Sugar Plum

Pomegranate White Chocolate-Macadamia Crumb Cake

2009-11-23T02:53:00.006-06:00

Mmm crumb cake. Nom nom nom.

But before we get to that, let me tell you about something suspicious going on. There are rose bushes still blooming in our front yard, and it's November! I'm pretty sure most flowers die when it gets cold, but apparently not these. We even had sleet last week. I just don't understand it. I guess it's not freezing yet, so that's why they're still alive.

I like them; they make me cheerful whenever I go into the house every day. But I'm still awfully suspicious of them. I bet "roses blooming in November" is a bad omen in the Old Farmer's Almanac. You know what I mean? It probably means we're going to have a bad winter. Like that persimmon thing with the knife, fork, and spoon. Yeah? No? You have no idea what I'm talking about.

They're really pretty, aren't they? It turns out I take better pictures of flowers than of food. I think it's time I start a gardening blog.

A gardening blog where I take pictures of people gardening.

I'm going to wrap this up because I have some recipe contests to work on. It's kind of a secret little hobby of mine, if you didn't know that already. I would even consider myself a serial recipe contester. ;) I bet some of you who read this blog are contesters, too. Why did all of the sponsors decide to make their contest deadlines in the end of December, right around the holidays?

So maybe, just maybe, did I decide to enter this Pom Wonderful recipe contest. I could use the cash, and I also happen to love Pom. I wanted to use Pom Wonderful's juice and pomegranates in a dessert. I used Pom-soaked cranberries and pomegranate arils in a white chocolate-cream cheese swirled cake. The cake itself is very buttery and delicious, but when you add that cream cheese swirl... oh man. Then, when you think it couldn't get any better, I topped the cake with a macadamia crumb topping.

Oh. My. Gosh. It's incredible. I'm serious about that.
I'm serious about this cake. I love it.

Hey! Don't forget to check in on Wednesday for Thanksgiving dessert updates! See you then. Don't be late! Bring snacks. I could go for some kettle corn right now.

Pomegranate White Chocolate-Macadamia Crumb Cake (Recipe by Me)

1/2 cup POM Wonderful juice
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup POM Wonderful pomegranate arils
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 cup
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus 5 tablespoons, chilled
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups milk

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted

2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts, toasted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, bring pomegranate juice to a boil; stir in cranberries and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until juice is absorbed. Stir in pomegranate arils and orange zest until combined; set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together 1/2 cup butter and granulated sugar until creamy, about 1 minute; beat in vanilla and egg yolks until combined, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk, until combined - about 2 minutes; set aside.

In a medium bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese until creamy, about 30 seconds. Beat in melted white chocolate until combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in pomegranate-cranberry mixture until just combined.

Spread cake batter evenly into baking dish; place spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture on top, and lightly swirl into the batter using a knife.

To make the crumb topping, in a medium bowl, stir together additional 1 cup flour, additional 1/4 teaspoon salt, brown sugar, macadamia nuts and cinnamon until combined; cut up additional 5 tablespoons butter into small pieces, and knead into flour mixture until well incorporated, and clumps start to form. Evenly sprinkle crumb topping over cake batter.

Bake for 38-43 minutes or until well risen, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs attached.

Makes 15 servings

Pear & Cranberry Gingersnap Crisp

2009-11-20T03:51:00.003-06:00

I am super-amped about Thanksgiving, if you couldn't tell already. I think about it about ten times a day. I am way too excited, I think. I need to calm the F DOWN. Why am I so excited? Well, I think maybe it's because I get to have two Thanksgiving dinners this year. The first one will be with my family, and the second dinner will be shared with Eric's family.

I'm really curious about other Thanksgivings, and how ours compares. I only know ours! I've only had Thanksgiving at my family's house. What do other people eat? Is is the same? Is it different?

If I came to your Thanksgiving, what would I find on your table that I would be surprised or curious about?

We always have this cranberry salad, and I think I've talked about it before. Yup, I have. It's really weird, and I used to LOVE it, but as the years go by, I grow less and less fond of it. It contains cranberries, sugar, pineapple, whipped cream, pecans and, uh, mini marshmallows. We really like mini marshmallows around here.

I think I could update this salad and make it more gourmet and delicious, but I don't think my mom will let me because I might screw it up.
Just give me a chance, mom. Just give me a chance.

Whenever I think of cranberries I think of this salad and Thanksgiving. The first time I ever used cranberries was in making it. I remember helping my mom make the salad one year and accidentally doubling up on the sugar. Oops.

It's funny how food can trigger a lot of memories. When I think of gingersnaps, I definitely think of the holidays, and how my grandpa would bring a big bag of gingersnaps to our house when he and grandma visited.

Gosh, I miss grandpa. Ugh. Because of him I appreciate Lincolns, classical music, fireplaces, and Robert Frost.

Cranberries and gingersnaps make me think of the holidays, and I wanted to incorporate them together into a dessert, but I also wanted to use pear because I haven't used any this year.

So this is a spiced pear & cranberry crisp, topped with gingersnaps, oats, brown sugar, flour, walnuts and butter.

It's delicious and a snap *wink* to make.

Pear & Cranberry Gingersnap Crisp (Recipe by Me)

3 large pears, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped gingersnaps
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together pear, orange juice, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, ginger and cranberries until combined; place into cake pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together gingersnaps, oats, brown sugar, flour, walnuts and salt until well combined; knead in butter, using fingertips, until mixture starts to clump together. Evenly sprinkle over pears.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 10-15 minutes (covering with foil if it browns too quickly), or until pears are tender. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 6 servings

Sweet Potato Pie

2009-11-18T03:48:00.001-06:00

I am fully recovered of my terrible cold from last week. You can hardly tell I've been sick. The only way you can tell is if I cough directly in your face, uncontrollably, which has happened a lot lately. I'll be having a conversation with someone, and all of a sudden an explosion of cough bursts out, and I can't do anything about it.

I don't know... being sick really isn't that bad. I called into work, made sweet potato pancakes, and drank coffee and watched Curb Your Enthusiasm all day. I think I'd rather be ill than go wait tables. Just kidding! I love waiting tables! What am I saying?! That's crazy talk.

So Thanksgiving is in a week. A week! I am so, so excited. I love Thanksgiving! I think it's my favorite holiday. After all, tis the holiday of food. Thanksgiving is a time when we sit down at the table, give thanks to turkey, green bean casserole and marshmallowed sweet potatoes, and then eat as much as possible without getting sick, before watching TV and taking naps, and then eating pie. What's all that Pilgrim and Indian nonsense?

My absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving is the pie baking and dessert making. The day before Thanksgiving is one of the most important baking days of the year. It's so important to me, that I took off work. Yes, I took off work so I could bake pies and cakes, and maybe even pitch in a little help with the side dishes. Since I'll be off, I will be live pie blogging all day, with updates on the progress of the desserts. :) So check in next Wednesday if you're not too busy! I will be adding some twists to traditional pumpkin and pecan pie. I also may be baking a cake and an apple pie. I haven't decided yet.

Are you looking to bring something different to the dessert table? Try this sweet potato pie I created. It's the ultimate, perfect sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving. The crust is composed of crushed gingersnap cookies, toasted pecans, oats, brown sugar and butter. The filling is made up of fresh cooked sweet potato, browned butter, evaporated milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, spices and eggs. Then the pie is topped with mini marshmallows and broiled.

Are you a marshmallow sweet potato family? I was born and raised into one.
Marshmallows are in my blood. Oh lawdy I love marshmallows on sweet potatoes. Yeah I'm trashy - say what you want about me - I don't care.

I know a lot of you are planning your Thanksgiving menus, so here's a list of pies you might fine suitable for your feast:

Deep-Dish Caramel Apple Pie

Ultimate Cherry Pie

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Crumb Topped Apple Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Chewy Ginger Cookie-Crusted Pumpkin Pie with Maple Whipped Cream

Sweet Potato Pie (Recipe by Me)

1 cup finely ground gingersnap cookies
2/3 cup finely ground toasted pecans
1/3 cup quick oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

1 cup mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch deep dish pie plate with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together gingersnaps, pecans, oats, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 3 tablespoons butter until well combined; pat evenly into pie plate to form a crust. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown and set. Cool on a wire rack.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking frequently, until butter starts to brown and foam. Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together sweet potato and 1/2 cup brown sugar until well combined, about 1 minute. Beat in browned butter, evaporated milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt until well combined, about 1 minute. Beat in eggs until well combined, about 1 minute. Pour filling into pie crust.

Bake for 30=35 minutes, or until golden brown around edges, and set - pie shouldn't wobble. Remove pie from oven and evenly top with mini marshmallows. Turn oven broiler on lowest setting, and broil top of pie for a few seconds until marshmallows brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Makes 8 servings

Fig & Almond Shortbread (Vegan)

2009-11-16T01:51:00.005-06:00

Blogging friends are the best. When I went on the POM Harvest Tour, I met Heather of Heather Eats Almond Butter. Actually, she was the first person I spoke to when I was there.

She's very, very nice, smart, and inspirational. I've been reading her blog since I got back, and I'm enjoying it. I'm learning more about nutrition and different food products I've never heard of before. She's also really into yoga, (along with Veggiegirl) so I tried that the other day. I used a yoga DVD that somebody gave me a few years ago and I didn't use. Yoga ia hard. It's difficult, and I didn't realize how much. I think you have to be a certain kind of person to get into it. Or maybe a certain body type. I'm more of a cardio-aerobics kind of gal. Preferably from the 80's.

