Tag Archives: Baking

My Cherry Amour

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18

A point of pride for the Great Lake State, Michigan’s west coast is an incredible fruit belt. It’s hard to believe that those Winter storms blowing in from Lake Michigan help to create a climate that’s perfect for growing a variety of fruit. Of all the fruit grown, however, the one that I most anticipate is the tart cherry. Depending upon the weather each Spring, these cherries come into season sometime during the latter half of June and last but a few weeks. Now that doesn’t leave me much time to get my share. In years past, I’ve detoured while traveling to, or from, a visit home; I’ve made “cherry runs,” driving 2 1/2 hours each way to get to just the right farm; or the Fates have smiled upon me and I’ve come across some at one of our farmers’ markets — like this year. As thrilled as I am to be able to buy some without a long drive, I must say, buying directly from the farm does have its advantages. Not only are they less than half the price, but many farms sell them pitted and frozen, as well as whole. In one trip, I can get enough cherries for a couple of pies and a few batches of muffins, with nary a pit to be found.

This recipe was in a book of recipes Mom assembled for me after I moved to Chicago. She and her Sister, Zia, both gave me recipe books and I often refer to them. In fact, quite a few of the recipes already in this blog, and many more to come, are from those 2 books. The thing is, this recipe was not a part of the book; it was on an index card stuck within its pages. As a result, I have no idea where it actually came from or who gave it to me. As far as muffin recipes go, it’s pretty basic. It does, however, include an optional topping made of flour, butter, and sugar. Though not necessary, it does add a nice element to each muffin top. All facts considered, the only real problem I have with this recipe is that a dozen muffins, even if small, are a few too many for me, being I live alone. So, I’ll drop a few off with friends and freeze the rest. These freeze well and nothing starts the day off better than doing so with a home-made muffin. But what if cherry muffins do nothing for you? Then I suggest you check out this recipe for Blackberry Jam Muffins over at Katherine & Greg’s blog, Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide. Not only is it a good recipe but theirs is a great blog to follow.

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Cherry Muffin Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup milk — buttermilk may be substituted
  • 2 cups cherries, pitted & roughly chopped by hand
  • OPTIONAL TOPPING
    • 3 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits
    • 1/2 cup flour
    • 3 1/2 tbsp sugar

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375*. Either spray muffin tin with cooking spray or place one liner in each cup.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine egg, almond extract, vegetable oil, and milk.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry and barely mix before adding the cherries. Mix entire batter until just combined. Batter should be lumpy. Muffins will be too dense if batter is over-mixed.
  5. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to fill each of 12 muffin cups equally.
  6. If topping is desired: Using a fork, combine the flour, butter, and sugar to create a crumble topping. Sprinkle an equal amount on top of each of the filled muffin cups.
  7. Bake until golden or the muffins pass the clean toothpick test, about 20 – 25 minutes.
  8. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes before removing from pan to cool further on a rack.

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Good Morning!

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Notes

As you can see, this recipe doesn’t rely upon a lot of sugar. I don’t want sugar to take away from the tartness of the cherries. Since I didn’t create the topping for this batch, I did, however,  give each muffin a very light sprinkle of sugar. While it won’t detract from the cherries, a light dusting of sugar will help to crisp the muffin top. And when you’re preparing the cherries, chop them by hand and not in a food processor. I’ve found that no matter how hard I try, a food processor over-chops the fruit. By using a large knife to roughly chop the cherries, you’ll end up with flavorful muffins containing large pieces of fruit.

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No-Knead Bread and Buns

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10

This being the 4th of July weekend, I’m sure that there’ll be barbecues blazing from sea to shining sea. I’m equally sure that more than a few of them will be grilling up burgers and dogs for at least one meal during the long weekend. I know mine will. To that end, I’ve got a “no-knead” recipe that may come in handy, courtesy of the King Arthur Flour Co. website. Originally intended to make hamburger buns, I’ve found that it can be used for hot dog buns just as easily and with equally good results. Mix up a double batch of dough and make both kinds of buns; they’re well worth the effort.

