It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time

My little sister has always loved peanut butter and jelly. I, however, don't eat it. I didn't when I was little and still won't. I don't like the combination of flavors, nor do I enjoy how sticky and squishy it is. However, these I will actually eat! They're a bit addicting, even though they are very dense. I would suggest keeping 1/2 for your family and giving the rest to another family. Share the love!

Recipe: Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Makes: ~ 36 bars

Recipe originated from: Martha Stewart Cookies ( http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/peanut-butter-and-jelly-bars )

Compliments: A tall glass of milk! And a napkin, because they are pretty messy.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups strawberry jam, or other flavor
- 2/3 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment, and coat inside of pan with flour; set aside. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. On medium speed, add eggs and peanut butter; beat until combined, about 2 minutes.
2. Whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour. Add to bowl of mixer on low speed; combine. Add vanilla. Transfer two-thirds of mixture to prepared pan; spread evenly with offset spatula. Using offset spatula, spread jam on top of peanut-butter mixture. Dollop remaining third of peanut-butter mixture on top of jam. Sprinkle with peanuts.
3. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool; cut into about thirty-six 1 1/2-by-2-inch pieces.

Now, I used raspberry jelly, but you could use any kind! It took me about 10 minutes standing in front of all the jellies at the store to decide, too. I just love raspberry flavor, so I decided it would mean I might actually eat these. It worked! It's salty and sweet and oh so good. Now, I will say the 'dough' is actually pretty crumbly, so you can't really spread it when you put the last bit on top of the jelly. I ended up flattening pieces out and laying them on top. It's also very crumbly. Careful when feeding to small children- you will have a mess on your hands. However, its a cute idea when you need to bring a dessert to like a picnic. So here is a quick tip that I learned from school- if using the 'creaming method' (aka cream together the butter and sugar) go ahead and throw the vanilla in. It wont hurt the mixture, and you're using Mise en Place (Remember? Everything in it's place!) you can put the vanilla up at the very beginning and don't even have to worry about it! So try these- they're great for the summer. Kind of a cheeky rendition of a child's favorite.

Abby xx

So Hot We'll Melt Your Popsicle

When I ran to the grocery store the other morning to get stuff for scones, I remembered a recipe I had seen in Southern Living the night before. I pulled it up on my phone, and grabbed the stuff I needed for them because I was there at the store anyway. They're a version of a popsicle, but muchhhh better for you than everything you can buy thats loaded with sugar. Perfect for coming home after a long day at the lake!

Recipe: Berry-Banana Freezer Pops

Makes: ~ 4 pops

Recipe originated from: Southern Living, August 2010 issue ( http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=2003446 )

Compliments: Hot sun and cool water

Ingredients:
- 3 cups fresh or frozen berries
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
- 1 banana
- 10 (2-oz.) pop molds
- Craft sticks


Directions:
1.Bring berries and honey to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Strain mixture into a bowl, using a spoon to squeeze out juice and pulp. Discard solids. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
2. Process yogurt and banana in a blender until smooth.
3. Pour into pop molds, alternating with berry mixture. Top with lid, and insert craft sticks. Freeze.

So I used frozen fruit, and I didn't have pop molds, so I bought small plastic punch cups, and used plastic spoons as the stick. To get them to stand up I put the end of the spoon through a piece of plastic wrap first, then stuck the spoon in the mixture and put the plastic wrap around the cup. I think it worked pretty well. I also didn't dirty the blender and just mashed the bananas into the yogurt by hand. They were good, but they melted fairly quickly.. which is why the disposable cup was nice. You could drip into it. They were tart-ish, and the berry part tended to melt faster than the yogurt, but it was good! I think if you need to get rid of frozen berries this is the way to do it. Also, if you are looking for an ice cream like dessert but don't want all the calories, this is a good alternative. I don't know if I'd make them berry again... I would probably do all strawberry or all peach or something so maybe they wouldn't be as tart. But they are pretty! Very summery and cool.

Abby xx

Summer Sunshine, Pour Your Sweetness On Me

I feel like thinking of summertime conjures images of days at the lake/beach, hanging out with friends, and roasting s'mores, with the gooey-goodness marshmallow sugar leaking out the sides. So we made these in class the other day, and I thought it was a really fun and easy recipe. So you will need a candy thermometer, but you can buy those pretty much anywhere. I usually don't like marshmallows, but I did like these. Surprising!

