Blueberry Ginger Muffins are Really, Really Good!!!

I was following @healthyhomerecipes on Twitter. I am going to refer to it as "it" because It is impersonal and simply spews out recipes all day long. Correction: links to recipes on Its site, which is just as impersonal. I don't really like it. But this recipe for Blueberry Ginger Muffins grabbed my attention. So I bit. And I printed. And I made them this morning. And they are really really good!

I followed the recipe completely, only adding 1/2 cup of broken walnuts. I like crunch. Broken? How do you describe walnuts that have been placed in a plastic bag and smashed several times with a 1 cup metal measuring cup? I think broken fits the bill right now. It's early.

This was one of the first times I have actually put out ALL my ingredients and tools and had everything ready to go. It was an amazing experience and I will do that from now on. Yay learning!

The recipe has molasses. Yum! I knew it was going to be amazing right from the get go.

I have normal sized muffin pans. I like normal size baked goods. I'm just really not in to the bigger-than-your-head cookies and muffins. I get that it appeals to our society as a whole, but not to me. I will bake you muffins that are normal size. And you can eat as many as you like.


After 20 minutes the muffins looked really dark. But after inserting a wooden skewer I could tell they were not.quite.done. But, oh so close. After another minute - was it two? - I took them out and hoped for the best.

They are amazing! They are moist, soft, and the ginger is really subtle.

Meringue Ghosts - a little late in the game. Nonetheless.

When I came across this recipe for adorable little meringue ghosts I knew two things: 1) I had to make them for my friend Amy and 2) I could make them because I had made similar yummy treats before (also for Amy.)

Time passed. Halloween came and went. No meringue ghosts materialized.

However, I knew they would. I just knew they would. Eventually. Amy and her husband are hosting a dinner party this evening. My husband has to work so I was going to get a babysitter and go all by myself. I'm so totally OK with that. What I am never OK with is taking my three children anywhere by myself, but especially into a confined area with countless breakable items, short fences to climb, gobs of food to continuously ask for then spread all over the floors in the house. No, I don't have hoodlums for children - at least not most of the time - but I am outnumbered, by a long shot. Amy is currently pregnant and although she does not understand my fear now, one day she will. She is very accommodating though and I appreciate her lots!

However, the babysitter won't be in town and now I am unable to go. That's OK. I'll make the next one. The ghosts are still going to be guests though.

Meringue Ghosts:

4 large egg whites (120 grams)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup superfine or caster sugar, also called Baker's Sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply take 1 cup granulated white sugar and process it for about 30 seconds in a food processor)

 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 
So it began: the egg separation. Egg separation makes me nervous. The tiniest smidge of yolk and your whites will not form peaks - just ain't gonna happen. Trust me on this. It only took me a waste of one egg and I had all four eggs separated.

Then the mixing. No problems there but make sure your bowl and the wisk attachment are spotless. I have even heard of rubbing lemon juice over these items just to make sure there is no oil to ruin everything. I didn't do that. I'm lazy.

Blah blah I whipped and added the cream of tartar. You know I always thought it was "tarter?" Ya, no clue. Glad I never said it out loud to anyone. Then slowly added the sugar - the gobs and gobs of sugar!

I used almond extract instead of vanilla. I just really like the flavor of almond. You can use whatever flavor you like. I was even thinking of using some of my newly acquired pumpkin extract but thought: that could go horribly wrong. Almond it is.

I have a great 12" reusable pastry bag that I just love so I shoveled the egg/sugar goo into the bag not using a tip and shaped some really cute mounds. Took me an entire row to get the hang of it but I was pleased.  As you can see, one of them, well, he just didn't make it.

The recipe calls for these adorable little candy eyes that can be found at specialty or craft shops. Luckily, it also gave the alternative to use mini chocolate chips. So I began inserting the eyes.

They came out really cute. I put them in the oven at 200 degrees for 90 minutes. Then I turned the oven off and let them hang out at least another 30 minutes.

Sadly, not gonna lie, the centers were still not done. If I recall correctly what I have done in the past is to bake them at night. Then when they are done baking I turn off the oven and leave in the oven all night long. Or was that the biscotti...

