National Peanut Butter Day and National Pie Day

Image from www.bakersroyale.com

January 23 was National Pie Day...personally shouldn't it be March 14? You know, 3.14....Guess my geekness is showing, oh well. January 24 was National Peanut Butter Day. What better way to celebrate both of those by making a Peanut Butter Pie!

This recipe I found while looking for something that was easy and quick and would meet with my husband's approval. If you love peanut butter and chocolate together, you will like this recipe. Frozen Reese's Peanut Butter Pie.

Ingredients: 24 oreos*, 4 TBSP unsalted butter, melted, 2.5 c whipped cream*, 3/4 c Peanut Butter, creamy*, 1/2 c Powdered Sugar, 1/2 c crushed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Instructions: (1) Prepare a 9" springpan by spraying with cooking spray. If you don't have a springpan, you can use a regular 9" pan just line with foil and have some of the foil hanging over the sides so you can remove the pie easily. You can also use smaller springpans for individual pies. (2) Preheat oven to 350F. (3) Add Oreos to processor and pulse until finely crumbled. Add melted butter to crumbs and mix and then press into the pan*. Bake for 7-10. (4) In a pan over low heat, combine peanut butter and powdered sugar and stir until combined and peanut butter is melted. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. (5) Fold peanut butter mixture into the whipped cream then fold in the crushed peanut butter cups. (6) Pour into pan and freeze for 3 hours. Serve with drizzled caramel and chocolate sauce and top with more crushed peanut butter cups. Enjoy!


*I use Newman's chocolate creme sandwich cookies instead of Oreos.
*If you don't want to do whip cream from scratch, you can use Cool Whip.
*I use Jiff's Natural Peanut Butter or if I have some available, organic peanut butter.
*If you have extra crumbs you can push them along the sides of the pan. You will need to do this if you are using smaller springpans for individual pies.

Been awhile...

Yes it has been awhile since I've posted a blog about the bakery. To be honest with you once the Holidays hit, the last thing on my mind was posting a blog. So since I have some downtime between baking, I figured I would try to do a catch-up blog and hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently in the weeks to come.

The rest of 2012 went by fast and had us extremely busy. We still participated in our Hingham Market on Saturdays and then ended up doing the Thanksgiving Celebration Harvest Market the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had tons of apple, pecan, and pumpkin pies fly out the door during this time. We caught our breath for a few days before we plunged into the Hingham Holiday Market the beginning of December and this started another busy month for us.

Simpson Spring Co., located in Easton, MA., opened their doors to vendors for a Wintertime market. Vendors from the Easton Summertime market along with vendors from other markets converge on Simpson Spring every Saturday through the winter from 10-2. Some vendors are there every week and some are there bimonthly. There are several bakeries bringing bread and sweets. There is local farm bringing in root veggies and other produce. There are a few cheese vendors, a pickle vendor, a pasta vendor, a seafood vendor, a jellies/jam vendor along, a honey vendor, an olive oil vendor... the list goes on. We are there again this coming weekend, Feb. 9 but won't be back until the first weekend in March. If you are in the area, stop on by. You can take a tour of the oldest bottling company and take home some soda, fizzy water, or plain water (or as my friends in Europe say, flat water). I can personally recommend the White Birch Beer and the Ginger Ale.

The last few weeks have had us celebrating, National Chocolate Day, National Pie Day, and today is National Pancake Day.  I'll post some recipes dealing with chocolate and pie...maybe one that has both in it later. Here is real simple recipe for Banana Pancakes that are Paleo. All you need is 2 ripe bananas, 1 egg, and 1 TBSP nut butter (almond is good), and some coconut oil. Mush up the bananas; it's okay to have lumps. Add egg and butter to the bananas and mix until you get the consistency of pancake batter. Heat up some coconut oil in a pan and make pancakes. You don't really need syrup for them but if you do, try Nutting Farm's Maple Syrup. We use their products in some of our baked items and they are delicious. I have a hard time not eating the Maple Cream straight from the jar!

Valentine's Day is next Thursday. If you are looking for something different than just a box of chocolates, we offer a wide variety of chocolate items that are delicious. We also offer cookie and cupcake bouquets. Make sure to place orders by Sunday. Local Delivery will be happening on 2/13 and 2/14 or you can pick up your order at our location, whichever is easier for you.

Well, that's about it for now. Enjoy the cool weather and we hope to see you on Saturday.

National Pecan Pie Day

July 12 is National Pecan Pie Day, just in case you didn't know. Pecan Pie is considered a specialty Southern dish. Usually it is served at holiday meals and consists mainly of pecans, corn syrup or molasses. Chocolate or bourbon whiskey are popular additives to the traditional Pecan Pie.

