Mix It Up Friday - November

from Kris B.

It's Mix It Up Food Friday, the Friday each month where we share our experiences with a few of the King Arthur Flour mixes.

Though I am a fan of almost anything chocolate, to me, desserts with spices seem more like Thanksgiving.  They complement the obligatory Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, I decided to try King Arthur's Iced Chai Latte Cake ($9.95 from King Arthur Flour).  I knew that my chai spice loving family would be glad to help me eat the cake over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

This cake mixes up easily and, according to the instructions on the box, can be baked in either a bundt pan or a 9x13 cake pan.  Wanting a "pretty" cake, I opted for the bundt pan.  The instructions did not specify a particular size of bundt pan so I used the one I always use, the only one I have.  As I poured the batter into the pan, it didn't look like enough, but I continued on, figuring that the cake must rise a lot.  The suggested cook time is 45-55 minutes.  Knowing that my oven usually requires a little more than  the minimum cooking times suggested for most items, I set the timer for 50 minutes.  When I took the cake from the oven, it was a beautiful golden brown, a short beautiful golden brown.  It did not rise to fill my pan all the way.  Maybe half way???

I let the cake cool and then made the included vanilla icing.  After mixing the required ingredients, the icing seemed very stiff.  There was no way that it was going to pour and drizzle nicely over the sides of the cake.  The instructions say to let the icing rest for 10 minutes before topping the cake.  I did that hoping that something magic would happen and it would morph into the right consistency.  The magic didn't happen.  The icing was still too stiff to pour, so I added about a tsp. more milk.  It was still fairly thick, but I hoped it would run down the sides.  When all was said and done, the cake looked OK.

I was a little disappointed when we actually tasted the Iced Chai Latte Cake.  For a recipe that uses three eggs and 12 TBS of butter, it was dry and not nearly as rich as I expected.  It wasn't bad, just not what I expected.  If you are wondering, it did get eaten.  This cake was best with a nice hot cup of coffee.

I am willing to concede some user error here.  The fact that my pan apparently was too big, which affected the cooking process and time, probably accounts for the cake being a bit dry.  In my defense, however, the box did not specify any particular bundt pan size.  I am going to buy a smaller pan and try this mix again.  The flavor is delicious and the cake is one that would make a perfect addition to brunch, lunch, or dinner.

I am thankful to have plenty in my life to nourish my body and my soul.  As we make our way through this holiday season, let us remember that there are many people who are cold, hungry, and feel unloved.  Our response to our thankfulness should be service to those that  have little or nothing for which to be thankful.  Do something kind for someone less fortunate than you - feed them, smile at them, have a conversation with them, hug them, pray for them, let them know you care.

May joy surround you and those you love!


from Tracey G.

The mix of choice for me to try this week, was the Everyone's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix from the King Arthur Flour Essential Goodness line of mixes. Where I live, it's rare to find their products other than a few basics and their signature flours, the last trip to my in-law's this past month though, allowed me to find this mix (and a couple more for future testing!) at Target! (my closest Target is 2 hours away, so I only get there when visiting downstate!) And they had a really good selection of the Essential Goodness mixes to boot. I was so happy! Usually I just order straight from the King Arthur Flour website, so this was a nice little bonus to find them "in-person".

This mix was sinfully easy to put together. I mean it - I had cookie dough ready to go in mere minutes. The only required ingredients were: one stick of butter and one egg. That's it. Before I knew it, I had my cookies scooped, on the cookie sheet and in the oven. I don't think it could get any easier, lol.

Ok, so now that they were so easy, how were they going to taste? I must admit, they could seriously pass for homemade. Easily. There are some "variations" on the package for customizing your cookie texture. If you want chewy, add brown sugar. Do you prefer crunchy? That can be arranged too - add regular granulated sugar. The last variation offered was for a more cakey-texture, to achieve that you add some milk. I went with the crunchy version, although, I'm one who prefers chewy, the rest of my household likes a crunchy cookie, so, I obliged them this go around, lol. And they were perfect. The texture was perfect, everyone was happy - even I, the chewy-cookie lover, thoroughly enjoyed them! Yes!! The ONLY complaint I heard, was that there just weren't enough, lol! I'll take that kind of complaint any day! There's even ideas for using the mix on their Everyone's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix product detail page - always fun to have more ideas for a product I think.

So, if you need to make some cookies quick or in a no-fuss way, I highly recommend the Essential Goodness Everyone's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix by King Arthur Flour!! You can't go wrong, well, unless you burn them or drop them or something like that, LOL.

Happy EASY baking!!

 

Food Friday - King Arthur Flour November Bakealong Challege - Apple Pie

from Tracey G

It's November's King Arthur Flour's Bakealong week! But wow, I can't believe it's November already! Anyway, I am really enjoying the Bakealong, and now every month I look forward to finding out what the the Monthly Challenge is going be. It's one of the first things I do at the beginning of the month - go check and see what the month's recipe is! I was pleasantly surprised to see Apple Pie was this month's Bakealong Challenge I love apple pie, and it was a great excuse to make one AND to try my hand at making my own pastry again. So, in effect it was also reinforcing a skill I'm trying to master - or at least help me become fairly proficient at, lol.

I have to say, that in my opinion, this was the best apple pie I've ever made. I don't know if it was the addition of the Boiled Cider or the King Arthur Flour Vietnamese Cinnamon I just started using, or if it was everything in combination with the lovely Ida Red apples I used - but whatever it was, it worked in a super duper way! This pie was wonderful - so wonderful that it wasn't eaten as dessert - Jeremy and I enjoyed it for breakfast with our coffee!! LOL! It was way too good to wait for dessert time!

