Cinnamon Sugar Almond Butter

I am engaged.  I know that I kind of threw that tidbit of information in at the bottom of a random post about some yummy lemon chicken soup quite some time ago, but really it probably deserves a little more attention than just a emboldened line at the very end of a post.  So in fairness, it now gets to start it's own post.  Here we go:

We're engaged!  Like, to be married!  Living happily ever after with lumberjack Ben!  

That was our first official picture as an engaged couple.  In true scatter-brain form, I of course forgot to post with my left hand (now sporting the gorgeous diamond ring) in front.  And Ben forgot to put down our shopping bags with the fresh asparagus for Christmas dinner and my cranberry cream loose leaf team.  Preferably, I would have made Ben take off his bulky Northface winter coat and maybe even have tied the belt of mine.  I know it's not perfect.  It may not be black and white/surprise hidden photographer/Pinterest worthy, but to me, it is one of the best photographs out there.  Because it's the first of many happy, silly scatter-brain pictures for years to come.

There is no segue from engagement and couple pictures to almond butter, or if there is my poor brain is too tired to be creative enough for it.  But, seeing as it is inevitable that wedding stress will start creeping in here, as it has in all other facets of my life, it seemed I should give you all a fair warning.  But I refuse to give you a post simply bragging about engagement.  Seeing as we are pretending, just as well as we can here, that this is a cooking blog.  So now it is almond butter's turn in the lime light (which I will give up begrudgingly).

Almond butter is a few things.  1, it is absolutely delicious, spread on bread, plopped in morning oatmeal, scooped from the jar and eaten from a spoon while standing in the light of the still open refrigerator.  2, it is adaptable.  I haven't actually tested this theory yet, but from what I hear, you basically add what you want and run with it.  Personally, I can't wait to run with it in this direction.  And finally, 3, it is dead simple to make.  Don't get me wrong, you will think you've screwed it up at least 7 times before the nuts actually come together as butter, but as soon as it's scooped in a jar and tucked away in the fridge, you'll look back and realize there was never any reason to worry.  The food processor will run for at least 8 minutes.  The almonds will become smooth as butter.  I promise.  I'm pretty sure it's science.

The batch I made for Ben and myself last in the fridge about 3 weeks.  I caught Ben several times sneaking the same spoon back into the jar for just another taste.  He was promptly scolded.  When I was home in AZ a few weekends ago, I made a batch for my mom.  Less than 2 weeks later, the household of 5 (minus one very cute, now over ONE YEAR OLD, nephew) had taken the jar down.  There's your proof.  It is good.  It is really good.  Buy the Costco sized bag of almonds.  You're going to need it.

And just in case you were wondering, the beard/lumberjack look is a relatively new one for Ben.  He's been sporting it since Thanksgiving.  Personally, I love it, but I appear to be in the minority.  He keeps threatening that he will shave it off though.  I told him I would need at least a week's notice in order to properly mourn the loss.

Cinnamon Sugar Almond Butter
Adapted from a Full Measure of Happiness, my latest blog crush

2 c. almonds
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat the over to 350 degrees.  On a rimmed sheet, spread out the almonds.  Toast in the oven until fragrant, 8 - 10 minutes.

Dig out the food processor.  When nuts are done roasting, dump in.  It's ok if you don't let them really cool first, just be aware that there's going to be some heat and steam coming out the top of your food processor.  Don't rest your hand there, it's going to get hot.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Turn the sucker on.

Don't bother pulsing.  You're going to have to run your food processor about 8 - 10 minutes before the almonds become almond butter.  It's ok if you freak out and think it will never happen.  It will, have some faith.  Keep going until you what you have looks like smooth peanut butter.  Stop every other minute or so to scrape down the sides of the food processor.

Once smooth and dreamy, pour into a jar with a tight fitting lid.  Keep refrigerated   Enjoy on everything--or straight from the spoon, no judgement here.

Honey and Spice Apple Chips

There is a question that has been bothering me for awhile.  It has to do with what we are doing right now.  More importantly, it has to do with what you want from me.  In the beginning, it was easy enough to go on for awhile about the true terribleness of my photographs, regale with stories of lonesome Saturday nights and backyard barbecues and more than likely bore you in general with occasional work stories and complaints about the weather.

But now, 9 times out of 10, I have no idea what to say to you.  I sit and stare at an empty blogger page.  Do you want a witty anecdote?  My step-by-step reaction to the recipe?  Are you even out there at all, to care about what I put down here? Or am I that crazy woman, yelling at a wall?

