Walnut Pie Bars

We’ve had a few very warm days here, it was too hot inside to turn the stove on! I was happy it cooled down a bit so I was able to bake these Walnut Pie Bars! These bars were so yummy, similar to pecan pie but maybe even a bit better! Sweetened with coconut sugar and maple syrup to make it a tiny bit healthier. If you like pecan pie you will definitely love these Walnut Pie Bars!!!

Walnut Pie Bars

For the bottom layer:

• 1 3/4 cups spelt flour
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3/4 cup cold butter

For the walnut layer:

• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup spelt flour
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 maple syrup
• 2 cups roughly chopped walnuts

-Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 F.

-Mix the flour with the honey and the butter until it resembles fine crumbs. You can also use a food processor if you prefer.

-Press the crumb mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown. Remove from oven and pour on walnut topping while still hot.

–For the walnut topping:

-Mix together the flour and sugar well. Whisk in the Maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract and salt. Let stand while bottom layer prebakes, stirring it occasionally.

-Mix in the walnuts and pour over the still hot prebaked bottom layer. Return the pan to the oven and bake for about 45 minutes, until filling is set.

-Let cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator for several hours before cutting into bars or squares.

Enjoy!

Ursula

xox

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Maple Dark Chocolate Marble Cake

I hope you all had a great first week of spring! The warmer weather had us go outside a bit more than during the colder month and we finally have the first spring flowers blooming!

I really like recipes that are easy and quick to whip up with ingredients you most likely have on hand already. This marble bundt cake is pretty and absolutely delicious, sweetened with maple syrup and using dark chocolate. A slice of this Marble Cake definitely works for every season!

Maple Dark Chocolate Marble Cake

Ingredients:

• 250 g butter, soft
• 200 ml maple syrup, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 5 eggs, at room temperature
• 300 g white spelt flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 150 g dark chocolate, melted with 2 tbsp of milk

-Butter and flour a 2 liter bundt form. Preheat oven to 350 F.

-Whisk together the butter and maple syrup. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract and salt.

-Combine the flour and baking powder, sift into the wet ingredients, stir until well combined. Pour half of the batter into the bundt form.

-Add the melted chocolate into the remaining batter and mix until combined. Pour into bundt form and with a knife or spoon swirl it all around to create that marble effect.

-Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until tester inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing from baking form.

Enjoy!

Ursula

Maple Nut Tart

We love using maple syrup as sweetener in baked goods. The combination of mixed nuts and maple syrup is especially delicious! If you like pecan pie, you will love this Maple Nut Tart!

Maple Nut Tart

Flaky Pastry

• 2 cups white spelt flour
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup ice-cold water

Maple Nut Filling

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup mixed coarsely chopped nuts

For the Pastry:

– In a medium bowl, combine flour, honey, salt and baking powder. Add the butter and mix with your hands until crumbly. Add water, a little at a time, mix only until well combined. Press dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the Maple Nut Filling:

– In a bowl whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, coconut sugar, melted butter and vanilla until well blended. Add the mixed nuts.

– Line the bottom of a 11-inch tart pan with parchment paper, butter the sides. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to fit into your tart pan.

– Pour the maple nut filling into pastry.

– Bake in preheated 375 F oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and filling is set.

– Let cool before removing from tart pan.

Enjoy!

Ursula

No bake Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies

It’s time for another quick and easy, very yummy sweet treat! My daughter and I made these no bake Peanut butter and Oatmeal cookies. Drizzled with some maple butter and a sprinkle of Himalayan sea salt, my daughter’s idea, not necessary but totally worth it!

 

No bake Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3 3/4 cup oatmeal
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

-Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

– In a medium saucepan boil the butter, maple syrup and milk for 5 minutes. Add the peanut butter and stir.

-Remove from heat and combine with the oatmeal and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

– Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, shaping into cookies.

– Place sheets for several hours into refrigerator.

-Store in refrigerator or freezer: in an airtight container, placing a parchment or wax paper between layers.

Tip: Drizzle cookies with maple butter and sprinkle some Himalayan sea salt on top!

 

 

Enjoy!

Ursula 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrot Cake Cookies

Hello everyone, I wish you all a Happy Easter and a wonderful weekend!

These carrot cake cookies are super yummy, with a touch of maple syrup, cinnamon and cloves.

 

Carrot Cake Cookies 

Yields: 25 large cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups butter melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 2 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt

-Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F.

-Whisk together the butter and maple syrup, add eggs one at a time, add spices and salt.

-Mix in the carrots, then add the flour, baking soda and ground almonds. Stir until well combined.

-Drop by spoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving some space between cookies. The cookies will spread a bit.

-Sprinkle with some coconut sugar if desired.

-Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

(These pretty Easter eggs were made by my late grandmother who was a very talented crafter!)

 

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maple Pecan Cinnamon Swirls

It’s another snowy, ice rain kind of day here in Ontario. I sure hope Winter will not stick around for too much longer ;))

In Switzerland you will find a pastry called Nusschnecken, a cinnamon bun style pastry filled with ground hazelnuts or almonds and are pretty flat compared to a traditional cinnamon bun. I think this is the first time I’ve tried copying the shape and I really liked how it turned out. Filled with ground pecans, maple syrup, orange zest and a touch of cinnamon-so good!

 

 

Maple Pecan Cinnamon Swirls

Ingredients:

• 400 g white spelt flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp quick instant yeast
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 80 g butter, melted (+ 80 g melted butter for brushing dough)
• 250 ml warm milk

Filling:

• 300 g ground pecans
• 5 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 organic orange, zest only
• 200 ml milk

-For dough: In a large mixing bowl or your standard mixer, combine flour, salt and yeast, add melted butter, honey and warm milk. Knead to form a soft dough. Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour or double in size.

