Apple Dumplings

Week 43

This week it was Emily's turn to host. She choose Apple Dumplings. Recipe on page 485 of our book.

I feel like this was a cheat week. Yes, I baked but the dough was store bought refrigerated crescent rolls, which, I am happy to say, I have never bought before.  

After reading the recipe book I got the impression that the bakers could not find a good dough recipe for Apple Dumplings. I guess Pillsbury could. Hope I am not the only one that finds this weird. Professional bakers resorting to refrigerated store bought dough because they couldn't invent their own.

 Oh well, it did make for a nice easy baking week, which I am sure everyone is grateful for.

The only problem I had was making the sauce. It wasn't thick enough. In-fact after heating it as directed the sauce was still just plain old apple cider. I ended up adding a couple teaspoons of corn starch. It soon become the perfect thickness.

The result was amazing. They were so good! A perfect desert when your in a rush or just don't have a lot of time.

P.S. I forgot to fold the dough over for a thicker layer. That is probably why I have so much extra on the top. At least it still worked. :)

Click HERE for the recipe especially if your an apple fan.

A Tip & A Question:

1.  When in doubt buy your dough.
2. N/A

Creme Caramel

Week 42

This weeks host was Michelle. She choose Creme Caramel. Recipe on page 457 of our book.

I was in serious procrastination to make this week's recipe. It looked like Crème brûlée which I am not a huge fan of but it was good to know that my husband loves the desert. He was my motivation this week. It always feels good to bake something for someone you love especially if it's their favorite. I skimmed the recipe early in the week and notice that the ingredients were pretty much the same except for how you use the eggs, (in this case you use some yolks and some whites). Good thing I read that part, relating back to my screw up with the Crème brûlée. The sauce was also different, a caramel sauce, no comment, wish it was a chocolate sauce. None the less I was motivated to make a perfect Creme desert that my husband would love.

I am almost embarrassed to put this picture up. My caramel sauce is more like a chocolate sauce color. Maybe, secretly I thought that burning the caramel sauce would magically turn it into chocolate sauce. Well, it didn't.

I decided to half the recipe since only two of us would be eating it. I am pretty sure that made a difference in the cooking time for the caramel because it turned into caramel and burnt caramel so fast I thought maybe it was supposed to be that dark. (Dumb thought.) I should of made the caramel again but instead I plugged along and finished the recipe.

The out come wasn't good. My husband said if it wasn't for the burnt sauce it would of been wonderful. I will take his word on it because, as you can see, I took one bite and that was it. So sorry to ruin the recipe Michelle. Maybe I will try it again one day when I am feeling extra generous towards my hubby.

Click HERE for the recipe.

A Tip & A Question:

1. When halving recipes make sure you count for cooking time. Sometimes it can make a difference.
2. How does the caramel stay running when chilled in the fridge?

Oatmeal Scones

Week 41

This week it was my turn to host! I had a hard time deciding what to bake. I wasn't in the mood for anything in particular but wanted to bake something that could be served for a meal. The pizza section has just about been baked up and the recipes left were not intriguing to me or my husband so I turned to the "Quick Breads and Muffins" section. I figure we can make a breakfast or lunch out of one recipe here. Still couldn't decide so I just ended up with the Oatmeal Scones. My Mother used to make scones when I was little. She would make them for dinner when my Dad was out of town. They were made in the deep fryer and we put butter and honey on them. I probably ate like ten for dinner with fruit on the side. This recipe looked a little healthier considering they were baked not fried and had oatmeal in them so here we go. . .

Oatmeal Scones

Pg. 36 of our book

 

 I was a little nervous that they would turn out dense and to heavy, which they didn't. The scones were crunchy on the outside and soft but breakable on the inside. They were real good!

Recipe

Toasting the oats before adding them to the batter helps give these scones a rich flavor.

Makes 8

You can substitute 1/2 cup of half-and-half for the milk and cream combination.

• 1 1/2 cups rolled old-fashioned or quick oats
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled 

1.  Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread the oats out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned, about 8 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Let cool on a wired rack; when the oats have cooled measure out 2 tablespoons and reserve for dusting.

I kept checking the oats quite frequently because last time we toasted oats I think they got burned. It seemed 8 minutes was perfect though.

2.  Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. (I can never be bothered to do this.) 

Whisk the milk, cream, and egg together in a large measuring cup. Measure out 1 tablespoon of the mixture and reserve for glazing.

