Toffee Almonds

Back in the 70s, my mother used to make Mandarin Orange Salad. You may be familiar with it; it was comprised of lettuce, celery, chopped scallions, and mandarin orange segments, all tossed together in a light dressing along with toffee almonds. I loved that salad, but in my opinion, the toffee almonds were what made it. One time, she made the salad without those almonds, and it just wasn’t the same.

As a young person (and I was young once), I figured they were complicated to make. I mean, just look at them, they look like something you would find in specialty candy! But the fact of the matter is, they are very simple to make, and I wished I had asked my mother how to make them long before I actually did. There’s no need to provide you with a recipe for this, printable or otherwise, because it’s only two ingredients: sugar and almonds, at a ratio of 2:1.

Just place twice as many slivered almonds as sugar into the pan (Here I used 1/8 cup of sugar (2 tablespoons) to 1/4 cup of almonds), and set the burner to medium high.

Stir until the sugar melts and coats and toasts the almonds.

The aroma is incredible! Turn them out onto a cool plate to harden, and then break them apart.

So good! You may want to make a lot of these.You will certainly need them for tomorrow's recipe!

Candied Pecans and Vanilla Walnuts are also worth trying.

This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things

Funtastic Friday
Best of the Weekend
Pink Saturday
Snickerdoodle Create Bake & Create

Grace at Home

Friday at the Fire Station
Create, Bake, Grow and Gather

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Strawberry Mango Spinach Salad

It’s strawberry season!  Does that excite anyone else as much as it does me?  There is just nothing like a good, fresh, local strawberry.  In celebration of this welcome, but brief season, here is a recipe for a colorful and delicious springtime salad.

Strawberry Mango Spinach Salad

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup canola oil

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/8 teaspoon poppy seeds

4 cups fresh spinach

¼ pound fresh strawberries, quartered

½ Melissa’s organic mango - peeled, seeded, and cubed

¼ cup sliced red onion

½ cup slivered almonds, toasted

Place the sugar, oil, salt, poppy seeds, and vinegar in a jar with a lid. Seal jar, and shake vigorously to mix.

In a large bowl, mix together spinach, strawberries, mango, and onion. To serve, toss with dressing and sprinkle with almonds.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Seasonal Sundays

Chewy Toffee Almond Bars

 Some recipes just come to me from out of the blue.  Like this one. I opened the cabinet door behind which I keep the baking supplies, and a bag of Heath Brickle Bits fell out of the cabinet and conked me on the head. I have got to get organized. 

As I picked it up (and unrolled the already opened end, sampling some of the crunchy deliciousness) I happened to glance at the back of the bag and saw two recipes. One looked like a simple variation on the chocolate chip cookie substituting the Brickle Bits for the chocolate chips, and then I saw this one. 

Crunchy almonds, chewy coconut, and toffee, oh, yes!  With company coming to watch baseball tonight, I figured I'd give them a try. I like a thicker bar cookie, so made them in a 9" x 9" pan rather than the called for 9" x 13." I think my version gives a far better crust-to-filling-to-topping ratio. I tend to do this a lot. Every time I do, the old pizza joke comes to mind. You know the one, where the pizza maker asks the customer if he wants his pizza sliced into six or eight pieces. To which the customer replies, "You'd better make it six, I don't think I can eat eight pieces." I delude myself in this same way. A 9" x 13" pan of cookies seems so daunting, whereas a 9" x 9" pan seems perfectly doable. 

The perfect combination of crunchy and chewy, these got thumbs up from all tasters tonight. Methinks a drizzle of chocolate would make these just about perfect.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Sweets for a Saturday

Sugar and Spice

Sunday Sweeties

Pan-Seared Scallops with Champagne Grapes and Almonds

When you think of grapes, my guess is that, a) champagne grapes don’t spring immediately to mind, and b) you don’t think of something savory.  You need to change these thoughts on both counts.  Champagne grapes (called such because their diminutive size resembles the bubbles in a glass of champagne) are sweet, delicious, and incredibly juicy.  They can substitute in any dish calling for grapes (as I demonstrated in my last post on Waldorf Salad), make an attractive garnish on a fruit and cheese tray, and are one of the key ingredients in this delicious, savory recipe from an old issue of Bon Appétit magazine. 

