Baking With Dorie: Pumpkin Muffins

There's nothing better than sleeping in late on a rare morning, and then heading down to the kitchen to bake up a batch of muffins that you can eat straight out of the oven; snuggled on the couch with your cup of coffee.

That's what I did today - trying to stretch out the quiet contentment of the sunny morning before my toddlers' friend arrived for a play date. I had figured these muffins would be a perfect snack for the kids and so I sprinkled them with chocolate-covered sunflower seeds for toddler-appeal. It worked as far attracting their attention was concerned, but unfortunately I found both kids making a mountain out of crumbs a few minutes after they sat down to eat these muffins.. ! I guess you just can't win them all.

But that is not to say that these muffins aren't good - they are moist and have just a subtle hint of spiciness and mild sugary sweetness with an agreeable blend of textures ranging from the soft chewiness of the raisins and pecans to the pleasing crunch from the sunflower seeds. I liked that these muffins were delicately spiced,  tender and not too sweet - perfect with cup of coffee. And so much healthier than our previous bakes!

Thank you for choosing this recipe this week Elizabeth!

For a gluten-free version of this dessert, please visit Elizabeth's blog Gluten-Free Baking 101. For the original recipe, visit Chaya's blog at My Sweet and Savory or Page 13 of Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan.

To check out the other BWD bakers, visit the blogroll here. Our next challenge is 'My Favorite Pecan Pie' picked by Tina of My Domestic Bliss. If you'd like to join our baking challenge, please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us!

Devils Food Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

My sons' evolving preferences over the years have me confronting increasingly challenging trials in birthday cake-decorating. In fact this is the first year that I completely failed him on that account. It would have been so much easier to just pick up a cake from a bakery but I take birthday cakes very seriously and what I lack in decorating talent as well as punctuality, I make up for with the sheer determination to make my kids birthday cakes that they will remember throughout the year.

But despite my best intentions, I just couldn't deliver this time: there I was at 4 a.m., just having finished frosting a 2-layer 9x13" cake, struggling to 'draw' Ben 10 with tinted buttercream, and failing. Miserably. An hour, and several errors later, I gave up and scraped the offensive Ben 10 figure off, replacing it with candy cake decorations. I then dropped it off at the school, sending up a prayer that the cake itself would appeal to my picky sons' taste buds.

Once he got home from school, I was rewarded with the very rare compliment that 'everything about the cake was so, so delicious' as well as a request to make it again over the weekend. The second time around, I decided to keep it simple and made a 2-layer 9-inch cake. It took us a couple of days to eat through it, and it seemed that the flavors just intensified the longer this cake sat around in the fridge.

The cake recipe can be found on Gourmet here.

The brown sugar cream cheese frosting is a twist on the classic cream cheese frosting and is one of my favorites ways to frost cupcakes. It comes from Joy the Baker and it paired so well with the chocolate in the cake, that I may never use any other kind of frosting ever again!

Baking With Dorie: Kids' Thumbprints

My daughter and I are the real peanut butter lovers in our house. So my reason behind choosing this recipe was just so I could have some fun making these with her. Halfway into rolling the cookie dough into balls, I realized this had been a bad idea because my daughter insisted she was handling play-doh and soon everything was going to end up all over the kitchen floor. So I took over the dough and allowed her to poke holes into the center of each cookie, using a wooden spoon.  I had to make them  a little larger than teaspoon-sized because my daughter kept smashing them while trying to poke the hole! The end result was a little messy looking cookie, but we did have a lot of fun baking them together. 

These buttery, shortbread-like cookies were a big hit with my toddler, her favorite part being the strawberry jam center.  

Kids' Thumbprints

from Baking: From y home to yours ,by Dorie Greenspan, Page 163.

1.5 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup peanut butter - crunchy (Dorie's choice) or smooth

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg, separated

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 large egg white

1 1/2 cups roasted peanuts (salted or unsalted), finely chopped

about 3/4 cup jam or jelly (cherry, raspberry, strawberry and  blueberry are particularly good)

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. 

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter and sugars together on medium speed until very light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg yolk and continue to beat until well blended. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until incorporated. 

Put the 2 egg whites in a small bowl and beat them with a fork until slightly frothy. Put the chopped nuts in another bowl. 

Working with a teaspoon of dough at a time, roll the dough between your palms to form balls, turn them in the egg whites till completely coated and then drop them into the nuts and roll to coat. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Steadying each cookie with the thumb and finger of one hand, use the pinkie of your other hand (or the end of a wooden spoon) to poke a hole in the center of each cookie. Be careful not to go all the way down to the baking sheet. 

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway mark. The cookies will be lightly golder. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer them to a rack. 

Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets before baking a new batch. 

Put the jam or jelly in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring, over low heat. Using a small spoon, fill each thumbprint with hot jam. Allow the cookies - and especially the jam - to cool to room temperature, at which point the jam will form a shiny , nonsticky finish. 

