Apple Muffins

Another delicious apple recipe...well, it is that time of year. I haven't tasted these yet but they smell delicious and who doesn't love a streusel topping?

Apple Muffins

Streusel Topping:

1/4 c flour

1/4 brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbls firm butter

Muffins:

1 c plus 2 Tbls flour

1/2 c sugar

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 large egg

1/2 milk

5 Tbls butter, melted

1 large apple (such as jonathan, granny smith, golden delicious, red delicious) peeled, cored, and diced

Preheat oven to 400F. Place muffin or cupcake liners in a 12 cup muffin pan or grease the bottoms only of a muffin pan.

For Streusel Topping:

In a medium bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly, using a pastry blender or pulling 2 table knives through the ingredients in opposite directions. Set aside.

For Muffins:

Sift together, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, beat the egg, milk and the melted butter. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chopped apple. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each with about 1 Tbls. streusel topping. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 12 muffins.

Caramel Sauce

If I had known making caramel sauce was this easy I would be 5 times heavier. This tasted great with vanilla ice cream served over apple cake. It got reallr firm when it cooled on the ice cream, but was so good to bite into and it stuck in your teeth. You have to work quick and have the ingredients on hand so that they are ready to go.

Caramel Sauce

1 c sugar

6 Tbls butter (I used salted)

1/2 c heavy whipping cream

In a 2 or 3 quart saucepan, heat the sugar on high. It will start to look like it is getting dry and crumbly. Continue to whisk until it is all melted and is amber in color. Be careful, this is really hot.

Add the butter and stir until melted. This will bubble up alot and needs to be stirred briskly. Note:It is necessary to use a 2 or 3 quart saucepan so it will not bubble out of the pan.

Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream. Again, it will bubble. Stir until smooth.

Let cool in the pan for about 15 min. Pour into a glass container and cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

This may be stored for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Warm before serving.

Apple Cake

I love apple desserts; apple pie, apple crisp, apple cobbler, baked apples, and apple cake. The weather has been turning more fall like and this seemed like the perfect thing to bake. It has been awhile since I have baked with nutmeg because it just seems to go along with fall and winter. When I was little we used to go to Apple Hill in northern California and buy apples and apple sweets and celebrate the fall season. The smell of this apple cake brought back all of those memories and now I am anxiously awaiting for when fall will begin and we get to wear sweaters, jackets, and jeans...what am I talking about? You don't need a sweater in Bakersfield until January.

I don't really know if this is really a cake or more like an apple brownie. The top of it forms a crisp crust and the inside is very moist from all of the apples. The batter is super thick, but as it bakes the juices from the apples are released and creates this incredibly moist cake. It is great served with ice cream and topped with a little homemade caramel sauce.

Apple Cake

2 c sugar

1/2 c oil (I used canola)

2 eggs

4 medium apples, peeled and diced (Granny Smith are best)

2 c flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp soda

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the sugar, oil, and egg. Beat until well incorporated. Add the diced apples.

In a medium bowl mis the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and soda. Add to the apple mixture.

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 1 hour. Cool before slicing.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

This is one of the easiest loaves of bread to make and it is so super tasty that you might just eat the entire loaf in one sitting. The bread flour gives it a great chew. I have a hard time making bread entirely out of whole wheat four. I just find it too dense for me. I like a combination of whole wheat and white flours better so that it is a little more fluffy. I made this loaf last week, but I'm making it again today because we are ready for more.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

1 Tbls active dry yeast

1 c warm water (110F)

1 Tbls butter, melted

3 Tbls honey

1 c bread flour (all purpose is ok)

1 c whole wheat flour

2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, stir together the yeast and the warm water. Let it stand ofr 5-10 minutes, until foamy. Stir in the melted butter, honey, and flours. Add a bit more flour at a time if the dough is still sticky. Mine was and I added flour until it could be handled and was slightly sticky. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball, about 2 minutes.

Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubles, 1-1 1/2 hours.

Remove dough and gently deflate. Grease a loaf pan. Roll dough into a 12 inch by 14 inch rectangle. Roll up dough and pinch seams and turn edges under so that it will fit into the loaf pan.

Cover with a dishtowel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F. Bake for 25 minutes at 4ooF. Let loaf cool before slicing.

Blondies with Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips

I like bar cookies because I can just put all the dough in one pan and then is goes right into the oven where it is not touched until it comes out resulting in less eating of the dough. Whenever I make cookies I am tempted to eat all of the dough while putting the cookies on the cookie sheet. It goes something like this. A mound for the pan, a mound in my mouth, a mound on the pan, a mound in my mouth.

Blondies are the alter ego of a brownie. They are similar in that they are both bar cookies. I guess that is really it. Blondies don't have any chocolate and taste more like chocolate chip cookie dough without the chocolate chips. These are so good and ultra chewy. I usually prefer a brownie over a blondie, but I am starting to like blondies more and more. I topped these with toffee bits and chocolate chips before baking them just because I had some. The toffee melted all over the top and made them even more deliciously chewy and also very rich. I only tasted a little corner before they were whisked away to a History Club meeting. This is a great basic recipe that you could add anything to: pecans, walnuts, reeses pieces, peanut butter chips...you get the idea. Personally, I like them plain with ice cream and a little chocolate syrup.

