Summer is just a Peach (or maybe 14 or 15 of them...)

 We had a large gathering of many of the Longsworth clan over at my house this past weekend. In my childhood one of the many things I can remember about visiting the Longsworth house in the summer was all the fresh seasonal fruit that was always available. Blackberries, Peaches, Blueberries, and many more. we had fruit with ice cream, fruit pies, and most importantly, fruit cobblers!!! 

Cobbler is like sweat bread or scones, mixed with the best fresh fruit. how can one go wrong with that!

So for this gathering I decided to make a Peach Cobbler. Mine was a bit runny since I omitted alot of the Sugar and Flour, so my recommendation is NOT to reduce the amounts on this recipe by too much or you will have basically just fruits and bread (equally as delicious, but not quite a cobbler...).

also note, if you want to make more dumplings for the top, by all means go for it! I personally like my cobbler covered with dumplings, but that is not how I made them this time. The dumplings in the picture are not cooked yet, but once they are cooked they don't expand or anything, they just brown a bit.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

12-15 FRESH Peaches, peeled and thinly sliced

¼ to 1/3 c. Sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)

1/3 c. Flour

4 Tbsp Butter

 

3 1/3 c. Bisquick mix (to make at least 20 dumplings) (you could use Jiffy, but it is not soy free)

15 Tbsp (a little less than 1 c.) Milk

Cinnamon to taste (optional)

Process

Preheat oven to 350 F

Slice the peaches into an ungreased 9x13 baking pan

Sprinkle Sugar evenly over surface

Cut Butter into slices and place ontop of Peaches at even intervals

Sprinkle Flour evenly on top

For Dumplings, mix the Milk and Bisquick into a soft dough and drop in 20 Dumplings evenly over the top of the cobbler

Bake at 350 F uncovered for about 20 minutes or until Dumplings are golden brown on top

Dessert 'Snails': What to do with too much leftover Pie Crust

These are a dish I remember from my childhood. When my mom would make pies (particularly the kind with only a bottom crust) she would occasionally have not quite enough extra dough to make another crust, but just enough extra dough to use for something else. This invention we dubber 'Snails'. We would literally sit in front of the toaster and watch these babies cook, drooling more and more as their smell wafted out around us. I think that perhaps it was through the smell that we actually figured out when they were sufficiently cooked, we just knew what they were 'supposed' to smell like to get that perfect golden and flakey texture without going over to the browning or blackened burn. This is a simple and YUMMY way to use that extra crust and they are really fun to make for kids. After all, who doesn't want to brag that their kid eats snails willingly right?

Dessert Snails

Ingredients

Pie crust

-          3 c. Flour plus 2 Tbsp

-          1 c. cold Butter (2 sticks)

-          1 tsp Salt

     Up to ¼ c. ice cold water (only  enough to make a dough)

Some very soft Butter

Cinnamon

Brown Sugar

Process

-          To make the crust: Combine flour and salt in a bowl, cut butter into manageable chunks and use a fork to smash and work it into the flour until you have a crumbly dough with no large butter lumps. Then, add the ice water a little bit at a time, just until the dough comes together (it will still be very crumbly) you probably won’t need the full ¼ cup of water to achieve this.

-          Roll out the crust into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick (about the same as you would for any pie you were making)

-          Spread enough soft butter over the dough that the sugar will have enough to stick to

-          Sprinkle the buttery dough with brown sugar, enough to coat it well

-          Sprinkle with desired amount of Cinnamon

-          Roll the dough into a roll (similar technique to cinnamon rolls) and cut into circular pieces about 1 inch high

-          Place on well greased baking sheet and bake in preheated oven at 400 F for 8-10 minutes or until very slightly golden.

-          Cool and serve!

      Notes

     Obviously if you already have a crust from a pie, just roll it into a ball again and roll it out to make it flat, then begin with the cinnamon and sugar etc.

