quick bread

blueberry muffin comparison

09/03/2015 By bridget

left to right: CI Best, CI Classic, Jordan Marsh

I set out all three sets of muffins at work with a note that said that if my coworkers ate more than one type, I’d love to know their favorite. Someone said he was sure they were all good, but I told him I wanted to know which one I should choose if I could only make one blueberry muffin recipe for the rest of my life. He asked whether I ever repeated recipes anyway. Well…it isn’t common, to be honest. But for something as classic as blueberry muffins, it’s possible that I could. And if I do, I obviously want to make the best recipe.

I chose three recipes that seemed as different as blueberry muffin recipes get:

Cook’s Illustrated’s Classic – I wanted to make sure I included a somewhat traditional recipe with no tricks up its sleeve. This one is mixed using the standard quick bread method, in which the dry ingredients are mixed separately from the wet ingredients, and then they’re folded together. The source of dairy is sour cream, and there’s quite a bit of it, and therefore less butter (or oil) than in the other recipes. It also specifies frozen blueberries; Cook’s Illustrated recommends frozen wild blueberries, but those aren’t available at my store.

Cook’s Illustrated’s Best – Often with “best” recipes, I wonder if the extra effort is really worth it. In this case, that extra effort involves cooking and mashing half of the blueberries and simmering them until they’re reduced. This mixture is then swirled into each muffin. Other than that step, which was quite easy, the recipe is fairly traditional, with oil standing for half of the fat (in addition to butter).

Jordan Marsh-inspired – These are mixed like most cookies and cakes, with sugar beaten into the butter, then the milk and dry ingredients alternately added at the end. A small portion of the blueberries are mashed and evenly mixed into the dough. This recipe had more blueberries than either of the others.

Out of the twenty or so people who work in my building, only a handful gave me their opinion on the muffins. I can’t blame the rest though, because not everyone wants to eat three half-muffins, and that’s okay. Even with a small response, some trends were clear.

left to right: CI Classic, Jordan Marsh, CI Best

Cook’s Illustrated’s Classic (orange sprinkles) – These baked up pale. This was no one’s favorite, but it was one coworker’s second favorite. I thought they tasted the least blueberry-y, which is not a surprise since they did have slightly less blueberries than the other recipes.

Cook’s Illustrated’s Best (yellow sprinkles) – These browned quite a bit, maybe more than I would have preferred. However, these were the favorite of three people, and one did say that he liked that they tasted darker. One friend liked that it was the least sweet. Despite the blueberry swirl on the top, I didn’t think they had much blueberry flavor, although I have to admit the swirl was pretty. It’s interesting to me that CI’s goal with this recipe was to maximize the amount of blueberries in the muffins without reducing their structural integrity; however, normalized per weight of flour, this recipe has only a tiny bit more blueberries than CI’s Classic recipe.

Jordan Marsh-inspired (green sprinkles) – These were my favorite, as well as the favorite of two other coworkers. However, straight out of the oven, I almost discounted them entirely, as they collapsed when removed from the pan. You can see in the pictures that they have so many blueberries, by far the most of the three recipes, that the fruit sunk to the bottom. That hot juicy fruit couldn’t hold up the dough above it, hence the collapsing. However, they did, unsurprisingly, have the strongest blueberry flavor, as well as a nice tanginess. That tanginess is surprising considering that this recipe uses regular milk, not sour cream or buttermilk as in the other two recipes.

left to right: CI Classic, Jordan Marsh, CI Best

So which will I make in the future? I’m thinking the Jordan Marsh will be my preferred recipe, with slightly less blueberries. Yes, it won’t taste as much of blueberries then, but it will be worth it to have muffins that can stand under their own weight. Even if the the blueberries are reduced from 2½ cups to 2 cups, this recipe has more blueberries than the other two. If I was really ambitious, I could use the method in Cook’s Illustrated Best recipe to simmer a portion of the blueberries and make pretty swirls on the top. As I found, the extra effort of simmering down the blueberries wasn’t much work at all. Was it worth the effort though? Well, maybe not, since I thought a simpler recipe was even better.

left to right: CI Best, CI Classic, Jordan Marsh

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Classic Blueberry Muffins (from Cook’s Illustrated)

Makes 12 muffins

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1 large egg
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1¼ cups (10 ounces) sour cream
1½ cups frozen blueberries, preferably wild

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl until combined. Whisk egg in second medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 2 or 3 steps, whisking to combine after each addition. Add sour cream in 2 steps, whisking just to combine.

