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Carrot Raisin Square

This Carrot Raisin Square was featured in Maureen's Kitchen in the Spring 2023 issue of Saskatoon HOME magazine. The article is titled "Green Can Be a Theme." Of course, the glaze on the square is tinted green for a St. Patrick's Day feeling.

I make this cake with gluten-free flour because the recipe contains enough leavening ingredients to support heavier flour. The original recipe called for a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. This is a forgiving recipe; feel free to experiment. 

Using freshly ground nutmeg, given to me by my eldest daughter, and Mexican vanilla, given to me by my dear friends, took this most recent cake to a new level of deliciousness. 

Carrot Raisin Square

Before You Start:

Butter a 9" by 11" cake pan and set aside. 

Prepare:

1 ½ cups grated carrots

½ cup washed raisins

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup room temperature butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 eggs

Dry Ingredients:

¾ cup Only Oats Gluten-Free Oat Flour 

¾ cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:

1. Beat together sugar, butter, vanilla, and nutmeg. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each egg.  

2. Stir flour with baking soda and baking powder. 

3. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix well. 

Final Step:

Stir in prepared raisins and carrots and scoop into the prepared pan.  

Bake in a 350°F oven for 35 minutes.  

Cool the cake before glazing. This cake can be cut into 25 squares.

Vanilla Glaze

Melt ¼ cup of butter. Blend in 2 cups of sifted icing sugar. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Gradually add 2 to 4 tablespoons of hot water, one spoonful at a time, until the glaze is the desired consistency. 

Sometimes, I glaze the square right in the pan. Alternatively, the whole cake can be removed from the pan and glazed on a serving plate. It is also delicious when served without icing.

TIP: I often grate an entire bag of carrots on grocery day and enjoy them for a few days as a side dish, in a salad or soup, and baked into cookies and cakes. 

Mom's Vintage Rhubarb Pie Filling

Preheat the oven to 450°F

This small recipe works best using a basic 8-inch pie plate. My mother usually baked this pie in a shallow enamelled 9-inch pie plate that she received as a wedding gift in 1947. I cherish that pan and used it recently. I enjoyed the memories that flooded over me that day. 

Ingredients:

Pastry for a double crust pie

2 cups thinly sliced rhubarb, fresh or frozen

1 egg

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons flour

Method:

Whisk the egg and add the sugar and flour, mixing until smooth. Add the rhubarb to this mixture and mix well. Set aside. 

Line a pie plate with pastry, add the rhubarb mixture, and top with pastry. Pinch pastry edges, cut off excess and prick the pie top. 

Place pie in a preheated 450°F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes. 

NOTE:

My mother made this pie using her Vintage Hot Water Pastry. The pastry and filling seemed to become one, resulting in a soft, delicious dessert. I often bake Mom’s rhubarb pie filling using my Easy, Delicious, Buttermilk Pastry. This recipe creates a crispy crust sweetened with a layer of rhubarb goodness. Try a few different pastry recipes and see what you prefer with rhubarb.  

Pastry-Topped, Deep-Dish Apple Rhubarb Bake

Preheat the oven to 400°F

Prepare pastry to cover a 9” by 13” cake pan. Use homemade or purchase puff pastry from a grocery store. Roll pastry into a 10” by 14” rectangle. Refrigerate the prepared pastry topper on a baking sheet or tray until the fruit mixture is ready.  

Filling Ingredients:

9 cups apples, cored, peeled, and sliced (9 to 14 apples)

4 cups sliced rhubarb, fresh or frozen

1 cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup all-purpose flour or a thickener of your choice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

⅓ cup orange or apple juice

Method:

Combine apples and rhubarb in a large bowl. Combine sugar, spices, and flour in a separate bowl. Add sugar mixture to the fruit and toss lightly to coat. 

Pour filling into a 9” by 13” baking pan—drizzle juice over the filling.  

Top the fruit mixture with the chilled pastry—pinch the edges to flute. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. I often use cookie cutters to create a unique look. Brush pastry with a wash of milk and sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake the deep-dish pie at 400°F for 50 minutes or until the fruit is tender and the crust is golden brown. 

Try this recipe. You will love it!

Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup flour

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon of Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

¼ cup finely grated fresh parmesan

1 cup marinara sauce 

Thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

Cut each breast in half horizontally to create 4 thin chicken cutlets. Flatten each cutlet with a meat mallet. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper. Let rest.

Prepare 3 shallow dipping bowls. Pie plates work too. 

1. Flour
2. Two eggs whisked together with hot sauce
3. Panko breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan cheese

Dredge each chicken cutlet in flour until covered. Let chicken rest on a cutting board or plate. 

Place two trays from the air fryer onto a cookie sheet and oil them with less than a teaspoon of oil. I use a paper towel to distribute the oil thinly. 

Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and set the timer for 10 minutes. 

While waiting, dip each piece of meat in the egg mixture, followed by the crumbs, and place on the air fryer racks. 

When the fryer says add food, place the racks into the oven. 

At five minutes, remove the trays and turn the cutlets over. Put the trays back in the air fryer, exchanging positions. The cutlets on the top-level brown more quickly so moving them to the bottom prevents burning. Close the oven door, and the timer will resume. 

When done, remove the trays from the oven. Test with a meat thermometer; each cutlet should be at 175°F. Preheat the air fryer again to 400°F. Set the timer for 3 minutes. 

Spoon marinara sauce on each cutlet, avoiding edges. Top with mozzarella cheese.

When the air fryer reaches temperature, return the cutlets to the air fryer to melt the cheese and heat the sauce. Keep an eye on the cutlets. Mine are usually brown enough in 2 minutes.

Serve with pasta or a baked potato.  

Delicious Icing That Outlines and Fills

I have followed Sally of Sally's Baking Addiction for years. She has built an empire. This icing recipe originated from Sally, and I have attached the link to her instructions at the end of this blog. While preparing my article for the spring 2022 issue of Saskatoon Home Magazine, I tried several icing recipes. This one tastes great on my Vintage Gingerbread Cookie Cut-Outs, and I will use it again. Visit Saskatoon HOME magazine, Spring 2022 (page 39) for the cookie recipe.   

Ingredients:

3 cups confectioners' sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons of Rogers Golden Syrup

4 to 5 tablespoons of room temperature water

Pinch of salt

Method:

Using a fork, stir ingredients together with 4 tablespoons of water.

It will be very thick. Switch to a whisk and add another half tablespoon of water.

Test: If you lift the whisk and a ribbon of icing drizzled back into the bowl will hold its shape for a few seconds before melting back into the mixture, then the icing is the right consistency. You might need to add a tiny bit of water to reach this state.   

Once you are content with the consistency, divide the icing into small bowls and add food colouring as desired. Remember icing darkens as it sets. 

Spoon into icing bags or squeeze containers. Outline cookies and then fill. The icing dries in 24 hours, and then you can layer the cookies to freeze them. 

Find the icing recipes I usually pair with my shape cookies by visiting the spring 2022 issue of Saskatoon HOME magazine.  

Sally's Baking Addiction is a fun, informative, inspiring site. Pour a cup of tea and browse there while you sip. 

Fantastic Microwave Oven Toffee

I have followed food blogger Jaclyn of Cooking Classy for many years. Visit her site and click Microwave Caramels for her mother-in-law’s recipe. I have adapted the recipe to suit my needs. I incorporate this toffee into Butterscotchies and Crater Cookies. The story of my inspiration for developing the recipe for my Crater Cookies is featured in the 2022 spring issue of Prairies North Magazine. I hope Jaclyn discovers this post so she knows how much I love this toffee and how often I incorporate it into other recipes. 

My old family recipe for making toffee is similar to this microwaved version. It contains 2 cups brown sugar, ½ pound butter, ¾ cup golden syrup, and 1 tin of Eagle Brand Condensed Milk. It suggests boiling this mixture for about 20 minutes or until the toffee forms threads when dropped into cold water. Pour the resulting toffee onto a buttered baking sheet. Once cool, break the toffee into shards. Although this old recipe is simple enough, I now prefer making Microwave Oven Toffee.  

Microwave Oven Toffee

If you have a candy thermometer, use it for this recipe.

Ingredients:

½ cup butter

½ cup Rogers Golden Syrup

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup sweetened condensed milk 

A pinch of salt

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract 

Sea salt

Method:

Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish. I use my silicone folding pan. Set aside.

