Somewhat – yes, better than fried doughnuts I am thinking!  I love old fashioned homemade plain doughnuts with cinnamon sugar coating.  I do not like frying anything though.  So I haven’t really ever made them much – I’ll get them at a fair perhaps – but not in my house – to dangerous!  Then I started hearing all about Doughnut Muffins!  Muffins made with a doughnut batter and then rolled in melted butter and cinnamon sugar – yummy!  And somewhat healthy!

I heard about them on several shows on the Food Network then I found this awesome recipe from the Downtown Bakery and Creamery!  They are easy to make – and so yummy to eat! 

Doughnut Muffins – from the Downtown Bakery and Creamery

For dipping:
8 oz. (16 Tbs.) unsalted butter; more as needed
2 cups sugar
2 Tbs. ground cinnamon

To make the muffins Put a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. In a stand mixer or a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Combine the milk and buttermilk. With a wooden spoon, mix a quarter of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Then mix in a third of the milk mixture. Continue mixing in the remaining dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until well combined and smooth, but don’t overmix. Grease and flour a standard-size muffin tin. Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup, about 1/2 cup. Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, 30 to 35 min (20 min for mini muffins).

 

To finish

Melt the butter for the dipping mixture. Combine the sugar and cinnamon. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, dip them into or brush them all over with the melted butter, and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

Make Ahead Tips

You don’t have to bake all the muffins right away; the batter will keep, covered and chilled, for up to three days in the refrigerator. 

To finishMelt the butter for the dipping mixture. Combine the sugar and cinnamon. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, dip them into or brush them all over with the melted butter, and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

Make Ahead Tips

I made mine into mini muffins – they were the perfect size for this treat!

You don’t have to bake all the muffins right away; the batter will keep, covered and chilled, for up to three days in the refrigerator.

- Helping you achieve your Domestic Success!

I recently ventured into a new region of food. My husband’s aunt is from the Philippines and whenever we would gather for family functions, she would always make her famous Pancit and Lumpias. I love her cooking and wished that I knew how to make this awesome food. For years and years I tried to get the recipe but never seemed successful. It is not because she didn’t want to fork over the recipe; it was because there is no written recipe. Everything is from memory or recollection of how mama made it. I realized that not having a written recipe was a common practice and that no two recipes are alike. These recipes like most ethnic food are learned from watching someone, not from following directions.

I can appreciate this because the same goes for me. It is very difficult for me to write recipes because they are a pinch of this and a pinch of that. One time I use x ingredients and the next time I use Y. I have very few recipes that I have written measurements for. However, not knowing how to make his aunt’s wonderful dishes, I needed some sort of recipe that I could learn the steps from.

The Perfect Opportunity to Get the Recipe

When my husband asked me what I wanted for Mother’s Day I said, “All I want is your aunt’s Pancit recipe”. Well he was successful in getting me a full list of ingredients. LOL.. few measurements and lots of vague language like noodles. I have not made a lot of Asian cuisine in my many years of cooking and I realized I was just going to have to wing it.

Where Do I Get the Ingredients?

 So here I was looking for an Asian market to get my ingredients. I called my girlfriend who shops for Asian specialty items often and asked her where the best place to go was. She recommended Super 88. She said they will have everything you will need. I could hardly wait to go. So, the next day I ran into the city with two kids. In a matter of 18 miles and 40 minutes later I was standing in another land.

