apple spice cake

So, there once was a recipe of Dorie Greenspan's...something I've been eyeing for quite some time.

 

But I had a few problems with it.  I can never just leave a recipe alone.  

Hello, my name is Melissa, and I'm a control freak.  

Hello Melissa.

This cake was no different.  It calls for dark rum.  Rum, Dorie? Really?  There's no way I'd have that in stock, and certainly an even slimmer chance that I'm buying a whole fifth just for the three tablespoons the recipe calls for.  So instead, I upped the vanilla and threw in some almond.  Who doesn't love almond extract, anyways?  And if you ask me, you can really never have enough vanilla.

I didn't stop there.  I noticed that Dorie just wants you to simply "melt" your butter.  Oh, no you di-in't, Dorie.  Are you kidding me?  You really don't want to enhance the apple flavor with the nuttiness of browned butter?  Well, I do.  Sorry.  [Actually, I'm not. This was delicious.]

Oh, but there's just one more thing.  I swear.  You may be the next Julia Child, Ms. Greenspan, but let it be known: I won't fall for your tricks.  Are you really trying to tell me that an apple cake can be delicious without cinnamon?  I don't believe you.  

Enter cinnamon.  

And...that cardamom I bought last week that I've been dying to use.  

Oh, yeah, and if I have cinnamon, I have to add nutmeg.  I can't have one without the other.  (I think this is what they call a compulsion.)

And then there's those ground cloves that I love.  And allspice!  Gotta have allspice if I'm calling it a spice cake.

But that's it.  I swear.  I mean no disrespect, ma'am.

Other than these couple of things, Dorie my dear, I think you I have yourmyself a winning cake here.

Apple Spice Cake

recipe slightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Marie Hélène's Apple Cake

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt
2 cups apples, peeled and chopped into 1" chunks (about 3 large apples)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, browned and cooled

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the springform on it.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices together in small bowl. 
3. Brown the butter in a small saucepan and set aside to cool.
4. Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the cores. Cut the apples into 1-inch chunks.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they’re foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so to blend. Whisk in the vanilla and almond extract. 
6. Add half of the flour to the egg mixture, and when it is incorporated, add half of the butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. 
7. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the apples, turning the fruit so that it's coated with batter.
8. Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean; the cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.
9. Carefully run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the springform pan. (Open the springform slowly, and before it’s fully opened, make sure there aren't any apples stuck to it.) Allow the cake to cool until it is just slightly warm or at room temperature. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.

blueberry brown oat cookies

Its pretty well known that I love cookies.  But do you also know how much I love blueberries?  And because summer is creeping up slowly, my obsession is only going to become even more prevalent.  Beware.  I'll put blueberries on anything.  Protein shakes, pancakes, toast, cereal...you name it, if I've got blueberries, they'll be in my every meal.

So when I randomly picked up the blueberry version of Craisins the other night at the grocery store (don't ask why, I couldn't tell you) I have been thinking about these things ever since.  Scones?  Been there.  Muffins?  Not the biggest muffin fan.  Cookies?  Hmm...I'm intrigued.  Could I finally have a chance to try my hand at a whole wheat cookie and make it a hearty little bugger?

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have ourselves a kitchen success.  Pretty good sendoff to this treacherous kitchen, if you ask me.  The combination of the whole wheat flour, cinnamon, oats, and brown butter make this a very tasty little thing.  And oddly enough, since I ran out of granulated sugar, I only used brown sugar [hence the name - I'm quite clever, I know.]  But honestly, I think it really enhances the nuttiness of the brown butter and the overall heartiness of the cookie.  Adding walnuts would probably also be a great idea; I just didn't feel like it at the time.  But please let me know if you do!

Blueberry Brown Oat Cookies

recipe from yours truly


1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown butter in medium saucepan, about 7 minutes, until foam is gone and brown specks appear.
3. Place brown sugar in a large mixing bowl, and once butter is browned, immediately pour over sugar.  Let butter cool into sugar for about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine flours, oats, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a small mixing bowl and mix well.
5. Once butter is cooled, add egg and beat until well incorporated.  Add vanilla.
6. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring thoroughly but not too much, until just incorporated. Add the other half of flour mixture, following same technique. Dough should be sticky and not at all runny—if it is, add more all-purpose flour, one tablespoon at a time, until dough is thick and drier.
7. Gently stir in blueberries and walnuts, if desired, until well distributed, and place in the refrigerator to cool, about 10 minutes.
8. Spoon dough onto a parchment-paper lined baking sheet, about 1 inch in diameter and somewhat rounded. Bake for approximately 8 minutes, or until cookies appear brown on edges and small bubbles appear in the middle.