Tradition has it that the French invented the pie soon after settling in New Orleans. Supposedly they were introduced to the Pecan by Native Americans. No early recipes prior to 1897 can be found and popular cookbooks like Fannie Farmer and The Joy of Cooking didn't include a recipe until the 1940s. The Corn Products Refining Company, the makers of Karo syrup, popularized the dish and state that the pie was a "1930s discovery of a new use for Karo syrup by a corporate sales executive's wife."

This pie is very sweet. Us Southerners love our sugar and the only type of pecan we use are Georgia Pecans.

Here's a recipe for Pecan Pie. We use my granddaddy's pie crust and I can't give you that recipe or the family will kill me. Use whatever pie crust recipe you have and if you don't want to waste time making crust from scratch, purchase a prepared pie crust or the boxed pie crust located with the canned biscuits. I hear they taste just as good.

Ingredients:   2/3 c sugar, 1/3 cup butter, melted, 1 c corn syrup, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 3 eggs, 1 c pecan halves/broken

Instructions:  1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Prepare pastry and line pie plate with crust. 2. Beat sugar, butter, syrup, salt and eggs with an electric beater. Stir in pecans and pour into prepared pie plate. 3. Bake until set, usually 40-50 minutes. Chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

*After chilling the pie, you can freeze the pie for 3 hours uncovered then cover it and freeze for up to 1 month.
*Decrease the corn syrup to 3/4 cup and add 1/4 cup brandy to the mix for a Brandy Pecan Pie. You can also use bourbon.
*Melt 2-1 oz squares of unsweetened chocolate with the butter to make a Chocolate Pecan Pie.

Brownies

Brownies, the delicious cake-like treat that can have many different fillings in it and each type of brownie still taste good. Nowadays, you can purchase cute brownie cutters for certain shapes, use decorating tips to make an everyday brownie look special, or pop them on a stick. Brownies are pretty versatile. I asked my fellow coworkers what I should bake tonight and the overall census was brownies. So brownies it is.

Making brownies from scratch really isn't hard but to be honest with you, I've been known to use a box mix when I've wanted brownies because I really didn't want to have to go through all the steps. I just wanted to add eggs, water and some oil, mix it around and throw it into a pan and slide the pan into an oven and then enjoy a nice hot brownie with a glass of milk 30 minutes later. If you are honest with  yourself, you've done it too.

A funny story regarding brownies. Several years ago my husband got the urge to make brownies; he was looking for a chocolate fix. He whipped up a batch of brownies and added cherries to the mix. For 30 minutes all he could think about was having a brownie. The aroma was divine and I even started counting down the time until the brownies were ready. The timer goes off, Bob takes out the brownies and then says, "Um, Joy?!" The "Um, Joy" was comical. I came down stairs and joined Bob at the stove. They smelled delicious, my mouth instantly starting watering, the whole Pavlov's dog thing, when I looked down into the dish. I tried to ask a question without laughing. You see, brownies didn't rise at all. I asked him to tell me what ingredients he used. He rattled off the ingredients and definitely put baking powder in the mix. I asked him, "Did you put eggs in it?" Bob gave me this grimace expression, "No?" Well, that would do it. He was totally bummed because he so wanted brownies. Even now when he goes to make brownies, I always remind him to "Not forget the eggs!"

Enjoy this recipe. Feel free to add whatever you want to the mix. You really can't destroy a brownie, unless you forget the eggs!

Ingredients:  1 cup of butter, 2 c sugar, 4 large eggs, .5 c water, 1 tsp pure vanilla, 1 c flour, 3/4 c cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, .5 tsp sea salt, 1 c chopped walnuts*, 4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips*

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 350 and prep a glass or metal baking pan* with cooking spray. (2) In a heavy, large, saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and cool slightly. (3) Add sugar and blend well. (4) Add eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. (5) Add water and vanilla and mix well. (6) Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; stir to blend. (7) Fold in walnuts and chocolate then spread into prepared dish/pan. Bake until cake springs back and toothpick comes out slightly clean (a few crumbs sticking to toothpick), approximately 27-30 minutes. Let cool slightly before cutting. Serve slightly warm or cool completely.

