Starchies

Another entry in this Baking Yesteryear adventure lol. This time I made starchies. An interesting concept... I was anticipating something like a shortbread cookie. But I was definitely wrong.

Here is the recipe:
1/2 cup (120ml) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup (115g) butter, softened

2 cups (256g) cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 325F (165C)

2. In a large bowl,  combine the sweetened condensed milk and the butter. Beat smooth.

3. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, stir in the cornstarch two tablespoons at a time. Mix until a smooth dough is formed.

4. Divide by rounded teaspoon or small cookie scoop, lightly rolling in the hands to form a smoth 2-inch (5-cm) ball. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cookies should not brown. Let cool briefly on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I ended up making a x2.5 recipe because I didn't want to have leftover sweetened condensed milk. And doing a x2.5 used up the whole can, and I ended up with 30 cookies. But I wasn't super thrilled with them. The flavour is delicious! But the mouth feel is very very starchy. Hence "starchies" I supposed lol. Z and Adrielle didn't really like them either. I feel like they would have been better just doing the x1 recipe, but still making it into 30 cookies. Maybe even 48. They might be better just being nibbled, rather than having bigger bites from a bigger cookie.

Anyways, here's what they looked like coming out of the oven.

Food for the Gods

Y'all. I don't know if I can accurately describe how amazing this torte is. It's basically a meringue with graham cracker crumbs, raisins, and walnuts. And it is DIVINE!!!!!

White of 3 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (60g) fine graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (75g) chopped, dried apricot (any dried fruit may be used: dates, figs, currants)

1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 325F (165C)

2. Line the bottom of a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan or pie pan with a circle of parchment paper. Lightly grease both the parchment and sides of the pan.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with which an electric hand mixer is to be used, beat the egg whites and salt to stiff peaks.

4. Gradually beat in the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, until stiff and glossy.

5. Gradually fold in the graham cracker crumbs, then fold in the dried fruit and walnuts.

6. Turn into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The top should be a pale gold colour when done.

7. With the pan remaining in the oven, turn the oven off and leave the door ajar for 30 minutes to dry the meringue. After which, transfer to a wire rack and cool in the pan for 20 minutes.

8. Once completely cool, free the sides of the pan with a sharp knife and invert onto a serving dish or cutting board. Remove the parchment paper before serving.

Tip from Yesteryear: Use a springform pan if you have one, as it will allow the dessert to come out more easily, without breaking.

Oh my goodness. I'm not one that enjoys a walnut dessert that much, but daaaaang this one really hits that good spot! It came out PERFECT, and it was a beautiful nutty treat with surprisingly nice mouth feel. It was a pretty easy dessert to make too, fairly quick to get it in the oven. I would absolutely make this again, maybe trying different dried fruits and nuts. I do have another recipe to try that needs pecans, and the bag I'll be getting will be plenty more than I need, so perhaps I'll try this out with pecans and dates. Mmmmmmm.......