As I mentioned in my post about the raspberry crumb bars, we recently picked a lot of raspberries at a nearby orchard.  I had decided before we even left the orchard that I wanted to use some of them for a raspberry coffee cake.  Ever since the last time I made a yeasted coffee cake, I have been wanting to try a berry version and also wanted to try a new method for shaping.  This was just as fun to make as last time and not only that, this version is unbelievably delicious.  I could barely resist eating the whole thing when it was straight out of the oven.  It made a phenomenal breakfast treat for the rest of the week.

The original recipe yields two cakes but I have halved the quantities in the version below for just one cake.  However, this time around I actually did make two cakes so that I could take one over to a friend.  In doing so, I learned a valuable lesson – if you bake two cakes, bake each on its own baking sheet.  My two cakes seemed to fit fine before baking, even after rising, but while baking they really puffed up and kind of grew into each other.  It really wasn’t that big of a deal but they would have been better off on individual sheets.  I took pictures throughout the shaping process so that it is easier to understand.  I can’t wait to make this again!  Yummmm.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
For the dough:
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
2 tbsp. warm water
1/4 cup sugar (1¾ oz.)
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour (10 1/8 oz.)
3/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the berry filling:
1¼ cups fresh or frozen raspberries or blueberries
1½ tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1¾ tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

For the cream cheese filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened but still cool
2 tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
½ egg (I just beat it lightly with a fork and add about half)
¼ tsp. vanilla extract

For the streusel topping:
2½ tbsp. brown sugar
1½ tsp. granulated sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2½ tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

For the egg wash:
1 large egg
1 tsp. heavy cream or whole milk

For the glaze:
6 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
1½-2 tsp. milk
¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
To make the dough, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; stir to dissolve.  Add the sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla.  Mix at the lowest speed until well combined.  Add about 1½ cups of the flour and the salt, mixing on low speed until the flour is incorporated, about 1 minute.  Increase the speed to medium-low and add the butter pieces one at a time, beating until incorporated, about 20 seconds after each addition.  Replace the paddle with the dough hook and add the remaining ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons flour; knead at medium-low speed until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes longer.  Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough tightens up slightly, about 2 minutes longer.

The dough will be too soft to pick up with your hands, so scrape it into a straight-sided lightly oiled plastic container using a dough scraper (I just used a spatula).  Cover the container tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 3-4 hours.  Press down the dough, replace the plastic and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 4 or up to 24 hours.  Alternatively for a quick chill, spread the dough onto a lightly oiled baking sheet, about 1-inch thick, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, to make the berry filling, combine the berries, sugar, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, cornstarch and water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Continue boiling, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and shiny, 1½ to 2 minutes.  Scrape the mixture into a small bowl, cover and chill thoroughly before using.

To make the cream cheese filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour and salt in the bowl of a mixer at high speed until smooth, 2-4 minutes.  Add the lemon zest, egg and vanilla extract.  Reduce the speed to medium and continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once, until incorporated, about 1 minute.  Scrape the mixture into a small bowl and chill thoroughly before using.

To make the streusel topping, mix the brown and granulated sugars, flour, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl.  Add the butter pieces and toss to coat.  Pinch the butter chunks and dry mixture together between your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly.  Chill thoroughly before using.

When you are ready to shape the coffee cakes, remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

Shape the dough into a log about 8 inches long and about 2 inches in diameter.  (For me, there was way too much dough to fit into a 8 x 2-inch log, so I just approximated.)

Roll the log evenly into a 40-inch rope about 1 inch in diameter.

Use your fingers to flatten the log slightly into a 1½-inch wide strip.

Use both hands to twist the strip of dough into a coil.  (I found the length of the rope to make it a bit difficult to coil the whole thing neatly.  The easiest method was to start from the middle, coil one half of the rope, and then coil the other half from the opposite end, keeping the direction of the coils consistent.)

Loosely coil the rope in a spiral pattern, leaving a ¼-inch space between coils.  Tuck the end under and pinch to secure.  Place the coil on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Remember, if you make two cakes, place each on its own baking sheet – trust me!  Cover the shaped cake with plastic wrap and let proof at room temperature until slightly puffed, 1½ to 2 hours.

Brush the cake with egg wash.

Spoon the cheese filling over the center of the top of the cake, leaving a border clear around the edge.

Layer the raspberry filling over the top of the cheese filling.  (Some of the filling may leak over the edges, but it won’t hurt anything.)

Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of the cake.  Slide the baking sheet onto a second baking sheet to prevent the bottom crust from over-browning.  Bake in an oven heated to 350° F until deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the cake reads 190° F, about 25-30 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least 20 minutes.

To prepare the glaze, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a bowl.  Drizzle over the top of the finished cake and let set before serving.

For so long I have seen cakes, cupcakes and more decorated with fondant and absolutely loved the way they looked.  The smooth finish and ability to mold it into anything you want allows so many fun and creative ideas to take shape.  The gorgeous end products always looked so great that for a long time, I didn’t think it was something I was capable of doing myself.  Then I decided to make an attempt at fondant for Andrew’s birthday cake this year and it was far easier than I ever could have imagined.  So, for anyone else who has ever been as intimidated as I was, fear no longer!  I decided to create this little tutorial to help you all realize how simple fondant is to work with, and how fun it can be.  If you are capable of playing with Play-doh, you can decorate with fondant!

I’ve been wanting to do this post for quite some time, but was looking for a reason to make some fondant cupcakes.  Then my food blogging buddy Elly shared the happy news with me that she is expecting her first baby.  She mentioned she was looking for a fun way to announce the pregnancy on her blog, but didn’t have the energy to bake anything (I don’t blame her – growing a baby is tiring!)  I gladly offered to bake something for her announcement, and decided to use this as an opportunity to make this little how-to guide.  Head over to her blog to congratulate her on the new addition!

Supplies you will need:
A batch of fondant (homemade or store-bought)
Vegetable shortening (this is key – you will use it frequently throughout the process)
Gel icing colors
Toothpicks
Buttercream in a pastry bag for extra detailing, if desired

Also, a batch of frosting to help the fondant adhere to your cupcakes.  I always use my favorite vanilla buttercream.

