Whole Wheat Apricot Scones

This should be entitled...the first whole wheat recipe that Katie loves! This recipe comes from Orangette's blog and is quite simply delicious. These are quick and super easy to make...just don't overmix!
It should also be noted that these are addicting, fresh out of the oven and I might have had two...and a half...with coffee.

Whole Wheat Apricot Scones

I used whole wheat pastry flour in this recipe, and I love how it works. Whole wheat pastry flour is more finely ground and lower in protein than regular whole wheat flour, and it yields a product very similar in texture to my usual all-purpose flour scones. I considered using white whole wheat flour, which I’ve also used occasionally in baking, but I really do prefer whole wheat pastry flour. White whole wheat flour, while more delicate than regular whole wheat, is still too coarsely ground, and it’s tougher, less delicate.

You can make these scones with any kind of dried fruit you want, but I like them best with dried apricots. My favorites are from Trader Joe’s, labeled “California Slab Apricots, Blenheim Variety.” They’re soft and have a very true apricot flavor, sweet and also quite tart. (They’re sulfured, which some people avoid, but I prefer the flavor.)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. table salt
4 Tbsp. (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
¼ cup sugar
½ cup diced dried apricots
½ cup half-and-half, plus more for glazing
1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture, squeezing and pinching with your fingertips until there are no butter lumps bigger than a large pea. Add the sugar and dried apricots, and whisk to incorporate.

Pour the half-and-half into a small bowl, and add the egg. Beat with a fork to mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and stir (with the fork; it works fine) to just combine. The dough will look shaggy and rough, and there may be some unincorporated flour at the bottom of the bowl. Don’t worry about that. Using your hands, gently press and shape the dough, so that it holds together in a messy clump. Turn the dough and any excess flour out onto a board or countertop, and press and gather and knead it until it just comes together. Ideally, do not knead more than 12 times. As soon as the dough holds together, pat it into a rough circle about 1 ½ inches thick. Cut the circle into 8 wedges.

Put the wedges on the prepared baking sheet. Pour a splash of half-and-half into a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the scones with a thin coat to glaze. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until pale golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm - with butter, if that’s your style. (My mother used to split the Earth/Lovelight ones in half and toast them, and then smear them with butter. Very good.)

Note: If you plan to eat them within a day or two, store the scones in an airtight container at room temperature. For longer storage, seal them in a heavy plastic bag or container, and freeze them. Before serving, bring them to room temperature. Either way, reheat them briefly in a 300°F oven. They’re best served warm.

Yield: 8 small scones

Cupcake review

I went ahead and made Banana Chocolate Cupcakes last night...here's the scoop:

• They actually contain no eggs, which I didn't realize until I made them
• No butter either...just coconut milk and canola oil. I used light coconut milk and if you wanted to make it even lighter, you could probably substitute apple sauce for the canola oil.
  
• They actually are more of a muffin than a cupcake, seeing as it uses a muffin method of mixing rather than creaming butter and sugar for a regular cupcake recipe
• The cupcakes themselves are pretty delicious just by themselves...I made the frosting but had one plain for a snack this morning
• They have a great chocolate flavor, I'm going to try making them again, next time with toasted pecans in the batter or mini chocolate chips...just cause I can.
  
• They're worth a try....the banana and coconut milk adds a lot of flavor and they are a good snack!
  

Weekly cupcake

I have all these ingredients on hand....these might be making an appearance at school tomorrow!

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup ripe banana (about 1 banana)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

For Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
1/4 cup ripe banana (about 1/2 banana)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 1/2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

In a small bowl, mash the banana with a fork. Whisk in the coconut milk, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until incorporated. Mixture will still be a little lumpy because of the nature of the banana, but whisk out as many large lumps as you can. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in banana mixture. Stir until just smooth (do not overmix).

Pour into liners, filling each with 3 tablespoons of batter (cups should be no more than 2/3 full). Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For frosting, cream butter until smooth and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add banana and mix on high speed until few lumps remain. Add cocoa powder and 1 cup powdered sugar and beat until combined. Continue adding sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition (depending on the temperature of your butter, you may need more or less sugar/cream to achieve the proper consistency). Mix in vanilla. Continue beating until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes, adding more sugar if necessary. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Garnish with leftover banana slices if desired.

Cherry Coffee Cake

One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is to relax and enjoy the news, drink uber strong coffee and make something tasty. I tend to be a coffee cake/muffin/scone kind of girl. And this weekend I was in the mood to bake, which I haven't done in a few weeks! This is a recipe from Martha Stewart and although it calls for fresh cherries, I just used a bag of frozen Albertsons cherries. And it was AMAZING.

I would recommend that you used a tall 8 inch cake pan. The kind with tall, raised, removable sides. Or, use a 9-inch square baking pan. The only downside is waiting an hour for this puppy to bake!

Sour Cherry Coffee Cake (adapted from Martha Stewart Living, July 2009)

For the topping:

• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for dish
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dish
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups fresh sour cherries, pitted

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-inch round baking dish, dust with flour, tap out excess.

In a medium bowl, stir together butter, flour, sugars, salt, and cinnamon. Set topping aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Working in alternating batches, add flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just combined. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Dot top with cherries, and sprinkle with crumb topping.

Bake until golden and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool before cutting.

Mother's Day Menu Reviews

I also threw in these BAD BOYS, which were delicious!

