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. 

Reg's Zucchini Bread

This fresh baked zucchini bread is moist from the oil and zucchini, making a sweet, dense loaf. 

Fresh loaves of Banana and Zucchini Bread

This is one of those recipes that comes out of the family cook book, one that I remember eating a lot as a kid.   My dad is a pretty picky eater and flat out refuses to eat most vegetables.  I don't know what happened, his parents scarred him as a kid or something.  I hear stories about a vegetable garden grown out of control paired with the depression-era mindset of "eat everything on your plate" and I can imagine my father as a child, sitting at the table pushing a plate full of zucchini around with his fork.  Not a happy child.   Over the years my mom grew fairly adept at compensating for his fruit and vegetable aversion, making sure he got his daily servings by hiding them in food he would actually eat.  I remember once as a kid she made this zucchini bread, my dad got halfway through the loaf before he noticed the green flecks and realized OH GOD THIS HAS VEGETABLES IN IT.  My little brother and I made fun of him for years about that one.  

During the 1960's people got this idea that anything that had a vegetable in it was good for you, leading to the rise in popularity of quick breads like banana bread, zucchini bread and carrot cakes.  This recipe is straight out of that time period, from the kitchen of Regina Maynard, one of my grandmothers friends.   I've never met Regina Maynard, but man I am glad her recipe made it into Grandma's cookbook.   The sad thing is it is no longer the 60's and it's hard to pretend something with this much processed flour and sugar is good for you.  To attempt to make it a bit healthier I used 2/3rds of the recommended amount of sugar, and instead of white sugar I used whole cane sugar.   I also replaced the vegetable oil with coconut oil.    The recipe below is the original measurements. 


Some people say zucchini has a "delicate" flavor, but this is just a nice way of saying it is basically flavorless.  What it really adds to this recipe is moisture, and the pretty green flecks running through the bread.  When you shred your zucchini make sure to do it on the largest sized holes, and leave the skins on.  The pieces will cook down significantly and won't be chunky in the bread. 

Ingredients (makes 1 loaf):

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups sifted flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup walnuts (Optional ingredient, I only used about a half cup)

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a greased and floured loaf pan.
• Beat eggs and sugar together.
• Add oil, zucchini and vanilla to the egg and sugar mixture.  Mix well. 
• Mix in dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg).
• Stir in nuts and mix well.  
• Pour into the greased and floured loaf pan
• Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.   I needed to bake mine for 1.5 hours. 

MMMMM, now the challenge is to not eat it all in one day.  Some people enjoy this bread with a little butter, but because it is already so sweet and moist I normally skip the butter and just eat it plain.    Notice the pretty little green flecks?

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.