Blondies with Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips

1 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 c butter

1 c brown sugar

1 egg-slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c toffee bits*

1/2 c chocolate chips*

*substitute other mix-ins if desired. Instead of sprinkling, you could mix them into the batter.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt, whisk.

Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add brown sugar and mix well. Cool slightly.

Add egg and vanilla. Blend well. Add flour mixture a little at a time and mix well.

Grease a 9x9x2" pan. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle with toffee bits and chocolate chips.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

Mmm...Brownies

I was talking on the phone to my mom the other day and she asked if I knew of a brownie recipe that required only cocoa and not melting chocolate. I thought it was funny how quickly I knew of a recipe and where she could find it online because I was out shopping and couldn't look for it at home. I guess this really is one of my hobbies. This recipe is the Hershey's Best Brownies recipe that is often found on the back of the cocoa box. I didn't actually use Hershey's cocoa when I made these, but it is a really great recipe. If you don't overbake them, they have the best wet, chewy texture that makes a brownie really great and that slightly crisp top. I like these brownies and they are a great one to serve with ice cream. Of course, everyone has a different view of what the perfect brownie should be, but I think these are great for what they are--easy, chocolatey, and chewy.

Hershey's Best Brownies

1 c butter

2 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

3/4 c cocoa

1 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 c chopped nuts(optional)-I opted out, so my kids would eat them.

Heat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

Place butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave 2 to 2 1/2 min. or until melted. (I usually do it in 30 sec. incremements. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add the cocoa; beat until well blended.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt; beat well. Stir in nuts, if desired.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 min or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Makes about 36 brownies.

Snickerdoodles

Whenever Joey asks me to make cookies he is really asking for a snickerdoodle. He never has to say it, but I always know. I love snickerdoodles. My mom was always really good at making them when I was growing up. The cream of tartar gives them this great tangy taste. They are kind of a tricky cookie. Sometimes they turn out just right and other times they are completely flat. I prefer to use all butter. That's when you have to be careful that they don't spread too much. A combination of butter and shortening would help them to not flatten as much, but I love the taste and texture they have when it is just butter. I find that if I chill the dough long enough and make sure that I don't overmix it, they turn out perfectly. I have also discovered this really good Saigon Cinnamon. It is spicier than other cinnamons and makes a basic snickerdoodle over the top.

Snickerdoodles

1 c butter, softened-but not too much

1 1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 c flour

2 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Combine in a small bowl: 2 T sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon

In a medium bowl combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt and whisk together.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and mix well.

Stir in the dry ingredients being careful not to overmix the dough. Sometimes mine is even a little crumbly.

Chill the dough for at least 1 hour.

Roll into 1" balls and roll in the suagr/cinnamon mixture.

Bake on parchment lined baking sheets at 375F for 8-10 min.

World Peace Cookies

I don't know what to say about these cookies except that they are probably the best cookie I have ever eaten. They are not your typical chewy, crispy, or cakey cookie. They are a sable which is a French cookie and the name means sandy. They are crumbly, yet chewy at the same time and you slice and bake them. This gives them that uniform quality. The recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan and I am dying to get her new cookbook Baking: From My Home to Yours. These cookies are also known as Korova Cookies. My sister was visiting this weekend and we decided to try the recipe out.

The recipe calls for a salt called fleur de sel, which is supposedly expensive and I have no clue where you would buy it in Bakersfield. Next time I will have to find it online. I hear the recipe is also that much better if you use dutch processed cocoa powder, but I also could not find that. This cookie is all about the ingredients. Use real vanilla extract (I used an awesome Mexican vanilla), a good quality cocoa powder, fine sea salt (if you can't get fleur de sel), great tasting bittersweet chocolate, and a nice tasting butter. I wouldn't bother trying these cookies without great ingredients. When I tasted them they actually tasted expensive--I don't know if you get what I mean. So now I have joined the numbers of people who are also in love with these cookies.

World Peace/Korova Cookies

1 1/4 cups all purpose Flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder or dutch processed

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 Tbls) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp fleur de sel or 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small bits

Makes about 36 cookies.

In a small bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, and baking soda together.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt, and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

Pour the flour into the the creamed mixture and stir very slowly. At this point it is importnat to just get it combined. The dough will be dry and maybe a little crumbly--for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible. Add the chocolate pieces and stir in just until incorporated.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one have at a time, gently shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen up to 2 months.)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with a sharp knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. ( The rounds are likely to crack as you are cutting them--don't worry, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Place the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them. They don't spread much.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes. It was the perfect time in my oven. Let them cool for a few minutes on the sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool. They will be really delicate until they are cooled.