Anyway, she makes these cookies called "Maple Nut Oaties", and when I first read about them, I wanted to try them. So Heather generously offered to send me some. And I was like, "Noooo you don't have to do that!" But secretly I wanted the cookies. Then she insisted, and I happily accepted her offer.

So a couple of days later, a box arrived from Miss Heather, and she did indeed send me the cookies, but she also sent me sunflower seed and almond butter from Trader Joe's! I've never had either, so I was eager to try them both. Thank you SO much, Heather! Your cookies are delicious and I want to eat them in a bowl of milk like cereal. Maple Nut Oaties! Is that not a great title for a cereal?

Guess what? I love almond butter too, now. It's hard not to put it on/in everything. I'm kind of obsessed with it, which isn't good because the only almond butter we have here is $7 a jar, and I'm too poor for those kinds of shenanigans. And we don't have a Trader Joes, which angers me. But I'm going off topic here, so somebody keep me on track.

I used the almond butter in a healthy cookie recipe. Guess what? It's vegan! Yaaay! This is my first vegan recipe I've created. See, it makes sense because you don't need eggs for shortbread, and the almond butter replaces the regular butter.

I flavored the shortbread with a seasonal fall fruit I wanted to use - figs. No, not fresh figs, because that would add too much moisture, and also because dammit if we don't have fresh figs here, either. Plennnnty of sausage, jowl and ham hocks though. Because you know how much I love to cook a big pot of white beans with jowl in it. Heh, heh, heh. Mmmm.

I thought orange and clove would go nicely with the figs and almond butter, so that's in there too. These are delicious. They taste like those Nature Valley granola bars.

Fig & Almond Shortbread (Recipe by Me)

1 cup old fashioned oats + 1/4 cup
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
2/3 cup finely chopped dried figs
1/3 cup almond butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Process 1 cup oats in a food processor until finely ground; add to medium mixing bowl. To bowl, add additional 1/4 cup oats, flour, salt and clove, and stir until combined; stir in figs until combined.
In a large bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together almond butter and brown sugar until creamy, about 1 minute; beat in orange juice and vanilla until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until combined.

Shape dough into a ball and roll (using a rolling pin) into an 11x8-inch rectangle, on a lightly floured surface, about 1/4-inch thick. Trim off raggedy ends, then cut rectangle into rows 5x5. Transfer squares to cookie sheet and lightly press almonds into them. Bake 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown and crisp. Cool 2 minutes on pan before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 25 shortbread

Pumpkin Muffins Topped with Gingersnap-Cinnamon Chip Streusel

2009-11-13T04:37:00.001-06:00

Thank you all for the get well wishes and also for playing my game. I had fun reading all of the answers you left. Have I told you how awesome you are today? Because you are. I love reading comments and emails from readers. It makes my day so much fun. I know I don't always reply to comments, but I read every single one. And don't ever hesitate to email me if you have questions, or for anything at all.

Sorry, I'm finished now. I feel very appreciative of you guys today. Anyway, let's get to the POM juice giveaway winners. Thank you, POM for giving away the juice! I picked three winners using a random number generator:

Congrats to Emmanuelle, Aimée, and Elena! You each won a case of POM juice! I will be contacting you shortly.

My original idea was to post my story I made up with their answers, but I decided I didn't want to post my story three different times. So I combined all of their answers into it.

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful young woman who looked like Louis Armstrong, and she lived in a town called Fantastic Flavor in Florida. One day she woke up and was infatuated and decided she needed to go shopping. So she grabbed her flannel blanket, got in the car, and drove to Babies Grocery Store.

She picked up her usual turkey soup, and at that moment, she spotted POM juice and felt compelled to buy it and use it in a recipe. When she arrived home, she cooked up "Pomegranate Spicy Chili in a Bread Bowl" and served it to her family. After trying it, the family described the meal as being better than poutine in the Canadian Rockies. And from that moment on, she cooked the meal once a week. The End.

That was a pretty stupid story, wasn't it? I wrote that the other night. Late the other night. In the future, when I do giveaways, I'll probably just ask you to leave a comment. Haha. Oh well, it was fun.

It's muffin time, Muffin. Oh yes... who doesn't love a good muffin? Everyone loves muffins. They even have generic muffin cereal, I noticed. Malt-O-Meal makes Blueberry Muffin Tops cereal. WOW. I would love to wake up every morning to a bowl full of blueberry muffin. Malt-O-Meal didn't have that flavor when I was growing up. We had a selection of Tootie Fruities, Marshmallow Mateys, and Coco Roos. Mmm. A certain someone eats a giant bag of Honey Buzzers a week.

Cereal is great, but nothing goes better with a cup of coffee in the morning, than a big Pumpkin Muffin topped with Gingersnap-Cinnamon Chip Streusel.

The streusel is made up of chopped gingersnaps, cinnamon chips, toasted pecans, oats, sugar and butter. The muffin is pretty traditional, consisting of pumpkin, spices, oil, eggs, milk, flour, brown sugar, etc.

These are big and beautiful muffins! Have a bite - they're scrumptious.

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Pumpkin Muffins Topped with Gingersnap-Cinnamon Chip Streusel (Recipe by Me)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup coarsely chopped gingersnaps
1/3 cup cinnamon chips
1/3 cup finely chopped toasted pecans
1/3 cup oats (quick or old fashioned)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 8 large muffin cups, or 12 regular-sized muffin cups.

Combine gingersnaps, cinnamon chips, pecans, oats, and granulated sugar in a large bowl; knead in 3 tablespoons butter until mixture is well combined and starts to clump together. Set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together 5 tablespoons butter, oil and brown sugar until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla until combined. Beat in eggs until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk until just combined - about 1-2 minutes.

Divide batter into muffin cups. Evenly top with gingersnap mixture, and gently press into the surface of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until well risen, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into cake comes out with moist crumbs attached.

Cool muffins 10 minutes before removing from pan and cooling.

Makes 8 big muffins or 12 regular muffins

Visions of Pomegranates

2009-11-10T00:10:00.006-06:00

Hello there, dear friends. I have a head cold, and I keep sneezing and blowing my nose. I hope it goes away soon. I went into work tonight and I think it was a mistake - I feel worse now, plus I was really cranky to the senior citizen bus groups.* I took some cold medication and now I'm way out of it. I think that stuff makes me feel even worse.

One of my remedies at the moment is sticking a kleenex up my nose and leaving it there to stop the running and itchiness. This is one of my great, embarrassing secrets that many people don't know about. I've been doing this since I was a kid. I only do it in the privacy of my bedroom nowadays. It really works! And it looks like you have a mustache made out of kleenex.

My other remedy is drinking POM pomegranate juice. I went out and bought a bottle today, because I know how good it is for me. I think I'm starting to feel better already! I know I keep talking about POM, but I really, really like and believe in their products.

November is National Pomegranate Month, because November is the height of the fresh pomegranate season; you can now find POM Wonderfuls in your grocery stores. To celebrate, POM has offered to give away three Sugar Plum readers each a case of pomegranate juice! Isn't that so nice?! Thank you, POM.

To win the juice, you have to play a little mad lib game with me today. In the comment section, leave suggestions for the following, in this order:

1. adjective
2. celebrity name
3. adjective and noun
4. emotion
5. the first thing you see when you look around you
6. your favorite thing
7. food item
8. favorite food dish
9. guilty pleasure
10. the last place you visited

Anyone can enter; you don't have to have a blog - just be sure to leave your name and a way to contact you. Also, you can only comment once. The giveaway starts today and ends on Thursday, November 12th at 11:59 PM (CST).

I will post the story I wrote on Friday's blog, and you can fill in the blanks with your answers, and I'll also post the three winners and their answers. I'll pick the winners using a random number generator. Good luck!

Does that make sense? I hope so. Anyway, let's get to today's recipe: Chocolate Pomegranate Bliss Bars, in honor of National Pomegranate Month.
These are kind of like dessert energy bars. Ground pomegranate seeds, oats, cranberries, figs, almonds, pistachios and honey are combined together and pressed into a pan to form bars, then slathered in almond butter and covered in dark chocolate.

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Chocolate Pomegranate Bliss Bars (Recipe by Me)

1 cup pomegranate seeds
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
2/3 cup coarsely chopped dried figs
1/2 cup ground toasted almonds
1/2 cup ground toasted pistachios
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup skim or soy milk
6 ounces chopped dark chocolate
2 tablespoons almond butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil; coat foil with cooking spray.

Pulse pomegranate seeds, oats, cranberries and figs, in a food processor until very finely chopped; add to medium mixing bowl. Stir in almonds, pistachios, honey, vanilla and salt until well combined. Press mixture into pan. Bake bars for 20 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

Bring milk to a simmer, in a small saucepan, over medium-low heat. Reduce heat to low and stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Spread almond butter over bars; cover with chocolate and evenly spread. Freeze until set, before lifting out foil and slicing into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 16 bars

*This woman seriously took ten minutes to order.
"Ma'am?... For you, ma'am?... Are you ready to order?... Can I get your order?... What will it be?... WHAT DO YOU WANT?! My eyes are starting to bulge, my face is bright red) Chicken livers? Okay then."
Five minutes later I drop off the food. Woman: "Are these livers? I didn't order chicken livers." Me: "Yes, YES YOU DID." Woman: "No I didn't." Other bus group members sitting at her table: "Yes you did." Me: "Can I get you something else?" Woman: "No, I'll just eat my side dishes. Take these livers away from me."

