I Missed You (and Peanut Butter Baked Goods)

I'm baaaaaccckkk.  Most of my frenzied packing and cleaning has been completed.  My house is on the market and looking rather empty.  If you have any good mojo to spare, please send a few vibes my way to encourage someone to buy my house!

In the meantime, I have free reign in my parents' newly remodeled kitchen.  And when I say remodeled, I mean full out, state-of-the-art, amazing, beautiful remodeled.  The counters are humongous.  The stove is gas and has 5 burners *swoon*.  There are two ovens. There is a custom counter made specifically to kneading height, which conveniently, is right at butt height and makes a lovely kitchen perch.  There is enough storage for a small army; although, I come by my love of all things kitchen honestly because my mom filled up her storage spaces without much effort. It is a complete and total pleasure to cook in this kitchen.

Due to my move and my parents' remodel, my mom and I have realized the grand scope of our pantry ingredients. We actually started a list of items that we are not to buy under any circumstance since we have a zillion of them already (barbeque sauce anyone?).  So I was looking to bake something new and interesting, and I had the idea for a spicy peanut butter cookie percolating in the back of my mind.  I remembered a jar of Krema, our awesome, local nut company, Hot & Spicy Peanut Butter in our inventory.   I knew instantly that I would use this peanut butter to create a spicy cookie.  

I also feel like I need to take a moment to apologize for the overwhelming number of peanut butter baked goods of late- I must be craving them or something.  This cookie, however, was so different from the others I have posted recently that it didn't even fit in the same category. The cookies are thick and bakery-style huge (I could only find a big cookie scoop in my mom's drawers).  My dad exclaimed at how spicy-hot the cookies were, but to me they were just pleasantly spicy, with a slow-burn of heat that builds in the back of your throat.  The cookie has the perfect combination of flavors: hot and spicy, sweet and salty. I would like to bake them again and experiment with dipping the fork in a mixture of granulated sugar and cayenne pepper to make the ubiquitous criss-cross pattern on the top of the peanut butter cookie. 

If you do not have access to Krema's wonderful products, I would start by adding a teaspoon of ground cayenne to the dough.  Since I am happy to eat cookie dough, I would take a nibble of dough to see if it had enough kick - if not, I'd add a little more cayenne until I got the ratio right for my palate.

Peanut Butter Cookies

adapted from Joy of Baking

3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

3/4 cup (185 grams) Krema Hot & Spicy Peanut Butter

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

additional granulated sugar mixed with a pinch of cayenne pepper to dip fork in to make criss cross pattern on cookie 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). Beat in the peanut butter. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture and beat until incorporated.  (If the batter is too soft to form into balls, place in the refrigerator for about an hour or until firm.)

Roll the batter into 1 inch (2.54 cm) balls. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, placing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Then, using the tines of the fork that has been dipped in white granulated sugar, make a crisscross pattern. 

Bake the cookies for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container, for about a week. Freeze for longer storage.

Makes about 20 large, bakery style cookies (or 40 smaller cookies)

More Peanut Butter Chocolate Goodies?

I have been on a peanut butter chocolate tear lately.  As much as I enjoy the flavor combination, it isn't a favorite of mine so it is kind of funny that I keep on baking with it. I recently took a weekend trip to Cleveland to visit one of my best friends.  This friend used to be a frequent recipient of my baked goods since we shared an office. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for her, she moved to Cleveland to be with her boyfriend fiance. Since I knew I would be crashing on her couch, I figured a baked good was in order.

Last time I visited her, I brought these delicious peanut butter chocolate "brownies".  She and her fiance were quite enthused with the flavor combination, so I decided to try a new peanut butter chocolate recipe out on them.  I think they were quite happy with my offering. 

The blondies bake up very chewy and crazy-rich. Speaking from personal experience, they make a lovely 2 a.m. post-bar nibble.  The bars were easy to transport and hold up well over a few days. 

The addition of peanut butter keeps the blondies really moist. I think pushing whole peanut butter cups into the top of the hot-from-the-oven blondies was gilding a pretty darn spectacular lily, but it got them out of my house so I wouldn't snack on them.  I found the recipe over at my sister's blog, The Spiced Life.  (If you have a hankering for chocolate and peanut butter, her blog is a great place to start - she has a lot of reviews posted!)

