Apple/Blackberry Pie

A good fruit pie is surprisingly hard to make. It's pretty easy to make an ok fruit pie, and I've done that plenty of times.  I've made dozens of pies over the years and this was the first one I felt I really got right, so you guys are in for a treat.    The two main elements to the fruit pie, the crust and the filling, have to be working in perfect concert for your pie to turn out beautifully.  Pie crust should be buttery and flaky, should turn a nice golden brown on the top and the bottom crust, and should be strong enough to hold up the fruit filling without turning into mush. The fruit filling should syrupy without being cloudy or starchy, sweet without being saccharine or overwhelming the flavor of the fruit. 

Apple Blackberry Pie cooling in the window

I can't tell you the number of times I gave up and just bought the pre-made pie crust, or how many times my fruit filling came out watery, lumpy, and cloudy.    I've tried multiple crust and filling recipes and let me tell you the secret.  For the crust, it is ice water.  For the filling it is tapioca.  Trust me.  Ready?  

This pie crust recipe I borrowed from Smitten Kitchen, she wrote two very thorough articles on pie-crust making that I enjoyed.  Seems she has gone through many of the same pie crust making trials (butter or shortening?  vodka?) as I did and finally settled on an excellent recipe. 

Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (8 ounces, 16 tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold  (you can use salted butter if that is all you have, just omit the salt in the recipe)
• 1/2 - 1 cup ice water

Preparation: 

• First, fill a 1 cup measuring cup with water and ice, and set it aside.
• Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
• Cut your COLD butter into cubes and being working them into the dough with either your pastry blender, a fork or your hands.  Be careful using your hands though, because you want the butter to stay COLD!  Stop mixing when you still have pea sized chunks of butter in your dough.  Visible butter equals flakiness in your crust.  DO NOT OVER MIX!  Do not use your blender or food processor for this!
• Begin drizzling in half a cup of the ice water (not the ice cubes) and mixing it all together with a silicone spatula (or if you are me with your hands again...I do everything with my hands)  You may need up to 1/4 cup more water.  I found that 1/2 cup was about perfect for me.  You want the dough to be glued together, but once it forms a cohesive ball don't add more water.  It should be a very firm dough. 
• Divide your dough into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or two at least (I'm sure you've noticed by now that keeping the dough COLD is key). 

Apple/Blackberry a la mode

I adapted this filling recipe from Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie Recipe.  I've tried his pie crust recipe, and while it is a mean crust I actually like Smitten Kitchen's simpler version better, and got better results with it.   But man, his filling recipe is the tops. 

Filling:

Ingredients:

• 5-6 large apples, mixed varieties. I live in Washington so I just pick out whatever is seasonally available.  You should have a variety of crisp, tart apples and softer sweeter apples.  This will give your pie a good texture because some of the apples will stay firmer than others in the baking process.   Normally an apple pie takes about 6 apples.  In this pie I used 5 apples and a small flat of blackberries, which is what gave the filling that awesome red color. 
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 3 tablespoons tapioca flour (I used Kraft Minute Tapioca mix and it worked fine)
• 2 tablespoons apple jelly (the pectin in this helps thicken the filling, you could just as easily use blackberry jelly or another flavor)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider (optional, I omitted this because I drank all my cider before I got to this step...)
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation: 

• Peel and slice the apples.  I like to use one of those corer/slicer things to make sure all my slices are a uniform size.  Making sure all your apple chunks are similarly sized will ensure that they cook evenly.   Toss the sliced apples with 1/4 cup of sugar and place in a colander over a bowl to drain.  Let them sit there for about an hour (this is a good step to take care of while you are refrigerating your dough)
• Take the drained liquid from the apples and reduce it in a saucepan to about 2 tablespoons.  
• Toss the apple chunks together with the syrup reduction, remaining sugar, tapioca, jelly, cider, lime juice and salt. 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  For the first 30 minutes, cook your pie on the bottom rack of the oven.  This will ensure that your bottom crust gets nicely browned.  For the remaining 20 minutes cook your pie on the middle rack.  The pie will probably get a little ooozy, so place a lined cookie sheet underneath to catch drips.  After the pie has baked allow it to cool for 4 hours.  DO NOT SLICE IT BEFORE THEN!  You will want to, it will be hard, but trust me.  It's worth it to let your pie cool thoroughly and give it time to set up, so it doesn't run everywhere the first time you cut into it. 

