Bready or Not: Quick Apple Pie
I’m all about making goodies from scratch, but sometimes speedy shortcuts are the way to go. Thanksgiving is tomorrow, after all.
This apple pie comes together in about ten minutes. The big shortcut element is a can of pie filling. Mind you, I haven’t used pie filling in about a decade, and I was amazed at how much faster the process went. Peeling, coring, and slicing apples takes up time.
I used a Comstock apple caramel can. I did miss the firmer texture of fresh-cut apples, but the overall pie was just fine.
My husband described it as being “like a big oatmeal-apple cookie.”
I used my homemade crust recipe–shown below–but use a store-bought type if you need to. It’s holiday time. Time is precious.
Pie is precious, too.
Modified from Caramel Apple Crumble Pie at Averie Cooks.
Bready or Not: Basic Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, cold, cut into cubes
- 3/4 cup ice water
Instructions
- Make dough hours in advance or the night before. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add in the cold butter cubes, and either use a pastry blender or pulse the ingredients in a food processor until the butter is pea-sized.
- Pour in the cold water and pulse/mix together until the dough forms a loose ball. I like to use my hands at this point. The dough may be sticky, but it will firm up well.
- Pour dough onto a floured surface. Divide into two balls and fallen them into discs. Wrap each disc in parchment paper, then in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour before placing in pie dish, or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Roll out the refrigerated dough into a 12-inch round. Press it into a 9-inch dish, trimming the excess and pinching the edges. Wrap loosely with plastic wrap and freeze at least two hours before using, or keep frozen up to three months.
Bready or Not: Quick Apple Pie
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter half stick, melted
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon heaping
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt optional and to taste
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 21 ounce canned apple pie filling
- 9 inch frozen pie crust homemade or store-bought
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Set out the pie shell on a cookie sheet.
- In a large microwavable bowl, melt the butter. Allow it to cool for about 5 minutes, then stir in the sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and salt. Whisk in the egg until batter is smooth.
- Add the flour and oats until just combined, then gently fold in the apple pie filling. Pour everything into the pie shell; it will come up to the brim.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until top has set. Allow it to cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.
- Pie keeps for days, covered by foil in the fridge.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Guest: Bishop O’Connell with Beef & Guinness Vegetable Soup
Today I am happy to welcome Bishop O’Connell as my Bready or Not guest. He’s delivering a perfect winter recipe: Beef & Guinness Vegetable Soup! He’s also about to deliver his third book published through Harper Voyager Impulse. Three Promises comes out on December 8th! That gives you plenty of time to read the first two books in the American Faerie Tale series so you’re ready for the next.
Promises bind, but some promises break…
From the author of The Stolen and The Forgotten comes a collection of stories between the stories, a glimpse of the American Faerie Tale series characters in a whole new light.
For more than fifty years, Elaine has lived the life of an outcast elf, stripped of her rank and title in the fae court. Surrounded by her beloved collection of stolen artwork, we may just learn the secret behind her exile, and the one promise too important to break…It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for – Caitlin and Edward are getting married! But few weddings ever go without a hitch. Old promises were broken, and new vows will be made…
In The Stolen, Brendan vowed to help Caitlin rescue her young daughter from the Dusk Court, even if it meant sacrificing himself. Alone and in torment, he has come to accept his fate. Until an unexpected visitor finds her way into his life…Plus, an exclusive bonus story about the mysterious Legion of Solomon.
Preorder the ebook now for 99-cents; available December 8th:
HarperCollins
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
iTunes
Kobo
Beef & Guinness Vegetable Soup
This could very easily make a stew, but I prefer it as a soup. It’s hearty and great to freeze and reheat when you want something tasty on a cold day. You can use a 6 quart soup pot, but it will fill right to the top, so be careful, 8 quart is ideal.
Ingredients:
1 lbs stew beef – cut into small pieces
2 medium sweet white onions – diced
1 lbs new potatoes – cut into quarters (even small ones should be cut in half)
1 lbs baby carrots – cut into small pieces
6 celery stocks (no leaves) – diced
1 lbs bag of frozen peas
1 lbs bag of frozen sweet corn
1 large can (16oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes
16oz beef stock
16oz vegetable stock
Salt
White Pepper
Optional: dill, celery salt, garlic salt, chives.