Place the ½ cup of butter into an 8-cup microwave-safe batter-bowl and heat until melted. 

Add Rogers Golden Syrup, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and a pinch of salt to the melted butter and whisk until well-mixed. 

Microwave mixture on HIGH power for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes, remove from microwave and test the temperature with a candy thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a small amount of toffee into ice water and remove it. It should still be pliable, not too soft, or too hard. The thermometer should read between 238°F and 242°F. 

Add cooking time in 20-second intervals, if required. The wattage of your microwave makes a difference but so does altitude. I usually find 6 minutes is perfect. 

Once you feel the toffee is cooked, add vanilla extract, and mix well using a whisk.   

Pour the toffee into the buttered pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Place in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes or until set. 

Cut toffee into rows of under ½ an inch in width and then cut the rows into 2 or 3 pieces. Wrap the thin rectangles in wax paper and twist the ends. 

I prepare one cup of toffee chips to use in my Crater Cookies, and I set aside 130 grams of toffee to make gluten-free Butterscotchies for my grandson.

I am allergic to soy, and this toffee recipe is soy-free and has paved the way for me to enjoy several new treats. I plan to make Gluten-Free Applescotch Muffins next. Stay tuned for that recipe. 

I store the toffee in the refrigerator. Five minutes on the counter makes it ready for serving. It remains soft and chewy, and my husband enjoys it often. I have now made this recipe over a dozen times.

I hope you try it and that you check out Jaclyn’s Cooking Classy site for other great recipes.  

Maureen's Crater Cookies

Preheat oven to 350° F

The complete story of my inspiration for developing these cookies was featured in my "Eats and Treats" column in the Spring 2022 issue of Prairies North Magazine.

Dry Ingredients:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Whisk the dry ingredients together

Prepare:

1 cup of toffee chips (Chop home-made toffee or use your favourite brand. Harder toffee may need to be crushed with a mallet.) 

8-ounces, about 2 cups, pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (see note below for toasting)

Moist Ingredients:

½ cup butter 

¼ cup shortening (I use Compliments vegetable shortening)

1¼ cups packed dark brown sugar

Beat butter, shortening, and sugar on medium speed until very light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Add:

2 large eggs

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Beat in eggs until incorporated with the butter-sugar mixture. Beat in vanilla.

Then, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, folding in until combined. 

Mix in nuts and toffee, just until blended. Refrigerate for approximately 10 minutes. 

To Bake:

Place scoops of dough 3 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets using a 2-inch scoop. Dampen hands and gently press cookies to flatten. Chilling the dough reduces spreading a little. Some spreading is required to create toffee craters. 

Bake cookies for about 12 to 14 minutes. Serve warm or store up to three days in a cookie tin at room temperature. The cookies become softer with storage, and I like that. Freeze after three days. 

NOTE: To toast pecans, preheat an oven to 350°F. Spread them on an aluminum cookie sheet and bake for about 8 minutes, stirring at 2 or 3-minute intervals. Keep a close eye on the pecans because they burn quickly.  

A Modern Take on Vintage Butterscotchies

Awe, the ever-popular cornflake - Kellogg’s is a name synonymous with pressed, toasted corn, but there are other brands, including some that are gluten-free.  

Butterscotchies are a delicious treat made by coating cornflakes in a toffee mixture. They are easy to make. I am allergic to soy lecithin, an ingredient in most purchased toffee. I found a soy-free recipe for Fantastic Microwave Oven Toffee so that I can partake in this treat too. 

My vintage recipe for Butterscotchies originally called for 2 boxes of Mackintosh Toffee. Over the years, packaging sizes changed. Some years ago, I determined a weight measure for the toffee required in this recipe. 

Recipe Ingredients:

130 grams of the toffee of your choice. I make microwave oven toffee and love the results. 

1 tablespoon of butter or margarine

1 tablespoon milk or milk alternative

2 cups Kellogg’s Corn Flakes or corn flakes of your choice

Melt the toffee, milk, and butter in a double boiler. No cooking is required. 

