Iced Honey-Apple Scones with Spelt

 TWD.... this week our "Tuesday's With Dorie" baking group enjoyed baking some very yummy "Iced Honey-Apple Scones with Spelt" from Dorie's new cookbook entitled "Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple. 

I can honestly say that even though we have agreed to not share the recipe here on Facebook, I would encourage everyone to find and try this recipe.... we really enjoyed these tasty little treats with our hot chocolate and fireplace the other night. 

I loved the soft nutty flavor that the spelt flour gave these scones. It was a very welcome touch to a very cakey style scone. We will definitely make these again, maybe with raisins or dried cranberries next time.

Pain de Campagne - (French Country Bread)

Sourdough Saturday…. I love to crack the binding on a new cookbook, I love to flip through all the wonderful pictures and then I go back a start marking recipes. So you can only imagine the fun I am having checking out the new cookbook about European Bread making that my husband gave me for Christmas. The book is entitled “Bread on the Table” by David Norman and even though he is the owner of the Austin Texas’s “Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden”, he studied Bread making like people study art while he was in Europe. 

 I am so excited to spend the year making my way through this new book, here is the first loaf of bread… “Pain De Campagne” or also known as “French Country Bread”. 

I was so excited to learn, as I started reading, that most of the breads in this book start with a “STARTER” so me thinking…. “YUM SOURDOUGH!” Got all excited and you can only imagine when after getting through the “STARTER” making process that this is what it looked like (see photo #3) compared to my poor, liquid, runny, fermented, pioneer heritage start in my big glass bottle. Then only to realize that now it sets in the fridge for 12-36 hours. (iPhoto #4) 

Yup…. Then you take that gob of doughy start and you cut it into chunks and mix it with the rest of the ingredients. (Photo #5)Then after a lot of mixing, kneading back in the fridge fermenting, then proofing and then shaping… then baking… we’ll let’s just say ——- 3 days later WE HAVE BREAD TO EAT!!!!! 

Oh, but I learned a lot and the bread was so yummy. 🤗😁💝 

  

 

Homemade Hummus

 Toss-Together Tuesday:::::::: spent time today tossing some things around on my desk while enjoying (from a far) the 13 1/2 inches of snow setting in my front yard. Glad I could spend the day inside, hanging out stamping with the youngest princess and my new Keto friendly menu. Here are some highlights from today.... 💕

Enjoy.

 Cauliflower & Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Ingredients

16 ounce can chickpeas, drained (save liquid) 

4 tablespoons chickpea liquid

1/2 cup cooked cauliflower cooled

1/4 cup roasted red pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon paprika 

1 teaspoon of “Everything Bagel” Seasoning

1/2-1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2-6 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

To a food processor, add the drained and rinsed chickpeas, chickpea liquid, cauliflower, red pepper, olive oil, garlic, nutmeg, paprika, salt, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of cold water.

Puree for about 4-5 minutes until smooth and creamy. If it's not quite creamy or too thick, add a few more tablespoons of cold water. This will help fluff it up and make it creamy and smooth.

Taste and season with additional salt, garlic, tahini or lemon juice if needed.

Add to a bowl and garnish with toppings of choice. Serve with pita bread and veggie sticks or spread on toast, sandwiches, mix into pasta or use anywhere else you like.

TWD: Chocolate Babka

Okay.... So it’s time for our holiday baking with the “Tuesday’s With Dorie” group that I bake with and several years ago I tried my hand at the “Chocolate Babka” that everyone was raving about. Traditionally it is filled, rolled into a loaf and covered with a very yummy streusel topping, but here at the pantry, my little helping hands mistakenly added the streusel in the middle before we rolled it and they wanted to make it star shaped like another recipe the girls were looking at, so we drizzled vanilla glaze over the top of ours. Another side note: our loaf is filled with homemade chocolate cream cheese filling made with fresh ground cacao nibs that my friend gave us, instead of the unsweetened cocoa powder that the recipe calls for. Loved how easy and pretty my loaves turned out. 

The recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty and Simple”. On page 35. 

Also… there is an awesome group of photo instructions explaining how to make the Star Shape can be found at the following link: Star Shaped Brioche

"Tuesday's with Dorie" - Buttermilk Scones

Today, I got a chance to spend some extra time in the kitchen, so I decided to make up the "Tuesday's with Dori" recipe that I missed at the first of the month. The Buttermilk Scones were really good and I would highly recommend them. The recipe is actually an old Julia Child's recipe... And all you have to do is google it.

"TBHD" - Plum Upside Down Cake

Today for our "Tuesday’s With Dorie” challenge we are making "Crumb-Topped Ricotta Coffee Cake” found on page 79 in Dorie Greenspan’s new cookbook entitled Baking With Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple. 

The fruit I chose to use in this recipe was plums. They were very tasty and reminded me a lot of the "Rhubarb Upside Down Cake that we made for "Tuesday's With Dorie" back in May of 2015. My cake baked up a little dark on the bottom, I think because I used a clear glass baking dish. I think next time I am going to try baking it in a dutch oven or cast iron skillet like for a BBQ.

if you would like to check out any of my other recipes, visit my pantry blog at www.thepantrylife.blogspot.com

Amish Style Sticky Buns

 This is what happens when at 8:00 pm you are still craving the Amish Sticky buns that you have been craving for three days…. 🥰

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 - 41/2cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

2 Tablespoons dry active yeast

Filling:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup of pecan halves, broken or rough chopped (optional, if you like lots of pecans)

Gooey Caramel Sauce for bottom of pan:

2/3 cups brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 cup pecan halves, rough chopped

Directions:

Thick coat a 9×13 inch baking pan with butter or shorting.

Place warm milk and yeast into your mixing bowl and let it sit until the mixture becomes bubbly and active. This usually takes about 5 minutes. Add melted butter, salt, and white sugar into your mixer or bowl. Mix together until smooth and silky looking about 2 mins. Add half the flour and mix with a large spoon. If you are using a kitchenaid mixer, you can knead the dough on the dough hook for 5 minutes.  Now add 2 more cups of flour, stir until blended, If you are using a regular bowl, remove the dough from the bowl and knead it on a floured surface for 5 minutes, if using mixer, knead dough another 5 minutes. Add the other 1/2 cup Flour only if dough is still really sticky. Place dough under a large bread towel and let it rise for about 20 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.  

 While dough is rising, make the filling by combining brown sugar and cinnamon, melt or soften butter and set aside. 

To Make your gooey caramel sauce for the bottom.  Place the brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and butter into a saucepan over low heat.  Mix until the sugar has melted and you have a smooth sauce, about 5-6 minutes.  Spread over the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan and sprinkle with the pecan halves, roughly chopped.

On a floured surface, roll dough into a 16×21 inch rectangle. The key to these buns is to leave your dough thick. About 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in thickness. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. (Sprinkle with crushed pecans, optional if you love pecans, we don’t add peacans here) Roll up dough, jelly roll style, pinch seam and ends to seal and cut into 8-12 rolls. Place each roll in the prepared pan on top of the gooey caramel sauce and pecans.

Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30-40 minutes. preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown and not doughy in the center… about 30 minutes.  Invert pan onto a tray and serve warm. Enjoy!