Caramel Apple Bars

2009-11-06T14:24:00.000-06:00

So I signed up for this thing called "Twitter" the other day. I guess it's like, some sort of social networking site where you update what you're doing and talk to people. Something like that. :0

I had a Twitter account a few months ago, but I deleted it because I didn't use it, and then one day I wanted to get it back, and they wouldn't let me! So that Twitter account is gone forever. I hope I don't do the same thing with this one. I'm very wishy-washy when it comes to Twitter. Some days I like it, some days I don't. And I usually forget to update it and talk to people and stuff. But the other day I had a lovely conversation with my friend, Sue, about pear crisp, and that was nice. She's having a cookbook giveaway, by the way.

Where was I going with this? Well, I'm not sure. I guess I just wanted to tell you I have Twitter now. So we can like, talk and stuff. I even have it on my phone. Oooh. I'm so technologically savvy.

Other topics for today, November 6, 2009, include:
-I bought a new $9 Hamilton Beach hand mixer from Walmart. My other hand mixer was gradually falling apart every time I used it. Beater by beater. Switch by switch.
-Did you watch the Top Chef reunion dinner the other night? Zzzzzzz.
-I worked out on the treadmill today for the first time in years. While watching Paula Deen make sausage balls.
-I made caramel apple bars using leftover caramels from my pie.

These are spicy-cakey bars with applesauce and grated apple in them, topped with caramel frosting and toasted pecans. Glorious!

Caramel Apple Bars (Recipe by Me)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated apple, drained
1/2 cup applesauce

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
16 caramels, unwrapped
3 tablespoons milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13x9-inch baking dish.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar until creamy - about 1 minute; beat in egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, apple and applesauce until well combined - about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until combined.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the caramel glaze, melt 6 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook for 3-4 minutes or until butter foams and turns golden brown. Reduce heat to low and stir in caramels and milk until melted; whisk in confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt until combined. Pour and spread glaze over the top of apple bars; evenly sprinkle with pecans. Cool completely before slicing.

Makes 20 bars

Deep-Dish Caramel Apple Pie

2009-11-05T03:57:00.002-06:00

Why do people eat cheese with their apple pie? I have never understood that. My family has never done such a thing. But I've had friends who think cheddar cheese is a requirement for apple pie.

I did some research on the subject, and the only information I could find was, people eat cheese with apple pie at the end of a meal because it helps with digestion. Ehh I don't know about that.
I think I'd rather have ice cream with my apple pie.

I definitely use apples and cheese together for savory cooking but never in a dessert. Maybe I should? Next time I make apple pie I'm going to pair it with Cheetos.... or cheese popcorn. Or Cheez-Its.

Yes. Cheez-Its. Everyone love Cheez-Its - especially my two year old nephew, Jayden.

I think he could be the Cheez-Its spokesperson. Whenever he's over visiting, he finds the box of Cheez-Its immediately, brings it to me, and shoves my hand in the box to feed him some. That's actually the only thing I've ever seen him eat.
They're his source of power. :)

He was Yoda for Halloween. My mom made him the costume! She's super crafty like that.

So I made this pie, and it was really good. The double crust pastry was perfect, the amount of spice was perfect, the caramel was perfect. The apples were almost perfect. I used only granny smith, but I think I should have used a combination of apples. I was just trying to keep it simple, you know?

I broiled the apples before I put them in the pie, to pre-cook and give them a bit of caramelization. Apple pie is one you can never master, but this one is pretty close.

Deep-Dish Caramel Apple Pie (Recipe by Me)

Double Crust Pie Dough
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
10-12 tablespoons ice water

5 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
30 caramels, unwrapped
1/4 cup milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

To make the crust, in a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Work the butter in, using a pastry blender or your fingers, until pea-sized lumps form. Sprinkle in the water, 1 tbsp. at a time, stirring gently with a fork after each addition and adding only enough of the water to form a rough mass.

Using floured hands, pat the dough into two smooth, flattened discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator before rolling out.

Preheat oven broiler. Place apples on a large sheet pan. Broil 5-6 minutes, stirring once, until apples start turning golden brown; remove apples from oven and place in a large mixing bowl.

Melt the caramels and milk together in the microwave and stir well; stir in vanilla, cinnamon and ginger until combined. Stir caramel mixture into apples until combined.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Roll one dough disc out thinly on a floured surface, using a rolling pin, and fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, and place on a cookie sheet; fill pie shell with caramel apples. Roll out additional dough disc and top apples; trim and flute edges. Slice some cuts in the center of pie. Brush a little milk whisked together with an egg evenly over pie dough and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake an additional 40 minutes (covering with foil in the last fifteen minutes) or until deep golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Serve with caramel sauce, toasted pecans, and vanilla ice cream.

Makes 8 servings

Candy Compost Bars

2009-11-02T01:49:00.005-06:00

Happy November 2nd! It's November! Can you believe that? That's crazy to me. I hope everyone had a fabulous Halloween weekend. Did you eat lots of candy? I kinda like peanut M&M's - they're almost healthy for you. I think I'm going to go out today and stock up for treat-making. However, I will not be stocking up on Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses. What a shady, shady candy that is.
They're always slightly unwrapped when you get one, which draws suspicions that there is a razor blade or needle strategically placed inside, just to off you.

So Eric and I went to a party this weekened. We needed costumes and I wasn't feeling creative, so I asked him what we should be. He only had one idea, but once he said it, I knew that was it. I went over to his apartment, before the party, to assist in the transformation.

This is before. He grew his facial hair out specifically for this costume.

Umm, don't ask. Actually, I should probably explain. He has a pillow taped under his stomach. He is wearing a mask out of a t-shirt to prevent inhaling hairspray/hair dye fumes.

This is me looking frustrated as I fix his hair.

Okay! Are you ready for the big reveal??

It's Ultimate Recipe Showdown's Guy Fieri and me!

Let's compare:

Yeah! These costumes are off the hook!

Yo. Fo' shizzle my nizzle.

Oh, that's money.

Guess what? Halloween is also our one year anniversary! We started dating at the same party last year. :) But we actually worked together years before, at the restaurant where I still work at. Remember this blog post from November 3rd of last year? I wasn't feeling that way about foccacia.

Guy needs some lovin'!

I'm very grateful to have him as a boyfriend. He is always there for me when I need him, and I know he'd do anything for me. I love his personality, his humor, his interests, his values, his family... he's pretty perfect! Not to mention he's smoking hawt. Especially in his Guy Fieri/Sammy Hagar costume.

A year is the longest amount of time either of us have been in a relationship (that doesn't make us sound very good), so we need to thank our sponsors. We couldn't have done it without:

-Spearmint Stride. The gum of our relationship.
-Taco Bell. For those three AM gordita runs.
-Target. For Eric's wardrobe.
Steak 'n Shake. The first establishment we ate at together.
Walmart. For our weekly shopping trips together. Milk? Check. French bread pizzas? Check. Mini waffles? Check.
Seinfeld. The television show of our relationship.

I could go on and on, but I better stop. Let's get to the Candy Compost Bars.
What to do with leftover Halloween candy? Make these!

I thought and thought about what I wanted to make; cookies and brownies seemed boring, cakes and pies didn't seem fitting. I finally decided to make a bar.

The first layer is chocolate cookie with oats, chopped peanuts, and chopped candy bar mixed in. I used Snickers, but you could use whatever candy bar you still have left. The next layer is a peanut butter popcorn layer, which I stirred chopped Twix in, but once again - you could use whatever your heart desires. Chocolate is drizzled over the top, and M&M's are pressed into the surface.

Oh my goodness. These are so delicious! Get them out of this house! Give these a try, most definitely. You may even want to throw in some crushed potato chips or pretzels into one of the layers.

Candy Compost Bars (Recipe by Me)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus an additional 1/2 teaspoon
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips, melted, plus an additional 1/4 cup, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts
1/2 cup finely chopped mini candy bars (such as Snickers)

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup peanut butter chips
4 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup finely chopped mini candy bars (such as Twix)
1/2 cup M&M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch baking dish and line with foil; butter foil.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt; whisk in oats until combined. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together 1/2 cup butter and sugar until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in 3/4 cup melted chocolate until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until combined; beat in peanuts and candy bar until combined. Dump the batter into the prepared dish and flatten evenly into one layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set and golden brown around edges.

To make the popcorn layer, melt the additional 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; stir in peanut butter, corn syrup, and additional 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bring mixture to a simmer. Remove pan from heat and stir in peanut butter chips until melted; stir in popcorn until well combined, followed by chopped candy bar. Spread and pack popcorn over chocolate cookie layer.

Pipe or drizzle remaining melted chocolate on top of bars, then sprinkle and press M&M's into the surface. Cool completely before slicing into bars.