A mat or work surface for rolling and cutting the fondant
A fondant rolling pin
Circular cutters to cut the base rounds of fondant (I don’t have graduated circular cutters, so I just use whatever I can find around the kitchen)
A variety of other items that might be useful for cutting shapes, like small circles (pastry tips work wonderfully for me)
A small sharp knife for cutting out freehand shapes (I bought a craft knife to use solely for this purpose)

You also need – a plan!  I actually make this long before gathering all of my supplies, but didn’t want to put this picture too close to the top of the post for fear someone would glance and think I’m the pregnant one – haha!  I always find that sketching out my ideas before starting such projects really helps when it comes time to create.  I also used my sketch to trace some shape templates (the pink card stock).  These helped guide my cutting later in the process, and helped ensure that all of the little critters were the same size.

You will need a batch of cupcakes frosted in a thinner, uniform layer of buttercream.

Take a hunk of fondant and smear some of the gel coloring into the center.  Fold the edges around the gel and start kneading the fondant to evenly distribute the color.  You can use any method of kneading you would like, but I try to keep the main deposit of color in the center rather than on the outside to prevent too much of it getting on my hands.  (I think one of my fingers was dyed for two weeks after Andrew’s birthday!)

As you knead, you will start to see a marbled effect.  Just keep going until you are happy with the distribution, adding more dye if necessary to achieve your desired color.  If at any time during kneading the fondant starts to feel dry or tear, rub a very small amount of vegetable shortening on your hands and continue working.  This will help the fondant stay moist.

Repeat with remaining hunks of fondant until you have all the colors you need.  Any fondant that is not in use should be wrapped in plastic wrap and sealed in a plastic bag to prevent it from drying out.

Before rolling out your fondant, use the vegetable shortening to lightly grease the work surface and the rolling pin.   This is key – it prevents everything from sticking.  Roll out your first hunk of fondant into a very thin sheet.  There are rolling pin guides available to ensure a uniform thickness but I just eyeball it.

Use a round cutter that is just slightly bigger than the circumference of the top of your cupcake to cut out a round of fondant.  I tried a few different items before I settled on Andrew’s sippy cup lid – it was the perfect size.

Lay the round of fondant on top of the cupcake and gently smooth the fondant onto the cupcake so that it adheres evenly.  I find that holding the cupcake upside down with the fondant-covered top in my cupped palm and gently turning it helps to smooth it nicely.

Repeat this process until all of your cupcakes are covered.

Now we’re ready to decorate with fondant shapes and embellishments.  I cut out all the shapes at once so that I can easily add them all together and make sure they are placed correctly in relation to each other.  This pastry bag tip was the perfect size for the owl eyeballs.

I used the little shape templates I had cut out of card stock to trace the shapes of all the birds with my sharp craft knife.  The edges of the shape may look ragged after cutting, so just gently smooth them with your fingers.

Finally, “glue” the shapes on to the top of each cupcake by dipping your finger in water or a flavored extract and brushing a light layer on the back of the fondant shape, just enough to help it stick.

That’s it!  Get ready to make some cute creations using your new medium.

I think we all know by now that most dishes featuring tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella are bound to be a hit, right?  Right.  There was no doubt in my mind that we would love this tart, and we certainly did!  After all, pizza margherita with tomatoes and herbs from our garden is one of my favorite foods ever!  This has a basic tart dough that is kicked up a notch by the addition of finely minced basil and garlic directly into the dough, which is a genius idea if you ask me.

I have been wanting to make a tart with tomatoes and mozzarella for quite a while, but knowing how both of these ingredients can release a lot of liquid when cooking, I was unsure of how this would turn out.  Once I saw this recipe though, I knew I had to at least try it.  I decided to use all cherry tomatoes because when sliced, the seeds inside squirt right out on their own, so you don’t have to spend any time removing it yourself.  Plus they look cute!  When I went to rotate the tart halfway through baking, I noticed that indeed it had started to collect some liquid on top so I just used a paper towel or two to wick off the excess moisture via the wonders of capillary action (high school science, anyone?)  It worked wonderfully and the tart went on to bake up with great results.

My one issue though was with the baking of the crust in relation to the other ingredients.  For many tart and pie recipes, sweet or savory, the recipe will call for blind baking the crust – essentially baking the empty crust without any filling for a short time to help achieve a nice texture on the bottom portion.  If the filling is simply place directly onto the crust and baked with no pre-baking of the crust (as indicated in the original recipe), the bottom doesn’t crisp up quite the way it should.  I have made enough tarts to have known better, but I decided to stick to the recipe for this first run and just popped it right into the oven, toppings and all.  I should have gone with my instinct.  It was bearable, but the texture would have benefited greatly from a little blind baking.  You live and learn, right?  Texture aside, this was a fantastic meal and Ben declared it, “Like pizza but better!”  While nothing beats pizza in my book, I loved this and think it would make an elegant addition to a brunch, a nice light lunch or a dinner.  I also think it would be wonderful made in mini-tart pans for individual servings.  Enjoy!

Tomato Mozzarella Tart with Basil Garlic Crust
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1-2 cloves garlic
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. kosher salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 8-10 pieces
4-5 tbsp. ice cold water

For the filling:
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
Ripe cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp. minced fresh basil

Directions:
To make the dough, combine the basil and garlic in the bowl of a food processor.  Process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until finely minced.  Add the flour and salt; pulse briefly to combine.  Add in the chunks of butter and pulse about 10 times, or until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs.  Add 3 tablespoons of the water and pulse a few times to incorporate.  Add 1 more tablespoon and process for several seconds to see if the dough forms a ball.  If not, add the remaining tablespoon of water and process until a ball of dough forms.  Remove the dough, flatten into a 5-inch disc, and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When you are ready to bake the tart, preheat the oven to 425° F.  Transfer the chilled dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll out into a 12-inch circle.  Lay the dough over a 9-inch round tart pan and press it into the sides.  Trim the excess dough as needed.  (I use this to reinforce the edges.)  Lay a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper loosely over the tart dough and fill the center with baking beads.  Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil or parchment and baking beads.  Return the empty tart shell to the oven to bake for 5 minutes more.  Remove from the oven and lower the heat to 375° F.

Layer the bottom of the pre-baked tart shell with the sliced mozzarella.  Arrange the cherry tomato slices on top of the cheese in a single even layer.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan and minced fresh basil.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned in places.  About halfway through baking, rotate the tart 180° and wick off any excess moisture that has collected on top with a towel if necessary. Allow the tart to rest at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Source: adapted from Pink Parsley, originally from Ezra Pound Cake and The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

Oh yeah, baby.  It’s as good as it looks.  Two layers of graham cracker cake separated by a layer of Marshmallow Fluff and topped with a milk chocolate glaze.  In other words, a cake that really does taste like s’mores.  One thing I love about birthdays as an adult is that we can celebrate them multiple times with various groups of friends, family, etc.  So even though I made a caramel peanut-topped brownie cake for Ben’s birthday with my friends, I needed to make something for a family celebration as well.  Ben didn’t have any specific requests this time around.  I thought a s’mores cake seemed a fitting way to end a Labor Day meal of my dad’s barbecue ribs AND steaks (Ben’s two other favorite foods besides Benchiladas).  Oh, did we ever enjoy this!

