Recipe: Peanut Butter Squares (Originally Posted on Alternating Kitchen Witch on 13/02/09)

I don't normally have this recipe around until December, but seeing as though I've been in the mood for Yule and Christmas since, maybe, July, and I've had a special request for it, I think that now is the perfect time for me to repost it from my old blog to this one.

This recipe came to me from my mom, and it was passed to her by a friend. From the first year that she made it, it has become a necessity for the holiday season because everybody wants them. I've since introduced them to my friends here in the UK, and I get Witchy Kitty batting her eyes at me to beg to make it. I have altered it a little bit to accommodate for some of the ingredients being American, and one of the original ingredients not being gluten-intolerance friendly. As for the imported, that's only the butterscotch chips. (I think I have one bag remaining in my horde...hint hint to my mother :P). We can't get Karo Syrup over here, but I found that golden syrup works perfectly well.

And, enough of my waffle, here's the recipe that I've copied and pasted from my old cooking blog:


Heat:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of golden syrup (Karo Syrup is what the original recipe calls for)

Do not bring to a boil. Heat only until the sugar dissolves.

Remove from the heat and stir in:

• 2 cups of crunchy peanut butter
• 4 cups of Oataflake cereal, or Whole Earth Organic Corn Flakes (the original recipe calls for Special K, but, it's not wheat free-friendly.

Spread into roasting tray and allow to cool.

Melt 6 ounces each of:

• Coop Dark Chocolate (the original recipe calls for semi sweet chocolate bits...chocolate chips. I used a bar and a bit, so, get two bars).
• Butterscotch morsels (this is an American thing. You can buy them as an import here, in the UK, or maybe experiment with another type of chocolate...maybe white chocolate, melt it separately from the dark chocolate and swirl them when you do the top.)

Spread over the cooled mixture. After the topping cools, slice into 1 to 1 1/2 inch squares. (makes for perfect party table treats. My family normally has them for Christmas).

These are extremely moreish :D It's a recipe that I've gotten from my mother, who received it from a friend.

Witchy Kitty swears she hates peanut butter, but she adores these.

Brightest Blessings,
Mel

Forest School

I'm going to shock a lot of people. I actually turned my mobile phone off today and left it in my bag in a minibus. It actually isn't surgically attached to the end of my arm, surprise surprise. Today was the Imp's first trip to the Lincolnshire Forest School with her nursery, and they make the first session one that the parents attend so we can have an basic idea of what they will be doing during their eight weeks of attendance starting in September. I'm so grateful for her to be able to have to opportunity, because I worry about her missing out on some of the experiences that I had while growing up...I loved camping and traipsing through the woods but I now don't have as much opportunity to do it, and I know that it will be different here in the UK than it was growing up in the US.  But the whole concept of Forest School...well, wow, I would have killed for the opportunity to be able to do what she will be do at 3 1/2.

She wasn't scared or nervous in the slightest. You would have thought that she belonged there in the woods. They had simple games aimed at their age...searching the ground for 'treasures' to add to a forest crown (a band of green card with a strip of carpet tape that they could stick their 'treasures' to), playing Hide and Seek,  and building fairy houses (the Imp wasn't interested in that, actually). They were also given a lot of time to explore and play to their own whim. The Imp has developed my tendency to wander off (they're going to love that with me not there :P ), and she had no interest in what the others in the group were doing. A lot of them started off quite nervous and wanting to stick by mum. Not the Imp. She marched off without looking back, looking for more 'treasures'. Her best find was the newly-ripened blackberries that were scattered everywhere. She went through every bramble in the area to have a munch. And the first few brambles she stopped to have a chat to them, and I heard her thank one of them after she put a fat berry into her mouth. That's my girl...I'm so proud of her thanking the forest spirits for her treats. She was definitely a girl on a mission for the entire time.

I think that part of the reason why she wasn't really interested in sticking with the group is because the other girls were a bit older (going off to school in a month. The Imp doesn't go for another year), and the boys were a bit younger, so not in her preferred social circle. The other reason is that she has a mind very similar to mine, and she spends a lot of time in her own little world. My auntie used to regularly call me a 'space cadet', and I fully admit that I still am.

