Sweets
Apple Butter Bars
Irish Guinness Stout Cake
Apple Butter Bars
Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned oats (NOT quick cooking)
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced
1 cup prepared apple butter, cooled if using fresh
Directions:
Lightly grease a 9 inch square baking pan. I prefer the metal but glass also works.
In a large bowl combine the oats, four, sugar, salt, cinnamon and unsalted butter. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter mix the ingredients until it is crumbly.
Working quickly so the butter does not soften - pat firmly 1/2 of the mixture in to the prepared pan, With an offset spatula spread the apple butter over the surface. Next, sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the apple butter and press gently. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the bars are golden. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting in to bars.
*You can sub any jam or jelly for the apple butter.
Pie Crust
Irish Guinness Stout Cake
Apple Butter Bars
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced
3 Tbsp cold water
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
*You can double or triple this recipe and freeze unbaked pie crusts for later use. Use within 6 months.
**My favorite pie pans are those I find at garage sales - the old fashioned aluminum ones that restaurants used to use.
Directions:
Using the bowl of a stand mixer add the flour, sugar and salt. Chill the bowl for at least two hours.
Dice the butter and chill on a plate.
In a glass add the water and lemon juice and chill.
After two hours, use the paddle attachment and add the butter to the flour mixture and mix on low. After 1-2 minutes the mixture will begin to get chunky and the butter will begin to form and look like large beans. Slowly add the water/lemon juice liquid. Add only HALF. After a few seconds of blending with the liquid stop the mixer and assess the dough. If it holds together when you pinch it then the dough is ready. If the dough is still crumbly and falls apart then add just a bit more liquid. Do NOT add the liquid too quickly as you do not want your dough to get sticky. You may or may not end up using all the liquid.
Once the dough holds together when you pinch it - lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter and dump the dough in the middle. Gather the ends of the wrap together pressing the dough as you go. Shape the dough in to a disk and make sure it is entirely covered with plastic wrap. Chill the disk for at least 1 hour.
After 1 hour - remove the disk from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured counter. Lat the dough over the top of the pie pan and shape as desired. Remember the dough will shrink down the sides of the pan so allow for a little extra dough at the top. Wrap the pie pan with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
After the dough has chilled it is ready for use.
Irish Guinness Stout Cake
Irish Guinness Stout Cake
Simple Roll-Out Sugar Cookies
Moist and so good! Best eaten the same day it's made. Buttercream hardens as it is in the fridge so it's best served fresh.
Grab your scale and go all European - weigh the ingredients out! (Buy a simple one here:
CAKE
Ingredients:
1 cup Guinness (use the rest to add to your corned beef as it's cooking - or make a Guinness ice cream float!)
1 Tbsp cold, leftover coffee
9 oz unsalted butter
3 oz cocoa powder
14 oz white sugar
5 oz sour cream
2 medium eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
10 oz flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350.
Grease, flour, line and grease again 2 9" roun pans or 1 tall springform pan.
In a large saucepan add the beer, coffee and butter stirring till combined. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Whisk until completely integrated. Turn the heat off.
In a medium bowl add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Whisk till combined. Add 1/4 cup of the Guinness mixture to the eggs to temper. Whisk to combine. Then add the egg mixture to the large saucepan and turn the heat back on to low. Add remaining flour, baking soda and salt.
Remove from heat and pour in to prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until the center is cooked through and toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to completely cool on a rack. then remove from pan.
SWISS BUTTERCREAM
Ingredients:
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup white sugar
2 sticks butter, unsalted and MUST BE at room temp
flavors: 1 Tbsp coffee extract OR 2 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream OR 1/2 tsp. mint extract
Directions:
In a double boiler add egg whites and sugar and whisk constantly till incorporated and foamy.
Pour the hot mixture in to a bowl of a stand mixer. Add the whisk attachment and beat on medium high for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture has cooled and is thickening and holding slight peaks.
With the mixer on medium add the butter 1 Tbsp at a time. Allow to mix until the buttercream is fluffy and incorporated . This will take a few minutes but just keep on whisking. Add flavors for the last few seconds.
Add to FULLY cooled cake. If you want to have a layer of icing in the middle of two rounds you will need to double this recipe.
Simple Roll-Out Sugar Cookies
Simple Roll-Out Sugar Cookies
Simple Roll-Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
pinch of kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups AP flour
*You can double or triple this recipe
*NO NEED to chill dough
Directions:
Pre heat oven to 400.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment add the softened butter and sugar. Cream for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. While mixer is on low add the egg, salt, vanilla, baking powder. Allow to fully mix. Next add 1 cup of flour at a time. When all three cups have been added allow the mixer to continue until a nice dough has formed and come together.
Divide the dough in half. Leave 1/2 the dough in the bowl and remove the other half to a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle the top with flour lightly. With a rolling pin roll the dough to 1/8-1/4" thick. I prefer the thicker side...it makes for a nice cookie that won't break. With cookie cutters cut out the dough and place the shapes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 6-7 minutes JUST before cookies turn brown. Allow to cool fully on the sheet pan. Remove to a cookie cooling rack.
