Taking control of Fructose: The Bitter Truth

I have a sweet tooth, and I don't want to fight it. When we deny our food desires, we usually fail. But that doesn't mean we have to give in and eat poorly!

I'm taking control of the fructose in my diet. I watched this video, and although it's long and science-y/ doctor-y, I understood enough to get angry about all the fructose in my food. Health alone was enough to put me on this path, rather than the usual reasons that push one to change one's eating habits.

Here's the TL;DR version, in case the video is too long for you to watch:

Mulled Apple Cider

It snowed! Hurrah! Everyone went out and played, and got cold. So, we had some cider to warm us all up. Very tasty! And it looks lovely cooked in my Lodge cast iron Apple.

Ingredients

2 quarts apple cider

2 cinnamon sticks

2 whole allspice berries

2 whole cloves

1 cardamom pod

1 orange, thinly sliced

Combine ingredients in a pot over high heat to bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Serve hot.

Brezeln (Pretzels)

If you like soft pretzels, you MUST try this recipe! I found this recipe for German Brezeln, which calls for the traditional lye bath that creates a pretzel's distinct flavor. However, like most home cooks, I don't want to mess with lye. Researching the best alternative to a lye bath resulted in this experiment, indicating that a cold bath in sodium monocarbonate gives the best result. The pretzels are then rinsed in water before baking. I tried not rinsing before baking on the lower right pretzel in the photo below. It baked darker and somewhat more crisp, but had an unpleasantly harsh taste. Rinsing is worth the effort. We couldn't believe how delicious they were!

Twix: When less is more...

Twix candy bars are pretty tasty. I just found a great shortbread cookie, and an amazing caramel, and I have a bag of my favorite Pete's Burgundy chocolate. So the obvious thought is, let's put them all together! They look pretty nice!

They are pretty tasty, really. Very rich. But, well, somehow they are disappointing. We all prefer the cookies alone and the caramel alone. Apparently great with great and great is sometimes, somehow less great. A flavor explosion, maybe? Too much butter flavor, and not enough contrast. Maybe I should have made turtles....

I did learn one thing though: An easy way to spread chocolate. I put solid chocolate pieces on top of the caramel and cookie, then set them in the oven on "proof" (100°F) for about four minutes. The chocolate becomes soft and spreadable, without ruining the temper.

Buttery Vanilla Bean Caramel with Sea Salt

Maybe it should be named "I can't stop eating this" caramel!

I just made caramel from a recipe that worked fine before. The recipe calls for honey, and I used some nice local stuff. Unfortunately, the honey flavors intensified while cooking, detracting from the true caramel flavor. Back to the drawing board!

After discovering how amazing fancy imported butter is in shortbread cookies, I wanted a recipe with a lot of butter. Other criteria were salt, vanilla, no honey, no sweetened condensed milk, but with corn syrup (the non-fructose kind). The closest recipes I found were these two, which I combined: http://www.inspiredtaste.net/8947/salted-caramels-recipe/#ixzz2pOwrwAHX and http://www.alaskafromscratch.com/2012/05/16/vanilla-bean-sea-salt-amish-caramels/#prettyPhoto

This caramel is simply amazing! Use heavy whipping cream, vanilla bean, and the expensive foil-wrapped imported butter, and you won't be sorry.

Shortbread Cutout Cookies

I finally found THE recipe! We pull out the cookie cutters every Christmas Eve, and make specially decorated cookies for Santa. It is great fun, and the cookies are very pretty and/or interesting to look at. However, given the choice, we'd all rather eat a good old chocolate chip. But not this time!

Shortbread Cookies from King Arthur Flour, rolled and cut

This time I made shortbread cookies, then rolled them out and cut them like sugar cookies, and baked for about 28 min to get them golden. They spread a bit more than would be ideal, but they did retain a hint of impressions on the surface. Make sure they turn golden around the edges, as this brings out the buttery flavor. They are great with icing too, but we ran out of time. They are crisp, tender, crumbly, buttery, and delicious!

Triple Cinnamon Scones

We've made these several times, and we like them a lot. They take a little while to make, but your time spent is rewarded with delicious cinnamony-biscuity-yumminess. The recipe calls for two specialty ingredients available from King Arthur, and while that can be burdensome, it's worth it to me to keep them in stock. I haven't tried to substitute for them yet.

I have modified the instructions (my part is in blue) from the original (in black, and also some portions deleted). There are also links back to KAF’s original recipe, and their blog entry. My technique is similar to that of my favorite pie dough recipe. I like it better because the dough is easier to handle, without becoming tough. This is, for me, the magical way that allows a bread baker to make tender pastries.