 Rich & Chewy Peanut Butter Squares A.K.A. Best Peanut Butter Blondies EVER
Adapted from Baking By Flavor via The Spiced Life

1 cup (126 g) AP flour
1/4 cup cake flour
3/4 t baking powder
1/8 t salt
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to tepid
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 t vanilla
1 cup chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, plus more for topping (optional)
3/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Spray an 8X8 baking pan and line it with parchment paper or foil that overhangs the sides (you will use it to lift the blondies out of the pan). Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Sift together the AP flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl (this is easily done by hand) whisk together the melted butter and peanut butter. Whisk in the brown sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Switching to a wooden spoon or a spatula, mix in the sifted flour mixture. Stir in the chips and peanut butter cups. The dough will be thick and chunky.

Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and spread it in evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating front to back halfway through. The bars are done when the dough is set and golden. Optional: you can press as many peanut butter cups as you want into the surface of the blondies while they are still warm. Let the pan and bars cool completely on a cooling rack. Slice the bars into 4 quadrants--and then slice each quadrant into 4 squares. Try not to eat them all.

Salted Cashew Brittle - Better Late Than Never

Remember how I promised to share the most amazing Cashew Brittle with Fleur de Sel back in December? Yeah, well, time got away from me and I never got around to typing up this post.  I am sorry.  But maybe now the sugar shock of the holidays has worn off, and you will be interested in actually making a candy recipe?  This brittle would make a lovely addition to an Easter Basket or a sweet surprise for someone with a spring birthday.  It is a pretty straightforward, easy candy to make.  Be sure to have a candy thermometer before you try to make this recipe!  I also found it was best to have all the ingredients measured and ready to go.  When caramelizing sugar hits the desired temperature, it waits for no one.  It also can burn the heck out of you - so be very, very careful while making this candy.

The cashews are amazing in this candy, and they are the perfect match to the fleur de sel.  I used salted cashews because I prefer a rather strong salty contrast to my sweets, but any unsalted or salted nut would probably work fine in this recipe.  I highly recommend using fleur de sel or another interesting sea salt.  It really stands out in this candy.  My parents more or less threatened each other over who got the last bite of this brittle, insisting I make a second batch.  We all burnt our fingers in our eagerness to taste nibbles of the brittle as it was cooling- delicious.

Cashew Brittle with Fleur de Sel
adapted from Food & Wine via Eggs on Sunday

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces salted cashew pieces
Fleur de sel or crushed Maldon sea salt

Directions
Measure out your nuts and baking soda and set near the stove. On a heat-proof surface, set a rimmed sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Combine the sugar, water, butter and corn syrup in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is light brown and registers 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer (approximately 10 minutes).
Turn off the heat and carefully stir in the baking soda (the mixture will bubble).
Stir in the nuts, then immediately scrape the brittle onto your parchment-lined baking sheet. Use the back of a large spoon (oil it lightly if it sticks) to spread the brittle into a thin, even layer. Sprinkle evenly with fleur de sel (don't be shy!) and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Break the brittle into large shards.
Makes 2 pounds of brittle.

Easy Triple Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies to Impress a Crowd

Let me say right off the bat that this recipe for Triple Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies makes a LOT of cookies.  After scooping 3 dozen cookie dough balls, and not really seeing a huge dent in the dough, I decided to freeze the remainder of the scooped dough balls. This was the right decision.  This recipe makes at least 5 and a half dozen cookies (using a tablespoon size scoop). 

I made these cookies for my good friend's birthday celebration.  Last year I made her some amazing Irish Car Bomb Brownies, and I asked her what she wanted this year- a cookie with peanut butter was her reply. So I started my hunt for the perfect peanut butter cookie recipe. Naturally the first person I turned to was my sister since I know she loves peanut butter cookies and baking in general. I found this cookie recipe on her blog, and I knew that it would be the recipe I would make for my friend.  I baked 3 dozen cookies for her celebration and shared the remaining frozen cookie dough with her (to continue her birthday celebration sometime in the future) and my dad.  

The cookies come out moist and so incredibly rich.  One is more than enough to satisfy your craving for a sweet, peanut buttery, chocolaty, thick and chewy cookie. I took the time to unwrap a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups and chop them since it doesn't look like Hershey's is selling the peanut butter baking pieces anymore (please bring them back!).  Of course, they wouldn't be triple anything cookies with just the chopped peanut butter cups, so I also included peanut butter chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I think dark chocolate chunks would be nice in these cookies as well.  

