Remember when I ate 30 different veges in 30 days and vowed to post more recipes with vegetables? No, you probably don't because you're probably here for the brownies and ice cream. Me too. Unfortunately being healthy is important and balancing the food groups is key to a healthy diet. That's why today's vegetable (and fruit) recipe takes the shape of a muffin!
While cleaning out the freezer, I found 1/2 cup of shredded zucchini that got shredded and frozen just in the nick of time (meaning that it was probably too squishy for anything else but not yet moldy). "Bring on the zucchini bread!" I thought, only to realize that zucchini bread, zucchini cake, and zucchini blondies all require more zucchini than I had on hand. It seemed counter-productive to have to go to the grocery store to acquire more zucchini in order to salvage that measly 1/2 cup. I could have made zucchini cupcakes, but I wasn't feeling chocolate.
Meanwhile, in the fruit bowl sat a bunch of very sad looking bananas. Three of them became SoNo Baking Co. Cookbook's Banana Cream Tart. (You can find a copy of the recipe here.) The rest needed to be frozen or baked into something delicious, and since we are moving abroad in 30 days (um, exactly 30 days from now… what!), they certainly weren't going into the freezer. Enter: Banana Zucchini Muffins. Why? Because there is no such thing as "not enough zucchini" or "too many bananas." Zucchini is the gift that keeps on giving and banana is the fruit that's better to forget about until it's black and squishy. Paring them together is just plain thrifty, not to mention delicious.
Objective
Make banana zucchini muffins with [mostly] whole grains. Adapted from Taste of Home's Zucchini Banana Bread.
Materials
Dry:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet:
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 egg
1/4 cup olive oil (light in flavor)
1/2 cup banana, mashed (about 2 small bananas)
1/2 cup zucchini, shredded
Optional:
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 325º. Prepare a muffin pan by lining with paper cups or greasing (or place silicone muffin cups on a baking sheet) and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Do not over mix, stir only until the ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the walnuts (if using).
3. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack, then flip out of the muffin pan.
Makes 10 small muffins.
Results
Incredibly moist, soft, and healthy? Ok that last part is stretching it. Best within 24 hours or they get sticky to the touch from all the moisture.
Discussion and Future Directions
When C got home from call, the first thing he did was walk into the kitchen and stuff an entire muffin into his mouth. "What do you think?" I asked. His response was a muffin-muffled, "Good!" I wasn't sure he could actually breathe, and since taste requires smell and smell requires breathing, I wasn't convinced. However, a few hours later when he woke up from his post-call nap, his eyes lit up. "Muffins!" he remembered, then walked into the kitchen and returned with three. He proceeded to butter them and eat them slowly. This time I believed him when he told me they were good.
Showing posts with label Small Batch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Small Batch. Show all posts
26 June, 2014
17 April, 2014
Vinegar Pie (or Lemon-Free Lemon Pie)
By now, you've probably realized how expensive limes have gotten. You probably know that it's due to a poor growing season and if you're really up on what's been happening in Mexico, particularly in Michoacán where limes are big business, you might know that the problem has been exacerbated by violence and the drug cartels. To avoid a rant about drug-related violence, let's talk about limes.
In our household, we go through limes like you wouldn't believe. We're the weird people who go to the grocery store every day (sometimes multiple times a day) because we can walk there. Many a trip has been made solely for limes, sometimes for pico de gallo, sometimes for whatever variation of Moscow Mules we're craving. Because of lime prices (we buy them so often we have a special coupon at the grocery store for 17 cent limes that now cost 54 cents), I've been forced to substitute lemons.
Now, in case lemon prices ever sky rocket, let's talk about a substitute for lemons. Have you ever had vinegar pie? Sounds weird, right? Here's a recipe for a dairy-free, lemon-free pie that tastes just like lemon meringue pie (without the meringue). Thank the pioneers. Not only did they settle our country, they discovered that water, sugar, flour, egg, and apple cider could be made into a faux-fruit pie!
Objective
Make a crust-less vinegar pie in ramekins based on this Vinegar Pie from the Township of Springwater, CA. Shout out to Underbelly restaurant for the inspiration (they serve theirs in a thick pastry shell with salt brittle on top).
Materials
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten until frothy
1-3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (start with 1 tbsp and taste before adding more)
1 tsp. citrus extract (optional, I used orange)
candied lemon slices (for garnish, see supplementary materials)
Methods
1. Bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour until well-incorporated. Whisk the flour-sugar into the boiling water and continue whisking until thickened (like a custard, you want it to coat the back of a wooden spoon and not drip when you swipe it). Remove from heat.
2. Temper the eggs by whisking a little bit of the sugar-water mixture into the frothy eggs. Then whisk the tempered eggs into the rest of the sugar-water mixture. Continue whisking until the mixture looks smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in the apple cider vinegar. Feel free to give it a taste (careful it's hot) to see if you need to add any extract.
4. Pour into four 4.5 oz. ramekins (if you have smaller ramekins, use them! If you want to make tarts, use baked mini tart shells). Chill the "custards" approximately 3 hours until set. Garnish with candied lemon slices before serving.
Results
The color is subtly yellow from the egg yolk. The aroma is a bit acidic (read: vinegar). To me, it tastes like citrus but to C, it tastes like vinegar.
Discussion and Future Directions
First off, let's be honest. This should be way more than 4 servings (unless you like a dessert with ~45g of sugar). Plus, without a crust, the flavor is strong. I suggest sharing one ramekin. A better idea would be to chill the custard in pre-baked single-serving tart pastries. That would make the custard a thin layer and therefore decrease the serving. Or you could make a pie (I would make 1.5x this recipe for a 9" pie). A shortbread crust would be perfect.
Now, let' talk about the vinegar. I used the full 3 tablespoons which made it unpalatable for C. Clearly, a little less vinegar would be ok. A lot less vinegar would probably be fine. The original recipe calls for 3 tablespoons (technically 6, but I halved the recipe). If I were you, I would try adding the apple cider vinegar tablespoon by tablespoon until it has enough flavor without tasting too vinegary. Alternatively, just go for 1 tbsp. of vinegar with 1-2 tbsp. lemon juice.
This unique little dessert is something to try when you're in the mood for something new and different. It's probably not the best dessert to try for the first time on guests. (Or depending on the guests, it may be the perfect dessert...)
Supplementary Materials
Candied Lemon Slices: Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Stir in 3/4 cup sugar until dissolved. Cut 1 small-medium lemon in 1/4" thick slices. Add the lemons in a single layer floating on the top of the syrup. Boil until the pulp of the lemon is translucent, about 10 minutes, flipping the slices half way through. Drain and move to a wire rack to cool. Want to know the best part? If you cool the syrup and put it in a glass jar, you get the added bonus of having just made homemade lemon simple syrup! (Just add vodka and some lemon juice and you've got yourself a lemon drop martini. Or, add gin and lemon juice and muddle some blackberries for a blackberry bramble)
In our household, we go through limes like you wouldn't believe. We're the weird people who go to the grocery store every day (sometimes multiple times a day) because we can walk there. Many a trip has been made solely for limes, sometimes for pico de gallo, sometimes for whatever variation of Moscow Mules we're craving. Because of lime prices (we buy them so often we have a special coupon at the grocery store for 17 cent limes that now cost 54 cents), I've been forced to substitute lemons.
Now, in case lemon prices ever sky rocket, let's talk about a substitute for lemons. Have you ever had vinegar pie? Sounds weird, right? Here's a recipe for a dairy-free, lemon-free pie that tastes just like lemon meringue pie (without the meringue). Thank the pioneers. Not only did they settle our country, they discovered that water, sugar, flour, egg, and apple cider could be made into a faux-fruit pie!
Objective
Make a crust-less vinegar pie in ramekins based on this Vinegar Pie from the Township of Springwater, CA. Shout out to Underbelly restaurant for the inspiration (they serve theirs in a thick pastry shell with salt brittle on top).
Materials
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten until frothy
1-3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (start with 1 tbsp and taste before adding more)
1 tsp. citrus extract (optional, I used orange)
candied lemon slices (for garnish, see supplementary materials)
Methods
1. Bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour until well-incorporated. Whisk the flour-sugar into the boiling water and continue whisking until thickened (like a custard, you want it to coat the back of a wooden spoon and not drip when you swipe it). Remove from heat.
2. Temper the eggs by whisking a little bit of the sugar-water mixture into the frothy eggs. Then whisk the tempered eggs into the rest of the sugar-water mixture. Continue whisking until the mixture looks smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in the apple cider vinegar. Feel free to give it a taste (careful it's hot) to see if you need to add any extract.
4. Pour into four 4.5 oz. ramekins (if you have smaller ramekins, use them! If you want to make tarts, use baked mini tart shells). Chill the "custards" approximately 3 hours until set. Garnish with candied lemon slices before serving.
Results
The color is subtly yellow from the egg yolk. The aroma is a bit acidic (read: vinegar). To me, it tastes like citrus but to C, it tastes like vinegar.
Discussion and Future Directions
First off, let's be honest. This should be way more than 4 servings (unless you like a dessert with ~45g of sugar). Plus, without a crust, the flavor is strong. I suggest sharing one ramekin. A better idea would be to chill the custard in pre-baked single-serving tart pastries. That would make the custard a thin layer and therefore decrease the serving. Or you could make a pie (I would make 1.5x this recipe for a 9" pie). A shortbread crust would be perfect.
Now, let' talk about the vinegar. I used the full 3 tablespoons which made it unpalatable for C. Clearly, a little less vinegar would be ok. A lot less vinegar would probably be fine. The original recipe calls for 3 tablespoons (technically 6, but I halved the recipe). If I were you, I would try adding the apple cider vinegar tablespoon by tablespoon until it has enough flavor without tasting too vinegary. Alternatively, just go for 1 tbsp. of vinegar with 1-2 tbsp. lemon juice.
