Salted Caramel Bars!

The last dessert I'd have on Earth. Gooey, buttery, rich, salty, sweet, it is the stuff of my dreams.

Caramel is a tough dessert. I've messed it up as many times as I've gotten it right. It's worth the extra butter and sugar and cream that I waste from the botched batches because when it's right, it's divine. Two things I need to remember: WATCH that sugar as it's melting. The times I've looked away for one second to wash a dish or use the restroom, I burnt the caramel and made it too hard. The other thing I need to remember is not to stir the sugar except where necessary (to get even melting). Stirring causes crystals to hook back up with one another. I know, that sugar is naughty.

There are a ton of other key techniques to employ when making caramel but I really think practice makes perfect. You start to know what all these blogs mean by "dark amber color" or "just past the point of smoking" by messing up. I have come to love this recipe the more I get to know it (having made bars 4 times, 2 of which failed) and I can tell you that I cook the caramel towards the 5 minutes (not the 10 minutes) side of things. It's been wonderful when I get it right. It's so rich and so satisfying...no other dessert gives as much pleasure.

Salted Caramel Bars

§                     10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

§                     1/2 cup sugar

§                     1/2 tsp salt

§                     1 egg yolk, whisked

§                     1 2/3 cups flour

§                     1 cup unsalted butter

§                     1 cup light brown sugar

§                     12 Tbsp light corn syrup

§                     2 tsp sea salt

§                     4 Tbsp sugar

§                     4 Tbsp heavy cream

§                     1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

§                     Sea salt flakes

Directions

1.                  Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper with the edges of the parchment hanging over the sides (this will make it much easier to remove).

2.                  In a large bowl combine the butter, sugar and salt with a fork. Add the yolk and combine with the fork. Add the flour and using your hands, combine the dough until crumbly, like sand. Transfer the dough into the parchment lined pan and press down with your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup. Refrigerate this for 30 minutes and bake for 25 minutes until lightly browned. Once baked, remove and set aside to cool.

3.                  In a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan (I use my 14” nonstick), combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, and sugar at medium to medium high heat. In a separate small pot, warm up the cream. Wait until all the sugar is dissolved and has turned a dark golden amber color, stirring as little as possible and only to even out the melting. As soon as the sugar starts smoking, remove from heat and add warmed cream. Stir to combine and add in vanilla extract and pour on top of the shortbread.

4.                  Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Then sprinkle with the sea salt flakes and serve! I freeze leftovers because it makes a big batch and the bars are so gosh darn rich.

Recipe adapted from: http://whatsgabycooking.com/salted-caramel-bars/ 

Good caramel tips from David Leibovitz: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2010/01/salted-butter-caramels/

I find that the 9x9" dish makes super thick bars. I prefer thinner ones and using a 9x13" baking dish. 

I hope you enjoyed all the fabulous sweets I shared this week! This one is definitely my favorite :) Would love to know what desserts get you giddy every time (so I can bookmark it and make it for your birthday!). 

Key Lime Pie Cheesecake

Key Lime Pie Cheesecake. It just sounds so good. And it was. Totally light, whipped, refreshing. I bought a graham cracker crust because I didn’t have time to crush some to smithereens myself but if you have any inner aggression to take care of, I highly suggesting doing it yourself. If you buy it, just make sure to get the larger version (I think it was still 9” but just deeper…40% more!) because this recipe is meant for a deep pie dish, not a shallow cake pan.

You’ll see as you go through the recipe that it seems like it’s making a LOT of filling. Don’t worry, mine all fit into the pan perfectly. I usually like a more equal ratio of pie to crust (or 2:1 ratio) but this one seemed like more of a 5:1 ratio. It wasn’t overwhelming because the filling is whipped condensed milk (2 cans) with meringue added. It’s positively fluffy (are you thinking of that scene in Despicable Me where Agnes is shaking her unicorn toy and yelling “It’s so fluffy! I’m gonna dieee!”?) and light and creamy but not too rich. This was my kind of cheesecake (no cheese, hehe).

I accidentally doubled the sugar and it tasted absolutely fine. I prefer mildly sweet desserts so the fact that this still fell into that category despite the 1/2 cup of sugar (versus 1/4 that the recipe calls for) makes me think it would have been far too unsweet without the extra 1/4 cup.

