Red Bean Puff Pastries

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day!  Last weekend, I drove down to Vancouver to spend Chinese New Year with family.  It was such a wonderful trip!  Yes, I drove all by myself with the three kiddies.  It was about 5-6 hour trip.  We had great music, the weather was gorgeous and the road conditions were clear.

Red Bean Palmiers (middle) and Dumplings (right)

Yesterday, it was "Everyone's Birthday".  Day 7 of the Chinese New Year Celebrations.   Chinese New Year is a 15 day celebration, where traditions dictate certain days for different activities.  We had another feast.  

Red bean pastries:  braided strudels, palmiers, dumplings and twists.

For dessert, I was inspired by traditional Chinese style deep fried dumplings with a sweet filling.  At a large chain Asian grocery store, they were filled with coconut, sugar and peanuts.  My grandmother always made them filled with red bean paste. 

Instead of deep-frying dumpling dough, I decided to use store bought puff pastry dough filled with red bean paste.  It was so much fun to play around with puff pastry!  

At my local grocery store, you can find frozen puff pastry in the frozen pie crust section.  I bought the red bean paste at an Asian grocery store.  I have also made red bean paste by cooking some dried aduki beans, mashing it up and then sweeten to taste, much like this recipe.   

Don't have red bean paste on hand?  You can use cinnamon sugar (3 Tbsp sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon), your favourite jam, chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella), or anything your heart desires!  This is the beauty of puff pastry:  you can be as creative as you like with the filling of your choice!

Red Bean (Heart) Palmiers

Spread red bean paste in a thin layer on a square piece of puff pastry.  Don't worry about being exact.  I made 6"x 6" for tiny and cute little cookies. 

Roll both sides to the centre of the square.   Make sure both rolls are equal in size.  It's not perfect, but it's still fun! Slice each cookie in 1/4" thick slices with a sharp knife.  

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I tried to make them heart shaped.  I pinched the bottom part together and made each "half" look more like a heart.  

They didn't really look like hearts, but that was OK.  They were so yummy! 

Red Bean Crossover Braided Strudels

Cut a rectangle of desired size. In the middle of the rectangle, spread or pipe a strip of red bean paste (or desired filling) down the length.  On both sides of the filling, make 1/4" slanted cuts cuts down.  Take each strip and cross over the filling, alternating sides like a braid.   I forgot to make measurements of the rectangles I cut, but the method is quite straightforward.  Brush with egg wash (optional) for golden colour and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden.   

Red Bean Puff Pastry Twists

Spread a thin layer of red bean paste on a rectangle sheet (I made 6" x 12").   Cut strips 1/4" to 1/2" apart. 

Twist each strip around to get the spiral effect and place on a cookie sheet.  Bake around 7-10 minutes or until golden brown.  

Red Bean Puff Pastry "Gok Jai" Dumplings

My grandmother used to make deep fried sweet chewy dumplings for Chinese New Year.  I remember how she used her wok to deep fry these pieces of nostalgia.  She is approaching 90 years young with macular degeneration (no central vision).  She doesn't cook anymore and I miss her feasts.  

Using puff pastry, I tried to make similar shaped dumplings.  They were the same size as a perogy.  No, it didn't taste the same, but still delicious.  I'll bet children will look back at Chinese New Year with the same nostalgia when I make this again.    

These were a hit!  My son ate at least 4 of these last night in one sitting!  He proclaimed that they were "SO GOOD!"

Red Bean Puff Pastries

1 400g package frozen puff pastry, thawed*
1 cup (approximate) red bean paste, chocolate hazelnut spread, cinnamon brown sugar mix (3 Tbsp sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon)
Egg wash, 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp water, optional

*The amounts of these ingredients are approximate.  Be as creative as you like with your choice of filling and just go with it!  