The pastry was easy to put together, which made me happy since I am still getting comfortable making pie pastry. The directions in the recipe are so very helpful, they really put me at ease. Unfortunately I couldn't finish the recipe the day I made the pastry, so it did refrigerate a couple days, which wasn't planned, but I didn't have a choice. And you know what? It still was a dream for a pie-pastry-challenged person such as myself to work with! And seriously - do the edge roll that they recommend once you get it flattened into disks, it really saved my edges on the roll-out as they said it would. 

I opted for a lattice top pie. I've only done lattice one other time, and it's something I discovered then that it was fun to do, not to mention it looks so pretty! I also took it one step further, I made a batch of their Single Crust Pastry so that I could use my neat little pie pastry cutters in the shapes of leaves that I just got, and, was dying to use to decorate my pie (the kind that imprint the leaf's texture on the dough). And they didn't let me down, it was fun AND pretty. I took the rest of the dough and let Harry cut some out, plus the leaves already cut that I didn't use, and let Harry brush them with the egg white wash I used on the finished pie before baking, and then sprinkle them generously with cinnamon sugar - so we had some nice little bonus snacks!

The filling was wonderful and to be honest, I could've eaten it just on its own, lol. Really flavorful - mine had a wonderfully seasoned, sweet-tart taste going on.  The only thing it was lacking - vanilla ice cream! I unfortunately didn't have any, very upsetting! LOL Next time though...I'll be prepared. Unless I decide on whim I just gotta have some of this apple pie right now, whenever that moment hits - which, with as yummy as this was, that is entirely possible!

All in all, it ended up being just as pretty as it was tasty. Pretty is something I always strive for when I do stuff like this, but it doesn't always happen - and that's ok because the treats always taste good which is THE ultimate goal after all, lol . This time though? I think I achieved both goals! Yes! 

Bakealong Apple Pie Intro

Apple Pie Recipe

Bakealong Apple Pie Walk-through

from Kris B.

This week, as Tracey and I share our experience with The King Arthur Flour November Bakealong, you see one of the places where we are not quite so similar…she is the pretty one, and I am the more practical one.  Lol!  Actually, as we discussed how we would handle the Bakealong Challenges, we decided that one of us would follow the recipe as presented by King Arthur, and one of us would try to share some kind of variation of that recipe in an effort to show just how flexible King Arthur’s recipes are with a little creativity.

In addition to the monthly Bakealong Challenge, King Arthur is also sponsoring the Bake for Good program.  This program is intended to share a love of baking as well as help to combat hunger.  Bakers are encouraged to bake some homemade goodness and share it with family, friends, and strangers.  This is where my motivation to make hand pies based on this month’s Bakealong Challenge was born.

As a college professor, I am surrounded by hungry students (and a few hungry colleagues) every day.  This is a good thing because when I have the urge to bake, I know that I can take my latest creation to school to share and not be obligated to eat the whole recipe myself.  Everyone is always most appreciative…some days more than others.  Because I teach at the community college, my classes are relatively small.  That provides me the opportunity to get to know my students well, both academically and personally, their struggles and successes both in and outside of the classroom.  And they know me not only as their music theory instructor, but also as a baker, in more than name only.  Lol!  With that in mind, I have to share a story from school this week.

For those of you who have been away from college for awhile, the face of the average college student is much different than it was when I was a student.  My Monday-Wednesday morning class is very small, five students.  On Wednesday, two of the young men arrived to class about ten minutes late.  They both came through the door apologizing for their tardiness saying that they were late because they had “diaper duty.”  One of these young men is a mid-twenties student who is an extremely talented and hardworking pianist.  His wife works as a caregiver for a special needs child.  They have a six month old daughter.  This student has to wait for his wife to return home from her responsibilities of getting the child she cares for ready for school and on the bus so that she can then assume care for their baby during the day while her husband is at school.  The second student on “diaper duty” is a young man, a percussionist working towards becoming a band director,  who’s forty-three year old mother had a stroke a few months ago.  Insurance will no longer pay for her to stay in a rehabilitation facility so the family is fully responsible for caring for their wife and mother, who is partially paralyzed.  The father is working full time.  The youngest child in the family, a girl who is a high school senior, can’t miss school.  So, the two boys, my student and his older brother, are juggling their work and school schedules to make sure that their mother has twenty-four hour care.  That is not the student experience I had!  Why am I sharing all of this?

When I bring baked goods to class, it adds a touch of normalcy, of caring, of goodness to my students’ day.  They can relax for the few minutes it takes to enjoy a homemade treat.  There is no question that food has the ability to bring people together and create comfort in community.  

The problem with baking the actual apple pie to share with this class was that although my classroom is well equipped for teaching, it is not well equipped for eating.  I did not want to have to take plates and forks and a pie server to school.  Hand pies seemed like a reasonable solution.

I made both the pie pastry and the crust exactly as directed in the King Arthur recipe. When I rolled the dough,  I then used a 3” round cutter to cut the “bottom crust”, mounded the apple filling in the middle, and added a “top crust.”  I used the same cutter for the top crust, but rolled it a bit thicker initially.  Once cut, I then rolled it thinner and bigger before placing it atop each of the apple mounds.  I then used a fork to crimp the two pieces together and poke vent holes in the tops.  These need to be assembled directly on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Once completely assembled, I used an egg white wash to brush the top of each hand pie and sprinkled the tops with coarse white sugar.