As far as making the cake goes, it’s one of the easier layer cakes I have made.  Using graham cracker crumbs in place of flour for the cake layers made it a graham cracker cake – genius idea!  The only difficulty I had was in the assembly.  You see, the marshmallow fluff between the layers is incredibly sticky as you might expect.  This makes it very difficult to spread onto the bottom layer without pulling off chunks of cake into the filling.  (I may try freezing the cake layer next time to see if that helps avoid the issue.)  The result was a huge mound of marshmallow fluff between the layers, which seemed fine – until it all oozed out EVERYWHERE.  Thankfully I had anticipated this and waited to glaze it after the oozage.  I wiped off all the excess around the edges.  At first I was really bummed about the messy appearance, but then I came to like it.  After all, s’mores are one of the gooiest treats out there, so it seems fitting that a s’mores cake should look, well, gooey!

The little decorations around the top with the graham and milk chocolate segments are of course totally optional, but I thought they really added to the presentation of the cake.  I used the marshmallow filling from the “fauxstess” cupcakes to hold them in place and it worked like a charm.  Make this cake for your next celebration, it is sure to be a hit!

More irresistible chocolate cakes:
Cookies and Cream Cake
German Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Overdose Cake
Devil’s Food White-Out Cake
Dark and White Chocolate Layer Cake

S’mores Cake
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 large eggs, separated
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk

For the filling:
Marshmallow fluff

For the milk chocolate glaze:
8 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
2 tbsp. light corn syrup

For decoration:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
½ cup marshmallow fluff
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tsp. heavy cream or milk
Small rectangles of graham cracker and milk chocolate, for garnish

Directions:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 375° F.  Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment or wax paper.  Grease and flour the sides of the pans; set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; stir together and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.  Replace the mixer bowl and fit with the paddle attachment.  Cream together the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Mix in the egg yolks until well combined.  Stir in the vanilla extract.

Add in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk on low speed, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in about a third of the egg whites to lighten the batter.  Gently fold in the remaining egg whites until completely incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake the cakes for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 5-10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper and let cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled completely, transfer one of the cake layers to a cardboard cake circle and place on a serving platter.  Carefully spread a layer of marshmallow fluff over the cake, not quite reaching the edges.  Top with the remaining cake layer and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

To make the milk chocolate glaze, combine the chocolate, cream, butter and corn syrup in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water.  Heat until the chocolate has melted, then whisk the ingredients together until completely smooth.  Pour glaze over the top of the chilled cake, allowing it to run down the sides in some places.  Return to the refrigerator to chill until set.

To make the marshmallow frosting for decoration, combine the butter and marshmallow fluff in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium speed until smooth.  Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until well combined.  Stir in the cream or milk to smooth the frosting out a bit, adding a tiny bit more liquid if necessary.

Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag.  Pipe dollops of frosting around the edges of the chilled cake and decorate with segments of graham cracker and milk chocolate.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  Allow to sit at room temperature about 20 minutes before serving.

Source: adapted from Baking Bites

Do these bars look at all familiar? That’s because I’ve made them before, just with blueberries instead.  It’s that time of year again when we start heading to the orchard near our house on a biweekly basis (yay!) Thankfully our first trip coincided with the tail end of raspberry season, so we were still able to enjoy picking a LOT of gorgeous ruby red berries.  Of course, as soon as we got home I immediately had plans for the 2+ pounds of berries we picked.  These bars were in the oven less than an hour after we got home!

I make the blueberry crumb bars often, and have been dying to try them with raspberries.  I was worried that raspberries would have more liquid and the consistency would be off but nope, these were just right!  Ben claims that these are even better than the blueberry version, but I just can’t decide.  I think both are fantastic and I cannot be forced to choose one over the other – please, just give me one of each!

As you can see, Andrew thoroughly enjoyed himself.  Find an orchard near you at PickYourOwn and have some fun outdoors!

Love raspberries and want more?  Try these yummy treats!
Fresh Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream
Plum Raspberry Sorbet
Raspberry Lime Sheet Cake
Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes
Raspberry Muffins

Raspberry Crumb Bars
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
1½ cups sugar, divided
1 tsp. baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
Zest of 1 lemon
16 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
4 cups fresh raspberries
4 tsp. cornstarch
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Grease a 9 x 13″ pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder and flour.  Mix in the salt and the lemon zest, and stir together with a fork.  Cut in the butter and egg with a pastry blender until the largest chunks are about pea-sized.  The mixture should be crumbly without much loose flour.  Spread about half of the dough mixture in an even layer over the bottom of the prepared pan and press down firmly to form the bottom crust.

In another bowl, stir together the remaining sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice.  Gently mix in the raspberries with a rubber spatula until combined.  Sprinkle the berry mixture evenly over the crust.  Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the berries.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is slightly golden brown.  Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

Source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen

It’s always funny when I realize that a dish we consider a staple has not yet graced the blog.  Sometimes I make things so often and consider them so basic, it doesn’t even occur to me to post them.  This rice pilaf is one of our most favorite side dishes.  It is very simple to make, though it does bake for over an hour – if it weren’t for that fact, I would probably make it every week.  Regardless, it is a wonderful elegant side that goes well with nearly any entree.  The nice thing about the longish baking time is that you have time to devote to the main dish.  I love the seasoning of this just the way it is, but if you aren’t a fan of black pepper you might consider halving the amount in the recipe.

Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. butter
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup long-grain white rice
2½ cups chicken broth, divided
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Have ready a covered casserole dish.  In a saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and rice to the pan and cook until both are golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Pour the mixture into the casserole dish, cover, and bake for 25 minutes.  Stir in the remaining 1½ cups chicken broth and bake, covered, for another 45 minutes.  About 15 minutes before it is finished baking, stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Note: This recipe can be doubled without increasing the baking time.

Source: adapted from What’s Cooking in the Orange Kitchen?