     Also, if you don't want the extra step of making them into spirals, just cooking the dough as a flat sheet with the sugar and cinnamon on top works as well (this version is similar to 'elephant ears')

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

The Star of the show

I found a blog called the Brown Eyed Baker that I really enjoyed alot of the recipes I found. Dying to try something and having a serious craving for pumpkin (I know it is not autumn yet but I could not wait), I saw the recipe for Whoopie Pies as intriguing and wanted to experiment. I found that due to the humidity in Ohio the pies/cookies turned out a little gummy on the outside and plenty dense on the inside once they are not fresh out of the oven. But running them through a toaster for a couple brief minutes gets rid of this problem quite nicely, though they cannot have frosting on them if you put them in the toaster as the frosting will obviously melt off...

I was alone in the house and I had a cracking good time making them while singing along at the top of my lungs to musicals such as Phantom of the Opera, the Music Man, and the Sound of Music. Even if one is not singing rather poorly to one's dog, these cookies are as much fun to eat while you are making them as they are afterwards! (yes they have raw egg, so one has to be careful). I had a 29 oz can of Pumpkin, which is about a half cup more than the recipe calls for...but somehow I ended up with an empty can of pumpkin! (hint, I did not use extra in the cookies...pumpkin is just that yummy...). and Cream Cheese Frosting? Really? I mean, one almost has to double the recipe just to get enough leftover to put on the cookies! However, enough of the ingredients made it into the oven and into the frosting that I actually had some to serve to my family. The verdict was, a little gummy, with some odd texture, but VERY good flavor and the icing one really cannot go wrong with. So, in conclusion, while this is a good idea, perhaps if one is looking for a pumpkin cookie that is more like a cookie and less like a cake, one needs to look elsewhere. Or, use a toaster later, really they tasted great.


Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting

For the Whoopie Pies:

3 c. Flour
2 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt
1 tsp ground Ginger
½ tsp ground Nutmeg
2 c. Brown Sugar
1 c. Canola Oil (or use half applesauce, but add a little sugar if using green applesauce)

3 c. chilled Pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 cups Powdered Sugar
12 ounces Cream Cheese, at room temperature
3 ounces (½ cup) unsalted Butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons Maple Syrup (optional, but add a little powdered sugar if you use this)
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, grease and flour baking sheets

In a large bowl, whisk together the Flour, Cinnamon, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, Ginger and Nutmeg. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the Brown Sugar, and the Oil/Applesauce together.

Add the Pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the Eggs and Vanilla and whisk until combined.

Gradually add the Flour mixture to the Pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Use a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

To make the Frosting, beat the Butter until smooth with no visible lumps.

Add the Cream Cheese and beat until smooth and combined.

Add the Powdered Sugar a little at a time until desired consistency, then add the Maple Syrup (if using) and Vanilla and beat until smooth.

To assemble them as whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Spread some frosting onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the frosting. Press down slightly so that the frosting spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.

I opted for the iced cookie version

Otherwise, just Frost the tops of the cookies and serve!

*Recipe Credited to Browneyedbaker, with a few of my own edits, and her source.

Leaving Home, Cherry Jam, and Chocolate Chip Cookie-Dough Brownies

This week we celebrated the official move-in of my Grandparents into their new home at Kendal with a blackberry cobbler on their new porch.We also had my other grandparents and Uncle Den over for supper on OUR new patio (to be porch sometime in the near future) with its new furniture we had purchased and assembled earlier that day. One might ask whether mosquitoes were a problem, but fortunately it was fairly windy and has been cool and dry enough for the past couple days that mosquitoes have not really come out (until it gets darker, then I usually move in from the patio to just inside the kitchen door.)

safe!

We have also officially launched Sam into the great world beyond (by that I mean, Madison, not a separate dimension). After days of packing and collecting and eating, Sam left early in the morning with his UHAUL of possesions. A hard goodbye for sure, though we will get to see him again soon, and since he is going off to gradschool after this year, it is not like he is totally and completely in the real world forever, he still has a buffer coming up.

music. I missed this dearly whilst in Australia

goodbye, can you tell it is morning?