3 pints of Guinness – at room temperature
It’s best to use the Guinness that doesn’t have a widget in it (see image). If you can only get the bottles or cans that do have the widget (nitrogen injection device) then open the bottles/cans and let them sit for a while before starting.
Put the soup pot over a medium high heat and add a couple teaspoons of olive oil and cook down the onions. When they start to turn translucent, add the stew beef, stirring regularly. By the time to beef has browned on the outside, the onions should be starting to caramelize. Add the Guinness and let it reduce to 1/3. Yes, 1/3, this will take a while (30 mins or so).
While this is happening two things will happen. First, you’ll see a thick froth develop and it will get large, especially if your pints had the widget. Don’t panic, this is normal and you can reduce it by stirring. The second thing that will happen is you’ll notice a very strong barley smell from the pot. Again, don’t worry, it will taste much better when it’s done than it smells at this stage.
When the Guinness has reduced add all the remaining ingredients, but add the stock last. Elsewise you’ll get a LOT of splashing. Once everything is in there, stir and bring to a slow boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 hours, and enjoy the wonderful smell that will fill your kitchen. Add salt and pepper to taste, but keep in mind potatoes absorb salt and there are a lot of them so don’t worry if it seems like you’re adding a lot of salt. You can also, obviously, hold off and season when served to individual tastes. When finished, it freezes for 6-8 months without any concern, probably longer than that but I’ve never gotten it to last longer than that.
Goes great a cold hard cider and some fresh, crusty bread (buttered of course). You can go “full Irish” and have a Magners Cider (Bulmers in Ireland) and some soda bread. I’m actually not a big fan of soda bread (don’t tell!) but the cider compliments the flavor of the soup nicely.
Bishop O’Connell is the author of the American Faerie Tale series, a consultant, writer, blogger, and lover of kilts and beer, as well as a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. Born in Naples Italy while his father was stationed in Sardinia, Bishop grew up in San Diego, CA where he fell in love with the ocean and fish tacos. While wandering the country for work and school (absolutely not because he was in hiding from mind controlling bunnies), he experienced autumn in New England. Soon after, he settled in Manchester, NH, where he writes, collects swords, revels in his immortality as a critically acclaimed “visionary” of the urban fantasy genre, and is regularly chastised for making up things for his bio. He can also be found online at A Quiet Pint, where he muses philosophical on life, the universe, and everything, as well as various aspects of writing and the road to getting published.
Bready or Not: Chewy Honey Maple Cookies
If you’re looking for a recipe for chewy cookies that will keep well for days of travel or to ship as a gift, I present to you these Chewy Honey Maple Cookies.
These are sweet without being too sweet. The honey and maple pair well together, and the texture is soft and oh-so-good.
One of the reasons these turn out lofty and chewy is because it uses bread flour. If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose for the full two cups, but you’ll likely use some cookie-loft.
Make these this holiday season. I bet you’ll have a new favorite cookie.
Greatly modified from Soft and Chewy Brown Sugar Maple Cookies at Averie Cooks.
Bready or Not: Chewy Honey Maple Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons maple flavor
- 1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour, but cookies will be less chewy
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- maple sugar or turbinado sugar for the tops, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and honey and beat until creamy and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix in the egg, vanilla extract, and maple flavor.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: bread flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Sift together.
- Slowly stir together the wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and stash in the fridge for several hours or days.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Use greased stoneware, parchment paper, or silpat mats. If you want to add some sparkle to the cookies, place some maple sugar or turbinado sugar in a saucer and dip in the tops of the dough balls. The cookie dough, even straight from the fridge, has a soft Play Doh-like consistency, so it will spread some when it bakes; keep this in mind when you space the cookie dough balls.
- Teaspoon-sized cookies need to bake 9 to 12 minutes; Tablespoon-sized take 11 to 13 minutes. Let set on cookie sheets for 10 to 15 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.
- Cookies will keep in a sealed container for weeks; store between layers of waxed paper or parchment. They are excellent for travel or shipping.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Guest: Author Pat Esden with Popovers
I’m happy to welcome Pat Esden to Bready or Not! Her novel A Hold On Me comes out in February from Kensington. I have never tried popovers (shocking, I know!) and her recipe for them looks fantastic.