I see nothing about this cake that necessarily makes it a breakfast cake, but we’ll call it that anyway so that you can justify eating it to start your day :)  This is a simple peanut butter cake with a peanut butter streusel topping and chocolate chips.  In other words, YUM!  The cake was amazingly light and tender, and the topping was delicious.  I was a bit skeptical of how a streusel or crumble topping made with peanut butter would turn out, but it worked very well and came together easily.  Though this is supposedly a coffee cake, I think it could be easily dressed up with a drizzle of chocolate and peanut butter sauces to make it a decadent dessert.  Just be sure you have a glass of milk ready with this one, you will need it!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk

For the topping:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup flour
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1-1½ cups chocolate chips (I used bittersweet)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; set aside.

To make the cake, in a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir together and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar.  Beat on medium speed until well combined, 1-2 minutes.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.  On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk until just combined, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

To make the topping, in a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar and flour.  Mix in the peanut butter and butter, until the mixture is crumbly.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the cake batter.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Source: via the The Food Librarian, originally from Suite101

Looking for a way to use up the last of your zucchini crop?  This recipe is a great solution!  This was a lovely dinner and we really enjoyed it.  I was a bit peeved because the original recipe was called zucchini stuffed with turkey sausage, so naturally I bought turkey sausage.  Only once I started cooking did I realize that the recipe actually called for ground turkey, and then had a bunch of spices, etc. added during cooking to make it “sausage”.  I worried that it would be overpowering, but I didn’t feel like making another trip to the store.  I forged ahead and used the turkey sausage in addition to the herbs and spices (I did cut down the salt and pepper).  It turned out great!  So, you could probably use ground turkey or turkey sausage for this recipe and I think it would be good either way.

It is just so gratifying to get wonderful produce simply by stepping out your back door!  I will miss all the beautiful summer produce, but at least I have pumpkin, apples, cranberries and soup to keep me company in the meantime :)

Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
1 zucchini, about 12 inches long (or 2 6-inch)
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
½ cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup mushrooms, chopped
1 lb. turkey sausage or ground turkey
2 tbsp. dry white wine
2-3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Directions:
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise.  Scoop out insides, leaving a shell about ¼-inch thick.  Reserve about half of the insides.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides to the skillet and sauté another 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Crumble in the sausage or ground turkey and cook until lightly browned on all sides, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the cooked onion and mushroom mixture.  Add the wine to the pan along with the tomatoes, basil and rosemary.  Cook for 1 more minute.  Drain of any excess fat, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Once the turkey mixture has cooled a bit, mix in the Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper.  Fill the zucchini shells with the mixture.  Fill a baking dish with ¼-inch of water.  Place the filled zucchini shells in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove the zucchini from the pan and serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Simply Recipes

Margarita?  Yes, please!  In jello form?  What a great idea!  These cute and boozy little dessert treats took less than 10 minutes to prepare, and tasted just like margaritas.  I now realize this is basically just a slightly more sophisticated version of jello shots, or a variation on them, but either way, this is a super fun and festive treat that could be great in so many scenarios.  Whether you a throwing an informal happy hour get-together, a Mexican fiesta, or a girls’ night, they are sure to be a hit.  (And yes, I realize these are not margarita glasses, but my mini-martini glasses were the perfect size for these particular treats and allowed easy access with a spoon.)  Cheers!

Margarita Jello
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. unflavored powdered gelatin
¾ cup water, divided
1 cup sugar
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ cup tequila
¼ cup orange-flavored liqueur (I used triple sec)

Directions:
In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over ¼ cup of the water.  Allow to soften for 5 minutes.  Add the rest of the water and the sugar to the pan and heat, stirring, over medium-high heat until the sugar and gelatin are dissolved.  Remove from the heat and let cool.  Stir in the lime juice, tequila and orange liqueur.  Taste and adjust ingredients accordingly.  Pour into small serving glasses and refrigerate for several hours until set.  Serve cold.

Source: Use Real Butter

The thing I love about this time of year is that my garden is finally producing like mad.  I know some people lament having so much produce on their hands because they don’t know what to do with it all but so far I have not had that problem.  I thoroughly enjoy finding ways to enjoy all of our fresh veggies and herbs.  Normally one of my go-to quick and easy dinners is grilled veggie paninis, but given my surplus of jalapenos and tortillas in the fridge, I wanted to do something with a Mexican twist and these quesadillas were a natural choice.  I was able to use up tomatoes, zucchini, a jalapeno and bell pepper from our garden.  Even though quesadillas can be one of the least healthy choices at a restaurant, you can make them much healthier when you make them at home by using less oil and less cheese.  Don’t get me wrong, I still used plenty of cheese, but not compared to the mountain they use in restaurants.  This is a great dinner to use up any odds and ends of produce in your fridge since they are easily adaptable to what you have on hand.  Enjoy!

Veggie Quesadillas
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
½ bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
¼ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. fajita seasoning
½ small zucchini, chopped
4 oz. button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup fresh corn kernels
1/3 cup black beans
1 small tomato, seeded and chopped
3 10-inch flour tortillas
Shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper to the pan and sauté until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.  Mix in the cumin, cayenne pepper, and fajita seasoning.  Add the zucchini and mushrooms to the pan and sauté about 3 more minutes.  Mix in the corn, black beans and tomatoes and cook 1 minute more.  Remove from the heat.

Lay out tortillas on a work surface.  Brush one side of each tortilla lightly with oil and flip over.  Evenly distribute the vegetable filling between the tortillas, spreading it over one half of each and leaving a ½-inch border clear.  Sprinkle shredded cheese to taste over the veggie filling.  Fold the empty half of each tortilla over the filling into a semicircle.

Heat a lightly oiled skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat.  Cook quesadillas, flipping halfway through, until both sides are well browned and cheese is melted.  Repeat with remaining quesadillas until all have been cooked, and cut into triangular sections.  Serve immediately with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

Source: Annie’s Eats original

In case you weren’t aware, LiveSTRONG Day is coming up on October 2.  I have been looking forward to the LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow Food blog event since the last time I participated.  Then, wouldn’t you know it – I spaced the deadline!  Thankfully, the wonderful hostess Barbara was kind enough to cut me some slack and let me submit my late entry anyway.  Depending on how long you have been reading the blog, you may or may not know how deeply my life has been touched (punched? kicked?) by cancer.  I won’t reiterate the whole entire story in this post, but you can read about it in my last LiveSTRONG entry.  As a cancer survivor and a physician who deals with cancer diagnoses on a daily basis, I obviously think this is an extremely important cause.  So show your support for cancer awareness by doing a self exam, making an appointment for cancer screening (mammogram, Pap smear, colonoscopy, prostate exam, etc.), encourage your friends and family to do the same, volunteer, make a donation, say a prayer or send good vibes.  Whatever you do, please take a moment to think about what you can do to make a difference.

