Rose Chintz Cottage

Thursday, 5 February 2015

Recipe for Raisin Puff

Raisin Puff Recipe

Hello everyone ~ How is winter treating you? Up until last week, things weren't too bad here on the Island but since last week, we've had four snow storms/blizzards. Tuesday's storm dumped two feet of snow on us and we're going to get quite a bit more today with this present storm we're having. Or so they say.

I took this picture of a chickadee getting some seeds from the feeder after the storm died down on Tuesday. From the bottom of the feeder to the top of the snow is two feet. The feeder hangs in the maple tree on our front lawn. As you can see snow is filling the bottom half of the feeder. That's a lot of white stuff! I know my little feathered friends are happy to have food these cold winter days.

Speaking of food, I spend much more time in the kitchen preparing meals and baking this time of year. Today I am sharing my recipe for Raisin Puff. It's an old recipe that was popular many years ago in Granny's kitchen.

Raisin Puff
First make the raisin filling.

Raisin filling

1 large TBSP butter
1 lb of sultana raisins
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP flour
1 cap of lemon juice

Cook mixture on stove top stirring constantly so it doesn't scorch. It is done when it has thickened and coats the spoon. Let cool completely.

Cookie Crust for Puff

Cream together:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening

Add:
1 egg
1/2 cup milk plus a little bit more if needed
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour
Beat together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a thick rectangle. Cut the dough in half.

Roll out half the cookie dough on to a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper about 18 inches in length. I use the size of the 13X9 inch pan to determine the size of each layer for the puff. Using the waxed paper, flip the cookie dough over into the bottom of the greased pan. Spread with cooled raisin filling.

Then roll out the other half of the cookie dough and again, using the waxed paper, flip the crust over to cover the filling.

Sprinkle with white sugar. With Valentines day coming up next week, I cut out a heart cookie from left over dough and placed it on top of the crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

NOTE: Sometimes I cheat when I'm in a hurry and I use a large can of raisin pie filling although the home made raisin filling really is better.

This is a delicious treat for dessert, tea time, or a snack. Everyone loves it and I hope you will try it. Thanks for your visit and have a lovely day everyone.

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Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday, 2 February 2015

A Copy-Cat Tea for Tea Time Tuesday

A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,
A song is no song 'til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn't put there to stay -
Love isn't love
'Til you give it away.~ Oscar Hammerstein, The Sound of Music

Love is in the air! Hello everyone and welcome to my first Tea Time Tuesday in February!

What a wonderful turn-out we had last week for my 5th Anniversary Tea Time. Thank you dear friends for your participation and your very sweet comments. You are the ones who make this party such a blessing. Whenever I feel like I have no more to offer, you have inspired me to keep on going, so thank you!

Next week I will host a Valentines Day Tea so I hope you will join me for that.

"Friendship," said Christopher Robin, "is a very comforting sort of thing to have." ~ A. A. Milne

Out of curiosity, I thought I would check and see whose tea post received the most views last week and it was Deborah's at The Beautiful Matters with her beautiful Lady Carlyle teacup. Congratulations, Deborah!

Today, I thought I would do a copy-cat tea. The Victoria Bliss magazine cover was my inspiration. Although certainly not exact, they are similar. I hope you enjoy it.

Happiness is sharing tea with a friend.

The teapots are similar as are the teacups. I don't take sugar in my tea but the photo has sugar next to the cup and saucer. I didn't have any fresh berries so I am serving Raisin Puff on an orphaned saucer.

My cup and saucer is Windsor made in England.

If we take a peek inside we will see the gorgeous gold and a pink rose with the buds.

The saucer is also adorned with the gold and a rose. The sweet little tea spoon is one I had won in a Giveaway years ago.

The teapot is one I haven't used in a while but it is somewhat like that which is in the photo. It is made by Gracie China.

We will enjoy some tea with home made Raisin Puff. Barbara at My Island Bistro Kitchen joined me for tea a couple of weeks ago and she had served Raisin Puff. She shared her recipe here.

The most trying hours in life are between four o'clock and the evening meal. A cup of tea at this time adds a lot of comfort and happiness. ~ Royal S. Copeland

Hubby mentioned he would like to have some Raisin Puff as I haven't made it in a while. So I surprised him the other day and had it waiting for him when he got home from work.
I have served it on an orphaned saucer Bridal Rose made in Germany.

Raisin Puff is an old-fashioned dessert which was made in our grandmothers' kitchens and for years we all enjoyed it and then all of a sudden folks weren't making it any longer. I think perhaps one reason for that is because it is so time consuming to make. My kids always enjoyed it when they were growing up and it is definitely worth the time.

With Valentines Day coming next week, I decided to make a heart cookie out of the leftover cookie dough and placed it on top of the cookie crust.
I will share my recipe with you on Thursday.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you have enjoyed my Copy-Cat Tea. We are getting some major storms beginning later today and the next day or so. Depending on how it goes, I may be longer getting around for my visits. Praying we don't lose our power.

Please join me next week for my Valentines Day Tea. It won't be a party without you. Have a beautiful day everyone.

There was a Man who walked on water
He came to set the people free
He was the ultimate example
Of what love can truly be
'Cause His love was His life
And He gave it away
You gotta give it away ~
Wayne Kirkpatrick, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant Gill