My novel A HOLD ON ME is a new adult paranormal tale of love and revenge. The main character, Annie, grew up dealing antiques and traveling with her father. When he’s diagnosed with dementia, she’s forced to return to her estranged family’s estate in Maine.
One of the few people on the estate she sees as a potential ally is Laura, an employee whose main job is to produce a seemingly endless supply of comfort foods. Laura lived on the estate as a child. She went away in her teens and returned a few years later with a young son in her arms. What happened to her in those years is a mystery. But, now—almost twenty years later–Annie shouldn’t mistake where Laura’s allegiance lies. This cook may be known for her strawberry jam and popovers, but she also knows her way around the darker side of the kitchen’s garden.
LAURA’S SKYSCRAPING POPOVERS:
INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
Position oven rack in lower part of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heavily grease popover pan cups with butter (I use 4 ceramic custard cups for this recipe or a traditional six cup cast iron popover pan) Just BEFORE filling cups with batter, preheat them in oven until sizzling hot.
BATTER
Whisk eggs and milk together
Add flour, salt, and melted butter
Whisk lightly (batter will be lumpy). Let batter sit for 5 minutes, then whisk lightly again. Repeat letting batter sit and whisking lightly until white flour lumps disappear. This process of whisking lightly and letting the flour be absorbed into the batter slowly is the key to extra-tall popovers.
Fill pre-heated popover cups ½ way with batter.
Bake for 45 minutes without opening oven.
Eat right away. Popovers shrink quickly. A hole poked in the top of the popover to vent the steam will slow the shrinking, but not for long.
LAURA’S RECIPE IDEA BOARD ON PINTEREST
A HOLD ON ME (Dark Heart Book #1) by Pat Esden
Kensington Books
Release date: February 23
She never wanted to return.
He wants nothing more than for her to leave.
But the fire between them is as strong as the past that haunts them.Annie Freemont grew up on the road, immersed in the romance of rare things, cultivating an eye for artifacts and a spirit for bargaining. It’s a freewheeling life she loves and plans to continue—until her dad is diagnosed with dementia. His illness forces them to return to Moonhill, their ancestral home on the coast of Maine—and to the family they left behind fifteen years ago, after Annie’s mother died in a suspicious accident.
Once at Moonhill, Annie is shocked when her aunt separates her from her father. The next time Annie sees him, he’s a bizarre, violent shadow of his former self. Confused, she turns to an unlikely ally for support—Chase, the dangerously seductive young groundskeeper. With his dark good looks and powerful presence, Chase has an air of mystery that Annie is irresistibly drawn to. But she also senses that behind his penetrating eyes are secrets she can’t even begin to imagine. Secrets that hold the key to the past, to Annie’s own longings—and to all of their futures. Now, to unlock them, she’ll have to face her greatest fears and embrace her legacy…
Add A HOLD ON ME on Goodreads
PRE-ORDER NOW!
PAT ESDEN would love to say she spent her childhood in intellectual pursuits. The truth is she was fonder of exploring abandoned houses and old cemeteries. When not out on her own adventures, she can be found in her northern Vermont home writing stories about brave, smart women and the men who capture their hearts. An antique-dealing florist by trade, she’s also a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and the League of Vermont Writers. Her short stories have appeared in a number of publications, including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, the Mythopoeic Society’s Mythic Circle literary magazine, and George H. Scither’s anthology Cat Tales.
Read MoreBready or Not Guest: Sylvia Spruck Wrigley with Lemon Fairy Cakes
I’m happy to welcome author Sylvia Spruck Wrigley as a guest of Bready or Not! Her novella Domnall and the Borrowed Child was published by Tor.com just this Tuesday, and it’s all about FAIRIES. A unique approach to fairies, too–you get to learn about changelings, from their perspective! Quite appropriately, Sylvia is here to share a very British recipe for Lemon Fairy Cakes.
About Domnall and the Borrowed Child:
The best and bravest faeries fell in the war against the Sluagh, and now the Council is packed with idiots and cowards. Domnall is old, aching, and as cranky as they come, but as much as he’d like to retire, he’s the best scout the Sithein court has left.
