Cranberry Walnut Orange Muffins

Here is yet another great recipe from Cook's Illustrated. Orange and cranberry flavors are natural partners, while the walnuts are outstanding little gems within the muffin. They were light and flavorful and smelled wonderful as they baked.

Remember, if you’re short on time, you can melt the butter, mix it with the eggs, and stir it into the dry ingredients. When thoroughly mixed, beat in the yogurt and proceed with the recipe. To cinnamon-coat muffin tops, dip warm muffins in melted butter, then in mixture of one-half cup granulated sugar and two teaspoons cinnamon.

Cranberry-Walnut-Orange Muffins
makes 12 | adapted from Cook's Illustrated, Jan/97

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
1 cup granulated sugar , less 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups chopped cranberries , fresh or frozen
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add orange zest to butter-sugar mixture. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in one-half of dry ingredients. Beat in one-third of yogurt. Beat in remaining dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with yogurt, until incorporated. Fold cranberries and walnuts into finished batter.

3. Spray twelve-cup muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray or coat lightly with butter. Use large ice cream scoop to divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

Orange Spice Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

Sorry, no TWD today as I am in New York. Instead, I am posting these muffins I made the week before I left.

This banana bread is spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg and has orange zest strewn through the batter. Beneath its shiny, crispy, caramellized crust is a moist and tender muffin bursting with flavor. It is a refreshing change from the classic recipe without being too deviant. While baking this bread your home will be filled with an amazingly fragrant aroma and if you are like me, you will be hovering around the oven waiting for it to be done so you can have a taste.

Orange Spice Whole Wheat Banana Bread
6 muffins | adapted from Baking Illustrated

1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp orange zest
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional - I left them out)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 6-9 cups of a muffin tin (depending on the size of your muffin tin).

2. Combine flours, sugar, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and zest.

3. In a large separate bowl combine banans, sour cream, eggs, butter and vanilla. Whisk together until fully combined.

4. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in walnuts. Pour into prepared muffin pan and bake for approx 55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Honey Whole Wheat Sunflower Bread

Sometimes when life is stressful, hectic and overwhelming I like to go back to simpler things in life like kneading bread dough and making something wholesome and practical, such as this loaf of sandwich bread. The powdery flour beneath my hands as I work the dough into a smooth, silky ball. The sensation grounds me and my efforts are rewarded by a beautiful, perfectly domed loaf of bread. Delicious, soft, amazing.

This sunflower-seed studded bread is approx 60% whole wheat. It is very easy to handle and almost all the mixing is done in a stand mixer. Not dense or heavy in the least. With its golden-brown crust and light texture, this bread goes is good anytime but impossible to stay away from when it is fresh from the oven.

The recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen's HEALTHY Family Cookbook. I own all three in this series (Family Cookbook, Family Baking Book and Healthy Family Cookbook and they are all invaluable sources of reliable recipes for any occasion.



Honey Whole Wheat Sunflower Bread
1 loaf | adapted from ATK

1 cup warm whole milk (about 110 degrees)
1/3 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup salted sunflower seeds

1. Mix flours and the salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix the milk, water, butter, honey, and yeast in a liquid measuring cup. Turn the machine to low and slowly add the liquid. When the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopping the machine two or three times to scrape dough from hook, if necessary, about 10 minutes. (After 5 minutes of kneading, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time and up to 1/4 cup total, until the dough is no longer sticky.) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead to form as mooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.

2. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat lightly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the warmed oven until the dough doubles in size, 40 to 50 minutes.

3. Roll dough into a rectangle 1" thick. With the long side facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Pinch it closed. Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9 x 5" loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover and set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20-30 minutes.

4. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim into the center of the loaf read 190 degrees, 40-50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for a few minutes then remove the bread from the pan and cool fully on wire rack.

TWD: Golden Brioche Orange Cream Buns

Margie of Tea and Scones chose Golden Brioche Loaves on pages 48-50 of Baking by Dorie Greenspan.

I adore brioche and Dorie's recipe is one of my favorites.

