Mace Crumb Muffins

Even though it is cold in the morning, my children think they still can wear shorts to school. I figure they still will be asking when there is snow on the ground. Can you imagine two children at the bus stop in shorts with heavy jackets on? I would even make them wear their hats. I know if I allowed it then it would backfire since they would be saying you let us before. Right?

I figured I would make some muffins for breakfast before school. My son even argues about eating breakfast before school. Even if he is eating breakfast at the bus stop, he still needs to eat. When I picked this recipe, I thought I had allspice. I had run out so I looked for a nice substitute. I found I had mace. A spice I like but I don't use often. The kids liked it but they like streusel on any muffin. I really liked them. They are fragrant. they are light and full of flavor. It seemed like a perfect muffin for the fall.

Mace Crumb Muffins
Streusel:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground mace
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into bits
Muffins:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground mace
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick (8 oz.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
3/4 cups milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
3. Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet.
4. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and mace until blended. Set aside the streusel topping in the refrigerator until ready to use.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, mace, and salt. 
6. Add the brown sugar and stir until no lumps.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. 
8. Pour the dry ingredients over the dry ingredients. Whisk gently and quickly until combined. The batter will be lumpy.
9. Fill each muffin tin 1/3 full with the batter. 
10. Add a little streusel to the center of the batter.
11. Fill the remaining muffin tins 2/3 full with batter.
12. Sprinkle the remaining streusel over each muffin gently pressing the streusel into the batter.
13. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the middle of each muffin.
14. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from Baking From my Home to Yours cookbook by Dorie Greenspan. 

A year ago I made...............Cheesy Basil Stuffed Chicken. Yum!

Did you already know...
-Mace is the lacy, threads covering of the nutmeg seed.
-It takes over 110 lbs. of nutmeg to produce 1 lb. of mace.
-Mace is sweeter and milder than nutmeg.

Brown Butter Funfetti Cookies

Happy Columbus Day! When I first saw these cookies, I knew I would make them. When I read that Julie from The Little Kitchen had made these several times. Then it was time to get in the kitchen.

These cookies are delicious! They did not last one day. I'm not sure if they even lasted an hour. I didn't even have a chance to share with my friends. Anything with sprinkles are a hit at my house. I always have sprinkles on hand. Next time, I will have to double the recipe. When my youngest daughter saw these photos, she exclaimed, "These cookies were really good!" I guess I can't say anything better but to make them. I will say that it is very rare that I cook with shortening that my oldest even made a comment but I wasn't going to change a thing about these cookies.

Brown Butter Funfetti Cookies
1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and allow to turn to a golden brown but be careful not to burn for about 5 minutes. The butter will have flakes. Set aside to cool.
4. In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening, and sugar until well incorporated.
5. Add the egg and vanilla extract to the creamed butter. Mix well.
6. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
7. Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter. Mix until just combined. 
8. Gently, fold in the sprinkles.
9. Scoop about 1 1/2 Tbsp of batter and roll the dough into a ball.
10. Place the ball onto the parchment paper spaced about 2 Tbsp apart.
11. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. 
12. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 1 minute before transferring the cookies to a wire rack. 

Received permission for recipe from The Little Kitchen.

A year ago I was making...............Stromboli  mummy style which I will be making again real soon.

Did you already know...
-In 1892, Francis Bellamy included his Pledge of Allegiance to the flag for the 400th celebration of Columbus Day.
-In 1942, some schools made the Pledge of Allegiance a compulsory requirement.
-In 1943, the Supreme Court ruled that it couldn't make an individual to cite the Pledge.

I will admit that I cite a different Pledge of Allegiance than my children but I hope you have a wonderful Columbus Day whether you Pledge Allegiance to the flag or not.

Happy Columbus Day!

Whipped Vanilla Dream Cupcakes

It is Friday! The foliage is beautiful. It hasn't snowed. What a great day! To celebrate, cupcakes are in order. Oh, Cupcakes! How wonderful they are on a Friday. Even if it was a Monday, they are still wonderful. They are easy to decorate. They are easy to share. Also, they are easy to hide.

The cupcakes are very light since you fold in whip cream. I prefer vanilla cupcakes over chocolate so these are a winner. I am really glad that I shared these cupcakes because I would have been tempted to have them for supper and breakfast.

Vanilla Dream Cupcakes
2 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk (I used skim)
2 egg white
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
3. In a medium size bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In another medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.
5. With a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
6. Slowly, add about 1 cup of flour mixture and then 1/2 cup of milk mixture to the creamed butter. Beat until incorporated after each addition. Continue alternate adding the flour mixture and then the milk mixture until all of it is incorporated. 
7. In a clean, stainless mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form.
8. Slowly, fold the whipped cream into the cake batter.
9. Carefully fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full with the batter.
10. Cook the cupcakes for about 16 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs.
11. Carefully remove the cupcake from the muffin tin and allow to cool on a wire rack. 
12. Repeat with the second muffin tin.

Recipe adapted from Sweetapolita. Frosting found here.


Last year, I was making Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.

