Cake for Heather

What started out as a simple bashing of my husband has turned into a couple days of baking. Upon showing this blog to some fellow co-workers, my husband was promptly asked WHY none of these things have been brought into work. I think that is a reasonable question! And with that I began a quest. To find something to make for Heather. I turned directly to my Dorie Greenspan cook book and began the search. After marking about 12 different recipes, I decided on the Rum Drenched Vanilla cake. For 2 reasons.
1. It made 2 loaf cakes. Bonus! I don't give anything away that I have not tried!
2. I knew that with Rum in the recipe...twice, I could not go wrong!

So, off I went to the liquor store to buy a small bottle of dark rum. This is not something that I keep in my house. I have vodka, all the alcohol to make chocolate martinis....but no dark rum. Never fear, the liquor store in only 2 blocks away. Everything else for this recipe was already in my kitchen. Now....I say that it was in my kitchen, it does not mean that it was Dorie ready. She likes to use eggs at room temp. Which is great....when I remember to take out the eggs. However....9 times out of 10 that is not the case. I have a tendency to take too long to figure out what I want to make and then I don't have the time to let things come to room temp. So....I discovered a little secret. You can place eggs in a bowl of warm...not hot...WARM water to help to bring them to room temp more quickly.

So here we go....Rum Drenched Vanilla Cakes

Recipe from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking from my home to yours"
Cakes:
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 1/3 cups sugar
2 plump moist vanilla beans, split length wise, seeds scraped out, and reserved, OR 1 1/2 TABLESPOONS pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs, preferably at room temperature. (This is so when you add the warm butter it does not cook your eggs! Thanks Kristin for that tidbit of information!!)
2/3 cup Heavy cream
2 1/2 Tablespoons dark rum
1 stick plus 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled.

FOR THE SYRUP
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark rum

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 8.5x4.5x2.5 inch loaf pans, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pans on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular sheets stacked one on top of the other.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.

Put the sugar and the pulp from the vanilla beans, if using them, in a large bowl and, working with your fingers, rub them together until the sugar is moist and thoroughly imbued with the fragrance of vanilla. (If you are using extract, add it later, after you've added the eggs.) Add the eggs and whisk them into the sugar, beating until they are thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in the extract, if you're using it, then whisk in the cream, followed by the rum. Continuing with the whisk or switching to a large rubber spatula, gently stir in the dry ingredients in 3 or 4 additions; the batter will be smooth and thick. Finish by folding in the melted butter in 2 or 3 additions. Pour the batter into the pans, smoothing the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. (As soon as the cakes go into the oven, make the syrup.) After about 30 minutes in the oven, check the cakes for color. If they are browning too much, cover them lightly with foil tents.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. Stir the water and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar melts, then bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum. Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and let cool.

When the cakes test done, transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding them and turning them right side up on the rack. Place the rack over a baking sheet lined with wax paper, and, using a thin skewer, cake tester, or thin-bladed knife, poke holes all over the cakes. Brush the cake all over with the syrup, working slowly so the cakes sop it up. Leave the cakes on the rack to cool to room temperature.

Cake #1
So Wednesday night, I managed to get these 2 loaf cakes done as well as another round of my favorite Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp. That is what happens when you can get Cortland apples for $.70 a pound! And as the loaf cakes sat on the counter cooling and my house was filled with the wonderful smells of apples and cinnamon, I sat content in the big chair at the kitchen table chatting with Kylie on the other side of the world, surrounded by puppies! One of my favorite things!


Now...I said that I never share things that I have not tried. Well...at least that someone in my family has tried. I just went through the last 6 months of working out and losing weight and eating healthy. After losing more than 90 pounds...I am not in any way ready to put it back on. So...I let my family eat most of the things that I make. But I digress, As I wrapped up the Rum cake for Heather and the other was sitting on the counter, I was seriously debating sending it to my friend Samantha but no one had tried this. So I looked at my husband and asked if he would be willing to try a slice to make sure that it did not suck. Of course he was more than willing to take the chance and assured me that it was good.

So, now...I can't send this cake to Samantha...it has a slice off the end. Ugh. So I sent the 2nd cake to work with Calvin hoping that the rest of his fellow co-workers would simply take a slice just because it was there, and hope that he did not bring any of it home. It was gone by mid afternoon. Whoo hooo!! Before I even knew how well the cake went over, I was already baking another 2 cakes. One to send to Samantha of course, which she should be getting today, and then I had no idea what I was going to to with the other. Now, the second cakes did not come out of the pans as well...clearly, not enough grease and flour...mental note for next time....but the cakes were just as good, or so I was told. Calvin again took the 2nd cake to work with him, I did manage to get a couple slices off to my mother before he took it and a picture..but not a good one...it was a gloomy gloomy dark day in Wisconsin today....although, the temp is WONDERFUL! But taking the picture on my kitchen counter, not ideal...not enough natural light!

This is the only thing that is left at this point, and this picture is a little better. :)

Now, the round 2 of the Rum Drenched Vanilla Cakes was not the end of my baking for the day....I also completed another batch of the White Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Batch of Butterscotch Pudding cookies with Butterscotch Chips.





White Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Ingredients

* 1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks softened)
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 1/4 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1 (4 ounce) package jell-o instant pudding mix (White Chocolate Pudding)

* semi-sweet chocolate chips
* White Chocolate Chips


Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º F. with mixer beat wet ingredients until light and fluffy. In separate bowl stir together by hand flour, baking soda and Jell-O. Gradually add flour mix to wet ingredients mixing until smooth scraping bowl often. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Drop dough with a tablespoon on baking sheets coated with non-stick spray or parchment paper.
3. Bake in pre-heated oven 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on baking sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. (if you can wait!)






Butterscotch Pudding Cookies with Butterscotch Chips:
Ingredients

* 1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks softened)
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 1/4 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1 (4 ounce) package jell-o instant pudding mix (Butterscotch Pudding)

* Butterscotch Chips....about a 12 ounce bag. :)


Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º F. with mixer beat wet ingredients until light and fluffy. In separate bowl stir together by hand flour, baking soda and Jell-O. Gradually add flour mix to wet ingredients mixing until smooth scraping bowl often. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Drop dough with a tablespoon on baking sheets coated with non-stick spray or parchment paper.
3. Bake in pre-heated oven 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on baking sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. (if you can wait!)

And that brings us to today...I am all set and ready to make fresh Italian Bread to go with our dinner tonight...White Noodles, which the girls have been begging for for weeks. I thought that it would be a good addition! And maybe a different cake for dessert....Off to the kitchen...

SPIDERS!

As promised yesterday...here are the spider cupcakes that the children will be taking to school tomorrow. There are 3 kinds of cupcakes, Vanilla with Vanilla frosting, Chocolate cupcakes with Vanilla frosting, and Marble cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting. Now all snacks are ready for Halloween parties tomorrow. They did require a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a cupcake carrier.






Vanilla Cupcakes
www.joyofbaking.com

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of 1 large lemon (optional)

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (60 ml) milk

Buttercream Frosting:

2 cups (230 grams) confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk or light cream

Assorted food colors (if desired)
Vanilla Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

For the Cupcakes: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract
and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake
comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.

Makes about 12 cupcakes


CHOCOLATE Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 3 tablespoons butter, softened
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup milk



DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.
3. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Frost with your favorite frosting when cool.

Makes 16 cupcakes

MARBLE cupcakes
www.bakingbites.com
Marble Cupcakes
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-oz semisweet or dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease line 10 cups from a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cups liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Pour in dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Remove 1 cup of the batter to a small bowl and stir in melted chocolate.
Add about 1/2 tsp food coloring to each bowl to make red, orange, yellow, green and blue batters. Stir well, so no streaks of plain batter remain. Add additional food coloring if necessary.
Evenly distribute batters into prepared pans, adding a spoonful of vanilla, followed buy a spoonful of chocolate, followed by a little more vanilla. Gently run a knife through the batter to give them a swirl.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes on a wire rack before frosting.

Makes 10

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
1 stick unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Milk (I use an extra 1 to 2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 - 3 cups powdered sugar
Mix together adding powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
1 stick unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 - 3 cups powdered sugar
3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate melted
Mix the first 3 ingredients together then add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Once it is mixed together well, add chocolate and mix until the chocolate is incorporated. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.

GREEN SPIDERS
*Wilton candy melts of your color choice.

I melted the candy melts in my pampered chef micro-cooker...I love that thing! Once melted, I put it into a Ziploc bag and snipped off a tiny piece of the corner....they harden again so work quickly. Make a big circle for the body and a little circle for the head. Then pipe out the 8 legs. They will be hard in 5 minutes and ready to do with them what you please.

Knee deep in dough!

So today started a new project, well not really new....I am baking treats for the Wizard of Oz. I offered to bring treats for intermission. GREAT! Well, I know how busy next week will end up being...so I am baking a couple things this week that I know will freeze well. For example SUGAR COOKIES! Now...logic would dictate that you make something easy...I have never been one to do things the easy way. Ask my mother. I decided yesterday that I was going to make rainbow cookies...after all it is the Wizard of Oz where we go somewhere over the Rainbow right? So. Project set!

This morning as I was going through all of the blogs that I have been reading on a regular basis I found something that was very helpful to me...a suggestion of using a bread pan to create layers. I was so excited! I called my mother and told her that I am so glad that there are people in the world who are smarter and more creative than me. This little step saved me a TON of time!! I don't do well measuring and rolling and measuring some more. So....after making the rainbow I decided to make candy corn cookies as well. Both girls are taking treats for respective Halloween parties on Wednesday and I thought they would be something fun. And fairly small!! That took me to time to pick up Miss B from school.

Upon arrival back home, we proceeded to have the conversation that along with the candy corn cookies, both girls wanted to take cupcakes to school. With Spiderwebs on top! Whoo hoo!! I like those....and the pictures will be taken tomorrow, they store better without frosting!

