Butternuts

Russian Teacakes, or otherwise called Mexican Wedding Cookies have graced many a dessert table around the holiday season. Since it is a favorite, there are many recipes that spun off from the original. 

This particular cookie is just that, pulling in the flavors of butterscotch and rum. I know, a bag of butterscotch chips seem to be the remaining orphan at the grocery store. The ones that get all the attention are the chocolate chips, which are the first to go. Even though butterscotch may not be as popular as chocolate, these cookies are a reminder that this flavor can be just as delicious when the right recipe comes along.

So as you are walking down the baking aisle, please consider the butterscotch chips. All they need is a good home.

This recipe makes about 3 dz cookies.

Butternuts
adapted from Just a Pinch website

Ingredients/Cookies
1 cup finely chopped pecans
6 oz butterscotch chips
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter

Ingredients/Topping
1 tsp rum extract
1/2 cup pecan pieces
3 powdered sugar
3-4 tbs milk or water

Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Sift 1/2 cup of powdered sugar into a small bowl and whisk in the salt. Add the sugar blend to the bowl of a stand mixer. Then cut butter into cubes and drop cubes into sugar mixture. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Next, fold in the flour in increments until a dough is formed. Then add pecans and butterscotch chips, blending with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Take the dough and measure out into teaspoons. Shape each into a round ball and place on prepared cookie sheet. Since the cookies do not expand very much, they can be spaced about 1/2 inch apart. Bake in oven until lightly browned on the bottom, about 15-17 minutes. Do not let cookies turn brown on top, that is a sign they are over baked. 

Remove sheet from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. After all the cookies are baked and cooled, place cookies on a plate. Now it is time to start on the glaze.

Place a sheet of wax paper under the cooling rack. Pull out a small bowl and add milk (or water) and extract. Whisk together. Take out a larger bowl and sift all of the powdered sugar into the bowl. Then mix the liquid mixture into the powdered sugar.

To glaze each of the cookies, dip the top into the glaze and swirl to let the excess drip back into the bowl. Place cookie back on rack and put a piece of pecan on the top. Repeat the process until all cookies are topped as stated. Let rest one hour for glaze to set up, then they are ready to enjoy.
 
                                         **LAST YEAR:Cherry Dr Pepper Cupcakes**


 

Pesto Potato Rolls

Homemade bread is something that we all enjoy.  However, the thought of making bread does bring to mind an all day project, with kneading and rising time. With most people's busy lifestyles, the time is just not there. There is an alternative. No, it is not the bread machine. Nothing against the bread machine, but the soft, loaf type bread is not always what we want. The alternative would be a no knead bread with not much rise time that is soft and flavorful, which brings me to this particular recipe.

The final result to my bread baking endeavor was fluffy, pull apart rolls with the flavor of butter and pesto - so it was a tasty ending! These rolls are perfect to serve with soup, salad or any Italian meal.

Pull apart bread is very popular and versatile. There are several savory as well as sweet recipes out there. I chose pesto because it happened to pair well with the dinner I was planning. The other thing that interested me about the recipe (outside of the no knead concept) is that it uses potato in the dough.

Now, let's get to the recipe.  This makes about 2 dozen rolls.

Pesto Potato Rolls
adapted from No Need to Knead

4 3/4 cups bread flour
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tbs quick rising yeast
pinch of black pepper
1- 11 or 12 oz russet potato (peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces)
6 tbs purchased pesto
3/4 cup plus 2 tbs melted unsalted butter (slightly cooled)
2 eggs

Begin by buttering the interior of two 9 inch round cake pans (about 1 1/2 inches deep) and set aside.

The next step is cooking the potatoes. Place 1 tsp salt, potatoes and 3 1/2 cups of water in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir and then cover. The mixture should come to a slow boil. Let potatoes cook for about 20 minutes until done. When done, potato cubes should be able to be pierced with a fork with very little effort. Remove saucepan from heat and mash until all the lumps are gone. Your mixture will be very watery and pourable. Separate out 2 cups of the potato water in a heat proof bowl and discard the rest. Let the mixture cool to about 105 to 115 degrees.

Once the potato mixture has cooled, stir in yeast, pesto, pepper, sugar and other tsp of salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the two eggs together. Add the eggs and 1/2 cup melted butter into potato batter.  Blend until evenly distributed.

Prepare a bowl for rising by buttering the interior. Set aside. Using a wooden spoon, blend the flour into the batter in 1/2 cup increments. After the flour has been mixed in, you should have a smooth and sticky dough. Form the dough into a ball and place in prepared bowl. Turn once to coat each side. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Do not punch down dough after rise time.

Prepare a flat surface by lightly dusting with flour. Roll dough out into 1/3 inch thickness. Then cut out rounds with a 2 1/2 inch cutter.  Keep cutting and re-rolling until the dough has been formed into cut circles. At this point, set up an assembly line. The rounds will be next to the bowl of melted butter (remaining amount of 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) and the pans will be next to the butter.

Dip or brush the top of each round with butter and fold in half. Place in pan with fold on the bottom, or fan side up. Continue to do this until each cake pan has 12 rolls in it. Cover each pan with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes.

During the rising time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. After the rising time is complete, place pans in oven and bake until golden brown on top. Bake time should be about 25 minutes. Let rolls cool in pans for about 20 minutes and invert twice, so golden tops of rolls are face up. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips and Notes:

1. When you form the dough in the pans it will be slippery and soft. Dough rounds might not fill pan prior to rise time. Just place folded dough rounds in pan evenly spaced.

2. If you want quick results, you can plan ahead the day before, with the changes as follows:
Form the dough by using regular rise yeast and but only melt 1/2 cup of butter for use in creating the dough. Instead of the instructions for the first dough rise, cover the dough and place in refrigerator overnight. The next day, when you are ready to form the rolls, melt the remaining butter. Follow the same instructions above, starting with the information after the first rise. The rise time for chilled dough (after the rolls have been formed) is 30 minutes.
                                   **LAST YEAR: Virginia Blackberry Roll**         

 

Pecan Cream Cups

The blend of candy with cookies has always been an appealing idea. Twix is one of the better known brands that has done well by using this type of texture/flavor blend.

This recipe incorporates the same idea with very tasty results. The cup part of this treat is like a shortbread flavored with cinnamon. It is filled with a mixture of marscapone cheese and pecans and then baked. After the cups have cooled, the filling is covered with semi sweet chocolate.

One bite does have you enjoying the crunch of the cookies, then you move on to the creamy filling chock full of pecans. The filling makes me think of pecan pie or pralines, but without as much sweetness. Topping the filling with chocolate makes it more confectionary. Twix has the right idea, a cookie/candy combo is hard to resist. The little cups are great at parties and the texture/ flavor combo will have them coming back for seconds. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 dz cups.

Pecan Cream Cups
by Flourtrader

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups marscapone (softened)
2/3 cup chopped and toasted pecans
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Use a non stick mini muffin pan or butter the inside and top edge of mini muffin cavities. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. In a separate
bowl, whisk the egg with the cinnamon. Add the cinnamon/egg mixture to the creamed butter and
sugar. Blend with mixer on medium speed until incorporated into batter. Set aside.

Using another bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Fold the sifted ingredients into the wet batter. Place 1 tbs of dough in each muffin cavity. Press each tablespoon of dough into a cup form in the cavity, the same manner as you would in making tart shells. The dough cup should come up to the rim. Trim off excess and blend back in with the rest of the dough for forming additional cups.

Once all the cavities of your muffin tin have a dough cup, start making the filling. Fold the pecans into the marscapone until evenly distributed. Fill the dough cups with the filling right below the top edge, reserving some room for the top layer of chocolate. Smooth the surface of the filling.

Place in oven to bake for about 9-12 minutes, or until the cookie shell turns a golden brown. Remove and place rack to cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Then remove from pans carefully place each on cooling rack. Let cool completely.

