Apple Pear Crumble

Our fall CSA boxes left us with a refrigerator draw full of apples and pears.  Apples usually don't last long in our house as I eat one almost every day (it is the perfect snack at 4:30pm to help me get through a workout after work) but these apples were really ideal for baking rather than snacking.  So they started to pile up. 

Crumbles are such a great late fall and winter dessert.  They make the house smell amazing and they are pure comfort food.  This one is delicious.  Even if there are only two of you in the house, it won't last long.

This recipe is a keeper for us.  I did cut back the sugar by half - the fruit brought enough sweetness on its own.  But if your apples are particularly tart you might want a bit more sugar.  And it doesn't really need whipped cream as suggested for serving, although a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream is a lovely addition.

Apple, Pear, and Dried-Cherry Crumble

Serves 6-8
Adapted from Bon Appetit

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 4 cups)
• 2 large pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
• 1 cup dried cherries (about 6 ounces) (dried cranberries are a tasty substitution)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch oval ceramic baking dish. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and nutmeg in large bowl. Add apples, pears, and dried cherries to bowl; sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat. Transfer to prepared dish.

Using fingertips, mix butter, brown sugar, lemon peel, remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon in medium bowl until moist clumps form. Crumble butter mixture over fruit.

Bake until fruit bubbles at edges and crumble is crisp and beginning to brown on top, about 1 hour. Cool about 20 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or perhaps fresh whipped cream.

Apple Coffee Cake Muffins with Yogurt

Muffins have become something of a staple for us lately.  They are perfect for tossing in your work back for an alternative to the vending machine or coffee shop treats.  I have been wrapping them in plastic wrap and freezing them to help them last longer.  These apple coffee cake muffins are so yummy for a mid-morning snack.  They are nice and moist and have lots of good for you points with the apples, walnuts, and yogurt. 

I slightly adjusted this recipe to add in a little whole wheat flour (and the cinnamon).  It is amazing to me that I am doing that now - swapping in whole wheat flour for a baked good!  Not too long ago I would have had zero interest in add in that whole wheat but lately the extra bit of nutrition seems like a good idea.  And muffins are perfect for this - you don't even notice!  I really dislike super wheaty flavoring so if you are still holding out on adding in whole wheat flour to your baking this is a good recipe to try and ease into it. 

Apple Coffee Cake Muffins

Makes 16 muffins
Adapted from: Kitchen M

1 c. unbleached AP flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

6 Tbsp butter, cut into small cubes and softened to room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 c. plain non-fat yogurt
3 apples, peeled, cored, diced into small pieces

Topping:
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/3 c. chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon, ground

Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Prepare topping first. Mix brown sugar, walnuts and ground cinnamon in a small cup and set a side. Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder together, mix well and set aside. In a separate large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until smooth. Add egg and egg white and continue to beat. Add yogurt and mix well.

Pour flour mixture into the wet mixture and fold using a spatula. Stir in diced apples gently and avoid over mixing.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle on the topping, I like to slightly push in the nuts. Bake at 375 F for 18 minutes or so until tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool to room temperature.

Enjoy!

S'more Cupcakes

The end-of-summer days should be filled with savouring summer's best.  That might be a final trip to the neighborhood pool or beach, caprese salad with fresh, locally grown tomatoes, dinner on the deck during sunset...  And definitely something s'more related.  S'mores instantly take me back to summer camp, sing around the campfire with those fast-but-new best friends after a day spent sailing or canoeing on the lake.

For a summer bbq I wanted to take something that was summery but that I could make quickly and with ingredients that I had on hand... So s'more styled cupcakes ended up as the winner.  And they couldn't be easier while still making a nice presentation. 

For this, it really is just about the decoration and styling so you can use your favorite recipes to bring it together.  Here was my process...

1st - Make your favorite chocolate cupcakes, using a cute liner (maybe gingham or stripes like these).  My favorite chocolate cake is this one but it makes a lot of cupcakes so...

2nd - Make marshmallow frosting - this one on MS is perfect and very easy.

3rd - Frost your cupcakes, making a cute little swirl from a spoon or use a pastry tip - whichever you prefer (I just used a spoon as this frosting goes on easy and smooth).

4th - Prepare the decorating components - break up graham crackers so you have small squares, crumble a few graham crackers for dusting and cut up a high quality chocolate bar (I used a Valrhona dark chocolate bar that in Chicago you can get at Trader Joes).