This unique little dessert is something to try when you're in the mood for something new and different. It's probably not the best dessert to try for the first time on guests. (Or depending on the guests, it may be the perfect dessert...)
Supplementary Materials
Candied Lemon Slices: Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Stir in 3/4 cup sugar until dissolved. Cut 1 small-medium lemon in 1/4" thick slices. Add the lemons in a single layer floating on the top of the syrup. Boil until the pulp of the lemon is translucent, about 10 minutes, flipping the slices half way through. Drain and move to a wire rack to cool. Want to know the best part? If you cool the syrup and put it in a glass jar, you get the added bonus of having just made homemade lemon simple syrup! (Just add vodka and some lemon juice and you've got yourself a lemon drop martini. Or, add gin and lemon juice and muddle some blackberries for a blackberry bramble)
15 January, 2014
Orange Cream Scones
There's a cafe in Madison, Wisconsin called Lazy Jane's. It's in one of the neighborhoods that's retained some of Madison's Vietnam-era hippiness. Willy Street is home to a many brightly painted homes, food co-op, a bicycle shop, a chocolatier, a number of thrift stores, and a slew of unique bars, restaurants and cafes. It's a great place to grab coffee and breakfast. Lazy Jane's is a popular choice because their lemon cream scones are considered by many to be the best in Madison.
I first heard of Lazy Jane's lemon cream scones when I was an undergraduate. I met two of my best friends in an advanced language course during the spring semester of my freshman year. On the first day of class, I sat by a girl named Laura and we became friends instantly. Sitting along the wall to my right was a girl named Andrea. We didn't really talk much or get to know each other until the following semester when we took a summer class in La Fonética. The subsequent spring semester, we found ourselves learning La Lingüística together with a quirky visiting professor from the University of Hawaii. We're still hoping to take him up on his offer to tomar un café when we make it to Hawaii! Instead of Hawaii, we found ourselves in Guanajuato, Mexico through different summer programs. Shortly after Andrea arrived, we sat on a bench in the rain tomando un helado and reminiscing about the silly things that happened in Professor Chandler's class!
By the time we returned from Mexico, Andrea and I had one literature requirement each to satisfy our Spanish degrees. I took a course in classical Spanish theater and Andrea took a themed literature course about náufragos. It was in the time after our days as Spanish students that our friendship really developed. She always wanted to take me for lemon cream scones at Lazy Jane's, but that was during my 3.5 years on a gluten free diet and they didn't serve gluten-free scones back then. While I was home for the holidays just last month, we decided to meet for breakfast. I knew our reunion had to be at Lazy Jane's because after hearing Andrea rave about their lemon cream scones for the past 5 years, I was determined to try one!
At 7:45 on Christmas Eve morning, we braved the brisk -12 degree temperature and met at Lazy Jane's. Though I ordered a full breakfast instead of a scone, I got to try a sample. It was a scone that was so light and moist that it might change your stance on the scone. I wanted to order one on my way out but decided to pass after seeing the line to order during the 10:00 rush! Instead, I would try to make my own version when I got back to Houston. I opted for orange cream scones instead of lemon to take advantage of the oranges we harvested at Flayler Fruit Farm. While I haven't eaten enough of Lazy Jane's scones to effectively compare mine to theirs, I'm going to consider these to be a pretty good alternative.
Objective
Adapt Apt. 2B Baking Co.'s Rhubarb & Rye Scones into orange cream scones. The idea to use orange marmalade as the filling came from Kim Boyce's Strawberry Barley Scones. The glaze came from Clinton Street Baking Co.'s Sunshine Yogurt Muffins.
Materials
Dough:
4.5 oz. rye flour
6 oz. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 oz. granulated sugar
zest of one orange
zest of 1/2 lemon
4 oz. butter, cold and cut into small cubes
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
4-5 oz. heavy cream (8-10 tablespoons)
Filling:
1 tbsp. orange marmalade
Glaze:
1 tbsp. orange juice (or lemon if you like tart)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, and citrus zest. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly with the butter well-distributed.
3. Pour in the orange and lemon juices and gently stir just to distribute the juices.
4. Pour the cream in slowly, about 2 ounces at a time, as you gently stir the dough. You only want to add enough cream to bring the flour together into a dough. Once you get there, stop. I used 4 ounces of cream.
5. Gather the dough together in a ball, give the dough a quick knead to incorporate any crumbs lingering in the bottom of the bowl, and slice the ball in half. Pat each slice of dough into to evenly sized 1" thick discs. Spread the top of one disc with orange marmalade, leaving 1/2 inch border at the edge. Set the second disc over the marmalade covered piece and press the edges together.
6. Cut the disc in half, then in half again, and finally, cut each of the quarters in half so that you finish with 8 triangles. Place the triangles on the prepared baking sheet with at least 1" of space between them because they will expand while baking. Brush the tops of the scones with cream.
6. Bake the scones for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and place the scones, still on the baking sheet, on a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes while you prepare the glaze.
7. Prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar into the orange juice. Feel free to add a little zest for color/texture and/or use any pulp that made its way into the juice while reaming. Once you're done preparing the glaze, spread it over the tops of the warm scones and let the scones cool completely.
8. Best served fresh. Still very good if served after 24 hours of airtight storage, but after that, be sure to wrap and freeze them.
Results
Moist, tangy, orangey, and delicious. The marmalade adds flavor but also texture from the strips of rind. Better with the glaze than without because the glaze packs a citrusy punch.
Discussion and Future Directions
These scones are great with oranges, but I can't wait to try them with lemons. I added lemon juice and zest to the orange scones to add tartness because my oranges were very sweet. To take them to the next level, try using a combination of lemon, lime, and orange as with Clinton Street Baking Co.'s Sunshine Yogurt Muffins. To add more orange flavor, you could try adding about 1/2 tsp. orange extract (or lemon extract to up the tartness). The marmalade could easily be skipped but definitely adds a little something extra. You can find a recipe for 1-cup small batch of orange marmalade here. For lemon or lime scones, another jam, maybe blackberry or raspberry, could be substituted for the marmalade. The options are endless!
These scones are quick and easy to prepare making them an excellent treat for a weekend breakfast. I had the baking sheet of scones cooling even before C was ready to think about breakfast. He's a savory breakfast guy and I love sweet and savory breakfasts, so we ate our orange cream scones alongside sausage, egg and hash brown breakfast tacos. It was the perfect compromise to start to our weekend off right!
Supplementary Materials
I first heard of Lazy Jane's lemon cream scones when I was an undergraduate. I met two of my best friends in an advanced language course during the spring semester of my freshman year. On the first day of class, I sat by a girl named Laura and we became friends instantly. Sitting along the wall to my right was a girl named Andrea. We didn't really talk much or get to know each other until the following semester when we took a summer class in La Fonética. The subsequent spring semester, we found ourselves learning La Lingüística together with a quirky visiting professor from the University of Hawaii. We're still hoping to take him up on his offer to tomar un café when we make it to Hawaii! Instead of Hawaii, we found ourselves in Guanajuato, Mexico through different summer programs. Shortly after Andrea arrived, we sat on a bench in the rain tomando un helado and reminiscing about the silly things that happened in Professor Chandler's class!
 |
| Fuimos de paseo por Guanajuato! |
By the time we returned from Mexico, Andrea and I had one literature requirement each to satisfy our Spanish degrees. I took a course in classical Spanish theater and Andrea took a themed literature course about náufragos. It was in the time after our days as Spanish students that our friendship really developed. She always wanted to take me for lemon cream scones at Lazy Jane's, but that was during my 3.5 years on a gluten free diet and they didn't serve gluten-free scones back then. While I was home for the holidays just last month, we decided to meet for breakfast. I knew our reunion had to be at Lazy Jane's because after hearing Andrea rave about their lemon cream scones for the past 5 years, I was determined to try one!
At 7:45 on Christmas Eve morning, we braved the brisk -12 degree temperature and met at Lazy Jane's. Though I ordered a full breakfast instead of a scone, I got to try a sample. It was a scone that was so light and moist that it might change your stance on the scone. I wanted to order one on my way out but decided to pass after seeing the line to order during the 10:00 rush! Instead, I would try to make my own version when I got back to Houston. I opted for orange cream scones instead of lemon to take advantage of the oranges we harvested at Flayler Fruit Farm. While I haven't eaten enough of Lazy Jane's scones to effectively compare mine to theirs, I'm going to consider these to be a pretty good alternative.
Objective
Adapt Apt. 2B Baking Co.'s Rhubarb & Rye Scones into orange cream scones. The idea to use orange marmalade as the filling came from Kim Boyce's Strawberry Barley Scones. The glaze came from Clinton Street Baking Co.'s Sunshine Yogurt Muffins.
Materials
Dough:
4.5 oz. rye flour
6 oz. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 oz. granulated sugar
zest of one orange
zest of 1/2 lemon
4 oz. butter, cold and cut into small cubes
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
4-5 oz. heavy cream (8-10 tablespoons)
Filling:
1 tbsp. orange marmalade
Glaze:
1 tbsp. orange juice (or lemon if you like tart)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, and citrus zest. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly with the butter well-distributed.
3. Pour in the orange and lemon juices and gently stir just to distribute the juices.
4. Pour the cream in slowly, about 2 ounces at a time, as you gently stir the dough. You only want to add enough cream to bring the flour together into a dough. Once you get there, stop. I used 4 ounces of cream.
