Lembas Bread

It has been snowing for quite some time now, and today I decided to give this new recipe a try:

 Lembas Bread.

Lembas bread, of course, comes from the book and movie trilogy "The Lord of the Rings."

After I finished watching the movies a few weeks ago, the thought occurred to look for the recipe. After some searching; I found two recipes. One sounded like an exact copy of shortbread, which I did not use. The other recipe, which seemed more interesting, I found at http://www.haldiroflorien.com/lembas.php. The recipe is as follows:

Lembas Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

8 tablespoons of cold butter (1 stick)

1/3 cup of brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon maple syrup/honey

2/3 cup milk/heavy cream (or more, if necessary)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (220 C.)

2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt into large bowl.

3. Add butter and mix with pastry cutter until the mixture resembles fine granules.

4. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon, mix thoroughly.

5. Add the milk/cream, vanilla, and maple syrup; stir until nice, thick dough forms.

6. Roll the dough out about 1/2 in. thickness.

7. Cut out 3 in. squares; transfer to cookie sheet.

8. Criss-cross (do not cut all the way through) each square from corner to corner with a knife.

9. Bake for about 12 minutes or more, until bread is set and lightly golden.

Here is how they turned out:

The first batch (the square ones) turned out slightly harder and drier than the second (circle).

The reason being is that I forgot to add the maple syrup.

In my defense, the site that had the recipe forgot to label "add maple syrup" in the instructions.

They still tasted fine. I then kneaded the maple syrup into the second batch, and made Lembas cookies.

If you want your Lembas bread to be drier, omit the syrup. 

This allows for a stronger taste of cinnamon, and a drier bread.

If you want them to taste more "complete", use the syrup.

This results in a moist bread.

Be forewarned, one bite of this Lembas Bread will NOT fill the stomach of a grown man.

Or a Hobbit.

Nevertheless, it was quite enjoyable to make, and it went wonderful with tea.