The weekend is always, always too short. Friday after work the world is my oyster and there seems to be so much time for sleeping, watching TV, playing video games, cooking, going out, and doing some chores. But then somehow, all of a sudden, the daylight starts to fade and it is Sunday night and although the weekend has been glorious the bathroom is still dirty and I still want to play more video games. 

I always want more weekend, and thankfully this past one was gloriously relaxing and did include lots of cooking. And lots of cooking in a good way. Weekends are were I can do the ambitious cooking there isn’t time for during the week. Weekends are also the time when I can just whip up something easy because I feel like it.  And that’s exactly what it was like with this lovely and simple cider cake. I felt like making a cake, so I made a cake.

I like to borrow cookbooks from the library. It lets me get creative and try something new without having to spend money or clutter my home with more books. Don’t get me wrong I love cookbooks and would buy more, but I live in a studio and someone says I should cut back. Anyway, I recently borrowed Paul Hollywood’s British Baking and it’s filled with all kinds of tasty goodies from regions throughout the Britain. When I flipped through the book I was immediately drawn to the cider recipe.

I love cider and I love that it is everywhere in the UK. In the U.S. it’s pretty much beer or not beer. The only time I ever had hard cider at home was if I bought Woodchuck to go to a party. But here you can go to a pub and order cider in bottles or on draft. The tastes and types vary and it’s not a drink just for girls. In summation, I love the idea of baking with cider. Cider is delicious and a little gets to go in the cake, and then I can have a little too.

This cake is subtle with a hint of apple and a bit of cinnamon. While baking it will fill your home with a wonderful aroma. The cake is sweet enough you feel like you’re having a treat, but not so dessert-y that you’ll feel bad about having more than one slice. Have it with some tea, cozy up on the couch, and binge watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Netflix. That’s what I did it. It was the perfect example of enjoying luxuriating in simple pleasures.

Adapted from Paul Hollywood’s British Baking Cookbook.

Messy level: The cleanest easiest cake I’ve ever made. You need just two bowls and a cake pan. It’s simple to make and when I finished I had only a small spill on the floor. I was so excited by how clean my kitchen was at the end of baking that I made Ryan acknowledge how well I had done.

Cider Cake

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Ingredients

• 100g/ 7 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 100g/ ½ cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 225g/8 oz/ 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 150ml/ 5 oz/ ⅔ cup dry cider
• confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. Grease an 7inch/18cm round cake tin with butter. Then line the bottom with parchment paper (Just fyi, I used a 8 inch/20cm cake tin and this worked fine, but I thought I'd share what the expert said)
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat until the sugar and butter are light and fluffy. (This can take a minute or two)
4. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.
5. Fold in about ⅓ of the flour mixture into the butter. Then fold in half of the cider. Repeat until you have alternated mixing in the flour and cider. Stir gently until evenly combined.
6. Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake pan.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
8. Leave the cake to cool.
9. Dust with confectioner's sugar and serve.

3.3.3077

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I’ve started to do online grocery delivery. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like grocery shopping but sometimes it can be a real pain. Before I started work I had all the time in the world to go to the store and it was always fairly empty, I could read labels and not be pumped. I could muse over which brands to buy. And the checkout lines were short. It was glorious. And then I started work and I had to shop with the crowd on the weekends or after work. There’s children crying, people stopping their carts in the middle of the aisle, and general crowded nonsense. It’s exhausting and takes all the fun out of wandering around and pondering what looks good.

Online shopping has changed all that. No more carrying heavy bags, bumping into people, and long lines. Online delivery means I plan meals so I get home from work and have everything I need for dinner. It means I can order tons of heavy juice containers or the obscure ingredient I can’t find on the shelves. But if I’m honest, every time I place an order I make a mistake. Usually it’s been a small one. I order two cans of something when I only meant to order one. Or I order a giant carton of milk when I meant to order just a pint. But my biggest mistake has to do with carrots. I meant to order four carrots and I ordered four, 1 kilogram bags of carrots. SO MANY CARROTS.

So I’ve been doing carrot everything. I’ve put carrots in a stir fry, I’ve roasted them, and I even made a carrot and coriander soup. But still, there were more carrots. I hit the internet and searched for recipes that used lots of carrots. There are all kinds of crazy carrot recipes out there. Do you know there is such a thing as carrot jam? Anyway, I decided I wanted to make a carrot bread but so many recipes I found were more like cake layered with tons of cream cheese frosting. Now, don’t get it twisted, this bread isn’t so healthy either. It has a whole cup of brown sugar. But, I wanted a bread with the appearance of health. There’s a lot of nice things about this bread. It’s moist, has a lovely flavor that reminds me of oranges and molasses, and it’s easy to make. The downfall, I only needed to use one carrot. One. Just one carrot. Sigh.