Thank you to all the BWD bakers for baking along with me this week. Please check out the blogroll here to see everyone elses's thumbprint cookies, and please note that the gluten-free version of these cookies will be up on Elizabeths' blog Gluten-Free Baking 101 tomorrow (Tuesday). We are baking Pumpkin Muffins next, picked by Elizabeth. If you'd like to join our baking challenge, please email me at  needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us! 

Pecan Pie Mini-Tarts with Yogurt Cheese Pastry

I'm in love with the buttery smell that comes from my hands and fills the air when I make tarts and pies.

And despite all my best intentions not to do any rich baking, here I was again - leafing through my cook books yesterday and stopping at each mention of these sinful treats. . . I spent the past week mostly away from the internet - just to make my days a little less complicated, to kick back and enjoy a rare break in routine and to, once again, make time for things I enjoy best.

And that brings me to these mini-tarts. The pecan-pie filling is crusty on top, chewy-gooey on the inside. They are a snap to make and I found them too tempting not to share.

Pecan Pie Tarts with Yogurt Cheese Pastry

(Page 26 of 101 Things to do with Yogurt)

For the Tart Shells:

 1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

3 ounces (6 tbsp) yogurt cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

For the Filling:

 1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

2 tbsp butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar

To make the tart shells: 

Preheat Oven to 350. 

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

Flour  hands and shape dough into 24 balls. Press dough with fingers up the sides of a mini muffin tin to fill each muffin cup. Set aside. 

Filling: 

Stir together the ingredients in a small bowl until mixed. 

Fill each tart shell about 2/3 full and bake 25-30 minutes. Cool tarts in pan for 5 minutes and then remove to cooling rack. 

Dust with powdered sugar or top with a dollop of whipped cream to serve. Makes 24 mini-tarts.

Go on - take a bite . . .

A Taste of Yellow: Brazillian Coffee Bananas

I wanted to make something for LiveStrong Day by participating in the Taste of Yellow blogging event hosted by WinosandFoodies.com. I came across this blog only today and wanted to be a part of the event. The rules are simple: photograph a yellow food and somehow feature a heart into the photo.Easy.

The harder part was to decide what to make, and what to include in this post. Food-blogging and stories related to chronic disease don't go hand in hand. As food-bloggers we tend to stick to recounting our cooking adventures, and it isn't possible for a reader to look at a food blog without imagining happy times and the joy of sharing a good meal with friends and family. The reality of the writer can sometimes be different and at some point in our lives, each one of us has experienced trials, problems or the heartache of losing a loved one.

October 2 this year is LiveStrong Day - and the Taste of Yellow blogging event is a small way to contribute to the effort of the LiveStrong Foundation to spread awareness about Cancer, as well as the need for Cancer-research for new drugs and treatment. It gives food bloggers an opportunity to not only support the cause, but also to share personal stories and to dedicate the hearts in these posts to family members or friends touched by Cancer.

My heart goes to those I personally know - some having succumbed to, and some struggling with the disease. . 

This is my first time participating in the Taste of Yellow event and I chose to make something simple that I could fix immediately. This tasteful little dessert is as simple as it gets: 

Brazillian Coffee Bananas

 (from Bananas, Page 52)

4 small, ripe bananas

1 tbsp boiling water

1 tbsp coffee granules

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 tbsp Greek Style Yogurt

2 tbsp toasted, slivered Almonds (I skipped these)

Peel and slice one banana. Mash the remaining bananas in a bowl. Dissolve the coffee in the water and stir into mashed bananas.

Spoon a little of the Coffee-Banana mixture into 4 small dishes, and sprinkle with brown sugar. Top with a spoonful of yogurt. Repeat layers until all the ingredients are used up. 

Use a tooth-pick to swirl the last layer of yogurt for a marbled effect and finish off with a few sliced bananas and slivered almonds. Serve cold, within an hour of making. 

Baking With Dorie: Banana Cream Pie

I have to confess that when Rebecca chose this recipe for this weeks' BWD challenge, I groaned a bit inwardly thinking we were tackling yet another super-rich dessert & I have the hard-to-lose weight to prove the damage some of these recent bakes have done!

However, I've never made a banana cream pie before so I was excited to try and started planning my bake over a week ago. I was a little torn between trying the original version & a variation I had dreamed up. I even asked Dorie for advice and she steered me back on track and urged me to try the original recipe and play around with it later, when I have more time. And boy, am I glad that I followed the recipe exactly - because this is not a run of the mill Banana Cream Pie: the pastry cream is layered over sliced bananas and is rich but not overly sweet - the addition of cinnamon and nutmeg take the flavor up a notch without overwhelming it. It is topped with a cloud of barely-sweet whipped cream with a hint of tanginess from the sour cream. All of that goodness scooped into Dorie's flaky good-for-everything pie crust : in one word, sublime. 

I apologize for the late post and am also sorry that despite all my planning, I waited until the 11th hour to make the pie and then I almost ruined it - just look at that pie crust: what is all that speckly stuff??! 

I have made the pie crust so many times for previous BWD challenges that I could probably make it with my eyes closed - but I messed up this time. I over-worked it and kind of burned it because I made the pie in such a hurry. My pastry cream was made a night before but when I got ready to bake the crust and assemble the pie on Monday morning I got a phone call from a friend and had to rush to the hospital within the next two hours : I had promised to be present at her birth & it seemed it was time for her to go. So I baked the crust, assembled and photographed the pie - all on fast-forward - before I ran out of the house. 

