Basic Waffle Batter

• 2 c. flour
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• 3/4 stick melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients together. Separate the egg and whisk the yolk into the dry ingredients, along with the milk, until batter has a uniform (not lumpy) consistency. Add melted butter to batter. Whisk egg whites until stiff and mix into batter.

Preheat waffle iron over medium heat, spray, and slowly pour batter into one side of the waffle iron, using a wooden spatula if needed to get the batter evenly distributed. Although there should be enough butter in the recipe to keep the waffles from sticking, you should apply a spray canola oil to the waffle iron before making the first waffle. Cook for about 3 minutes and then check for doneness.

Belgian Waffles

• 2 c. flour
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 3/4 stick butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Whisk dry ingredients together. Add eggs, buttermilk, and butter into dry ingredients and mix until blended. Cook as per the basic waffle recipe above.

Rome Old Fashioned Waffle Iron

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 c buttermilk
• 1/2 c brewed chai tea
• 4 tbl butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 c flour
• 3 tbl sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• healthy pinch ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp crushed black peppercorns

Preparation

In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, chai tea, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Let batter set for a few minutes.

Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil (I used grapeseed oil) to the pan or spray with cooking spray. You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water, when the drops start to dance its hot enough.

Pour 2 Tablespoons of batter onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Let cooked pancakes rest on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve. Maple syrup… that’s nice!

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe Danish pastry dough
• Almond filling (recipe follows)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• sugar
• sliced almonds

Preparation

1. Roll Danish pastry dough out on a lightly floured pastry cloth or board to a 20x15-inch rectangle; trim edges even; cut in twelve 5-inch squares with a sharp knife.

2. Spoon almond filling onto one corner of each square, dividing evenly. Roll each square around filling to opposite corner.

3. Place pastries, points down, 2 inches apart, on greased cooky sheet. Curve into crescent shapes. Let rise in a warm place, away from draft, until double in bulk, about 30 minutes. Brush with egg; sprinkle with sugar and almonds.

4. Place in hot oven (400 degrees); reduce heat immediately to 350. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Remove to wire rack. Makes 12 individual pastries.

Almond Filling

Beat 1 can almond paste (or tube, or marzipan, 8 ounces) with 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl until well blended. Makes 1 cup.

Family Circle Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe Danish Pastry Dough
• Apricot preserves
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tbsp. chopped walnuts mixed with 2 tbsp. sugar

Preparation

1. Roll Danish Pastry Dough out on a lightly floured pastry board or cloth to a 20x15-inch rectangle; trim edges even; cut in twelve 5-inch squares with a sharp knife.

2. Place 1 teaspoon apricot preserves along one side of each square, 1/2 inch in from edge. Fold over opposite side; press edges together to seal. With sharp knife, make a lengthwise slit in folded pastry to within 1 inch of each end. Slip one end under and pull it through the slit.

3. Place pastries, 2 inches apart, on greased cooky sheet. Let rise in a warm place, away from draft, until double in bulk, 30 to 45 minutes. Brush with egg; sprinkle with walnut-sugar mixture.

4. Place in hot oven (400 degrees); reduce the heat immediately to 350. Bake 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden-brown. Remove to wire rack, cool. Makes 12 individual pastries.

Family Circle Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe Danish Pastry Dough
• Cheese Filling (recipe follows)
• Cherry preserves
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 c. light corn syrup

Preparation

1. Roll Danish pastry dough out on a lightly floured pastry board or cloth to a 20x15-inch rectangle; trim edges even; cut in twelve 5-inch squares with a sharp knife.

2. Spoon cheese filling onto center of each square, dividing evenly; fold in all 4 corners to meet and overlap slightly in the center so filling is completely enclosed; press points down with fingertip.

3. Place pastries, 2 inches apart, on greased cooky sheet. Let rise in warm place, away from draft, till double in bulk, about 3o minutes. Press points down again and fill center of each with a teaspoon of cherry preserves. Brush pastries with egg.

4. Place in hot oven (400 degrees); reduce the heat immediately to 350. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden-brown. Heat corn syrup just until warm in a small saucepan; brush over pastries. Remove to wire rack; cool. (Add more preserves after baking, ,if you wish, since pastries open as they bake.) Makes 12 individual pastries.

Cheese Filling

Place 1 carton (8 ounces) of pot cheese [CP: or perhaps well-drained ricotta?], 1 egg yolk, 1/4 c. sugar and 1 tsp. of grated lemon rind in blender, whirl until smooth. Or, press the pot cheese through a strainer into a small bowl and beat in egg yolk, sugar and lemon rind. Makes 1 cup.

Family Circle Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 envelopes (4 1/2 tsp.) active dry yeast
• 1/2 c. very warm water
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. cold milk
• 2 eggs
• 4 1/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 lb. (4 sticks) butter
• flour

Preparation

1. Sprinkle yeast into very warm water in a 1-cup measure. (Very warm water should feel comfortably warm when dropped on wrist.) Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar. Stir until yeast dissolves. Let stand until bubbly and double in volume, about 10 minutes.

2. Combine remaining sugar, milk, eggs, 3 cups of the flour, salt and yeast mixture in large bowl. Beat, with electric mixer at medium speed, for 3 minutes (or beat 300 vigorous strokes by hand). Beat in remaining flour with a wooden spoon until dough is shiny and elastic. Dough will be soft. Scrape down sides of bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough 3o minutes.

3. Place the sticks of butter 1 inch apart, between 2 sheets of waxed paper; roll out to a 12-inch square. Chill on a cooky sheet until ready to use.