I'm really not sure what went wrong. They had these little crystal bubbles of sugar coming out of their sides. I've never seen that before. Since I don't think I have a firm grasp on whipping eggwhites to the proper peaks, I wonder if that's what it was... I just didn't whip them enough. Or maybe too much? I don't know. But I get really bummed when something I bake goes wrong. I'm hoping for another redemption - is that even the correct word? They are back in the oven where they will remain for at least another two hours.  Ugh. I bet it was the whipping issue.

On a side note, here are my two oldest watching patiently the "scary ghosts" in the oven.

 

Postnote: Yippee! I think I discovered the culprits. I googled "what went wrong with my meringue" and came across this blog entry from 2009 on the subject.  It appears I did at least two things wrong: I don't think I let the egg whites become stiff enough before adding the cream of tartar [huh huh she said stiff], and i think I added the sugar wayyyyyy too fast. So I am currently letting my next pack of eggwhites come to room temp to try it again.

Stay tuned!

What a difference a little knowledge can do! I did it all again, this time waiting much longer to begin adding the extra ingredients. I also took several minutes to add the sugar, adding only one tablespoon at a time. And I decided to use peppermint extract instead. It just tastes really dang good.

When I was piping them on the pan they were super huge and fun to work with. These are going to look so adorable at the party tonight. I hope people will still eat them, even though they are looking at you. 

So here are the rejects. Poor things. I hate to keep saying that out loud, but really. What else can I do?

I apologize for these last two pictures. My camera battery died as I was starting round two.

Pumpkin Spice, who knew?

I came across a recipe recently for pumpkin scones and when I had most of the dry ingredients mixed I realized it called for pumpkin spice. Knowing this was not a spice I had in my cupboard I quickly investigated how easy it would be to make it up myself.

The first site I clicked on in which this very question was posed was one of those sites where anyone can answer anything and one of the responses said "it's just allspice. Don't bother." I didn't trust that so I kept looking. Sure enough I discovered that Allspice is its own spice, it's not a mixture of different spices. Pumpkin Spice is a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, allspice or cloves, and nutmeg. Because I'm lazy I just threw some of all of those spices together until I felt it looked right.

Voila!!! Now we are In the Know when it comes to Pumpkin Spice.

November's Flavor of the Month - Pumpkin Spice - Hold Everything!

Here's a confession about the flavors I choose - they are mostly based on instinct.

For my standard menu I must limit myself or I would never stop adding to the list. But it's just me creating these cookies and it's not feasible - at this time - for me to have a menu of 53 different flavors. Not yet.

To keep myself (and my customers) interested and excited I have the Flavor of the Month feature. It's really fun to think of how the month would taste in regards to the season, any holidays, or just the "feel" of the month. The coffee flavor came about because my eyes ran across a bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme Coffee Liqueur in the grocery store and I do believe I peed a little.

This month was pretty easy. I was at the Restaurant Depot in Phoenix a couple months ago a saw a bottle of Torani Pumpkin Spice syrup. Well, no question in my mind: there was November's flavor. When November arrived and I started made a batch of the filling, the syrup enough wasn't quite cutting it. I was having to add too much syrup in order to get any real flavor so I knew I needed pumpkin extract. I searched Amazon - which I'm not proud of, by the way - and found it from a company called Faerie's Finest. The bottle cost around $5 but the shipping was over $7 - that's why I dislike Amazon so much.

When the bottle arrived I remade the filling using the pumpkin extract as well as the syrup, adding only a little at a time. Words don't describe it. The smell alone is satiating enough.

So I am proud to present this month's Oh Katie! Cookie Flavor of the Month: Pumpkin Spice.
Now, looking at Faerie's Finest stock, I do believe I have died and gone to baker's heaven. And Nicole, I just might be able to pull off the peanut butter and jelly, marshmallow, banana, chocolate you asked about a few months ago. (Crazy Brits!) Cheers!

