Peach Cobbler Wontons

Sometimes you just want a bite of something. It's really hard to control myself when I have an entire cobbler sitting in front of me. Especially if it was my grandma's blackberry cobbler. She made the best. I can still smell it baking in her oven, all bubbly and golden. I don't know how she did it but her cobbler was amazing. I haven't been able to recreate it. I think it's better as a memory.

I really wanted peaches the other day. Someone made peach cobbler in the international lab at my culinary school and I managed to swipe a big ol' plate full. It was pretty tasty. Not really how I think a cobbler should be, however, I'm basing all my cobbler experience on only ever having my grandma's. I wanted to make peach cobbler at home. I knew though, if I did, I would do 1 of 2 things:

1) Eat the entire thing by myself
2) Eat one serving and never touch it again

So, I decided to be a little creative.

Mix together brown sugar and white sugar.

Start melting some butter.

Add some cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg (it's always better like that).

Stir in the melted butter

Add some flour. 

I added oatmeal too. You know, for extra health benefits. 

Dice 2 peaches and toss them with a tablespoon of sugar.

Add 1/2 pint of blueberries.

Also here for health reasons. 

Get your crumb topping ready! 

It should be moist but crumbly. 

Fill your muffin tin with wontons

Fill the wontons with the fruit.

About 1/8 cup per wonton.

Sprinkle on the delicious (& good for you - it's the oatmeal) crumb topping.

Bake.

 

They should come out golden and your kitchen should smell like cinnamon and sugar. 

SO GOOD!

Remember my predicament from above? Well I think I handled it pretty well. I ate two and took the rest to work. 

I may have had a third one once I got there... But it has fruit so it has to be healthy right??

I used Ina Garten's crumb topping. It's really easy. The only thing I did differently was add 1/2 cup Quaker Instant Oatmeal. 

For the filling:

2 peaches, diced - skin on

1/2 pint fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon sugar. 

Toss all ingredients together. 

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. 

You can also make this dessert sugar free by omitting the brown sugar and replacing all white sugar with Splenda. 

Pistachio Blueberry Muffins and A New Found Like For Vegan Food?

My sister came back from Peru this past summer with an entirely new appetite. I'm not sure what they eat down in the Amazon but I do know it's a drastic contrast from our plant produced and processed American food. Most of the food she had been eating came from her back yard, the Amazon Jungle. All grown right in front of her. They kill their own chickens. We haven't had to kill our own chickens for about a century. Unless we plant a garden in our 4x4 backyards the food we eat here is mostly genetically modified for mass consumption, grown in a warehouse, or raised in a confined space so small I'm surprised chickens don't need to see a therapist for claustrophobia or social anxiety.

My sister says she is "95% vegan". She's having a hard time giving up staples like cheese. While vegan cheese is available, it's just not the same. Personally I just love cheeseburgers and could NOT imagine a life without them. Pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese and crackers, chili cheese fries, mac n cheese! I mean how could you not want to have cheese! It's essential. But whatever floats your boat. I'm all for healthy living. Even tho I'm convinced some of the vegan products out on the shelves are not "natural" and therefore are probably worse for you than non-vegan foods eaten in moderation. But my research on the subject is... limited. So I indulge her for her 95% vegan-ism. And I have to admit, some of the things, just some, are actually pretty tasty. They're not much different from their carnivorous cousins. Just a few minor changes.

The other day she was craving blueberry muffins. I usually just buy the box mix from Betty Crocker to save time. She went to a work event and they said their muffins were freshly baked but she said they were more like fresh bricks. So I baked her some myself to keep her love of blueberry muffins alive. And since blueberry muffins can be so... blue, I decided is add a little pistachio pizazz.  She's been going around the house all week saying, "I love having a chef for a sister". Like I'm adopted or something. She should say she likes have a sister who is a chef. Regardless, even my mom liked these muffins and she's skeptical on all things vegan.

(Pistachio) Blueberry Muffins

Adapted from Sweet Vegan by Emily Mainquist

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar in the raw

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon all natural applesauce

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup frozen blueberries. 

