Helen's Danish Kringle

During the Christmas seasons of my youth, neighbors that lived on our country road brought the best Christmas gifts to us--delicious home-baked cakes, cookies, and candies on foil-lined box lids or doily-covered paper plates. My home economics teacher, Helen, was one of our neighbors, and every year we looked forward to her unique Christmas offering, a slightly sweet yeast dough baked around a brown sugar and nut filling that she called Danish Kringle.

When Helen stopped by, although we enjoyed her company, we waited in keen anticipation for her to leave, politely making small talk while trying not to drool from the enticing yeasty aroma emanating from the kringle. Her car would barely leave the driveway before we tore into the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of the still-warm pastry.

After I got married, I tried in vain to duplicate her recipe. Finally I wrote her asking (begging) for the recipe, and she graciously sent it to me. From that handwritten recipe, I have recreated that warm culinary Christmas memory every year.

Helen's Danish Kringle
2 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soft shortening (part butter or margarine)
1/2 cup milk, scalded
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup warm water (110-115 F)
1 pkg active dry yeast

Measure flour, sugar, salt and shortening/butter into bowl; blend well. Cool milk slightly, then stir in egg yolk. Pour into bowl with first ingredients. Add yeast to warm water and let stand a few minutes. Add to all other ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Scrape down dough from sides of bowl (it will be very soft). Cover tightly and chill 2 to not more than 48 hrs in refrigerator.

Prepare fillings before shaping kringles. Divide dough in two parts. Take out one and return other half to refrigerator. Beat egg white. On a floured surface, roll dough into a 6 inch X 18 inch rectangle. Spread 3" center stripe with half of beaten egg white, then carefully spread with filling. Fold over one side of dough and then the other with 1-1/2 inch lap to cover filling. Pinch dough to close the fold.

Pick up kringle carefully and arrange, seam-side down, on baking sheet (I use parchment paper on the baking sheets) in oval or horseshoe shape, pinching ends for the latter. Shape second kringle as first. Cover and let rise in warm place 30-45 min, or until dent remains when finger is pressed gently on side of dough and dough is no longer cold.

Bake in moderately hot oven (400 F) for 20-30 min or until golden brown.

Spread with powdered sugar icing while hot. Cut in wedges to serve. Makes about 2 dozen servings or 2 kringles.

Fillings:
Pecan
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup finely chopped or ground nuts
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, then sprinkle with nuts.

Apple Pecan
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup finely chopped apples
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Sprinkle sugar, then apples and pecans

PizzaBons

If you find yourself facing turkey glut on the weekend after Thanksgiving, try PizzaBons. Similar to those huge mall cinnamon rolls, these have cheese and pepperoni instead of sugar and cinnamon.

Simply roll out your favorite bread dough, or you may use frozen dough, add pepperoni and cheese and whatever other pizza ingredients you prefer, roll it up, slice and bake.

I used this bread recipe:

4 cups unbleached flour
1 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp honey
1 cup water, warm (100-110F)
1 cup yogurt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, yeast, honey and warm water. Beat on low speed of electric mixer, using paddle attachment (may also be done manually). Add yogurt, vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of remaining flour; beat until smooth. Change to dough hook and gradually stir in more flour until you have a soft dough that sticks together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, or about 5 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down and place on lightly floured surface. Using rolling pin, roll into a large rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick. Mine was about 24 inches by 16 inches; size will vary.

Add to rolled out dough:
Spread 1/4 cup melted butter (optional)
Sliced pepperoni
Any combination of shredded or grated cheeses
Sprinkle of Italian seasoning and/or garlic powder
Your favorite pizza toppings, such as fresh or sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes
Grated parmesan cheese

Lightly press ingredients into the dough, then roll up dough, jelly-roll style, pinching edges to seal. Cut into 1 to 1-1/2 inch slices, then place cut-side up onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper or Silpat.

Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 to 400 degree oven (depending on the calibration of your oven) until golden brown.

Serve with buttermilk ranch dressing or marinara sauce as dipping sauce.

Cream Sherry Pumpkin Bread

Beth Hensperger's Bread Bible is one of those books that inspires me to use an entire box of Post-It flags. Each turn of the page brings a new recipe to challenge or an old recipe with a different twist.

One such recipe is her version of pumpkin bread made with cream sherry. There are so many recipes for pumpkin bread that I usually skip past one listed in a cookbook. But the words Cream and Sherry made this one sound decadent, and I knew I must make it. For research purposes. For my bakery. OK, for myself!

