Cinnamon Bread from PW

The other day I decided I wanted to make bread. Who knows why. But I got it in my head and so I started the bread at about 7 pm. Well, needless to say it didn't get finished until the next day. The dough took 2 hrs to rise then it would take another 2 hrs to rise after putting the cinnamon and sugar inside. And, so I wrapped up the dough and waited till the next day. Well, our house is pretty cold so the dough didn't really rise like it was supposed to. But it still tasted delicious! And it did rise when I put the cinnamon sugar in and rolled it up and put it in the bread pan- like it was supposed to.




 After I made this first cut and pulled out a piece for my mom and grandma we discovered it was not completely cooked on the inside, so I had to put it back in (stupid oven).


 So, it got a little darker. My step-dad said it was burnt, what does he know?!


Mom enjoyed it either way :)

Check out the Pioneer Woman's recipe.

Cupcakes

I'm really bad about taking step-by-step photos of my cupcakes baking, and writing down the recipe for posting purposes.  But here are some photos of the recent cupcake ventures.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream.  And I added some chocolate and pink sugar sprinkles on the top for some cuteness.

Just like the ones Little Debbie makes.  Chocolate Cupcakes with cream filling and chocolate on top.  So cute!

The top ones were made after our little adventure out to Wine Country last week and the bottom ones were made today after my mom and I had an adventure with her car not starting.  Oh, it was so fun (note sarcasm).  Anyway, I took the top ones to work and everyone scarfed them down, and someone didn't get any so she asked me to make more, so I made the chocolate ones.  Hopefully, they're tasty- I haven't tried one yet.  Well, happy baking my friends!

Yet Another Haitus

I'm not sure how many people actually read my blog, but I apologize for the hiatus.  Although, I guess 2 months isn't that bad of a break.  I've been so busy since the last time I posted anything.  I've made a couple of trips to California because, well, WE'RE MOVING!  I'm so excited if you can't tell.

But here's what I've been up to.

From Torrey Pines beach in California.  About 5 mins south of Del Mar.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Whipped Strawberry Frosting made for my friends', Andrea and Amanda (their twin sisters), house-warming party.

Yellow Cupcakes with Peanut Butter filling and Chocolate Frosting

Wreath I made for Andrea and Amanda's front door.  My first wreath I love it!

My mom, Me, and our friend, Joanie with the San Diego skyline.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Buttercream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Almond Shortbread Cookies, Sour Cream Scones, and Raspberry Oatmeal Scones made for a Red Hat Ladies tea party.

Homemade applesauce made from the apples I bought at Apple Annie's.

Then our Going Away party. :(  We are sad to leave, but excited at the same time.

Well, I think that's all for now.  I have some great projects coming up soon.  Some fun projects for our new condo in California.  So, stay tuned.

Also, I've decided to start up my blog again because I've discovered Picnik.  It's pretty awesome.  And I've also discovered Pinterest.  Oh my gosh you have to check it out.  You'll be pinning like crazy.

Chai Cupcakes

A friend gave me a bunch of boxes of cake mix when she moved and I thought maybe I should do something different with them.  Somehow, chai popped into my mind.  But the frosting part was where I was lost.  So, I just decided to forego the frosting and I put cinnamon sugar on top.

Yum!

First start the water to boil for the tea.

I used 6 tea bags.

Once the water boils, turn off the burner, place the pot to the side, and tie the tea bags together and hang them from a wooden spoon.  Set a timer for 5 minutes.

Measure out 1/3 cup of oil.

Mix the oil with the cake mix.

According to the box, you need 1 1/4 cup of water.

I measured out the brewed Chai tea to the 1 1/4 cup to replace the water then add the Chai tea to the batter.

Fill the cupcake papers 2/3 full.

So, I was baking these at my grandma's house and I couldn't find cinnamon ANYWHERE.  Then I found this  grinder and smelled it (haha) and it was CINNAMON.  It's a cool contraption.  So, anyway, I mixed the cinnamon with sugar to top the cupcakes.