This recipe goes together in a matter of minutes.  I served it as an entrée atop angel hair pasta, but two scallops on a plate, topped with the sauce would make an excellent starter for an elegant meal.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Champagne Grapes and Almonds

16 large sea scallops, side muscles removed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons minced shallots
2/3 cup Melissa’s Champagne grapes* (about 4 ounces)

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted (I substituted Hazelnuts because I find them more flavorful)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in very large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook butter until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add scallops; cook 2 minutes per side. Transfer scallops to plate; tent with foil. Melt remaining butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and grapes; sauté until shallots are golden, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and any accumulated scallop juices. Bring mixture to boil; season with salt and pepper. Stir in almonds and parsley. 

*In lieu of Champagne grapes, black grapes, cut in half, may be substituted.

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday

Almond Poppy Seed Pancakes

I have become completely enamored of yet another cookbook.  Sorry.  I just can't help it.  Honestly, I would have thought that by now just about every combination of ingredients had already been put together in recipe form, but boy was I wrong.  The latest addition to my cookbook collection is Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again by Lisa Schroeder, proprietress of the wildly popular Portland, Oregon, restaurant, Mother's Bistro & Bar, and Danielle Centoni.  Lest you think I add cookbooks to my collection willy nilly, let me tell you that before another cookbook comes into this house it is checked out from the library, thoroughly viewed and reviewed, recipes are tested, and when I find that I want to make nearly every recipe in the book, I buy it.  This was one of those cases. 

A great lover of anything almond, I was completely taken in by these pancakes that call for almond paste as one of the ingredients. As I find anything with almond paste to be swoonably delicious, I had to make these.  Happily I had exactly what I needed leftover from a recipe I'd tried earlier, so let this be a lesson to you to never discard extra almond paste.  Without a doubt these are the best pancakes I've ever eaten (and one look at my thighs will tell you I'm a seasoned veteran when it comes to pancake consumption).  They take a bit of time to prepare, but the wait is well worth it.  I cut the recipe and half and used 1/4 cup to measure the batter onto the griddle rather than the 1/2 cup called for in the recipe, so had lots left over.  I froze the extras -- they freeze beautifully! -- and have had them any number of times since, each time they are just as delicious as the first.  If you like almond, you owe it to yourself to make these.  Or maybe surprise mom with a batch for Mother's Day.

Almond Poppy Seed Pancakes

Makes 16 pancakes

3-1/2 oz. almond paste 

2 cups whole milk 

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream 

1 Tbs. almond extract 

4 large eggs 

3 cups all-purpose flour 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

1 Tbs. baking powder 

1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt 

1/2 cup poppy seeds 

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted 

Vegetable oil or clarified butter, for brushing the griddle 

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted 

Whipped butter, for serving 

Maple syrup, for serving 

Heat the oven to 200 degrees F. Place the almond paste in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on low speed while adding the milk, a little at a time, to loosen up the paste until it's smooth and not lumpy. Alternatively, you can process the almond paste with a little of the milk in a food processor until smooth (add just enough milk to help the almond paste thin out).

Add the sour cream, almond extract, and eggs. Whisk or process until well-blended and smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Whisk well to thoroughly combine.

Slowly pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients while gently stirring, and mix just until combined. (Don't overmix or you will activate the gluten in the flour and the pancakes will be chewy, like bread, instead of fluffy.) The mixture will be a little lumpy (and that's OK; if you have pockets of flour bigger than a dime, smash them against the side of the bowl to break them apart without having to stir the batter more). Pour in the melted butter and gently mix just until incorporated. (Sometimes melted butter solidifies when added to cold ingredients. Adding it now helps disperse it evenly in the batter and smooth out some of the lumps.)

Place a griddle or wide (preferably 14-inch) saute pan over medium heat for several minutes. If using an electric griddle, set the heat to 350 degrees F.

Sprinkle the griddle with a few drops of water; they should bounce around before evaporating. If they sizzle away quickly, the heat is too high. If they just sit there and slowly steam, the heat is too low. When the griddle is properly heated, brush with oil or clarified butter, and then wipe with a paper towel so it's evenly greased. (Big spots of oil or butter will promote uneven browning and your pancakes will have dark and light spots.)

