Food Friday - King Arthur Flour December Bakealong

from Tracey G

It's King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge week again! This month's recipe looked rather daunting due to steps, I was a bit apprehensive. But wow, was I mistaken! It was so easy to do, but yet looks like you fussed over it! This month, the recipe challenge is a Butter Pecan Kringle.

I'm always excited to see what the month's recipe is going to be, but mixed in with that excitement is always a little dread....what if it's too hard for me to do? What if it's something I don't like (granted, that worry is the smallest percentage, lol!)? When I saw this one, I will admit feeling a little "uh oh, what have I gotten myself into?" - I felt a bit of trepidation. And once I started it, that feeling totally vanished and in its place arrived "oh my gosh, this is so easy!". Seriously!

It's done in steps and if you just follow the 3 basic steps, you've got it. First you mix up the base, which is like a sticky pie pastry, lol. If you divide it into 4 pieces, it's really easy to form it into the flat oval ring (about 1.5" wide). Then you make the batter - easy peasy. It sounded harder than it was - it's super easy. Once you get that accomplished, you spread it over the pastry oval. Bake. That's it. Once, it's baked and cooled you add your adornments - in this case it's caramel drizzle (and the directions for getting that made as well are included), then on top of that you add pecan halves (I used chopped because I couldn't find halves) and top it all off with a powdered-sugar icing drizzle. There's also ideas for a raspberry jam and lemon powdered sugar icing, or anything that tickles your fancy. I am going to try using almond flavoring in the batter, and just topping with toasted sliced almonds and an almond flavored powdered sugar icing.  I also envision sweetened cream cheese somehow and cherry pie filling...lots of ideas for this versatile treat!!!

 Do try it, it's so easy and presents beautifully - Jeremy has pretty much eaten the whole thing single-handedly, lol. It goes great with coffee, and I left about a 1/4 of it without the pecans for Harry, it just had the caramel and the icing. I didn't take it one step further with the idea of the chocolate drizzle as the final step of goodness, but it was stated that it would be appreciated next time I make it, lol!!! I do believe I have found another holiday treat tradition!! Thank you King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge!

Link to the Butter Pecan Kringle Walk-through


from Kris B.

I am having a hard time getting my head rapped round the fact that Christmas is only ten days away.  It's not that I have any ill feelings about it this year; it just seems like I have had so much going on that Christmas just snuck up on me.  I have finally purchased a few gifts...and even mailed a few...but we have no tree up as of yet.  Making this month's Bakealong recipe has helped to nudge me toward the holiday spirit!

Christmas is all about suspending disbelief.  For me, making the Butter-Pecan Kringle required a little of that as well.  When I first read the recipe, I had a hard time picturing how the whole process was going to come together.  I took my normal approach to most things in life...take it one step at a time.  As Tracey said, if you do this, the Kringle comes together very easily; once you start working, the process is not nearly as daunting as it seems when you are reading through the recipe.

I made one slight error in in my preparation.  I used individual caramel candies melted in the microwave.  I failed to add a little bit of milk to keep the caramel filling super soft.  My husband was perfectly happy with my final product, but I thought the caramel was a bit too hard.  Next time I'll remember to add a little milk or use caramel sauce.  Lol!

The pastry is quite versatile, leaving lots of room for variation in the fillings and toppings.  Tracey is heading towards chocolate and almonds, I want to try a cinnamon and brown sugar filling.  Blueberries with a lemon drizzle also sounds good!  I have plenty of taste testers in my family willing to offer their services with almost any combination of flavors.

The Kringle is a great treat to have on hand for unexpected guests who might stop by to wish you happy holidays.  It would also make your co-workers happy if you leave it in the break room at work.    And of course, having it on hand for your own family holiday celebrations is also a good idea.

Happy baking!

King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge!

Link to the Butter Pecan Kringle Walk-through

We wish you peace and joy as you and those you love celebrate any of the many holidays at this time of year.