Rhubarb Streusel Muffins

 

Rhubarb is one of the first crops in a spring garden. It used to be regarded as a good tonic to aid digestion and perk up the appetite after a long winter of eating mostly preserved foods. 

I tinkered with a Rhubarb Cake cake recipe from an old cookbook to come up with this smaller version. Just a couple of stalks of slender rhubarb are enough for the recipe. 

Rhubarb Streusel Muffins - makes about 9 medium-large muffins

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup softened butter

1 egg

1/2 cup plain yogurt (or sour milk)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

dash of salt

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup finely chopped rhubarb

1. Cream together the brown sugar and butter; add the egg and beat well.

2. Stir in the yogurt and the vanilla.

3. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well-mixed

4. Stir in the rhubarb.

Spoon mixture into 9 medium-large lined muffin tins. Place streusel on top, pressing down slightly. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes. 

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons softened butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all ingredients to form a crumbly paste. 

Rice Pudding

 

Rice Pudding is not something I remember as a child. Tim's mother, however, made it frequently, and he has fond memories of comforting bowls of this creamy and not-too-sweet mixture. Tim's mom shared her recipe with me many years ago. The paper she wrote it on is stained and creased. The piece of stationery she used had this on the bottom:

"Let all your things 

Be done with love"

What a good motto for any endeavour, but especially so for cooking.

Rice Pudding

1/3 cup rice (use white, converted, or arborio) I used the latter this time

3 Tablespoons sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg (or cinnamon)

2 1/2 cups milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon butter

In a saucepan, combine the rice, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, then lower the heat to a low simmer. Half-cover (I prop a lid sideways on the pot, or use a wooden spoon), and cook for 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Beat egg in a bowl and add a bit of the cooked mixture to it - it should still be fairly liquid. Stir the egg into the pot and cook for several minutes until thick. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. 

Note:  This recipe makes enough for two or three servings. When the children were at home, I always doubled or even tripled it. It's good cold or warm. 

Unbaked Cheesecake

 

I considered some of the things in my pantry over the weekend, and decided to make an Unbaked Cheesecake with a Raspberry Sauce. Some graham wafers were getting past their best date, and I'm using up the fruit in the freezer before the new crop comes. 

This is such a quick and easy dessert; one that I prefer to a baked cheesecake because it's so much lighter. 

Unbaked Cheesecake

1 1/4 cups graham wafer crumbs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

Combine the above ingredients and press into the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely.

1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup of whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks

Beat cream cheese and icing sugar together. Add vanilla. Fold in whipping cream. Spread mixture over cooled crust. Chill for several hours. 

To serve, make a sauce with any fruit, or use a can of cherry or blueberry pie filling. 

One-crust Apple Pie

 

Apples picked from our trees in the fall, combined with enough pastry in the freezer for a single-crust inspired me to look for a suitable pie recipe. I found one in the Mennonite Treasury of Recipes, first published in 1962, and a classic in my growing up years. I adapted the recipe slightly and am pleased with the result.

One-crust Apple Pie

1 pastry crust, rolled and placed in a 9 or 10 inch pie plate

Apples, peeled, cored, and sliced to generously fill the pastry shell - I used a combination of Liberty and Akane apples

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the above and pour it over the apples. Dot the apples with

2 Tablespoons of butter in small pieces

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over - about 1 Tablespoon. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 40-60 minutes, or more. The original recipe recommended just 30 minutes, but in order for the pastry to cook thoroughly, and for the flour taste to disappear from the brown sugar mixture, it needed much longer. 

Almond Crescents

 

Buttery, crumbly, and not too sweet, but sweet enough. My mother has made Almond Crescents for many years, and this is her recipe. They are delicious with a cup of Earl Grey tea, sipped in front of the fire on a blustery day. 

Almond Crescents

1 cup blanched almonds, toasted at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, and cooled

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

In food processor, blend the almonds, sugar, and salt until very finely ground. Set aside.

1 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

You will also need about 3/4 cup of icing sugar to use after the cookies are baked.

In mixing bowling, beat the butter and sugar on high until creamy and light. Reduce speed and add the almond and vanilla extracts, then the flour and the almond mixture. 

Cover and chill for about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 

Shape dough, using about 1 rounded teaspoon, into a small ball, then roll into a log and form into a crescent. You may need to flour your hands to prevent sticking. If the dough is cold enough, this won't be necessary.

Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets. They will spread a little, but not much. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden.

Immediately transfer to cooling rack. Sift icing sugar over the cookies generously. I like to sift the sugar over once when the cookies are hot, and once when they have cooled. They should be well coated.

Makes 5-6 dozen cookies.

Crunchy Vanilla Clusters

 

These sweet little morsels have few ingredients, and one of them is rather surprising. There are nuts - pecans and almonds - a bit of butter, lots of white chocolate, and the surprise ingredient - ramen noodles. I know. Weird. And oddly addicting. They are crushed and sauteed with the butter and nuts and add a savoury note to the white chocolate. 

I got the recipe from a Christmas with Southern Living 2000 hardback book. 

Crunchy Vanilla Clusters

1 (3 ounce) (100 g) package ramen noodles

3/4 cup pecan pieces

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 Tablespoons butter

12 oz (340 g) white chocolate (I used Baker's)

Gently crush the ramen noodles, and discard the flavour packet. Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a skillet. Add the noodles, pecans, and almonds. Saute, stirring occasionally, until toasted. 

Turn the heat down to low and add the white chocolate. I let the chocolate sit on top of the mixture to soften, then begin stirring it gently. Conversely, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave and add it to the mixture. Coat the mixture thoroughly. 

Drop by tablespoons onto parchment paper. Let stand until firm. Place in fridge for quicker cooling. Store clusters in airtight container in the fridge, freezer, or if not too warm, at room temperature. 

Makes about 3 dozen.

Scandinavian Almond Cookies

 

I've had this recipe, handwritten on a 3 x 5 card just the way we used to do, for a long time. I made it again recently and was so pleased with the texture and taste that I think I will make another batch soon. Crisp on the outside and chewy inside with a pronounced almond taste, they disappeared quickly. 

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

milk

1/2 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped

Stir together the flour and baking powder. Set aside. 

Beat butter until creamy, add sugar and beat well, then add egg and extract. 

Stir in the flour.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Form each portion into a 12 inch long roll. Place two rolls 4 - 5 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet (I line my baking sheet with parchment paper). Flatten each roll to about 1 1/2 inches - they will spread out quite a bit as they bake. 

Brush with milk. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 325 F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Slide the rolls onto a cutting board (using parchment paper makes this very easy). While warm and soft, cut crosswise into 1 1/2 inch strips. Transfer to wire rack and cool. Makes about 36 cookies.

Drizzle with almond icing.

1 cup icing sugar

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

3-4 teaspoons milk

Stir together until creamy and soft. 

The cookies keep well at room temperature for a week or more, and can easily be frozen for longer storage.