Tag Archives: Comfort Food

Mixed Berry Streusel Bars

Posted
Filed under Desserts

Apologies for yet another hiatus. As I said last time, I’m going through another huge transition in my life; a 2800+ miles kind of transition, and for those of you who have never been through one of those, they are…a lot.

Between crappy moving companies, crowded airports, uncomfortable flights, hot & muggy weather, a whole lot of sweat, and an endless (ENDLESS, I tell you) barrage of cardboard boxes. I am so.over.moving.

The good news is, the move itself is finally done, and we’re finally starting to settle into the new space. It might even start to resemble a real home provided I can muster up the energy (and to be honest, the ability) to actually put together some furniture rather than just continuing to camp out on a mattress on the the floor like a college student.

I do plan on getting back into my full cooking/baking swing in this new space but, in full transparency, today’s post is one I’ve had in the arsenal for a while now, but still haven’t gotten around to posting yet. It still fits the time of year though and looking back at the pictures I’m feeling rather tempted to make it one of the first desserts I make in our new home.

Here’s a pro-tip: just about any summer fruit dessert recipe you can think of, can be adapted to suit just about any summer fruit that you’ve got on hand. So long as the volume measurements match, it’s your world.

For instance, this recipe was originally only supposed to be for blueberries. But at the time, I didn’t just have blueberries on deck; I had blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. So, I used a combination of them all. The only thing that mattered was that what I used came out to equal 4 cups of fruit.

The base of these bars is a basic vanilla shortbread crust that gets pre-baked to a golden brown before the fruit filling is added and topped with an almond streusel. It’s a really simple dessert to throw together that is a perfect blend of sweet and tart.

Mixed Berry Streusel Bars

Recipe Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients

For the Shortbread crust:

  • 14 Tbs. (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
  • 1 3/4 cups, plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup, plus 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup, plus 1 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For Filling

  • 2 cups fresh blueberries or blackberries
  • 2 cups fresh raspberries
  • 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
  • 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp. almond extract
  • 3/4 cup (6 oz./185 g) granulated sugar
  • 3 Tbs. cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

For Streusel Topping

  • 1/2 cup, plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup, firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 tsp. almond extract
  • 2 Tbs. chopped raw almonds

Directions

For the Shortbread Crust

Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt and vanilla and beat on medium speed until the mixture is crumbly, about 30 seconds.

Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish and using damp hands, gently press in an even layer into the bottom of the pan. Using a fork, prick the dough in several places. Bake until the crust is light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer the dish to a wire rack and let cool completely. Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.

For the Filling

in a large bowl, combine the berries, lemon zest, lemon juice and almond extract and toss to coat. In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the berries and toss to distribute evenly. Transfer to the cooled crust and spread in an even layer. 

For the Streusel

in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar and salt. Add the melted butter and almond extract and stir until the mixture is crumbly, with some large chunks remaining. Stir in the almonds. Sprinkle the streusel over the blueberries. Bake until the filling is thick and bubbling and the streusel is golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve.

Sharing at Fiesta Friday #389, cohosted this week by Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.

Deep Dish Summer Fruit Pie

Posted
Filed under Desserts

Hey y’all, sorry for the extended absence. There’s a lot of change going on in my life right now (again) and I’ve been super busy with getting ready for the transition.

Change is great but it can also be uncomfortable, irritating, overwhelming and downright stressful. I really needed a break from all that, so here I am, taking a few minutes to actually act like I’m a food blogger.

There are very few things that can cheer me up like pie. I love to make and eat it year-round, but especially during the summer time when particular fruits are in season, like stone fruits and berries.

When both became available at my local grocery store, I knew I wanted to make a pie, but I wanted to do something a little bit different with it than the typical 9-inch round with a lattice top or something else like that. I also had a LOT of fruit, that I didn’t think would fit in my regular pie pan.

So, what was a girl to do?

Deep dish pies are a favorite go-to of mine for when you have a lot of fruit you need to use, and when I was deciding how I would make it work for this one, I started wondering if it would be possible to use my 11 x 13 baking dish to make one (a first for me.)

I’m really happy with what I came up with. It’s a variation on several pies and fruit desserts I’ve made in the past and decided to smush together here as a sort of experiment. The bottom crust is a standard, all-butter one you’d find in most pies out there. My filling is a combination of peaches, nectarines, and blueberries, but as I’ve noted in the recipe, you can opt for what you most prefer here.