While the cups are cooling, set up a double boiler and fill the top pot with chocolate chips. Once the chips start melting, stir a few times. When all the chocolate is melted and the cups have completely cooled, smooth the chocolate on top of the cup filling. Make sure you do not get the chocolate on the cookie edges.

Let rest about 1 hour for the chocolate to set up. Then serve. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Tips and Notes:

1. Filling will rise while cooking and sink when cooling, consider this when filling.

2. The dough cups are a good shell to use as a base for filling with the item of your choice.                              

3. Evenly shaped dough in the cookies cup will insure even baking.
                      **LAST YEAR: Chocolate Angel food cake**

Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

I heard on the radio station the other day that it was National Donut day. I do like donuts quite a bit, but I feel that they could incorporate some fresh fruit into the flavors.  Jelly filled is actually fruit gel, not big chunks of fresh fruit. Donut makers should split a donut and fill it with fresh fruit once in a while, I think it would catch on.  I would definitely be a patron at that donut shop.

That brings me to this particular recipe. It has a blend of fresh fruit, cream cheese and almonds layered on top of sweet cake. The original recipe called for blueberries, but I decided that with almonds and cream cheese, strawberries is a better flavor match.

This breakfast treat is one that never got out of the house. Most of my desserts are brought to the work place or given to the neighbors. It is only test tasted with one serving before moving on.  However, my husband wanted this one for our household and he managed to make it disappear in a few days.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
adapted from Best Recipes from Country Inns and Bed and Breakfasts

Ingredients
1 cup fresh fruit (any type of summer fruit, with the exception of citrus, chopped if bigger than blueberries)
1 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup plain low fat yogurt
2 plus 1 eggs
1/4 cup apple juice
6 oz cream cheese
2 tsp water
1/2 cup butter
3/4 plus 1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp cornstarch

Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Fill a small saucepan with fruit and apple juice. Let come to a boil and then reduce heat and stir.  Simmer on low for about 3 minutes. Add the water and sift in the cornstarch.  Stir again and let simmer. The liquid should thicken up and reduce in a short amount of time. When ready, your saucepan contents should measure about a cup of the fruit/cornstarch mixture. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare a food processor for use. Fill the processor bowl with 3/4 cup of sugar and flour. Then cut the butter into cubes and drop into bowl. Process until mixture resembles sandy coarse crumbs. Empty contents into large bowl.  Remove one cup of mixture and place in another bowl for a different use.

Sift together baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold into sugar mixture until distributed evenly.  In a separate bowl, place 2 eggs and the almond extract and whisk together. Add the yogurt and whisk again to blend. Pour into the flour/sugar batter and stir. Once blended, empty contents into prepared springform pan. The batter will be a bit sticky, but flatten on the bottom of pan and bring up the sides about a 1/4 of an inch. There should be a little bit of a well from the dough sides going down to the bottom of the dough.

Take out a medium size bowl and beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar and remaining egg until smooth. Fill the well of the dough with the cream cheese mixture and smooth the top. Then spread fruit mixture over top of cream cheese. Find the reserved crumb mixture and stir in sliced almonds. Sprinkle over the top of the coffee cake, making sure it is covered to the edge evenly.

Place in oven and bake until golden brown. This will take about 45 minutes and filling will be set when done. Cool in pan 15 minutes then remove the outer ring of the springform pan.

Tips and Notes:

1. Because of their size, blueberries yield more volume in a cup than chopped strawberries. Next time, I will up the amount of strawberries. The 1 cup turned out to be a little sparse on top.

2. Another good flavor match since this has almonds would be cherries.

3. Be careful when adding ingredients, the eggs as well as the sugar are used in 2 different components so they need to be added separately.

4. The instructions are to spread fruit over cream cheese.  Just to insure that you are not mixing the layers, it is better to drop by spoonfuls.
                         **LAST YEAR:Chocolate Almond Marsala Cookies**

                                          
 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Pie

Do you sometimes want homemade but find that your lifestyle may just be too busy to fit in the time? Then the cookie pie is the answer. You can have all the taste of an oatmeal or chocolate chip cookie, but in the form of a cookie pie. After just one baking session, slice and eat!

This particular recipe yields the same chewy texture that you will find in regular sized oatmeal cookies. I have been contemplating changing out the raisins for chocolate chips and skipping the icing. In the end, we must satisfy what the tastebuds are craving. Whether it is grandma's tried and true oatmeal cookies or the updated chocolate chip version, the cookie pie is the quickest method. It makes for a tasty after dinner dessert with coffee as well as a good addition to a lunchbox.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Pie
adapted from Serious Eats.com

Ingredients/Cookie Pie
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup raisins

Ingredients/Icing
1 tsp and 1 tbs heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Grease the interior of a 10 inch springform pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take out a medium size bowl and sift together the ground cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour. Then stir in the oats and set aside.

Place both types of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and blend until evenly mixed. Cut the butter into cubes. Add butter to sugar and beat until smooth. This should take about 3 minutes.  With mixer still running, add the egg and vanilla extract.

Once all is evenly distributed, fold in the dry ingredients until no streaks remain.  Stir in the raisins. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth the surface so all is even.

Bake until the batter turns a golden hue and is set in the middle, approximately 20-25 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes and then remove the outside ring of pan. Leave on the bottom of the springform pan and let cool completely.

Once cool, fill a small bowl with the heavy cream and then sift in the powdered sugar. Stir until smooth. Take a zip lock bag and clip off a small part of of the corner. Fill bag with icing and drizzle on top of the cookie pie. Let icing set up prior to slicing and serving.

Tips and Notes:

1. You can also use a pie plate or 9 inch pan, but you will need to watch because the baking time will  vary.
2. The icing recipe can be doubled, which I did for more coverage.
                                       **LAST YEAR:Hawaiian Loaf*

Cannoli Cake Roll

I have never actually eaten a cannoli before. One of the reasons is that they are hard to find in the U.S.  Also, the cream and candied fruit filling does not really strike up a craving. Upon further research, I have found that chocolate chips can be used and that the fruit can be excluded. That discovery does make me a candidate to seek out and taste a cannoli. However, since they are so scarce here, I decided to have the same flavor in a different format.

This particular recipe puts a spin on traditional cannoli by replacing the cannoli shell with cake and forming a cake roll with the filling inside. This type of creativity has been going on for awhile.  After all, chocolate chip cookies have a countless number of spin offs. There are now versions of this in everything from pie to bar drinks.

For flavor notes, this cake roll uses cinnamon, chocolate chips and orange liqueur in the filling. The cake part is a vanilla sponge. The garnishing with pistachios and chocolate chips is optional, but very traditional.

This was fun and easy to make. It also yielded a stunning and tasty result. If you like the taste of cannoli and are looking for something special for a gathering, this recipe is well worth trying out. Be sure to plan for the 3 hours of cooling steps when you decide to make this. Now, it's time to have some fun in the kitchen with a sweet ending! "Questa torta è squisita!" as they say in Italian.

Cannoli Cake Roll
adapted from All Recipes Cookbook

Ingredients/Cake
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 cup sugar, separated
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
5 eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
confectioners sugar, for dusting

Ingredients/Filling and Frosting
4 tbs orange liqueur, separated
1 tbs water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
4 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup plus 3 tbs confectioners sugar
1 tbs white sugar
1/4 tsp gnd cinnamon
1/4 cup and 1 tbs mini semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped pistachios (optional)

Grease a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

For the cake, start with 2 bowls. Add egg yolks, vanilla and 1/4 cup of sugar to a large bowl.  Fill a second, medium size, bowl with egg whites, cream of tartar and salt.

