Rebecca's Sweet Recipes
* Baklava
* Dale's Honey Cornbread Cookies
* Vera Stanhope, Meet Nancy Drew
* Honey Cream Apple Pear Pie
* Coffee Saint Gobnait
* Espresso Martini Made with Love
BAKLAVA
I found this recipe in the late 90's in Good Housekeeping. It is so easy to make and is to this day the best baklava I have ever had. I still have the clipping and almost had a heart attack when I thought I lost it once! We all know that a perfect version of a recipe is irreplaceable (alas my chocolate cake).
​I so hope you enjoy this baklava and that it becomes a tradition in your home.
4 cups walnuts, finely chopped (I use only pistachios)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 16-ounce package fresh or frozen (thawed) phyllo pastry
1 cup of butter (Don't scrimp on this....It's why God made cows.)
1 kg jar of Love My Bees honey :)
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About 2 hours before serving or early in the day:
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1. Grease 13" by 9" baking dish. In large bowl, with spoon, mix chopped pistachios, sugar, and cinnamon until blended.
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2. Cut phyllo into 13" by 9" rectangles. In baking dish, place 1 sheet of phyllo; brush with some butter. Repeat to make 5 more layers of phyllo; sprinkle with 1 cup of pistachio mixture.
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3. Place one sheet of phyllo in baking dish over pistachio mixture; brush with butter. Repeat to make at least 6 layers, over-lapping any small strips of phyllo to make rectangles, if necessary. Sprinkle 1 cup pistachio mixture over phyllo. Repeat layering two more times.
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4. Place remaining phyllo on top of last pistachio layer; brush with margarine or butter. With sharp knife, cut just halfway through the layers in triangle pattern to make 24 servings. Bake in 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for 1 hour and 25 minutes or until top is golden brown.
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5. In small saucepan over medium-low heat, heat honey until hot but not boiling. Spoon hot honey over Baklava. Cool in pan on wire rack at least 1 hour, then cover and leave at room temperature until serving.
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6. To serve, with sharp knife, finish cutting through layers. Makes 24 servings. Each serving is about 300 calories (but ever so worth it!).
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Dale's Honey Cornbread Cookies​​
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A lovely friend made these for me recently, using my honey. Oh my! You can actually taste the honey! They are sooooooo delicious and perfect, not just for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but also those warm summer days when you want something that brings back memories of family in the kitchen and little ones wanting to lick the beaters before the cookies were even in the oven - truly simpler times and days with people I loved. My mama would have loved these.
In the winter, having one with a cup of chamomile tea will take me back to the sunshine of my bee yard. Thank you, Dale!
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Honey Cornbread Cookies - Yield 2 dozen
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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (cut in half if you use salted butter)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup Love My Bees honey
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
2 tbsp granulated sugar (for rolling)
1 tbsp cornmeal (for rolling)
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Instructions:
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In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients - flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
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Mix the butter and both sugars in a separate bowl (if using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix on medium to high for 1 -2 minutes - Dale mixes by hand. I use a hand mixer).
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Scrape down sides of bowl and add honey. Mix until fully incorporated. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix for another minute.
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Add dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. Scrape down sides.
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Portion the dough (30 g) and roll into balls. Chill in fridge in an airtight container for at least one hour. Overnight is best.
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Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the sugar and cornmeal to roll the balls in. Allow room on the cookie sheet, as they will spread. Bake for 11-14 minutes until cookies are golden on the bottom and beginning to form cracks on top. For a chewier cookie, do not overbake. ​Cool completely on wire rack, then store in an air-tight container. Hello sunshine! Enjoy.
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Vera Stanhope, Meet Nancy Drew
I've been watching a lot of Vera and Shetland. Needless to say, it makes me thirsty. I love whiskey. Irish? Scottish? EY or just Y? I don't care. All I know is that one golden liquid deserves another. Whiskey and honey... just lovely.
Smoke and sweetness...the essence of bee keeping and something to sip on while snuggled up with a mystery.
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My darling big brother Dan introduced me to Nancy when I was a little girl, which started my sleuthing passion. I would save money from birthdays and Christmases to build a collection of my beloved Nancy Drew. I wanted to BE Nancy with her perfectly painted nails, darting around in a convertible chasing would-be ghouls and dangerous thieves with best friends Bess, George, and gorgeous Ned a phone call away. Laying on the floor with a book propped up on my boney little legs in the summer heat or the frosty cold days of Christmas holidays are some of my most cherished childhood memories. I would get lost in the world of Nancy Drew and her personae. I would escape the problems of childhood.
When I grew up, Agatha became my Dame, and recently, Vera and Shetland are the worlds I now take shelter in when I find myself wanting to escape the problems of adulthood.
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So, who would I want to share a wee glass of something with? Well, pet, I'd love to sit in Vera's seaside kitchen at her rustic table over a coffee cup of whiskey. Nancy would never have that though...only bourbon in Stuart Crystal for us in her father's library. I'd love to nibble on finger sandwiches and hear the gossip of St. Mary Mead, cup of tea or a small port in hand with Ms. Marple. Hercule Poirot...that little Belgian and the love of my life? We'd sip on hot cocoa with creme de menthe in thin porcelain demi-tasses.
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But Jimmy Perez? Holy. Oh. My.
Wine? Maybe. Red or white?
Who cares! It's Jimmy Perez!
Definitely a glass of Scotch at his kitchen island in his cozy seaside stone croft.
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I'd bring the honey....
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Whiskey or Scotch. Take your pick. But with a drizzle of honey? It's a luscious match made in heaven.
Honey Cream Pear Pie
I love my sister Linda. She has been such an important part of my life. Beautiful (former fall fair queen!) super smart (successful business woman) and loving (many happy memories were created by her and her husband Jim for me and my family).
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And she can bake.
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This is her recipe. It was originally a Dutch apple pie recipe. She added pears from trees on property that has been in our family since my German great grand parents farmed the land in Waterloo County. The one she made for my family at Thanksgiving was all pear. It was incredible. It's now my favourite pie. I may have to get her to try it with peaches!!! Great ready to schnitz it up!
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Oh! "Schnitz"???? German. To cut. :)
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Honey Cream Pear and Apple Pie
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Schnitzed apples and pears - approximately 3 good sized of each or 2.5 lbs (I LOVE it with just pears.)
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2/3 cup sour cream
1 tablesp0on lemon juice
1/4 cup Love My Bees honey
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Mix together and pour over pears/apples and mix until they are coated.
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In a small bowl:
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1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons chilled butter
1/3 cup flour
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Mix brown sugar and flour. Cut in butter until it is in small pieces. Spread 1/2 of this mixture over bottom of pie shell.
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Top with pear/apple mixture.
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Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg to remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar mixture and sprinkle over top of pie.
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Bake 10 minutes at 425 F then reduce temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 45 minutes to an hour.
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Cover part way with foil so it does not get too brown.
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