These are perfect for a breakfast, brunch, or snack. Moist, dense and spicy; pumpkin muffins are autumn in a hand-held package.

Next week is PUMPKIN WEEK on Baking Delights! If you ever wondered:

• How to turn a whole pumpkin into a pie
• Which pumpkins can be used for cooking
• What can I make besides pie with pumpkin..
• How can I use the seeds?

As well as some awesome recipes, including something special I am developing as we speak…well you will definitely want to check back. Between now and then, though, here is a pumpkin recipe to whet your appetite!

Yes..these really were that rich color!  If you would rather a bread than muffins try this Pumpkin Pecan Quick Bread.

Pumpkin Browned Butter Muffins

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups  pumpkin puree (homemade is best but canned will work..not pre -prepared pie filling)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle, optional (but awesome)
• 2 tablespoons finely minced candied ginger, optional
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional
• Cinnamon and sugar mixture for sprinkling the tops

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Melt butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir until it reaches a golden brown color – remove from heat and set aside to cool
3. Place silicon muffin cups in muffin pan or grease muffin tins lightly
4. Mix dry ingredients and set aside
5. Beat sugars and eggs until light and fluffy
6. Slowly add cooled browned butter
7. Beat in pumpkin puree
8. Stir in dry ingredients until well blended
9. Quickly stir in nuts and candied ginger
10. Spoon into muffin cups and sprinkle tops with cinnamon and sugar
11. Bake for 20 minutes or until done
12. Cool slightly before removing from the pan

Makes 12-16 depending on size

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

There is something about coming in on a dim winter afternoon, cheeks frozen from sledding, and smelling the aroma of date nut bread wafting out of the oven.  Not that I have experienced many snowy afternoons here in Texas, but growing up in Bucks County, Pa..well I had my share of Currier and Ives moments!

Making a sweet bread for breakfast means thinking ahead the day before and I don’t often do that much thinking ahead…at least not anymore.  So, whipping up these muffins for breakfast (total time 30 minutes) is simple.  Sweet and filling, these date nut muffins have big date flavor in every bite, with the faint woodsy-nutty walnut flavor coming in right behind.  Mix them up by hand so that you don’t over beat them—muffin murder.  Overbeating will cause muffins not to rise, and to be heavy and lethargic, somewhat like a teenager  at 7 in the morning.

Date Nut Muffins (from one of my vintage cookbooks, with adjustments by me)

• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup flour

Crumble together until it looks pebbly.

Directions:

1. Combine dates, baking soda, butter, and water.  Allow to cool.
2. Sift the dry ingredients together.
3. Beat sugar, vanilla, and egg until well blended.
4. Add dry ingredients to the date mixture, alternating with the egg mixture.  Begin and end with dry ingredients.
5. Stir in nut meats.
6. Scoop into 12 muffin cups and top with streusel.  Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Serve warm.

12 muffins.

Post from: Baking Delights

I like tea cakes.  They aren’t too sweet, they aren’t hard to make, and they aren’t impressive, they are just comfortable to have around.

Sort of like reading a book that does not challenge you in the least but satisfies you deep inside, you know?

Tea cakes.  A really good tea cake should look nice enough to put on a tea table but be plain enough that you can serve leftovers for breakfast next to some eggs and bacon.  Right?

This one will do it.

I made this with the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter baking sticks I was reviewing.  You can use those or you can certainly use real unsalted butter.

This cake is not too sweet, with a subtle lemon and Earl Grey flavor.  Really nice for tea or with breakfast, or a snack, or even dessert with maybe some fruit.  It goes together easily, keeps for a long time, and makes the house smell nice.

Can you really ask for more than that?

The original recipe is out of a very old cookbook that I have.  It is based on a recipe called Thrifty Poundcake, from the 1930s.  I changed ingredients and flavors but it is still thrifty, and still really good.

Earl Grey Tea Cake

• 3 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter baking sticks  (1 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup Earl Grey tea
• Juice of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 lemon

1. Sift dry ingredients together, stir in lemon peel
2. Cream butter with sugar and vanilla until fluffy.  Add eggs and beat well.
3. Mix tea and lemon juice
4. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternatingly with tea mixture.  Beat well after each addition.
5. Grease a bundt pan and flour it.  Pour in batter
6. Bake at 350 for 1 hour
7. Cool for five minutes and then turn pan upside down
8. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar or glaze with lemon glaze

Lemon Glaze

• 1/4 cup butter melted
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• Enough confectioner’s to make a thick glaze

Mix together and drizzle over cake.  Grate lemon zest over top.

As you can see I tend to glaze mine and then sprinkle with a little confectioner’s from a shaker.  It just looks prettier that way!