Tartine Brownies or The Most Amazing Brownies You Will Ever Have

I came across this recipe on the Divine Baking Blog and I am forever grateful! The author declares these as the best brownie ever and and her search for the perfect brownie has (probably) ended.

These bad boys contain a POUND of chocolate. Yep. You read that correctly. A pound!

I had no clue what the word "tartine" meant, so a a quick search revealed Tartine is a world-renowned bakery in the Mission District in San Francisco.

This recipe comes from one of their many recipe books.

Here's the recipe followed by my glitches and then redemption.

NOTE: The brownies are ready even when tester comes out wet.

Tartine Brownies Recipe:
3/4 cup butter
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups nuts, optional for topping

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. If the heat from the butter does not fully melt the chocolate, put the pan back over the heat for 10 seconds and stir until melted. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour into a small mixing bowl. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture thickens and becomes pale in color and falls from the beater in a wide ribbon that folds back on itself and slowly dissolves on the surface, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture. Add the flour and fold it in quickly but gently with the rubber spatula so that you don’t deflate the air that’s been incorporated into the eggs.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and smooth the top with a spatula. If you are using nuts, evenly distribute them across the batter. Bake until the top looks slightly cracked and feels soft to the touch, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 squares, or size desired. The brownies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.

I did not have bittersweet chocolate on hand - I am one of those that tends to believe chocolate that is less sweet than semi-sweet is blasphemous. So I took out my scale and weighed 16 ounces of semi-sweet Tollhouse morsels .

The recipe also calls for a lot of mixing (on high!) of the egg/butter mixture. This is extremely important to get lots and lots of air into the mixture. Sometimes air is good, sometimes it's bad in a recipe. Follow the directions! Mixing in the chocolate and flour was a bit scary - I didn't want to lose all that air!

My pan was also too small - time to go pan shopping! (My husband will love me.) It was a glass pan but was only 8 x 12 (I think). I used it anyway and fretted the entire time.

I also doused the top with walnuts. I love crunch!

After the 25 minutes was up they looked like they might be done - it was tough to see any cracking through the walnuts, although I sorta did, and they were pulling away from the edges so I removed them anyway. After sitting for a few minutes I decided to try cutting them into squares. I began scoring the top with a knife and realized the center was pure goo. Not good. I almost started to cry and knew I had to walk away to gain my composure - and probably rescue a child off of a nightstand somewhere.

Then I thought, hey I can just put those back in the oven. Might as well. If it goes bad, then it's no more of a loss than right now with completely uncooked brownies. So I reheated the oven and threw them back in there. Set the timer for another 25 minutes, based only on a feeling. When the timer went off I raised it again another five - don't mess with me you Undone Brownies!

Took them out, cooled a bit, then cut them. They were perfect. Shew!

Although a warm brownie seems like a dream come true, I have to say I was pretty much scooping out crumbly hot brownie crumbs and burning the entire inside of my mouth, refusing to spit it out and risk wasting such a perfect specimen of brownie. But when I came home later and they had completely cooled, they stayed together much better and were able to be enjoyed by all - and again at 9:30 this morning, they are perfect!

Cherry Coffeecake. You will thank me. I promise.

I think it must be the time of year but I am really excited about all the baking I get to do. Coming across all kinds of fun recipes has been so exciting.

Sometimes I like to pull out my Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook just to browse and peruse and dream of the massive dinner party I will one day host where all 45 of my guests will sit around drinking wine and margaritas (I try to appeal to all walks of life) eating amazing food - the entrees and most appetizers will all have been prepared in one of my 12 crockpots. The desserts will have been baked all day long and the house is filled with pockets of amazing smells. My husband will be playing barkeep and I'll have hired servers to serve all the food and drink while nannies will be hired to care for the children. I might even throw the dogs a treat or two.

Woo. I get caught up easily.

Anyway. So last week I saw this recipe for a cherry coffeecake and it looked really amazing. I had all the ingredients except for the cherry pie filling. Kind of important. I added it to the dry-erase board and life went on. Until today.