The top crust of the pie is where I deviated a little bit from the norm. It’s actually the ‘crust’ recipe I use for whenever I make peach cobbler. It comes together in minutes and doesn’t require any resting or intensive labor. You just scoop and plop it on top of the filling. It spreads and puffs as it bakes, creating a fluffy biscuit-dumpling crust that soaks up all the juices from the peaches wonderfully.

I know I talk a lot about certain foods tasting like the seasons, but this really does taste like summer time. The fruit is bright, tart and slightly sweet while the different textures of the crusts give it that buttery richness without overtaking the filling completely.

This was a successful ‘change’ for me when making pie. Here’s to other changes going well.

*****************************************

Deep Dish Summer Fruit

Recipe Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients

For Bottom Crust:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, frozen
  • 6 to 8 Tbs. (90 to 125ml) ice water

For Filling

  • 3 lb. yellow peaches, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick
  • 2 lb. yellow nectarines, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick
  • 2 1/2 cups blueberries, blackberries or raspberries (or a mixture of both, it’s up to you)
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 3 Tbs. bourbon
  • 2 Tbs. vanilla extract

For Biscuit Topping

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing
  • Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

For Bottom Crust:

 In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, sugar and salt and stir together with a fork. Using a box grater (or use a knife to cut it into cubes) grate butter directly into the dry ingredients. Add 6 Tbs. of the ice water and gently stir together. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 tsp. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, preferably overnight (the crust will be more tender).

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 20-by-14-inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Fold the dough in half and transfer to a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Unfold the dough and press into the bottom and sides of the dish. Trim the edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, and fold in the excess dough so it extends just beyond the rim of the dish. Refrigerate the pie shell for 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375°F

For Filling:

In a large bowl, stir together the fruit, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cornstarch, bourbon and vanilla until well combined. Pour the fruit filling into prepared shell.

For Biscuit Topping:

Into a bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut or grate the butter into small pieces. Add it to the flour mixture and stir with a fork or a pastry blender until it looks like coarse bread crumbs. Pour in the cream and mix just until the dough comes together. Don’t overwork; the dough should be slightly sticky but manageable. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls over the pie filling; There can be gaps, the dough will puff up and spread out as it bakes. Brush the top with some heavy cream and sprinkle with some turbinado sugar; put it into the oven on a baking sheet to catch any drips.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven 75-80 minutes, until the filling is bubbling, and the top is golden. (You may need to cover the pie with aluminum foil to keep it from browning too quickly.)

Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Linking this up to Fiesta Friday #386.

Hoisin Meatballs

Posted
Filed under Appetizers, Main Dishes

I don’t know what it is about them as a dish that prompts this response, but I’ve just always thought of meatballs as a celebration/special occasion food. They’re like the little black dress of party foods; they go with everything. It’s never a bad time to bring them out.

Cocktail hour at a wedding? You serve meatballs.

Graduation open house? You serve meatballs.

Wedding or baby shower? You serve meatballs.

Summer barbecue for a crowd? You serve meatballs.

Typically the above scenarios will have precooked frozen meatballs in order to serve them en masse, which is perfectly fine. But I tend to prefer to make my own from scratch. I’ve shared several recipes before on the blog with different variations of meatballs. The possibilities are pretty wide for what you can come up with.

One of the more underrated ingredients that I keep in my pantry/fridge is hoisin sauce. If I had to describe the taste, I’d say it’s like…an Asian ketchup. A lot of times it’s used for stir-fries, but I actually use it for non-Asian dishes as well.

Here’s a pro-tip for you: a tablespoon or two of hoisin sauce in your beef stew broth will give it INCREDIBLE richness of flavor. I keep it on hand for that reason alone.

This recipe is pretty straight forward and easy, and the real only ‘labor’ involved in it is rolling meatballs, which I personally find somewhat therapeutic once I get into a groove. I tend to bake mine to give them a more even cook all the way around, and it’s also healthier than frying. I use ground turkey as a base, but I do add a little bit of ground pork roll sausage just to make sure they don’t dry out, as turkey can sometimes do.

The meatballs are wonderful all by themselves, but the hoisin sauce is the hero of this dish, no question. Hoisin all on it Its own is pretty thick and strong, so this one gets thinned out with some orange juice and chicken broth, then flavored with fresh ginger and sesame oil. I

Whatever the occasion you’re cooking for, I recommend trying these. They’re delicious.