When I found this recipe, I was drawn to it because it comes from Mark Bittman. His books, How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, were two of the first cookbooks I bought myself. They are giant cookbooks that really helped me learn to cook. The book has lists of essential tools, it has pictures to demonstration difficult techniques, and it has all the basic recipes you need (like how to hard boil an egg) as well as more complex recipes too. What’s great about those books is that if you have an ingredient you don’t know what to do with, these books will sort you out. Have an eggplant? Just search eggplant in the index and you’ll have at least half a dozen recipe options. It’s truly a great resource.

I’ve adapted this recipe just slightly from the original. I’ve used less orange zest – but that flavor is still present just not overwhelming. I’ve added pecans for some crunch and for the illusion of health. Once, I also made this recipe with self-rising flour because I ran out of all-purpose. If you do this with self-rising flour just cut out the baking powder and do everything else the same.

Finally, if you have any ideas for more carrot recipes please let me know! I need them.

Messy level:  Three spoons, but just barely. Having to grate carrots and orange zest adds an extra tool which can be hard to clean. Also for me, I’m prone to flinging carrot peelings onto the floor.

Brown Sugar Carrot Bread

 

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Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons cold butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup almond milk
• zest of one orange
• 1 egg
• 1 cup grated carrots
• ½ cup roughly chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter.
3. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the butter to the flour mixture. Use a fork, 2 knives, or your fingers to cut it into the dry ingredients. Keep doing this until there are no pieces bigger than a small pea.
5. In a medium bowl, beat together the milk, zest and egg.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until moist and there aren't big ribbons of flour. Don't mix until everything is smooth.
7. Gently fold in the pecans.
8. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for about an hour.
9. Let cool, then serve.

3.2.2925

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Warning: This post is a little sappy.

This recipe for cinnamon glazed sweet potatoes, simply called “yams” in my family, is one of my Mom’s signature holiday recipes. For Thanksgiving and Christmas, you can always count on my mom to make an apple pie and this recipe. Sure, she can makes other things too, but those are staples. It’s a really nice dish. It’s sweet, and a lovely hybrid between baked and mashed potatoes. But, to be honest, it’s not my favorite Thanksgiving food, but it is my brother’s favorite. Eric’s Thanksgiving plate is usually 50% baked ham and 50% yams. He loves this stuff. And so today’s post is dedicated to him.

I’ve been thinking about Eric a bunch recently. It started at work the other day. I was playing on a piano thing with a little boy and his mom. All of a sudden, this slightly taller little girl (who turned out to be his sister) ran up to him, semi-violently grabbed his face, kissed him on the cheek, then ran away. Mom was very touched. I thought it was hilarious. And the boy was completely unfazed. It was that somewhat violent and tender moment that made me think of Eric.

See, he doesn’t mind if I squash him

It made me think of Eric because although he has been bigger and stronger than me for over ten years, he still lets me be the big dog. He lets me poke him, tickle him, squash him, tease him, and put my cold hands on his neck – and he is unbothered by all of it. Like that little boy, Eric accepts all my pestering and understands that it is meant to show affection. I’m lucky that Eric and I get along so well. We have a really similar sense of humor, sometimes he says exactly what I’m thinking, and of course he lets me pretend I’m the dominant sibling.

I’m excited about Thanksgiving in London, but I’ll miss my family and Eric most of all (sorry guys). So, even though this recipe isn’t my favorite it will be part of our Thanksgiving meal so my brother can be with me in spirit.

Messy level: Two spoons. This is really straightforward in terms of prep – peel and cut sweet potatoes, make some glaze, pour on potatoes, bake. Easy and not messy.

Cinnamon Glazed Sweet Potatoes

 

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Cook time

2 hours 30 mins

Total time

2 hours 30 mins

 

Author: My Mom

Ingredients

• 6-8 medium sweet potatoes
• 4 oz butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375°F/190°C.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into circles that are 1.5-2" thick.
3. Place prepared sweet potatoes in a large tray - like a 9x13" pan with sides would be good.
4. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
5. Once the butter is melted, add in the water, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
6. Stir until sugar is dissolved, everything is well mixed. Heat until just about boiling.
7. Taste. Add more cinnamon or nutmeg if you like.
8. Pour the glaze over your prepared sweet potatoes.
9. Cover with aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 2 hours, or until soft and can be easily pierced with a fork. Every 45-60 minutes, gently turn the potatoes and spoon sauce over them. Don't be too aggressive here or you'll turn this into mashed sweet potatoes.
10. Once the potatoes are soft remove the aluminium foil. Place back in the oven for 30-45 minutes more. It is ready when the liquid has begun to thicken and evaporate, and the potatoes are nicely coated.
11. Serve and spoon a little glaze from the pan over it before eating!

