Hello Autumn! - Pumpkin Nutella Rolls

Most people get cash tips for their work. My husband (a locksmith) got a pumpkin. I didn't believe him at first when I got the text in the middle of the day but when I got home, there sat a small pumpkin on my kitchen work station. Hmm okay. Other than carve and eat things made with pumpkin, I haven't actually cooked one. What on earth was I going to do with something that I've never worked with? I decided to start with making pumpkin butter and hope I would get inspired somewhere along the way.

 

 

 

 

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

adapted from fitsugar.com

 

1 small to medium sized pumpkin (about 5lbs)
1/4 cup apple cider (I used light/no sugar added apple juice)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp stevia or agave (I used stevia for this recipe)

 

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Cut the pumpkin in half and remove seeds and "guts." Line a roasting pan with tin foil and drizzle with olive oil or spray with cooking oil. Place the halves on the pan, face down.

Bake for 1 1/2-2 hours (check your pumpkin occassionally. IMO, without turning over the pumpkin, it will be done when the outer skin starts to darken and wrinkle). Allow to cool.

Scrape the contents of the pumpkin into a bowl. Mix in apple cider, cinnamon, pie spice, and sweetener.

Boil in a sauce pot over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir until the puree is smooth and cool. Store in an air tight container such as a mason jar.

 

On the site, suggestions for the pumpkin butter was to put it on top of pancakes, waffles, bread, oatmeal, and yogurt. Do you see the trend that I saw? It seemed like it was a good compliment to breakfast so I decided to use the pumpkin butter for cinnamon rolls. But what if I put it inside instead of on top? Oh oh and what if I added chocolate chips which I had heard was a great combo with pumpkin? (can you believe I've never had a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie?) Darn, I was out of chocolate chips....but never out of Nutellla! Oooh my mouth was watering already!

 

Pumpkin Nutella Rolls

1 box of Pillsbury Hot Roll mix (hot water, 1 egg)

1/3 cup of Nutella

1/2 cup of pumpkin butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Butter or margarine (for top)

 

Follow directions on the box to make the dough. (Yes I know that some of you may think baking from a box is cheating but I don't judge. Baking from a box is fine but I always suggest you get creative and jazz it up!)

Roll dough out thin on a floured work surface or on parchment paper.

Begin spreading thin layers of Nutella then pumpkin butter on top of the dough. Sprinkle brown sugar on top.

Tightly roll the dough, tucking and pinching as you go.

 

 

Tip for cutting: Get a long piece of dental floss. As shown in the center picture above, tuck it under the log, criss-cross the floss, then pull. The floss will easily and cleanly cut through the dough. Repeat cutting 1 inch thick pieces.

Lay the cut pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet about an inch apart. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375*F.

Brush soften butter or margarine on top of roll. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

 

Okay, I know this recipe takes a LOT of time and effort but it will be worth it in the end. Most rolls have some kind of icing on top and I honestly believe this doesn't need it because all the sweet goodness is already inside. My only suggestion is if you do want to top it off with anything, serve warm and add a little more butter to keep it moist.

 

 

Holy moley these turned out better than I expected. I'm so happy that this was the first thing I made for the Fall season! I hope you'll at least try to make the pumpkin butter. If you're a pumpkin fan, I promise you'll want to put it on EVERYTHING.  Happy Fall baking everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Julia - Cherry Clafoutis

Friday, July 13, 2012...in my little red kitchen I stared down at one of the saddest baking attempts I've done since I started my blog. It was the day before the next San Diego Food Blogger's meeting and it was declared that there would be extra points if you could make something in honor of Bastille Day. I'll be honest with you...I had to look it up Bastille Day. Hmm....I didn't know much about French food so dessert it is. Back to the internet and I finally decided on a cherry clafoutis (cla-foo-tee) because in the end, I wanted to have an excuse to buy a bag of pricey cherries. I gathered my ingredients and made my atttempt at making a random French ,dessert which I had never even tried before. It wasn't an epic fail (it actually tasted really delicious) but in looks, it was definitely a fail. I brought a creamy avocado dip and pita chips to the meeting...hehe.

So what is a clafoutis? The best way to describe it is a cross between a pancake and a flan. Juding by all the receipes I found, there are several versions but most were pretty basic and straighforward. Traditionally it's made with unpitted cherries to give it an almond-like flavor but I decided I better pit mine. Let's just say my hands were a little stained afterwards. As I said, I enjoyed the flavors of the failed clafoutis so I knew I would eventually revisit it again in the future.