When life gives you cancer, you have to suck it up and deal with it because you have no other option.  But, when life gives you lemons I say – make lemon poppy seed cookies!  I have a major thing for lemon poppy seed, what can I say?  Even our wedding cake was lemon poppy seed!  So you can imagine my excitement when I saw a recipe for finding yet another way to enjoy the lemon poppy seed combo.  It is no surprise that these cookies are fantastic.  With the use of a cookie dough scoop, they are beautifully shaped round domes of tender, lemony cookie with a nice sweet glaze on top.  I could eat a whole plate full – and I just might :)

Other wonderful lemon poppy seed treats:
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes with Lemon Mousse
Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes with Raspberry Curd Filling

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Printer-Friendly Version

Yield: 18-24 cookies
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. lemon zest
1 large egg

For the glaze:
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds.  Set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Mix in the lemon zest and egg until blended.  Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated.

Drop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are set and just beginning to brown at the edges (do not let the tops brown).  Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack set over wax paper to cool a bit before glazing.

To make the glaze, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.  Add more lemon juice if necessary, just until the glaze has reached a consistency good for drizzling over the cookies.  Glaze the cookies and let the glaze set before serving.  Store in an airtight container.

Source: adapted from Baking Bites

When I was a kid, I remember so clearly my mom telling me that when I grew up my tastes would change and I would like lots of foods I didn’t like as a child.  (A variety of vegetables were usually the main subject of these conversations.)  I also remember thinking she was nuts – but as it turns out, she was right.  Now that have become more skilled in the kitchen I sometimes wonder if at least part of the reason for my change in taste is simply a better method of preparation.  For example, I will never forget the first time I ate asparagus.  I was probably three or four years old and my nanny told me that she had a surprise for my lunch that I would really like.  Then she fed me canned asparagus – one bite to be exact, and I didn’t touch the stuff again until I was a teenager.  Turns out, I actually love asparagus, but it has to be prepared correctly.  I think this is the same case with zucchini.  I thought I hated it – alas, I think it is wonderful, and this recipe deserves all the credit.

This has to be one of my most favorite veggie side dishes ever.  It is incredibly simple and healthy, yet so flavorful.  With little more than shallot, salt and pepper for seasoning, the zucchini is really able to shine in this dish.  Not to mention, the recipe makes use of my new favorite technique – shredding the zucchini and squeezing out all the excess water, just like in the preparation of my beloved tzatziki sauce.  It is just so fun!  Because so much liquid is removed before cooking, what may look like a lot of zucchini initially is really just a normal amount.  A side dish that is fun to make, healthy and positively delicious?  I’d call that a keeper.

Some other tasty veggie side dishes:
Asparagus with Tomatoes and Feta
Vegetable Tian
Whiskey-Glazed Carrots
Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sautéed Shredded Zucchini
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
5 medium zucchini (about 8 oz. each), ends trimmed
1½ tsp. table salt
2 shallots, finely minced
1 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1-2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Shred the zucchini with the shredding disk of a food processor or a large box grater.  Toss the zucchini with the salt in a colander set over a medium bowl; let drain for 5-10 minutes.  Wrap the shredded zucchini in a kitchen towel, in batches if necessary, and wring out the excess moisture.

Add the zucchini to a medium bowl and toss to break up any clumps.  Add the minced shallots and 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and toss to thoroughly combine.

Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat.  Add the zucchini mixture to the pan and distribute in an even layer.  Cook without stirring until the bottom layer browns, about 2 minutes.  Stir well, breaking up the clumps, and cook once more until the “new” bottom layer browns, about 2 minutes more.  Off  the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles, who adapted it from Cook’s Illustrated

Ever since I first looked through Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, I knew I needed to make this cake.  Not only that, but I needed to make it for Ben.  He is a major caramel lover, and I have also noticed that every time I use honey-roasted peanuts for a recipe, the remainder of the can mysteriously disappears within hours.  So, when Ben’s birthday rolled around this year and we had a small get-together with some friends I thought it was time to give this dessert a try.  Part of the reason I waited so long to try this recipe was that I was intimidated by making my own caramel.  I’ve done it several times before but because it plays such a starring role in this cake, I was nervous it wouldn’t turn out.  There was no need to worry though because as usual, Dorie’s fantastically clear and simple instructions took all the guesswork out of the process and made this a very enjoyable experience.  I was gleeful as I watched my sugar mixture turn from clear to yellow to a gorgeous amber brown.  The final assembled dessert was every bit as delicious as I had hoped for.  The caramel was perfectly gooey and the brownie base was fudgy and decadent.  I can’t wait to make it again!

I took quite a few pictures throughout my baking process to help provide some visual aids to accompany Dorie’s clear instructions.  I hope they are useful if you choose to try this recipe.

The brownie base will sink in the middle after baking.  Dorie ensures this is normal, so don’t worry.  I think this is actually best because it can hold more of the fabulous topping this way.

The sugar mixture starting to boil – clear at first.

Starting to take on a slight golden tinge, but obviously not the dark color you are going for.

Definitely test a drop against a white background to be sure of the color.  It really helps monitor the color carefully.

Now that looks like a nice amber color.

And the white background confirms it – just right!

Yummy caramel peanut topping waiting to go on top of the cake.

Just a few of my other favorites from Dorie:
Devil’s Food White-Out Cake
Banana Cream Pie
Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte
Carrot Spice Muffins
Chocolate Biscotti

Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
For the brownie cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
½ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:
2 cups sugar
½ cup water
1½ tbsp. light corn syrup
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup honey roasted peanuts

Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F.  Butter an 8-inch springform pan, dust the inside with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper.  Place the springform pan on a baking sheet.

To make the cake, combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl; whisk together and set aside.  Add the butter and chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are just melted – do not let them get so hot that the butter separates.  Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugars until well blended.  Whisk in the corn syrup, followed by the vanilla.  Add in the melted butter and chocolate mixture, and whisk until combined.  Gently whisk in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are just incorporated.  The batter should be thick, smooth and shiny.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and jiggle the pan a bit to even out the batter.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a thin knife inserted in the center comes out almost clean.  Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 15 minutes, then run a thin knife between the cake and the pan and carefully remove the sides of the springform.  The cake may have puffed up during baking, but don’t be concerned if it develops a crater in the center while cooling.  Allow to cool to room temperature.  When the cake is totally cool, invert it, remove the base of the pan and peel off the parchment paper.  Turn the cake right side up onto a serving platter.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, stirring just to combine the ingredients.  Place the pan over medium-high heat.  Heat, without stirring, until the caramel turns deep amber, 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size of your saucepan and the intensity of the heat.  As the sugar is caramelizing, wipe down any splatters on the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water.  To test the color of the caramel, drop a bit onto a white plate.  Don’t be timid about the color – if it’s too pale, it won’t have much flavor.