Preheat oven 400F.  Dust work surface with flour.  Roll thawed puff pastry thin, about 1/8" to 1/4" thickness, in a square or rectangle shape.  I was able to roll it 1/8" (2mm) thin.  The thinner you roll, the more pastries you can make.  

Spread red bean paste (or desired filling) thinly with a knife or spatula.  Cut and shape pastries as desired.  Brush with egg wash for golden colour.  

Bake in oven for 7-10 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on rack.  Store in airtight container. 

Leftover red bean paste can be easily frozen and re-used again.  

- Adapted from What About Second Breakfast?: Cinnamon Sugar Puff Pastry Twists  

Happy Chinese New Year!  

Wishing you all Good Health, Happiness and Prosperity in the Year of the Snake!  

I think these pastries almost look like a snake!  

Enjoy!

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Vanilla Christmas Mini Donuts

Over the past few weeks, I have baked over 350 Christmas mini donuts!  This month, I have brought a batch of 70 mini donuts to a few Christmas parties.  They are bite sized, very cute and easy for little kiddies to eat.  Even if the children do not like them, there is very little to waste. Each pan only takes about 5 minutes to bake and they cool very quick.

Yesterday, my son had a small gift exchange and we had to bring 22 small gifts for his classmates. I wrapped about 30 small packages of 3 mini donuts with clear plastic wrap, tied with a ribbon. The extra gifts went to the principal, staff and teachers.

I love buying different kinds of sprinkles for decorating. Who doesn't like a splash of colour in their baking?

I made a slight variation of my mini donut recipe.  I omitted the nutmeg and used buttermilk instead.  When I ran out of buttermilk, I used 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 3/4 cup milk.  These made the mini donuts very fluffy and moist.  I filled the batter into a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 12 round circular tip.   It took a mere minutes to pipe the batter in 4 mini donut pans.  

Vanilla Christmas Mini Donuts 

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar (I use 1/3 cup brown sugar & 1/3 cup white)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk or 3/4 milk with 1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted butter 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a mini donut pan. 
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, eggs, and vanilla. Beat together.  Add melted butter.  MIx until well blended.

Fill each donut cup approximately 1/2 full. Bake about 5 minutes in the preheated oven, until donuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan. 

Decorate with melted chocolate or candy melts and sprinkles, as desired.
- Adapted from Allrecipes.com: Fluffy Cake Doughnuts

Enjoy!

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Mini Apple Pies (Gluten-free, vegan or Not)

Happy 5th Birthday to my dear sweet Nessa!  She is my gorgeous middle child with a huge heart of gold.  Being the middle child has been a gift for her.  She gets to wear two hats in the family:  the kid sister who adores her older brother and the doting big sister who helps "mother" her baby sister.   

Last weekend, she had her birthday party and we celebrated with Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes.  Today is the actual day of her birthday and quite frankly, I am a little tired of baking cakes and cupcakes.  I had been baking cakes and cupcakes for Baby's birthday (last month), Hubby's birthday (2 weeks ago) and Nessa's birthday (last weekend).  I think we are starting to get tired of birthday cake(s)!  

For a change, I'll make PIE.  Pie is special.  I bake pies for special occasions and holidays. Why not birthdays?  I'm sure there are people who will attest that a home made pie from scratch is made with 100% love. Love is the secret ingredient in my cooking and baking.  

Since it is Nessa's birthday, it is her turn to bring something for her Snack Day.  I thought that mini apple pies would be great for sharing at school! 

This recipe can be easily changed to gluten-free and vegan... or not.  At least there is this option for those with dietary or ethical considerations.  

Yes, they are a little more work than making one big pie.  I'll be honest.  They were downright tedious.  I did not like rolling out pie dough and cutting out 24 little circles of dough for my mini-cupcake pan. Maybe it's because I was running out of steam by the end of the day.  But for my Nessa, she is worth it. How often do you turn 5?  The smile on her face when she shares her little pies with her friends will make it all worthwhile.  