I would try it a lot sooner than expected. A little birdie had emailed me and told me about a local restaurant that was holding a special dinner for Julia Child's 100th birthday. I honestly haven't thought much about Julia Child in recent years but I do have memories of sitting on my grandmother's couch and watching cooking shows like In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefson PBS *gasp* pre-Food Network. I can tell you I am no expert at French cuisine and I can only dream to master a few French pasteries. When she wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia introduced Americans to fine dining and that as long as you liked to cook or wanted to learn to cook, you could do it. Today is Julia Child's 100th birthday in in the spirit of wanting to learn how to cook/bake, I decided to try the clafoutis a second time.

Julia Child's Cherry Clafoutis

from Epicurious.com

• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups cherries, pitted
• powdered sugar, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a blender, combine the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, and blend.

Lightly butter an 8-cup baking dish, and pour a 1/4-inch layer of the blended mixture over the bottom. Set remaining batter aside.

Place dish into the oven for about 7-10 minutes, until a film of batter sets in the pan but the mixture is not baked through. Remove from oven (but don’t turn the oven off, yet).

Distribute the pitted cherries over the set batter in the pan, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries and sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven 60 minutes, until the clafouti is puffed and brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.

As I've stated in previous posts, I will always be honest with you when I try baking something new. I'm not a professionally trained baker or a master at pasteries...I'm just an everyday at home baker, learning as I go. I think a lot of you are in the same boat as I am. The cherry clafoutis didn't turn out super pretty (better than my original attempt though) but it was so good. Mine did not turn out puffy like a pancake but leaned more towards a firm custard which I believe I prefer. The tart cherries were a contrast to the sweet eggy batter and I had to stop myself from spooning more into my mouth. Who knows why my clafoutis turned out the way it did...maybe it was my sugar (I used C&H Light which is a sugar/stevia blend and not an exact measure to real sugar) or maybe it was my baking dish (glass) or it could even be my oven. Either way, I'm glad I tried again and I'm sure I will try it a third time later down the road. In Julia's words:

"Maybe the cat has fallen into the stew, or the lettuce has frozen, or the cake has collapsed. Eh bien, tant pis. Usually one's cooking is better than one thinks it is. And if the food is truly vile, then the cook must simply grit her teeth and bear it with a smile, and learn from her mistakes."

Happy 100th birthday, Julia! All the chefs, bakers, and everyday cooks that you have inspired thank you. Bon Apetite!

Caramel Asian Pear Bread Pudding

A lot of baked items that I write about and make on this blog have a memory attached to them. Unfortunately, I can't remember the first time or the first place that I had bread pudding. It couldn't have been that memorable then. I do know that I like bread pudding and I do know I've never made it before. So when I saw a recipe for it on Diabetic Living Online, I thought I'd try something new. But it felt weird to be making something that I had no real connection to. The recipe called for red pears and and I thought I'd change it up a little.

I do have memories attached to Asian pears. Usually fairly expensive (local grocery stores here in San Diego can charge up to $2.00 per pear), my mom, knowing they were one of my favorite fruits, would buy me one as a treat. I often remember carrying the round, slightly rough-skinned, yellow fruit in my hands in the special spongy wrap while my mom finished her grocery shopping, trying my best to resist biting into it. I was finally allowed to eat it when we got home because often times I would make a mess as I bit into it, getting the juice all over myself. That didn't stop me from munching happily away at the crunchy flesh. If you've never had an Asian pear, it's exactly what you would think a pear and apple would be like if they had kids.

Caramel Asian Pear Bread Pudding

3 large day old or dried bagels of your choice

3 tbsps margarine, melted

2 Asian pear (peel, core, and cube 1 pear into small pieces)

2 cups fat-free milk

3 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup sugar-free caramel ice cream topping

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1) Preheat oven to 300F. Cut bagels into cubes. If using fresh bagels, place on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes or until slightly crispy.
2) Turn oven up to 350F. Spray 5-6 large ramekins with cooking spray. Place bagel cubes into a bowl and pour melted margarine over cubes. Mix until completely coated. Mix in the cubed pears. Place bagel pieces into the ramekins.
3) In a bowl, mix milk, eggs, caramel, and cinnamon together. Pour over the bagel mixture to slightly below the edge of the dish. Let the bagels soak in the liquid for approximately 5 minutes. Press down on the mixture gently with the back of a spoon.
4) Bake for 50-60 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
5) Garnish with extra pear slices and caramel topping.

Inspired by recipe on DiabeticLivingOnline.com

Sueshine notes about this recipe

Experiment with your bagels. Since it's fall, I used a seasonal bagel (cranberry walnut) from a local bagel shop. If a similar bagel is not available, you can always add dried cranberries or nuts into the bread/pear mixture for texture.

If you do not have access to Asian pears, you can always use regular pears. The original recipe called for red pears but I would pick a pear variety that is firm and crunchy so it can stand up to the baking.

Let the bagel soak in the liquid mixture. If you do not, you may end up with bread pudding with a side of scrambled eggs, especially if you are using a larger dish rather than ramekins.



