Elle's New England Kitchen

Think Blueberry Pancakes. In a nice little handheld size. And no slaving over a hot griddle making pancake after pancake. These are almost instant gratification!

Some of you may remember the Daring Bakers Cake, Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting, from Shuna Fish Lydon. One of the best cakes ever, and the one I’m requesting for my birthday in September. It’s amazing how browning the butter makes the whole thing better. And it’s a simple step, too! Just make sure you run the browned butter through a strainer (a metal mesh one, so it doesn’t melt!) and let it cool slightly before you add it to your recipe.

So, I was thinking about muffins, as I often do. Yes, really! I love them like family. They make a nice breakfast or a delicious snack. It’s cake that’s contained in it’s own little hand held package. Want fruit? Go for it! Nuts? Chocolate? Whatever you feel like!

While I was thinking about muffins, I inadvertently drifted over to breakfast--->pancakes--->blueberry pancakes--->maple syrup--->muffins! The light went on over my head and hit me like a dozen muffins. Or in this case, ten.

Blueberry muffins. Nearly everyone loves them. But putting a spin on them is the fun part! To mimic blueberry pancakes, I could add maple syrup. And browned butter to get the flavor you get from frying your pancakes up in melted butter.

Oh, yes. Now we’re talking! These are right up there in my top 5 favorite muffins now. I’ll definitely make them more, and in fact, they’re now my official blueberry muffin recipe!

I used frozen Wild Maine Blueberries in these. You know, the little tiny ones? But you can use any kind you like. And even though I think purple muffins are extremely cool, I did rinse them before using. I wanted to see if the browned butter gave the batter some color, and it did. After baking, they were a nice caramel color.

Maple Syrup. Please, if you love me, use real maple syrup in these. Not the doctored up corn syrup with artificial maple flavoring and coloring. In this case, I used a maple agave blend from Trader Joe’s. It’s real maple syrup blended with agave. It’s one of my new best friends! If you can’t get your hands on that, maple syrup is perfect.

I adapted this recipe from one found in 100 Muffins and Scones, by Felicity Barnum-Bobb. This book is packed with mouthwatering recipes to feed my muffin addiction!

Browned Butter Blueberry Maple Muffins
adapted from 100 Magnificent Muffins & Scones, by Felicity Barnum-Bobb

To print this recipe, click here.

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup blueberries (if frozen, rinsed and set aside to dry a bit)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup, for brushing over tops

Heat oven to 375, and lightly grease your muffin pan.
Melt the butter in a small pan, letting it go until it starts to brown and smell nutty. Don't let it burn, but stop
when it gets deep brown. There will be dark sediment in the pan, so pour the butter through a wire mesh strainer
and set it aside to cool a bit. Don't worry if a bit of the sediment makes it through the strainer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and sugar.
In a smaller bowl, toss the berries with 1/4 cup of the flour mixture.
In a large measuring cup or smaller bowl, whisk the melted butter, maple syrup eggs and salt.
Pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff, mix just until blended--then fold in berries.
Fill the muffin cups evenly (I got 10 muffins) and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Do the toothpick test--it should come out clean.
Let the muffins cool a few minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the edges, and turn them out on to a
cooling rack.
Place the cooling rack over a parchment lined pan, and brush the tops with the maple syrup.

A question to you, my readers--what are your favorite kinds of muffins?

 

Is there anyone that doesn’t love going out for breakfast?  I don’t think it’s possible.  There’s so many choices, and I don’t know about all of you, but for whatever reason, some things just taste better when someone else makes it.  I know, I’m weird.  But I like other people’s eggs better than mine.  A peanut butter and jelly sandwich?  Great the way it is, but when someone makes it for me, it tastes better.  Are they putting extra love in it?  I have no idea.  And don’t even get me started on omelettes.  I’m still working on making decent ones—my husband makes good ones!  Mine?  I definitely need practice.

Going out for breakfast has always been a special thing for us.  It wasn’t for me until I met my husband.  When we were dating, he took me to all kinds of great places (and luckily, he still does!), and breakfast was no exception.   There was one place we loved so much, that we’d wait outside in rain, snow, sweltering heat, or freezing temps just to get in.  And it was so busy, that this could sometimes take up to an hour, maybe more.  Some of you local readers may remember it—Jakes, in Dover, NH.  It was THE place to be on weekend mornings.  Seriously. 