Miss B decided that she wanted 16 chocolate cupcakes and 1 danilla as she calls them. I guess there is a child in her class that does not like chocolate. I thought that it was very considerate of her, as a 6 year old, to consider this little boy's feelings. I am so proud of her....how could I say no? So...off I went. 12 Vanilla cupcakes and 12 Chocolate cupcakes. Little O then pipes in and says I want BOTH...chocolate and vanilla! So off I went to find a marble cupcake recipe. I am now fully equipped with cupcakes. 12 Vanilla, 12 Chocolate, and 20 Marble cupcakes will soon make their way to happy little tummies!






Rainbow Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter - softened
1 cup sugar
cream the 2 together then add:
1 egg
mix.

Then add:
2 teaspoons almond or vanilla...I use vanilla
2 teaspoons baking POWDER
2 1/2 - 3 cups Flour (I usually use only the 2 1/2 cups because I roll them out in flour!)

**Food coloring gel/paste. I used Wilton colors, you can use regular food coloring but the colors will not be as vibrant.

**** To create the Ribbon effect, place dough in a parchment or waxed paper lined bread pan. Pat dough as evenly as possible in the bottom of the pan. Follow with each additional layer in the same manner. When you have your layers complete, place in the fridge for approx. 3 hours. I am not that patient and went with the freezer for about an hour. Remove pan from freezer and remove dough from the pan. Slice and bake.
**Sprinkle a little bit of sugar on the top.

Bake at 400




Candy Corn Cookies

1 cup butter - softened
1 cup sugar
cream the 2 together then add:
1 egg
mix.

Then add:
2 teaspoons almond or vanilla...I use vanilla
2 teaspoons baking POWDER
2 1/2 - 3 cups Flour (I usually use only the 2 1/2 cups because I roll them out in flour!)

**Food coloring gel/paste. I used Wilton colors, you can use regular food coloring but the colors will not be as vibrant.

**** To create the Ribbon effect, place dough in a parchment or waxed paper lined bread pan. Pat dough as evenly as possible in the bottom of the pan. Follow with each additional layer in the same manner. When you have your layers complete, place in the fridge for approx. 3 hours. I am not that patient and went with the freezer for about an hour. Remove pan from freezer and remove dough from the pan. Slice. After slicing, cut into triangles to create the candy corn pieces.

*** Sprinkle a little bit of sugar on the top for a little extra sweetness if desired.

Bake at 400


When all was said and done for the day....we only had one thing that did not survive....Little O's lunch. :(

And THAT brings us to today!!

I love Cheesecake. I always have. I don't know that I have a favorite cheesecake. And I am always open to trying a new one. This is one of "those". A new one. After being called by one of my piano students last week and being asked to buy cheesecakes and danishes...I have been in the cheesecake mood. Now, one of her options to me was Pumpkin Cheesecake. And I debated it...and though what if I don't like it? Really?? I mean have I ever come across a cheesecake that I did not like?? But I did not want to part with that $20 to buy something that I would not eat. So, I went the safe route and ordered the sampler. But Pumpkin Cheesecake has stuck in my head. So today I did a bit of online searching for Pumpkin Cheese cake and found a recipe that I thought looked good.

Now, I have a sick child who likely has the H1N1 virus, and today my husband went down...his fever is almost 103 and he is currently snoozing away on the couch. So as I was making this, all I could think is...who can I share this with? There is no way that I am eating this whole thing. I only wanted to try it! WELL.....the family came through. Half, yes I said HALF of the cheesecake is gone. Miss B ate a great big piece, so did her little sister and her DAD! I was the only one who had a small piece of this cheesecake, which is good. I did not need any more than that...okay, did not need that either buy boy was it GOOD!!

I am including in this recipe the recipe that I got from Food network as well as what I changed....

www.foodnetwork.com
Ingredients
Crust:


* 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick melted salted butter

*****I used....1 3/4 cups gingersnap cookies, 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 4 tablespoons unsalted butter.

Filling:


* 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature (i used 2 regular one light)
* 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
* 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
* 1/4 cup sour cream (I used light)
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.
*****Oh yea, and because I am not patient and did not plan far enough in advance, I stuck this in the freezer for 2 hours instead of the fridge for 4!!

NOW....onto dinner itself. We used the leftover sweet dinner rolls from last night, but I have been attempting to expand my dinner ideas. Tonight we had Grilled apple chicken. It is cold out. I mean...COLD. By the time I was done grilling I could actually see my breath. Ahhh, gotta love fall. At least....at the very least, the sun was out! So....here it is. Grilled Apple Chicken

Ingredients

* 3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice or apple cider
* 1/3 cup lemon juice
* 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 3 tablespoons honey
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 4-1/2 teaspoons canola oil
* 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

Directions

* In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Set aside 1/3 cup juice mixture. Add oil to the remaining juice mixture; pour into a large resealable bag. Add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Cover and refrigerate reserved juice mixture.
* Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Drain chicken and discard marinade. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear, basting occasionally with reserved juice mixture. Yield: 6 servings.

