Lonely Banana Walnut Muffins

Poor brown-spotted banana sitting all alone in the big produce bowl in my kitchen. What can I do with such a sad little fellow? We always seem to leave a banana behind as everyone grabs for one a the peak of their favorite ripeness and then my family grows sick of that fruit and moves on to oranges, apples, or whatever graces the fruit bowl. For a time, I skinned and wrapped the leftovers and tossed them in the freezer in hopes of collecting them later and making a recipe. The only thing I ended up doing later on was throwing out freezer-burnt bags of mush of unknown vintage. So I had this one banana and I was hungry for breakfast so I made Lonely Banana Walnut Muffins.

Here is the recipe and it should be mixed by hand with a fork (no need for the heavy machinery here!). If you like whole wheat flour that will work fine. If you would rather use brown sugar-go ahead. No buttermilk-no problem use whole milk. Keep this recipe handy and honor the lonely banana!

Lonely Banana Muffins
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 very ripe banana
1/2 Stick butter
1 egg
1/4 cup butter milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
pinch of ground cinnamon

6 cup muffin tin and no-stick spray or a bit of butter to grease the pan

Melt butter in a two-cup measuring cup or a small bowl (measuring cup is great because you can use it to gather all the wet ingredients and pour into the dry later). In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon and stir with a fork. To the melted butter add buttermilk, egg, banana and mash the mixture together with a fork. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry and stir with (you guessed it) a fork. If there are little lumps and no flour showing when you finish mixing, you have done it right. Stir in the walnuts gently. Pour into muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until risen and nicely brown.

Hamentashen or Popentashen

My family loves Purim with the telling of an exciting story and the wearing of wild costumes.  How could anyone dislike a holiday that features theater, drinking wine, and eating delicious cookies called Hamentashen. Purim celebrates the ancient Jews of Persia’s victory over their enemies. The tale held in the book of Esther includes King Ahasuerus, Esther the brave woman who becomes queen but never forsakes her people, Esther’s cousin Mordecai,and a wicked man named Hamen (for whom the cookies are named).  Why, you might ask, would we name these tasty holiday treats for the bad guy?  Well, I’ll tell you-I don’t know.  Various stories I grew up with included that the cookies were named for Hamen’s three-cornered hat, they were named for his pockets that were filled with bribes, they were named to remember his evil deeds. So nu, they couldn’t have named them Esther’s Goodies or something a little more enticing?  Anyway who cares!  Our costumes are put together and the cookies are baked.  Instead of normal hamentashen, we made tiny little cookies (filled with our homemade jams) that you could pop in your mouth in one bite so we are calling them popentashen.  It is after all a holiday that is celebrated with pride and joy and a healthy dose of silliness. Happy Purim!

Tiny Hamentashen (Popentashen)
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon
several flavors of jam

In a stand mixer bowl or food processor, place the slightly softened butter cut into chunks and the powdered sugar
Mix until sugar is just blended in (it is OK if there are some lumps of butter)
Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix until the egg is incorporated into the butter
Add the flour and cinnamon to the bowl and mix until the large pieces of dough begin to come together (do not over mix!) the dough will be a bit ragged.
Scoop the dough onto a floured board and press the pieces together to form a smooth dough.
Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/4″.  If the dough is too sticky use a bit of flour or if it is too soft to roll you can wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
Using a small round cookie cutter or a cordial glass measuring about 1 1/2″ inches across, cut circles of dough.
Place a drop of jam in the middle of each circle
Press two edges of the circle together and then pull the remaining piece up and press together to form a triangle shape and a nice little pocket to hold the jam.
Cook at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the edges brown slightly
Cool (jam gets very hot in the over) and pop in your mouth!

 

 

Summer Corn Butter Biscuits

Much (OK all) of my kitchen time this summer has been spent happily making jam. Last week I developed a longing to bake again.  Perhaps it was the first cool breeze heralding the end of summer that was to blame for this desire but the oven went on and then I surveyed the pantry and fridge.  Pies and tarts came to mind but all the fruit I had was destined for jars.  My eyes fell on a stack of corn from the farmers market.  I snatched two small ears leaving plenty for dinner and shaved the kernels into a bowl.  I added the corn to one of my favorite drop biscuit recipes and reveled in the smell of warm butter pouring from the oven.  I broke one open as soon as they were baked and ate it hot at the kitchen counter.  Hmmm…maybe I should bake some plain biscuits too.  I do need something to go with all this jam.

Summer Corn Biscuits

1 stick butter
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup fresh corn kernels
1 Tbs snipped chives

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together flour and baking powder in a large bowl.  Cut in cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs using hand pastry blender, food processor or stand mixer. Do not over mix.  Stir in buttermilk until just combined. Stir in corn and chives gently.  Scoop out 12 lumps of dough onto an ungreased baking tray leaving an each between.  Bake until light brown and cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Snack Cakes

I love the references to snack cakes or “busy day” cakes in my 1940s and 1950s vintage cookbooks.  Even the busiest mistress of the house still needed to whip up a little something for her brood. Some fast food packaged muffin will never meet the daunting task of chasing away the horrible after-school hungries in this house.  In the spirit of the busy day cake, I  have made up my own favorite speedy snack recipes and the current favorite is Peanut Butter and Jelly Snack Cakes.  I bake them in a bar shaped muffin tin but standard muffin tin works fine too.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Snack Cakes
1 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
strawberry jam (home-made or store bought)

Melt butter and peanut butter together in microwave or small pan and then cool slightly
Stir in milk and eggs
In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder
Add butter mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine but do not over mix
Fill each muffin cup part way, add a teaspoon of jam, and then add remaining batter covering the jam.
Bake for about 15 minutes until risen and golden brown
Serve warm or cool, plain or topped with berry frosting (below)

Berry Frosting
3 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
2 teaspoons milk

Vanilla Mint Biscuits

Many times over the years I have seen the question posted on garden mailing lists or asked at horticulture lectures; “Is mint easy to grow?”  Veteran gardeners laugh at this and answer with some version of “easy to grow yes; easy to stop growing NO”.  There is a corner of my garden that I have named ”the land of ill-behaving plants”.  This is where I sequester the mints, lemon balm, oregano,  and others that hatch evil plans for garden world domination.   Here in their little corner of the world they can stretch out runners and roots and spread all they wish.  In the third year of this garden bed, I have sufficient mint to make Mojitos to sip on the patio for the entire summer and still have plenty for cooking , baking, and drying for winter.
This weekend I picked a bit of the tender mint tops, chopped them and tossed them into the vanilla biscuits recipe I use for strawberry shortcake.  I was a luscious combination and I can’t wait for the strawberry season to begin!
Here is the recipe and I would love to hear any other ideas you have for using my abundance of mint.

Vanilla Mint Drop Biscuits
1 cup flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely chopped fresh mint

Heat oven to 425 degrees
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder in a bowl
Mix melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla in a measuring cup or small bowl
Pour buttermilk mixture into flour mixture and stir to combine (do not over mix)
Gently stir in mint
Make six equal mounts of biscuit dough in a round ungreased cakepan and bake for 12-15 minutes until light golden on top and bottom of buscuits

Strawberry Stuffed Muffins

Considering that we are two months away from strawberry season in New England, I made some pretty darn delicious strawberry vanilla preserves from California berries.  Oh hush my fellow local food lovers!  This would not be something I would ever do when the farmers market and my garden are brimming with the scent of ripe berries but I needed to perfect a recipe for my canning class and pioneer spirited women must make do with what was available.    
Early Tuesday morning I did a baking sprint, preparing muffins, brownies, honey cornbread, and chocolate chip squares for a meeting where I was also presenting.  The way I viewed it, if my talk bored the folks, at least they would be able to munch on tasty treats to quell the ennui. 
I started making the simple buttery muffins that I fill with lemon curd but when I finished the batter I realized that I had run out of homemade curd (someone had eaten the last bit and I am afraid it might just have been me).  I spotted the strawberry jam waiting patiently to be enjoyed and I swept it from the fridge and spooned a bit into each muffin.  The results were splendid!
The meeting resulted in some excellent business conversations and leads and several requests for the recipe for my strawberry jam filled muffins.

Strawberry Stuffed Muffins
1 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
strawberry preserves

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease a 12 cup muffin tin or line with paper baking cups
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl
Mix eggs, milk, cooled melted butter together
Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients, mix until combined but do not over mix
Let batter stand for five minutes and then scoop into prepared muffin tin
Tuck about a teaspoon of strawberry preserves into each muffin
Bake for about 20 minutes until risen and light brown around edges
Serve warm or cool

Mad for Meringues

Sometimes I get on these cooking kicks; making one type of food over and over until my family cries for mercy.  I have made about a dozen batches of meringues in the last month and so far they are just shouting for more.  Sunshine-filled citrus mini cookies, mexican chocolate hearts filled with berries and cream,  mocha mounds, vanilla bean baby Pavlovas, and lemonade flavored ducks are a few of the variations of shapes and flavors I have tried.   

Fresh farm eggs have been flying from the farmers market to the mixer to the stove at lightning speed.  The whites staring in the meringue show and the yolks making appearances in such favorites as custard tarts, creme caramel, and a gigantic batch of lemon curd. 

There are many basic recipes for meringues out there but this one has worked well for me over many batches of quality assurance crunching.