5. Gather the dough together in a ball, give the dough a quick knead to incorporate any crumbs lingering in the bottom of the bowl, and slice the ball in half. Pat each slice of dough into to evenly sized 1" thick discs. Spread the top of one disc with orange marmalade, leaving 1/2 inch border at the edge. Set the second disc over the marmalade covered piece and press the edges together.
6. Cut the disc in half, then in half again, and finally, cut each of the quarters in half so that you finish with 8 triangles. Place the triangles on the prepared baking sheet with at least 1" of space between them because they will expand while baking. Brush the tops of the scones with cream.
6. Bake the scones for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and place the scones, still on the baking sheet, on a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes while you prepare the glaze.
7. Prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar into the orange juice. Feel free to add a little zest for color/texture and/or use any pulp that made its way into the juice while reaming. Once you're done preparing the glaze, spread it over the tops of the warm scones and let the scones cool completely.
8. Best served fresh. Still very good if served after 24 hours of airtight storage, but after that, be sure to wrap and freeze them.
Results
Moist, tangy, orangey, and delicious. The marmalade adds flavor but also texture from the strips of rind. Better with the glaze than without because the glaze packs a citrusy punch.
Discussion and Future Directions
These scones are great with oranges, but I can't wait to try them with lemons. I added lemon juice and zest to the orange scones to add tartness because my oranges were very sweet. To take them to the next level, try using a combination of lemon, lime, and orange as with Clinton Street Baking Co.'s Sunshine Yogurt Muffins. To add more orange flavor, you could try adding about 1/2 tsp. orange extract (or lemon extract to up the tartness). The marmalade could easily be skipped but definitely adds a little something extra. You can find a recipe for 1-cup small batch of orange marmalade here. For lemon or lime scones, another jam, maybe blackberry or raspberry, could be substituted for the marmalade. The options are endless!
These scones are quick and easy to prepare making them an excellent treat for a weekend breakfast. I had the baking sheet of scones cooling even before C was ready to think about breakfast. He's a savory breakfast guy and I love sweet and savory breakfasts, so we ate our orange cream scones alongside sausage, egg and hash brown breakfast tacos. It was the perfect compromise to start to our weekend off right!
Supplementary Materials
15 September, 2013
Apple Butter Sticky Buns
As you know, we made a huge batch of apple butter. Surprisingly, we're already down to about 1/2 cup. I'm done making apple butter everything and will leave the rest for C to eat with toast. If I find that I absolutely have to make something else after he's finished it, we bought a backup jar at the farmers' market while we were in Madison that I'd be happy to open. The last thing on my list of things I had to make with apple butter this season was apple butter sticky buns. While I love cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting, I find that sticky buns are a lot more fail-proof. It can be hard to get just the right balance of sweet and tart when making cream cheese frosting. As soon as you add too much milk, you're stuck adding a mouth puckering amount of powdered sugar. Sticky buns, on the other hand, simply require adding the right amount of syrup and sugar and the baking process does the magic.
On Friday night, I started making dough as soon as I got home from work. By 7:30 p.m., the rolls were in the refrigerator for the final raise overnight. Saturday morning, they were out of the oven by 7:45 a.m. so we could get on the road for a weekend trip to San Antonio. Not 15 minutes after pulling them out of the oven, our roommate groggily walked to the kitchen and said "That is a wonderful smell to wake up to." I bet your loved ones would agree!
Objective
Make pecan sticky buns with apple butter filling. Finding apple butter recipes on the internet is easy. Finding recipes that use apple butter is a different story, let alone finding recipes for sticky buns that use apple butter. I found a few, but none of them jumped out at me. I decided to use the dough from Orange Rolls on Pastry Affair (because it's so simple and very light and fluffy) and I improvised the filing and topping based on my sticky buns/cinnamon roll preferences.
Materials
(This recipe makes 8 rolls)
Dough:
1 tsp. yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream, light works fine)
1 1/2-2 1/2 cups bread flour (depending on the amount of moisture in your dough)
Filling:
1/2 cup apple butter
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Topping:
1 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. honey*
2 tbsp. maple syrup*
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
*Note: this makes a fairly thin sticky topping. If you want a thick, caramel-like topping, use 1/4 cup light Karo syrup, 1 1/2 tbsp. butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
Methods
1. To prepare the dough: Dissolve the yeast in the warm water (120º-130ºF) and let proof for 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, salt, butter, eggs, and sour cream. Gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups of bread flour, mixing well. If the dough is still very sticky (tacky is fine), add more flour (about 2 tbsp. at a time). You want the dough to be tacky, even a tiny bit sticky is ok. Knead it a few times to make a smooth ball. Move the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and rise to double (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours). Punch the dough down and rise to double again (about 1 hour). Pat the dough out to a 16" by 12" rectangle.
2. To prepare the topping: During the final rise, prepare the topping. Stir together the melted butter and the honey/syrup. Pour into an ungreased 8" cake pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans. Set aside.
3. To make the rolls: Spread the dough with apple butter (leaving a 2 inch border along one long edge). Sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar. Roll the dough, starting with the long apple buttery edge to the edge with the 2" border. Use a knife to mark where to cut for 8 rolls. Then, use dental floss to cut the rolls. Slide a long piece of dental floss (about 12" should work) under the roll at one of your division marks. Switch each end to the other hand to form a loop, and pull. You should have a nice clean edge. Place the roll with this clean edge up in your pan, spacing the 8 rolls evenly over the prepared topping. Cover the rolls and let rise 30 minutes (if you're planning to bake them right away) or 15 minutes (if you're planning to refrigerate overnight. If you're ready to bake, proceed to step 4. If not, place the rolls in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure to take them out at least 30 minutes prior to baking, but 1-2 hours is better (you want to get the chill off and let the yeast start working again).
4. To bake the rolls: Preheat the oven to 350º. Place the cake pan with risen rolls on a sheet pan to catch drips. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden on top. Take the pan out of the oven, loosen the edge with a knife (you can skip this if you use a non-stick pan) and flip out onto a parchment paper-lined plate. Cool 15 minutes before serving.
Results
Sweet, but a little tart (like a good apple). The sticky topping is more earthy than caramely sweet. The rolls are soft and fluffy with a bit of a crunch from the pecans.
Discussion and Future Directions
These are very good and make a great fall breakfast treat (as do the orange rolls I linked to above). The bread is extremely light and fluffy. I think that's due to the greek yogurt (which surprised me since I used 0% fat greek yogurt instead of sour cream and I would have suspected that the added fat would have been the key). I was also surprised the recipe called for bread flour as it contains more gluten which would make a tougher bread if over-worked. My usual cinnamon roll recipe uses all-purpose flour and potato starch flour. It also makes a nice light bread, but not nearly as light as this recipe. For that reason (and that it's simple to throw together), this might be my new go-to bread dough.
The sticky buns weren't quite as appley as I was hoping, so I think that next time, I'd stir a few tablespoons apple butter into the topping. If you want a spiced roll, add a pinch each ginger, allspice, and clove to the filling with the cinnamon. I chose to use a combination of maple syrup and honey for the topping to make it more natural and earthy in taste rather than sweet and caramely like Karo syrup. I am pleased with that decision though it would be great either way. While there is no such thing as a healthy sticky bun, I feel like there are a few things about these that make them less bad as some of the others (just pretend you don't use as much sugar as you do)!
Supplementary Materials
On Friday night, I started making dough as soon as I got home from work. By 7:30 p.m., the rolls were in the refrigerator for the final raise overnight. Saturday morning, they were out of the oven by 7:45 a.m. so we could get on the road for a weekend trip to San Antonio. Not 15 minutes after pulling them out of the oven, our roommate groggily walked to the kitchen and said "That is a wonderful smell to wake up to." I bet your loved ones would agree!
Objective
Make pecan sticky buns with apple butter filling. Finding apple butter recipes on the internet is easy. Finding recipes that use apple butter is a different story, let alone finding recipes for sticky buns that use apple butter. I found a few, but none of them jumped out at me. I decided to use the dough from Orange Rolls on Pastry Affair (because it's so simple and very light and fluffy) and I improvised the filing and topping based on my sticky buns/cinnamon roll preferences.
Materials
(This recipe makes 8 rolls)
Dough:
1 tsp. yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream, light works fine)
1 1/2-2 1/2 cups bread flour (depending on the amount of moisture in your dough)
Filling:
1/2 cup apple butter
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Topping:
1 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. honey*
2 tbsp. maple syrup*
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
*Note: this makes a fairly thin sticky topping. If you want a thick, caramel-like topping, use 1/4 cup light Karo syrup, 1 1/2 tbsp. butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
Methods
1. To prepare the dough: Dissolve the yeast in the warm water (120º-130ºF) and let proof for 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, salt, butter, eggs, and sour cream. Gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups of bread flour, mixing well. If the dough is still very sticky (tacky is fine), add more flour (about 2 tbsp. at a time). You want the dough to be tacky, even a tiny bit sticky is ok. Knead it a few times to make a smooth ball. Move the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and rise to double (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours). Punch the dough down and rise to double again (about 1 hour). Pat the dough out to a 16" by 12" rectangle.
2. To prepare the topping: During the final rise, prepare the topping. Stir together the melted butter and the honey/syrup. Pour into an ungreased 8" cake pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans. Set aside.