A busy Day in the Kitchen

So, with this post I am officially up to yesterday's baking extravaganza. I started with White chocolate chocolate chip cookies....



White Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients

* 1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks softened)
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 1/4 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1 (4 ounce) package jell-o instant pudding mix (White Chocolate Pudding)

* Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
* White Chocolate Chips

***Add as many or as few chips as you see fit.


Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º F. with mixer beat wet ingredients until light and fluffy. In separate bowl stir together by hand flour, baking soda and Jell-O. Gradually add flour mix to wet ingredients mixing until smooth scraping bowl often. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

2. Drop dough with a tablespoon on baking sheets coated with non-stick spray or parchment paper.
3. Bake in pre-heated oven 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on baking sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. (if you can wait!



THEN....I decided to make the good old Stand by of Chocolate chip Cookies, of which I do not have a picture, but I will certainly supply you with the recipe...

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/3 cups Shortening...I use margarine
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 bag (12 ounces) Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Then add flour, baking soda and salt. When mixed together add Chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake until golden brown.



Next on the list....CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES!


Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Yields: 51 cookies

Adapted from Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate

· 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 cup canola oil
· 4 ounces 99% unsweetened chocolate, melted
· 2 cups granulated sugar
· 4 large eggs
· 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
· 1 cup confectioners' sugar


Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, chocolate and granulated sugar and blend on medium speed. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. There may be some small clumps of sugar in the batter at this point. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Mix until just incorporated, 2 to 3 minutes. The dough will be sticky.

Gather the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Position the racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.

Pour the confectioners' sugar onto a plate or into a shallow bowl. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, drop onto the sugar and roll each ball so that all sides are covered. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes for soft, chewy cookies, or 12 minutes for crisp cookies, rotating the pans halfway through baking. The cookies are done when the edges are set (but the tops still have a little give to them). Let cool completely on cooling racks. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.


Next on the list was Apple Crisp. I have made this several times and I will continue to do so. The hard part is that fact that I am the only one who eats it....I do however....make half batches!!



Recipe from: www.smittenkitchen.com

Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp

3 pounds* of whatever apples, or mix of apples, you like to bake with, peeled, cored and cut into medium chunks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup flour
2 cups oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, as you wish; I used unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix apple chunks with lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and pinch of salt in a 9×13-inch baking dish until apples are evenly coated. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the honey. Stir in the flour, oats, almonds, coconut and another pinch of salt until clumps form. Sprinkle evenly over the apple mixture and bake in the oven for about 45 to 55 minutes, or until the apples are softened and bubbly. Should the granola brown before you wish it to, cover the baking dish carefully with foil for all but the last few minutes of baking time, when removing the foil will help the granola recrisp. Cool to room temperature and then stash in the fridge to eat with your morning yogurt.

Next.....Sweet Dinner Rolls!!! I am not sure what the deal was or why I felt it necessary to bake all day long....prehaps it was because Miss B was still home sick and not really up for anything so I kept myself busy cooped up in the house....what ever the reason, I got a lot baked!

browneyedbaker

Sweet Dinner Rolls

(Source: Amber’s Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions:
1) Place water and milk in microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute or until liquids reach (110 degrees F/45 degrees C). Pour liquids into mixer bowl; add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add in yeast and let set for 10-20 minutes to proof (the mixture will be foamy).

2) Mix on low speed adding the salt, butter and egg. Once well mixed add in the flour 1/4 cup at a time. Remove the paddle attachment and attach the dough hook. With the machine, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

3) Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into desired shapes (I cut the ball of dough into quarters, and then quartered each of those, and then rolled each piece into a ball). Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour. Gently brush the tops of the rolls with half of the softened butter.

4) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Upon removing the rolls from the oven brush them with remaining softened butter once again.



And that was the end....with the exception of Chicken and squash for dinner, but that was nothing special!

Banana Bundt Cake

This is a cake from Dorie Greenspan's Book...and lets be honest, right now I am too tired to get out the book and retype the entire recipe. So for now....we will call it a yummy picture.

Apple Crisp #1!

This was apple crisp #2.....and by far my favorite. The recipe is from www.smittenkitchen.com I actually made 1/2 of this recipe....still turned out great!

Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp

3 pounds* of whatever apples, or mix of apples, you like to bake with, peeled, cored and cut into medium chunks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup flour
2 cups oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, as you wish; I used unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix apple chunks with lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and pinch of salt in a 9×13-inch baking dish until apples are evenly coated. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the honey. Stir in the flour, oats, almonds, coconut and another pinch of salt until clumps form. Sprinkle evenly over the apple mixture and bake in the oven for about 45 to 55 minutes, or until the apples are softened and bubbly. Should the granola brown before you wish it to, cover the baking dish carefully with foil for all but the last few minutes of baking time, when removing the foil will help the granola recrisp. Cool to room temperature and then stash in the fridge to eat with your morning yogurt.

Carmel apples for fun!