Lower the heat a bit and, standing back from the saucepan, add the cream and butter.  When the spatters are less vehement, stir to calm down the caramel and dissolve any lumps.  Stir in the peanuts and pour the caramel and peanuts into a 1-quart Pyrex measuring cup or a heatproof bowl.

You will have more caramel than you need, but you want to get all of the peanuts onto the cake, so spoon all of the peanuts out of the hot caramel and onto the top of the cake.   Pour or spoon enough caramel to cover all the nuts, drizzling a bit over the edges of the cake for presentation.  Allow the topping to set at room temperature, about 20 minutes, before serving.  Keep the leftover caramel at room temperature and save for another use.

Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Well, I’m just going all fall on you this week, aren’t I?  First the pumpkin blondies, now this.  Let me just say that with my very serious apple orchard addiction, you have a lot more apple recipes coming your way.  This was my first time ever trying a galette.  To be honest, the first time I ever heard of one (basically a free-form pie), I was kind of turned off.  Why would you want such a non-uniform, rustic appearance when you could have a pretty, symmetrical traditional pie?  I never saw the appeal and never intended to try one until I ran across this recipe and for some reason, I needed to make it.  I’m guessing the apple-cranberry combo had something to do with it.

One great reason to make a galette is if you need to make a dessert with little equipment available to you.  In this case, I’m referring to my dad’s kitchen.  You don’t even need a pie pan – just a baking sheet.  I did use a stand mixer to make the crust, but it is easily done by hand as well.  We had a big group of friends over for a cookout and I decided to try this since it seemed simple and sounded delicious.  It was quite well received with all of our guests, and I now understand the appeal of this dessert.   I think its rustic quality actually makes it attractive – plus, I think the crust looks pretty cool folded up in pleats.  This crust recipe is unlike any I have tried before in that it contains cornmeal and sour cream (you could also use yogurt).  I was concerned about how the texture would be affected but ultimately this came out great and I thought the crust tasted fantastic.  The original recipe as printed below yields two galettes, but I think one would be enough in most circumstances.  I made two since we had a crowd.

Apple Cranberry Galette
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
For the pastry:
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. white cornmeal (I used yellow)
2 tsp. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into chunks
6 tbsp. sour cream
½ cup ice water

For the filling:
4 lb. Granny Smith apples (about 8 large)
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1½ cups fresh cranberries
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into thin slices
Sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions:
To make the pastry, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Scatter the chunks of butter over the top and cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter pieces are the size of small peas.  (This can be done by hand, in a stand mixer, or in a food processor.)  In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and ice water.  Drizzle the mixture over the dough and mix just until the dough is smooth and clings together in a cohesive mass.  Pat the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the fruit filling.  Peel, core and slice the apples.  In a large pan over medium heat combine the sugar, water, honey, lemon juice and cinnamon.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.  Stir in the apple slices and simmer until opaque, 5-7 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apple slices to a bowl and let cool slightly.

Add the cranberries to the juices and simmer until they start to pop, about 2 minutes.  Transfer the cranberries to the bowl with the apples.  Increase the heat to medium-hight, boil the juices until reduced slightly and spoon over the fruit.

Position two racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400° F.  Divide the ball of chilled pastry dough in half.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each half into a round about 12 inches in diameter.  Transfer each round to separate baking sheets.  Divide the fruit filling between the pastry rounds in even layers, leaving a 1½-inch border clear.  Fold the border over the fruit, pleating the edges to form a broad rim.  Lay thin slices of butter over the exposed fruit.

Bake, rotating the pans 180 degrees and from top to bottom halfway through, until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are tender, about 35-40 minutes.  Transfer the pans to wire cooling racks and let the galettes cool completely on the pans.  Store at room temperature until ready to serve.  Sprinkle with sugar just before serving, if desired.

Source: adapted from Williams Sonoma

I recently catered a back-to-school breakfast for 50-ish people, and one of the items that I made was granola and yogurt parfaits For the event I made the two other types of granola I have made thus far, pumpkin spice and peanut butter banana.  I was so glad  that I did because it reminded me of how quick and easy granola is to make, and what a fantastic snack it can be.  So, not long afterward, I opened my pantry and saw a bunch of ingredients begging to be used up – dried pineapple, dried banana chips, coconut and oats.  Granola seemed like the perfect solution.

For the mixture of wet ingredients that helps bind granola together and give it flavor, I added pineapple puree and mashed banana as well as coconut extract.  I also tossed in some chopped macadamia nuts and toasted coconut for mix-ins.  WOW!  This stuff is gooood.  I wasn’t sure what to expect since it was a complete experiment, but I thought the tropical flavors came through well and though it is primarily sweet, the macadamia nuts provided a nice counterbalance with some saltiness.  I took a big bag of it into work and it was perfect for snacking on throughout the week.  I have a feeling I’ll be making this frequently.

Tropical Granola
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
3½ cups rolled oats
2½ cups puffed rice cereal
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup fresh pineapple puree
1/3 cup mashed banana
1/3 cup applesauce
½ tsp. salt
Dash of cinnamon
1 tsp. coconut extract
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted
1 cup dried pineapple, chopped
1 cup dried banana chips, chopped
½ cup toasted macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325° F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats and puffed rice cereal.  Stir to combine.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, pineapple puree, mashed banana, applesauce, salt, cinnamon and coconut extract.  Whisk until very smooth.  Add the wet ingredients to the oat mixture and stir gently with a spatula until the oat mixture is evenly coated.  Spread on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes.  Using a large, wide spatula, turn sections of the granola over on the baking sheet.  Bake for an additional 15 minutes, until nearly completely dried.  If your granola layer is thick, you may need to bake it a bit longer, removing the edges that have cooked completely but making sure the center is done.  Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then crumble into a large airtight storage container.  Add toasted coconut, dried pineapple, banana chips, and macadamia nuts to the container.  Seal and shake well until everything is evenly combined.

Source: Annie’s Eats original

Alright people, this sauce was a revelation for me for two reasons.  One – I formerly believed that I hated barbeque sauce. Occasionally I eat BBQ chicken at my dad’s house because he makes it a lot, but if it were up to me I would probably never choose to eat it.  Turns out, it’s delicious!  Two – I never knew that making your own barbeque sauce was so darn simple!  The only reason that I even attempted this recipe was as a gift for my dad.  I wasn’t planning to keep any of it, but I did feel obligated to try it if I was going to blog about it or give it as a gift.  Well, let’s just say none of this batch ever made it to Dad’s (though our babysitter did receive one jar).