2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 12 standard-size muffin cavities with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil, milk, applesauce, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Fold in the blueberries and pistachios.* The batter will be very thick.

Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter into each muffin liner. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

*I kept the blueberries frozen until I was ready to use them. Blueberries can be fragile and when putting them in fresh or thawed I find they usually break. 

Oatmeal Banana Bread

Bad banana = yummy bread

Keeping up with the theme of things that go bad before I can use them I'd like to talk about this banana bread recipe I came across. I buy bananas mostly so I can make things with them. On their own I don't really like them. Therefore, I don't buy them often. My roommate had gotten some and I was in the kitchen making dinner one night and there they were sitting on the counter turning brown.

Usually, I wouldn't think anything of it and just toss them out but I was feeling crafty that day. I have a pretty good banana bread recipe I've used for years but I wanted something different. I've been thinking of ways to make recipes a little healthier. Lately healthier has been just to add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed into everything but that wasn't going to cut it this time. So I started googling recipes for banana bread that gave it a little power punch of better for you. There were all sorts of recipes out there and more so than not they called for oatmeal. I'd never thought to do that so I decided to give it a whirl.

That loaf of bread weighed like 5 pounds. But it was really good!

Mix your dry ingredients together and make a whole in the center of it all. 

Like a little well.

Next for the wet ingredients.

Mix those all together. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry.

Mix it all up! 

Magic! 

It's all ready. 

Oatmeal Banana Bread

(Recipe courtesy of: www.food.com )

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup oats (I used old-fashioned)

1 cup mashed banana

1/3 buttermilk (I didn't have any, I used 2%)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs, beaten

cooking spray or butter (I used butter)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray or butter an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl

Combine banana, oil, milk, vanilla, and eggs in a small bowl or measuring cup

Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened

Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

Cool on a wire rack, in the pan, for about 15 minutes

Remove bread from the pan and cool thoroughly on the rack

Or cut into it and slab some butter on it. That's what I did. I mean who wants to eat cold banana bread? Not me. I want it nice and hot with all kinds of melty butter. And again, my apologies for not having any after pictures but I ate a slice then ate it all... There would have been only crumbs. 

Also, for those of you truly health conscious people out there, if you click on the link above to go to the website you get all sorts of fun nutritional facts. So you can pretend to calorie count as you cut yourself another slice. 

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

I'm a little behind on this post. I'm sorry for that, all my pumpkin loving readers. Now it's almost Christmas! When I think of Christmas I don't think of pumpkin, but, I promised this one so here it is.
It's not my usual bake-by-picture blog. I made this very last minute the night I made it. So I apologize for that as well.

I actually saw the picture for this on Pinterest. It looked so yummy and different I had to make it. I clicked on the image and it led me to the cutest blog, The Cutting Edge of Ordinary. Lisa has so many great recipe ideas. I highly recommend visiting her site. I've "pinned" several recipes on my Pinterest food board. She was gracious enough to allow me to use one of her pictures for my post.

This Pumpkin Crunch Cake is great for dessert or brunch. I won't say breakfast. It does linger in the cake department. It's crumbly, crunchy topping resembles coffee cake. Buttery, spicy, creamy pumpkin is much deserving of a pie crust. I guess the crust is on top this time. It's so easy to make. The worst of it all is having it bake for an hour. The smell of cinnamon and butter fill the house. It's absolute torture.

Everyone at my house loved it. It was a huge success. I think it will be an addition to the table every year.

Photo courtesy of, The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

(Recipe from: The Cutting Edge of Ordinary, Pumpkin Crunch Cake)

15 oz can pumpkin; or 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
1-12 oz can evaporated milk 
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 box cake mix (I used spice cake, but yellow, butter or white would work too)
1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, and cinnamon.

Spread mixture evenly in a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking pan.

Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle the nuts over the top of the cake mix. Pour the melted butter evenly over the top of everything. Do not stir.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until top is browned. Let cool before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Cake Truffles

I had left over cake after I leveled my cupcakes and my cakes and I couldn't even think about throwing it out. So I made extra frosting and mixed it all together. OH EM GEE! It's fabulous just on its own. But, throw in some candy melt and a few accessories and it's just plain ridiculous. By todays cake rolled into a ball standards these are essentially, "cake-pops". I didn't put them on a stick however, and think they deserve an upgraded title. Truffle seemed appropriate. 

