Heidi Swanson's Baked Oatmeal

When I was a little girl, I remember cold, winter days at my grandmother's house. While she cooked, she'd set me up on a stool in front of the stove, then take one of her handmade quilts, warm it in front of a heater, and wrap it around me. I felt like a princess sitting high up on that stool with a soft, warm quilt pulled around me. She didn't know it then, but she set a standard for me about what real comfort means. I always hope that some of that comes out in my cooking.

This baked oatmeal dish is all about that kind of comfort. It comes from Heidi Swanson, of 101 Cookbooks fame. Swanson's beautiful blog is one of the first I started reading years ago. I have long admired the spare, clean, natural look of her photos. Her food is real, unprocessed and breathtaking. Swanson's recipes are vegetarian-based and have again and again introduced me to a flavorful world of unprocessed, nutrient-dense natural foods. Good for you really can taste good and look good.

Swanson's first book, Super Natural Cooking, is a favorite. So I was very excited this week to receive her just released second book, Super Natural Every Day. As soon as I cracked it open, I started marking pages with recipes to try:

• frittata with asparagus, goat cheese and potatoes
• summer squash soup with red Thai curry and coconut milk
• rice salad with spinach, basil, goat cheese, walnuts and cherry vinaigrette
• ravioli salad with olives, cilantro and pepitas (I've got to learn to make gluten free pasta!)
• yellow split peas with serranos, greens and parmesan
• kale salad with sesame and coconut
• chanterelle tacos
• boiled eggs seasoned with dukkah (an Egyptian spice blend)
• spinach chop with harissa, eggs, almonds and lemon
• roasted chickpeas
• quinoa patties
• sparkling panakam (an Indian beverage with ginger, cardamom and lime)

There are plenty of gluten-free recipes in this book and most of the rest could easily be adapted.



First up, I decided to try Swanson's baked oatmeal. In the version in her book, she makes it with berries, bananas, and walnuts. But she suggests you use this as a guide and switch out with whatever fruits and nuts you like. We just planted two little peach trees in our yard in the last couple of weeks. And boom, just days later, there are a couple of peaches dangling from the branches, soft and fuzzy, growing a little bigger each day. So I've had peaches on the brain. I know it's a little early for peaches. I'm dying to try this recipe with the fresh strawberries that are out now at the farmers market, with Confituras strawberry and vanilla jam drizzled on top. But the barometer has been bouncing up and down this week and triggering migraines for me, so that means no berries right now (a migraine trigger food). I'm hoping to try out that version soon. So with peaches on my mind, I decided to try it with defrosted frozen peaches and almonds.

First, I have to warn you that the smell of this cooking will turn your whole house into a comfort zone. This is the kind of smell real estate agents should have wafting from the oven of open houses. It will torture you while the oatmeal is baking.

Another ingredient note: Swanson's recipe calls for milk, but I used rice milk. If you're using almonds as your nut, almond milk would probably be great too. To keep it gluten-free, I used certified gluten-free rolled oats.

Swanson calls for an 8-inch square pan to bake the oatmeal. I used a deep dish pie pan instead. I think this made for a thicker layer and I had to cook it quite a bit longer to get the oats cooked all the way through in the center. Next time, I'd follow her suggestion or maybe make then in individual pans, which would make for quick reheating later for an express breakfast.

The smell of baking oats with vanilla, maple syrup, cinnamon, peaches and almonds will have you standing at the stove panting. And the dish lives up to the olfactory tease. It's light, fluffy, very flavorful and immensely comforting. I'm just glad I got some before my husband gets home starving from a morning playing ultimate (he plays ultimate frisbee).

As I mentioned, I want to try making this with fresh strawberries and Confituras strawberry vanilla jam drizzled on top, and a more fall-ish version with apples and pears with pecans.



Heidi Swanson's Baked Oatmeal

2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups rice milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 10-ounce packages of frozen peaches, defrosted, drained and cut into chunks
1/2 cup toasted, salted whole almonds, chopped

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Butter or oil and 8-inch baking dish. Spread the peaches evenly in the bottom of the pan and set aside.

Combine: oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together. Sprinkle over the peaches in the prepared pan. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine: maple syrup, rice milk, egg, half of the melted butter and vanilla. Whisk together completely. Slowly pour this over the oats and peaches in the pan. Shake or jiggle the pan gently to release any air bubbles.

Sprinkle the almonds on top.

Place the pan on a cookie sheet in the preheated oven. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, until the center is cooked through and fluffy. Let cool a bit, then drizzle with a bit more maple syrup and the rest of the melted butter to serve.

Serves 6 as a stand alone or double that as part of a larger breakfast buffet.

Recipe adapted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson. Check out more of Swanson's recipes on her blog, 101 Cookbooks.

