Bake Beignet Bites with Blueberry Dipping Sauce

Oh Saturdays, how I love thee. I could count the ways, but let's be honest - you all get why I love Saturdays. Mellow mornings, sleeping in, happy dog runs, a reason to make stellar breakfasts for the family. We have a theme around here for Saturday mornings; it involves me and some sort of tasty breakfast of the kids' choosing. Previous weekends have led to pancakes, waffles with homemade whipped cream, crepes, sourdough french toast. This week's breakfast project: baked beignet bites.

My first introduction to beignets started in New Orleans, as it should. Sitting at Cafe du Monde across from Jackson Square, people watching while I managed to cover myself in powdered sugar goodness and eat delicious deep fried pillows of dough. So good!

With someone in the family having to monitor his cholesterol these days, I opted to skip the deep frying portion of the traditional recipe and go with baking the beignets instead. Yes, I know it isn't the traditional method of making these and therefore maybe not as good. I will be the first to admit that. However, they still turned out to be very yummy and a favorite of the household. The blueberry dipping sauce was a late addition and well worth it (lots of room to make any sort of fruit flavored dipping sauce). So until I make my way back to NOLA, these little babies will be keeping me company and covered in powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Baked Beignet Bites with Blueberry Dipping Sauce
Borrowed from: Pick Fresh Foods

• 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons warm water (100° to 110°)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• Powdered sugar

In a large bowl combine yeast and 3 tablespoons warm water; let mixture stand 5 minutes.

Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat (do not boil). Once small bubbles begin to form on sides of pan, stir in sugar, butter, and salt. Stir until butter is melted. Remove from heat and cool.

To yeast add milk, egg and 2 cups of flour. Stir with wooden spoon. Dough will be very sticky. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead 8 to 10 minutes or until dough is smooth.

Place in a greased bowl, turning to dough to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place 1 hour or until doubled in size. 

Punch dough down and turn it out onto a floured surface. Roll dough into a large rectangle about 1/4 in thickness; cut strips to form 2-inch squares. Place on a floured surface; cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat baking tray with cooking spray. Place dough 2 inches apart on to tray. Bake 7-10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm.

Blueberry Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 cup Fresh Blueberries
• 3-4 tbsp Blueberry Preserves/Jam
• 1/4 cup White Sugar
• 1-2 tbsp Cornstarch 
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice

In a saucepan, mix together all of the ingredients. Bring to a very gentle bubbly boil then reduce heat to a simmer and leave on the stove for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken. Add more sugar and/or lemon juice to meet personal taste preferences. Remove from the stove and let cool before serving.

Über Dark Chocolate Muffins

Things have been rough all over this week, wouldn't you say? While spring has started off on a lovely foot from a botany perspective, the events of the world seem to be stuck in a cold, dark winter. When life gets like this, I usually try to go to a happy place (physically, metaphysically, whatever works) and not dwell on the negative. This is one of my happy places; pretty sweet, huh?

And of course I have these two rascals to help me stay grounded (and a little soggy). They sure do love their fetch and swim sessions in the woods. Maybe more than I do.

In an effort to keep things lighthearted, I'm going to keep this short. Muffins, they rock. Especially when chocolate is involved. These ones border on devil's food cake in density and flavor, thanks to the addition of the vinegar and intensity of the chocolate. Super yummy, happy feedback from my wonderful gang of eaters. My suggestion is to go make a batch, pack a sweet little picnic, and find some nature to share a lunch with. Stay positive!

Über Dark Chocolate Muffins
Adapted from: Favorite Chocolate Muffins

• ⅔ cup dutch-processed cocoa (hershey's special dark worked for me)
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1¼ cups light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cold coffee
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup chopped chocolate (a 3.53 oz. bar of 85% dark chocolate)
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper muffin cups.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, coffee, vanilla and vinegar. Add in the melted butter. Add the dry ingredients, stirring until everything is well-combined. Stir in the chopped chocolate and white chocolate chips. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin, about ¾ full.

Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow muffins to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days (fresh is always best!). 

Homemade Granola Bars

This week I rediscovered my baking roots, so to speak. After a period of time without a well-functioning oven, I finally have one that works the way it should. Yippee! Needless to say I have been baking and cooking up a storm lately: strawberry dream cake, uber dark chocolate muffins, baked tofu, and a personal fav, homemade granola bars. Yes, I channeled my inner hippie, donned some birkenstocks and socks (just kidding), and made granola.

I actually ended up making two separate batches of granola bars this week, one with nuts and one without. Being a fan of nuts, I would recommend adding them to any homemade bars however going the rice crispies route also works for those out there who have nut allergies. For me, it is really a matter of what I have in the cupboards so I don't have to face the monstrosity of the supermarket again (torture, I swear).

