The Good Life: January 2012

Friday, January 27, 2012

Biscuits & Jam

I am not sure what 2012 is telling me. I was sick the first week of January and now I've been hit with strep throat. It hasn't been fun. So I'll just think of last week when I was feeling good and rolling out biscuits!

i don't have a pastry blender, i just used 2 knives to cut the butter into tiny bits

after i added the buttermilk

ready for the oven

Biscuits

3 cups of flour

1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

9 Tablespoon of cold butter sliced

1 1/4 cups of milk

1 Tablespoon of melted butter

Preheat oven to 450.

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt & baking soda). Then add the sliced cold butter. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives cut the butter into the flour (see picture above) until you get small pea sized pieces of butter (the faster you do this the better). Then add the milk. Stir just until the dough comes together. Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself about 3 to 4 times.

Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough (don't twist the cutter into the dough). Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. You can use the scraps from the leftover dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. Just to let you know, the biscuits from the second batch won't be as light and fluffy. I throw the scraps away at this point. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, about 15 minutes.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Raspberry Bars

Happy Friday!

I wanted to make raspberry bars, but these raspberry bars tasted more like a breakfast cereal bar.

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

recipe Joy of Cooking

1/2 cup of butter at room temp.

1 cup of light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats, divided

1 cup raspberry jam or preserves

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease or line a 9x9 pan.

2. In the Kitchen Aid or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, the baking soda and the salt.

4. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.

5. Stir in the 1 3/4 cups of the rolled oats. Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the pan.

6. Spread the raspberry jam on top of the dough.

7. Add the remaining of the rolled oats to the unused dough and crumble it on top of the jam.

8. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

These cookies were a hit! They would pair well with vanilla ice cream. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the end product.

I used my kitchen aid instead of my fingers

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

2 cups diced fresh strawberries
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Zest of one lemon
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

*I added the zest of one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the lemon zest to the remaining 7 tablespoons of granulated sugar in a large bowl & rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers. Then add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle cookies with turbinado sugar, and bake until golden brown, about 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool.

Note-Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Welcome 2012

2012 started out with me getting sick. I think I was on a holiday high and when everything was over I sort of crashed.

Not being able to do much I tried to get a lot rest, caught up on a few blogs, slept, and once again realized I am not very good at being sick.

The first recipe I tried this year was a pancake one. I really wanted to love it especially since I enjoyed the touching story that went with the recipe. But the pancakes came out well...not so well. It happens to everyone...there is a recipe, a place, or even a person you want to like but things turn out...not as expected. Thank goodness for my trusty old pancake recipe. Here's to 2012 where I hope things turn out well!

Cranberry Orange Bread

frozen cranberries left over from Thanksgiving

Makes one 9-inch loaf
recipe from Cook's Illustrated
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange zest from 1 large orange
2/3 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
1 large egg , beaten lightly
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups cranberries (about 6 ounces), chopped coarse
1/2 cup toasted pecans , chopped coarse

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease bottom of 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Stir together orange juice, zest, buttermilk, butter, and egg in small bowl. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in large bowl. Stir liquid ingredients into dry with rubber spatula until just moistened. Gently stir in cranberries and pecans. Do not over mix.

2. Scrape batter into loaf pan and spread with rubber spatula into corners of pan. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees; continue to bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, about 45 minutes longer. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool at least 1 hour before serving.