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles!  It's such a fun word to say I have a hard time not repeating it over and over again.    No one knows where these cookies got their name, but it was probably just made up by someone who liked how it sounds.  Snickerdoodle!   My boyfriend loves sugar cookies so I whipped up this batch just for him.  The snickerdoodle is very similar to a regular sugar cookie, but instead of having sugar sprinkled on top, it is rolled in a mix of sugar and cinnamon.   Some people like them soft, some people make them thinner and crispy.  If you have read my blog before (especially most post about creaming) you probably already know I'm crazy about fluffy cookies.   Bake this recipe just until the bottom of the cookies begins to brown and the edges are crispy, and the center remains chewy and fluffy and soft.   MMMMM.  

You also probably know that I do all my baking by hand because of a woeful lack of kitchen appliances.  Well, no more!    I picked up at Cuisinart CHM-3 Hand Mixer in red and I'm so excited to make like a million recipes with it.  I love its retro look, I just wish it was a little bit lighter.  Still, it seems like it will probably be hanging out in my kitchen for the next 15-30 years so I'm pretty happy. 

I got this recipe from JoyofBaking.com, they have awesome recipes that have all been tested out.  Many come with videos.  Go check 'em out. 

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients (3-4 dozen cookies):

• 2 3/4 cups (360 grams) all purposeflour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
• Coating: 1/3 cup white sugar, 2 teaspoons cinammon. 

Preparation: 

• Place oven racks in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (foil works if you don't have parchment paper.  Don't use wax paper.  I learned the hard way that wax paper and parchment paper are not interchangeable.  Don't ask.)
• In a large bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder.  
• In a separate bowl  (or the bowl of your mixer) cream together the soft butter and white sugar. You will want your butter to be soft but not melty, about 65F degrees.   If you live in a warmer climate do not let your butter get all the way to room temperature, as it will be to soft then.   This will take a minute or two, keep beating together until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, becomes noticeably fluffier and lighter in color. 
• Beat in each egg one at a time, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as you go along to make sure everything is fully incorporated.  After the eggs, mix in the vanilla.  
• Add the dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly until a smooth dough forms.  I normally add the dry ingredients in three stages, mixing then adding a little more and mixing and so forth.   You can refrigerate the dough for a little while if it is to soft or warm.
• Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the sugar/cinammon mixture.  Place the balls on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and gently flatten to about 1/2 inch high with the bottom of a glass. 
• Bake for 8-10 minutes in the 400F degree oven until the bottoms begin to brown and the edges are crispy.   Place on a wire rack to cool. 

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns have been associated with the Christian holiday of Good Friday for hundreds of years, although some people believe they have been baked since long before that and were simply adopted by Christians. Christian or not, the lore surrounding this simple confection is fascinating, and the buns themselves are delicious.  Traditionally containing currants or other dried fruit, Cinnamon and spices, topped with icing, these buns are supposed to ensure friendship throughout the year with anyone you share them with, and once you try one you will see why.

The oldest Christian lore surrounding hot cross buns states that sometime in the 12th century an Anglican monk placed the cross on the buns to celebrate Good Friday, which at that time was called "The Day of the Cross".   The actual recipe is said to pre-date this however, it is believed that the Saxons ate buns marked with a cross to honor the goddess Eostre.  It's thought that worship of the pagan goddess was so firmly rooted that early Christian missionaries adopted "Easter", hot cross buns and many other pagan traditions into their own yearly celebrations.   Hot cross buns came to be made of the same dough used to make communion bread.   Because of this, they were believed to have special healing powers and to bring good luck.   Some traditions say that a hot cross bun baked on Good Friday and hung from the kitchen ceiling can bring luck to your household, ensure all your bread rises, and ward off fires.   There is a popular saying, "Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be".  If you share a hot cross bun with a friend it will ensure good relations between you for the rest of the year.   In the 16th century, early Protestant monarchs saw the buns as a hold-over from Catholic rule in England and attempted to ban them.  Their overwhelming popularity made this impossible, and Queen Elizabeth I passed a law allowing them to be baked only at Easter and Christmas. 

Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients (makes approx 18):

Buns:

• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Canola Oil
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup (additional) Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 2 teaspoons Salt

Filling:

• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• Spices: Cardamom, Nutmeg, Allspice (optional)
• 1/2 cup Raisins

Glaze:

• 1 whole Egg White
• Splash Of Milk

Icing:

• 1 whole Egg White
• Powdered Sugar
• Splash Of Milk

Preparation: 

BUNS

Combine 2 cups milk, canola oil, and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Stir and heat until very warm but not boiling. Turn off the heat and allow to cool until mixture is still warm, but not hot--about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle yeast over mixture. Add 4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Mixture will be very sticky. Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour.

Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon and whatever other spices you want to use.

Lightly flour surface. Press to slightly flatten dough. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle on about a third of the raisins. Then fold the dough over on itself and flatten again so the dough is "plain" again. Repeat the sugar/raisin process, then fold the dough again. Repeat a third time until all the raisins are used. (You won't use all the sugar/cinnamon mixture.)

Pinch off ping pong or golf ball-size bunches of dough. With floured hands, quickly roll it into a ball, then turn the edges under themselves slightly. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes...an hour-plus is better.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400F degrees

GLAZE

Mix 1 egg white with a splash of milk. Brush onto each roll.

Bake for 20 minutes, give or take, or until tops of buns have turned nice and golden brown.

Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

ICING

Mix 1 egg white with enough powdered sugar for icing to be very thick. Splash in milk as needed for consistency.

Add icing to a small Ziploc bag and snip the corner. Make icing crosses on each roll, making sure they're completely cooled first.

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Whipped Cream

While in the grocery, the BFF and I noticed strawberries on sale.  Hooray! Winter is over!  Well, at least it's over in California where something like 80% of the USA's annual strawberry crop is grown.   Of course, we had to buy some, and then wonder what we were going to make with them.  After searching through many recipes we finally found one that used fresh strawberries instead of frozen or a flavored syrup.  

I left out the red food coloring from the original recipe because I didn't have any and honestly, I wanted to keep these as natural as possible and really focus on the fresh strawberry.   This recipe makes a dense, moist, sweet cake.  If you prefer a lighter cake, try replacing the 3 whole eggs with 2 egg yolks and 5 egg whites.  

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup butter
• 2  1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon red food coloring
• 1 & 1/4 cups pureed strawberries
• 3 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch Salt
• 1 cup buttermilk

Notes: "flour, sifted" is different than "sifted flour"  Measure the flour first, then sift.   If you don't have buttermilk on hand you can make an easy substitute by adding 1 TBS white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and letting it sit for about 5 minutes before adding.  I used lemon juice because I thought the lemon flavor would compliment the recipe. 


Preparation: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners and set aside.
•  In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar. (See my post on creaming) Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, food coloring and strawberries, beat for another 3 minutes.
• Sift dry ingredients and add to butter/egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
• Fill cupcake tins 2/3 of the way up. Bake for 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Let sit for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes are cool you can frost them.  A basic buttercream frosting would be good.  We tried whipped cream and cream cheese frosting.  The BFF preferred the cream cheese frosting (it was really good).   I really liked the whipped cream, I find it reminiscent of strawberry shortcake.  Whipped cream is what's pictured here on the blog. 

No-Bake Monday: Cayenne and Sea Salt Fudge

Ka-kow! Or should I say, cacao? My friend Lysa from Smile Belly reminded me that fudge is awesome and easy to make. She had a recipe for cinnamon fudge that I adapted for this post. She just looked too cute holding a tray of fudge, and the fudge looked too yummy, and anything I can put sweetened condensed milk in I am down for (see the last no-bake monday recipe).