Recipe: Homemade Marshmallows

Makes: ~ 24 - 2 1/2 inch marshmallows

Recipe originated from: joyofbaking.com ( http://www.joyofbaking.com/candy/HomemadeMarshmallows.html )

Compliments: Graham cracker and chocolate bars! They would also be good in the winter with hot chocolate.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup cold water, divided
- 3 - 1/4 oz envelopes (21 grams) unflavored gelatin
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Lightly butter or spray the bottom of a 9x13 dish, then line with parchment paper. Sift about 3 tablespoons powdered sugar onto the bottom of the pan (it helps it come off).
2. Place 1/2 cup of cold water into the bowl of your electric mixer that is fitted with a whisk attachment. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until gelatin softens, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a heavy two quart saucepan, place the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup cold water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Cover the saucepan with a lid and let boil for about three minutes to allow any sugar crystals to dissolve from the sides of the saucepan. Remove the lid and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Increase heat to high and boil, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. With mixer running at low speed, slowly pour the hot syrup into the gelatin mixture in a thin stream down the side of the bowl. Gradually increase the speed to high and beat until mixture has tripled in volume and is very thick and stiff, about 10 minutes (looks like thick creme of marshmallow). Add vanilla extract and beat to combine, about 30 seconds longer.
5. Scrape marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a damp offset spatula or rubber spatula. The mixture is very sticky so just smooth it out as best as you can. Dust the top of the marshmallow with another 3 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar and let stand, uncovered, at room temperature until set, about 12 hours.
6. Remove the marshmallow from the pan by first running a small sharp knife around the edge of the marshmallow to loosen it from the pan. Invert the pan onto a large cutting board that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar. You might have to use your fingers to help loosen the marshmallow from the pan. Peel off the parchment paper (the marshmallow will be sticky) and dust the top of the marshmallow with confectioners' sugar. Cut the marshmallow into squares using a pizza roller or sharp knife. Dip the cut sides of the marshmallows in additional confectioners' sugar. Shake off excess sugar and store the marshmallows in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to two weeks.

So whats cool about this recipe is that you can make them flavored! Mine were lemon, so I just used lemon zest and about 1 teaspoon of lemon extract. Be careful about adding any sort of acidic fruit- the acid changes the structure of the sugar crystals. However, chef did make blueberry and strawberry marshmallows! You can add some of the fruit you want to flavor it with (as long as its not lime or lemon) to the sugar mixture on the stove so they break down with it, and then just throw some small diced fruit in right before you pour the hot sugar mixture in to be whipped. It will be naturally colored and flavored! Oh, and delicious. So if you are planning on doing a cookout before summer ends, put together s'mores with flavored homemade marshmallows. Can you imagine how yummy raspberry marshmallow and dark chocolate s'mores would be?

Abby xx

So Many Layers

The reason I love scones is because of the layers. Plain and simple. The delicate taste and dense dough are fun too, but I love how when you bite into a scone you can see and feel all the layers. Now, these are real scones- not the Americanized version. Americans tend to over sugar everything. Scones are supposed to compliment tea, which is delicate itself. They shouldn't overpower anything, really. I had a scone recipe I used several times, but when I bought a new book on clearance at work, I decided to try the scone recipe out. It's fantastic. They're moist but still thick, they rise so very high, and any flavor is a good compliment to them. The best part is you probably always have the ingredients on hand! Today I made blueberry with lemon zest and peach with white chocolate.

Recipe: Welsh Scones

Makes: ~ 16 scones

Recipe originated from: The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri ( http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Baker-Time-Saving-Techniques-Cookies/dp/B003R4ZIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280418039&sr=8-1 )

Compliments: This scone is so neutral that you can add nearly anything to flavor it. Try whatever fruit is in season for a breakfast scone. You can also add cheese, nuts, or even meat. Just make sure to cut back on the milk a little if you add a fruit that has a high water content... i.e. blueberries, apples or strawberries.

Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cold
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is mealy but dry and powdery.
2. Invert the bowl of the food processor over a mixing bowl and carefully remove the blade.
3. Quickly whisk the egg, milk, and vanilla together and use a fork to toss the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Continue to toss until all the flour mixture is evenly moistened. (I use my hands to mix it all together!)
4. Gently knead the dough 3 to 4 times, until it is smooth. Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a disk about 6 inches in diameter. Cut each disk into 8 slices.
5. Bake on baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 12 to 15 minutes until a very deep golden brown.

