Granny B's Pecan Brittle

Granny B's Pecan Brittle, SCD Style

My grandma Butler used to make the most phenomenal candies. If you were to ask my mom, she'd say without a doubt that her chocolate turtles (with caramel, not with actual turtles - come now) far outdid any chocolate you could buy from the store. Ask me, I'd say it was her fruit filled chocolates. Well, every year, she'd make each of us a box of hand dipped assorted chocolates for Christmas. And throughout the year, she always had a fresh stash of brittle on hand, just for us kids (of course, my mom would sneak a piece or two along the way). Even well into her 90's she continued to serve us by laboring hours on end making candy, not for her, but for her family and friends to enjoy. She was just an astounding example of service and all around a commendable woman. This recipe is written in her memory.

Ingredients:

1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped nuts (pecans are my nut of choice)
4 Tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla
Parchment paper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place honey in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Spread the nuts on a cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes until the tops begin to brown. Remove from oven. Once the honey reaches a simmer, increase the heat to medium high and allow it to reach the soft crack stage, around 280ºF. Keep honey on range and add pecans, butter, and vanilla, in that order. Stir until the butter has melted and the nuts are evenly coated. Allow to boil for 1-2 additional min. Remove from heat, pour into a freezer safe container/cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper, and allow to cool. Store brittle in freezer.

Notes:

*Soft crack stage is a candy term I wasn't aware of until I made brittle for the first time a week ago. So... I guess I'm an expert now? Here are some links to help you out. My mom got me a candy thermometer, which works wonders. They're really cheap, so I'd suggest if you're gonna make this more than once, invest in it.  What you'll notice is a change in color of the foam as the temperature increases. It starts out as a light brown, and as you get closer to soft crack, it changes to a dark, thick brown color. Also, the consistency of the actual honey will change from thick, to really runny, back to incredibly thick and dark in color. Lastly, look at the spoon and see how the honey dries. If it dries like honey normally does, then it's still too cold. If it dries firm and cracks when you pull it off, you're in the right temperature range. Here's a YouTube video from someone smarter than me, demonstrating on sugar. Principle still applies for honey. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j-lhRu_Xns
*Parchment paper just keeps the brittle from sticking to the pan. You gotta nonstick container? Great! I'm poor so I don't have luxuries like that...
*Original recipe here. http://thenerdyfarmwife.com/honey-nut-brittle-candy/

Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Leave them in the comments below! :D (But seriously, if you have anything to say. Like anything at all. Leave it below. I read each one you know. And it's really easy, because no one leaves comments... Just share the love. And leave a comment. Please.)

Banana Oatmeal 2.0

Banana Oatmeal with Pecans and Cinnamon

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I've got recipes and experiments that I thought would turn out great, and somehow managed to flop tremendously. This is one of those recipes that went horribly wrong the first time, but I got smart, fixed my mistakes, and now have an awesome breakfast item that is just killer. And if you don't like coconut/don't have coconut oil, don't fret. There's a peanut butter version as well down in the notes section.






Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
1 Tbs. coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 - 1/3 cup pecans halves (or any type of nut), crushed
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Honey to taste

Instructions:

On medium/low heat, melt the coconut oil in a small sauce pan. Add applesauce and mashed banana. Stir infrequently until oil is integrated and begins to bubble, about 5 min. Remove from heat, and add honey, cinnamon, and pecans. Mix and enjoy!

Notes:

*Unsweetened applesauce is easy to find. Just make sure it doesn't have anything added (i.e. cinnamon or sugar).
*Feel free to experiment. Try adding apple chunks or dried fruit.
*I love my oatmeal chunky, so I prefer 1/3 cup crushed pecans. If you're more of a mushy oatmeal person, cut it to 1/4 cup crushed pecans. And you could even remove the nuts completely if you'd like.
*Version 2.0 comes out a lot thicker, and the oil doesn't separate from the rest of the "oatmeal". All around a better recipe.

Pecan Butternut Squash

Butternut squash with pecan and cinnamon

I classify the SCD into four general categories of food: fruit, meat, nuts ... and those nasty vegetables. Yes, I said it. I think vegetables are repulsive. But, when you've only got 4 things you can eat, you get creative.












Ingredients:

1 butternut squash
2 Tbs. butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup pecans, crushed
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch nutmeg

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Cut the squash in half, length wise, and de-seed. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place squash, cut side down (so the flesh is facing the foil and the skin is shielding it). Cook for 1 hr. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 min. Scoop out the flesh and set aside in a bowl. Add all remaining ingredients to the squash and blend. Serve warm.

Notes:

*This serves about 2 people (3 if you ration). Double or triple the recipe if needed, just cook all the squash on one rack, as close to the middle as possible.
*The aluminum foil just helps with the clean up. If you don't have aluminum foil, don't worry.

Pecan Cake

Pecan sweet bread with honey

I actually wanted pecan pie. Somehow mine didn't turn out quite like pie. But I've made this a few times now, and I've begun to imagine it more like a cake. Drizzle it with a little honey and this dish will be gone in no time.










Ingredients:

2 cups pecan halves
4 Tbs. butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Mix all the ingredients into a high power blender, and blend until the batter is of an even consistency. Pour batter into a nonstick 9" pie tin. Bake for 35-40 min.

Notes:

*The reason you use a high power blender is so that it chops the pecans into more of a flour consistency. I've found that they chop better with the liquid ingredients included. You can also use almond flour if you want an almond cake. Use just a little less than 2 cups (about 1 2/3 cups).
*You can also use an 8"x8" tin. Make sure it's nonstick (at least butter it if it's nonstick).

Peanut Butter Pecan Cookies

World's easiest cookies. And, they're phenomenal! As you can tell, I love cooking with pecans. But the great thing about cooking is if you don't like pecans, then you don't have to use pecans. Experiment! Add in almonds or macadamia nuts. Try raisins or any other type of dried fruit. Or bake them plain. You're call; they're your cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup pecan halves, crushed (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Beat the peanut butter and egg together. Add in the honey and mix thoroughly. Mix in the baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Stir in crushed pecans. Spoon batter onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 20 min. Let cool and enjoy.

 Notes:

 *I prefer to use parchment paper over greasing. The cookies don't burn on the bottom and they come off more quickly. Cook time will shorten if you don't use parchment paper because the bottom will cook faster.
*This recipe makes about 16-18 cookies. If you're only getting 10-12 cookies out, you might be making the cookies too big, and should extend the cooking time accordingly. But hey, if you like big cookies, go for it!

Pecan Coated Salmon

Well, it's only half way through the pay period and already I'm running low on food and money. So what do I do? I improvise! So I gathered up some salmon, did some research online, and came up with this creation. Let's just say I was shocked on how good it was.

Ingredients:

4 (4-6 oz.) salmon filets
3 Tbs. melted butter
3 Tbs. warm honey
1 handful pecans, crushed

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place salmon filets in a tight cooking dish. Mix the butter and the honey together until it's of an even consistency. Pour on top of salmon. Sprinkle crushed pecans on top of the salmon. Cook for 15-18 minutes, or until it begins to flake.

Notes:

*A tight cooking dish prevents all your honey butter from falling off the salmon and onto the cooking dish, where it doesn't do your salmon a whole lot of good.
*4 oz. is about the size of your fist. 6 oz. is about the size of an iPhone. that should give you a sense of how big they should be. Granted, try not to make them too thick. Keep them between two to three fingers thick (I'm not going to expect you to pull out a ruler for this, just keep in the medium range).
*Flake means the flakes of fish pull apart easily from each other without sticking together. You don't want it rubbery; that's overcooked.