BakerLove

Pirate Ship Cake

2009-05-05T10:42:00.004-07:00

My son wanted a pirate theme for his 5th birthday party. I found instructions online to make this great pirate ship cake. It took a while to make the whole thing, but none of it was too difficult. The actual ship part of the cake is just two 9" round cakes cut in half and then all four pieces are glued together with icing. The base is a 10" round, and then lots of candy to decorate. One of the favorite parts for all the kids was the "cannon balls" which are just whoppers. They all wanted "cannon balls" with their cake. My favorite part was the candles coming out of the cannon ports. I thought that looked so cool when they were lit. Needless to say my son loved it.

I used a sturdy orange cake recipe with blue tinted icing on the base, and chocolate icing for the ship. I have made the recipe before as a wedding cake so I knew it would be able to hold up the ship. It is also low fat, moist and tastes fantastic.

Orange Cake Recipe

2 1/4 cup flour

1 1/8 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3 large egg white, room temp

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 large egg

1/3 cup nonfat sour cream

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 Tbs vanilla

1 tsp orange extract

1 Tbs orange zest

1/2 cup orange juice

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Coat one Bundt pan or two loaf pans or round cake pans with cooking spray and then dust with flour.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside.
In a large grease-free bowl, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add ¼ cup of the sugar, whipping until the whites are stiff but not dry. Remove the bowl from the mixer, shake the beaters into the bowl, then return the beaters to the mixer. Set the whites aside.
Using the same beaters with another bowl, combine and beat together the oil, remaining 1 cup of sugar, the whole egg, sour cream, applesauce, vanilla and orange extracts, grated orange zest, and orange juice. Gradually beat in the flour mixture in several additions. Scrape down the bowl and beaters. Fold in the whipped whites.
Turn the batter into the prepared pans. Bake the Bundt for 40-45 minutes, the loaf pans or rounds for 30-35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and springy to the touch. Cool the cake in the pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan and cool completely on the rack.

Chickpea and Chard

2009-04-13T12:33:00.004-07:00

I was looking for a recipe to use some of the beautiful chard that I have in my garden. This sounded delicious and healthy. The original recipe called for spinach, but substituting the fresh chard was no problem. It turned out really delicious and is even better the next day when the flavors have had a chance to meld a bit more. I also added the tomato paste to the recipe to thicken it up a bit becuase I wanted it to be a side dish rather than a stew.

12 oz chopped chard

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt

pinch saffron

2 tsp sweet paprika

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground cloves

pinch cayenne pepper

two 15 oz cans chickpeas with liquid

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 small can chopped tomatoes

1/2 can tomato paste

1/4 cup golden raisins

1. In a large deep skillet boil 1 cup water. Add the chard and cook about 2 minutes until wilted. Drain the chard.

2. In a small bowl, mash minced garlic with 1/2 tsp salt and the saffron. Stir in the paprika, cumin, cloves, pepper and 1/4 chickpea liquid.

3. Add 2 Tbs olive oil to the skillet and heat. Add the onion and tomato and cook until softened. Add the spiced/garlic sauce and cook for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas and remaining liquid to the skillet along with the raisins and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes then add spinach and simmer another 5 minutes.

Source:Food and Wine, Sept 2008

Low Fat Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

2009-03-30T19:51:00.009-07:00

This is a delicious pumpkin cake that I have made many times. I wanted to cut the fat a bit so I substituted some applesauce for 1/2 of the butter and cut out some of the egg yolk. It tasted great and was really moist. I will make it like this from now on!

3 cups cake flour

2 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup applesauce

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

3 egg whites

1 can (15oz) pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 12-cup bundt pan.

2. Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

3. In a large mixer bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs individually and beat well. Add vanilla and applesauce and mix well.

4. Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients.

5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 60 minutes. After removing from the oven, cool for 10 minutes and remove from the pan. Let cool completely and then pour the cinnamon glaze over cake.

Cinnamon Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbs. milk

Mix milk and cinnamon in a bowl. Add powdered sugar. If it is too stiff, add milk until you reach the desired consistency.

Turkey & Veggie Lasagna

2009-03-25T11:39:00.009-07:00

This was a pretty tasty lasagna that I made the other night. I had some ground turkey that I wanted to use so I added it to my usual vegetarian lasagna. It was delicious, but I think next time I will try shredded chicken instead of the turkey.