P.S. My hubby got home just as I was finishing up this post. He came in, went straight to the stove, and still wearing his hat and backpack, stood at the stove gobbling this up by the spoonful. "Wow!" he responded when he came up for air.

Lara Ferroni's Basic Raised Doughnuts

Now for the recipe I promised you in the previous post, Lara Ferroni's Basic Raised Doughnuts from her new book, Doughnuts, Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home. These would make a decadent and delicious New Year's Day breakfast treat.

First, a few tips that Lara shared with me about making doughnuts:
• your eggs and milk should be room temperature
• don’t worry too much about measuring the flour, how much you use will depend on the day and the humidity
• Lara uses King Arthur bread flour and Jungle Shortening (at room temp)
• use a heating pad to rest the rising dough on for consistent heat
• if you need to, you can get away with punching down the dough and rerolling it once
• if the dough proofs in the oven, it gets too hard to handle and greasy
• doughnut oil should be 360-370 degrees F; Lara said, “I like 360, but a lot of people told me they need to go to 370 to brown the doughnuts.”
• if the proof mark line around the outside of the doughnuts is dark, that means your dough hasn't proofed enough or has overproofed
• when making the glaze: add your liquid a few drops at a time to make a paste, then work out the clumps with a whisk
• her recipes using day old doughnuts were cut from the book, so watch for her to post those on her site.

Lara Ferroni's Basic Raised Doughnuts
3 tablespoons (22 grams) active dry yeast, divided
1 cup whole milk, heat to 110 degrees F, divided
2 to 2 1/2 cups (320-400 grams) bread flour, divided
2 tablespoons (30 grams) superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
vegetable oil for frying

In a medium bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons of the yeast into 3/4 cup of the milk. Add 3/4 cup of the four and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover and let rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes. (Lara's tip: a heating pad is handy for even heat.)

Combine the remaining milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the rested flour mixture along with the sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix until smooth. Turn off the mixer and add 1/2 cup of the remaining flour. Mix on low for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until it becomes incorporated, about 30 seconds. Switch to a dough hook and add more flour, about 1/4 cup at a time with the mixer turned off, kneading the dough at medium speed between additions, until the dough pulls completely away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky. It will be very soft and moist, but not so sticky that you can't roll it out. You may have flour left over. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 12 hours).



Line a baking sheet with a lightly floured non-terry dish towel. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. With a doughnut or cookie cutter, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes.



Place the doughnuts on a baking sheet at least 1 inch apart and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm spot to proof until they almost double in size, 5 to 20 minutes, testing at 5-minute intervals. To test whether the dough is ready, touch lightly with a fingertip. if it springs back immediately, it needs more time. If it springs back slowly, it is ready. If it doesn't spring back at all, it has overproofed; you can punch it down and reroll it once.

While the doughnuts are proofing, heat a heavy-bottomed pot with at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fat thermometer registers 360 degrees F. With a metal spatula, carefully place the doughnuts in the oil. (Depending on the size of your pan, Lara recommended frying about 3 at a time.) Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a wire rack over a paper towel, and let cool slightly before glazing.

Makes 8 to 14 doughnuts



Lara Ferroni styling doughnut holes for a photo.

Basic Sugar Glaze

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted to remove any lumps
3 to 4 tablespoons milk or water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the sugar in a medium bowl and slowly stir in the milk (or water) and vanilla, a little at a time, to make a smooth, pourable glaze.


Chocolate Glaze

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons (27 grams) cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk or water
2 teaspoons vanilla

Sift together the sugar and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Slowly stir in the milk (or water) and vanilla, a little at a time, to make a smooth, pourable glaze.

Recipes by Lara Ferroni. Reprinted with permission of the author.
From the book Doughnuts, Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home.

Check out more of Lara Ferroni's gorgeous photos and tasty recipes on her web site. Thanks again, Lara, for sharing your expertise and the best doughnuts I've ever tasted!

Pumpkin Smoothie

I've been craving some of the flavors of fall — pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon, but wanted a healthy way to indulge. So instead of pie, I tried this pumpkin smoothie. It's satisfying and guilt free. And it makes a quick breakfast or snack to keep you going through the grocery shopping, prep and cooking for the big feast tomorrow.

I've made it with plain canned pumpkin and then added spices and some agave for sweetness and I've also tried it with canned pumpkin pie filling for a quicker version. That one already has the spices and sweetener added, so it's a little quicker. But I prefer to use the plain pumpkin and add my own level of sweetness and spice. Add as much or as little of whichever spices you like. You could also sub milk or rice milk for the almond milk I used, but I like the little bit of almond in it. A banana adds creaminess. And I've tried this with a little almond butter, which has a more pronounced flavor, or silken soft tofu, to add some protein. Experiment with it and make it how you like. I like it icy cold, so add ice at the end, or refrigerate the pumpkin, tofu and almond milk before blending.