My grandma has my great-grandma's china.  It's beautiful!  (This cupcake got cinnamon/sugar after the fact because I didn't know what I was going to put on it, yet)

Chai Cupcakes

Ingredients:

6 bags Tazo Chai Tea (doesn't have to be Tazo but that's what I used)

2 cups of water (boil 2 cups, that way in case some evaporates you'll have enough for the batter)

1/3 cup oil

3 egg whites

1 box White Cake Mix

Cinnamon

White Sugar

Make cake according to the directions on the box for the cake.  The only difference is use brewed Chai tea instead of water.

Mix cinnamon and sugar (just eyeball the measurements) and sprinkle on top of batter before baking.

Serve with some Chai tea and enjoy!



Pumpkin Puree

This being the season for Pumpkin and yummy fall recipes.  Let's talk pumpkin puree.  Pumpkin puree is good for pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies...and on and on.

Cans of pumpkin are hard to find any other time of year except right now.  So, buying a pumpkin and making your own puree is great if you want pumpkin goodies other times of year.

My cute little pumpkin.  It was a pretty reasonable price at Walmart.  Next week I'm going to an orchard and vegetable farm and I'm going to get another one...or two :)

Cut the top off the pumpkin.

Cut the pumpkin in half.

Scoop out the inside of the pumpkin.  I used a melon baller.  It worked perfect.

Scoop all the seeds and such into a bowl.  Do NOT throw them away.  Stay tuned for what you can do with them.

Cut the pumpkin into about 8 pieces.

Arrange the pieces a cookie sheet then put them in a 350 degrees oven for 45 minutes.

After the 45 minutes the pieces will look like this, but perfect for peeling off the skins.

If the peel doesn't come off easily then you can cut it off.

Yes, this is like the smallest food processor ever.  Anyway, cut the pumpkin into cubes after you peel off the skin then put it in the food processor and puree.

As I puree it, I add a little water with the pieces I process.

It's ready!

Grab 2 one gallon freezer bags.

Split the puree between the two freezer bags.

Flatten the bag of puree and make sure you get all the air out.  Then seal it and be sure to label it, so everyone knows what this weird orange stuff in your freezer is.

We seem to have this nifty little shelf next to our ice maker that is perfect for the bags of puree.

So, now you have your puree for March or April when all the pumpkins are gone and the cans of pumpkin puree are not on the shelf.  I expect you to puree some pumpkin and impress me with your goodies :)

 

Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin

water, as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the top off the pumpkin.  Then cut in half.  Use a spoon, ice scoop, or melon baller to scrape out all the seeds and the goopy membrane.  Place the seeds in a bowl.  Cut the halves into quarters (8 pieces total).  Place the pieces on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 45 minutes.

Place the cooked pumpkin on a cutting board and peel the rind from the pieces.  If the pieces will not peel then use a knife.  Cut the pumpkin into small cubes then toss into a food processor.  Puree until smooth.  Sometimes it is quite dry and hard to puree, so you may need to add 1 tablespoon or so to each batch you puree.

Split the pureed pumpkin into two one gallon freezer bags.  Label the bags and place them in the freezer if not going to be used right away.

 

PW’s Flat Apple Pie

I've noticed something going back through my previous entries.  I blog at night.  I am a night-blogger.

I'm a night cooker, too.  I guess I'm more of a night owl than I thought.

Anyway, now that the frivolous information is out of the way.  Let's get to the good stuff.

Apples.  Pie.

Two of the greatest words ever.  I love apples.  I love pie.

I grew up in Ohio and pretty close to Amish Country.  The Amish make the best pies ever.  I could never make anything close to an Amish-made pie.  I don't know what it is that they do, but they do it well.  So, I've had my fair share of pies and I love them.  I have to say apple is one of my favorites.  I tend to like Dutch Apple better than regular apple, but it's all good to me.

I bought the Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook a few months ago and so far everything I've made from it has been amazing.  This recipe included.

The recipe calls for The Pioneer Woman's pie crust, however, I didn't have any shortening, so I had to find another recipe using butter.  I know, I know, load on the fat, but whatever.  If you're gonna go for it then go for it, right?!

I think I may come up with some sort of prize for anyone who knows what this is.  (Jessica you cannot comment :))

Jessica bought the BIGGEST Granny Smith apples I've ever seen.

For the crust: first mix 1 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 tsp salt

Add in 1/2 cup of cold butter, I used unsalted.  And mash the butter in with a pastry blender, or I had to use a fork.