The King Arthur recipe calls for the full-sized pie to bake 20 minutes at 425 degrees and another 40 minutes at 375 degrees.  I baked the hand pies on a parchment lined baking sheet for the full 20 minutes at 425 degrees, but only 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

I got twelve hand pies from the pie crust recipe.  I did have quite a bit a filling leftover.  My husband ate the extra apple mixture straight from the bowl and my daughter cooked it with a little butter and used it to top buckwheat pancakes.  The possibilities are endless!!

Bakealong Apple Pie Intro

Apple Pie Recipe

Bakealong Apple Pie Walk-through

Food Friday - Pumpkin: Twists on Traditional

from Tracey G

I'm always looking for new ways to do something that's a well-loved stand-by, lol. I love pumpkin pie, which is funny because I never liked it as a kid. Wasn't my thing, I liked my fruit pies, blueberry especially. I can't say I remember when I started loving pumpkin pie actually, I think I was into adulthood to be honest! But anyway, I thought this recipe for No-Fuss Pumpkin Pie Bites from King Arthur Flour sounded like a fun way to get your traditional pumpkin pie fix, in cute little personal-sized desserts! (probably why I love cupcakes - they are small individual single-serving sized cakes, how fun is that?) Not to mention how easy this treat would be to transport and share - it's already cut, just needs some whipped cream (or not) or honey as my father-in-law prefers and you're good to go! I mean, technically, you don't even need eating utensils, as they are even contained in their own little wrapper to hold on to, peel away and eat!

I did have a mishap though, and ended up making 2 batches. The first batch, I had whipped up in a jiffy - it really is an easy recipe and comes together super quick - and I had about 3 or 4 of the muffin tins filled when I realized I used the wrong flour! I had even specifically bought self-rising flour for this recipe. And since I couldn't find the King Arthur Self-Rising flour in any of my stores (which are only like 3 to choose from, lol), I ordered it from their website to be sure I had it, lol. But what did I do? Not even thinking,  I had used regular flour. So, I hastily dumped the already-filled foil wrappers back into the batter bowl, and stirred in a teaspoon of baking powder as per a quickly looked-up recipe for homemade self-rising flour and hoped for the best. Well, they tasted good, but the texture seemed off, too dry for what I expected them to be like. I really wanted to get them done correctly, so even though they were yummy as is, I made another batch. The 2nd batch was much better because it had a better texture - more pie-like, than my non-self-rising-flour batch. As they state in their description of the recipe, it's reminiscent of the "impossible pie" recipes - and it is, the outer edge makes a sort-of crust, while the middle is more of the pie texture - it all equals up to a big yum factor though no matter what!

They are easy to make, easy to take and easy to eat! That makes them a perfect dessert offering whether you are making them to take to a gathering, making them package up and give away or making them just to eat at home yourself. They certainly live up to their name - they are no-fuss in all aspects!!

The recipe:

No-Fuss Pumpkin Pie Bites

from Kris B

Though it still doesn't look like fall outside in Texas, there is definitely a feeling of fall swirling around.  People are wearing sweaters and long sleeves, despite the fact that the temperatures are still consistently in the seventies, because that is what you are supposed to do in November.  Hints of Christmas are popping up in malls and a few peoples' yards, but most importantly, the grocery stores now have their big displays of baking items front and center!  Right now, there is an abundance of orange from those gorgeous cans of pureed pumpkin!  Lol! I realize that you actually can buy puréed pumpkin all year long; for whatever reason though, I only think about it in the fall.

Last fall, I shared my mom's pumpkin quick bread recipe.  It may be my favorite recipe by which to remember my mom.  It is a traditional "sweet" pumpkin bread.  This year, looking for something different, I found King Arthur Flour's Holiday Pumpkin Bread.  It is a yeast bread, not sweet, but has all of the spices that I associate with my mom's pumpkin bread.  Plus, it is braided to add a fancy look to your holiday table...or kitchen counter.

The Holiday Pumpkin Bread is the easiest yeast bread recipe that I have ever made.  It requires no proofing of the yeast.  All you do is throw all of the ingredients in a bowl, mix them either by hand, mixer with a dough hook, or bread machine, and set it aside to rise for about ninety minutes.  After the first rise, the dough is divided in half.  (It makes two 8"-9" rings.). Each half is then divided into three pieces, from which 18" ropes are made and then braided.  The braids are made into  rings, placed in the two pans to again rise for ninety minutes. Then they bake for 30 minutes.  And then you have two beautiful Holiday Pumpkin Bread rings.  They keep for five days, or may be frozen for several months.  They look like you slaved in the kitchen for days. Lol!

This bread has a great deal of flavor on its own, but a little butter, cinnamon butter, or honey and it becomes a real treat.  My daughter thinks that it would be good with cranberries.  I haven't tried that yet; however, neither of our two rings made it to the freezer so I'll be making another batch before Thanksgiving.  I may give the cranberries a try!

Though I bake a lot throughout the year, there is something different about baking at this time of the year.  It may be the pumpkin...and the cinnamon; or, it may be that much of what I bake during the holidays is shared or given away to others.  I bake for my students as the semester becomes more stressful during the final stretch, I bake for my colleagues because they are grateful for anything that makes its way to the workroom as a quick snack between classes.  I bake for holiday gatherings.  And, I do lots of baking for gifts.  The words "company" and "companion" mean "with bread."  This holiday season, make some bread and break it with those you love.  It is at the table where true community flourishes.