I haven't tried this yet, but it would probably also freeze into popsicle molds for tasty frozen treats. Since temps are still in the upper 80s here, that's sounding pretty good about now. Bring on the cold fronts!

Happy Turkey Day! (Links below to some Thanksgiving feast favorites.)

Pumpkin Smoothie

1 cup canned pumpkin purée
1/4 - 1/2 cup silken soft tofu
1/2 banana
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1 - 2 tablespoons agave
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
12 grates of fresh nutmeg
pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender and whiz until well combined. If desired, add ice and blend again until smooth.

Makes one large or two small servings.


More Thanksgiving recipes:
Pecan pie
Pecan pie bars
Stuffed squash
Roasted carrots and parsnips with sage
Roasted butternut squash with cinnamon chipotle butter

And for the day after... this soup would also work very well with leftover turkey:
Smoked chicken, mushroom and wild rice soup

Raspberry Oat Bars

During our visit to Seattle, we didn't make it to all the places on our list that we wanted to eat. But one place we did get to try several times was Macrina Bakery. With three locations around town, Macrina is a Seattle favorite for brunch, lunch and baked treats. Everything we tried there hooked us from the first bite. If we lived in Seattle, we'd be regulars.

When we got home, I wanted to try some more of Macrina's treats, so I picked up their cookbook, Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook. It includes a wide range of their recipes from breads and muffins to pastries, cakes, pies, cookies, and brunch items. The newest edition has an additional chapter on their most-requested recipes.



The recipe I wanted to try first is an easy one, they call them fruit and oat bars. You layer a sweet almond dough in the bottom of your baking pan and bake it. Then top with raspberry preserves in the center and an oat crumble sprinkled on top. They make for a beautiful dessert, snack or even an indulgent breakfast treat.

These will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. You could probably make them with a little less sugar in the crumble topping if you want them a less sweet. I love that they are rustic and very comforting. The raspberries have a tartness that balances well with the almond dough. They would make a beautiful holiday treat too.

Note: I reduced the almond extract a bit. The first time out it was a little strong for my taste. (The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon. Make it as you like.) Don't be intimidated by having to make the almond dough separately. It's easy and it's worth it. It makes for a flavorful base.


Macrina's Raspberry Oat Bars

sweet almond dough:
1/4 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted


Toast the almonds on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until they start to turn golden. Let them cool completely.

Grind the almonds in a food processor (mini-processor works great here) until finely ground. I did this in pulses. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the ground almonds and place in a mixing bowl. If you have any left over, save it to sprinkle over your oatmeal.

To the almonds, add sugar and flour and stir together.

In another small bowl, stir melted butter and vanilla and almond extracts. Pour this into the bowl with the almond mixture and stir together until a crumbly dough is formed. You want the dough to stick together when you press it between your fingers.

If you want to do this step ahead, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

If you're ready to go now, get out your tart pan. The recipes calls for a 13x9x2 inch pan. I used two smaller tart pans because I wanted the fluted edge they provided. This made for a little thicker crust on the bottom, which I liked. It made the bars easier to handle when cut. Use what you have. To do it all in one pan, I will probably use my 9 1/2 inch square brownie pan next time.

Press the dough into the pan using your fingertips. At room temperature, it will spread out easily. Just be sure to press it firmly into the corners and about 3/4 inch up the sides. When the dough is evenly pressed into the pan, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Remove the chilled crust from the fridge and line it with parchment paper. Fill the bottom with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for about 25 minutes until the edges start to turn golden brown. Remove the parchment and weights and put it back in the oven to bake for 3-5 more minutes until the bottom is no longer moist. Let cool.

This is a good time to make the oat crumble topping.

For crumble topping and bars:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1 to 1 1/4 cups brown sugar (depending on how sweet you'd like it)
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 cups raspberry preserves

Cut the butter into 1/4-inch pieces. Place them in a food processor with the sugar, flour and oats. Pulse the processor for 2-3 seconds at a time until the mixture turns into a clumpy and crumbly dough. Set aside for a moment.

Spread the preserves evenly over the cooled almond dough.

Sprinkle the oat crumble over the top of the preserve layer.

Bake for about 30 minutes. To get a nice golden brown on top, I turned the broiler on for just a moment before removing these from the oven. Be sure to stay with them if you want to do this so you can pull them out at the right moment.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into bars. You can cut these into squares or rectangles depending on your preference. I liked the way they looked in long strips. How many bars you get depends on how you cut them. But these are big on flavor, so small servings are fine.

Adapted from Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook.

Favorite Austin Breakfasts

The SXSW music, film, and interactive festival begins today in Austin. This music industry extravaganza brought 150,000 people to Austin last year for showcases in clubs and venues all over town. The bands play until the early morning hours. There are also workshops, movie premieres and awards shows.