This is deep for apple chips, I know, I'm sorry.  The truth is, I have no anecdote for apple chips, no recipe reactions.  I am a big fan of apple chips and was intrigued that I could make them and they would be prettier than store bought.  And that is the basic, boring and strange  reason I choose this recipe, because the result would be pretty.  It would end not in broken pieces in a cloud of cinnamon dust, but  in whole, gorgeous slices of applies with stars in the middle.  Because I needed some pretty stars in my life.  Who doesn't?

Lucky for me, the pretty stars lead to a yummy snack that didn't even last a whole morning.  The recipe for these beauties is a keeper, even if the rest of my words are not.

Apple Chips

From the very pretty Blissful Bite

3 apples (I used a honey crisp, a Jona-gold and a Pacific Rose)
Juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (heaping, of course)
2 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.  Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
In small bowl, whisk together all ingredients, except apples.  Set aside.

Thinly slice apples.  I used a mandolin, which is best for me because it gives super thin, constant slices.  Pop out seeds and hard pieces of core as necessary.  Place in very large bowl and toss with lemon/honey/spice mixture.  The larger the bowl, the easier it will be to toss apple slices.  If necessary, hand rub mixture onto slices, so everything is evenly coated.

Line coated apple slices in a single layer on prepared baking sheets.  Bake in a 225 degree oven for 2 hours, flipping slices over after the first hour of baking.  Chips should be dry and crisp as they come out of the oven.  Let cool and if you don't eat them all right away, store in an airtight container!

Vanilla Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

Way back when, in June of this year, back when Summer still laid before us all as an open road and not as the distant memory it will soon become, Bon Appetit did an interview with Olivia Munn, the very funny, very cute actress (I hear she's soon to be a guest on New Girl... Eeee!!).  There was a line from the interview that I remember loving back in June, but then promptly forgot as summer came around in all it's glory.  If it wasn't for me idly flipping through the June 2012 issue laying on my nightstand haphazardly, it might have been lost forever.

Lucky for us I was bored last night.

When asked what food show she would host, Olivia responded with: "We'd cook through the latest food magazines and see which dishes are worth it. I get annoyed when the pictures look great but the recipes don't work, or they're really hard, or you need this one special ingredient you can only get at the Armenian grocery store 20 miles away."

GAH.  That's me!  That's what I'm doing!  Like right now, right here, right this very moment!  I know, it sent chills down my spine too.  Someone obviously needs to call Olivia up so we can get this thing going.  Ok, maybe not, but at least last night when I was stressing over when I would have the time to cook my next blog post, it was a nice reminder that I'm not completely crazy and that just because it's hard, that's not a reason to quit.

So in that spirit, let's talk about this breakfast cake.  It's beautiful, right?  And quite certainly not as gorgeous as ms. pastry affair's version.  Yet, and you know there was a yet coming, it was different.  It wasn't bad tasting, but it also wasn't knock your socks off delicious.  It was more dense and dry, then cakey.  Like a quick bread that you forgot to add zucchini to, to make it moist.  The crumb was interesting, attributed to the cornmeal I am sure, but there wasn't enough to make it cornbread-like.  Have I confused you yet?  Let me try again.  What it comes down to is the love child of dry zucchini bread and corn bread.  But not bad.

That won't convince you to make it, I know that.  I'm ok with that, I don't think it's necessary to make.  But if it intrigues you enough, go for it.  I promise it won't go uneaten.  Mine most certainly didn't.

Vanilla Cinnamon Breakfast Cake
Adapted from the Pastry Affair

Cake:
1 c. dark brown sugar, packed
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 c. milk (I used 1%)
1 large egg
2 tps. pure vanilla extract
1 c.ground cornmeal
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt

Vanilla Royal Glaze:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 tsp. milk

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a 9X9 square cake pan.

In large bowl, beat together sugar, butter, milk, egg and vanilla until completely incorporated.  Gently mix in remaining cake ingredients, mixing just until batter comes together.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake at 350 for 35-37 minutes, until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool for 5 or so minutes in pan.  Carefully run a knife around the edges to help release cake from the pan.  Continue to cool on wire rack another 10-15 minutes, until cake is cool.  Cut into bars (If you don't wait until the cake is cool, your bars will not be clean cut!)

To prepare glaze, mix powder sugar and vanilla together.  Starting with 1/2 tsp of milk, very gradually continue adding milk to the glaze until it is the right consistency.  If too runny, more powder sugar can be added.  Do not make glaze too far ahead of the bars being cool.  It should be made just before drizzling, otherwise it will harden up.

Drizzle glaze over bars.  Either eat immediately, or let glaze harden a little if you are going to stack them up.

Pumpkin Butter

I'm going to keep this short and sweet.  It is the week of Thanksgiving after all!!  There are pies to be made and pants to let out.  Turkeys to brine and wine to be drunk!  And I cannot wait!  Thanksgiving is, hands down, in my humble opinion, the absolute best holiday that ever was.  It is about being with family, making and then consuming gargantuan amounts of yummy food, and then finding some time before passing out on the couch for a nap or settling into a marathon game of Monopoly or Settlers of Catan, to think about all the things you are truly thankful for in your life.  There's just not a holiday out there that can top that.  

So, here is my offering for those few days after Thanksgiving when you are still overloaded with leftover turkey but feeling to fat to make anything really hearty, yet still craving something warm and homey because, goodness people, it's getting cold out there!  Pumpkin butter.  You can use that leftover pumpkin puree you had from all those pies and slather it over leftover biscuits or some crusty bread.  Stir it into some oatmeal for a warming breakfast.  Swirl some into Greek yogurt for a light dessert.  And enjoy it as your house fills up with the aroma of those cold weather spices.  And it may be a little early, but...  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Pumpkin Butter

adapted from, of course, the smitten kitchen

Most of the time this takes the pumpkin is bubbling away on the stove, but don't go too far, you'll have to stir frequently.  The pumpkin is rather thick and sometimes steam gets trapped inside and pops pumpkin everywhere.  The more you stir the less mess you'll have to clean up afterwards!  Also, I was a little heavy handed with the spice, so expect a very spiced outcome or dial it back a little.  This exactly filled one Smuckers Strawberry Preserve jar perfectly.

1 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1/3 c. apple juice
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground clove
9 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Lemon juice, to taste

Combine all ingredients, except for lemon juice, in large saucepan.  Stir together until thoroughly mixed.  Over medium high heat, bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer 30 to 40 minutes.  Stir very frequently and taste frequently.  Adjust spice to taste (remember, you can always add more, but you can't take it back if you add too much!!)  Near the end, stir in lemon juice to taste.

Cool mixture and transfer to an airtight container Keep refrigerated.  Spread on everything!

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glazed

One thing that I am not too terribly proud to admit is the fact that I do routinely listen to Delilah.  Hear me out.  I like the music more often than not and I do sometimes like laughing at some of Momma Bear Delilah's advice.  It's my night time, doing dishes, sprucing up my living room, reading cookbooks music.  But then something tragic happened yesterday evening.  I turned on my radio and do you know the first song I heard?  Sleigh Ride.  Sleigh Ride, people.  It's November 10th.  Peeps, it is 45 days till Christmas.

Can I just tell you how wrong it is that 7 weeks before Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is coming across the radio waves?  It hasn't even snowed yet in Indiana (thank God), even thinking "Let It Snow" should be a crime punishable by the force feeding of mass amounts of turkey, mash potatoes and gravy.

All I am saying here is that Christmas music is really only enjoyable for so long and it's early November.  And every year, it seems as if the magic date when some people think Christmas music is acceptable creeps earlier and earlier.  If we continue at this rate, you will be burned out on Santa Baby before Thanksgiving even hits.  Is that what you want, Delilah?  There is no reason to rush towards the end of December when November is such a good month.  It has Thanksgiving, a grand holiday that does not deserve to be upstaged by Christmas.  It has chilly days when you just need a scarf and warm jacket and snow, thank God, is still a week or two off.  It has lazy Saturday mornings filled with the scent of pumpkin scones baking in your kitchen.  And, of course, it is my birthday month, which is just the spiced glaze on the pumpkin scone.  So, Delilah, I just want to let you know that November, in all of it's beautiful fall glory, does not need a soundtrack of Jingle Bell Rock.

So,  celebrate the great month of November and make these yummy pumpkin scones with spiced glazed and meanwhile I am going to rethink my Delilah allegiance.