Hoisin Meatballs

Recipe Adapted from Food Network Magazine and Cooks Illustrated

For Meatballs

  • 3 lbs ground turkey
  • 1 lb. ground sausage
  • 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger root
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic clove
  • 3 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 6 sliced scallions
  • 1 1/2-2 cups panko breadcrumbs*
  • 4 eggs

For Sauce:

  • 3 teaspoons vegetable/canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups orange juice
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
  • 3 scallions, white and green parts sliced 1/8 inch thick on bias
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Sesame seeds, optional

Directions

For Meatballs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two sheet pans with aluminum foil and place two wire racks on top of each pan. Lightly spray the rack with cooking spray and set aside

In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey and sausage with the ginger, garlic, sugar, pepper, and scallions.

Add the soy sauce, then the eggs. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of the panko breadcrumbs and mix together with your hand; don’t knead it too much though, or the meatballs may be tough. If the mixture seems too wet, you can always add the extra 1/2 cup more of the panko breadcrumbs to tighten it up.

Shape into meatballs (about 2 heaping tablespoons each. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on a lightly greased (with cooking spray) rack in an aluminum foil-lined jelly-roll pan.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes on the middle rack, or until browned.

For Sauce

Melt about 3 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a medium sized saucepan and heat until shimmering. Add the grated ginger and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 15 seconds.

Add the hoisin sauce, orange juice, and broth and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the saucepan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Simmer until liquid reduces and thickens to desired consistency.

Stir in the sesame oil and the scallions. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the sauce over the meatballs and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

Linking to Fiesta Friday #384.

Rock Cakes

Posted
Filed under Breakfast, Snacks

If you’ve been following the blog for a while, then you’ll know that biscuits and scones are some of my favorite things to bake. However, if you’ve paid attention to my personal techniques for making both of them, you’ll also know that it’s a process. Not a difficult one, but one that does involve a little more time, effort and tools than some may be able to spend.

No judgment; sometimes I’m the “some” that I’m talking about.

There’s nothing wrong with taking short cuts in the kitchen so long as the finished product still tastes good. Even though it’s still my preference to go with my tried and true way of doing things, there are times during the week when I don’t have time to ‘go the longer way’ in making biscuits or scones, and I too choose to ‘take a shortcut.’

The quickest shortcut for making biscuits that will still turn out tasting great are Drop Biscuits, where you make a biscuit dough, but rather than going to the trouble of rolling out the dough, you just scoop it out and plop it onto a pan and bake it off. The result is a biscuit that has a craggy outer texture, but (so long as you haven’t overworked the dough) is still tender on the inside. The scone counterpart to a Drop Biscuit, is the Rock Cake.

Don’t be thrown off by the name. Rock Cakes are far from the tough hockey pucks you may be imagining they taste like. In my opinion, the name likely comes from their appearance. Because the dough hasn’t been rolled, smoothed out, or given time to rest, it bakes with an uneven and craggy exterior. But that exterior is where the rough inconsistency ends.

If you break open a rock cake, you’ll find that the texture is much closer to a traditionally made scone than you might expect. It was close enough to where I was genuinely surprised at the result. They’re not as fluffy or light as normal scones, but they are tender enough to where you’re not disappointed that you took the shortcut in the first place to make them.

I had just bought a muffin top pan that I wanted to try out, and this seemed like the perfect recipe to break it in. I had really great results with it, but if you don’t have one that’s no problem. The cakes will probably just spread a little more on a regular sheet pan–and as a remedy to that, you can always place the batter/dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes to make a bit more stiff before baking.

These are really great smeared with butter and jam alongside a cup of your favorite morning beverage– or just by themselves at any time of day.

************************************

Rock Cakes

Recipe Adapted from BBC Food

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (225 grams) self-raising flour
  • 1/3 cup (75 grams) white sugar, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (about 125 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut in to cubes*
  • 1 cup (150 grams) dried fruit (I used Trader Joe’s Orange Dried Cranberries)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. spray the cavities of a muffin top pan (Mine makes 12 at a time) with cooking spray, or line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and cut in the cubed butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. (You can cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a fork, a pastry blender, or as I always prefer, grate the butter in with a box grater). Mix in the dried fruit.

In a small clean bowl, beat the egg and milk or heavy cream together with the vanilla extract.

Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until the mixture just comes together as a thick, lumpy dough. Add a teaspoon more milk/heavy cream if you need it to make the mixture stick together.

Place heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking tray. If you’re not using a muffin top pan, leave space between them as they will flatten and spread out to double their size during baking.* (As a way to lessen the spread, you can always place the dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before baking to make it ‘stiffer’)

Sprinkle the tops with white sugar.

Bake for 15–20 minutes, until golden-brown. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool.

Linking to Fiesta Friday #380, cohosted by Liz @ Spades, Spatulas & Spoons.

Pecan Toffee Snickerdoodles

Posted
Filed under Cookies

Hey y’all. It’s been two weeks since my last post rather than the typical one. It wasn’t intentional, I’m just super preoccupied with the goings-on of RL and apart of RL for me right now is getting ready to finish out one stage of my life and transition into a completely different one. I’m a bit on the frazzled side most of the time, but in a good way. Just send me lots and lots of good vibes over the next few weeks.

I’m pretty picky when it comes to my preferences for cookies. It’s a texture thing for me. I do prefer to make them for myself at home just because my texture preferences for cookies are very particular, and I know that I have a better chance at getting the texture that I want in the cookie if I do it myself.

Snickerdoodles are one of those cookies where the texture is key and for that reason, if I want one, I’m more than likely just going to bake it rather than buy. I’d had my eye on this recipe to try out for a while and it really only needed sone modifications in the technique to get it to where it needed to be.

Most snickerdoodles are just flavored with cinnamon, but these have added flavor and texture with the addition of both toasted pecans and chopped Heath chocolate bars. I do recommend giving them the overnight chill in the fridge. There are very few cookie recipes where I don’t do this, as I find that chilled dough just results in a better textured cookie that won’t spread like a pancake when you bake it.

This is truly a next level snickerdoodle. The combination of cinnamon, chocolate and pecans just really works and I’m not sure if I’m ever going to be go back to making them the plain way every again.

Wear a mask. Social distance. If you haven’t already, get the vaccine when you can. Be kind.

**********************************

Pecan-Toffee Snickerdoodles

Recipe Adapted from Food Network Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature  
  • 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar 
  • 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar 
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extraxt
  • Five 1.4-ounce chocolate toffee bars, chopped 
  • 3/4 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

Directions

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, or using a handheld one, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until just combined.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients. Beat on low until just combined. Add the chopped chocolate toffee bars and pecans and stir to combine.

Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup or a cookie scoop to scoop leveled mounds of cookie dough. Roll each mound into a ball. Transfer cookie dough balls to a plastic container (place a layer of wax paper, foil or parchment paper in between the top and bottom layer of dough balls so they don’t stick together). Cover the plastic container and refrigerate overnight.

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Arrange the cookie dough balls evenly spaced out on the baking sheets. Use the heel of your hands to gently press them down about 1 1/2-2 inches.

Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are rippled and golden brown and the center is soft. Lift the baking sheet up a few inches, then let it tap down once against the flat surface of a countertop.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat baking process with the remaining baking sheets.

Also linking this up to Fiesta Friday #379.

Challah Sandwich Buns

Posted
Filed under Breads

I don’t really buy store-bought sandwich buns anymore.

In the first place, if you’re looking at the popular batch-bake hamburger buns from the popular name brands, you’ll notice that the bread itself is oftentimes soft, without much or any sturdiness to it. This may be fine for others, but I personally hate it when the moisture from my proteins seeps down into the bun and makes it soggy, making the whole thing not only hard to handle, but also less than pleasant to eat.

My preference for sandwiches are enriched bread doughs; the ones made with a sturdy, somewhat dense crumb that have a crusty exterior. They’re perfect for holding up to moisture and holding plenty of fixing. Plus, rather than just being the vessel for the filling, they can often be just as delicious all on their own.

A standard bread dough needs nothing more than flour, yeast, salt and water. Enriched bread doughs add things like eggs, butter and milk to ‘enrich’ the dough, often giving it more body, flavor and texture. Challah has become my go-to enriched bread to make. It has a relatively easy process in comparison to other enriched doughs, and the ingredients are often always on hand in my house. While it’s often shaped into loaves, as an enriched dough with a sturdy, somewhat dense crumb, I also figured that it would work well as a sandwich bun.