If you are looking for a go-to peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, this is the recipe for you.  Also, my dad reports that the frozen cookie dough cooked up beautifully.  So the next time you need cookies for a crowd or just feel like freezing some cookie dough to have on hand, give these a try whether you take the time to chop the peanut butter cups or not.

Triple Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from The Spiced Life and King Arthur Cookie Companion
 

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups (11 7/8 oz) creamy peanut butter
1 cup (8 oz) dark brown sugar
1 cup (7 oz) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups (11 1/4 oz) AP flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1 t kosher salt
2 to 2 1/2 cups chips - any combination of peanut butter chips, chopped peanuts, chocolate chips or peanut butter cups

additional peanut butter cups or sea salt for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone.

Cream the butter and peanut butter together until well blended. Add the sugars and cream until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs and the vanilla and blend thoroughly. Stir in the dry ingredients and then the chips, being careful to not over-stir.

Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, drop rounds of cookie dough onto the baking sheet--I fit 12 per sheet. Sprinkle some sea salt on top of each one (optional- I skipped and instead popped a peanut butter cup into the top of the warm cookie when it came out of the oven). Bake for 11-14 minutes; the cookies are done when they are set and are just starting to brown at the edges. Remove and let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack.

Comforting Oat Cookie (Perfect for Breakfast)

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the assortment of random cookbooks I acquire from friends and family.  Since my loved ones know I adore all things cooking-related, I am often on the receiving end of a spur-of-the-moment purchase, great sale purchase or it-has-food-on-the-cover-so-I-knew-you'd-love-it purchase.  I am always entertained by these gifts because I always discover something I might have otherwise missed.  I received a few cookbooks that fall into this category this year.  One of which I had never heard of, but I have loved looking through is Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros.

Homemade Cranberry Butter made a delightful filling to the cookies.

Apples for Jam is one of the most visually appealing books I have ever perused. There are beautiful doodles and family snapshots, lots of personal writing in adorable fonts, and of course, tons of eye-catching photographs.  Did I forget to mention the colors?  Well the colors used in this book are incredibly important - the entire cookbook is organized around color!  With sections such as Orange, Gold, Monochrome, White and Brown, you realize how important color is to food.  Personally, I would have thought the first thing I wanted to cook from this book would have come from the Orange or Yellow or Stripes (!!!) sections, but surprisingly, the first recipe I tried is from the Monochrome section.

It is a very simple recipe for Oat Cookies.  Tessa Kiros writes, "These are plain, healthy, and good.  You could serve them for breakfast instead of oatmeal sometimes, with a mug of warm milk."  I couldn't agree with Tessa more.  The cookies are very simple, with a clean oatmeal flavor shining through in every bite.  I threw them together in a snap with pantry ingredients.  I think the only change I would make in the future would be to allow the dough to sit for a couple hours or overnight before baking - the oatmeal and whole wheat flour have a slightly raw flavor that would be reduced with a rest period. I liked these cookies best with a tart schmear of homemade Cranberry Butter (I promise to post the recipe soon!).  I also think using this recipe as a basic oat cookie to add dried fruit or chocolate chips to would be great.  My last kudos to Tessa on this recipe? It only makes 25 cookies (I think I got more like 18-20 out of the recipe)!  As a single gal, I really appreciate a small baking recipe.  I do not need 5 dozen warm cookies taunting my from their cooling racks.

If you enjoy the visual aspect and design layout of books, I highly recommend picking Apples for Jam up to browse.  It is a very unique, pretty cookbook with lovely writing.  Thanks to my parents for randomly giving me this book for Christmas!

I was inspired to play with Monochrome - 
cookie dough in black and white looks interesting!

Oat Cookies
from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros

1 egg
2/3 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract
5 1/2 T butter, softened
1/2 cup AP flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
salt
1 cup quick cooking oats (I used old-fashioned)
1 1/2 T milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whip the egg, sugar, and vanilla together until the sugar has dissolved.  Beat in the butter and then sift in the all-purpose and whole wheat flours and baking powder.  Add a pinch of salt and the oats, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Stir in the milk.  With lightly moistened hands, shape the dough into walnut-sized balls and put them, well spaced, on the baking sheet. Flatten them a bit so they look like mini-hamburger patties.  Bake for about 15 minutes until they are golden around the edges (they might still be a little soft on top).  Cool on a wire rack and then keep in your cookie jar for up to 5 days.