Recipe Link:

King Arthur Flour's Holiday Pumpkin Bread

Food Friday - A is for Apple

from Tracey G

The minute I saw this recipe it intrigued me - my immediate thought was, "what a neat way to do a pie!" I'd never thought to make one in this style, and it was fun and easy to eat too - you could either do it the "proper" way, with a plate and fork, or you could just grab a napkin and eat it like a piece of pizza! This week, I present Apple Pie Bars a King Arthur Flour recipe.

I'll admit that pie pastry and I have never really had a good relationship, lol. In fact, I'd just buy mine in the refrigerated section (you know the ones, the rolled-up-like-a-scroll crusts), and I absolutely love them, so there was never a reason to venture into a territory that has never been very hospitable to me. Then I read this recipe, and thought I'd give it another go - but with a little help. So, in addition to some of the other ingredients I bought (more on those later), I took the step and ordered the King Arthur Flour Pastry Flour Blend. Of course you can make this without it, it says you can use either it or all-purpose flour - but I wanted to see if using a pastry flour would  help out my efforts. I must report that this was the first time I've created a crust I was happy with! So, I guess for those of us (ok, me!) who are pie pastry challenged, it doesn't hurt to have a little ace in the hole by way of pastry flour!!

Among my previous ingredient purchases, I was happy to have a reason to finally use the Boiled Cider (it's apple cider boiled down to a lovely and yummy syrup) I'd also ordered from the KAF website, as this recipe called for it. But from what I've read with other recipes that use the boiled cider, apple juice concentrate (thawed) can be used as a suitable substitute. But I have to say I am so glad I bought that stuff, the flavor is amazing, it's definitely going to be a regular item in my baking pantry! There are a lot of things you can use this wonderful product for, you can even reconstitute it to make regular cider! I've all kinds of plans for this item, from cake glazes to a meat glaze - so many possibilities!! I can't say enough about the boiled cider!

The recipe also calls for their Pie Filling Enhancer. It's a thickening agent (ClearJel) with a couple other things added, some superfine sugar and ascorbic acid. I'd been wanting to try that as well since it was something I'd bought when I got the boiled cider and so forth, so it was fun to have the chance to break it out and put it to use! They also do have other ideas for thickening the filling if you don't want to use this. Their Pie Thickener Ingredient Guide has loads of information.

The only problem I had with this recipe - and it was totally my fault - was the apples I used. Every fall, I buy a bunch of apples, get the apple peeler out (well, Jeremy and Harry do!) then peel, core and slice (all one step with the peeler!) up as many as I can, and then package in about 6 cups per freezer bag which is generally the amount called for in many pie recipes and cobbler recipes. That way, during the winter, an apple cobbler on the fly is easy peasy, since the time consuming stuff has already been done! But, I didn't even think when I made this, that frozen for this sort of not-in-a-dish pie might not be such a wise choice, lol. They do get much more juicy as they thaw of course, so as I'm trying to get the filling made and on the pastry, it was running like crazy and I found myself mopping up juice off the bottom pastry with paper towels so it would seal properly! It was in effect, a mess! Next time, I will make sure I drain them well if I am going to use them for a recipe like this!!  

Other than all of that, this is a wonderful and yummy recipe - it most certainly did not last long around here at all. I had no troubles rolling out the dough, although it did seem like it wasn't going to make it to the sizes needed, but it did. I can definitely say this will be made again - and has given me, once again, ideas on other fillings at some point!

Do try it - I don't think you'll be disappointed!!!

Link to the recipe:

Apple Pie Bars

Useful links to the special ingredients:

King Arthur Flour Pastry Flour Blend

Boiled Cider

   

Pie Filling Enhancer

from Kris B.

I am a firm believer in "an apple a day..."  I take an apple in my lunch almost every day.  There are those times, however, where I want it as a dessert rather than as a side.  Unfortunately, when I have those dessert cravings, it is rarely when I have the time to stop what I am doing and whip out an apple pie.  For this reason, I was happy to find the Apple Tortilla Bake recipe by King Arthur Flour.

Being from Texas, anything that has tortillas as an ingredient catches my attention, especially when using tortillas means that I can have an apple pie type dessert without having to make a pie crust!  Though King Arthur does have a recipe for homemade flour tortillas, this recipe does not guilt you in to making your own tortillas though you certainly can if you want to.  Because I have so many sources for fresh homemade tortillas that are much better than any that I could make, I bought mine locally,  If you've never made homemade tortillas, it is something to try when you are feeling adventurous!

The tortillas form the "crust" for this dessert which has a custard and spiced apple filling.  Cinnamon is the star player here.  Cinnamon and apples...it's got to be good!  The 6 oz. ramekins are lined with pieces of cut tortilla, filled with the custard mixture and the spiced apples are mounded in the middle.  The processing of putting this together is quick and easy.

Though the recipe does not include this instruction, I placed the individual ramekins on a baking sheet before placing them in the oven.  I am SO glad that I did this because they did bubble over.  I may have been a lot less impressed with this recipe if I had had to clean my oven after making it . Lol!  I did find that I had to increase the baking time to 38 minutes from the recipe's suggested cook time of 28 - 30 minutes.   I'm not sure if this increase in cook time was necessary because of using the baking sheet or if my oven temperature needs to be calibrated.   Doneness is based on the custard being set.  After thirty minutes in the oven, mine were still runny.

