Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Canadian Cinnamon “Cookies” with Fresh Berries & Cream

Hello again!  We’re back from the Great White North.  …and I managed to tow back a Great White Cold, that I’ve code named “Canadian Goose Flu”.  It’s totally a thing.  (Okay, it’s not a thing, but it sounds good, and I did SEE some geese while I was there, alright?)

So let’s work our way through the trip, shall we?  And where else to start but at the beginning?  As in…the day before we left.

A big part of traveling is, of course, the PACKING.  There’s an art to packing for a proper trip.  For our honeymoon, thanks to the tutelage of Rick Steves, we managed to take everything we would need for a 12 day trip in two carry-on suitcases.  But of course, that was September, and Europe.  Most of our clothes were pretty light and easily compactable. 

This trip, we have to deal with SKI GEAR.  Big fluffy stuff. And winter sweaters and socks and the like.

Thank heaven for Space Bags. (Note husband and suitcase included for scale.)

Before:

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After:

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Ta-daaaaa!!!

 

So then, once you’re packed, there’s the refrigerator that must be considered.  You’re leaving the country for 7 days—what needs to be devoured before you leave so you don’t come home to a stanky rancid mess?

The Usual Suspects:  yogurt, milk, 4 strips of bacon, half-loaf of bread, leftover peas, random produce, etc.

The night before our departure, we had managed to whittle our contents down to:

- a few remaining slices of potato bread

- 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream

- 4 oz carton of fresh blackberries

 

And I was craving sweets….but lacking the energy to make anything too complicated.

So, this little gem was born of some Kitchen Improv.

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Fleur-de-lis and Canadian maple leaves!  (Yes, I’ve been dying to test out my newest cookie cutters.)

Ingredients:

2 slices potato bread (you could probably use any type of bread, but the potato bread makes this really similar to a brioche or challah)

1 tbsp light butter

cinnamon sugar

fresh berries of your choosing

1/2 cup whipping cream + 1 tbsp powdered sugar + splash of vanilla extract (or 1.5 cups already whipped cream)

(NOTE: I use the whipped cream recipe from Kitchen Basics.  Super easy, especially if you have a stand mixer.  Just add the ingredients to the bowl & let it run with the whisk attachment!)

 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 (or use a toaster oven).  Lightly butter both sides of each piece of bread, and then sprinkle liberally with the cinnamon sugar.  Toast for about 5-10 minutes, and then use a cookie cutter to cut out your preferred cookie shape. 

Don’t throw away the rest!!!  You tear that up, and place it in the bottom of a large bowl (or two small bowls, however you prefer, whether you want to share one dessert or make two separate ones).  Then dollop the whipped cream on top, cover with berries, sprinkle with some extra cinnamon for pizzazz, then add your fancy “cookies”. 

The “cookies” and the scraps at the bottom of the bowl are super crispy and buttery, almost like a toast-shortbread hybrid.  Comingle the vanilla-y cream, sweet fresh berries, and the crunchy bread, and it’ll satisfy any sweets craving in a heartbeat.

 

Come back tomorrow for some more Canadian goodness, eh? :D

6 comments:

  1. I can't wait for you to have children. I really hope you can still throw together this type of situation with leftovers and have a delightful dessert thingy. If I sound mean and jealous it is because I am. Seriously. I cannot imagine coming up with this even on my best day. Anything left over fruit wise goes in a smoothie to make my constipated three year old take a shadoob and any leftover bread goes in the freezer to be used as bread crumbs (or to be thrown away because I am to lazy to make my own breadcrumbs.)
    Please stay this amazing, it will give the rest of us hope that we may too do this someday.

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    1. I have a recurring nightmare that I'll be one of those pregnant women who loses appetite for 99.9% of the things that I normally eat, and I'll suddenly develop cravings for things I currently detest and thusly have no idea how to make. Like rice pudding and tapioca. Or vitamins.

      For the record, the entree that came before this was some sort of "kitchen sink potatoes au gratin" that used all milk (instead of milk + water like the box said, so that we could use up the milk), bacon, the last onion, mushrooms, & bell pepper remnants from the crisper, some frozen corn, and the last of a package of shredded cheese. Because my solution for leftover produce is nearly always "add it to some sort of boxed dinner in an attempt to make said boxed dinner 'healthier' and last longer". The bacon only went in there because it was the only non-egg protein in our fridge, and my husband seems to need protein in every meal. Sheesh.

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    2. And, if it makes you feel better, I can honestly say I've never made my own breadcrumbs. So you're one up on my there. I totes go the lazy route & buy the can of pre-seasoned crap.

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    3. We also normally don't have heavy whipping cream in the house. I bought that in hopes of making creme brulee...and then saw that creme brulee has to sit for 4 hours before you can eat it. F that noise, brah. On the other hand, we nearly ALWAYS have Cool Whip in the house. Hubs is addicted.

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    4. And, if my brain does decide to epically fail me once I have mom-brain, hopefully I'll have enough recipes stockpiled here that I can just mindlessly click on the tags over at the side and allow pre-baby-brain to think of something for me. :)

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  2. Thank you...I actually feel much better now.

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