Both of the mixtures need to be beaten. Start with the egg yolk mixture and beat for 5 minutes. It will thicken up and turn a light lemon, color. After beating, clean and dry your mixer beaters to use for the egg white mixture. Beat the egg white batter until it reaches a soft peak consistency. Continue to beat and sprinkle in 1/4 cup of sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

Using a spatula, fold 1/3 of the egg white batter into the yolk mixture. Continue with 2 more intervals of adding and folding the egg white batter into the yolk batter. Lastly, fold in the flour in 1/4 cup increments until no dry streaks remain.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, making sure it is smooth and even. Place in oven and bake until cake springs back when lightly touched. Baking time is about 10 minutes.

During the bake time, place a clean towel on a flat surface and dust with confectioner's sugar. Then make a soak mixture by combining 2 tbs of orange liqueur, 1 tbs water and 2 tbs sugar in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave about 10 seconds. Remove and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Once the cake is done, remove from oven and invert pan onto prepared towel. Peel off parchment paper. Brush cake with soak mixture. The cake, with the towel, should be positioned with the longest side running horizontally in front of you. Then, using the beginning side of the cake closest to you, carfeully rolling it up with the towel to form a jellyroll. With the seam side down, transfer to a cooling rack. Cake will be need to be completely cooled prior to filling. This will take about 1 hour.

As the cake cools, make the filling with the use of a food processor. Fill the bowl of the processor with the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, cinnamon and 1/2 tsp vanilla.  Blend on medium speed until smooth. Fold in 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. Transfer to bowl and cover. Place in refrigerator until cake is completely cooled.

Carefully unroll cooled cake and take bowl of filling out of refrigerator. Empty filling onto the center of the cake. Smooth filling out over cake, leaving 1/4 inch border. Repeat the cake rolling process as done before, except without the towel. Remember to start with the same long side as you began with the first time you rolled the cake. Once rolled, transfer to platter seam side down. The platter will be the one that you intend to use for presentation before slicing and serving.

Now the cake needs to be frosted. For the frosting, add whipping cream and 3 tbs of confectioners sugar to bowl of stand mixer.  Beat ingredients together until you reach the soft peak stage.  Add two tablespoons of orange liqueur and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to the cream.  Using a spatula, fold the flavor additions into the whipping cream until evenly distributed. Spread frosting over cake, covering all surfaces, including ends and the curves that meet the platter.  If you choose, use a design blade to make designs in the frosting, being careful not to expose any cake as you drag along the sides.

Refrigerate cake for about 2 hours before serving.  Decorate with 1 tbs mini chocolate chips and finely chopped pistachios when ready to serve, if desired.

Tips and Notes:
1. Due to the different batters/components using a lot of the same ingredients, so be sure to use the noted amounts in the paragraphs when creating, not the listed ingredient amount.  The measure values are combined in the listing, instead of listing the same ingredient again with a different vallue. If the measurement it is not noted in the paragraphs, then refer to the ingredient list for the measurement.

2. I know that a lumpy filling can cause issues, however, I feel that there could have been a little bit more mini chocolate chips in the filling.

3. The garnish is missing in the picture, however, I do intend to use it once the cake is served. The missing slice is a taste test.  

4. The biggest flavor in the cake is the cinnamon and orange.  If those are not a favorite, try another liqueur and spice more to your liking.
                                            **LAST YEAR: Buckeye State Ice Cream*

   

Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies

Brownies have become quite versatile these days. There are so many things that pair well with chocolate, it is hard not to add an additional flavor component to them.  Cream cheese, raspberry, wine, coffee-- and the list goes on.  However, we do not need to turn to the Food Bible to discover this particular flavor combination. Chocolate and peanut butter are a classic pairing that nearly all of us are familiar with.

These treats taste are as if someone took a large chocolate peanut butter cup and stacked it on top of  rich chocolate brownies. Not just plain brownies, but fudgy brownies choc-full of roasted, salted peanuts. Now that I have your attention, lets get right to the recipe.

Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies
adapted from Bon Appetit/Jan 2007

Ingredients/Brownies
4 eggs
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
7 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts ( preferably roasted and salted)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sugar

Ingredients/Topping
1 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 or 1 stick butter (divided in half)
7 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup chunky style peanut butter (not natural or old fashioned)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp gnd nutmeg
3/4 cup powdered sugar


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line the interior of a 9x13 inch pan with foil, leaving an overhang on the long sides. Butter the face up side of the foil, covering all that is lining the interior of the pan.

The first step is to create and bake the brownie base. Set up a double boiler over medium heat. Let the water in the bottom part come to a simmer. Place other pot on top and fill with chocolate and butter. Stir occasionally as the ingredients melt.  Once completely melted, transfer to a mixing bowl.

Add sugar, vanilla extract and salt to the melted batter. Mix together until blended. Add one egg and whisk into the batter. Continue the same process with each egg, one by one. Stir in flour until no streaks remain.  Lastly, mix in peanuts.

Transfer batter to prepared pan, smoothing the surface. Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until tester comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool brownies completely in pan, placing pan on rack.

The first layer on top of the brownies is the peanut butter mixture.  Add peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter to mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until combined.  Sprinkle in the salt and nutmeg and beat again for about 30 seconds.  Sift in the powdered sugar and blend with mixer.  Beat in the milk and vanilla for another 30 seconds.  Spread mixture evenly over brownies and smoothing the top.

For the final layer, set up a double boiler again.  Fill top pot with chocolate and 1/4 cup of butter.  Stir occasionally as the mixture melts.  Once melted and smooth, drop by spoonfuls over the surface of the peanut butter layer.  Using a spatula, smooth out chocolate.  Make sure that the surface is covered evenly.  Place pan in refrigerator for about 1 1/2 hours.  This will give the top two layers time to set up.

To serve, pull sides of foil and lift brownies out of pan. Cut into squares while still cold. Let come to room temperature prior to serving.
                           **LAST YEAR: Pineapple Rum Trifle Cake**

Raspberry Picnic Pie

Pie is one of those things that makes me think of picnics, family reunions and outdoor get togethers. Usually in the summer, berry pies find their way to the weekend table. I created this pie with my first thought being strawberry lemonade. However, the idea of "cooked" strawberries was unappealing. That is when the flavor idea shifted to raspberries.  Raspberry pie may not be the most favorite berry for pie, but I am more fond of raspberries than any other berry,  in spite of all the seeds.

This pie makes use of fresh and frozen berries. Also, it does not have the tapioca ingredient that you find in some pies. The fresh raspberries are layered on top of the crust first. Then it is filled with a cooked mixture of frozen berries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest. Since raspberries are pretty tart, the crumbly, sweet topping is the offset to the tartness.  In addition, I used a dairy/egg mixture prior to the layer of crumbs in order to seal the surface of the pie.

Creating the pie is fairly easy. There is no fancy lattice top nor is there prep work on cutting and peeling fruit. Definitely good reasons to try a berry pie if you are short on time. However, bear in mind if you bring it to the family reunion this year, consider that you are starting a tradition. Something this tasty will have your family will be expecting it every year! This recipe makes one 10 inch pie.  


Raspberry Picnic Pie
by Flourtrader

Ingredients/Bottom Crust
1/2 cup refrigerated shortening
1/4 cup cubed cold butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Ice water

Ingredients/Filling
5 cups frozen raspberries (thawed until still icy but pliable)
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups sugar

Ingredients/Top Crust
2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup half and half
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temp

Prepare a baking sheet by lining the interior with foil, making sure all sides and corners are covered.  To create the crust, sift together flour, baking powder and salt into stand mixer bowl. Then add the sugar, butter and shortening. Beat on medium speed until mixture resembles coarse, small clumps. Slowly sprinkle a 1/2 tsp of ice water into the batter and beat. The dough is the right consistency when it comes together on the beaters instead of clinging to the edge.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface and empty dough onto plastic. Flatten into a disc and cover with the wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. Once the chilling step is completed, lightly dust a flat surface with flour. Remove the disc from the refrigerator and place on the floured surface and roll out to 12 inches in diameter.