I’ve had the same go-to Challah recipe for several years now, so when it came time for me to put these together, I didn’t bother sampling out a new one. The only changes that I made to the recipe was in the actual shaping. I divided the dough up into individual sandwich buns, keeping things simple when it came to both the flavors and the appearance.

I have to say, these are everything I want in a sandwich bun. Challah has a sturdy, somewhat dense crumb structure to it that is perfect for absorbing moisture from sandwich proteins and condiments, but still holding together perfectly; even more so when you toast it, as is my standard practice. The egg wash on the top gives it that much more body. Plus, as a I said, it’s a pretty delicious bread in and of itself, so I find myself appreciating both the inside and the outside of the sandwich rather than just looking at the bread as the vessel for the filling.

Wear a mask. Socially distance. Get the vaccine when it’s your turn. Be kind.

Challah Sandwich Buns

Recipe Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • Coarse salt, for sprinkling

Directions

In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Sprinkle the tablespoon of white sugar over that. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, until frothy.

Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. (You may not need all of it, this depends on location and time of year) Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed.

Place dough inside a large and greased mixing bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap, then a damp clean cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.


Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board or a pastry mat. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Roll/stretch out dough to a square that is about 1 1/2 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter, a glass cup or a small bowl with a sharpish edge that is about 3 inches wide in diameter to cut out circles of buns from the dough and place them on two sheet pans you’ve lined with parchment paper. Repeat until you’ve used it all up. (The scraps can be rerolled and/or shaped into extras)

Cover the buns with plastic wrap and a damp cloth and allow to rise until puffy and grown in size, about 30-45 minutes.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).


Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each bun. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sea salt, if desired. Using a very sharp knife dipped in water, quickly make diagonal slashes into the tops of the buns, to make an X shape.


Bake for about 20-30 minutes. After the first ten minutes, Keep an eye out on the tops to make sure they aren’t browning too quickly; cover with a sheet of foil if so.

Challah is done at an inner temp of 195 degrees fahrenheit. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool the buns on a wire rack for at least one hour.

Sharing at Fiesta Friday #375

How To Make: Biscuits

Posted
Filed under Miscellaneous

So, right off rip, I’m letting you guys know there’s no new recipes being posted today.

Instead, I’m going try something a little bit different. A few weeks back, I made a remark about my propensity for posting biscuit recipes on the blog, and that one of these days I really should get around to making a “How to” themed post solely dedicated to my personal process of making biscuits.

Consider this One of These Days.

Biscuits are a recipe that around roughly 7-8 years ago, I had little to no idea what I was doing with. All I knew was that they were one of my favorite foods, and I wanted to learn how to bake them and bake them well.

7-8 years later, and while I’m no master baker, what I can say in all honesty is that biscuits are something I’m extremely good at making. I’ve been to a lot of restaurants and tried a lot of other biscuits made by other people; I prefer my own, 100% of the time. This came about through a LOT of research, recipe reading/comparisons, and even more trial & error. It’s taken me a while but I do finally feel as though I’ve worked out a personal, tried-and true technique for biscuit-making, and I thought that I would the opportunity to share it here with all of you.

Essential Ingredients:

  1. Flour: You can’t make biscuits without flour, and the best tasting biscuits do largely depend upon the flour being used. The better the flour, the better the biscuit. I have had the best results in texture when using 2 flours in particular: King Arthur Unbleached All-purpose Flour and White Lily All-Purpose Flour. White Lily All Purpose Flour is only available in certain parts of the USA, and so I typically default to the King Arthur and don’t really notice a difference between the two. But a perfect substitute for either one of those is to either use is self-rising flour (flour with baking powder already pre-sifted in it) or cake flour (flour that’s been sifted repeatedly and mixed with a bit of cornstarch). Now, in full transparency, in time when I don’t feel like paying for I also make biscuits that taste delicious using generic, non-name brand flour as well.
  2. Baking powder: This one is important. Look at the bottom of the tin and make sure that the baking powder you’re using is still fresh. The biscuits won’t rise and they’ll have a metallic aftertaste if your BP is stale.
  3. Butter: Another essential that makes all the difference in the final product. I tend to stick to unsalted just because I like to control the salt level in my foods. When it comes to butter, the better quality you can use, the richer the biscuits will taste. Again, in full transparency I’ve made a lot of delicious biscuits with generic brand butter but if you can afford it, Land O’Lakes is a good middle ground. The European butters (like Kerrygold) are the highest quality and also on the pricier side, but ohhh the things they do to your baked goods. Finally, this is critical: FREEZE THE BUTTER. I’m talking, it should be rock solid. The colder the butter is, the more flaky and rich the biscuit will taste. I flat out will not even make biscuits anymore if the butter is not frozen, and I don’t recommend that you do either. Trust me: it makes all the difference.
  4. Milk: I highly recommend always using buttermilk for biscuits, but in a pinch, I’ve used regular milk with decent results too. As a pro-tip, you can always ‘make’ your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of regular milk and allowing it to sit for 30 minutes, until the top looks curdled.

