Caramel Popcorn

Ever get one of those giant tins that are filled with popcorn, usually butter, cheese, and caramel? How about a box of Cracker Jacks or Fiddle Faddle? Does anybody else find them…blah? If you are not a fan of caramel popcorn, I promise this will change your mind. I already made this recipe twice plus a coworker made some for me :D

Read more »

Peppermint Rice Crispy Squares

As I said in my last post, McCormick and Kim Ima, cookie-sharing expert and author of the new “The Treats Truck Baking Book,” worked together to create delicious new cookies for Christmas. The second recipe I tried from Kim were Peppermint Rice Crispy Squares.

I must confess - I didn't exactly follow Kim's ingredient list. You see, as I was looking for gingerbread marshmallows, I found peppermint ones instead. So instead of using regular mini marshmallows with peppermint extract, I decided to melt these babies instead.



I always forget how much I love homemade rice crispy treats. Make sure you use a big enough bowl though when melting and mixing everything together! One setback with the peppermint marshmallows is they make the squares very pink, like Pepto Bismol pink. I suppose you could add some food coloring to make them red. I'm not a fan of candy canes, so instead of adding crushed candy, I added snowflake sprinkles.

If you enjoyed these, make sure you enter the McCormick Giveaway by December 20, 2011 for your chance to win a copy of Kim's book "The Treats Truck Baking Book," ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and peppermint extract from McCormick.

Peppermint Rice Crispy Squares



3 Tbsp butter
1 package (10 ounces) mini peppermint marshmallows OR plain mini marshmallows + 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
6 cups crispy rice cereal
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
Sprinkles or crushed candy canes, for decorating

Line 9-inch square pan with parchment paper; grease paper. Melt butter in large saucepan on low heat. Add marshmallows; stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat. Add peppermint extract if using; mix well. Stir in cereal and white chocolate chips. Press into pan using a buttered spatula. Sprinkle top with sprinkles or crushed candy canes. If needed, place a piece of cellophane wrap or parchment paper on top and press down to flatten the treats. Cool 15 minutes then cut into squares.

Source: McCormick

Streusel Pumpkin Sweet Rolls

Sometimes I feel I should specialize in bread dough. Cookies crumble. Layer cakes fall over. Brownies become overbaked. But bread dough? No problem. I already made Apple Cider Cinnamon Rolls, Baker's Dozen Yeast Rolls, and now these sweet rolls. Perfect for breakfast or dessert (or both!)



I cut the original recipe in half because it would've made two dozen rolls. As much as I love sweets, two dozen is way too many, even when visiting family for the holiday. Overall, I enjoyed these rolls and would make them again. Next time, I would add either walnuts or pecans to the streusel for a bit of a crunch and thicken the glaze with a little more sugar. I may even try using maple syrup instead of the milk.

Perfect for when you are tired of pie but have pumpkin leftover.


Streusel Pumpkin Sweet Rolls



1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
5 oz warm milk (110 - 115 degrees)
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups - 3 1/4 cup flour

Streusel
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
6 Tbsp butter, cold and cubed

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 - 2 Tbsp milk

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add pumpkin, sugar, butter, salt, and flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Dough will be sticky. Turn onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Shortly before the dough is ready, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice; cut in butter until crumbly. Set aside 1 cup.

Punch dough down. Roll it out into 12 x 10 inch rectangle. Sprinkle remaining streusel on top. Roll up jelly-roll style, pinching seams to seal. Cut into 12 slices and place cut-side down into a greased 13 x 9 pan. Sprinkle with reserved streusel. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. After taking them out of the oven, combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk for the glaze. Drizzle over the rolls and serve warm.

Makes 12 rolls.
Source: Taste of Home Fall Baking 2011

Apple Cider Cinnamon Rolls

Edit - hey this is my 350th post!!

Back in May for my birthday, my friend bought me a bookstore gift card because she knows I love cookbooks. I’ve been to the bookstore several times but didn’t know what to get. I have a tough time spending full price ($20+) on one book when I have so many. Finally in August as I wandered the store, I stumbled upon the cooking magazines. Bon Appetit, no. Food and Wine, no. Cooking Light, no. I love Taste of Home, so I looked for their selection.

Then it happened.

