English Muffin Failure

I was flipping through my food Network All Stars cookbook the other day and found a recipe for homemade English Muffins. YAY! I love English Muffins and have been using them instead of bread for my tuna and jalapeno sandwiches at lunch everyday. This recipe should be a great way to save money-plus have some homemade muffins stashed in the freezer for whenever I want them.

Well-I had total English Muffin failure. I had apparently skimmed right past the part about needing metal rings to make the things until the moment I actually went to make them. Hell-I surely don't have any metal rings. Alton suggest using tuna cans with both the tops and bottoms removed as a good substitute. I thought I would be in the clear because I definitely have tuna cans I can open up. Only problem there was that the cans had to have both a crimped top and bottom-mine did not-so there was no way to remove the bottom.

I figured I'd try to make one inside the tuns can with just the top removed and it ALMOST worked-but not quite...so I just decided to throw the batter on the griddle like pancakes so as not to waste it all.

I WILL make these again because I can tell if you have the metal rings/tuna cans this is pretty easy and really inexpensive to make and they taste lovely.


Alton Brown's English Muffins


Ingredients
1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup hot water
1 envelope dry yeast
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Non-stick vegetable spray

Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings, see Cook's Note*

Directions

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F.
Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Using #20 ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork and serve.

*Cook's Note: Small tuna cans with tops and bottoms removed work well for metal rings.

When Life Gives You Lemons...Make THESE Cookies

I apologize for the corny title...but really you might as well get use to it. I am BIG on corniness. Really though, who cares about the stupid title of this blog-you are wasting too much time worrying about that when you should be making these cookies. Its spring! These cookies are spring! Light, spongy, lemony, fresh cookies.

I say this as I listen to the freezing rain hit my window panes on April 6th in Georgia...yeah its more like winter outside today but these cookies are spring. On the other hand they would probably go nicely with a nice hot cup of mint tea.

They are a Giada recipe...I like Giada, lots of people don't care for Miss Oddly Over sized Noggin, but I like her and usually find her recipes to be fresh and light tasting and not too much fuss goes into making them. Sure its hard to watch her on TV and not focus on whether or not her head might suddenly start bobbling and wobbling on her skinny little neck like a bobble head doll-but the girl makes some good food.

These cookies did not disappoint. They are more cakey and spongy like than they are cookie texture like-but they are so good. You can really taste the creaminess of the ricotta in with the lemon. The glaze is delicious and adds a more intense layer of sweet tart to the cookie. Don't skip the glaze. Don't.

Look you don't have to believe me-here's a few links to a couple of other bloggers who loved these cookies:

Judy's Kitchen

Annie's Eats

Taste and Tell

Giada's Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours.

How to Make "Rustic" Homemade Tortillas

1. Get some flour, oil, baking powder, salt and water.

2. Heat a griddle or skillet to about 375 degrees or you know hot enough to make water sizzle when you flick some droplets into the pan.

3. Hire a cute rolling pin operator like the one pictured here:

4. Follow this recipe:

HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

2 cups of white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

~Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil.
Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough.
The dough will be sticky.

~Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough. If the dough sticks to the cutting board while kneading, scrape up the dough and dust the board with a little flour and continue kneading. Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.

~Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

~Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.
Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth. Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

~Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. You really can't beat cast iron pans for even heat distribution and their ability to withstand high heat without warping.
Lightly dust your wooden cutting board with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

~It's difficult to roll out a perfectly round tortilla so if that is important to you, you can always trim the tortilla with a knife-but really...(Insert rolling eyes here)

~Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds.
Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft.

~Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.

~Tortillas are best eaten hot right off the griddle, but you can refrigerate and freeze them too.
If you freeze the tortillas, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and put them in a ziplock bag. When you are ready to use them, first thaw at room temperature and then wrap them in foil and place them in a 250 degree oven for a 10 to 15 minutes.

Morning Morsels of Marvelousness

Mmmm.

Mmmm.

Mmmmm.

Scones. I love scones-they've become my new favorite baked good. Sweet or savory, scones=love. They are the perfect little accompaniment to a steamy hot mug o' ______ (Fill in the blank please)...seriously.

Coffee + scone=YES. Tea+scone=YES. Soup+scone=YES, YES, YES!