King Arthur Flour’s

Triple Cinnamon Scones, Modified

With cinnamon filling and cinnamon chips inside, and cinnamon-scented glaze (or cinnamon-sugar) outside, these moist, aromatic scones are a cinnamon-lover's dream come true.

(Kentucky) Cream Candy

This recipe was passed to me by my father, who learned it from his mother, and simply called it “cream candy”. They were from Kentucky, and a similar recipe appears online as “Kentucky Cream Candy”.  My aunt says my grandmother got it from a candy store down the street.

Dad is no longer here to help us make the candy right, and all I had was an ingredient list, about two lines of instructions, and my memories of watching him make it when I was little. Now when my brother and his family come to visit at Thanksgiving, we try making it, and I update the recipe once again. It's almost time to try again!

Finally, we caught a photo of the elusive cream candy. It mysteriously disappears within seconds of being cut...

This candy is soft, and yet crumbles when pinched, and has a smooth, creamy, melty mouth-feel. It has a delicate creamy, buttery, hint of caramel taste, and a texture similar to butter party mints. It might be good with vanilla or peppermint added during the pulling process, but is delicious unflavored.

While the technique is hard to pull off “just right”, it is none the less forgiving, entertaining for onlookers, and if not beautiful, always delicious.

Cheesy Rolls

 I had almost abandoned my search for a bread to go with chili, when a co-worker brought in a loaf of her favorite cheese bread from the deli to share. Ureka! That had not occurred to me! A little searching, and I found one blog article describing an amazing cheese bread recipe, which turns out they got from King Arthur Flour's blog! Obviously, their cheese bread was the one to try.

Success! KAF's cheese bread is great; but I must confess I altered it...

I was in a hurry, so skipped the overnight starter step in favor of adding all the ingredients at once, like a regular bread.  I did not have the pizza dough seasoning, but I did have three of the main ingredients, so I added them: malt, cheese powder, and buttermilk powder. I also used all cheddar cheese. So, not exactly their recipe, but great anyway.

Pretzel test

Ok, I've gotten caught up in an exploration of pretzel bath methods for my pretzel recipe, and now I've got to find out which is best.  Here are the methods I have identified: 

1. Cold lye bath method: 1 oz. food-grade lye, dissolved in 1 quart of water. 30 second dip, sprinkle with salt, then bake. Please follow the link, and follow their safety instructions. This is the most desirable, authentic method.
2. Cold sodium carbonate bath method: 100 g sodium carbonate dissolved in 2 cups of water. Immerse raw, shaped pretzels in the bath for three to four minutes, rinse off the excess dipping solution in a large bowl of plain water, sprinkle with salt, and bake.
3. Sodium carbonate boil method: Boil 6 cups of water. Add 2 to 6 tablespoons sodium carbonate . Boil pretzels for 1 minute, sprinkle with salt, then bake. 
4. Baking soda boil method: Boil 6 cups of water. Add 2 to 6 tablespoons baking soda. Boil pretzels for 1 minute, sprinkle with salt, then bake.
5. Water boil method: Boil pretzels in water for 1 minute, sprinkle with salt, then bake.
6. Egg wash method: Beat an egg with 1 Tbsp water. Brush over the top of the pretzels, sprinkle with salt, and bake. But this is really just a bread twist with egg wash, not a pretzel.

And here they are! I drafted my husband to help keep track of which pretzel was done by which method. He wrote what they are on the parchment in red Sharpie. Here's the layout:

5     2   4a
3a  4b  3b

Pretzels: What goes in the bath?

8 oz Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda)

I've been looking deeper into pretzels to develop my recipe, and learned a few things. I'm feeling a bit like a chemist now. Here's the deal: First, a Bavarian would say we're making pretzel-shaped brezels. Where I live, we say we're making soft pretzels, and can shape them various ways, including the traditional pretzel twist. Second, a Bavarian/German would say they must be dipped in a cold lye bath, then baked, to get that lovely deep pretzel color and taste.

Pancake Update

We made the "Good Old-Fashioned Pancakes" again (see first posting here), doubling the recipe and adding vanilla. A double recipe makes about 18 pancakes. Three per person is plenty; four worked for my pre-teen son, two for my youngest daughter. We're going to freeze the extras, and pop them in the toaster, or maybe microwave, on a school morning. I plan to make these when we want waffles, but we're out of buttermilk.

Update: The kids put frozen pancakes in the toaster on "defrost", and ate them for breakfast on school mornings. I didn't get any because they ate them all. I take that as an endorsement.