Saturday, January 1, 2011
Being drawn to all things pumpkin when Elly Says Opa posted this recipe for a granola, I just knew I’d have to try it! Most of the ingredients are staples, or things I happened to have on hand. It came together super quick, and smelled wonderful while baking.
The finished product was a perfect breakfast topper for yogurt, and is incredibly healthy. Elly adapted it from an Ellie Krueger recipe, and she’s known for really healthy & delicious foods. I like that this was a low fat recipe.
–Side Note– Now… I don’t want to downplay this Nutty Pumpkin Granola, but I can’t help but hold every granola recipe up to the standard of my absolute favorite, hands down, most incredible granola of all time. OF ALL TIME. (to quote Kanye) Way back in July of 2009, I adapted a recipe I read in the New York Times, to make my Olive Oil Granola with Pistachios & Cherries. And Oh.My.Gawd. It is incredible, outstanding, addictive, and just all around knock your socks off good. Other granolas I’ve tried since then, like this Tropical Granola, are good in their own right, but it’s almost not fair to compare! It’s especially not fair to compare low-fat granola recipes to the olive oil one.
Seeing that the holidays are over, I know a lot of people might be looking for ways to cut calories & fat, and this Nutty Pumpkin Granola is a great way to still eat granola, but just a lighter version!
Nutty Pumpkin Granola
Ingredients:
1.5 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped raw or slivered almonds
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup pepitas
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. allspice
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. (Recently I purchased Reynold's nonstick aluminum foil, and it worked AWESOME here. I didn't need to spray the pan at all.)
Mix together the oats, nuts, salt, and spices. Then, stir in the pumpkin puree, vanilla, maple syrup and cranberries. Be sure everything is well combined.
Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp. The granola will crisp up a bit more after it’s out of the oven, too.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Ginger is a flavor I think I’ve been settling into liking more & more. While I have always enjoyed ginger ale, and the seasonal gingerbread cookies, those are rather mainstream varieties of the ginger flavor. It kept creeping it’s way into new spheres of my tastes. Perhaps it began with the homemade ginger beer in the wonderful Cumberland Sidecar, a formerly off-the-menu special concoction crafted by my favorite bartender Charles at my former neighborhood bar, Rumba. That opened my flavor palate up, and then I also began to love the La Nouvelle Mode at Suzy Wong’s House of Yum, which featured a ginger liqueur. So while I obviously have developed a love of sipping on the ginger flavor, I’d yet to taste a ginger flavored dessert that truly captured my taste attention without overpowering it.
And then these cookies came along. I decided to try them on a whim, because the baking list was pretty short, and I already had everything on hand. You might be wondering, “Erin, did you really have crystallized ginger just hanging out in your pantry?” And the answer is, why yes, I did, thanks to a random splurge purchase at Trader Joe’s. Good ol’ TJ’s is a good place for random purchases. Often I browse their snack aisle thinking of things I might one day bake into a treat, knowing full well I will usually just open the package and eat them all. (Like I did with their chocolate covered sunflower seeds and the dark chocolate peanut butter cups.) Well, I bought a package of candied crystallized ginger, went home & opened them up to try one. BLECH! That was my first thought. I did NOT snack on those, and so they stayed in my pantry.
Somehow, someway, despite my dislike of the candied ginger on it’s own, when combined in this cookie with the wonderfulness that butter, sugar, & flour bring the the bowl, the end result is a cookie that is delightfully rich with flavor & complexity. It was such a great departure from a sugar cookie, a peanut butter cookie, or a chocolate chip cookie. I personally loved eating this cookie for breakfast with a warm cup of coffee. This is a cookie I know I personally will turn to again and again!
Double Ginger Crackles
Ingredients:
10 oz. (2-1/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
2-3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. table salt
6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup molasses
3 Tbs. finely chopped crystallized ginger
Directions:
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment or nonstick baking liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar with an electric mixer (a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a hand-held) on medium-high speed until well blended. Add the egg, molasses, and crystallized ginger; beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well blended.
Pour the remaining 1/3 cup sugar into a shallow bowl. Using a 1-Tbs. cookie scoop, a small ice cream scoop, or two tablespoons, shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in the sugar to coat. Set the balls 1-1/2 to 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through baking, until the cookies are puffed and the bottoms are lightly browned, 12 to 14 min. If you touch a cookie, it should feel dry on the surface but soft inside. The surface cracks will look a bit wet. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 5 min. and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. When cool, store in airtight containers.
Ginger flavor intensifies with time, making these cookies excellent candidates for long keeping. When stored in an airtight container, the cookies remain impressively delicious for up to five days from baking. Well wrapped, the cookies will keep for several weeks in the freezer.
nutrition information (per serving):
Size: per cookie; Calories (kcal): 80; Fat (g): 3; Fat Calories (kcal): 25; Saturated Fat (g): 2; Protein (g): 1; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 1; Carbohydrates (g): 12; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 0; Sodium (mg): 40; Cholesterol (mg): 10; Fiber (g): 0;
Sunday, December 19, 2010
For more than a couple years now I’ve wanted to make homemade caramels to give as gifts at Christmas. I found myself with some heavy cream in my fridge for a recipe I didn’t end up using, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally do it!
