Tuesday, August 19, 2008

And it's healthy Too!!!

TWD: Granola Grabbers
One word- YUM! I was a little leary at first but I truly loved them. Well if I am being completely honest I actually liked the raw cookies sooo much better.( But for anyone who knows me there is no surprise their.
I did tweek my recipe a little. I used a super yummy granola that had melted chocolate chip pieces in it and cinnamon( mouth watering-take my word for it.) I did add the rasins but not quite as many as was called for.My daughter did not love these because she thought they were too crunchy. I think I would try again and NOT flatten them.


But all in all they were a success, Hooray!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Ooey and Goey!

TWD- Summer Fruit Gallette
Ok so I had no idea what a galette was but I was up for the challenge. I have a tendency to not follow recipes exactly and it sometimes gets me on trouble- but this week I wanted it to turn out just right. I think I might have tried to hard but it still tasted good non the less. I used apricots because I think they are a lovely fruit and even though tthey were a bit on the sour side I was pretty happy with the end results. I did not get my crust all the way up on all the sides and as you can see from the picture had a little spillage!! Besides the wonderful aroma of burning apricot preserves and the fabulous mess in the bottom of my oven I would have to say this week was somewhat of a success.

Dorie Greenspan's Summer Fruit Galette
from Baking From My Home to Yours

Good For Almost Everything Pie Dough for a single crust, chilled
2-3 tablespoons jam or marmalade
about 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
Fresh summer fruit: about 10 apricots, 8-10 nectarines, 8 ripe but firm peaches, 8-10 firm plums or 2 stalks rhubarb
Decorating (coarse) or granulated sugar, for dusting

For the Custard
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Getting Ready
Center rack in the oven and preheat to oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment (see below) or a silicone mat.
To make it easier to move the pie dough onto the baking sheet, roll the dough between sheets of parchment paper ( in which case, you can use one of the rolling sheets to line the baking sheet) or wax paper or plastic wrap. Alternatively work on a well-floured surface, taking care to keep the dough moving by turning it and flouring the surface often.
Roll the dough into a large 1/8 inch thick circle. Using a pastry wheel or a paring knife, time the dough to a 13 inch diameter. Using a cake pan or a pot lid as a template and the tip of a bunt kitchen knife as a marker, lightly trace a 9 inch circle in the center of the dough- this is the area for the filling.
With the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula, spread some of the jam over the circle- how much will depend of the jam flavor you want. Sprinkle over the crumbs, adding a little more than 2 tablespoons if you think you’ve got particularly juicy fruit. Put a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper over the dough and refrigerate it while you prepare the fruit.
Wipe the apricots, nectarines or plums clean with a damp towel and cut in half; discard the pits. Blanch peaches for 10 seconds in a pot of boiling water, transfer them to a bowl of ice water to cool, then slip off the skins. Halve and pit the peaches or peel rhubarb to remove the strings, and cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces.
Arrange the fruit on the dough, cut side down if using stone fruits, then gently lift the unfilled border of dough up and onto the filling. As you lift the dough and place it on the filling, it will pleat. If you’re not in a rush, freeze the galette for 15 minutes to give the crust a rest.
Brush the dough very lightly with a little water, then sprinkle it with a teaspoon or two of sugar. Bake galette for 25 minutes, or until the crust is brown and the fruit is soft.

Meanwhile, make the custard
Whisk together the melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl; set aside until needed.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven (leave the oven on), and carefully pour the custard around the fruit. Depending one how much juice has accumulated and how much space you have between the fruit, you may not be able to pour all the custard into the galette, but even 2 tablespoons can give the right effect. Pour in as much custard as you can, then carefully return the pan to the oven.
Bake for another 12 to 15 minutes, or until the custard is set- it shouldn’t jiggle when you gently shake the pan. Cool the galette on the baking sheet on a rack for 10 minutes.
Very carefully slide a small baking sheet or cake lifter under the galette and slip the galette onto a rack to cool. The galette can be served when it is just warm or- my preference- when it has reached room temperature. Dust with confectioners; sugar just before serving.

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Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough

For a 9 inch Single Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 sticks very cold unsalted butter, cut into tbsp size pieces

2 1/2 tablespoons very cold vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces

About 1/4 cup ice water


Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don’t overdo the mixing- what you’re aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 6 tbsps of the water- add a little water and pulse once, add some more water, pulse again and keep going that way. Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn’t look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Big pieces of butter are fine. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a work surface. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling (if your ingredients were very cold and you worked quickly, though, you might be able to roll the dough immediately: the dough should be as cold as if it had just come out of the fridge).

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

TWD: Yay for Chocolate!!!


This week at TWD we were to make some good ol' fashion chocolate pudding. It was soooo delicious, like eating a smooth fudgecicle.- of course I did use half and half instead of whole milk and made mine into pudding pie topped with oreos- but however you do it you will never want to go back to pudding in a box. I also used part unsweetened part semi sweet chocolate and a dash of peanut butter chips. Mostly for my husband who really does not like bitter chocolate and it worked really well. I made the pudding and then poured it into the graham cracker crust and placed it in the fridge for about an hour to set and then stuck it in the freezer for a couple of hours. Right before we devoured it I topped it with whip cream and some crushed up oreos.-heaven on a plate! Here is the recipe if you would like to try it and I highly recommend it.


Chocolate Pudding
Courtesy of Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
  • 2 ¼ cups whole milk
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and still warm
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Have six ramekins or pudding cups, each holding 4 to 6 ounces (½ to ¾ cup), at hand.

Bring 2 cups of the milk and 3 tablespoons of the sugar to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

While the milk is heating, put the cocoa, cornstarch and salt into a food processor and whir to blend. Turn them out onto a piece of wax paper, put the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, the egg and egg yolks into the processor and blend for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the remaining ¼ cup milk and pulse just to mix, then add the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to blend.

With the machine running, very slowly pour in the hot milk mixture. Process for a few seconds, then put everything back into the saucepan. Whisk without stopping over medium heat – making sure to get into the edges of the pan – until the pudding thickens and a couple of bubbles burble up to the surface and pop (about 2 minutes). You want the pudding to thicken, but you don’t want it to boil, so lower the heat if necessary.

Scrape the pudding back into the processor (if there’s a scorched spot, avoid it as you scrape) and pulse a couple of times. Add the chocolate, butter and vanilla and pulse until everything is evenly blended.

Pour the pudding into the ramekins. If you don’t want a skin to form (some people think the skin is the best part), press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of each pudding to create an airtight seal. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Makes 6 servings

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

TWD- Mixed Berry Cobler




I was sooo excited to try this the picture looked so good and the thought of a scoop of some vanilla bean ice cream was too much. Well I was a little let down with my version but still ate it of course. I think my rake was too high in the oven because I had to take it out after only 45 minutes or it would have been totally burned. The top was a tad try and crispy but the berries were delicious. I used some frozen blueberries, marion berries, and raspberries.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Tuesdays with Dorie

I have joined an online baking group which I am sooo excited about.  Every week someone picks a recipe from the fabulous book and then we all post our masterpieces on tuesdays.  How fun is that.  So for my very first attempt we made a very rich, and buttery sticky bun.