I chose to place my tortillas in the ramekins with the small (pointed) ends up because I like the sunflower look that doing this gives.  In the photo on the King Arthur recipe, it looks like they placed the smaller end in the cup and the bigger end formed formed a higher edge all the way around the ramekin.  If I had done this, perhaps my cup would not have runneth over. Lol!

I made this recipe for the first time for my husband and me.  He had one "complain."  It was so good that eh wanted more than one.  The recipe makes four 6 oz. servings.  I made the Apple Tortilla Bake again for a luncheon and doubled the recipe for eight servings.  It worked perfectly.  Again, I placed the individual ramekins on a baking sheet.  I did not have to increase the cooking time beyond the 38 minutes necessary when cooking only four servings.

Enjoy this while the fall apples are still delicious!

Link to the recipe:

Apple Tortilla Bake

Mixed Up Food Friday - October

Let's face it, as much as we may like making things from scratch, some days just don't allow for that.  The last minute bake sale notice, the friends dropping by unexpectedly, that midnight craving all require fast action.  And that means turning to a mix.  And if you must use a mix, at least make it a good quality one!  King Arthur has some great mixes that give you that homemade taste in less time!  We are adding what will become a regular feature here of "Mixed Up Food Friday" where we will try a variety of the King Arthur Flour mixes.

from Tracey G.

Kris and I were intrigued that King Arthur Flour had come out with a new line of mixes, called Essential Goodness. They are pretty much as close to homemade as you can get from a commercial mix. And being they are from King Arthur Flour, I had no reservations in giving one (or two!) a whirl! To sweeten the deal, King Arthur Flour is donating the cost of one meal to Feeding America per mix bought! There is no end date to their program either, which I find simply wonderful! Here's a link to the page with the information on the mixes and the program: Buy a Mix, Give a Meal  And it's a program I'm happy to help support!

So, my mix offering this week is the Essential Goodness Sour Cream Coffeecake. It was sooooo simple to put together and so very yummy! Minimal ingredients were required - eggs, milk and butter. Half stick of butter went into the topping, and the other half went into the cake, along with the eggs (2) and milk (3/4 cup). It all mixed up so easy and went together easily as well. It was layer half the batter in a square pan (I used a 9x9x2" pan), top that with half the crumb topping and press it in a bit. Top that with the rest of the batter and then finish with the rest of the crumbs. Bake and then enjoy!

Everyone in this household loved it. The cake was moist, and had a really nice flavor. I'd read some reviews online for it and some complained it was a bit too "nutmeggy" for them, well, I thought it was perfect. There's a definite hint of nutmeg, I could really smell it when I was mixing it up, but by the time it was baked and in combination with the cinnamon flavor of the crumb topping, it was just perfect in my opinion! I think between the 3 of us, I only managed to get 2 pieces before it was all gone, the boys seemed to have seconds and possibly thirds each time we had some, lol. But that's a good thing because it's so good it could be a serious detriment to my weight management efforts to be sure!!!

I do hope you give it a try when you get the chance, it's a yummy treat for a lazy morning with a cup of coffee!!! 

Variations and tips for the mix:

Essential Goodness Sour Cream Coffeecake Product Page



from Kris B.

Why are doughnuts so good?  I can resist almost any kind of sweet treat when I put my mind to it...except doughnuts.  Chocolate iced cake doughnuts are my absolute favorite, but unfortunately, I'm not picky and if these aren't an option, I'll take any kind of doughnut  that there is.  The good thing is that acquiring doughnuts usually requires forethought.  You have to plan on getting up early to get them from the local doughnut shop or grocery store bakery early in the morning when they are nice and fresh.  Doughnuts are not something that are easily "whipped up" at home when you have a craving for them...until now!  Enter King Arthur Flour's Pumpkin Spice Doughnut mix!   Doughnuts, pumpkin (another definite favorite flavor of mine), and twenty-four hour availability...life is good!

A single box of King Arthur's Pumpkin Spice doughnuts makes a dozen doughnuts, but they are packaged in two half dozen pouches.  This is good for two reasons: The doughnuts are baked, and a standard "doughnut pan" holds six doughnuts.  And perhaps more importantly, I don't feel obligated to eat a ridiculous number of doughnuts in one sitting!

About the baking of doughnuts...

Most of us recognize doughnuts by their shape, the ring with the hole in the middle, or maybe just the hole itself without the ring, but doughnuts earn their status as such by their fat content and because they are deep fried.  After I made the doughnuts from the King Arthur mix, my daughter "explained" to me that they really weren't doughnuts because they weren't deep fried.  Well, maybe they aren't technically "real" doughnuts, but they taste as good of better than any "real" doughnut that I 'ever had recently!  They have a "cake-y" texture that is absolutely delicious!

The batter mixes quickly and only requires the addition of 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, and 1/4 of water.  Easy!  I used a 1/4 cup measure to scoop the batter into the rings.  This gave me six perfectly sized doughnuts. And there was barely enough batter left to make licking the bowl a treat!

The doughnuts bake for 8-10 minutes.  Once out of the oven and cooled in the pan for a few minutes, they can be dipped in glaze (a simple recipe for maple glaze is included on the package) or a non-melting sugar or powdered sugar.  I tried both.  Suffice it to say that the three adults in my house made short order of the six pumpkin spice doughnuts!