Since we’re on the subject of bread, I thought I’d share a second recipe similar to one that I found last year. It’s another recipe for no-knead bread, only this dough is used to make loaves and not buns. More importantly, you make enough dough for 3 to 4 loaves, baking one loaf at a time, as needed. The remaining dough is kept in the refrigerator where the longer it sits, the better it tastes. Unfortunately, I copied the recipe, pictures and all, but not the name of the website that supplied it. Within the portion I copied, however, the website’s author did make mention of his/her source, the book “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François. As luck would have it, there’s a recipe for no-knead bread on the King Arthur website and it, too, credits the Hertzberg/François book. So, since I cannot properly credit my source, I’ll send you to King Arthur for their version. I’ve used both recipes with equally good results.

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No Knead Hamburger Buns Recipe

Coming soon: the giardiniera pictured above!

This recipe will yield 6 hamburger buns or, with a little shaping, you can get 6 brat or 8 hot dog buns. Although they’ll keep for a couple of days in a sealed bag, they are best when used the day they’re baked.

King Arthur’s No-Knead Cheese Burger Buns

 

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No-Knead Bread Loaves Recipe

This recipe will yield 3 – 4 loaves, depending upon their size. You mix up a batch of dough and, after its first rise, store it in the fridge. Later, when you want to bake some bread, you literally grab a handful of dough, shape it, let it rise for an hour, and bake it. Make a batch of dough on the weekend and you can have freshly baked bread throughout the following week. It really is that simple.

King Arthur’s No-Knead Crispy White Bread

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Notes

  • Before anyone questions my sanity for baking bread in the middle of Summer, I sometimes have sleepless nights due to insomnia. If that’s the case, like now, I take some of the refrigerated dough out, let it rise for an hour, and bake it. I’ll have a fresh loaf of bread cooling and it won’t even be 7:00 am.
  • If you’re interested, the Hertzberg/François book may be purchased here. If you wish to visit its companion blog, click here.

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Cherry Cheesecake Pizza

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22

Since Easter is only a few days away, I thought it the perfect time for something sweet. Mom got this recipe from one of our two-flat’s neighbors, Johnnie, a wonderful woman whose daughter and my sister remain very close friends to this day. Easy to make, this is a perfect dessert for any party, potluck, or family dinner. If you wish, you can use canned pie filling and ready-made pie crusts — I told you it was easy. On the other hand, if you’ve got the time, you can make your own pastry dough and/or topping from fresh or frozen fruit. Either way, you’ll end up with a great little dessert.

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Cherry Cheesecake Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 pie crusts, ready-made or equivalent amount of pastry dough — not puff pastry
  • two 8 oz packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup walnuts, rough chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • two 14.5 oz cans of pie filling (or use 2 cans/bottles of tart cherries and follow the maker’s recipe on the container to make a filling)
  • Whipped cream for serving – optional

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350*.
  2. Roll pastry dough until large enough to cover the pan, as well as to create a ridge along the edge of the pan. Transfer to pan, prick with fork several times, and bake on center rack of oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
  3. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat together cream cheese and sugar.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well-blended. Add vanilla and mix well.
  5. Add the walnuts and mix using a spoon or spatula.
  6. Once the crust is thoroughly cooled, pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust and use an offset spatula to make it smooth.
  7. Bake in pre-heated 350* oven until set, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before proceeding.
  8. Carefully pour and spread fruit topping to cover the cheesecake. Refrigerate until well-chilled, at least 2 hours.
  9. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

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Variations

The original recipe called for one ready-made pie crust and one 8 oz package of cream cheese. Mom always doubled the amount of cream cheese and used both pie crusts, as well. This cheesecake was originally made on a 14″ or 16″ round pizza pan but, lacking one, I use a 12″ x 9″ sheet pan instead. Lastly, the original recipe used cherries for the topping. You can easily substitute blueberries, strawberries, or whatever fruit you prefer.