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but how could you not when these gooey, delicious, amazing, apple cinnamon rolls stared at you? As September was approaching, I knew I wanted this fall baking book for its cover recipe (the other recipes looked good too).

I actually made these twice. The first time I subbed peaches because I had a half bushel. Well I didn’t account for peaches being juicier than apples, so the filling failed because it leaked everywhere. I had much better luck with the intended version. I’m still not good at rolling dough up though.

It’s hard to say how hard this recipe is since I’ve been baking for years, but I don’t think the dough is too complicated. The dough came together easily, so it’s a good start for those who want more yeast dough experience. What makes dough a little more advanced is the yeast itself. Always use a thermometer to measure your liquid temperature. If the liquid is too cold, the yeast won’t react. If the liquid is too hot, the yeast will die.

The recipe says to let sit 30 minutes before baking, but you can let them sit a little longer. I made these rolls and sat them on the counter covered with a towel while dinner was in the oven. As soon as I served dinner, I put the rolls in the oven so they’d be ready for dessert. So don’t panic if you can’t bake them right away. I think mine sat for about 45-60 minutes.

Apple Cider Cinnamon Rolls



3 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 package yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 egg
2 cups chopped apples, peeled and cored (I used Golden Delicious)
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 tsp ground cinnamon

Frosting:
1 cup apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Grease a 13x9 inch pan. In a large bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, cider and 1/4 cup butter to 120°-130°. It must be in this range. Too cold means the yeast won't react. Too hot means the yeast will die.

Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in remaining 1 cup flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).

Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-6 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll into a 15x10 inch. rectangle. Spread remaining 2 Tbsp butter to within half inch of edges. Combine the apples, brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon in a small bowl then sprinkle over the dough.

Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 slices. Place cut side down in greased pan. Preheat oven to 325F. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Place cider and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick; cool cider.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and reduced cider; beat until smooth. Spread over warm rolls.

Makes 12 rolls.
Source: Taste of Home Fall Baking 2011

Gulab Jamun

Looks like I didn't make it to the next round of Project Food Blog. Originally, I thought I did because I was listed first on the winners announced page. Then when I tried submitting, it told me I didn't make it. Did anybody else have this confusion? Or am I just dumb? Why would Foodbuzz list me on the winners announced page if I didn't make it?

Well I ended up making an entry anyway, which is ok because I burnt them. Round two was to tackle a classic ethnic dish you are uncomfortable or unfamiliar making. Immediately I was thinking Indian or Asian of some sort. My friend suggested samosas. Then she thought of gulab jamun. The challenge never specified dinner or dessert, and gulab jamun is a classic Indian dessert. When I read I had to use khova, I knew this made me a little uneasy. With no Indian stores anywhere close, I opted to make my own.



Khova is milk cooked down to a paste-like consistency, which takes between 1-2 hours, depending on how much milk you are reducing. This made me nervous because either my milk was going to burn really bad or I wouldn't get the correct consistency. Who wants to waste all that milk and time for nothing? The recipe I used (found at Cooking 4 All Seasons) called for 1.5 liters, which is about 6 cups of milk. Yikes. Since it's just me, I cut the recipe in half and used 3 cups, which is 3/4 quart. My khova took about 75 minutes to make, and I was getting excited towards the end because it actually looked like khova. I found a nice pictorial reference at Flavours and Tastes.


Look at how tiny! 3 cups of milk = 1/4 cup khova

Then you mix your fresh khova with some flour and baking soda and divide into small balls. While you are waiting for the oil to heat up, make your syrup. Boil together sugar and water. Then add cardamon and rose water (ick). I thought I had ground cardamon but realized it was actually coriander. Fortunately, I had green cardamon pods from Marx Food a lonngggg time ago, so I brought out my mortal and pestle and crushed them.



Since I only made four balls, I fried them all at once. They were in about two minutes when I realized they were burnt. Crap. I mixed them with the syrup anyway. Maybe I could eat the inside. Turns out I put too much cardamon in the syrup, so it was a little overpowering. I only took a picture of the inside because I'm too embarrassed to show them burnt. I guess there's always next time, right?



The gulab jamun recipe I used was from Aayi's Recipes. Please check out her blog for pictures of yummy, not burnt gulab jamun.

