Individual Butterscotch Cakes with Hard Sauce

You can either make this as 8 small cakes or as one large cake by baking it in a 10 inch springform pan (add an additional 20 minutes to the baking time).

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp Scotch
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup ground pecans
1 cup plain yogurt

HARD SAUCE
3 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp Scotch
1/2 tsp orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour 8 individual bundt pans (or a pan with 8 moulds); set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter with sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add Scotch, beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pecans.  With a wooden spoon, stir into butter mixture alternately with yogurt, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of yogurt.
4. Spread the batter into the prepared pans.  Bake in the centre of preheated oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Transfer to rack, let cool in pan on rack.  Loosen cakes from edges of pan.  Place rack over pan;; turn cakes out onto rack.  Lift off pan and let cool completely.
5. To make sauce, in a microwaveable bowl, beat butter with confectioners sugar until fluffy.  Beat in Scotch and orange zest, microwave on high in 5 second intervals until pourable consistency is reached.  Pour over cakes.

Serves 8

Egg Nog Cookies

Another seasonal favourite, you can make these anytime though - just substitute the eggnog with milk.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg or cardamom
2/3 cup butter
1 slightly beaten egg
1/4 cup eggnog
1/2 cup finely crushed butterscotch or rum flavoured hard candies

1 recipe Eggnog Glaze
Yellow Coloured sugar

* In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg or cardamom.  Cut in butter till pieces are the size of small peas.  Make a well in the centre.  Combine egg and eggnog; add all at once to dry mixture.  Stir till moistened.  Cover and chill dough about 2 hours or till firm enough to handle.

* Line a cookie sheet with foil; set aside.  On a well floured surface roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes, rerolling trimmings as necessary.  Cut small shaped holes inside the shapes, rerolling trimmings.  Place cookie shapes with holes in centres about 1 inch apart on the foil lined cookie sheet.  Sprinkle crushed candies into the holes.

* Bake in a 375F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or till edges are firm and light brown.  Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes.  Carefully transfer the cokies on the foil to a wire rack to cool completely.
When cookies are cool, carefully peel the foil from bottoms of cookies.  Spread the cookie tops with Eggnog Glaze.  If desired, sprinkle with coloured sugar.  Makes about 24 cookies

Eggnog Glaze
In a small mixing bowl stir together 3 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp rum extract, and enough eggnog (2 to 3 tbsp) to make a glaze of spreading consistency.

Butterscotch Pudding

This is truly decadent!

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

¾ stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter

1 ½ cups packed dark brown sugar

2 ¼ cups whole milk

4 large egg yolks

¼ cup cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

Accompaniment: whipped cream sprinkled with freshly grated nutmeg

In saucepan heat cream over moderately low heat until warm.  While cream is heating, in a 3 quart heavy saucepan melt butter over moderate heat and stir in brown sugar.  Cook sugar mixture, stirring occasionally, until mixture is bubbling all over and appears smooth, about 5 minutes.  Carefully add warm cream (mixture will bubble and steam) and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until sugar mixture is dissolved, about 1 minute.  Remove pan from heat.

In a large metal bowl or top of a double boiler whisk together milk, yolks, cornstarch, and salt.  Add warm butterscotch mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, and set bowl or top of double boiler over a saucepan of simmering water.  Cook pudding, whisking constantly, 10 minutes, or until it begins to thicken.  Cover bowl or top of double boiler and cook pudding, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes more.

Remove bowl or top of double boiler from pan and cool pudding 5 minutes, whisking occasionally.  Divide hot pudding among six 1 cup ramekins or other heatproof dishes.

Butterscotch Tea Biscuits

An old recipe from my teens!  These are really simple pinwheels that are fabulous.

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Place 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp brown sugar in the bottom of 12 muffin tins.  Melt together slightly.
3. Sift together into a bowl:  1 3/4 cups once sifted all purpose flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt.
4. Cut in with a pastry blender or two knives 1/4 cup chilled shortening.
5. Add and mix lightly with a fork 2/3 cup milk.
6. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead lightly 16 to 20 times until dough holds shape in soft ball.
7. Roll out to 1/4" thickness in a 12" by 6 " rectangle.
8. Spread with softened butter and sprinkle with 1/2 cup brown sugar mixed with 1/4 tsp cinnamon.
9. Roll up as a jelly roll.  Cut into 12 one inch slices.  Place one slice in each muffin pan.
10. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.  Turn out onto a cooling rack.  Serve hot.