Armed with cherry pie filling I grabbed my cookbook and jumped in. Because this was just for us, I allowed my kids to assist, which is rare, because I really have no patience. At 6:23 in the morning after being awoken at 5 by a tiny little girl who uses the line "I can't sleep" all to often, the idea of flour and sugar being strewn all over floors and counters, eggs being crushed between tiny fingers, usually is on my "Not this time but you can help next time" agenda. I was in a good mood this morning. Not sure why. Let's not question it.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
all-purpose flour (not sure why it refuses to say how much, but it does)
sugar (again, the book is wanting to be a mystery)
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1 21- or 22-ounce can cherry pie filling

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 9" baking pan. In large bowl with fork, mix 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. To flour mixture, add 1/2 cup melted butter, milk, egg and vanilla.

3. With spoon, beat until well mixed then pour batter evenly into greased and floured baking pan. (the batter was insanely thick, FYI.)

4. In small bowl with form, combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and remaining two tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

5. Sprinkle half of crumb mixture evenly over top of batter in pan.

6. Stir lemon extract into cherry-pie filling; then spread pie-filling mixture on crumb mixture in pan.

7. Sprinkle with rest of crumb mixture. (OK, this is where I steered and did my own thing. I followed the directions and realized A) it wasn't nearly enough and B) I can do better. So I added a handful of brown sugar to the mix then added at least two more tablespoons melted butter. Then I kept adding tiny amounts of flour until it was streusel-like, because I knew that's what I wanted.) Bake 1 hour until top is golden. Cut into squares.

This was just as amazing as it sounds. It really was. Even at the end of the day it is still amazing.

I gave half to our neighbors. And once again, my husband kindly said to me, " No more sweets."
"But I'm so good at it," I whined.
"I know. That's the problem, " he said.

Found a bundt recipe and then made it.

As I'm getting a grasp on this Twitter avenue, I stumbled across a recipe for a Brown Sugar Bundt Cake that would not quit hounding me. I had to make it!

When my husband took the two kids to school this morning I asked him to stop and get me a couple apples - not Red Delicious and not green. He brought me two perfect Fuji apples. When I squealed and said they were beautiful, "Beautiful?" he asked. Yes! Beautiful!









I followed the recipe to the letter. As I was mixing the dry ingredients I wondered if there shouldn't be a few more spices but I refrained and thought I would give it a go.

I used one chopped up apple. I didn't bother to peel - I think the peel is cool and it adds something. I don't know what and I don't care.

A few basic baking tips:

When baking a bundt oil and flour the pan thoroughly then do it again! Maybe not really, but it has to be done really really well.

Break your eggs into a separate bowl instead of the mixing bowl with all the other ingredients. Digging out those itty bitty shells stinks! But chewing on one is even more awful. Trust me: your world will be a happier place if you break your eggs in a separate dish first before adding them to the entire mix.

A tablespoon of butter is 1/2 an ounce. Therefore a stick of butter is four ounces. You can take it from there.

No buttermilk? Pour a tablespoon into a measuring cup then add enough milk (in my case 1/2 and 1/2 or whipping cream. It's just the way I do things) to the measurement needed. Allow it to sit for a few minutes to do whatever it is it needs to do.

After the allotted amount of time you can tell when a bundt is done because it will start pulling away from the sides of the pans. A stick sunk into the middle of the cake will come out clean.

Allow the cake to cool for a few minutes but not over ten. Ten minutes is that magic number. Get it out of the pan before that and you should be safe.

The recipe wasn't too clear on how to make the glaze, so neither was I. But I went with it. In a small sauce pan I tossed in probably a cup of brown sugar then added whipping cream till - well, I don't know when - till it felt right. Turned on the heat and stirred hear and there till I could tell the brown sugar was melted. I had more than enough glaze so I drowned the heck out of the cake.

The cake was just insane. I literally couldn't stop myself and I knew it. So I cut half of it and handed to one of my son's teachers when I picked up from school. She said I was going to make her fat. "Better you than me," I yelled. I couldn't stop eating it. My husband scowled at me the next morning saying I was lucky there was any left. Ha! Hardly! Man, it was amazing.