3. Add frozen berries to dry ingredients and gently toss to combine. Add sour cream mixture and fold with rubber spatula until batter comes together and berries are evenly distributed, 25 to 30 seconds (small spots of flour may remain and batter will be thick). Do not overmix.

4. Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop batter into greased muffin tin. Bake until light golden brown and toothpick or skewer inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through baking time. Invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, and cool 5 minutes.

dough for CI Classic

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Best Blueberry Muffins (from Cook’s Illustrated)

Makes 12 muffins

2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over
1⅛ cups (8 ounces) sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
2½ cups (12½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 1⅛ cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

3. Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion.

4. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

dough for CI Best

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Jordan Marsh-Inspired Blueberry Muffins (barely adapted from King Arthur Flour via epicurious)

Makes 12 muffins

In the future, I’ll either reduce the blueberries to 2 cups (mashing ½ cup and leaving 1½ cups whole), or I’ll follow the simmering step in Cook’s Illustrated’s Best Blueberry Muffin recipe with 1 cup of the blueberries, still mashing the same amount (½ cup) and mixing the remaining 1 cup in whole.

2 cups (9.6 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2½ cups blueberries (about 12½ ounces), fresh preferred
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup milk

1. Adjust a rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray the bottoms of a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Mash ½ cup of the blueberries, leaving the remainder whole.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand-held mixer), beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then mix in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add half of the dry ingredients, then all of the milk, and then the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until evenly combined. Stir in the mashed and whole blueberries.

3. Divide the dough evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins until their tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into one comes out with no raw batter attached, 20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan, transferring them to a wire rack.

dough for Jordan Marsh

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, fruit, quick bread, recipe comparisons, summer

corn tortillas

03/26/2014 By bridget

I don’t want to get melodramatic here, but these are almost life-changing. Certainly dinner-changing, and especially taco-changing.

I have told you before about my quest for the best way to soften store-bought corn tortillas. My favorite method had to be effective and easy without adding a ton of fat. Fried tortillas are so good, but a significant amount of work, and obviously not healthy.

I tried heating them under a damp kitchen towel, which worked okay, but the tortillas could get soggy and limp. The best I’d found was to spray both sides of the tortillas with oil and bake them until pliable but not crisp. Besides the addition of some, although not a lot, of fat, my biggest problem with this was that the tortillas would occasionally get too crisp to fold, and sometimes would just get chewy.

Okay, so making fresh tortillas isn’t all that easy. But they’re so good – even as good as real deep-fried tortillas – and so healthy (no fat, whole grains), that I’ll spend the extra 15 minutes making them, even on a weeknight. If I only make enough for one meal, for the two of us, it isn’t so bad – just mix up two ingredients, maybe three if you want to add a pinch of salt, let it rest for a few minutes while you chop some taco fillings, roll it into balls, smash it with a tortilla press, sear it on a hot comal (or skillet) for a minute.

As soon as you mix the masa harina with water, the dough will smell like the best corn tortillas, before you even cook them. Once you add some smoky char from the hot pan, then wrap them around fillings while they bend without breaking, you’ll see what I mean about a dinner-changing experience. But considering how often we make tacos now and how much better they are, life-changing isn’t too far of a stretch for me.

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Corn Tortillas (adapted from Serious Eats)

Makes 8 tortillas

I confess I have some specialized tools for tortillas. The cleaning lady at my office gave me the comal; she had two and hates to cook. I’m sure a cast-iron skillet will work just fine. I haven’t tried making tortillas without a press, but supposedly you can smash them under a skillet. They won’t get as thin, but a thicker fresh tortilla is still better than anything you can buy. The last item isn’t so special – just a scale – but I’ve had much more consistent results with getting the dough to the right hydration with a scale than I did with measuring cups.

