Not-So-Mini Madeleines (Rewind #2) – TWD

I’m such a slacker.

The first “specialty” pan I bought when I first started baking was a madeleine pan. I have made madeleines a total of two times. TWO.

And I love madeleines. So much so that I named my kitty Madeleine. Not to be confused with MadeLINE.

Cute kitty name aside, madeleines are the perfect dessert for breakfast or to nibble alongside your afternoon tea. When made correctly, they are little melt in your mouth shells that have a delicate flavor and a slight sweetness that can warm anyone’s heart. (Way to sound like a Christmas commerical, Jeannette.)

These were supposed to be mini madeleines but I don’t have a mini pan (and Tony would give me “the look” if I came home with a mini version of a pan I already have LOL) so I made these in a standard (non-stick) mad pan. I upped the salt a bit and added a bit more honey (I just can’t resist the flavor of honey!) I baked my mads with some help from Dorie (thanks for sharing Di!) and all was well I baked at 400 degrees in the bottom half of my oven to hopefully off-set them darkening quickly but 10 mins in the oven browned them pretty quickly either way. Still incredibly tasty and some even got the lovely humps

For the recipe, head on over to my good friend Di’s blog Di’s Kitchen Notebook.

Basic Biscuits (Rewind #1) – TWD

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL turkey day.

I hope you gave thanks for a bunch of stuff you are thankful for.

I hope you ate turkey. With cranberry sauce from a can, just to make me feel better.

I hope you had homemade biscuits. Because clearly it balances out the totally NOT homemade cranberry sauce. I’m all about balance.

   

I’m thankful for my hubby, my family, happy memories, and of course you.

Here, have some biscuits.

Click here for the recipe.

Pumpkin Butter Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wonder why, when October rolls around, that I look for ways to turn all normal baked goods into pumpkin baked goods.

I start thinking in pumpkin pies, pumpkin loaves, pumpkin pancakes, even pumpkin cookies.

But I have never found a thin and chewy pumpkin cookie. The earlier ones I’ve tried were thick and cakey. There’s nothing wrong with thick and cakey but it’s not my favorite texture. Chewy is my favorite. I am in love with chewy.

Enter these cookies. I am in love with these cookies.

They come together just like a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe but have that added punch of pumpkin flavor. They are the epitome of a perfect Autumn spin on run-of-the-mill chocolate chip cookies.

Pumpkin Butter Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
barely adapted from How Sweet Eats

makes about 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup pumpkin butter (I used this one)
heaping 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugars with a wire whisk until they are combined. Add the egg and vanilla and stir until mixed thoroughly. Stir in the pumpkin butter and mix until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture (I did this in 3 intervals) and mix until a dough forms – it will look crumbly at first, but work it with a rubber spatula and it will all come together. Fold chocolate chips.

Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes. Once firm, use a 2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop (or eyeball it using a regular spoon) and place on baking sheet with at least 2 inches of space between each cookie.

Bake for 12-15 minutes (mine took 13), or until cookies are crisp and slightly golden on the edges. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes to set, then remove them to a wire rack to cool. Or not cool. Your choice : )

*Note: Let cookie sheet cool between batches. Do not use a hot out of the oven cookie sheet as it will melt the butter and sugar resulting in a flatter cookie. You can quickly cool your baking sheet by popping it in the freezer for just a few minutes.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

I never have pumpkin pie spice when I need it. Do you?

Fret no more. You can make it at home!!

As far as I can tell, everyone’s perception of what pumpkin pie spice should be is different. This one works for me and caters to my taste. If you like a little more clove, go for it. Cinnamon-a-holic? Have at it. Ginger lover… go to town. I would suggest not going overboard with the alterations but do make it your own.

This is a guideline.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Note: This recipe makes about 2 tablespoons, I quadruple it so that I have plenty on hand and I’m not making a new batch every time I need a bit of spice. Do what works for you!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
big pinch of cardamom

Instructions:

In a small bowl, whisk all spices together, working out any lumps that might occur. Store in an old spice jar. Be sure to label it

As you can see, I made my own nifty label: I scribbled on a torn off piece of notebook paper and taped it to my old cinnamon spice jar. Ta-da!!! Instant class.

Pumpkin Spice Pull-Apart Bread with Maple Glaze

Back in June I made a lemon scented pull-apart coffee cake and it apparently made a lot of people happy.