Makes 18 bars

Rubies in the Orchard

2009-10-30T15:38:00.012-05:00

Isn't that a great blog post title? It's actually the title of Lynda Resnick's book, who is the marketing genius behind POM Wonderful, FIJI water, Teleflora, and the Franklin Mint. I really admire her; she is such a smart, creative business woman, and I'm looking forward to reading her book and blog. She and her team at POM Wonderful have made the company into what it is today.

I've never visited an orchard before, let alone a pomegranate orchard. It's kind of a magical place. It really, really is. Rows and rows of beautiful boundless trees, adorned with bright red fruit, just waiting to be picked. It made me wild and I wanted to run through the trees and find a spot to lie down and look at the clouds.

But I couldn't leave my group and get lost in the pomegranate orchards in California. Although, I wouldn't have to worry about starving because LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE POMEGRANATES! I would be healthier than ever. I don't know if you realize how good pomegranates are for you; they're filled with powerful antioxidents, and they're good for your heart. Pomegranate juice has demonstrated a superior ability to neutralize harmful free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can damage the cells in your body. Free radicals come from air pollution, alcohol, pesticides, sunlight, tobacco smoke, drugs, fried foods, and even stress.

This is Brad. He is the the vice president and general manager for POM Wonderful. He gave us a tour of the orchards and taught us all kinds of things about pomegranates, including how to cut one.

He was slicing pomegranates and giving us samples - right there in the orchard.

Look at these beautiful arils. Look at that color! How can they not be good for you?

These are one of the most delicious things I've eaten. I've been using the arils almost every day in something. I love them in salads, couscous, oatmeal and cereal.

Then, it was time to pick a pomegranate!

There I go...

Look at those muscular arms! It kind of looks like I have man-hands, too.

It looks like a Christmas tree! I ended up taking five large ones with me, haha. Maybe I overdid it. I had a hell of a time getting them home in my carry on bag.

After touring the orchards and some downtime, we met in the lobby and went to dinner at the Vintage Press.

POM had a very special dinner planned for us, with an incredible menu.

I will spare you the food pictures I took, because, honestly, they're terrible. They're blurry and dark and don't do the food justice.

This is me with Shirley and Bren. At the dinner the POM team explained why we were chosen for this experience. I thought maybe they randomly drew numbers and that's how we were picked, but that wasn't true. They started out with a list of fifty-or-so bloggers and then narrowed it down. Each blog was picked for specific reasons! Isn't that amazing? I feel so honored. POM loves and appreciates bloggers, and knows how powerful a blog can be. I bet they'll pick more people and do something similar to this soon.

The next day was our last day, but before we caught our flights home, we were able to tour the POM factory, where they bring in the fresh pomegranates to sell, and also where they make the juice and tea.

That's right - they grow their own pomegranates right there in the area and then make their own juice. I was so impressed with their company. They are all about quality and will do everything they can to give you the best product.

I didn't get very many pictures of the factory because a lot of it is top secret, like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. They have all kinds of secret, advanced technological equipment that they didn't want their competitors knowing about. I bet Welches is just dyyiiinnng to know how their juice is so perfect. And where they're getting their oompa loompas from. Here is a secret for you: they have a river of pomegranate juice running throughout the factory that you can take gondola boat rides on.

After the tour we hopped into our vans, went to the airport, and flew home.
Thank you to POM for the experience of a lifetime! I will never forget it.

Ahhhh home-sweet-home. My trips and trip posts have been fun, but I'm ready to get back to blogging about desserts! Sorry it took me so long to get this massive post up; this week has been crazy busy for me. Yesterday I spent all day shopping for Halloween costumes for Eric and me, because we're going to a party tonight. I'll be honest, our costume idea is pretty spectacular. Check back next week for pictures! Teehee.

I'm disappointed I didn't get any treat recipes posted for Halloween. But maybe the best treat recipes come afterwards? Leftover Halloween candy! Wheeee!
Happy Halloween! Hope you all have a blast.

A Pomegranate Affair

2009-10-26T05:52:00.005-05:00

I was whisked away for three days last week to beautiful Fresno, California, by the lovely POM pomegranate company.

When I was first contacted a few months ago, I could hardly believe my luck. POM wanted to fly fifteen bloggers to Fresno to tour the orchards and factory for a "Pomegranate Harvest Tour" and asked me if I would like to go. I hesitantly said yes, but was afraid it was too good to be true.

Until I was sitting on the plane last week, I still thought that was the case. Why was I chosen? Who else will be there? What is the point of all of this? These are questions I asked myself, and they were soon to be answered.

I flew from Springfield to Dallas, Dallas to Fresno. Here are a few things you should know before you fly:

1. American Airlines does not offer chocolate milk. Sad face.
2. AA does not offer free snacks. I prefer flying Delta, because you get a choice between pretzels, peanuts, and Biscoff cookies. I recommend Biscoff cookies. You're allowed to take two packages, which I recommend also.
3. Do not let your dogs out of their carriers and allow them to run through the plane and growl at people.
4. I prefer a seat right by the wing, because it allows you to watch for possible gremlins.
5. Do not sit by me on a plane. I sleep with my eyes open and it's just as scary as a gremlin.

It turns out I was sitting closely to three other POM bloggers on the flight from Dallas to Fresno, and didn't know it. But no worries - we found each other later on. We split a thirty dollar cab ride to the Courtyard Marriott in Fresno. I kind of prefer Red Roof Inns and Motel 6's but whatever. ;)

I'm kidding, of course. It was a lovely hotel and I had this huge room all to myself. King sized bed, a couch, mini fridge, a balcony... what else could a girl ask for?

How about some POM swag?! OH MY GOSH YES.

Included in the bag: POM iced coffee, POM shirt, POM notebook, POM cookbook, POM potholder, POM cider mix, POM pen, POM coupons, and a clear box that you can use to pack future lunches in.

All of the bloggers met in the hotel lobby later and we went to dinner at BJ's Brewhouse.
I will resist making jokes, I will resist making jokes, I will resist making jokes.

I hadn't had BJ's before, but a lot of the other bloggers had and enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to trying some BJ's. I thought maybe BJ's would help me relax after a long day of traveling. This pomegranate margarita did the job!
Get your minds out of the gutters. Geez.

Here are all of the wonderfully talented bloggers that I had dinner with. The majority are health and fitness bloggers. I thought I lived a pretty healthy lifestyle, but I was wrong. All of these women have inspired me to exercise more and eat better. That's something I had no idea I would be taking away from this trip. I'm also inspired to create more health conscious recipes.

Let me introduce you to them:
Shirley of Gluten Free Easily, Heather of Heather Eats Almond Butter, Gina of the Fitnessista, Caitlin of Healthy Tipping Point, Tina of Carrots 'n' Cake, Coco of Balance, Joy and Delicias, Bren of Flanboyant Eats, Roni of Green Lite Bites, Janel of Dine Dish Delish, Eric of Eric Rivera Cooks, Pace of Taste of Pace, Sagan of Living Healthy in the Real World, and Kristy of the Wicked Noodle.

We all split these not-so-healthy desserts. A cookie trio of peanut butter, chocolate chip, and double chocolate chip, served with ice cream. I think a warm cookie and ice cream is just about my favorite dessert ever. There was also an apple crisp that was to die for.

The next day we woke up bright and early and hit the hotel breakfast bar. It had a Belgian waffle maker which I spotted right away. Oh man, I love Belgian waffles. You know what I love even better than Belgian waffles doused in butter and syrup? Making Belgian waffles in a Belgian waffle maker that you get to flip upside down. That is fun, fun stuff.

But guess what? I felt ashamed when I saw that everyone was eating oatmeal and fruit, so I skipped the waffles, danish and bacon, and had oatmeal too. :(
I know... sad, right? You know what else is sad? Dying at the age of twenty-four of a heart attack because you ate too much waffles and bacon.

So after breakfast we hopped into these huge vans and drove to the pomegranate orchards. We drove by lemon trees, pistachio orchards, and grape vineyards. I had never seen anything like that before. I wanted to tear open the van door and leap into the orchards and start picking stuff. Fresno is beautiful, flat farmland, surrounded by mountains. I don't know the statistics, but I bet most of our USA grown fruit comes from this area.

The pomegranate orchards are right next to an almond orchard. We walked through the orchard and took some pictures. I love almonds.

I picked three almonds. I don't think I was supposed to do that, but I did anyway. I put them in my pocket and walked briskly back to the van, observing my surroundings to see if anyone had caught me.
This reminds me of the time when I was five and stuck a walnut in my pocket at the grocery store.

The planes arrived at that point, and it was time to fly over and tour the pomegranate orchards!
This is actually the larger plane... I rode in the smaller plane, which sat four, in the second batch of people.

Caitlin and Tina went in the first batch of people, and then blogged about their experiences right after. Talk about dedication!

Me, posing and squatting awkwardly on the wheel.

Me, getting ready to fly the plane.

Noooo, just kidding. That's our pilot in the blue.

This is Shirley, Pace and me in the plane.

Take-off! Wheeeee! I love flying.

Shirley! We're riding in a plane, Shirley!

Beautiful POM orchards.

We were up in the air for about fifteen minutes before we landed. It really felt like only thirty seconds.

Oh. My. Gosh. Is that... is that what I think that is outside my window?? Surely not. No. It can't be.

Part two of my trip coming soon!