Another Thumb's Up for Matzo Toffee

See, I haven't forgotten that I promised you the recipes for my Christmas treats.  Here is the first of three!

I must say that I bookmarked a recipe for Matzo Toffee on Noble Pig's blog last spring during Passover.  It took me quite awhile to finally make the decadent candy, and it was worth the wait.

I can honestly say that this toffee flew off our holiday table.  I made two full batches, and I was worried my parents were going to insist I make more.  Fortunately Laura came home with some similar toffee candy that made our parents equally happy. The Matzo Toffee is sweet and crunchy, with a seriously appealing caramelized sugar edge.  Of course, I had to gild the lily and add a little  hefty sprinkle of sea salt to add that delicious salty contrast.

The other bonus about this recipe?  It takes about 10 minutes to throw together.  It was so delicious and so impressive on our holiday spread, and people had no idea how quickly I threw it together. A simple show stopper for any gift basket, I think this definitely needs to be included in your candy-making-repertoire.

I used a box of matzo that was left over from Passover 2009 - I don't know if I should admit that or not, but the stuff doesn't seem to get stale (obviously the package was unopened until December when I made the candy). Thank you very much to Mary who provided me with the box!

Matzo Toffee
adapted from Noble Pig Blog

4-6 sheets of matzo
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ounces good quality chocolate or chocolate chips
about 1 handful chopped, salted nuts
1-2 teaspoons good quality sea salt, to taste

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Line the sheet with matzo, breaking extra pieces to fill in any spaces.

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar together over medium heat.  Stir until the butter is completely melted and beginning to boil.  Continue to boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Working quickly, pour the mixture over the matzo, covering it completely with a heatproof spatula.  Place the pan in a 350 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. 

Remove the pan from the oven and immediately cover the matzo with good quality chocolate or chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli 60% cacao).  Place back in the oven for 5 minutes or until the chocolate is melted.  Remove from the oven and spread the chocolate evenly.

Sprinkle the chocolate immediately with nuts and salt (I did one batch with cashews and one batch with almonds).

When the chocolate is completely dry, break into many pieces.  I found it kept well for several days - at least 10 or so. 

Belated Christmas Wishes!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I know I am arriving late to the party, but I really want to post these pictures before the magic of Christmas is gone :) (I will post recipes soon, I promise!) The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind for me. I have spent a ton of time in the kitchen with my Mom baking (and my Dad lurking around to sample) and a ton of time with my entire family. I got to see my Aunt and Uncle from New York, my Great Aunt from West Virginia and her family, all of my siblings and their families, and lots of time with my parents. Of course, in the midst of it all I caught a horrible cold but it is much better than the flu that took me out for over 2 weeks last Christmas. I have had many ups and downs over the past year, but I am comforted and reassured knowing that I have so many people who love me and worry about me. I hope your holidays were filled with just as much chaos, love, joy and food as mine were!

Almond Chocolate Toffee Motzoh


Cashew Chocolate Toffee Motzoh


Santa bringing the window-pane candy


Window-Pane Candy


Window-Pane Candy cooling (with pizelles)


Cashew Brittle with Fleur de Sel


Mom breaking up window-pane candy


Window-Pane Candy
(I couldn't decide which picture I liked best!)

Divine Zucchini Spice Cake with Dogs!

I baked this delicious cake to take to a friend who had a baby recently. I didn't manage to get photographs taken - so instead you get pictures of dogs!


I really should have cooked a meal for this friend sooner - she had her baby in May! Eeek! I am a bad friend!! I have known her my whole life, so maybe she used to my procrastination. I tried to make up for it by bringing her a lasagna for the freezer, awesome pasta salad for dinner and this tasty zucchini spice cake for dessert.

I was introduced to zucchini spice cake a couple years ago when I tried a recipe I found on the internet for my co-workers. Of course, I have no idea where that recipe is or where I found it. That is so frustrating! I had a bad habit of keeping my recipes on my work computer. Of course when I was laid off, I didn't get an extra 15 minutes to print out various non-work-related-recipes :) C'est la vie! It merely forced me to scour the internet and come up with a new zucchini spice cake recipe to try. I turned to the Cooking Light Bulletin Board for inspiration, and it didn't let me down.

This is an action shot of them playing- I swear!
They just play kinda hard...

