Apple Crsip Pie

You can never EVER go wrong with some delicious, traditional apple pie...BUT you can make it better by adding an "apple crisp" topping instead of more pie crust. Serve with woodchuck hard cider and you're GOLDEN! more like golden delicious.....ahhhaha!

The Crust: (A slight variation from my previous crust recipe I put on here, but any pie crust would work)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
small dash of salt (up to 3/4 tsp if you want it saltier)
1/3 cup shortening, cold, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup butter, cold, cubed
8-10 TB cold water

Stir together salt and flour in a medium bowl.  Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Sprinkle 1 TB of water at a time into crust, tossing with a fork after each addition until flour is moistened into "crust consistency."  Split dough in half, form into discs, and seal with cling-wrap and store in refrigerator until ready for use.

The Filling:
6 cups peeled, thinly sliced apples (using a variety of types makes it tastier!) (about 6, give or take)
1 TB lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 TB flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.  Sprinkle apples with lemon juice, then toss apples with flour mixture until evenly coated.

The Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup rolled oats
3 TB cubed butter

Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in butter until resembles a coarse meal.

Putting it all together:
Preheat oven to 375
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface.  Line a pie pan, pressing dough into the bottom.  Gently imprint fork marks in the bottom of the dough to promote even cooking.  Sprinkle top of dough with cinnamon sugar for a little extra flavor.

Fill pie crust with apple filling.  Sprinkle crisp topping on top of apple mixture.  I used the extra pie crust to cut out cute acorn/maple leaf shapes for decoration.

Bake at 375 for  40 minutes to an hour, until filling is tender and bubbling.

Low Fat Pumpkin-Spice Muffins

This quick and easy recipe cures my pumpkin muffin craving with a fraction of the calories! So, in reality, you could eat 4 or 5 of these, or just 1 from Dunkin Donuts :)

You Need:
1 Tb butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 package of Jello Pumpkin Spice Instant Pudding Mix**
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup skim milk
dash of salt

**I found this seasonal pudding mix...made it DELICIOUS.  If you do this without pudding mix, increase flour to 2 1/2 cups; increase sugar to 1/2 cup; and add some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice (I like these flavors A LOT, so 1 tsp each, but you may want to start with less)

To Make:
Preheat the oven to 425F
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until butter is light and fluffy. Beat in egg. 
In a separate bowl, combine flour, pudding mix, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
Add pumpkin and milk to the butter mixture, beat until smooth.
Stir in flour mixture until just combined.
Grease a standard-sized muffin tin, scoop into 12 muffin cups
Bake for about 15 minutes (check by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin, if it comes out clean, you're done!)

These calculate out to about 160 calories a pop! mmmm.

Sweet Potato Chicken Pot Pie

This is a delicious and moderately healthy version of chicken pot pie.  I've never actually had a pot pie before today but Heath had the great idea of using sweet potatoes so I gave it a whirl and YUM!

INGREDIENTS
2 Chicken Breasts
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 Large Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed (small)
1 Medium Onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
2 TB all purpose flour
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen carrots
1 cup frozen green beans
1 package puff pastry (dethawed)
Salt, Pepper, *Old Bay (optional)

DO AHEAD: (this will save you some time, otherwise it takes a while!)

1. Chicken:
      1. Stir brown sugar into orange juice; put into large pan
      2. Put whole chicken breasts into orange juice solution, cook on low (I had it at a 3 on my
          electric stovetop) until cooked through (15 ish minutes)
      3.  Let chicken cool in orange juice.  Pull/pick apart chicken once cooled enough to handle

2. Sweet Potatoes:
     1. Peel and cube/dice potatoes (depending on how big you want them)
     2.  Boil until al dente, tender but not too mushy.
     3.  Set aside.