A Trip to Another Land

Here we are the Super 88. I really didn’t know what I was looking for-noodles  and Chinese sausage  (key ingredients). Oh boy.. I walked in and it was like venturing into the candy store. I was surrounded by all of these new ingredients and foods. The scary part is that most of it was not in English so I had little knowledge about what I was actually buying. I walked around aisle after aisle trying to make out the bottles and sauces and products by looking at the pictures on the label. The spices were relatively cheap so I kept throwing things into my cart. Luckily I looked up on the internet what the Chinese sausage looked like so I knew one thing I was looking for. I wandered into an aisle looking for patis –all I knew was that it was a kind of fish sauce that could not be substituted..hmmm So many bottles of fish sauce and they all looked different. But where was patis??? I stopped to ask a woman who worked there and she did not speak English. Good thing there was a young man next to her that said oh Patis, use this and he pointed to a bottle. He said you don’t want the stuff you have-it will kill you and tastes horrible. Few…I was saved by the nice gentleman. One ingredient down. I was now off to the noodles. Hmmm. How hard could this be? Well it would be like walking down the salad dressing aisle for choices. There were so many noodles. I was trying to look at the label and guess what it would look like cooked or look for some clues like a picture to know what it was used for. I finally asked two separate people (one shopper and one worker) again, no one spoke English. I was on my own. I placed several noodles into my basket and then realized that they had a fresh noodle section. I then walked over and placed several more packages of noodles in my basket with the hopes that I had the right one somewhere in my basket of noodles. The remaining of the shopping trip was very overwhelming for me, no one to help and so many choices. Soy sauce, soy sauce, soy sauce, soy glaze, thick sauce, thin sauce, and sweet sauce. What was the difference? I wanted a personal shopper someone who knew what they were buying or knew what to use it for. I knew I was in the midst of some good stuff here, I just didn’t know what was what. So it was time to get home for the bus, 12 bags later, 4 types of Chinese sausage, 6 bags of noodles, some sauces and who knows what else. I left the store hoping I would have what I needed to be able to pull off this one dish.

Ready..Set…Cook

And so it came, the BIG night. I whipped out the wok or should I say dusted off the wok and began cooking. I became a bit confused over the recipe and the time of cooking. I was worried that the sausage wasn’t cooked enough or that I didn’t have enough sauce.

Did it Pass the Taste Test

Finally I was done. I was very pleased with how it came out. I know next time what I need to tweak, add, or use less of. I knew the real test would be my husband. He was the one who would be able to tell me how authentic it really was. When he came home I was excited for him to critique it. When he tasted it, I got a thumbs up. He said that it was pretty darn close and it was very good. That was good enough for me. The hardest part now is finding the ingredients closer–good thing I bought enough to probably make it several more times before needing to go back.

Moral of the Story

Never fear making new recipes or venturing into a region that you are not used to cooking. I think the next month I have so many Asian ingredients we are going to be doing a lot of experimenting. Thanks Aunt Eva for letting me in on your family secret.

- Guest Post by Love of www.cookingwithluv.com - “Where Cooking is Made Easier and Passions are Found”!

Thanks so much Love – for being a good friend and for all your great meal planning tips!

- – Helping you achieve your Domestic Success!

Growing up we were fortunate to live near Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts – a living history village where you can step in and experience early New England life as they did from 1790-1840.  After spending the day there we would go to the Publick House for a traditional New England dinner which was always followed by their Blueberry Pie!

I have recently been in touch with Michael Glick the General Manager of the Publick House – and he kindly gave me the correct recipe for their Blueberry Pie.  I searched online, but wasn’t sure of the authenticity for the one I found – well he kindly gave me the real deal!

Recently I got mini tart pans – and I thought it would be great to make this Blueberry Pie into mini tarts.  It did take extra time, but they are so cute!  Along with the Publick House Blueberry Pie recipe I will show you how to lay down lattice pie top.

I par baked the tarts first:

Then I roll out the second half of dough and use a lattice cutter to make the strips. 

Then I lay down three strips in the same direction.  If you are doing a full size pie lay down more as needed.

Then I fold back the vertical middle strip, and lay down a horizontal strip, then place the vertical strip back where it was.

Then I fold down the outer two vertical strips and lay down a horizontal strip, and then replace the vertical strips. 

It takes some practice as sometimes the strips break, but it makes the pies look so cute! 

Here is the official recipe from the Publick House

PUBLICK HOUSE BLUEBERRY PIE

1 CUP SUGAR

1 1/2 TABLESPOONS CORNSTARCH

1/4 TEASPOON SALT

6 CUPS FRESH BLUEBERRIES

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

COMBINE SUGAR, CORNSTARCH AND SALT IN A MEDIUM SAUCEPAN.  ADD BERRIES AND MIX WELL.  COOK OVER LOW HEAT, STIRRING CONSTANTLY UNTIL MIXTURE IS THICKENED AND BUBBLY.  ADD BUTTER, MIXING WELL.  SET ASIDE AND LET COOL. 