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze
Inspired by Bourbonnatrix Bakes


Note:  These flash freeze beautifully.  I made a batch of 12 for Ben and myself last weekend and flash froze them Friday night.  I pulled out 4 Saturday morning and baked them fresh.  And just knowing that I have 8 left in the freezer, ready to bake up all lovely and delicious makes me very happy.  Also, I think the amount of flour is off.  To make the dough even manageable I had to add several hand-fulls of flour.  I adjusted the recipe somewhat, but because I wasn't measuring, I went on the conservative side.  If you find yourself adding lots more flour, don't stress it, because I was in the same boat.  And you'll end up with beautiful pumpkin scones, so it's a good boat to be in!

Scones:

2 1/2- 3 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. + 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 c. pumpkin puree

3 Tbsp. half-and-half

1 large egg

Plain Glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. milk

Spiced Glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Add butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Fit mixer with paddle attachment and mix on low speed until butter pieces are about the size of small peas and mixture is course like cornmeal. 

In medium bowl, combine remaining scone ingredients.  Whisk wet ingredients till smooth.  Mix wet and dry ingredients together, gradually adding more flour until dough forms a ball and is only slightly sticky to the touch.  Turn out onto very well floured surface.  Use lots of flour to prevent dough from sticking to everything, and form a 1-inch thick rectangle (~4 inches by 12 inches)   Slice dough into 3 equal segments, then cut each segment into 4 in an X pattern, to make 12 triangular scones.  (see picture above!)   Place on prepared baking sheet.  

Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

To make glazes:  whisk together powdered sugar, milk and spices (for spiced glaze).  Depending on your consistency, add more powder sugar or milk as necessary.  Be careful adding milk!  You need lots of powdered sugar for every small dash of milk.  For the spiced glaze, I honestly didn't really measure, since I only baked up 4 scones.  Just taste frequently and you should be good!

Drizzle cooled scones with plain glaze, followed by spiced glaze.  Let dry for 10-15 minutes before eating.  Enjoy!!

To flash freeze: freeze scones flat on baking sheet for several hours.  Afterwards, move to a Ziploc baggie and keep in freezer until ready to use.  Scones can go right from the freezer to the oven, just add a few minutes to the baking time!

Spiced Pumpkin Loaf

Baking in Ben's apartment is both fun and frustrating.  Fun because I have someone in the kitchen with me, to talk and stir and crack the eggs.  Frustrating because things that I take for granted in my kitchen, like brown sugar, baking soda and vanilla extract, are never in his kitchen.  And I always forget that.  So making something spur of the moment never happens without a trip to our local Jewel Osco.

The other issue with baking and cooking at Ben's is the need to become a kitchen MacGyver.  I suppose this goes along with the taking things for granted bit.  For instance, to open my can of pumpkin puree, Ben tore at it with a church key until he was able to fatigue the lid enough that I could get a spatula instide.

(Look, Ma!  No cuts!)

I suppose this next one is my fault, I did bring whole nutmeg and no microplanar.  Time to bring the Parmesan grater into the game.

And I was going to MacGyver some vanilla extract by using french vanilla coffee creamer, but then I discovered it was actually hazelnut flavored and I admit it, I balked. 

Yet, despite all of this and despite the fact that after making a trip to the grocery store for vanilla and baking soda, and then forgetting to buy vanilla, followed by also forgetting to add the baking soda we had just bought to the batter, we still managed to make 2 decent pumpkin loafs.  Maybe a little dense, but we did forget baking soda, so the fact that they rose at all is pretty exciting in and of itself.  Ben's mom sent us the recipe and I'm not sure where she got it from.  We're not even sure if she had tried it or not yet.  Ben's grandpa and aunts were our guinea pigs, and they may have just been acting polite, but I got pretty good reviews (and the pumpkin bread did too, haha).  It's a good way to welcome fall, which if you haven't noticed has been knocking on your door for at least a week now.

Happy November!!

Spiced Pumpkin Loaf

1 cup butter, softened

3 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder     

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoons ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Stir in pumpkin. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until bread tests done. I didn 't have 2 loaf pans so I poured the batter into a Bundt pan. I had to bake it at 350 for an hour and twenty minutes.

Ben's Mom's Note (Which I did not follow because, alas, Ben does not have wax paper or parchment paper....surprise, surprise):  I lined the greased pan with wax paper. Line the bottom and sides of loaf pan with wax paper. You want to leave about 4 inches of overhang on the 2 opposite sides. These serve as your handles to remove the bread from the pan in 1 piece, so make sure that there is enough of the overhang for you to have a solid grip.