Roll dough over rolling pin and then unroll dough over pie pan and release. Lightly press dough, making sure all the interior of the pie pan is covered. There should be no air pockets. Fold the excess dough under the part of the dough that touches the top outer edge of the pie pan. Then crimp the top edge of the dough. Place in freezer until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill a medium size saucepan with the slightly frozen berries, cornstarch and sugar. Place over medium heat and stir, blending ingredients.  Mixture will come to a boil, but continue to stir and cook for about 2 minutes after it has reached a boiling point. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest and lemon juice.

Remove frozen pie crust and place fresh raspberries evenly on the bottom of the crust.  Pour the cooked raspberry mixture on top. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, half and half, 1/4 cup of sugar and vanilla extract. Then slowly pour the mixture over the top of the filling. Start pouring on the outer edge, moving toward the center until bowl is empty.

For the crumb mixture, sift together the flour and the salt. Add the butter and remaining 2 cups of sugar.  Combine by using a pastry blender until it becomes a crumbly sandy mixture. Sprinkle crumbs on top of pie, again starting with the outer edges and moving toward the center.

Place pie on prepared pan and transfer pan to oven. Bake for about 45-60 minutes. Pie is done when you see the filling bubbling over and the crumb surface has turned a deep golden brown.

Let cool to room temperature and then cut and serve.
                           **LAST YEAR:Vienna Chocolate Bars*

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake

I guess we all have a desire for lots of flavor without all the fat and calories. After years of blogging desserts without regard to calories or fat, I decided I would try a lighter recipe. I know that several other countries believe that American desserts contain too much sugar for the palate. It is about personal taste and what you are used to.  I know people that prefer a salty snack over sugary.  Dieting, in my book, is about portion size control when it comes to eating desserts. After all, it is easier to eat less than to change your whole realm of eating habits. Moderation is another key.

This particular recipe is a bundt cake filled with cinnamon, apples and ground walnuts. The cake part has vanilla beans in it. However, the results prove that the filling is the real flavor in this cake.

For my taste, the cake part seemed to eggy and did not offer much flavor. The ratio of eggs to flour  seems unbalanced. As you can see by the picture, the cake part looks very spongy. This is not typical of most bundt cakes. In addition, I was disappointed that you cannot taste the flavor of the vanilla beans in the cake. Since I am not someone that creates low fat/calorie recipes, I am at a loss with how to get to a more flavorful cake, while still retaining its low cal/fat attributes.

If you are a low fat/low calorie guru and enjoy tweaking recipes, then you are welcome to grab this one up and start experimenting. Myself, on the other hand, will go back to sweet indulgences.

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake
adapted from Cooking Light/Nov 2011

Ingredients/Filling
1 cinnamon stick ( 3 inches long)
1/2 cup apple cider
1 tbs dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups diced, peeled apple (tart style, like Granny Smith)

Ingredients/Streusel
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbs flour
2 tbs dark brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts

Ingredients/Cake
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup fat free milk
3/4 cup 2% reduced fat Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
9 oz or about 2 cups flour
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
powdered sugar (optional, for dusting top of cake)

Start by preparing the bundt pan by coating the interior with a baking spray with flour or greasing and then dusting with flour.  Make sure all the crevasses are completely covered.  Set aside and then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the filling, place all the filling ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium high heat.  Once the mixture reaches a boil, turn temperature down to medium and let simmer. As it simmers, stir occasionally. The liquid will evaporate as it cooks. After 20 minutes, there should be very little liquid and the apple quite tender. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Divide mixture in half and set aside.

The next step is the streusel. Fill the bowl of a food processor or blender with all the streusel ingredients. Pulse the mixture until it reaches a coarse, sandy texture. Just like the apple mixture, divide in half and set aside.

The cake process starts by sifting the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Then take out another bowl and fill with the butter and sugar. Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer on medium speed, cream the two together by beating for about 3 minutes. Add one egg and beat for another 30 seconds.  Add the other egg and beat again for 30 seconds.  Repeat with the egg yolk.

Take the split vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the sugar/egg batter and blend until evenly distributed. In a separate bowl create a dairy mixture by whisking together yogurt and milk.  Fold 1/3 of the sifted ingredients and into the sugar/egg batter.  Stir in half of the dairy mixture.  Repeat the process of adding the dry and wet ingredients, ending with the dry ingredients. Divide the batter into thirds.

Take 1/3 of the batter and spoon into the bottom of the prepared bundt pan.  Top the batter with 1/2 of the apple ingredients, making a row in the center of the batter.  Then top with 1/2 of the streusel mix, still making a center row.  Add another layer of batter (using the next 1/3 measurement), spooning in and smoothing out. Layer the center row with the remaining apples and top with the last of the streusel.  Spoon the rest of the batter on top and smooth with a spatula.

Place the filled pan in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. A toothpick test resulting in moist crumbs indicates that the cake is done.  Let cool in pan 20 minutes and then invert onto cooling rack.  Once completely cool, dust with powdered sugar if you prefer.

Tips and Notes:
1. The recipe did not specify making a center row of filling and apples, I added this instruction to insure that it would not reach the edges to cause sticking to the pan.

2. Act quickly when assembling, batter rises quickly once the dry ingredients are incorporated.
                          **LAST YEAR:Cherry Almond Cobbler Cookies**  

Charlevoix Cookies

One of the flavors in this recipe is maraschino cherry. In researching cherries, I found that the trees were first were planted by the French along the Saint Lawrence Seaway. That seaway reaches into the Great Lakes area from Canada.  Based on this tie, there are 2 areas called Charlevoix. The first is a town in the far northern area of Michigan and the other is in Quebec. While both are along water and offer fishing and plenty of hiking areas, the Canadian location has mountains along the seaway.

Now that the background of the name has been covered, lets get into the details of this petite sandwich cookie. The cookie part has the flavor of almond and it has a soft texture with a slight crunch of desiccated coconut and almond flour. For an even bigger pop of flavor, the bottoms of the cookies are dipped in chocolate and then sandwiched together with a maraschino cream.

They are small and are perfect for popping in your mouth whole. That way you get the full experience of all the textures and flavors. In addition, bigger cookies would be quite messy after one bite. If you like chocolate covered cherries, then you are reading the right post.

This recipe yields about a dozen sandwich cookies.

Charlevoix Cookies
by Flourtrader

Ingredients/Cookies
1 stick or 1/2 cup butter
1 egg white
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup and 1 tbs powdered/confectioners sugar
1/4 cup and 1 tbs desiccated coconut
3/4 cup flour
2 tbs almond flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate chips

Ingredients/Filling
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs maraschino juice

Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper. Also, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat the egg white into the batter, running the mixer on medium high for about 30 seconds. With the mixer on low speed, stir in the coconut and almond extract for another 30 seconds. Set aside.

Using a separate bowl, sift together the regular flour and baking powder. Then whisk in the almond flour.  Fold the dry mixture into the wet batter, using a spatula. Scoop out the batter into rounded teaspoons and place each on the prepared baking sheet, about one inch apart. Place in oven and bake for about 15 minutes, rotating pans halfway thru the baking process. Cookies are done when lightly browned on edges and bottom. Let cool completely on pan.

While the cookies are cooling, line 2 more baking sheets with parchment paper. Place in the freezer.  Set up a double boiler and fill top pot with chocolate. Place over medium high heat and stir occasionally until all the chocolate is melted. Take one of the baking sheets out of the freezer.

The chocolate coating process is the next step. Using a wooden spoon, scoop up some of the melted chocolate and then place a cookie on top of the chocolate, flat side down. Transfer to cold baking sheet by placing on the parchment paper, chocolate side down. Continue with the process until both baking sheets are full, placing each in the freezer when complete.

Next, prepare the filling by starting with creaming the butter and powdered sugar together. Once mixture is smooth beat in vanilla extract and maraschino juice. If the consistency is too thick, add more juice as needed.

Take out one baking sheet of cookies and match pairs together by size and shape.  Then sandwich each pair together with a few teaspoons of filling.