ASSEMBLY:
*Preheat oven to 420 F
1. Saute diced onion and celery until opaque in a dutch oven.
2. Add garlic, then milk;
3. In a separate bowl, stir flour into warm chicken broth; add to dutch oven; stir to combine
4. Bring mixture to a boil
5. Add peas, carrots, green beans, and bring mixture to a boil again; reduce heat and simmer for about
     10 minutes
6. Add pulled chicken and sweet potatoes to pot, stir to combine and heat until all ingredients are heated through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste (I put in about 1/4 tsp of Old Bay for a little extra kick)
7. Line a casserole dish (i used a medium sized round one....) with a puff pastry sheet.
8. Pour filling into puff pastry (I had a lot of leftovers to bring for lunches this week that didn't fit into the crust), top with puff pastry cut outs (or a flat layer with slits cut into it to vent)
9. Brush egg wash onto top to prevent burning.
10.  Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes (until puff pastry is puffed and golden brown), let sit for about 10 minutes then DIG IN

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

I made cookies and cream cookies the other day (to be posted, I just put the dough in the freezer and haven't baked them off yet, but OMG yum!), and had a bunch of knock-off oreos left over.  Why not make cupcakes?!

For The Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup hot water
12 Oreos, coarsley chopped, plus more for frosting

Line a cupcake tin with papers (this made about 18 cupcakes), preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, powder, and salt.  Sift twice. Set aside.
Cream your stick of butter with a hand mixer or blender, add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla, mix.

Add milk and flour mixture in alternating additions (3 adds each), scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula between each addition.  I like to sift in the flour mixture as I add it so the ingredients are sifted a total of 3 times - it makes for a smooth and fluffy cupcake :).

Stir in chopped oreos (or Tops knock-off brand) until evenly distributed. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full with batter. Bake 16-18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  (the oreo chunks rise to the top, makes for a pretty cupcake pre-frosting if you wanted to save some calories)

For the Frosting
1/2 lb powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-3 TB milk
3-4 oreos, finely crushed/food processed plus 9 whole cookies for garnish.

Cream butter with hand mixer.  Slowly add powdered sugar until thoroughly combined.  Add milk 1 Tb at a time, until you reach piping consistancy.
I used my mini food processor to finely pulverize the oreos, I put about 5 TB oreo crumbs into the frosting and mixed until combined.
Decorate as desired, and enjoy!

Cinnamon-Hazelnut Muesli

As much as I love to inhale granola for ALL occasions, I know it's really high in fat and sugar, so I try to avoid it. I have found a healthier alternative: Muesli! It's very high energy and delicious, and you can really add whatever you'd like to it to customize it for your own tastes.

Ingredients (Mix all together...that's it!)
2 cups Rolled Oats
1/2 cups wheat bran
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tsp flax seeds (ground)
1/4 tsp cinnamon.

Makes 7 cups.

Nutritional Info (per 1/2 cup):

• Servings Per Recipe: 14
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 97.9

• Total Fat: 4.1 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 119.5 mg
• Total Carbs: 14.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.0 g
• Protein: 3.2 g

Mix all these ingredients and enjoy! for a much unhealthier breakfast with this, although high-energy, mix it with 2 Tb peanut butter, 1-2 Tb honey, and some almond milk. yumm.

Chocolate-Coconut Low Fat Scones

Saw this idea come from Martha Stewart, but I substituted out the fat for applesauce to make them slightly more healthy.

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold heavy cream
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup cold, unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
Sanding sugar (optional)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together 3/4 cup cream and egg. In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir applesauce into the flour mixture.  It should combine into a coarse texture. Stir in coconut and chocolate. With a fork, stir in cream mixture until just combined. (The dough should be crumbly)

Put dough onto parchment surface, shape into a 6-inch round. Pre-cut the dough into wedges (6-8).  Brush the top of the dough with 1 Tb cream and sanding sugar.  Bake 16-18 minutes, rotate sheet halfway through.  

This recipe is GREAT eaten slightly warm with a cold glass of milk. mmm.

Low Fat Blueberry-Strawberry Flax Muffins

I can't seem to get enough of berry muffins this summer.  I know it's been HOT and DRY all summer and the berry season is awful, but something about the summer makes me crave fresh fruits.  These muffins aren't entirely fat free because of the crumb top, which was delicious, but you can definitely leave that part out to make them a tad more healthy. 

