streusel apple coffee cake

i baked this a few nights ago for a company xmas party. we were about to watch black swan and i wanted to bake it before we did because i didn't have any time to bake it before the party. i used a ton of grease on the pan and then floured it because i didn't want the cake to stick. well that did really work. when it was done i follow the directions to pop it out and the bottom half disconnected from the top where the streusel is. so i just left it in the tube pan and said fuck it, it still tastes good. how can u go wrong with a ton of streusel? i really need to work on my presentation for baked goods. anyways, i took it to this party and most people chose to eat individually packaged cobblers and cookies because they didn't want to cut into this messy cake. oh wells, more for me.

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

16 ounces plain low-fat yogurt

2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and finely diced

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.

To make streusel: In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, 3/4 cup flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork until crumbly. Stir in walnuts.

In a medium bowl, stir together 3 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Then stir in the vanilla and yogurt. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until blended.

Pour 3 cups of the batter into the Bundt pan, sprinkle with 1/4 of the streusel, and layer with apples. Sprinkle with 1/2 the remaining streusel. Pour in the remaining batter, and top with the remaining 1/4 streusel. Lightly pat the top layer of streusel so it sticks to the cake batter.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Place cookie sheet over pan and carefully invert both. Remove Bundt pan, and let the cake cool completely.

split pea and ham soup

i made a huge pot of split pea and ham soup. we had all this leftover ham and ham hock from thanksgiving that we froze so i used that. i got the recipe from the ultimate soup bible by anne sheasby. that cookbook is great for people that love making soup. i basically doubled the split pea and ham soup recipe, but i added some of my own touches. i also put the ham in before i blended the soup instead of after. i wish i waited, but i already had the ham in there. the soup had the nice smoky flavor from the ham and bacon. in the end i topped the soup with some sour cream, a little soup garnish that gillian showed me. it's only because we're obsessed with sour cream, her more than i because i think she opens a carton of sour cream and eats it with a spoon. anyways, i like the way the soup came out for my first time making split pea soup. i'm happy i have a lot of leftovers and i realized i have got to make soup more often.

vanilla pudding cupcakes

i didn't know what to bake for a company christmas party, so i asked the kid i'm working with and he suggested cupcakes. i usually don't bake vanilla cupcakes so i decided to try these. they were very flavorful vanilla cupcakes even without the vanilla bean. they cake itself taste pretty buttery even though there is no butter in them.

vanilla bean cupcakes

32-36 cupcake papers

3 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla pudding mix

1 3/4 cups plus

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups canola or vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoons vinegar

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup warm water

Seeds from half a vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange paper cups in muffin tins. Sift flour, baking soda, salt and pudding mix into large bowl. Using an electric mixer on low, mix sugar, oil and buttermilk until blended. Add lightly beaten eggs, vinegar, vanilla and water and blend. Gradually add dry ingredients. Scrape the seed from the vanilla bean into batter and mix until just blended.

Spoon batter into tins, about 3/4 full. Bake cupcakes, 1 sheet at a time, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-23 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to racks and cool before frosting.

Vanilla Bean Frosting

8 Tablespoons (one stick) softened butter

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 pound (3 3/4 cups) confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 pinches salt

Seeds from half a vanilla bean

In a small bowl, combine butter and whipping cream. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the butter. Beat until smooth. Beat in sugar 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Finally, beat in vanilla extract. If frosting is too soft to work with, refrigerate 10 minutes.

(i also added some vanilla pudding mix into the frosting)

peanut butter nutella oatmeal cookies

this is not a pile of cow pie, this is a stack of cookies on a plate. my cell phone camera kind of sucks. for the record, these cookies were yummy. well, except that i burned the bottoms a bit. i used a greased cookie sheet when i shouldn't have. oh well, now i know not to do that same next time. nutella, i love u so! i might make then into sandwich cookies with nutella in the middle.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy and loved the added texture it gave!)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

3 spoonfuls of nutella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mix butter, sugars and peanut butter. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add into flour mixture and stir. Slowly stir nutella into the mixture.

2. Place batter in spoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool shortly before serving

upside down apricot tart

i've been wanting to bake this tart for a while, but with thanksgiving and all the leftovers i've just been up to my eyelids in food. i'm not complaining. i loved every second of it, every one of the five thanksgiving dinners i was invited to in a week and a half span. i'm very thankful for thanksgiving. anyways, i cooked tacos for a late lunch/early dinner today, and this upside down apricot tart. it's very yummy. it reminds me of a mix between a thin upside down cake and a cobbler.