PIE CRUST

2 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1/2 TEASPOON SALT

3/4 CUP VEGETABLE SHORTENING

6 TABLESPOONS ICE COLD WATER

COMBINE FLOUR AND SALT IN A MIXING BOWL.  CUT IN SHORTENING WITH A PASTRY BLENDER UNTIL MIXTURE RESEMBLES COARSE MEAL.  SPRINKLE WATER OVER MIXTURE.  STIR WITH A FORK UNTIL DRY INGREDIENTS ARE MOISTENED.  DIVIDE DOUGH BALL IN HALF.

ROLL HALF  OF PASTRY TO FIT A 9” PIE PLATE.  POUR THE COOLED BERRY MIXTURE INTO THE PASTRY SHELL.  ROLL SECOND HALF OF DOUGH TO 1/8”-1/4” THICKNESS.  CUT INTO 3/4 INCH WIDE STRIPS AND ARRANGE IN A LATTICE DESIGN OVER FILLING AND TRIM THE EDGES.  SEAL.  BRUSH THE TOP WITH AN EGG WASH (1 EGG MIXED WITH 2 TABLESPOONS WATER) THEN SPRINKLE WITH COURSE SUGAR.  BAKE AT 400° FOR 20 MIN.  REDUCE HEAT TO 350° AND CONTINUE BAKING 30 MINUTES OR UNTIL THE CRUST IS LIGHT BROWN.

Notes – Ignore the urge to add liquid to the blueberry mixture – it takes about 20 min. to cook down properly, but it does start out very dry looking.  I baked the mini tarts at 375 for 35° min.

- Helping you achieve your Domestic Success!

I never knew how scones got their shape – it was so easy!  Just rolled the dough into a circle and cut it like a pizza!  How easy is that? 

I either use my silpat or parchment paper to bake on – no sticking required!

The whole family loved them and wanted to know when I was going to make them again!!

Lemon and berry Scones
Makes 8 large or 10-12 small scones

Scones:
3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2/3 cup unthawed frozen mixed berries

Egg Wash:
1 egg, lightly beaten OR 1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon milk, lightly beaten

Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest (1/2 teaspoon if you’d like a less pronounced lemon flavor)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
a few drops of milk as needed 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place oven racks in top and bottom thirds of the oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and stir.

3. Cut the butter into small pieces, and add to the flour mixture. Mix with a pastry blender or fork, until a coarse meal forms with tiny pea-sized butter pieces.

4. Whisk eggs and heavy cream in a small bowl. Stir in zest and juice. Add to the flour and butter mixture. Begin to gently mix with a spatula. Add the blueberries. Mix until just combined. (It’s OK if a few berries bleed.) Do not over mix, or the dough will become leaden.

5. Using a floured surface, shape the dough into 1 large or 2 small disks, about 1/2-inch thick. With a wet knife (to make slicing easier) cut the dough into triangular shaped scones. Place scones on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Brush scones with egg wash.

7. Bake scones for 15 minutes, rotating pans mid-way through, or until puffed and golden; transfer to a rack to cool.

adapted from one of my favorite foodies:  www.foodblogga.com

- Helping you achieve your Domestic Success!

I have made apple crisp, blueberry crisp, but hadn’t tried strawberry rhubarb crisp.  

So when I had a ton of beautiful strawberries I pulled out one of my favorite baking cookbooks  -   Stars Deserts by Emily Luchettti.  I have had this cookbook forever, it has beautiful photos and simple – yet amazing gourmet desserts!   

The tip from the farmer was to lay the strawberries flat on a cookie sheet, and place them in the fridge unwashed and enjoy! 

I would never imagine that the bitter rhubarb would balance so well with the sweet strawberries.  We gave my son a taste of the rhubarb raw – now he eats everything – like raw onions and garlic, but he spit out the rhubarb!

Here is my version of Emily Luchetti’s  (be sure to check out her site and I just found out she is on facbook – I am so excited!)

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp:

Serves 8

Filling:

3 1/2 cups of 1/4-inch-thick-rhubarb (about 5 stalks)

4 cups of strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/2 cup of sugar

2 tablespoons tapioca four (or corn starch if you can’t find it)

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

pinch of salt

The Topping:

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

4 ounces (1 stick) cold sweet butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons chopped orange zest

1/2 cup of oats

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place the strawberries and rhubarb in a large mixing bowl.  In a small bowl mix the rest of the filling ingredients together.  Then take the filling ingredients and gently mix them into the fruit and place in a 1 1/2 quart ovenproof dish and set aside.