Tips and Notes:
1. Clear vanilla extract instead of dark will help retain the pink from the maraschino cherry juice, but you can add food coloring if you are unable to find clear vanilla extract.

2. The usage of the chocolate and filling is not an exact science, so some may be left over. The chocolate can be stored for later use. If you are concerned about excess filling, try halving the filling ingredients then see how far it goes when assembling the cookies.

3. The addition of the egg white results in a curdled looking batter, but that is normal.

Also, I did listen to an old song during my research into cherries. That oldie is called "Life is just a Bowl of Cherries". A nice reminder not to take things too seriously, laugh a little and enjoy it!
                                    **LAST YEAR:Minnies Chocolate Chip Supreme Cookies**

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Well contrary to what the song says, it is not "all about the base." That is, when it comes to muffins. These muffins reinforce what we all know to be true -- muffin tops are the best part of the muffin!

When I read the recipe instructions for these treats, I envisioned a big baked glop as the end result and also some cooked batter on the baking sheet. After all, I have never filled muffin tin cavities to the top with the batter and this recipe stated fill to just over the rim. That's right-- just over the rim! However, since the author made special notes regarding a lawsuit tied to a bakery stealing one of her muffin recipes, I decided to follow the instructions as stated.

I am sure glad I did. To my pleasant surprise, the muffins turned out with a huge top and did not stick or tear when removing from the muffin tin. The inside was very moist and packed with lots of flavor. The baked treats are composed of 2 types of chocolate, bananas and nuts. Prior to baking, they are topped with chewy coconut and ground nuts held together by a little butter. These are a tasty way to start the day, but too good to be segregated to breakfast. They make for a tasty afternoon snack as well. The recipe yields about 16 to 18 muffins with lovely, large tops.

Chocolate Banana Muffins
adapted from The Best of Better Baking

Ingredients/Topping
2 tbs packed brown sugar
4 tbs or 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup of finely ground nuts- pecans or macadamia

Ingredients/Muffins
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbs strong brewed coffee
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup banana purée (about 2 ripe bananas)
4 eggs
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans or macadamia nuts
4 oz chopped white chocolate
1/2 semisweet chocolate chips
3 3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder

Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. Grease the top edge of 18 cavities of muffin tin(s). Line the cavities with paper liners. Line baking sheet (s) with parchment paper. The recipe recommends that most of the mixing in this recipe be done by a food processor. At this time, set up your equipment accordingly.

Using a medium size bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt . Set aside. For the topping, fill the bowl of a food processor with all the filling ingredients. Cover and pulse for about 15 seconds. Transfer topping into a bowl and set aside for later use. Clean the food processor bowl.

Using the same processor bowl, fill with both types of sugar, butter and oil. Pulse until mixture is smooth. Add the vanilla extract and coffee, pulsing again until blended.  Add the eggs, one at a time, processing each completely into the batter. Lastly, pulse in the sour cream and the banana puree.

Transfer batter from the food processor to the bowl of sifted ingredients. Fold together until no dry streaks remain. Then mix in both types of chocolate and nuts, making sure all is evenly distributed into the dough.

Fill the muffin cavities with the batter by using a large ice cream scoop. The cavities should be filled to just over the rim. Scoop out about 1 1/2 tbs of the topping and flatten into a disc with your hands and place on top of each cavity of batter and press lightly. Put each pan on the prepared baking sheet.

Place the pans in the oven, using the top and middle shelves. Then reduce the temperature to 400 degrees. Bake the muffins until tester comes out clean and top springs back when lightly touched.  Be sure to rotate the pans at the halfway point of baking. The recipe recommends 20-22 minutes, but mine took about 30 minutes. Let muffins cool in pans for about 15 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Tips and Notes:
1. Timing is everything and baking time will vary depending if you are using a dark pan or not. The recipe states be careful not to over bake, but my issue was the opposite- making sure they were completely baked.

2. The author instructed cooling time in muffin pan as 5 minutes, but I stated 15 minutes in the above recipe. This change was made to insure that they would retain the same shape when pulled out of the oven. Even with the increased wait time, the muffins did not stick to the pan when transferring each muffin to the cooling rack. 
                           **LAST YEAR:Black Walnut Madeira Cake**

Honey Bunny Crunch Frozen Custard

Recently, I found 4 baby rabbits laying the grass. They did not even have their eyes open yet, so I guess their mother fell victim to a predator. I scooped them up and put them in a box.  Luckily, there was someone close by that had a daughter that was involved in rabbit rescue, so I gave them to him.  Last I heard was that they were coming along quite well and were starting to get fur and did open their eyes.

Since it is Easter Sunday and the rabbits were still on my mind, I decided to name this frozen custard accordingly. In the early stages of creation, I was thinking of a custard base made with some kind of cereal soak.  The soak idea stems from Christina Tosi's cereal milk, as sold at the Milk Bar. Since there are quite a bit of cereals that are heavy in sugar, I wanted something that was not so sweet.  Then it came to me - crunchy honey oat granola bars. After soaking, I added honey.  This gave it more flavor and reduced the amount of processed sugar. 

The end result is a base with a honey oatmeal flavor. Quite tasty by itself, but I could not resist to put some crunch into the smooth cream. Chopped up granola bars coated in dark chocolate were the perfect add in. The reason it is referred to as custard is that it does not freeze hard like your standard ice cream.  After 2 days in the freezer it still remained soft.  Not like soft serve ice cream, but not like regular ice cream either.

It is that time of year. The time to get outside more- so go to the lake, fire up the grill, have a picnic and enjoy some homemade frozen custard! You will need to plan ahead due to the steep time of 3 hours and the time it takes to freeze. This recipe makes about 1 quart of ice cream.

Honey Bunny Crunch Frozen Custard
by Flourtrader

Ingredients
1 cup and 2 tbs milk
2 1/4 cup cream
2 cups chopped crunchy honey oat granola bars, divided (about 10 bars)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tbs invert sugar (recipe:dessert components)
3 eggs (room temp)
1/4 cup 2 tbs sugar
1/2 cup 2 tbs honey
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Pour milk and cream into a saucepan. Add one cup of chopped granola. Place over medium high heat and let come to a boil. Remove from heat and cover.  Let sit for 3 hours for flavors to meld.

During that time, set up a double boiler over medium high heat and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place semi sweet chocolate chips in the top pot and let melt, stirring occasionally. Once all is melted and smooth, stir in the chopped granola. After coating all the pieces, empty onto the parchment paper.  Separate all the pieces with a fork, making sure no big clumps remain.  Place sheet in the refrigerator for chocolate to set up.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Go back to the saucepan of the cereal cream and strain the liquid into a bowl. Discard the cereal and pour the liquid back into a saucepan.  Add honey and invert sugar (if using) and place over medium heat. Stir and cook mixture until all is melted and completely mixed in with the cream. Remove from heat.

Run the mixer on low, slowly whisking the egg/sugar batter.  As you continue to whisk, pour a small, steady stream of the cream mixture into the eggs.  Continue with this process until all the cream has been mixed into the egg batter.  Lastly, whisk in the vanilla extract.

Transfer mixture back to saucepan and place over medium heat. Let the custard simmer for about 4-5 minutes or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. The temperature should reach 170 to 175 degrees. Then pour mixture into heatproof bowl, cover and place in the refrigerator. Let cool for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Check the chilled chocolate covered granola.  If you still see that the chunks are too large, chop into smaller pieces.  Place back in refrigerator until needed. Once the chilling time is complete for the custard, add to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturers' instructions. Toss in the chilled chocolate covered granola chunks at the halfway point of the churning process.  After churning process is complete, transfer to cold custard to a bowl, cover and place in freezer.  Let freeze overnight or until desired consistency is met.

Tips and Notes :

1. If trying another cereal milk flavor, take into consideration the sugar content of the cereal and the elimination of the sweetness of the honey.  For peanut butter/chocolate fans, try Captain Crunch milk soak and add in chunks of Reese cups.