 

It was so funny, because there were two little tables by the the windows, on either side of the door?  And if you got a window table, you’d have starving people waiting in line, looking in your window and drooling over your food!  And when you finally made it inside the vestibule (which could fit about 4 people, but often held 6 or 7 in bad weather, hehehe) you’d see the waitresses carrying trays full of the most delicious foods ever made for feasting on—right in front of your starving face.  And everyone would say “I’m having that!  And that!  Oh, and that, too!”  They had amazing omelettes, delicious muffins, pancakes, waffles—and nothing was average.  I truly miss that place—it’s gone now.  But I have some delicious/hilarious memories of it.  Remind me to tell you all about Karl’s someday…Snotty Fries, anyone?  ;-)  (No, I didn’t go to UNH, but had friends that did, and got to enjoy Karl’s firsthand.)

We still judge being full by “Jakes Full.”  As in, “I’m so full!” 

“Really?  But are you Jakes Full?” 

Because you’d waited so damn long to get in, that when you finally did, you wanted everything.  hehehe

Good times, gooooood times. 

Look at the brown sugar melting into the sour cream…

 

 

But our current favorite is Betty’s Kitchen in Hampton, NH.   Their food is great, and their menu is huge!   They have about a million* omelettes, and a hundred** Benedicts (the lobster one is always a favorite), plus all of the expected breakfast fare.   You can see a sample of the menu here.  There’s way more!  Look at the Specials!  And they also serve a great lunch.

 

*Slightly exaggerating.

**Still exaggerating.

 

I’m stuck in a rut at Betty’s, though.  And by no fault of theirs!  I can’t go without ordering their Stuffed French Toast.  It gets me every stinking time.  It’s too good to pass up—I can’t help myself!  It’s French Toast, layered with strawberries, blueberries, and bananas.  And topped with a dollop of sour cream and brown sugar.  And a side note here—if you’ve never tried fresh strawberries dunked in sour cream and then in brown sugar?  You’re seriously missing out on one of life’s greatest simple pleasures.

 

The guests of honor at today’s brunch?  Blueberries and strawberries, and their wacky friends, the bananas.   

 

There’s no set recipe for this.  French Toast is pretty basic, right?  Beaten eggs, a little cream, and extras like vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and we like to use agave instead of sugar.   Use what you like and what you have on hand.

Stuffed French Toast

To print this recipe, click here!

your favorite sliced bread
4-6 eggs (depending on how much you're making--I made 9 slices from this amount)
a splash of cream (I use half and half, because it's always in my fridge)
vanilla, a tsp or so
about 2-3 tsp agave (but you can use whatever sweetener you like) 
cinnamon, about 1/2 tsp
nutmeg, about 1/4 tsp

Beat all ingredients in a bowl, then pour into something shallow, like a pie plate.
Soak a couple of pieces of bread, on both sides, until they're saturated with the egg mixture.
Heat a little butter and oil in a sauté pan, and when it's hot, add your soaked bread.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side, until golden brown, then cook the other side the same.
After you make the first two, you get the rhythm of how long it'll take to do each side to the doneness you want.
Remove to a plate and keep warm while you cook the rest.  I soak the next two slices as two are cooking, so I always have some ready to go into the hot pan.

When you're done cooking, layer the French toast with sliced strawberries and bananas, and the blueberries. 
Put a dollop of sour cream on the top, and sprinkle some brown sugar over that. 
Serve with your favorite maple syrup.

 

And speaking of maple syrup!  Has everyone seen the Agave Maple Syrup Blend at Trader Joe’s?  It’s a perfect blend of real maple syrup with agave.  Delicious!

I’m a potato snob and always judge a breakfast place by it’s potatoes.  It’s pretty hard to screw those up, but so many places do.  In fact, Betty’s potatoes could be a little crispier, but I love everything else there so much, that I’ll forgive them that.

So, what are your favorite things to get when you go out for breakfast?   And what is your favorite breakfast place?

Cravings. I’m one of those people that can’t stop thinking about them once they hit me. I have to satisfy the cravings to get them out of my head. And they’re for all kinds of things, like the rest of you, I’m sure. A very common one for me is spaghetti and meatballs—I crave that all the time! My family is lucky they don’t eat it every week. Though, I don’t suppose they’d mind…hmmm…I know I wouldn’t!

But that’s not what this post is about! Cravings, yes. Spaghetti and meatballs, no. I had a craving for a Chocolate Glazed donut. Could not stop thinking about them. But do I really want a deep fried, full of fat, greasy donut? Well, maybe, but should I have one? Hell, no! So I went for the next best thing.