Levain Bakery

2009-10-23T02:55:00.007-05:00

I'm back from my trip to Fresno, California. I had a wonderful time and I'm incredibly grateful that I got the opportunity to go. Thank you so much to POM! I'm saving details about that trip for next week. I have so much to tell you and a ton of pictures, but first I need to organize my thoughts and edit pictures and such. It really was a trip of a lifetime.

I still haven't told everyone about my favorite bakery I visited while in New York City, and it's due time, because it's been almost a month since I visted New York. Haha.

The favorite bakery I visited in New York City: Levain Bakery. I don't know if this comes as a surprise to anyone, because I've told you in past posts about how much I wanted to visit it.

When I found out I was going back to New York, I knew one of the places my mom and I had to go was Levain Bakery. I had heard so much about their chocolate chip cookies, I had to try them. So one morning we took a $20 cab ride (ha) to the upper west side. 167 West 74th Street, to be exact.

Mom took some pictures of me standing outside by the sign, but I looked goofy because the sun was shining in my face, so you don't get to see those. Teehee. Okay, anyway, so this bakery is really tiny, and it's underground. You walk down the steps into the place and the display of baked goods is in the front. They have breads and scones, but I had to pass on those; I was there for cookies.
Glorious cookies.

They have four flavors of cookies: Chocolate Chip Walnut, Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip.

$3.75 a cookie. Eek. Fifteen dollars later, mom and I were in business. We sat at a little area by the window, and I proceeded to take pictures.

First up, chocolate chip walnut. Oh goodness! The anticipation! Was this the ultimate chocolate chip cookie??

Here's a close up shot. They're golden brown and crisp on the outside. The inside is soft and appears to be slightly underdone. Although, how could they sell the cookies if they were underbaked? Wouldn't people get sick? I'm very curious about that. The texture is incredible; you get the best of both worlds - crispiness aaaand gooeyness. Oh yeahhhh. I also liked how tender the cookie was. You could easily crumble it into large chunks.

The chocolate chips were delicious and I LOVED the walnuts that were left whole. They tasted like they were untoasted, but they still had such a nice, buttery flavor. This was a good cookie. This is what I'm talking about when I say I want to make or eat the ultimate chocolate chip cookie. Can I clone these and possibly make them better? I think so. I really do. No promises, but I'm working on it.

Next up was the dark chocolate chip cookie. This was like half cookie/half brownie. Really rich and delicious.

Then came the oatmeal raisin. This cookie took me by surprise - I didn't know what to expect, but it was delicious. I read somewhere that it needs more oats, and I would agree with that, but otherwise it was perfect. This was my second favorite. It had a scone-like texture.

Finally, the dark chocolate peanut butter chip. This one was identical to the dark chocolate chip, except it had peanut butter chips. Once again, this was very rich with the texture of a brownie.

All of the cookies were really good, but the chocolate chip walnut was perfect. I'm glad I went to Levain Bakery, twenty dollar cab ride and all. It was kind of a dream of mine, and I'm glad it came true. I would recommend going if you're visiting the city. And If you're not, you could buy them online... oh geez that's a lot of money. What I meant to say was, if you're rich you can buy them online.

Levain Bakery
Upper West Side - 167 West 74th St New York, NY

Fresno, CA 93650

2009-10-19T01:56:00.008-05:00

Uh-oh. I still have one more very famous, very important bakery in New York City to tell you about, but guess what? I haven't had any time to blog or read blogs in the past few days. I've been getting ready to go on my next trip. I'm flying via weather balloon to Fresno, California today. Home of Cher and Kevin Federline.

I can't tell you how lucky I am and shocked that I get to go on a "Pomegranate Harvest Tour" sponsored by POM. I'm not sure how I was chosen, but POM picked fifteen bloggers to fly out to Fresno and tour the pomegranate orchards and factory. They're providing airfare, hotel, dinners, even a "fly-over" over the orchards.

Isn't that crazy? Please don't hate me. I'm telling you, these POM people are really, really nice. They've been sending out kiwi and nectarine pomegranate juice samples to everyone lately, too, which are delicious.

Anyway, I have no idea how I was chosen, but I plan to find out when I get there. I figured out some of the other bloggers who are going and I'm nervous about meeting them. When I get into large groups of people I tend to become sort of a loner. I've never read their blogs or spoken with with any of them. I'm afraid I'm going to make a fool out of myself. Sometimes I do the stupidest things, seriously. Spilling drinks, tripping, saying the wrong things at the wrong time, stuff like that.

I'll miss you all! Take care! I'll be back later this week. I'm excited because I've never been to California before. I always dreamt of going when I was younger. I think I might secretly be a California girl at heart. I'm also excited because I don't have to work! Yes! I love not working.

I'll be updating Facebook with pictures of what's going on, and when I come back I'll have all the juicy pomegranate details. Now listen to some music and enjoy the rest of your day.

Momofuku Milk Bar

2009-10-16T06:23:00.008-05:00

Thank you to everyone who commented on the advent calendar post! I don't know where you all came from. I feel like maybe I should watch my mouth and what I say more. I, uh, didn't know that people actually read my blog.

I loved reading about everyone's favorite holiday treat. The comments are really, really good and detailed. Some of you have the same favorite holiday treat, but surprisingly a lot of your choices were different. It's kind of getting the wheels in my head turning.... what if we did some kind of post on here with everyone's favorite recipes? Then you could use that post as a reference if you needed a recipe for the holidays. I dunno - just a thought. We'll talk about that later at some point.

Let's get to the advent calendar winners! These three people will receive an advent calendar from Portland Truffle. Whoooo hoooo. Let's do it. Using a random number generator... Drumroll please...

Winner 1 - #17 Lorie!
Winner 2 - #94 LD!
Winner 3 - #124 Sara!

Congratulations! I'll be getting in touch with you shortly.

If you didn't win, well, I'm sorry. I wish everyone could win a calendar. But I still think YOU'RE a winner! Awwww. Now come here and give me a hug.

You can purchase an advent calendar on Portland Truffle's website right now!. The calendars are fun and delicious and I highly recommend them. Thank you, Stephanie and Portland Truffle!

Now it's time for some Friday bakery talk... my continued quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Pull up a bean bag chair, some milk and snack, and let me tell you a story.

When my mom and I were in New York City, we decided to walk from 79th street to 13th street, to Momofuku Milk Bar. I'm still confused about what a milk bar is. I guess it's a place that sells milk, ice cream and desserts. I know at this milk bar you had to stand up while eating. And nobody likes to stand... especially after walking so many blocks.

We were pretty hungry when we got there, so everything on the bakery menu looked good. I knew Momofuku was known for their compost cookies, and that's what I decided to get, though all of their desserts looked amazing.

I'm so sad I didn't get to try their famous crack pie and candy bar pie. :(

You really can't place a compost cookie into the chocolate chip category, because while they do have chocolate chips, they also have other add-ins. Like:

Butterscotch chips, oats, toffee covered pretzels, potato chips and coffee grounds.
I know all of those ingredients sound strange together, but the sweet and salty flavors work well. These were SO good. A little greasy, but that has never stopped me before.
You know this old wise saying, right? ... "It's not a good cookie if it doesn't leave grease stains on a paper napkin."

The butterscotch was the dominate flavor of the compost cookie, followed by chocolate. Then I picked up some of the coffee flavor... but it's not too much. If you didn't like coffee you'd still like it. The oat, pretzel and potato chip flavor was minimal. I would have liked more pretzels and potato chips.

Perhaps the cookies vary from day-to-day on how much of what ingredient they throw in. After all, they're compost cookies, which should mean the bakers throw in leftovers of whatever they have lying around. Anyway, these were excellent cookies, and guess what? I'm going to try cloning them in the future so you can make them yourselves at home.

Now here's the BEST part of the story. Hold on to your hats.

Okay, okay. So I'm standing there eating this cookie with my mom at the milk bar, and I was telling her about how I was going to put all these bakery tours on my blog. This girl standing across from us, eating a yummy-looking slice of cake that I almost ripped away from her hands, says,

"You look familiar. Do you have a blog? A sugar plum blog?"

And I was like, "Yes!! Yes I do!"

So we started talking and it turns out she reads my blog! I was in a bakery in the middle of New York City, far from home, and I met someone who reads my blog. That amazes me. She has even baked some of my recipes!

She was very nice to take a picture with me.

Her name is Anne, she goes to NYU, but she's from California, and she loves to bake.
She's looking for someone in their mid-twenties, tall, dark and handsome, who enjoys playing tennis and taking walks on the beach...

Haha, just kidding. I don't think she's looking for anyone, but I bet I could totally hook her up on here. Derrick? Ted? Adam? I think those are my only male readers.

Meeting Anne was one of the best parts of my trip, if not the best part of the trip. Seriously. That experience made my day. It was even better than the compost cookies.

Momofuku Milk Bar & Bakery
207 2nd Ave | corner of 13th and 2nd

Sugar Plum Turns Two

2009-10-14T05:23:00.008-05:00

Happy Birthday Sugar Plum!

Two years ago I bought my laptop and decided to start a little food blog called Sugar Plum.

What made me start a food blog? What makes anyone start a food blog? I had been reading several food blogs at that time, and the writers inspired me to start my own. I hope I've inspired others to do the same.

Two years ago I was baking frequently for friends and family, for holidays and events, and cooking contests. I had all of these recipe ideas swirling around in my head, and I needed to write them down somewhere. Not only did I have recipes churning in my head, but thoughts on life.

