Sample Recipes
from Brown Sugar
by Joyce White, 2003
Biscuit Bread Pudding
Candied Pecans
Sesame or Benne Wafers
Biscuit Bread Pudding
6 to 10 baked buttermilk biscuits, preferably
day-old
3 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed, plus 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Generously butter a 2-quart glass or porcelain baking dish (an 8 x 12-inch pan
works nicely).
Slice the biscuits in half crosswise with a serrated knife and place the bread in the bottom of the baking dish, cut side down. Set aside. If you like your bread pudding with a lot of custard, use six biscuits; if you prefer more bread, add a few more biscuits.
Place the eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat until just blended. Stir in the granulated sugar, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, the flour, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and salt and whisk again. Add the buttermilk and mix well.
Pour the custard over the biscuits. Press the bread down with the back of the spoon, making sure that the bread absorbs the custard and is soaked through. Let the custard stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, occasionally ladling the custard over the biscuits.
Preheat the over to 350 degrees.
Toss together the walnuts and the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and scatter over the top of the bread pudding.
Set the baking dish inside a large roasting pan or cast-iron skillet. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Carefully pour the water into the roasting pan, about halfway up the sides of the baking dish, creating a water bath.
Set the pan on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until the pudding is puffy and browned around the edges, firm in the center and no longer runny. A knife inserted in the center should come our almost clean.
Remove the pudding from the oven and the water bath and set on a wire rack. Cool the pudding to room temperature and serve, or chill, if desired.
Candied Pecans
½ cup superfine sugar
2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg or ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar or ½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 ½ cups pecan halves
Generously butter a shallow baking pan (preferably a 15 x 10 inch jelly-roll pan) and set aside. Have ready a long handled wooden spoon, a pastry brush, and a cup of water.
Combine the sugar, water, nutmeg or cinnamon, and cream of tartar or lemon juice in a 1-quart heavy saucepan or skillet and mix well. Place on medium-high heat and cook, stirring with the wooden spoon, until the sugar dissolves.
Bring the syrup to a boil, cover the pan, and boil 3 minutes longer.
Uncover the pan. Dip the pastry brush in the water and wash down the sides of the pan.
Cook the syrup over high heat without stirring, but swirling the pan by the handle, for 2-3 minutes, or just until the syrup turns the color of lightly brewed tea.
Scatter the pecans over the syrup and stir quickly with the wooden spoon to cover the nuts with the liquid.
Cook the syrup for 2 or 3 minutes longer or until it is golden brown and the nuts are lightly toasted.
Immediately pour the nuts and syrup onto the baking pan. Working quickly, separate the pecans with a fork. Set the pan on a wire rack and cool the candy until hard, or at least an hour. Or place the pan on a wire rack and let the candy set in one layer, at least an hour. Break into pieces.
Sesame or Benne Wafers
Makes about 48 cookies
5 tablespoons unsalted
butter, softened
1/2 cup untoasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy small skilled over low heat. Stir in the seeds and heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the seeds are very lightly toasted. Watch carefully and don't let the seeds burn.
Remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Sift together the flour and salt and set aside. Combine the remaining butter and sugar in a medium-sized bowl.
Using a handheld electric mixer set at medium-high or creaming speed, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl at least once with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in the sesame seeds, mix well, then stir in the flour, mixing only until blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for 30 minutes to an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a rounded teaspoon of dough for each wafer, push the dough onto the baking sheet with a rubber spatula, placing the cookies about 3 inched apart.
Set the pan of cookies in the center of the preheated oven on the middle shelf. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned, turning the pan front to back in the oven midway through the baking.
Remove the cookies from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Using a metal spatula, immediately remove the cookies from the pan and cool on the rack.
Bake the remaining batter in batches, one pan at a time, in the same way.
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