The recipe actually comes from DianasDesserts.com, a website I have never visited but I should based on this cake! The zucchini keeps the cake moist, and the spices are warm and delicious. I especially love the strong tingle you get from the cloves. I increased the spices slightly since I love heavily spiced cakes, but you can leave them alone for a more subtle flavor. The frosting is simple and totally necessary. This was the perfect cake to bring to my friend's house - she had two servings so I know she loved it! (She is a new mom - she deserves it!)

Zowie Zucchini Bars

Ingredients 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large egg 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 1 t) 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I used more like 3/4 t) 1 cup shredded zucchini, drained 1/2 cup chopped nuts, any type (I omitted) Spice Frosting (see recipe below)

Instructions: 1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and sides of a 8x8x2-inch square pan*. 2. Mix brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Spread in pan. 3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Frost with spice frosting. Cut into 24 bars. Makes 9 regular or 18 "mini" size bars. Spice Frosting 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 3 to 4 teaspoons milk Mix all ingredients until smooth and spreadable. *Note: If using a nonstick or dark colored baking pan, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Source: DianasDesserts.com

Date: August 21, 2002

Family Tradition- Strawberry Shortcake with Bacon

Yep, you heard me right. Strawberry shortcake with a hearty side of bacon. Decadent and delicious... a dinner made of dessert and breakfast gluttony. This is one of my most favorite childhood meals. My gramma made it for me when I would go to stay with my grandparents.


I know it is a childhood favorite of my mom's as well. She said they would have it every summer, as often as her mom could afford strawberries. While this is not exactly a family recipe since I tried a new shortcake recipe, it is a family tradition and family meal. So I am submitting this to my sister, Laura of The Spiced Life, who is hosting this month's family blogging event: Family Recipes: Memories of Family, Food and Fun.
I can understand wanting to eat this meal as often as possible. The saltiness of the bacon is the most delicious counterpoint to the sweetness of the berries and cream. It reminds me of dipping bacon in syrup if that sort of thing appeals to you.


It is a simple dinner to prepare, just whip up your favorite batch of simple shortcake, cook some bacon and enjoy. I don't recommend eating this with a lemon flavored shortcake, I would stick to vanilla.


The shortcake recipe that I tried when I recently shared this meal with my parents was okay. Actually it was really tasty for a buttermilk biscuit. But it was just too biscuit-y to be shortcake for us. We enjoy a shortcake that crumbles, this recipe had buttery, flakey layers instead - just like a biscuit. So while I may not use this recipe for strawberry shortcake again, I would definitely use it to make biscuits to go with a hearty meal.


Strawberry Shortcake
American Home Cooking by Cheryl & Bill Jamison

Berries
5 cups halved strawberries
3 T sugar or more to taste

Shortcakes
2 3/4 cups unbleached, AP flour
2 T sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, well chilled (I subbed in butter here since I don't keep shortening around)
2 T unsalted butter, well chilled
1 cup buttermilk
1 t vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Topping
1 1/2 cups whipped cream, well chilled
2 t pure vanilla extract
2 T sugar, or more to taste

Stir together the strawberries with the sugar, mashing them very lightly with a fork to help release the juice. Let the berries sit at room temperature while you prepare the shortcakes and whipped cream topping.

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl, preferably a shallow one. Cut the shortening and butter into small chunks, and add them to the dry ingredients. Combine with a pastry blender just until a coarse meal forms. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk and vanilla. With your fingers and a few swift strokes, combine the dough just until it's a sticky mess. Turn out onto a lightly floured board or, better, a pastry cloth. Clean, dry, and flour your hands. Gently pat out the dough and fold it back over itself about a half-dozen times, just until smooth. (A dough scraper helps greatly with this.) Pat out again into a circle or oval about 3/4 inch in thickness. Cover the dough lightly and refrigerate it for about 20 minutes.

Cut the dough with a biscuit cutter, trying to get as many shortcakes as possible, since the dough toughens if it's rerolled. You should be able, with practice, to get about eight 3-inch biscuits, or siz 3 1/2-inch biscuits from the dough. Make your shortcakes with a quick, clean, straight-down push on the cutter. If you twist the cutter, as seems to be a natural motion for many people, it twists the dough, resulting in an uneven shortcake. Bake the shortcakes in the center of the oven, turning the baking sheet around once halfway through the baking time. Bake 3-inch shortcakes for 10-12 minutes total and larger shortcakes for 12-15 minutes, until raised and golden brown.