2. The invert sugar is not required if your custard will not be stored in the freezer a long time.  It is mainly used to prevent ice crystals from forming. Just increase the honey content by 2 tbs, which would give you a total of 3/4 of a cup of honey.

3. Do not use chewy granola bars, I used Nature Valley brand crunchy type.

Enjoy your Easter!

Havana Cupcakes

There are a lot of good recipes out there that are being overlooked by most home bakers for several reasons. A few of the reasons are exotic ingredients and special equipment requirements. However, this particular recipe was most likely overlooked due to the quantity. The original recipe makes 6 cakes, 8 inches in diameter.

Fiddling around with the calculator on conversions can get overwhelming, but I was so intrigued by the flavors I set out to convert this one. I finally worked to scale it down for about 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes.

The cupcake is made up of a chocolate sponge cake that envelops a nutty layer of hazelnuts and almond paste. The meld of texture and flavor is amazing. Fluffy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Chocolate, hazelnuts and almonds are tasty enough in the cake, but the fudge frosting is something to rave about as well. It reminds me of the type of topping you would put on brownies. Just swirl it on with the back of a spoon and it will settle smoothly on top of the cupcake.

Take note that the recipe does not include baking soda or baking powder, so the cupcakes do not rise like the standard. The liners can be filled close to the top without fear of spilling over.

Havana Cupcakes
adapted from Mastering the Art and Craft: Baking and Pastry

Ingredients/Nut Batter
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter plus 2 tbs
3 eggs
1/2 cup plus 3 tbs finely gnd toasted hazelnuts
5 oz of almond paste
1/2 cup 2 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs bread flour
Pinch of salt

Ingredients /Chocolate Batter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup finely gnd toasted hazelnuts
Pinch of salt
8 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients/ Devils Fudge Icing & Topping
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 stick or 1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot water
1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp whipped cream stabilizer
2 tbs sugar
18 whole hazelnuts or almonds

Prepare pans by greasing the upper edge of the cavities and lining with cupcake papers. The first batter to make is the nut batter. Begin by pouring the ground hazelnuts into a bowl. Then sift in the flour and whisk together. Set aside.

Fill a the bowl of a stand mixer with the sugar, butter, almond paste, salt and vanilla. Using the paddle attachment, beat the ingredients together on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Be sure to stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. The end result will be a fluffy mixture that is light in color.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together. Beat the eggs into the almond paste batter in 3 separate additions, running the mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds each interval. Lastly, using a spatula, fold in the flour/hazelnut mixture. Set aside.

For the chocolate batter, whisk the salt and the ground hazelnuts together in a small bowl. Sift in the cocoa powder and cinnamon and whisk again. Set aside.

Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whipping attachment, whip until soft peaks form.  At this point, continue to whip while slowly adding the sugar, until stiff peaks form. Stop the mixer and fold in the dry ingredients.  Lastly, stir in the vanilla extract. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a piping bag with a large tip and fill with nut mixture.  Quickly scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the chocolate batter and place into cupcake cavity. Repeat process for 18 cupcake cavities. Then pipe a complete circle of nut batter on top of the chocolate batter of the 18.  Lastly, scoop out another heaping tablespoon of batter, placing it on top of the nut batter.  Smooth the top, insuring that the nut batter is completely covered.

Place pans in oven and bake until top is smooth and springs back when lightly pressed, about 25-30 minutes. Be sure to rotate pans halfway through the baking process. Once baked, place pans on a cooling rack for 5 minutes then transfer cupcakes to a rack to finish cooling.

Start making the icing by adding butter, cocoa powder, corn syrup vanilla and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat at medium speed for about 5 minutes. Mixture should be very fluffy at this point. Stir in the hot water. Remove mixer bowl from stand and sift in 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar and stir with a wooden spoon. Repeat the process until all the sugar is blended. Adjust consistency to your liking by mixing in more confectioner sugar or hot water. Spoon icing on top of cooled cupcakes and smooth out with a spoon.

For the optional topping, whip heavy cream until thickened. Add stabilizer and sugar, then whip again until piping consistency is reached. Pipe a round shell on top of the center of the cupcake and then lightly press a nut on top of the whipped cream.

Tips and notes:
1. Dutch processed or regular cocoa is your choice. The recipe does not specify but I used Dutch.

2. Whipped egg whites do have a tendency to deflate as they sit, so act quickly.  The other option is to make half a batch and do 9 cupcakes at a time.  The nut batter can sit in the fridge while the first batch bakes.

3. There will be some nut batter left over, but the baked result is chewy enough to make for a good filling in a brownie or cookie as well, so feel free to experiment with what is left.
                               **LAST YEAR: Biscotti Aloha**

Alfredo Bread

My grandmother used to always make homemade bread.  Since I only eat plain bread when making sandwiches, homemade bread seems hardly worth the effort. Yet my attitude changes when I start considering making a more flavorful loaf such as this one.

This bread does have the added flavor of Alfredo sauce, Parmesan cheese, basil and parsley.  It is perfect for an Italian dinner and a nice change from garlic bread.  As you can see from the picture above, there is lots of cheesy goodness in this loaf.  I found it hard to hold off until dinner.  As it baked, it did release an ethereal scent throughout the house.  I got very hungry and impatient for it to finish baking. In addition, letting the loaf cool was even harder.

The next time you are in the mood to make bread, you may want to try this one.  There are only 2 sessions of rising time, totaling 1 1/2 hrs.  Forming the bread is basically the same method as a jelly roll, so it comes together pretty easily. This recipe makes two 9x5 loaves.

Alfredo Bread
adapted from Fleishmanns Yeast

Ingredients
1/4 cup Alfredo sauce
2 1/4 cup milk
2 tbs softened butter
3 tbs sugar
2 packets yeast (original, not rapid rise)
5-6 cups bread flour
1 tbs dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Fill a saucepan with the milk and place over medium heat. Let heat up to a temperature of 100-110 degrees. Remove from heat.  Stir in sugar and yeast. Set aside until the surface becomes foamy.  This should take about 5-10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the salt and 2 cups of flour.  Pour in the yeast mixture and add the butter.  Mix with beater blade until evenly distributed.  Continue to add the flour in 1 cup increments, mixing after each addition.  It should reach a soft dough stage once the 5th cup of flour has been blended in.

Take a medium size bowl and oil the interior and set aside.  The next step is kneading the dough.  If using a mixer with a dough hook, run your mixer on medium low speed for 4-5 minutes, adding flour a little at a time if needed. In order to do this step by hand, start by dusting a flat surface with flour. Place the dough on the surface and knead by hand for about 8-10 minutes.

Form dough into a ball and place it in prepared bowl.  Flip over to make sure surface is covered with oil.  Cover bowl lightly and set in a warm place to rise until doubled.  This should take about an hour.  During the rise time, prepare two 9x5 inch loaf pans by greasing the interior and set aside.

After the first rise is completed, remove the dough and punch down.  Place it back on the flat, floured surface and cut in half.  Put one half back in the bowl and keep the other half on the surface.  Roll out the half into a rectangle measuring 9x18.  Spread 2 tablespoons of Alfredo sauce on the surface of the rectangle.  Then sprinkle the dough with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Follow that with a sprinkle of 1 1/2 tsp of dried parsley and then 1/2 tsp dried basil.

Starting with the short end, roll dough tightly into a cylinder, tugging the dough slightly after each turn. Pinch the end with the under lapping part of the dough and tuck in the short ends, pinching the same way.  Place the loaf seam sides down in the prepared pan.  Lightly cover this loaf and then prepare the second piece of dough the same way.  Let both loaves rise for another 30-40 minutes.  At the halfway point, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Once the loaves have completed the rise, place in oven and bake until golden brown on top.  Bake time is about 30-40 minutes.  Loaves are done when hollow sound is made when tapping on top.  Place pans on rack to cool for about 10-15 minutes then invert on rack.  Invert again so loaves are in upright position.  Let cool completely before slicing.