If you don’t have a double boiler, try to buy or borrow one, but as an alternative, you can melt ingredients in a heat-proof bowl over a pot containing boiling water. You could also melt the ingredients on medium-low in your microwave oven. A Staybowlizer makes one vessel fit another perfectly.

When the toffee mixture has melted, add the cornflakes to the pot.

Stir gently until the cornflakes are entirely coated, then drop small mounds of the mixture by teaspoon onto waxed paper and place in the fridge to harden. One can use a mini-muffin pan to make portions even. If you are using home-made toffee and gluten-free corn flakes, adding the mixture to mini-muffin cups helps hold these treats together. 

These melt-in-your-mouth treats are easy to make and delicious to eat. I often double this recipe. Put them in a tin and hide them because they disappear faster than you can make them. 

A Celebration Trifle for Any Season

Despite having many trifle recipes, I often return to this easy, child-friendly version after a holiday season. A trifle is a desirable reinvention of leftover baking. If you made my Cherry Bundt Cake, as featured in the winter 2021 issue of Saskatoon HOME, and are lucky enough to have some left, try this recipe. 

It's fun to serve this trifle in long-stemmed glasses with small spoons or in antique teacups. The great news is that you can freeze the remainder of this trifle in small containers to serve at a later date. It is the texture of fine ice cream when it's frozen. We love it! 

A Berry Cherry Celebration Trifle

Adapted from an Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk Recipe

Ingredients:

1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 ½ cups cold water

1 package (4 servings) instant lemon pudding mix 

2 cups whipping cream, whipped

300 grams of frozen Bundt cake, thawed and cubed 

4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or berries of choice 

½ cup strawberry jam

Berries to garnish

In a large bowl, combine Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk and water. Add the instant pudding powder, beat well, and place the mixture in the refrigerator to set. 

Beat the whipping cream until peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the milk and pudding mixture. Refrigerate.

Assembly:

Spoon 2 cups of pudding mixture into a 4-quart glass bowl. 

Add a cake layer using half the cubes.

Then add half of the fruit.

Dot with half the jam.

Add half of the remaining pudding mixture.

Then repeat layers of cake, fruit, and jam.

Top with the remainder of the pudding mixture, and chill for at least four hours before serving.  

This trifle serves 10 to 12 people.  

Make it Your Own: 

~Use the cake you like best. I always use the last of my Cherry Bundt Cake, but you could choose white, chocolate, or mocha.   

~Use the flavour of pudding that would best complement your cake choice.

~Choose a complementary jam as well. I can imagine cherry jam with chocolate cake. 

~Buy the fresh or frozen fruit of your choice. Mixed berries are also delightful.

~This trifle should be refrigerated for three to four hours before serving to allow the flavours to develop. 

Famous 1950s Cherry Winks

Recipes for Cherry Wink cookies can be found in many old cookbooks, but Ruth Derousseau is credited with creating the recipe and winning the Junior Pillsbury Bake-off contest in 1950. I have several alternative versions. One recipe is nut-free and another one calls for less flour. Perhaps your old, family cookbooks contain a recipe for Cherry Winks that someone remembers making or at least eating. These cookies can be frozen for at least a month, and they add a festive touch to your dessert table.

Cherry Winks should be savoured with a cup of tea while reading a good book. Chewing every bite slowly allows me to enjoy the crisp cornflake coating, the cake-like texture, the crunch of nuts, and the sweetness of the dates and cherries. 

Famous 1950s Cherry Winks

Preheat oven to 375°F

Prepare fruit and nuts, then set aside:

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chopped dates

½ cup chopped maraschino cherries

Crush 2 ½ cups of cornflakes and place in a shallow dish.

Sift together the dry ingredients:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Combine wet ingredients:

Cream:

½ butter

¼ cup shortening 

1 cup granulated sugar

Add:

2 eggs to creamed mixture and beat lightly.

Add:

2 tablespoons milk

Add:

1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. 

Fold the fruit and nuts into the dough. 

Create:

Use a one-tablespoon cookie scoop to measure dough. Roll dough into a ball. Roll each ball of dough into the cornflake crumbs.

Place cookies onto greased or parchment lined cookie sheets. Top each ball with ¼ or ½ of a maraschino cherry. Place in a preheated 375° F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, then cool completely on a rack before storing. 

Serve or store these delicious bites.