“And the Emmy goes to…Ted Lasso!” Now, try his Famous and Delicious Biscuits!

Are you familiar with Ted Lasso? He is the charming & witty football coach from Kansas on Apple TV+. This show has received over 20 Emmy nominations for a freshman series & won 11! It’s a great show and we’re loving it!

Jason Sudeikis, Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, plays Ted, an American football coach from Kansas, who is hired to coach an English Premier League soccer team — AFC Richmond. The problem…Ted knows nothing about soccer. The good thing is…he does know how to coach a team and a real plus is that he makes some delicious biscuits!

In England, biscuits are similar to cookies in the United States. They’re like a shortbread cookie. Ted, who is trying to get in good graces with the professional soccer team’s new owner, Rebecca, cheerfully delivers biscuits to her every morning. He delivers them directly to her, at her office, in a lovely pink box. Surprised at the gesture, Rebecca tries them and to her delight, she finds the biscuits to be extremely addictive. She starts craving them, wants more, and would like to know where he gets them because she would like to purchase them for herself. Ted insists that he will continue to bring them to her. As time passes, Rebecca discovers the real secret…Ted’s biscuits are homemade, everyday, in his very own kitchen!

Recently, “Ted,” & his fellow stars from the show appeared on the TODAY show & AppleTV gave out his recipe!!! I was so excited to find the official recipe online. So, the next day, I baked some. The original recipe follows, & I’ve added my minor adjustments in parentheses.

The recipe is easy! It’s a great treat & what a fun story to share!
In my best English accent… “Do try them!”

Ted Lasso’s Biscuits

Recipe from the Today show & Apple TV – with my additions in parentheses

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 300 F. (I baked mine at 350 F)
2. Sift flour and salt, mix into a bowl, and set aside.
3. Mix butter on high speed until fluffy (3 to 5 minutes).
Gradually add sugar slowly, continuing to mix until pale and fluffy.
Add flour all at once and mix until combined.
(I added 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.)

4. Butter a square pan. (I used a favorite spray, Professional Bak-klene ZT & a 8” x 10” x 2” Wilton pan)

5. Pat and roll shortbread into pan, no more than 1/2-inch thick.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
(I flattened the dough & chilled it in plastic wrap for approximately 1 hour, as I do normally for shortbread cookies & then added it to the buttered pan to 1/2” thickness. I wanted
to chill the dough but not the pan… just a thought.)

6. Cut into squares.
(After patting the chilled dough into the pan, I cut it into rectangles & sprinkled some coarse Kosher salt on top of the dough.)

7. Bake until golden and make sure the middle is firm, approximate bake time 45 to 60 minutes. (I used a toothpick to check for doneness & my biscuits took approximately 25-30 minutes.)

8. Cool completely.

We couldn’t wait & enjoyed a few hot out of the oven but chilled the rest to share! Had a request from Bob… “Make these again!” Enjoy!

Aunt Theresa’s Crepes

Holidays and Special Foods are a tradition in our family. Pick a holiday or a celebration and I can name a food, recipe or menu we’ve shared as a family. What can I say, we have many home cooks and bakers in our family and we enjoy celebrating and sharing!

I posted about Palacinkas (Slovenian Crepes) before and how our girls and now our grandsons enjoy when they are “scrambled” to make something we’ve always called “bucca.” They top the scrambled palacinka / “bucca” with syrup, usually Log Cabin, and enjoy themselves!

In this recipe, we use the palacinkas / crepes to create a dessert by adding a delightful, sweet filling. My Aunt Theresa introduced her creation at a July 4th picnic at her son Steve’s (my cousin) one year and we loved them. I remember so vividly that she topped them with a homemade strawberry syrup and whipped cream and proudly added them to the dessert table! They were chilled perfectly for a warm July 4th afternoon.

I made them recently, for our July 4th family picnic and topped them with a blueberry syrup. Our syrup was made from blueberries that Bob and our youngest grandson picked from newly planted bushes in our backyard! The recipes for Palacinkas and Blueberry Syrup follow… Enjoy!

Palacinkas / Crepes:

1 cup flour

2 cups milk

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon butter, melted

Palacinka Filling:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream, whipped

Blueberry Syrup Topping:

1 cup blueberries

1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar (depending on personal preference of sweetness)

Directions for the Crepes:

Combine all the the ingredients for the crepes in a medium size bowl and mix until smooth. Let this batter rest for about 10 – 15 minutes.

Using a small nonstick pan sprayed lightly with some vegetable oil / Pam, add enough batter to coat the entire pan (approximately 1/3 cup) by swirling the batter to make a thin pancake. It is important to make them as thinly as possible. It will take a little practice, but, I assure you it will be worth it!

When you see the edges starting to brown slightly, carefully flip the pancake to lightly brown the other side. Place this crepe onto a dish and continue using the rest of the batter to make additional crepes.

When all of your crepes are finished and cooled they are ready to fill.

Directions for the Filling:

In a medium bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Then, gently fold in the whipped cream until it is all combined.

Directions for the blueberry syrup:

Put the blueberries, sugar and vanilla into a saucepan. Heat this mixture over a low – medium heat until it is all combined and the consistency pleases you. You may want larger berries remaining in your syrup or you may want a smoother, thinner consistency. You may even want to use a handheld blender to blend it at the end.

Assembling Dessert Crepes:

Place a crepe onto a marble / cutting board and add some of the cream cheese filling on one side, end to end and then, roll the crepe and place on a dish. Continue with the rest of the crepes.

When all of the crepes are filled, place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

When you are ready to serve them, top the chilled, rolled crepe with the blueberry syrup and some homemade whipped cream!

Enjoy!