So I started Sugar Plum. Why the name Sugar Plum? I really can't remember. I think I thought it sounded cute at the time, and I wanted "sugar" in the title since it was a baking blog. And it makes me think of Christmas and sugar plums and the dance of the sugar plum fairies and so on.... Isn't the music fitting?

Starting this website was one of the smartest things I've ever done in my life.

Through this blog I've met and spoken with so many wonderful people, and made many friends. I want to thank you all for reading. Seriously. Thank you for taking the time to stop by. It means more to me than you'll ever know.

I love blogging. I love writing, I love testing and writing recipes, I love taking pictures, I love posting about something I'm really excited about. I love reading other food blogs. This blog makes me so happy and gives me something to look forward to every day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so awesome! I love my readers and I'd do anything for you. I want to work on this blog and make it the best I can for you. If anyone ever needs anything... help, advice, etc, please don't hesitate to email me.

I wish I could repay you all somehow. Does a giveaway help?
Couldn't hurt. I love giveaways! I wish I could have them more often.

Stephanie of Portland Truffle emailed me a few weeks ago and asked me if I wanted to sample one of their advent calendars.

First, you know what advent calendars are, right? We had to sell them in French class as a fundraiser every year. The ones we sold weren't of good quality and each chocolate was the same and didn't taste good at all.

Not this calendar!

I got to know Stephanie from emailing her, and she is SO nice and fun! She lives in Portland, Oregon. I am jealous. I was very impressed when I checked out the Portland Truffle's website. They make everything fresh to order, whether it's truffles, chocolates, or other confections.

So anyway, sweet Stephanie sent me a beautiful calendar to sample and blog about. I had fun opening the little doors and seeing what was inside. Each door holds something different! That's why I love this calendar so much. Well, also because of how delicious everything was. I mean, really, really good stuff.

Oh my gawd! Candies!

This is a homemade chocolate dipped marshmallow found inside of the calendar.
Best marshmallow I've ever had.

Fluffer nutter! My favorite. Drool.

Cacao nib toffee. I didn't think toffee could get any better, but it does. By adding cacao nibs.

So guess what? Stephanie & Portland Truffle were generous enough to donate three advent calendars for a Sugar Plum Blogiversary Spectacular! Three lucky readers will receive a personalized advent calendar for the holiday season. Three - now those are good odds!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite treat to make or eat around the holidays is (this will give me some ideas of what to make), and you'll be entered to win. Anyone can enter; you don't have to have a blog - just be sure to leave your name and a way to contact you. Also, you can only comment once. The giveaway starts today and ends on Friday, October 16th at 12:00 AM (CST). That's not a lot of time, so comment!

I'll pick the winners using a random number generator and post results on Friday's blog. Good luck!

Apple & Goat Cheese Crostini with Honeyed Walnuts and Crisp Bacon

2009-10-12T02:28:00.003-05:00

Foodbuzz and Nature's Pride Bread are holding a recipe contest. You have to create a recipe using Nature's Pride that highlights the great taste and natural qualities of the bread, then post and blog about the recipe. They will select six people to become "Bread Ambassadors" at the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival on November 6-8 in San Francisco. The bread ambassadors will create their recipes at the Tasting Pavilion for festival attendees to taste, discuss and enjoy.

I thought I would give this competition a shot, because,
a) I love Nature's Pride Bread.
b) I love Foodbuzz.
c) I love a good recipe contest.
d) I've never been and would love to visit San Francisco.

The Foodbuzz Blogger Festival sounds like a lot of fun, and I'd be honored to get the opportunity to attend and cook my recipe.

So this is what I came up with: An Apple & Goat Cheese Crostini with Honeyed Walnuts and Crisp Bacon. I selected Nature's Pride Stone Ground Whole Wheat With Honey Bread as the base for my crostini. The bread is spread with butter and toasted, then topped with goat cheese. Sauteed apples, sage and garlic top the goat cheese, followed by toasted walnuts glazed with honey, and crispy-smoky bacon.

These are really, really good! I think all of the flavors work well together with the honey-wheat bread. I love the sweet-apple and walnuts combined with tangy goat cheese and salty bacon. Mmmm.

Give these a try sometime if you need an appetizer for an event. Wish me luck! I don't know when they decide or anything.

I've wanted to visit San Francisco ever since my days of watching Full House. Don't try and deny that you didn't watch Full House. Everyone did. EVERYONE.
Don't be ashamed. Quiz me in the comment section about something that happened in a Full House episode and I guarantee I can answer it.
Maybe.

Uncle Jesse was HOT.

Apple & Goat Cheese Crostini with Honeyed Walnuts and Crisp Bacon

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt, divided use
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
1 1/2 cups finely chopped apple (Braeburn, Gala, Jonagold)
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
8 slices Nature's Pride Stone Ground Whole Wheat With Honey Bread
6 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup finely chopped cooked applewood smoked bacon

Add walnuts to a large nonstick skillet, over medium heat, and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden; stir in honey and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook an additional 1 minute or until well coated with honey. Pour the walnuts onto a plate and set aside.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in skillet; add apple and sage and cook 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender and golden. Stir in additional 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and garlic, and cook an additional minute; remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven broiler. Spray a large sheet pan with cooking spray.
Cut the bread slices in half diagonally and place on pan. Melt the additional 2 tablespoons butter and brush evenly over bread. Broil 1 minute or until golden brown; flip and broil an additional minute or until golden. Remove pan from oven; evenly spread goat cheese over bread slices. Break up walnuts a bit and stir into apple mixture; evenly divide apple-walnut mixture onto bread slices. Top with bacon and serve.

Makes 6 appetizer servings

The Lazy Baker Cookies

2009-10-11T03:58:00.006-05:00

I have two more New York bakery reviews I need to post about, which happen to be my two favorites. I wanted to post all four bakery reviews in a row, but it didn't work out like that. I'll continue on with my New York posts later this week. You see, I needed to post about these cookies today, then tomorrow I have something I have to post for a contest I'm entering, then Wednesday is my blogiversary and I have a special post for that day. This is a busy blogging week. My, my...

The gang over at The Lazy Baker contacted me before I went to New York and asked if I wanted to sample one of their cookie mixes. Well, I'll be honest - I really enjoy free food, especially cookies, so I didn't hesitate to say yes. They shipped me the mix pretty fast, so I've had it a while and needed to get blogging about it.

The Lazy Baker cookie mix comes in a cute tin. Inside contains a package of pre-measured dry ingredients, and all you have to do is mix it up with softened butter, an egg, and a little vanilla to make your cookie dough. Bake the dough up and voila! You have homemade cookies without all of the work. Not that I mind that type of work, but I know some people do.

Some people... Some people...

Like who?

Let me think of someone who would never bake homemade cookies from scratch.

Meet the candidate:

-Name: Hannah (Sister of Sugar Plum)
-Age: 18
-Occupation: Cashier/Student
-Hobbies: Watching Weeds, Dexter, and True Blood on the computer, playing video games, taking naps after school.
-Favorite foods: Ramen noodles, frozen chimichangas, flamin' hot cheetos, pizza rolls.

Let's put this cookie mix to the test. If my sister can turn this mix into a batch of delicious cookies, then anyone can.

Here she is hard at work. Isn't she cute?! I adore her. I wish you guys could get to know Hannah. She's so smart, funny and talented. I am very, very proud of her. I just want to reach into this picture and give her a hug. She is the best sister anyone could ask for.

Look at that! She did it! Freshly baked double chocolate chip cookies in no time at all. These were good cookies - nice dark chocolate flavor with a good, crisp texture.

I appreciate that the Lazy Baker cookies use all natural ingredients, unlike most other cookie mixes. They have different flavors besides double chocolate chip that you can buy online. You can also buy the mixes in many locations out west. It's not too early for some holiday shopping!

Jacques Torres Chocolate

2009-10-09T02:22:00.011-05:00

One day in New York, mom and I walked around trying to find Jacques Torres' chocolate shop on Hudson Street, but we never did find it. We gave up, frustrated, and continued on with our day.

We found ourselves on the upper west side one morning, strolling the streets and exploring Central Park. Okayyy, maybe, just maybe, I wanted to check out Michael Psilakis' restaurant, Gus and Gabriel. We lurked around for a while to see a menu and scope out the place. I wasn't like, looking for him or anything.
Heh heh heh.

Then, we continued our way down Amsterdam Avenue, and guess what?! There was a Jacques Torres chocolate shop that I didn't know about! I took off, sprinting down the sidewalk, pushing people out of the way and leaving mom behind, and swung open the door.

I quickly spotted a stack of chocolate chip cookies and gazed lovingly at them for a few, quiet minutes. I've heard about these famous cookies. Have you? They're supposed to be really good chocolate chip cookies. Some people even say the best.

I bought a cookie ($2.50) and they pulled it off of a warmer and wrapped it up for me, which was nice because cookies are always best warm out of the oven. I dug into it and thoughtfully munched on it a while, while mom took a little nibble. Was it the best cookie I've ever had?

Well, it was a very, very good cookie. I wouldn't say it's the best I've ever had, but that's only my opinion. I'm sure for many people this would be their ultimate chocolate chip cookie. They are completely baked through, and crispy, which is good for some, but I'm fond of a soft center in a chocolate chip cookie. They're buttery and have a slight chew to them. My favorite part was the chocolate used in them, of course. Duh. I mean, they're Jacques Torres cookies. The chocolate was sooo good and all melty and I adored it.