Yes. Cake for breakfast. Also known as Muffins. My friends, muffins. I love them! These are no exception—they were so. Damn. Good. And very easy to make—a bonus!

Chocolate Glazed Donut Muffins

To print these recipes, click here!

makes about 9 muffins

2 cup flour
scant 1 cup sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Cake Spice + 1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Mix in the eggs, oil, butter, milk and vanilla.
Grease the muffin pans. Divide the batter between the muffin cups--an ice cream scoop works great!
Bake for about 18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool in pan on rack for about 5 minutes, then turn on out on rack to cool.
Cool completely before glazing.

And here is the recipe for the glaze, from King Arthur Flour. King Arthur is the only flour I use, ever. It’s such great quality and never lets me down. And have you checked out their site? Bakers Heaven!

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup (I use Golden Syrup)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the ingredients together over low heat or in the microwave, stirring often. Add extra corn syrup if needed to make a smooth, shiny glaze. Yield: about ½ cup glaze.

If you’re using sprinkles, get them on there right after glazing the muffins so they’ll stick. And then let the muffins sit for a bit so the glaze can set up. The easiest way (for me) to glaze them was to put the glaze in a bowl that’s kind of narrow at the bottom, so the glaze isn’t too shallow. If it is, you’ll be bumping the muffins on the bottom of the bowl and won’t get a pretty glaze.

This one is so simple. In fact, I'll bet a lot of you eat this already. It's not unusual, there's no super secret recipe, and no special techniques. Then again, maybe some of you are like me, and see one of these and say "D'oh! I keep forgetting how much I love those, but I never think of making them!" And then you pay the trendy little cafe your $4-$5 and walk away thinking you could make it fresher and cheaper.


It's more of an idea. An idea that you can take and do your own thing with. Put your spin on it, and use what you like.


It's Granola Yogurt Parfait. Granola, yogurt, and fruit. And in this case, nuts. Easy, right? I usually get my yogurt at Trader Joe's, and they have a flavor called Vanana. Vanilla + Banana. mmmmm. But I use strawberry, vanilla, whatever--and always low-fat, but that's your choice. I love my hot cereal, but this one is so cool and refreshing. And you get all the benefits of the fresh fruit, not to mention all the good stuff the yogurt has in it.


This one I recently made was a Good For You Banana Split. All the flavors you'd find in a banana split, without all of the fat, sugar and calories. Although, I didn't add a drizzle of chocolate sauce, but if you'd like to try that--go for it! There are some delicious ones to use, and if you're watching what you eat, use just a little.


So here's what I did this time:


Granola Yogurt Parfait



granola
bananas
fresh pineapple slices
strawberries, trimmed and cut and quartered
your favorite low fat yogurt
chopped pecans


Add some of all three fruits to the bottom of your bowl.
Spoon on some yogurt, and top that with granola and pecans.
Repeat the layer again, as many times as you like.
I usually do two good sized layers. Only two because I like large fruit chunks. ;)

To print this recipe, click here!

Have you ever thought you'd like to make your own cereal? That you could make it better than the big guys? You could add all the good stuff, and get a healthy, delicious cereal that isn't loaded with sugar and preservatives. Just the opposite--you could make a blend that was not only packed with flavor, but packed with good for you ingredients from all over the world.

Well now you can! There's a new guy (well, actually three new guys!) in the cereal world and they want to change the way you look at breakfast. Forget the Saturday morning buzz of sugary stuff while watching cartoons (or is that just me?), forget the bad for you, greasy breakfast sandwich that you pay too much for anyway, better yet--forget skipping breakfast at all!



Me and Goji is the newest thing in artisanal cereals. Meet the three guys behind this genius idea here. Go ahead, look around the site--there's so much to see! And I have to say, it's a lot of fun to design your own breakfast. The idea is that you go to the site, choose from the huge list of ingredients, drag and drop them into the big bowl, and make your own personal blend. Choose only what you want, and leave out the stuff you don't want. And don't think they've forgotten Gluten Free folks! They've got you covered, as well! And here's the fun part! Give it a name--Adam. Alexander, and Carl love to see funny, cool and creative names. Scroll down through this page to see some of their favorites.