When a fae child falls deathly ill, Domnall knows he’s the only one who can get her the medicine she needs: Mother’s milk. The old scout will face cunning humans, hungry wolves, and uncooperative sheep, to say nothing of his fellow fae!
Excerpt at Tor.com
Audio Excerpt
Amazon.com | MacMillan, with buy links everywhere
These days in Britain you are more likely to see a cupcake than a fairy cake. Cupcakes are modern, decadent, bold. Fairy cakes are old-fashioned, relics of children’s parties from years gone by. They are smaller than cupcakes and, to my eye, a little more refined. A fairy cake is easy to recognise because it is never, ever topped with thick swodges of buttercream but instead gets a quick white glaze made with icing sugar (powdered) and water. Very special cakes get “royal icing” made with egg whites.
Although any type of cake can be made into a cupcake, a fairy cake is based on Victoria sponge. These dainty cakes (just the right size for a fairy) are still seen as more appropriate for children, as they are smaller and with less sugar, whereas cupcakes are popular at weddings and hen nights.
The original fairy cakes (cakes just the right size for a fairy) are first referenced in the 1700s and were baked in ramekins or individual pottery cups. Although many people now make fairy cakes in muffin tins, you should take care to only fill the cups halfway so that they don’t turn out too large and get mistaken for a poorly frosted cupcake!
Now you’d think it’d be easy to make a British recipe in a British kitchen. Further, you’d think it would be easy to convert. Unfortunately, there are some issues which I feel compelled to share with you. I should reassure you first, however, that this is a very simple recipe, commonly the first treat that children in England learn to bake. So don’t take my notes all too seriously – just follow the recipe and I’m sure you’ll be fine.
So first: Conversion
I modified the recipe slightly to convert it to American measurements. The recipe works with imperial, metric and US measures but don’t mix and match between them. The butter/sugar/flour amounts are slightly higher in the US version but no one complained (well, not about the cake, anyway).
Second: Temperature
I’ve simply said to bake these at 180°C/350°F, just like the majority of cakes baked around the world. However, that’s not the way recipes work in the UK.
British recipes give instructions to deal with every kind of oven, like so:
Pre-heat your oven to 200°C or 180°C if it is a fan-assisted oven or gas mark 6 if you haven’t upgraded your oven since 1962.
So if you bake using an exciting oven or even (god help you) an Aga, then I’m afraid you are on your own, but I suspect you are probably used to it.
Third: Yield
The recipe makes twelve fairy cakes but that’s assuming a British bun tin. You can make these with muffin tins just fine, just be sure not to overfill your cases. Standard cupcake cases should only be filled up to the halfway mark. If you make these cupcake sized, you’ll only get nine.
Fourth: Decoration
My first batch, the control group made with British imperial measures, I thought it would be nice to add fairy wings. I thinly sliced some lemons and candied them in the oven at low heat, then cut them in half and stuck them on with the lemon glaze.
Every single person ripped the wings off and discreetly abandoned them somewhere. Apparently, that was not an appropriate decoration for a fairy cake. Who knew?
Fifth: The Appropriate Number of Sprinkles
“Hundreds and thousands,” my boyfriend said. “That’s what you put on fairy cakes.”
“Like, sprinkles?”
“Not just any sprinkles. Round ones. All colours.”
“Round rainbow sprinkles. Got it.”
“No, don’t buy sprinkles. Buy hundreds and thousands.”
This didn’t seem like a requirement of fairy cakes, but I’m not British and I’m aware that sometimes I can miss nuances. So I purchased sprinkles which actually said hundreds and thousands on the label and did the decorating again.
This time, my fairy cakes were accepted with bright smiles. “Much nicer,” said my son with his mouth full of cake. “Needs more hundreds and thousands.”
“What have you done? This is more like tens and hundreds,” muttered my boyfriend.
I asked my friend to adjudicate. “They look lovely.” And the hundreds and thousands? “Well, okay, yes, it’s a bit sparing.”
I gave the very last fairy cake to the security guard who patrols the marina flats. I barely know him but it’s a long cold shift in November and I wasn’t speaking to anyone in the family by then.
“Lovely,” he said, “thank you so much.” He took a bite. “A wee bit mean on the hundreds and thousands, though.”
So learn from my mistakes. Don’t bake things for the British.