Makes about one dozen cookies. Recipe is easily doubled.

brown butter peanut butter cookies

Ever since this little experiment, I have a problem. No, not that I decided not to bake with chocolate chips anymore. Nor do I let the butter in my fridge talk me into anything anymore. I am obsessed with browning butter. Yes, you heard me. Browning butter. (I also get an odd amount of joy from creaming butter by hand, so it's really a win-win no matter which route I choose.)  But browning butter? It's wildly convenient. It's fun to do. Oh yeah, and it makes some uniquely delicious baked goods. 

Naturally, then, when a friend asks for peanut butter cookies, I invent a recipe that uses brown butter. Maybe I have too much pride, but I feel like anything can use brown butter (at least, it won't hurt to try it...well, maybe on second thought, it might hurt your waistline.) Regardless, I was pretty pleased with the outcome of this recipe.

The cookies came out moist, and with a great nutty flavor. What better combination than the nutty flavor from the browned butter and actual peanut butter? I read a few recipes/blogs that said that natural peanut butter (we all know the devil on my shoulder is Natural Jif) is bad to bake with, but I think Natural Jif is a safe choice. It's the only "natural" peanut butter that doesn't have the oil sediment on top of it, so the joke's on you, Jif. Although, I'm not complaining, because I personally find salty/oily peanut butter repulsive.


Okay, I'm getting off the topic here.  Cookies.  Right.  Make these.

Brown Butter Peanut Butter Cookies

from yours truly

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ tsp salt

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ teaspoon honey
¼ cup milk
1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg

1. In a large bowl, mix brown sugar and granulated sugar. Brown the butter in a medium saucepan and add to the sugars. Set aside and allow mixture to cool for about ten minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Once butter is cooled, add peanut butter and honey and beat on medium speed just until smooth. Beat in egg. Mix in milk.
4. Add the flour mixture and mix just until dough comes together.
5. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least two hours or up to overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
7. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Flatten by pressing down with a fork, while holding sides of cookie in order to maintain circular shape. Press fork into cookie again in a perpendicular angle to first indentation, forming a crosshatch pattern.
8. Bake until cookies begin to brown around edges, but centers still look somewhat doughy, about 9-10 minutes.
9. Immediately upon removing from oven, sprinkle sugar on tops of cookies and let cool on baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then transfer to a wire rack.

Makes about 40 cookies.

apple pizza

I have one word for you. Nostalgia.

Let me explain. Back when we were, oh, 13? 14? Katie and I used to sleep over at each other's house and bake. Most of the time it consisted of complete messes in the kitchen, much to the dismay of our parents.  But, it's always been our thing. We bake. Whatever.


So when Katie texted me last week that we "need to make apple pizza ASAP", I happily obliged.  The recipe that we used when we were young was super simple (I mean, I learned it in Life Skills in 8th grade, so don't give me much credit here), so I really wanted to modify it to mature with our more refined palates.  My first instinct?  Brown that butter in the crust. Always an excellent choice.

Oh, fall.  This dessert is just so comforting and satisfying.  And simple.  Enjoy, friends.


Apple Pizza
from yours truly

Crust:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar1 cup flour, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Brown the butter in a medium saucepan.
3. In a small bowl, mix the sugars together. Add the hot butter and let sit until cooled to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
4. Once cooled, add the flour and mix gently just until dough comes together.
5. Pat dough evenly into a 12 inch pizza pan.

Apple topping:
2-3 small apples, cut in thin slices
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix cinnamon and sugar. Toss in apples to coat.
2. Place apples in pan with dough.

Crumb topping:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup quick oats
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour (or less, depending on desired consistency)

1. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add in oats and flour and mix until small crumbs form. (You may want to add less or more flour depending on if you want your crumbs to melt into the apples or stay formed.)
2. Sprinkle crumbs over apple mixture until all crevasses are filled.
3. Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes until crust is golden brown around the edges.

revisiting old friends

Remember this guy?  Yeah, I eat him almost every day.  Well, a version of him every day.  My rationale is that he only constitutes about 350 calories, and the protein and complex carbs that he packs into his pretty self keeps me full until lunch, so why not try perfecting this recipe by modifying it every morning until I get it just right?