3.  Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a food processor to combine, about 3 pulses. (I used my blender and it worked just fine.) 

Scatter the butter evenly over the top and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, 12 to 14 pulses.

Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the cooled oats. Fold in the milk mixture with a rubber spatula until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

4. Dust the counter with half of the reserved oats. Turn the dough and any floury bits out onto the counter and dust the top with the remaining oats. pat the dough into a 7-inch round, about 1 inch thick. (The dough was very sticky and got all over my hands but was still able to for the circle.)

 Cut the dough into 8 wedges.

5.  Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, brush with the reserved milk mixture, and sprinkle lightly with sugar. (I used raw sugar for sprinkling, it is so much prettier.) Bake until the scone tops are golden, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through baking. (Mine were done right at 12 minutes.)

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The kids and I had them for lunch with a smoothie. This recipe is great for snacking, any meal, or even a side to a meal. Please give them a try!

To Make Ahead

The cut, unbaked scones can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours; bake as directed. They can also be frozen for up to 1 month; cover and freeze the scones until frozen solid, about 6 hours, then transfer to a large zipper-lock bag. Bake the frozen scones (do not thaw) as directed, reducing the oven temperature to 375 degrees, increasing the baking time to 25 minutes to 30 minutes.

A Tip & A Question:

1. Serve with butter and honey!
2. I have noticed how many different textured scones there are. What is the traditional scone?

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Week 40

This week's host was Betsy. She choose Pumpkin Sheet Cake. Recipe on page 250 of our book.

I was really looking forward to this recipe for two reasons:  First the pumpkin bread we made a couple weeks ago was delicious, so I assumed the cake would be just as good. Second it was my hubby's birthday this week and cake was the perfect choice!

Moist, fluffy, sweet, with the perfect cream cheese icing on top. It a super yummy pumpkin cake I must say, although, that's not hard to say since this was my first and have nothing to compare. The recipe was really simple and would make a great desert for those non pie lovers on Thanks Giving dinner. Yep, I think this will be made for Thanks Giving, well, this or the pumpkin bread.

I brought it to work for my hubby's birthday. We had a little party in his office with the kids, watched "Go Diego Go", sang "Happy Birthday", and ate the cake. All of his employes loved it!

Thanks for picky this cake to bake Betsy. If you want a great and easy pumpkin cake click HERE for the recipe.

A Tip & A Question

1. The icing is a cream cheese based. You can also use a vanilla frosting. If serving without the pan ice cake's sides as well.
2. N/A

Eclairs

Week 39

This week's host was Jenn. She choose Eclairs. Recipe on page 441-442 of our book.
(And I guess it's week 40? Must of gotten thrown off on our July 4th) holiday.)

Ohhh a french pastry this week! Looked a little intimidating but now that we are more then half way through our baking it didn't worry me to much. I feel that we have baked some pretty complicated goods so far and can say that my confidence and baking/cooking skills have defiantly improved.

 "So, Please bake some Eclairs this week. . . no problem." :)

Looking Good!

I didn't take a picture of the pastry cream exploding inside but you can see a glimpse of it in the picture above. These Eclairs tasted exactly like ones you would by in a pastry shop. Crisp edges with a creamy inside and not to mention the chocolate to top it all off.

This recipe was very time consuming but on the other hand can be made in steps and stored until ready to assemble the next day. That is a fabulous option!

Being in this baking club convinced me to buy and standing mixer and am so glad I did. It is wonderful in every way. Now I am wondering if I should buy a food processor. There have been a number of recipes that call for this baking appliance. As you can see it wasn't fun trying to get the pastry dough off my blender blade.

We were instructed to use our pastry bag again for this recipe. I was not excited about this because, if you remember, last time when I used my pastry bag it was a complete disaster, mess, and bad baking results all together. We all learn from our mistakes. This time it was clean and came out of the oven looking just as good.

When it came time to mix the chocolate topping mine turned out to have tinny lumps in it. Didn't change the taste but I think my chocolate should of been hotter before I mixed my confectionery sugar in.

I finished them about 9:30 that night and called most of the family to the kitchen!

Even my little girl who had already been in bed for over an hour. She was thrilled to enjoy the treat I had been slaving over all day.

A beautiful looking desert! I bet you could make smaller ones, half the size to serve on a platter for a dinner party! Click HERE to bake this fancy desert.

A Tip & A Question:

1. It's always worth the work when your loved ones enjoy the result.
2. Any tips for smooth chocolate?