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 large onion

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb ground turkey

2 bell peppers, diced

1 ½ lb zucchini, sliced (green and yellow)

3 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1.5 tsp salt and pepper

1 tsp Italian seasoning

15oz low fat ricotta

1 egg and 1 egg white, beaten

3 fresh tomatoes, sliced

½ cup grated parmesan

2 jars marinara sauce

1.5 cup part skim mozzarella, grated

16 oz no-boil lasagna noodles

Prepare:

Sauté the peppers with a little olive oil and salt/pepper until just tender. Set aside in a bowl.
Sauté the zucchini with a little olive oil and salt/pepper until just tender. Set aside in a bowl.
In a large skillet, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are soft; add ground turkey and brown. Add the marinara sauce and stir well.
In a bowl, mix the ricotta with eggs, spices, and salt and pepper. Mix in the chopped spinach.

Assemble:

Coat the bottom of a 13x9” and a pan with spaghetti sauce

Put a layer of lasagna noodles in pan..In turns layer the meat sauce, noodles, veggies, noodles, ricotta, noodles and so on until you use up all the ingredients., ending with lasagna noodles on top.
Top with a layer of marinara sauce, then mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
Garnish with sliced tomatoes.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover, and then bake 10 more minutes. Let it cool and set up for about 10 minutes before serving.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake

2009-02-26T21:31:00.007-07:00

This is the cake that I made for my husband's birthday, but I forgot to take a picture. Drat! So I remade the cake for my birthday. Yea! It is a cake recipe from Ina Garten, so moist and delicious. The frosting is pretty basic, and the ganache recipe is from Nick Malgieri's book just titled Chocolate. All together it is pretty delicious. You definitely need a glass of milk with this one.

Cake:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 
2 cups sugar 
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
2 teaspoons baking soda 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
1 cup buttermilk 
1/2 cup vegetable oil 
2 large eggs 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment paper; butter the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed.

In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting (for filling)

2 sticks butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
¼ cup kahlua
3 Tbs really strong coffee, or dissolve instant espresso in Kahlua

Beat the butter and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Slowly add sugar, Kahlua and coffee, and beat on low. Add sugar and Kahlua until consistency and taste are what you want.

Chocolate Ganache (whipped for frosting)

1 cup heavy whipping cream 
1 pound (16 ounces) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup light corn syrup (sweeter, shinier)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened (richer, more flavorful)

Let the butter stand at room temperature until softened but still cool. Add the butter in chunks to combine during mixing.

To make ganache:

Place chopped chocolate in a medium-sized, heat proof bowl. Note that hot cream will eventually be poured over it and must cover it entirely. If whipping later, use a stand mixer bowl, which is perfect.

Pour cream into a medium saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour over chocolate. Shake bowl, and allow to stand for about 2 minutes.

Stir with a whisk until smooth. If using ganache for a frosting, whisk in the optional room temperature butter chunks and corn syrup until smooth.

* To whip, place ganache in a mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer on medium-high, until mixture is fluffy and has lightened in color. Do not overwhip or mixture will become grainy. Use whipped ganache immediately.

Leftover Turkey Chili

2008-12-01T14:24:00.003-07:00

I had a lot of leftover turkey this year, which I am not complaining about because I love leftover turkey. We had some friends coming over for dinner the Sunday after Thanksgiving so I was looking for something a little different to do with the turkey, not just soup or sandwiches. This turkey chili turned out delicious, so I served it with a salad and some bread.

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 green peppers, chopped

2 cups of celery, chopped

2 med. onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 4oz can diced green chiles (roasted and peeled)

3 cups diced turkey, (cooked, light and dark meat)

3 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin powder

pinch cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1 28oz can chopped tomatoes in juice

1 small can tomato paste

2 cups turkey stock (or chicken broth)

1 tsp brown sugar

2 Tbs cider vinegar

1 can white kidney beans, drained

1 can pinto beans, drained

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion,garlic, celery and green peppers. Stir over medium heat for 5 minutes, until soft.

2. Add the turkey, spices and chipotle pepper. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes in juice, 2 cups stock, and the tomato paste and stir well. Mix in the beans, brown sugar and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

3. Simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Taste, and add additional spice and or broth if needed. Serve topped with grated cheese and/or sour cream.

(Or at step three, you can put it in a crock pot on high for 30 minutes, then leave it on low or warm as long as needed.)

You can find the canned chiles in the Mexican foods section at most grocery stores.

Anadama Bread

2008-12-01T13:55:00.001-07:00

This is a traditional bread from New England, sometimes called Colonial Bread. It is made with molasses and cornmeal which makes it a little sweet. This is a great bread to serve with soup. This recipe makes two loaves.