4 ounces (about ¾ cup) masa harina
5 ounces water
pinch salt

1. In a medium bowl, mix the three ingredients until large crumbles form, then bring the dough together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for ten minutes. Meanwhile, cut both sides of a gallon zip-top bag. Transfer the bag to a tortilla press with the crease of the bag at the hinge of the press.

2. Heat a not-nonstick skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat for at least 5 minutes.

3. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball.

4. Place a ball onto the plastic-lined tortilla press, slightly off-center toward the hinge of the press. Press the tortilla just until it shows around the edges of the tortilla press. Open the press, peel the plastic wrap off the top of the tortilla, and invert the tortilla, still on the plastic, onto a towel. Slowly peel the plastic off of the tortilla. Replace the plastic in the tortilla press and repeat with the remaining balls of dough.

5. Transfer one tortilla to the hot pan; cook, without moving, until the tortilla bubbles and smokes, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Using a thin spatula, flip the tortilla; cook for another 15 to 30 seconds. Transfer the tortilla to a kitchen towel, wrapping it loosely. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, stacking them in the towel.

6. Let the tortillas sit in the towel to steam for a few minutes after the last tortilla is cooked, then serve. Kept wrapped, the tortillas will stay warm for about half an hour.

Filed Under: bread, favorites, gluten free, healthy, mexican, quick bread, whole grains

cherry tomato cobbler with gruyere biscuits

08/28/2013 By bridget

I couldn’t figure out what wine to serve with this. On the one hand, it’s just vegetables. On the other, the gruyere and biscuits would make it pretty rich. A medium-bodied red would have been perfect, but all I had was chianti, which seemed too Italian. A rich white would have worked too, but I didn’t have one. In the end, I went with zinfandel, slightly worried that the wine would be too rich for the food.

It wasn’t. It wasn’t just the gruyere with enough flavor to stand up to the deep wine, it was the tomatoes themselves. They might just be vegetables (fruit, whatever), but after roasting in the oven for half an hour with shallots and thyme, they were sweet and tart and jammy all at once.

The original recipe calls for leaving the grape or cherry tomatoes whole before baking, but I dislike the saggy pouches of scalding mush that whole tomatoes become once cooked. By cutting them in half, the juice can mix with the other flavors, as well as reduce into a rich, flavorful sauce. It had so much flavor, in fact, that sips of rich wine and bites of earthy spinach was absolutely required between bites. It was a perfect combination.

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Cherry Tomato Cobbler with Gruyere Biscuits (adapted from Martha Stewart via Pink Parsley)

6-8 servings

I used a mix of all-purpose white flour and of whole wheat pastry flour in the biscuits. I only made a third of the recipe.

For the filling:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 shallots, diced
salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
3 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

For the biscuit topping:
2 cups (9.6 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese (2¼ ounces), plus 1 tablespoon, for sprinkling
1½ cups buttermilk, plus more for brushing

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.

2. For the filling: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt and cook just until the shallots begin to brown around the edges, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, 1½ teaspoons salt, pepper, and flour. Remove from the heat; set aside.

3. For the topping: Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it is cut into pea-sized pieces. Add the cheese; pulse to combine. Pour in the buttermilk; pulse just until the dough is evenly moistened but still looks crumbly.

4. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and pat into a ball. Knead the dough a few times. Use a large spoon to arrange mounds of dough about ¼-cup in size over the tomatoes. Brush the biscuits with buttermilk and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon grated cheese.

5. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake until the biscuits are browned on top and the filling is bubbling, 35-45 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Filed Under: bread, cheese, quick bread, summer

cornmeal pancakes with cherry compote

07/24/2013 By bridget

I haven’t forgotten my New Year’s resolution this year. I haven’t done a very good job following it, but at least I haven’t forgotten.

I simply wanted to use my cookbooks more often. I love buying cookbooks, and I love looking through them, and I love the cookbook shelf I had built in my kitchen, but when it comes time to choose recipes, I default to my database and the internet all too often. The spreadsheet I made to track cookbook usage this year was neglected.

