Category Archives: Bakery Miscellaneous

Bakery Miscellaneous

Sugar Crusted Raspberry Muffins

 

Knowing there was no way I was not going to use the last cup and a half of fresh raspberries today, I went looking for a recipe for raspberry muffins.  The recipe I used, from Real Simple magazine, resulted in 12 large moist muffins flavored with the first  raspberries  of the season.  Hello Spring!

The batter is simple and was ready in just 10 minutes.  It is a soft batter with milk, melted butter, and an egg for liquid.  Combine your dry ingredients then whisk the milk and egg and add to the dry ingredients.  Fold in the raspberries and nuts gently then scoop the batter into your muffin tins filling each tin 3/4 full for a nice pop to the muffin tops.

Today I added chopped pecans to my batter knowing the nuts would provide texture.  Cool slightly in the muffin tins then remove and cover tightly with foil until ready for serving. This healthy looking batch is today’s  Added Bonus for mama and myself with 10 muffins left for the staff at Woodland Hills; fresh, warm, and savory they make a great start to everyone’s Easter weekend!

Sugar Crusted Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 cup pecans, chopped small (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 400° F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat it with cooking spray, vegetable oil, or butter. In a medium bowl, combine 1-3/4 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and combine. In a second bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined; the batter will be lumpy. Toss the berries with the remaining flour in a bowl. Gently fold the berry mixture into the batter .Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Sprinkle the batter with the remaining sugar. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Serve while still warm.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Lemon Raspberry Coffee Cake

I was SO excited to find raspberries at my local market because I had almost given up on the idea of making this delicious coffee cake for Easter, and when I spotted those raspberries yesterday, my arms went up in a victory sign and i danced a jig right there in the produce section! I have made this coffee cake for many years now and especially love enjoying it for Easter morning when we are visiting my sister and her family in Illinois.  Everybody likes this moist cake, from great-granny to the little kids, and because it is so beautiful to behold that is our  Added Bonus for this dish!

It might seem a good deal of work for only a small one-layer cake, but it bakes tall and small wedges make it a perfect breakfast offering. Although the recipe in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook says you can use frozen raspberries also in this cake, I never do; fresh berries are definitely worth the wait. The tart berries contrast with the sugar, flour, and eggs in a dense batter flavored with fresh lemon zest. Do press the raspberries gently into the half-baked batter so they aren’t merely decorating the top of the cake (save that happiness for just a sprinkle of powdered sugar).

Because this cake usually travels, I bake it the day before, and it is even more delicious on the second day. Every bite is moist and sweet, and every berry, perfection! This is, of course, just made for coffee, but I know that our little kids like it with milk. Whatever works for you, you will be glad the cake is on the table. Wishing you and yours a Happy and Blessed Easter morning as well!

Lemon Raspberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel (zest)
1 egg
1 cup fresh raspberries (or frozen if you must)
Powdered sugar

Directions Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease bottom of 9×1-1/2” round cake pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Grease and lightly flour bottom of parchment; set aside. For cake, in a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In separate large bowl, beat 1 cup of the sugar and the softened butter with mixer on medium until combined. Add 1 egg and the vanilla. Beat on low for 1 minute. Alternately add flour mixture and the 3/4 cup buttermilk, beating just until combined after each addition; set aside.

For cheesecake filling, in a small bowl beat cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup sugar with mixer on medium until combined. Add lemon zest and 1 egg. Beat well until combined.

Spoon half the cake batter into prepared pan, spreading to edges. Spoon cream cheese mixture on cake batter, spreading carefully to edges (so the two layers don’t combine). Dollop remaining cake batter on top of cream cheese layer, carefully spreading to edges of pan.

Bake 20 minutes or until puffed then take out of oven and gently press raspberries into cake. Bake another 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen edges of cake from the pan then turn out to a plate then turn out again on serving plate so cake is right side up. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired; so pretty!

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Island White Cookies

White chocolate and macadamia nuts star equally in these fabulous cookies!  A friend asked if I would bake these cookies for him if he bought the ingredients and because I am always up for cookie baking, I agreed.  Though I have several recipes with variations on white chocolate-macadamia cookies, I used the recipe on the back of the package of the Nestle white chocolate chips he supplied me, and doing so proved more than satisfactory.

Chewy centers and crisp edges give this cookie its distinctive texture.  Softened butter, brown sugar, and the white chocolate provide the flavorful backdrop for the macadamia nuts.  I put the butter out to soften early so that the prep work would go faster and had 3 dozen cookies within an hour of beginning.  Do not microwave the butter, only soften it until pliable; you want softened butter, not melted butter, for these cookies.