3.2.2807

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I love gingerbread so much that over the summer I found gingerbread lip balm, bought it, and then saved using it until last week. Ya know, so I’d only use it “in season.” I also love a good gingerbread latte. Look how cute this one is from Costa Coffee! Ryan said the gingerbread man looks so happy, but he doesn’t know he’s about to be submerged in hot liquid. And of course gingerbread cookies for Christmas. This year, I want to try and make a gingerbread house from scratch. However, as much as I love gingerbread, I’d never had it in a bready-cakey form. Obviously, that had to be remedied so I made a gingerbread cake.

If you haven’t had gingerbread cake before, please try this recipe. It is so moist, even four or five days after making it. The batter is actually pretty liquidy when finished, so that probably contributes to its moistness. The best part though is that this cake is jam packed with flavor. It has Guinness (or whatever stout you prefer) and for me, that gives it “chocolate notes” without it actually having chocolate. I know that might sound like the pretentious sort of thing you say about wine, but there are flavors in the cake that remind me of the richness of chocolate. I also think the Guinness adds just a slight edge of bitterness, which is nice because it keeps the cake from being too sweet (which most holiday cakes are).

But, a lot of the flavor comes from the fresh and ground ginger, cinnamon, molasses, and pepper. I love this combination of flavors. It is warming, intense on my taste buds, and makes me feel like holiday cheer is nearby. This cake has real presence. This is not a cake you absentmindedly scarf down, and later can’t recall what it tastes like, but all you know is that your teeth are coated in sugar. This cake is different. This cake says hey, I’m here, step into Christmas. This is the cake that is so full of character and quality that you only need a small piece to feel happy, satisfied, and full of holiday spirit. Warning: If you serve this at a party, let people know what it is so they don’t expect a brownie and then end up with an unexpected (but awesome) flavor shock.

I recommend serving it with a cloud of whipped cream because the light sweetness helps mellow out the cake. Or, better yet. Cozy up on the couch with a blanket, your favorite movie, and a cup of herbal tea. I don’t think you could have a more relaxing and pleasant afternoon.

I got this recipe from KCET, a California TV station, but originally it comes from America’s Test Kitchen.

Messy level: Three spoons. For the batter you need a sauce pan, two bowls, and the baking pan. It’s a lot of dishes! Also, molasses is always messy and buttering and flouring a pan can lead to spills. It’s not a daunting mess – you won’t have a ruined counter or apron, but it’s definitely not a one bowl cake.

Gingerbread Cake

 

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Ingredients

• ¾ cup Guiness (or stout of your choice)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅔ cup molasses
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pan
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• powdered sugar (optional for dusting)
• whipped cream (optional, but highly recommended, for a side)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350/180°.
2. Butter and flour 8-inch square baking pan.
3. In a medium sauce pan, bring Guiness to boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally.
4. When it's come to a boil, remove from heat and stir in baking soda. The Guiness will foam up. When the foam stops, stir in molasses, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Stir until dissolved. It might like dissolved, but stir a bit more, I found the molasses deceiving.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, baking powder, salt, cinnamon.
6. Pour the stout mixture into a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, oil, and grated ginger into the stout mixture. (You can do this all in the sauce pan if you want, but I don't want you scratching your pan)
7. Take wet mixture and whisk it into flour mixture in thirds. Each time you add, stir until completely smooth before adding more.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan. Tap pan against counter 3 or 4 times to remove air bubbles. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean and the top should be a bit firm.
9. Cool cake in pan.
10. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar, if using. Then cut into squares and serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if using.

3.2.2807

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I love granola and I eat it for breakfast almost every single day. But, even though I love granola, I take issue with most store bought granola. It’s dry, and expensive, and not always very flavorful. Almost every time I go to the supermarket I end up buying something different. My current favorite, which I’ve bought twice in a row, is called The Food Doctor Cacao & Tangerine Granola (which sounds weird but is good). However, I’m still on the hunt for a great granola.

I have had my perfect granola before. It is from Bayou Bakery in Arlington, VA. I loved that granola! It was nicely flavored and simultaneously crunchy and chewy. There were nice clusters, yummy raisins, and a bit of a sweet flavor. The problem, beyond that I no longer live in Arlington, is that it was so expensive. I don’t totally remember what it costs, but I feel like it was somewhere between $8-12. That’s too much for granola. So I wanted to see if I could make it for myself.

Today’s recipe is my second attempt at making granola. The first time I ever made it, I over cooked it and it had a burnt flavor. Thankfully, this attempt came out great! I used a combination of almond and macadamia nuts and for fruit both raisins and dried cranberries. It was what I had in the house. And that’s what is great about making granola – you can use whatever dried fruits, nuts, and seeds that you like or already having in the cupboard.