I had to sub dry sherry, but the resulting bread was so good that I ran out and bought a bottle of cream sherry so I can try the recipe with the correct liquid ingredient. I actually stood in the liquor store calculating how many loaves I could make with a 1.5L bottle.


Just as sherry enhances the flavor of savory foods, the sweet earthiness of the pumpkin was intensified so that it was more than just a "pumpkin plus sugar" bread. I selfishly changed up the spices, which include cinnamon, cloves, and coriander, to suit my own palate. I dusted the loaf pan with granulated sugar to make a sugar-crunchy crust.

Although the recipe is copyrighted, you can find a list of the ingredients here on RecipeZaar.

Comfort Food is Fattening

There is just no denying it--most of the foods I love are fattening. This Hash Brown Casserole is no exception. It is great for breakfast or brunch mixed with browned, crumbled sausage or bacon, and it makes a nice side dish for a beef or pork entree.

The cornflakes crisp up into a light crunchy topping and the tater tots break down into little pieces of tender potato surrounded by a melted queso-like cheese sauce. Tonight we enjoyed it as written with teriyaki greens beans and homemade bread. It is also nicely complemented with either a fruit salad or homemade cranberry sauce.

Hash Brown Casserole
Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
1 (2 pound) package frozen tater tots, thawed
1/4 cup melted butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups shredded Velveeta cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Topping:
2 cups crushed cornflakes cereal
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients (except topping) in a large bowl. Scoop into a 9 X 13 inch glass pan that has been sprayed with baking spray. Mix crushed cornflakes with melted butter and sprinkle evenly over top of casserole. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bubbling and center is cooked through.

Big Buns, Part 2

Since I first wrote about my love of big buns, a cooking friend blogged about a recipe I like even better, Soft Yogurt Sandwich Rolls, from the blogspot of Baking Bites. One tablespoon of oil makes it lower in fat than the other recipe, and the yogurt adds a hint of sourdough without all the work. The dough is supple, easy to handle, and rises high. The result is a tender interior with a soft, slightly chewy crust. The flavor is a little tangy with a touch of sweetness from the honey. I've made it three times in the last month. It is my new favorite roll recipe!

Recently I used the recipe to make rolls for sandwiches. Because I was craving more texture, I added milled flax seeds, ground pecans, and shredded cheddar cheese to the batter.

The resulting bun was no longer low in fat, but it was wholesome and made a sturdy vehicle for juicy tomato slices--pecans added a hearty crumb, and the cheddar made nice little browned crunchy bits on the crust.

Lawsa Mercy

My Granny Mitchell had a quaint way of expressing shock by declaring in a horrified tone, "Lawsa mercy." I loved to tease her and think up some scandalous tale to astonish her just to hear her reaction. If she wasn't sufficiently shocked, she would just shake her head and say "Laws". To express regret or disgust, "Law, Law" or simply "Mercy" fit the bill.

My "lawsa mercy" moment came yesterday when I made brownies and the recipe specified one pound of chocolate.

The result was a deliciously rich chocolatey brownie that almost had a baked-fudge quality. I made them for a customer and they were difficult to cut into those perfect squares with no squish-marks, so I think they would benefit from an overnight rest before cutting.

Brownies Recipe
from "Tartine" by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson

Kitchen Notes: You can't use a cake tester or toothpick to judge doneness. Because the batter has a high percentage of chocolate, the tester comes out wet even if the brownies are done.

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
2 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping (optional) 2 cups nuts such as walnut or pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13 inch glass baking dish.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. If the heat from the butter does not fully melt the chocolate, put the pan back over the heat for 10 seconds and stir until melted. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour into a small mixing bowl. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture thickens and becomes pale in color and falls from the beater in a wide ribbon that folds back on itself and slowly dissolves on the surface, 4 to 5 minutes.

Alternatively, use a mixing bowl and a whisk to beat the ingredients until the mixture falls from the whisk in a wide ribbon. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture. Add the flour and fold it in quickly but gently with the rubber spatula so that you don't deflate the air that's been incorporated into the eggs.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and smooth the top with the spatula.

If you are using nuts, evenly distribute them across the batter. Bake until the top looks slightly cracked and feels soft to the touch, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 squares. The brownies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.

Scouting Out the Competition - 1 Smart Cookie

One of the more pleasurable aspects of starting my own bakery is what I like to call "research". Here's how it works: I search online to find bakeries either locally or in the vicinity of my travel destination. I visit them to view their shops and equipment and to see how their products are displayed. And I taste-test by purchasing one of each item that is comparable to what I sell--cinnamon rolls, muffins, scones, brownies, cookies, etc.