This is a basic cookie recipe: cream the butter and sugars, add an egg, beat well, add dry ingredients, and stir in the chips and the nuts. The cookies bake up rounded and soft with lightly browned edges.  If you’re a cookie lover, do try this twist on the more traditional chocolate chip recipe.  Go white, go island style!

Island White Cookies

Ingredients

1-2/3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
1-12 oz. pkg. white chocolate chips
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped small
1 cup flaked coconut, optional

Directions Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in small bowl; stir to combine. Beat butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips and macadamia nuts (and coconut flakes, if using). Drop by rounded tablespoons on ungreased baking sheets or cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake 8-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store airtight. Yields 5 dozen cookies.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Ono Cinnamon Rolls

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In Hawai’i, the word “ono” is the same as saying “DELICIOUS” for mainland folks, and that is just what these cinnamon rolls will have you saying when you taste them! I woke up wanting to bake bread of some kind today to bring warmth to an otherwise frozen day here in the Heartland and these ‘from-scratch’ rolls, adapted from a Paula Deen recipe,  are exactly what I was thinking of!

You do have to start early in the day as your dough is going to need to rise twice but as long as you are in for the day, there’s no better way to spend your time. These rolls are destined for mama and friends at the nursing home this evening though I did have to eat one of them right out of the oven! Today I needed just 3 cups of flour for the dough and I added chopped pecans, raisins, and orange zest to my filling. I love the zip that orange or lemon zest adds to any bread recipe and the orange zest I used today was a perfect pairing with the cinnamon flavoring. The nuts add crunch and texture to the soft rolls.  I think I got a little carried away on the raisins actually and so recommend using a little less, maybe 1/2 cup only.

Use as little flour as possible and give the dough plenty of time to rise. Today I left it alone for 2 hours and then again for 45 minutes before baking the rolls. Cut your rolled dough into at least 1/2″ thick slices for a filling and satisfying treat and brew up some fresh coffee, too, if you have time. You will love these rolls and the warming sweet aroma they spread throughout the house as they bake.  Oh, yes!  Yet another happy snow day!

Ono Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

DOUGH

1/4 -ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3-1/2 to 4 cups flour

FILLING

1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pans
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
2 T ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins and chopped pecans, optional
1 T. orange zest, optional

GLAZE

4 T butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3-5 T. milk

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour, blend well until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5-7 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, 2 hours usually.

Heat oven to 350. When dough has doubled in size, punch down and roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with pecans and raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices. Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes then bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Prepare glaze while rolls are baking then spread over the rolls while they are still slightly warm.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Aunt Dixie’s Chocolate Saltines

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Ut ohh and ohh no! More nasty winter weather on the rise! I wanted to make something quick and tasty to take mama today if I can’t get out tomorrow and my Aunt Dixie’s Chocolate Saltines were just the ticket I needed to pass GO! These sweet and salty treats have no prep, are ready in just 30 minutes, and give up an awesome moist nibble for a snow day! They were a big hit with mama and her friends at Woodland Hills and I absolutely cannot wait to enjoy several (or more) along with my book tonight.

I used both saltine crackers and a row of graham crackers today and added chopped pecans over all and dried cherries also over the graham crackers. The pecans gave an added nutty crunch and the cherries a sweet, but tart, chewy texture. The cracker crust flavored with the rich toffee mixture, made from melted butter and brown sugar. If you don’t like nuts or have no dried fruit, these are also delicious as the recipe lists in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook. In that recipe use only saltines with the toffee middle, and plain chocolate chips over the top. I sprayed the foil lightly with cooking oil and there was no sticking at all. You freeze this after the chips melt and today mother nature supplied my front porch freezer space with a temperature out there of entirely 16 whole degrees.

If you have little helpers, they will get a kick out of placing the 40 saltines in the pan and spreading those chocolate chips as they melt, earning themselves first bite privileges maybe. A pizza cutter slices them into cracker-sized squares or just break them into pieces. Ten minutes to put them together and 20 to freeze and it’s another happy  snow day! A little sweet, a little salty. Altogether perfect!

Aunt Dixie’s Chocolate Saltines

Ingredients

40 saltine crackers
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1-1/3 cups)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
Dried cherries or cranberries, minced, optional

Directions Preheat oven to 425. Line a large jelly roll pan with foil and place the saltines on top. In medium saucepan, melt butter and add brown sugar, bring to a boil. Gently boil for five minutes, remove from heat, and pour over crackers, spreading evenly. Place into oven and watch closely for five minutes, until the top mixture becomes bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers. When chips begin to melt, spread them over crackers with a knife. Transfer pan to freezer for 15-20 minutes or until completely chilled. Mixture will form a solid layer over crackers; take from freezer and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container. Makes approximately 20 servings or, around here, 5 really large servings, shared liberally.  =)

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