3½oz butter

12 apricots, halved and pitted, or 2lb 4oz tinned apricots in juice

3oz soft light-brown sugar

1 tsp natural vanilla extract

4½oz plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4oz sugar

40z soured cream

crème fraîche or whipped cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Cut 75g (2¾oz) of the butter into small pieces and set aside. If you are using tinned apricots, drain them well and pat dry with kitchen paper.

In a 24cm (9½in) ovenproof frying-pan, melt the rest of the butter with the brown sugar and vanilla. Cook for one minute, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and arrange the apricots, cut-side down, in the pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together into a bowl and stir in the caster sugar. Add the butter pieces and rub in with the fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the soured cream, stirring to combine. Spoon the mixture over the apricots and bake for 30 minutes until golden.

Remove the tart from the oven and immediately invert it carefully on to a serving platter. Cut into slices and serve topped with a dollop of crème fraîche or whipped cream.

now that i'm looking through this recipe, i realized i forgot to put the 4 oz of sugar in the flour mixture. i didn't even notice by the taste of it because it still taste sweet from the carmelized brown sugar on the apricots. there is also a whole stick of butter in this tart and it taste so good.

also i apologize for my constant horrible photos because i only have a cell phone camera.

what to do with all that leftover sweet potatoes?

make sweet potato pie, estupido! i had sooooo much leftover sweet potatoes from my mom's thanksgiving dinner. i have a like/hate relationship with sweet potatoes. i mostly hate them. i think it's the flavor with the potato consistency. i like them mashed with marshmallows on top. i don't mind thin cut sweet potato fries. i do like them in pie. so i took all the sweet potatoes my mom left, she cooks them in this sweet yummy syrupy sauce, threw 'em in a blender and threw some other shit in there to make it into a pie. came out bangin'. nice, creamy and sweet.

i also took all the leftover heavy cream that i used to make fresh whipped cream and for adding to coffee and churned some butter (it takes less than 10 minutes). i started doin this a while back because it's such a waste when heavy cream goes bad. just take a mason jar, throw the cream and a lil bit of salt and shake it up until it turns into butter. after it turns, separate it from the leftover milk and throw it in the fridge so it can harden up a bit. they say to add a marble into the jar with the cream so it'll churn faster but i've never tried it that way.

sweet potato pie

*2 cups mashed sweet potato

*2 tbsp butter, softened

*2 eggs, beaten

*1 cup sugar

*1 tbsp flour

*1/2 tsp salt

*1/2 cup buttermilk

*1/4 tsp baking soda

*1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix ingredients together in blender. Pour into 9" unbaked pie shell. Bake for 70 minutes.

*i only added 1/4 cup sugar instead of 1 cup because my leftover sweet potatoes were already sweetened.

oat and wheat waffles

i haven't been posting much on this blog lately, but it's not because i haven't been cooking. i've definitely been cooking a lot but i haven't been baking as much as i usually do.

my mom is in town this week visiting for a pre thanksgiving holiday. we're going to be cooking a lot this week and i'm gonna be sooooo full. today i baked a couple of chess pies for a thanksgiving potluck. i also made waffles this morning. i found a recipe for nut pancakes but i took that recipe, omitted the nuts and made the batter into waffles. i served them with maple syrup, my homemade buttermilk syrup, and raspberry syrup. YUMS! i made whole wheat buttermilk waffles a couple of weeks ago and those were fluffier but i think i enjoyed these more.

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Grind the oats in a blender or food processor until fine. In a large bowl, combine ground oats, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, oil, egg, and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix wet ingredients into dry with a few swift strokes. Stir in nuts, if desired.

griddle into pancakes or use a waffle iron.

"tucumcari tea" cupcakes

i feel like i haven't been baking lately even though i've been baking a ton for the farmers market. really i haven't been baking any new recipes so that makes me feel like i haven't been baking. i like trying new recipes more than anything. today i found a recipe for kahlua cupcakes. i haven't made cupcakes in a long time and anything with booze catches my eye. i decided to replace the kahlua with vodka because that's what i have. it's kind of an homage to an alcoholic beverage created by a tucumcari resident they named tucumcari tea. basically it's coffee infused vodka. i really liked the end result which was a chocolate coffee flavor with a kick of vodka. i put a lil too much coffee and vodka in the frosting so it was more like an icing than frosting and that's why it looks like my cupcakes are swimming in the photo but whatever it still taste good. oh i also cut this recipe in half cuz i only wanted a dozen cupcakes, not two dozen. i only used 1 egg, and only about 1/4 cup vodka in the cupcakes.

