The Farm Chicks

Spiced Pumpkin Sippers

Cooler autumn weather calls for warm cupfuls of deliciousness. These sippers incorporate what's best about the season - pumpkin and pie-like spices. And yes, they're beyond delicious!

Spiced Pumpkin Sippers

4 cups whole milk

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Add all ingredients to a saucepan and whisk together over medium heat. Whisk occasionally until hot. Ladle into mugs. Optional: Drizzle with whipped cream that has been softly whipped and sprinkle with ground nutmeg.

Serve hot.

Tips:

If you prefer a less sweet drink, you can reduce the sugar by half.

These sippers are a great drink to serve to guests. To ease the work at party time, prepare the recipe in advance and refrigerate until ready to use.

Keep a crockpot full of the mixture to serve warm throughout your gathering.

Or, drink it one cupful at a time, simply reheating in the microwave.

Y-U-M !

Lunch for One

I love the days when I actually take a few minutes to make myself a good lunch, especially one that comes, in part, from my garden.

Polenta with Swiss Chard and Egg

Prepare one serving of polenta*, salting to taste

While polenta cooks, wash, chop and quickly fry a big handful of swiss chard over high heat. (Don't overcook the chard, you just want it to wilt and soften a bit).

Pour hot polenta onto your plate, top with swiss chard.

Fry an egg to your liking (I like over-easy), salt and pepper to taste, and add to the polenta and chard.

Garnish with fresh cilantro or any herb you like.

Enjoy!

Note:

*Polenta is very similar to grits, with the only difference being the type of corn. Both are equally delicious.

 

Crunchy Granola

It's peach season here, which means it's time for me to whip up a big batch of Crunchy Granola. A bowl of fresh, juicy peach slices, topped with granola and drizzled in cream is out of this world. (This recipe is from my first book, The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen).

Granola

6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

2 cups pecan halves

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup honey

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 325 degrees farenheit. Combine the oats, coconut, and pecans in a large mixing bowl. Combine the oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until smooth. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well combined.

Line a large shallow baking pan with foil. Spread the mixture in the pan. Bake until browned - about 50 minutes - stirring every 10 minutes with a large spatula. Cool in the pan on a wire rack; then stir once more. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Sources:

Scoop: Vintage (purchased at The Vintage Rabbit)

Jar: Target

Bowls: Daiso

Image: John Granen, from my book: The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen. To purchase, click here.

P.S. If you already have a copy of the book, I'd love it if you could provide a review here.

Donut Bites with Jam & Cream

The first time Colin and I visited Dahlia Lounge in Seattle, I fell in love with their donuts, made fresh to order. Quite possibly one of the best desserts of my life.  Just recently I decided I'd like to try and make my own version, to see if I could duplicate the magic. The results are what I deem to be the lightest, airiest, most scrumptious little pillow bites of happiness.  And better yet, the boys agree.  I dare you to try and eat just one.

I've learned that for the airiest donuts, you must start with a yeast dough, rather than a cake dough. And although I have an aversion to recipes that take a while, I make an exception for anything in the bread family.  I've created this recipe for bread machines, but have provided an alternate process below, just in case you don't have a bread machine.

Donut Bites

1 cup lukewarm milk

3 eggs

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

Add ingredients into the bread machine, in the order described in your bread machine manual.  Set machine to the dough setting. Once the dough cycle is complete, turn out onto a generously floured surface.  pat dough into a rectangle that is approximately 3/4" thick.  Cut 3/4" wide strips of dough. Then cut strips into approximately 2.5 - 3"" pieces and place onto floured baking sheets, leaving room for the dough to rise:

Cover each pan loosely with a dish towel and set in a warm place for the dough to rise for one hour.

In the meantime, combine 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a paper lunch bag and set aside.

Prepare cream by combining 8 ounces mascarpone cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat until smooth and set aside.

Once dough has risen, fill a saucepan with vegetable oil or shortening and heat over medium-high heat until oil is hot for deep frying.  Cook 5-6 donut bites at a time, depending on the size of the pan, turning once the bottoms are golden browned.  Once both sides are browned, remove from oil, and drain on paper towels.  Drop each batch of Donut Bites into the paper bag and dredge by folding the bag closed and shaking in the Cinnamon/Sugar coating:

Serve Donut Bites warm with little bowls of the cream and a sour jam of your choice.  (I love Sour plum). Dip the donuts into the cream and then into the jam (or use tiny spoons to scoop cream and jam onto the donuts) and bite!

Tips:

• Please please please don't try and substitute regular flour.  Cake flour is a must.  Trust me, I learned the hard, not so fluffy and wonderful way.
• Since this is a big batch of dough, make sure your bread machine is capable of mixing the ingredients. In my machine, I need to stir everything together with a wooden spoon, in the machine to help it get started.
• I started out thinking donut holes would be perfect for this recipe but learned that the frying results can be inconsistent, due to the thickness of the dough.  By making the thinner dough shapes, you'll experience much better results and no doughy centers.
• Don't overcook the dough.  You don't want the donuts to get too dark on the outside as it makes each bite much less tender.
• I realize that finding mascarpone can be a challenge if you live in a small town.  Don't worry. Simply substitute 1 cup heavy whipping cream for the mascarpone and whip with the vanilla and powdered sugar until stiff.  If you're going to keep the cream on hand for more than one hour, add in 1 teaspoon of honey while whipping, so the cream doesn't separate.  Substituting cream for the mascarpone results in a cream that isn't quite as decadent, but still very tasty.  I do not recommend substituting cream cheese, as it will overpower the flavors in this dessert.

Makes about 60 bite-sized donuts.