First I played around with the sugar content - this was tricky.  For a while I would use 1/2 a teaspoon of brown sugar, and 1/2 a teaspoon of regular refined white sugar.  But one morning as I was searching for more vanilla, I knocked over the box of TruVia that I totally forgot was sitting in my cupboard and thought, if this can work, I've really got something.  So I did.  And I won't go back.  The 0 calorie, all natural sweetener (not to mention no sucralose/aspartame) is the perfect sugar substitute. I also suppose that topping the pancake with my new favorite topping, my Dad's blueberry jam, cancels this out, but honestly?  Holy blueberry goodness - I do love anything blueberry, but this stuff just blows any other pancake topping out of the water. I am not a huge syrup fan [you may notice maple syrup next to the jam...haven't been able to stop myself from having the jam yet, but someday I'll get to it!], but I love unordinary pancake toppings, so I highly suggest going out and getting yourself some blueberry jam, or maybe even some pumpkin butter.  Mmm.

Then I had a far less grand epiphany: maybe I should see what it would be like with an egg white.  It's weird that the recipe doesn't have eggs, right? No. What yielded from this addition was the most rubbery, dense, yet moist pancake I've ever eaten in my life.  I would not serve this to my worst enemy.

After these two contrasting experiments and a wide range of others (the addition of cloves was also one of my prouder moments, and I finally got around to substituting the oil for unsweetened applesauce - good thinking on my part again), I think I've finally got something good to share.  Here is my totally revised recipe for my Whole Wheat Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancake:

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancake [for one]
Adapted slightly from Joy the Baker


1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 packets TruVia or PureVia stevia extract sugar
1/3 cup whole gain oats [you can use Quaker, steel cut, whatever...I really like Country Choice Organic Multi Grain Hot Cereal from TJ's]
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and sugar.  Sift until well mixed, about three-four times.  
2. Add in oats and walnuts and stir to combine.  
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the milk, vanilla, applesauce, and lemon juice.  Add to dry ingredient mixture and stir to combine with three-four swift strokes (you do not want to over-mix.)
4. Pour batter into griddle or non-stick frying pan, using the back of your spoon to spread the batter across the pan (the batter is quite thick.)
5. Cook on low-medium heat for about four minutes on the first side, and two on the second.
6. Top with sliced bananas, blueberry jam, pumpkin butter, maple syrup, or honey.

Coffee pairing: Depending on your topping, the coffee selection can vary. If you are topping it with pumpkin butter, I'd highly suggest my favorite roast from Einstein (do I need to explain its amazing-ness again?)  Otherwise, another great coffee is the Honduran Marcala blend that you can obtain here.  A great morning coffee that is light, slightly sweet, and has hints of fruit with a slight depth of chocolate that compliments the hearty pancake well.
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I don't stop there, though.  I'd like to leave you with a photo montage of my second attempt at Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They were even better the second time around, and my doubts about the addition of chocolate chips was quickly squashed.  Consider my recipe officially revised.

Perfect cracks, perfect texture, and the nutty, caramel-y flavor that the brown butter adds is a work of art. I'll never go back to my old recipe again!  In case you forgot, here's the recipe:


Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Yours Truly

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups cake flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

2 sticks butter

1 ¼ cup light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

¾ package Gihardelli milk chocolate chips and ½ package regular M&Ms

OR 1 package Gihardelli 60% cacao chips

1. Cut up butter into small chunks and place in saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until completely melted, and continue to stir until butter becomes somewhat clear and brown-ish colored (about 5-8 minutes.)
2. Remove from heat and add to sugar mixture (do not stir or mix together) and allow to come to room temperature – put in fridge for about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
4. Once sugar/butter mixture is completely cooled, beat together until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  
5. Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture, one cup at a time, until just combined.  
6. Once all ingredients are combined, mix in M&Ms and chocolate chips.
7. Spoon dough into desired size and roll together in hands to ensure uniform size and baking shape. Bake cookies on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet for approximately 12 minutes, until holes/cracks appear in middle of cookie and border becomes golden brown.

I die.