3 eggs, separated

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup strong cold coffee

3/4 cup Kahlua

Kahlua Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites until frothy; then beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Sift flour, cocoa and baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture alternately with coffee and Kahlua; blend well. Fold egg whites into batter. Fill prepared cupcake cups to 2/3 full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from tins and cool on rack completely before frosting. Makes 2 dozen cupcakes.

Buttercream Frosting

6 Tbsp butter

4 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

4 Tbsp. Kahlua

2-3 Tbsp. hot coffee

In large bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar. Add cocoa powder, Kahlua and hot coffee. Beat until smooth. Frosts 2 dozen cupcakes.

buttermilk syrup and the farmers market

today i sold a bunch of baked goods at the farmers markt. i spent 6 hours last night baking and packing and pricing everything. this was my first time doing this and now i'm tired but it was worth it. i had to decied what i wanted to make and what would be sell well. i chose to make blueberry cornmeal loaf, apple cake, chunky applesauce, blueberry oat scones, cheese scones, pani popo, avocado corn muffins and buttermilk syrup. the buttermilk syrup went really fast and so did the avocado corn muffins, which surprised me. the cheese scones and apple sauce didn't do very well. it's hard to market the cheese scones because they're sweet. some people don't think sweet and cheese go good together unless it's in cheesecake, and this was chedder. i love those scones though. they're my favorite scones that i bake.

buttermilk syrup

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, buttermilk, butter, and baking soda. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 minutes*. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla.

*it took me longer than 7 minutes to get it to the thickness of a syrup i desired.

fast cinnamon buns

i've made rolls before but i've never made cinnamon rolls. these are considered fast because they contain no yeast so it cuts down on time with waiting for the dough to rise. it's not fast as in you just mix them up then through them in the oven. it takes about an hour to make these. i used sour cream instead of cottage cheese for the dough, and didn't add any pecans or cloves. i also added about 3 tbsp sour cream to the glaze because the glaze wasn't as thick as i wanted it to be.

For the dough:

3/4 cup cottage cheese

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. table salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

For the filling:

3/4 oz. (1-1/2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 cup (4 oz.) chopped pecans

For the glaze:

2-1/2 oz. (scant 2/3 cup) confectioners' sugar

2 to 3 Tbs. cold whole or low-fat milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

Make the dough:

In a food processor, combine the cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together (don’t overprocess). The dough will be soft and moist.

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with floured hands 4 or 5 times until smooth. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12x15-inch rectangle.

Make the filling:

Brush the dough with the melted butter, leaving a 1/2-inch border unbuttered around the edges. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered area of the dough and pat gently into the surface. Sprinkle the nuts over the sugar mixture.

Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal, and leave the ends open.

With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan; they should fill the pan and touch slightly, but don’t worry if there are small gaps.

Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 28 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a spatula around the inside edge of the pan and remove the springform ring. Transfer the rolls to a serving plate.

Make the glaze:

In a small bowl, mix the confectioners’ sugar, 2 Tbs. milk, and vanilla to make a smooth glaze. It should have a thick but pourable consistency, so add up to 1 Tbs. more milk if necessary. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls. Let stand 15 minutes and s

watermelon rosewater cocktail

i had a watermelon gillian gave me from the farmer's market. at first i didn't know what to do with it, but i knew it needed to involve booze. when i cut the melon in half it was orange in color. at first i thought it needed to mature more, but it actually taste just fine. i took half of the melon and scooped out the meat, then pour vodka on it. that was for a boozy snack. i took the other half of the melon, scooped out the meat, threw in 1 tbsp of sugar, mashed it and then strained it. i added about 2 cups of vodka, a bunch of tbsps of rosewater to taste and it was ready to drank! melinda's description of the cocktail was that it taste fresh and old. fresh because it was made from a fresh watermelon and old cuz it smells like an old lady's perfume.

blueberry bread

there i go making berry breads again...

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg, beaten

1 2/3 cups milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine beaten egg, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract; add to the well in dry ingredients. Stir just until batter is moistened.