-For filling: Mix all ingredients together, set aside.

-Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

-On a floured surface roll dough out thinly into a large rectangle. Brush with the melted butter, ( leave some for brushing the swirls before baking). Spread the filling evenly onto dough. Starting from the longer side, roll dough up tightly. Cut into 2 cm thin swirls/buns. Lay onto prepared baking sheets, leaving some space between. Brush with remaining melted butter, let rise another 15 minutes. Bake in preheated 350F/180C oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

-I brushed the warm swirls with a maple butter and orange icing. You can use a regular icing if desired (icing sugar and orange juice).

-Makes about 25 swirls.

-Ground hazelnuts, almonds, or walnuts can be used instead of pecans.

 

Have a wonderful week!

Ursula

 

 

 

 

Maple Almond Muffins

Happy Sunday! I hope you are all having a great weekend!

It’s been a kind of a slow week as we were dealing with very cold and stormy weather, which lead to 3 cancelled school days and exams being pushed forward several times. It was a bit of a mess.

These Maple Almond Muffins are our delicious Sunday afternoon treat, using spelt flour and sweetened with maple syrup. It’s yummy and not too sweet.

 

Maple Almond Muffins

Ingredients:

• 175 g butter, melted
• 180 ml maple syrup
• 4 eggs, yolk and whites separated
• pinch of salt
• 125 g spelt flour
• 150 g ground almonds
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

-Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare 10 -12 muffin tins.

-Mix together the butter and maple syrup. Add the egg yolks one at the time, mixing well.

-In a separate bowl whip the egg whites, with the salt and baking powder, until stiff peaks form.

-Add the flour, almonds and egg whites, a little at the time, and carefully mix under the butter mixture. Mix until combined, do not overmix.

-Fill into prepared muffin tins and bake in preheated 375F oven for 10 minutes then set oven to 350F and finish bake another 20 minutes or until golden brown and tester inserted comes out clean.

-Let cool completely.

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

You can find me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

Cranberry and Orange Sheet Cake

I love the smell and taste of this flavor combination, so lovely! If you are looking for a simple and delicious sheet cake this might be just what you are looking for.

I still had some cranberries left from Christmas baking and my kids have been eating oranges, I had everything at home to whip this up. I used spelt flour and maple syrup to make it a healthier treat.

 

Cranberry and Orange Sheet Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup grapeseed oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups spelt flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp orange zest

-Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

-Soak cranberries in orange juice for 15 minutes.

– In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt and orange zest.

-In a separate bowl whisk eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla, then add the cranberry mixture. Stir in flour until well combined. Fill into the prepared baking pan.

-Bake in preheated oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until tester inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.

-Let cool completely. Cut into squares, decorate with an icing if desired, I used maple syrup and small cranberry pieces and orange zest.

-Can be baked in a smaller sheet pan, a bundt form or muffin tins.

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

Follow me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

Pumpkin Cookies

Happy Halloween!

I hope you are all having a fun and not too scary Halloween! Thinking back of those times when my kids were still little and impatiently waiting for this day to come. Such cute memories of my daughter mostly dressing up as a little princess, my son trying out different characters from cowboy to Star Wars Darth Vader 🙂

I’ve made these delicious, melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin cookies, all dressed up for Halloween, these are the perfect fall or holiday cookie, with a lovely pumpkin and spice flavor. Can be enjoyed with or without icing. I used maple butter as an icing.

 

 

Pumpkin Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, soft
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups maple syrup
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups white spelt flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

-Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt, set aside.

-Cream together the butter, egg and maple syrup. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla, beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls, flatten slightly.

-Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven or until lightly browned. Let cool completely. Drizzle with maple butter or icing.

Tip: -Use 3 teaspoons of pumpkin spice. – Substitute spelt flour with whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour.

 

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

You can find me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thurgauer Apfeltorte

Happy weekend everyone!

It has been a busy but wonderful last few weeks, with my mom and stepdad visiting. It was a special gift for my daughter to be here for her high school commencement, which was a lovely evening full of joy, pride and maybe a few happy tears! We were also able to celebrate my moms birthday, this was the first time in 20 years! We just never visited each other during fall. Living so far apart makes it difficult to see each other for every birthday or other celebrations. It was very special and meant a lot to all of us.

The weather was not always so great, lots of rain and chilly winds and this week humid hot days that now turned into a cold and frosty weekend. Over the last two weeks we could really see how the leaves are changing colour and showcasing a beautiful indian summer. 

We made this traditional Swiss apple cake, Thurgauer Apfeltorte, which means it is a recipe from the Canton of Thurgau. A simple but very delicious apple cake made with fresh, local apples.

 

Thurgauer Apfeltorte

• 150 g butter, soft
• 150 ml maple syrup
• 1 organic lemon, zest and juice
• pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 150 g spelt flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 apples, peeled, cored, cut in half
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar

 

-Line the bottom of a 24 cm Springform pan with parchment paper, grease and flour the sides. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

-Whisk together the butter, maple syrup, half of the lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. Add eggs one at the time, mixing well.

-Peel apples, cut in half, remove core and cut in thinly but not all the way through. Mix with half of the lemon juice and coconut sugar, set aside.

-Add the flour and baking powder and mix until well combined. Pour into prepared baking pan. Top with the apples and bake for about 45 minutes or until cake is golden brown and tester comes out clean.

-Let cool completely, dust with some icing sugar if desired.

-Tip: Cane sugar can be used instead of the maple syrup and coconut sugar–

 

Visit my Instagram page for more pictures including our trip to Niagara Falls!  littleswisslittlecanadian

 

Enjoy!

Ursula