Carl, Adam and Alexander have been very cool and decided to offer THREE of you guys the chance to design and win your own capsule of Me and Goji! So here's the deal:

1. Visit the site and design your own cereal blend.
2. Send your perfect blend recipe and it's funny, creative name to carl@meandgoji.com, and make sure you tell him that it's the Elle's New England Kitchen Name your Cereal Contest.
3. Tell everyone you know about it so they can enter, too!
4. On National Cereal Day, March 7th, they'll announce the winners on their site. They'll also have some other cool promotions going on, so mark your calendars and be sure to check them out on that day!

So go visit the site and make your cereal! Good luck!

PS-- I'd love it if you not only submit your name ideas to Carl, but also to me in your comments. I'm so curious to see what you guys come up with!

PSS--This contest is open to US and Canadian Residents! :)

***Don't forget, to be eligible, you must send your perfect blend recipe and it's funny, creative name to carl@meandgoji.com, and make sure you tell him that it's the Elle's New England Kitchen Name your Cereal Contest.


And the winners are:

1. Danielle Behlmer - Does This Cereal Make Me a Hippie?

2. Julie Cameron Hendrix – Mornin Munchies

3. Genevieve Charet - It's a Luau in My Mouth, and Every Fruit, Nut, and Flake is Invited!

And for anyone purchasing cereal, Me & Goji are offering free goji berries (until 3/31) for those who enter the coupon code FREEGOJIS upon checkout.

Thanks again!

So, I had all of these good intentions for making cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. I even looked around and found a recipe I was going to mess around with and change up. Made my T-Day grocery list, and headed off to Trader Joes...

Wouldn't you know, they had their own cranberry sauce in the refrigerated section--regular and cranberry-orange. So yeah, good intentions and recipes went right out the window, and I picked up a container of each. Ingredients? Water, cranberries, sugar, orange--pretty much it. And one less thing to make on T-Day. Woo!

We opened the plain one first, and dear Lord, it was perfect! It didn't need spices, or alcohol, or nuts--it was amazing in it's simplicity. I could have eaten that entire thing myself! We didn't get around to the orange one, though, so back in the fridge it went.

I knew I wanted to make something with the sauce, and a quick search brought me to this recipe from King Arthur Flour: Yogurt Cranberry Coffeecake. You know me, I love using yogurt in baked stuff! I read the reviews, and it seemed the consensus was to add more cranberries, so of course I did. More fruit filling? Um, yeah, I'm all over that one! I used about 1 1/2 cups, which completely covered the bottom layer. So now you get fruit in every single bite, like it should be, right? That's a no-brainer. The streusel topping is fantastic--cinnamony and not too sweet. The cranberries add their signature tart/sweet flavors, and the bottom cake layer is moist and just right on the sweetness. Don't forget, there's yogurt in there, so it's anything but dry.



This is my dream coffeecake. Fruity, tender and moist, and not too sweet. It doesn't need a glaze over the top to cover up dry cake on the bottom. AND, it makes a lot. A whole 13x9 pan. So you can share--or not, lol. I don't know how it freezes, but I don't see why you couldn't cut the recipe in half. And I also think this would make amazing muffins, which I'm definitely trying soon!
Click here for the recipe, and after you get that, have a look around and try not to add $200 of stuff to your shopping cart. But the best part--it's all useful stuff, so you can totally justify it. ;)

I so wish that I could bottle scents and sell them. If I could do that with this month's challenge, I'd sell a ton. We made Danish Braids this month, and the dough--not only was it a dream to work with, but it's scented with orange zest, vanilla bean, and cardamom. It just doesn't get any better than that, folks. The aroma while the braids were baking was heavenly! But that doesn't even compare to the taste. It was out of this world delicious! So good, in fact, that I had to send most of these to work with my husband. They were dangerous! Dangerously delicious, hehe! Fillings were up to us entirely, so I decided to go with half the apple filling recipe for one, and cooked down blueberries with a bit of sugar, layered over almond paste for the second braid. Both were fabulous, but the blueberry almond was my favorite, and I was sad to see it walk out the door to go to the office with my husband. But I seriously could have eaten all of these. OINK! They had to go.

This month's challenge was chosen and hosted by Kelly at Sass & Veracity, and Ben at What's Cooking.

A few facts:

• Danish dough is in the family of butter-laminated or layered doughs with puff pastry being the ultimate. Danish dough is sweet and is yeast-leavened, however, where as puff pastry is not.
• The process of making Danish dough is less complex than that of puff pastry, but equally as important to achieve best results, and a great starting place to begin to learn about laminated doughs in general.
• Danish dough is extremely versatile, and once made can be used for a variety of baked goods. The possibilities are endless.

There are a lot of steps involved, and it seems overwhelming, but it really isn't. The most important thing to remember, I think, is to let the dough rest for the 30 minute intervals. It needs three 30 minutes rests, and then the final rest of 5 (yes, 5!) hours. So plan to either start early in the day, or give the dough, and yourself, a rest overnight, and start again the next day. This recipe makes two braids. The time to divide the dough has varied in the posts I've read, but I split mine after its overnight rest in the fridge. Divide it, then roll each portion into a 10x15" rectangle. You'll cut parallel strips on each side, remove the extra dough in the corners (you'll see what I mean in the photos), add your filling down the center, fold in the 2 end flaps, then braid the strips. Make sure when you cut the strips that you leave a large enough base to hold the fillings--make sure your rectangles are 10x15 to start, and you should be all set.

Braiding was a bit stressful at the beginning, hoping I'd do it right, and have beautiful baked braids that held their shape--but it was a cinch to do! Make sure to cut your strips long enough so that they reach all the way over the dough on the other side, and give them a pinch to stay in place. Tuck your last braid under the previous one and give that a little pinch, too.

I've got lots of step by step photos, so here we go!

Some extra, but helpful info:
Terminology:
• Laminated dough – is layered dough created by sandwiching butter between layers of dough
• Detrempe – ball of dough
• Beurrage – butter block
• Turn – each “fold & roll” of the dough produces a single turn in a 3-step process where the dough is folded exactly like a business letter in 3 columns. Each single turn creates 3 layers with this method.

For Your Consideration:
• This recipe calls for a standing mixer with fitted attachments, but it can easily be made without one. Ben says, “Do not fear if you don’t own a standing mixer. I have been making puff pastry by hand for many years and the technique for Danish pastry is very similar and not too difficult.” Look for the alternate directions in the recipe as appropriate.
Yard recommends the following:
• Use well-chilled ingredients. This includes flour if your kitchen temperature is above 70 degrees F (~ 21 degrees C).
• It is recommended that long, continuous strokes be used to roll the dough rather than short, jerky strokes to make sure the butter block is evenly distributed.
• The 30-minute rest/cooling period for the dough between turns is crucial to re-chill the butter and allow the gluten in the dough to relax.
• Excess flour accumulated on the surface of the dough after turns should be brushed off as pockets of flour can interfere with the rise.
• Yard calls for a “controlled 90 degree F environment” for proofing the constructed braid. Please refer to this chart to assist you in this stage of the challenge:

Proofing Temperature For Fresh Dough
(room temp) For Refrigerated Dough
Degrees F Degrees C
70 ~ 21 1-1/2 to 2 hrs. 2-1/2 to 3 hrs.
75 ~ 24 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hrs. 2 to 2-1/2 hrs.
80 ~ 27 1 to 1-1/4 hrs. 1-1/2 to 2 hrs.
85 ~ 29 45 min. to 1 hr. 1 to 1-1/2 hrs.
90 ~ 32 45 min. 1 hr.

• When making cuts in the dough for the braid, make sure they are not too long and provide a solid base for the filling.
• Ben on Cardamom: It can be very expensive as some stores, but if you have an Indian store nearby, it can be considerably less expensive than at your local grocery store. If you can’t find it or it is still cost prohibitive, then you can use a substitute. Many people would say that there is no substitute for the unique flavor of cardamom and it is better to leave it out. But I’ve found out that combining cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in equal portions words pretty well. Of course, it doesn’t come close to the cardamom taste, but it worked just fine for one of my test batches.
• Kelly’s Two Cents: I had some green cardamom pods on hand and used 16, cracking and emptying the contents into a grinder to get the quantity called for in the recipe for the dough. The quantity barely put a dent in my 1 oz. bottle. If you don’t have an Indian store near by, you may consider on-line spice retailers like http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/car … -and-black or http://spicebarn.com/cardamom_seed.
Yes, there’s postage involved, but you’ll have cardamom for many other
recipes for a fraction of the cost, even with postage.



Danish Braid

Sherry Yard, The Secrets of Baking


DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.


Photos!

Chocolate and coconut. Coconut and chocolate. Right up there with chocolate and peanut butter, I think. Well, really, aren't there a ton of things that just seem to be destined to go with chocolate?

At Halloween, after we've gone out to Trick or Treat, my three youngest always gladly hand over their little bite sized bits of chocolate and coconutty goodness, otherwise known as Almond Joys and Mounds. My oldest--she loves them, too, and won't give 'em up. hmmmph.

