).
5. Once the olive oil is drizzled over the asparagus turn the asparagus over in the pan until it's well coated.
6. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top of the asparagus, and then put it into the oven to roast. Let it cook for about 15 minutes turning it once about halfway through.
7. While the asparagus is cooking, bring water to a boil and cook your pasta according to the directions. If you are using fresh pasta, it should only take a few minutes.
8. Once pasta is cooked, drain it, put back into the pan, toss with some olive oil (once again, use your best judgment- I believe in you!), and plate.
9. In a small skillet, heat about 1 tbs of oil over medium-low heat.
10. Crack your eggs into the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let sit for a bit. To make an over-easy egg, I always cook on the first side until the whites look cooked through, but the yolk is still pretty raw. 
11. Once the whites are cooked, flip the eggs and let cook for just a few seconds. This will set the other side but not cook the yolk through. (You want it runny so it will essentially make a sauce for your pasta).
12. Once the eggs are done, pull them from the pan and set them on top of the pasta.
13. At this point the asparagus should be done too! Plate the asparagus next to the pasta and grate some Pecorino Romano cheese over everything. As much as you want! I always do a whole bunch of it. Now all that's left is to eat up!

After dinner, we spent the rest of the night chatting and listening to records. Hank, never one to miss out on anything, made himself at home in the middle of Levi's stack of records. He also left a toy in Levi's boot. Something to remember him by?

It was a lovely night, and I even got a couple of Bowie albums out of it!

Til next time!

-Becca