3. To make the rolls: Spread the dough with apple butter (leaving a 2 inch border along one long edge). Sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar. Roll the dough, starting with the long apple buttery edge to the edge with the 2" border. Use a knife to mark where to cut for 8 rolls. Then, use dental floss to cut the rolls. Slide a long piece of dental floss (about 12" should work) under the roll at one of your division marks. Switch each end to the other hand to form a loop, and pull. You should have a nice clean edge. Place the roll with this clean edge up in your pan, spacing the 8 rolls evenly over the prepared topping. Cover the rolls and let rise 30 minutes (if you're planning to bake them right away) or 15 minutes (if you're planning to refrigerate overnight. If you're ready to bake, proceed to step 4. If not, place the rolls in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure to take them out at least 30 minutes prior to baking, but 1-2 hours is better (you want to get the chill off and let the yeast start working again).
4. To bake the rolls: Preheat the oven to 350º. Place the cake pan with risen rolls on a sheet pan to catch drips. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden on top. Take the pan out of the oven, loosen the edge with a knife (you can skip this if you use a non-stick pan) and flip out onto a parchment paper-lined plate. Cool 15 minutes before serving.
Results
Sweet, but a little tart (like a good apple). The sticky topping is more earthy than caramely sweet. The rolls are soft and fluffy with a bit of a crunch from the pecans.
Discussion and Future Directions
These are very good and make a great fall breakfast treat (as do the orange rolls I linked to above). The bread is extremely light and fluffy. I think that's due to the greek yogurt (which surprised me since I used 0% fat greek yogurt instead of sour cream and I would have suspected that the added fat would have been the key). I was also surprised the recipe called for bread flour as it contains more gluten which would make a tougher bread if over-worked. My usual cinnamon roll recipe uses all-purpose flour and potato starch flour. It also makes a nice light bread, but not nearly as light as this recipe. For that reason (and that it's simple to throw together), this might be my new go-to bread dough.
The sticky buns weren't quite as appley as I was hoping, so I think that next time, I'd stir a few tablespoons apple butter into the topping. If you want a spiced roll, add a pinch each ginger, allspice, and clove to the filling with the cinnamon. I chose to use a combination of maple syrup and honey for the topping to make it more natural and earthy in taste rather than sweet and caramely like Karo syrup. I am pleased with that decision though it would be great either way. While there is no such thing as a healthy sticky bun, I feel like there are a few things about these that make them less bad as some of the others (just pretend you don't use as much sugar as you do)!
Supplementary Materials
06 August, 2013
Cherry Almond Oatmeal Cookies [Ice Cream]
Yesterday, I packed a measly lunch. I packed a handful of grapes and a bowl of Roasted Carrot Soup that our roommate made as part of a 5-course meal for losing our household March Madness tournament. The soup was delicious, but unfortunately not filling. By 1:00, I was craving cookies. By 2:00, my brain was shutting down because it needed fuel. By 3:30, my head was pounding and I was lightheaded, probably from my hunger combined with "Feels Like" 106º heat. When I got home, I told C that I wanted to make cookies. He said that I shouldn't (perhaps related to the 1/2 blueberry pie in the fridge and fresh batch of Snickerdoodles from our 5-course meal) and instead, he made me a bagel sandwich. There's a good chance I ate a Snickerdoodle (or two) while waiting for my personal Sandwich Artist to create something scrumptious.
A few hours (and 5 paintings) later, I was still craving cookies, oatmeal cookies. When C left to go get more canvases, I booked it to the kitchen to whip up a batch of cookie dough before he returned. Now, he can't get mad at me for my baking problem because he has an ice cream problem. About a week ago, he came back from the grocery store with 3 half-gallon cartons of ice cream. Shortly thereafter, our roommate came back with 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's and alerted C of a sale. It wasn't long before I noted a new pint of Cherry Garcia in the freezer. When I asked him about his flavor choice (I thought he knew I was planning to make cherry chocolate chunk ice cream), he said "I panicked. There was a lady behind me and I couldn't find Oatmeal Cookie, so I grabbed that one. But I really wanted Oatmeal Cookie." So that's why I was craving oatmeal cookies! I decided that I would stir crumbled homemade oatmeal cookies into vanilla ice cream so that C could get his Oatmeal Cookie ice cream fix and I could satisfy my oatmeal cookie craving a la vez. I figured this had to be close to the Ben & Jerry's flavor, though I'd never actually had it.
Earlier in the day, I'd decided to make Thin Oat Ginger Crisps from Green Kitchen Stories. What excited me about the recipe was the list of ingredients, specifically pure maple syrup instead of refined sugar and buckwheat flour instead of wheat flour. What I didn't like about the recipe was the thickness of the cookies. I prefer soft, chewy cookies, not thin, crispy cookies. I decided to try them anyway, but with different flavors, and the addition of steel-cut oats. I got the idea to add steel cut oats from Adventures in Cooking. I decide on cherry and almond additions because I've been craving cherries since they first hit the market in June.
Objective
Make oatmeal cookies to crumble over ice cream as a substitute for Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie ice cream.
Materials
4 tbsp. butter, softened
3 tbsp. pure maple syrup
2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. buckwheat flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
~1/4 cup steel-cut oats
pinch cinnamon
pinch salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. almond extract, to taste
2 tbsp. to 1/4 cup blanched almonds, chopped
2 tbsp. to 1/4 cup dried cherries (or dried cranberries flavored with cherry juice)
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, maple syrup, milk, buckwheat flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, salt, almond extract, blanched almonds and cherries. With the almonds and cherries, stir in as many as you want for the amount of chunkiness you desire. Stir in steel-cut oats, starting with 2 tbsp. until the dough stops looking "wet." (You want it to look like normal cookie dough for chocolate chip cookies.)
3. Drop dough onto the parchment by the tablespoon, and gather the dough into balls to make the dough a little cohesive. If needed, redistribute the dough for 12 even dough balls. Flatten the tops slightly.
4. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool on the cookie sheet.
Results
These cookies are delicious and I don't feel guilty about eating them. They are very crumbly, which makes them perfect for crumbling over ice cream, though difficult to eat. The texture is soft and a bit chewy. I would describe the flavor as 50:50 oatmeal to almond, though easily mutable based on how much you decide to add. Stirred into ice cream? Delicious and you'd never even know these are "healthier" oatmeal cookies.
Discussion
The cookie itself? Very good. I'm pleased with the cherry/almond combination as well as the addition of steel-cut oats. I have to admit, I was going to make the cookies as written, as flat, crispy cookies. However, when I saw how moist the dough was, I decided I wanted to make it thicker like my normal oatmeal cookie dough. I kept adding steel cut oats until I got there (~1/4 cup). I knew this would increase the amount of dough and consequently decrease the amount of butter per cookie. I totally forgot that the recipe called for flattening the cookies as flat as you can make them, so I only flattened them slightly. The end result was exactly what I was looking for: thick, soft, and chewy. A happy mistake!
Now, cookie + ice cream? Since I've never had the ice cream flavor, we'll turn to C. "Better than the real stuff." Whew! That makes up for the brownies I made last week with spelt flour (that part was fine) and beet puree (not fine). I wondered what Ben & Jerry's flavor actually does taste like. Apparently its real name is Oatmeal Cookie Crunch and it's described as "sweet cream cinnamon ice cream with chucks of oatmeal and fudge." Mine didn't have chocolate, but I'm glad I added cinnamon to the cookies. I generally omit cinnamon from all cookies and quick breads, but I added it because I figured B&J's oatmeal cookies were bound to be cinnamony. They also add raisins. Gross. Anyway, next time C's craving oatmeal cookie ice cream, I think I'll whip him up another batch.
Supplementary Materials
To make Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream:
Bake and cool Cherry Almond Oatmeal Cookies. Get out vanilla ice cream and let it sit out to soften. Crumble the cookies over the ice cream and stir to combine. Return to freezer until you're ready to eat it. Cookie recipe makes enough cookie crumbles for about 1/2 quart of ice cream.
A few hours (and 5 paintings) later, I was still craving cookies, oatmeal cookies. When C left to go get more canvases, I booked it to the kitchen to whip up a batch of cookie dough before he returned. Now, he can't get mad at me for my baking problem because he has an ice cream problem. About a week ago, he came back from the grocery store with 3 half-gallon cartons of ice cream. Shortly thereafter, our roommate came back with 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's and alerted C of a sale. It wasn't long before I noted a new pint of Cherry Garcia in the freezer. When I asked him about his flavor choice (I thought he knew I was planning to make cherry chocolate chunk ice cream), he said "I panicked. There was a lady behind me and I couldn't find Oatmeal Cookie, so I grabbed that one. But I really wanted Oatmeal Cookie." So that's why I was craving oatmeal cookies! I decided that I would stir crumbled homemade oatmeal cookies into vanilla ice cream so that C could get his Oatmeal Cookie ice cream fix and I could satisfy my oatmeal cookie craving a la vez. I figured this had to be close to the Ben & Jerry's flavor, though I'd never actually had it.
Earlier in the day, I'd decided to make Thin Oat Ginger Crisps from Green Kitchen Stories. What excited me about the recipe was the list of ingredients, specifically pure maple syrup instead of refined sugar and buckwheat flour instead of wheat flour. What I didn't like about the recipe was the thickness of the cookies. I prefer soft, chewy cookies, not thin, crispy cookies. I decided to try them anyway, but with different flavors, and the addition of steel-cut oats. I got the idea to add steel cut oats from Adventures in Cooking. I decide on cherry and almond additions because I've been craving cherries since they first hit the market in June.
Objective
Make oatmeal cookies to crumble over ice cream as a substitute for Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie ice cream.