Tips and Notes:

1.  Do not worry that there is not a border left when topping the dough.  My loaves did not split at the seams when baked, so the dough border is not required.

2.  Do not pack in more toppings than noted, unless you want to form this into a pull apart bread rather than swirled loaves.  Pull apart bread is an idea, but the layers will present a problem with the alfredo/cheese filling sticking to the pan.  The cheese will form a crust on the pan that will be hard to clean. 
                                     **LAST YEAR: Lemon Tartlets***                                                 

Celtic Celebration Cake

With St. Patrick's Day coming up, I decided on something to celebrate the occasion. Ireland does have a rather rich history. I came across some very interesting facts, some you may know, some you may not. The famous ship the Titanic was built in Belfast. St. Patrick, the patron saint, was actually kidnapped when he was a boy.  Also, at one time the Shamrock was considered a rebellious symbol and Queen Victoria prohibited Irish regiments from wearing them on their uniforms.

Now, back to this cake. This two layer treat does have a jigger or two of liqueur combined with chocolate. The lighter layer includes white chocolate and creme de cacao.  The other layer is a combination of Irish cream and dark chocolate. The topping and filling is a fudgey chocolate recipe I used on another cake in the past, but ganache would also do quite well.  Regarding the texture, the cake is more on the fluffy side than dense and it is moist.

The inclusion of liqueurs in the ingredients does add a more decadent and sinful twist to something we already consider delicious--chocolate.  Also, I recognize St. Patrick's day as more as an adult holiday and this is a perfect fit.

Since this is like making 2 different cakes, you will need several medium size bowls. Also, a double boiler will need to be available for melting the different chocolates contained in this recipe.

This year you can have those cocktails or beer like you did last year.  However, pulling out this cake will mark the evening a little bit tastier and memorable for St. Patrick's day 2015.

Celtic Celebration Cake
by flourtrader

Ingredients/ Cake
2 oz  white chocolate
2 oz  unsweetened dark chocolate squares (Bakers brand)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Irish cream and a little more for brushing on layer
1/2 cup clear (not dark) creme de cacao and a little more for brushing on layer
3 eggs
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter (softened)
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients/topping
(adapted from Southern Living)
3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla extract
1lb of butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 2 nine inch cake pans by greasing the interior and then lining with parchment paper.  Then grease the surface of the parchment paper.  Lastly, dust the interior with flour and tap out excess.

Take out 2 medium size bowls. In one bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt. Repeat this process to fill the second bowl and set both aside.

Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vegetable oil by running the mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Be sure to stop a few times and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Beat in one egg for about 30 seconds.  Repeat the process using one egg at a time. Measure out the batter and divide equally into 2 different bowls.  Place one bowl of batter in the fridge.

Set up a double boiler and melt 2 oz of white chocolate. Add the 2 oz of melted chocolate to the bowl of batter and 1/2 tsp of vanilla.  Stir until all is evenly distributed.  Then add one bowl of the sifted dry ingredients and creme de cacao.  Mix the batter until smooth and blend in 1/4 cup of milk.

Pour batter in one of the prepared cake pans and place in oven.  Bake until tester indicates done, which should be about 22-27 minutes. After 15 minutes of baking, remove bowl of batter from fridge and set aside. Once the cake is done, take out of oven and place on rack. Let cool in pan until sides of cake separate from edge of pan.  That should be about 10-15 minutes of cooling time. Then invert onto rack and remove parchment.  While still warm, brush creme de cacao onto the layer. The quantity is your preference.

For the other layer, set up your double boiler and follow the instructions in the above two paragraphs. This time you will be using the dark, unsweetened chocolate and Irish cream.

The instructions for the topping can be found in paragraph 7 and 8 in this link: Double Nut-drenched Chocolate Cake.  The only change is that the nuts were eliminated for this cake recipe.  Frost cake layers once the have completely cooled.

Tips and notes:
1. The word "dark" in the ingredient list for the chocolate was just to note the difference between white and regular chocolate.  While there is dark and bittersweet types of Bakers brand of chocolate, the unsweetened does not come in different degrees of chocolate.  This recipe uses the original, unsweetened type.

2. This recipe can also be baked as a marble cake by swirling the batters together in a 9x13 pan.

3. Feel free to experiment with the recipe. For instance, a 2 layer cream de cacao cake with a raspberry filling and white chocolate ganache coating is another way to go.  Since white chocolate is so sweet, just cut back 1/2 cup of sugar in your cake ingredients.

4. If using the fudge topping, I emphasize again (stated in the original link) that it sets up quickly.  You definitely do not want to tear your lovely cake with frosting that is too thick.
                         **LAST YEAR: Irish Cream Cookies**

Pineapple and Macadamia Nut Tart

The weather has been quite dreary here.  It has been a foggy and rainy week, so I have tried to instill a little cheery sunshine by making this tropical tart.  However, that will not keep me from looking forward to St Patricks day and Easter - they mark the change in the weather and I am ready for it.

This tart features a filling made up of buttery macadamias.  On top, are juicy slices of pineapple laced with a rum honey mixture.  As it bakes, the juices cook down into the filling to create a delicious blend of flavor.  The rum/honey topping is added during part of the baking process.  This insures that just the right amount of flavor remains. Then there is the added bonus of the nutty crust.  So good that I am considering doubling it for next time.

The major part of the prep work is the pineapple.  However, the good factor is that pineapples yield a lot of fruit and there are no seeds or pits to deal with.

Pineapple and Macadamia Nut Tart
Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine, Issue 115

Ingredients/crust
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup or one stick cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup toasted macadamias
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients/filling
1 tbs rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, room temp
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tbs plus 1 1/2 tsp flour
3/4 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Ingredients/ topping
1 medium pineapple (about 3 1/2 lbs) peeled, cored, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
3 tbs mild honey
2 tbs rum
1 tbs flour

Start making the crust by placing the nuts and sugar in a food processor.  Then pulse in one second intervals, about 15 times. That number helps to insure that some crunch remains in the texture.  Add the flour and and salt. Process until the dry flour is incorporated.  Put the butter cubes into the mix and pulse again until the mixture starts clumping, about 8 intervals. Pour the egg over the top and pulse again.  The last session of pulsing will take about 5-6 one second intervals. The key is to have it all blended without over mixing.

Take a large piece of plastic wrap and lay on a flat surface.  Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to the plastic wrap.  Flatten the dough in a disc or rectangle, depending on the shape of your pan. Enclose the dough tightly in the plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.  The dough must chill a minimum of 2 hours, but you can also chill it overnight.

After the chilling time is complete, transfer dough from refrigerator to tart pan.  Press dough out with your fingers evenly, into the bottom only.  Do not press up the sides.  Once formed, freeze crust for 20 minutes. Also, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, make the filling.  Start by grinding the macadamia nuts in a food processor until they have a coarse consistency.  Add the remaining ingredients for the filling and blend with processor for about 2 minutes.  The mixture should now be spreadable.

After the chilling time is complete, remove crust from freezer.  Empty filling into prepared crust.  Smooth out evenly onto the crust, taking care to leave 1/4 inch border along the edges.

Now, it is time to top the tart. Sprinkle 1 tbs of flour over the surface of the filling.  Then begin the process of the sliced pineapple overlay.  The first point is to only cover the filling with the fruit, which means that the original 1/4 inch border of crust remains. Starting from the outside going in, lay the pineapple slices in a concentric circle or rectangle, depending on the pan used.  It is best to put the end where the core was cut from facing inward and the other fanning outward.  Overlap the second row 1/2 inch on top of  first row and continue until the filling is completely covered.  Feel free to cut the pineapple to fit, which may be required as you get more towards the center.  You may end up with extra pineapple, but fresh fruit never lasts long in my house.

