Anita Mae Draper
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Fabulous Fruitcake by Robin Hood

11/20/2018

2 Comments

 
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Fabulous Fruitcake made by Anita Mae Draper using the Robin Hood Flour recipe
We enjoy eating fruitcake during the holiday season and I'd like to share my favourite non-alcoholic fruitcake recipe which was published years ago in a Robin Hood Flour booklet. The recipe for Fabulous Fruitcake is now available as an interactive recipe guide on the Robin Hood Flour website. This is a neat tool where you check off eat step as you go. The recipe can also be printed off. 

Don't worry if you don't have or don't like all of the fruit and nuts that the recipe calls for because they are interchangeable. The main thing to remember is to keep the same amounts. For example, instead of dried apricots, we'll either use dried cranberries, or increase the amount of candied cherries. We also don't use candied peel, so will use mixed glace fruits instead. For the raisins, we use some Sultana, and some golden. As long as we keep the same amounts, the fruitcake will be great.
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Fabulous Fruitcake

Ingredients: FRUIT & NUTS

1 cup (250 mL) chopped dried apricots
3 cups (750 mL) raisins
2 cups (500 mL) candied pineapple, coarsely chopped
2 cups (500 mL) candied cherries, halved
2 cups (500 mL) mixed candied peel
2 cups (500 mL) coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup (250 mL) slivered almonds
1 cup (250 mL) ROBIN HOOD® All Purpose Flour

BATTER
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ROBIN HOOD® All Purpose Flour
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cloves
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) liquid honey
1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla
6 (6) eggs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 275°F (140°C). Prepare three 9x5" (2 L) loaf pans*, greased, lined with aluminum foil and greased again.

FRUIT & NUTS
2. Combine all ingredients. Mix well to thoroughly coat fruits with flour.
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BATTER
3. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Mix well. Cream butter, honey and vanilla on medium speed of electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients on low speed, mixing just until blended. Stir in fruit and nut mixture. Mix well.

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4. Spread batter evenly in prepared pans. 

*I use 4-6 small loaf pans instead of 2 large ones so that I have some to give away as gifts.


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5. Place pan of hot water in oven to provide steam for moisture and bake loaves for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans. Remove foil. Wrap well and store in cool, dry place.
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This fruitcake will keep a few months in the fridge, but not as long as one made with, and wrapped with, cheesecloth soaked in alcohol, followed by an airtight wrap.

2 Comments

Butterscotch Bars

12/17/2016

2 Comments

 
I needed a pan of squares for the church Christmas Dinner and wanted to bring something festive, sweet, and full of flavour, so I chose a Christmas favourite, Butterscotch Bars. The recipe comes my well-used copy of Company's Coming: 150 Delicious Squares by Jean Pare. 

The actual name is Oh Henry Butterscotch, but without the chocolate nutty covering, it doesn't seem like the Oh Henry bars, so we always call them plain old Butterscotch Bars.

I double most recipes, which is why you see 2 pans in most photos. 
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Company's Coming: 150 Delicious Squares by Jean Pare
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Butterscotch Bars from Company's Coming: 150 Delicious Squares

Since parchment paper came on the scene for home bakers, I line everything with it as I hate ruining my pans with sharp knives and the parchment allows me to lift the food right out and then cut.

The recipe calls for graham crackers, and I used some for the bottom of a pan to show you how they fit, which isn't well. You have to break them.

Instead, I like using Christie's Toppables. They are a soft cracker without salted tops, and fit perfectly into a 9" square pan.

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Toppables Crackers by Christie
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Top pan lined with Toppables, bottom pan lined with Graham Crackers

Combine the butter, sugar, milk and vanilla in a large saucepan. 
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​Bring it to a boil, and then simmer for 5 mins. 

Remove from the heat. 

Add the graham cracker crumbs.
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Mix the graham crackers crumbs until it's all well combined - remember, this is OFF the heat now.
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Pour it carefully over the crackers in the pan(s).
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Add another layer of crackers on top.

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COOL!

I put my pans in the fridge because it is so much easier to ice when it's cooled.

A few hours later, I make my Icing:
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Butter Icing from Company's Coming: 150 Delicious Squares by Jean Pare

I use a flat, straight-edge spoon/spatula for easy spreading. 
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Because I wanted a festive look, I added Red and Green sprinkles while the icing was still soft.

In the following photo, the foreground shows the bars made with the Toppables, and the rest is from the pan with a graham cracker base. On the right of the image, you can see where I've turned one of each bar on an edge to show you the different undersides.

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Butterscotch Bars made with Toppables base foreground and front right. Rest all have graham cracker base.
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I brought one pan of Butterscotch Bars to the church, and the rest packed and ready for the freezer. 

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The image below shows the Oh Henry Butterscotch from Company's Coming: 150 Delicious Squares. Theirs are slightly higher. Mine would be higher if I used an 8" square pan instead of the 9", however, the icing would be thicker, too. 


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Page 17 - Company's Coming: 150 Delicious Squares by Jean Pare. Arrow shows the OH HENRY BUTTERSCOTCH

When my husband ate one of the Butterscotch Bars, I asked him what he thought. He said it tasted like caramel. I asked him if he thought it was sweet, and he said, "Oh, ya!"

