Tauck's Holiday Greetings E-Mail

Has anyone else tried one or more of the recipes enclosed within the December e-mail? Yesterday I made the chocolate/cranberry/apricot/pistachio bars and they were scrumptious! They were so easy to make and it would be so easy to substitute some of the ingredients. Beware, however! They are very rich.

I will be trying the spiced shortbread cookies next.

Comments

  • **kfnknfzk **I must go back through my emails as I do not recall seeing the December e-mail. Thanks for sharing.

  • PureLuxury,

    I received the e-mail on 24 Dec. Let me know if you find it.

  • Has any other person attempted at least one of the plans encased inside the December email? Recently I made the chocolate/cranberry/apricot/pistachio bars and they were heavenly! They were so natural to make and it would be so natural to substitute a portion of the fixings. Be careful, be that as it may! They are exceptionally rich.

    I will be attempting the flavored shortbread treats straightaway.

  • I didn't get that e-mail, either. Just checked my in-box and my trash. Oh well, I had enough calories without those extra treats.

  • Me neither. I may have unsubscribed from their promotional emails. I'm not sure, as I don't recall whether I could selectively unsubscribe. I know I unsubscribed from Colin's Word and a few other things, as it was just too much "junk" from them.

  • Don’t think I got the email.

  • if anyone is really interested, the recipes may be found here https://www.tauck.com/blog/holiday-recipes/

  • Thanks, Travelcrazy. Please post again if you try any of the recipes, especially the bars. I loved them!

  • British, can you convert Grams to Tbsps and Tsps etc. for us...or tell us how to do it! The recipes sound wonderful...

  • Nancy,

    1 gram = 0.23 tsp; 4 grams = 0.92 tsp
    1 gram = a minuscule amount of a tbsp. Assume 15 grams = 1 tbsp

    A little over or under is not going to make a difference. Hope this helps.

  • Or just ask Alexa😁

  • BSP51 - Great answer, unfortunately I am old school and rely on my little decades old cheat sheet.

    Nancy - If you are making the bars, here is a conversion from grams to ounces:

    60 g = 2.2 oz
    100 g = 3.5 oz
    250 g = 8.8 oz

    Using this formula for grams to ounces will approximate the amount...DIVIDE THE GRAMS BY 28.35

  • Or "Google" it for links that show the conversions of all sorts measurements.

  • edited January 2022

    https://bfy.tw/SK3e

    P.S. This is a safe link, nothing nefarious.

  • You really have to be careful working with British recipes.
    It has always been a rule of thumb that one ounce is equivalent to 30 grams. Although it is more accurately around 28 gms.
    A British tablespoon measurement is not the same as as an American tablespoon by quite a large margin. A British dessert spoon is more equivalent to an American tablespoon.
    The thing you have to be most careful about is the difference in liquid measurements.. An American pint is 16 fluid ounces and a British one is 20 fluid ounces.
    You should stick to all metric or all ounces when following a recipe, especially with baking.
    Don’t most baking scales have the ability to swap from one to the other? Mine do.
    I’ve never been able to fathom how inaccurate measuring in cups can be, whether people loosely pack a cup measure or pack it down more firmly, or level the top or not.
    Most British bakers who I have met that live in the US, we all complain about how different the flours are here, we just can’t make great pastry with it. Same here, the butter is light and sweet, yuck. Look for Irish butter like Kerry Gold or I think the European butter called something like Plugra. You can chose salted or unsalted. Note, salted butter doesn’t go off so quickly.
    Do you realize the US is one of only about two countries that stubbornly persist in using imperial measurements? It’s just not scientific at all. It must drive scientists crazy.
    I was about 18 when Britain went metric with money and later with measurements…except miles on road signs. It was difficult at the time, but now see it as a huge advantage living here. When I bake or sew, I can easily switch from one to the other.
    I guess this is loosely travel related!

  • I bought this magnet from Amazon and find it very useful even just dealing with American recipes.

  • That’s useful Claudia, but it does not address the differences in spoons between British and American.
    If you go in a pub and ask for a pint, don’t forget it will be 4 oz more than an American pint.
    Although obviously modern British recipes use metric, many old ones do not. I have lots of old recipes from parents.
    Happy Baking everyone. Myself, I’ve just cobbled together a quiche with all the ingredients in my fridge I need to use before we go on vacation tomorrow.

  • That is, indeed, a very handy conversion chart. Thanks for sharing.

  • edited January 2022

    British, are you saying tsp and tablespoons specifically sold for cooking vs tableware are different? Certainly U.S. tableware I'd never use for cooking measurements. Way too much variability.

  • edited January 2022

    I noticed that American tableware, varies a lot. Here’s a photo on my mother in law's very old tablespoon and an American tablespoon
    As I said, the red spoon is what I would class as a British dessert spoon measurement.

  • Now I wish I'd bought a spoon set in the UK on our last visit if for no other reason than to test this out. Of course the real question is what recipes does it really make a difference if you're off by 10% measuring fairly small amounts. I have enough issues just dealing with baking at 7,000 feet. My last attempt at Yorkshire pudding could have been used as hockey pucks.

  • I have not had any issues with being off on measuring small amounts of ingredients except for when very hot Hatch, N M chile is called for. The hotter the better for me, but not for my native New Mexican spouse!

    I have, however, had a few disasters when combining flour and wet ingredients. We learn through trial and error.

  • This is definitely a break from travel talk!

  • Not really since Tauck was the one who published the recipes. I have enjoyed the discussion. It certainly beats "my cabin is better than your cabin" defensive rhetoric. Sad.

  • Dang, I bit my tongue again!

  • I appreciate all the responses and suggestions regarding metric measurements…the chart is great…thanks. I just might try my hand at a TAUCK recipe…

  • For more Tauck dessert recipes (these in US measurements), you can go to the Tauck blog under a section called "Treats from Abroad to Try at Home". These are primarily German. My mother used to make a stollen similar to the recipe listed. The only difference is that she did not include the almond paste. I always look for stollen in the stores at Christmas and sometimes am able to find it.

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