Lemon Shortbread

 This is a very light & buttery shortbread with a hint of lemon.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar (I used vanilla bean infused sugar)
1 stick softened salted butter (or 1 stick unsalted butter with 1/4 tsp salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel



Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl combine sugar and flour.

 2. Cut in butter and lemon peel.  Mix until a ball is formed.

before mixed

when fully mixed

3. Knead until smooth.
4. To make wedges:
             1. On ungreased pie dish place ball of shortbread dough in center and push it down until equal thickness.
             2. Push sides together to achieve a scalloped edge.
             3. And cut slices

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

And enjoy!! These were literally devoured in under 10 minutes!!

The Month Ahead

Even though January is half way over, I am introducing this months ingredient.  This months ingredient is...*drum roll*...lemon!! I know it's the middle of winter but lemons are sunny and yummy.  Anyway this has been a super strange winter over here in the East Coast with no snow, so it's basically summer over here except 70 degrees colder!!
Some recipes you will see this month include and are not limited to: lemon shortbread, lemon bars (I always double recipe because they go so fast), lemon muffins & lemon cookies. 
So get ready for some delicious, sunny, summer-like recipes that will make you want to put on some sunscreen and sit on a beach chair at the ocean; even though it's the middle of winter.

Dense Chocolate Ramekin Cakes

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 peices
1 cup dark chocolate chip morsels
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
about 3 teaspoons chocolate fudge sauce

Directions:
1. Grease 6 ramekins and set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water.  Remove from water and let cool slightly.

before being completely melted

completely melted

3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed.  Beat until thickened and lightened to a pale yellow (about 2 minutes). 

eggs, sugar, salt & vanilla before mixed

eggs, sugar, salt & vanilla when fully mixed

4. On low, mix in the melted chocolate mixture.

when chocolate is first added

when chocolate is fully mixed

5. Mix in the flour until fully incorporated.

6. Fill ramekins with about 1/3 cup of batter.  Add about 1/2 teaspoon of chocolate fudge sauce to the center of the batter and cover with a little more batter.

chocolate sauce added to center

7. Bake until tops are firm and a toothpick inserted near the edge comes out a little sticky.  Bake for about 30 minutes. 

To rewarm ramekin cakes put into a preheated oven at 225 degrees for 10 minutes.  They can be kept covered at room temperature for about 2 to 3 days.

10/24 to 10/29 Agenda

My plan for this week:

Wednesday, October 26- Traditional Apple Pie!  It's about time that I post a simple yet superb apple pie recipe.  My mom makes delicious apple pie & I'll see if I can recreate it!
Saturday, October 29- Apple Muffins.  They were the winner of the poll question and I would like to have some with a pat of butter on top for breakfast this weekend.  Yum!!
Sunday, October 30- I think I might make something to do with Halloween.  Maybe some cupcakes or sugar cookies in the shape of ghosts or something like that. 

On Friday, I made these BOO! "blood splattered" vanilla cupcakes for a Fall Fun Fest at a primary school for young kids.  Everyone wore costumes and played games with the kids & ate some cupcakes:)

Dad's Apple Pancakes

Caution: Not for beginner bakers, these pancakes are difficult to master!! 

Ingredients:

2 small McIntosh apples

10 tablespoons of sugar

1/2 teaspoon (plus 1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon

3 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4-6 tablespoons of butter

Directions:

1.Peel and core the apples, slice into 1/4 inch thick pieces.  Place in a small bowl with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.  Mix well, cover and set aside, stirring occasionally, until needed.

2. In a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla.

3. Whisk in the flour to make a smooth batter.  Do not over mix! (there will be some lumps)

4. In an 8 inch or 12 inch skillet(8 inch is easier but all I had was a 12 inch skillet), heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat until is sizzles.  Add the apple sugar mixture to the pan.  Cook, sitrring, until the apples soften (about 5 minutes).

 5. Add another tablespoon of butter and let it melt.  Pour batter over apples.  Cook over medium heat, pulling the set sides of the pancake away from the edges and allowing the runny batter to flow under and cook.  Mix the 10 tablespoons of sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl.  After about 3 minutes of cooking, sprinkle about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top along with half a tablespoon of butter.

6. Slide 1 tablespoon of butter onto the skillet once the pancake is inverted onto a plate.  Flip the pancake.  Put 1 tablespoon of of cinnamon sugar mixture on the top of the pancake.  Flip it over.

7. Cook the second side, allowing the sugar to caramelize on the bottom.  When it begins to brown (it is NOT burnt!!!) after 3-4 minutes, sprinkle the to with 2 tablespoons of the sugar cinnamon mixture and half a tablespoon of butter.  Invert the pancake again and allow the sugar to caramelize on the bottom, about 4 minutes.

8. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar on top.  Add more butter to the pan if needed.  Invert the pancake once again and continue to caramelize.  3-4 more minutes.

9. Serve hot and cut into slices.

This pancake was sliced into four equal slices and devoured in three minutes.  It's seriously the BEST PANCAKE OF ALL TIME!!!!! You will crave it!!  The real recipe is called Reuben's Legendary Apple Pancake and is in one of our cookbooks, but my dad made it original by using different ingredients and cooking it differently.  It's SOOOOOO good:)

~Meg

Apple Dumplings

Ingredients:


2 McIntosh apples, cored, peeled & cut in half
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Allspice
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 Pre-made pie crust
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. honey


Directions:

1. Peel, core & cut apple and put aside.  Place in bowl with cinnamon, allspice, sugar, dark brown sugar and nutmeg into a small bowl.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring the cup of brown sugar, honey and water to a boil over medium high heat.

3. Roll out pre-made pie crust and cut into 6 inch by 4 inch rectangles.

4. Sprinkle about half a teaspoon of cinnamon/nutmeg mixture over the center of the pie crust.

5. Place about 3-5 apple slices on the center of the cinnamon mixture.

6. Fold up corners to form a dumpling and place on a glass baking dish.  Continue until there is nothing left.

7. Spoon brown sugar/honey mixture over dumplings.  Place dish in the over at 425 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!  They were very yummy, just make sure you take them off the glass dish as soon as they come out because the brown sugar/honey mixture hardens very quickly.  They were really good too:)

~Meg

Varieties of Apples

Gala- developed in New Zealand, sweet, aromatic flavor, best for eating, salad, and applesauce, early to mid season

McIntosh- extremely popular, best for eating, sauce & salad, sweet & mild flavor

Honeycrisp- very sweet and aromatic, great for juice, very juicy, best for pie and baking, mid season

Jonathan- sweet-tart taste with firm skin, light red strips over yellow or deep red, best for eating & cooking, early season

Golden Delicious- firm white flesh which retains its shape, rich mild flavor when baked, tender skin, best for salads, early seasons

Cortland- A Ben Davis/ McIntosh cross. Large flat, dull red apple with a purple hue & soft, white flesh. Mid season & very good in salads

Red Delicious- best for eating, salad, applesauce, thin bright red skin with a mildly flavored white flesh, early to mid season

Jonagold- cross between Jonathon & Golden Delicious, best for eating, pies, salads & baking, mid season

Granny Smith- very tart, bright green, crisp & tart, mid to late season

Empire- type of McIntosh, long shelf life, aromatic and crisp with a creamy white juicy flesh, early-mid season

Rome- best for baking & cooking, sweet, very smooth red apple with juicy flesh, mid to late season

Winesap- rich red color with white flesh, crisp texture & juicy, best for cooking, mid to late season

~Meg