One of the things I am still figuring out is how to keep these bars firm and not have them end up chewy (although some folks love chewy granola bars). Leaving them in the fridge until ready to eat is one way, however it doesn't make it easy for taking these along on a hike. As much as I am not a fan of corn syrup, that may be the way I go next time around.

Both times the bars were well received, much more so with the nut bars. They are great with all sorts of seeds, nuts, dried fruits, chocolate chips, etc. Go wild, let your inner hippie shine a bit, and surprise your pals and kids with the goodness (and ease) of homemade granola. Save the end bits and serve as a yogurt parfait. Enjoy!

Homemade Granola Bars
Adapted from: Inspired Taste

• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whole walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line bottom and sides of a 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil.

Add oats and walnuts to a small baking sheet then bake 5 minutes, stir and bake another 3 to 5 minutes until lightly toasted. Transfer to a large bowl.

Combine butter, honey, brown sugar and the salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until butter melts and the sugar completely dissolves.

Pour butter mixture in to bowl with toasted oats and walnuts. Mix well. Let cool about 5 minutes then add apricots, raisins, cinnamon, and and 1/4 cup of the white chocolate chips. Stir to combine.

Transfer oat mixture to lined pan then use a rubber spatula to firmly press the mixture into the pan. (Press hard here, this way the bars will stay together once cooled and cut).

Scatter remaining 2 tablespoons of white chocolate chips over pressed granola mixture then use a rubber spatula to gently press them into the top. Cover then refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Remove block of granola mixture from pan then peel away aluminum foil. Cut into 12 bars.

Intensely Dark Chocolate Brownies

Recently, I found myself asking the question - what does one do with several bars of intensely rich dark chocolate? Most of the time, my answer would be to eat them. In this particular instance, the chocolate was so dark (85%!!) that even my dark-loving chocolate nature couldn't partake in them in their current state. The notion of making a dark chocolate sauce rolled around my brain for a bit, followed by a dark chocolate bundt cake, or maybe making homemade dark chocolate chips. In the end, I settled up some comfort food - good old fashioned homemade brownies. 

Brownies hold a special spot in my baking heart. Besides chocolate chip cookies, brownies were one of the first (non-Armenian) baked goods I learned how to make as a child. Being a one or two pan dish, they are uber kid-friendly and typically successful no matter how far astray one goes from the recipe. While this recipe may be a little labor intensive for wee bakers, with a little supervision kids would make a great addition to the baking magic these little sweets have to offer (make sure to let them like the bowl clean at the end, that's the best part). 

This recipe is a hybrid of recipes, with no one particular source. As I was making it, I realized how bitter and strong the brownie batter was, and added the white chocolate chips on top as a last minute sweetener. As an afterthought, adding some kind of candied nuts to the brownie batter would also likely yield amazing results. Don't be surprised if there is a revamp of this recipe down the road (boozy brownies sounds good, right??). Happy Friday and Easter, everyone! 

Intensely Dark Chocolate Brownies

• 7 ounces unsweetened intensely dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used 85%)
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 to 1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9” square by 2” deep baking pan; set aside. I used an 8” by 8” square glass baking pan to make gooier ones and did just fine. In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate, butter, and the water; cook and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Make sure not to burn the chocolate sauce. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add granulated sugar and brown sugar to chocolate mixture; beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until combined. Add eggs, almond and vanilla extracts; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add flour, salt, and cinnamon. Beat on low speed until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle white chocolate chips over the top of the battered pan.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Depending upon whether a glass or dark pan is used, cooking times may vary so check on the brownies ever 10 minutes or so. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and/or powdered sugar. Makes 20 to 25 brownies. They taste even better the second day!

Apple Beer Bread

It's almost St. Patrick's Day! In my world, this is reason to celebrate. I rank St. P's Day as my third favorite holiday to celebrate behind Halloween and Cinco de Mayo (I like the costume and drinking holidays best). In honor of this green, beer-fueled holiday I whipped up a batch of Apple Beer Bread last Sunday.

Starting your Sunday morning off with a Guinness is highly preferred, just saying.

I found a base recipe to work from over at A Spicy Perspective, modifying a few things as I went along. I used two kinds of sugar in place of one as I also replaced the molasses with honey, I didn't have enough apple butter so I went with a mix of apple butter and apple sauce (delicious results), and I opted for Guinness as my beer of choice. So far the feedback from taste testers has been positive! I know I ate nearly a half a loaf the first day I may this bread.

As my buddy here helped me get in the festive spirit last year with a whiskey tasting (omg was that a lot of whiskey!), I encourage you all to find a bit of Irish fever and have (safe) fun this year! Happy St. Patrick's Day from foodie land!

Apple Beer Bread
Adapted from: Irish Apple Beer Bread

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup Apple Butter
• 1 cup Apple Sauce 
• 12 oz. Guinness
• 1 tbsp honey
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two standard loaf pans. If using the dark style pans, you may end up shaving 10 minutes off of your baking time so be aware while baking. 