5th - Use a kitchen torch to 'toast' your marshmallow frosting.

6th - Immediately sprinkle on the crushed graham cracker and add in the graham cracker and chocolate squares next to each other - I like them at a slight angle.

Voilà!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

We have hit that point in summer where zucchini is beyond abundant.  My favorite thing to do with zucchini is to bake with it.  Super fresh zucchini grated and mixed into a bread or muffin is just so good. 

My favorite recipe this summer comes from Smitten Kitchen.  It is so easy to mix up and it holds up long enough for us to enjoy muffins for a quick breakfast for several days during the work week.  My favorite combo for the extra-goodness-ingredients would be chocolate chips, walnuts and golden raisins.  Yummy.

Zucchini Bread

Very slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins (or 1 loaf and 12 muffins - my preferred combo!)

3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally. Alternately, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Shortbread Cookies with Pink Peppercorns

Shortbread is something that I am not sure I would have made.  I don't recall eating it while growing up and haven't been necessarily drawn to it.  But Dan loves it and so it has found its way into my life.  Every now and then we have a conversation about foods we didn't care for or completely pass on before one of us made the other give it a try.

I am certainly glad the shortbread cookies, or biscuits if you prefer, made their way into our recipe box - yum!

This shortbread recipe was a good find.  It is super simple but with very yummy results.  For summer baking it is great as the oven doesn't get too hot.  I didn't have a pan with a removable bottom on hand so just did the trick of lining an 8x8 pan with foil- worked like a charm. 

Since the butter really shines here, I would use the highest quality butter your local market carries.  I add some vanilla bean seeds and a sprinkling of pink peppercorns, which are a nice unexpected touch giving this classic a nice little lift.

I will definitely be making these again.  They are tasty and pretty enough to share, if they last long enough.

Twice-baked Shortbread

Original recipe from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich, slightly adapted from Lovely Morning

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and still warm
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces if you’re weighing) all purpose flour
a few pink peppercorns, crushed

plus turbinado or demerara sugar for sprinkling

And a baking pan with a removable bottom, like a round or rectangular fluted tart pan. If you don’t have a tart pan, you can line a regular square pan with a sheet of foil so you can lift the finished shortbread out in one piece.

Split your vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into a medium bowl, stir with the sugar.  Stir in the melted butter, the vanilla extract and salt. Add the flour and mix until just incorporated. It will be really really buttery! Spread the dough evenly in the pan, sprinkle on the crushed pink peppercorn. Let rest for at least 2 hours, or if possibly overnight. (No need to refridgerate).

Preheat oven to 300°F. Bake shortbread for 45 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, leaving the oven on. Lightly sprinkle the surface of the shortbread with sugar. Let it cool for 10 minutes.

Remove the shortbread from the pan (v. v. carefully!). Use a thin sharp knife to cut wedges or fingers or squares. Place the pieces slightly apart on a parchment lined baking sheet and put it back in the oven for 10 minutes, until it’s golden brown.

Cool on a rack.

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Rustic Rhubarb Tarts

Rhubarb is something that I didn't really appreciate until a couple of years ago.  I would eat it in rhubarb cake but that was about it.  But in the past couple of years I have started to really enjoy this spring produce treat.

We picked up a bunch of rhubarb at the market on Saturday morning with an open mind for what it would turn into... it just looked to good to not get a bunch.  So after we got home I opened up Canning For a New Generation and landed on Rhubarb Tarts.  The recipe was super straightforward and we had everything in the pantry, including pie crust dough (leftover from last weekend's quiche) in the freezer that needed to be used. 

Rhubarb and pie crust can be a bit dicey.  The juice from the rhubarb can result in a soggy mess.  This recipe has a little trick to let the cut rhubarb and sugar to sit in the refrigerator to allow the fruit to let go of its juice... which you can then strain off to make a pretty little syrup.  Crisis averted.

This tart recipe is perfect for a farm to table dessert.  It is so simple that it allows the ingredients to shine. 