Now, if you make round scones like I did then only bake them 8 to 10 minutes. Also, if you're adding fruit or cheese or anything, add that right after you dump the flour mixture into another bowl, before you add the wet ingredients. That way it incorporates more fully. Ta-da! Fresh Welsh scones! I always dust mine with sugar right when they come out of the oven.

After talking with a friend at work this week, I've decided to talk about 'Mise en Place' (said 'mees on plaz'). It's a French term that literally means 'everything in it's place'. We use it in the kitchen to mean that you have everything ready before you start the recipe. So, for instance, I will mise out all the flour, sugar, etc etc and have it in seperate bowls so that all I have to do is dump the milk, egg, and vanilla mixture into the flour mixture. You also preheat the oven, prepare the baking sheet, and have any bowls/whisks/rolling pins out and ready. It lets you make sure you can put away all the spare ingredients, and only have out what you need. So when I made these scones, the only things on the counter were a measuring cup with 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg, and 1 tsp vanilla already mixed, a Cuisinart with the dry ingredients and butter ready to go, the bowl I was mixing in, my fruit, biscuit cutter, bench flour, rolling pin, and finally my prepared pan. You work more efficiently this way. It's less clean-up in the end, and you're not rushing around grabbing ingredients as you go along. You miss less steps/ingredients with Mise en Place. That way, while you're baking off your scones, you can wash the bowls, measuring cup, etc etc and then you are pretty much done cleaning when your scones come out of the oven. Work faster, work cleaner, work more efficiently. Chefs are notorious for taking short cuts and being lazy. If there is an easier way to do something, they'll do it. This is faster and easier. So try Mise en Place. You won't be as tired or dirty when you finish cooking!

Abby xx

Everybody Knows A Little Place Like Kokomo

Growing up the Beach Boys were my favorite band. Period. We have numerous recordings of me singing 'Surfin' Safari' and 'California Girls' (with an 'i', rather then Katy Perry's version that uses a 'u'). My mom worked for a local radio station as an auditor when I was about 6 and I still remember getting to go into the giant room that held all the tapes (yes, that long ago). The radio guy would let me pick out the next song to play, and I always chose the Beach Boys. However, I don't think I ever fully appreciated their song 'Kokomo' until I traveled with my family to the Florida Keys several Decembers ago. The HGTV Dream Home was located in Islamorada, which is about half way between Key Largo and Key West. Since missing out on touring the Dream Home in Tyler, TX several years before, we promised we would tour the next one located anywhere near where we were living. In a spur of the moment idea, we decided to drive down for a weekend. Only a few weeks before Christmas, we headed down South on a Friday after work. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, and it was one of the best family trips I can remember. Staying Friday in Key Largo, and Saturday in Key West we ate at several restaurants that claimed to serve 'The Keys best Key Lime Pie'. Of course we had to try them all! However, it wasn't until we got home and I was telling my coworkers about all these great pies that I actually learned of the best Key Lime Pie recipe. Theresa, one of my coworkers, passed along a really simple recipe that blew all of the others out of the water. The secret? Ginger Snaps. It's as if the steel drums and saxophone from the famous song start playing as soon as you take a bite.

Recipe: Key Lime Pie

Makes: 1 pie

Recipe originated from: Theresa Murley

Compliments: A tropical drink and palm tree.

Ingredients:
crust
- ½ cup graham cracker crumbs (about 6 crackers)
- ½ cup coconut
- ½ cup dried ginger snap cookie crumbs
- 1/3 cup melted butter
filling
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup key lime juice(about 12 key limes)


Directions:
to make the crust:
1. Combine together dry ingredients.
2. Pour butter over dry ingredients, and press into pie pan.
to make the filling:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients.
2. Pour filling into the crumb crust.
3. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool for several hours in refrigerator.

So there you have it! The crust is what puts it up and above. It's simply amazing. So use fresh limes if you can find them, but be aware that it's a bitch to squeeze them all. I usually use bottled Key lime juice, and it's just as good. You can find it in almost every grocery store, usually on the aisle with the juices. I also always use the ginger snaps that come in the brown paper bag.. I can't remember the brand, but they are on the cookie aisle. A funny story about Key limes, actually. One afternoon my best friend calls me and tells me she is craving Key Lime Pie, but not the frozen kind. She wants to make it, but can't find Key limes. Can she just use regular limes? I had to explain that the flavor of Key Lime Pie comes from the limes. Good times.

