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Breads
I totally get that in the heat of summer, we want to keep our cooking simple and use the oven as little as possible. “So why am I sending you a recipe for biscuits that need baking,” you may brilliantly ask? Well, for one thing, you can make these early in the morning, before the heat climbs up to its highest temperature. Plus, they cook in all of 8 minutes.
If recipes could be a ball game, these are a home run. I hadn’t made them in years when I decided to make them for a brunch class I was teaching for high schoolers in LA.
In France they serve these cakes with wine as an aperitif. That works for me. I uncorked a bottle or rosé, took small bites of these cakes and decided to pass them on to you.
These muffins are loaded with blueberries. Some are smashed while others remain whole. The crumbs are cake like and they have a little crunch from a sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon over the top.
Moist, dense banana bread swirled throughout with fudgy ribbons of Nutella—you got that right—it’s a wow!
I brought these to a meeting recently and amidst platters of appetizers, so many people were talking about them and asking for the recipe that I thought you might enjoy it, too.
I call this banana bread, which comes from Marion Cunningham, the best, because it truly is. Your bananas must be very ripe. I have a trick.
I didn't just test these once. Or even twice. Or even thrice. Sum it up to say that I had muffins as hard as hockey pucks, as dense as tennis balls and as palatable as styrofoam cups all over my kitchen before I hit Passover perfection.
Baking stuffing in muffin cups has many advantages. These are universally popular, because it seems everyone likes cornbread. Here are several other advantages:
It's great to make your own muffins, because you know what's in them. In this case only wholesome ingredients and very few calories--160 each to be exact.
Plain popovers are amazing. They are also fun. I still get excited every time I open the oven and see how a simple batter turns into glorious, golden rolls rising way over the top of the pan.
Plain popovers are great, but just think what happens when you add pepper Jack cheese and chives, or lemon zest and almonds. Here are 2 delicious popover recipes, along with a yummy Lemon Honey Butter, to add a plethora of personality to plain popovers.
In this very moist bread, the sweetness of oranges is beautifully balanced by the tartness of dried apricots and cranberries.
Popovers Perfected.
After testing 25 popover batters, I have discovered the most failsafe recipe that I guarantee will be over the top every time. The biggest surprise is that they can be made ahead of time and I think taste even better when reheated.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 can (15 oz.) unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into 12 pieces
4 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar combined with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, for topping
1. . Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans. Whisk flour, baking powder and soda in a small bowl.
2. In a large saucepan, preferably nonstick, over medium heat, combine pumpkin, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Cook, stirring, until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in granulated and brown sugars, oil and cream cheese until combined. Let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until cream cheese is thoroughly incorporated.
3. Whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Add to pumpkin mixture and whisk to combine. Fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. Fold in walnuts. Scrape into prepared pans. Sprinkle sugar/cinnamon over top of each loaf.
4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until skewer inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack for 20 minutes. Go around edges with a sharp knife and invert breads from pans. Turn right side up and let cook at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm or room temperature.
Makes 2 loaves; serves about 16.
Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated.
