The Dog Days of Summer!

Hi Friends:

It's certainly not "ruff" being a dog around here.

Our pampered pups are enjoying the sultry lazy, hazy days of summer. When I'm bustling about in the kitchen, though, they do manage to rouse themselves from slumber and follow me around ready for the inevitable tidbit or cookie that comes their way. How can I deny these faces:

I recently came across a few simple recipes for dog treats and decided to give them a try. I know, who has time to make dog treats, but these are quick, easy and fun to make with the family. In addition, they are healthy containing no preservatives or additives, flavorful and less expensive than many store bought varieties!

I love this recipe from Sweet Paul Magazine:

Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Treats - Makes 60
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 cup warm water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl (you'll get a dry cookie dough), roll out until thin and use a cookie cutter to make cookies.

Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 to 30 minutes depending on thickness. Cool and store in an airtight container for two weeks.

What a good boy; so talented!

Dogs love a cool treat on hot days. Give this genius recipe from Lucky Pups a try; it's so fast and easy!

Pupsicles
Ingredients:
2 cups low salt beef or chicken broth
2/3 cup water
small treat sticks (like rawhide)

Mix broth with water, pour into ice cube trays, add a stick treat (like rawhide) and freeze. 

Serve!

Here's one more:

Two-Ingredient Dog Treat. This recipe from dog-milk.com is made with whole wheat flour and pureed baby food. I love it because it allows you to get creative and vary the flavor - think sweet potato, beef, or chicken.

Please, just one more treat!

Make a little time and give these recipes a try; I know you'll have some doggone fun!

Cherry Crisp and other Baked Fruit Desserts!

Hi Friends:

Yes, it's hot and humid; but there's no better way to use summer fruit than in cobblers, crisps and crumbles or maybe you would prefer a buckle, a betty or a slump! These simple desserts have names that are hard to keep straight, but are just variations of fruit baked with dough, batter and/or other dry ingredients. Here's a breakdown of the formulations:

Cobbler: fruit topped with a crust made from  pie pastry, cookie dough or biscuit dough and baked.

Crisp: fruit topped with a mixture of butter, sugar and flour then baked; topping often includes nuts.

Crumble: just like a crisp, but usually includes oats. (An English term)

Buckle: fruit mixed with yellow cake batter and baked.

Betty: fruit combined with buttered bread or occasionally cake crumbs and baked. Crumbs are usually layered with fruit instead of placed on top as in a crisp.

Slump: fruit is topped with biscuit dough, covered and baked so that biscuits steam. Also known as a grunt.

Firm fruits like apples, pears, peaches and plums work well in these desserts as the topping is less likely to become soggy. But, by adding a little more cornstarch (the preferred thickening agent) to the filling, you can easily take advantage of the season's berries!

Personally, I'm a big fan of crisps that call for a little spice and nuts to create a flavorful, crispy topping. I've used the following recipe to make a great mixed berry crisp and decided to try it with sweet cherries which are in season right now. Tart cherries, so perfect for baking, are hard to find so I added a little lemon juice to balance the sweetness. I know fresh sweet cherries are best eaten out of hand, but give this a try. 

Warm Cherry Crisp
(adapted from The Best Recipe)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients for the topping:
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2" pieces
3/4 cup pecans, sliced almonds or other coarsely chopped nuts

Mix flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter and incorporate by rubbing butter and dry ingredients together until mixture looks crumbly. Add nuts and toss to distribute evenly. This may also be done by pulsing ingredients in a food processor until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Chill topping for 15 minutes.

Ingredients for the filling:
1 3/4 pounds dark sweet cherries or 24 ounces frozen
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Toss filling ingredients together and pour into a 1 1/2 quart casserole or an 8x8 baking pan. 

Spread topping evenly over fruit.

Bake crisp at 375 degrees in the center of the oven for 40 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue baking for a few additional minutes until the fruit bubbles and the topping turns a deep golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream of course!

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Hi Friends:

I feel the need to confess that I am in a long term committed relationship with Starbucks' pastry case. It's no accident that you have to walk by it before ordering. Let's face it, aren't we all looking for the perfect match for our beverage? But, like any relationship, there have been highs and lows. Do any of you remember Lemon Knots? I loved every tender, tangy bite. And the Chocolate Cupcakes...oh, they were moist and flavorful without being too sweet. Starbucks, bring them back; letting go has just been so hard! What about the Cake Pops you ask.  Please, I'm gonna need more than one bite! Occasionally, I've ordered a Cranberry Orange Scone or an Iced Lemon Loaf, but not with the same fervor. And then, along came the Ginger Molasses Cookie and I was happy again; but they, too, have disappeared from my neck of the woods. So broken up about this, I've been on a search for a good recipe so I could make them myself. Eureka! I've settled on the Ginger Spiced Molasses Sugar Cookie from FOOD52. If you're a fan of this cookie, give this recipe a try - it couldn't be more simple! (Click the link for complete instructions.)