Prepare the topping, beating together the cream with the vanilla and sugar wtih a whisk or in a chilled mixing bowl with chilled beaters over medium-high speed. Beat the cream only until soft peaks form.

Split a shortcake in half and place the bottom portion in a broad shallow bowl or on a dessert plate. Spoon several tablespoons of fruit and juice over it. Spoon on a dollop of whipped cream. Place the shortcake top over the cream and add another layer of berries and whipped cream. Repeat with the remaining shortakes, berries and cream, and serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

Serviceberry Buckle

There is no cute title for this post. It needs nothing to suck you in. This snack cake is so delicious that words cannot do it justice. My roommate asked me to remove it from the kitchen (high praise from a fitness professional). My dad, who has a fever post-operation and is a little out of it, gobbled it up and loved it. I couldn't keep out of it fresh out of the oven. Whether you go to the effort to find serviceberries or just make it with blueberries, try this buckle recipe. You won't be disappointed.


What are serviceberries you ask? Well, I have no idea. I read about them on a blog or two last week, and I was determined to find them at the farmers' markets at first opportunity. I snatched up the last two pints from the only purveyor I found selling them. A grizzly man looked slightly perturbed that I grabbed them before he could get a pint, but I didn't give them up. The berries are also known as Juneberries and Saskatoon around here. The farmer I bought them from told me that the birds usually eat them before a decent harvest can be made by humans. My sister happened to buy some from her market recently and was informed that they are more closely related to stone fruits despite their flavor reminding me of blueberries. There is a tiny, edible seed inside of each berry, but I found it barely noticeable. The fruit is sweet and beautiful; its juices turned the cake a lovely shade of reddish purple.


I nearly followed this recipe from King Arthur Flour to the letter. My only substitutions (listed in red) were due to ingredients I had on hand. It seems to be a fool-proof recipe, and I definitely recommend trying it the next time you have berries on hand and want something like a coffee cake to snack on.


Blue(Service)berry Buckle
The King Artur Flour Baker's Companion

One 9-inch square coffee cake, about 16 servings

Batter
3/4 cup (5.5 oz) sugar
4 T (2 oz) butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup (4 oz) milk (I subbed buttermilk)
2 cups (8.5 oz) unbleached, AP flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground cardamom (optional) (I omitted)
1 t vanilla extract (optional)
2 cups (11 oz) blueberries (fresh, or if frozen, unthawed) (I used serviceberries)

Streusel
3/4 cup (5.5 oz) sugar
3/4 cup (3 oz) unbleached AP flour
1 t cinnamon
2-3 t lemon zest, or 1/8 t lemon oil (I subbed lime zest)
1/2 t salt
5 1/3 T (2 3/8 oz) soft butter

Grease and flour a 9-inch round pan and preheat the oven to 375 F.

Batter: Cream together the sugar and butter, then add the egg and mix at medium speed for 1 minute. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Stir in the milk alternately with the dry ingredients and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Gently fold in the berries. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

Streusel: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon and salt. Add the butter, mixing to make medium-sized crumbs. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the batter.

Bake the buckle for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and cook it (in the pan) on a rack. Serve the buckle with coffee in the morning, or with whipped cream for dessert.

Strawberry Cupcake Bug

I caught the strawberry cupcake bug. Several of my favorite blogs recently posted tempting strawberry cupcake recipes. Shelby over at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch did a riff on a recent Cooking Light recipe. Lori of RecipeGirl fame also baked up a version of the cupcakes with the prettiest frosting. All of these lovely pink cupcakes were rattling around in my head, making me want to jump on the cupcake bandwagon. Then my dear friend Allison suggested we head to a local strawberry farm last week and pick a couple baskets for eating. We ended up at Jacquemin Farms which was less than 15 minutes from my house and had rows of beautiful red berries for us to pick. In less than 20 minutes we had picked over 8 quarts - enough for us to eat for the week. And definitely enough for me to finally act on those strawberry cupcakes.


Fate conspired to give me even more reasons to make strawberry cupcakes. I had plans to see some old work friends for a lunch, and I wanted to surprise one of them for their birthday. I succeeded! He didn't think that I would remember that he is turning 50 in the next week, but I remembered by bringing him strawberry cupcakes! Later that same day, I was headed to my sister's house for a few days of fun. I figured my nieces would love the chance to eat a delicious, naturally pink cupcake.