Until one night recently when, for no special reason, I sat down with a pile of cookbooks and started flipping. Other favorites got set aside as I put breakfasts, dinners, and snacks on the menu, all from one book, Sara Forte’s Sprouted Kitchen. Something snagged me about her cookbook that night, probably the healthy, quick, interesting meal ideas. Interesting, like adding thyme to cherry compote. Interesting, like making pancakes with cornmeal and honey.

I should let this be a reminder of why I need to pull out my cookbooks more often. Such undiscovered treasures are hidden on those shelves! I loved the extra cornmeal crunch in these pancakes, along with the honey notes. The cherries make these a summer reminder of a winter promise I made to myself.

Cornmeal Pancakes with Cherry Compote (slightly adapted from Sara Forte’s Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook)

Cherry compote:
1 pound Bing cherries, seeded and quartered
2 sprigs thyme
¼ cup water
¼ cup honey
pinch salt

Pancakes:
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons honey
¾ cup boiling water
¾ cup (3.6 ounces) all-purpose or whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 tablespoons brown or turbinado sugar
¾ cup buttermilk (or ½ cup plain yogurt and ¼ cup milk)
1 tablespoon canola oil, plus more for cooking the pancakes

1. For the compote: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the cherries, thyme, and water, stirring occasionally, until the cherries start to break down, about 3 minutes. Stir in the honey and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, honey, and boiling water. Let sit 5 minutes to soften the cornmeal. Meanwhile, in a separate small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together, the egg, sugar, buttermilk, and oil. Whisk the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture until thoroughly combined, then gently fold in the flour mixture. Let set 5 minutes.

3. Heat a non-stick skillet or a griddle over medium heat. Add a few drops of oil and spread it over the bottom of the pan. Using a ¼ cup measure, pour the pancake batter onto the hot griddle. When the pancakes are golden brown, after about 2-3 minutes, flip to cook the other side another 2-3 minutes. Keep warm in oven heated to 200 degrees.

4. While the pancakes are cooking, warm the compote; remove the sprigs of thyme. Serve the pancakes topped with compote.

Filed Under: breakfast, fruit, quick bread, summer, whole grains

carrot cake pancakes

05/06/2013 By bridget

I’ve mentioned before that carrot cake isn’t really my thing. Vegetables, I believe, do not belong in cake. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed carrot cake-inspired cookies and muffins, so pancakes seemed acceptable.

The problem with this recipe then, isn’t that it contains carrots, it’s that they have to be finely shredded. The shredding disc on your food processor isn’t fine enough; the shreds are too big to soften in the five minutes or so the pancakes cook. So I diligently shredded the carrots by hand. It was slow and tedious, and if this was required every time I had to make this recipe, it would be a dealbreaker.

And that would be a shame, because there aren’t many opportunities to have cream cheese frosting for breakfast, and those opportunities should be maximized. Also, my dad loves carrot cake, so I’d love to make these for him – without spending half an hour shredding enough carrots to make pancakes for the whole family.

The key is back to the food processor. It’s true that the shreds made from the disc will be too big for pancakes, but all those shreds require is a couple pulses with the regular blade attachment to chop them down to size. (I suspect processing the carrots directly with the blade would create an uneven combination of mush and chunks.) And with that, cream cheese frosting for breakfast is back on the menu.

One year ago: Pizza with Lamb Meatballs, Caramelized Onions, and Parsley
Two years ago: Strawberry Cheesecake
Three years ago: Corned Beef Hash
Four years ago: Orange Oatmeal Currant Cookies
Five years ago: Double (or Triple) Chocolate Cookies

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Carrot Cake Pancakes (slightly adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook via Smitten Kitchen)

Makes about 12 to 16 4-inch pancakes

Jokes about cream cheese frosting for breakfast aside, these aren’t much of an indulgence. There is no fat in the pancakes themselves beyond what’s used to cook them, and there’s cream cheese but not butter in the topping. The sugar in the topping is fairly restrained, with plenty of milk to keep it loose and sauce-like. And, of course, each serving contains about one small carrot.