Rustic Rhubarb Tarts

Adapted from Canning For a New Generation

Makes 4 generous individual tarts

• 1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1/2" slices
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 recipe of your favorite pie dough
• unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Put the sliced rhubarb in a larger bowl and add the granulated sugar.  Split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the bowl and nestle the pods in the rhubarb. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Turn the rhubarb out into a colander set over a small saucepan and stir gently to drain as much of the liquid as possible.  Return the rhubarb to the bowl and add the lemon juice, flour and cinnamon (if using).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll them out on a floured work surface until 1/8" thick.  If you prefer your edges a bit more polished, cut an 8" round from each.  Divide the rhubarb mixture among the rounds, piling it high in the center.  For each tart, fold the edges of the dough up over the filling towards the center leaving about 2 inches circumference, pleating it and making sure any tears in the dough are pinched closed. 

Dot the exposed filling with butter, brush the edges of the dough with milk, and sprinkle all over with the turbinado sugar.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until well browned and bubbly.  While the tarts are baking, put the saucepan with the liquid from the rhubarb over high head and boil until the syrup is reduced by half, set aside to cool. 

When you remove the tarts from the oven, spoon some of the reduced syrup over the filling in each tart.  Let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serve plain or with a touch of plain yogurt that has been sweetened with a bit of honey.

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Brioche

Brioche is so so good and such a treat.  When we were in France last fall we bought a loaf of brioche for simple breakfasts and lunches... recently I was working on our album from that trip I decided that I need to try to made this delicious bread. 

If you have made bread before then brioche is pretty easy, even if the process is quite different (raising in the fridge- what!?).  My primary source was the recipe in our trusty Joy of Cooking but I referenced the Craft of Baking as I really love how the recipes are written in that book. 

The main thing I did differently from the Joy of Cooking is that I used the mixer for all of the kneading.  I had zero interest in trying to knead the sticky dough by hand.  I love kneading when the dough is soft but not so much when it is sticky.  And brioche dough is so very different from your basic bread dough given all of that butter!

We enjoyed a most excellent fried egg sandwich and then a very yummy bread pudding from this loaf, in addition to snacking on slices here and there.  This bread is definitely worth the time.

Brioche

from the Joy of Cooking

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup whole milk, warmed to 105 to 115 degrees F
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups bread flour
• 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened

Combine in a the bowl of your stand mixer the yeast and warm milk.  Let stand until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Add the AP flour, eggs. sugar, milk, salt.  Mix by hand or on low speed.  Gradually stir in the bread flour.

Mix for about 5 minutes until all the ingredients are blended.  Knead, using the dough hook on low to medium speed for 7-10 minutes until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl.

Add the softened butter and vigorously knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth.  Place the dough in a buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough, knead briefly.  Refrigerate, covered, for 4 to 12 hours.  If the dough has doubled, punch down and shape it.  If it has not yet doubled let it finish rising in a warm place, punch down and refrigerate for 30 minute and then shape it.

Divide the dough into quarters and roll each quarter into a round. Nestle the rounds together in a buttered loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.  Whisk an egg with a pinch of salt, brush over the the top of the dough. 

Cover the pan loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until the dough is doubled and fills the pan.  About an hour.

Preheat pan to 375 degrees F.  Brush the loaf again with the egg wash.  Bake until golden brown and a knife, inserted in the center, comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Unmold onto a rack and let cool.

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Snickerdoodles

One of my favorite Chrismas presents this year was the Betty Crocker Cooky Book.  I used to cook from this book when I was young so there is a bit of nostalgia but also I just love the retro style in the writing and photos.  It is entertaining to read.

 

I also appreciate the very simple, straightforward recipes.  Mix this, add that and bake.  Decidely non-fussy.

These Snickerdoodles are so simple but also so good.  They did not last long in our house.  With these both Dan and I prefer them more on the soft end of the spectrum so I kept the baking time to the minimum. My biggest adjustment was to use all butter instead of part shortening and part butter.

 

Snickerdoodles

Adapted from Betty Crocker Cooky Book

• 1 cup butter (softened to room temperature)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs (at room temperature)
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small mixing bowl sift together flour, salt, soda, cream of tartar and set aside.

Mix butter and sugar.  Then mix in eggs, one at a time, thoroughly. Stir in flour mixture.

Shape dough in 1" balls; using a scoop helps keep the size consistent and speed this up.  Roll the balls in mixture of sugar and cinnamon; use organic cane sugar for a bit more texture than granulated sugar.

Place 2' apart on ungreased baking sheet; bake 8 to 10 minutes, they will be a light color.  If your oven is tempermental like mine keep an eye on them at 7 minutes.  Don't over-bake for a soft cookie!

Makes 5-6 dozen.

Enjoy!

~Tara

Simple Muffins with Lots of Possibility

Breakfast on the weekends is serious business in our little home.  During the week breakfast is hurried affair as we rush out the door consisting of english muffins with peanut butter and greek yogurt with granola.  So on the weekends we like to do a little cooking or baking to start the day off on the track of more fun than utilitarian. 

That said, some weekend mornings we find ourselves at the end of the grocery cycle and in a kitchen without a pantry that equates to not a lot of options.  Sometimes we can scrounge up enough eggs and some frozen potatoes to pull together a frittata or a few leftover tortillas for a breakfast burrito... But in a pinch homemade biscuits or muffins will do the trick.  Add a little jam to a muffin right out of the oven and it will beat a muffin picked up at the coffee shop every time.

I have been making this muffin recipe for ages.  When I was kid and learning to bake it was from my mom's cookbooks from the '60s.  This sweet muffins recipe came from one of those books (I think it was a Betty Crocker one).  Some recipes are improved with modern makeovers but this basic muffin that can evolve to dozens of variations so easily is still just right as is.  It is the simple muffin with lots of possibilities - depending on what you have on hand of course!

Sweet Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter bottoms of 12 muffin cups or put in papers.

Beat egg; whisk in milk and oil.  Stir dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Then mix the flour mixture with the egg mixture just until flour is moistened; batter will be lumpy.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake 18-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately remove from pan to cool. 

There are many ways to modify this basic muffin recipe depending on what you might have on hand...

Surprise muffins: Fill muffin cups 1/2 full; add a tsp of jam and then add batter cover jam and fill to 2/3 full.

Blueberry muffins: Fold in 1 cup fresh blueberries with the dry ingredients.

Cranberry-Orange muffins: Fold in 1 Tbp grated orange peel and 1 cup cranberries (cut in half)

Apple muffins: Stir in 1 cup grated aple and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Sprinkle the top with a sugar, cinnamon, nuts topping.

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Homemade Granola Bars

Slowly but surely, we have been minimizing our processed food consumption.  In general, I would consider us to be fairly contentious with what we eat but lately we have been on a kick to make a few incremental changes on account of living our best life.  Neither of us grew up in homes where packaged food and snacks reigned so we tend to easily avoid the obvious processed foods.  But there is always room for improvement.

Afternoon snacks have been presenting a challenge for us.  We are in the midst of training for our first marathon so our usual light lunch left us starving by the time we would get home and have time to make dinner.   Fruit is ideal but is not always the easiest to tote around.  I personally strongly dislike the slew of "vitamin enriched energy bars" that are out there.  Packaged granola bars are just that - prepackaged, processed snack food... and Dan tends to still be hungry after these snacks. 

So we decided to give homemade granola bars a try.  Oh my goodness.  They are awesome.  No crummy "fortified" or fake flavor here.  They taste fantastic, are perfectly filling, and are easily portable.

They are also extremely easy to make.  The tricks come down to avoiding the temptation to add extra dried fruit or nuts midway through (as you will throw off the balance/ratios) and using the right sized pan so that they meet your desired chewy or hard preference.  I like mine to be a little thinner (easier for nibbling) and more chewy than Alton's original recipe so use a bigger pan and cut the cooking time by 5 minutes. I also add a bit of unsweetened coconut flakes and a handful of bittersweet chocolate chips; the trick for incorporating these is to add them after you have put the mixture in the pan and as you are pressing it all down. 

It has become part of our routine to make these almost weekly.  I make them as I multi-task with cleaning the house.

Granola Bars

Adapted from Alton Brown

• 8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, approximately 2 cups
• 1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, approximately 1/2 cup
• 3 ounces sliced almonds, approximately 1 cup(I like to do a combo of almonds and chopped walnuts)
• 3/4 ounces wheat germ
• 3/4 ounces flax seed
• 1/2 ounce unsweetened coconut flakes
• 6 ounces honey, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup packed
• 1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries (I like raisins and dried cherries; blueberries don't add a whole lotta flavor)

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, unsweetened coconut flakes, wheat germ, and flax seed onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish, sprinkle with a handful of bittersweet chocolate chips and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.