It's one of America's dirtiest jobs, but I am compelled to do it.

Ever since I read this newspaper article about 1 Smart Cookie, a local bakery, I knew I had to go check it out. I went at absolutely the wrong time of the day, 4:30 p.m., not the prime hour for a bakery. But in spite of the sparse inventory, I found a good mix of baked goods to sample. The cookies were reasonably priced for a gourmet bakery, and the young man serving me was pleasant and helpful. I happily made my choices, waited as long as I could (till I got back in my car), then consumed an entire sugar cookie before I reached the end of the block.

This is one of 1 Smart Cookie's featured extra-thick sugar cookie cutouts. The star is one of hundreds of shapes available. I like the funkiness of the irregular shape.



The next photo shows the texture, which is slightly chewy, not crumbly like a shortbread; it is soft enough to bite into easily but still substantial--a surprising consistency for such a thick cookie; the taste is not overly sweet and no detectable spices; and it has none of the shortening aftertaste I associate with most commercial cookies. The icing is real icing--very tasty with a slight almond flavor. And the all-important sugar cookie aroma is present, not buttery but an indefinable sweet dough scent.



Below is the array of goodies I purchased--snickerdoodle, chocolate-chocolate chip, lemon sugar, oatmeal, and a lemon bar with a nice streusel-ish topping--all tasted just as good as they appear in the photo:



Based on previous samplings of local bakeries, 1 Smart Cookie wins hands-down. In spite of being purchased late in the day, the cookies still had a fresh taste. And they didn't have that chalky taste present in many bakery products. They tasted homemade, thereby achieving my golden rule of baking: bake for others as you would have them bake for you.

I appreciate good competition--it motivates me to stay on my toes (and to wear stretch pants.)

Recipe Rustlers

When I lived in Texas, I became fascinated with the Texas rose rustlers, who find and "rescue" roses that have thrived for many years, with little or no attention, in a forgotten place such as an old cemetery or outside an abandoned house or along an fence. One of my favorite rose catalogs comes from this nursery, The Antique Rose Emporium, which was founded with rustled roses.

Many of these roses are antiques, old roses from the past that have survived in spite of neglect. The idea of propagating these roses--bringing these survivors out of the past and into the 21st century, thus preserving the variety--is honorable, in contradiction to the negative connotation of "rustling". But what a great name--The Rose Rustlers.

Some of us have become recipe rustlers. We find an old recipe in a forgotten cookbook, recognize its value, and bring it into our contemporary kitchens, where it again becomes a treasure to share with others.

One such recipe is from one of my oldest cookbooks, Better Homes & Gardens Cakes and Pies, which I received as a wedding gift in 1969.


Recently I spotted my old treasure at the top of my bookshelves and started thumbing through the browned, familiar pages. Several pages are stained with use, evidence of happy hours spent poring over and trying the recipes as a young bride.

Unlike many of today's recipes, I found that most of the cake recipes specified shortening and/or shortening and butter. Although I love using butter in my baking, shortening does provide a tender crumb that is not always present with the use of butter alone.

The recipe I chose to rustle was one for Buttermilk Cake, and the result was such good old-fashioned flavor and texture. The instructions are different from the usual "add dry ingredients to wet" and employ the use of an electric mixer rather than the KitchenAid. And with 6 egg whites, it was a mile-high cake!

Buttermilk Cake

3¾ cup flour
2¼ cup sugar
1½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoon soda
1½ teaspoon baking powder
3/8 cup butter
3/8 cup shortening
2¼ teaspoon vanilla
1½ cup buttermilk
6 egg whites

Sift dry ingredients into large mixing bowl. Add butter, shortening, vanilla, and 3/4 cup buttermilk; beat 2 minutes at medium speed on electric mixer. Add remaining buttermilk and egg whites (I whipped until soft peaks formed then folded into the batter.); beat 2 minutes longer. Bake in 2 greased and lightly floured 8 X 1-1/2 inch round pans in 350F (177C) for 30-35 minutes. Cool and frost.

Spring Peas, Spudnuts, and my Beautiful Mother

My mother will be 96 years old in July. She lives with my husband and me and is still incredibly young. She is a petite beauty who reads large-print books, writes letters, walks around the house for exercise, goes to the hair salon every week, and amazes her doctors. She is my hero.

One of my favorite culinary memories is watching my Mom shell peas on our porch steps one spring evening when I was 11. My Daddy worked until 9:00 at night in our small town pharmacy, my oldest brother was married, and my teenage brother was probably on a date. Consequently Mom & I were alone many evenings.