Mini Apple Pies
makes 24 mini cupcake sized pies

1 your favourite double crust pie, gluten-free or store bought

2 apples, cored, finely chopped (about 1/4-inch pieces)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract 

Preheat oven to 425F.  Roll out pastry on floured work surface and cut out round 
circles with a large round cookie cutter or glass cup.  Gather up the scraps and reroll the rounds. 

Press each crust round into ungreased mini or regular muffin tin.  

In a large bowl, mix sugar, 1/4 cup flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Stir in apples until well mixed.  Spoon into pastry-lined muffin cups.  Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling.  Top with pastry.  Brush with milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.  

- Adapted from Betty Crocker's Mini Apple Pies

Happy 5th Birthday, my dear sweet Nessa!  We are so happy to have you in our family.

Enjoy!

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Gluten Free Classic Vegan Pumpkin Pie (Dairy-free, Soy-free, Egg-free)

Today is the start of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.  It is very much like the American counterpart, but we have it earlier in the year.  I haven't put much thought in our dinner this weekend yet, but I thought that I would get a start on dessert!

Lately, I have been having some health issues and bad acne.  To change things up, I decided to go soy, dairy, egg, chocolate (gasp!), and gluten-free for 6 weeks.  I'm happy to say that I've gotten used to my regime and am embracing the other delicious foods I can enjoy!

I decided to tackle the classic Thanksgiving favourite:  pumpkin pie.  First the crust had to be gluten and butter free.  Thanks to all the wonderful resources on the net, I lucked out with a delicious gluten-free crust  made with a blend of rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, sweet rice flour and xanthan gum.  In the world of gluten-free baking, this is a very standard mix of ingredients.  There is a science behind gluten-free baking where all the qualities of each different flour/starch combine to mimic wheat.  It was PERFECT on the first try!  The crust was flaky, crispy and it held the pumpkin filling beautifully.  

Next, the pumpkin pie filling had to be butter, milk and egg free.  I found an amazing one that all the kiddies loved and asked for breakfast the next day!  Again, the hard part is to find substitutes to replace the binding of eggs (use of cornstarch) and the creaminess of milk (use of coconut or almond milk).  The filling was very easy to whip up.  

I also take into consideration that this will not be exactly like the "regular ones", but still a very delicious dessert.  It will be one that everyone would like to try out of curiosity and then be pleasantly surprised at how yummy it is.  

Classic Vegan Pumpkin Pie

1 - 8-inch or 9-inch unbaked pie crust (wheat, gluten-free or storebought)
2 cups pureed pumpkin (or one 15-oz can)
1 cup plain nondairy milk (soy, almond, coconut)* 
3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup white)
2 1/2 – 3 Tbsp cornstarch (I used 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch and 1 Tbsp cornstarch)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (or freshly grated nutmeg, just estimate!)
vegan whipped topping, if desired**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pumpkin, non-dairy milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and spices in a large bowl, and mix very well with an electric mixer (alternatively, you can combine these ingredients in a blender). Pour into unbaked pastry shell, and bake for about 60 minutes. The pie will still be jiggly when you take it out of the oven, but it will firm up as it cools. Cool completely on a cooling rack, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving. Serve chilled and top with vegan whipped topping if desired.

* To be nut-free, I used Coconut Dream coconut beverage as it does not have a strong coconut flavour.  The original recipe states that almond milk will also produce great results.  Canned coconut milk will yield a rich and creamy pie but the flavor of the coconut will come through. Rice milk is not recommended as it is too thin for the nice creamy consistency.  

- Adapted from Vegan Spoonful: Homestyle Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy!

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Half-Sugar Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Chia seeds - Whole Wheat or Gluten-Free

Growing up in a Chinese household during the 70's and 80's, my parents would predominantly cook Chinese meals for dinner.  Usually, we had the classic stir-fried vegetables with slices of meat and lots of fluffy white rice.  If we were lucky, we had ice cream for dessert.  How much we looked forward to hauling out that 4L/gallon bucket of Neapolitan (strawberry/vanilla/chocolate) ice cream!