Skillet Sloppy Joe

Lately, any recipe with fresh corn off the cob has been catching my eye.  This one here, my new favorite pizza and a dip recipe I'll share with you soon.  I have fallen in love with sweet corn on the cob.  They're fantastic little bursts of fresh, sweet and summer and I'm trying to soak up as much as possible before it's all gone.  Even if I do love fall as much as I do, nothing really quite tastes as amazing as summer.

Last week I was leafing through one of my least favorite cookbooks:  Cooking Light's Fresh Food Fast.  The book itself was an impulse purchase that wasn't quite what I expected.  The recipes inside call for a lot pre-made, pre-chopped, specific canned ingredients and I usually steer clear of it when I'm hunting for new things to cook.  But for whatever reason there I was flipping through it last week and there was a recipe for a skillet sloppy joe with some corn, even if it did call for it frozen.  With a simple substitution of fresh corn sawed off the cob through, I was willing, even excited, to give it a whirl.

As it turned out, the shopping trip ended up yielding a few more substitutions then was first expected.  There was no call for onion in the original (an obvious oversight), I diced up my own (even if over-priced) green bell pepper, a can of kidney beans (because I love them) and a few spices to bring it up a notch, because the stewed tomatoes I bought were straight forward and brought only tomatoes to the table.

And I liked the end result.  There is something satisfying and home-ish about cooking a big one-pot dinner in just your cast iron pan.  But in the end, it just ended up too sweet.  Between the corn, the cinnamon I added, and the ketchup it was too much.  But the corn shouldn't go anywhere, because that was the whole inspiration of the recipe.  And personally, I loved the cinnamon in it, it added some warmth and depth of flavor, something fun and different.  In all truthfulness, the ketchup has got to go.  It's too sweet, too much.  A simple sub of tomato sauce though, and I think you're in business.  Guten Appetit!

Skillet Sloppy Joes

Inspired by Fresh Food Fast

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 corn on the cob, kernels removed
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add crumbled beef, bell pepper and onion.  Saute until meat is browned and veggies are soft, about 5 minutes.  Drain excess grease.

Add corn, kidney beans, tomatoes and tomato paste.  Stir in remaining 3 ingredients.  Simmer mixture for about 10 minutes, or until desired consistency is reached.  Serve on hamburger buns or other bread.

Cinnamon Twists

Don't you just love it when your coworker comes to you on Monday at 2 in the afternoon and is nice enough to not only tell you that there is a potluck tomorrow, but also give you a list of what everyone is bringing so as to make sure you don't double up.  This is especially frustrating when you are on a strict, albeit self-imposed, no grocery shopping until half of that crap left in my fridge is gone.  Ah, the joys of moving in 16 DAYS!  It's going to be an interesting few weeks to say the least.  I feel I should apologize in advance...

 So, bound by my own stringent rule making, I had limited options.  Frozen chicken breasts, puff pastry and sweet potatoes fries are the basic contents of my freezer.  I remembered seeing "Lemon Sugar Puff Pastry Twists" (quite the name, I know) awhile ago online.  The absolutely gorgeous pictures, which easily put mine to shame, had convinced me that was to be the end results of my left over puff pastry dough.  I just didn't realize the end would come so soon!  While I did have a lemon left over in the bottom of my fridge, all of its zest was stolen for the zucchini bread.  I then remembered, that it was supposed to be a healthy potluck.  And lucky for me, I will be convinced until the day I die that cinnamon is healthy for you and me and everyone else.  And that is how we got here.


They were quick and easy, and maybe not necessarily healthy, but they were still all easily demolished at the potluck, with coworkers coming up to me later asking if there were any leftover.  A surprise hit I would say.  And yay for using only what's in the freezer, fridge and pantry!

Cinnamon Twists

Inspired by Cookin Canuck

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 c. Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degree F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In wide, shallow dish mix cinnamon and sugar well.

Lay out puff pastry sheet on well floured surface.  Roll out puff pastry dough until it's about an inch longer in each direction.  Using a sharp small knife, or pizza cutter, cut the sheet in half horizontally.  Next, cut vertical strips about 1 inch wide, or about 12 per sheet.

Brush both sides of each strip with butter.  Dredge both sides in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Twist sheets as you lay them on the baking sheet.  Cook 8-10 minutes, until strips are puffed and golden.