For the Muffins

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups white sugar (can reduce to 1/2)
pinch of salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup flax seeds, ground
1/2 - 1 cups blueberries
1/2-1 cups finely chopped strawberries

For the Crumb Topping
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease or line muffin tin (I used my tin that makes HUGE muffins, but it only made 6 that way).

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and flax seeds. set aside. In a small bowl, whisk egg, then stir in milk and applesauce.  Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Fold in blueberries and strawberries.  Fill muffin cups right to the top of the liner/tin.

For the crumb topping: (if you're using the BIG muffin cups like I did, half this recipe - you'll have more than enough.  If you use regular size cupcake tins, this amount will give you enough to generously cover all 12 muffins)
In a food processor (or large bowl with your clean bare hands), pulse sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon until it resembles a coarse meal.  Sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb pie requires no introduction. yum! 

The Crust:

This makes 2 crusts (or a top and a bottom)...half if you only  need the bottom:
3 cups flour
2 Tb sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon **(optional...goes GREAT with berry pies)
12 Tb unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
6 Tb shortening, chilled and cubed (or cut into small pieces)
8ish Tb ice water

        Blend flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl (or use a food processor if you prefer).  Dot surface of dry mixture with butter and shortening pieces.  Get in there with your CLEAN hands and mix flour mixture with butter and shortening until it resembles a coarse meal (or pulse in your food processor).  Add ice water 1 Tb at a time until you get your dough (should form together into a ball). 

 
If you are making two crusts, split dough into 2 discs (or 1 for 1), wrap in plastic, and chill for at least an hour.  Next, roll one disc of dough and mold into your chosen pie pan.  Put in refrigerator until ready to use.   If you're making it ahead of time, cover and freeze.

For the Filling

If you haven't figured it out yet, I LOVE using cinnamon in everything.  I think it goes great in strawberry rhubarb pie, but if you're not a fan than *omit cinnamon from this recipe.

2 cups sliced strawberries
2 cups diced rhubarb 
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup dry tapioca (you can use flour too but I prefer tapioca for thickening)
1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon*


In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the filling.  Gently toss using a rubber spatula so all of the fruit is coated by sugar mixture.  Let sit about 15 minutes once mixed.

 
Remove crust from the fridge, and fill with strawberry-rhubarb mixture.  Roll out second crust and cover as you prefer (I did a lattice top, but I like to switch it up with full cover and ivy top or use fun patterns with cookie cutters)





Bake at 400 F for 45-50 minutes, until filling is thick and bubbly.  Allow pie to cool and set (if you're patient enough), serve, and enjoy!

Cinnamon-Vanilla Bean Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Buttercream Frosting

I wanted to make something tasty but custom for Heath's Birthday (A week early but we had a lunch with his fam).  Since I've heard amazing things about his mom's strawberry rhubarb pie, I opted out of the pie making...good thing too, her's was delicious!  Instead, I wanted to keep those flavors and have an excuse to get more fondant practice.  My camera batteries were dead, so I just have this cell phone picture and no pictures of the inside :( Looks like I'll just have to make more...

The Cake:

Prepare a recipe of white layer cake, but add 2 tsp of cinnamon with your dry ingredients.  Bake as specified, or in whatever pan/cupcake tin you need for your occasion.

The Frosting:

Prepare a recipe of vanilla buttercream frosting, keeping it on the thick side.  You may want to almost eliminate the milk addition, as the strawberry-rhubarb reduction is juicy.

In a small pot, combine 1/2 cup chopped strawberries, 1/2 cup chopped rhubarb, and 1/2 cup sugar.  Stir thoroughly and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until all ingredients are tender.  

I used the smoothie attachment for my hand mixer, but a food processor or blender would do the trick.  Puree/blend the sauce to work out the chunks.  Let cool completely.  Slowly add to your buttercream until you reach the flavor you desire.  This seemed VERY sweet to me, next time I'm going to either cut back on the sugar or not use buttercream, but it tasted very good with the cake.  Frosting will be a light pink.