Now, full disclosure, this granola isn’t like Bayou’s. It’s crunchy and has clusters, but doesn’t have the chewiness. What makes this recipe better is that this granola smells amazing. When baking it smells like those honey roasted peanuts you can buy from street vendors in New York City. And that is the best smell ever! New York smells gross and that roasted peanut smell wafts over it all and smells like joy, and Christmas, and sweetness in your nostrils. If you don’t know that smell, go to New York, or a Christmas market, or also one time I bought a cup here in London on Tower Bridge. Or make this granola. You need to know that smell.

Anyway, all of that is to say, this granola smells like those New York honey roasted peanuts and it tastes similar once it is finished baking. So I haven’t recreated my perfect granola, but I’ve made something so good that I’m cool with living an ocean away from Bayou. I’ve been eating this granola mixed with yogurt and also by the handful straight from the tub. It easy to double this to make more in case you scarf it down too fast. 

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen. I made a small batch using just 2.5 cups of oats. I did that because I didn’t want a huge batch that I’d feel obligated to eat if it came out badly. Next time I’ll make a larger batch because this is a tasty snack.

Messy level: This is so quick and clean to make. Spray your measuring cup with some cooking spray before measuring the maple syrup and it will slide right out. Nothing will be sticky, then you just mix everything together, and that’s it!

Granola with Nuts and Dried Fruit

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Ingredients

• ¼ cup maple syrup
• slightly less than ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• ½ cup raw almonds, chopped coarse
• ½ cup macadamia nuts, chopped coarse
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup dried cranberries

Instructions

1. Put an oven rack to an upper-middle level. Heat oven to 325/160°.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Once those are mixed, then whisk in oil.
4. Fold in oats and nuts until thoroughly coated. If the oats and nuts don't seem coated enough, splash in a little more maple syrup.
5. Spoon oat mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Use a spatula or spoon to spread the mix across sheet into thin, even layer. Use your spoon or spatula to press the oats down until they are compact.
6. Bake until lightly browned, about 35-40 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through. I don't stir it during the baking process because then it allows for more clusters. You can stir it if you want, but then your granola may be darker and less clumpy.
7. Remove granola from oven and cool for about 1 hour.
8. Break the granola into pieces of various sizes. Stir in the dried fruits. You stir in the fruits now because if you bake them the fruit will get really dry and unpleasant.

3.2.2807

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First,  if there is a way I can put more vegetables in my food, I will do it. I know people who are anti-hiding vegetable – but not me. I’m always trying to find a way to get more veggies in my diet. I like green smoothies and the zucchini chocolate chip cookies from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and I like today’s muffins. When I saw a picture called “spinach Popeye muffins” on Pinterest, I knew it was something I had to try. I mean, make me strong like Popeye and they taste good? Yes please. Try not to be put off by the green muffins. They are fun looking and taste like banana bread. 

Second, this is the first baking recipe I have ever significantly altered! When I read the original recipe, I wanted to decrease the sugar and make it a bit healthier. But, I wasn’t really sure how to do it because I know baking is a science and messing it can lead to bad results. Then I read this article from the Harvard School of Public Health and decided, “what the heck, let’s try it.” So I decreased the sugar by a 1/3, I substituted some brown sugar for the white, and I used low-fat yogurt instead of whole milk. I had no idea how it was going to come out. Luckily it came out SO TASTY!!! The muffins don’t really rise though and the muffin is a bit sticky in texture – both of which I think are a result of my meddling.  Still they tasted amazing and I’m sure with a little more meddling, I could fix those issues. But in summation, Ryan and I ate 7 about as soon as they came out of the oven.

Which leads me to my third and final point. While I was baking I was video chatting with my family and I showed them these muffins. There were skeptical and asked Ryan and I to eat one on camera. Anyway, we told them the muffins were sweet and tasted like banana bread. And the best part is they promised if I posted the recipe they would try it. So, here it is guys.

If you’re off put by green spinach-banana muffins, I’ll post a regular banana bread recipe next week.

Adapted from The Green Forks.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 non-fat Greek yogurt

1 6oz bag of baby spinach

2-3 mashed ripe bananas

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line the muffin pan with paper liners.

2. Whisk together the flours, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

3. Place the oil, yogurt, and spinach in a blender. Blend on high until pureed. You might have to do this in batched (I did because my blender is weak).

4. Add the banana and vanilla to the blender and blend until just mixed.

5. Pour pureed mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold together with a rubber spatula until combined.

6. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until  toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.

7. Let cool (if you can wait!)

8. Try it!!

Messy level: This recipe is a three spoon recipe, although if you have a nice blender maybe fewer spoons. I tried to put all the spinach, yogurt, and oil in the blender at once and all I was doing was overheating the blender. I then took it out and did things in batches, which meant using another bowl. And of course it’s me, so I got green drops of batter all over the counter. Overall, not too messy, just gotta be careful.

