Walkers | I Can Cook That

Mini Preserves Tarts

This month, Walkers Shortbread sent us a little surprise with our monthly shipment for the Walkers Ambassador Program: Fig and Golden Plum Mirabelle preserves from Bonne Maman! I was so excited to use them in a recipe and immediately wanted to make mini preserves tarts. I incorporated some of the shortbread into the crust for a boost of flavor. (I used Martha Stewart’s recipe as a base and made some changes)

These mini preserves tarts would be great to set out as little bites for guests while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to be prepared, or would be a wonderful addition to the dessert table! You could make it with any type of preserves or jams you wanted: Bonne Maman has almost 20 different options that would all make for a yummy dessert.

In addition to these yummy tarts, I have two other recipes that would be great Thanksgiving desserts that use Walkers Shortbread:

Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Gingerbread Chocolate Pumpkin Trifle

Walkers Shortbread is offering I Can Cook That readers an exclusive promotion, running from Monday, October 28 through Monday, November 4: 20% off your entire purchase at www.walkersus.com (excluding sales items) with the code ICCTFALL. So stock up for all your Thanksgiving needs!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Walker Shortbread Rounds crumbs (~7 cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons Bonne Maman preserves (I used 1 tablespoon fig and 1 tablespoon golden plum)
1 tablespoon heavy cream

To make the mini preserves tarts, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using a food processor, blend the shortbreads until they resemble a fine crumb.

Add the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon and process for 10 seconds.

Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 20 seconds.

Combine 1 egg yolk with 3 tablespoons ice water and 1 teaspoon almond extract.

Add to flour mixture and process until the dough comes together, about 10 seconds. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour; roll out dough to just thinner than 1/4 inch (6 mm). Using a round cookie cutter, cut out shapes and press into a mini cupcake tin. (I used a 2 1/2″ round biscuit cutter)

Use a fork to press down the dough around the edges of each mini cupcake tin. Fill each with 1 teaspoon preserves.

Lightly brush exposed dough with heavy cream. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer tarts from tins to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

These are perfect little bites! The crust is light and fluffy and help highlight the delicious sweetness of the preserves.

You get a hint of the almond extract which is a great complement to fig and plum. If you don’t have almond extract you can sub in some vanilla extract.

Mini Preserves Tarts

Recipe Type: Dessert, Make Ahead

Author: I Can Cook That

Prep time: 45 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Walkers Shortbread Rounds crumbs (~7 cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons Bonne Maman preserves (I used 1 tablespoon fig and 1 tablespoon golden plum)
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Using a food processor, blend the shortbreads until they resemble a fine crumb.
Add the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon and process for 10 seconds.
Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 20 seconds.
Combine 1 egg yolk with 3 tablespoons ice water and 1 teaspoon almond extract.
Add to flour mixture and process until the dough comes together, about 10 seconds. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour; roll out dough to just thinner than 1/4 inch (6 mm). Using a round cookie cutter, cut out shapes and press into a mini cupcake tin. (I used a 2 1/2″ round biscuit cutter)
Use a fork to press down the dough around the edges of each mini cupcake tin. Fill each with 1 teaspoon preserves.
Lightly brush exposed dough with heavy cream. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer tarts from tins to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

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Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

It’s time for my monthly Walkers Shortbread Blogger Ambassador program post, and I think they tailored this one just for me! This month’s theme is “Fruit Desserts for Fall,” where we were asked to use in-season fall autumn fruits including apples, pears, cranberries, figs, pomegranates, or pumpkins. Clearly, there was no question which one I was choosing.

Walkers Shortbread also has an exclusive promotion for I Can Cook That readers. Now through Monday, September 23, you can receive 25% off your total purchase, excluding sales items when you use the promo code ICCTFRUIT. So you can experiment with your very own fall treats! (Another favorite of mine that uses Walkers Shortbread is this Gingerbread Chocolate Pumpkin Trifle)

Because it is September and it hasn’t completely cooled off just yet, I thought I’d go for a chilled dessert. I have wanted to make Pumpkin Cheesecake for a while now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. But to make it a little more special, I decided to swirl in some Nutella.

The crust is a mixture of Walkers Shortbread Highlanders and Stem Ginger Shortbread Cookies to give it a bit more flavor. I adapted this recipe from a recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars on Taste of Home.