Coffee pairing: Mocha Java blend from Caribou Coffee.  This chocolate-y smooth dark roast is one of my all time favorite coffees, and it brews wonderfully at home.  I always try to keep some in the cupboard!

brown butter chocolate chip cookies

On Sunday night, I was sitting here reflecting on the weekend, realizing how little I accomplished, and wishing that I had done some studying baking.  It was just this voice - that one stick of butter in my fridge - that kept calling me.  "You can do so much with me! What are you waiting for?" it cried.  "Yeah, yeah. I know," I said.  "But it's Sunday night. There's no one around to consume my creations other than me, and who knows what damage I could do with you!"

The butter won the argument.  Or rather, I suppose I did, since what I did was melt that sorry little stick into some brown butter. And I used it to modify my chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Purely for experimental purposes only.  I have always wanted to try this method, and the butter gave a good argument.  My hypothesis?  I may have to permanently adjust my all-time favorite ccc recipe - they say once you go brown, you never go back.  My initial reaction?  Well, it makes some damn good cookie dough.

Here's the butter almost complete.  I probably could have gone longer, but I could already smell the nuttiness, so I figured better safe than sorry.  After you brown the butter, you add it straight to your sugar mixture. But you cannot mix it!  You have to let the butter cool to room temperature with the sugar mixture.  I think what this does is caramelize some of that sugar a little bit to give even more of a caramel-y, nutty flavor to the cookies.

There it is.  Sugar, butter, and more sugar.  Let this sit in the fridge for about 5-7 minutes.  After it has cooled, you beat it together.  This is the first (and surprisingly only) part of the fun experiment that I started sweating a little.  Look what happened when I beat it, and the mixture was supposed to turn that fluffy, butter-sugar concoction that is the ever-present base for all cookie recipes:

No, it's not quinoa.  It's also not graham cracker crumbs, either.  It's what happens when you beat brown butter with brown sugar and white sugar when the butter isn't cool enough.  But, what is cool is what happens when you wait it out, and add the eggs.

Voilà!  Now that is one fluffy sugar/egg/sugar/brown butter mixture.  You really can't cream butter and sugar enough (ever), so I say have a field day.  Belt out a whole Miley Cyrus song while your mixer is plowing away.  It makes the cookies taste better.  As one of my favorite Top Chef contestants always said, "You have to cook with love."  Oh, Carla.

Once you're done creaming that goodness together, you stir in the vanilla.  Stir only, I say.  Then add your dry ingredients, just as you normally would.  Easy, right?  Now taste this stuff.  It is unmistakably the best cookie dough I've ever tasted in my life.  The brown butter adds a depth of flavor that you just don't expect from a regular ccc.  I hope you agree.

You may have noticed that my cookies, and my dough, lack some key chocolatey friends.  Like I initially explained, this was purely for experimental purposes.  I had no intention of consuming these, nor giving them away - I just wanted to try out the brown butter to see what the hype was all about.  So, I didn't want to put a whole bag of chocolate chips to scientific waste, did I?  No.  I merely took this dough, documented it, baked it, observed it, and disposed of it.  I won't give you any more detail than that.

The cookies baked well, but they didn't spread much - I just used a melon scooper to make even-sized cookies, but we'll see what happens when I really make these cookies (for an audience).  Overall, I was far more impressed by the taste of the brown butter in the dough than the baked cookies themselves.  I would be concerned that the extra flavor that the brown butter delivers could overpower the chocolate chips, but then again, it could compliment it well.  However, I could easily see myself concocting some other cookie recipe using this method...something nutty, caramel-y, totally fall-like...hmm.  Will this experiment's results lead me to permanently modifying my own tried-and-true ccc recipe?  Who knows.  Only another batch experiment will tell.


Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

from yours truly

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups cake flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

2 sticks butter

1 ¼ cup light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

¾ package Gihardelli 60% cacao chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut up butter into small chunks and place in saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until completely melted, and continue to stir until butter becomes somewhat clear and brown-ish colored (about 5 minutes.)
3. Remove from heat and add to sugar mixture (do not stir or mix together) and allow to come to room temperature – put in fridge for about 5-7 minutes.  Once cooled, beat sugar and butter together until fluffy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well each time.  Stir in vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.   Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture, one cup at a time, until just combined.  
6. Mix in chocolate chips.
7. Bake cookies on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet for approximately 12 minutes, until holes/cracks appear in middle of cookie and border becomes golden brown (depending on oven and cookie size.)  Let cool before serving.

Makes approximately 18 five-inch cookies.