Simple Black Raspberry Sauce

Black raspberry season is here!! I went back to the local farm where I previously picked strawberries and picked a nice amount of gorgeous, juicy raspberries. Because it was so hot out, I wanted ice cream. Not just any ice cream. Vanilla ice cream with raspberry sauce. Every year around July 4, I go to this arts festival and get a bowl of raspberries and ice cream. Always. Even in the pouring down rain. This sauce wasn't as thick as what I'm used to, but it was still delicious nonetheless. Unfortunately, all I had was cookie dough ice cream in the freezer. Weird combination but still yummy!! The directions say to let cool before using, but you don't have to. It'll just melt the ice cream.

Black Raspberry Sauce




1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp water
Half stick cinnamon (or few pinches of ground)
1 cup berries

Put sugar and water into a saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Add berries, increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until saucy. If you want bigger chunks, don't cook it as long.

Source: Uhhh...

I'm Crumbling Up!

Yes, another Dorie recipe. I made this during the beginning of August when mangoes were only $1 each. Mango is definitely a favorite of mine. I really don't know what made me pick this crumble. I looked up mango in the index, and it found me. This would be a perfect winter dessert because it gives such a warm Caribbean feeling with the mangoes and bananas, but it also works well in the summer with ice cream (preferably homemade vanilla).

For the streusel, I used walnuts instead of pecans and added 1 cup shredded coconut. It did take a little longer than 20 minutes to freeze, maybe 40 minutes or so. Then again, I only had room in the front of the freezer, so it might be colder in the back.

Tropical Crumble




For this recipe, you can check out page 418 in Baking: My Home To Yours.

Weekend Cookbook Challenge 18

What do you do when you can't find the recipe you're looking for? Make it up. That's right. I made my own recipe!! I had 1 lemon that I needed to use up. When my dad was going through the cupboard above the stove, he pointed out that I had jumbo shells I needed to use (they were up there probably at least a year). What does lemon juice + shells equal? Greek stuffed shells, of course. I googled for recipes, but I got nothing. So I took the typical Greek ingredients and replaced the Italian ingredients with these. I also decided to enter this into the Weekend Cookbook Challenge 18 - Red and White due to the tomatoes and cucumber sauce.

EDIT - Round up is now posted.


Greek Stuffed Shells




12 jumbo shells
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup cucumber, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dillweed
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 egg, beaten
5 black olives, chopped

1. Boil water. Cook shells for 10 minutes. Drain; run under cold water to stop any further cooking.

2. For the sauce, combine yogurt, cucumbers, garlic powder, 1/2 tsp dillweed, and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator.

3. Combine cheese, 1/2 tsp dill, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, tomatoes, egg, and olives.

4. Preheat oven to 350F. Spread the bottom of 13x9 pan with some of the sauce. Place shells on top. Stuff with the cheese mixture. Pour remaining sauce on top. Cover with foil. Bake for 35 minutes.

Source: Sauce from Recipe Zaar, Shell recipe by me


Nectarine Crisp




I also made dessert. This has nothing to do with Greek cuisine but still delicious nonetheless. I used this recipe from Recipe Zaar. I left out the blueberries and wheat germ. Next time, I will try it with raspberries.

A New Twist on Quesadillas

I love tortillas. You can pretty much put ANYTHING inside, and it'll still taste good. I went over to my friend Emer's house this past weekend. Since it was my last weekend in Dublin *TEAR* we decided to make a new treat. Very tasty, although we were lacking caramel sauce and ice cream.


Dessert Quesadillas




2 small apples, sliced
1/3 cup chopped peacans
1/4 cup frozen cranberries
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup + 1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp butter
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
Caramel sauce (optional)
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

1. Saute apples, pecans, and cranberries in butter. Add cinnamon, 1 tsp sugar, and lemon juice. Remove from skillet and set aside.

2. Add 1/4 cup sugar to cream cheese. Stir until mixed well. Place tortilla in non-stick heated skillet. Spread cream cheese mixture on half of tortilla; top evenly with apple mixture. Fold empty half of tortilla over apple mixture. Heat for few minutes; flip. Heat for another few minutes. Place on a plate; top with ice cream and caramel sauce (optional).

Makes 2 quesadillas (unless tortillas are small)

Source: Emer adjusted the recipe, originally from Food Down Under