Sunshine Meringues
4 egg whites (please use fresh local eggs at room temp)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon lemon & lime zest
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice or a mix of both
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Heat oven to 225 degrees
Cover two baking trays with parchment paper
Mix cornstarch and sugar
Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until fluffy soft peaks begin to form
Slowly add the sugar mixture to the eggs while continuing to beat briskly
Mix in the lemon juice and zest
Use a small cookie scoop to place mounds of meringue on the baking trays or fill a pastry bag and pipe out little dollops
Bake for an hour until crisp outside keeping the oven closed 
Shut off the oven but leave the oven light on and the door closed for three hours
The meringues are now ready to eat or store in a air-tight container

Cocktails and Cookies

One of the joys of the Twitter community are the group conversations that are held on many topics.  Some friends invited me to a Tweetchat about cocktails (hashtag #drinkup if you want to join in) and this particular chat was about the delights of rum.

Today started out with piles of snow keeping me indoors yet again;  this long cold winter becoming more tedious every day.  To ward off cabin fever, I decided to bake some cookies.  As I pondered my recipe choices,  last night’s murmurings about hot buttered rum and dark rum-infused island flavors came floating into my mind.  I grabbed a bottle of dark rum and some honey and since I longed for tropical breezes, I cut my cookies into little palm trees.  Here is the recipe for my Rum and Honey Shortbread in case you need it to warm up a snowy day. 

Rum and Honey Shortbread
2 cups flour
1 stick butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ground ginger

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Cream together slightly softened butter and sugar and honey and rum
Stir together flour and spices
Add flour to the butter mixture and mix to make a soft dough
Roll out dough on a floured board to 1/4 thickness
Cut cookies in desired shapes
Bake until edges are just barely browned

Sweet Season

Although my family celebrates Chanukkah, every year at this time my kitchen is filled with joy and piles of Christmas delights.  I bake holiday cookies and make candy for friends and business associates and always make some kind of crazy cake creation for Christmas dinner.  I will be posting more about my cake next week, but for today it is all about sweet ways to spread some holiday cheer. 

This year’s treats included apple cider and walnut brittle, cranberry and pepita caramel, breakfast bark (dark chocolate with raisin bran cereal, ground coffee, and drizzled white chocolate”milk”), peanut butter bark, chocolate treat cups, candy cane & cocoa swirl cookies, chocolate M&M trees, and my favorite, bacon & coffee piglets.  The recipe for these adorable cookies is below and they are as tasty as they are cute.

Bacon and Coffee Butter Cookies
2 1/4 cups flour
2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup crumbled crisp bacon
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon finely ground coffee beans
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cook bacon until crisp in the oven or a frying pan
Cool and crumble into small bits and set aside
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Cream softened butter and sugar
Add egg yolk and water
Blend until combined
Add flour, coffee, and cinnamon and mix until a ragged dough begins to form  
Stir in bacon and mix just until dough comes together in a ball
Gather dough together and wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour
Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out cookies with cookie cutters (such as the cute little pig shown)
Bake for about 12 minutes until edges are barely brown

Cranberry Raspberry Rugelach

Each year at Hanukkah when I was young,  I helped my Dad, who is a fantastic cook and baker, make hundreds of buttery spritz cookies and delicate flaky rugelach. Along with mandelbread, these are still my favorite cookies and over time the recipes have changed and become my own.  When I moved from New York to Boston years ago, I went crazy for Cape Cod cranberries and tried adding them in many recipes including my rugelach.   Everyone in my family loved them and now Cranberry Raspberry Rugelach are part of my holiday baking.  If we are not together to light the candles and enjoy Hanukkah, I make sure that I pack up a batch of cookies to send down to Miami for Mom and Dad. 

Cranberry Raspberry Rugelach
makes 4 dozen cookies

Dough
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sour cream (do not use light or low fat)

Filling
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam (homemade or store bought)
3/4 cup walnuts (finely chopped)

Sprinkle Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon
6 tablespoons melted butter

Equipment: food processor, rolling pin, pastry brush, pizza cutter wheel, parchment-lined heavy baking trays

 Making the Dough

1. Cut butter into the flour using a pastry blender or food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs
2. Mix egg yolk into sour cream
3. Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture and blend until it forms a ragged ball
4. Divide the dough into four even pieces and wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap
5. Chill for at least two hours

 Making the Filling

1. In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, raisins, orange juice, cinnamon stick and sugar
2. Cook until cranberries are popped and soft and juices have thickened (about 15 minutes)
3. Removed from heat and remove cinnamon stick
4. Add raspberry jam and process filling in a food processor to make a crumbly but spreadable mixture
5. Chill until ready to assemble cookies

 To Assemble Cookies

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Take one piece of dough and roll out to a 9” circle
3. Brush dough circle with melted butter
4. Gently spread  1/4 of the cranberry mixture onto the circle
5. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the nuts and a two teaspoons or the sugar/cinnamon mixture
6. Cut the circle into 12 even wedges with the pizza cutter or a knife as if cutting a pizza
7. Roll each cookie from the outside edge of the circle into a crescent shape
8. Place the cookies on baking trays
9. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on each cookie
10. Continue with remaining dough and filling
11. Bake for about 20 minutes until puffed and light golden brown

 Eat warm or room temperature.  These cookies also freeze very well.