Lately I have been addicted to baking with orange, so I filled these with an orange-cream cheese filling that made these buns so moist and fluffy. The cream cheese baked up into the buns, leaving a hint of orange taste with a slight tang of cream cheese. They had a subtle sweetness, not as powerful and decadent as a cinnamon bun. It was just right for a breakfast treat and so pretty with the flecks of orange throughout.

Orange Cream Filling
Cooks Illustrated

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 tbsp flour

Combine all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. Store in refrigerator until ready to fill the buns.

Maple Pecan Tartlets

Baking Illustrated is one of my favorite Cooks Illustrated cookbooks. My second favorite being The New Best Recipe and my third being The Best 30 Minute Recipe. In general there seems to be a love/hate relationship going on with Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen. I personally trust their recipes enough to make them for a dinner party without prior testing. They do know what they're talking about and the food tastes great, however, I've noticed that they publish a lot of the same recipes in different books with a slightly different spin on them. That is why of all their publications, these 3 are my favorites. They each provide a sufficiently different approach to cooking so the recipes aren't redundant. While you are prepping your filling, bake your crust. Try to time it so that the filling is ready to be poured immediately into the hot crust. Maple Pecan Pie 24 minis | Baking Illustrated 1 recipe for basic 9" Pie Crust 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup pure maple syrup 1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped (I left mine whole) 1. Prehat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out your pie crust and line your mini muffin or mini tart tins.

2. Filling: Melt butter in a double boiler. Add sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Cool slightly then add eggs, vanilla and maple syrup. Continue stirring, still using the double boiler, until it reaches 130 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. It will be glossy and smooth. Stir in pecans. 3. Pour filling into hot crust. Bake 50-60 minutes or until the center is not jiggly. (It will continue to cook as it cools too, from the residual heat). Cool fully, at least 4 hours, and serve at room temperature.

White Chocolate Reese's Peanut Blossoms

Merry (Belated) Christmas! I hope it was a great one for everyone.

I got a bag of these amazing creations - White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. Who could think up a more sinful combination? They are amazing on their own but even more amazing when made into the centre of a chewy, peanut butter cookie. There is so much chocolate lying around here, it's just calling to be used up and given away before I get too tempted to eat it all, hehe.

Any Hershey's Chocolate Kiss flavor or mini peanut butter cup will work. I also love these with the mini caramel cups. The caramel gets all melty from the heat of the cookie and even after they are fully cooled, the caramel centres still ooze out.

In the middle of your busy post-holiday rush and Boxing Day shopping, whip up a batch of these. Psst... If you don't have Hershey's Kisses on hand, get some now at the amazing after-Christmas Sales.

Peanut Blossom Cookies
Makes 48 | Cook's Country

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup peanut butter [I prefer crunchy]
2 large eggs , at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
48 Reese's White Mini Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two mini muffin pans (48 cups) with mini liners. [I used the liners that came on the mini Reese's cups after I unwrapped them].

2. Whisk 1 3/4 cups flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in medium bowl. Process remaining 1 cup flour and peanuts in food processor until ground, about fifteen 1-second pulses, then stir into flour mixture.

3. Beat butter and sugars together in large bowl with electric mixer at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add peanut butter and continue to beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, until incorporated, about 30 seconds, then beat in vanilla, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl, if necessary. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture in two batches, and mix until incorporated. Cover bowl and refrigerate dough until stiff, about 30 minutes.

4. Roll 1-inch balls of dough and place cash ball in a mini muffin tin. Bake until just set and beginning to crack, 9 to 11 minutes, rotating baking sheet from front to back halfway through baking (while cookies are baking, place additional balls of dough on second baking sheet). Working quickly, remove baking sheet from oven and firmly press one kiss/pb cup in center of each cookie. Return baking sheet to oven and bake until lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies directly to wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat rolling and baking remaining cookies. Cool completely. (Cookies will be cool enough to eat after about 30 minutes, but the chocolate centres will take 2 hours to set completely.)

Lemon Tart

This tart was amazing through and through - From the tender, flaky shell to the tart filling dusted with powdered sugar for a touch of sweetness. I love making lemon squares and tasts like this one because they are so easy. No cooking or tempering eggs on the stove... just beat the filling ingredients together, pour into a hot crust and bake.