Rework the scraps into a new smooth ball and roll again. Repeat till all dough has been used including the other half.
Peach Galette
Simple Roll-Out Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
A few words about this dessert....It's VERY forgiving. You can make it as big or as little as you want. You can add in almost any fresh stone fruit and berry. You can change the shape or play with the thickness.
Ingredients:
Flaky Cream Cheese Crust -
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
4 oz cream cheese, cold and cubed
6 Tbsp. butter, unsalted, cold
pinch of kosher salt
Filling:
3 large peaches (or you can choose a different fruit - just adjust for size)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
To Finish:
1 Tbsp heavy cream or 1 beaten egg
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Directions:
For the crust - Using a stand mixer or food processor add the flour, sugar and salt to the bowl. Stir briefly to mix and then add the cream cheese and diced butter. Mix at a low speed or process with pulses till the dough forms a smooth ball.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and then smooth in to a disc and place in the fridge for at least one hour.
Meanwhile, wash and slice your fruit of choice. Three large peaches made enough for a 10-12 inch galette. Place the sliced fruit in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar and starch. Allow to sit on the counter.
To assemble the galette - Prepare a sheet pan with a piece of parchment or a silpat mat. Remove the dough from the fridge and place on a floured work surface. Sprinkle the top of the galette with flour and use a rolling pin to form a disc. Start at the center of the disc and roll to the outer edges. Once you have a rough disc formed fold the dough on to your rolling pin and then lay on to the parchment covered sheet pan.
Take the bowl of fruit - and using a slotted spoon to allow the juices to remain in the bowl - pile the fruit in to the middle of the disc. You want to leave a healthy edge of at least 1-2 inches. Next, fold the crust in multiple, small, sections to cover the edges of the fruit but leave the center visible.
Add the cream (or beaten egg) to the bowl with the juices and whisk to combine then use a pastry brush to brush this mixture onto the crust.
Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes or until browned to your liking. (Sizes will effect baking time - if you do a few small galettes versus a large one you will adjust time down).
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Simple Roll-Out Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
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One word:
HEAVENLY
Also GET these silicone muffin liners - they slip right off the muffins and they are less wasteful!
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
muffins-
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree
1 egg
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
cream cheese filling-
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp flour
2 tsp milk
1/2 tsp. maple extract (if you don't have that then you should! You can get it here!
https://amzn.to/36wqhiF Or you can use vanilla extract instead.)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (using the whisk attachment) whisk the pumpkin puree, egg, melted butter and extract. Blend till smooth.
Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the remaining ingredients and blend till JUST combined. Do not over mix.
Set aside.
To make the cream cheese filling you can mix by hand or in a mini food processor. I prefer the FP because it gives the cream cheese a very smooth finish. You could also use a hand blender to achieve this.
In the food processor bowl add the cream cheese filling ingredients. Blend till very smooth.
Fill 12 muffin liners with equal amounts of the muffin batter.
Add 1 rounded Tbsp of cream cheese mix to each muffin. Press down as you do this so that the cream cheese is mixed in slightly to the top of the muffin.
Bake at 350 for 24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part (not the cream cheese part) .
Nectarine Cobbler
Nectarine Cobbler
Nectarine Cobbler
You can make the biscuit pieces on the top of the cobbler as big or small as you wish. Use any fruit or berry! This recipe is for a 9x13 pan but you can adjust down if you have less fruit and make a square pan.
Ingredients:
6-8 ripe nectarines, washed and sliced, skins on
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 Tbsp corn starch
7 Tbsp granulated sugar (separated)
1.5 cups flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup heavy cream
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375.
Butter a 9x13 baking dish.
Add sliced fruit to baking dish. Add the lemon juice, cornstarch and 2 Tbsp sugar. If the fruit is more tart you can add more sugar.
Toss to combine and coat fruit completely.
In a medium bowl add flour, salt, baking powder, heavy cream and 4 Tbsp sugar. Combine with a fork. This will be somewhat lumpy which is just fine. Do not over mix.
Add dollops of the mixture to the top of the fruit. Sprinkle with sugar or cinnamon sugar.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375 until fruit is bubbly and the cobblers are cooked through.
Molasses Cookies
Nectarine Cobbler
Nectarine Cobbler
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This is my family's FAVORITE cookie of all time. They evoke all the fall feels and remind me of my favorite childhood cookie from Grandma's Bakery. When I was a young teacher someone made these for our staff and generously left the recipe! I've been making them consistently for the last 16 years....I only wish I could remember who passed this recipe on!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375.
Blend oil, sugar, molasses and egg till creamy. Add the remaining ingredients till mixed well. Roll in to 1.5 inch balls and roll in white sugar. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until JUST BEGINNING to crack - 7-9 minutes. They will look like they are still raw but pull them from the oven and leave them on the sheet pan till they are cool. They will finish baking that way. Once cooled, enjoy.
