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 Diane's Cowboy Candy Bread Yes! you read that right. I invented a new bread that uses my canned Cowboy Candy (aka candied jalapenos.) A few years back cowboy candy for canning was 'all the rage' and is still a much loved and shared canning recipe today. I wanted to use some of my cowboy candy in a fun and tasty way. I made up this recipe using cowboy candy, some of the brine, cheese and bacon woven throughout the bread. If you can spare a jar, try baking up some of this! It's a savory yeast bread with a slight heat, and sweet candied jalapeno kick. Enjoy! Diane Diane's Cowboy Candy Bread Ingredients: 3-1/2 cups Unbleached All-purpose Flour 2 teaspoons Instant Yeast 1-1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt 1 Tablespoon Sugar 1 cup Shredded Mexican Blend Cheeses 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan 1/4 cup Cowboy Candy, Finely Diced 1/4 cup Bacon Crumbles 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened 2 Tbs Warmed Water, plus more if needed *see below 2 Tbs Cowboy Candy Brine 1 cup slightly warmed Milk Topping: a few slices of Cowboy Candy save some bacon crumbles for topping, if preferred Directions: Stir together flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix in all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl. Mix with the paddle attachment of an electric mixer until it forms a rough dough. Switch over to the dough hook and mix on low speed for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth. If kneading by hand, knead 10 minutes until a smooth dough forms. Add as little extra flour as possible. Loosely cover dough in a lightly olive oiled bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan. Remove the dough to a lightly oiled surface and shape into an 8-inch loaf. Place in the pan. Cover the pan with a lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes, until the bread has risen above the sides of the pan. Heat the oven to 350ºF. Top the bread with sliced cowboy candy and a few bacon crumbles. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until golden. Place pan on a wire cooling rack, remove bread from pan after 15 minutes to cool completely. Recipe Note *add water if your dough is too dry and not coming together while mixing, add a little at a time...as always with bread making - add a little flour if too wet, a little water if too dry. Want to make your own Cowboy Candy - click HERE Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home
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 I was asked to try the Organic Sugar Cookie mix from Miss Jones Baking Company. They are 'the creators of the first ever ready-to-use organic frostings and baking mixes.' I was happy to bake some of their Sugar Cookies as we were having company and I needed a quick dessert. This mix was perfect! The cookies are easy to make and bake up soft and flavorful. The cookies worked great when making some homemade ice cream sandwiches with my homemade ice cream. Everyone commented that the cookies were rich and flavorful, and made dessert more 'special.' I look forward to trying more mixes from Miss Jones Baking Company - I hear they have a new and exciting microwaveable dessert in a cup! Yes Please!! You know I love my desserts!! Do yourself a favor and stock up on some of their mixes for the upcoming Holidays - you never know when you'll need a cookie or dessert 'fix.' ~Enjoy! Diane   This recipe is pretty simple and easy to make. Take Concorde grapes, wash under running water and stem. Place grapes in a large pot over low heat with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar, let grapes heat until the fruit is softened - about 30 mins. Turn off stove and let sit to cool a bit - then smoosh grapes thru a fine sieve by hand with potato masher. Take the juice below sieve and measure it - I had 6 cups juice and I add water as a 1:1 ratio (Adding 6 cups water) and taste to see if any more sugar is needed - usually not but, a 1/2 sugar more is sometimes preferred... Bring juice to a quick boil and jars to 1/4" headspace & process in waterbath or steam canner for 10 minutes pints and quarts *adjusting for your altitude.  Concorde Grape Jam A friend of ours invited me to their home and property to pick grapes and apples...such a wonderful day. Blue skies, light winds, beautiful property and amazing fruit to harvest! I had a wonderful time gathering Concorde grapes inside their beautiful grape laden arbor! Sometimes its good to be tall as I could reach bunches that were perfectly ripe for the picking and the smell inside the arbor (pictured below) was amazing, very floral and grape scented. The grapes themselves are amazing and although they take more work to process for canning, its worth the time and effort. The seeds are almost as hard as rocks so, running through a hand crank food- mill is preferred *even KitchenAid doesn't want you to run the seeds through their food-mill attachment, because it will destroy it! Slipping the skins is a process, don't get me wrong - I was glad when I was DONE! I hope you do try this jam if you have access to Concordes! Enjoy! Diane Concorde Grape Jam Ingredients:
Yield: About 6 half-pint jars Procedure: Wash your grapes in cool running water, stem grapes and as you stem them - "slip the skins" which means you separate pulp from skins of grapes by pinching the skins off. I placed the pulp/grape ball in one bowl and the skins in another. I measured out 4 cups of grape pulp/balls. Take all the skins and process skins in a food processor/blender or chopper. Cook skins gently 15 to 20 minutes, adding only enough water to prevent sticking (about 1/2 cup). Cook pulp/balls without water until soft; press through a sieve or food mill to remove seeds. Combine pulp, skins, sugar and honey. Bring to medium heat and let mixture cook down, about 30 minutes. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. If you feel you won't get a good jam set - add 1/2 package of low sugar sure jel pectin with a bit of sugar to the mixture - bring to a hard boil for one minute, then reduce heat and jar. Fill hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a Boiling Water Canner or Steam Canner, 5 minutes and adjust for your altitude.  Caramel Sauce for Canning *uses Apple Puree You cannot 'Can' traditional caramel sauce for safety reasons (the cream and the butter are unsafe for shelf stability.) That being said, you can turn fruit purees into caramel sauces for CANNING!! This recipe is for apples but, pears, strawberries, blackberries and other fruit purees all work great. Enjoy! Diane Ingredients: 1 lb. ripe apples, I used Fuji 1/2 teaspoon finely milled sea salt 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar water Yield: 2 half-pints Peel, core and chop the apples. Place them in a blender with the salt and 2 tablespoons water. Puree until smooth. You should have about 1 & 1/2 cups puree. Combine the sugar with 3/4 cup of water in a saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sugar reaches 250°F and darkens to the color of a tarnished copper penny. Do not stir the cooking syrup; instead, holding the handle of the pot, gently swirl it to move things around. This mixture is extremely HOT! Do NOT touch spills or drips! Once the syrup has reached 250°F, remove the pot from the heat and carefully stir in the fruit puree. It will bubble, spatter, and appear to seize up, so take care! Stir the puree into the sugar until it is a smooth sauce and return the pot to the heat. Continue stirring and cooking until the apple caramel sauce reaches 218°F Remove the caramel from the heat and funnel into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, or according to your altitude. Note: If your caramel sauce gets too firm to drizzle easily, place the jar in a pan of lukewarm water and slowly bring it up to a simmer, until the sauce relaxes enough to be pourable. Recipe Courtesy of Mrs Wages Photos by Canning and Cooking at Home |
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