Optional Ingredients

  1. Sour Cream: I put this in the optional category, but to be honest lately it’s become more and more of an essential to me. Adding 1 cup of sour cream to my doughs took my biscuits (that were already pretty delicious) and elevated them to a place of perfection I didn’t even think they were capable of being at. They come out SO tender and melt-in-your-mouth on the inside.
  2. Spices/Herbs: A little extra flavor never hurt anything, and depending on the dish I’m making, I will typically always add about 1 teaspoon of black pepper and/or some herb to the dough. Biscuit dough is a very flexible blank canvas in terms of seasoning, so don’t be afraid to add your favorites to it.

Must Have Tools:

  1. Box Grater: Listen. This little contraption was a game changer for my biscuits. Cutting frozen butter is difficult, even more so if you’re trying to get it into evenly sized pieces. The large holes on the box grater take care of alllll that for you; the butter ends up looking like tiny wood shavings, and disperses perfectly even throughout the dough,
  2. Bench Scraper: A crucial process of making biscuits my way is cutting and layering the dough so that the biscuits rise high and flakey. Theoretically speaking, you could use a knife to do this, but most butter knives aren’t sharp, and using a butcher knife to cut biscuit dough just isn’t very practical to me. The bench scraper is sharp enough so that you’re not scraping a dull blade against the dough (which can deflate the biscuits), and it’s also not going to be as awkward and dangerous as using a sharp kitchen knife. You can make sharp, clean and straight cuts across the dough that make for quick, even and easy layering.
  3. Rolling Pin (Preferably a handle-less wooden French dowel style): Speaking of layering…unless you’re making drop biscuits, I just don’t see how you get around the fact that you need a rolling pin; one that you’re comfortable using. I hate rolling pins with handles on them. For whatever reason, I have a better grip without the handles, so a French wooden dowel is ideal for me.

Optional Tools

  1. Pastry Mat: If you make biscuits, cookies, pie crust or bread on a regular basis, I would say that a pastry mat is a necessary tool. But even if you don’t, they’re still pretty handy to have around just to keep your kitchen countertop from getting messy, which biscuit making can sometimes be.
  2. Square Cookie Cutter: If you’ve been following for a while, you’ve probably noticed that the majority of my biscuits are square rather than round. I do this on purpose, as I’ve found that square cookie cutters provide an overall cleaner cut, and don’t compress the dough down as much during cutting (which can hinder the final rise). Plus, square shaped biscuits are easier to make breakfast sandwiches out of, which I do pretty often.

Essential Techniques

  1. Freezing the Butter: I said it before and I’m saying it again: if you want the flakiest, best textured biscuits, freezing the butter is a MUST. To give you an idea of how serious, I will admit that I have gone to make biscuits, discovered I didn’t have any frozen butter on hand, and abandoned the entire mission, It’s that serious.
  2. Layering: The flakiness in biscuits comes from layering and re-layering the dough. This can be a tricky process, as biscuit dough cannot be kneaded the same way yeast bread doughs are, or the biscuits will be tough and dense. You have to work as quickly as possible, letting your hands touch the dough as little as possible. This is where the bench scraper comes in such handy. It helps you slide and move the dough around without touching it, then cut it into even rectangles that will layer together easily, and also keep the dough from sticking to the mat. I do the layering process about 5-6 times, just until I can see the frozen butter specks ’embedded’ in the dough and the dough edges look like a cohesive kind of ‘sponge.’
  3. Overnight Rest: This was something I just started doing a couple of years ago. Biscuit dough doesn’t respond well to kneading, but you have to work it to some extent just to get the layering in. After I’ve completed my layering process, I wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it have an overnight rest in the fridge. This allows the gluten in the dough to relax so that the resulting crumb won’t be close = dense. It’s another step that will give you a more tender biscuit.
  4. Trimming the edges: Basically, this means that I take the one big rectangle mass of dough, and cut off about 1/2 inch from all of the edges. The biscuits rise higher when I do. I don’t have a scientific reason for why this works so well; it just does. I don’t throw away the edges though; I gently press them into a mass on their own, and get a ‘scrap’ biscuit out of them.
  5. Pan of Water: Fill a shallow pan of water and place it in the bottom of the oven. This creates extra steam in the oven, which helps the biscuits rise higher. It also gives them a golden brown crust on the outside.
  6. Close placement: Once I cut the biscuits out, I place them very close together on the sheet pan; nearly touching. I’ve found that this creates steam pockets in between the biscuits.Once the steam gets into the dough, it forces the dough to push upwards so that the moisture can escape. This = higher biscuits.