5 cups flour

½ cup cornmeal

¼ oz yeast (1 pack)

2 ½ cups water

1 tsp salt

2 Tbs butter

½ cup molasses

Stir 1 cup of cold water into the cornmeal. Bring another cup of water to a boil in a saucepan and add the cornmeal mixture. Cook to thick, about 10 minutes. Add salt, butter, molasses and then cool to tepid.

Add ¼ cup warm water to the yeast and then mix that into the cornmeal mixture.

Add 4.5 cups flour and knead to stiff, about 10 minutes. If sticky, add more flour. Shape the dough into a ball and put in a buttered bowl, cover and let rise 1 ½ hour until doubled.

Punch down and divide in two pieces. Shape in loaves and put in buttered loaf pans. Cover and let rise to double.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger

2008-11-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

This is a really delicious soup to make on a fall day. I added freshly grated ginger at two different times in the recipe to give it a lot of flavor and a little kick.

After pureeing the whole batch in the blender in little tiny increments, I am really longing for an immersion blender so I can just puree right in the pan. If you use a blender with hot soup, remember to puree in SMALL batches, just about 2 inches worth of soup in the blender at one time. Otherwise, for some reason, the heat or steam from the hot soup will cause the lid of the blender to fly off and hot soup will spray all over the kitchen. Yes, this is learned from personal experience.

2 or 3 butternut squash (about 4-5 pounds total)

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup diced onion

2 leeks chopped

1 Tbs. light brown sugar

2 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 can light coconut milk

4-6 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper

minced chives or green onion

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and clean out the seeds. Rub squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet. (It is best to use a baking sheet with sides on it to keep the oven clean.) Bake until the squash is very soft, about 45 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-low heat. Mix in the onions and leeks and cover the pot and cook about 15 minutes until tender. Add the brown sugar, 1 tsp. ginger and the garlic. Saute another 2 minutes.

Using a large spoon, scoop the inside out of the squash and add it to the pot. Add the coconut milk and about 4 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Puree the soup, adding additional broth as desired. Season the soup with salt and pepper, and add the remaining 1 tsp ginger and bring the soup to a simmer again. Serve in bowls garnished with chives.

Shrimp Purses

2008-09-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

These are a fancy looking appetizer that is actually pretty easy to make. They are baked instead of fried so they are low in fat and not greasy like fried wontons. I found the recipe in a magazine, but it is also on the Contessa foods website under "Kid approved foods". My kids wouldn't eat them, but friends of mine who have more adventurous eater, loved them. The creator of the recipe called them Shrimp Krispies, but I think they look more like little purses.

It says to chop all the ingredients and then mix them. I minced the ginger root, and then just put it all in the food processor, which was much faster and worked really well. The package of wontons that I bought (in the produce area of the grocery store) came with about 48 wrappers and the amount of filling the recipe makes was exactly enough to fill them all. The photo is a professional one from the Contessa website, but mine looked just about exactly like this. Not bad considering my 6 year old son "helped" me with them.

12 ounces cooked shrimp
8 ounces cream cheese (low fat works fine)
2 shallots, chopped fine
1 teaspoon ginger root, minced
1 tablespoon chives, chopped
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Wonton wrappers
Sesame seeds
Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon cold water

Wet the edges of the wontons and then the corners together, twist and pinch tight. Place on a cookie sheet, brush with water, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
Serve with dipping sauce made by combining soy sauce, rice wine and cold water.

Not so great Peanut Butter Cookies

2008-09-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

My youngest son is a peanut butter fanatic, so when he wanted to make cookies, we decided to make peanut butter ones. I put chocolate chips in some of the cookies which my kids loved, but I prefer the straight peanut butter cookies, no chips, nuts or anything like that.

Well, they looked pretty tasty, but they were actually kind of dry. I won't bother to post the recipe because I don't think it is worth repeating. Fortunately high school students will eat virtually anything, so my husband took them into his school and they disappeared.

BakerLove is now on the Foodie Blogroll!

2008-08-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

BakerLove has just been added to the wonderful food blog network called Foodie Blogroll. It is a collection of over 1800 blogs largely dedicated to food and a great way to find new recipes.

Mixed Berry Muffins

2008-08-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

These are really delicious muffins. I think it probably has something to do with the half cup of melted butter that is in them. I found the original recipe at Under the Highchair and her photos of the muffins looked so delicious that I had to try them. I changed the recipe slightly, but mostly it is just the way she wrote it. They really are just as good as they look. And of course I like the fact that they have oats in them so I can pretend they are good for you.