Then make the topping.  Put all the topping ingredients in a mixer fitted with the paddle blade and mix until the butter is incorporated into the mixture.  Sprinkle topping over the fruit.

Bake the crisp for 30 to 35 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and topping is lightly browned.  Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream!

Enjoy!

- Helping you achieve your Domestic Success!

Banana Flaxseed Muffins with Cinnamon Pecan Topping

I had a ton of frozen bananas that needed to depart my freezer. I wanted to find a healthy muffin choice and did some searching.  This delicious healthy muffin will keep you and your family happy!  The crunchy pecan topping is a perfect match for the moist banana muffin.  You can easily double this recipe, as our family gobbled these up in a few days!  The muffins wrapped well in plastic wrap at room temperature up to four days. 

I put links to the gluten and flaxseed ingrediants which you can find in many grocery or health food stores.  The gluten helps the texture of the muffins – it’s a secret some bakeries use!  You can make this recipe without both of those ingrediants as well.  However, if you omit the flaxseed – just substitute that with 1/4 cup whole wheat flour.

Banana Flaxseed Muffins with Cinnamon Pecan Topping

Ingredients

Makes 12 muffins

• 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg white
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup light-brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1/4 cup ground golden flaxseed (from about 2 tablespoons whole)
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•  

Topping:

• 1/2 cup walnuts pecans coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup oats (quick or regular)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper baking cups and set aside.
2. Put egg and egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium-low speed until well combined, about 2 minutes.
3. Add melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and bananas, and mix until combined.
4. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and mix on low speed until well incorporated, about 10 seconds.
5. In a separate bowl mix together the topping ingredients. 
6. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins and spoon topping on muffins.
7.  Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
8.  Let cool in pan on a wire rack.

Adapted from From Martha Stewart Living, April 2004 http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/banana-bread-with-walnuts-and-flaxseed

-Helping you achieve your Domestic Success!

I have a problem - I’ll admit it.  I have a serious sweet tooth!  So when I first made Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting I thought it had an amazing smooth texture, but it wasn’t sweet enough for me, it tasted like butter.  So I just added some more sweetness to it at the end – it seemed to work.  If you make this recipe, try it the original way – then if you want to, go ahead and add the extra sweetness to it.  Let me know if you were like me on that sweet tooth problem!

Along with the recipe here are some tips for making the frosting look like it came from the bakery!  A small investment in some basic supplies you can get at Michale’s will save you money over the long run by not having to get beautiful cupcakes only from the bakery!   Before using this method, I just slapped on the frosting with a butter knife – it always tasted good, but definitely didn’t look as pretty as these!

I took a basic Wilton cake decorating class at Michale’s (I am not getting paid to write this) and here are some tools to make the cupcakes look the way as shown here.  They also have some great videos on the Wilton website to show you the techniques – Wilton Tips 

Tools:  16″ Featherweight bag and a 1M Swirl Tip

First you need to cut the bag to fit the 1M Swirl tip.  Open the bag and place the tip down at the narrow bottom opening.  Mark the bag 1/4″ below the top of the tip, so that there will be enough opening at the bottom, but not too much that the tip will fall out.  Remove tip and cut the bag. 

To start decorating, make your frosting – either a traditional buttercream or the Swiss Meringue one here and place a good amount of frosting in your decorating bag that has been cut and fitted for the 1M Swirl tip (I like the larger bags, as you can fold down the sides and jam a bunch of frosting in w/ out having to refill it constantly). 

Start in the center of your cupcake by making a single star drop in the center. 

Then on the outside rim make a circle to surround the star in the middle.

Then on top of that circle of frosting, make a smaller circle – sprinkle with decorative sprinkles – viola!  Bakery perfect cupcakes!

Here is the recipe:

Swiss Meringue Buttercream – Sweeter Version

Ingredients:
5 large egg whites
1  1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 lb. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners’ sugar (optional for sweeter version)

Method:
Mix the egg whites, sugar and salt in a double boiler set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture is hot to the touch – about 3 minutes and the sugar has dissolved.  

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 10 minutes.  

Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  The frosting might get to a point where it looks curdled, just beat on low speed until thick again, about 5 minutes more (be sure not to overbeat it) .  Add vanilla extract and mix until combined.  Taste the frosting – if the taste is sweet enough for you – you’re done.  If you like it sweeter, add up to 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar to sweeten.  Tint with gel icing color as desired (not liquid coloring). 

If using frosting within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring frosting to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Yield: about 5 cups

Adapted from Martha Stewart http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/swiss-meringue-buttercream-for-white-cupcakes

Enjoy!

- Helping you achieve your Domestic Success!

Do you tell people that you can’t bake?  But you really wish you could?  If you can read - you can bake!  It’s that simple.  Of course if you are a beginner baker I wouldn’t recommend starting with the Christmas cover recipe from Bon Appétit.  Start small, with a recipe with a few simple ingredients.  Then read and follow the instructions – it’s that simple!  No – it doesn’t always come out perfectly, but you’ll learn something and make it better next time. 

Baking is one of my ways of showing love to my family.  Plus it is much more nutritious to make homemade cookies than to serve chemical laden ones from a package.  Those are fine once in a while but I keep them in moderation. 

I love it when I get in the kitchen, put on some good music, crack open the cookbook and all of a sudden I am totally relaxed.  I am in the cooking zone – I am not thinking about laundry or bills or yard work, I am totally into the sights, smells and textures of the food.  First they are all separate, and then they slowly come together, add some heat and before you know it your family is enjoying a homemade treat made of love.  Yes sometimes a dessert that I will make for a special Sunday dinner will be elaborate and take a while to make it –only to be gobbled up in a few minutes….but it is so worth it, the taste of home baked treats and knowing they are eating healthy is worth the effort any time! 

Here are a few of my Baking Tips

• 1. Take your time to properly preheat the oven – don’t rush it!  Use an oven thermometer, as ovens can vary by up to 50 degrees.
• 2. Read through the entire recipe before you start.  Follow the recipe exactly. 
• 3. Use the best quality ingredients. They’ll produce better tasting cookies and cakes.
• 4. Properly store ingredients.  During my Christmas baking season I even replace the baking soda and baking powder to know I am starting with the freshest possible.
• 5. Always use large eggs at room temperature.  If you forget to leave them out – put them in warm water for a few minutes to bring them up to room temp.
• 6. Use unsalted butter as most recipes add salt based on you using unsalted butter.
• 7. I only use pure extracts of vanilla or almond – not imitation, as they taste like alcohol. 
• 8. Successful baking is not like cooking – it’s based on science, so be sure to measure accurately.
• 9. Measure dry ingredients like flour, in a straight sided measuring cup – Not a glass measuring cup for liquid.
• 10. Measure liquid ingredients in see-through measuring cups at eye level.
• 11. You don’t need to sift flour unless the recipe specifically says to do so.
• 12. It helps to fluff the flour with a fork and then measure the flour, and skim off the excess with the back of a knife.
• 13. Do not overmix and do not overbake.  When making cakes – run your mixer or handheld on low.  Too much air mixed in can ruin the batter.
• 14. For easy pie crust use almost frozen cubes of butter, ice water and mix in a food processor – then transfer to a board to roll out. 
• 15. Unless you are baking with non-stick cookie sheets, use a Silpat or parchment paper for stick-free baking and easy clean-up.
• 16. Chill dough for cut-out cookies for the time the recipe requires. Then soften it up at room temperature for a few minutes before rolling out.
• 17. Leave about two inches of space between cookies so they don’t spread into each other.
• 18. Adjust baking times to achieve the perfect cookie texture you are looking for. A little less time produces chewier cookies; a little more time makes them crispy.
• 19. For homemade brownies or blondies be sure to bake them in the pan size as indicated in the recipe.
• 20. For cake and loaf recipes that require unmolding, place the pan on a wire cake rack and let it stand for 10 minutes. Then unmold.
• 21. Cool cookies and cakes completely before decorating.
• 22. To smooth out frosting on cake, start by making homemade butter-cream frosting, and refrigerate cake after it’s frosted for a few minutes.  Then dip an offset spatula in a cup of warm water, dry off and then smooth out the bumps.
• 23. Place sprinkles on cakes immediately after frosting, before the frosting sets, otherwise they’ll fall off. 

Enjoy all those homemade treats!

 -Helping you achieve your Domestic Success!