Frost your cake/cupcakes as desired, and enjoy! The cinnamon really compliments the strawberry rhubarb flavors for a very delicious treat.

This particular cake I decorated with fondant (blue water and camoflage upper; white fish with luster dust) and modeling chocolate (grizzly bear and bobber) to make it very "Heath-ified."  The camoflage was a pain to make...split into 4 different colors of greens and browns, then arrange in a camoflage-like way as you roll it out.  Might stick with solid colors until I'm a little more seasoned at decorating cakes!

HEALTHY Thanksgiving (in May...)

So I was craving Thanksgiving flavors, and didn't get called to work the other day, so I figured I'd get creative and create a healthy version of Thanksgiving dinner! This meal consisted of orange-glazed turkey breasts, mashed cauliflower, and roasted butternut squash with craisins.  Delicious!

Turkey

The turkey breasts are really easy for this meal. You need:
2 Turkey Breasts
1/2 - 3/4 cups orange juice
3 Tbsp brown sugar

Combine orange juice and brown sugar in a medium bowl.  Place turkey in bowl and marinate for at least an hour (the longer you marinate, the more flavor you'll get).  Sear the sides of the turkey with your grill on high heat (1-2 minutes per side), then turn the heat down and cook thoroughly.

Mashed Cauliflower

I made a HUGE batch of cauliflower for this meal...it just meant more leftovers for me!  I recommend using a food processor for this to get a better texture that is more like mashed potatoes (I was at Heath's, the bachelor pad that lacks cooking appliances, so I just mashed them by hand).
1 head of cauliflower
1 Tbsp of butter (more or less depending on your preference)
1/4 cup fat free cream (more or less depending on your preference)
Salt and pepper

Cut and clean the cauliflower into florets.  Bring a pot of water to a boil, cook the cauliflower until tender.  *Using a food processor* (or by hand if you lack the tools), mash the cauliflower into a fine texture.  Add butter and cream to reach your desired consistency, then add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Craisins (thanks, Wegmans!)

This is my favorite side dish served up by Wegmans.  I just started working there part time and it's an internal battle not to get this every time I work.  I changed the recipe slightly, but the original can be found on the Wegmans website. yummy!
1 medium-large butternut squash, cubed
1 medium-large vidalia onion, chopped
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 bag of baby spinach 
Olive Oil 
Salt and Pepper

Peel and cube the butternut squash.  Chop your onions.  Toss with olive oil (I used about 1 Tbsp to keep it on the light side) and salt and pepper.  Place in a roasting pan and roast until tender (about 45 minutes in the oven at 350).  Remove from oven, then toss with craisins and baby spinach.  Serve and enjoy!


These flavors together were delicious and VERY healthy!

Strawberry-Banana Low Fat Muffins

Continuing my healthy kick is hard when I'm a "choco-baked goods-sweets-o-holic."  I know I'm not alone in this....Anyways, I've started exploring "healthy" baking...I know, I know, healthy and baking don't really meld well.  I'm not claiming that this stuff is actually healthy, but it is WAY healthier than the full-fat, full-butter alternatives.  So what's the trick? Applesauce!

I had always heard that applesauce can be used instead of butter, but I never tried it out until recently.  After much research, I found that most people replace butter or oil with applesauce in the same ratio (1 tablespoon of butter for 1 tablespoon of applesauce).  More recipes to follow this, however EVERYTHING I've made with applesauce tastes almost the same as the full fat version (and the flavor difference is justified by all the Kcals you're not consuming!)

I interpreted this recipe from something I saw on pinterest...

1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 TB *no sugar added* applesauce
2 brown bananas ***see below how to expedite this process!
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup chopped strawberries


Preheat oven to 375 F.  Either line a muffin tin with liners or do as a loaf (I'm partial to serving-sizing it out in muffin tins).  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, then set aside.  In a large bowl, combine sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.  Slowly add dry ingredients until incorporated. 

***If your bananas aren't ripe enough yet but you want to bake with them, I can offer you this tip (courtesy of my aunt Ellen!)....ROAST them!  Preheat your oven to 350, place your young banana on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes....skin will turn completely brown, your kitchen will smell delicious, and the banana will be soft, sweet, and ready to bake with!