Caramel Apples

TIME: Prep/Total Time: 30 min.
Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup butter, cubed
* 2 cups packed brown sugar
* 1 cup light corn syrup
* Dash salt
* 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 10 to 12 Popsicle sticks
* 10 to 12 medium tart apples, washed and dried
* 1 cup salted peanuts, chopped

Directions:
In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter; add the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248° (firm-ball stage). Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.
Insert Popsicle sticks into apples. Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat. Dip bottom of apples into peanuts. Set on greased waxed paper to cool. Yield: 10-12 apples.

Cheesecake swirled Brownies

Ready for Octochicks!! After a busy day at home including making Ginger cookies I decided to make something a little bit sweet to take to Barbershop rehearsal. I decided on these for 2 reasons....okay 3.

1. They only make an 8 x 8 square pan. Not too many left overs!

2. They look REALLY good and easy to make!

3. This is not something that I would be likely to eat which is ALWAYS something that I look for. After losing almost 90 pounds...I have NO desire to put it back on!!

A couple of side notes....I melted the chocolate in my pamper chef micro cooker. It works REALLY well. No need to worry about burnt chocolate. You can swirl these a lot or a little or even not at all. I also used the special dark chocolate chips on the top instead of semi-sweet.

9/17/09

Cheesecake-Swirled Brownies
Adapted from Gourmet, June 2007

It’s true, I have made these before. Well, not these, a different recipe and they’re good, great even, but I’ve always wanted to fix it up a little. That brownie recipe is wonderful, but not simplified enough for a two-step process and there was never enough cheesecakiness (oh yes, it is a word) to balance it. Also, my mother has always made hers with chocolate chips swirled into the cream cheese and although I feel that a good brownie should not need extra chocolate in the form of frosting or chips to make it work, it sure cuts fantastically through the cream cheese swirl. Thus, three changes and a new recipe was warranted. Make these instead.

I added the aforementioned chocolate chips and more unsweetened chocolate to the brownie recipe, as commenters seemed to feel it was not chocolaty enough. I don’t think anyone could make the same argument about these.

Makes 16 2-inch square, thick brownies

Brownie batter
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Cheesecake batter
8 ounces cream cheese, well softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Plus
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Make brownie batter: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Heat butter and chocolate in a 3-quart heavy saucepan — though I did mine double-boiler style, placing the mixing bowl I was using over simmering water, thereby creating one less dirty dish and melting the chocolate more gently — over moderately low heat, whisking occasionally, just until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until well combined. Whisk in flour until just combined and spread in baking pan.

Make cheesecake batter: Whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Dollop over brownie batter, then swirl in with a knife or spatula.

[I actually like using a butter knife because the tip of it is round enough that you can use it to fold bits of the brownie batter over the cheesecake batter for a more visibly marbled effect. Try it!]

Sprinkle chocolate chips over cheesecake/brownie batter swirl. Although it might be more logical to just mix them into the cheesecake batter (and feel free to do this, it will have no ill-effect) I thought it might interrupt the swirl-ability of it.

Bake brownies: Bake until edges are slightly puffed and center is just set, about 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Slicing tip: I like to chill my brownies until they’re almost frozen before cutting them. It makes it much easier to get a clean slice.

Brownie Bites

I TOTALLY cheated!! I had made Rocky Road Brownies, and they did not turn out like I wanted them to. I was baking on a time frame for parent training night at London Bridges so I used a box brownie mix. I did however, decide to make homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. :)

9/9/09

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

6 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. cocoa
2 2/3 c. unsifted powdered sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter in small bowl. Add cocoa and powdered sugar alternately with milk. Beat to spreading consistency (additional tablespoon of milk may be needed). Blend in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

Magic...

I was looking for something easy to fill my need to bake, I found this. It made a small enough pan that my family did not want to kill me for making it. :) I did manage to give at least half of the pan to Cailea and Christopher so that helped as well.

They are good, but VERY sweet and should be cut into VERY small squares!

9/3/09

MAGIC BARS

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) graham cracker crumbs

1 1/3 cups (90 grams) sweetened flaked or shredded coconut

1 cup (170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup (100 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans

1 - 14 ounce (396 grams) can of sweetened condensed milk



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Have ready a 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) square baking pan. Set aside.

Melt the butter and pour it into the bottom of your pan. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the butter. Sprinkle the coconut over the crumbs. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the coconut. Sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate chips. Finally, drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over all the ingredients. Do not mix the ingredients together, just layer them.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the squares comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator. These bars can be frozen.

Makes about 16 - 2 inch squares.

Rainbow cake for a Sick Miss B

So Bella has come down with what we believe is the dreaded H1N1.....she looked at me this morning with those big green eyes and says...mom will you make me a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting? How could I say no???? Soooooooo here it is....with a twist....it is vanilla, but with COLOR!

I actually cut this recipe in half so that I was not swimming in cupcakes!!! It worked out pretty well although I still have problems coming up with 7/8 of a cup, so I just go a little bit shy of 1 cup of sugar!

lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com
Double Vanilla Cupcakes from Amy Sedaris

* 1 ½ sticks (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 ¾ cups of sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 2 Teaspoons of pure vanilla
* 1/2 Vanilla Bean, scraped (optional)
* ½ teaspoon of salt
* 2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
* 2 ½ cups of flour
* 1 ¼ cups of milk

In a medium bowl, mix together salt, baking powder and flour. Stir to combine then set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl, then add in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla extract and the seeds of half a vanilla bean. Beat until well combined.

Alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter/sugar mixture. Start with flour, end with flour.

*For Rainbow Cupcakes: Divide the batter into 6 bowls. Color your batter with food coloring (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet). I used Americolor colors because they are more concentrated than the typical grocery store variety and the colors are intense without using a lot of it. For each bowl of color I only used about a nickel size amount of dye. If I had used liquid food dye, I would have had to use the entire bottle to get the colors that rich looking and it would have thinned the batter out too much. Each bottle was $1.80, but you only need the 3 primary colors to make the rainbow.

Spoon or pipe your batter in thin layers into the muffin cups, being careful not to mix the colors. I put my batter into Ziploc bags then I snipped the end of bag. When I was done, I just threw away the bag. No cleaning of pastry bags!

Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes for regular cupcakes and about 15 minutes for mini cupcakes.

Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 - 3 cups powdered sugar

Mix butter, milk, vanilla together, add powdered sugar. Start with 2 cups and see. Depends on how sweet you want your frosting.....I used just over 2 cups....I ended up adding a little more milk to help it to be more spreadable. Maybe a teaspoon more.

mmmm mmmm mmmm

10/20/09

I have seen this recipe many many many places including Dorie Greenspans cook book that I HAD to have....it is as good as it looks! Not sure why I decided today was the day to bake it...but it was.

Devil's Food White-Out Cake
Source: Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours p. 247-9
Makes 12 servings

For the cake
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup boiling water
4 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

For the filling and frosting
1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large)
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

TO MAKE THE CAKE: Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugars and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate. When it is fully incorporated, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. At this point, the batter will be thick, like frosting. Still working on low speed, mix in the boiling water, which will thin the batter considerably. Switch to a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully baked, the cakes will be springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Don't worry if the tops have a few small cracks. Transfer the cake pans to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

When you are ready to fill and frost the cake, inspect the layers. If the cakes have crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. With the same knife, slice each layer horizontally in half. Set 3 layers aside and crumble the fourth layer; set the crumbs aside.

TO MAKE THE FILLING AND FROSTING: Put the egg whites in a clean, dry mixer bowl or in another large bowl. Have a candy thermometer at hand.

Put the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, cover the pan and boil for 3 minutes. Uncover and allow the syrup to boil until it reaches 242 degrees F on the candy thermometer. While the syrup is cooking, start beating the egg whites.

When the syrup is at about 235 degrees F, begin beating the egg whites on medium speed with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer. If the whites form firm, shiny peaks before the syrup reaches temperature, reduce the mixer speed to low and keep mixing the whites until the syrup catches up. With the mixer at medium speed, and standing back slightly, carefully pour in the hot syrup, pouring it between the beater(s) and the side of the bowl. Splatters are inevitable—don't try to scrape them into the whites, just carry on. Add the vanilla extract and keep beating the whites at medium speed until they reach room temperature, about 5 minutes. You should have a smooth, shiny, marshmallowy frosting. Although you could keep it in the fridge in a pinch, it's really better to use it right now.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Put a bottom layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or on a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Using a long metal icing spatula, cover the layer generously with frosting. Top with a second layer, cut side up, and frost it. Finish with the third layer, cut side down, and frost the sides and top of the cake. Don't worry about smoothing the frosting—it should be swirly. Now, cover the entire cake with the chocolate cake crumbs, gently pressing the crumbs into the filling with your fingers.

Refrigerate the cake for about 1 hour before serving. (If it's more convenient, you can chill the cake for 8 hours or more; cover it loosely and keep it away from foods with strong odors.)

Decided that I should do something for Calvin for our anniversary today...so I baked a cake!!

I did not have any 5 inch cake pans, so I opted for a loaf pans....worked out okay, but I will be investing in 5 inch cake pans!!

Butterscotch Brownie Cake
Ingredients:
For the butterscotch brownie cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (11 oz.) package butterscotch chips, divided

For the butterscotch ganache:
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
6 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp. unsalted butter

For the chocolate ganache:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. water

Extra butterscotch chips, for garnish

Directions:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the sides of two 5-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until creamy. Scrape down the bowl and mix in the eggs until well incorporated. Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed just until combined. Stir in 1 cup of butterscotch chips with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Sprinkle with the remaining butterscotch chips. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before carefully removing from the pans.

To make the butterscotch ganache, combine the cream and the butter in a small saucepan. Warm over medium-high heat until the mixture is almost boiling. Place the butterscotch chips in a small, heatproof bowl. Pour the cream mixture over the butterscotch chips and allow to sit for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.

To make the chocolate ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream, sugar and water to a boil, then pour the liquid over the chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds. Gently whisk the mixture together until smooth. Leave the glaze to sit until it thickens a bit to your desired consistency.