Presentation: Held its shape and sliced wonderfully.
Taste: Delicate yet bold.
Texture: Light, delicate crumbly crust and satiny filling.

I baked this in an 11" tart pan and had enough for a few extra mini tartlets. In my experience, tart pans, especially fluted ones, immediately up the "fancy-factor". These go from picnic to party just by changing their shape they are baked in. The recipe also halves well, just watch your baking time.



Lemon Tart
9 x 13 pan | Cook’s Illustrated, May 1998

Crust
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, cold, cut into 1-inch pieces

Filling
6 eggs, room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Note:
The lemon filling must be added to a warm crust. The 30-minute chilling and 20-minute baking of the crust should allow plenty of time to prepare the filling. If not, make the filling first and stir to blend just before pouring it into the crust. Store in plastic wrap, refrigerated for up to two days.

1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.

2. Pulse flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1-second bursts. (To do this by hand, mix flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl. Freeze butter and grate it on large holes of box grater into flour mixture. Toss butter pieces to coat. Rub pieces between your fingers for a minute, until flour turns pale yellow and coarse.) Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and press firmly with fingers into even, 1/4-inch layer over entire pan bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

3. For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

4. Dust with Confectioners’ sugar and cut.

Make-Ahead Coffee Cake

This recipe baffled me from a science perspective. From a technical perspective this was easy as pie!

It has been so engrained from years of baking that you should immediately bake quickbreads/muffins the moment the wet and dry ingredients are mixed otherwise the baking powder loses its leavening power. This recipe asks you to leave the mixture for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator before baking! It even says you can freeze it unbaked for up to 1 month! Out of sheer curiosity I had to give it a shot.

For scientific reasons, you make the streusel and divide it in half. Half of it gets nuts, which goes on the top only because the steam released from the moisture in the nuts during baking made the cake around them soggy. Those folks at Cooks Illustrated are so smart. That would be my dream job - baking for a living!


without icing and without nuts

I was skeptical. I kept peeking through the little oven window to check. At first the sides rose really high while the middle remained sunken. I was just about to say, "I told you it wouldn't work" but by the time it was fully baked it had reached a gorgeous, level height. This one goes in the "keeper" file.

This recipe produces two small cakes, which can be baked on different days if desired (unbaked cakes can be frozen for up to 1 month). If you don’t have two 9" round pans use two 8" square pans instead.

I am submitting this to Brenda's Canadian Kitchen for Cookbook Sundays.

Make-Ahead Coffee Cake
2 round or square pans | Cook’s Country

STREUSEL:
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

CAKE:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sour cream (I used yogurt)

1. For the streusel: Pulse sugars, flour, cinnamon, and butter in food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Divide streusel in half. Stir pecans into one half and reserve separately.
2. For the cake: Grease two 9-inch cake pans. With electric mixer on medium-low speed, mix flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl. Beat in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture is crumbly with pea-sized pieces, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add sour cream in 3 additions, scraping down bowl as necessary. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until batter is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Divide half of batter between prepared pans. You may need to spread the dough around. Using spoonsful of dough around the pan then spreading with dampened fingers worked well for me. Sprinkle streusel without nuts evenly over each pan. Divide remaining batter evenly between pans and top with nutty streusel. Wrap pans with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 1 month.
4. When ready to serve: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap cakes and bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few dry crumbs attached, about 40-45 minutes (about 55 minutes if frozen). Cool at least 15 minutes. Serve.

Chocolate Chunk Banana Muffins

This was a nice small-sized recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen. They use an 8" square pan but I made muffins and got 8 from the recipe. These had tons of banana flavor peppered with burts of chocolate. They probably leaned closer to being a cupcake than a muffin, lol. If you want to be healthier, just leave out the chocolate or swap for nuts. Simple, fast, tasty, perfect for lunchbox planning.