Pancakes:
1 cup (4.8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
1 large egg
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated carrots (from about ¾ pound bundle whole carrots)
oil

Cream cheese topping:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup (about 1 ounce) powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg until thoroughly combined, then add the sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla. Stir the carrots into the wet ingredients, then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Whisk gently until the batter is mostly mixed but still contains small lumps of flour. Let the batter rest while the pan heats, about 5 minutes.

2. Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet or a griddle over medium heat. Add about a teaspoon of oil and spread it over the bottom of the pan. Spoon 2 tablespoons of pancake batter onto the hot griddle. When the pancakes are golden brown, after about 2-3 minutes, flip to cook the other side another 2-3 minutes. Keep warm in oven heated to 200 degrees.

3. To make the cream cheese topping: In a small bowl, beat or whisk the cream cheese until fluffy and smooth. Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until smooth.

Filed Under: breakfast, quick bread, vegetables

lemon ginger scones

01/24/2013 By bridget

I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while now, years actually, that scones would be a perfect treat to bring in to work. I could do most of the work the night or weekend beforehand and then just bake them in the morning before work. It would be easy for me, and my coworkers would have fresh scones to go with their morning coffee.

It sounds good in theory. In reality, it was a harried morning of showering, emptying the dishwasher, making smoothies, chugging my morning tea, skipping a couple makeup steps, hoping the blue of my scarf didn’t clash too much with the blue of my shirt, oh and garnishing, baking, cooling, and snapping a few very quick pictures of lemon-ginger scones.

So I was wrong about the convenience of baking scones in the morning before work. But I was right about my coworkers loving them. It was a nice morning of compliments – not on my outfit with its clashing blues, obviously, but the tender and slightly spicy scones made up for the unavoidable shortcomings that resulted from my rushed morning.

One year ago: Pasta with Tiny Meatball Sauce
Two years ago: Stromboli
Three years ago: Baked Ziti
Four years ago: Twice-Baked Potatoes with Broccoli, Cheddar, and Scallions
Five years ago: Deviled Eggs with Tuna

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Lemon-Ginger Scones (inspired by Bon Appetit’s Lemon Cream Scones, but when I realized I didn’t have nearly enough cream, I adapted Tartine’s Buttermilk Scones instead)

Serves about 8

As always, you can freeze scones after shaping, before baking. Bake directly from the freezer, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.

2½ (12 ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
3 teaspoons lemon zest, plus 1 teaspoon
1½ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes, very cold
2 ounces crystallized ginger, chopped fine
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2.Pulse the flour, ¼ cup sugar, 3 teaspoons lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor until evenly mixed. Scatter the butter cubes over the dry ingredients and pulse until the largest bits of butter are no larger than peas. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the ginger, then the buttermilk. Knead a few times to bring the dough together.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, pat the dough out to ½-inch round. Cut the round into 8 wedges or use cutters to cut other shapes.

4. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet. Rub the remaining 1 teaspoon of zest into the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Brush the scones with the melted butter and top with the sugar mixture. Bake until lightly browned around the edges, about 16-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, citrus, fruit, quick bread

cornmeal molasses pancakes

11/15/2012 By bridget

I’m not sure what made these pancakes so perfect – was it the combination of ingredients, with the crunch of cornmeal and depth of molasses, or was it being cooked in a cast-iron skillet? I’ve had a cast-iron skillet for almost a year, and I would say that I use it occasionally, but not often.

The main reason I don’t use it more is because, no matter what anyone says, washing a pan by hand, without soap, is not as easy as throwing it in the dishwasher. But the cast-iron undoubtedly forms a better crust on food, from meat to, yes, pancakes, so there are times when it is absolutely worth the extra cleaning step.

I was a little worried about these pancakes though. There’s no sugar in the batter except for molasses. That couldn’t possibly be sweet enough, right?

It actually was, with a distinct but not overwhelming bitter molasses flavor. And of course I added more sugar in the form of maple syrup on top anyway. The result was perfect pancakes, with a crisply browned exterior and tender middle, all thanks to just the right combination of ingredients – or just the right skillet choice.

One year ago: Salted Herbed Roast Turkey
Two years ago: Green Chile Mayonnaise
Three years ago: Wheat Berries with Caramelized Onions, Feta, and Lentils
Four years ago: Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake

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Cornmeal Molasses Pancakes (adapted from recipezaar via Joy the Baker)

Serves 2

If you don’t keep buttermilk around, my favorite substitution is a mixture of plain yogurt and milk; for this recipe, use ¾ cup milk and ½ cup yogurt. You can also use regular milk, adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to the wet ingredients.

1 cup (4.8 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ cup yellow or blue cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1¼ cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon dark molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for cooking the pancakes

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg until thoroughly combined, then add the buttermilk, molasses, vanilla, and oil. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk gently until the batter is mostly mixed but still contains small lumps. Let the batter rest while the pan heats, at least 5 minutes.

2. Heat a non-stick skillet or a griddle over medium heat. Add a few drops of oil and spread it over the bottom of the pan. Using a ¼ cup measure, pour the pancake batter onto the hot griddle. When the pancakes are golden brown, after about 2-3 minutes, flip to cook the other side another 2-3 minutes. Keep warm in oven heated to 200 degrees.

Filed Under: breakfast, quick bread, whole grains

flatbreads with honey, sea salt, and thyme

10/12/2012 By bridget

On our very last day in Italy, almost exactly one year ago, we took it easy. One last order of “due cappuccini”, one last walking tour, one last cathedral, one last gelato, one last lunch. That lunch was one of many memorable meals on that trip. We ate on the street on a warm day. We ordered pecorino and honey to go with the ubiquitous bread. It was the first time I’d paired honey with cheese, and I was impressed at how well they went together.

It was all downhill from there. Two weeks of restaurant meals, dehydration, and poor sleep had caught up to Dave, and he wanted nothing more than a nap and proximity to a box of Kleenex. We ate dinner in the apartment – bread, cheese, sausage, a basket of cherry tomatoes I’d bought from a farmer’s market, a bottle of wine. Then we set our alarms for 4:30 the next morning and said our goodbyes to Italy.

I’ve been hooked on bread with cheese and honey since that day, and this might be the perfect way to combine the ingredients – just a thin crisp of bread topped with shavings of nutty cheese and generous spoonfuls of honey. The sea salt is absolutely necessary to balance all the sweet honey, and the crunch of the snowflake-sized flakes is a nice touch. It’s not the same as the first time I paired cheese with honey, but it isn’t bad. It isn’t bad at all.

One year ago: Chewy Brownies
Two years ago: Palmiers
Three years ago: Applesauce Snack Cake
Four years ago: Pain Ordinaire

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Flatbread with Honey, Thyme, and Sea Salt (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

I used a firm Gruyere, which was really delicious. Deb used a Mahon, which I’ve never even heard of and certainly can’t find where I live. Parmigiano-Reggiano would be great as well.

⅓ to ½ cup honey
1¾ cups (7.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ cup water
⅓ cup olive oil
¾ cup (1.5 ounces) grated gruyere cheese
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon

1. Place a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and heat the oven to 450 degrees. In a small saucepan, heat the honey over low heat.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; pour the water and oil into the well. Stir the liquids into the flour until a dough forms, then knead the dough about five times, until it forms a smooth ball.

3. Divide the dough into four equal portions. On a sheet of parchment paper, roll one portion into an oval approximately 12 inches long by 6 inches wide.

4. Transfer the parchment paper with the dough to the heated baking stone. Bake for 5 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove the dough from the oven and evenly distribute a quarter of the grated cheese over the surface. Return the dough to the oven until it’s browned at the edges, 3-4 additional minutes. Immediately drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of honey over the surface of the bread, then sprinkle with a quarter of the thyme and a generous pinch of sea salt. Cut the bread into pieces; serve warm. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough.