My kitchen adventures began with a batch of homemade cherry jam. Clara, Mama, and I went cherry picking in the morning. I must say that this is my favorite kind of berry picking, as long as the mosquitoes are not bad. One gets to be in the shade, reaching up or straight as opposed to bending down or looking in thorny bushes (like strawberry and raspberry respectively). Also, one can sit on ladders, and the buckets fill up fast.

Anyway, we made jam (my favorite jam btw) using sour cherries and a recipe that is found on the pectin/surejell/jamifying substance box. Basically, precise amounts of alot of sugar and precise boiling times before canning in sterile jars. The result is jars of the best jam in the world, and some extra for immediate eating purposes.

of course ANY good chef samples during the process and cleanup

Since my dad was out of town on business and taking Sam up to WI, I decided now was a perfect time to try the brownie recipe. My dad does not like 'fudgy desserts' as he calls them, and 'cookie dough brownies with peanut butter chocolate ganache' are apparently in that category. So, I took the opportunity of his being gone to attempt this recipe that I found on Foodbuzz. I think they turned out rather well, though I have a few edits of course.

Notes for the Brownies:

 I used a cup of peanut butter since that is what the original recipe called for, but I found that to be WAAAAAAAAY too much, it made the topping basically just pb and not chocolate. So in the below recipe I changed the amounts of pb and chocolate for the ganache. I would also say that mini chips are not essential, just chips are. Also, the original recipe calls for NON-natural pb, but the natural stuff worked just fine for me, it just meant the ganache was not quite as smooth as it could have been. Lastly, I did not try this, but I think this recipe would be really good as ice cream bars (cookie dough on the bottom, then ice cream, THEN the topping). Or just using the dough recipe to make cookie dough pieces to mix into ice cream. Anyway, lots of idezas! Here is the recipe I used for my batch!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips (semi sweet, or milk).

I cannot take credit for this photo, it is from the original recipe

Instructions

mix together the butter and light brown sugar until creamy

add in vanilla

mix in the the flour and sweetened condensed milk gradually, alternating between the two (so, a bit of flour, then a little milk, then a little flour etc until all is added). Mix until combined.

Add in the mini chocolate chips and fold them in with a spatula.

Line a 8 by 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, greased waxed paper, or just grease the pan itself (we really don't want them sticking to the pan). Press the cookie dough into the pan. If the cookie dough starts to stick to your hands, put a small amont of flour on your hands. Or, just enjoy the fact that it means you will have that much more to lick off your hands later. Don’t use too much though.

Cover the cookie dough bars with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out in the fridge. Place the cookie dough bars in the refrigerator for 3 or more hours until they’re firm. I refrigerated them for about 3 and it was sufficient, really the idea is that we don't want the bars mixing with the ganache so they have to be cold enough to prevent that.

To make the ganache:

Combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwavable bowl. Melt in the microwave. Be careful not to overheat the chocolate or burn the peanut butter.

Take the cookie dough bars out of the refrigerator.

Pour the melted chocolate/peanut butter mixture over the cookie dough.  and spread evenly to all the edges

Chill the bars in the refrigerator for an hour or more until the topping is firm.

Cut into pieces and enjoy!

help with cleanup

not clean during, but I clean after

First week home: ANZAC Biscuits and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wow, its been a week already? Really? where does the time GO!?



Most of this week has been spent unpacking and moving into the new house, settling into the patterns of life, and working. We are getting ready to move Sam up to his apartment in Madison while also trying to get the rest of our house situated and all the boxes either stored or emptied onto shelves. We have our first ever riding lawn mower, since our yard is so big and they use about as much gas as a pushmower we caved and bought one from a friend. Since Sam will not be around much longer he showed Clara Margaret how to use it...it was entertaining to watch from the mosquito-free safety of the house as Clara Margaret learned how to use this machinery, while still wearing her polka dot pjs. I suppose that is a sign that we are really starting to feel comfortable and at home here!

a Cheese plate we had for appetizer, YUM!