Ingredients:
- Butter, for greasing the pan
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pound (about 2 cups) bittersweet (60 percent cacao) chocolate chips (recommended: Ghiradelli)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature
- Kosher or sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:
-Grease your pan and line with parchment paper so the paper hangs over the edges. 8x8 is what Lysa used and I used a 7x14, probably also a 9x9 or any other similarly sized pan would work. The bigger pan you use the thinner your layer of fudge will be.
-Combine your ingredients in a double boiler, or you can use a glass or stainless steel bowl over a pot of just barely simmering water. Sir your ingredients together until the chocolate is totally melted (this will take 5 or 10 minutes, be patient)
-Pour the fudge mixture into your pan and smooth out with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with salt if desired (it's still tasty without it, but I love the chocolate-salt combination). Refrigerate for a few hours until firm.
-When fudge is ready, run a warm knife (put it under hot water) around the edge of the pan to loosen the fudge. Pop the fudge out of the pan onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve! Keep the extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

What I really like about this fudge is that you don't notice the cayenne flavor at first. It sneaks up on you like it should so you are first hit with slightly salty chocolate flavor, then it's sweet, then it's spicy. Yes!

Salted Oatmeal Cookies

My roommates mother sent a care package full of the best ginger bread cookies I have ever had. If I had the recipe for those cookies that is what I would be talking about right now. But I don't. Alas, those awesome ginger cookies set off the need in me. I had to have more cookies. So, after scouring my kitchen I gathered what supplies I had and decided that oatmeal cookies where what I had the ingredients for. That was such a good plan. These cookies are so freaking good that my boyfriend insisted between bites that I put the recipe up on this blog. Salty and sweet and oatmeal-y.

Ingredients:
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar*
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
- Sea salt, for sprinkling

*I didn't have any brown sugar, so I used a cup of raw sugar and about a teaspoon of blackstrap molasses instead. This may have contributed to why these cookies were so sexydelicious.
Check out this Link for a guide on substituting white sugar and molasses for brown sugar. I used less than they recommend because I used blackstrap molasses.

Directions:
1. In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for a few minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the sugars, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon, beating until the mixture is well blended. R
3. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until well incorporated.
4. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and oats, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary and mixing just until they are incorporated.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour before baking.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Form the dough into golf ball-size balls (makes 18 cookies, make smaller balls for more cookies) and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle sea salt generously on top of each ball of dough, as you would sugar. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 15 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and beginning to turn golden, being careful not to overbake. (The cookies should have a tender interior.) Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment paper, to a wire rack to cool completely.

I don't have a stand mixer, I'm pretty sure I did all the mixing for this recipe with a fork. You don't really need fancy equipment. I also made my cookies smaller than "golf-ball" sized balls because I didn't want giant cookies at the end. Portion them however you like.

You can keep the cookie dough in the fridge for a few days and make cookies whenever you have the urge...

Black Marshmallow Fondant: Badass and Tasty

A few months ago I made marshmallow fondant for the first time. I was also making my first tierd cake. My friends who were getting married have the utmost confidence in my baking skills, despite the fact that I had never done anything remotely like making a wedding cake. God bless them. It was a fairly low key wedding but I had a lot to do (as the only bridesmaid, cake maker, bridesmaid dress maker, and brides makeup artist). The cake was my wedding gift to them and I decided to make them a Star Trek themed cake (yes, we are all nerds) to match the Star Trek themed invitations that the bride's artist father had made. Sadly, I do not have quality photos to show you of this endeavor but I'll slap my crappy snapshots up here so you'll get the idea.

Check that out. Awesome right? I made the topper on there too (out of sculpey, not fondant. I cheated a little).

