Peanut Butter Jam Bars

Inspired by The Food Networks 12 Days of Cookies, I decided to mix up my favorite peanut butter cookie dough and add the home-made strawberry jam from jelly doughnut night and bake it all in a pan to create delicious peanut butter jam bars.

Peanut Butter Jam Bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325F. Butter a 9X9 baking dish.

In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda and salt into the flour.

With a hand mixer or KitchenAid, beat the butter then gradually add both sugars until very well blended. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the peanut butter. Slowly add the flour mixture.

With damp fingers, press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the baking dish (if the dough is too sticky, put it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes). Spread the jam over the dough. Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the top of jam. It will bake for a longer time then cookies, about 25-30 minutes.

I didn't layer the dough and jam the best way, and used too large of a pan, so they should turn out even prettier baked the proper way.

Epicurious Red Velvet Cake

It seems like everyone loves red velvet cake, but for the longest time I didn't know why it was called red velvet cake and it turns out I wasn't the only one that wondered; what's in it that gives red velvet cake its distinctive flavor and color?

Red velvet cake is like a rich white cake with buttermilk and a little bit of unsweetened cocoa powder- that's how the cake gets its distinctive flavor. In the baking process, the alkali in the cocoa powder reacts with the acid (in the teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar), and turns the batter slightly red (like a light brownish/red tinge). So to really get it red, not one but two teaspoons of red food coloring are added to the batter. I definitely want to try making the recipe without any food coloring and see how the cake turns out.

I don't actually have a picture of the finished cupcakes with frosting and I even bought a new frosting piping tip so that the frosting comes out big and fluffy :( They got eaten at the party before I had the chance to find a camera.

Red Velvet Cake

Epicurious
Makes 2 layers of a 9-inch cake or 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

    •    2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (sifted, then measured; 9oz)
    •    2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (0.5oz)
    •    1 tsp baking powder
    •    1 tsp baking soda
    •    1/2 tsp salt
    •    1 cup buttermilk (8 oz)
    •    1 tbsp red food coloring
    •    1 tsp distilled white vinegar or lemon juice
    •    1 tsp vanilla extract
    •    1 1/2 cups sugar (10.5oz)
    •    1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (2oz)
    •    2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a two 9-inch-diameter cake pans or put paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.  Sift the sifted flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl.

Whisk buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in small bowl until blended.

Using electric mixer or Kitchenaid, beat sugar and butter until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Mix in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in three additions. * Always begin and end with the dry ingredients.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 27 minutes (Cupcakes baked for about 18 minutes)

Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (I used only about 2 cups)

Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in vanilla.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over top of cake. Top with second cake layer, flat side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. This cake can be made one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

The Miracle of Oil: Latkes and Jelly Doughnuts

For special occasions I stray from baking and write about other recipes, and in light of Hanukkah I have to pay tribute to my dad's wonderful latkes he made us every year on the first night of Hanukkah- A simple but delicious, full-proof recipe. You can make them for the any of the next seven nights of Hanukkah!

Dad's Latkes

 Serves 4

(The recipe says it serves eight, we had two guests and between the four of us they were gone, and so where all the jelly doughnuts, but it does make about eight latkes!)

Ingredients

• 4 medium baking or Russet potatoes
• 1 small onion
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp matzo meal (found in the kosher section of the grocery store)
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 6 tbsp oil for frying- you'll need to add more as you go

1. Peel potatoes and either grate withe a cheese grater or use the grating disc attachment of a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl and with your hands or a cheese cloth squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the grated potatoes

2. Grate onion and add to the potatoes

3. Add all other ingredients

4. In a heavy, 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Create a mound of potato and put it into the oil. Flatten mounds slightly with a spatula. Fry for 3-4 minutes or until dark golden brown on the bottom. Turn with spatula and fry until the other side reach the same color.

5. Drain on a paper towel lined plate and keep warm in a 200F oven until ready to serve

Serve with sour cream and applesauce

The Hanukkah holiday celebrates the rededication of the Jewish temple after the Greeks took violent control  during the reign of Alexander the Great. A short story of the Hanukkah story can be found at Judaism101.com

According to Joan Nathan's The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen, "the young State of Israel has created many of its own customs. One is serving jelly doughnuts at Hanukkah, which are fried in oil to symbolize the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days instead of one."

