Russian Walnut Apricot Bars

Here's another belatedly posted holiday recipe. My mom wanted to serve these on our dessert table - she always talks about how she wants to keep things simple this year and not go crazy and then we make several main dishes, a ton of sides and a packed table of desserts. 

I tried to convince her we didn't need to make the Russian Torte since we had more than enough already, but I ended up making it. I'd never baked anything like these bars before, and they were really good - sweet but not too sweet, nutty and tangy.

Fresh Cranberry Scones

I still had some fresh cranberries in the freezer leftover from the holidays. Now they are in these scones, which are really easy, flavorful and smell like Christmas is coming all over again.

The recipe includes a rum glaze - I would go for that in a brunch scone, but it doesn't seem like the right fit for a weekday breakfast scone. I'm opting for butter and honey instead.

Fresh Cranberry Scones

Recipe from the Kitchn

Makes 12 to 18 scones, depending on size (I made pretty huge ones and I got about 9...)

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 small orange or clementine, zested
2 1/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup milk
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling, optional

Saltine Toffee

Kate asked me to guest post on her blog Thriftburgher for a Christmas cookie series, and I posted Saltine Toffee, which is the easiest, best thing ever. If you've never had it before, make it immediately and report back. 

So go see the recipe on Thriftburgher and look around if you haven't checked her blog out before.

Christmas Tree Cheese Ball

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Tree Cheese Ball

Idea from Betty Crocker - check that one out for their version

Make your favorite cheese ball recipe (I don't use a recipe - I like cheese balls with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce, chili pepper and a little horseradish.)

Shape like a cone and chill. Before serving, decorate with toasted nuts, parsley and dried cranberries or other dried fruit. It's basically an art project so just be crafty. A few of the commenters on the Betty Crocker recipe even cut star tree toppers out of cheddar cheese.

Serve with crackers, pretzels or fresh veggies!

Feta & Chive Biscuits

You wouldn't think that I'd be in the mood for fluffy buttery biscuits after the amount of cookies I've been downing these days, but I was - and these biscuits are, not surprisingly, amazing. They're very easy to make and perfectly flavorful. I do think it's time to eat some salad now, though. But I also made a banana upside-down cake for later!

Feta & Chive Biscuits
Slightly adapted from Joy the Baker

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold & cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp cold water
3/4 cup sour cream, cold
1/3 cup chopped chives
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 egg, beaten for the egg wash
topping: coarse sea salt, cracked black pepper, smoky paprika

Pumpkin Doughnuts

I made these last week for no apparent reason. Just because the recipe looked so good and I had a lot of pumpkin to use (as usual). The recipe is from a blog called Tessa Domestic Diva.

1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons chia meal mixed w/ 2 tablespoons hot water or 1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Grease 2-3 baking pans and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, egg or chia, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix the flour into the wet ingredients until a sticky dough forms.
3. Place dough inside a large ziploc bag. Cut a hole in one corner of the bag and pipe some dough into a doughnut shape onto the greased baking pans. Slightly overlap the ends of the dough. I actually made my hole too small so I had to make like 3 circles on top of each other to get reasonably sized doughnuts.

4. If you want cinnamon sugar doughnuts, mix 1 tbsp cinnamon plus 3 tbsp raw cane sugar and sprinkle over doughnuts.
5. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until firm. Let rest for a few minutes, the place on wire racks to cool. For chocolate drizzle, melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips and add 1 tsp coconut oil. For glaze mix 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 1 tsp coconut oil and 1-2 tsp almond milk.

Cranberry Apple Tart

Before you make this tart, I just have to warn you-- it's amazing and it'll be gone before you know it! Also don't heat it up before serving. Hehe. I served it at Thanksgiving dinner for my cousin Julian's birthday and it turned into mush. Still delicious though. The recipe is from My New Roots!!! Oh and SURPRISE it's vegan and gluten free! 

For the crust:

1 cup rolled oats 

1/2 cup pecans

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tsp. vanilla 

1/2 tsp sea salt

75 g whole buckwheat flour (scant 1/2 cup)

For the filling:

1 apple, sliced thin

2 cups fresh cranberries

1/2 cup maple syrup 

2 Tbsp. chia seeds

6 Tbsp. orange juice 

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tsp. vanilla 

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cardamom

zest of 1 orange

Orange & Cranberry Pound Cake

This is another example of how I can have really good intentions of making something for a particular reason or to give to someone, but then time after time what actually happens is I start eating it right away. I was going to save this for Thanksgiving, but instead we'll probably eat all of it by Thursday.

ORANGE & CRANBERRY POUND CAKE

Adapted from Joy the Baker's Chocolate Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp orange zest (I used the zest from 1 large orange)

8 oz cream cheese (1 package), softened

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temp

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup fresh cranberries

Banana Upside Down Cake

Such a fun cake!!! I will definitely be making this again and again. I want to perfect my banana placing technique. Today's cake is for my grandma's birthday dinner. She'll be 88 years old!

We also had a salad with warm bacon-y mustard dressing, VERY GOOD maple mustard chicken, mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus.

BANANA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Slightly adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

2 cups all purpose flour (I did 1.5 all purpose, .5 whole wheat)

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

4 oz (1 stick) butter, room temp

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup whole milk (I used 2%)

Banana Topping:

4 tbsp butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp bourbon, rum or whisky

2-3 medium bananas, sliced lengthwise

Soda Bread with Raisins

I have a new St. Patrick's Day tradition, now in it's second year: I watch the "Irish" movies on TCM (mostly American movies with American-Irish stories) and make soda bread. 