Lemon Fairy Cakes
Yield: 12 fairy cakes
Ingredients:
- 4 oz / 100g / ½ cup butter
- 4 oz / 100g / ½ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 oz / 100g self-raising flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder OR ¾ cup all-purpose flour and two teaspoons baking powder
- zest of half a lemon
Topping:
- 2 cups (250g) of powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- Rainbow sprinkles to taste
Pre-heat your fan-assisted oven to180°C/350°F and line your muffin tin with fairy-cake or cupcake cases.
Cream the butter and the sugar at high speed for three minutes or more. Keep the speed on high and add the two eggs one at a time. Once well mixed in, add the flour, the baking powder and the lemon zest. Fold the dry ingredients into the batter until blended.
Drop a large spoonful of batter into each cake case – if using cupcake-sized cases, only fill to halfway.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes, until the cakes have risen and are golden-brown.
While the cakes are baking, mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice so that you have a thick but still spreadable glaze.
Brush the cakes with the lemon glaze while still warm so that the lemon syrup will melt into the cake. Then remove them from the muffin tin. After the cakes have cooled, brush the tops again with the glaze and sprinkle generously with rainbow sprinkles.
Sylvia Spruck Wrigley was born in Germany and spent her childhood in Los Angeles. She emigrated to Scotland in 1990, guiding German tourists around the Trossachs while she searched for the supernatural. She now splits her time between South Wales and Andalucia where she writes about plane crashes and faeries, which have more in common than most people might imagine. Her short stories have been translated into over a dozen languages.
Author website
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Goodreads
Bready or Not: Maple Sugar Cake: A Clockwork Dagger recipe
Maple is one of my favorite flavors. It’s also a flavor that is often mentioned in my Clockwork Dagger books, especially in connection with the northern kingdom of Frengia.
My new Clockwork Dagger novella “Wings of Sorrow and Bone” follows an important minor character from Clockwork Crown: Rivka. Her mother was Frengian and a baker, and teenaged Rivka is also a baker when you meet her in the book.
“Wings of Sorrow and Bone” begins soon after the events in Clockwork Crown. Rivka now lives in Tamarania City with her grandmother. Instead of running a bakery, she is pursuing her dream of becoming a master mechanist… but maple-flavored goods are still a major subject of nostalgia. They make her think of her old home, and her mama.
I looked around online for recipes that I thought would suit the more rustic world of my books. I found a maple sugar cake recipe
at The Kitchy Kitchen and decided to make some adaptions. I wanted something that would work for gift-sized loaf cakes.
Maple sugar is the one extravagant ingredient, but it can now be bought for a decent price on Amazon.com–heck, you can even subscribe and get it cheaper! A little maple sugar goes a long way, too. It’s potent stuff.
The resulting cake is perfect for breakfast or a snack. You can sweeten it up to your preference. Make glaze with the recipe below, or eat it plain. Plus, it freezes and keeps for months! I used it as a handy breakfast loaf to thaw out for company.
This maple loaf cake has a role in the novella, too. Maybe you can go all meta and eat some cake as you read about the cake!
Bready or Not: Maple Sugar Cake: A Clockwork Dagger recipe
Ingredients
For the loaf cake:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter half stick, softened
- 1 1/2 cups maple sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon heaping
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
Glaze for ONE small loaf:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar or powdered xylitol, sifted
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons milk or almond milk or other substitute, more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon maple flavor or vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Prepare mini loaf pans (tin, stoneware, paper) by applying nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and gradually add the maple sugar. Beat until creamy; with a mixer, this takes about a minute. Add the beaten eggs and combine.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the salt, baking soda, spices, and flour. Alternately add applesauce and dry ingredients to butter mixture. Once they are blended, fold the nuts into the batter. Distribute the batter among the pans; they should be about half full.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minute, until a tester comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely. If they are in a tin or stoneware pan, remove them from the dish.
- At this point, you can freeze the loaves wrapped in wax paper and plastic wrap or in a gallon bag.
- If you want to eat them now, store at room temperature or in fridge. Serve with glaze (see recipe above) or topped with powdered sugar or even a small amount of maple syrup... or plain! Eat cold or warmed in microwave.
- A loaf keeps for days if wrapped in the fridge. In the freezer, keeps for upward of six months.
- OM NOM NOM!
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