Whether you're powering up for the day ahead or having a bite before hitting the sack, there are some good breakfast comfort food meals to be had in Austin. I thought this would be a good time to share a couple of my favorites.

First up, the king of breakfast eateries, Kerbey Lane. There are multiple locations around town, but the South Lamar restaurant is the one that is the most quintessentially Austin and the closest for SXSWers.


Eggs Francisco

My favorite breakfast dish at Kerbey is Eggs Francisco. They toast an English muffin and top it with eggs, avocado, tomatoes and bacon, and then drench the whole thing in queso. With a little salsa on the side, it's decadent and the ultimate in comfort food.



Kerbey's pancakes

At Kerbey, you should also try the pancakes. They're famous for their light and fluffy, platter-sized cakes. In flavors from blackberry to pumpkin to gingerbread, you'll find one you like. They even have vegan pancakes that are surprisingly good. My only complaint: no real maple syrup.



TacoDeli's Jess Special tacos

My other favorite breakfast joint is TacoDeli. The original location just south of Zilker park on Spyglass is the one you want. It's a tiny spot, but they have a nice patio with lots of picnic tables where you can eat al fresco. You can't go wrong for breakfast or lunch at TacoDeli (tragically, they're not open for dinner), but my fave is the Jess Special taco — basically a migas taco with eggs, tomatoes, crumbled chips, jalapeño, avocado and Jack cheese. To put it over the top, add a slice of bacon and a splash of their Doña sauce. It's a green sauce made of roasted jalapeños that's creamy and blazing hot sauce.

Locals keep your eyes peeled for the new TacoDeli to open soon on Lamar just below 45th.




And last, but not least, Gourdough's Big Fat Doughnuts. This is pure doughnut overload. Place your order and then sit back for a moment and wait. The anticipation only makes it sweeter. These babies are made to order. This is the kind of thing you crave at 2 in the morning. These are the biggest doughnuts I've ever seen. Our first time out, we tried several to sample some different flavors. People, be forewarned. It takes a bottomless pit of a teenage boy or two normal people to eat one of these things.



With flavors like The Flying Pig – maple syrup icing and bacon or the Mother Clucker — honey butter icing topped with a fried chicken strip, these hunks of fried dough will make an impression.


Miss Shortcake


The Flying Pig

We tried the Flying Pig and Miss Shortcake — cream cheese icing and fresh strawberries. I recommend balancing the sweet with something either tart like the berries or savory like the bacon. Otherwise, it can be sugar overload — unless that's what you're looking for.

Look for the silver Airstream across the street from the Alamo on South Lamar. Enjoy your feast at their picnic tables.


Kerbey Lane Cafe
2700 South Lamar

TacoDeli
1500 Spyglass

Gourdoughs
1219 South Lamar

Toasted Oat and Brown Sugar Milkshake

Hot news: Just found out that apparently, tomorrow, February 6th, is International Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. That's all the excuse I needed to try out a recipe from my new Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes cookbook. Adam Reid, the kitchen equipment specialist from the PBS show, America's Test Kitchen, gives us this "guide to milkshake modernization." Reid does for milkshakes what David Lebovitz did for ice cream in my favorite ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop, providing easy-to-replicate but imaginative flavors that invigorate the taste buds.

Reid covers all the basics and offers many variations on classics like chocolate and coffee combinations for those who want their old favorites, but he takes you much further with combinations like vanilla, honey and sesame; vanilla rum and salted cashew; Mexican chocolate with chipotle and almond; chocolate Guiness, Vietnamese coffee, strawberry basil; blackberry lavender; avocado coconut and lime; peach with brandy and nutmeg; minted cucumber lemon... I could go on and on.

Since tomorrow is ice cream for breakfast day, I wanted to try a shake that combined breakfast flavors in a shake. I narrowed down the contenders to two: toasted oatmeal and brown sugar or maple bacon. I know, bacon is the it girl of food fashion these days, but something about the toasted oats and brown sugar sounded so comforting. So I'll try the bacon shake next time.

I love toasting old-fashioned steel cut oats before cooking them. It really brings out the flavor of the oats and makes them much nuttier. Reid's recipe used a pinch of ground cloves to flavor the shake. I'm not a huge fan of cloves, so I switched to cinnamon. Use what you like. Nutmeg might be good too. And with all the cedar flowing through the air around here, I wasn't looking to add to my nasal challenges anymore, so I made a mostly (except for a teeny bit of butter) nondairy version subbing vanilla almond milk for the milk, and nondairy ice cream (I used vanilla Nada Moo), for the traditional vanilla ice cream.

Results: It was creamy and luscious and by far the best oatmeal anything I've ever tasted. I only made a half recipe version for myself and really regretted that after I finished the photos and had a taste. Wow. I wasn't prepared for it to be that good. It was fun and unexpected and most-of-all, addictive.