Alright, y’all. That’s about all I’ve got. If there are any more questions about my process, the tools, the tips, or biscuits, feel free to drop me a line in the comment section. For now, I’m gonna go ahead and also include the links to all of the biscuit recipes here on the blog, for which I’ve used all of the above tools/techniques/ingredients to make. Happy Biscuit Baking!

Baking Powder Biscuits

Banana Bread Biscuits

Black Pepper Biscuits

Browned Butter Vanilla Biscuits

Cornmeal Biscuits and Honey Butter

Cornmeal Sage Biscuits

Sour Cream Biscuits

My Grandma’s Angel Biscuits

Mile High Biscuits

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Linking to Fiesta Friday #374.

Salt & Vinegar Roasted Potatoes

Posted
Filed under Side Dishes

I have a mild curiosity as to two things:

First, who it was who decided that salt and vinegar would be a good flavor combination to try on potatoes? Second: was the initial recipe idea for actual potatoes, or just potato chips?

It’s probably the former, but my first exposure to the recipe (probably like most of you) was through the latter. When I was a a kid, I thought that anything with vinegar was disgusting; I just couldn’t get passed the smell. As an adult, my tastebuds have done a complete 180; now Salt & Vinegar potato chips are my favorite flavor.

I don’t know, there’s just something about the contrast between the salty and the sharp sour flavors that I’ve grown to love. I’m curious as to how well the flavor combination translates into more food than just potato chips, which is probably what made me so interested to try today’s recipe in the first place.

Roasted potatoes are somewhat of a fail-proof recipe in the first place; so long as they’re properly seasoned, in my mind you really can’t go wrong. But in this case, it’s the seasoning that makes these potatoes exceptional. Apart from the combination of salt and apple cider vinegar, the addition of parsley and oregano gives them an added layer of fresh/herby flavor that really works. I wouldn’t change a thing about these.

Wear a mask. Social distance. When it’s your turn, get the vaccine. Be kind.

*************************************

Salt & Vinegar Roasted Potatoes

Recipe Adapted from RealSimple.com

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, divided
  • ¼ cup olive oil, divided
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons of favorite seasoning blend (I use Trader’s Joe’s 21 Seasoning Saute)
  • 2 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
  • ½ cup fresh curly parsley leaves
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
  • Flaky sea salt, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place potatoes in a plastic, resealable gallon size bag.

Whisk 3 tablespoons each vinegar and oil in a large bowl until well combined. Season with kosher salt, seasoning blend, and several grinds of pepper.

Pour the dressing over the potatoes, seal the bag and toss to coat.

Arrange potatoes, cut sides down, in an even layer on a baking sheet rimmed with foil and sprayed with cooking spray

Bake until golden on bottoms and tender when pierced with a fork, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Toss potatoes with remaining 1 tablespoon each vinegar and oil on baking sheet. Fold in parsley and oregano just before serving. Top with flaky sea salt.

Linking up to Fiesta Friday #372, co-hosted this week by Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.

Browned Butter Sandwich Cookies

Posted
Filed under Cookies, Desserts

I love when something happens that’s unexpected but really awesome.

The weekend I made today’s recipe, I had several surprises happen that were really unexpected, but still great. I was in a great mood, I had more time to experiment in the kitchen than I normally do, and so I decided on a random whim to try out something new.

If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you know that I am a staunch browned butter advocate. Regardless of the food, it will improve literally anything that you’re cooking, whether it’s sweet or savory.

Slice and bake cookies are another of those baking recipes that I put in my “You Can’t Mess this Up” category. The dough is very quick and forgiving in putting it together, and after you’ve let it rest in the fridge, all that’s left to do is literally slice, throw the cookies on a sheet and bake them up.