Filed Under: appetizers, bread, cheese, favorites, quick bread

goat cheese scallion muffins

05/08/2012 By bridget

Goat cheese scallion muffins don’t sound very similar to garlic cheddar biscuits, and yet when Dave said these reminded him of Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay biscuits, I agreed. They have some things in common – there’s cheese and aromatics in both, but goat cheese and cheddar are very different beasts. Besides, who would think that a muffin and a biscuit would have such similar textures?

It’s probably because I mixed the batter like I would a biscuit, by cutting the goat cheese into the dry ingredients before stirring in the liquids. The original recipe might have been more muffin-like, with a layer of goat cheese baked between dollops of dough, but I wanted bits of goat cheese spread evenly throughout the muffin. I also used buttermilk instead of milk, counting on the former’s sour tang to add the “zing” that many reviewers complained was missing from muffins made with the original recipe.

I must have done something right, because these had plenty of flavor; the goat cheese stood out nicely. It’s hard to say if they live up to the legacy of Red Lobster’s deservedly popular biscuits, but as irresistible as those are, they have one thing those don’t – goat cheese. And plenty of zing.

One year ago: Double/Triple Chocolate Cookies
Two years ago: Orange Oatmeal Currant Cookies
Three years ago: Burnt Sugar Ice Cream
Four years ago: Strawberry Cheesecake

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Goat Cheese Scallion Muffins (adapted from Gourmet via epicurious)

Makes 12 muffins

1½ cups (7.2 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
4 scallions, minced
1 egg
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup buttermilk
4 ounces goat cheese

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray the bottoms of a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, baking soda, and scallions. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, butter, and buttermilk.

2. Using a pastry blender, cut the goat cheese into the flour mixture until the largest cheese pieces are about pea-sized. Add the liquid ingredients; use a rubber spatula to stir until just combined.

3. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean, 18-22 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes, then use a thin-bladed knife to remove the muffins from the pan. Serve warm.

Filed Under: bread, cheese, quick bread, vegetables

double coconut muffins

03/27/2012 By bridget

A friend of mine recently became, as she calls it, a “part-time vegan”, which I take to mean that she avoids eggs and dairy when she’s in charge of what she eats but will eat them if someone else prepares food for her. This started me on search for vegan cookie recipes. Most of what I found called for Earth Balance, but all I could find in my town was a whipped version for spreading, which I didn’t think would take well to baking. Instead, I bought coconut oil.

And then I got busy with other baking projects and set that one aside. That’s where it still sits – “aside.” But unlike my plans to make vegan cookies, the coconut oil is no longer forgotten. And maybe this is a better introduction to a new ingredient – using it with similar flavors.

In these muffins, the coconut oil is combined with shredded coconut to make an intensely, but not overwhelmingly, coconut muffin. In fact, I found that the tanginess of the Greek yogurt was at least an equal player. It was a nice combination with the tropical coconut.

The texture was spot on as well – tender and moist, like the best muffins are. I suppose that makes sense, since these are slightly higher in fat than many muffins. But it’s vegan fat, and that has to be better than butter. I still have half a cup of coconut oil in the fridge, and while I probably should make my friend some cookies, I’m tempted just to make more muffins.

One year ago: Citrus Sunshine Currant Muffins
Two years ago: Honey Ginger Pork Tenderloin
Three years ago: French Yogurt Cake
Four years ago: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

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Double Coconut Muffins (rewritten but not changed from Smitten Kitchen)

Makes 10 muffins

8 tablespoons (½ cup; 4 ounces) virgin coconut oil
¾ cup (3.6 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ cup (2.4 ounces) whole wheat flour
¾ cup (3.25 ounces) sweetened shredded coconut, divided
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup (8 ounces) Greek-style yogurt, room temperature
⅓ cup (2.33 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray 10 muffin cups with nonstick spray or line them with paper liners. In a small saucepan, warm the coconut oil just until it melts; don’t heat it until it’s hot.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, ½ cup shredded coconut, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, coconut oil, yogurt, and vanilla. Add the coconut oil mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

3. Divide the batter among the 10 prepared muffin cups. Top each muffin with about a teaspoon of the remaining shredded coconut. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack; cool 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan. Serve warm.

Filed Under: bread, fruit, quick bread, whole grains

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double coconut muffins

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