Images:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Opening it up there is a fresh smell of sweet, difficult to identify.  The topping is a praline like candy, reminiscent of brown sugar divinity.  Not quite praline and not quite divinity but somewhere in between.

The one difficulty I had was actually getting the cake out of the tin in one piece.  The waxed paper that surrounds it tore as I tried to remove the cake.  This was a small price to pay.

The cake is very moist with a swirl of cinnamon throughout.  It is not quite buttery, in that butter is not the flavor that you would associate with it but it is definitely in the texture.  The flavor is somewhat like a Jewish Sour Cream coffee cake.

I would suggest that this be saved for special brunches (Christmas comes to mind) and lazy weekend mornings, to be served with a stiff espresso and baked apples, poached pears, or other not too sweet fruit.

You can purchase this cake by contacting: jmassar@warwickhotels.com

It is $24.00

And ONE lucky reader will win one next week.  Be sure to read Monday to find out how.

Images:(c) 2009 Marye Audet all rights reserved.

Post from: Baking Delights

I am loving the after Christmas clearances at the grocery stores.  I don’t know how it is where you are but apparently people around here did not bake, cook, or buy as much as usual because there are a ton of things clearanced.

I scored fresh cranberries for 50 cents a bag at the store the other day.  Cranberries are quite the popular item here so I bought enough to make cranberry whatever at least a couple of times a month from now until November.  Cranberries freeze really well, if you didn’t know that.  Just toss the bags in the freezer.

Anyway, I normally make cranberry bread during the holiday season, but I also had a mushy banana so I made cranberry banana bread.  I liked it a lot because the mellow sweetness of the banana tempers the sharp tartness of the cranberries.  Nice.

Look, if you are going to the trouble to make cranberry bread don;t be cheap with the cranberries or nuts if you add them).  Add enough to make it look like there are more than three in the recipe!  I have seen cranberry bread that looks like it is literally “cranBERRY” bread…I always want to suggest that the person try using more than one finely chopped berry the next time.

The best way to chop the cranberries for cranberry bread is by hand.  The food processor grinds them too much in my opinion.  Cranberries are best when they are chopped in fourths or eights. More or less I mean, I don’t take hours with it.

Cranberry Banana Bread

• 1/4 c unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Grated rind of 1 orange
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup cranberries coarsely chopped
• 1 cup pecans chopped, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Grease and flour a loaf pan
3. Cream butter and sugar
4. Beat in egg
5. Combine dry ingredients
6. Sprinkle about two tablespoons of the dry ingredients over the cranberries and toss
7. Combine orange rind, banana, and milk
8. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture
9. Fold in cranberries and pecans
10. Bake for about one to one and a fourth hours
11. Cool

Image:Marye Audet (c)2009, all rights reserved

Post from: Baking Delights

Did ya ever wake up, stumble to the kitchen bleary eyed, and wish that Mrs. Cleaver would meet you at the kitchen door, wearing a crisply starched apron, and holding a plate of steaming muffins, fragrant bacon, and fresh, seasonal fruit?

Yeah. Me too.  Is there anyone that actually likes cooking breakfast? I think not.

So, I thought that this edition of Saturday blog surfing I would concentrate on great breakfast ideas.  Things that caught my eye on the Internet, things that seemed like they would be worth getting out of bed for on a cold morning even if Mrs. Cleaver wasn’t anywhere around and the kitchen was dark, dismal, and messy.

Vee, who has a delightful blog called Tea and Scones, has this Tropical Christmas Bread that looks worth waking up for whether it is Christmas or not!

Take the Cannoli makes sour cream and banana pancakes.  These look amazing and I would certainly wake up for them.  Especially if someone else made them for me.

Bunny and Carol from Bunny’s Warm oven make cherry rolls. These are very much like cinnamon rolls but with cherry filling.  They look cheerful, like they would fit right in on a table covered with a red gingham cloth in a kitchen scented with brewing coffee.

Banana Yogurt Bread on Eating, Etc seems like it would be one of those breads that you could make ahead and enjoy for a few days because it would stay moist.

Simmer till Done has Caramelized Banana French Toast. Why are you still reading MY blog, didn’t you hear me say caramelized. banana.  french.  toast.?

Mango and Coconut Mueseli at Not Quite Nigella seems like it would be a great choice when you were feeling crunchy.

The Delicious Life comes through for all of the breakfast lovers in the world with Strawberries and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast.

My Rose and Cinnamon Scones that I snuck in over at Kettle and Cup are really good for breakfast, brunch, or tea.