Ingredients:

1 7 oz box Walkers Shortbread Highlanders (9 cookies)
5 Walkers Stem Ginger Shortbread Cookies (~1/2 box)
1 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
2 8 oz packages reduced-fat cream cheese
1 8 oz package regular cream cheese
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom
1/8 teaspoon allspice
3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
2 eggs
1/4 cup Nutella, warmed

Continue reading Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Walkers Shortbread Back to School Snack Ideas

As a member of the Walkers Shortbread Blogger Ambassador program, I was sent samples of the company’s full line of mini shortbread and cookie varieties. I honestly had no idea these even existed, but I’m so excited they do! Walkers offers Mini Chocolate Chip Shortbread, Mini Shortbread Fingers, Mini Shortbread Rounds, and their newest cookie Mini Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies.

Each variety are made from all natural ingredients including whole-wheat flour, creamery butter, and whole grain oats. All of the cookies are really delicious but my favorite was the Mini Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies, I couldn’t stop eating them!The bags contain more than one serving, so they come in a great re-sealable grab and go bag, (if you’re able to control yourself unlike me).

Continue reading Walkers Shortbread Back to School Snack Ideas

“Dirt” Flower Pots

“Dirt” cake reminds me of hot summers, barbecues, and outdoor eating. When I was a kid, I used to get so excited for dessert once I spotted the flower pot set out on checkered tablecloth with the other desserts. This “Dirt” Flower Pots dessert is really easy to make, requires no cooking, and looks just adorable. You can really dress it up with flowers, worms, or even mini Scottie dogs.

As a member of the Walkers Shortbread Ambassador program, I was sent packs of Walkers’ pure butter Scottie Dog Shortbread cookies, which help support the company’s sponsorship of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty (ASPCA). Walkers has recently launched a Chocolate version of the cookie as well. In 2012 (the original Scottie Shortbread was launched in January 2012, Walkers raised over $25,000 for the ASPCA. For 2013, the company has doubled its minimum donation amount to $50,000. Ten cents from the sale of every Scottie Dog Shortbread 3.9-ounce carton and 20 cents for larger cartons will be donated to the ASPCA.

To help spread the word about these cookies and their partnership, Walkers is giving away a Scottie Dog Tin! To enter, just use the widget below. Note: This Giveaway is now closed.

Now, back to the recipe.

Ingredients (serves 8, or makes 4 small flower pots):

1 package of Oreos
2 graham crackers (optional)
2 packs of instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
3 cups milk
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz whipped topping
1 box of Walkers Scottie Dog Shortbread Cookies (Chocolate or Original)
Gummy worms (optional)

For decoration (optional):

small flower pots (I used 6 inch pots)
organic flowers, or fake flowers
straws

Continue reading “Dirt” Flower Pots

Gingerbread Chocolate Pumpkin Trifle

Every Christmas, my mom makes an absolutely delicious trifle to give to neighbors and have for dessert on Christmas day. This trifle is so ingrained in our winter holidays that I’m pretty sure we aren’t allowed to show up to my aunt and uncle’s house without the trifle in hand. I’ve always loved the simplicity of trifles and wanted to try out a version using my favorite ingredient: pumpkin!

I was given the opportunity to enter a contest with nine other bloggers. The challenge is to use Walkers Shortbread products to make a new dessert, and luckily one of the categories was trifle! It was a sign!

My mom’s trifle has custard, chocolate pudding, and rum-soaked pound cake slices with whipped cream and fruit on top. So I wanted to keep the general concept the same with my recipe. I decided to keep the chocolate pudding because, well, who doesn’t love chocolate pudding? A thought a pumpkin mousse would just be fantastic. I decided to make it a bourbon pumpkin mousse to add an extra layer of flavor. And of course instead of pound cake slices, I used Walkers’ Stem Ginger Biscuits and Pure Butter Shortbread. The trifle is topped off with whipped topping, pecan pieces, and a some more Walker’s cookie crumbs.

Ingredients:

1 box Walker’s Stem Ginger Biscuits
1 box Pure Butter Shortbread
3 cups milk
2 packages instant chocolate pudding
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups whipping cream
2 ounces bourbon (can omit if you’d like)
1/4 cup sugar
1 container whipped topping
1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Begin by preparing your ingredients. Thaw your whipping cream. Roughly chop the pecans and set aside. Crush the biscuits and shortbread in separate ziploc bags, using a rolling pin.