Happy and confused.

I got a lot of comments letting me know how yummy it looked and at the same time, how confused they were at the steps. So I thought the best way to remedy this situation was to make this again (with an Autumnal flair, of course) and take some process photos to help clarify some things. This is my first time taking process shots (by myself, with one hand) so stay with me here. It was tough but I powered through. Oh the things I do to make you all happy

Back to this pull-apart bread: it is SO good. Dare I say even better than the lemon version? I have a slight obsession with all things pumpkin and cinnamon spiced, baked up and then glazed. Oh that’s a pure win-win in my book ANY day. Even in a blistering Summer day in July.

It’s warm, soft, spiced, sweet deliciousness that’s perfect for breakfast or a snack or with tea or for dinner. Ok, that last one might be just me. It is best served warm and peeled layer by layer. MAYBE shared with someone you love. Maybe…

Pumpkin Spice Pull-Apart Bread with Maple Glaze
recipe by: willow bird baking
yields one loaf

Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups bread flour

Filling Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Maple Glaze Ingredients:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon maple extract
1 teaspoon milk, more if necessary

Directions:

Make the pull-apart bread dough: Lightly spray the inside of a bread pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, brown the 2 tablespoons of butter. Let it bubble and foam and when you see it start to brown, stir it so that it browns evenly. When it’s the color of dark honey, remove it from the heat and pour it into your stand mixer bowl to cool. This can happen quickly, be sure to watch it as it goes from brown to burned in no time.

In the same saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the milk until it gently bubbles. Don’t let it come to a rolling boil as that pretty much ensures it will boil over (learn from my mistakes). Remove it from the heat and pour it into the bowl with the butter. Let these cool until they’re about 100-110 degrees F (about 10 minutes). Set the saucepan aside for another use later.

Stir the sugar and yeast into the milk/butter mixture and let it sit for a few minutes. Stir in pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup flour. If you haven’t already, fit your mixer with a dough hook. Add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring between each addition. When the dough is combined, knead on low speed with a dough hook until smooth and elastic (about 4 minutes with a mixer).

Take your ball of dough out for just a moment and set aside. Lightly spray the inside of your stand mixer bowl with non-stick cooking spray and place the dough back in the bowl; cover it with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour until it doubles in size (After it rises, you can put it in the fridge overnight to use it in the morning, but let it sit out for half an hour before rolling if you do.)

Make the filling: While the dough is rising, whisk the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a small bowl. Toward the end of the rising time, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter for the filling in the saucepan over medium-high heat and brown it as directed above. Put it in a small heat-safe bowl to cool for use later.

Shape and bake pull-apart bread: Knead a sprinkling of flour (about 1 tablespoon) into the dough, deflating it, and recover it. Let it sit to relax for 5 minutes (I didn’t do this the first time I made this bread and it still worked out ok, it just took a bit longer to roll out the dough.)

Flour a large work surface and turn your rested dough out onto it. Roll it out to a 20 x 12 inch wide rectangle, lifting corners periodically to make sure it’s not sticking. If it seems to be snapping back, cover it with your damp towel and let it rest for 5 minutes before continuing.

Spread the browned butter over the surface of the dough with a pastry brush and then sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top, patting it down to ensure it mostly sticks.

With the long edge of the rectangle toward you, cut it into 6 strips (I used a pizza cutter which made super quick work of it).

Stack these strips on top of one another. It really doesn’t matter if they are the EXACT same size or shape. I think the difference in sizes makes it pretty

Cut the resulting stack into 6 even portions.

Place these portions one at a time into your greased loaf pan, pressing them up against each other to fit them all in.

Cover the pan with your damp cloth and place it in a warm place for 30-45 minutes to double in size.

While dough rises, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or 325 if you have a glass loaf dish instead of a metal pan). When it’s risen, place the loaf in the center of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until dark golden brown on top. If you take it out at light golden brown, it’s liable to be raw in the middle, so let it get good and dark; check the center of the loaf with a thermometer if you’d like. Aim for 185-190 degrees. Cool for 20-30 minutes on a cooling rack in the loaf pan while you make the glaze.

Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, sift the powdered sugar and add the extract and milk. Whisk to combine until smooth adding more milk until you reach your desired consistency. I like mine a bit on the thick side so that it really sticks and coats the bread.