Maybe this makes me seem odd but I'll say it anyway. I am genuinely happy to know when others eat and enjoy the food I make, even if I'm not there to 'witness' it or to hear any compliments from it. Even the simple fact of knowing that my son will be eating a muffin at preschool which I have baked with love makes me feel closer to him. And of course it doesn't hurt when he proclaims to the world, "I love my mommy's cooking. She makes good bread." Way to make my day!

Chocolate Chunk Banana Muffins
Makes 12 | America's Test Kitchen

2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup (2 lg.) mashed bananas
1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chunks/chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 8" square pan or line 8 muffin cups. Combine flour, powder and salt.
2. Cream together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas until well combined. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and combine. Stir in chocolate chips and scrape into prepared pan.
3. Bake 45-55 minutes (35-45 for muffins) or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool before removing from pan.

Quick Raspberry Cream Cheese Brioche Ring

This recipe (from Cook's Illustrated) looks long and time consuming but it's really simple and would make a great Sunday morning breakfast treat. Cream cheese is one of my favorite ingredients. This brioche ring reminds me a bit of a sweet cheese danish. Both the dough and the filling are made in the food processor. A push of a button and you get rewarded with pillowy soft brioche with minimal effort.

Quick Brioche Dough
Makes 1 ring | Cooks Illustrated Sept/Oct 1995

1 envelope (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm milk (about 110 degrees)
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

1. In small bowl, whisk yeast into milk, then stir in 1 cup of flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

2. Put butter, sugar, and salt in workbowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse at 1-second intervals, scraping sides of bowl several times, until mixture is soft and smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and process after each addition until fully incorporated (even though mixture may look curdled). Add remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and yeast mixture from step 1, scraping sides of workbowl with rubber spatula. Pulse at 1-second intervals to form soft, smooth dough. Then process continu-ously for 15 seconds.

3. Turn dough (sticky at this point) out onto generously floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Make filling (below).

4. Shaping: Roll the chilled dough into an 8-by-18-inch rectangle. Spread the dough evenly with raspberry jam and cream cheese filling, leaving a 1 1/2" border on the long side farthest from you. Beginning at the long side nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Transfer the cylinder, seam side down and coiling it to fit, onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or silicone liner. Cover with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Mark the cylinder top at 1 1/2" intervals, then use scissors to cut almost, but not quite all the way through the cylinder. Turn each piece of dough, cut side up. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

5. While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the ring until it is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle with a simple icing sugar and milk icing if desired.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Filling
Makes enough for 1 ring

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons flour

1 cup raspberry jam

1. Process cream cheese with sugar in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; pulse until fully incorporated. Refrigerate until ready for use.

Sundried Tomato Cheese Rolls

These buns freeze great and are wonderful to adapt by adding bacon, veggies, changing the dressing/cheese/spices, whatever you can dream up. They cna easily be portable meals and are also a great way to use up last night's leftover mashed potatoes.

Lately it seems that I've been really into experimenting with different additions to dough, for example: No-yeast Cottage Cheese Dough for tangy and quick Orange Rolls or Rice "Foccacia" Bread made with leftover rice.

Today I'm adding potatoes! According to King Arthur Flour, potato in the dough gives bread a soft, moist, creamy texture; the starch in the potato attracts and holds liquid, meaning breads baked with potato will not only be soft and moist initially, but will stay that way longer. So tender and fluffy when baked and a dream to roll out and shape. The recipe was very heavily adapted from Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen



Sundried Tomato Cheese Rolls
20 rolls (or 2-9" pizzas) | dough adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Deep-Dish Potato Dough
1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
8 to 10 oz. russet potato, peeled, cooked and grated (about 2 cups, or use 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes)
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, approximately
1 3/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tbsp for coating pan (or use oil from sundried tomato can)

Filling for Spirals
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 tbsp mixed garlic powder/onion powder/basil/oregano or whatever spices you like
1 cup drained sundried tomatoed, diced
1/2 cup ranch dressing (or jalapeno ranch)
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (optional)

1. In mixer bowl combine yeast, sugar and water and let stand 5 minutes, until foamy. Stir in 6 tbsp olive oil. Using dough hook, add in 2 cups flour, all the potato, and salt. Gradually add in more flour as needed until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky. Transfer to a lightly oiled medium bowl, turn to coat with oil. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.