What a contrast nowadays!  I guess I got tired of Asian food and wanted branch out.  Rhubarb is not what we ate growing up.  I have two rhubarb plants in my garden and this season, I have harvested and frozen enough to last the year!  It's mid-August and in my rural BC town, my rhubarb plants are still producing!  After playing around with Strawberry Rhubarb pie, I wanted to try a lower sugar version of Strawberry Rhubarb crisp.   

There are so many recipes out there but I wanted something super easy and not loaded with too much sugar and fat.  Of course, if you want to add more sugar and butter, be my guest!

This basic recipe uses whole wheat flour and half the amount of sugar compared to conventional recipes.  It got rave reviews in our household!  The kiddies wanted it for breakfast the next day.  I was worried that it would be too sour, but it wasn't for us.  Our strawberries were sweet, so that helped. 

For fun, I also made this gluten-free with great results.  Oats can be contaminated with gluten during processing, so if you are serving oats to guests who are gluten-sensitive, make sure they are certified gluten-free on the package. 

Instead of using whole wheat flour to thicken the filling, I mixed in chia seeds and arrowroot starch.  I bought a few scoops of chia seeds from the bulk organic section my grocery store to try.  Apparently, it has great thickening properties, extra fibre, and plant omega-3s, like flaxseed, according to the Globe and Mail.   I like to try different kinds of food... sometimes it's healthy...sometimes not! 

In the lower left corner in the picture above, you can see the chia seeds in the sauce.  The chia seeds swell up, like tiny tapioca pearls.  They absorb the extra liquid and I don't notice a difference in taste. 

Next time, I will try using quinoa flakes in place of the rolled oats.  With these substitutions, this has been very forgiving recipe with whatever ingredients on-hand!

Half-Sugar Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Chia seeds - Whole wheat or Gluten-free

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup sugar)

3 Tbsp whole wheat flour or cornstarch (I used 1 Tbsp chia seeds + 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch)

3 cups quartered strawberries

3 cups diced rhubarb (about 1/4-1/2-inch chunks or about 1.5cm)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Topping:

2/3 cup rolled oats (I will try quinoa flakes next time!)

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed (I used 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or your fave gluten-free baking mix*)

1 Tbsp butter, melted (I needed to use 3Tbsp melted butter with the gluten-free flour)
dash of cinnamon

Mix first 5 ingredients for the fruit base. Pour and spread evenly in a 2.5qt/L dish.

Mix topping ingredients, spread evenly over the fruit base.

Bake at 350F for 45 - 55 minutes until bubbly.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  With ice cream is good too.  

- Adapted from SparkRecipes: Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

*As for the gluten-free baking mix, I tried  Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free All-purpose flour mix for a different recipe and I didn't like it.  It had a strong (nasty) aftertaste, due to the bean flour added to it.  To salvage this, I used 2 Tbsp of Bob's GF flour, 1 Tbsp rice flour, 1/2 Tbsp tapioca starch and 1/2 Tbsp potato starch to make up 1/4 cup flour.  Gluten-free flour mixes usually have a combination of rice flour, tapioca and potato starches. 

 We served our strawberry rhubarb crisp with homemade vanilla bean ice cream. YUM!

Enjoy!

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Homemade Iced Coffee with Microwave Simple Syrup

In my small town, we have several small coffee shops and a Tim Horton's.  It is a treat for us to go out for coffee.  With the warm summer weather, iced coffee is a wonderful, refreshing treat but the price tag is not!  I remember paying at least CAD$3.50 for a medium cup.  I think making this at home would be economical for a group of mommies at a playdate!