To assemble the cake, place one of the cake layers on a wire rack with a sheet of wax paper. Drizzle butterscotch ganache over the top so that it drips over the edges of the cake. Drizzle with a small amount of chocolate ganache as well. Lay the remaining cake layer on top of the first and top with remaining chocolate ganache so that it drips over the edges. Decorate with extra butterscotch chips, if desired. Transfer the cake to a serving platter.

Boston Cream pie Cupcakes

Today on a whim my mother decided to have the entire family over for a pizza party...what I heard....another reason to BAKE! I decided on these....I have never eaten a Boston cream pie, but if this is what it tastes like...I may have to try one! The ganache was nice and shiny yesterday but did not fare well in the fridge overnight so you can see the condensation in the picture....but they taste WONDERFUL!!!!

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 butter yellow cake mix

1 3-oz. box French vanilla instant pudding

1 cup half and half

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ cup powdered sugar

1 ½ cup chocolate ganache

Directions:

Prepare yellow cupcakes as directed on box.



In the meantime, prepare the vanilla custard filling by combining the instant pudding mix the half and half in a medium bowl. In a stand mixer using the whip attachment, combine cream, vanilla and powdered sugar and whip at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the pudding mixture to the whipped cream until it is fully incorporated and smooth. Place filling into a pastry bag fitted with a #21 (or standard star) tip.


When the cupcakes have cooled, place the tip of the pastry bag inside each cupcake and pipe in filling, being careful not to overfill.


When all the cupcakes have been filled, prepare your ganache. Dip the tops of the cupcakes in the ganache. Place glazed cupcakes on a cooling rack to dry.


Drain and pat dry maraschino cherries. While the cupcakes are slightly “wet” from the glaze, place a cherry on top for garnish.

Source: adapted from Joelen’s Culinary Adventures


Ganache Recipe:

8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter

Ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat
. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. If desired, add the liqueur.

Makes enough ganache to cover a 9 inch (23 cm) cake or torte.

Apple Pie

I am sure that once upon a time I had made a pie crust...however, it was not in my memory bank. Not something that I do on a regular basis. While a lot of work, it was pretty good. And truth be told...my Grandma Grace would have been terribly ashamed of me. It was not round, not pretty and the first time around, the bottom crust did NOT fit in the pie plate.

The pie making part itself was fairly easy although it took some time. I used my Pampered Chef Apple corer to core and slice, then cut the slices in half again. The smell of warm apple pie wafting through the house was evident for HOURS and was wonderful. Nothing like apples and cinnamon!

9/11/09

Mile-High Caramel Apple Pie
Makes: 8 servings (I say 16....8 slices makes HUGE slices of pie!)
Prep: 45 minutes
Bake: 65 minutes
Broil: 7 minutes per batch

* 1/3 cup butter, melted
* 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
* 4 lb. cooking apples, such as Fuji or Granny Smith, cored and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (about 12 cups)
* 1 recipe Oat Pastry for Caramel Apple Pie, OR one 15-oz. pkg. rolled refrigerated unbaked pie crust (2 crusts)
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 1 Tbsp. water
* 1 12-oz. jar caramel ice cream topping (about 1 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475F. In very large bowl combine butter and cinnamon; add apples and toss gently to coat. Spread apples evenly in a parchment paper- or foil-lined, large roasting pan or two 15x10x1-inch baking pans. Roast (one pan at a time if using baking pans) 4 to 5 inches from heat for 7 to 10 minutes or until apples start to brown on edges, turning once halfway through. Cool apples in pan(s). Reduce heat to 375F.

2. Prepare Oat Pastry or let refrigerated pastry stand at room temperature according to package directions. Line 9-inch pie plate with half of pastry as directed.

3. In very large bowl stir together brown sugar, flour, and salt. Add apple slices and any juices; stir to coat. Transfer to pastry-lined pie plate. Trim top crust to edge of pie plate. Fold top pastry edge under bottom pastry; crimp edge. Brush top with mixture of beaten egg and water. Cover edge of pie with foil to prevent overbrowning.

4. Place on middle shelf in oven; place foil-lined baking sheet on lower rack beneath pie. Bake 30 minutes; remove foil from pie. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes more or until top is golden and filling is bubbly. Remove to a wire rack. While warm, drizzle with some of the caramel topping. Cool completely. Serve with remaining topping. Makes 8 servings.

Oat Pastry: In medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup quick cooking oats, and 1 teaspoon salt. Using pastry blender, cut in 2/3 cup shortening until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of mixture; gently toss with fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time, until all dough is moistened. (You will need 8 to 10 Tbsp. total water.) Divide in half; form each half into a ball. On lightly floured surface, flatten 1 dough ball. Roll from center to edge into 12-inch circle. To transfer pastry, wrap around rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate. Fill pie plate with filling. On lightly floured surface roll remaining dough into 14-inch circle; cut slits for stream to escape. Place on top of fruit filling; trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold top crust under bottom crust; crimp edge. Makes pastry for 2-crust pie.