If you cannot find the King Arthur mixes at your local grocery store, they can be ordered directly from King Arthur Flour, as can the doughnut pan.

Give them a try!

I'm off to make a pot of coffee and my other half dozen King Arthur Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts!

Food Friday - Everyday Whole-Grain Bread, October King Arthur Bakealong

from Kris B.

In our effort to explore all that King Arthur Flour has to offer with its products, recipes, and projects, Tracey and I are participating in the King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge.  Each month a new recipe is shared and bakers around the world are invited to try it and share their experiences on IG or the King Arthur website.

As its title implies, this is a basic everyday use for anything and everything bread - sandwiches, toast, or the favorite way at our house...straight off the counter with a little butter.  Any way you slice it, this loaf will not disappoint!

Many people are convinced that making homemeade bread is either too complicated or takes too long.  The process, especially with this only seven ingredient loaf,  is simple.  Waiting for the two rises to take place does take time, but it is time that you can use to do a load of laundry, read a book, or take a few photos.  It's the kind of time that we all used to have and probably took for granted.  I am as guilty of this as anyone else.

I love homemade bread.  When my girls were little and I only worked part-time, I made bread twice a week.  Back then, he only bread I ever bought was an occasional hamburger bun.  I miss those days!  Though I probably make more homemade food than the average person,  it is far less than I used to do.  Like I said, this recipe is quite simple and makes two loaves.  Now that I'm not cooking for a family of four, a single recipe of King Arthur's Everyday Whole-Grain Bread will last the two of us at least a week, maybe two if I don't take sandwiches for lunch everyday and come home to a snack of a slice with butter and jam.

Why is it that we refer to the days where most of food was homemade, our vegetables homegrown, our clothes homemade, and our family incomes much less, as the good old days?  As simpler times?  I for one can say that I would much rather worry about whether my bread is going to rise properly or whether I not I have the perfect color thread for the blouse that I am making than to worry about commute times and whether or not I am meeting all of the state mandated regulstions for educators.  Yet as I write this, I have on my to-do list the creation of documents necessary for an importantvmeeting next week.  My words and my actions are totally out of alignment here.  How about yours?

Most of us cant go back to those "simpler times," but I suspect that every one of us can carve out an hour or two to roll up our sleeves and knead some bread for a few minutes.  It really is a relaxing thing, feeling and smelling the soft dough as it squishes between your fingers.  Ah!  Heavenly!

King Arthur Flour, Tracey, and I challenge you to make bake along with us this month.  Give the King Arthur Flour Everyday Whole-Grain Bread a try.







from Tracey G.

As Kris said, this is the most current King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge recipe, the Everyday Whole-Grain Bread. I must preface by saying though, that I am having fun with the Bakealong Challenge, not only do we get to try new recipes, but I'm sure there'll be new techniques as well coming along in the future. I love a "reason" to branch out just for fun! For example, last month's Inside-Out Pumpkin Muffins (click the link to go to the post!) were the first time I've ever made a muffin with a cream cheese filling! So, not only did I try a new recipe - but I learned a new technique/filling recipe I can apply to another muffin one of these days.  

I love to make homemade bread. As I've said before, I used to make it faithfully every week, at least 4 loaves at a crack. My freezer was always filled with homemade loaves. My mom loved to take sandwiches to her dialysis appointment since it was right at about lunch time, and regular store-bought, commercially made loaves of bread were loaded with deadly salt for a person on a salt-restricted diet due to CHF issues (Congestive Heart Failure). So, I'd prop Harry up in his bouncer on one of the kitchen counters (and in his high-chair when he got older!) and get to making the bread for the week. Thanks to King Arthur Flour's wonderful products and support (as demonstrated by their wonderful recipes and blog posts making you feel like you could make anything, lol) I'm rediscovering the fun of making bread again. And it's nice now not hearing the whining anymore on how "you used to make bread all the time" from the peanut gallery that is my Husband, Jeremy, lol.

This month's Bakealong Challenge, the Everyday Whole-Grain Bread, is one of the best bread recipes I've ever run across! Wow, it's so super simple it's not even funny, lol. I made two more loaves just yesterday, after making 2 loaves a couple days before that. That means, that so far this week, I've made four loaves of bread, in no time flat to boot! And as there's only one left as I type this, I guess that means the people in my household heartily approve of this recipe! And I do to, it will now be one I turn to regularly. It's so simple and tasty, it's perfect. And not to mention using King Arthur Flour's White Whole Wheat flour makes it a great way to get more whole-grains in the diet! It's great plain, with butter, toasted - it works with anyway you choose to eat it!

The dough is great to work with. The first time I made it, it was a bit sticky, but it was a rainy day too - I am sure that the extra humidity in the air affected that a wee bit. So, I ended up adding enough  all-purpose flour to get a smooth non-sticky dough. I did, however, do that very gradually as you can cross that fine line of just enough flour stage to the uh-oh-I-created-a-dough-anchor stage. Not a good thing, lol. The second time I made it, I left it slightly sticky - which was kind of humorous. In getting it out of my mixer bowl, into the oiled bowl for the "resting/rising" phase (more on that in a bit), I used my whole hand to get it, and before I knew it, it seemed hopelessly stuck to my hand - and I mean STUCK because I'd meant to oil my hand, but forgot,lol. But, I was patient and waited for it to "let go" of my hand on its own. Had I forced it faster, I am sure I would have had my left hand covered with a coating of bread dough, lol. But, by letting it let go by itself, it all came off like magic. Even if the patience was a little hard to come by, lol.