 Combine 2 1/4 cups flour, 2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves, and 1/2 tsp. each of ground ginger, allspice and salt in a bowl and mix well.

 Beat 3/4 cups unsalted butter and 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar in bowl of electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add one large egg and 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses and mix to combine.

Stir in dry ingredients just until combined. Too much gluten development will result in a tough cookie. Cover and refrigerate batter for one hour.

Roll dough into 1 1/2" balls and then roll balls in granulated sugar. 

Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet, gently flatten and bake in a 375 degree oven for 11 to 12 minutes or until crinkled on top. 
For a chewy center, do not over bake. 

Scrumptious! When I find myself at Starbucks now, I always order a Brown Sugar Walnut Tart if I see them - perfect shortbread crust and just the right amount of spice, and I'm a fan of the seasonal Cranberry-Bliss Bars! What's next Starbucks? Do you need my input? I'm available for your consumer surveys!    

Granola!

Hi Friends:

Let me start by saying, I'm picky about granola. Whether in breakfast cereal, snack food or bar form, ingredients and texture matter! First and foremost, it should be healthful - low in sugar and fat. If it rivals a candy bar, I'll take the candy bar, thank you. Next, I prefer a mix of oats, nuts and dried fruit with minimal spice added so the flavors of the key ingredients are discernible and the granola is versatile enough to be combined with yogurt, hot cereals or used as a topping for fruit and desserts. Finally, I like it crisp which is achieved by baking. With chewy granola, the baking time is either eliminated or shortened. 

As an avid recipe reader, I can't tell you how excited I was to come across "A Better Granola" created by a Bon Appetit staffer. This recipe has it all: egg white for crunch, customizable, healthful ingredients and it's easy and fun to make! I made one small change: the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and I reduced that to 1/4 teaspoon in compliance with my prerequisite of minimal spice. For the full recipe, click above; now let me walk you through it!

The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts. I used 1/2 cup each of walnuts, almonds and pistachios. The pistachios add great color and flavor.

You can add either 1/4 cup of olive oil or warmed coconut oil. I opted for coconut oil as it is actually heart healthy and helps with blood sugar control.

I added the suggested agave syrup, a natural sweetener that is low glycemic (does not cause blood sugar spikes), but the recipe says you can swap maple syrup or honey for the agave if you like. The unsweetened coconut shavings/chips are a must!   

Toss all ingredients to combine and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake granola, stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown and dry - 40 to 50 minutes. Note: the recipe says it will crisp as it cools and, sure enough, it crisped nicely!

Mix in 1 cup dried fruit. I used cherries for their tart flavor.

The granola stays crisp and flavorful when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Give this recipe a try (click on the link above); it's a great one to make with your kids!

Christmas Cookies!

Hi Friends:

It's that time again. Christmas cookie time! Everyone at one point or another gets in on the act. We bake with our kids, exchange with our friends and neighbors, bring them to the office, and package them for gifts. Maybe it's the pastry chef in me, but I'm a sucker for all those magazines featuring the "best-ever cookies!" I pour over the recipes analyzing ingredients, technique and appearance in an effort to come up with my choices for the year. This is no small task. Chocolate must figure into the mix along with interesting variations of shortbread, spritz, sugar and icebox. Texture and shape factor in - balls, bars, rolls, drops and wedges are all possibilities. Should I include a bark or a toffee? Most importantly, will the cookie be flavorful. How many times have you been seduced by a beautiful cookie only to find it dry and tasteless! Every year, it seems, I up the ante. Sure, I have my tried and true favorites, but I'm always looking for the next "best" cookie. You can relate, right? 

Well, take a look at a few products that I'm using this year to help create the perfect cookie:  

Fiori Di Sicilia is so aromatic! This citrus and vanilla flavoring is a King Arthur Flour exclusive.

Vietnamese cinnamon! Sweeter and stronger, it offers the intense cinnamon flavor you're looking for. Available everywhere.

Brigitte-Keks Message on a Cookie Cutter set lets you create cookies with a personal message. Simply slide the individual letters into the holder, place into the cutter and press! Available at Amazon and Fancy Flours.

Fred Letter Pressed is a combination cookie cutter and stamp. First you punch out the letter shape and then flip over the punch and stamp the letter. The set includes all 26 letters allowing you to spell out anything you like!

Stretch-Tite Plastic Wrap is the absolute best. This premium wrap, preferred by professionals, stretches and seals reliably!

That's the way the cookie crumbles this year. If you're baking this Christmas, make it fun!