There isn't an exact recipe for this so I won't be adding one. I just threw some frosting into the cake. Fill free to play with the ratios to see what you like.  The standard is one cake to one batch of frosting. And, unless you wear gloves, be prepared to get your hands dirty. 

Break up cake and add some frosting. 

Mix it all togther.

YUM!

I put mine in the fridge for a few hours. 

Makes it a little easier to handle.

Chop, chop, chop!

I used candy coating but candy melts are fine too. 

Melt in a double boiler. 

I'm against using the microwave because I'm scared I'll burn it.

If you like the microwave feel free. 

You could also use the white chocolate if you wish.

Candy melts also come in an array of colors. 

After the cake mixture has chilled, roll them into balls. 

As big or little as you like. Mine are about 1 inch.

Then put them in the freezer. 

They need to be firm when you put them in the candy melt. 

Otherwise, they might fall apart. 

Then just coat them in the candy melt. 

Throw them in there, roll them around. 

I get mine out with a fork. 

Shake off any excess by tapping the fork against the bowl.

Put them on a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil to set.

Decorate however you wish. Or leave them plain. 

Make sure to add everything before the candy coating sets.

It sticks easier that way.

I used a variety of extra goodies on mine and I left some plain. 

White chocolate shavings.

Dark chocolate shavings.

Cocoa powder.

Cinnamon.

These are special ones. 

I coated them with ganache then put them in the freezer. 

Then rolled them in the candy coating. 

If you get ambitious, just do this very quickly. 

The ganache doesn't freeze completely and it can quickly turn very messy. 

But the end result...

SO WORTH IT!

How could you say no to that? 

You can even see the thin layer of ganache under the shell. 

I'm going to get one right now. 

Homemade Biscuits - Take 2

The last time I made these, while they were good, they were not made to their maximum potential. So I made some alterations and what a difference that made. They were so fluffy! Like a cloud of biscuit heaven. They were just pretty darn amazing.

(Recipe based on: Tyler Florence, Buttermilk Biscuits.)  

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup vegetable shortening, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add 1 1/2 cup milk. Using your hands, quickly fold the dry ingredients into the milk until a sticky dough forms. 

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently fold the dough over itself 3 or 4 times to create layers. Press the dough out to 1 1/2-inches thick and cut with a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter. Lay the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until risen and golden brown.

Um can we say delicious?!?! 

Jane sure did enjoy it!

Milky Way Cake

I get cavities just thinking about it. Just looking at the cake will make you gain 10 pounds. I think I gained 20 from making it. But my was it good. Rich, chocolaty, oh my! I've been anticipating the making of this cake all week. I must say, it was worth it.

Here's what you'll need:
8 full size milky way candy bars
2 sticks of butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup pecans, chopped

Melt the candy bars and 1 stick of butter in a saucepan over low heat.

Sift the flour and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the other stick of butter with the sugar.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.

Add the flour and the buttermilk, alternately. Begin and end with the flour.

Beat in the candy bar mixture and stir in the pecans.

Pour into 3 nine inch cake pans that have been buttered and floured. 

I can not stress how important it is to butter and flour your pans for this cake. 

As you can tell from the Grand Canyon running through my cake, I did not flour the pans. 

But I'm still allowed to make mistakes as I consider myself to be a novice baker. It was nothing a little bit of frosting couldn't fix.

Chocolate Frosting:

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/ cup evaporated milk

1 stick butter

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup marshmallow cream

Combine the sugar and the milk over low heat. Stirring constantly, cook until it reaches a soft ball stage, or 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. 

Stir in the marshmallow cream, butter, and chocolate chips.

When the chocolate chips are melted take it off the heat.

Pour it into a mixing bowl and beat until cool.

Make sure to put plenty of frosting in between each layer of cake. There is more than enough.

Make sure to get a big glass of milk.

You're going to need it :)