Materials
4 tbsp. butter, softened
3 tbsp. pure maple syrup
2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. buckwheat flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
~1/4 cup steel-cut oats
pinch cinnamon
pinch salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. almond extract, to taste
2 tbsp. to 1/4 cup blanched almonds, chopped
2 tbsp. to 1/4 cup dried cherries (or dried cranberries flavored with cherry juice)
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, maple syrup, milk, buckwheat flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, salt, almond extract, blanched almonds and cherries. With the almonds and cherries, stir in as many as you want for the amount of chunkiness you desire. Stir in steel-cut oats, starting with 2 tbsp. until the dough stops looking "wet." (You want it to look like normal cookie dough for chocolate chip cookies.)
3. Drop dough onto the parchment by the tablespoon, and gather the dough into balls to make the dough a little cohesive. If needed, redistribute the dough for 12 even dough balls. Flatten the tops slightly.
4. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool on the cookie sheet.
Results
These cookies are delicious and I don't feel guilty about eating them. They are very crumbly, which makes them perfect for crumbling over ice cream, though difficult to eat. The texture is soft and a bit chewy. I would describe the flavor as 50:50 oatmeal to almond, though easily mutable based on how much you decide to add. Stirred into ice cream? Delicious and you'd never even know these are "healthier" oatmeal cookies.
Discussion
The cookie itself? Very good. I'm pleased with the cherry/almond combination as well as the addition of steel-cut oats. I have to admit, I was going to make the cookies as written, as flat, crispy cookies. However, when I saw how moist the dough was, I decided I wanted to make it thicker like my normal oatmeal cookie dough. I kept adding steel cut oats until I got there (~1/4 cup). I knew this would increase the amount of dough and consequently decrease the amount of butter per cookie. I totally forgot that the recipe called for flattening the cookies as flat as you can make them, so I only flattened them slightly. The end result was exactly what I was looking for: thick, soft, and chewy. A happy mistake!
Now, cookie + ice cream? Since I've never had the ice cream flavor, we'll turn to C. "Better than the real stuff." Whew! That makes up for the brownies I made last week with spelt flour (that part was fine) and beet puree (not fine). I wondered what Ben & Jerry's flavor actually does taste like. Apparently its real name is Oatmeal Cookie Crunch and it's described as "sweet cream cinnamon ice cream with chucks of oatmeal and fudge." Mine didn't have chocolate, but I'm glad I added cinnamon to the cookies. I generally omit cinnamon from all cookies and quick breads, but I added it because I figured B&J's oatmeal cookies were bound to be cinnamony. They also add raisins. Gross. Anyway, next time C's craving oatmeal cookie ice cream, I think I'll whip him up another batch.
Supplementary Materials
To make Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream:
Bake and cool Cherry Almond Oatmeal Cookies. Get out vanilla ice cream and let it sit out to soften. Crumble the cookies over the ice cream and stir to combine. Return to freezer until you're ready to eat it. Cookie recipe makes enough cookie crumbles for about 1/2 quart of ice cream.
26 July, 2013
Vanilla Gelato with S'more Fixin's
Summer isn't complete without a bonfire surrounded by good friends. Growing up in Wisconsin, someone had a bonfire nearly every weekend when the weather permitted. The summer after my senior year of high school, I hosted a lot of bonfires because my family lives on a lake and we have a fire pit in our backyard. It's a really nice setting for a bonfire. Around the 4th of July, it's the perfect place to roast marshmallows and watch the fireworks being launched by neighbors. Our apartment complex in Houston has two fire pits sandwiched between a waterfall and a pond. While it's nice to have them, it's just not the same as back home.
A few weekends ago, we rented a beach house in Matagorda, Texas with some of our good friends. We were hoping we'd be able to have a bonfire on the beach. I made homemade amaretto marshmallows and homemade graham crackers for the occasion. I ran out of time to make homemade chocolate bars, but don't think I hadn't thought of it! Unfortunately, due to the lack of rain, there was a county-wide burn ban. We probably should have known that we wouldn't be able to have a fire because we'd already seen bone-dry ponds and waterways at a wildlife refuge just north of Matagorda.
I hoped we'd be able to use our grill to roast marshmallows instead of a bonfire, but the mosquitoes were so voracious that we were unwilling to leave the house except to run to the beach and back. (Thinking back, there was a fireplace in the house. If only I'd put two and two together...) In the end, we came home with as many homemade marshmallows and graham crackers as we took to the beach house. Defeated, C and I lit a "firewood" candle and made s'mores in our living room. Long after the graham crackers had been eaten, the marshmallows still sat on our counter. Determined to not let them go bad, I decided I'd try them in ice cream.
Objective
Make s'more ice cream using the basic custard recipe I used to make End of Summer Pistachio Almond Gelato.
Materials
Vanilla Gelato (makes about a pint of frozen gelato):
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1/16 tsp. salt
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
S'more Fixin's:
1/2 cup chopped marshmallows (about half the size of a mini marshmallow)
1 cup chopped graham crackers (~3 graham crackers)
1.5 oz. chocolate (I used Cordillera Cocuy 70%)
Methods
To make the gelato base:
1. In a medium saucepan (with a heavy bottom if you have it) over medium heat, warm the whole milk, cream, vanilla bean paste, and salt. Warm it thoroughly but do not boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale (use an electric mixer if it's convenient).
2. When the cream mixture is nearly at a boil, remove it from heat. Temper the eggs by whisking about 1/4 cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, then slowly stirring this mixture into the rest of the hot cream.
3. Place the pot back on medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken (somewhere around 175°-180°). Stir until the custard covers the back of a wooden spoon and doesn't drip when you touch it.
4. Pour the custard into a large measuring cup or batter bowl (the spout will help you later). Place the custard in an ice bath to cool, stirring frequently. When the mixture is cool, place plastic wrap directly on the custard to seal it in the container. Refrigerate overnight (or however long it takes to chill completely--the colder the better).
To make the fixin's and gelato:
1. Place the oven rack next to the broiler and preheat the oven to 350°. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil and sprinkle with the chopped marshmallows. Bake the marshmallows until they are lightly browned on top. Take them out of the oven and move the foil with toasted marshmallows to a wire rack to cool slightly. Scrape the toasted marshmallow into a medium bowl with the chopped graham crackers. Stir to mix (kind of like making Rice Krispies). Set aside.
2. In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate (stirring frequently). Once melted, turn of the heat, but keep the chocolate in the double boiler so that it doesn't re-solidify.
3. Prepare your ice cream maker and churn the gelato base according to them manufacturer's instructions. (Note: It will freeze very quickly because it's a small batch. When adding the fixin's, you may need to use a spatula to help keep the ingredients moving in the machine.) Once the base is more-or-less solid, gradually add chunks of the mallowy-graham crackers (a fork is helpful because it will be really sticky). Finally, put the melted chocolate into a plastic bag and cut off one of the corners. Slowly stream the melted chocolate into the churning gelato. This will make little flakes of chocolate instead of chunks.
6. Scrape the gelato into a freezer-safe container with a lid. Place the gelato in the freezer and allow it to solidify, 30 minutes to an hour.
Results
Yum! I could have eaten the entire batch in one sitting. The gelato itself is nicely flavored and not too sweet. The texture is very creamy and thick like a custard. The s'more fixins fit into the texture nicely because they are all soft.
Discussion and Future Directions
I am very glad I chose to use my homemade marshmallows for s'more gelato! (I'm calling this gelato and not frozen custard or ice cream because the recipe for the original custard base was called a gelato and because the fat content is a lot lower than ice cream.) I was pleased that the gelato turned out as smooth and creamy as the pistachio gelato. I had trouble with the texture when I tried using the recipe for chocolate gelato. I think I've found the magic ratio of whole milk:cream:eggs for my taste. The texture is very much like that of a frozen custard vs. an ice cream, but, it's not so fatty as to leave your teeth coated in cream. I very much appreciate frozen desserts with a clean mouth feel. Nothing ruins ice cream like the inability to get it out of my mouth when I'm done eating it!
The fixin's turned out perfectly! I read a lot of recipes for different takes on s'more ice cream. None of them seemed quite right. The texture of fresh marshmallows in ice cream was distracting. Roasting them in the oven and stirring them into graham crackers gave the flavor of a s'more without making the marshmallow noticeable. I was nervous about the graham crackers getting soggy and debated whether or not that would be a good thing or a bad thing. I considered brushing them with melted chocolate to help them maintain a little crunch, but I'm glad I didn't. Instead, they provided soft little pockets of flavor. Finally, I was very pleased that I chose to make chocolate flecks or "stracciatella" instead of adding chunks of chocolate. Hershey's Milk Chocolate is soft enough that chunks would probably be ok, but anything more firm would hurt to bite into when frozen. Since I prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate, I knew I wanted to use my secret stash of 70% chocolate. I buy it in big individually wrapped chunks from the grocery store. The first time I went to buy chocolate that way, I smelled every single dark chocolate and picked the one that smelled the best--Cordillera Cocuy 70%. I'm hooked. (So hooked that I recently bought a chunk the size of small hardcover novel.)
I'm also hooked on this gelato. It's definitely better than s'mores. Truthfully, I don't really like s'mores because they're so sweet they give me stomach aches. My mom argues that you have to have one s'more a summer for it to be considered summer. This gelato is my new s'more substitute. Not only does it taste better, but as an added bonus, I don't have to go outside in the hot, sticky Houston summer and get attacked by mosquitos to enjoy it! What a great and cooling take on the summer essential!
Supplementary Materials
A few weekends ago, we rented a beach house in Matagorda, Texas with some of our good friends. We were hoping we'd be able to have a bonfire on the beach. I made homemade amaretto marshmallows and homemade graham crackers for the occasion. I ran out of time to make homemade chocolate bars, but don't think I hadn't thought of it! Unfortunately, due to the lack of rain, there was a county-wide burn ban. We probably should have known that we wouldn't be able to have a fire because we'd already seen bone-dry ponds and waterways at a wildlife refuge just north of Matagorda.