She had planted a tiny garden and had a nice little "mess" of spring peas gathered in a bowl. As we sat outside in the growing dusk, she showed me how to shell peas and we quietly talked. When the peas were all ready, we went inside and I watched while she made creamed peas. I'll never forget the taste of those peas--little bursts of sweet starchiness in buttery, creamy sauce. On that spring evening, between the shared sunset, the shared task of shelling, and the shared plate of fresh, simple food, a cherished memory was born.

Another culinary memory is one of her making Spudnuts, which are doughnuts made with potatoes or potato flour; Spudnuts were the Krispy Kremes of the 1960s. My brother was home from college one weekend and requested that Mom make doughnuts, specifically Spudnuts. Although Mom didn't have internet access and had very few cookbooks in her kitchen, she somehow managed to come up with a "copy-cat" recipe made with mashed potato-infused sweet yeast dough. She rolled the dough on her tiny countertop, used a little red doughnut cutter (wish I still had it!) to cut doughnuts, and let them rise on top of the oven. Then she fried them one by one in melted shortening in a deep saucepan and immediately dipped them in powdered sugar glaze. Those doughnuts were better than any we had ever had or that I have had since--I still remember biting into that light, crisp, sweet tenderness with the still-warm icing.

Mom doesn't think she was an inspiration to me in the kitchen. She refers to my grandmothers as the cooks in the family and talks about their incredible cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, and pies. And although replicating their recipes has been my goal for many years, watching Mom in the kitchen is what I remember; by observing her, I learned basic skills, good habits, and the desire to please. Now I remember those days with longing and a touch of sadness, wishing I had paid more attention to what she was doing, wishing I had offered to help her (or even to wash the dishes), and wishing I had told her what a great cook and a wonderful Mother she was.

So on this Mother's Day 2008, I honor my little Mommy, Ruby, and thank her for being my inspiration and for encouraging my passion for baking and my joy in the kitchen. I love you, Mom.

What Do Bakers Do On Their Day Off?

They watch their garden grow.


They beg their roses to bloom.


They make homemade ice cream.


Then they eat it.


They read other people's blogs!
Here's an interview with the delightful Julia
from A Slice of Cherry Pie

And they wish they could be Molly
of the beautifully written Orangette.

They search for recipes. As if they didn't have enough already.

They read books! OK, they read cookbooks.


And unbelievably, THEY BAKE!


A good vacation is over when you begin to yearn for your work. ~Morris Fishbein

It's nice to have a day off. But I know I love baking when, even on my days off, I can't stay out of the kitchen.

Panic-citement

One of the things that has surprised me the most about building a business is that baking for profit is even more satisfying than baking for "pleasure". In fact, the pleasure is magnified. It is magnified because of the panic that accompanies it (somewhat like the panic/pleasure of a roller-coaster ride). Some days the panic becomes sheer terror.

On those days, my head spins with "will it bake right"--"will I finish on time"--"will it look right"--"will they like it". I hover anxiously near the oven to make sure my cupcakes are rising or the muffins aren't burning, or the juice hasn't bubbled over on the cobbler crust.


The cobbler always bubbles over.
More often than I'd like, the cupcakes fall.
But I haven't burned a muffin. Yet.

Another cause for panic is the customer request: "Can you make...?" to which my answer is always "Certainly, no problem!" Confidence on the outside, fear and trembling inside the apron. But always with the panic is the excitement of the challenge, the creative process of inspiration, planning, and implementation, and the anticipation (and anxiety) of the presentation.

Sometimes I wonder if panic and angst will always be part of my baking ventures. But the utter joy and satisfaction I find in the process (and yes, even the terror) is worth every nail-biting moment. And the worry keeps me from gaining too much weight from sampling the goods.

I Like Big Buns and I Cannot Lie

Only in a grocery store can one make the statement "I want bigger buns" and make perfect sense. Packaged hamburger buns are tiny; although I didn't whip out my measuring tape, I would estimate they are about 4 inches in diameter. Even the ones labeled "giant" are only a half an inch wider. My hubby makes huge patties for the grill, so the buns must accommodate. The solution? Homemade buns.

The best recipe I've found for homemade hamburger buns is by Marg on RecipeZaar and can be found here. With one bite of a juicy charcoaled ground beef patty wrapped in that BIG, tender bread, fragrant with yeast, the mixing and rising time becomes a distant memory.

This recipe is very adaptable to additions such as whole wheat pastry flour, herbs, sesame seeds or poppy seeds. The last time I made them I added chopped fresh rosemary to the dough.