But the man that was running the session I think was highly impressed with her. I think he was shocked that she had so much confidence on arrival. But when he asked if any of the kids had spent any time in the woods yet, I was the only one that had raised my hand. The woods behind us are only small, but we do walk through their regularly. We might wander back tomorrow, in fact, to see if we can find enough blackberries to make a pie or crumble. Going back to my last post on Family Chores, I've always encouraged her to have a lot of independence and she's really good at exploration.

The Imp had an amazing time today, and so did I. It was amazing watching her stomp through the woods like she owned them, and finding her amazing 'treasures'. Granted, if you ask her what she did today, all you'll get is an excited 'I got to see Sara!'. Sara is her favourite nursery teacher, and she's not been there since the middle of July, when they had their end of term party.

I'm looking forward to her having more sessions. It's a shame that I won't be joining her, but I look forward to her telling me all about it. I do wish that I had photos of today, but I thought that it would be a good idea to leave my mobile in the mini bus. Part of it was because it was raining off and on, and I've already lost a phone to 'damp damage'. The other part is because I would have likely tripped over trying to snap her every movement when I needed to be able to experience this with her, full on.

Mel

Recipe: Iced Vanilla Cupcakes

This recipe is from Issue 1 of "Baked and Delicious" magazine, that I've altered by changing the flour to a gluten and wheat free blend from Dove's Farm. For those needing sugar free, the sugar is quite easily changed to sweetener alternatives(not tried this yet myself), and the butter and milk can be easily changed for your normal alternatives if you're dairy free (I have used Flora margarine and goats milk, in the past).

Here's the recipe:
For the Cupcakes:
125g/4oz unsalted butter, softened
125g/4oz caster sugar (I just use granulated, because that's what's here)
2 large eggs, beaten
125g/4oz self-raising flour, sifted (I'm naughty and rarely sift anything but icing sugar)
2tbsp semi-skimmed or whole milk (I had just a small dash more, just in case, for gluten free)
1tsp vanilla extract
(for chocolate, replace a tbsp of the flour with a tbsp of cocoa powder and sift it into the mixture at the same time. Add a heaped tspt of sifted cocoa powder to the icing sugar, too)

For the Buttercream Icing
75g /3oz unsalted butter, softened
2tbsp semi-skimmed or whole milk
1tsp vanilla extract
225g/8oz icing sugar, sifted
food colouring, optional

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy. Whisk in the beaten eggs a little at a time, adding a spoonful of the measured flour to prevent the mixture curdling.  Use a metal spoon to gently fold in the remaining flour and then add the milk and vanilla extract.  Stand the cupcake cases (I use silicone, but you could also use paper cases in a muffin tin) on a large baking tray and divide the mixture equally between them.  Bake in a preheated oven at 190C/375F/gas mark 5 until well risen and golden, for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove and cool on a wire tray.

For the icing, in a large bowl beat the butter until completely soft.  Tim in the milk and vanilla extract, add half the sifted icing sugar and beat for several minutes (warning...for me, this coats my entire kitchen in icing sugar).  Add the remaining sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.  If you are adding food colouring, put it in a drop at a time until you get the shade that you want.  You can either spread it onto your cupcakes, or I have an icing gun-thing that I fill and just squirt it on (I actually double the icing recipe, because I'm rather generous with it, and that's my favourite part.

If you want to add decorations, i.e. sprinkles or fruit such as raspberries or strawberries, lemon zest (I've contemplated exchanging the vanilla out of the entire recipe and adding lemon extract. I haven't gotten around to it yet), etc., add it before the icing sets.

This, overall, is a rather quick recipe if I need a quick treat. I think it takes me about 10 or 15 minutes to put it all together, then the 15 to 20 minutes of baking, half hour or so of letting it cool, and 5 minutes to apply the icing (that I make during the cooling off time).

Mel