Using an 8" pan then, would make it taste even sweeter, unless you didn't use all of the icing and saved it for something else. What a great idea!
2 Comments

Sugar Cookies - A Family Tradition

12/12/2011

2 Comments

 
Making and decorating Sugar Cookies have long been a favourite holiday tradition. I still have the Robin Hood Junior baking set with child-size oven mitts and matching apron and baker’s hat that the girls used when they were small.  And, I have a plastic box full of assorted Christmas cookie cutters and we don’t skimp on the decorations. At first I made a double batch, but as the kids grew I needed more so now I make a quadruple batch and that will last a week or two. 
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This image is a jigsaw puzzle. Click on it to play.
But this year, we're partway through December already and we haven't started baking yet. Because this year is different. For the first Christmas ever, Jessie won't be home because she's flying to Vietnam to replace missionaries at an orphange so they can be home for Christmas. Then on New Year's Day, we'll pick her up at the airport and she'll visit for 2 weeks.

Every year, Crystal is torn between coming home and sharing Christmas with her long-standing boyfriend and other roommates. When I discovered Jessie wouldn't be home, I let Crystal know this would be a good year to stay home if she wished. She did. Now, she's coming out to visit during the time Jessie will be home. So in essence, our Christmas will be at the beginning of January.

So there's no rush for baking an overabundance now when I can do it during the holidays - when the boys can practice,  as well.  And I'll admit, I don't only have Christmas cookie cutters, I have them for all seasons and then some because I collect them. The plan then is to see if the boys want to make the sugar cookies before Christmas using only Christmas cutters, or after and use a variety of them. Hmm... snowflakes are nice. :)

Sugar Cookies

Double                         Basic                                                   Quadruple
1 1/3 cups         2/3 cup shortening                                     2 2/3 cups
1 1/2 cups         3/4 cups sugar                                              2 1/2 - 3 cups (I use 2 1/2)
2 tsp                     1 tsp vanilla                                                   4 tsp 
                                                *    *    *
2 eggs                   1 egg                                                                 4 eggs
8 tsp                      4 tsps milk                                                     5 tbsp 
                                                *    *    *
4 cups                   2 cups sifted all-purpose flour              8 cups
1 tbsp                    1 1/2 tsps baking powder                        2 tbsp
1/2 tsp                 1/4 tsp salt                                                     1 tsp

Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar and vanilla.

Add egg; beat till light and fluffy.

Stir in milk.

Sift together: flour, baking powder, and salt.

Blend dry ingredients into creamed mixture.

Divide dough into portions. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and smooth into a flat brick shape. Chill one hour.

Traditional way is to roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface.

My way:  Unwrap one brick but leave it between the plastic. Roll it out, turning and flipping the dough with plastic so it won’t stick to rolling pin or to the table.

When dough is rolled to 1/8” thickness no less, cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters and place on greased cookie sheets.

Decorate before baking. To ensure decorations stay on, press lightly with pad of index finger so sprinkles won’t roll off. Press decorations lightly into dough. It’s okay if decorations land on cookie sheet – just hard to clean after.

The younger kids have a tendency to push too hard and flatten the dough allowing it to cook faster and then burn before the rest are done.  
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Nick took his time decorating the trees. Click to play jigsaw puzzle.

Bake decorated cookies at 375° for 6-8 minutes.

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Baked sugar cookies. Click image to play jigsaw puzzle.

This is the same cookie sheet Nick was decorating in the image above this one. If you look at the cookie in the bottom left before it went into the oven, you can see the difference in dough thickness beside its neighbor - probably because it was cut from another roll-out of dough. Cookies are done when the bottom of the outer edge begins to brown. 

Cool slightly and remove from pan. Continue cooling on rack.
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For best use of space, I use the stacking cooling racks. Click to play jigsaw puzzle.

Basic recipe makes 2 dozen cookies.

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Quadruple batch fills our cookie jar. Click image to play jigsaw puzzle.

All the images on this page were taken December 2011. They are all jigsaw puzzles.

If you want to see more of my jigsaw puzzles, click on the FUN tab in my menu bar and pick Jigsaw Puzzles from the drop-down menu. You'll have choices of Flora, Fauna and Christmas although I'm working on more pages like scenery, texture, objects, people, etc.

Or, you could click here - Jigsaw Puzzles.
2 Comments

Green Tomato Mincemeat

9/3/2011

0 Comments

 
 At this time of year with one frost already passed, it's always a question of time. Do the green tomatoes have time to ripen? How long will the Indian summer last? Should we pick the green tomatoes now, wrap them in newspaper and put away in dark place to ripen slowly over the next couple months and not worry about the frost?I was plagued by these questions until I found several recipes which effectively use green tomatoes. This is a favourite because it has several benefits:

- I can use the green tomatoes now and not worry about spoilage in my closet

- I end up with an item I can use for quick Christmas baking

- The end result is healthier (no suet) than it's store-bought equivalent

Green Tomato Mincemeat

Chop 8 lbs green tomatoes
Cover with water
Add 1 tbsp salt
Cook until tender. Drain.

Add:
1 cup vinegar
1 tbsp mace
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp cloves
½ cup butter
1 lb raisins (or 2 lbs if no currants)
1 lb currants
2 lbs grated apples
4 lbs brown sugar

Cook everything together for 2 hrs on stove or in roaster in oven at 350 deg for 2 hrs.
 
Seal in sterile jars.

Makes about 10 pints.

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    Kitchen Journal

    I've kept a kitchen journal for years to help me locate favourite recipes in my 100 cook book collection.

    The journal was especially handy during the years I entered baking products in local and provincial fairs.

    As I taught my children how to bake first and then cook, they filled in their own journals. I still have my girls' journals although they may have started 'grown up' ones when they left home.  These handwritten journals are a treasure trove of recipes, personal observations, and culinary rewards. 

    However, our handwritten  journals fail in the ability to share recipes and kitchen knowledge. That's where this new online journal takes over.

    Please join us (the Draper's Acres crew) by sharing your own observations in a comment or by emailing us through our contact page .


    Check below for links to my favorite recipe sites.

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    Foodie with Family
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