Fold in lemon peel, blueberries, and chopped pecans. Spoon into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 60 to 75 minutes, until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the loaf. Cool blueberry bread in pan on a rack. For best flavor, wrap and store overnight.

pani popo

i have a bunch of cans of coconut milk and cream of coconut that i need to use in the next couple of months. i found this recipe and it was perfect because it's fast and simple. it's like having cinnamon rolls but with coconut milk instead. they didn't have good yeast rolls at my supermarket so i used 2 tubes of refrigerated rolls and they worked just fine. i guess that would make this recipe even easier because u don't have to wait for the rolls to rise. i do suggest you double up the amount of rolls this recipe calls for or half the amount of liquid because it would be way too much liquid otherwise.

1 (12 ounce) package frozen dinner rolls, thawed

1 (10 ounce) can coconut milk

3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup white sugar, or to taste

Directions

Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Coat your hands with cooking spray or shortening, and roll the dough balls in your hands so that they have a light coating. Place in the prepared dish. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled, up to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Pour this mixture over the top of the rolls as evenly as you can.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before separating and serving.

romanian apple cake

we went impromtu apple picking a couple of nights ago. so now we have a bunch of apples. i made apple sauce for porkchops. (i wish i could make tostones but sadly i live in a platano free zone.) i also made this romanian apple cake. since the cake recipe lacks frosting, gillian suggested we make cream cheese frosting. it was prefect because the cake reminded me of a carrot cake made with apples or a chewy oatmeal cookie. it's so yummy.

5 apples, peeled and cored

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Cut the apples into 1 inch wedges. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until blended. Mix in the baking soda, oil, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir in the flour, just until incorporated. Fold in the apples and walnuts.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly. May be served warm or at room temperature.

peach cornmeal upside down cake

this recipe is from martha stewart. that bitch is gangsta. my favorite ingredient to use in almost anything is cornmeal. this recipe caught my eye because i don't particularly like pineapple upside down cake but i do like peaches. also this recipe has a secret ingredient of lavender. i used way less lavender than this recipe called for cuz i thought it might be too overwhelming. i only used 1/2 teaspoon of dried lavender. it definately left a nice little flavor that when you first taste it you're like what the fuck is that? like you can't put your finger on what that flavor is in a peach cornmeal upside down cake. i also used canned peaches because the peaches at the only supermarket in town looked rotten. all of them.

5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 medium ripe peaches (about 1 1/4 pounds), skins on, pitted, and cut into 3/4-inch wedges

1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal or polenta

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons chopped fresh lavender, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, using a pastry brush to coat sides with butter as it melts. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar evenly over bottom of skillet, and cook until sugar starts to bubble and turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Arrange peaches in a circle at edge of skillet, on top of sugar. Arrange the remaining wedges in the center to fill. Reduce heat to low, and cook until juices are bubbling and peaches begin to soften, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, lavender, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat remaining stick of butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a mixer on high speed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Mix in vanilla and cream. Reduce speed to low, and beat in cornmeal mixture in 2 additions.

Drop large spoonfuls of batter over peaches, and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer skillet to a wire rack, and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around edge of cake. Quickly invert cake onto a cutting board. Tap bottom of skillet to release peaches, and carefully remove skillet. Reposition peach slices on top of cake. Let cool slightly before serving.

mixed berry muffins

i've been on a muffin trip lately. i can't stop baking muffins! maybe next thing i bake won't be muffins. we'll see what happens. these are just blueberry and strawberry muffins. usually mixed berry muffins also include blackberries and raspberries also but i didn't have any. i think it taste just fine without them. also, these muffins were very fluffy.

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 1/3 cups fresh berries (such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries or sliced strawberries, or a combinati)

Directions:

1Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Lightly butter twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups or place paper muffin cups in the muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine and make a well in the center. In another medium bowl, whisk the milk, oil and eggs. Mix well and pour into the well. Stir just until blended. Fold in the berries. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about three-fourths full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and serve warm or cool on a wire rack.

bacon cheese muffins

because who doesn't like bacon, cheese or muffins?

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

2 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In a another bowl, beat the egg, milk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

strawberry spice loaf

i've been wanting to bake this loaf for a while but everytime i made a loaf lately i've made the blueberry cornmeal loaf. beside people wanting to try that loaf cuz it wont the best of show, i also usually always have the ingredients in my house so that makes it much easier. the good thing about this strawberry loaf was that it was so moist and had a great flavor to it because of the cinnamon and nutmeg. it also stayed warm for pretty much the whole evening. i had to leave it to bake for about 20 minutes longer than the recipe suggests, but if u do decided to bake it, follow the time in the recipe and then add more minutes of baking time if needed. u don't want to burn it!

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries, thawed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine oil and eggs. Add strawberries (juice and all) to oil/egg mixture. Mix thoroughly. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the strawberry mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool slightly before removing from pans.

avocado corn muffins

i love avocado and i love corn muffins so of course if i find a recipe for avocado corn muffins i'm gonna wanna bake some. these corn muffins are a bright green color and they definitely confuse people (are they lime? is it food coloring?). personally, i didn't taste much of an avocado flavor but it is really fun to make bright green corn muffins. also the avocado takes the place of using vegetable oil or butter, so if u have avocado and need corn muffins minus oil or butter, this is a great recipe.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 large avocado

The how-to:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl mix flour, cornmeal, sugar baking powder and salt.

Cut and seed avocado. With a fork mash it very well in a separate bowl

Mix eggs into the flour, one at a time. Add milk and avocado. Mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Grease muffin pan and pour mixture into them. It yields about 10-12 muffins.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops start to turn golden brown.

jam crumb cake

I wanted to make a crumb cake for dessert. it was either this recipe or a recipe that was basically all crumbs with a tiny layer of cake. that one used 6 sticks of butter for just the crumb part of the cake! i had all the ingredients for the jame crumb cake, so i made that. i used strawberry preserves instead of raspberry.

For cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

1 large egg

1/2 cup raspberry jam or preserves

For crumb topping

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

preparation

Make cake:

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Generously butter a 9-inch square or round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Whisk together butter, milk, and egg in a large bowl, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into cake pan. Dollop jam all over surface, then swirl into batter with spoon.

Make crumb topping:

Whisk together butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Stir in flour, then blend with your fingertips until incorporated. Sprinkle crumbs in large clumps over top of cake.

Bake cake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides begin to pull away from pan, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.

dark chocolate tahini pops

i was looking for a recipe so i could finally use my popsicle molds before the summer is over. of course instead of finding a normal popsicle flavor, i found this following recipe. i've been putting tahini on everything lately so why not put it in my popsicle? i also looooove dark chocolate and try to use it as much as possible. and who doesn't love yogurt? mm. the only thing i cut out of the recipe was dates only because it was the only ingredient i didn't have in my house at the time. also i used american and not greek yogurt for the same reason. there will always be next time. altogether, the dark chocolate tahini pops are a thumbs up.

1 1/2 cups full-fat Greek yogurt

1 cup whole milk

8 large pitted dates

2 tablespoons tahini paste

3 tablespoons honey

3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

1. Place the yogurt, milk, dates, tahini and honey in a blender. Blend until smooth. Sprinkle in the chocolate, cover and pulse briefly to crush the chocolate and incorporate the chunks into the mixture.

2. Divide the mixture evenly among the pop molds, pouring so that you leave about one-half inch of headroom at the top. Once they are filled, tap the molds gently against the counter, allowing the liquid to settle evenly into the molds and dislodging any air bubbles that may have formed. Cover the molds and fit with a popsicle stick, if necessary. Freeze the molds until completely firm, at least 5 hours. For easy unmolding, run the frozen pops under warm water for 10 to 15 seconds before removing them.

congo bars

i haven't done much today. what i did do is spend hours doing research on useless (or useful depending on who u ask) information. then we had people over my house so i baked these congo bars (don't know why they're called that). they're basically blondies. i couldn't tell u if there were a difference between the two.

1 lb. dark brown sugar (2.5 cups)

3/4 c. (1 1/2 stick) butter, melted

3 eggs

2 2/3 c. flour

1/3 c. milk

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

12 oz. chocolate chips

In bowl mix together brown sugar and melted butter. Add eggs, flour, milk, baking powder, and vanilla. Blend until smooth with electric mixer. Add chocolate chips. Pour batter into well greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cut into squares.

skinny omelette

ryan's supposedly on a diet, or at least he's trying to eat a bit healthier. i found this recipe a while ago but never tried it. it seemed like a healthy but filling breakfast idea. i didn't have most of the ingredients but i figured i'd come up with a new recipe with the same concept. i thought the idea of thin crepe-like omelettes was great and you can pretty much change the filling around. i used mixed greens, swiss cheese and a sofrito mayonnaise i whipped up. ryan put some bacon in his. we'll probably try a blt skinny omelette next time.

