Kick Off To Halloween

September 30, 2016September 27, 2016thasc1Leave a comment

Nutty Football Cookies

Ingredients:…
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup finely chopped almonds
Assorted colored decorating icings (optional)
White decorating icing

Method:
Combine flour and cocoa in small bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended after each addition. Add almonds; beat until well blended. Shape dough into disc. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Roll out dough between parchment paper to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out shapes with 2 ½ to 3 inch football cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate with color icings if desired. Pipe white icing onto footballs to resemble laces.

To make football shapes without a cookie cutter, shape 3 tablespoonfuls of dough into ovals. Place 3 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Flatten ovals to ¼ inch thickness; taper ends.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Cook’s Tip: This tasty bread is best eaten on the day it is made, as it does not keep well for very long.

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

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Fantastic Football Food

September 28, 2016September 14, 2016thasc11 Comment

Ham And Cheese Lattice Pies

Ingredients:…
9 ounces fresh ready-made puff pastry
1/3 cup finely chopped ham
2/3 cup full-fat soft cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
pepper

Method:
Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured counter. Cut out 12 rectangles measuring 6 x 2 inches.
Place the rectangles onto greased cookie sheets and leave to chill for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the ham, cheese and chives in a small bowl. Season with pepper to taste.
Spread the ham and cheese mixture along the center of 6 of the rectangles, leaving a 1 inch border around each one. Brush the border with a little beaten egg.
To make the lattice pattern, fold the remaining rectangles lengthwise. Leaving a 1 inch border, cut vertical lines across one edge of the rectangles using a sharp knife.
Unfold the rectangles and place them over the rectangles topped with the ham and cheese mixture set on the cookie sheets. Seal the dough edges well and lightly sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Makes 6

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

THASC is a unique small American business producing cards and other promotional products. www.thasc.com

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Fantastic Football Food

September 23, 2016September 14, 2016thasc1Leave a comment

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:…
½ cup butter
½ cup chunky peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
¾ cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped

Method:
Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter
Gradually add the sugar and beat well.
Add the beaten egg, a little at a time, beating until it is thoroughly combined.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the peanut butter mixture.
Add the peanuts and bring all of the ingredients together to form a soft dough. Wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
Form the dough into 20 balls and place them onto the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading. Flatten them slightly with a fork.
Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes, until golden brown color. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool slightly before serving.

Makes 20

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

THASC is a unique small American business producing cards and other promotional products. www.thasc.com

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Fantastic Football Food

September 21, 2016September 12, 2016thasc1Leave a comment

Cheese & Ham Loaf

cheese-and-ham-loaf — Any grated hard cheese can be used for this bread, use a milder one, if preferred.

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp paprika
1/3 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup grated sharp cheese
½ cup smoked ham, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup milk

Method:

Thoroughly grease a 1 pound loaf pan and line the base with baking parchment.
Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and paprika into a mixing bowl.
Rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the cheese and ham.
Add the beaten eggs and milk to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Spoon the cheese and ham mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake the mixture in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour, or until the loaf is well risen.
Let the bread cool in the pan, then turn out, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve the bread cut into thick slices.

Serves 6

Cook’s Tip: This tasty bread is best eaten on the day it is made, as it does not keep well for very long.

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

THASC is a unique small American business producing cards and other promotional products. www.thasc.com

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Fantastic Football Food

September 16, 2016September 14, 2016thasc1Leave a comment

Cheese Cookies

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups grated sharp cheese
2/3 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
Sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Method:

Lightly grease several cookie sheets.
Mix flour and cheese together in a bowl.
Add the butter to the cheese and flour mixture and mix with your fingers until combined.
Stir in the egg yolk and mix to form dough. Wrap the dough and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the cheese dough thinly. Cut out 2 ½ inch rounds, re-rolling the trimmings to make about 35 rounds.
Place the rounds onto the prepared cookie sheets and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top of them.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, until the cookies are a light golden color.
Transfer the cheese cookies to a wire rack and cool slightly before serving.

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

THASC is a unique small American business producing cards and other promotional products.www.thasc.com

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Fantastic Football Food

September 14, 2016September 4, 2016thasc1Leave a comment

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 16 pieces (or 9 ounces part-skim ricotta)
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces (or 1/3 cup vegetable oil)
4 large eggs (or 2 large eggs and 3 large egg whites)
2 tablespoons sour cream (or 1/4 cup water)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat over to 325 degrees F. Prepare a 10 cup tube pan (9 1/2 inches top diameter by 4 inches high with nonstick spray.

