Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins a la Leigh

I've been sitting on this recipe for two years (and have probably had Leigh send it to me four or five times) but finally got off my heiny and made it! I have Leigh Schmidt to thank for this lovely recipe and I just need to share.

I think next time I will halve the chocolate chips - it would also be fantastic without them.


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Prep 10 minutes    Baking time 16-20m per oven batch (I had to bake in two batches)
makes 36 standard size muffins

4 eggs
2c sugar
16oz can of pumpkin
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (can sub applesauce for up to 1/2 the oil)
3c flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
(I added 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice in addition)
2c chocolate chips

In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth.

In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to pumpkin mixture, mix well.

Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake at 400° for 16-20 minutes or until done.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove to wire rack. (Huh. I didn't see this part.)

These are phenomenal - a new permanent addition to my cook book! Thanks LBD!!

Today's creation! Odds & Ends Fruit Crisp

When I was six my family moved into a house with a lovely fenced yard and a massive aged rhubarb plant. Never having had a rhubarb plant of her own, my mother was nervous one of us children would eat some of the highly poisonous leaves and set out on a mission to remove the thing. I'm not sure of my brother, but I know my sister and I grew up very wary of rhubarb as a baking ingredient.

Yesterday at the market, Maddie was entranced by the beautiful spears of rosy rhubarb at her eye level and picked one up, asking me to buy it. Well. Strawberries were on sale, my pantry was full of jars of crisp topping that Maddie and I had made a few weeks ago and one spear only cost $.87 ... why not?

I woke up this morning ready to bake my first rhubarb recipe ever - strawberry rhubarb crisp. Aaaaaaaaaand I found a bowl full of strawberry hulls next to Daddy's seat on the couch. He ate half the strawberries. The HORROR!

So I looked at what I had in the cabinet, did a little googling and found the following recipes for inspiration: Blackberry Rhubarb Crisp and Rhubarb and Nectarine Crumble

So without further ado...

Odds and Ends Fruit Crisp

about 1.5 lb of strawberries, hulled and chunked
1 spear of rhubarb, sliced into "coins"
1 nectarine, chunked
1.5 cups of blackberries (big ones halved)
1/3 cup homemade cranberry applesauce from the pantry (subbing for the OJ)
1/2 cup brown sugar (not convinced it needs this, but never baked with rhubarb before)

One jar of my Crisp Topping
5tbl of butter, cut into little pieces

Pour crisp mix and butter into a medium sized bowl.
Crumble butter into crisp mix, pinching with fingers until the whole mixture is well blended and resembles moist sand (per America's Test Kitchen recomendations for crisp topping). I should have taken a pic of this. Gah. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F.

While everything is chillin and heatin, get filling ready in an oven-safe casserole (8in square glass pan or 9in deep dish pie pan will work). Mix brown sugar with juice or apple sauce. Pour fuit into casserole and toss with sugar mix.

When topping chilled, pat on top of fruit. Bake on middle rack with something underneath (foil, cookie sheet etc) to catch drips. Bake about 40 minutes or until topping is really browned. I like to bake it at least 45m.

Allow to cool at least 15m before eating.  Or not. Whatever rocks your socks!

Fruit Crisp Topping

Hey all. My new favorite pantry item is pint sized canning jars filled with this crisp topping, readdy to pour on whatever I'm suddenly tempted to bake. This can be assembled in advance, like I do, or at the time of baking. Each jar contains the ingredients below, layered. My brown sugar did harden a wee bit but it was still soft enough to crumble. I've used the basic fruit crisp topping recipe from America's Test Kitchen. They call for 3/4c chopped pecans but blech ... who likes those, nasty allergenic things? I've used a combination of cereals and oats instead :D I think the lightly sweetened oat flakes really make the topping, but play with it.

6 tbl flour
1/4c Grape Nuts cereal
1/4c Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Flakes & Blueberry clusters
1/4c rolled oats (NOT instant or steel cut oats - ask me how I know)
1/4c granulated sugar
1/4 dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

ETA: I did find the brown sugar hardened quite a bit by the time I used the last jar. Making it for the second time, I'm laying a small piece of bread crust on top of the brown sugar. Not attractive if you are giving as gifts but excellent for personal storage.

As a side note I find that brown sugar keeps very soft if immediately transferred into canning jars after purchase, adding a small piece of bread to each jar. I like the plastic freezer lids for storing dry goods such as this.

This fits in a pint canning jar if you press the ingredients in, smooshing the flakes etc. I make 3+ jars at a time - always worth it.

When you are ready to bake, crumble one jar of filling with 5 tbl unsalted butter in a medium bowl. Pinch and crumble until the mixture resembles damp sand. Chill 15min while oven preheats to 375 F.

Choose an 8in sqare glass pan, a 9inch deep dish pie pan or something similar. Dump in your filling (you're on your own here) and pat chilled filling on top. Bake on middle rack (put something under it to catch drips) for 40 minutes or until topping is nicely browned. Allow to cool about 15m before eating. Enjoy!

Melissa's Quick Mixed Berry Whatchamacallit

I am no where near accomplished enough as a cook to tell a crumble from a cobbler or a pandowdy. This website helped... http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CobblerHistory.htm but still. Meh.

I was at Trader Joe's today with two children and a cranky husband. It was better than being outdoors in unheard-of-for-New-England 100+ temperatures ... but only just. While the small monsters melted down in the frozen foods isle, I spied Trader Joe's Very Cherry Blend Frozen Berries. Swoon. I had visions of pies or lord knows what and grabbed two one-pound bags before the kids could see.

As the end of the day neared and the kids spun around me like rabid tornados (What? You can't visualize a tornado with rabies? Rookie.) I quietly dumped one bag into a strainer in the sink to thaw. Awwww. Look how sad it looks. DUMP ... here's your friend, Bag Number Two.

So. What to top it with? Hmmm.

Dare I? Dare I violate the heartfelt wish of my precious six year old? "Mummy ... please buy us cinnamon rolls for breakfast ... please!!!" Dare I pop open that luscious package of already prepared dough, pre-smeared with enough butter, cinnamon and sugar to make Julia Child raise her glass in saute to me from the other side?

You bet your sweet bippy.

So its 10pm (fireworks yesterday and a late amusment park trip on friday have essentially killed our sleep schedule). My three year old is trying to coerce the six year old to read to her. The six year old is trying to go to sleep in the bedroom, occasionally hollering out math questions ("MOOOOOM ... is 12+12 40?). And in the oven we have some nummy smelling concoction that *I* will eat before bed. And THEY will wait for until morning. Neener neener.

If you feel like replicating...

Melissa's Quick Mixed Berry Whatchamacallit (yeah baby)
2 lbs of mixed berrys - if frozen, thaw & strain
1 tube pop & bake cinnamon rolls
1/4-1/3 c dark brown sugar
1-2 tbl raw sugar
butter for greasing pan

Preheat oven to temp called for on roll pkg
Butter heavy pan - this would totally work in a casserole, thick walled pie pan or even a deep cast iron skillet (ooooh I should have used that!)

Pour berries into pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on top and mix gently. Remove cinnamon rolls from tube (POP!) and cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks using kitchen shears, dropping chunks onto the berry mixture as you snip. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Insert into center of over, placing a baking sheet or jellyroll pan underneath to catch drips. If you use a favorite pan for this, scrub that bad boy off as soon as you can or those juicy lumps will become permanent. I keep a few "disposable" (not for me) aluminum pans around just for this.

Bake as recommended on roll package - may need to cook longer. Add on time in 3 or 5 minute increments. Juices should be really bubbly and rolls nicely brown but not tough.

NOTE:
Ok, this was yummy. BUT.
1) Berries need to thaw for waaaaaaaaay more than I let them thaw. They should be ALL thawed and cool to room temperature. Why?
2) Becaaaaaaaause if berries are still frozen, dough against the berries won't cook even if top is totally crispy. Would make sense to check on this bad boy - flip over a few nuggets and make sure they are not still gooey.
3) Aaaaaaaaaaand b/c frozen berries still contain alot of juice. Dude I strained off more than a CUP of juice.

However, the flavors meld perfectly ... I would totally try this again :)

Couch Mix ~ Trail mix a la Melissa

I'm allergic to tree nuts but looooooove trail mix. This is a variation on my Aunt Jane's GORP mix (Good Ol Raisins & Peanuts) and I keep it for times that life just sucks. Or any other time that I just need a mommy-treat.