The method is very simple – sauté some onions and garlic, mix in the spices, sugar, molasses and tomatoes and let simmer to reduce and thicken for a couple of hours at least.  A bit of water is added to the final product and it is blended to achieve a smooth consistency.  This could not be easier!  Another great thing about this is how easy it is to adjust the recipe to suit your own tastes.  I added a few tablespoons of honey to mine and thought it was an excellent addition.  Like things spicier?  Add some cayenne pepper and paprika.  Make it your own!

I only made a half batch (about two and a half jars) since I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this, but I have written the full recipe below because I will definitely make full batches from now on.  I did not use proper canning procedures this time around, so I consider it good in the fridge for about two weeks.  There are, however, lots of good online resources for properly canning foods and sauces, and I may try that next time around so that I can keep lots of this stuff on hand.  I may also just try freezing it since I now realize just how convenient it can be to have some tasty barbeque sauce around the house.  I got home from work one night later than expected, but grilling up a few chicken breasts dressed with the sauce and garden veggies on the side made dinner a breeze.  We even used extra sauce on the side for dipping because we enjoyed it so much.

Classic Barbecue Sauce
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 cups yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. ground coriander
¼ tsp. ground cumin
2-3 tbsp. honey
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes (fire-roasted, if available)
¾ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup white vinegar
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2-3 tsp. black pepper
½-2 cups water

Directions:
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender, about 5-6 minutes.  Mix in 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, the chili powder, coriander and cumin.  Stir in the honey, molasses and dark brown sugar.  Mix well and boil for about 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and cider vinegar.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer on medium-low heat for 2-3 hours until the sauce has thickened and darkened.

Stir in the white vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.  Season with salt and pepper to taste (up to about 1 tablespoon of each).  Add the mixture to a blender or food processor.  Add in about ½ cup water to start and process the mixture until smooth.  Blend in more water if desired until the sauce has reached your desired thickness/consistency.

Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Source: adapted from Delish

Alright guys, I really did the best that I could but I just could not put off baking with pumpkin any longer.  As you may know, fall is my absolute favorite season and this year I have been worse than ever, just pining for fall since the second week in June – I’m not kidding.  I remember seeing variations on pumpkin blondies all over food blogs last fall and somehow I never got around to making them.  Naturally, I’ve been thinking about them all summer – hence my making them in mid-August on a 90 degree day.  A warm one of these with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream…I can at least pretend it’s fall, right?

I suppose these bars are not a traditional blondie because they are not made with brown sugar, but you could easily make that substitution if you so desire and I think they would be great that way.  They still have a great warm flavor, reminiscent of caramel, so I think they fit best in the blondie category regardless.  The texture is slightly more fluffy than you may expect from a bar cookie, but I attribute that to the pumpkin as nearly all baked goods I have made with pumpkin turn out deliciously soft and puffy.  Now, I used only white chocolate chips this time around but let me just say that I absolutely insist that you mix in some butterscotch chips when you try this recipe!  I honestly don’t know how I could have overlooked such an obvious and awesome mix-in, but I thought of it about 3 minutes before they came out of the oven.  Doh!  If you are the nutty dessert type, I bet some toasted pecans or walnuts would be good too.

Pumpkin Blondies
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
½ cup chopped, toasted nuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.  Stir together and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.  Mix in the pumpkin puree.  With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.  Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips (and nuts, if using) with a rubber spatula.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.  Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.

To serve, lift the cake from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board.  Peel off the foil and using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart

Though I like pancakes, I’m typically more of a waffle person.  However, after seeing Joy the Baker (lover of all things pancake) rave and rave and rave about these, I decided we needed to try them.  I have to say, they lived up to the hype.  Even better is how easy they were to make, which is essential for a leisurely weekend breakfast.  I used milk chocolate chips as she recommends, but I think they would be great with semi-sweet or dark chocolate as well.  I halved the recipe (full recipe listed below) and we got about 6 pancakes out of the batch.  Andrew also loved these, as you can see :)  I can just imagine that this will be a recipe our kids request often in future years.

Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
4 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
½-¾ cup chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs.  Whisk in the buttermilk, butter and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.  Add in the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix just until incorporated.  Add in the chocolate chips and stir just until combined.

Preheat the oven to 200° F.  Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat.  Melt a thin pat of butter in the pan and spread it around.  Once the bottom of the pan has been covered, wipe the butter out gently with a paper towel so that only a very thin film remains.  Drop scoops of batter of your desired size (I use 1/3 cup) into the pan.  Cook the first side until bubbles form on the surface and begin to pop, and the bottom is golden brown.  Flip gently with a spatula and cook again until cooked through and golden brown on both sides.  Transfer the cooked pancakes to an oven-safe dish in the warmed oven and repeat the process with the remaining batter.  Serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Joy the Baker

I really should make homemade pasta more often than I do.  I guess I forget about it most of the time, but I also tend to (mistakenly) think that it is time-consuming.  Sure, it takes more time to prepare than pasta from a box, but it actually is not as time- or labor-intensive as it may seem.  This particular meal was made on a Saturday when I was in a bit of a funk and couldn’t decide what to make for dinner.  After much discussion, we settled on this – homemade fettuccine with alfredo sauce and grilled chicken.  And from the time the decision was made, to the time we were sitting down to eat, it was not much more than an hour, including a trip to the store for eggs.  Not surprisingly, this fabulous meal pulled me right out of my funk!

This was my first time making alfredo sauce at home.  As much as I love it, I can rarely justify the fat and calories to eat it often.  But sometimes you need to splurge a little!  I actually preferred this to the thick, sometimes gooey sauce served in restaurants.  It still had a wonderful flavor but was much lighter (in texture, but not calories!)  I added some smashed garlic to the pan while my sauce cooked and it infused a wonderful garlicky flavor.  If you do prefer a thicker sauce, you could simply make a roux before adding the cream to the pan to achieve your desired consistency.  This recipe makes quite a lot of pasta, so I would say this serves at least 4-5 people, or 2 for dinner plus leftovers later :)

Fettuccine Alfredo with Grilled Chicken
Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:
1 batch basic egg pasta

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

For the alfredo sauce:
3 tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1½ cups heavy cream
1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil for cooking the pasta.  While you are waiting, cook the chicken breasts.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Season both sides of the chicken breast halves with salt and pepper.  Add to the skillet and cook until brown on one side, 3-5 minutes. Then flip and cook until browned on the other side and cooked through, an additional 3-5 minutes.  Remove to a plate and let rest for a few minutes.  Cut into small strips.  Cover with foil to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

Once the pasta water is boiling, cook the pasta until al dente.  (Homemade pasta can cook very quickly, so check frequently to be sure it is the texture you would like.)