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My 29th  birthday was a little over a week ago! I went to New York to have a last hurrah. I actually hadn’t been to New York since my graduation, and I was excited to go back and see the city one more time. On Friday (the 20th) I went to Staten Island and stayed with my friend Inga (who also has the same birthday as me). It was so great to catch up with her. She and I were roommates years ago when we studied abroad in Rome. Visiting her, I got to see her new house, meet her  beautiful daughter, and celebrate our birthdays. We had sushi and cake and it was wonderful.

I then went into Manhattan and met up with my  friend Chris, from graduate school. We sat in Battery Park, talked, and looked at the Statue of Liberty. It reminded me of the times when we used to pretend to go for a run along the water, but really we’d just walk and gossip. Then, I met up with my parents and my brother and we had a blast! Seriously, we indulged in New York. We ate at a few of my favorite restaurants. Lunch at Ippudo, dinner at John’s of Bleecker, and dessert at Max Brenner’s. We also found a tiny place that only sold macaroons! We bought six and shared them all. There were amazing flavors like passion fruit and lavender-honey. We also went shopping on 5th Avenue and browsed books at the Strand. It was a great New York weekend with some touristy activity and some old favorites.

After New York I hopped on the train back to DC. I got dolled up in a fancy dress and went as my friend Anna’s date to the Ford’s Theatre Gala. I saw some great theater, had a tasty dinner in the beautiful courtyard at the Portrait Gallery, took pretty pictures with my friend, and said goodbye to some of old colleagues. Great night. I stayed out way too late, but loved it anyway.

Then Monday and Tuesday were my last two days at work. I don’t talk about my job very much on the blog but I have loved working with Live It Learn It. While at Live It Learn It, I’ve had a wonderful time. In this job I’ve been busy running all over DC, I’ve taught lessons, met great students, befriended some awesome coworkers, and led field trips throughout the city. I’ve eaten more Wendy’s than ever before, I’ve sent group texts of just emojis, and I’ve helped create hilarious and weird Mad Libs. And I’ve laughed so so much. Live it Learn It has been everything I was looking for in a job and even though I’m moving they can’t get rid of me yet. I’m hanging on even while abroad.

And today’s recipe is truly for them. In the last year, almost every dessert I’ve made has been shared with my Live It Learn It family – including this one. I decided to dabble in gluten-free baking because one of my coworkers keeps a gluten-free diet. Baking is fun for me because I like sharing the finished product with others – so it’s more fun if everyone is included. I have loved bringing in cookies and treats for them and it doesn’t hurt that they always say nice things and eat everything I bring. I will miss baking for them.

I then spent the rest of the week packing up my apartment. It was stressful and I had a hard time deciding what to ship, store, and pack. It might sound trivial but I had a hard time editing down and Ryan got more than one crazy phone call from me. My parents came down and helped me pack, trash things, and move out. Thank goodness for them because they helped me be decisive and keep from completely losing my marbles.  I could not have done everything so effectively without them! During this move weekend, we also went to my friend Lisa’s wedding. I have known Lisa for over 20 years and it was wonderful to see her get married. She looked amazing – and unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures of her! Her wedding was at the Center Club and it has the most beautiful view of Baltimore I have ever seen. The wedding was a blast. I danced with my friend’s 1 year-old son, I chatted with old friends, I danced some more, and then I sobbed when I said goodbye to my girls. We group hugged, and I felt loved and lucky. All in all, a great night and a wonderful farewell from Baltimore.

Now I’m sitting in my friend Charlotte’s guest room while her cat snuggles up on me. For those of you who know me, you know I’m anti-cat, but I’m actually liking this. What’s happening to me? My flight leaves later tonight – but until then my plan is to go to the pool and then out for dinner.

It’s been a busy ten days or so, but it’s been great. I said goodbye to many of my old homes – New York, Baltimore, and DC. I am deeply going to miss my wonderful network of people here, but being farther away doesn’t mean we’re really separated. To get a bit emotional, I want to say thank you for all the celebrations, activities, and fun I’ve had as I prepared for the move.  I’m so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life.

But now I’m ready. I’m ready to go to London. I’m ready for new adventures, new jobs, new restaurants, new friends. Mostly, I’m ready to be back with Ryan. Get ready London, here I come.

This recipe is adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook, How Can It Be Gluten Free? This book is awesome with lots of really clear and helpful advice and suggestions. I’ve changed it by adding a bit more xantham gum than ATK recommended. I thought it helped hold the shape of the cookie a bit better. These cookies are great and the only difference between these and regular cookies are the thin and delicate structure and shape. The other change was that I used chips and Reese’s pieces instead of normal chips. Gotta spice things up now and then, and get a little creative with the cookie add-ins, right?