I also made Jelly Doughnuts with real strawberry jam and a recipe from Gourmet cookbook. I'm not totally wild about and will try Mark Israel's of The Doughnut Plant in NY, next!

Easy Strawberry Jam

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 3 cups hulled, mashed strawberries (about 2 small baskets)
• 2 cups sugar
• Juice of two small lemons

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220F (really important-If you don't heat it enough, the jam will not gel!) Transfer to a hot sterile jar, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch space at the top and seal. Since the jam will be eaten right away, refrigerate it. (You don't need to process it in a water bath first.) Follow this link for a yummy recipe and easy-to follow guide to make jelly doughnuts.

 

Though I am not religious, Hanukkah is a wonderful cultural tradition, reminder of my ancestors history, and a fun way to get friends together to enjoy delicious fried foods.

Corn Bread Stuffing and More

What happens when I get a four-day weekend with no plans but to bake, eat and be with family?- A lot of baking...
(Click the captions for recipes).

Cornbread stuffing

Corn Bread Stuffing

(I completely forget which magazine I found this in while at the gym!)

 Ingredients

• 7-8 Cups cornbread  diced 1/2" cubes 
• Use a southern corn bread recipe. Northern Corn bread is more cake like, while Southern corn bread is denser
• Usually stale cornbread is used, but I baked it the same day, then cut it into pieces for stuffing after it had cooled- it was great!

• 3/4 stick unsalted butter
• 1 yellow, 1 orange, 1 red bell pepper (diced)
• 1-1 1/2 onions (diced or minced) 
• 1 Cup chicken stock
• 6 fresh sage leaves
• 2 tbs minced marjoram or oregano
• 1 tsp pepper

Saute peppers and onion in  some of the butter. Combine with cornbread and the rest of the melted butter in a large oven-proof bowl. Bake 30-40 minutes at 350F.

Mom's breakfast

Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies, Dying For Chocolate blog

....and some very happy people.

Tartine Morning Bun Recipe

I got extremely ambitious last weekend, partly driven by the fact that it is not that easy to get your hands on the full Tartine Morning Bun recipe. But after some serious sleuth work, I got it (...I'm pretty sure...if anyone has the Tartine cookbook with the croissant recipe, please talk to me immediately so we can corroborate recipes). Finally, the uber buttery croissant dough and the sugar mixture, bursting with flavor. So my fine friends, here it is for you, all in one place!

For Tartine Morning Buns, start with two pounds croissant dough. Tartine's dough calls for a preferment (which I started Saturday night, before I went out and stuck it in the fridge until I got started in the morning...

Croissant Dough

(Tartine, discovered at The Way the Cookie Crumbles blog)
Instructions on croissant dough are my own, based from my instructions at Baking Arts

Equipment:

• KitchenAid with paddle attachment and hook attachment
• pastry cutter or pizza wheel
• rolling pin
• parchment paper
• plastic wrap (or cheese cloth)
• zester or microplane grater

Preferment

• ¾ cup non-fat milk (6 ounces/150 ml)
• 1 tbls active dry yeast (15ml)

• 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour (6¼ ounces/175g)

Dough (makes 2 lbs)

• 1 tbls + 1 tsp active dry yeast (20ml)
• 1¾ cup whole milk (14 ounces/425 m)
• 6 cups all-purpose flour (28 ounces/800g
• ⅓ cup sugar (2½ ounces/70g)
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt (20 ml)
1 tablespoons unsalted butter (15ml)

Roll-in butter:

• 2¾ cup unsalted butter (22 ounces/625 g)
• * 3 tbls floor (My addition)

To Make the Preferment:

In a small saucepan, warm the milk to take the chill off (between 80° to 90 °F). Pour the milk into a glass bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk, stir just to dissolve the yeast with a wooden spoon. Allow yeast to proof for a few minutes. Add the flour, mixing with a wooden spoon until a smooth batter forms. Cover the bowl with cheesecloth or loosely fitted plastic wrap and let the mixture rise until almost double in volume (2 to 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator).

To Make the Dough:

Measure out all your ingredients. Put the preferment into the mixer and the yeast. Mix with a dough hook on the lowest speed until the yeast is mixed into the preferment (less than 1 minute, stopping to scrap the sides of the bowl, as needed). When the mixture has come together into an even mass, increase the speed one notch. Slowly add half of the milk. Continue to mix until the milk is fully incorporated.
Reduce the speed and slowly add the: flour, sugar, salt, melted butter, and the rest of the milk. Mix until the dough loosely comes together (about 2 minutes). Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest (about 20 minutes).