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cream, and bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Mix in the Parmesan cheese and stir until completely melted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve fresh pasta topped with the alfredo sauce and grilled chicken pieces.  Garnish with chopped fresh herbs, if desired.

Source: pasta found here, sauce adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

I’m sure it comes as no surprise to my regular readers that I have become the designated birthday treat baker at work since starting residency.  Actually, this is a responsibility I created all on my own.  I thought it would be mutually beneficial, as it would give me another outlet to unload some baked goods and try some new flavors, while celebrating all my coworkers’ birthdays.  Win-win(-win – if you watch “The Office”) :)  So, last month our chief resident had a birthday and I asked her what sort of cupcakes she would like.  She mentioned that she had been craving carrot cake, and I was thrilled to hear that as I have been wanting to make carrot cake for quite some time.  I have another recipe with more mix-ins that I want to try as a layer cake, but for these cupcakes I thought I would go the classic route with just a basic traditional cake.

These were fabulous!  The cake was perfectly spiced, light and moist.  The thing I really love about this recipe is the use of the food processor to shred the carrots and to mix the batter.  I adore my stand mixer, but it’s nice to only dirty one appliance at a time.  (Though I guess I still used it for the frosting – but you know.)  I was a bit concerned that the shredded carrot pieces would be too large and affect the texture of the cake, but I think they were just fine.  I look forward to making these again!

Carrot Cupcakes
Printer-Friendly Version

Yield: about 20-22 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2½ cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1¼ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. salt
1 lb. (6-7 medium) carrots, peeled
1½ cups (10.5 oz) granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1½ cups canola, safflower or vegetable oil

For the frosting:
12 oz. cream cheese (not softened)
7½ tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3¾ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt; whisk together and set aside.

In a food processor fitted with a shredding disk, shred the carrots (you should have about 3 cups).  Add the carrots to the bowl with the dry ingredients and set aside.  Wipe out the bowl of the food processor and fit with the metal blade.  Process the sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds.  With the machine running, add the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube.  Continue to process until the mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 more seconds.  Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.

Scoop evenly into the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake for about 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Source: cupcakes adapted from Baking Illustrated, frosting adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

 Talk about an easy appetizer.  These little bundles of yum take almost no time to make.  Waiting for the grill to heat up is the most time-consuming part!  If you are looking for a way to fill out your grilling menu with something slightly unique, these are perfect.  Proscuitto has been my most recent victory in finding a less-than-mainstream ingredient at the grocery store.  I have searched for so long, and finally thought to look in a case near the deli – sure enough, there it was.  Hooray!

If you have had proscuitto before, you know it is salty! Because of this, I think it’s best to use multiple spears of asparagus rather than wrapping single spears individually to help cut some of the salt.  And I think it goes without saying, but you definitely do not need any added salt when seasoning these.  Just some black pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar will do. Depending on the thickness of the asparagus spears available to you, you may want to use more or less in a bundle.  I could only find skinny asparagus so I used about 5-6 spears in each, but for regular thick spears, I would probably go with 3 per bundle.  I have seen this appetizer many times before, so I used no real source when preparing this dish but just sort of winged it on my own!

Grilled Proscuitto Wrapped Asparagus Bundles
Printer-Friendly Version
Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus, thick or thin
1 package of thinly sliced proscuitto
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the grill or a grill pan to medium-high heat, and oil the grate.  Wash, dry and trim asparagus spears.  Lay out one piece of proscuitto on a work surface.  Bundle a few spears of asparagus together near one end of the proscuitto, and wrap them up tightly with the meat.  Lay seam side down on a plate.  Repeat with remaining asparagus and proscuitto.  Brush the bundles lightly with olive oil.  Drizzle with a few splashes of balsamic vinegar.  Season with freshly ground pepper to taste.

Transfer the bundles to the heated grill, seam side down, and cook until nice grill marks have formed.  Flip gently with tongs, and repeat on the second side.  Cook until the asparagus has reached your desired doneness, testing it with a fork.  Remove from the grill, transfer to a platter, and serve.

Source: Annie’s Eats

Okay, I must seem like a crazy chocolate fiend lately.  I feel like I have made so many amazing chocolate treats.  The most amazing brownies ever, cookies, and cake!  For good reason though – chocolate is awesome!  It deserves plenty of time in the spotlight.  These cookies originally go by the name “better than brownie cookies”, but after finding my recent brownie bliss, I knew they would not live up to that.  So I just call them brownie cookies.  But, I think it’s not fair to compare cookies and brownies – it’s like apples and oranges, they just aren’t the same.  As chocolate cookies go, these are FANTASTIC!  Really, really amazing.  They have a thin delicate crust outside with a tender, melt-in-your mouth interior and they are very, very chocolatey.  Not to mention that, but they are also the prettiest chocolate cookies I have made yet.  The crackly crust on the outside just makes them look irresistible.  I sent some home to our realtor’s family, and the next time we spoke she informed me that her husband wanted to know if he could buy more cookies from me – HA!

It’s hard to improve on such a delicious cookie, but I thought sandwiching them with some homemade vanilla ice cream would do the trick.  The combination was great.  I found them to be best when set out for about 10-15 minutes prior to eating so that the cookies would thaw a bit and have a better texture.  The recipe was simple and easy to follow, and my only comment about it is that I got quite a few more cookies from the batch than the recipe indicates.  I’m sure that all depends on how large your scoops of dough are, so bake them whatever size you would like!

Amazing Brownie Cookies
Printer-Friendly Version

Yield: about 24-35 cookies
Ingredients:
466 g. dark chocolate, chopped (about 2 2/3 cups)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, heat the chocolate and butter until completely melted and smooth, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and set aside.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract; whisk until well combined.  In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.  Stir together and set aside.

Add the melted chocolate mixture to the sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.  Mix in the dry ingredients, stirring just until incorporated.  Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Drop scoops of about 1½ tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, evenly spaced.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm on the outside and the dough has lost its sheen.  Leave to cool completely on the baking sheets.  Transfer to a wire rack when firmly set, and repeat with any remaining dough, if necessary.

Source: adapted from Culinography