Ingredients:

3/4 cup + 2/3 cup King Arthur All-purpose Flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp xantham gum

1/2 tsp salt

8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup packed, light brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/8 cup mini chocolate chips

1/8 cup mini Reese’s pieces

Directions:

1. Whisk together flour, baking soda, xantham gum, and salt in a bowl.

2. Whisk melted butter and sugars in a large bowl.

3. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix until smooth.

4. Add in the flour mixture.

5. Add in the chips and Reese’s pieces.

6. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 350°.

8. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Use two spoons to arrange 1.5 tbsp size rounds of dough onto the baking sheet. The two-spoons advice is important. The consistency of the batter is stickier and softer than a regular cookie. The spoons help make sure you can make normal looking cookies.

9. Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for 11 minutes. Rotate baking sheet halfway through. As they cook, cookies will spread and they can get dark quickly, so be sure to check on them!

10. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before serving. The cookies are more fragile than gluten-full cookies so let them rest!

Messy level: This recipe is easy – there are only two bowls for this recipe and you don’t even need an electric mixer.

The post Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Reese’s Pieces Cookies appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

Photo from Bullycomics

Have you ever seen Love Actually? I have. Many times.

Do you know that scene when Juliet (Kiera Knightley) goes to Mark’s (Andrew Lincoln) apartment? She goes there looking to see if he has good video footage of her wedding. When Mark opens the door, she offers him banoffee pie. “What the heck is that?” I’ve thought to myself. So I googled it, and I immediately wanted to have some. And simple as that, I decided to make this pie for myself.

Banoffee pie is banana and toffee pie. Get it? Banana+toffee=banoffe. Doesn’t that sound delicious!?! I really liked this pie. The texture is creamy and silky. It’s cool, delicious, and both indulgent and refreshing.

Also, the technique for this recipe is simple to handle – but what makes this awesome is the transformation some of the ingredients go through. That might sound stupid because all cooking is about transformation. But, I was really blown away how simple things can change. With some heavy beating, cream transforms from a liquid to a semi-solid. I knew whipped cream was cream that was whipped, but I had never made it myself before. But the best transformation was the condensed milk! With heat, it becomes something completely different. It becomes toffee! Look at the pictures below and be impressed.

This recipe is a mix from Nigella Lawson, Brooklyn Limestone, and a graham cracker crust recipe I’ve used before.

Ingredients:

Crust-

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full cracker strips)

3 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter (plus more if needed)

Filing-

3 large bananas

1 14oz can of condensed milk

2 cups whipped cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

chocolate shavings (or chocolate bar)

Directions:

1. Remove the label from the can of condensed milk. Place the can in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2-2.5 hours. Make sure that the can is submerged for the entire time! If you let the water level drop your can will explode and your kitchen will be a scary mess.

2. Once the allotted time has passed, take the pot off the stove. Let the can cool. You’ve just made toffee. How easy, yet impressive, is that?!

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. In a food processor, blend the graham crackers until you have fine crumbs.

4. In a medium bowl mix the graham crackers and sugar.

5. Melt the butter in the microwave, then add it to the graham cracker and sugar. Mix until the graham cracker crumbs are all moistened. You want a consistency of slightly wet sand – sand that’s been wet but is drying out. If you need to, you can add more than 4 tbsp of butter.

6. Press the graham cracker crust into your pie plate – bottom, sides and edges. If you want a thick crust use all the mix. I used about 3/4 of the mixture. If you’re not using all of it, set the remainder aside in case you need to do any patchwork later.

7. Put the crust in the oven and bake until it just begins to brown, about 8 minutes.

8. Cut the bananas in slices and layer them on the bottom of the crust.

9. Open the can of toffee. Use a knife to stir the toffee until it is smooth.

10. Pour the toffee over the bananas. If need be, use the knife to smooth any uneven spots.

11. Using an electric mixer beat the whipped cream, vanilla extract, and brown sugar. Beat until the texture is thick and whipped.

12. Spread the whipped cream on top of the toffee. Sprinkle chocolate shavings over the top.

13. Put in the fridge and let set for 2 hours.

14. Slice and serve!

Messy level: For a pie, this is actually a really easy and low-mess recipe. The only part that is messy is the graham cracker crust because crumbs get everywhere during assembly. Everything else is really straightforward and there is so little baking to make such a great pie.

The post Banoffee Pie appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

Think of this recipe as something to add to your football snack spread. You’re going to shovel handfuls of this like you might for popcorn or Chex Mix. What’s we will be doing with this recipe is coating and baking-on delicious ingredients on to crushed pretzels. It’s salty, crunch, sweet, and buttery. Really buttery. Uncomfortably butter. So buttery that you shouldn’t think about how much butter is in the recipe. But it’s the holidays, so everything has butter. Why fight it?