2 large (preferably organic) eggs

a tiny pinch of fine grain sea salt

a few tablespoons of chopped chives

a dollop of pesto

a bit of goat cheese or feta

a small handful of mixed salad greens

Use a fork to beat the eggs and salt in a small bowl. Beat well, until the eggs are mostly uniform in color - they seem to run around the pan more evenly when there aren't huge patches of yolk vs. whites.

In your largest non-stick skillet over medium heat (this is one of the few occasions I actually use non-stick) pour the egg mixture and give it a good swirl so that they spread out thinly across the entire pan. Alternately, you can use a crepe pan or crepe maker - this works beautifully as well. Sprinkle the eggs with some of the chives and let them set, this happens quickly depending on the heat of your pan - 15 seconds to one minute. Run a spatula underneath the omelette and slide it out of the pan (flat) onto a countertop, large cutting board or Silpat-line cookie sheet. Do this with confidence (or practice). Spread the pesto across the surface of the omelette (if you have a thick pesto, thin it a bit with water to make it easily spreadable), and then sprinkle with the cheese and salad greens. Starting with one end, roll the omelette away from you. Cut in half on a deep diagonal. Season with a bit more salt if needed and serve garnished with a few chopped chives.

apple crumble pie take 2

gillian had a bunch of apples and a pie crust she wanted to use so we made this http://whatdidicooktoday.blogspot.com/2009/12/apple-crumble-pie.html. it was nice to bake a pie with someone else because we all worked together. it's a pain in the ass rolling out pie crust and peeling, coring and cutting apples but we did it together and it worked out well. except for when i stabbed the palm of my hand, but there wasn't much bleeding. also because we were using just picked apples we found a worm crawling around the table. u gotta roll with the punches. the pie came out better than the first time i made it and it was really good then!

blueberry cornmeal loaf best of show at quay county fair!

the day we were heading to albuquerque with black cobra was the same day as the deadline of the baked goods contest at the quay county fair. i decided it might be fun to submit a recipe and see what happens. i have never entered anything into a county fair so it was all a new experience to me. since my elvis cupcakes didn't seem to make an impact at the quay county winter craft fair, i wanted to see if i could submit a recipe that would win this county over.

i decided to make http://whatdidicooktoday.blogspot.com/2009/12/blueberry-cornmeal-loaf-cake.html because i think this loaf is da shit. so i whipped the recipe together, dropped it off at the county fair, then we climbed halfway up tucumcari mountain, drove to albuquerque for the black cobra show and while we were there gillian called to tell me i had won best of show for baked goods at the quay county fair! i thought that was hilarious because i decided to whip up the loaf and submit it at the last minute. i was saying how funny it would be if i won best of show and it is funny that actually happened! what what!

blueberry oatmeal scones

i'm back! finally! i'm home. i did what i like to call the jackee and ryan US tour 2010. we went back east stopping off in memphis, louisville, pittsburgh, new jersey, new york, texas and various other spots before heading back to new mexico. and yes i ate a lot of good food. that's all that really matters.

now that i'm back i'd like to update my website just for gillian, who is probably the only person that reads this blog anyway. i made a huge bactch of baked ziti and blueberry oatmeal scones for our friends black cobra who were passing through on tour and crashed at our house. these blueberry oatmeal scones worried me at first because the batter seemed to moist for scones especially with the juicy blueberries. i opened the oven to check on them and it looked like all the scones melted into each other. in the end, the more they were in the oven the more some of the juices evaporated and they turned out to be perfect, although mishapen, scones.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup white sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons butter, cubed

3/4 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries, thawed

1/2 cup pecans

2 tablespoons milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Stir the oatmeal, flours, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter or two forks and cut in the butter with the flour mixture until crumbly and well blended. Stir the milk into the flour mixture until just combined. Lightly stir in the pecans and blueberries. Collect the dough into a ball and pat into a large circle about 1 inch high. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with 2 tablespoons milk.

Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.

peach oatmeal crisp

i don't know what possessed me to turn my oven on in this heat but i did. i bake this peach oatmeal crisp and cornbread. the peach oatmeal crisp is nice to have around because all i crave is fruit in the summer. but damn it's hotter in this house now with the oven on. sonofabitch. well if u like peaches, oats, cobbler and have air conditioning instead of this god awful swamp cooler i have, i suggest u try to bake this. it's a really simple recipe.

peach oatmeal crisp

3 lbs. peach slices, thawed if frozen (i used two 29oz cans which equal almost 4 lbs but also more peaches mmm)

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine peaches, lemon juice, sugar, nutmeg, and half the cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Combine oats, remaining cinnamon, flour and sugar in another bowl. Mix thoroughly in a bowl or food processor. Add butter and cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over peach mixture. Bake 40 minutes until top is lightly browned. Serve with vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream.

chocolate cream pie

since it is hot as hell i wanted to make a no bake dessert. i found this easy chocolate cream pie recipe. it taste da bomb. i chose not to use cool whip and opted on fresh whipped cream via heavy cream, a lil sugar and a blender. i also used raw milk in this recipe. mmmm fresh cow juice. this dessert is perfect for a hot ass summer day.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups cold milk

2 packages (4-serving size each) Chocolate or Chocolate Fudge Instant Pudding

1 container (8 oz.) Whipped Topping, thawed

1 prepared chocolate cookie crumb crust or graham cracker crust, 9-inch

Preparation:

Pour cold milk into large mixing bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk until well mixed. (Mixture will be thick.) Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon into crust.

Refrigerate the pie for 4 hours or until set. Garnish with additional whipped topping and grated chocolate, if desired. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.

sweet berry dumplings

i found a recipe for strawberry drop dumplings. it's similar to a crumble or crisp or cobbler or you get the idea. i had some strawberries at home but not enough so i mixed some blueberries in it. the blueberries were so tiny. in the end it turned out to be tasty. the little blueberries attached themselves to the dumpling dough. it kind had a caviar consistency.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

1 pint (about 2 cups) strawberries, hulled and rinsed

1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation:

In a saucepan, combine 1/3 cup sugar and the water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, the 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture is crumbly. Add milk and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Place strawberries in a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish; pour hot sugar mixture over strawberries. Immediately drop dough evenly in 8 to 10 spoonfuls over strawberries. Sprinkle dumplings with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar (and a little cinnamon, if desired). Bake at 450° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until dumplings are lightly browned. Serve hot with whipped topping or ice cream, if desired.

Makes 4 to 5 servings.

old fashioned rice pudding

i made a breakfast rice pudding. i had found this recipe that doesn't include egg but it needed to be baked. i just cooked it on the stove top but i can see why it needed to be baked because the rice wasn't completely cooked. it was fine with me. it reminded me of the rice pudding i would buy at lizzette's bakery in sunset park when i was a kid.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raisins

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ground cinnamon

Directions

In a saucepan, combine milk, rice, sugar and salt if desired; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour into a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Add raisins and vanilla; cover and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired. Serve warm or chilled. Store in the refrigerator.

buttermilk pie

i made a buttermilk pie. i really love pie and i'm really interested in chess/buttermilk/custard pies. i wanna try them all and find the perfect recipes. the butter milk pie is very similar to a chess pie except it has flour instead of cornmeal.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

3 eggs, beaten

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

1 deep dish pie shell (either your own recipe or storebought)

Directions

1Preheat oven to 400°F.

2Beat the butter and sugar together until light.

3Add the eggs and beat; then beat in vanilla.

4Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the batter alternatively with the buttermilk; beat until smooth.

5Pour into a deep dish pie shell and bake at 400F for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350F and bake for 50-60 additional minutes.

6Pie should turn a nice golden brown and a knife inserted should come out clean.

amy sedaris' pound cake

last night gillian came over and had this idea to make pound cake with canned apricots that daniel's grandmother made from her own apricots tree and homemade whipped cream. we used a pound cake recipe from amy sedaris' cookbook 'i like you'. holy crap this was so excellent. i can't even describe how delicious this was. everything went together so perfectly. i could eat this dessert everyday. those apricots were awesome.

butter cookies

we had a lil fried food feast at my place. we made buffalo wings, potato chips and quesadillas. afterward i baked up some butter cookies. we were supposed to eat them with chocolate frozen yogurt i made but the frozen yogurt needs to stay frozen just a bit more. i still have enough dough for one more batch so maybe we'll have that for dessert tomorrow. butter cookies and raw milk will have to do and i'm not complaining mmmmm

Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup Butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 Egg

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Combine 1 cup butter, sugar and egg in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add orange juice and vanilla; mix well. Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.

Divide dough into thirds. Wrap each in plastic food wrap; flatten slightly. Refrigerate until firm (2 to 3 hours).

Heat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-third at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 3-inch cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets; sprinkle with decorator sugar. Bake for 6 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. yield 3 dozen