I mix...
Salted Peanuts
Raisins
M&Ms
Peanut butter filled pretzels

Mix em up in an air tight container and then hide it from the children :D

Other yummy mix ins are dried cherries, reese's pieces, white chocolate chips, chex cereal ... have fun with it! But the key is to have chocolate-sweet, fruity-sweet and salty all in one place :)

I'm going to go gently gorge on this while I recover from today's attempted root-canal.

Mom is Great...

If you haven't seen Bill Cosby's chocolate-cake-for-breakfast bit, you HAVE to take a moment and check it out now. Go ahead, I'll wait.

See? Anywho, THIS is my theme song. I'm not the hip mom, the soccer mom, the super-earth-crunchy mom or the every-kids-best-friend mom. I'm a loving, as understanding as I can be, mostly patient, extremely tired and in severe pain disabled mom. And I can be a tough mom, because when mom has limits, kids responsibilites take on a new meaning. I try to remind myself constantly that a responsible child (good) is a different thing than a parentified child (not good). I also need to find ways to find joy in a hard day. Sometimes the only solution is baking. It generally happens when I don't even have enough energy to read a book or knit - then my poor husband turns around and sees me whipping up frosting.

So. To remind my kids that life is fun, to remind myself that *I* am fun,  I bake chocolate cake. Baking cakes from scratch seems intimidating but it only requires two things: a great recipe and a stocked pantry. I'm not a person who always has food in the house. Milk? Oops. But as long as I keep some form of sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and flour in the house, I am content. Don't have a perishable ingredient (eggs, butter, milk)? Try to find a substitution on the web. It actually takes me the same amount of time to bake this cake as a box mix - and if you know me, you know I get exausted fast.

Here is my favorite recipe. I halve the recipe belowand bake it in a cast iron skillet (I don't know why - it just feels so cozy!) and it makes enoug to cut about 8 pieces from. Or, one for each of them and the rest for me.

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake
2c sugar
1 3/4 c flour
3/4 cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c milk
1/2 c oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water (measure after boiling)

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. For more size/quantity variations, check out the link above.

I like to frost it differently each time - remember to halve the amount if you've haved the cake. So far I've done these two ...

Hershey's "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING (same link as the cake)
1 stick butter
2/3 cup Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Caramel Frosting by Paula Dean, Foodnetwork
1 stick butter
1 c heavy cream (can substitute half & half or milk if its what you have on hand)
1 tbl vanilla
1 box confectioners sugar

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add brown sugar and 1/3 cup cream. Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl.

Using a handheld electric mixer, beat in confectioners' sugar a little at a time until smooth. If frosting is too thick, add 1 tablespoon heavy cream at a time until consistency is right.

Cozy morning cinnamon rolls

A friend pointed me in the direction of this recipe for mini-cinnamon rolls. I adapted it to make larger ones...

NOTE: This recipe requires rolling out dough. For a person with fibromyalgia or similar issues, dough-rolling relegates this recipe into the "only on good days" category. I found it took far more exertion than I anticipated.

Cozy Morning Cinnamon Rolls
Roughly 1lb bread dough*
1/2c brown sugar
2 tbl butter
2 tbl cinnamon
addl butter or shortening to grease pan


* Can substitute prepackaged biscuit, pizza or croissant dough. Follow baking directions on package instead of times below.

Prepare pan by greasing bottom & sides. I use a 3in high cast iron skillet but a muffin tin or a round or square cake pan would also work.
Roll out dough in a roughly rectangular shape about 1/4 inch thick.
Sprinkle brown sugar & cinnamon from edge to edge, leaving a 1 inch margin on one long side of the rectangle.
Cut butter into small chunks and scatter across top.
Starting with the opposite long side from the topping-free margin begin snugly rolling the dough into a tube.
Pinch along edge to seal dough.
Using a sharp knife, cut into roughly 2 inch sections and set in pan with the spiral side visible on top. I like mine to touch so I always snug them in around the edge of the pan.
Allow to rise 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F
bake 35-45 minutes.

Remove from pan immediately before caramel hardens.