Sweet Potato Wedges

2 sweet potatoes, cut into strips/wedges. (I made small wedges which would roast quickly in the oven,)

Combine wedges with 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (or in my case, granulated garlic and kosher salt), 1/2 tsp. paprika.

Arrange wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake at 500 degrees for 16-20 minutes or until done, turning after 9 minutes.

I was busy cooking/cleaning, so I don't remember the exact time, but I just kept checking to make sure they were fork tender.

Other notes...
Everything turned out great...the pork was tender and full of flavor. My new best friend is my digital, instant read thermometer which helped me achieve the perfect degree of cooked pork.

The roasted asparagus salad was also tasty, which is big, considering I don't normally like vegetables or salad. NOTE- I decided to shake things up, seeing as I'm a rebel and all...I used orange juice and orange zest instead of the lemon. Again, incredibly delicious.

And the BREAD...I again stand in awe at the goodness and tastiness!! And melted butter when it's done??!

Last but certainly not least..the Rocky Road Ice Cream Pie. I cheated and used Marshmallow Fluff from the jar and I also subbed toasted pecans instead of walnuts. And I used Bryers Coffee and Bryers Chocolate Velvet. Incredible! And best of all, I thought about how much a SMALL ice cream cake from Coldstone costs...around $35!

An ode to my mom!

I suppose that this would be more appropriate to post around my mom's birthday, which is in October.
But, in honor of Mother's Day, I'm posting the Pumpkin Pound Cake. It's incredibly light and not overwhelmingly pumpkin.
It's also very appropriate to thank her for my start in the kitchen. She is a fantastic cook and can create something from lots of nothings in the refrigerator. Growing up, my mom let me roam free in the kitchen and experiment to my little heart's content.
So...thank you Mom for everything and thank you Cooking Light for this winner:

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

Ingredients

• Cake:
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
• 
  Glaze:
• 1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the cake, lightly coat a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour. Spread pumpkin over 2 layers of paper towels; cover with 2 additional layers of paper towels. Let stand about 10 minutes. Scrape drained pumpkin into a bowl.

Place 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and 3/4 cup buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine 1/3 cup buttermilk and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Drizzle cake with glaze.

Mother's Day Menu

Here's what I'm planning for Sunday:

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Cranberry Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 8- to 10-ounce pork tenderloin
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1/3 cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 450°F. Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Sear pork on all sides, about 2 minutes. Place skillet with pork in oven. Roast pork until thermometer inserted into center registers 155°F, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and rosemary; sauté until onion softens, about 3 minutes. Add broth, cranberry sauce and vinegar and whisk until cranberry sauce melts, about 2 minutes.

Transfer pork to work surface. Scrape any juices from large skillet into cranberry mixture. Boil until sauce has reduced enough to coat spoon thickly, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Slice pork and serve with sauce.


Roasted Asparagus and Arugula Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
1/3 cup minced shallots (about 2 large)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound slender asparagus, tough ends trimmed

6 cups (lightly packed) arugula (about 5 ounces)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)

Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes and rewhisk before using.)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place asparagus spears on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle 1/4 cup vinaigrette over and turn to coat, then spread in single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast asparagus until just crisp-tender, about 12 minutes.

Combine arugula, chives, and asparagus in large bowl. Add remaining vinaigrette and toss to coat. Transfer salad to platter; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Garlic Herb Braid

Ingredients

• 4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) quick-rise yeast
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1-3/4 teaspoons dill weed
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 3/4 cup 2% milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and seasonings. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water and cubed butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into thirds. Shape each into a 15-in. rope. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.
• Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 1 loaf (16 slices).

And for dessert, here are a few of my ideas...I haven't decided on anything yet:

Rocky Road Ice Cream Pie
For crust

• 1 9-ounce package chocolate wafer cookies, broken into pieces
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For milk chocolate fudge sauce

• 2/3 cup whipping cream
• 8 ounces imported milk chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For marshmallow sauce

• 4 cups miniature marshmallows (about 7 1/2 ounces)
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 quarts chocolate ice cream, slightly softened
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped (about 3 3/4 ounces)

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Finely grind chocolate wafer cookies in processor. Add melted butter and process until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake crust until set, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Make milk chocolate fudge sauce:
Bring cream just to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add milk chocolate; let stand 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Let stand at room temperature until sauce cools and thickens slightly, about 20 minutes.

Make marshmallow sauce:
Combine marshmallows and cream in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water). Stir until marshmallows melt and mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove bowl from over water; stir in vanilla. Let stand until slightly cooled but still pourable, about 10 minutes.

Spread 1 quart ice cream evenly in cooled crust. Drop half of milk chocolate sauce by tablespoonfuls over ice cream, spacing apart. Sprinkle half of walnuts over sauce. Drizzle half of marshmallow sauce over walnuts. Freeze until sauces are set, about 10 minutes.

Spread 1 quart ice cream evenly in crust. Drop remaining milk chocolate sauce by tablespoonfuls over ice cream. Drizzle remaining marshmallow sauce over, allowing some chocolate sauce to show through. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts. Freeze until pie is firm, about 4 hours. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Cover tightly with foil. Keep frozen.)

Cut around pan sides to loosen. Let pie soften slightly at room temperature, about 10 minutes. Remove pan sides.

Or....a sour cream pound cake with strawberries....oh the options..