Now, this is not as incredibly easy as reindeer noses, but it is a really easy recipe. So, buy a bag of pretzels and use half for reindeer noses and half for this crunch. It’s delicious and people will thank you.

Ingredients:

2 cups mini pretzels

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 milk powder

1 tbsp barley malt powder (this is the unusual ingredient that I had to buy but makes me made I use so little)

7 tbsp melted butter (sometimes I use 6 because the one less tbsp makes me feel better)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, use your hands to crunch up the pretzels. You want small pieces – not dust – just small pieces. You want it to look like what’s left on the bottom of a bag of pretzels.

3. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk powder, and malt powder to the pretzels. Stir to coat all the pretzels. You will have some powder left on the bottom of the bowl.

4. Pour in the melted butter. Stir to coat everything. The butter will make a clumpy paste with the powder – that’s what you want even though it’s not that pretty to look at. Stir until everything has been moistened.

5. Pour out your pretzel mix onto the baking sheet. Spread it out in an even layer across the sheet (it likely won’t cover the whole thing).

6. Bake for 20 minutes. It will smell buttery and toasty and be a little golden brown.

7. Let cool, then break up into bite size chunks.

8. Put it in a bowl and pretend you’re going to share with others.

Messy Level: This is two spoons, and the reason being that milk powder is messy! I find it just like flour because it puffs up and gets all over my hands and clothes. Also, at the end when you break the pretzel mix into chunks you’ll end up with a lot of crumbs. It’s not terribly messy, I’m just warning you for clean up time.

The post Pretzel Crunch appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

[Note: some photos and recipe formatting updated in October 2016]

This apple pie is my favorite dish during the holidays. I will eat this pie for dessert, breakfast the next day, and then again for lunch if there’s any left. I want to make sure I get as much of it as possible so that when the slices run out, I have no regrets. I am jealously possessive of this pie in a way that goes against the holiday spirit.

When I was a kid, my mom would make an apple pie for me and a pumpkin pie for my brother. Dessert time would come around and she would ask, “what do you want?” Sometimes, Eric said apple and I would boil with rage. That was my pie and he was doing this on purpose to infuriate me because he knew I wasn’t going to eat his pumpkin pie. I have no evidence to prove this is true, but it’s how I felt at the time.

I love this pie so much, that in college my mom would make one pie for the holiday meal and one pie for me to take back to my dorm.

Last year, we hosted Thanksgiving for Ryan’s family and I just had to make this pie. It would not be Thanksgiving otherwise. I had helped my mom make this pie before, but usually I just mixed the apples and sugar. Then, I’d eat the apple slices until she told me to stop. Last year was my first year doing it by myself. So the week before, my mom helped me make the crust. The day before, Ryan and I had an apple coring-peeling, slicing sweatshop where we produced a giant mountain of apple slices. All was going well…until it wasn’t.

2012 Thanksgiving pie that I burnt (this is before I tried to fix it)

I made the rookie mistake of not checking on the pie. When I finally took it out of the oven, the crust was a little bit burnt. I was hysterical and inconsolable.

“I’ve ruined dessert!” I cried to Ryan.

No he assured me, I hadn’t. The pie would still be good (and it was). And even if it wasn’t, Ryan’s mom brought a pumpkin pie and I had made cupcakes, so there was still plenty for dessert. But even so, I was disappointed that I’d burnt my pie. So I called my mom to whine some more.

“Mom! I’ve ruined dessert!” I moaned, while Ryan stood nearby shaking his head.

She was sympathetic and then came up with the brilliant idea of scraping off the burnt part, adding new crumbs, and then when I reheated it the new crumbs would cook to the perfect brown. I wasn’t able to remove all of the dark spots, but her scrape and re-apply method really worked out (so keep that in mind if yours gets too dark).

My mom’s well loved, ripped, and beat-up cookbook

Anyway, Thanksgiving arrived and the pie was devoured. I felt pleased with myself not only for making the pie, but being adult enough to share it with others.

This year, I’ll be eating my mom’s pie. But I made my own a few days early so I could be sure get enough (and so not have to share too much).

This recipe is adapted from my mom’s recipe, which is adapted from the oldest and most beat-up Betty Crocker cookbook. That book is so old, I have no recollection of the cover ever being attached to it.

[Update: Hi all! I’ve added the easier to read and print format of the recipe below. Keep scrolling if you want to see the original writing with step by step photos.]