Allow to cool until the filling won't blister your tongue (or cool all the way - your call) and enjoy. If you like a glaze on these, mix confectioners sugar with milk or cream until its just a bit thinner than cake batter. Put in a plastic bag and make a teeny snip in the corner of the bag so you can pipe on easily. Sorry I don't have proportions on the glaze but I'm out of confectioners sugar. I would start with 1/3c confectioners sugar and go from there.

Goodies in the crockpots on a drizzly fall day...

I ADORE drizzly fall days. They make me want to bake and cook and snuggle in my favorite couch corner. Sadly I have only 2 hrs to do that today so I decided to fill my crockpots. With a long morning and a wake in the evening, I need to be careful with my energy so I can get through the day.

Today was my co-op morning at Maddie's preschool. Considering that she has been having a very very difficult time separating, I went through crazy contortions to make sure she didn't know I was there. Until... I was taking two little girls to the bathroom and who do I hear coming through the door? To quote Miss Donna Maddie's teacher, "Oh NUTS". We did some fast talking - I expressed my excitement about Maddie's class making applesauce, we can make some at home tonight and GEE she should hurry up and wash hands so she doesn't miss out!

Sooooo... in crockpot #1 we have:

My version of Jane Baker's Apple Cranberry Sauce (GLUTEN Free)
6 med apples, peeled, cored & sliced
1c fresh rinsed cranberries (frozen ok)
1/2c brown sugar (she uses 2/3c white sugar, my mom uses 1/2c white sugar)
1 tbl lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2c brown sugar

Cook until tender - can be done on stove or in crockpot. Excellent served warm or chilled.
(total standing in kitchen time, 15m - can be shorter if you do not have two year old help)

And in crockpot #2 we have

Honey Teriyaki Chicken Breasts
2 whole boneless chicken breasts or 4-6 cutlets
half a bottle of KC Masterpiece Honey Teryaki marinade (substitute GF teryaki sauce)
3 chopped scallions
1/2c beef or chicken broth
2 cloves garlic
1/2tsp of cumin seeds or 1/4tsp-1/2tsp cumin powder
2 shakes of powdered ginger

Cook until chicken is done (I have set it on low with plans to eat it in about 6hrs)

Would you rather experiment with homemade teriyaki sauces? They are simple to make. Play around with the following ingredients:
Tamari or soy sauce
fresh garlic
preferably fresh ginger but if all you have is powdered, go for it
cumin - go lightly or it will overpower the sauce
honey or dark brown sugar
scallions
white vinegar
lemon juice
crushed pinapple w/juice

Mix your marinade in a bowl or large measuring cup and add ingredients TO TASTE. If you just dump everything on the chicken you can't taste it.

And if you like a little zing, add a hint of cayenne pepper or chili sauce. Remember that in a crock pot spices get a bit concentrated so you are better off going low on those and adding more to the finished dish if needed.

I love knowing how to make teriyaki from scratch ... doing it for years has helped me figure out how to doctor store-bought marinades when I just can't stand or think long enough to do one from scratch.

Hoooo Baby Chocolate Chip Pie

I have a friend on Facebook and The Babywearer who occasionally posts amaaaaaaazing recipe links. Generally I can find an excuse for not making them but this time... well just check out this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie on Bakerella.com.

eta ... NOTE: This recipe DID NOT WORK FOR ME. PROCEDE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

DANG.

I tweak everything, so here is my version of it, based on what I had handy. I'm allergic to nuts so I did some fancy footwork to substitute for the pecans. I would also like try this with a Nilla wafer crust and crushed graham crackers subbing for the nuts.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie (original version on Bakerella.com, from Nestle Classic Recipes, 2003

1 unbaked 9-inch graham cracker pie shell
2 large eggs
1/4c all-purpose flour
1/8c whole wheat flour
1/8c Quaker rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)
1/2c granulated sugar (I used turbinado sugar b/c its all I had)
1/2c packed brown sugar
3/4c (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1c (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2c crushed vanilla sandwich cookies
1/4c shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high until foamy.
Beat in flours, oats, sugars. Beat in butter.
Stir in morsels, cookies and coconut. Spoon into pie shell.
Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm.

This took 10m standing time in the kitchen.

I haven't tasted it yet but I'll post when I have a review ;)