Key Lime Pie Cheesecake

·         4 large eggs, separated   

·         2 14 oz cans of condensed milk

·         4 limes, zested and juiced

·          1/2 cup superfine sugar (if you don’t have caster sugar, just throw some granulated sugar in your food processor)

For the topping

·         2/3 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Beat the egg yolks until light fluffy, then beat in the condensed milk and lime zest and juice.

3. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and superfine sugar until firm, then gently fold into the lime mixture. It helps to make meringue in a non-metal bowl and to let the egg whites come to room temperature. If it’s not firming up, toss in 1 tsp of cream of tartar.

4. Completely fill the crumb shell with the lime mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes until set and lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool. Once cool, you can keep it in the fridge until serving.

5. Whip the cream until it peaks, and then spread on top of cheesecake. I just used the back of a spoon to flatten it out. 

Recipe from: http://www.projectfoodie.com/cookbook-recipes/recipe/key-lime-pie-cheesecake.html

There's my second "fancy" dessert from last week! We've been saying a lot of goodbyes to very dear friends so it seemed fitting to me to kick it up a notch. :) I've been dying to make a traditional tiramisu soon, too...but hopefully can do it for some reason besides a farewell meal! 

Chocolate Olive Oil Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream and Strawberry Frosted Cupcakes

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend! We are moving next weekend so life is going to get a bit harried but I hope/plan to not eat out for too many meals and still be able to enjoy homecooked meals sitting on the floor and having an indoor picnic. If you’re a guest coming over this week, maybe you should plan to expect that ;)

Last week was a really fun week in my kitchen. I typically only make cookies, bars, muffins, and scones in our kitchen on any given week but I had several occasions to make something a little more time and mind-intensive. First on that list were two dozen cupcakes I made for a friend’s friend’s baby shower. The colors were adorable (light pink and pale green) and I kept with the color theme by choosing strawberry frosting and pale green vanilla buttercream frosting for the cupcakes.

I really love using real fruit in desserts and was appalled to find that most of the strawberry cupcakes I looked at online were made with strawberry jam or no strawberry at all! I finally found one that I loved because of the fact that it had real strawberries in it and even more because it was a recipe for 6 cupcakes. Of course, I doubled it, but it would be a nice recipe to go back to for a small dinner party. One of the reasons I don’t make cupcakes is because I have no need for 12 of them!

These chocolate cupcakes were AWESOME. I‘ve used Ina Garten’s recipe before with great success (moist, cocoa-y and just the right texture) but these were even better because of the olive oil. With almost everything I bake, I use high-quality ingredients because you CAN taste the difference. I usually use Ghiradelli cocoa (as I did this time) or something from King Arthur’s or Surfas, the local cooking supply store in Culver City.I could definitely taste and smell that Ghiradelli in these cupcakes :) 

Definitely two winning recipes! I also love that the recipes didn’t make a ton of buttercream. I felt like it was just the right amount for each cupcake (I prefer 1 part frosting to 2 parts cupcake and stores usually reverse that ratio).

I’ll be back tomorrow with a delicious dessert recipe for the summer J

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

http://catesworldkitchen.com/2010/02/strawberry-cupcakes/

Chocolate Cupcakes (no eggs - just apple cider vinegar and olive oil!) 

 http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/super_easy_super_moist_chocolate_cupcakes/

Vanilla Buttercream 

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/03/24/easy-vanilla-bean-buttercream/

Breakfast Goody: Banana Oat Muffins

I love banana bread and banana muffins but it's difficult to make them in our house because Nick tends to eat all our bananas before they get a chance to ripen. However, with summer coming and temperatures rising (though it's been a mild low70s all week), they are ripening faster than he can eat them! And I got to make these delicious Banana Oatmeal Muffins (with chocolate chips upon request).

These are perfectly fluffy and not too sugary and great as a breakfast. We ate them three days in a row and didn't get sick of them at all! I made mine without chocolate chips and Nick happily ate chocolate as part of his breakfast.

Banana Oat Muffins


3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white whole wheat

1 cup oats

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup of mashed bananas, about 2 large ones or 3 small-medium ones 

1/2 cup chocolate chips 

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine the flours, oats, sugars, powder, soda, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg lightly and stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed bananas.

3. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. 

4. Divide among evenly among muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes.  

Recipe adapted from: http://www.honeyandjam.com/2009/11/banana-oat-muffins.html

I hope you all have a great weekend! I'm off to NYC for a three-day trip! I can't wait to eat and walk a lot in between :) 

Yummy and Pretty Calzone

This calzone was impressive to serve and easy to make. I bought premade plain pizza dough from Trader Joe’s and let it sit on a floured surface for 20 minutes at room temperature (key key key step to let the dough breathe and rise). I then oiled a cookie sheet and rolled the dough out to fit the cookie sheet, trying to make it as rectangular as possible. Then, I cut up about ¼ cup of prosciutto, sautéed some arugula, cut half a bell pepper into strips, and mixed it with 1 ½ cups of shredded mozzarella. I spread this down the middle of the calzone and then followed the photo-steps from this site:http://www.squidoo.com/homemade-calzone

After it cooked in the oven, I served it with jarred marinara sauce. Like I said, super easy yet super delicious recipe. Definitely going into my arsenal of last-minute dinners that still wow.

Yummy Calzone

• ¼ cup of cured meat like salami or prosciutto or pepperoni, cut into ¼” pieces
• Other toppings like mushrooms, arugula, bell peppers, carrots, eggplant or whatever you like! Just cut them into small bite-size pieces and sauté them. About 1/2 -3/4 cup of these would be good
• 1 ½ cups of shredded cheese of your choice
• Marinara Sauce
• 1 pizza dough

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Oil a cooking tray and roll out your pizza dough to fit it.
3. Mix meat, vegetables, and cheese together and spread into the middle of your dough, keeping about 4” from the long edges
4. Snip diagonal strips 1.5” in thickness on either side of the filling and crisscross it over the filling. Press it lightly into the dough so it stays in place.
5. After you’re done weaving, put into oven for 35-45 minutes.
6. Serve with marinara sauce (about ¼ cup per person).

Recipe from: http://www.squidoo.com/homemade-calzone

Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

I’ve been making a lot of fruit desserts. Earlier this week I made some meringue cakes topped with whipped cream, blueberries, and strawberries and later this week, I'll be making some strawberry cupcakes for a baby shower. But I think my favorite way of using berries is by incorporating it into breakfast goods.

The blueberry buttermilk cake below was a bit of a different way to use my blueberries because it wasn’t in a muffin or scone and actually worked better as a snack for my afternoon tea time. It was a little too sweet to eat for my breakfast but paired perfectly with a hot cup of tea. The cake turned out moist and very blueberry-dense, but I wish it had more tang from the buttermilk. Maybe it’s because I didn’t use “real” buttermilk.

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

• ½ cup butter, room temperature
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup sugar+1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups of fresh blueberries
• ½ cup buttermilk (I put ½ Tbsp of apple cider vinegar in a measuring cup and fill with milk to the ½ cup line and let stand 10 minutes)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter with zest and ¾ cup of sugar until light and fluffy.
2. add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined and smooth. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt. Add this to the butter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk mixture.
3. Fold in your blueberries.
4. Grease a 9” baking pan and spread the batter in the pan. Sprinkle remaining sugar on top of batter. Bake for 45 minutes.

Recipe from: http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/06/29/buttermilk-blueberry-breakfast-cake/

Saag Paneer Enchiladas

I tried a saag paneer recipe recently that I wasn't too fond of. It was good but it didn't taste like the saag paneer I love eating at Indian restaurants. It just wasn't as creamy and spicy and awesome and I was determined to continue my search.

I didn't expect to find a good saag paneer recipe within a fusion recipe. But take away the tortillas and the sauce on top of these saag paneer enchiladas and you've got yourself a solid saag paneer curry recipe. I loved the enchilada version though because the sauce on top is positively Nick+Marilynn. We love cilantro, lime, tangy flavors and this sauce was just that. It was the perfect marriage of Mexican and Indian flavors.

Be forewarned, this recipe makes a lot of enchiladas. I made at least 12 enchiladas and that serves more than 4 people in my book. I am also reposting the recipe as I made some changes to it.

Saag Paneer Enchiladas (adapted from Jalapeños and Smita Chandra’sFrom Bengal to Punjab)

Saag paneer filling:

·          1 medium onion (I used purple)

·          2 cloves of garlic

·          2” thick ginger nub

·          2 Tbsp of canola oil

·          1 16-oz package of frozen spinach, thawed

·          1 tsp cumin

·          1 tsp cinnamon

·          ¼ tsp garam masala

·          ¼ tsp cayenne

·          1 cup of plain, nonfat yogurt

·          ¼ cup of buttermilk

·          1/8 cup of heavy cream+2% milk to make ½ cup of half and half (I didn’t want to buy half and half)

·          ½ lb paneer cut into ¼” cubes

Cilantro Enchilada Sauce

·          2 cups of cilantro, leaves and stems

·          ¼ cup of arugula

·          1 jalapeno, seeds and stems removed

·          1 clove garlic

·          1” ginger stub

·          ½ tsp cumin

·          1 Tbsp of lime juice

·          1/2 cup of nonfat, plain yogurt

·          Salt to taste

Tortillas to make enchiladas

Directions

1.       In a food processor, grind the onion, garlic, and ginger. In a large skillet, heat up the canola oil on medium low heat and add the oinion mixture. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the spinach, cumin, cinnamon, garam, cayenne, yogurt, and buttermilk. Turn down the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir in the half and half and paneer and simmer an additional 5 minutes. Salt to taste.

2. Puree the cilantro, arugula, jalapeno, garlic, ginger, cumin, lime juice, and yogurt until smooth. Salt to taste.

Heat the tortillas one at a time on the stove and then fill each with ¼ cup of filling. Place in baking dish and cover with sauce. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes uncovered. 

Recipe from: http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2010/10/saag-paneer-enchiladas.html

Breakfast Goody: Baked Oatmeal Cups

This has been a  luxurious eating week. To be honest, if you're me, every week is a luxurious eating week, but this week just felt particularly delightful. We spent yesterday with my family in Westminister and I finally tried Pho 79, which is supposed to be the best pho in the area. It was really good. The noodles were a bit overcooked but the broth was very flavorful and there was a lot of meat. For dinner, we went to the best BJ’s location I’ve been to (out of three states, mind you!) in Laguna Beach. We feasted on some buffalo chicken deep dish pizza and were able to explore the tide pools at sunset. Amazing. Earlier at lunch, I had the best fresh pasta I've had in LA at Terroni. Sicilian style pizza was delicious as well. In just half an hour, I'll be eating some Tiramisu cake from Porto's for a coworker's birthday and then heading to the new 3rd Street Station for happy hour. Oink, oink.


So with all this eating out it's been nice to know that at least one meal of the day is healthy, and homemade. For that, I've been relying on Baked Oatmeal Cups. They're great on-the-go and taste so good! You can heat it up in the microwave for 30 seconds or just eat it cold like I have. It has the texture and taste of thick oatmeal with some added umph from the fresh strawberries (or chocolate chips for Nick). 

 This recipe is from one of my favorite local blogs. Doah has great reviews ( don't recall disagreeing with her ever) and a great personality. Definitely check it out if you're looking for a reliable and approachable LA food personality/critic.

Baked Oatmeal Cups

• 1 egg 
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 2 1/2 cups oats
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1.5 cups milk
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Toppings of your choice

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix egg, vanilla, applesauce, banana, and honey in a bowl. 
3. Add in oats, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and mix until combined. 

4. Finally, pour in milk and stir. Mixture will be loose and watery.
5. Place cupcake liners in the muffin tin and spray with Pam. Pour mixture evenly into muffin tin cups or almost full. 
6. Top the muffins with fruit or chocolate chips or whatever suits your fancy.

7. Bake for 30 minutes.  You can freeze them and let them come to room temperature whenever you want another one! So convenient! 

Recipe from: http://www.doahshungry.com/2012/05/baked-oatmeal-to-go.html

Enjoy your weekends! We are planning to pretend to be French and where chic clothing and bike to the Beverly Hills Cheese Store tomorrow. Au revoir!