I am really happy I caught the strawberry cupcake bug! I have never eaten a strawberry cupcake, and I cannot say why they sounded particularly good to me this spring. But I think that this will become a springtime baking staple for me - so easy to make and mildly flavored with fresh strawberries and vanilla. I turned to Martha Stewart for the recipe that I used - and I nearly followed it to the letter. In fact, I only deviated from the recipe while making the frosting since I wanted a cream cheese flavor in mine. The recipe is actually from Candace Nelson of Sprinkles Cupcakes. I think I saw Sprinkles Bakery's appearance on the Martha Stewart show when it originally aired, but it didn't really tempt me then. Times change. These cupcakes are delightfully moist (I even ate the last one three days after baking, and the cake was still delicious!), very mildly flavored and easy to put together. The hardest part is making the strawberry puree but a food processor makes that a zip. When I make them again, I think I might try adding some dried strawberries to the batter because I would like the extra strawberry punch that might add (others have mentioned strawberry extract, but I think the dried berries might enhance the strawberry flavor similarly). Definitely give in to your strawberry cupcake craving and try these tasty cupcakes.


Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes
by Candace Nelson

Ingredients
Makes 1 dozen.

• 2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Head to Martha Stewart for the Sprinkles' Strawberry Icing recipe.

Some of my Favorite Spring Things (Part 2 of 2)

If asparagus doesn't trip your trigger and make you ready to put away the winter sweaters and bring out the tank tops, strawberries must do the trick! We are very lucky in Ohio to have a long strawberry season, so this is just the first of many strawberry dishes. I always want to try new strawberry desserts, but for me, strawberries are oftentimes just an excuse to eat shortcake. I realize I have blogged about my love for sweet, ruby red strawberries in the past, so I won't beat a dead horse. So instead I will dedicate this post to one of the most singularly delicious shortcake recipes I have ever come across!

I found it while browsing Epicurious for a new recipe to make for a dinner to share with my parents. I served my parents pan fried walleye with roasted potatoes and a green bean and cucumber salad. The food was tasty and all, but the real winner from the dinner was the Strawberry Shortcake with Grand Marnier Strawberry Compote with Chantilly Cream.

The shortcakes were tender and just sweet enough with the most delightful hint of lemon and buttermilk. The strawberries were delicious with the infusion of orange that the liqueur contributed. It was also incredibly easy to throw this dessert together. I used a pastry cutter to mix the shortcakes together and had the dough chilling and strawberries mascerating before my parents arrived. After dinner all I had to do was whip the heavy cream (which took about 10 seconds because it is so thick and luscious! I love Snowville Creamery!!!) to make a sweet topping.

Shockingly enough, I made no substitutions to the following recipe found at Epicurious.

Strawberry Shortcake with Grand Marnier Strawberry Compote and Chantilly Cream

Chef-owner Michael Mina of Michael Mina restaurant in San Francisco created this recipe for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program. He recommends using local strawberries whenever possible.

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 tablespoons baking powder
Pinch (1/16 teaspoon) kosher salt
1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick), cut into chunks
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 cup cream, plus more for brushing
Finely grated zest from one lemon

Grand Marnier Strawberry Compote
4 pints strawberries, stems removed and quartered
1/2 cup Grand Mariner
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch (1/16 teaspoon) kosher salt

Chantilly Cream
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Make Biscuits:
In large bowl, sift together all-purpose and cake flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use pastry cutter or fork to blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
In medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk and cream, then whisk in lemon zest. Add liquid mixture to dry mixture, stirring with fork just until dough forms.
Turn dough out onto floured work surface and knead gently just until dough holds together, about 10 turns. Place dough on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
On floured work surface, pat out dough to 1/2-inch-thick round. Using 3-inch cutter, cut out biscuits. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet, brush lightly with cream, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool.
Make Compote:
In large mixing bowl, combine strawberries, Grand Mariner, 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Mix gently, taste, and add more sugar if needed. Let stand at room temperature until juices form, at least 30 minutes.
Make Chantilly Cream:
Chill medium mixing bowl and whisk in freezer for 10 minutes before beginning. In chilled bowl, whisk cream until it begins to foam and thicken. Add sugar and continue to whisk just until soft peaks form. Do not over-whip.
To Plate:
Cut biscuits in half horizontally and place each bottom half in wide bowl or on plate. Divide compote among bowls, spooning strawberries onto biscuit bottoms and pouring some juice into each bowl. Top each shortcake with Chantilly Cream and biscuit top.