For my first today, I tried out a fun recipe for Elven Lembas Bread. I was delighted to find the recipe while browsing online for ideas to celebrate Tolkien Week. This one caught my interest.
In the Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship rests and is restored in Lothlorien, the home of the Lady Galadriel, one of the high elves in Middle Earth during the Third Age. When the Fellowship departs, Galadriel gives each member of the party a gift and an elven cloak, along with boats and supplies. Among the supplies, wrapped in Mallorn leaves, is Lembas Bread. A closely guarded secret, the bread is to be eaten a little at a time and only during times of great need. The cake like bread stayed fresh for many days and a single bite was said to keep a tall man on his feet for a day of long labor.
Of course, this Lembas Bread won’t really do that, but I was intrigued and made a batch this evening. The recipe was simple to follow and the results were excellent! A subtly spicy aroma filled my kitchen, as the soundtrack from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring played softly on my iPod. In a very short time, I had Lembas Bread cooling on racks. A cross between scones and bar cookies, these will definitely grace my afternoon teas!
The recipe, from The Nifty Nerd:
2 ½ cups of flour
1 T of baking powder
¼ t of salt
8 T cold butter (I used real butter)
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 t of cinnamon
1 t of honey
1 cup of heavy cream (or more if needed. Dough should stick together but not be too sticky. I used exactly 1 cup)
½ t of vanilla
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and mix with fork or pastry cutter until mixture resembles fine granules. Add sugar and cinnamon. Add cream, honey and vanilla and stir with fork until a nice thick dough forms. Pat out into a rectangle on lightly floured surface until about ½ inch thick. Cut into 3 inch squares and transfer to cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. Criss-cross each square from corner to corner with a knife, being careful not to cut all the way through. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until the bread is lightly golden and set. Depending on thickness of bread, makes 12 – 20 pieces.
I brewed a cup of tea and settled down to sample a piece of the bread. Delicious! Light textured, slightly sweet with a hint of cinnamon, I enjoyed the Lembas Bread with a dap of strawberry preserves. I can’t wait to include them with afternoon tea. After all, I’m as fond of tea time as Hobbits are!