This might be fun to serve at a brunch in little shot glasses before the meal. Reid suggests a variation using Scotch and some honey to further elevate the heavenliness of this concoction. That could be even more fun for a special brunch.

Toasted Oatmeal and Brown Sugar Shake

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup thick cut or steel cut oats
2/3 cup + 1/2 cup cold milk (or soy, rice, or almond milk)
2/3 cup water
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
pinch of cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg
8 small scoops vanilla ice cream, softened slightly

First, make your oats...
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add the oats, stirring continuously, and cook for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. You'll smell their nutty fragrance.

Standing back a bit (it will sputter!), pour in 2/3 cup milk, 2/3 cup water and salt. Bring up to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low and simmer until oats have softened and liquid has been absorbed, about 15-18 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Let cool until room temperature. (I speeded this up by scraping the oats into a small bowl and putting it in the fridge for a few minutes.)

(If you wanted to make this ahead, you could have the oats cooked and in the fridge until you're ready to mix the shake together and serve.)

In a blender, combine 1/2 cup of the cooked oats, 1/2 cup of milk, brown sugar, and your spice of choice, and blend for at least a minute, until oats are completely smooth. Add in the ice cream and pulse to break it up initially. Then blend full speed until well combined.

Pour into cold glasses and serve immediately.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

Adapted from Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes by Adam Reid.

Pioneer Woman's French Breakfast Puffs

Over Christmas I picked up Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. Drummond, an L.A. city girl, went back to her hometown in Oklahoma on her way to a move to Chicago and met and fell in love with a cowboy. Now the city girl is a mom, feeding ranch hands, photographing and blogging from a working cattle ranch. She's adapted from being a former vegetarian to the meat and potatoes ranch lifestyle and palette. She began her blog "Confessions of a Pioneer Woman" sharing recipes, photography, and stories about ranch life and cooking.

I expected to find a few recipes that might be fun to try. But I immediately got wrapped up in the very engaging world of her life on the ranch. The cowboys, the husband, the four kids, the dogs, the cattle, the horses, the stories, the love and of course, the food. Her tone is very accessible and conversational and in no time at all you wish you could sit down in her warm kitchen with a hot cup of coffee (or a margarita) and gab and cook and watch her world go by.

Even if you aren't interested in cooking, her photos hook you immediately. They are gorgeous and thoughtful and give you insight into a beautiful, natural world. I would love to spend time there with her just seeing, taking in the incredible expanses and also the small details.

Aside from just having so much fun with her book — I curled up in bed on a cold night and read straight through the whole thing, like a novel, and had a great time — she includes instructions and photos of EVERY step of every recipe. This is a great resource if you're new in the kitchen. She'll take you through it step-by-step-by-step. And her recipes are straightforward, made with ingredients you can find in an Oklahoma grocery store and they are down home and hungry cowboy satisfying.

I wanted to share with you one of the first recipes I tried from her book, the French Breakfast Puffs. These are muffins, baked with the sweet, comforting flavor of nutmeg that you'd find in a cake doughnut. But these are what a cake doughnut aspires to be. They are soft and light and fluffy and steamy. Better than any cake doughnut I've ever had. Then, when they are hot out of the oven, you roll them in melted butter (and lots of it) and then in cinnamon sugar. The butter sinks in just a bit, giving them an added layer of to-die-for-ness and helps the sparkly cinnamon sugar stick to form a sweet and spicy crust.

I made these early one morning and wrapped them up still warm for my husband to take to work with him. I was jokingly calling them "butter bombs" because I felt so naughty rolling around in all that butter. But they were apparently quite enthusiastically received. I tried them in regular muffin cups and in mini muffin cups. I really liked that the mini muffins could be more easily handled (for the baker and the eater) and you can just pop them in your mouth. But I found the proportion of butter to muffin was much higher in the little guys because they are so much smaller. So I liked the overall flavor better in the regular-sized muffins. Whatever size you want them, bake these now. They are little puffs of happiness. These are impressive enough for a special occasion, but easy enough for an everyday breakfast.

French Breakfast Puffs

3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup nonhydrogenated shortening, at room temp
2 eggs
1 cup milk

for cinnamon sugar crust:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 sticks of butter

muffin tin (12 muffin size) sprayed with cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together in a bowl: flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another bowl, with a mixer or a whisk (if you want to work some of these off before you eat them), cream together one cup of the sugar and the shortening. Add the eggs and mix to combine. Add half of the flour mixture and mix in, then half of the milk and mix in. Continue with the other halves, mixing until completely combined.

Pour batter into prepared muffin cups to just over half full. (You don't want these going up over the top of your pan too far or they'll fall apart when you roll them around in the butter later.) I used an ice cream scoop to get even amounts and quick release into the muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (about 12-15 minutes for mini muffins) until tops are golden.

While the muffins are baking, melt the butter. Place it in a bowl big enough to roll the muffins around in comfortably. In another bowl (or a cake pan works well here too) combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar with the cinnamon and stir together.

When the muffins are out of the oven, let them cool briefly so you don't get burned. Then take the still very warm muffins and roll them first in the bowl with the melted butter, to coat on all sides. Then roll them in the cinnamon sugar completely to coat. You're going to want to eat that first one. And you should just go ahead. They smell too good not to. Repeat with remaining muffins and serve immediately.

These are to die for freshly baked and still steamy. But I tried one the next day, popped it in the microwave briefly and it returned to its steamy, fluffy goodness.

Note: I filled my muffin cups only about half full and ended up with a little extra batter. So I made the mini muffins just to see if I liked that size better. You could use the remaining batter to make a second smaller batch after the first are out of the oven. Believe me, you'll want them all.

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond.

And check out Drummond's blog, The Pioneer Woman. You'll be charmed and she's sure to get your appetite going.

Jam Happiness

I'm off today for the holiday and so am lollygagging around the house. The dog and I both heard a delivery truck pull up moments ago and it got me wondering what I might have ordered recently. Then I remembered...June Taylor Jams! Eureka! I peeked out the window and saw the FedEx truck at the house next door. Hopes dashed.

Not three minutes later, I heard another delivery truck. The dog and I both looked out to see UPS in front of our house. That's more like it.

And so now, I am able to give you... June Taylor Jams. June Taylor's pear and vanilla fruit butter is one of the finest things I have ever tasted. The combination of smooth, grainy pearness delicately flavored with just the right amount of vanilla. On toast or biscuits, even just on a spoon, it is sublime. It is one of my top 10 desert island foods of all time.

June Taylor makes her conserves, marmalades, fruit butters and syrups by hand the old-fashioned way in Berkeley. She supports small, organic, family farms and use traditional preserving methods by hand to make small batches. She uses no commercial pectin -- instead utilizing citrus seeds and membranes to make pectin -- and only a minimal amount of sugar. This level of craftsmanship shines in the flavor of her products.

With pairings like silver lime and ginger, Meyer lemon and rosemary, apricot and almond, Santa Rosa plum and Provencal lavender, Seckel pear and ginger, strawberry and rose geranium... you see how this is not your supermarket Smuckers. This is pure fruit essence preserved in a jar, complimented with herbs and flowers.

I ordered my favorite pear and vanilla fruit butter, but also decided to experiment with blackberry and lemon verbena conserve, Astrachan apple and vanilla butter, and strawberry spearmint syrup. Blackberry is always my favorite jam flavor so that was easy, the apple made me think of apple bombolonis and the strawberry spearmint syrup sounded like the base of a great salad dressing.

June Taylor Jams are available in her shop in Berkeley or at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market. You can also order online from her site. She also teaches classes. The next classes are later this month and next month in marmalade making.

Now, to make some toast...

Google Green Smoothie

In my office, I'm the one who is usually made fun of for walking into a meeting with a "healthy" green smoothie. "What is THAT?" And while this smoothie is green, it's so refreshing that it could win over even the most reluctant smoothie drinker. The green color comes mostly from the mint, which is one of my favorite flavors and is great here.

This is another recipe from Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google. It's a simple recipe for a smoothie that is refreshing in warm weather or cold. It's good now, because it includes apple cider, which is easily available. But it reminds me of my favorite lemonade from local Vietnamese restaurant, Tam Deli. I order the lemonade there so often the owner knows to start making it when we walk in the door. After many orders and a wee bit of cajoling, I've managed to pry out of her that her secret is whole lemons, limes and a secret ingredient...cucumber. It's made fresh and is very frothy, mild and tremendously refreshing. I've experimented with making my own version at home and will share that recipe later.

The cucumber and lemon in this smoothie remind of that lemonade and I like it just as much. Once you have the ingredients, making it is a snap.

Notes: If you use a Japanese or thin-skinned hothouse cucumber, you don't need to remove the peel. But if you're using a traditional, thicker-skinned cuke, you'll want to peel it and remove the seeds. While the recipe serves two nicely, if my hubby isn't around, I'll gulp it all down my own self.

Google Green Smoothie

1 hothouse cucumber, cut into chunks
15-20 large, fresh mint leaves
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup lemon sorbet
8 ice cubes

Place all ingredients except ice in a blender or the canister of an immersion blender. Blend until smooth. Add ice cubes and blend again until smooth and all ice is incorporated. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Adapted from Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google.

Yeast Rolls, Part 3: Orange Sweet Rolls

Here's the next installment in my yeast rolls adventure: orange sweet rolls. I used Rebecca Rather's yeast roll recipe (see previous post) and made up my own orange glaze. They turned out bright-flavored and delicious with that perfect soft texture.

You could go about these two different ways... Bake the yeast rolls as directed and then drizzle with orange glaze while they're still hot from the oven. But I wanted to have some orange flavor inside the rolls. So I very casually pressed out each dough wad in my hand and spread some orange glaze on it. Then I rolled it up and popped it in the muffin pan. Since I was trying several variations from just one batch of the dough, I left it plain. But next time, I might try mixing up a whole batch of just the orange rolls and incorporating some orange zest into the dough for a little more uniform flavor. But you don't have to go to that much trouble. These were really simple this way and very satisfying.

You'll notice one exotic ingredient used in the glaze, Fiori di Sicilia extract. It's an all-natural extract with the flavors of orange and vanilla, kind of a more exotic creamsicle flavor. It's unbelievably good. You can order it from the King Arthur Flour baker's catalog online. Once you have it, you'll find lots of things to use it in. Italians use it in pannetone. But if you don't have it and want to try these right away, no worries. It just gives it a little extra layer of lusciousness. (Substitute vanilla.)

To bake these for breakfast, assemble them in the muffin pans the night before and then return to the fridge. Pull them out and let rise just before baking.


Orange Sweet Rolls

2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp.
zest of 1 orange
3 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon fiori di sicilia extract or vanilla
dough for yeast rolls (see previous post)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine powdered sugar, butter, orange zest, juice and extract. Stir together well to combine completely.

Grease regular size muffin pan.

Cut off pieces of the yeast roll dough (after it's overnight rise), the size of golf balls. Using your hands, press out dough into a rough rectangle the length of your hand. Spread with glaze. Roll up and place in muffin cups.

At this point, you can freeze the dough. Assemble them in giveaway aluminum 6-pack muffin pans, wrap tightly with foil, and then in an airtight freezer bag. To bake, remove from freezer, unwrap, let thaw and then follow the directions below.

Let rise on stovetop until they are 1-inch above the muffin pan, approximately 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Bake 12 minutes until golden on top. Remove from oven and remove from pan to cool on platter or rack. Drizzle with remaining glaze while still hot so that it will melt down the sides.

Best served same day, but if you find yourself with some left over the next day, just pop them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to restore their cloudlike texture.

Makes 2 dozen sweet rolls.

Adapted from The Pastry Queen Christmas by Rebecca Rather with Alison Oresman.

Yeast Rolls, Part 2: Sticky Buns & Cinnamon Buns

The yeast roll post was a bit lengthy, so this will be short and sweet, ahem. To make sticky buns or cinnamon buns out of Rebecca Rather's yeast rolls, you make a simple brown sugar goo with toasted pecans and place it in the bottom of your muffin cups. Pop the rolls on top, let it rise one last time, bake 'em and happiness will follow.

You can make them as Ms. Rather does with brown sugar syrup and pecans for sticky buns. Or as I prefer, with a little cinnamon. Your choice. Would probably be quite good with cardamom too.

I gave a batch of these ready to bake to some friends this week and got rave reviews. I think you'll like them too. Don't blame me if you get hooked.



Sticky or Cinnamon Buns

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Lyle's golden syrup
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
dough for yeast rolls (see previous post)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine butter, brown sugar, syrup, salt, and cinnamon, if using, in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until butter and sugar melt and turn bubbly.

Grease regular size muffin pan.

Place 2 tablespoons of the syrup in each cup and sprinkle with pecans. (You'll have some syrup left over to drizzle over the tops before serving.)

Cut off pieces of the yeast roll dough (after it's overnight rise), the size of golf balls. Place in muffin cups.

At this point, you can freeze the dough. Assemble them in giveaway aluminum 6-pack muffin pans, wrap tightly with foil, and then in an airtight freezer bag. To bake, remove from freezer, unwrap, let thaw and then follow the directions below. Give these away and you'll make friends (and addicts).

Let rise on stovetop until they are 1-inch above the muffin pan, approximately 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Bake 12 minutes until golden on top. Remove from oven and immediately (really) turn out onto platter. (If you let it cool, the syrup turns into lava and you'll never get those babies out. But be careful, like lava, it is HOT!)

Drizzle more syrup over each bun before serving. Best served same day.

These are so good, you'll jump up and clap your hands!

Makes 2 dozen sticky buns.

Adapted from The Pastry Queen Christmas by Rebecca Rather with Alison Oresman.

Next up: Using the yeast roll dough to make orange rolls.

Yeast Rolls

I finally got a chance to try Rebecca Rather's yeast rolls from The Pastry Queen Christmas cookbook. I love the soft, pillowy, fluffy texture of brioche, but wanted something without quite so much egginess. I've been looking for these for years. Trying other recipes and being disappointed with their crustiness and dry texture. I wanted a roll that felt like a cloud. Something you'd want to curl up in. These are exactly what I was looking for. They are soft, yielding, airy and with just the slightest little bit of sweetness. They are to die for. And that's a good thing. While easy, they are also a bit time-consuming. The first rise is about an hour. The second, overnight. And then the last, just before baking, 30 minutes or more. But the recipe makes a lot of dough and you can stash it in the fridge for a few days for later baking, handy for the holidays or a big feast, or freeze them to bake later. Frozen treasures!