In general, I hate waste.  As an experiment, I refrigerated leftover morning coffee in a glass pyrex container.  The next day, I reheated it and enjoyed it.  My taste buds were not perceptive enough to notice a difference between today's and yesterday's home brew so I save leftover coffee now.  Hubby is the same.  One hot day, I decided to throw some ice cubes, milk and sweetener in some leftover coffee I had in the fridge and the rest is history.  I've read that some people complain about the bitterness and oxidation of coffee, etc.  It doesn't bother us.  Everybody's palate is different! 

To last a few days, I brew a strong pot of coffee, cool it down, and pour it in a nice pitcher for the fridge.  Serve with ice, your milk of choice and your sweetener of choice.  The ice cubes will dilute the cold coffee, so you may want to make your pot of coffee stronger.  For us, we are OK with a weaker iced coffee.  I don't need so much caffeine in the afternoon. You can even freeze your leftover coffee in ice cubes but I didn't want to stain my white ice cube tray.

Looking online, there is the "cold brew" method of making iced coffee, where you steep the coffee grounds in cold water for 8-24 hours, filter out the grounds and keep this concentrate in the fridge. But for this busy mom, I haven't felt the need to make it this way (yet).

 

Homemade Iced Coffee

- Cooled strong pot of coffee (1 1/2 to double strength,  if preferred)

- Ice

- Milk or cream of your choice

- Sweetener of your choice or simple syrup (below)

Make your normal or a stronger pot of coffee.  Let cool and transfer cooled coffee in a container and store in refrigerator.  Serve with ice,  milk of your choice and sweetener of your choice.  Enjoy.

Out of curiosity, I made a simple syrup in the microwave, as I have heard that it dissolves better in iced coffee than white sugar.  Simple syrup is 2 parts sugar dissolved in 1 part water. 

Microwave Simple Syrup

1 part water (e.g. 1/2 cup water)

2 parts sugar (e.g. 1 cup white sugar)

Microwave 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe 2-cup glass measuring cup at HIGH 1 minute or until very hot. Stir in sugar; stir 20 seconds. Microwave at HIGH 30 seconds; stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture is clear. Microwave another 30 seconds if needed.  Be careful not to boil this mixture over.  Cover and chill until ready to use. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month.

- Adapted from Southern Living's Super Simple Syrup

 I have a cool carafe of iced coffee in the refrigerator.  Feel free to drop by for a glass! 

Enjoy!

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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I am very happy with my rhubarb plants this year.  So far, I managed to freeze a bunch of rhubarb for later use, where I normally make strawberry rhubarb coffee cake from an old 1970's recipe book.  My latest challenge is making strawberry rhubarb pie.

Yesterday, I harvested about 3lbs, which means I have plenty of rhubarb to play around with!  My last strawberry rhubarb pie was a tasty hot mess. It looked gorgeous when I pulled it out of the oven, but was very watery when I tried to serve it.  My children and husband were so gracious and kind. They declared it to be the tastiest strawberry rhubarb pie they had. 

I found a simple recipe from Serious Eats with a trick to keep the pie from being too watery.  It says to add 1/4 cup of sugar to the cut rhubarb and strawberries, let it sit for an hour or so and then drain the liquid off.  (I saved the drained strawberry rhubarb juices and added some club soda for a neat refreshing drink!).

I used 3 cups of strawberries and 3 cups of rhubarb for my pie and drained a little over 1/4 cup of excess liquid!

Next, the recipe uses tapioca or cornstarch but I wanted to try instant tapioca.  I bought a few scoops of it from the bulk food section of my supermarket.  The brand name is Minute Tapioca, but for over $3/box, I thought I'll try out a few scoops for pennies instead.  

I wasn't sure if the instant tapioca would dissolve properly in the pie, so let it sit with the fruit and sugar for 10-15 minutes to soften the tapioca grains. 

hehehe, I like making "rustic" imperfect pies with thick crusts.  It's hard to concentrate when the kids were hovering around me.  I put it in the oven at 400F for 15 minutes, then turned it down to 350F for another 30-40 minutes. 