I kind of thought the cookies had too much sugar in them, and mom agreed. I wonder what other people that have tried them think...

I also took a look at some of Jacques' chocolates. I was tempted to buy some, but I had to restrain myself because they were too expensive. I think they were around two dollars a chocolate, and I don't know who Jacques thinks I am, but I can't afford his chocolate. I'm not made out of money, Jacques! I can't spin straw into gold.

I do admire you, Jacques - and thank you for giving me such a delicious cookie to try and a fun time in you shop. Maybe consider changing your name to Jack though, because Jacques has too many unnecessary letters in it and I have to keep checking myself to see if I spelled it right.

Jacques Torres Chocolate (Three locations)
285 Amsterdam between 73rd and 74th Streets in New York, NY

350 Hudson at King Street (1 block South of Houston), New York, NY

66 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY

Amy's Bread

2009-10-07T03:02:00.008-05:00

Since our hotel was across the street from Chelsea Market, we spent a lot of time there. It was really convenient for snacks, breakfast, coffee, etc, because we could just pop in there quickly.

I would say we spent half of our time in Amy's Bread, which is located inside of the market. I'm not kidding you - we went there multiple times. I'd heard about the bakery and was eager to try it, especially the cupcakes that a friend recommended to me. I know what you're thinking... cupcakes? Not bread?

Bread is the star of this bakery, of course, but Amy's also has cakes, pastries and cookies. My mom and I had lattes and pain au chocolate one morning, along with a sticky bun that was to die for.

I had, had to try a cupcake, so I bought a black and white cupcake and split it with my mom. We sat down at a table nearby and I started taking pictures of it. Two girls sitting aways from us scolded us and said they had six more people coming and we were going to have to move so they could all sit there. So my mom and I silently picked up all of our stuff and had to search for another table. I wish they could have asked us politely... I wouldn't have had a problem with it at all. I would never be that rude to someone. If it wasn't for that cupcake calling my name, I might have slapped them in the face.

Anyway, the cupcake was just about as good as it gets - the cake was rich with dark chocolate and very moist. The frosting was vanilla buttercream made with confectioners' sugar and it was a bit much - too sweet for me. But then again don't you expect that kind of frosting on a cupcake?

Have a bite! Mmm. Cupcake. I loves you.

One of the highlights of my trip to New York was meeting Kerstin from the blog, Cake, Batter, and Bowl. I'm so glad I got to meet her. Kerstin was incredibly nice and down to earth - I felt like we were old friends. Drop by her blog and say hello! She is an amazing, smart, talented cook and baker. And she's super tall and real pretty!

I look kind of like a bird in this picture. Usually I look like a deer, I think.

We arranged to meet at where else? Amy's. We wandered around Chelsea Market and chatted before going in. It was late afternoon so we just bought a little treat to hold us over. She got this yumptious-looking cashew caramel bar.
I love cashews. I love caramel. I need to make these.

I bought this sourdough bread twist with chocolate in it. Bread and chocolate are two of my favorite things. It was really chewy but that didn't stop me from going at it. I hope I didn't make a fool of myself in front of Kerstin, gnawing on this bread stick with chocolate smeared across my face.

To conclude this post, try Amy's Bread if you're in the city. You will not be disappointed - everything we had was delicious and fresh. I would advise you to get your food to go, though, because the seating area might contain bitches.

Three locations:
Chelsea Market
75 Ninth Avenue
(Between 15th & 16th Streets)
New York, NY 10011
Telephone: (212) 462-4338

The Village
250 Bleecker Street
at Leroy Street
New York, NY 10014
Telephone: (212) 675-7802

Hell's Kitchen
672 Ninth Avenue
(Between 46th & 47th Streets)
New York, NY 10036
Telephone: (212) 977-2670

One more thing: I'm afraid to go to the Hell's Kitchen area in New York City. It sounds scary. I bet there's fire and demons everywhere and Gordon Ramsay is there yelling at everyone.

Autumn in New York

2009-10-05T12:27:00.007-05:00

I've been lucky enough to have visited New York City four times. Four times in four years. Every time I visit I'm just as excited as the first time I was there. I feel like I'm growing more and more comfortable and familiar with the city.

It's such a change to go from a small town to one of the biggest cities in the world, but I think I fit in quite well. :) I've heard a lot of people say they couldn't live in the city, but I think I could for a couple of months while I went to school. Then I would have to move because I couldn't afford it.

I love the hustle and bustle of New York. I love how sleek and sophisticated everyone looks. I love the culture. But what I mostly love is the food.

Oh, the food. If you love cooking, New York is the place to be. I was there for six days and I felt like I learned so much. There is all kinds of street food, so many different ethnic restaurants and markets, and the fresh produce is unbelievable. Fresh figs, fresh olives, orange cauliflower, passion fruit, maitake mushrooms - you name it. It drove me crazy because I wanted to buy everything up and start cooking and baking with it.

My mom and I stayed at a hotel close to Chelsea Market. It was very dark there, and at times we had trouble seeing our way through the hallways.

This is a view from our window:

This is our hotel room. It had a nautical theme and made us feel like we were in a cruise ship.

This is our tiny bed. I loooooved sharing a bed. Fact: my mom snores.

We spent a lot of time in Chelsea Market, which has restaurants, bakeries and shops. My favorite shops were the gourmet Italian food store and the Manhattan Fruit Exchange.

This is inside the fruit exchange:

There was a gelato place in the market that was SO good. Mmmm I could go for some right now. They had many different flavors.

I bought this to share with my mom:

Pistachio, chocolate, and tiramisu gelato. I think the chocolate was hiding.

When we weren't shopping for purses in Chinatown, we spent a lot of our time walking through (one day we walked from the west side of 79th Street to east 13th!) and admiring the city, and spending time in Central Park.

Senior pictures:

Let's wrap this post up with some food... pizza, to be exact. New York pizza! There's nothing else like it. Last time we went to John's on Bleeker Street, but this time we met my aunt and uncle at John's in the Times Square area, and it was just as fantastic.

I wanted to try Lombardi's Pizza, and so we did! It's supposed to be the first pizzeria in America, and also one of the best.

We ordered a white pizza (because I've never had one and wanted to give it a try), consisting of mozzarella and ricotta cheese, garlic and basil. It was pretty plain and simple, but it was really, really good. Probably the best pizza I've ever had - especially the crust.

Okay that's all for now. I have four more New York posts - a bakery tour for each one!

I'm baaack!

2009-10-02T16:22:00.003-05:00

I'm back from New York City. I have so much to tell you and I can't wait. However, it's going to take me a few days to get caught up on everything, edit pictures, and get my posts together.

I've decided I'm going on a diet now, because I overdid it while I was there. But I did it for you! I wanted to have good material for my blog.

This happened:

So did this:

And this:

Uh-oh. Cookies, gelato, pizza. It's time to eat some salad now and work out to Denise Austin.

I love, love New York City. I just got home but I'm missing it already. :(
I was there on a little business (which you'll find out about later on), but I was also able to have some fun. Stay tuned to hear more about a surprise encounter with one of my readers, meeting three of my good blogging friends, and my visits to several of the city's bakeries.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Candied Pecans

2009-09-25T04:56:00.005-05:00

I think we all grow wiser and wiser each day that passes. I've learned a few things in the last couple of days. Let's discuss.

#1 - Two minutes and thirty seconds is too long to cook microwave popcorn. I'm really questioning my cooking ability right now. I thought that was the perfect amount of time when I put the popcorn in the microwave. Then I sprinted into the other room to continue watching Top Chef. I mean, I was dying to find out what the results would be with Big Caribbean Ron and his paella. And then I smelled the smoke... I returned to the microwave to find a bag full of burnt popcorn, and a toxic foul smell in the kitchen.

Anything that smells that bad after burning should not be consumed. I'm never eating microwave popcorn again. I don't know why I was going to eat it in the first place. It just sounded so good at the time...
So anyways, how do you get the smell of burnt popcorn out of your microwave? Every time I open it up it smells like a microwave in a hotel room or a community microwave in a break room. The lingering, ghastly smell of past burnt popcorn.

#2 - I've learned that these POM pomegranate juice people are awesome. They sent me a case of pomegranate juice a couple of months ago to try, and just the other day they sent me a sample of their POMx Iced Coffee, in chocolate and cafe au lait flavors. They also have a new vanilla flavor that I'm eager to try. I LOVE COFFEE! Their coffee is made with Italian-roasted Arabica shade-grown beans, rBST-free milk (no synthetic hormones), and organic cane sugar.
And no, it doesn't contain pomegranate juice.

This iced coffee is healthy and delicious, and I don't think I can go back to any other iced coffee brands because I'll feel terribly guilty. Look how cute that bottle is!

#3 - The third thing I've learned, and you should learn too, is that raisins aren't that bad and we should give them a chance. They're just dried grapes - when did they develop such a bad reputation?

Is it this girl? Do you not like this poor, innocent raisin girl or something? Sure, she's a little creepy, but give her a break! She's been picking baskets full of California raisins just for you... with a smile on her face... wearing a big, red bonnet - that thing has to be hot under the giant yellow sun.