And this dough is versatile. It makes the perfect dinner roll. They can be baked in mini-muffin pans for small rolls (as seen in the photo). Or regular muffin pans or cake pans for larger rolls. And don't get me wrong, with a little salted butter melted on top or inside, they are perfection. Truly worth stopping a moment or two, to breathe more deeply and be glad for the experience. That kind of good.

But you can take them one step further and use them as a base for sticky buns, cinnamon rolls or orange rolls. I tried Rather's sticky buns, added some cinnamon to another batch to make cinnamon rolls, and did a third batch with an orange glaze. They all rocked. I prefer a little cinnamon in the sticky bun goo, but that's just me. And somehow for me, at Christmas, there should be warm, gooey, sweet orange rolls. Don't know why. That's just my thing. And these will be part of our Christmas tradition from now on.

One thing I noticed, I really liked the texture of the full-sized rolls a lot better than the mini-muffin size, which were not as moist. Next time, I'd shorten the cooking time a bit on those to see if they retain their moisture better. But while I usually like to make mini-sized treats to try to enjoy in moderation, not so here. Life is just too short to eat small versions of these rolls or buns. So I may not get around to trying them mini-sized again.

Rather makes her sticky buns with the pecans and brown sugar goo in the bottom of the muffin pan with the dough placed on top. After baking, you have to immediately flip them out (and over) onto a tray or sheet or the goo will harden up as it cools and probably never come out. But be careful. That stuff is like lava.

On the orange rolls, I took some of the glaze I'd made and rolled out the dough slightly in my palm and slathered it with the glaze. Then rolled them back up and popped them in the muffin pan. When they came out of the oven, I added more glaze on top. I liked that better than having to flip them out like the sticky buns, so I might try experimenting with that on the cinnamon rolls next time.

I'll start with the recipe for the basic yeast roll dough, then follow with posts on the sticky bun, cinnamon roll and orange roll variations.

Thank you, Ms. Rather, for sharing these with us. The world is a better place for these rolls.


Yeast Rolls

Stage One Dough:
1 1/4 cups warm water: 110 - 115 degrees
1 package active dry yeast (Rather uses Saf brand)
1 cup sugar, plus a pinch for starter
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus a pinch for starter
3 1/4 cups milk (I used whole milk)
1 cup canola oil

Measure out 1 1/4 cups hot water from your tap. Using a candy thermometer, watch the water until it cools to between 110 and 115 degrees. Combine that with the yeast, pinch of sugar and pinch of flour. Stir together. Let sit until foamy, 5-10 minutes.

Heat the milk over medium-high until steaming, but do not boil. Pour the hot milk into a large bowl. Add the oil, 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of flour. Stir constantly, using the candy thermometer to tell when the mixture reaches 110 – 115 degrees.

When the milk has cooled to the right temp, add the yeast mixture to it. Half a cup at a time, whisk in the remaining 3 1/2 cups flour. When it's all added, the batter should be thin, like a pancake batter.

Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let stand in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, approximately an hour. (Took mine a little longer, even though I closed the a/c vent in the kitchen.)



Stage Two Dough:
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
7 - 8 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
stage one dough
melted butter

Combine the salt, baking powder, baking soda and 1 cup of flour. Stir into the stage one dough until combined.

Continue stirring in more flour, half cup at a time, until the dough begins to lose its stickiness and pulls away from the bowl. (I ended up using a little less than 7 cups to get here.)

Sprinkle a bit of flour around the top and sides of the dough (pulling the sides away from the bowl a bit to drop flour down in between). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or up to three days). Beware: it will grow considerably. I had the dough in the biggest restaurant supply bowl we have and had to later divide it into two of them to keep it from overflowing.

To bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin pan (even non-stick) with oil or butter. With a sharp knife, cut off wads of dough the size of a small lemon. Put one in each muffin cup. Set in a warm place (I put the oven on 200 and set the pan on the stove to rise) until puffy and the texture of a soft marshmallow. (Rather says this could take 30-60 minutes, but took 90 minutes for me.)

To freeze, put dough wads in a muffin pan or container, maybe separated by layers of parchment to prevent sticking together. I wrapped that in foil and then again in a vaccum-sealed plastic bag to protect them as much as possible from the horrors of freezer burn. (Let thaw and then rise as mentioned above before baking.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes. Start checking them at 12 minutes. You don't want to overcook these. You want them soft and steamy and just golden on top. Brush them with melted butter when they come out of the oven. They deserve it.

Adapted from The Pastry Queen Christmas by Rebecca Rather with Alison Oresman.