I exclusively use instant yeast, currently, the SAF brand that I bought at the King Arthur Flour website. I used to use the Fleischmann's Rapid Rise yeast, also an instant yeast, and it's one of my favorites - and easy to find in the grocery store in the convenient pre-measured packets. However, I am now totally in love with SAF Instant yeast - mostly because it's a good buy (a 16 oz bag that you measure out yourself), and, after reading that it's pretty much all they use at the King Arthur Test Kitchens, I was sold. From what I've read it's very dependable, and so far in my usage, I can attest to that. I also love the method you use for using an instant yeast - you mix it in with the flour of the recipe, and proceed as directed per the recipe. I will admit I went my own way with this recipe as I not only mixed my yeast with the first 3 cups of White Whole Wheat, I also mixed in the sugar and salt. I then added the water and oil and let that mix until blended and like a thin batter. At that point, I added in the remaining all-purpose flour called for - all of it since I knead it in the mixer.

But anyway, using an instant yeast, I choose to use a one-rise method, for the most part. When working with the White Whole Wheat flour, or any of the bread doughs for that matter, after I get the kneading done in my stand mixer, I pop it into an oiled bowl to rest - and it rises a bit too. I usually give it about 20 min or so. Then I divide it, shape it and let it rise for the formal rising, lol. Once it was divided, I chose to make rustic loaves instead of using a traditional loaf pan, just for fun. I lined my baking sheets with parchment paper, placed the loaves on them and let them rise for about 30 minutes. After rising, I then dusted the tops of my loaves with flour and gave them a few slashes with a sharp knife for decorative-purposes just before baking - I did it then so the cuts didn't rise and lose their definition - this way they were pretty after baking, lol. I had to bake mine a bit longer than the 30 minutes suggested - but that's only because I had my rustic loaves on cookie sheet, one on the top rack and one on the bottom, so I had to add about 10 minutes to that time. They were perfect.

I can honestly say that I wish this was the bread recipe I cut my bread making teeth on all those years ago - I would've thought myself a pro! I remember vividly my first attempts at bread making when I was 19 or so, and it was a laborious process let me say for so little reward, lol. This recipe would have kept me going, and I bet I wouldn't have quit trying there for a few years, you can't go wrong with this one. I do hope you try it! 

Here are the helpful links:

Here's the link to the Bakealong Challenge page, introducing this month's recipe (it also has some good tips for the recipe under the links!)

King Arthur Flour October Bakealong Challenge

Just the recipe:

King Arthur Flour Everyday Whole-Grain Bread

The blog post recipe walk through:

Everyday Whole-Grain Bread Walk-Through

Food Friday - Going Bananas!

from Tracey G.

Have you ever picked up an ingredient and then forgotten what you were going to use it for? I did. And that's precisely how I came to have my bag of King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour in my cupboard. I have no recollection as to what I bought it for - I know that I bought it for a specific reason and recipe, but what that was, I have no idea. I can only hope that it comes back to me!

So anyway, I have this bag of whole wheat flour and no idea what I bought it for, so that then makes it fair game right? I need to find some recipes to use it in, and who better to ask? King Arthur! Well, King Arthur Flour that is, lol. And since Kris and I decided on bananas this week, I found a recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Bread (click the link to get to the recipe!). I'd never really thought to use whole wheat flour for anything beyond bread, regular whole wheat bread or rolls. So, for me, it was decided - Whole Wheat Banana Bread it was to be!

It came together very easily, a one-bowl thing is always welcome! And I am also finding I do love using my kitchen scale and weighing out ingredients, there's just something fun to me about it, lol. I had everything on hand for it, which is another thing I look for in a recipe - especially one that I might want to make on the spur of the moment, so you can be sure, that now that I've discovered this recipe, I will be keeping whole wheat flour on hand! The other ingredients needed were of course, bananas, and eggs, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla, butter, honey and walnuts.

I didn't use nuts because Harry doesn't care for them in things - but I do, so next time I may either make 2 batches or divide the batter, add walnuts to half and then make mini-loaves out of it or muffins. The only thing different from the usual banana bread recipe using regular flour, is, you let the batter rest in the pan 10 minutes before baking as this allows time for the whole wheat to absorb moisture since it takes a bit longer than regular flour.

I did have a problem with one corner sticking and therefore ripping my loaf when I tried to get it out of the pan. I have no idea, why, I lightly greased the pan as called for, and the rest didn't stick at all - just that one corner. And I think my oven is having temperature issues or something because I think it came out a little dark - even after tenting the top with foil for the last 10 minutes as the recipe directed to do. My whole "outside" of the loaf was brown, over-browned I think, but still tasted good. Next time I will maybe try reducing the oven temperature or shorten the bake time. I think it's time to invest in an oven thermometer to see just what is going on in there! LOL

The bananas I had to use weren't exactly as ripe as I'd have liked for banana bread, so they didn't really make it too banana-y as I like it - Jeremy said it tasted more like Brown Bread than Banana Bread, but as I said I am guessing that it was the not-so-ripe bananas that are the reason for that. The bread was really good, nice crumb and moist - and tasted pretty darn good! Plus, I discovered it is even better the next day, I forgot that quick breads are always better after they've "cured".  It's one I would gladly make again, and love to try experimenting on! I'd like to cut the fat - using either applesauce or yogurt and add an extra banana or two for moistness, sweetness and flavor. Doing so I could probably cut back on the honey/brown sugar. There is one other variation I am just itching to try - substituting the honey altogether with the Boiled Cider (apple cider boiled down to a syrup) and see what kind of tasty results that produces! I also had an idea to use the recipe I found on the King Arthur site for a glaze using the Boiled Cider and drizzle the banana bread with that... 