4. Sprinkle working surface heavily with flour, about 1/3 cup; turn dough out onto flour; sprinkle flour on top of dough. Roll out to an 18x12-inch rectangle. Brush off the excess flour with a soft pastry brush.

5. Peel off top sheet of waxed paper from butter; place butter paper-side up, on one end of dough to cover two-thirds of dough; peel off the remaining sheet of waxed paper. For easy folding, carefully score butter lengthwise down center. without cutting into dough. Fold uncovered third of dough over middle third of dough and butter; brush off excess flour; then fold remaining third of dough and butter over middle third to enclose butter completely. Turn the dough clockwise so open side is away from you.

6. Roll out to 24x12-inch rectangle using enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. Fold ends in to meet in center; then fold in half to make 4 layers. Turn again so open side is away from you. Repeat rolling and folding 2 more times. Keep the dough to a perfect rectangle by rolling straight up and down and from side to side. (When it is necessary, chill the dough between rollings. Clean off the working surface each time and dust lightly with flour.)

7. Refrigerate dough 1 hour or longer (or even overnight, if you wish, to relax dough and firm up the butter layers). When you are ready to fill and bake the pastry, cut dough in half and work with only half the recipe at a time. Keep the other half refrigerated until ready to use. Makes 2 large pastries, or about 24 individual pastries, or 1 large pastry and 12 individual pastries.

Tips

1. It is important to keep butter enclosed in dough. If it oozes out, immediately sprinkle with flour. If dough becomes too sticky to handle, butter has probably softened. Just chill 30 minutes before continuing rolling and folding.

2. Use more flour than you normally would to roll out pastries; brush off excess with soft brush before folding or filling; this way flour will not build up in pastry.

3. Since dough is very rich, it is best to let pastries rise at room temperature. Do not try to hasten the rising by using heat; doing so would melt the butter and spoil the texture of the pastry.

4. Have ready a rolling pin, a soft pastry brush, ruler and a working surface large enough to roll dough to 30 inches.

For freezing: Place shaped Danish on cooky sheets. Don’t glaze or decorate until ready to bake. Cover with foil or plastic wrap, freeze. Use within 4 weeks.

To bake: Remove the Danish from the freezer the night before and place in refrigerator. Next morning, let rise at room temperature, away from draft, until double in volume, about 1 1/2 hours. Brush with egg; sprinkle with topping; bake following individual recipes.

For refrigerating: Place the shaped Danish on cooky sheets; cover; refrigerate. Bake within 48 hours. To bake: Remove Danish from refrigerator; let rise; bake as above.

Family Circle Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe Danish pastry dough
• Cinnamon-Pecan filling (recipe follows)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• Sugar
• Coarsely chopped pecans

Preparation

1. Roll Danish pastry dough out on a lightly floured pastry board or cloth to a 12-inch square. Spread cinnamon-pecan filling evenly over the pastry; roll up, jelly-roll fashion. With a sharp knife, cut into 1-inch slices, then carefully cut each slice almost in half, but not all the way through. Gently spread out the two halves, leaving them attached in the center.

2. Place pastries, 2 inches apart, on a greased cooky sheet. Let rise in a warm place, away from draft, until double in bulk, 30 to 45 minutes. Brush with egg; sprinkle with sugar and pecans.

3. Place in hot oven (400 degrees); reduce the heat immediately to 350. Bake for 24 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Remove to wire rack; cool. Makes 12 pastries. [CP: My mother has an annotation here in the margin which simply reads “icing drizzle.” That can’t be too bad of an idea.]

Cinnamon-Pecan Filling

Beat 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, 1/4 cup dried currants. Makes 1 cup.

Family Circle Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe Danish pastry dough
• 1 can (12 ounces) prune filling, or 1 jar (8 ounces) Lekvar (thick jam)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 c. light corn syrup

Preparation

1. Roll Danish pastry dough out on a lightly floured pastry cloth or board to a 20x15-inch rectangle; trim edges even; cut in twelve 5-inch squares with a sharp knife.

2. Place a rounded tablespoonful prune filling or Lekvar onto center of each square, overlap, 2 opposite corners over filling about 1 longer. Remove to wire rack; cool.

3. Place pastries, 2 inches part, on greased cooky sheet. Let rise in warm place, away from draft, until double in bulk, about 3o minutes. Brush with beaten egg.

4. Place in hot oven (400 degrees); immediately reduce heat to 350. Bake 20 minutes. Heat corn syrup just until warm in a small saucepan; brush over pastries; bake 5 minutes longer. Remove to wire rack; cool. Makes 12 pastries.

Family Circle Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 2/3 cups buttermilk
• 3/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted

Preparation

Preheat oven to 250°F. Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Whisk buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs and melted butter in medium bowl until well blended. Add to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls into skillet. Cook pancakes until bubbles form on top and bottoms are golden brown, about 2 1/2 minutes. Turn pancakes over. Cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm up to 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more butter to skillet as necessary for each batch.

Serve pancakes hot with maple syrup.

Bon Appetit, December 1996

Ingredients

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 c. butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 2 1/4 c. flour, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 1/2 c. fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
• 1/2 c. pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1/4-1/2 c. powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 10-inch tube or large fluted tube pan and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, butter, and vanilla until well mixed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. In a small bowl, sift together 2 cups of the flour, the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the batter, one third at a time, mixing well after each addition. In another small bowl, toss the cranberries and pecans with the remaining flour until well coated. Stir gently into the batter. Pour into the pan and bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes, until the cake is lightly browned. Do not over-bake. Let stand about 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Sift powdered sugar lightly over the warm cake.

Penzey’s Spices