*side note: I'm laughing my butt off, because I was googling to get pics of the candy bars to post here. Almond Joy was easy. But Mounds...wow! Google Mounds ---> Images, and see what you get. hahaha! Are we supposed to believe those are real?!?

Anyway, back to the food...if you can get that image out of your head, hehehe. I was craving the choco-coco combo, and also craving muffins. I love muffins. All kinds of muffins. Muffins are our friends. I came up with these, working off of another recipe I have for fruit muffins. I changed things around, added stuff, took out the fruit, and came up with these. They're not sweet, like you think they might be--they're just right. Make sure you get coconut milk that isn't sweetened! If you can't find it, you can use regular milk, no big deal.

Almond Joy Muffins

Makes 6 large muffins, or 9 or so regular muffins

Ingredients

2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cups coconut milk, or regular milk
1 tsp almond extract
3/4 cups coconut, plus a little more for sprinkling over the tops
1/2-3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, butter, coconut milk and almond extract.
4. Stir into flour mixture.
5. Fold in the coconut and the chocolate chips.
6. Grease 1 (6 muffin) muffin pan.
7. Fill the tins about 3/4 full, then sprinkle the tops with the remaining coconut. (an ice cream scoop makes the tins easy to fill and makes your muffins the same size)
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Mine were done at 25, so start testing then. For regular size muffins, check them after 18-20 minutes.
9. Cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then serve. But if you're like me, you'll grab a molten hot muffin right out of the oven and pig out. Cooling is for whimps. ;-) Kidding!

To print this recipe, click here!

Do you have someone you need to bribe? Someone you want something from, but they're holding out on you? These might make them change their mind. They're just so good. I don't make them very often, because, like almost any yeast bread, they can be time consuming. But they're worth waiting for, and they're a fun and relaxing way to spend a weekend morning. You can even make these the night before, then bake them in the morning.

They're like cinnamon rolls, with a cinnamon-sugar filling that's rolled up in tender bread, but instead of icing, they have a most delicious caramel sauce. You can bake them without the caramel if you like, and use the icing of your choice after baking--but be sure to grease the pan lightly. I like to sprinkle pecans over the caramel before putting the rolls in the pan.



So, who is Deb? She's one of my best friends, and I was lucky enough to meet her about 5 years ago. She shared her mom's recipe and it became an instant favorite with us. Have I bribed anyone with them? I'll never tell...hehehe.


Deb's Mom's Caramel Rolls

**For a printable version of this recipe, click here.


We usually get 3 round cake pans worth, but you can also use a 9 x 13" pan. You can get these ready, and leave them in the fridge overnight, then bake in the morning. Be sure to remove them from the pans while they're still warm, otherwise the caramel will harden and stick to the pan.



2 cups warm water (about 95-105°)
2 packages yeast (2 T bulk)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
4 Tbs butter (let sit out until soft)
1 egg
5 1/2 - 6 1/2 cups flour
cinnamon-sugar mixture (1/2 cup sugar + 1 Tbsp cinnamon)

Topping
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
3 Tbs water




1 Mix water and yeast, and 1/4 tsp of sugar and wait 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, you should see some action happening in the bowl. like bubbling and foaming action.

2	Stir in sugar, salt and 2 cups of flour.

3	Add egg and butter and mix.

4 Stir in about 3-4 cups of flour by hand, and if the dough is still sticky add just enough to make it not sticky anymore. (I needed about 3 3/4 total in this step today.)

It should look somewhat like this:

5	Let rise until dough is double in size.

(I usually put the oven on to about 175° for a few minutes, then shut it off and put the bowl of dough in it to rise.)



Look! I've doubled! Woo!

6	Sprinkle flour on surface and roll dough out until is approx 18 X 12 inches.
7	Spread a very thin layer of soft butter on dough and sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture on it.

8	Roll the dough up from the long side, it should look like a log.
9	Cut into eighteen 1 inch pieces.
10	Place brown sugar and butter into microwave dish and heat until butter is melted.
11	Stir well.
12	Stir in 3 T water.

13	Divide mixture into three 8 inch cake pans.

14	Sprinkle nuts over caramel, if desired.

15	Place 6 pieces in each pan.
16	Let rise for about 45 minutes.
17	Bake for 20 minute in a 325 degree F. oven.

18	When you take them out of the oven, turn each pan of rolls over on a plate well before they cool, otherwise you will have cemented your gorgeous caramel rolls to the pans.