On the lowest speed, mix until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 2 minutes). If the dough is too firm, add a milk 1 tablespoon at a time ( I needed to add 2 tablespoons to the dough pretty much immediately). DON’T OVER MIX- This dough will be worked and worked again as it is rolled out several times. Mix as little as possible to achieve a smooth-ish dough. Cover the bowl with a loosely fitted plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a cool place until the volume increase by half (about 1 ½ hours).

Before Rise

After Rise

Transfer the dough to floured parchment paper. Roll and shape into a square about an inch thick (I think about 14X14 inches). Wrap in plastic wrap on a sheet pan and place in fridge for 30-60 minutes.

To Make the Butter Patty

Work the flour into the cool butter on the lowest speed with a paddle attachment for 30 seconds. Scrap bowl and mix 30 more seconds. Do not aerate. Transfer to parchment paper and using the paper as a tool, quickly shape the butter into a square, the same thickness as the dough. Wrap in the parchment and chill for 30 minutes.

Assembly

If necessary, roll the dough out to the same size as before on a floured work surface as it may have shrunk a bit in the fridge. Place the chilled butter square diagonally on the dough and bring up the corners. (If the butter sticks, rip the paper off like a Band-aid). Pinch the dough firmly along the seams to seal in the butter completely.
* I had a bit too much dough so I trimmed off the edges and put the extra dough in the fridge for flat bread


The First "Double Turn"
Using your rolling pin, start tapping the dough down, starting at the center and working your way toward the left ad then the right to lengthen the square and soften the butter. Start rolling gently to about a 16 inch square, checking often to make sure the dough is not sticking and putting more flour down as necessary. Starting from the left or the right, fold the square in thirds like a business letter. Then fold into thirds again forming a square shape.  Tap down gently with your hands. Wrap and refrigerate(30 minutes or up to 2 hours) The ideal rolling temperature for this dough is 60F. * The dough gets put in fridge to relax the gluten.

The Second "Double Turn"
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. As before, tap the dough out and then gently roll to a 16 inch square, adding flour to prevent sticking. Fold in thirds like a business letter and then into thirds again. Wrap and refrigerate (30 minutes up to 2 hours, or overnight).  

* 1/2 of this dough will be used for the morning buns and the other half...for what ever you want! I rolled croissants, wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and freeze for up to two months.

Morning Bun Inside

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  1/2 cup white sugar
• Finely grated zest of 2 medium oranges
• 2 tbls ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, melted * You'll have a lot left over
• extra white sugar for coating muffin cups and for rolling finished buns

In a small bowl combine everything except the butter. Mixture will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or in the freezer for a month

Prepare a 12-muffin capacity muffin tin by generously brushing bottom and sides of each cup with melted butter. Put a teaspoon of sugar in each muffin cup and swirl around to evenly coat. Tap out excess sugar.

 

*Alright here's where my dough recipe doesn't quite add up because your supposed to role the dough to 6X18 inch rectangle that is 1/4-inch thick (This can easily be fixed by rolling it out the long way to 2 more inches long, though my dough was still thicker than 1/4 inch).

Roll out croissant dough into a 1/4-inch thick, 6X18 inch rectangle, with the long side facing you. Brush the dough with melted butter, and sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over the whole rectangle0 the sugar layer should be about 1/8-inch thick. You may have some mixture left over.

Before Rise

After Rise

To bake buns that are frozen: Prepare pan as above, let buns defrost in the prepared cups (this will depend on how warm your kitchen is,a bout 45 minutes), then continue with the next step.

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Let rolls rise in warm but not too hot place until they rise approximately 1 1/2 times their original size. Place muffing tin on a cookie sheet covered with parchment or foil to catch any drips while baking.

Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour or longer (mine took about 35 minutes!) When done, the tops should be well browned and the sugar melted. Remove pan from oven and immediately turn buns out into a cleaning baking sheet or work surface. Let the buns set for 5-10 minutes, then toss in a bowl with some sugar to coat

Buns are best eaten the day they are made. If eating the next day, heat them up first in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes before serving.