Sweets, Savories, Etc. does Challah…mmmmmmm

I did have one more but somehow the computer got knocked when I was editing and I lost the whole link. I have no clue what it was or where it was…sigh. Probably because I haven’t had breakfast yet!

image:marye audet (c)2009 all rights reserved

Post from: Baking Delights

I am not really sure why I started calling htis quiche recipe Alsatian, only that I did.  It isn’t at all a fancy thing; good stick to your ribs food really.  With having our own chickens, quiche is not only an easy meal, it is a cheap one.

The first time I ever tried quiche I ws 17.  I took my boyfriend’s mom, who I adored, out to shop at a local, upscale mall.  She was from Europe and had not been in the states too long.  We went to a restaurant that I thought she would like and as we were reading the menu I asked her what quiche was.

Her eyes twinkled and she said , “Oh, try that Chick, you will love it.”

So I did, and I did love it.  When Marc and I married I could not cook a thing so I determined I would learn.  One of the first things I learned to make was quiche and I made it in enough varieties and enough ways that I think it was my signature dish for years.  I have made it with champagne, with olives, with leftover venison chili and nearly everything else you can imagine. It is just one of those dishes that you make the crust, throw some leftovers in, pour the filling over and bake.

Voila.  DInner.  Breakfast.  Brunch.  Lunch. Snack. Tea.

This particular quiche is filling because of the potatoes and bacon.  The potatoes create a new layer of texture and truly, this is one of my favorites.

Inevitably someone is going to ask me if you can use skim milk (shudder) and low fat cheese and egg substitute.  If you must, go ahead.  Personally I would rather eat a sliver with taste than a chunk of cardboard.  Do be aware that if you change the ingredients, especially the fat content, the flavor is going to be different.  I know the diet books tell you that it isn’t so, but they are crazy.

If you need a refresher on how to make pie dough click on the pie dough tutorial.

There really is no trick to good quiche.  Mix the eggs well, cook at a slow rate, don’t overcook, and serve promptly.

Alsatian Quiche

• 1 9 inch pie crust, with sides pinched a little higher than normal
• 1 cup of cheese: swiss, jack, cheddar, edam or what ever you have (I used mild cheddar and jack here)
• 8 sliced of peppered bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 6 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups half and half cream
• Salt to taste
• cracked black pepper (trust me) to taste

1. Saute bacon and onion in a pan until bacon is crisp and onion is tender.  Carefully reomove bacon and onion and reserve, leaving bacon drippings in the pan.
2. Fry the potato slices in the bacon until tender and they show golden brown color here and there.  Remove the potatoes to the crust, making a flat layer of the fried potato slices.
3. Cover with the bacon and onion.  Sprinkle with the cracked black pepper.
4. Cover with the cheese.
5. Mix the eggs, cream, and salt very well.  Pour carefully over the filling.
6. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes to an hour or until the egg is set.  Check by placing a knife about 1 inch from the center of the quiche.  The knife should come out clean.
7. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Quiche freezes well both in its baked and unbaked states.  If you plan to freeze this I suggest omitting the potatoes as they do not freeze well at all.
Serves 6

images:(c)Marye Audet 2009 All Rights Reserved

Post from: Baking Delights

I don’t know how many of you know about the cool rise method of yeast baking.  It was, as far as I know, one of those things that was developed in the 1950s or so to help the homemaker get her bread made more conveniently.  It is a process of using a little more yeast and sugar and then allowing the dough to rise in the fridge overnight.  I wanted to see if it would work for my maple pecan rolls so I made a batch of dough last night and stuck them in the fridge.

As you can see it worked!

This is an awesome method because you just mix up and knead the dough, shape it and cover with plastic wrap.  Then put it in the fridge.  Next morning, take out and let them sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven.  Bake as normal and you are ready to go.  You may need a few extra minutes of bake time because of the coldness of the dough.  These could have been left in the oven an extra few minutes.

This makes 12 HUGE rolls.  That is a vintage dessert plate not a saucer.  Although I had one child thagt ate three of them most people will only be able to handle one.

You can use less butter if you want.  I like the extra richness.  Oh, you can freeze these after baking if you like..just don’t put the glaze on them.

Maple Pecan Sweet Rolls

•  4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•  1/3 cup packed brown sugar
•  1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup milk, warm
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tsp maple flavoring
• 1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

FILLING:

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, divided in half
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 tsp maple flavoring

TOPPING:

• 3 cups confectioner’s
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter (more as needed)
• 2 tsp maple flavoring
• Cream to thin it out

Mix warm water and sugar and stir in yeast.  Set aside for a few minutes to bubble.  I know this is no longer necessary but I think it still gives better results.