Try it. You'll never want small buns again.

Happy Mistakes - Inside Out German Chocolate Cupcakes

I started to call this post "Happy Accidents", but I'm afraid it wasn't like that. It was a full-blown mistake.

My order from the coffee shop for which I supply baked goods was for German Chocolate Cupcakes. Oh sure, that's easy--"no problem" was my response. I didn't have a go-to recipe, so I finally settled on Magnolia Bakery's recipe for the cake, and a new-to-me recipe for the filling (recipe below).

I first made the filling, which specifies condensed milk along with the traditional ingredients of egg yolks, coconut and pecans. But I got a little bit distracted and added the German Sweet Chocolate into the pan with the rest of the ingredients! It had already melted into yummy, buttery, chocolatey gooey-ness before I noticed my mistake. But - it was delicious, so I plunged ahead with it.

Magnolia's recipe is a little bit tender for cupcakes, and some of the cupcakes fell a bit in the middle, but the result is moist, melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

After the cupcakes cooled, I dipped them in a nice chocolate glaze, which I found on Allrecipes here and added a generous dollop of the goofed-up chocolate filling on top.

Chocolate overload? You bet! I sent some of the fallen rejects to the office where my husband works, and in the words of one of the staff, it was "better than sex". You be the judge.

Chocolate Coconut Pecan Filling
1-1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup salted butter (1-1/2 sticks)
2 oz German sweet chocolate
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1-1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

Place milk, butter, chocolate, and vanilla in medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until butter and chocolate are melted and combined.

Whisk egg yolks in medium bowl. Whisking constantly, add part of hot milk mixture to egg yolks until combined. Whisk mixture back into saucepan and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.Remove from heat; stir in vanilla, coconut, and pecans. Cool completely. May be refrigerated in airtight container up to 2 days.

Twice-Baked Cherry Pie

When I was a kid (not a kid-at-heart, but a real kid) Mom used to make birthday cakes for her friends. Between laundry & ironing and making three meals a day and taking care of the house, she didn’t have a lot of time to bake. A cake mix saved the day for her, and she usually made a yellow cake or a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Nearly every time she made a cake (for someone besides our family), she would have trouble with it sticking to the pan and it would inevitably come out in pieces. She would do her best to artfully cover the cake with icing, while bitterly railing about the fact that “every time I make a cake for someone else it has to stick!” and how it always came out perfect if it was staying at our house. I would philosophically tell her that no one really cared as long as it tasted good and secretly wonder why it upset her so.

I suspect that Mom’s time constraints took their toll on her extra-curricular baking by causing her to hurry. Hurrying is a deal breaker in the kitchen.

Since starting a baking business last year, I have had ample reason to recall those early memories. An excellent example is a recent order for a cherry pie.

I consider cherry pie to be my trump card in the world of baking. I found a recipe many years ago that produces a near-perfect replica of my Granny Mitchell’s cherry pie—tart cherries in a sweet almond-scented filling, all encased in a golden flaky crust. I’ve never had a failure in a cherry pie. That is, until yesterday.

I planned to bake the pie and deliver it, warm and fragrant, to the restaurant. Everything went fine—I even took a picture of the pre-baked pie as well as the finished product, visualizing a triumphant blog post anchored by pictures of a magnificent pie.

Here is the pie waiting to be baked into glorious perfection.

What proved to be my undoing was the same problem that faced my mother so long ago—I got in a hurry. Baking is an art that should never be sandwiched in between appointments, and that’s what I tried to do. Poor scheduling caused me to pull that exquisite pie out of the oven before the juice, sugar, and flour had a chance to bubble into the ideal gel that encompasses and complements the tart cherries.

Here, the pie looks done, but the deceptive façade masks the watery filling beneath.



Yes, I said watery. Hours after I delivered the pie to the restaurant, I returned to deliver some other goods, and I happened to look at my pie displayed inside a glass dome. Where one would normally see a glistening ooze of lovely pie gel, there was a pool of reddish-pink water. Ewwwww. I snatched up the pie to take it home, telling the astonished but tolerant owners that I would bring them another one in the morning.

When I got home, Mom, bless her heart, took one look at the pie and said, “You just need to bake it a little longer, it’ll be fine.” So that’s what I did, and 20 minutes later the pie was fine and tasted quite delicious in fact. So we kept that one and ate it. I made the restaurant another cherry pie--took my time and baked it properly.

Lesson learned? Don't hurry--a good thing to remember about many things.

Bakery is still burgeoning.