Espresso and Chocolate Loaf

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Chocolate and espresso are a perfect marriage.

INGREDIENTS

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon finely ground espresso

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups cake flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Coffee Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ tablespoons of milk (one at a time)

1 teaspoon finely ground espresso

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and lightly flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

Cream the butter until smooth with electric mixer. Add the sugars and beat for about 3 minutes, until fluffy. Add the egg and beat well, then the buttermilk and vanilla.

Sift the flour, cocoa, espresso, baking soda, baking powder and salt together right into your wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until well-blended but do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 to 15 minutes, at which point you can cool it the rest of the way out of the pan.

Mix powdered sugar, vanilla, espresso, and milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until spreadable.

Drizzle over cooled loaf.

I worked with this recipe.

Susman Honey Biscuits

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Biscuits sweet with honey and a touch of salt. The Susman family stopped by last night with some delicious treatsbfrom a local restaurant to see if I could recreate them.  These are close.  I am going to play with this recipe a bit.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Dash of salt

5 Tbsp cold unsalted butter

2 Tbsp honey

1 cup cold buttermilk

Little more flour for kneading surface

Topping

3 Tbsp salted butter, melted

2 Tbsp honey

INGREDIENTS

Preheat the oven to 425 and lightly grease a large baking sheet.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until combined.

Melt 3 tablespoons salted butter and honey in a small bowl and set aside.

Chop cold butter into pieces and add it to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter until it looks like coarse crumbs. Pour in honey and mix for a few seconds.

Pour cold buttermilk into the center of the mixture. Mix until just combined, dough will be sticky.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with a little more flour on top. Knead dough 5-6 times and pat into a ½ inch-think circle.

Using a biscuit cutter, start to cut out biscuits. Kneading it as little as possible, you can rework dough scraps into a ball and shape it into a circle again. Cut out more biscuits.

Place biscuits on the baking sheet leaving about an inch in between.

Brush each biscuits with honey butter mixture.

Bake for 10-13 minutes until raised and golden brown.

As soon as you take the biscuits out of the oven, brush them with more honey butter mixture.

Morning Skillet Cake

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This takes a few minutes and bakes while you are getting dressed.  Who wouldn’t want to start the day with this beauty?

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

1 1/4 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup melted butter cooled

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease skillet with butter or oil.

Combine all ingredients and whisk until well combined.

Pour into skillet and bake until browned on top and tester comes out clean for about 35 minutes.

Let cool before turning out.  Decorate anyway you want.  I used lemon curd.

Evening Crackers

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My husband and I are having a cup of coffee on our porch and snacking on these as I type this.

INGREDIENTS
3 cups flour (I used 1 cup each of AP, White, & Rye)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup water
Optional topping: 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon caraway seeds, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon dried onion

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 450°F: Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 450°F. Sprinkle a baking sheet lightly with flour and set aside.

Mix together the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour(s), sugar, and salt.

Add the oil and water to the flour mixture. Stir until a soft, sticky dough is formed. Add one tablespoon of water at time is there is dry flour left in the bowl.

Divide the dough into two halves and set one half aside. Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour and set the other half on top. Pat it into a thick square with your hands.

Working from the center of the dough out, roll the dough into a rectangle roughly 1/8-inch thick or thinner–the thinner the better. If you have trouble with the dough, let it rest a few minutes.

Brush the surface of the dough very lightly with water. Combine the seeds in a small bowl and sprinkle half of them (roughly 1 1/2 tablespoons) evenly over the surface of the dough. You can use any toppings or seasonings you want.

Cut the dough into cracker-sized shapes.  Anything you like.

Transfer the crackers to the baking sheet using a metal dough scraper or spatula. It’s fine to crowd the crackers very close to each other. Prick each cracker with the tines of a fork so they don’t puff up.

Bake the crackers in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are browned. While the first batch of crackers is baking, roll out and cut the remaining dough and repeat.

I worked with this recipe.

Chocolate Almond Raspberry Sea Salt Thumbprints

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It is kinda like a candy bar,  for grown-ups.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup flour

3/4 cup almond meal

1 stick butter at room temp + 2 tablespoons for chocolate filling

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 oz bittersweet chocolate broken into small pieces

2 teaspoons golden syrup

2 tablespoons raspberry jam

sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour and almond meal.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand or hand mixer. Beat them together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of your bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla extract and beat for a few more seconds. Reduce the mixer speed to low, then add the almond meal-flour mixture a little at a time. Beat just until just incorporated into the dough — don’t overmix.