Mix about 2 cups of flour, salt, eggs, and milk into the yeast mixture until smooth. Add flavorings and butter.  Slowly add flour until a soft dough is formed.

Knead a few minutes until smooth and satiny, but still somewhat soft. Let rest for five minutes.

Roll out into a rectangle that is about 1/2 inch thick or a little more.  Spread with 1/4 cup melted butter.  Mix the remaining melted butter (for filling) and brown sugar together.  Add the maple flavoring.  SPread this over the dough and sprinkle with the pecans.

Roll up as for a jelly roll and cut.  Place cut side down on a greased cookie sheet and cover well with plasitc wrap.  Refrigerate overnight.

Next morning place the rolls on the counter while you preheat the oven.  Bake in a 375 oven about 35 minutes or until done. Watch carefully because the sugar will make the bottoms burn if you are not careful.

While the rolls are baking mix the topping ingredients together.  Spread on warm rolls.

Image:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

About two weeks ago I attended a special party and I needed to bring something…Hmmm…I was in a rush, as always…what to bring?

SCONES!

I love scones.  They are so versatile, so easy, and so delicious (with Devonshire and lemon curd!) that I could make them everyday..except then I would be charged extra by the airlines and I would have to wear a “wide load” sign when I walked through the grocers.

Anyway…

Dried cherries are such a unique cherry flavor.   I think I like them better than fresh.  They seem more complex, more intense..more cherry.  These are rich, buttery, and sweet with a light almond flavor and a lingering cherry taste.  Breakfast? Brunch? Tea? Supper?

All the time.  I used a chocolate drizzle on them but you could certainly do a glaze or leave them plain.

One thing I learned from  PBS cooking show… GRATE your cold butter into the flour mixture.  It changes the texture in an amazing way, and makes it more light and more buttery.  Once you have the butter grated in just mix it lightly with a fork, don’t use your fingers as you might normally.

Dried Cherry Scones 

3 1/2 c flour

2 tbs baking powder

1/2 c cold unsalted butter (freeze it for 5 minutes or so)

1/2 c sugar

1 1/3 c half and half

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond

2 cups dried cherries

1 cup dark chocolate, melted with 1 tablespoon butter

Mix the dry ingredients, except cherries, together.

Grate butter into the dry ingredients. Add cherries and stir to mix in evenly. Add vanilla, almond and1/2 and 1/2  and mix until you have a soft dough that holds together.

Roll out gently to about 3/4 inch thickness and cut out with a biscuit cutter. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to stand for 20 minutes. During this time preheat oven to 400F.

Bake for 12 minutes or until done.

Remove from oven.

Melt chocolate and butter together in the microwave.

Drizzle over warm scones with a fork.

Post from: Baking Delights

I wanted to do something a little different to go with lunch the other day. Usually scones are a breakfast item here, I just don’t think of them for lunch. But with a salad and some Brie these are a great way to round out a light meal.

They are sweet from the glaze. The vanilla mellows out the lavender to make a great taste combination. A few months ago I read about a technique where you grated cold butter into scones and biscuits to give a more tender product. This really does make a difference and I have been doing them this way with good results. The scones can be made any size you like..I wanted them to be small and dainty. Sometimes I just need to make girlie foods to balance out all the testosterone in the house!

Allowing the scones to set for 20 minutes before placing them in the oven helps the gluten to relax and the scones to be tender.

You can mix the dry ingredients together and keep it in a container so you can make scones when ever you want just by grating in the butter. Make your own scone mix! With a little organization even the busiest among us can eat well..and really, we should. Why wait until you are having company to make all the special foods? Treat your family to your skills and make them feel special.

Lavender and Vanilla Mini Scones

3 1/2 c flour

2 tbs baking powder

1/2 c unsalted butter

1/2 c sugar

1 1/3 c half and half

2 tsp vanilla

2 tbs food grade lavender buds

Mix the dry ingredients, except lavender, together. you can seal the mixture in a food container and have it on hand for scone mix if you like.

Cut in butter, or grate it into the dry ingredients. Add lavender buds and stir to mix in evenly. Add vanilla and milk and mix until you have a soft dough that holds together.

Roll out gently to about 3/4 inch thickness and cut out with small biscuit cutter. Place on baking sheet and allow to stand for 20 minutes. During this time preheat oven to 400F.

Bake for 12 minutes or until done.

Remove from oven.

While scones are still hot spoon on a glaze made from:

1/2 c melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

enough confectioners sugar to make a thick glaze.

Sprinkle with lavender buds to garnish.

Makes about 24.

These freeze well, and are great for once a month cooking or making ahead.

Images:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights