[blockquote2]
“Here is an idea that is simple to make and will also make a great little snack.”
[/blockquote2]
Before I start in on this week’s article, I just want to say thanks to all of you readers that keep up with this column. I’ve been running into people, some I don’t even know, that have been telling me they are always looking forward to reading it. Even in the gym, while I’m pedaling away, I’ve had people that were in physical therapy with me a while back or others that are on the bike next to me commenting on it and if that wasn’t enough; I stopped at Save Mart on the way home and had two more people mention it to me. So again, thank you.
So in the last article when I was making the Chicken Pot Pie (visit TheTahoeWeekly.com for recipe), I mentioned to be sure to keep the puff pastry dough scraps. I’m sure that a lot of you would look at the odd shapes and really not all that much dough and think there wasn’t much you can do with it. Here is an idea that is simple to make and will also make a great little snack. Of course, once you try these out and see how easy they are, you might want to use a fresh sheet of dough and make a whole batch of them.
There are basically two ways to go about this. The first is to form a ball with the remaining dough and roll it out into a square or rectangular shape, or you can just put the pieces together with a slight overlap like putting together a puzzle, and roll the seams together into one piece.
Since most of the scrap pieces are kind of triangular in shape, this works pretty good to get close to the right shape and helps by not over rolling the dough. Remember, these are just scrap pieces of dough being used up to avoid waste and the shapes you’re looking for strips about 1 to 2 inches wide and 4 to 6 inches long; they don’t have to be perfect. The longer the strips, the harder they are to twist. so keep that in mind.
For the fruit, you can use whatever you like. These can be made with or without adding fresh fruit to them. I used raspberry jam because I don’t like the seeds in the preserves. They stick in my teeth too much. I would have used blueberry preserves, but I also had some fresh raspberries on hand and wanted to use them. I did mash the berries into the jam. so there were bits and not whole berries for ease of twisting.
This is a simple idea of for using leftover dough. Give this a try or maybe it will spark something in your imagination and you can come up with your own ideas. Enjoy.
Cinnamon Fruit Twists
Leftover dough rolled or patched & cut into strips
3 T butter, melted
¼ C cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar mix (make this mix to your tastes, I like a little more white sugar than brown)
¼ t salt
1/8 to ¼ C raspberry jam
¼ pint raspberries, mashed into the jam
Brush the strips with melted butter. Spread the jam over the strips. Twist from the ends in opposite directions so it looks like a screw. Brush the twists with butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon mix.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 30 minutes or until browned and let cool a little.
Makes about five twists about 4 inches long with one small one also. This will vary batch to batch.
Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. To read archived copies of Smitty’s column, visit chefsmitty.com or TheTahoeWeekly.com. Contact him at tmmsmitty@gmail.com or (530) 412-3598.