Take one tablespoon of the stem ginger biscuit crumbs and set aside. Combine the remaining biscuit crumbs with the shortbread crumbs.

Prepare your chocolate pudding. Combine the two packs of instant pudding mix with three cups milk.

Mix for two minutes with a whisk. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large bowl, combine 1 can pumpkin puree, the spices, vanilla extract, cream cheese, and brown sugar using a hand mixer.

In a separate bowl, make whipped cream. Add two cups heavy whipping cream, 2 ounces bourbon, and 1/4 cup sugar and whip on high speed until soft peaks form (about 3 minutes).

Fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Time to assemble! These are photos from my test batch so take note that I might be pointing out what I changed in comparison to the photo. Oh the joy of recipe development. You’ll need a clear bowl to get the full effect of the trifle.

Arrange a layer of cookie crumbs at the bottom of a glass or plastic (see through) bowl. You want to be able to see it coming up the edges. (I initially added melted butter to form more of a crust. But that made the crumbs super sticky, so leave that out)

Add a layer of chocolate pudding next. I attempted to put the pumpkin mousse first, which was silly. The pudding is much heavier than the pumpkin mousse and sank into it. So go pudding, pressing it against the sides of the bowl, and then put the pumpkin mousse on top.

Continue this process until the bowl is filled. (Crumbs, pudding, mousse). I made a mini version so it didn’t take much to fill mine up. Top with the whipped topping.

Rim the bowl with crushed pecans.

Sprinkle with the reserved ginger biscuits. I’d suggest refrigerating for a few hours to let the flavors meld together. You can also make it mostly ahead of time and just assemble a few hours before eating.

You clearly don’t have to have a steady hand to make these still look cool, although I do wish mine was a bit more uniform layer-wise. Ah well.

They are also easy to assemble as individual servings.

The flavors of this are rocking. Pumpkin, chocolate, gingerbread, and pecans were just made for each other. This is perfect for Thanksgiving, especially because it can be made ahead of time!

I will be entering this trifle in the contest on November 12 so send some good vibes my way that day!

Yum

Gingerbread Chocolate Pumpkin Trifle

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 box Walker’s Stem Ginger Biscuits
1 box Pure Butter Shortbread
3 cups milk
2 packages instant chocolate pudding
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups whipping cream
2 ounces bourbon (can omit if you’d like)
1/4 cup sugar
1 container whipped topping
1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Instructions

Begin by preparing your ingredients. Thaw your whipping cream. Roughly chop the pecans and set aside. Crush the biscuits and shortbread in separate ziploc bags, using a rolling pin.
Take one tablespoon of the stem ginger biscuit crumbs and set aside. Combine the remaining biscuit crumbs with the shortbread crumbs.
Prepare your chocolate pudding. Combine the two packs of instant pudding mix with three cups milk.
Mix for two minutes with a whisk. Refrigerate until ready to use.
In a large bowl, combine 1 can pumpkin puree, the spices, vanilla extract, cream cheese, and brown sugar using a hand mixer.
In a separate bowl, make whipped cream. Add two cups heavy whipping cream, 2 ounces bourbon, and 1/4 cup sugar and whip on high speed until soft peaks form (about 3 minutes).
Fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Time to assemble! You’ll need a clear bowl to get the full effect of the trifle.
Arrange a layer of cookie crumbs at the bottom of a glass or plastic (see through) bowl. You want to be able to see it coming up the edges.
Add a layer of chocolate pudding next. I attempted to put the pumpkin mousse first, which was silly. The pudding is much heavier than the pumpkin mousse and sank into it. So go pudding, pressing it against the sides of the bowl, and then put the pumpkin mousse on top.
Continue this process until the bowl is filled. (Crumbs, pudding, mousse). Top with the whipped topping.
Rim the bowl with crushed pecans.
Sprinkle with the reserved ginger biscuits. I’d suggest refrigerating for a few hours to let the flavors meld together. You can also make it mostly ahead of time and just assemble a few hours before eating.

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Individual Tiramisu

I love tiramisu. Honestly, what’s not to like? I’ve never tried to make a traditional tiramisu, but it might be a terrible idea. I’d probably eat the entire thing in one sitting. So to save me from that embarrassing end, I decided to try a recipe from the Walkers Shortbread website for Individual Tiramisu. The recipe makes two servings of tiramisu so that I can’t be a complete piggy. I came across it while trying to find a recipe to photograph (I made their raspberry creme brulee instead) and knew I’d have to make it. Luckily, I still had some Walkers Shortbread leftover!