So I have about 4 cookbooks on my radar right now. Hello, Cupcake!, What's New, Cupcake?, Classic Southern Desserts, and The Flavor Bible. Obviously I can't buy them all at once, but I am going to try and get them all in the next couple of months. Even with my employee discount at work trying to buy all four would be outrageous. The Flavor Bible is around $40 on its own!

I'm currently on the hunt for a good pimento cheese recipe. I'll let you guys know how that one goes.

Abby xx

Pep Pep Cheerio!

Since the last post was so American, I think this will be a nice change of pace. I made tea flavored cupcakes to honor those sexy Brits... which are delightful. I made these today for a Mystery Basket in class (which also included Chayote squash, Lychee fruit, tarragon, and chili pepper), so the photo isn't of the cupcakes, but rather the table at school. You can see the cupcakes that I just pulled out of the oven, as well as the Chayote and blueberry bread I made. (In case anyone else is interested, I also made dried cherry and tarragon scones, topped with honey and chili whip cream and then a roasted Lychee and Melba dessert soup). On to the recipe!

Recipe: Earl Grey Cupcakes

Makes: ~ 12 cupcakes

Recipe originated from: Bon Appetit website ( http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2010/05/the-winner-earl-grey-cupcakes.html )

Compliments: These are so light, so maybe a heavier black tea, or lemonade.

Ingredients:
for the cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, at room temperature
- 4 Earl Grey teabags
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 2 large eggs, free-range or organic
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

for the frosting:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
- Few drops of food coloring (optional)


Directions:
to make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and add the teabags. Cover and leave to infuse for about 30 minutes, then discard the teabags.
3. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, which should take 3-5 minutes using an electric hand mixer. Add the almond extract, if using, and the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.
4. Sift the two flours together into a separate bowl. Add one-third of the flours to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in one-third of the infused milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added.
5. Carefully spoon the mixture into the cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until slightly raised and golden brown. To check they are cooked, insert a wooden skewer in the center of one of the cupcakes - it should come out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and leave the cupcakes in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool.
to make frosting:
1. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, milk, vanilla extract, and half the confectioners' sugar until smooth - this can take several minutes with an electric hand mixer. Gradually add the remainder of the confectioners' sugar and beat again until the buttercream is smooth and creamy.

DISCLAIMER: I did NOT make this icing. I made an Italian Meringue buttercreme with lemon zest and lemon extract that I dyed yellow. Then I piped the icing on and used yellow dusting sugar to top it all off. I think next time I would make the icing lilac colored. But make sure whatever you do, add a little lemon zest to the icing. It makes it it seem that much more tea-like. I think next time I'll do a crème fraiche filling to imitate the milk the Brit's put in their tea. Not much, but just a little dollop in the middle, so when you bite into the cupcake it's nice and creamy. I'll figure out how to do that and post the updated recipe later. So now we have a good American and British recipe!

Abby xx

Nothin' More American...

... than pink lemonade in the summer. Well, actually, I can think of several things that are 'more American', but I think pink lemonade is pretty American. These cupcakes are sweet too, but not as sweet as the french toast cupcakes. No better timing for these than right before the hottest month of the year- August. And no bad mouthing August! It is my birth month, afterall. Oh, and same goes for this picture- taken before my cool new program on my phone.

Recipe: Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Makes: ~ 8 cupcakes- DOUBLE THIS RECIPE!!

Recipe originated from: Cast Sugar Blog ( http://castsugar.blogspot.com/2007/10/pink-lemonade-cupcakes.html )

Compliments: Well... I think these are pretty good stand alone.

Ingredients:
for the cupcakes:
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- Pinch salt
- 1/2 c. granulated sugar
- 1/4 c. vegetable oil
- 2 egg whites
- 1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
- 1/4 c. buttermilk
- 2 or more drops red food coloring
for the frosting:
- 3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
- Red food coloring

Directions:
to make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.
4. Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.
to make the frosting:
1. Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Now, I'll admit- the icing is kind of a funny flavor on its own. But it's better when it is on the cupcakes! I piped mine on, and then added pink sanding sugar. I think they turned out quite cute! Plus they are very pink. How can you go wrong when pink is involved?

Abby xx