And then I went from baking pies to witnessing miraculous birth. What an exhilarating, intense, lovely and emotional day! 

Two sweet endings in one day. Can it get better than that? 

For the recipe, please head over to Rebecca's blog Beurrista, or pages 342-3 of Baking: From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan. Thanks for choosing this wonderful recipe Rebecca!

Next up, we're baking Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte (Pages 284-5 of BFMHTY), chosen by me! If you'd like to join us for our baking challenge, please email me at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us! 

Late with posting my BWD challenge

This is just a short note to let you know I've had to get away for something urgent and will be late posting this weeks' challenge. My post will be up tomorrow (Tuesday).
Meanwhile, please check the BWD blogroll here to check out the other bakers, and for the recipe for Dorie Greenspan's Banana Cream Pie, please head over to Rebecca's blog Beurrista, or pages 342-3 of Baking: From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Baking With Dorie: Chocolate Chunkers

Dorie says these cookies are fabulous - and so who am I to argue?

Between you and me, I can't stop snacking on them since I made them yesterday. They're insanely good. Almost like a fabulously fudgey-brownie masquerading as a cookie. With a whopping 19 oz of different kinds of chocolate going into the batter, these are a chocolate-lovers dream come true. 

Want to see what I mean by fudgy? Take a look: 

And there's not just chocolate - there are nuts and dried fruit going in there too. I mistakenly added 1.5 cups of whole peanuts instead of chopped ones, so there were a lot of nuts in my cookies, but I really enjoyed the added toasty-crunch and the saltiness from the peanuts. The only thing I would change next time is that I would use dried cherries instead of raisins because they would add more color and contrast in flavor. 

This was Laurie's first pick - thank you Laurie for picking this recipe! Please head over to Laurie's blog Cookin' Up North for the recipe. You can otherwise find the recipe on pages 70-72 of Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. 

Dorie suggests churning crushed bits of these cookies into home-made ice cream. So I made a pint of Dorie's wonderful & creamy Vanilla Ice Cream (Page 428 of BFMHTY) and added in broken bits of these chocolate chunkers for a twist on my husbands' favorite Cookies n' Cream ice cream. I'm saving it for him till he gets back over the weekend, so I have no idea how good it tastes. But by the looks of it, it's a winner.

Please check out the blogroll here to see what all the other wonderful BWD bakers did with this weeks' recipe. 

Next up, we're baking Banana Cream Pie (Pages 342-3, BFMHTY), chosen by Rebecca of Beurrista. If you'd like to join the challenge, please email me at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us.

Baking With Dorie: Milk Chocolate Mini-Bundt Cakes

First of all, I am so sorry for the belated post. My blogger account acted up last night and wouldn't let me publish on time.

That said, weeks' recipe was chosen by Jennifer, The Rookie Baker, and I enjoyed it more than I had expected to. I went the cupcake route (since I don't own a mini-bundt pan) and also skipped the swirl altogether. Un-frosted, these turned out to be a perfect treat. 

The chocolate flavor in these cakes is not as overwhelming as I had hoped for it to be, but they are wonderfully moist and have just the right balance of sweetness making the glaze almost unnecessary. I have to stress on 'almost' because I am sure that if I had gotten the glaze right, these cupcakes would have been even more wonderful. 

I tried, honestly I did. But all I got was an un-spreadable blob. Let's call it my first BFMHTY-fail. I'm sure there is a way to get it right, but it just didn't work for me this time. See:

Looks more like a thick frosting than glaze :(

But my daughter loved it

For the recipe, please head over to pages 188-9 of Baking: From My Home To Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, or Jennifers' blog and take a look at the BWD blogroll to see how the BWD bakers did this week.

Next up, we're baking Chocolate Chunkers (Page 70, BFMHTY) chosen by Laurie of Cookin' Up North. If you'd like to join us, please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake with us!

Baking With Dorie: Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

Chaya saved me the effort of making myself a birthday cake tomorrow by choosing this recipe for the BWD challenge this week. It's just what I wanted: simple, non-fussy and, judging by the deliciously caramel-sweet aroma of brown sugar and apples infusing my house, deeply comforting and flavorful. 

I'm afraid I can't say much about the flavors because I haven't sliced into it as yet - I'm doing what Dorie suggests and keeping it on the kitchen counter, tightly-wrapped. Till tomorrow. So that I can have myself a birthday cake. And I'm so sure it's a winner, like every recipe of Dories' that I've baked so far. 

You can find the recipe on Chaya's blog or on Page 179 of Baking: From My Home To Yours, by Dorie Greenspan. Be sure to check out the other BWD bakers here and here. This week we were joined by two new bakers - welcome Laurie & Rebecca! 

Our next challenge, coming up on August 30th, is Milk Chocolate Mini-Bundt Cakes on pages 188-9 of Baking: From My Home To Yours and has been chosen by Jennifer. If you'd like to join us, please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have  you bake along with us!