I wasn't too sure how my first attempt at bread pudding would turn out. I'm actually very picky about my bread pudding,. I am not a fan of super eggy (Is that a word? You know what I mean though) bread pudding or when it's nothing but a bowl of mush. The bagels added a softness on the inside but a slight chewiness outside. The nuts and pears add a little crunch. The caramel adds the right amount of sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth and contrast to the tartness of the cranberries. Best part about it? It was a lot easier than I thought it would be to make. I'm very pleased with how it turned and I think I created another new baking memory.



Hello Autumn! - Spiced Apple French Macaroons

Fall has always been my favorite season because I've created so many great memories during this time of year:

When I was little, seeing all my friends after a long summer break from school.

The start of football season...both professional and getting to see my younger brother play for his
 high school team.

Going to Julian for a slice of apple pie.

Getting ready for the holidays with my giant Filipino family.

A much needed relief from the Southern California heat.

Added a little beagle to our family 7 years ago

Called Scott my husband for the first time.

This year, my first real vacation in over 15+ years.

Fall also means being able to bake some of my favorite comfort items and adding new favorites to my recipe box. I wanted to start Fall out right by trying to make something I have never made before but with a traditional Fall flavor.

Ever since my cousin got engaged, she's been showing me all kinds of treats that she would love for her wedding. I did notice the one item that she really wanted were French macaroons. French macaroons are extremely popular wedding favors because they come in a variety of colors to match your wedding and also come in a variety of flavors. I wanted to surprise her and see if I could make macaroons. The problem was that I knew what the taste and texture of a traditional macaroon was (you know...like a coconut haystack) but I've never had the chance to try a French macaroon. Heck, I'm not even sure of the correct spelling. Is it macaroon or macaron? Do I have to say it with a French accent? So when in question, what do I do?

Moooooooom!!!

I was at my parents house a couple of weeks ago and showing my mom pictures of macaroons on the Internet. I told her I wasn't sure how to make it and what the consistency should be with the meringue then the batter or even the size of the cookies. Talk about scary. "I remember making something like these," she said. "We have something like these in the Philippines that I really like." Oh yeah....she's falling into my trap. "It'll be easy to make the meringue on my stand mixer." Score! "Can I come over on Saturday and make macaroons?" "Sure." Okay, so I kinda tricked my mom into helping me make macaroons but who better to have a learning experience with than with your own mom? With lots of guidance and tips from my mom, I made a batch of macaroons, dyed them a really pale pink, and filled them with Nutella. I shared them with my cousin the next day and she loved them.

So with my new found talent for making macaroons, I decided to blog about them. But I wanted to make special ones for Fall. Luckily, the macaroon cookbook I bought had a recipe for spiced apple macaroons and here's how you make them:

Spiced Apple Macaroons

Ingredients

3/4 cup almond flour (available in bulk at Sprouts or made by Red Mill)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 extra large egg whites

1/4 cup superfine sugar

Filling

1 lb granny smith apples (cored, peeled, and chopped)

3 tbsp superfine sugar

1 tbsp water

Sift powdered sugar, almond flour, and cinnamon on a large piece of parchment paper. Set aside.

Place egg whites in a bowl and whip until holding soft peaks. Gradually beat in sugar to make a firm, glossy meringue. (This step is much easier if you have a stand mixer)

Using a spatula, fold in dry ingredients one-third at a time. (If using a stand mixer, change to a paddle and set on the lowest speed) Fold until the mixture forms a shiny batter and forms a thick, ribbon like consistency.

Pour batter into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch tip. Pipe 24 circles onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Tap the baking sheet to remove air bubbles.

Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375*F

Bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes then carefully peel the macaroons off the parchment paper. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

To make the filling, place apples, sugar, and water in a small pan. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until soft, careful to stir occasionally so the sugar does not burn. Mash with a fork to make a puree. Cool and use to sandwich two cookies together.

Adapted from Macaroons: 30 recipes for perfect bite-sized treats

Sueshine notes to making successful macaroons:

1) There are a few items you're going to need other than the ingredients to make macaroons: piping bag, Wilton tip #12 (or similar round), baking sheet, parchment paper, and a stand mixer is helpful when making the meringue but by no means a requirement. You will need some kind of mixer with several speed settings.

2) Use my template. I designed this to make mini macaroons and regular sized macaroons for myself but I thought I would share because sharing is caring. Place the printed sheet under the parchment paper, using as a guide to pipe the batter (stay inside the circle or your macaroons will be too close) then carefully slip the paper out from under the parchment paper. This will help you make equally sized macaroons.

3) If you are going to color your macaroons with liquid, gel, or paste food coloring, don't be shy to use a lot when you are mixing it into the meringue. Although your batter may look really dark, the color of your macaroons will lighten up as they bake.