Not a Sweet potato fan...

10/20/09

Several of the blogs that I follow do something called Tuesdays with Dori....today's recipe was for Sweet potato biscuits, and I knew that the likelyhood of my children eating what I was making for dinner was small, so I knew I needed to have a bread of some kind and I had already had the cookbook out to make the devils food white out cake earlier in the day so I figured why not?!

These were good. I would not classify myself as a sweet potato fan...in fact, I avoid them if I can....but I would make these again!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

by Dorie Greenspan

Soft and creamy-textured, with flaky layers, these biscuits satisfy like cake.
Using canned sweet potatoes makes them easy to prepare at a moment's notice. I use canned sweet potatoes packed in light syrup -- I just drain the potatoes and mash them with a fork. If you've got leftover cooked sweet potatoes or yams, give them a good mashing, measure out 3/4 to 1 cup and you're good to go.
Makes about 18 biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
2 15-ounce cans sweet potatoes in light syrup, drained and mashed
Pinch of ground cinnamon or freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Get out a sharp 2- to 2 1/4-inch-diameter biscuit cutter, and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and spice, if you're using it, together in a bowl. Add the brown sugar and stir to incorporate it, making sure there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat it with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between -- and that's just right.
Add the sweet potatoes to the bowl, grab a fork, and toss and gently turn the ingredients until you've got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick, gentle kneading -- 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour and pat the dough out with your hands or roll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely even -- a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy.
Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of this first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. (The biscuits can be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting -- just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)
Bake the biscuits for 14 to 18 minutes, or until they are puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack -- cooled a bit, they're more sweet potatoey. Give them 10 to 15 minutes on the rack before popping them into a basket and serving.
SERVING: Unlike most biscuits, these are best served after they've had a little time to cool. They are as good at brunch (they're great with salty ham and bacon) as they are at tea (try them with a light cheese spread and/or marmalade). Or have them with butter or jam, fruit butter or fruit compote.
STORING: You can keep the biscuits in a plastic bag overnight and give them a quick warm-up in the oven the next day, but you won't recapture their freshly made flakiness.

More yeast!

While I have been busy baking...I have not been busy taking pictures....here is the honey whole wheat bread that I have made for the third time and this is the first time that I have actually taken a picture of it! It is very good.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110F)
1 tbsp butter, melted
3 tbsp honey
1 cup bread flour (ap is ok)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, stir together yeast and the warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy. Stir in melted butter, honey and flours. Add a bit more flour if your dough is too sticky, otherwise stir until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball, about 2 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1-1 1/2 hours.
Remove dough again to a lightly floured surface. Gently deflate dough. Shape into an oblong loaf and place or a baking sheet, or place dough into a greased loaf pan. Cover bread with a dishtowl and let dough rise until doubled, 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F.
If you’re doing a freeform loaf, go ahead and slash the top a few times, then place the loaf in to oven. Bake for 25 minutes at 400F, until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
Let loaf cool before slicing.
Makes one loaf

Chocolate and Zucchini??

Chocolate Zucchini bread

10/1/09

Today was baking day in my house. I started with cookies and ended with bread....here is Chocolate zucchini bread. I made a double batch because I had frozen zucchini in 3 cup packages, so it fit. After baking through the first batch as muffins, I decided to add chocolate chips and coconut to these. They are good either way...and my children LOVE them!!

I did make another change to this....I did not have marcaspone cheese. You can substitute with 8 ounces of cream cheese, 1/4 cup heavy whippingcream, and 2 1/2 tablespoons sour cream...do not use low fat. (I did but everything worked out just fine. next time...I will use "full fat" to see if there is a difference.)

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
3 eggs
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
Heat oven to 350°F.
Melt together butter and chocolate over medium heat in a double boiler.
When melted remove from heat.
Mix in mascarpone cheese until it melts in with the chocolate mixture.
Place mixture into a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix in sugars, zucchini, eggs and vanilla on low speed until well combined.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl. Then add the buttermilk. Then add the remaining dry ingredients.
Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8×4-inch loaf pans.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes(about 20-25 minutes for mini loaves) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.
Remove from pans and continue to cool on wire rack.

Another yeast Bread

While the first time I made these was a while ago....I made them again tonight with much better results. The first ones were good, but I did all of the kneeding by hand....this time. DOUGH HOOK! Good purchase! Miss B and Little O LOVE bread....so I think that I will be making more things like this.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions:
1) Place water and milk in microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute or until liquids reach (110 degrees F/45 degrees C). Pour liquids into mixer bowl; add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add in yeast and let set for 10-20 minutes to proof (the mixture will be foamy).

2) Mix on low speed adding the salt, butter and egg. Once well mixed add in the flour 1/4 cup at a time. Remove the paddle attachment and attach the dough hook. With the machine, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

3) Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into desired shapes (I cut the ball of dough into quarters, and then quartered each of those, and then rolled each piece into a ball). Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour. Gently brush the tops of the rolls with half of the softened butter.

4) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Upon removing the rolls from the oven brush them with remaining softened butter once again.