Every year around the holiday season, the same question pops up: What should I bake? There’s so much to do and so little time – and as much as I’d love to spend days trying, tasting, and perfecting new recipes in the kitchen, that really isn’t possible. Unavoidably, I revert to a few foolproof family recipes, and I build my menu around them for certainty and peace of mind. I do love some peace of mind in the midst of the holiday shopping/cooking craziness, lol
How do I reinvent my family recipes, and step them up a notch? The answer is simple: I work on their spice content, fine-tuning it until my family (aka testers 😉) approve of it. And when it comes to spices, there’s no better ally in the kitchen than Nielsen-Massey Vanillas and their wonderful range of products.Β
I have been incorporating Nielsen-Massey extracts into my familyβs recipes for a few years now (some of my previous reviews can be found here, here, and here). Nielsen-Massey Vanillas contacted me again recently and offered to send me products from their Holiday Bundle to review and give away.
Every year Nielsen Massey puts together a holiday bundle, and this year makes no exception. The 2019 Holiday Flavors Bundle includes some of their most popular extracts: Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract (which boasts a full, sweet, creamy and mellow flavor with velvety after-tones); Pure Peppermint ExtractΒ (which sports a refreshing vibrant flavor, and is great in both sweet and savory applications); Pure Almond Extract (which provides a sweet, nutty flavor, and is a perfect complement to chocolate, maple and butterscotch).
For this review I received the Madagascar vanilla and almond extracts.
I couldn’t wait to work with both of these products!
For this post I decided to revisit one of my mother-in-law’s recipes, which I posted on this blog awhile ago. The recipe may look very laborious to you, but I can assure you the end result is so worth it! Originally, this is a strudel recipe; however, on this occasion I decided to take the strudel dough and to use it in a novel way, to make jam filled tiny vegan pastries which are very popular in my home country. I used Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla extract in the dough.
The filling was a mixture of homemade plum jam and chopped nuts. You can use any jam you have in the pantry – the more tartness, the better.
After rolling the dough on a flat surface and cutting it into small squares (size is up to you – but remember the smaller the squares, the quicker they bake), I put about 1 tbsp of the jam & nut mixture on top of each square.
At this point I could almost taste the soon-to-come deliciousness. Mmmmmm…
I rolled the squares to make cigarette-shaped pastries, which I placed on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
I put the pan in the preheated oven and baked the pastries for about 25 minutes or until golden-brown and bubbling. I then took them out of the oven.
I let the pastries cool down, and generously sprinkled powdered sugar on top.
I served the pastries with hot chocolate, in which I poured 1/8 tsp Nielsen Massey almond extract. Vanilla + almond = the perfect spice match!
These pastries exhibited a delicious vanilla flavor and aroma, and were moist and not overly sweet. They kept well on the kitchen countertop for several days, stored in a bowl covered with a towel. Since I cut the dough into very small pieces, I ended up getting over 80 pastries (obviously, the smaller the pieces, the more pastries you’re gonna end up with). My family loved this reinvention of a much treasured recipe, and appreciated the pairing of the tart plum jam with the delicate, floral vanilla flavor. With Nielsen Massey products on hand, making a flawless dessert cannot be easier!
You are welcome to check out Nielsen-Massey’s website for exciting recipes, as well as baking tips and demos. You can also head to my Instagram account and enter my giveaway for a chance to win a combo of Nielsen-Massey products similar to the one I reviewed.
Good luck! 🙂
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 minutes |
| Passive Time | 45 minutes |
| Servings |
pastries
|
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 packet dry yeast
- 2 tbsp Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup water, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp water, at room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups fruit jam of your choice
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Put 2 cups flour in a bowl. In a separate cup combine the dry yeast with 1 tbsp water, and stir with a spoon until the yeast dissolves. Add the yeast&water mixture to the flour, then add 1/2 cup vegetable oil, vanilla extract, 1 cup water, and salt. Mix the resulting dough until smooth and homogeneous. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, put 3/4 cup flour in a bowl. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and then mix (I used a fork for mixing). Continue adding the remaining flour and oil slowly, alternating between the two. This resulting dough #2 must have a sour cream-like consistency.
- Take the first dough you worked on and roll it on a dry surface with a rolling pin until about 1/4in thin. Spread dough #2 evenly on top of it, using a fork. Roll the resulting (combined) dough into a cylinder. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes. During this time, mix the jam and chopped nuts in a medium bowl until homogeneous.
- Roll the resulting dough on a dry flat surface with a rolling pin until about 1/4in thin. Cut the dough into small squares (size is up to you - but remember the smaller the squares, the quicker they bake). Put about 1 tbsp of the jam & nut mixture on top of each square. Roll the squares to make cigarette-shaped pastries, and place them in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Put the pan in the oven and bake the pastries for about 25 minutes or until golden-brown and bubbling. Take the pastries out of the oven and cool down. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar.
- Enjoy!
Disclaimer: While I received complimentary products to facilitate this review, all opinions expressed here are my own.