This year we're stepping it up because my mom's making corned beef brisket with cabbage and carrots. After all, we must honor Twilly's Irish heritage.

one of his favorite napping spots

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SODA BREAD WITH RAISINS
From AllRecipes.com

1/2 cup sugar

4 cups flour (I used 3 all-purpose, 1 wheat)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2-3 cup raisins

1 tbsp caraway seeds (I used anise seeds)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

milk for "glazing"

Barefoot Contessa's Chocolate Cake

This is the second time we've made this chocolate two-layer cake for my Grandpa's birthday - it's VERY good. There's coffee to make it extra chocolate-y and buttermilk to make it extra moist. Last year I had to make it all in less than an hour and it still worked out perfectly, so that's proof that this is a simple recipe, especially since I'm slow and hardly ever make cakes. I add toasted coconut for another great texture. Only the outside is coconut, unlike Kate's crazy coconut birthday cake!

My mom took the lead on the baking this time. If she's around, I'm generally not allowed to do much in the kitchen. We are on opposite ends of the of cooking/baking spectrum: she measures EVERYTHING, adds it all in order and follows the recipe verbatim. She even had everything measured out ahead of time for this one. 

I hope you all live to be 87! If you do, I will make you this cake. If not, tough, make it yourself.

the grandparents with their favorite grandchild

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BEATTY'S CHOCOLATE CAKE
From the Barefoot Contessa

Butter for greasing the pans 

1 3/4 cups all ­purpose flour, plus more for pans 
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra ­large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Chocolate Frosting
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra­large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
11/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Crazy Coconut Cake

 

 Coconut Cake, with Coconut Buttercream Frosting, topped with coconut flakes. Obviously for the hardcore coconut lover.

Much to my aggravation, my fiance Mark's birthday happens to be three days after Christmas. It's killer for me because he's already hard to buy for, and I have to think of enough present ideas for two occasions in the same week.

His food tastes, however, are pretty easy to figure out. When I saw the recipe for Coconut Cake in the June/July 2012 issue of BUST magazine several months ago, I knew I had to keep it in mind to try.
So, the morning of his birthday, I woke up at 8 a.m. to put the thing together. I never made a homemade cake before, let alone a layered one, but I was extra motivated by the fact that his mom just bought us a Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas. It was also my first time making homemade buttercream frosting.

This recipe I found in BUST, but they cited the recipe from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook, by Cheryl Day & Griffith Day. This recipe is repeated nearly verbatim from the magazine.

Cake Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
3/4 cup cream of coconut (could not find this stuff in the store anywhere, so opted for coconut milk instead)
1 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 lb. (three sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Prep time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Cook time: 45-50 minutes
Serves: 10 - 12

Honey Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

I made the buns for Christmas dinner today! I've baked buns from this recipe maybe three times before, but this time I think they were extra good, like melt-in-your-mouth buns. They call for buttermilk powder, which we usually have in the fridge to sub for liquid buttermilk. It keeps for a long time. I doubled the recipe this time so we'd have plenty for the holidays.

We're almost ready for Christmas!

My sister Linda took this one today. :)

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Honey Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

Adapted from maybe Good Housekeeping? Cut out a couple years ago?

1/3 cup (to mix with yeast) plus 1 tbsp (for glaze) honey, plus more for serving
1 packet active dry yeast (when recipes say that I normally use about 2 tsp)
4 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup dry buttermilk powder
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
3 tbsp butter, melted

Christmas Sugar Cookies

These were made for the cookie exchange and it is a doubled recipe. Lots of cookies! Also we did not have Christmas cookie cutters. However, we did have a dreidel cookie cutter (it's Brittany's) and a bunch of dinosaur ones. I think they were a hit. This recipe is from my Mrs. Field's cookie book. We make them so often, we tore out the page to have it on hand more easily. My suggested playlist for making these cookies is the Sufjan Stevens Christmas album (I think there are 2). This is a Pittsburgh dinosaur:

4 cups white whole wheat flour (I like the added texture of this flour)
1/2 tsp salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract

Cream the butter and sugar together. Then add the eggs and vanilla and blend. Then add the flour and salt. Put the dough in the refrigerator for about 1 hour until it firms up. This helps the cookies hold their shape better when baking.
After the dough is firm, roll out the dough in batches on a floured surface. Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shape.

Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 325 degrees for about 9 minutes until lightly browned.

Squash Ravioli from Thanksgiving leftovers!

Hi everyone, it's Kate here and it's my very first post! Yay! I'm living in Ohio now, but a Pittsburgher at heart.

Last week, I got some delicious inspiration from this Trib article about reinventing Thanksgiving leftovers. The one that stuck out to me were the ravioli, especially since they're pretty similar to pierogies, a true yinzer favorite.

Squash ravioli: delicious and easy to make!

Instead of incorporating turkey, because we actually ran out of that, I focused on the butternut squash, because we have a ton. So here's a squash ravioli recipe slightly adapted, but mostly the same from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article.

Potato Rosemary Rolls

For the past couple years we've been going to dinner at my mom's best friend's house on the day before Thanksgiving. They do a fancy roast and everything, and I thought these rolls would go well with big slaps of red meat. And they do.

Also, rosemary is my favorite herb. And I have some in my bedroom for the winter, so it's convenient. 

Now these Potato Rosemary rolls are in my top three favorite rolls list, which also includes bubble-top brioche rolls from a Dorie Greenspan recipe and honey buttermilk rolls, I think from a Good Housekeeping recipe. In my opinion, homemade rolls are always a pretty impressive thing to put on the table.

Just so you know, I separated the steps into more parts than the original recipe to make it easier to follow - the original has only four steps. So it takes a while because of the dough rising but there's not really that much to do.

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"POTATO ROSEMARY ROLLS"

Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod (good food blog)

2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup shortening
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup scalded milk
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped