egg boats

I'm back to my normal routine after being on vacation over Christmas for two whole weeks visiting my family in California. Every morning I was at my parents house, I'd toast a slice of sourdough and top it with pastrami and Havarti for breakfast. I can't tell you how much I loved being able to sit and enjoy a hot breakfast with a fresh cappuccino on a weekday! But now that I'm back at work, I rarely make time to fix myself breakfast during the week so I save all my breakfast cooking (and mimosa drinking) for the weekends. These egg boats are a new breakfast favorite because they literally take less than five minutes to prep. Sourdough baguettes filled with sausage, eggs and lots of cheese, baked until hot and toasty... so so good!

Sausage Egg Boats

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

4 demi sourdough baguettes (I found them in the bakery section of the grocery store)

1 (7 ounce) package of Jones All Natural Golden Spicy Pork Sausage Links

8 eggs

½ cup heavy cream

8 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated

3 green onions, thinly sliced

salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Cut and pull out the middle of all 4 sourdough baguettes, leaving ½ inch of bread in the bottom and on the sides. Set baguettes aside. Prepare sausage according to package directions. Cut links into bite-size pieces and set aside. In a medium bowl, lightly beat together the eggs and the cream. Whisk in remaining ingredients and sausage. Evenly divide and pour the mixture into each baguette boat. Place all 4 baguettes on a baking sheet and bake for 25-28 minutes or until set in the center. Allow boats to cool for 10 minutes, cut and serve. 

Recipe inspired by Spoon Fork Bacon

Disclaimer: this recipe was developed by me for Jones Dairy Farm, all opinions are my own. 

cinnamon biscoff macarons

I bought a kitchen scale over a year ago with all intentions of making macarons. I'd read how long and hard the process of making them could be and kept putting it off because I was so nervous I wouldn't get it right. But with help from my pro macaron-maker mom (through facetime) I made perfectly crispy, soft, chewy macarons on the first try! I couldn't be happier with how these macarons turned out and once you get the hang of the process, I don't think they would take nearly as long the second time around. These cookies have a light crispy shell, with a soft chewy center that is unlike any other cookie. Then you add the biscoff filling and they are irresistible, one of my favorite cookies I've ever baked!

Here are a few tips and tricks that will help you get leggy, crispy, soft, chewy macarons: 

1. Use older eggs, like let your eggs sit in the fridge for a week or two

2. Always weigh everything before starting, it's so much easier

3. I would recommend using a mesh strainer to sift the dry ingredients

4. Let your macarons have time to 'mature' before eating. Meaning, after you bake and fill them, don't eat them for at least 24 hours. Let them sit in the fridge for at least a day. They are good when they come out of the oven but they are 10000x better after you let them sit for a day or two, trust me

Cinnamon Macarons

makes 35 sandwich cookies

for the cookies:

7 ounces powdered sugar
4  onces almond meal/flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of cream of tarter
3 1/2 ounces granulated sugar

large pastry bag
1/2 inch round pastry tip (I used #12 Wilton tip)

for the biscoff filling:
1 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 c. marshmallow fluff
1/2 c. creamy biscoff
3/4 c. powdered sugar
2-4 tbsp whole milk

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Print the macaron template here and slide this under the parchment paper (don't forget to remove it before you slide the macarons in the oven!). 

Pulse 1/3 of the powdered sugar, cinnamon and all of the almond meal together in a food processor until it forms a fine powder. Pour this mixture into a mixing bowl along with the remaining powdered sugar and sift 3 times. Set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a wire whip attachment, whisk whites and cream of tarter on medium speed until foamy and slightly bubbly. Gradually add granulated sugar until incorporated and scrape down sides of bowl and increase mixer speed to high, whisking until very stiff and glossy. Note: when you pull the beater out of the egg whites, my egg whites stuck to the beater and created a crater in the bowl. This is how stiff you want your egg whites to be. 

Fold in 1/2 of the sifted dry mixture to the egg white mixture and continue until it has all been added and the mixture is smooth. 

Transfer batter to a large pastry bag fitted with small round pastry tip and pipe rounds onto parchment paper using your macaron template. Hold the pastry bag straight up and squeeze straight down and let the batter form a circle on it's on. If you want to smooth the small peaks in the center of the cookies, wet your finger with water and lightly push down on the peaks to ensure smooth, flat macarons. 

Once you have piped all the macarons, light bang the cookie sheets on the counter to release any air bubbles in the cookies. Let cookies stand on cookie sheet for 45 minutes or until they no longer stick to your finger when lightly touched. 

Bake one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes, rotating halfway though. Let macarons cool for 2-3 minutes on baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack. Let them cool before filling them.

To make the filling:

Cream the butter, biscoff and marshmallow fluff together. Slowly add in the powdered sugar and scrape down sides of the bowl after each addition. Lastly add milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Pipe filling onto a cooled macaron shell and sandwich with another shell and repeat until all shells are used. 


Macaron recipe from Sur la table

two-ingredient pumpkin muffins

Well it's been awhile! I've been cooking, just not blogging. Can't say I have any great excuse for not sharing any new recipes over the past few months. But hopefully this recipe makes you happy and you forgive me. You only need two ingredients! But if you want them to be extra pumpkin-y, then they are 3 ingredient muffins because you should add some pumpkin pie spice. My boss brought these into work for a breakfast pot luck and on the first bite, I had to know the recipe. They are so moist, like melt in your mouth and had the perfect amount of pumpkin spice. I could not believe when she told me they only had two ingredients in them, they tasted like they had a stick or two of butter in them. I couldn't wait to share the recipe because you can have hot pumpkin muffins in as little as 25 minutes, it's that easy. 

Ok so now you are probably thinking... there is no way that nutty, buttery topping is only two ingredients. You're right. I tricked you a little. The picture shown below is of the muffins with no pecan topping, which are still amazing. But add a little butter, sugar and chopped pecans and they are unbelievably good. 

Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

makes 19 large muffins

for the muffins:

1 box of spice cake mix

1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, optional

for the pecan streusel:

1/4 c. chopped pecans

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c. flour

4 tbsp cold butter

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease or line 19 muffin cups. 

In a medium bowl, beat the pumpkin puree and the spice mix together until well combined. Spoon mixture evenly between 19 muffin cups. 

If making the streusel -- 

Combine chopped pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour and stir together. Add the butter and mix until it resembles a crumble. Sprinkle topping on batter. 

Bake muffins for 20-23 minutes or until set. 

lemon berry crumb cake

My mom gave me the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook for my birthday back in May and I've read it front to back. I love Christina Tosi's baking success story and mostly the fact that she isn't scared to share so many of her kitchen secrets in the cookbook. I won't give any of the secrets away but I will tell you that while the recipes can seem intimidating (example: one of her recipes calls for freeze dried corn), it always results in an incredible dessert. My mom and I made this lemon berry crumble cake that was inspired by Tosi and her layer cake techniques and absolutely loved it. This recipe is not in her cookbook, though I definitely felt more confident in my ability to assemble it after reading the cookbook. The bottom two vanilla cake layers are brushed with warm blueberry preserves, topped with homemade lemon curd, white chocolate berry milk crumbs and raspberry frosting (that tastes like real fruit!). To finish it off, the top cake layer is covered in raspberry frosting and sprinkled with lots of the white chocolate berry milk crumbs. Now go make this cake, it's worth all the work. Oh and the cake will keep in the freezer for up to two weeks, so it's the perfect dessert to make ahead of time for a special occasion.

Recipe here:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2012/06/27/lemon-berry-crunch-cake/

berry crumble bars

I'm backkk! I know you missed me or at least my treats. Honestly, these berry crumble bars were too good not to share. Berries are the one millionth reason I love summer. When I walked into the grocery store today, I had the choice of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries or blackberries... all in one place! I'm like a pack rat when berry season comes around, I buy a ton and throw them in the freezer to find them a year later and make bars like these. Ha just kidding, I used fresh berries to make these but I will not think twice about making them again this fall with frozen berries. These bars have a buttery, shortbread crust, layered with sweet gooey berries, and a sprinkle of crumble on top... it doesn't get much easier. The hardest part of these bars is waiting for them to completely cool before cutting into them. I say that wait time is only necessary if these bars are going to make it out of your kitchen because I'm not sure mine will. I used blackberries and raspberries in these bars but strawberries or blueberries or any mix of them would work.

Berry Crumble Bars
makes 9x13 pan

for the berry layer:
5 c. berries (any mix of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or blueberries)

juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 c.)

1/4-1/2 c. sugar, depending on sweetness of berries

4 tsp of cornstarch (or 8 tbsp of all-purpose flour)

for the crumble:

1 c. sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. cold, unsalted butter -- grated
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line or grease a 9x13 pan.


Stir together berries, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch. Set aside. 


In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, baking powder, and flour. Using a pasty blender or your hands, mix the cold, grated butter and the egg into the flour mixture until it is crumbly. Spread half of this mixture in the 9x13 pan and pat down. Evenly spread the berry mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining flour/butter mixture on top of the berry layer. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until berries are bubbly and crust is slightly golden. Cool bars completely before cutting into squares.


And make sure to check out the crumble creations from the lovely bloggers listed below, we started a recipe club last month and will be picking a new recipe each month to each make our own way!

Parsley Sage at The Deep Dish: http://psdeepdish.blogspot.com/

Maureen at the Orgasmic Chef: http://www.orgasmicchef.com/

Matt at Grad School Chef: http://www.gradschoolchef.com/

Claire at Simply Sweet Justice: http://www.simplysweetjustice.com

Adapted recipe from: Erica's Sweet Tooth

italian cream cupcakes

Italian cream cake is what I ask my mom to make me for my birthday or really any special occasion. It's my absolute favorite. My mom always uses this Cooking Light Italian creme cake recipe but whenever I try to make it myself, it never turns out quite as good as hers. So I decided if I was going to make Italian cream cake myself, I wanted to try a different recipe to see how it compared. I found this Italian cream cupcakes recipe from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen that uses cream of coconut in the cupcakes and the frosting. For the first 20 years of my life I hated coconut and now it seems like I'm trying to make up for lost time because I can't seem to get enough now, the more coconut the better. I'd never used cream of coconut before and was curious so I decided to go for it. These cupcakes were a completely different flavor than my mom's Italian cream cake because of all the added coconut but they still turned out amazing. But that might not be saying much because I would eat almost anything sprinkled with toasted coconut and pecans!

Italian Cream Cupcakes

makes 24 cupcakes

for the cupcakes: 

1 box French Vanilla cake mix

1 stick of butter, melted

4 eggs

1/2 c. cream of coconut (I found it in the Hispanic section of my grocery store)

1/2 c. water

3/4 c. pecans, finely chopped

1 1/2 c. sweetened shredded coconut

for the frosting:

1 stick of butter, slightly softened

8 oz block cream cheese, softened

4 tbsp cream of coconut

3 c. powdered sugar

for the topping:

1 c. sweetened shredded coconut 

1/2 c. pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line or grease 24 muffin cups.

In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, butter, eggs, cream of coconut and water. Beat on low speed for about a minute and then increase speed to medium high and beat for another minute. Fold in coconut and pecans. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the toothpick test comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool before frosting.

In a clean medium bowl, beat butter, sugar, cream cheese and cream cheese until combined. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat on low until combined. Increase mixer speed to high and beat for a minute and a half until frosting is light and fluffy. 

For the toasted coconut and pecan topping -- place the coconut and the pecans in a pan and turn the stove on medium heat. Stir constantly for 10 minutes or until coconut is golden brown. Once topping is toasted, set aside and let cool. Once cool, sprinkle on cupcakes.

And make sure to check out the Italian cream cake creations from the lovely bloggers listed below, we just started a recipe club and will be picking a new recipe each month to each make our own way!

Parsley Sage at The Deep Dish: http://psdeepdish.blogspot.com/

Maureen at the Orgasmic Chef: http://www.orgasmicchef.com/

Matt at Grad School Chef: http://www.gradschoolchef.com/

Claire at Simply Sweet Justice: http://www.simplysweetjustice.com