Scoop teaspoon-sized balls of dough (melon scoop size) and roll them to form small balls. Place the balls about 2” apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Make sure you don’t press through the dough. Add a tiny dollop of raspberry jam in the center of each cookie.

Bake about 15 minutes, or until the cookies are only slightly colored around the edges; be careful to not overbake. Remove the baking sheets from oven and transfer the cookies to cooling racks.

To make chocolate filling: Using a double boiler or a small heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine chocolate, 2 tablespoons butter, and golden syrup. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. When cookies are cool, fill the thumbprints with the chocolate, and then sprinkle with sea salt. Allow about an hour for the chocolate centers to set.

I got the recipe here.

Sesame Hokey Pokey

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Some people call it honeycomb, sponge toffee, or golden crunchers.  Whatever you call it, use it as garnish on vanilla ice cream or crunch on a piece when no one is looking.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

3 tablespoons honey

1/3 cup corn syrup

4 teaspoons baking soda, sifted

1/3 cup sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, gently combine sugar, water, honey, and corn syrup. Do not stir, but swirl pan, gently.

Boil until it turns amber in color.  It should look like caramel.  Add the baking soda and mix with wooden spoon.  It will foam up, so be careful.  Then stir in sesame seeds.

Pour the mixture onto a silpat or a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan, and let cool. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

 

GF PB CCC

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Amazing Gluten free (if your baking soda is) peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. 

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until uniform. Stir in the baking soda and salt. Fold in the coarsely chopped chocolate.

Drop cookies by the tablespoon onto a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely (the cookies will be fragile and need to set-up before they can be moved).

I got the recipe here.

Ava & Angelina’s Blueberry Lemon Muffins

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I love baking for the girls when they are in town.

INGREDIENTS

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp.

½ cup sugar

1 large egg

¾ cup sour cream

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray.

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then yogurt and zest.

Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift half of dry ingredients over batter. Mix until combined.

Sift remaining dry ingredients into batter and mix just until the flour disappears. Gently fold in your blueberries.

The dough is thick. An ice cream scoop is probably best to fill each muffin tin ¾ of the way. You might just get 9 muffins.

Bake for 25 minutes until tops are golden and tester is clean.

I got the recipe here.

Chipped Strawberries and Chocolate Skillet Cake

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Happy Birthday to my brother, Anthony.

INGREDIENTS

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 cup sugar (plus 1 tablespoon for top of cake)

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup strawberries

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Fold in chopped strawberries, almonds (minus 1 tablespoon), and chocolate chips. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth. Pour into pie plate. Sprinkle remaining sugar and almonds over cake.

Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes.

Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.

This can last for a couple days covered but I guarantee it won’t last that long.

Milk Bread

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Foelske sent me an email this morning with with recipe. I stopped everything I was doing and made it.  You should do the same.

INGREDIENTS

5 1/3 cups bread flour, divided, pus more for surface

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup honey

3 tablespoons dry milk powder

2 tablespoons active yeast

2 tablespoons kosher salt

3 large eggs (two for recipe 1 for brushing on bread)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp, cut into pieces

non stick spray

flaky sea salt

DIRECTIONS

Cook 1/3 cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms (almost like a roux but looser), about 5 minutes. Add cream and honey and cook, whisking to blend, until honey dissolves.

Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add milk powder, yeast, kosher salt, 2 eggs, and 5 remaining cups flour. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 4 minutes.

Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

If making rolls, lightly coat a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Divide each piece into 4 smaller pieces (you should have 24 total). They don’t need to be exact; just eyeball it. Place 4 pieces of dough side-by-side in each muffin cup.
 If making loaves, lightly coat two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 12 pieces. Nestle pieces side-by-side to create 2 rows down length of each pan.
 If making split-top buns, lightly coat two 9- by 13-inch baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape each into a 4-inch long log. Place 6 logs in a row down length of each dish.

Let shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (dough should be just puffing over top of pan), about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon. water in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through, 25 to 35 minutes for rolls, 50 to 60 minutes for loaf, or 30 to 40 minutes for buns. If making buns, slice each bun down the middle deep enough to create a split-top. Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out; let cool completely.

HUGE thanks to Food52 for posting this recipe.