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup melted butter, cooled

1 cup flour

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup mixed berries, fresh or frozen

Topping:

additional buttermilk

large grain sugar (Turbinado sugar crystals)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk and let stand for one hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pans with nonstick spray or liners.
Stir the egg and the sugar into the oat mixture, followed by the melted butter.
Add remaining ingredients (except berries) to the oat mixture and stir the batter until just combined.
Fold in the berries carefully without over mixing.
Spoon the batter into t he muffin tins, brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar. Place in the oven and bake about 10 minutes if using fresh berries, longer if using frozen berries.

Chocolate Crinkles

2008-08-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

These are one of my husband's favorites. He likes to take these in to the school that he runs and hand them out to the students. They are very chocolate-y and soft. So good.

Sift together:

1 ¾ cups flour

2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Mix thoroughly:

½ cup margarine

6 Tbs butter, at room temp

1 cup sugar

1 eggs

2 Tbs milk

½ tsp vanilla extract

Optional:

Chocolate chips

Large grain sugar for coating

Cream the shortening, butter and sugar in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat until fluffy. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and beat on high about 2 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or as long as overnight.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter baking sheets.

Using damp hands, form the dough into 1 ½ inch balls. Roll the cookies in sugar and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with a few drops of water

Bake until puffed and slightly cracked on top but still soft, about 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute and transfer to wire racks

Lemon Butter Cookies

2008-08-24T19:33:00.001-07:00

These are one of my most requested cookies. Sort of a lemon flavored sugar cookie. You can make the dough and shape it into balls and bake it right away. I prefer to form it into logs and then let them firm up in the refrigerator over night. Slice them into rounds just before baking. They come out looking very professional this way.

I started making these cookies because we had a huge lemon tree right outside my kitchen window. Every year we got tons of lemons, and they were big, juicy, fabulous lemons. I made lemon cookies, lemon poppy seed muffins, lemon bread, limoncello... everything I could think of with lemons. Then the tree died which was very sad. But we planted a new one, so in a few years I should have some lemons again. We also planted a key lime tree which immediately began to bear fruit. It ripened one perfect little lime every day or two for a month. Just enough for nightly gin and tonics with fresh lime. Fortunately for my liver the limes have a fairly short season.

Ingredients:

3 ½ cup flour

2 ¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 c. butter

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. fine lemon zest

1 Tbs. Lemon juice

lemon extract or lemon oil to taste if needed

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

3.Cream butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, lemon zest and extract.

4.Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.

5.Divide dough into 3 pieces. Form into 1 ½” diameter logs and wrap in wax paper. Chill a few hours or up to five days.

6. Cut ¼” thick slices and arrange on ungreased baking sheet.

7.Bake for about 6 minutes and transfer to racks to cool. Dip in powdered sugar or lemon glaze to finish. Set glazed cookies on rack over waxed paper until glaze is set.

Lemon Glaze:

Powdered sugar

Water

Vanilla

Lemon extract/zest/oil

Ginger Molasses Cookies

2008-08-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

These are really delicious, chewy, ginger molasses cookies. The addition of orange oil or orange zest adds a really unusual touch. The cookies are also good with chopped Macadamia nuts or chunks of white chocolate mixed in.

I usually roll these cookies in a large grain sugar before baking, but this time I rolled them in pearl sugar for a different look.

Sift together:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cloves
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ginger

Mix thoroughly:
½ cup margarine
¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup + 2 Tbs dark brown sugar
1 eggs
¼ cup molasses
2 tsp finely grated orange zest or ½ tsp orange oil

Optional:
2 oz chopped Macadamia nuts

Combine the shortening, butter and brown sugar in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat until fluffy. Add the egg, molasses and orange zest or oil and beat until blended.

Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or as long as overnight.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter baking sheets.

Using wet hands, form the dough into 1 ½ inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with a few drops of water

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

2008-08-09T15:19:00.001-07:00

Pretty tasty cookies and they have that “veneer of health” from the peanut butter and oats. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

1 cup flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup butter

½ cup peanut butter (natural kind)

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup rolled oats

In a bowl stir together flour and baking soda. Set flour mixture aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds until softened.

Add peanut butter and brown sugar to butter. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Add flour mixture then beat on low speed until combined. Stir in oats.

Drop dough from a rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove cookies from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Crown Muffin Pan

2008-07-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

I just got a new muffin pan from Williams-Sonoma that I am really excited about testing out. It is a Crown Muffin Pan that is designed to make big muffins with the fabulous, excessive top like you get at a bakery. Of course it is just an excuse for more streusel topping!

Chocolate Bran Muffins

2008-07-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

These muffins come out a delicious looking dark chocolately brown color. They have high fiber cereal and some whole wheat flour in them so I feel good giving them to the kids.