Ladle 1/2 cup of batter per pancake onto the griddle, an inch or two apart. Sprinkle evenly with 1 Tbs. toasted almonds.

Cook until bubbles begin to pop on the surface of the pancakes, the edges look a little dry, and the underside is golden, about 2 minutes. Flip them over and continue cooking until the pancakes are cooked through, about 1 minute more. (If the undersides of the pancakes are browning or burning before the tops get a chance to form bubbles and dry out, the heat is too high. If it's taking much longer than 2 or 3 minutes for the bubbles to form, the heat is too low.)

Repeat with the remaining batter. Keep the pancakes warm on a heatproof platter or baking sheet in the oven.

Serve with whipped butter and maple syrup.

From Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again, pp. 287-290.  BUY IT!  Go NOW!

This post is linked to:

Real Food Wednesdays

What’s Cooking Wednesday
No Whine Wednesdays
What’s on Your Plate

CHOCOLATE TOFFEE SQUARES

If you've read this blog with any regularity then you are well aware that my favorite dessert is cookies.  Yes, the simplicity, the variety, and portable deliciousness won me over years ago.  That's not to say that I don't like other desserts, because I do, but when push comes to shove, I'll pretty much take a cookie over anything else.  This cookie is one of my favorites and goes back to my college days when my best friend, Angela, and I would make a batch almost ever other weekend and devour the entire contents of the pan.  Our active youth prevented us from ever gaining a pound -- boy do I miss those days! -- and we learned a bit about baking along the way.  When we made them they were called "Patchwork Cookies."  The top would be scored into squares with each section decorated differently (like a patchwork quilt): colored sugars, colored sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, chopped nuts, dragees, coconut, and toffee bits.  We decided that we liked the toffee bits the best, so this recipe is the happy result of our college days experimentation.

Chocolate Toffee Squares

For the crust:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 

1 egg yolk 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/8 teaspoon salt 

1 cups all-purpose flour

For the topping:

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips 

1/2 cup chopped almonds 

1/2 cup milk chocolate toffee bits

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9"x9" square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom and up the sides with a piece of parchment paper, allowing the parchment to overhang slightly on both ends. If you don't have parchment you can use foil, if you don't have foil you can skip this step, just be sure your pan is thoroughly covered with the nonstick spray.  The parchment (or foil) aids in facilitating the easy removal of the bars from the pan. Spray parchment with nonstick cooking spray. 

Spread the chopped almonds onto a baking sheet and toast in your preheated oven for about 5-7 minutes or until fragrant. Remove nuts from oven; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla, and salt. Turn the mixer to low speed, and gradually beat in the flour.  Do not overmix. Pat the dough evenly over the bottom of the baking pan. Bake in the center of the oven until golden, 18-20 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the oven and scatter the chocolate pieces evenly over the crust. Return the pan to the oven for 1 minute. Remove the pan again and, using an offset spatula (if you don't have an offset spatula, buy one, but in the meantime you can use a knife), spread the chocolate evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the top with the almonds and toffee bits, covering entire surface. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Remove bars from pan using parchment handles and transfer to cutting board. Cut into bars.

This post is linked to Sweets for a Saturday.

Cookie #5 Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares

Okay folks, we're into the home stretch.  There's no time for rolling pins, cookie cutters, icing tips, sprinkles, or those cutesy little froo-froo cookies that people ooh and ahh over, but never eat.  It's time for fast and easy and snarfingly delicious.  This cookie fits that category to a "T".  We recently served them for a Rams game and people gobbled them up like popcorn.  So make a batch, maybe two.  You won't be sorry.

Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares

14 graham crackers

1 bag (8 ounces) toffee bits

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted natural almonds

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 cup (4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place graham crackers in a single layer on sheet, edges touching. Sprinkle toffee bits and almonds over graham crackers.

In a small saucepan, bring sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and cook at a rapid simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is syrupy, 2 minutes. Immediately pour over graham crackers. Bake until sugar topping is bubbling, 12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate and salt over graham crackers. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. (Store in an airtight container, up to 1 week.)

This is linked to Foodie Friday.