To make dough by hand:

Warm milk and butter in a saucepan until butter is melted.  If milk is hot, let it cool to lukewarm.  Add yeast, sugar, eggs, and salt and whisk until combined.  Add 1 cup of the cake flour and beat well.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and bubbly, approximately one hour.  Add remaining 3 cups of cake flour and stir until smooth and combined.  (The dough will be stiff).  Cover and let rise in a warm place again for another half an hour.

Continue recipe by following the directions above, starting at the point the dough is removed from the bread machine.

Sweetie Pies

I've always loved using pie crust to make delicious treats and these are a favorite, for sure!

To begin, prepare your favorite pie crust.  Roll it out in thin strips to cut with a heart cookie cutter:

Add a dollop of seedless raspberry jam to the center of each heart:

Moisten the edge of the heart with water, all around, and cover with another heart cut-out:

Softly press top edge down onto bottom edge, forming a seal, and press sealed edges together with fork tines, all around:

Prick center of each little pie with fork tines and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned:

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature:

Sweetie Pies make the perfect little homemade Valentine treat:

Or, you can dust them with powdered sugar:

And keep them on hand for a tasty little snack...

But you better act quick!  They're so yummy that they'll be going..going...

Gone!

Sources:

The Sweetie Pie tag is from my Valentine Tag Collection, available on my website.

The polka-dot food safe tissue paper is from The Container Store.

The tiny heart treat box is from Martha Stewart.

Applesauce Donuts

It's apple harvest time here, which makes me want to spend all day in the kitchen, tinkering away on possible recipes.  These donuts were a recent creation that my family fell in love with right away.  Imagine a cake donut, but tastier, with the added moisture of applesauce and a deliciously spicy flavor.

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

3 Tablespoons sour cream

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 eggs, well beaten

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 1/4 cups flour

 

Combine sugar, applesauce, sour cream, and butter together in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in beaten eggs, until all combined.  Add all remaining ingredients, and stir until mixture is completely combined.  (The mixture will be thick).  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Remove dough from refrigerator and turn out onto a really well floured counter.  Roll out dough to 1/2" thick and cut into donut-sized circles, with a hole in the center.  (Since I don't have a donut cutter, I used a circle cookie cutter, and for the center - the bottom of a large pastry decorating tip.)

Fill a saucepan with vegetable oil or shortening and heat over medium-high heat until oil is hot for deep frying.  Cook 1-2 donuts at a time, depending on the size of the pan, turning once the bottoms are deeply golden browned.  Once both sides are browned, remove from oil, and drain on a cooling rack, with paper towels underneath.  Once donuts are slightly cooled, dredge each in the Cinnamon/Sugar coating.  (recipe below).

 

Cinnamon/Sugar Coating

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Makes approximately 20 donuts.

 

Crepes with Honey Mascarpone & Strawberries

My family loves these crepes served for dessert, but they would also make a spectacular breakfast treat.  The subtle infusion of flavor from the orange zest really makes them special.

 

Crepes:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients in a batter bowl or large measuring cup with a spout for pouring.  Whisk well, until all ingredients are very well combined.  Heat a 6" frying pan to medium-high heat.  Lightly spray (only necessary before the first crepe) the pan with cooking oil and pour in enough batter to make a 6" crepe (about 3 tablespoons of batter).  Tilt pan all around to spread out batter really thin.  Once crepe is browned, (about 15-20 seconds) flip over and lightly brown other side (about 10 seconds).  Remove crepe from pan and set on a piece of parchment paper.  Continue cooking crepes and stacking on top of each other until all the batter is used up.  (You should have about 8 crepes).  Don't worry if the crepes tear or don't look perfect.  Once they're assembled and folded up, no-one will ever notice.

Honey Mascarpone:
8 ounces mascarpone*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons honey
Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together until smooth and creamy.  *Mascarpone is a soft Italian cheese, somewhat similar to cream cheese, and is available in most grocery stores (commonly in the dairy, cheese, or deli sections) and specialty Italian markets.

Strawberries:
1 pound of fresh strawberries, rinsed and sliced

Assemble crepes by spreading desired amount of Honey Mascarpone and sprinkling strawberries onto each crepe.  Fold into fourths, dust with powdered sugar (if desired) and enjoy!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I've adapted this scrumptious coffee cake from the Davenport Hotel's collection of special recipes.  Although they no longer serve the original version of this cake, I adore this recipe.

Batter:

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Icing:

1 Tablespoon melted butter

1 Tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10" bundt pan and set aside.  Prepare filling by combining all ingredients in a small mixing bowl, and set aside.  Prepare icing by combining all ingredients in a small mixing bowl.  Cover and set aside.   To prepare batter, cream butter and sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Blend in sour cream.  Add dry ingredients and blend well.  Spoon half of batter into prepared bundt pan and smooth out evenly.  Sprinkle filling over batter (reserving 1 Tablespoon for later use).  Add remaining batter, and smooth out evenly.  Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let sit in the pan for 5 minutes.  Turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool until warm (not hot).  Drizzle with icing and sprinkle with reserved Tablespoon of filling.  Serve warm or cooled.  Makes 8-10 servings.

Lemon Curd

This deliciously tart, thick cream is traditionally used as a spread for scones, but is just as tasty in a tart or topped with fresh berries.

2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh is best)
Zest of one lemon
6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut in pieces

Whisk eggs, yolks, and sugar in a small saucepan until smooth. Add lemon juice, zest and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, continue cooking and stirring until curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Curd should be thick. Pour through a strainer into a chilled bowl. Keeps up to a week in the refrigerator.