Did you already know...
-Foliage is at its peak in Western and Southern Maine this week.
-Maple and Oak trees foliage become red and scarlet with the cooler days. Ash, Beech, Birch, and Elm trees foliage become yellow.
-After the leaves drop, trees produce a waxy substance to protect it from the elements.

Sauerbraten Roast

When I lived in Colorado, I was lucky to have some friends move out west from New York. We would normally go out to eat but on one occasion our friends invited us over to eat. Now, I will admit my cooking talents did not develop well in Colorado. I will still blame it on the altitude if asked. I could not cook meat. It was dry. It was burnt. I even had a vegetarian friend that could cook meat better than I could. It is strange that I was still able to bake very well in Colorado. Isn't cake more important than a chicken dinner?

Now, my friends did not have this problem. They could cook very well. My friend made us sauerbraten for supper. The roast was delicious. My friend was so generous he even provided me with the recipe. The recipe was from my friend's mother. I did not attempt this recipe when I lived in Colorado. No, I was afraid I would ruin such a wonderful recipe. I horded the recipe away. Since I have been making German meals lately, I had to make this meal again. Even the leftovers are great. Sauerbraten takes days to marinate and hours to cook but it really is worth the time.

Served with red cabbage, German potato salad, and bread

Sauerbraten
5 lb. bottom round roast
1 pint red wine vinegar 
1 large onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
4 whole cloves
4 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
6 Tbsp butter
5 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup sugar
8 ginger snap cookies, crushed

Directions:
In a non metal bowl, add the red wine vinegar, onion, carrot, celery, cloves, peppercorn, and bay leaves.
Season the roast with salt and pepper.
Add the roast to the red wine vinegar and marinade for 4 days. Turn the roast each day. 
On the fourth day, remove the roast and set aside. Strain the marinade and reserve the liquid.
Heat a dutch oven over medium heat.
Brown the roast on each side. 
Add the strained marinade to the roast and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer the roast for about 3 1/2 hours. 
In a small pan, melt the butter.
Stir in the flour to the melted butter. Add the butter and cook until light brown.
Add the melted butter mixture to the roast.
Cover and cook for 1 hour.
Remove the roast from the pan.
Stir in the crushed ginger snap cookies until thick.
Let the roast sit for 15 minutes before slicing. 
Serve with the sauce.

Recipe so kindly provided with permission from Mama D'Angelo.
Serve the sauerbraten with German Red Cabbage and Apple Strudel.  
Last year on this day, I made............. Easy Burgers.

Did you already know....
-Sauerbraten translates sour roast.
-Sauerbraten was originally made with horsemeat.
-Sauerbraten recipes vary from regions in Germany.
-Some sauerbraten recipes used bread as a thickener to the sauce instead of gingersnap cookies or raisins.

German Pancakes

Recently, I saw photos of Oktoberfest online. I was thinking we should go, right? We should all head to Germany and just have a great time. We would enjoy great food. My husband would enjoy the great beer. I would have fun watching him. It would be a grand time. Well I figure why not enjoy the great food at home since we can't realistically make it there this year. How about next year? Lets make plans! 

If we are going to enjoy German food, we need to start in the morning. Why? Because you can't start drinking until you had breakfast unless you never went to bed then keep drinking while you eat breakfast. I made these pancakes and my husband (who is not a big pancake person) told me I could make these any morning. I did try the original version than I tried the same recipe but with Cheddar cheese. Oh, the cheese version was wonderful. My husband said the texture of these pancakes were like a crepe but better. It is easy to make both versions. These pancakes are fluffier than crepes but not as doughy as pancakes. I will be making these again soon especially since they are so easy. Maybe for dinner one night?

German Apple Pancakes
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 apples, cored and sliced into pieces
6 eggs
1/4 cup, brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Sprinkle the tin and pan with sugar if making the apple pancakes. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. 
4. Toss the apples with the brown sugar and cinnamon.
5. Heat a skillet over medium heat. 
6. Melt 2 Tbsp butter and saute the apples for 10 minutes until caramelized.
7. Remove the apples from the stove and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
8. Divide the caramelized apples to the muffin tin.
9. In a food processor, add the flour, salt, sugar, melted butter, eggs, and milk. Process the batter for 3 minutes.
10. Pour the batter over the apples. (Reserve 1/2 of the batter for the cheese version if desired.)
11. Place the pancakes in the oven and lower the heat to 400 degrees F.
12. Bake the muffins for 15 to 20 minutes. 
13. Remove the muffins and top with powder sugar, whip cream, or other desired toppings.

German Cheese pancake version:   (Must make this version)
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
6 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup cheddar cheese

1. Spray a pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  
3.  In a food processor, add the flour, salt, sugar, melted butter, eggs, and milk. Process the batter for 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the cheddar cheese to the batter.
5. Place the pancakes in the oven and lower the heat to 400 degrees F.
6. Bake the large pancake for 20 minutes.
7. Serve warm with no topping or a little more cheese sprinkled on top.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart website.

Folds of goodness!

Did you already know...
-Pfannkuchen and eierkuchen means pancake in German.  
-Eierkuchen are normally served around lunch with applesauce. 
-The Dutch baby pancake is a version of the German pancake.