Place the tart in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.  As it cooks, the rum topping can be made.  Place the rum and honey in a small saucepan and stir.  Cook over medium high heat for about 2 minutes, then remove.  After the tart has baked for 20 minutes, rotate it and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.  If you notice the crust browning too much, cover with foil.

Once the 2nd baking interval is completed, remove tart and brush with half of the honey/rum sauce.  Place back in oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes.   Then transfer from oven to cooling rack.  Brush with remaining sauce and let cool completely before serving.
                                         **LAST YEAR: Mochaccino Cupcakes**

Butternut Maple Blondies

These are not your regular bake sale blondies.  Instead, you will find that these are much more flavorful and reminiscent of something you would have around the Christmas holidays. A little off season since it is March, but just as delicious.  These bars are rich and spicy. Ginger, mace and cumin are often reserved for pumpkin pies, but this blonde recipe makes excellent use of them by pairing with butternut squash and white chocolate.

They have a moist texture, but are not too dense like a lot of bar cookies. I also like the fact that dark brown sugar is used instead of white or light brown and the touch of maple syrup.

There are two items that I found to be special needs for the recipe.  It calls for an 8x11 pan and I only had a 9x13.  Also, the preparation of the pan states to dust with Demerara sugar.  I opted out of the sugar dusting by using flour and adjusted for a larger pan by increasing each ingredient by 1/4 of the original amount.  The ingredient increase is not that easy on a few of the items and the 1/4 calculation is not exact but I was happy with the resulting height of the bars.

Butternut Maple Blondies

adapted from Sugar Rush

Ingredients

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp mace

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 lb butternut squash/ halved and seeded

2 tbs maple syrup

2 eggs

2-3 tbs Demerara sugar for dusting the pan

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, cold and diced

6 oz white chocolate

The first step is to roast the squash.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place each half cut side down on the sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Remove and let cool completely.

While the squash is cooling, sift together the flour, cumin, ginger, mace and baking powder into a medium size bowl.  Then stir in salt.  Set aside.

Once the squash has cooled, set up a food processor.  Scoop out the soft interior of the squash, leaving the skins, and place in food processor bowl.  Puree for about a minute or until all is smooth.  Transfer squash puree to a saucepan and place over low heat.  Stir constantly while squash is simmering and let cook for about 10 minutes.  The puree should become thicker as it cooks, retaining less moisture.  Remove and let cool again.

Turn the oven down to a temperature of 350 degrees.  Butter the interior of an 8x11 pan and sprinkle in the Demerara sugar.  Shift and shake until the interior is coated with the sugar then invert and tap out the extra, just as you would if you were dusting with flour.

Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with the butter cubes and brown sugar.  Coat the cubes of butter with the brown sugar by tossing them together with clean hands.  Once all the cubes are coated, cream the butter and sugar together by beating on medium speed, scraping down the sides occasionally. Both ingredients should be evenly distributed and the mixture be very smooth after about 5 minutes beating time.  Add one egg and beat for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides, then beat in the other egg.  Lastly, run the mixer on low and add the maple syrup and vanilla.  After about 2 minutes of mixing, stop and remove bowl.

Take the white chocolate and chop 4 oz into pieces and place in bowl.  Chop the other 2 oz and place in a separate bowl.  Set aside.

Using about a 1/2 cup of sifted ingredients to start, fold it into the sugar/butter mixture. Continue the process in increments until all the sifted ingredients are incorporated.  Then blend the cooled squash puree into the batter.  Lastly, add 4 oz of the white chocolate pieces and fold into the batter until evenly distributed.

Empty batter into prepared pan and smooth out evenly.  Sprinkle the remaining 2 oz of the chocolate pieces on top.  Place in oven and bake until tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes.  Cool in pan completely before cutting into squares.

Tips and Notes:

1. The surface of my bars were quite different than the picture shows in the recipe book.  The top is browner and chocolate is toasty colored on top.  Perhaps turning off the oven and letting it cool off and then turning on to 350 degrees and let is heat up may help.  Also, sprinkling the white chocolate on top at the halfway point of baking may allow the chocolate retain its white color. 

                                  **LAST YEAR: Pecan Pie Cheesecake** 

Taffy Treats

The title and the picture does have a way of leading you down the wrong path.  Let me clarify a few things: these are not candy, but caramel coated cookies and there is none of the traditional taffy in this recipe. The only link to taffy is that the filling and coating is stretchy, much like the taffy.  Sorry for the taffy fans, but if you love caramel and nuts, gladly read on. Clearly, the person that won the baking contest with this treat must be in your nutty caramel circle.

If I had to name these little goodies, I would call them nut caramel clusters. There is a walnut praline filling inside and then they are coated with caramel and walnuts.  The cookie itself tastes like a butter cookie. Surprisingly, these are made with both powdered sugar and brown sugar. The outside caramel is the soft, chewy kind with a deep, buttery flavor. The layer of caramel in a Milkyway bar is the same.

The filling, forming and coating is what requires the most time to create these.  You could make your own caramel, but this recipe only calls for softening store-bought caramels.  It is a time saver and I do not feel that it detracts any from the flavor.

Anyhow, these morsels are as delicious as they look.  For parties, dress them up with colored toothpicks and place them in 1 1/2" candy papers. However, feel confident that these will be eaten quickly, regardless of how fancy the presentation.

This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.  Be sure to read the helpful tips and notes at the end before you begin.

Taffy Treats
adapted from the Plymouth Star Tribune

Ingredients/ filling
1/3 cup ground walnuts
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar

Ingredients/cookies
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter (room temp)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 cups sifted flour

Ingredients/ coating
14 oz of caramels (approx 48-50 caramels)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup ground walnuts
Toothpicks for dipping and serving

The first step is to make the filling.  Place all filling ingredients in a saucepan.  Cook and stir constantly until thick, about 5 minutes.  You should be able to scrape the bottom of the interior of the pan and have the streak remain for at least 20 seconds before the filling flows back to cover it.  Remove from heat and set aside.  It will set up more upon cooling.

For the cookies, prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Fill a mixing bowl with the butter, powdered sugar, brown sugar and salt.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  Then beat in egg and vanilla extract. Once blended, mix in the flour with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Take the dough and form into 1 inch balls.  Make a depression with your thumb and fill indentation with 1/4 tsp of walnut filling. Seal in filling and shape back into a ball.  Place each on baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.  Bake until golden brown on bottom, about 15-18 minutes.  Remove cookies from the oven and gently insert toothpick into center and transfer to cooling rack. Let completely cool prior to coating.

Set up a double boiler for the caramel coating and place over medium heat. Then lay a sheet of wax paper and a bowl full of the ground walnuts aside. Once water starts to simmer in bottom pot, pour evaporated milk and add caramels to top pot.  Let mixture melt, stirring occasionally.  After all caramels are melted and blended with the milk, you are ready to dip the cookies by using the toothpick. Dip each cookie into the caramel and let the excess drip off. Then coat the bottom by placing in the ground walnuts.  Transfer to wax paper and allow to set.

Tips and notes:
1. The forming process is best done in dozen increments.  Forming several dozen indented rounds prior to filling will cause the dough to dry out and crack while it sits.

2. To fill and seal, I dampened my fingers to pull out the filling, to place in the indentation and to seal inside.

3. The recipe suggests using the microwave to melt the caramels or removing the double boiler from the heat.  I used a double boiler and left it on the heat to maintain the caramel consistency while dipping. The microwave method would not allow for this.

4. How much you cover your cookies with the caramel or walnuts is your option.  If you plan for full coverage, don't roll the cookies around in the nuts. Placing it in the nuts to cover the bottom and sprinkling the nuts on the top is the best way to keep all the caramel on the cookie instead of having it drip off into the nuts.

5. I used Kraft brand caramels (comes in an 11 oz bag) and the coating was soft and smooth.  If for any reason your coating is too thick, adjust by adding a tablespoon at a time of evaporated milk or water until desired consistency is met. Eenjoy!
                             **LAST YEAR: Peach Brandy Pound Cake**