1 tablespoon coffee flavored liqueur

1 tablespoon hazelnut flavored liqueur
2 ounces boiled water

1 heaping teaspoon espresso granules
8 shortbread cookies (I used Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 container (8 oz.) mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon mini semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

So before I go into the recipe, I just wanted to talk about one of the small businesses near me, Wedge + Fig in Philadelphia. They are an amazing cheese shop, brunch location, and also serve some of the best and most creative paninis in the city. When I had a hankering for this tiramisu recipe, I was excited to find that I had all of the ingredients on hand. Except the mascarpone cheese. Blast.

I thought I’d take a gamble and went to two corner stores near me. No mascarpone. So I went over to Wedge + Fig, assuming they wouldn’t have it either, but thought they might know where to get some. I asked, expecting a no, and was ready to leave. They told me they did not sell it, but they had some on hand because they used it in some recipes and would be willing to sell me some. How awesome! So thank you SO much to Wedge + Fig for saving the day. My tummy thanks you!

On to the recipe: Begin by combining the espresso granules with the boiling water. Stir to combine.

Take 1 tablespoon of the espresso and combine it with the coffee and hazelnut liqueurs.

Take 6 of the shortbread cookies and brush them with the coffee mixture on both sides.

Cut each cookie in half. (Note: I decided later that I kind of preferred them crumbled so after allowing them to soak, I just chopped them up a bit. The halves didn’t fit in my glasses nicely.)

In a medium bowl, beat the heavy cream with 2 tablespoons sugar until stiff peaks form.

In another bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese and 1/4 cup sugar.

Fold in the whipped cream. (I could just eat this mixture allll day. Mmm.)

Take two wine goblets or Irish coffee glasses and place three cookie halves in the bottom. (I just put two teaspoons of the crumbs in the bottom of mine.) Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture over the cookies and repeat the layers.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours so that the cookies/crumbs can soften.

Add the chocolate mini chips to a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high, stirring until melted. Use a fork to drizzle the melted chocolate over the 2 remaining cookies. (Place the cookies on wax paper before drizzling).

Just before serving, lightly sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa using a fine sieve. Add a chocolate-drizzled cookie to each glass.

How easy was that?

I love how fancy this dessert seems to be with minimal effort.

The whipped cream and mascarpone is so fluffy and flavorful.

The shortbread really soaked up all that coffee-hazelnut flavor, but maintained just enough crunch to keep it satisfying.

The presentation of this dessert is really nice too. The chocolate drizzled cookie is great to dip into the tiramisu to get some of the mascarpone mixture.

I’m aware I should share the second one of these. But um. I think I like it too much! We will see…

Raspberry Creme Brulee

Last week, I was contacted by Walkers Shortbread about a recipe photo challenge they are hosting. Walkers asked a bunch of bloggers to make one of the recipes off their site and photograph the end result. They even offered to send me the Walkers ingredient needed to make the recipe. I came across their Raspberry Creme Brulee recipe and I knew I had to make it. It’s a traditional creme brulee, with a Walkers Shortbread crust and raspberries. How fantastic does that sound?

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 pint Raspberries (fresh)
1 pkg. (5.3 oz) Walkers Shortbread Fingers

light brown sugar, to taste

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Add the milk to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. While waiting for the milk to boil, add the egg yolks, sugar and heavy cream to a medium sized bowl. Whisk to combine.

Add 3/4 cup of the boiled milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. This tempers the eggs so that they don’t cook when you add the rest of the milk. Once incorporated, add the rest of the milk in a steady stream.

Take a box of Walkers Shortbread Fingers. Using a metal spoon, break the shortbread (while still in the plastic package) into fine crumbs.

Add the shortbread crumbs to the bottom of four ramekins. Add the raspberries to the ramekins.

Pour the custard (the egg and milk mixture) into the ramekins. Be sure to leave some room at the top.

Bake for 40 minutes at 300 degrees, or until a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean.

Transfer to a rack and cool to room temperature. Chill the custard for at least two hours (I chilled mine overnight).

When ready to caramelize preheat your broiler to high. Sprinkle a thin coating of light brown sugar on each chilled custard. Place under the broiler for 2 minutes or until the sugar is melted and golden brown. (Check on the custard after 1 minute, the broiler works quickly!)