I can’t believe it took me so long to finally get around to making these! Much simpler (and less messy) than making cookies, these caramels are the perfect addition to a holiday treat bag. I must admit, the presence of fleur de sel wasn’t as prominent as I’d hoped, but that doesn’t detract from the deliciousness. These also weren’t quite as soft as I was thinking they would be, but that might have been my fault, as I didn’t notice the mixture had reached the “soft ball” stage until it was a couple degrees past! You’ve really got to keep an eye on it, as it can change fast. Either way, this is a recipe I’d definitely make again, perhaps upping the amount of salt, and keeping a closer eye on the thermometer. These were well received with the staff of the show I edit, that I gave them to as well. So here ya go Kahla, here’s the recipe. ;)
Fleur de Sel Caramels
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
Special equipment: parchment paper; a deep-fat thermometer
Directions:
Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.
Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.
Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
You know what irks me this time of year? The people who like to proclaim to everyone & anyone “WOW! Only X days lefts till Christmas! Can you believe it? Are you ready?” Don’t these people KNOW what this does to procrastinators with anxiety issues?! Look people, I have a calendar, I know what day it is. I can do simple arithmatic and deduce how many shopping/wrapping/baking are days left. Mmmmkay?
While I have made a Christmas treat, (ridiculously easy) Peanut Butter Fudge this Christmas season, I realized two weekends before Christmas, that I’d yet to do any REAL holiday baking. The flour/sugar/eggs/butter, get-your-pans-dirty, “turn on the oven” kind of baking. So I perused my bookmarks and remembered some delicious cookies a local food blogger shared with me about a year ago. Instantly I could remember how perfectly rich, & coffee-spiked these tasted. I can definitely recommend these cookies to you, and it’s still not too late to begin some holiday baking! (Even though we’re in the single digit countdown. Shhh….)
Cappuccino Fudge Crinkles
from Better Home & Gardens New Cookbook as seen on OPKitchen
Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
1 packed cup brown sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp instant coffee (I used instant espresso powder)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 egg whites
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt (I used nonfat plain greek yogurt)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar, (colored sugar sprinkles optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
With a mixer, beat butter on medium to high speed for about 60 seconds to soften it up, then add in brown sugar, cocoa powder, coffee, baking soda, and cinnamon (not granulated sugar). Beat till combined, scraping bowl as necessary.
Add in egg whites and yogurt, and beat till combined. Add in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating till just combined (if you’re using a hand mixer you may need to finish off with a wooden spoon — the batter gets pretty thick and sticky)
Pour granulated sugar in a shallow bowl, then drop teaspoons of the cookie dough into the sugar, a few at a time. Roll the dough into balls, coating with sugar as you go. The dough will be crazy sticky, but you’ll be able to handle it easier once the white sugar is stuck to it.
Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about ten minutes, or until edges are firming up. Cool on a wire rack.
*Mine didn't really crinkle, so I pressed the baked cookies with the bottom of a drinking glass to sort of flatten them out.
Monday, December 13, 2010
The bundt cake pan is one of my most underused, yet most loved kitchen items. Don’t get me wrong, I do love beautifully frosted cakes, but there’s just something about the simple beauty of a bundt cake. You can always choose to drizzle it with a glaze, or dust it with powdered sugar, but it looks beautiful on it’s own. This also makes bundt cakes incredibly easy to transport!
I made this cake to take to The Boy’s family’s Thanksgiving. You see, last year I tried to take a healthy couscous salad. To say I think they were disappointed would be an understatement. I knew this year I had to bring my reputation back up to what they knew best from me… DESSERTS! I wasn’t able to stay long enough to see everyone eat dessert, but I certainly do expect that they liked it more than they did the couscous salad last year. I know I certainly loved this cake. You see, I knew I would need to *sample* it for the blog’s sake, right? I mean, I can’t blog something I didn’t even try! So, as a favor to all you faithful readers, I cut a slice, took many photographs Thanksgiving morning, and then ate it for breakfast! I know most of you might have went with something healthier/lowfat/etc like cottage cheese to keep the calories low in preparation for the day’s big feast. But not me. I chose dessert!
Because I opted to skip the glaze (since there would be much time & travel in between glazing it before I left the house & the time they’d actually eat dessert), this delicious bundt cake was a great stand-in for breakfast. It was almost breakfast-bread/muffin like, except it wasn’t quite as heavy as those can be. It was perfectly spicy, with a hint of nuttiness, thanks to the delicious browned butter. Yum-yum-diddly-dum, this one’s a keeper!
Browned Butter Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Ingredients:
CAKE:
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and allowed to turn golden brown then cooled
2 1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups pumpkin
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
GLAZE: (optional, as I chose to forgo it)
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and allowed to turn golden brown
About 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar, or enough to make a thick glaze
1 tbs bourbon if desired
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease pan, preferably with non-stick baking spray, as it's easiest to get all the nooks & crannies of a bundt pan.
Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, salt) together and set aside.
Beat cooled butter and sugars until well mixed. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Fold in pumpkin.
Add flour and buttermilk alternately and mix until smooth.
Spoon into baking pan. Bake at 350F until done, about 50-65 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then remove from pan to cool.
GLAZE:
Mix all ingredients until smooth. Spoon over warm cake. Sprinkle on almonds if desired.
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