To conclude today's post, don't eat microwave popcorn, drink POMx Iced Coffee, and use raisins to bake these Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Candied Pecans. I saved this recipe from cookie week, because I thought it was more suited for fall. These are really, really good. Give them a try!

In other news, tomorrow I'm flying to New York City for a little week-long trip.
Please keep me in your thoughts.

I won't have internet access, so if you don't see your comments showing up, or are wondering why I haven't stopped by your blog - that's why. If you need to get a hold of me you can send me a message on Facebook, because I get that on my phone. I'll be updating Facebook with my whereabouts and pictures, so look for that stuff, my super awesome Facebook friends.

Ahhh, I love communication via the world wide web using my cellular phone.

See you in a week. In the meantime, listen to some tunes. Located at the bottom of this page.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Candied Pecans (Recipe by Me)

Ingredients:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar, plus 3/4 cup
1/8 teaspoon salt, plus 3/4 teaspoon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups quick-cooking oats
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup raisins, soaked in hot water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook for 3-4 minutes, whisking frequently, until it foams and turns golden brown. Pour all but 1 tablespoon butter out of saucepan and into a large mixing bowl. Place remaining butter back over heat, add pecans, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt, and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until sugar is dissolved, and nuts are golden brown. Pour nuts into a small bowl and set aside to cool completely.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon salt and cinnamon; whisk in oats until combined.
Add remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar into large bowl containing browned butter, and beat together using a mixer on medium speed until well combined; beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour mixture until just combined; stir in pecans and raisins until combined.

Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, place on cookie sheets, and flatten into a 1/4-inch thickness using palms of hands. Bake 12=14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Toasted Hazelnut Streusel Pumpkin Bread

2009-09-21T02:26:00.006-05:00

This weekend passed by too quickly and I didn't get a chance to make those pancakes I was talking about.

Lucky for me, the boyfriend was craving pancakes also. So where do you go if you're jonesin' for some real nice flapjacks and a cigarette?

Well, the International House of Pancakes, of course. It's a house of pancakes for pete's sake.

Or IS it? I grew suspicious when I looked at their menu and saw only four choices for pancakes. If you're the international house of pancakes, I want to see a full page or two of pancake options, damn it. They had page after page of sausage, bacon, egg and hashbrown combinations.
I can go to Denny's if I want a Grand Slam breakfast. You know?

And here's another thing you don't know about IHOP: they have crepes, but you shouldn't order them. At least not the Swedish lingonberry crepes. Bad, very bad.
(Do you say crehhps or craayps?)

But the seasonal pumpkin pancakes were pretty good, although a little doughy and undercooked. I ate one and I was full and felt a little sick. That's how it always is for me when I eat pancakes - and I bet a lot of people as well. That's why I'm working on a pancake diet plan and I will make millions off of it.
A pancake for breakfast, a pancake for lunch, a pancake for dinner. The pancakes will keep you feeling full and a little sick all day, and you won't feel like eating anything else. And there's no exercise involved. All you have to do is sit on the couch and watch reruns of Home Improvement.

So in conclusion, try my special pancake diet plan. Also, make your own pancakes at home. Good luck making pumpkin pancakes at home, though. Do you know why? Don't be alarmed, but...

There is a canned pumpkin shortage.
I repeat: a CANNED PUMPKIN SHORTAGE.
I don't think you realize how serious this is. Tell your loved ones. If you go to the store right now I guarantee they'll be out of canned pumpkin. I have been searching for pumpkin for weeks now. I've been to every grocery store in the area and haven't been able to find any. When I do find some, I'm stocking up. If you've had similar problems or know what's going on, let me know. Maybe it's just in this area.

I baked this bread a few weeks ago when pumpkin was still available, and it is very scrumptious. It's moist and flavorful with spices and molasses. It's topped with a hazelnut streusel made out of toasted hazelnuts, brown sugar, butter and oats.

Perfect for autumn. Happy autumn!

Toasted Hazelnut Streusel Pumpkin Bread (Recipe by Me)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, plus 3 tablespoons, softened
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons molasses
2/3 cup milk

Toasted Hazelnut Streusel
1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts, toasted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup quick or old fashioned oats
3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a loaf pan.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking frequently, until butter starts to foam and turn golden brown. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together browned butter, 3 additional tablespoons softened butter and brown sugar, until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin and molasses until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk, until combined, about 1-2 minutes. Spread batter evenly into loaf pan.

To make the hazelnuts streusel, in a medium bowl, stir together hazelnuts, brown sugar and oats; knead in butter until mixture is well combined, mealy, and starts clumping together. Sprinkle the clumps evenly over batter. Bake for 1 hour-1 hour & 10 minutes (cover with foil 25 minutes it to avoid overbrowning), or until well risen and set, and a wooden pick inserted into bread comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool in pan completely before removing.

Makes 1 loaf

Cranberry, White Chocolate & Toasted Walnut Scones

2009-09-18T15:21:00.004-05:00

I want to make pancakes. Right now, this instant, on this Friday afternoon.

Would this be appropriate right now? (Sorry, I love that - gets me everytime.)

I'm dying to make and eat blueberry pancakes, because I just watched this blueberry pancake throwdown on Food Network.

Bobby Flay challenged Neil Kleinberg and DeDe Lahman of (Clinton St. Baking Co. & Restaurant (4 Clinton Street, between East Houston & Stanton) to a blueberry pancake throwdown because their pancakes were voted best pancakes in New York City, as well as best breakfast in the city.

The pancakes they made were light, fluffy, and aerated by whipped egg whites. Then they were cooked on a hot, buttered griddle, topped with fresh blueberries, and doused with homemade maple butter.

Bobby's looked good too; he topped them with a blueberry compote, blueberry syrup, and fresh ricotta cheese.

I love the idea of a lemony-vanilla-pancake topped with blueberry compote and ricotta. So into the kitchen I go, to try and create a pancake that could compete with Bobby's.

If he were to arrive on my doorstep and challenge me to a scone throwdown, he might have some regrets. I'm pretty darn good at making scones, if I do say so myself.
Or maybe I'm not? Why don't you try these scones and let me know...

I love cranberries, white chocolate and nuts together, and I thought they would go perfectly into a scone. These scones are topped with a sprinkling of sparkly crystallized ginger, for some additional sweetness and texture.

I'm transitioning my recipes into more fall-appropriate flavors now, and I am so, SO excited about that. Nice warm and comforting flavors. Expect apple, pumpkin, cranberry, pomegranate, sweet potato, oatmeal, cinnamon, butterscotch and maple posts in your future.

Cranberry, White Chocolate & Toasted Walnut Scones (Recipe by Me)

Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (spooned into cup & leveled with knife)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries, soaked in hot water
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3 large eggs, divided use
1/4 cup yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; whisk in 6 tablespoons sugar until combined. Knead in butter, using fingertips, until well incorporated and mixture starts to clump together, forming pea-sized lumps. Gently stir in cranberries, walnuts and white chocolate chips until combined.
In a small bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, yogurt and vanilla until combined; sprinkle into flour mixture and toss together using a fork.

Turn shaggy dough out onto a floured surface, and gently pat and knead until it comes together, handling as little as possible. Form two (6-inch) rounds. Insides of the rounds should be thicker. Slice each round into 6 equal triangles and place on cookie sheets. Whisk the additional egg in a small bowl and brush evenly on scones; pat crystallized ginger into the tops and sprinkle with additional sugar if desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks until ready to serve.

Makes 12 scones

Nutella Hazelnut Cookies

2009-09-13T23:57:00.005-05:00

I cheated a little bit on this last cookie post. I started writing this post on Sunday, saved it, and I'm really publishing it on Monday. So that's why it says Sunday. I did NOT want to skip a day of cookies. That goes against everything I stand for.

You see what I mean? No? I don't blame you - that was confusing.
I didn't really have time to write a post on Sunday. After all, Sunday is a day of rest. It's a day of relaxation, football, US Open (Ahhh! Serena Williams! I would never want her mad at me!), Target shopping, snickerdoodle baking, and Kanye West outbursts.

I'm behind on my blog reading, so I'm going to wrap this up. I present to you, on this fine September morning, Nutella Hazelnut Cookies!

I made these to use up the rest of the Nutella and hazelnuts I had. They're a chocolate brownie-like cookie with Nutella and toasted hazelnuts in them, and they are deeeelicious!

I love Nutella so much. I was first introduced to it when I visited France in high school. At the hotel breakfasts they had little packages of Nutella to spread on your croissant or baguette slice. Miam miam! I even brought some of the packages home with me. But then I discovered you could buy it here.

I loved Nutella so much, I joined their fan club at some point and got a free T-shirt. It's an XXL but it makes fashionable sleepwear.

You know what else I love? Toasted hazelnuts. I would take a bath in toasted hazelnuts if I could.

Nutella Hazelnut Cookies (Recipe by Me)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Nutella
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook butter, whisking frequently, until it turns golden brown and foams, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until melted. Place sugar in a large mixing bowl; add butter-chocolate mixture, and beat using a mixer on medium speed, until well combined and grainy - about 2 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Beat Nutella, eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture, until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until just combined; stir in hazelnuts until combined.

Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, place on cookie sheets, and flatten slightly using palms of hands. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until set and slightly crisp. Cool 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 3 dozen cookies