sticky and sweet persimmons.

that picture might no look like much...but, boy, is it one big bowl of happiness! That, my friends, is a warm serving of sweet pudding. persimmon pudding, to be more precise. and smothered with an awesome buttery, caramelly, toffee sauce. mmmm......

it's that time of year when persimmons are in season and after my last attempt, i decided it was high time i tried my hand at using persimmon again in baking. i did some googling and found that persimmons aren't all that weird in american cooking. what really intrigued me was that in some areas, they prepared desserts similar to british dessert puddings like sticky toffee pudding. wait a minute...that didn't sound like a bad idea!

that got me looking for recipes and i finally decided on combining two recipes. i wanted the persimmon pudding to be an old-timey recipe that someone's grandma used to make since i only had fuyu available in my area. secondly, i wanted to make an easy toffee sauce that would really compliment the pudding. well, since the sauce was already made for a persimmon pudding, i decided to go ahead with it. and was i glad i did!! it's nice and buttery and almost too sweet...almost.

the pudding, on the other hand, was okay. i might try for a more "cakier" pudding as it took longer than the perscribed time to cook. it does get firmer as it sits but no where near "sponge-like". will definitely keep the toffee sauce recipe and hunt for another pudding to try. heck, i think i might try the actual pudding the came with the toffee to save me the time!

Treva’s Prize Winning Persimmon Pudding
(from Bloomer Living)

1 cup of persimmon pulp
1/4 tsp soda
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cup cold milk
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan with cooking spray. Stir soda into the pulp and mix well. Add the egg and the sugar until combined. Mix together the flour with baking powder. Alternate a little flour with a little milk until all flour and milk is gone. Don't dump them in together or else you will get lumps. Stir in the melted butter and mix well. Pour into 9x9 pan and bake for 30 minutes or until edges pull away from the pan and toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Sticky Toffee Sauce
(from A Cozy Kitchen)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/4 vanilla bean, scraped
3 tablespoons heavy cream

In a small bowl, mix together the vanilla bean caviar and brown sugar together. In a medium saucepan, set over medium low heat, add the vanilla brown sugar and butter. Cook until the butter has melted and the brown sugar begins to caramelize, about 2 to 3 minutes (deviated a little bit...no vanilla bean, only extract so i added the extract right at this point). When the brown sugar begins to bubble, add the heavy cream and stir. Cook for an additional 3 minutes. During this time the toffee sauce will thicken and reduce by a little bit. When the persimmon pudding comes out of the oven, pour the warm toffee sauce over the pudding and serve.

cool cookies.

surprisingly, the two bags of toffee chips i had bought a few months back were still in the pantry waiting to be used. i had a grandeur idea that i was going to go on a baking spree and give out cookies like crazy. needless to say i'm just now getting the baking itch and did a batch of chocolate peanut butter cookies...

...and also two tea flavored shortbreads to go along with. earl gray and matcha green tea.

cookies ready to bake. mmmm....

 

Brickle Drop Cookies
(from Hershey's Kitchens)

1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
3 eggs
1-1/3 cups HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl until blended. Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in toffee bits. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

 
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
(from Hershey's Kitchens)

2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1(10-oz.) package REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips

1. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat well.

3. Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda; add in peanut butter chips; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

 

baked tea cookies. more buttery than tea...must fix somehow. hmmmm....
Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
(from Food Network)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, tea, and salt, until the tea is just spotted throughout the flour. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and butter. Pulse together just until a dough is formed. Place dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, and roll into a log, about 2 1/2-inches in diameter. Tightly twist each end of wrap, and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the log into 1/3-inch thick disks. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart (2 probably needed depending on size of sheets). Bake until the edges are just brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool to room temperature.

skillet for one and...cookies!

today was one of those days where me and the boyfriend had dinner at different times. i originally had plans to go out, so he had some leftover pizza and i was left to wait for my dinner date. which fell through. *sigh* so decided to take some fingerling potatoes that were gonna go bad, peas, and some small bits of chicken i save that i keep telling to myself i'm going to use one day (hah! and i did!) and made a skillet of some sort. i added some garlic cream sauce then a bit of pesto for good measure. lol, it's food. it's good. i just don't know what it is. :X

and whilst i waited for said dinner date, decided to whip up some toffee cookies. followed package directions for these. next time, tho, i think i'd double the toffee bits just cuz i like 'em. :)

oh and what the hell, i'll throw in dinner i made a few days ago but didn't get around to posting....

this was a turbot filet that i had bought from trader joe's. it was okay...a little too fishy for my taste. the squash concoction was good, and so was the middle east, mediterranean curry flavored couscous that i made with it. next time, i think i'll try another type of fish for this meal. and the verdict? i liked it, boyfriend did not. i had to make him a sandwich, lol. poor baby. XD