Best of all, it’s also a recipe where you don’t have to bake the batch all at once if you prefer not to. You can leave the log in the fridge or freezer, slice off as many cookies as you want (or don’t want), and save the rest for later.

Having said that, I will throw out a disclaimer in that, you’re going to want to make the whole batch of these because they’re just that good and if you have other people living with you in your house, they’re going to gobble them up and you won’t have enough ready-made for yourself to enjoy.

I can predict this, because it’s pretty much what happened to me.

If I had to describe what they taste like, I’d say they are the best pecan sandie you’ve ever had and didn’t know that you needed in your life. The cookie is delicious enough by itself; it’s crisp and full of nutty, pecan flavor. The filling is what sends them over the top: it’s rich, and full of that delicious, golden flavor that can only come from browned butter.

These disappeared in our house quick. Try ’em out.

Wear a mask. Social distance. Get the vaccine when it’s your turn. Be kind.

****************************************

Browned Butter Sandwich Cookies

Recipe Adapted from Land O’ Lakes

Ingredients

For Cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs (yolks only)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For Filling

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons of Half & Half, cream, or milk

Directions

For Cookies:

Combine 1 cup butter and brown sugar in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg yolks and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Add flour, pecans and salt; beat at low speed until dough forms a ball.

Divide dough in half; shape each half into 10-inch-long log (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter). Wrap each log tightly in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut each log into 1/8-inch slices with sharp knife; place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.

For Filling: Melt 1/4 cup butter in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5-6 minutes or until butter just starts to brown. (Butter will bubble and foam. Watch closely.) Immediately remove from heat. Cool 5 minutes. Stir in powdered sugar,1/2 teaspoon vanilla and enough half & half for desired spreading consistency.Spread 1 level teaspoon filling on bottom-side of 1 cookie; top with second cookie, bottom-side down. Squeeze together gently. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Sharing at this week’s Fiesta Friday #369.

Brookies (It’s a Brownie and a Chocolate Chip Cookie)

Posted
Filed under Desserts

Y’all. I have an announcement to make.

I’ve made a love connection.

No. Not *that* kind of a love connection. But it’s just as good. Maybe even better.

I’m in a phase right now where what I want most from my desserts is texture. Thick, chewy, fudgy texture. As a result, (and if you’ve been following along with the blog, you’ll have no doubt noticed this) I’ve been churning out a lot of thick cookies, brownies, blondies and whatnot from my kitchen because everything I make on the blog, we actually eat.

(Throwing away food is a no from me; but also, we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, so we don’t go anywhere where I can give it away either)

This is another one of those recipes where I’d heard of it before, but I have no idea what took me so long to finally getting around to trying it out. It combines two of my favorite desserts–the brownie and the chocolate chip cookie into one truly perfect bite: the Brookie.

So how is it done? Pretty easily enough you may be surprised to find out. You make the recipes for the two desserts separately; first a cookie dough, then a brownie batter. The brownie batter is spread in the bottom of the pan and dolloped with cookie dough.

And then…a true love connection is made.

You’d think that the chocolate chip cookie layer would be overpowered by the  brownie layer, but it isn’t. It forms a crackly, brown sugar-y crust that evens out the richness of the brownie beneath perfectly. And don’t even get me started about what it tasted like with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Sinful I tell you.

You all absolutely have to try this. It’s become one of our new favorite desserts, and I guarantee that it’ll become one of yours too.

There’s a certain holiday coming up that celebrates love connections, and all I can say is that I think this a perfect dessert to make for one.

Brookies

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

For Cookie Dough Layer

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

For Brownie Layer

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
  • 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Directions

For Cookie Dough:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter; line with parchment, leaving a slight overhang on long sides. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter with both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 6 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and beat in egg. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture; beat until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate. Set aside

For Brownie Batter

Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl set over (not in) a pot of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; whisk in granulated sugar. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Whisk in cocoa and salt. Fold in flour until combined.

Pour brownie batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with an offset spatula. Crumble cookie dough evenly over batter.

Cover with parchment-lined foil; bake until just set, 20 minutes.

Remove foil and continue baking until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center (avoiding chocolate chunks) comes out with moist crumbs, 27 to 30 minutes more.

Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Lift brookies from pan using parchment; cut into squares.

Sharing at Fiesta Friday #36.