Naturally, the first time I make fondant I decide I want it in the two hardest colors to get right, red and black. The red involved dumping nearly two jars of Wilton food coloring in with the marshmallow fondant and then some more until it finally wasn't pink. Grey fondant wasn't going to fly, so I had to try something even more intense for the black parts. Here's how you do it:

Marshmallow fondant is fondants tastier and easier to make cousin. Your basic marshmallow fondant recipe involves a bag of mini-marshmallows, a little bit of water, and powdered sugar. You dump the marshmallows in a bowl with a tiny bit of water and throw it in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between rounds until the marshmallows are melty and gooey. Then you stir in powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want. Easy enough. Black fondant requires going a step further and adding another special ingredient: chocolate chips.


Black Marshmallow Fondant:
- 6 oz. of semi sweet chocolate chips (white for light colors, milk choc. for dark) (about half of a bag)
- 1 16 oz. bag of mini marshmallows
- 3 tbsp. of clear Karo syrup
- 3 tbsp. water
- 1 1lb. bag of powdered sugar + 1-2 Cups
- gel black (or other dark) food coloring and paste
- Crisco

1. Dump your marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl and add the water then microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between intervals until the marshmallows are melted (approx. 2 minutes)
2. Add the chocolate chips and stir until the chips are melted. Pop back in the microwave if you need to.
3. Add the karo syrup and stir in with a butter knife. The syrup is not used in regular marshmallow fondant, it appears in this recipe to keep the chocolate from hardening to much to use.
4. Add 1-2 tspns of black gel color (as much as needed to get your mixture good and black) and mix it in.
5. Add about half of your powdered sugar and stir. Your mixture will start thickening and becoming doughy and look like this:

Keep stirring! It will become black again!
6. Add the rest of the powdered sugar to the bowl. Grease your hands and the counter liberally with the crisco and kneed in the rest of the powdered sugar. At the end you should get this:

To store your fondant coat it with a layer of crisco, wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you are ready to work with the black fondant you may need to pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up. Regular marshmallow fondant can be warmed up enough to use in your hands, but the chocolate gets much stiffer and sometimes needs a little help.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is the most badass baking I have ever done. Also, marshmallow fondant is pretty tasty so don't be surprised if people (especially kids) eat it instead of peeling it off the cake (like most do with regular fondant).

No-Bake Monday: Coffee Jello

So, I don't like coffee and my two roomies can't drink coffee because of stomach problems. So we are generally a tea-drinking household. However, when I saw this recipe on Food Librarian's wonderful blog I was struck by the overwhelming desire to consume coffee in gelatinous form.

While it may sound gross at first, let me assure you that the can of sweetened condensed milk that goes into this ensures creamy, sweet coffee deliciousness. The fact that it is almost as easy to make as jello is an added bonus. These squares are an awesome little caffeinated pick-me-up (just don't eat to many before bed time).

Coffee Gello
1/2 c cold water
2 cups strong coffee, hot. The stronger you make the coffee, the more caffeine and coffee flavor you will get in the end.
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
3 packages of Knox unflavored gelatin

1. Place 1/2 c cold water in a bowl big enough to combine all ingredients in.
2. Sprinkle 3 unflavored gelatin packets over the water. Let sit until the gelatin blooms, about 10 minutes. (mine didn't take anywhere close to that long)
3. Stir in the hot coffee and mix until the gelatin is completely dissolved. (It will be chunky at first, give it time, just keep stirring)
4. Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk.
5. Pour into glass pan. Thickness of finished jello depends on the size of the pan. I used a 7 x 11 pan but a 9 x 13 pan will give you thinner pieces and an 8 x 8 pan will give you thicker pieces. (I used a metal pan and it worked out fine)

Note: The combo of coffee and sweetened condensed milk is inspired by Vietnamese coffee. You can probably adapt this to use coffee or espresso, cream and sugar (be sure to dissolve the sugar in the hot coffee and gelatin). I find that 1 packet of unflavored gelatin will firm up 1 1/2 cups of liquid to finger jello "strength" (according to David Lebovitz's "How to Use Gelatin" post you can mold 2 cups with one envelope - but I feel finger jello needs to be stronger).