Pumpkin Muffins

 

Sometimes the planets align and something I bake turns out, not just in flavor, but in appearance as well.  If you've read my past posts, you'll see that my food appearance leaves much to be desired.  Much.

My pumpkin muffins were well received.  The golden raisins were the key.  I would add more next time, and another blogger (I'm sorry, I can't remember who at the moment) drizzled chocolate over the tops.  I'm so there next time! 

The only thing I noticed is that this made 12 muffins, but I had more dough leftover so I made mini muffins for the kids. 

 

Whisking the dry ingredients

 

The raisins and pecans - definitely more golden raisins next time.

Add them in at the end

 

Bake - and ta da:

My 1st TWD - Almond Biscotti

 

Well, I've been busy baking, but haven't posted much as of late.  I'll try to get everything up in the next few weeks. 

I love the idea of baking with the same thing as everyone else, especially since I have so many baking disasters.  Maybe this way I can find out where I go so abysmally wrong sometimes and maybe I can actually fix my mistakes!  Hallelujah!!

So, this week, my first week was with Almond Biscotti.  I've been DYING to try Biscotti, ever since I saw Giada make it one day and realized it didn't look too hard.  What a perfect opportunity.

So, I finally got to it on Monday, at the last moment and even though I had read over the recipe a handful of times, I apparently wasn't paying attention to what I read.

Ahh, in the very first step...add baking powder.  Shoot.  I just ran out making a cake and forgot to pick some up at the store.  After a moment of internet research, I found that I could mix Cream of Tarter and Baking Soda at a 2:1 ratio to get the same thing.  Awesome, I'm back in it.

Made my dough went to add my almonds...obviously I didn't look at the bag REAL close because what I thought were almonds were actually pecans.  A bit late now.  What the heck, I crushed them a bit and added them instead.

Other than those two adjustments I followed the recipe exactly.  My first baking time could have been increased about 5 minutes because I had a hard time transferring one of my logs to a cutting board.  I had no problems with the other log.  My second cooking time followed along with what Dorie suggested.

So, how did they turn out?  Hmmm...flavor a 10.  They are a universal hit in our house and that says a lot, especially since there's not even a hint of chocolate in them!

Appearance - this is my major issue in the baking world.  My baked goods do not appear as they should and no amount of squinting can make it better.  My biscotti were too thick, I will cut them thinner next time for sure.  Not only that, they were a bit flat.  Not real 'biscotti' looking, more like a shortbread cooking look going on here.

Final Result -  Will become a regular in my house.  There are so many ways to fix them up and they go great with coffee, tea, hot chocolate...

Chewy Molasses Crinkles

Here we go again...another weekend, another recipe.  Such hope for perfection....

Dan was craving Molasses cookies and I had seen one in Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook.  So, of course, after my last cookie mishap, I decided to give it a shot:

Here is what we need:

Next, put butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 c granulated sugar in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Mix in eggs one at a time, followed by the molasses and oil.

Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt:

Cover dough with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight:

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Put remaining 1/4 c granulated sugar in a bowl.  Using a 1 3/4 inch ice cream scoop, form balls of dough.  Roll balls in sugar to coat, and space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are flat and centers are set, about 17 minutes.  Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

And now, here is my final product:

 

Sigh....yes, they went flat, just like my other cookies.  The only thing mistake I can think of is that I over mix my batter and deflate my poor cookies.  They taste fantastic, they do pass the taste test, but still, I'm failing miserably at presentation.  So, Martha may send me an email some day forbidding me to ever use her cookbook again.  I can't say I blame her...

 

Recipe (Martha Stewart's Cookies pg. 83):

• 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1C packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 C granulated sugar, plus 1/4C for rolling
• 1/2 C unsulfured molasses
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 C All purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1. Put butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 c granulated sugar in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Mix in eggs one at a time, followed by the molasses and oil.

2.  Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt.  Cover dough with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.

3.  Preheat oven to 325 F.  Put remaining 1/4 c granulated sugar in a bowl.  Using a 1 3/4 inch ice cream scoop, form balls of dough.  Roll balls in sugar to coat, and space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are flat and centers are set, about 17 minutes.  Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.  Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 5 days.

Banana Bread

Redemption (from Dictionary.com):

1. an act of redeeming or the state of being redeemed.
2. deliverance; rescue.

You see, I feel a bit better...I made banana bread and it turned out...and it didn't look too bad either.  I feel I have redeemed myself somewhat.  We had almost a half-dozen nearly brown banana's and what better way to use them up than throwing together a loaf of aromatic banana bread?  I adapted the recipe from allrecipes.com: Banana Bread Recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

I can't wait to get a new digital camera and a flash so I can start taking really good pictures of my food as well!  But, my bread turned out very well, tasted good, and was a hit with the entire family.  Finally, a bit of redemption...at least until next time!

Lime Meltaways Recipe

I forgot to post the recipe for my Lime Meltaways and the following lime cheesecake, and I want to credit those who created the recipes (because I'm not brave enough to "wing" it on my own yet).

Lime Meltaways

Martha Stewart's Cookie's Cookbook, Pg. 121

• 3/4 C unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 C confectioners' sugar
• 2 Tbl fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbl. pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4C plus 2 Tbl. all purpose flower
• 1/4 Tsp. coarse salt

1. Put butter and 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar in the bowl. Mix on medium until pale and fluffy. Add lime zest and juice and vanilla, mix until fluffy.

2. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.

3. Divide dough in half. Place each log on an 8x12 in. sheet of parchment. Roll in parchment to form a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove parchment from logs; cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 8-10 minutes. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a re-sealable plastic bag. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

 Key Lime Cheesecake recipe from Allrecipes.com

This is the recipe I used to make my very tasty cheesecake.

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
• 2/3 cup key lime juice

1. Combine cookie or graham cracker crumbs with butter or margarine. Press into bottom and partially up sides of 9 inch springform pan. Refrigerate.
2. In a large bowl, beat with an electric mixer the cream cheese, sugar, lime peel, and cornstarch until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending just until smooth. Add key lime juice with mixer on low. Finish mixing by hand. Do not overbeat, or cake will crack during baking. Pour batter into prepared crust.
3. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 55 to 65 minutes, or until set. To minimize cracking, place a shallow pan half full of hot water on lower rack during baking.
4. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes with the door open at least 4 inches. Remove from oven. Refrigerate cake overnight, and up to three days.

Both recipes are tremendous...I just have to fix my mistakes!