We also had a celebratory gathering with most of the Floodclan to welcome back myself and a cousin from our abroad trips, another cousin from college, celebrate our new house, and to wish Sam happy graduation. This was a fun outside picnic/barbecue and we had a great time playing horseshoes, beanbag toss (in which Clara Margaret had the best beginners luck I have ever seen), and talking about critter encounters and ghost stories. Now that we have joined the Oberlin community, it will be really great to become more a part of casual family get togethers like this since most of my family lives in this town.

I have not had much opportunity to cook as of yet, but since I myself am pretty much settled in now I hope to start this up soon. I did have the chance to bake some reg'lar ol' Chocolate Chip Cookies for some guests we had coming through from Cedarburg. I also gave a try at making ANZAC biscuits, but instead of the golden coconutty flavor they ended up tasting more like oatmeal cookies. I guess just like things from here taste not so good in Australia, things from Australia just don't do as well here. Oh well, they tasted really good, just not 'ANZAC-like'...The chocolate chip cookies turned out really well, some of the best I have ever made if I do say so myself; chewy on the inside with a crisp ring around the edge. I have posted the pictures and recipe below!

ANZAC Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup desiccated coconut (shredded coconut)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 125g (1 and 1/10 of a stick, so about one stick and a TBsp) butter, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons golden syrup (in the states, use 1 1/2 TBsp molasses and 1/2 TBsp water)
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 2 Tablespoons boiling water

 Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350 F). Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in oats, coconut and sugar.
2. Place butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until melted. Remove from heat. Combine bicarbonate of soda and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Stir into golden syrup mixture (mixture might become frothy). Add immediately to flour mixture and stir until well combined.
3. Roll mixture, into balls. Place biscuits on each baking tray. Flatten to round, allowing room for biscuits to spread. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until biscuits are golden. Allow biscuits to cool completely. Serve.

 Notes:

These are crisp Anzac biscuits. If you prefer them chewy, flatten biscuits slightly less and cook for a shorter amount of time. I also recommend using more coconut and less oatmeal, I followed this recipe and the batch I made tasted more like oatmeal than anything else. Also, since we don't have golden syrup here they won't taste quite authentic, but molasses is a good substitute, just make sure you use regular or light brown sugar, not dark brown, otherwise the molasses-ness will be a little overwhelming.

In baking them I also used a slightly lower oven temperature because they didn't spread quite as fast as desired (again I think due to the molasses). How long you cook really depends on how golden brown you want them to be, it is really hard to burn them they just turn different shades of golden brown until they (eventually) turn to char.

Enjoy!

ok not the best photography, I will try to be better about composition in the next post.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is originally the Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, however I often do my own editing because I like my cookies chewy with a few more chips than this recipe asks for, and I don't like nuts, so this is NOT completely just the recipe you find on the bag. It is DIFFERENT! The bag recipe is perfectly fine, but I find it is a little less efficient, and again I don't like nuts in my chocolate chip cookies. Also, because this recipe only makes a few cookies I ALWAYS double or at least 1 and 1/2 this recipe to make more. So, it is totally up to you how you cook them.


 Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips (of ANY variety)

Instructions: 

 PREHEAT oven to 375° F. 

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. 

Add eggs, beat well. 

Add flour and BEFORE MIXING, stir the baking soda and salt gently into the flour while it sits on top of the wet mix. THEN gradually mix flour mixture into the rest. 

Stir in morsels. 

Drop in three-inch blobs cook on ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 8 to 11 minutes or until JUST golden brown around the edge, and not shiny in the center. Cool slightly then best when served warm with cold milk. 

Notes: 

Perfectly round, perfectly done. Just perfect in general

Since my sister is allergic to soy (found in Nestles chocolate chips as well as almost all chocolate) I used mini morsels of a different brand for one batch. When using mini morsels it is best to use a little bit more chips because they don't take up as much. Also, for this particular batch I used slightly less chips in the non soy-free batch because we ran out of chips so the photos are not representational of what they would look like if you used the recommended 2 and 1/2 cups.