Chicken Korma and Peanut Butter Cookies

Indian dishes are probably one of the Top 4 cuisines I most frequently try making at home after Mexican, Vietnamese, and Thai. I love the spicy, filling, savory, creamy curries that cover a pile of fluffy, basmati rice. I love crispy, garlic naan that you use to wipe your plate clean after eating with a spoon has become too refined and therefore dull. I pursued the perfect homemade chicken tikka masala curry recipe for ages and finally found it. Recently, I also made saag paneer for the first time and it was not great but still excited me enough to keep looking for the perfect one.

Chicken or vegetable korma is my next favorite Indian curry and lucky for me, the first recipe I tried was stellar. Some key parts of the recipe include toasting the spices, marinading the chicken, and I’m convinced that using a fresh bag of garam masala from my most recent visit to the Indian store made a difference.

This korma had many layers of flavor and spice, a lot of heat, and a good balance of acidity and cream. I LOVED IT.

Chicken Korma Recipe (Chicken in Rich Yogurt Curry)

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into 1” cubes
2 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2-inch cinnamon stick, lightly bruised (I hit it with the end of a wooden spoon)
2 cardamom
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 Tbsp freshly minced ginger
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

Marinade:

1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder or paprika
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
2/3 cup fried onions (I fried in a Tbsp of olive oil)

Method:

1. Make marinade and marinade the chicken for 1-2 hours.

2. Heat up a wok with 2 1/2 Tbsp of butter and stir-fry the ingredients until the whole spices sizzle and are fragrant. Toss in the marinated chicken (with the marinade sauce) and continue to stir-fry for 10 minutes.

3. Turn heat to medium-low, cover the wok and cook for 30 minutes, and the chicken is.

4. Add salt to taste and  serve with fresh naan.

Recipe from: http://rasamalaysia.com/chicken-korma/2/ 

The other night, I had a deep craving for peanut butter cookies. They’re simple and satisfying and make me happy because I think of little 3^rd grade children opening their lunchbox and grinning when they see that their mom has packed a cute, imprinted peanut butter cookie. I don’t even have any maternal instincts and that image makes me happy.

This recipe was ideal. The peanut butter flavor is intense, the cookie part is doughy and dense and chewy and not too chalky from the peanut butter, and I love the crunchy granulated sugar on the outside. A total winner like the chicken korma and a good compliment to the dish (peanut butter seems to help quell the spicyness of the above entrée). 


Recipe from: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/06/09/peanut-butter-cookies/

Slow Cooker Lasagna and Chocolate Snack Cakes

I try to have my coworkers over for dinner at least a couple times a month. It always takes a little to get past talking about just work but one of my coworkers made a very intelligent observation: Italian dinners seem to get everyone to open up more. Why is that? I think Italian dinners are extremely homey. Nothing says “I love you” like a big, warm bowl of pasta and nothing relaxes and opens people up quite like a bottle of red wine.

For the most recent dinner party, I made a really easy lasagna. Lasagna is probably one of my favorite Italian dishes after ravioli, penne arrabbiata, pesto, ribollita soup, gnocchi, Bolognese, etc. etc. ;) It’s so hearty and filling but to get the right depth of flavor, it usually requires a lot of time to brown and simmer the meat sauce. Going the slow cooker route seemed like a time-effective solution but this recipe didn’t quite hit the nail on the head. The lasagna was good, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t knock-your-socks-off good. I think the slow cooker is still a good option; I just need to try another recipe.

Recipe from: http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/easy-crockpot-lasagna-recipe/2/

These chocolate yogurt snack cakes definitely fell in the "good recipe" camp. I think my opinion on chocolate is evolving since I enjoyed eating these personal-cakes and thoroughly enjoyed my freshly baked chocolate chip cookie from Pizzeria Olio today at lunch. I guess I’m finally becoming a woman and starting to LIKE chocolate ;)

I’d add chocolate chips to these yogurt cakes next time but even without, they were delicate and yogurty yet definitively chocolatey. I think they're aptly called snack cakes versus cupcakes but they don't have frosting and are significantly lighter and presumably healthier than a cupcake. But beware: you can easily eat two or three of these because they're not as rich! 