I hoped we'd be able to use our grill to roast marshmallows instead of a bonfire, but the mosquitoes were so voracious that we were unwilling to leave the house except to run to the beach and back. (Thinking back, there was a fireplace in the house. If only I'd put two and two together...) In the end, we came home with as many homemade marshmallows and graham crackers as we took to the beach house. Defeated, C and I lit a "firewood" candle and made s'mores in our living room. Long after the graham crackers had been eaten, the marshmallows still sat on our counter. Determined to not let them go bad, I decided I'd try them in ice cream.
Objective
Make s'more ice cream using the basic custard recipe I used to make End of Summer Pistachio Almond Gelato.
Materials
Vanilla Gelato (makes about a pint of frozen gelato):
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1/16 tsp. salt
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
S'more Fixin's:
1/2 cup chopped marshmallows (about half the size of a mini marshmallow)
1 cup chopped graham crackers (~3 graham crackers)
1.5 oz. chocolate (I used Cordillera Cocuy 70%)
Methods
To make the gelato base:
1. In a medium saucepan (with a heavy bottom if you have it) over medium heat, warm the whole milk, cream, vanilla bean paste, and salt. Warm it thoroughly but do not boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale (use an electric mixer if it's convenient).
2. When the cream mixture is nearly at a boil, remove it from heat. Temper the eggs by whisking about 1/4 cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, then slowly stirring this mixture into the rest of the hot cream.
3. Place the pot back on medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken (somewhere around 175°-180°). Stir until the custard covers the back of a wooden spoon and doesn't drip when you touch it.
4. Pour the custard into a large measuring cup or batter bowl (the spout will help you later). Place the custard in an ice bath to cool, stirring frequently. When the mixture is cool, place plastic wrap directly on the custard to seal it in the container. Refrigerate overnight (or however long it takes to chill completely--the colder the better).
To make the fixin's and gelato:
1. Place the oven rack next to the broiler and preheat the oven to 350°. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil and sprinkle with the chopped marshmallows. Bake the marshmallows until they are lightly browned on top. Take them out of the oven and move the foil with toasted marshmallows to a wire rack to cool slightly. Scrape the toasted marshmallow into a medium bowl with the chopped graham crackers. Stir to mix (kind of like making Rice Krispies). Set aside.
2. In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate (stirring frequently). Once melted, turn of the heat, but keep the chocolate in the double boiler so that it doesn't re-solidify.
3. Prepare your ice cream maker and churn the gelato base according to them manufacturer's instructions. (Note: It will freeze very quickly because it's a small batch. When adding the fixin's, you may need to use a spatula to help keep the ingredients moving in the machine.) Once the base is more-or-less solid, gradually add chunks of the mallowy-graham crackers (a fork is helpful because it will be really sticky). Finally, put the melted chocolate into a plastic bag and cut off one of the corners. Slowly stream the melted chocolate into the churning gelato. This will make little flakes of chocolate instead of chunks.
6. Scrape the gelato into a freezer-safe container with a lid. Place the gelato in the freezer and allow it to solidify, 30 minutes to an hour.
Results
Yum! I could have eaten the entire batch in one sitting. The gelato itself is nicely flavored and not too sweet. The texture is very creamy and thick like a custard. The s'more fixins fit into the texture nicely because they are all soft.
Discussion and Future Directions
I am very glad I chose to use my homemade marshmallows for s'more gelato! (I'm calling this gelato and not frozen custard or ice cream because the recipe for the original custard base was called a gelato and because the fat content is a lot lower than ice cream.) I was pleased that the gelato turned out as smooth and creamy as the pistachio gelato. I had trouble with the texture when I tried using the recipe for chocolate gelato. I think I've found the magic ratio of whole milk:cream:eggs for my taste. The texture is very much like that of a frozen custard vs. an ice cream, but, it's not so fatty as to leave your teeth coated in cream. I very much appreciate frozen desserts with a clean mouth feel. Nothing ruins ice cream like the inability to get it out of my mouth when I'm done eating it!
The fixin's turned out perfectly! I read a lot of recipes for different takes on s'more ice cream. None of them seemed quite right. The texture of fresh marshmallows in ice cream was distracting. Roasting them in the oven and stirring them into graham crackers gave the flavor of a s'more without making the marshmallow noticeable. I was nervous about the graham crackers getting soggy and debated whether or not that would be a good thing or a bad thing. I considered brushing them with melted chocolate to help them maintain a little crunch, but I'm glad I didn't. Instead, they provided soft little pockets of flavor. Finally, I was very pleased that I chose to make chocolate flecks or "stracciatella" instead of adding chunks of chocolate. Hershey's Milk Chocolate is soft enough that chunks would probably be ok, but anything more firm would hurt to bite into when frozen. Since I prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate, I knew I wanted to use my secret stash of 70% chocolate. I buy it in big individually wrapped chunks from the grocery store. The first time I went to buy chocolate that way, I smelled every single dark chocolate and picked the one that smelled the best--Cordillera Cocuy 70%. I'm hooked. (So hooked that I recently bought a chunk the size of small hardcover novel.)
I'm also hooked on this gelato. It's definitely better than s'mores. Truthfully, I don't really like s'mores because they're so sweet they give me stomach aches. My mom argues that you have to have one s'more a summer for it to be considered summer. This gelato is my new s'more substitute. Not only does it taste better, but as an added bonus, I don't have to go outside in the hot, sticky Houston summer and get attacked by mosquitos to enjoy it! What a great and cooling take on the summer essential!
Supplementary Materials
01 May, 2013
Red Velvet Cheesecake in Jars (Small Batch)
One day, I was walking home from school in St. Louis and stopped at a small local grocer on the way home. I generally only shopped at Straubs when I needed a quick item or two for a recipe. It was right around the corner from my apartment, but more pricey than the chain. One day, they had little plastic cups with bright green labels on an end cap. It was labeled "Peppermint Puppy Chow." I was hungry and I'd been craving peppermint everything for the past week since I'd gotten a Chocolove Peppermint in Dark Chocolate bar on sale for $1.50. (I could have eaten a bar a day, but thankfully I'd only bought one. Note: it really does taste best at 70 degrees like the label says.) Anyway, I saved the label from the Mint Puppy Chow as a reference to try making my own. The tricky ingredient was peppermint oil, which I happened to get for Christmas.
When I told my boyfriend of my plan to make Mint Puppy Chow, and told him about all of the other crazy Puppy Chow flavors I found on the internet, he wanted to make one too. He chose Red Velvet Puppy Chow. I won't even bother posting the link, because it was disgusting. Like, he-took-it-to-work-and-no-one-ate-it disgusting. That left us with half a package of Red Velvet Cake mix and a 6 oz. of left-over cream cheese. Making it into half of a cake wouldn't be easy. Instead I decided to complicate it even further by making it into a fraction of a cheesecake in little canning jars. I knew there was a recipe for Red Velvet Cheesecake by Julie Ruble at Willow Bird Baking. Her Clementine Mousse Cheesecake is about as good as cheesecake can get, so I knew her recipe wouldn't fail me. The only thing with the potential to ruin my little mini-cheesecakes was math, more specifically: fractions. Before graduate school, when I was studying for the GRE, I realized that no one ever taught me fractions. I learned a lot from the GRE Math prep-book, but I still don't like fractions. Especially when it requires three units (cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons). As a scientist, I take for granted that most of the math I have to do is metric. But I'll be honest, as a microbiologist, I'm generally only changing orders of magnitude, so I'm just moving around decimal points.
Objective
Make mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes in canning jars to use up the red velvet cake mix. Instead of following Julie Ruble's method (bake the cake and cheesecake separately, then stack them), bake the cake on top of the cheesecake, in the jars.
Materials
Crust:
8 Oreos
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. unsalted butter, melted
pinch salt
Cheesecake:
6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Red Velvet Cake batter:
Half package, prepared per the box
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 4 8-oz ramekins or canning jars. Set in a baking dish. On the stove, start heating a pan of water (you'll want it boiling for a water bath just before putting the cheesecakes in the oven).
2. Make the crust: Crush the Oreos. Stir in the melted butter and salt. Divide evenly among the jars and press into the bottom. Do not bake.
3. Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar on until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour. Add the vanilla and egg, beating until the mixture is homogenous. Pour the filling on top of the crust, dividing the filling evenly between the ramekins.
4. Make the water bath: carefully and gently pour boiling water into the baking dish, until the water reaches one quarter to half-way up the ramekins. Do not splash water on the cheesecakes.
5. Place the baking dish in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Take the cheesecakes out of the oven. Divide the pre-mixed batter evenly over the cheesecakes, return to the oven and bake 20 minutes longer, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake layer comes out clean.
6. Using tongs, remove the ramekins from the water bath. Let them cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate overnight and serve cold.
Results
Baking the cake layer on top of the cheesecake layer seemed to work well. The cheesecake layer was good, but a little over-baked. The jars made a fun presentation.
Discussion and Future Direction
As you've probably already figured out, this post is mostly an "is it possible?" post. Maybe there is someone out there with half of a red velvet cake, but probably not. What I learned was that the cake layer can be baked on top of the cheesecake layer. Yes the cheesecake layer might be a little over-baked, but it's cream cheese and sugar. Who really cares if it's slightly over-baked? If you care, then you probably aren't going to try this recipe. Or, you'll add the cake layer earlier. Your choice.
I will use the cheesecake filling recipe to make more mini-cheesecakes of different flavors. Red velvet isn't my favorite flavor, but I can think of a lot of other ideas for toppings. Because these are single serving portions in the serving dish, the crust can easily be left off. I'm imagining a crust-less fruit-on-the-bottom cheesecake.