So many ideas and thoughts! Makes me want to get working on another batch as soon as I'm done typing this!

Link to the recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour: 

100% Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Here's also a link to their step-by-step post on their blog, Flourish:

100% Whole Wheat Banana Bread Flourish Post


from Kris B.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Life is what happens while you are busy making plans?”  I’ve heard it...and I experience it more regularly than I care to admit.

Despite being out of town last weekend and knowing that that would disrupt the rhythm of my life this week, I thought I was on top of things.   Whereas Tracey had whole wheat flour needing a purpose, I had frozen bananas.  We decided way back on this week's banana theme.  I knew what I wanted to make, King Arthur Flour's Banana Cream Cheese Roll.  I had my week scheduled so that everything that needed doing would get done. Though it cut things close, that plan called for baking, photographing and writing on Friday.  That may make me appear to be a procrastinator on the surface, but in my mind, everything was well scheduled.  It would work.  

Then life happened.

My well-calculated plan even allowed me to sleep in a little on Friday morning.  I got up more rested than I have been in days and began gathering the ingredients for the week's recipe.  I knew that had everything that I needed. Grocery shopping had happened right on schedule, earlier in the week.  However, I failed to check the size of the jelly roll pan called for by the recipe.  Despite a cabinet full of baking pans, I did not have the requisite size, a 9 1/4 x 14 jelly roll pan.  Weber graciously volunteered to take me to get one.  Great!  Problem solved.  I could manage a fifteen minute delay in my schedule to run up to Target.  Three stores and an hour later, I got home…with no pan.  Apparently the required pan is not a standard size.  I came as close as I could with a 9 x 13 jelly roll pan.  I figured I could make that work by not using  all of the batter.

Back on track, I got the batter made and put in the oven.  After a few minutes, I realized that I had used all of the batter.  At that point, I just had to go with it and hope for the best.  When the cake was baked, I pulled it from the oven and, following the recipe instructions, I began the process of rolling it to cool.  I bet you know what happens next.  It didn’t roll, it cracked because it was too thick.  This was definitely “user error” and user error was not in my plan.  

I texted Tracey and told her about my failure with the Banana Cream Cheese Roll and assured her that I would go to my Plan B, Banana Chocolate Chip muffins.  My forethought had included having a Plan B, but I really didn't anticipate having to use it!  Tracey and I discussed the situation back and forth and then I had the idea that maybe I could salvage the project by cutting the cracked roll into three layers and making it a layered cake rather than a roll.  We have always been about keeping things real.  Sometimes real is pretty and everything works perfectly and sometimes real means nothing works right and you have to punt.  We decided that I would keep it real and finish my failed attempt at the Banana Cream Cheese Roll.

Fortunately the roll cracked such that I had three equal pieces.  That made going forward not look so bad.  I started making the syrup for the recipe.  While I’m waiting for the brown sugar and water mixture to thicken, a process that required close supervision and frequent stirring, Weber said, “There’s a black lab on our front porch.”  I asked if it was ours and he said, “No.”  Being a sucker for animals, I turned off the stove and went to see if I could catch the dog.  She was a young energetic pup perfectly happy to come to me.  Unfortunately the only collar she had on was one that works with an electric fence.  She had no identifying tags.  We put her safely in our backyard called our local animal shelter to see if anyone had reported a missing dog.  There had been no reports, so the officer came out with his chip reader hoping that the dog had been chipped and we could get her home that way.  Fortunately she did have a chip and we found that she lived five or six houses down from us.  Animal Control called and left a message for the owner.  The owner was out of town and the dog had somehow gotten away from the house sitter, who soon came to retrieve the dog  The situation was resolved, but now I was another forty-five minutes behind.  

I reheated the syrup and finished cooking it.  Made the cream.  And put the ‘Variation on a Banana Cream Cheese Roll” together.  I really wasn’t happy with the fact that the roll didn’t roll.  I set out to do the photos of my “failure,” a process for which I realized I had no interest or energy.  I could not get past the fact that it did not look like it was supposed to.  Because of that, no photo that I took was good.  Again I texted Tracey and said that the photos were ugly and boring.  I could not use them.  I sent one to her just to prove my case.  Her more objective observation was that it was OK.  “I think it looks great because it looks homey and yummy and like total comfort food.”  Homey comfort food…that’s what I enjoy making.   I don’t dress stylishly.  My home is not furnished and decorated elegantly.  I am about practical and real living.  Why should the aesthetics of what I cook be any different?  So, I went with it.

According to Weber, who cares not what food looks like as long as it tastes good, this recipe tastes great!  So, I share with all of you my "Variation on King Arthur Flour’s Banana Cream Cheese Roll."  I used vanilla instead of rum, and I also garnished the top with sifted powdered sugar and sliced banana to give it a somewhat "finished" look.  Really, it worked. Lol!

Here's also a link to their step-by-step post on their blog, Flourish:
http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2013/10/09/banana-cream-cheese-roll/

"Failure is the key to success: each mistake teaches us something." 

                                                                                                                - Morihei Ueshiba