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs, apple butter, apple sauce, beer and honey then mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Slowly add to the wet mixture. Beat to combine.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf, comes out clean. I checked mine every 20 minutes, and rotated halfway through. 

Cool in the loaf pans for 10 minutes before gently inverting to release the loaves. Once completely cool, wrap well to store.

Strawberry Galette

This week marked a special day of remembrance for me. I won't get into the details, but suffice to say it is a personal holiday of sorts and one in which I fiercely celebrate each year. Some years I volunteer at a local shelter or plant trees as part of some riparian habitat restoration project. Other years I hole up and find solace in baking. As it turned out, this was one of those years.

I adore tarts. Wholeheartedly and with a sprinkle of amazement, I think tarts are the cat's meow (who came up with that expression??). But with this week being insanely hectic, I just didn't have the patience to devote to making one. So instead I opted for a galette, which is somewhere between a flat pie and a tart (depending upon the ingredients). Typically, a galette is made from some sort of short crust pastry or pate brisee, rolled out into a thin sheet with a filling, fruit, or compote added to the center, then the edges are folded over...and voila! Rustic pie!

With the amount of strawberries I had on hand, I went with strawberries as my theme. After making my pastry dough, I tossed the strawberries with almond extract, a tiny bit of sugar, and a little bit of cornstarch to absorb some of the moisture they would put off in the oven. Next I rolled out the pastry dough and spread a light layer of jams (strawberry and peach as they are what I had on hand) over it and continued on as I would with any other galette recipe.

Holy smokes, was this one of the easiest and tastiest desserts I have made in a long while. I bet you have all the necessary ingredients in your kitchen right now. Go, check. I'll be here stuffing my pie hole with this beautiful baby.

Strawberry Galette
Adapted from: Raspberry Tart

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup ice water
• 1 3/4 to 2 cups strawberries, sliced 
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp sugar + a little extra to sprinkle on top 
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tbsp peach jam
• 1 tbsp strawberry jam

In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/8 cup (30 ml) water in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube until the pastry just holds together when pinched. Add remaining water, if necessary.  Do not process more than about 30 seconds.

Turn the pastry out onto your work surface, gather it into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour to chill the butter and allow the gluten in the flour to relax. 

In a separate bowl, toss the sliced strawberries with the cornstarch, almond extract, and 1 tbsp of sugar until well coated. 

Once the pastry has chilled, remove from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into an 11" round. To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and ensure even thickness, keep lifting and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness). Transfer the pastry to a parchment paper pined baking sheet. 

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. 

Next, spread the jams over the pastry leaving an untouched 1.5" border around the edge. Then arrange the strawberry slices in a concentric circle, starting at the edge of the jam and working in towards the center.  It's okay to let it get a little messy, this is a RUSTIC tart. Once you are done with the fruit, gently fold the edges of the pasty up and over the edges of the filing, pleating as necessary, being careful not to squash the strawberries. Sprinkle a little more sugar over the top of everything and put in the oven. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes, checking the pastry every 10 minutes for even baking. Remove when the dough is light golden brown, and place on a wire rack to cool. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies Stat!

Someone close to me recently had a procedure. Nothing too grand, although anything that involves a doctor's office and a scalpel is big in my book. His procedure went splendidly and he was ordered to spend a few days of down time vegging out on the sofa, not moving much, contemplating his navel. If there is one thing I am extremely gifted at, besides baking (not to toot my own horn too much), it's caregiving and looking after someone who is convalescing. Panda le Chef to the rescue!

Requested by the sick one - chocolate chip cookies. Now, if you have been following me for a while you'll likely know that I've already covered baking chocolate chip cookies from nearly every angle possible. However thanks to the world wide web and the overall love of baking out there, I have more recipes to inspire me than I have days left on this earth. After some online hunting, I decided to try Anna Olson's recipe from Clockwork Lemon. One of the major differences in this recipe from others I have tried is the addition of cornstarch. I've never used cornstarch much in any cookie recipe, but all is fair in the baking world so I figured I'd try it out. I added my secret ingredient, almond extract, but retained most of the original recipe. Mmmm, cookies.

The end results = stellar! Nice almost cake-like cookies yet with the traditional chocolate chip cookie flavor. The outside was ever so crisp with the inside of each cookie soft and gooey. The sick one gave it a thumbs up in between cleaning the cookie crumbs from his shirt. Enjoy!

Another Chocolate Chip Cookie
Borrowed from: Clockwork Lemon

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, at room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking soda 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like to freeze mine before use)

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.

Cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until fluffy (usually 3-5 minutes). Beat in the egg and then the extracts.

In a separate bowl, stir the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until evenly blended.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking trays, ensuring to leave an inch or so in between each cookie.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen. Store in an airtight container.