Supplementary Materials
When I told my boyfriend of my plan to make Mint Puppy Chow, and told him about all of the other crazy Puppy Chow flavors I found on the internet, he wanted to make one too. He chose Red Velvet Puppy Chow. I won't even bother posting the link, because it was disgusting. Like, he-took-it-to-work-and-no-one-ate-it disgusting. That left us with half a package of Red Velvet Cake mix and a 6 oz. of left-over cream cheese. Making it into half of a cake wouldn't be easy. Instead I decided to complicate it even further by making it into a fraction of a cheesecake in little canning jars. I knew there was a recipe for Red Velvet Cheesecake by Julie Ruble at Willow Bird Baking. Her Clementine Mousse Cheesecake is about as good as cheesecake can get, so I knew her recipe wouldn't fail me. The only thing with the potential to ruin my little mini-cheesecakes was math, more specifically: fractions. Before graduate school, when I was studying for the GRE, I realized that no one ever taught me fractions. I learned a lot from the GRE Math prep-book, but I still don't like fractions. Especially when it requires three units (cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons). As a scientist, I take for granted that most of the math I have to do is metric. But I'll be honest, as a microbiologist, I'm generally only changing orders of magnitude, so I'm just moving around decimal points.
Objective
Make mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes in canning jars to use up the red velvet cake mix. Instead of following Julie Ruble's method (bake the cake and cheesecake separately, then stack them), bake the cake on top of the cheesecake, in the jars.
Materials
Crust:
8 Oreos
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. unsalted butter, melted
pinch salt
Cheesecake:
6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Red Velvet Cake batter:
Half package, prepared per the box
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 4 8-oz ramekins or canning jars. Set in a baking dish. On the stove, start heating a pan of water (you'll want it boiling for a water bath just before putting the cheesecakes in the oven).
2. Make the crust: Crush the Oreos. Stir in the melted butter and salt. Divide evenly among the jars and press into the bottom. Do not bake.
3. Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar on until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour. Add the vanilla and egg, beating until the mixture is homogenous. Pour the filling on top of the crust, dividing the filling evenly between the ramekins.
4. Make the water bath: carefully and gently pour boiling water into the baking dish, until the water reaches one quarter to half-way up the ramekins. Do not splash water on the cheesecakes.
5. Place the baking dish in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Take the cheesecakes out of the oven. Divide the pre-mixed batter evenly over the cheesecakes, return to the oven and bake 20 minutes longer, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake layer comes out clean.
6. Using tongs, remove the ramekins from the water bath. Let them cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate overnight and serve cold.
Results
Baking the cake layer on top of the cheesecake layer seemed to work well. The cheesecake layer was good, but a little over-baked. The jars made a fun presentation.
Discussion and Future Direction
As you've probably already figured out, this post is mostly an "is it possible?" post. Maybe there is someone out there with half of a red velvet cake, but probably not. What I learned was that the cake layer can be baked on top of the cheesecake layer. Yes the cheesecake layer might be a little over-baked, but it's cream cheese and sugar. Who really cares if it's slightly over-baked? If you care, then you probably aren't going to try this recipe. Or, you'll add the cake layer earlier. Your choice.
I will use the cheesecake filling recipe to make more mini-cheesecakes of different flavors. Red velvet isn't my favorite flavor, but I can think of a lot of other ideas for toppings. Because these are single serving portions in the serving dish, the crust can easily be left off. I'm imagining a crust-less fruit-on-the-bottom cheesecake.
Supplementary Materials
10 October, 2012
Fall Funtivities: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Objective
Satisfy my craving for baked goods. Last night, I was craving something loaded with chocolate, but not just chocolate. I was also craving something thicker than a cookie, but cookie-like. To celebrate the season, I decided on Bake at 350's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.
I made a few changes. First off, I like my bars thick. I doubled the recipe and baked the bars in an 8x8" baking dish. I reduced the sugar, increased the salt and reduced all of the spices (I didn't think pumpkin pie spices and chocolate would taste good together because I'm not a huge fan of chocolate with cinnamon). I added butterscotch chips for added flavor.
Materials
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
semi-sweet chocolate chips & butterscotch chips
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin until fully incorporated.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
5. Fold in enough chocolate chips to satisfy your chocolate fix.
6. Spread the dough in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with butterscotch chips.
7. Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before cutting.
Results
These are pretty good and did satisfy my craving for baked goods. The flavor is a little weird with chocolate and the pumpkin pie spices. The butterscotch flavor works well with the pumpkin.
Discussion
These bars are OK as is, but could be better. Because the pumpkin pie spices didn't work with chocolate but the butterscotch went well with the bars as a whole, I can see taking this recipe in two completely different directions. Option 1: Omit the pumpkin pie spices all together and increase the amount of butterscotch chips (add some to the dough). Option 2: Increase the pumpkin pie spices and swap the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips.
In the end, I wished I had just made normal chocolate chip cookie bars. But, all is not lost, because I have ideas for how to improve the recipe. I'll be sure to update if I try them again to improve the recipe. What would be even better is if I could convince a friend to try improving it and letting me be the taste tester!
Supplementary Materials
Satisfy my craving for baked goods. Last night, I was craving something loaded with chocolate, but not just chocolate. I was also craving something thicker than a cookie, but cookie-like. To celebrate the season, I decided on Bake at 350's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.
I made a few changes. First off, I like my bars thick. I doubled the recipe and baked the bars in an 8x8" baking dish. I reduced the sugar, increased the salt and reduced all of the spices (I didn't think pumpkin pie spices and chocolate would taste good together because I'm not a huge fan of chocolate with cinnamon). I added butterscotch chips for added flavor.
Materials
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
semi-sweet chocolate chips & butterscotch chips
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin until fully incorporated.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
5. Fold in enough chocolate chips to satisfy your chocolate fix.
6. Spread the dough in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with butterscotch chips.
7. Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before cutting.
Results
These are pretty good and did satisfy my craving for baked goods. The flavor is a little weird with chocolate and the pumpkin pie spices. The butterscotch flavor works well with the pumpkin.
Discussion
These bars are OK as is, but could be better. Because the pumpkin pie spices didn't work with chocolate but the butterscotch went well with the bars as a whole, I can see taking this recipe in two completely different directions. Option 1: Omit the pumpkin pie spices all together and increase the amount of butterscotch chips (add some to the dough). Option 2: Increase the pumpkin pie spices and swap the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips.
In the end, I wished I had just made normal chocolate chip cookie bars. But, all is not lost, because I have ideas for how to improve the recipe. I'll be sure to update if I try them again to improve the recipe. What would be even better is if I could convince a friend to try improving it and letting me be the taste tester!
Supplementary Materials
08 November, 2011
Fall Funtivities: Caramel Apple Pie
With winter approaching, I needed to satisfy all of my Fall cravings while I could. I already made pumpkin bars, so I could cross "pumpkiny-baking" off of my to-do list. What was next on the list? "Appley-baking!" What goes better with Apples than Caramel? Nothing.
Grandma Ople is apparently famous on Allrecipes.com for her Apple Pie. Her recipe has maintained its 5 stars after a whopping 4, 175 reviews and only a few people making substitutions. I knew I had to try this non-traditional apple pie must be incredibly delicious. I adapted the recipe to fit a 7" pie pan. Only feeding one or two people regularly? I recommend you try a 7" pie pan because it leads to far less guilt and wasted food.
Objective
Satisfy my sweet tooth with an apple pie
Materials
2-3 tart apples (for example, Granny Smith)
1/4 cup (4 Tbs.) butter
1 1/2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/8 cup (or more) water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark would work, I used dark)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 piecrust recipe for a single layer pie
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Line the bottom of a 5-6" pie pan with crust, trimming the edges to leave a 1/4" overhang. Cut the remaining crust into strips with 1/2 inch overhang on each side.
2. Peel, core and slice the apples. To prevent oxidation from turning the apples brown, submerge in water or toss in lemon juice. Note: lemon juice will make the apples more tart.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in flour. Add water and sugars. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla.
4. Fill the crust with apples. Pour 1/2-3/4 of the caramel onto the apples and gently toss to mix.
5. Cover the filling by weaving the lattice top over the pie.
6. If the remaining caramel is too thick to pour, add more water to thin it enough to make it pourable. Boil it until it thicken to the desired consistency and is homogeneous. Pour the remaining caramel over the top of the lattice.
7. Place the pan in the oven with a piece of foil or pan underneath it to catch drips. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° and bake another 30-40 minutes, or until the caramel is bubbling and the apples are soft.
8. Cool about 20 minutes if you want to eat it warm, otherwise cool completely on a wire rack. Note: caramel can be deceptively hot, take care not to burn yourself!
Results
While my lattice top wasn't perfect, it still looked delicious. When the pie cooled, the caramel formed a crispy layer over the top, while the caramel inside retained a smoother, softer texture.
Discussion and Future Directions
This pie tasted good and was a refreshing change from the classic apple pie. I'm not much of an apple pie lover, so my sample size is too small to declare this the best apple pie recipe like many of the reviewers on Allrecipes.com. For purists, this is not the pie for you. For caramel lovers, this is absolutely the pie for you!
Next time, I would use a homemade pie crust. I find store bought crust to have a foul flavor. Growing up, I always ate the filling and left the crust. Unfortunately, with a lattice-top pie there's a lot more crust to sort through before finding the good stuff! A good, homemade, flaky pie crust would take this pie over the top. Nut lovers could add chopped peanuts for additional flavors and textures (kicking it up to "Candy Apple Pie"). I chose to add cinnamon and vanilla, both of which can be left out based on your preference. The vanilla didn't seem to make a difference, but the cinnamon flavor did come through.