Add the cooked quinoa and mashed bananas, mix until combined.  Finally, add chopped strawberries. Distribute batter amongst muffin liners.  Top each with a thin slice of strawberry for garnish.  Bake for 25-30  minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Peasant Bread

Also stemming from my bread-crazy day, I made peasant bread (interpreted from the Food Network, changed slightly).  This was done the bootleg-way...I need to bring baking supplies to the bachelor pad in order to make this go smoother!  This bread is easy and delicious (toasted with jelly in the morning or to compliment a hearty dinner, really versatile).

The Bread

 2 1/2 cups bread flour (I used King Arthur)
1/2 cup King Arthur whole-wheat flour
1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt (next time I'm thinking doing a flavored salt...a little hint of ANYTHING would be yummy)

In a large bowl, mix flours, yeast, and salt.  Add 1 1/2 cups of luke-warm water and mix thoroughly (this will give you a VERY sticky dough).  Cover with plastic wrap, let rise for 1-2 hours until the dough is about double, still sticky and bubbly on top.

After dough rises, turn out onto a WELL floured surface.  You don't have to knead this.  Sprinkle more flour on top.  Fold edges under to make the dough into a (somewhat) square, then turn it over AGAIN onto a piece of well-floured parchment and tuck in the corners to form a ball, sprinkle with flour.  Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 more hours.

Preheat over to 450 F.  Place a dutch oven pot in the hot oven, allowing it to get hot before putting dough into it.   Quickly invert the risen dough into the pot (this backfired on us...plastic wrap was all that was available, no parchment and it got STUCK!  wound up with a lumply loaf, but still delicious). Cover with lid, and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 15-30 minutes until brown and crusty.  Cool on rack completely, then enjoy!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

I had a major craving to use yeast the other day, so I went on a little bread-craze.  I tried to be somewhat healthy with the consideration that I was bound to eat a disgusting amount of carbs over the next few days.  I'm pretty sure that Heath and I both turned INTO bread after all the trials and taste testing we did all day. 

This bread didn't rise as much as I had hoped...I need to work on my yeast-baking skills (it would probably help to get a thermometer!).  Oh well....still tastes good and now I can try it again.

Dough:
1 cup raisins
1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup  milk
1/4 cup melted butter
pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups  all-purpose flour or bread flour
3 cups whole wheat flour

Filling:
1/3 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 egg beaten with 2 tsp warm water

Directions:
       Pour hot water over the raisins in a small bowl.  This will help the raisins plump up.  Let them "soak" for at least 10 minutes, then drain and save for later.

       Pour a cup of luke-warm water into a large mixing bowl, add yeast.  Let sit for a few minutes until yeast starts to bud (YEAH saccharomyces!)....While you're waiting for your yeast, melt 1/4 cup of butter.  Add the melted butter, 1 cup of room temperature milk, and pinch of salt to the yeast. 

       Add the flours to your mixture.  I like to use my hands when making bread, so get in there and make your dough!  Hand knead your bread for 8-10 minutes until you have a smooth dough (not too dry or sticky, somewhere in between).  Add raisins, continue to knead until they are evenly incorporated throughout the dough.  **raisins should not be watery from the plumping process, make sure all the water has been drained**

       Break dough into two even spheres.  Put into large bowls and cover with a clean dish towel.  Let dough rise in a warm space for 1-2 hours.  After dough has risen, roll each sphere out (individually, you'll get two loaves out of this) with a rolling pin.  Your rolled dough should be the width of your bread pan, and as long as you can make it (more length = more cinnamoney swirls!)

       In a small bowl, mix white sugar and cinnamon, set aside momentarily.  In ANOTHER bowl, beat egg and 2 tsp water.  Lightly brush the surface of your dough with egg wash, then sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on top (use more or less depending on how sweet you want your bread.  Next time I make this I'm going to use more than what is pictured!).  Roll up your loaf into a log and place in bread pan.  Cover and let rise again in a warm place for about an hour, or until dough is doubled in size and pillows over the top of your pan. 