1 cup bran cereal

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat 12 regular sized muffin cups with butter.

lace the cereal in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin, or crush in a food processor.

In a medium bowl mix the cereal and buttermilk, let that stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the oil, egg and vanilla.

In another bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and then add the cereal mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly between 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 16-20 minutes.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

2008-07-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

This round of pumpkin muffins I am just trying to make the best tasting muffin I can, not worrying about making them healthy. They turned out quite well. They looked great and were delicious.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

6 Tbs. melted butter

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup applesauce

1 Tbs. molasses

1 t. vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp allspice

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup flour

1 Tbs sugar

4 T brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbs. melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pans with non-stick spray.

Topping: Combine all the dry ingredients. Add melted butter and stir until crumbly. Put in refrigerator until needed.

Muffins:

In a large bowl, mix the first 7 ingredients until smooth. In another bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and mix with a spoon until just incorporated.

Fill muffin cups and sprinkle with the topping. Bake on center rack for 18-20 minutes.

Berry Streusel Bars (more sneaky bran)

2008-07-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here is another attempt to sneak in some fiber. I thought they were delicious, but my husband wasn't crazy about them. The original recipe is from the Kellogg's All Bran site. Next time I think I would add some additional fruit, maybe sprinkle fresh berries on the jam.

Berry Streusel Bars

1 cup Bran cereal

1.5 cups flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, cold

3 T water

2/3 cup spreadable fruit jam

1 Tbs melted butter

1. In a food processor combine the cereal, flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water and pulse. Mixture will be crumbly.

2. Remove 1 cup of mixture and set aside for the topping. With the back of a spoon, press the remaining mixture into the bottom of a 9x11" pan coated with cooking spray.

3. Carefully spread the fruit over the cereal mixture in the bottom of the pan. Add 1 tablespoon melted butter to the reserved topping and then sprinkle over the fruit.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Buttermilk Bran Muffins

2008-07-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

My current project is to try to find a bran muffin that even my husband and kids will like. They are all pretty much a strictly "blueberry muffin with streusel crowd".

The first one I tried was from the "Fiber One" website, since that was the brand of bran cereal that I had in the cupboard. They turned out pretty well. My husband liked them a lot but the kids were not too convinced. I did change a few things in the recipe, so you can see the original recipe on their site if you like. The second time I made these I added raisins and now even the kids love them.

I would definitely make these again. They are great to have around when you want a snack or a breakfast to grab on the go.

Buttermilk Bran Muffins

1 3/4 cup bran cereal

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup raisons

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Crush the cereal in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, or in the food processor, which is much easier. In a bowl, stir the cereal, buttermilk and vanilla together until well mixed. Beat in the oil and egg.

3. In another bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add to the cereal mixture until just moistened. Add raisins.

4. Spoon into 12 muffin cups, greased with cooking spray.

5. Bake 18-22 minutes

Pumpkin Muffin Trials

2008-07-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

My mother has always made the most wonderful pumpkin bread, so I am using that as my starting recipe. I am trying to make it into muffins that are a little bit healthier, but still as delicious.

Here is the original recipe:

Mom's Pumpkin Bread

3 cup sugar

1 cup corn oil

4 eggs, beaten

1 can (15oz) pumpkin

3 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp nutmeg

Mix sugar, oil and eggs.

Add pumpkin and mix well.

Add flour/spices and mix well.

Pour into greased loaf pans.

3 large size foil pans, bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes

5 small loaf pans, bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes

I cut the recipe in half, so now it makes about 12 average size muffins. Then I added some bran, cut down the sugar and substituted lowfat buttermilk for half the oil. They turned out pretty well. Next time I think I might try adding a little molasses to see what that would do.

Pumpkin Bran Muffins

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup corn oil

1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup bran buds

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground cloves

3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix bran cereal with buttermilk and let soften for 5 minutes.

Mix together remaining dry ingredients and set aside.

Mix sugars, oil and eggs, add bran/buttermilk.

Add dry ingredients and mix.

Bake in greased muffin tins for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

First Post

2008-07-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

So, a little about myself to start. I am an artist, former gallery director, and currently a jeweler. My side passion has always been baking.

I usually get obsessed with a particular type of recipe and work on it till I find one that I really like. A few months ago it was rice pudding, which is not really baking, but I think the real defining point is sugar, not the oven.

I like to use quality ingredients, which I think makes a huge difference in the outcome. I also have a tendency to try to make recipes a little more healthy, ie: less fat & sugar, which drives my husband crazy. Lately I have been trying to sneak fiber in everywhere.

So, mostly this blog will be devoted to baking recipes, with the occasional side project.