2. Now you can either use the dough to make spirals like I did or for pizza.

Spirals: Oil the bottom of an 11 x 16 inch pan with 2 tbsp oil. It seems like a lot of oil, but the oil is what browns the crust. Reserve 1/2 cup cheese. Toss remaining grated cheese with spices and jalapeno if using. Deflate and roll dough to about 1/4" thick. Spread ranch evenly over dough and sprinkle with cheese mixture. Roll up jelly roll style and cut into 20 even pieces using a sharp serrated knife. Place in prepared pan. Cover and let rise overnight in fridge or at room temperature for about 45 minutes or until almost doubled. Sprinkle tops with reserved cheese before baking. Bake at 425 degrees F on middle rack for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown and dough is cooked through. I like using a glass baking dish so I can see the bottom of the buns. Cool slightly before serving.

Pizza: Oil the bottom of two 9" deep-dish pizza pans with remaining 1 tbsp each of oil. Gently punch down dough, pat each half into a 10-inch round and transfer to the pan. Pull it into the edges and up the sides of the pan to form a 1" lip. If dough resists, let it sit for 10 minutes, covered, to relax. Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about 30 minutes, until about doubled.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Uncover and pierce dough surface generously with a fork. Bake until the crust is dry and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add desired toppings and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes. Move the pizza to the top rack and bake until the cheese is golden brown in spots, about 5 minutes longer.

Apricot Orange Coffee Cake

I entered the ingredient list for these into an online recipe analyser and they actually came out pretty healthy! They got a B- rating I believe. Now, compare that to some other recipes I've thrown in there, that's pretty good. You don't even want to know the results for brownies or cinnamon buns! That link is a great resource and it's bookmarked for frequent reference.

This recipe is from Cook's Country. I had a 14 day free trial online during which I downloaded a bunch of recipes. I don't think the subscription would be worth it because a lot of the recipes are duplicates and in typical Cooks Illustrated style, they recycle a lot of their content. However, this cake is exceptionally moist from the yogurt it uses. Other variations offered are substituting dried cranberries for the apricots.

Apricot Orange Coffee Cake
1 - 9x13 inch pan | Adapted from Cooks Country

Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

Cake:
3 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups plain yogurt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
7 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 cup dried chopped apricots
1 tsp grated orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9" x 13" pan.
2. Topping: Mix together sugars and flour. Using fingers, mix in melted butter so it resembles wet sand.
3. Mix all dry cake ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together yogurt, sugars, eggs and butter. Fold into flour mixture and add chopped apricots and orange zest. Mix until combined then pour into prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over top.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Toothpick inserted in centre should come out with just a few crumbs attached.

Blueberry Peach Scones

The weather here has been surprisingly pleasant, especially compared to last year when I was snowed in and had to cancel my trip to L.A. over Christmas because of the now. Today it was 6º Celsius and I was loving every minute of it. I pretty much have zero tolerance for the cold. I have my room thermostat cranked to 30 all the time. I know it's only January 4th, but I've already got my sights set on summer and feeling warm again.

The one positive thing about having poor circulation and body heat regulation is that my hands are great for pastry making as they don't melt the butter when you're working with the dough.

So, today I baked some summer inspired scones using the fruit I'd frozen back in August. These scones are very tender and moist and easily adaptable. All you need is a bowl and a wooden spoon!





Blueberry Peach Scones
Makes 8-10 | America's Test Kitchen

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, very cold
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)
1/2 cup diced peaches, fresh or canned
dugar for sprinkling, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all dry ingredients in a med/lrg bowl. Cut in butter until it resembles peas.
2. Stir together sour cream and milk then add to flour mixture, mixing with a fork. Do not over mix.
3. Roll out into a square about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle fruit over bottom 1/3 of the dough, pressing fruit in gently. Fold up like a letter*** Gently roll out dough until it is about 3/4" thick. Cut out scone triangle shapes and transfer to cookie sheet, ungreased. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

***Alternately, you could just mix the berries and peaches in but then the berries bleed color into the dough and get mushed up.
Tip: If you want to make these ahead, you can roll and cut them then freeze. Later, bake from frozen and add approx. 5 minutes to baking time.