      The other half of your dough can be used to make a second loaf...OR you can do as I did...cinnamon-raisin rose rolls! (I think they look like roses :)  ).  So, follow the same steps as above to make a loaf, but rather than putting it into a bread pan to rise, slice the loaf into 2-inch rolls, place sideways about 1-2 inches apart in a pan, then cover and let rise.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. . Halfway through rising, preheat the oven to 375 F.  Brush the top of your loaf and rolls with some of the remaining egg wash.  Bake the loaf for 40-45 minutes, rolls for about 25-30 or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.   Brush the top with some of the remaining egg wash. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.


This bread makes DELICIOUS cinnamon-sugar toast (courtesy of Heath...we toasted it with a little butter and cinnamon sugar yummmmm)!

Cinnamon Sugar Easter Cupcakes

Another good excuse to bake...Easter with the family! My aunt Katherine already had the braided bread covered, so I opted for the more sugary route of cupcakes.  I put peeps on top to make it look like a birds nest (idea for next year: malted eggs under the peep like little eggs!).  Also, my extreme dislike of peeps might deter me from eating these....good idea in theory but I just took the peeps off.

       I'm glad I took these pictures BEFORE bringing them for dinner. My poor little cousin Daniel wanted to hold the pan on the way over. There was a slight casualty of cupcakes in a combination of hitting the brakes and not having a good grip, and most of the tops got smooshed, but they were still delicious!

Cinnamon Sugar Cupcakes...(courtesy of Martha Stewart)

THIS MAKES TWO PANS

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 pinch salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 ¾ cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 ¼ cups milk

Buttercream Frosting for top. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin tin with selected liners.  Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.   Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Scrape sides of bowl as needed.  Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Frost with buttercream (vanilla or TRY chocolate…would probably be yummy!)  Sprinkle top of frosting with cinnamon sugar (1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 TB sugar) OR a peep if you’re making it for easter!

 

Triple Berry Pie with Ivy Top

We are having dinner at Heath's parents house tonight - a little belated Easter meal.  As always, I used this as an excuse to bake something! I figure that if I have somewhere to bring it, then I won't eat it all by myself...a.k.a. less miles to run tomorrow!

       Bringing pie to a bunch of pie-freaks (including myself) is never a bad idea...I've been on a triple berry kick lately so it sounded good.  I wish I could take credit for the decorating idea of this pie, but I actually found it online when trying to decide what kind of pie to make.  Heath and I cut out all of the leaves and ivy and carved the details on ourselves!  I cannot vouch for the taste yet, ask me again tomorrow...but I can say that the creation of this pie was FUN, artistic, and a great way to spend some q.t. together.

The Crust 

For this particular pie, I cheated and used Wegmans pre-rolled pie crust.  I was lazy. BUT I will put in the yummy pie-crust recipe I  normally use when making it from scratch. 

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 Tb sugar

½ tsp salt

6 Tb unsalted butter, chilled, cubed

3 Tb solid vegetable shortening, chilled,cubed

4 Tb (or more) ice water

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional, depending on pie filling...GREAT for triple berry)

 

Blend the flour, sugar, and salt.  Add the butter and shortening; pulse in food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Drizzle 4 tablespoons of ice water over mixture. Mix just until moist clumps form, add more water if necessary.  Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into disk.  Wrap in plastic, chill 1 hour.  

Roll out dough onto flat surface (the thinner you roll it, the flakier and yummier the crust!) and press into pie pan of your choice.

Triple Berry Filling

1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 1/2 cups blackberries
1 1/2 cups raspberries
1 Tb lemon juice
1 cup sugar
4 Tb quick-cooking tapioca

In a large bowl, drizzle berries with lemon juice. Combine sugar and tapioca. Add to berries; toss gently to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Spoon into pie crust. Top with either crumb-top (see below) or crust-top.  Bake at 400 F for 45 minutes or until bubbly and done.

*I've done this pie with a crumb top before - 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter...literally get in there with your clean hands, cut all ingredients together until crumbly.  Sprinkle over the top.