Caramel is generally milk based. It would be interesting to use milk in place of the water. It would certainly make the pie a bit richer. The question is whether or not the caramel would be too thick. I think it would be fine for the filling, but I would probably put all of the caramel in the middle and not even try to pour any of it over the lattice top. However, the caramel on top is a good hint that it's not your ordinary apple pie and it adds to the beauty.
Supporting Materials
Grandma Ople is apparently famous on Allrecipes.com for her Apple Pie. Her recipe has maintained its 5 stars after a whopping 4, 175 reviews and only a few people making substitutions. I knew I had to try this non-traditional apple pie must be incredibly delicious. I adapted the recipe to fit a 7" pie pan. Only feeding one or two people regularly? I recommend you try a 7" pie pan because it leads to far less guilt and wasted food.
Objective
Satisfy my sweet tooth with an apple pie
Materials
2-3 tart apples (for example, Granny Smith)
1/4 cup (4 Tbs.) butter
1 1/2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/8 cup (or more) water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark would work, I used dark)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 piecrust recipe for a single layer pie
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Line the bottom of a 5-6" pie pan with crust, trimming the edges to leave a 1/4" overhang. Cut the remaining crust into strips with 1/2 inch overhang on each side.
2. Peel, core and slice the apples. To prevent oxidation from turning the apples brown, submerge in water or toss in lemon juice. Note: lemon juice will make the apples more tart.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in flour. Add water and sugars. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla.
4. Fill the crust with apples. Pour 1/2-3/4 of the caramel onto the apples and gently toss to mix.
5. Cover the filling by weaving the lattice top over the pie.
6. If the remaining caramel is too thick to pour, add more water to thin it enough to make it pourable. Boil it until it thicken to the desired consistency and is homogeneous. Pour the remaining caramel over the top of the lattice.
7. Place the pan in the oven with a piece of foil or pan underneath it to catch drips. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° and bake another 30-40 minutes, or until the caramel is bubbling and the apples are soft.
8. Cool about 20 minutes if you want to eat it warm, otherwise cool completely on a wire rack. Note: caramel can be deceptively hot, take care not to burn yourself!
Results
While my lattice top wasn't perfect, it still looked delicious. When the pie cooled, the caramel formed a crispy layer over the top, while the caramel inside retained a smoother, softer texture.
Discussion and Future Directions
This pie tasted good and was a refreshing change from the classic apple pie. I'm not much of an apple pie lover, so my sample size is too small to declare this the best apple pie recipe like many of the reviewers on Allrecipes.com. For purists, this is not the pie for you. For caramel lovers, this is absolutely the pie for you!
Next time, I would use a homemade pie crust. I find store bought crust to have a foul flavor. Growing up, I always ate the filling and left the crust. Unfortunately, with a lattice-top pie there's a lot more crust to sort through before finding the good stuff! A good, homemade, flaky pie crust would take this pie over the top. Nut lovers could add chopped peanuts for additional flavors and textures (kicking it up to "Candy Apple Pie"). I chose to add cinnamon and vanilla, both of which can be left out based on your preference. The vanilla didn't seem to make a difference, but the cinnamon flavor did come through.
Caramel is generally milk based. It would be interesting to use milk in place of the water. It would certainly make the pie a bit richer. The question is whether or not the caramel would be too thick. I think it would be fine for the filling, but I would probably put all of the caramel in the middle and not even try to pour any of it over the lattice top. However, the caramel on top is a good hint that it's not your ordinary apple pie and it adds to the beauty.
Supporting Materials
Photos by Pablo Tsukayama
06 November, 2011
Fall Funtivities: Pumpkin Bars
Every fall I crave pumpkin. Usually pumpkin bars. I have a half cup of pumpkin puree left over in my fridge to use. That's tricky because there really aren't recipes available for such a small amount of pumpkin puree. Nevertheless, bold and daring Abby seeks to try. I pulled out one of my mom's recipes for pumpkin bars. This is one of many because every year that I was gluten free she tried a new version. This version comes from a collection of recipes in a fundraiser cookbook. Unfortunately I don't know which fundraiser and I don't know who submitted it. I adjusted the amounts to scale it down to a smaller pan.
Since I was making the pumpkin bars for a "Ladies Night," I wanted them to be special. That lead me to decorate it in a whimsical way. Obviously it had to look like a pumpkin, and this one looks like it's straight out of a fairytale. You know the one.
Objective
Make pumpkin bars with only 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree.
Hypothesis
I can adapt a recipe for a 15 1/2" by 10 1/2" jelly roll pan to fit an 8" cake pan by cutting the recipe in thirds, then adjusting the weird volumes to standard measurements.
Materials
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (approximately 1/3 of a 15 oz can)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg + 1 egg white
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
dash of cloves
dash of cardamom
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease one 8" round cake pan.
2. Mix pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, egg and egg white until well combined.
3. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cloves and cardamom until smooth.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the middle springs back when you touch it.
5. Cool completely (in the pan or out of the pan if you want to serve it on a plate).
6. Top with Cream Cheese Butter Frosting (recipe follows).
Results
The finished product was slightly domed in the middle and a nice orange color with good flavor. The spices were not overpowering. The volume of batter was perfect for the 8" cake pan. The finished product was not tall enough to be a cake so can accurately keep the title "pumpkin bars."
Discussion and Future Directions
The pumpkin bars were delicious and disappeared quickly. For fun, I frosted the cake with light orange frosting, made a texture that reminded me of a pumpkin and used green frosting to make a stem. Not only was it cute, it was also fun to cut! It is hard to cut a circle into squares, so we cut it like a jack-o-lantern and gobbled it up piece by piece.
These pumpkin bars were very simple to make. The flavor is good as written, but could easily be made spicier with more cinnamon and spices. The cardamom isn't necessary, but it's a spice I don't use often, so I get excited when I get a chance to use it! These were delicious. And the best part--I didn't have to make a full jelly roll pan! Living alone, it's disappointing to bake and either get sick of a flavor before I've eaten all of something or not eat it fast enough and it goes bad. This was the perfect size for a gathering of 5 girls who were so busy chatting that only 1 or 2 of the 5 felt the earthquake that hit during dessert! I say one or two because I felt something, but nobody said anything so I just assumed I had imagined it. Thirty minutes or so later someone else asked if we'd felt the floor shaking. Strange!
As an aside: when I use egg yolks for recipes, I freeze the whites in an ice cube tray then store them in labeled baggie in the freezer. One egg white is approximately one cube. When a recipe calls for egg whites, I thaw a cube and use that instead of cracking open a fresh egg. For baked goods, a fresh egg white is no different than an egg white that has been frozen, though I would recommend bringing it close to room temperature before using it (please don't try microwaving it to thaw it).
Supporting Materials
Cream Cheese Butter Frosting
1.5 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (4 Tbs.) butter, softened
1/2 tsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and fluffy.
Since I was making the pumpkin bars for a "Ladies Night," I wanted them to be special. That lead me to decorate it in a whimsical way. Obviously it had to look like a pumpkin, and this one looks like it's straight out of a fairytale. You know the one.
Objective
Make pumpkin bars with only 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree.
Hypothesis
I can adapt a recipe for a 15 1/2" by 10 1/2" jelly roll pan to fit an 8" cake pan by cutting the recipe in thirds, then adjusting the weird volumes to standard measurements.
Materials
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (approximately 1/3 of a 15 oz can)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg + 1 egg white
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
dash of cloves
dash of cardamom
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease one 8" round cake pan.
2. Mix pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, egg and egg white until well combined.
3. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cloves and cardamom until smooth.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the middle springs back when you touch it.
5. Cool completely (in the pan or out of the pan if you want to serve it on a plate).
6. Top with Cream Cheese Butter Frosting (recipe follows).
Results
The finished product was slightly domed in the middle and a nice orange color with good flavor. The spices were not overpowering. The volume of batter was perfect for the 8" cake pan. The finished product was not tall enough to be a cake so can accurately keep the title "pumpkin bars."
Discussion and Future Directions
The pumpkin bars were delicious and disappeared quickly. For fun, I frosted the cake with light orange frosting, made a texture that reminded me of a pumpkin and used green frosting to make a stem. Not only was it cute, it was also fun to cut! It is hard to cut a circle into squares, so we cut it like a jack-o-lantern and gobbled it up piece by piece.
These pumpkin bars were very simple to make. The flavor is good as written, but could easily be made spicier with more cinnamon and spices. The cardamom isn't necessary, but it's a spice I don't use often, so I get excited when I get a chance to use it! These were delicious. And the best part--I didn't have to make a full jelly roll pan! Living alone, it's disappointing to bake and either get sick of a flavor before I've eaten all of something or not eat it fast enough and it goes bad. This was the perfect size for a gathering of 5 girls who were so busy chatting that only 1 or 2 of the 5 felt the earthquake that hit during dessert! I say one or two because I felt something, but nobody said anything so I just assumed I had imagined it. Thirty minutes or so later someone else asked if we'd felt the floor shaking. Strange!
As an aside: when I use egg yolks for recipes, I freeze the whites in an ice cube tray then store them in labeled baggie in the freezer. One egg white is approximately one cube. When a recipe calls for egg whites, I thaw a cube and use that instead of cracking open a fresh egg. For baked goods, a fresh egg white is no different than an egg white that has been frozen, though I would recommend bringing it close to room temperature before using it (please don't try microwaving it to thaw it).
Supporting Materials
Cream Cheese Butter Frosting
1.5 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (4 Tbs.) butter, softened
1/2 tsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and fluffy.
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