Macaroons are not the easiest cookies to make because there are a lot of steps. When people tell you that measurements need to be exact in baking, macaroons are one cookie you do not want to stray from that rule. I found that the the macaroon cookbook I bought had very clear instructions and had a whole section on helpful tips. I did not list their tips but only list my observations while making the cookies.

I brought these bite-sized Fall treats to work and they were a big hit. I plan on making more macaroons in the future (maybe my cousin's wedding?) because I had so much fun making them and they rank right up there with my chocolate chip cookies! Another Fall memory created: Made my first French Macaroon!

Killer Doughnuts!

In honor of the new season of one of my favorite TV shows ever, DEXTER, I made doughnuts.



Photo from http://www.sho.com/



If you haven't seen an episode of Dexter, why not?! I'll have to admit, Dexter is not for everyone but I think it's one of the most original series on television. To give you an idea what Dexter is about, it's about a guy who is a blood splatter analyst for the Miami police department, has a sister who is a detective, had a father who was a cop, has a family, and seems to be an all around nice guy. But he has a secret that he calls "The Dark Passenger." What's Dexter's secret? He's a serial killer. But it's okay....cause he only kills bad guys and oddly, he's super likable. Each episode leaves you cheering for the killer.

What does a serial killer have to do with doughnuts? Better yet, how on earth is a doughnut recipe being shared by a diabetic blogger? Talk about a killer food *budah bum!* Yeah I know, that was a lame joke. Anyways, Season 6 of Dexter starts tonight and throughout the seasons, Dexter, being the super guy that he is, brings in doughnuts to all his co-workers. I believe it's his weird serial killer attempt at being "normal." As far as this diabetic baker goes, my diabetes and horrible sweet tooth is my "dark passenger." I struggle with my sweet cravings every single day and as I've talked about in the past, I have a really hard time finding ready made baked items to satisfy the cravings. I've have to learn how to make them myself. Breakfast is especially difficult because during the week, pastries and doughnuts are so convenient for regular people to just grab as they rush to work. So when I received my daily email from Diabetic Living Online and saw a recipe for doughnuts, I was all over it. I ran to Michael's to grab a donut pan (retail $9.99), picked up some ingredients from the grocery store, and went to work.

Vanilla Cake Doughnuts

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup packed brown sugar or brown sugar substitute blend (equivalent to 1/2 cup brown sugar)

1/4 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product (or 1 egg)

2 tbsp canola oil

2 tbsp granulated sugar or sugar substitute blend (equivalent to 2 tbsp sugar)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375F. Coat doughnut pan with non stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, brown sugar, egg, oil, and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture; stir until well mixed and smooth. 

Spoon batter into a large resealable plastic bag. Using scissors, cut off a corner; squeeze batter into prepared pan, filling each indent about two-thirds full. Bake about 8 minutes or until doughnuts are nearly firm when lightly pressed. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 3 minutes; turn out doughnuts onto rack.

In a small bowl, stir together granulated sugar and cinnamon. Dip warm doughnuts into sugar mixture, turning to coat. Makes 24 mini doughnuts (3 doughnuts per serving)

from Diabetic Living Online: Vanilla Cake Doughnuts

Sueshine notes about this recipe:

1) The recipe above shows how to make cinnamon sugar doughnuts which is certainly one my favorites. If you shake the doughnuts in the cinnamon sugar, be sure to do it while the doughnuts are still warm because there will be a little bit of moisture, allowing the blend to stick. The hubby suggested that I try making alternative toppings. He said he woke up the other morning wanting a chocolate glazed doughnut.

-Powdered Sugar made from Splenda: 3/4 cups Splenda granular, 2 tbsp cornstarch. Blend in a blender into a fine powder. Dust onto doughnut or follow directions from above (yields 1/2 cup)
 -Chocolate glaze: 3 tbsp margarine, 1 square of unsweetened chocolate, 2 tbsp hot water, 1 cup  sugar substitute. 1/2 tsp vanilla. Melt chocolate and butter. Combine with hot water. Blend with sugar and vanilla. Dip one side of doughnut into glaze and dry on cooling rack.

2) The recipe above is for mini doughnuts. I couldn't find a mini doughnut pan but as I stated above, I found a pan at Michael's with 6 standard size doughnuts. This recipe yields about 6-8 regular sized doughnuts.

Promise me you'll watch Dexter ? Good. If you don't have Showtime, run out to the store to buy a few of the past seasons (average cost is about $20-$25 per season) or add them to your Netflix lineup. Enjoy a doughnut while your at it. Who said you couldn't have a doughnut for dinner? :)

note: Dexter starts tonight, October 2 at 9:00PM ET/PT