Apple Pie with a Crumb Top

 

Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

Pie crust

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup+ 1 tablespoon shortening (or butter, or ⅓ cup lard)
• cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)

Apple filling

• 8 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (Gala or McIntosh are recommended)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Crumb topping

• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 stick cold butter

Instructions

1. Put a small cup of water in the freezer.
2. Start with the pie crust! In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like pieces the size of small peas. To do this, use 2 butter knives and cut through using an "x" motion or use a dough blender.
4. Take the water out of the freezer. Add 1 tablespoon to the flour. Mix it into the flour with a fork. Keep adding 1 tablespoon and mixing with a fork until a dough forms and it isn’t sticking to the side of the bowl. For me this can sometimes be up to 5 tablespoons.
5. Gather the dough into a ball and put it on a well-floured counter. Roll out the dough until it’s about 2″ larger than the size of a 9" pie plate.
6. To get the crust in the pan, I find it easiest to fold the dough into quarters and place it into your pie plate. Gently unfold the crust and press it into place on the pie pan.
7. Gently pull off dough that is overhanging the edge of the pie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, roll the excess crust into snakes, put it on the crust on the rim of the pie plate, and them crimp it to make a pretty edge.
8. Put the crust in the fridge while you work on your filling.
9. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C.
10. If you haven't already peel, core, and cut your apples into thin half-moon sized slices.
11. In a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the cut apples into this mix and stir it all together. Snack on a few apples, it's worth it.
12. Take the pie crust out of the fridge, put in the apple filling that you just made.
13. Now for the crumb topping! In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of flour and ½ cup of brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick of cold butter (just like you did earlier with the shortening). You should have some big peas and some little pea sizes. Sprinkle this generously over the top of your pie filling.
14. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet. This is important for two reasons. 1. It makes it easier to take in and out of the oven. And 2, it will catch any juices that drip out of the pie and so your oven won't fill with burning sugar smoke.
15. Put the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.
16. Cover the pie with tin foil. This is to keep the exterior color golden brown while the interior continues to bake.
17. Cook for 15-20 more minutes (so a total of 45-50 minutes). The pie is done when you can easily stick a knife through the pie and it meets little resistance from the apples.
18. Let cool then serve!

3.5.3208

Pie Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup+ 1 tbsp shortening (or butter, or 1/3 cup lard)

cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)

Filling:

8 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I used a mix of Gala, Fuji and Cameo)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Crumb topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick cold butter

Directions:

1. Put a small cup of water in the freezer.

2. We’re making the pie crust first. In a large bowl, mix the 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp salt.

3. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like pieces the size of small peas. (Cut the shortening/lard/butter using 2 butter knives or with a dough blender)

4. Take the water out of the freezer. Add 1 tbsp to the flour. Mix it into the flour with a fork. Keep adding 1 tbsp and mixing with a fork until a dough forms and it isn’t sticking to the side of the bowl. For me this was almost 5 tbsp, but the recipe book says it should be 2-3 tbsp.

5. Gather the dough into a ball and put it on a well-floured counter. Roll out the dough until it’s about 2″ larger than the size of your pie plate.

6. To get the crust in the pan, I find it easiest to fold the dough into quarters and place it into your pie plate. Gently unfold the crust and press it into place on the pie pan.

7. Gently pull off dough that is overhanging the edge of the pie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, roll the excess crust into snakes, put it on the crust on the rim of the pie plate, and them crimp it to make a pretty edge. I used a spoon and pinched a little point to make it look pretty.

8. Put the crust in the fridge while you work on your filling. Now preheat the oven to 425°.

9. Peel, core, and cut your apples. This year instead of an apple-prep sweat shop, I used what I call an “apple crank.” It does all three jobs in one, all you have to do is turn the handle and it pushes the apple through the corer, peeler, and slicer. I think it’s awesome, and I felt like it made good slices. After cranking, I cut the apple in half so I had half-moon slices. This is a divergence from my mom, who likes her slices even thinner, so she cuts the apples by hand.

10. In a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix that with your cut apples. Mix until everything is coated. This is MY FAVORITE PART. I love eating the apple slices, so be sure to save yourself a few to snack on.

11. Take the pie crust out of the fridge, put in the apple filling that you just made.

12. Now for the crumb topping! In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick of cold butter. You should have some big peas and some little pea sizes. Sprinkle this generously over the top of your pie filling.

13. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet. It makes it easier to take in and out of the oven. Then, put the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. If at this point it is your desired golden brown, put a tin foil cover gently over your pie.

14. Cook for 15-20 more minutes (so a total of 45-50 minutes). The pie is done when you can easily stick a knife through the pie and it meets little resistance from the apples.

15. Serve with vanilla ice cream!

Messy level: This is pretty messy because there are so many steps. The crust can stick to the counter and tear which can be mess number one. I feel like the apple-crank really keeps the mess down when making the filling because it makes preparing the apples most efficient. Still, the sink was filled with ribbons of apple peel. And finally, a crumb top is just asking for me to drop things everywhere. However, it’s worth it. It makes the kitchen smell and feel festive.

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