I'm partial to the S'bucks cinnamon chip and pumpkin scones but damn(!) in this economy? I'll be making my own, thanks! Which, by the way, is sinfully easy to do. The key to a good scone is cold, cold ,cold! Bowls, beaters, cream, or butter-whatever-it needs to be very cold...and don't overwork the dough. That's simple enough, right? Really-I am not a skilled baker-I suck at baking because I'm so sloppy and impatient. Baking is mathematical and precise in nature-cooking is throw it in there and tweak it like this, tweak it like that...I want to be a good baker though-so I work at it. Scones are perfect for me-they are so easy and quick to throw together, and the end result is always perfect bites of light flavorful goodness. They are so simply perfect they make people who don't know any better think they have to be difficult to make.

I have yet to make a savory scone at home-but I will be trying a recipe out soon. I just purchased a little scone cast iron pan to make the process even easier. YAY!

Anyway-these babies are yummy! I threw them together last night on a whim. I've been obsessing over making a new scone this week, so I looked in the pantry and saw some leftover toffee chips. Hmmm...googling I a went.

I came across THIS lovely recipe at Recipegirl.com

I did tweak it a bit-so here is the recipe for the version I made:

TOFFEE CHIP SCONES

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar

1 Tbs plus ¼ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 cup chopped Heath or Skor bars (or use toffee bits)

2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream

TOPPING:

2 Tbs (¼ stick) unsalted butter, melted

granulated or coarse white sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; mix well. Stir in toffee bits.
3. In a large, chilled mixing bowl (chill bowl and beaters in freezer for 15 minutes- or in fridge for an hour), whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into dry ingredients; combine well. It will be sticky.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead gently until a soft dough forms; about 2 minutes. Form dough into 2 balls. Pat each ball out into a circle. Place each on a cookie sheet, and cut pie-like into 8 wedges. Pull each wedge out a little bit to create about 1-inch space between each wedge.

5. For topping: Brush scones with melted butter. Sprinkle each scone with a bit of granulated or coarse white sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Yield: 16 small scones or 12 big ones

Scones: Summer Meets Fall

I am in love with scones. Yes. I. Am.

They are officially my new favorite baked good. They are ridiculously easy to whip up and bake, and they go so well with steamy hot beverages.

I tried two different recipes this weekend, from two different bloggers and that represented two different seasons. Blackberries are a summer fruit and we all know pumpkins are like the fruit mascot for fall. I loved both of these recipes, but I'm partial to the pumpkin.

I had a little trouble with my blackberry scone dough. For some reason, it was very very sticky and I followed the recipe to a "T. Not sure what happened with that-but even though they look lumpy and not so pretty, they were tasty. A bit on the tart side-thanks to my extra tart wild blackberries (they are the ones I picked earlier in the summer and froze); I tend to like things that are tart though.

My favorite of the two recipes was the Pumpkin Scones...I mean I love all things pumpkin and these did not disappoint. I made up a small cup of pumpkin butter to double the pumpkin ecstasy and that sent these over the top. Imagine warm pumpkin scones fresh out of the oven with creamy pumpkiny butter spread over the top and a steaming pumpkin spice latte-ahhh that's pumpkin nirvana right there!

The pumpkin scones got the big thumbs up from both of the boys too and Red is now practicing saying the word "SCONE".

So anyway here are the recipes-make these now! Your tummy will be happy you did.

Blackberry Scones by Everybody Likes Sandwiches

1/2 c milk

1 egg

2 c flour

2 t baking powder

½ t salt

1/4 c cold butter, cubed

3 T white sugar

2 large handfuls of frozen blackberries

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk the milk and the egg together until frothy and then set aside.

In a large bowl, blend the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and blend the mixture with your hands until you have no lumps larger than a pea.

Add the sugar and the blackberries and toss about until the blackberries are coated with the flour mixture.

Add the egg mixture slowly until the dough comes together.

Leave any remaining egg mixture to brush on as glaze.

Turn dough out onto a clean counter and knead it no more than 12 times. Pat dough into a round approximately 1/2 an inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet or a Silpat.

Using a pastry brush, glaze wedges with remaining egg mixture.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Scones by Pinch My Salt

1 C. all purpose flour
1 C. cake flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. ground ginger
6 T. unsalted butter
1/2 C. raisins (optional)
1/3 C. pumpkin puree
1/3 C. heavy cream
6 T. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refrigerator. In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine if you have no room in freezer).

2. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

3. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.

4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

**the only thing I did differently was use half and half instead of heavy cream.