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Biscotti

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10

Like many households, the Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day holiday season at our house was a special time each year, complete with its own set of dishes and treats. These biscotti fit into that group, although I don’t know why. It’s not as if they’re festive-looking, like sugar cookies decorated to look like Santa or Christmas trees. Nor are they part of some widely accepted food tradition, such as eggnog at Christmas or turkey on Thanksgiving. Yet, the first of these biscotti would quietly make their appearance in our homes sometime around Thanksgiving and, come January, they would leave just as quietly. To this very day, Zia gives each of us some biscotti sometime during the holidays — and it wouldn’t be Christmas without them.

These two recipes came to the family via different paths. The first, Mom’s Pecan Biscotti, was given to her when I was a boy by a friend of the family who was, at the time, 90 years young. Our two families had ties that could be traced back to San Marino. The second recipe, Zia’s Anise-Flavored Biscotti, has been a part of Zia’s repertoire ever since she found the recipe in a Detroit News article some 50 years ago. Each year before the holidays, Mom and Zia would set aside one day for baking biscotti.  Mom would make the biscotti with pecans and Zia the anise-flavored. At day’s end, each would take half of  her biscotti and trade it for half of her sister’s. Generally speaking, we kids loved dipping the pecan biscotti into our milk, while the adults preferred to enjoy their anise-flavored biscotti with coffee after dinner. Should you decide to make both recipes at the same time, be sure to store the 2 kinds of biscotti separately. When stored together, it isn’t long before the pecan biscotti begin to take on the scent of anise.

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Mom’s Biscotti with Pecans Recipe

cook time: approx.  1 hour total

Ingredients

  • 8 eggs
  • 1 lb.  powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 lb. butter, softened
  • 2 heaping tsp baking soda
  • 9 cups of flour, sifted
  • Grated lemon rind from at least 2 lemons
  • Whole pecans (walnuts may be substituted)

Directions

  1. At medium speed, beat sugar and butter together until very light. Add eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until well-blended. At low-speed, add the lemon rind and baking soda. Gradually add the flour and mix well. The resultant dough will be pretty stiff.
  2. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll each into a rectangular shape, about 12 inches long. Line the center of each with the pecans and roll to form loaves that are about 11 inches long by 5 inches wide. Do not over-load with pecans because the loaves will crumble when you slice them later.
  3. Place the loaves on greased, floured baking sheets and bake in a pre-heated 350* oven for 30 minutes. Slice them while warm; they’ll crumble if you wait too long.

If you prefer to have them toasted, remove them from the oven after they have become a pale golden brown — usually in 15 – 20 minutes. Slice them, place them on their side, and return them to the oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Turn them over midway through the cooking time.

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Zia’s Anise-Flavored Biscotti Recipe

Note: Anise is a licorice-tasting herb common to the Mediterranean area.

cook time: approx.  1 hour total

Ingredients

  • 5 cups of flour, sifted
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt100_2314
  • 1 small bottle anise extract (approx. 2 tbsp)

Directions

  1. Sift flour, baking soda and powder together.  Set aside.
  2. In another bowl, beat butter with sugar on medium speed till creamy. Add eggs one at a time. When finished, add the anise flavoring.
  3. Slowly add flour mixture and beat at low-speed till well-blended. If the dough feels too stiff, add an extra dab of butter.
  4. Divide mixture in half and then half again. Form a loaf from each quarter and place 2 loaves on each baking sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 350* oven for 30 minutes. Slice them while warm; they’ll crumble if you wait too long.

If you prefer to have them toasted, remove them from the oven after they have become a pale golden brown — usually in 15 – 20 minutes. Slice them, place them on their side, and return them to the oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Turn them over midway through the cooking time.

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