Tag: Melt

Honey Buttermilk Biscuits

I’ve used Melt Buttery Spread in a few recipes on here, including delicious Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies, Tim Tam Tarts with Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream, and Shrimp Florentine Pasta.

Melt Buttery Spread is made of virgin coconut oil, flax seed oil, palm fruit oil, and canola oil — all healthy cooking oils and “good fats.” The coconut oil doesn’t make Melt taste like coconut butter though, the flavor is more mild. Typical buttery spreads are made of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, which have been liked to obesity, heart disease, etc. Melt is also organic, gluten free, soy free, kosher, and has 50% of the saturated fat and fewer calories than butter, so it is a healthy butter alternative. The melting point of the buttery spread is also close to butter’s (unlike most buttery spreads) so it is easy to use as a butter substitute in baking.

Melt has recently developed two new spreads: Honey Melt and Chocolate Melt. I was sent coupons so that I could try these new spreads so I picked up some of the Honey Melt. The spread would be great on its own, just on waffles or on a dinner roll, but I wanted to highlight how great Melt is when baking.

I found this Bobby Flay recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits with Butter and Honey on FoodNetwork.com and substituted in the Honey Melt.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 oz (8 tablespoons) Honey Melt
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing tops
  • Freshly ground black pepper, optional
  • Honey, for serving

Continue reading Honey Buttermilk Biscuits

Shrimp Florentine Pasta

My boyfriend is allergic to shrimp. And I swear knowledge of this allergy makes me inexplicably crave shrimp. All. The. Time. So I wait for weekdays to make shrimp as much as my little heart desires. Another plus is that shrimp is a super quick meal. This Cooking Light recipe took a whopping 30 minutes from start to finish. And who doesn’t like shrimp, pasta, lemon, and spinach?
Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine (I used fresh pasta so it would cook faster)
2 tablespoons Melt buttery spread (or other margarine)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
the juice and zest of 2 lemons
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions. If using fresh pasta, it will be done in 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Add Melt to a saute pan over medium heat. When melted, add the shrimp, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the pan. Cook for 4 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked. (It’s easiest to use tongs so that you can flip the shrimp after 2 minutes).
Add the cooked pasta, lemon juice and zest, black pepper, and spinach. The spinach will wilt significantly, so don’t worry if it seems like there is too much.
Cook for 3 minutes, or until the spinach begins to wilt. Serve immediately with a lemon wedge on the side.
I was not prepared for how strong the red pepper would be. If I made this again, I’d cut the red pepper in half. I actually ended up adding a tablespoon of whipped cream just to cut some of the heat.
I also wanted a bit more of lemon. I ended up adding lemon to  the pasta throughout eating the dish. But the base flavors here were good! I just need to adjust the amount of ingredients and it would be a keeper! So, to recap: more lemon, less red pepper = perfect.

Lobster Ravioli with Saffron Cream Sauce

Everyone needs a quick but really impressive meal in their cooking arsenal. My go-to is usually ravioli; it cooks in a few minutes and all you really have to do is make an awesome sauce.
You can make the meal in a half hour, and most of the ingredients are relatively easy to have on hand. (I know it’s a bit odd to have saffron threads in my spice collection but Trader Joe’s sells some that isn’t terribly expensive.) You can buy lobster ravioli if/when it goes on sale and store it in your fridge until needed which means this seemingly fancy recipe for Lobster Ravioli with Saffron Cream Sauce is actually a quick and easy dinner option!
I was pretty excited when I came across this recipe because it sounded amazing. Um, it was beyond amazing. Seriously. This is one of my favorite sauces I’ve ever made. Mmm. Ok, sorry. I should probably share it with you now.
Ingredients (get all ingredients here):
  • 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, optional
  • 1 package lobster ravioli
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 2 pinches saffron threads
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric, optional
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • lobster chunks, if desired
  • Fresh chives, for garnish

Continue reading Lobster Ravioli with Saffron Cream Sauce

Tim Tam Tarts with Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream

Tim Tam Tarts. Isn’t that oh so fun to say? A Tim Tam is a chocolate cookie from Arnott’s in Australia. You might see them every now and then in America, but don’t be fooled, those are made by Pepperidge Farm and I’m sorry, they just don’t live up to the originals. These happy little biscuits covered in chocolate are absolutely delicious. Their motto is “The Most Irresistible Chocolate Biscuit” but I think it’s more appropriately “Visitors to Australia’s Biggest Australian Obsession”. Seriously. They are the best.

So when one of my friends traveled to Australia recently and asked what I’d like, I basically yelled in her face “TIM TAMS!” which can be quite alarming to someone who has zero idea what a Tim Tam is. I clearly made an impression, because she returned with two boxes! Now, Tim Tams are perfectly delicious on their own, maybe with some milk. But I’m a food blogger, so I had to try to turn the cookies into something even better. A Dark Chocolate Tart with Tim Tam Crust, Raspberries, and Rose Water Whipped Cream? YES! (I adapted this recipe for Tim Tam Tarts with Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream from taste.com.au)

Note: I am currently taking the Melt Buttery Spread Challenge and am substituting any and all butter/oils with Melt. I wrote a review of Melt a while back, which you can read here. If you can’t find Melt in your supermarket, use other coconut oil spreads, or just butter in this recipe)

Ingredients:

For the tart:

  • 1 box of original Tim Tams
  • 2 ounces Melt , melted (about 1 tablespoon in its original form)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • ~7 oz dark chocolate (200g if you’re using a scale), roughly chopped (I used almost 5 dark chocolate candy bars!)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream, to serve

For the Rose Water Whipped Cream:

  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon rose water

Continue reading Tim Tam Tarts with Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream

Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies & Review of Melt Buttery Spread

One of the huge downsides of my pumpkin obsession is that most of the sweets made with pumpkin really should be eaten in moderation (something I am not capable of adhering to). So I am always in search of a way to lighten the calorie intake of those desserts so that I can still enjoy them without feeling terribly guilty afterwards.

Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny recently had a post trying out a new buttery spread called Melt with rave reviews. Luckily, Melt graciously sent me two packages of their organic buttery spread for me to try out as well!

So what exactly is melt and what makes it different from other butter substitutes? Melt contains virgin coconut oil, flax seed oil, palm fruit oil, and canola oil — all healthy cooking oils and “good fats.” Typical buttery spreads are made of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, which have been liked to obesity, heart disease, etc. Melt is also organic, gluten free, soy free, kosher, and has 50% of the saturated fat and fewer calories than butter. Whew.
Melt’s, well, melt point is close to original butter’s melting point, making it perfect for baking. Typical buttery spreads usually have a lower melting point, which means they tend to separate during the baking process resulting in a flat cookie. So what better way to really test out Melt’s best qualities than making a batch of Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies? I adapted this recipe from AllRecipes.com.

 

Ingredients (this makes 3 dozen cookies):
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup Melt buttery spread
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing, for drizzling:

  •   1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
  •   2-1/2 teaspoons 2% milk
  •   3/4 teaspoon melted Melt buttery spread
  •   1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Continue reading Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies & Review of Melt Buttery Spread

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