Boy, was it a juicy pie!  Not very pretty but it only means that I need more practice!  I didn't put a pan underneath to catch the drips, so some of the juices bubbled over and made a little mess on the bottom of my oven.  The instant tapioca thickened the juices nicely.  The hardest part was waiting for the pie to cool and for the filling to set nicely.  I made this at lunchtime so it would be ready to serve after dinner.

It was not runny at all!  Success!!!  The pie was very tasty but an extra tablespoon or 2 of sugar would be good, since some sugar was lost in the drained liquid.  If the rhubarb did not exude so much liquid, then less sugar would be lost. My kiddies enjoyed this so much they wanted pie for breakfast!  I think this method would also work for frozen strawberries and frozen rhubarb.  Still work in progress but at least it is a yummy adventure!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

One recipe of your favourite double-crust pie dough 

3 cups sliced strawberries
3 cups rhubarb, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup sugar (or less/more to taste), divided (If more than 1/4 cup juices drained, add extra 2 Tbsp with the cornstarch)
4 tablespoons cornstarch or tapioca starch (I used instant tapioca)
egg wash (1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water)
turbinado sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Core and quarter strawberries. Chop rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces.

Toss strawberries and rhubarb together with 1/4 cup of sugar, and allow them to macerate (the sugar will begin to break down the fruit, releasing some liquid) for 20 minutes.

Drain off excess liquid from the strawberry mixture using a china cap or strainer.

Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch or tapioca starch. Add the sugar mixture to fruit mixture. Stir well until all of the starch has dissolved.  Pour filling into prepared, chilled dough shaped in a pie plate.

Place the chilled, rolled top crust over the filling. Trim the edges and crimp as desired. Cut slits or patterns in the top with a sharp pairing knife. Chill for 20 minutes before baking.

Apply egg wash to the top of the pie and, if you'd like, sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400F, then reduce temperature to 350F and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes.  Bake until the top is a deep golden brown and filling is bubbling in the center.  Allow pie to cool for several hours before serving.

- Adapted from Serious Eats: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Enjoy!

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Basic Buttery Pie Crust

Pie crust has been something I was never able to make ever since I moved to 100 Mile House.  When I lived in Vancouver, it was never a problem.  Years later, I finally had my "A-ha!" moment and realized that humidity was a big factor.  In 100 Mile, the humidity is much drier than Vancouver, so the flour's moisture content plays a big role.   

My problem was that my dough always came out very tough and rock hard!  The culprit was too much water, hence a hard, tough crust.  Normally, I dumped some of the water to the flour, mixed it around for a few seconds and kept adding water til it stuck together. 

For some reason, I realized that I had to be more patient when incorporating water in the crust. What worked for me is to add 4Tbsp cold water first and mix with a fork for at least 15-20 seconds to make sure the flour absorbs the water properly.  Then add cold water 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing the mixture around for at least 10-15 seconds before adding the next tablespoon water until shaggy bits of dough formed.  If the shaggy dough bits stick together when you squeeze it with your fingers then the dough has enough water.  I never did that before and ended up adding considerably more water than the recipe called for, which led to a tough, hard crust. 

I figured that basic pie crust recipe from the Crisco shortening box was a good start.  There are good crust recipes out there that use egg ,vinegar, more fat and flour.  I didn't want to waste any more ingredients if my crust turned out to be another disaster!  I like to use a combination of both butter and shortening.  It is personal preference and taste.  I love the taste of butter in pie crusts and the texture of shortening in the crust.  I think you could interchange your favourite pie fat in this recipe.  I'll try coconut oil when I run out of shortening.

Basic Buttery Pie Crust

- Adapted from the recipe on the Crisco shortening box

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup shortening

4-8 tablespoon ice cold water (I needed 8 Tbsp)

Blend flour, sugar and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening (and butter) using pastry blender (or 2 knives) until all flour is blended in to form coarse crumbs with pea-size chunks. 