To the workbowl with the metal blade, add the sugar, the cream cheese (or the ricotta), the butter (or the oil), the eggs (or the eggs and egg whites), the sour cream (or the water), and the vanilla; process until well mixed, about 20 seconds, scraping the bowl as necessary. Add the flour, the baking powder, and the salt; pulse until the flour just disappears, 3 to 5 times. Add the chocolate chips; pulse only until they are partly mixed in, 2 to 4 times.

Pour into the prepared pan; bake until lightly browned and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; loosen around the side and tube with a small spatula; turn out onto rack to finish cooling.

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

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Fantastic Football Food

September 9, 2016September 4, 2016thasc1Leave a comment

Chocolate Pecan Drops

1 package (about 18 ounces) yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups pecan pieces, divided
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine cake mix, 1 cup pecans, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, butter and eggs in food processor. Process until pecans are finely chopped and mixture is well blended.

3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.

4. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

5. Place remaining 3/4 cup chocolate chips in small resealable food storage bag; seal bag. Microwave on High 20 seconds. Gently knead bag until chips are melted and smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag and squeeze chocolate over cookies. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup pecans.

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

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www.thasc.com

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Rice pudding

September 2, 2016August 31, 2016bonnieLeave a comment

A good old fashioned family favourite!

THE NEW YOU.jpg

Rice Pudding

A good old fashioned Rice pudding is always a firm favourite

Ingredients

3 large eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups milk, heated to the boiling point

3/4 cup cooked rice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins, optional

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs slightly. Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Slowly add the hot milk, mixing well. Strain into the buttered baking dish. Add the rice, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Add the raisins if desired. Bake 1 ½ hours, or until a knife inserted comes out clean and the pudding is lightly browned. Serve warm.

Makes 6 servings

Tried and tested in the THASC kitchen

Blueberry and Vanilla Muffins

August 17, 2016August 16, 2016bonnie1 Comment

Another fabulous back to school recipe to slip inside the little ones lunch boxes, or give as a snack once they get home after their busy day.

Blueberry Muffins.jpg

Blueberry and Vanilla Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

Generous ½ cup superfine sugar

Generous ½ cup blueberries

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

½ cup buttermilk

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Vanilla sugar, for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Cut out 18 x 3 ½ inch/9-cm squares from parchment paper. Push the squares into 2 x 12-hole mini muffin pans, creasing the squares to fit so that they form paper liners. Don’t worry if they lift out of the sections slightly, the weight of the muffin batter will hold them into place.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar and blueberries. In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the vanilla, egg, buttermilk, and oil with a fork until evenly combined.

Turn the buttermilk mixture into the flour. Using a metal spoon gently fold the ingredients together until just mixed. Don’t over blend the ingredients or the muffins won’t be as light.

Spoon the batter into the paper liners; it should be level with the top of the pan. Sprinkle with a little vanilla sugar and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until risen and just form to the touch. Let the muffins stand in the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer them in their liners to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cold, dusted with a little extra vanilla sugar.

Makes 18

Tried and tested in the THASC kitchen

Strawberry Birthday Cake

July 29, 2016July 29, 2016bonnieLeave a comment

Strawberry birthdayCake.jpg

Strawberry Birthday Cake

Ingredients; Cake layers

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 ¾ cups all-purpose soft-wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup milk

1 vanilla bean

Strawberry Compote

1 vanilla bean

1 ½ cups chopped strawberries

½ cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. dark rum

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 ½ cups butter, softened

½ (8oz) package cream cheese, softened

5 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. almond extract

Garnish: fresh strawberry halves

Method; Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt: add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Split vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape out seeds. Stir seeds into batter; reserve bean for another use. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch sides.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 34 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and place on wire racks to cool completely (about 1 hour)

Compote

Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Stir together vanilla bean and seeds, strawberries, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until strawberries are soft and mixture is slightly syrupy. Remove from heat; discard vanilla bean. Stir in rum. Cool completely (about 30 min).

Frosting

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until smooth. Beat at medium speed for 1 minute, or until fluffy. Stir in extract’s, garnish if desired.

Using a serrated knife, slice cake layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Place 1 layer cut side up on a cake plate. Spread with half of strawberry compote. Top with another cake layer; spread with about ¾ cup cream cheese frosting. Place another cake layer on top of frosting spread with strawberry compote. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread with 1 ½ cups frosting on top and sides of cake to make a thin layer of frosting. Chill cake for 30minutes. Spread cake with remaining cream cheese frosting. Store in refrigerator.

Makes 16 servings

Hands on time; 53 min. Total time; 2 hr., 46min.

Tried and tested in the THASC kitchen