Assemble and serve: Use a butter knife (a plastic one works great if you worry about scratching the finish on your bread pan) to loosen all sides of the bread from the loaf pan and gently turn it out onto a plate. Place another plate on top and flip it to turn it right side up. Drizzle glaze over the loaf. Serve each piece slightly warm with a drizzle of glaze.

Bittersweet Brownies – TWD

Today has been one hell of a day.

I spent my day at the DPS. (Literally) 5 Hours of waiting for (literally) 2 minutes of signing paper and taking a damn picture.

I am no happy to say the least. I don’t normally like to complain but today is one of those days when you need a brownie.

I made these brownies a few weeks ago so I’m not 100% certain how I fared with these. I remember that they weren’t chocoaltey enough for me and that the texture was a bit off. BUT to be fair, it could have easily been user error (as I’m pretty sure my brain wanted to read the instructions for the brownies on the other page instead, oi.)

Either way, these weren’t my favorite brownies but they weren’t disastrous enough to throw away. They rarely are, whew.

For the recipe, head on over to Leslie’s blog Lethally Delicious (or click here.)

I didn’t get around to the Alsatian Apple Tart but I WILL make this. Heck, I might even hop into the kitchen NOW! head on over to Jessica of Cookbook Habit for the recipe!

Oh, Happy Day

Today marks the one year anniversary of the day that I married my best friend.

I love you honey.

Here’s to a million more happy years together

Beer and Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

I’m that weird person that wants to eat all the burned cheese off the top of lasagnas, spaghetti and baked mac and cheese. I stare at the dishes coming out of the oven and immediately plot how to remove the crusty, burned bits without anyone catching me in the act.

Because really, how weird would it look for Tony to waltz up to me with a hungry tummy and an empty plate while I am maniacally hunched over the dish, picking it with my fingers and calling it my precious?

    

One step away from the nut house, is what it’d be.

Luckily for me, I married a man who hates the burned cheese so I get it allllll to myself without looking like too much of a freak. Win.

This mac and cheese is a whole lot greater than the sum of it’s parts. Beer, two different cheeses, homemade panko breadcrumbs, bacon, pasta… oh yes. Bring all these elements together and you get what I would consider premium mac and cheese. And I get all the burny, crunchy cheesy bits all to myself. Be jealous

Beer and Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
adapted from How Sweet It Is
serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups uncooked shell noodles (you can sub elbow noodles)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
8 ounces milk*
8 ounces beer (I used Blue Moon Belgian White)
8 ounces freshly grated cheddar cheese
4 ounces freshly grated gruyere cheese
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
4 strips thick cut bacon, fried and coarsely chopped

Note: I’m betting that if you used heavy cream in place of the milk that it would yield a creamier, thicker consistency. (Also, I hate bacon. I added it to make it the ultimate mac and cheese. The things I do for you people. If you don’t like bacon, which I’m sure you all do, feel free to leave it off.)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare water for pasta and boil according to directions, cooking until just al dente.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium high heat and melt butter. Once melted and sizzling, whisk in flour to create a roux and cook until bubbly and golden in color, about 2 minutes (mine was a bit lumpy at first, just keep whisking and it’ll come together). Add milk and beer into saucepan whisking constantly to combine, then add cheeses and stir until melted. Turn heat down to medium and continue to stir, cooking for 5-6 minutes while mixture thickens. Stir in pepper, paprika and nutmeg.

Butter a casserole dish; set aside. Drain noodles and add them to your buttered casserole dish. Then pour cheese over top, mixing gently to combine. Top with panko bread crumbs and an additional sprinkle of cheese if desired. Bake for 20 minutes, sprinkle with bacon and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the panko is golden on top.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, if you can wait that long. Enjoy : )

This post is going to be a delicious dish at our blogging (early) Thanksgiving dinner table. For the turkey and all the trimmings, check out Phyl’s blog for the round-up. Who knows, you might find something you’d like to add to your dinner table

PS. This is real life. I was using a beer bottle as background filler for my pictures and the wind knocked it over. And it spilled everywhere. Nice.

Thursday Thoughts

I’ve been up since before the butt crack of dawn. I was supposed to go to work today but turns out I didn’t have to. I’m still awake. This should be marked in a calendar.

I had chocolate for breakfast. A kit kat, whoppers, and a hershey’s cookies and cream (all fun size). This is real life y’all. I need to get this crap out of the house.

Chances are that I’m going to spend my day in the kitchen baking, with two laptops on my bar, catching up on The Vampire Diaries. I realize you may hate me now but there’s just something about that damn show…

Speaking of TV shows (if you aren’t caught up on House yet, stop reading) is anyone else bummed that Thirteen is no longer going to be on House? I really don’t care that Chase and Taub are coming back. Ok, I lie… I love that the gang is sort of getting back together. But as far as I’m concerned, my favorite team was Thirteen, Chase, Foreman, and Taub. I’m clearly wayyy into this.

I’m making chili for dinner. Just thought you’d like to know. It’s a trashcan chili: dump and go. It’s kinda how I roll these days. No time (or patience) for fancy 12 course meals. Is there such a thing as a 12 course meal? I think I’d probably die… happy!

Why is it that when I don’t have a DROP of heavy cream in the house, I want to make ice cream? And how the hell do I not have any sweet potatoes?! And cream cheese? And pumpkin? WHO KEEPS EATING ALL MY FOOD??! Oh, wait…..

Carry on.

Honey Nut Scones – TWD

Happy Belated Halloween!!

Did you dress up? Did you throw a nifty party that only cool people could go to? Did you steal your kids’ candy? Did you buy a giant bag of different chocolates (because you know that’s what the kids REALLY want)? Did you turn off your porch light early so you could keep the rest of the chocolate for yourself? Are you most likely going to eat candy for breakfast?

If so, we could be great friends.

But just in case you frown upon chocolate bars for breakfast, I made you scones. It has good for you things in it like whole wheat flour, nuts and honey. Have one of these babies warm out of the oven with a glass of milk (for calcium) or orange juice (for vitamin C) or tea (cus it’s warm and yummy and what goes better with warm scones than tea??)

And don’t forget to drench your scone in more honey. If your immediate thought after reading that was something along the lines of “Duh, Jeannette… way ahead of you,” then we could be besties. For serious.

Scones are notorious for being fussy. You can’t overwork the dough or you’re guaranteed tough scones, and the dough is very easily overworked. The best advice that I have ever read regarding making scones (aside from work quickly) is this “Use your hands.” You hands are your best tool here: they are softer and gentler than any rubber spatula or wooden spoon could be; which means they will be gentler on your scone dough and agitate the dough less resulting in fluffy scones. Just be sure to have a napkin handy to turn on the faucet to wash your hands. Unless you think random bits of dough hanging out on your faucet handle-thingies (omg, what the heck are they called?!) is a decorative statement… in which case, I’d have to give you the look -_-

The only change I made to the original recipe was to use pecans instead of walnuts and I made 8 medium scones instead of 12 small-ish scones. That was a direct result of my laziness in not wanting to divide the scone dough so I just patted it into a larger circle and baked for about 2 minutes more. Next time I’ll brush with some cream and sprinkle some raw sugar on it for extra texture. There are a lot of good scone making tips here. Ya learn something new everyday

Honey-Nut Scones
from Baking: from My Home to Yours

Ingredients:

1 large egg
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup cold whole milk (I used 2%)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Stir the egg, honey and milk together.

Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Drop in butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between — and that’s just right.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork (or by hand) just until the dough, which will be wet and sticky, comes together. Don’t overdo it. Stir in chopped walnuts.

Still in the bowl, gently knead the dough by hand, or turn it with a rubber spatula 8 to 10 times. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Working with one piece at a time, pat the dough into a rough circle that’s about 5 inches in diameter, cut it into 6 wedges and place on the baking sheet. (At this point, the scones can be frozen on the baking sheet, the wrapped airtight. Don’t defrost before baking — just add about 2 minutes to the baking time.)

Bake the scones for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are deeply golden and firmish to the touch. Transfer them to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving, or wait for the scones to cool to room temperature. Enjoy : )

Head on over to the LYL page to see everyone that baked scones and Far Brenton with us this week. You can find the recipe for Far Brenton (which I sadly didn’t get a chance to make) on Nicole’s blog, Cookies on Friday.

Tuesdays with Dorie is sadly coming to an end. I joined a bit late in the game but I have learned so many things and made so many great friends through this experience. I’d like to thank you all for making this something to remember.