Drizzle in 1/4 cup of water.  Mix it well.  I add a little at a time just in case you don't need to whole 1/4 cup.

Once it's all mixed form it and wrap it in plastic wrap then place it in the fridge for a few hours.

I sliced my apples with a mandolin and it's the greatest thing ever.  However, I sliced my fingers a couple of times.  So, if you have one USE THE GUARD!

Sprinkle the apples with some flour.

Then add some white sugar and some brown suga lol

After you give everything a good stir, it looks like this- all yummy, apple-ly, and sugary.

I used a pizza pan to bake the pie on.  Roll out your crust to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Spoon half of the apple mixture onto the crust.

I gave it a sprinkle of cinnamon, even though the recipe didn't call for it, I just thought it needed it.

There ya have it.  At least most of the way to the deliciousness to come.

OOOOH Wait!  There's one more thing: add some bits of butter to the top :)

Oh yeah!  This is amazing.  I've never made any kind of pie, but I did this and I LOVE it!

Let me tell you, let me scream it from the rooftops, this woman knows what she's talking about.  And is my guru of cooking, so to speak.

This post took me 2 weeks to get it up on here.  I've had so much going on in my life lately that I didn't get a chance to get the post done.  However, I could not abandon it.  I had to post it.  You have to make this crust and the pie below.

This is the recipe from the book, and she has you make her crust too.  I, however, did not have any shortening, so I had to find a crust with butter.

Pioneer Woman's Flat Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• 5 peeled & sliced Granny Smith apples


• 2 tbsp. flour


• Juice of 1/2 lemon


• 1/2 c. sugar


• 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed


• 1/4 tsp. salt


• 1 recipe Perfect Pie Crust


• 6 tbsp. butter

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the apples, flour, lemon juice, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt. Set aside.

3. Roll out two pie crusts into large circles. Place the circles on large baking sheets.

4. Place half the apple mixture on one crust and other half on the other crust.

5. Fold over the edge of each crust so that it covers 2-3 inches of the apple mixture. No need to be artistic - the more rustic the better.

6. Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of butter.

7. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the filling is golden and bubbly. If the crust appears to brown too quickly, cover the edges with aluminum foil for the remaining baking time.

8. All to cool slightly, then slice into wedges with a pizza cutter. Eat ‘em on the go!

Variation: For extra sweetness, drizzle on jarred caramel topping after removing the pie from the oven.

(makes 2 pies)

Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 3 c. flour


• 1 tsp salt


• 1 ½ c. vegetable shortening


• 1 egg


• 5 tbsp. cold water


• 1 tbsp. distilled white vinegar

Method:

1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.

2. Add in the shortening. Using a pastry cutter, gradually work the shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles. This should take 3-4 minutes.

3. Lightly beat the egg with a fork, then add it to the mixture. Next, add the cold water and vinegar.

4. Stir the mixture together until it's just combined, then remove half the dough from the bowl.

5. Place in a large plastic bag (do not seal) and slightly flatten with a rolling pin. After flattening, seal the bag tightly. Freeze. (Repeat to freeze second half.)

6. When you're ready to use a crust, remove one from the freezer and allow it to sit on the counter to thaw slightly, about 20 minutes. Remove from the bag and place on a lightly floured surface.

7. With a rolling pin, begin rolling the dough from the center, outward. Be gentle and patient; it'll take a little time to get the dough completely rolled out.

8. If you think the bottom is really sticking to the surface below, use a nice, sharp spatula to loosen it and sprinkle some extra flour on top.

9. Flip it over to finish rolling. Remember to roll from the center in single, outward strokes; no back-and-forth rolling.

10. Again with spatula, loosen and lift the pie crust and carefully lay it over a pie pan. Using your hand, lightly form the crust so that it fits inside the pan and overlaps the edges.

11. Tuck excess dough under itself above the rim.

12. Apply decorative effects to the edge.

13. Fill with filling and bake according to pie recipe's directions. For a pre-baked crust, fill with weights (or pinto beans placed on aluminum foil) and bake at 400-degrees for 10 minutes, or until golden.

(makes two to three 9-inch pie crusts)