Cinnamon-Sugar Muffin Puffs

MHS: Introduction to Foods and Nutrition*

Ingredients:

Muffin batter:

1 egg

¾ C milk

½ C vegetable oil

2 C all purpose flour

1/3 C sugar

1 T baking powder

1 tsp salt

Topping:

½ C butter, melted

½ C sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Heat oven to 400°.

Grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffin cups (use shortening or coat with non-stick cooking spray).

Gently mix or sift dry ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Add milk and oil to egg, and stir to mix.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour egg mixture into well; mix just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy).

Fill muffin cups about ¾ full. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Immediately remove from pan.

While still very warm, dip muffin tops in ½ C melted butter; then roll tops in mixed sugar and cinnamon.

* This recipe is one used in the introductory culinary course I teach.

(Grains: quick breads)

Strawberry Shortcake

It's June. Local strawberries are in season! These (pictured) are picked from my own garden. :)

Ingredients

¾ lb strawberries, stemmed and quartered (or sliced)

4 Tbls sugar

1 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

¹/₈ tsp baking soda

scant ½ tsp salt

¾ C heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix strawberries with 2 tablespoons sugar and refrigerate while juices develop, at least 30 minutes.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add heavy cream and mix until just combined. Divide dough into 3 or 4 portions; drop each portion of dough by large scoops onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown on tops.

Remove shortcakes from baking sheet and place on a rack to cool slightly. Split each piece in half horizontally.

Spoon some of the strawberries with their juice onto each shortcake bottom. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then the shortcake top. Spoon more strawberries over the top and serve. If desired, garnish with a dollop more whipped cream and mint sprigs. In the photo, some mint leaves were minced and added to the berries with the sugar in the first step. It's not leaves from the strawberry stems. :)

Whipped Cream:

1 C  heavy cream

3 Tbls  powdered sugar

½ tsp  vanilla

Combine ingredients in mixer bowl and beat until thick.

Orange-Mango Gelato

Ice cream, sorbet, gelato...what's the difference? Check it out here.

Personally, I love this mango gelato swirled with raspberry gelato. The smooth, richness of the mango and the tart raspberries are a delicious -- and beautiful! -- blend. Or, garnish the orange-mango gelato with fresh raspberries, or a raspberry purée...  Blueberries would be fun to try, too.

Ingredients
3/4 C sugar
1 C milk
1 lb fresh mango*, cubed
1/3 C orange juice

Directions
Combine the milk, sugar, and mango in a saucepan; heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

Place all ingredients, including orange juice, in a blender and process until smooth. Place mixture in ice cream maker for 20-25 minutes. If desired, transfer to an air-tight container to freeze for a firmer consistency.

* If mangoes aren't in season, you can used dried mango (reconstitute with orange juice) or frozen mango.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

My family celebrates  6 birthdays in June along with father's day and the occasional graduation, etc.  My contribution to this year's potluck meal was dessert -- in the form of a selection of ice creams, gelatos or sorbets (What's the difference?) with a variety of toppings. To honor the "birthday folks" I'd called and asked if there was a particular flavor they'd like to have. There really wasn't much need to ask, I could have guessed: chocolate and peanut butter topped the list. I've already posted the dark chocolate, here's the peanut butter. Cheesecake, raspberry, mixed berry, lemon, and maple are already posted. I'll get the salted caramel, pineapple and orange-mango up soon. 

 

Ingredients:

1 C  heavy cream

1 C  half and half

½ C  sugar

¾ tsp  vanilla

¼ tsp salt

2 C  peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, as you like)

Directions:

Combine sugar & salt with liquid ingredients; stir until sugar dissolves. Blend in peanut butter until smooth. Freeze according to ice cream maker directions. Makes about 1 quart.

Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Orange

Ingredients

12 ounces egg tagliatelle or fettuccine (preferably fresh)

2Tbls unsalted butter

2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1" pieces

zest and juice of 1 orange

½ C heavy whipping cream

freshly ground black pepper

¼ C finely grated parmesan 

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute before al dente, about 2 minutes for fresh pasta, longer for dried. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto; sauté until browned, about 3 minutes.

Add reserved pasta water, orange juice, half of zest, and cream; bring to a boil. Add pasta; cook, stirring, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and divide among warm bowls. Makes 4 servings.

Deeply (Dark) Cioccolate/Chocolate Gelato

Ice cream, sorbet, gelato...what's the difference? Check it out here.

2 C whole milk
5 egg yolks
2 Tbls corn syrup
¾ C sugar
¼ lb dark chocolate
¼ C dark chocolate cocoa powder

Chop the chocolate into small pieces; add to an empty mixing bowl and set aside. (You will eventually pour the custard base into this bowl.)

Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until simmering and whisps of steam begin to appear (about 140°).

While the milk is heating, beat the egg yolks and corn syrup until blended. Add the sugar and continue mixing at medium speed until color lightens to a light yellow. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl during mixing.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the hot milk to the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Mix until blended and then return this mixture to the saucepan. Heat the custard mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and a finger leaves a track when dragged across the back of a spoon (about 175°).

Pour the custard mixture through a sieve into the bowl with the chopped chocolate. Mix the custard and chocolate to melt and blend the chocolate. Add the cocoa and continue mixing by hand until smooth. The goal is to blend, not whip air into the gelato.

Place bowl with gelato base into an ice bath or refrigerate until mixture is chilled to about 45°. Freeze according to your ice cream/gelato maker's instructions and transfer to a container. For a firmer consistency, scoop or pour into an air-tight container and freeze for 2+ hours.

Peanut Butter Cookies

These are soft peanut butter cookies. You can add more flour in order to be able to roll them and press them with a fork (for a more traditional looking peanut butter cookie). I like them soft and chewy more than I care about the fork-pressed look. :)

1 C butter, softened
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
1 C chunky peanut butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 C flour
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together butter, peanut butter and sugars until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and beat. Beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in dry mixture, scraping down edges of bowl to incorporate throughout the dough. Use a cookie scoop (or spoon) to scoop dough onto an ungreased baking sheet (line with parchment if desired). Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Raspberry Gelato

(or blackberry, boysenberry, etc.)

Ice cream, sorbet, gelato...what's the difference? Check it out here.

3/4 C sugar
1 C milk
16 oz raspberries
juice of one lemon

Combine the milk, sugar, and berries in a saucepan; heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

Place all ingredients, including lemon juice, in a blender and process until smooth. If desired, strain to remove any seeds. Place mixture in ice cream maker for 20-25 minutes. If desired, transfer to an air-tight container to freeze for a firmer consistency.

Serve. If desired, garnished with fresh berries, whipped cream, mint leaves, wafer cookies...

It's also delicious with a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh mint leaves (add them when you're heating the first ingredients in the saucepan for the most flavor). Lime can be substituted for the lemon juice for a subtle twist on the flavor.

Maple Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 C grade B maple syrup
1 Tbls cornstarch
6 egg yolks
2 C heavy cream
½ C milk
1 tsp maple (or vanilla) extract
½ tsp salt
optional: ½ tsp liquid smoke

Directions:
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a simmer.

In a bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, cornstarch, and egg yolks.

Pour about one third of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, then stir the egg yolk mixture into the remaining cream in the saucepan. Stir to blend well. Lower the heat to medium-low and heat, stirring constantly, until hot and slightly thickened. Do not boil.

Pour through a mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Stir in the milk, vanilla, salt, and liquid smoke (if desired). Cover and chill thoroughly.

Freeze according to ice cream machine manufacturer's directions. Place in freezer if firmer consistency is desired. Makes 1 quart of maple ice cream.

Serve with: chopped nuts/peanuts, buttery maple-bourbon syrup, whipped cream, or...if you're into the whole bacon craze, with real bacon bits.