Chocolate Yogurt Snack Cakes

·      7 oz bittersweet bitter sweet chocolate, chopped 

·      1/2 cup canola oil

·      1/2 cup plain, whole-milk yogurt (Trader Joe’s European yogurt)

·      1 cup scant cup of white sugar

·      3 large eggs, at room temperature

·      1 tsp vanilla extract

·      1/2 tsp almond extract

·      1 1/2 cups flour

·      1 1/2 tsp baking powder

·      1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners.

2. In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate with 1/4 cup of the oil. Once melted and smooth, remove from the heat. This technique always works better than microwaving for me.

3. In another bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup oil with yogurt, sugar, eggs and vanilla and almond extract.

4. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then pour in the yogurt mixture and stir to combine slightly. Add in chocolate and stir until no longer streaky.

5. Divide the batter among 12 cups evenly and bake for 25 minutes. 

Recipe from: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/06/chocolate-yogurt-snack-cakes/

Breakfast Goody: Strawberry Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping!

Sigh. I say this so often but these muffins are some of the best muffins I’ve ever made. They are great in an atypical way. Usually I like hearty, healthier muffins that are fruity and not too sweet (I don’t’ want to shock my tastebuds first thing in the morning with something overly buttery and sugary). These storebought-like muffins are straight-up decadent; the inside is light and fluffy like a cake and the top is a buttery crumb topping that I just can’t get enough of! But they’re actually not that bad when you look at the ingredients because it’s pretty similar to my healthier versions with just a little extra butter and no whole wheat mixed in. Pretty stellar considering that there is so much more flavor in them, thanks in large part to awesome berries at the Farmer's Market. 

Blueberry Strawberry Muffins

·         6 Tbsp salted butter

·         1/3 cup whole milk

·         1 large egg

·         1 large egg yolk

·         1 tsp vanilla

·         1 1/2 cups flour

·         3/4 cup sugar

·         1 1/2 tsp baking powder

·         3/4 tsp salt

·         1 cup blueberries, 1 cup of diced strawberries

For the crumb topping:

·         3 Tbsp cold butter cut into small cubes

·         1/2 cup flour

·         3 1/2 Tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Melt the butter and let cool slightly. Add egg yolk, egg, milk and vanilla and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add this to the butter mixture.
3. Sprinkle some flour onto the berries and toss to coat. Then gently fold in the berries.
4. Make the crumb topping. I cut the butter in with a knife until crumbly like pebbly sand. Divide the batter among 12 muffin liners and top with the crumb topping. It may seem like a lot of topping but go for it. It’s going to be awesome.
5. Bake for 18-22 minutes. 

Adapted from: http://bakedbree.com/blueberry-muffins

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We are headed to San Diego tonight for some much needed R&R. See you on Monday. Wait, let's not think about Monday yet. See you soon! 

Peach Poppyseed Muffins

I know it's not Friday yet but I really wanted to share this summery muffin recipe that I made kind of spur of the moment last week. We've been buying so much fruit lately - from peaches, nectarines, and watermelon to every king of berry- that we can't even eat it all before it gets mushy (I hate overly ripe fruit). So I've had many excuses to bake fruity baked goods and dessert which are my favorite!

I love poppyseed muffins. They're quite possibly my favorite flavor but I've only made them with lemon or lime. I had a lot of white peaches that were losing their crunch so I googled peach poppyseed muffin recipes. Lo and behold there were two! I was hesitant to try a random blogger's recipe but I used my muffin-making expertise to tweak it. These came out very bland but in the best way possible because it let the peach and poppyseed shine through as well as the almond extract flavoring (delicious!). I'd still increase the sugar next time and use yellow peaches instead (the white ones were a little too flavorless).

Peach Poppyseed Muffins

• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp almond flavoring
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 ripe peaches, skinned and diced into 1/4" pieces 
• 2 Tbsp poppy seeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, and poppyseeds.  Set aside.

3. In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Add egg, milk, and almond flavoring.  Mix until creamy and smooth.

4. Add flour mixture and mix just until moistened.  Gently fold in peaches.

5. Divide batter among 12 muffin liners and bake 20-25 minutes. 

Recipe adapted from: http://thefoodierd.blogspot.com/2012/03/peach-poppy-seed-muffins.html