Best-Ever Shortbread

The shortbread cookie is a favorite in my house. What can I say, they love butter! My son could eat it off a spoon if I let him (which I don't). Because it's so well loved I have at least 25 recipes for shortbread, each one claiming to be "the best". It comes from Nancy Silverton's cookbook called Pastries from La Brea Bakery. I was going to skip it until I read her little blurb before the recipe which said basically that: don't skip this recipe just because you think you have enough shortbread recipes. She claims hers is better than all the rest. AND SHE'S RIGHT!!!

The dough is so easy to manage. I did the whole thing in my mixer, refrigerated it overnight and it baked up beautifully, filling my house with the sweet smell of butter. I think the icing sugar is the key to this recipe. I especially like that it doesn't call for corn starch like many other shortbread recipes do.

Some recipes are too crumbly to roll and cut while others are rollable but too moist, losing their flakiness. This one has the best of both worlds. You could easily roll it and cut out shapes or just do as I did - be lazy and make bars. Just let the dough sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes after you take it out of the fridge so it's easier to roll out.

There are some real gems in Nancy's book, such as this recipe and the one for her cinnamon buns - made using a croissant dough. OMG they are to die for.I have a few others bookmarked too for future baking. However, the book lacks pictures and is a little pricier considering how thin it is. Hmmm... quality over quantity? I only wish I had known about her bakery on La Brea Street, L.A. I went to California back in May. I even remember walking on that street! Now looking back I'm kicking myself for missing the chance to try one of her pastries.

Best-Ever Shortbread
20 fingers | Nancy Silverton of La Brea

1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

In a mixer (with the paddle attachment) cream together butter and sugars.
Combine flour and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add into butter mixture on low. It should eventually come together into one ball. Turn out onto counter and roll into a ball. Saran wrap it and chill overnight.
The next day, remove from fridge and let sit for 15 minutes before rolling and cutting. (Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Roll out to 3/8" thick and cut into shapes or bars. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 300 degrees F and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges.
Store airtight.



I got this tip from Cooks Illustrated and it works wonderfully!
When making shortbread (or other cookies) in a round pan, use a small 1" cookie cutter to cut out a circle in the centre of the pan.

This helps avoid the tips of the cookie wedges from crumbling in the centre of the pan when they are cut.

Buttermilk Waffles

I am a little obsessed with America's Test Kitchen. I have both the ATK Family Baking Book and the Family Cookbook. Neither one has failed me on any recipe. Both these books are sturdy, ring-bound and well indexed so recipes are easy to find. They have short ingredient lists and typical of ATK, explanations as to why they do things the way they do. Both these books are my "go to" books. Even if I don't necessarily end up using the exact recipe, it gives me a jump-off point or reference point for when I'm making something.

No more thin, floppy Eggo waffles for me! Whenever I make these I always have leftovers which I then cool thoroughly then freeze. When I need a waffle fix I just thaw for 15-20 seconds in the microwave then pop them in the toaster. They're just as yummy as when they're fresh from the waffle iron.

Buttermilk Waffles
America's Test Kitchen | Makes 4-6

1 cup flour
1 tbsp cornmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg separated
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
Nonstick cooking spray

Start preheating your waffle iron. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda. In another mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolk with buttermilk and melted butter until combined.

Clean your whisk and beat the egg white to soft peaks.

Fold in the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, the batter will be quite thick. Then add the egg whites and gently fold them into the batter.

Spray your waffle iron with some nonstick spray and spread the batter onto the iron. Cook until the waffles are golden brown, about 2 - 5 minutes depending on your machine instructions.

For freezer toaster waffles, leave the waffles golden and slightly underdone. They can be frozen then popped into the toaster for a quick breakfast.

Variations:
Most of the time I prefer my waffles plain with nothing but a generous amount of maple syrup but you can do a variety of things to make them more interesting.
- Dried fruit or fresh fruit: craisins, blueberries, chopped up strawberries, etc.
- Citrus zest: next time I will try adding a little orange zest
- Chocolate chips or butterscotch chips