Sprinkle with 4 Tbsp (60mL) ice cold water over flour mixture.  Using a fork, stir and draw flour from bottom of bowl to the top; press chunks down to bottom of bowl with fork.  Add more water by the tablespoon, mixing until dough holds together.  This is when the shaggy bits of dough holds together when you squeeze it.  

Divide dough in half, one ball slightly larger than the other.  Flatten ball into 1/2 inch (1.5cm) thick disks, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (or throw it in the freezer for later use).

Place larger disk of dough on lightly floured work surface.  With floured rolling pin, roll dough outward from centre into circle 1 inch wider than pie plate.  Transfer dough into pie plate without stretching and trim evening around plate.  Fill unbaked pie crust according to recipe.  

Roll top pie crust; lift onto filled pie.   Trim dough to 3/4-inch overhang; fold top crust under bottom dough edge.  Press edges together and flute.  Cut slits in top crust.  Bake according to recipe directions.  

YUM!  I like the sides of my crust thick. With the butter, the thick part has a shortbread-like crunch that is addictive.  I didn't realize that pie making is so subjective! 

Enjoy!

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Broken Glass Jello

Since school is out for summer holidays, I thought it would be fun to have Jello as a summer treat!  Some people may turn their noses up at Jello, but I adore the stuff.  The classic jiggly, gummy texture and bright colours bring me back to my own childhood.

When I came across the gorgeous Broken Glass Jello on Food Librarian's and JustJenn's site, I just HAD to make it.  I couldn't resist the rainbow bright colours jumbled in a background of white condensed milk.  

It was pretty easy to make but it took a bit of time for each colour to cool down and set up.
I like my finger Jello on the firmer side, so I added extra unflavoured gelatin powder for each flavour and condensed milk.  

I used 4 boxes of Jello (1 box = 4 servings).  Some of them were store-brand (Western Family) and sugar-free.  For each box of Jello, I added 1 tsp. unflavoured gelatin (Knox) and only 1 cup water (instead of 2 cups).  To cut down costs, I was able to buy unflavoured gelatin in the bulk food section of my supermarket.     

Pour each flavour into a container and let it set in the refrigerator for minimum 3 hours.  After the Jello has set, grease a 9"x13" glass pan with vegetable oil or line with plastic wrap.

After minimum 3 hours, cut the set Jello into small blocks and place them into the prepared glass pan.  Carefully mix up the colours in the plan. 

  

ooohh... Look at the pretty colours!

In a separate bowl, sprinkle 3 Tbsp (or 3 envelopes) unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. After the gelatin blooms, add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and dissolve. Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and cool.  Pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.

  

Cut into blocks or your favourite shapes and serve!  

Broken Glass Jello

4 small boxes (4-servings each) of Jell-O or store brand "gelatin dessert" in different colors.

     (I used strawberry, lime, orange and berry blue - Jell-O and store brands.  Some were sugar-free)

5 1/2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup cold water

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (don't get evaporated milk) 

4 tsp + 3 Tbsp unflavored gelatin (that Knox stuff)  

**Note:  I like my finger Jell-O firmer, so I added 1 tsp unflavoured gelatin for each flavour of Jello and 3 Tbsp or (3 envelopes) for the condensed milk.  1 envelope gelatin = 1 Tbsp gelatin. 

Dissolve each box of jello separately, using just one cup of boiling water per flavor (and 1 tsp gelatin, if desired). Pour into individual containers (small tupperware works well) and chill overnight.

Once solid, cut the flavors of jello into small blocks and mix together carefully in a greased glass 9×13 pan.

In a separate bowl, dissolve 2 (Tbsp) envelopes unflavored gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water (I use 3 Tbsp).  Add 1 1/2 cups hot water. Let cool a bit and stir in the condensed milk. Cool to touch and pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.

- Adapted from Just Jenn and Food Librarian

The kiddies LOVED all the pretty colours!  YUM!

Enjoy!

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