*Depending on the dish/pan you use, the cook time might be longer. For dark or coated pans, decrease the heat to 325F. I usually use a 13"x9" nonstick pan and it takes about 30 minutes at 325F. I've used a glass 9"x9" pan it takes about 40 minutes for the brownies to cook.
* You can add anything to your mixture. If you just want chocolate brownies with nothing added, skip the beginning part of step 7. Dried fruit, chocolate chips, drops of peanut butter are all delicious. You can even frost the brownies after they cool completely with whatever frosting you want.
*We make these peanut butter brownies. They are a layer of chocolate cake-like brownies, topped with a peanut butter buttercream, and coated with melted chocolate. They are one big sugar high but they are very delicious.
*Another idea can be making S'more browines. Bake brownies like you normally would, just as soon as they come out of the oven, spread about 2 cups of mini marshmallows and 1 c of chocolate chips  on top of the brownies and put back in the oven for about 2 minutes to melt. Take out the brownies and add graham crackers to the top of the hot, melted marshmallows/chocolate and press down slightly. Cool completely and cut into servings around the graham crackers.

No Bake Cookies

Last week I headed home to spend some time with my folks. My mom and dad are retiring soon and will be moving to the Ohio area to be near the grandkids. No matter where my folks put down roots, it will always be home because that's where they are.

One of our 'homes' was in Louisiana. I moved my junior year of high school for Virginia. Before I digress, there were many experiences in Louisiana that still stand out in my mind. Between the food, the atmosphere, the music, and the friends, I can pick a pleasant memory anytime I want to take a trip down memory lane. Since this is blog is about food, I'll share a past time treasure with you.

A lady at our church, Ms. Barbara Blackwell, would make cookies for giving away. You could be having a rough day, been in an accident, had your heart broken, whatever, food always made it better. Ms. Barbara would give away brown lunch bags filled with her no bake cookies. Sometimes they would still be warm. These cookies were addicting. They wouldn't last the drive home in our family. When I think about Louisiana, these cookies come to mind.

Since I've been back from visiting my family last week, I'm cooking and baking foods that I remember eating or even turning my nose up at when I was younger. Most are Southern dinner dishes but I'm baking a few dessert dishes. I figured I would whip up a batch of no bake cookies because they are fast and easy to make and I can enjoy them with a glass of milk while I sit and enjoy the weather. I've played around with recipe to make Vegan no-bake cookies and even an gluten-free version. The sugar-free version is still being worked on.

Enjoy this trip down memory lane. Thank you Ms. Barbara for the recipe and for delicious bags of cookies when I needed them.

Ingredients:  1 stick butter (melted), .5 c cocoa powder, 3 c oats, .5 c peanut butter, 2 c sugar, .5 c milk, 1 tsp pure vanilla

Instructions:  (1) Melt butter in a medium sized cooking pan. Once melted, add cocoa sugar and milk and whisk til well-blended. Cook on the stove until bubbles form around the sides of the pan. (2) Remove from heat and add oats, peanut butter, and vanilla. Drop on to wax paper and let cool.

*I usually use a large ice cream scooper to drop uniform cookies on the paper and then will slightly press them down so the cookie doesn't cool raised.
*I've been known to also add coconut to my mixture for a chocolate coconut  cookie, which is quite delicious. 

Chocolate Tiramisu

My husband loves chocolate and with Valentine's Day just around the corner, I figured I would make a nice dinner and dessert to celebrate. Last year I made a chocolate souffle recipe and chocolate covered strawberries. While going through the stacks of recipes I've ripped out of magazines or scribbled down on a piece of paper to try at a later date and time, I found a recipe from the May 2011 Bon Appetite edition. Most of the recipes I have in this stack are dinner or appetizer recipes. This one had two things that my husband likes: coffee and chocolate.  I figured I would try a different take on a tiramisu recipe.

A friend of ours father has a nice Italian restaurant located in Hull, MA called Mezzo Mare and also owns the place right next door called Beach Food Market. The market has the best subs and pizza. You can also find imported goods from Italy at the market. We get our ladyfingers here anytime we make a dessert that calls for ladyfingers. 

This recipes makes a serving for 8 and doesn't really take all that much time to make. I'm halving the recipe since Bob will be the only person eating it. The recipe listed below is the full recipe. Enjoy.

Ingredients: (espresso syrup) 1.5 c espresso or strong coffee, .25 c sugar (tiramisu) 1.75 c mascarpone cheese, 2 TBSP + .5 c sugar, .25 tsp vanilla extract, .5 tsp unflavored gelatin, 4 large egg yolks, 1 c chilled heavy whipping cream, 6 oz bittersweet chocolate*, 48 ladyfingers

Instructions: (1) Stir coffee and sugar in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved, set aside. (2) Combine 1 c of mascarpone cheese, 2 TBSP sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk until blended; cover and chill. (3) Place 1 TBSP water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it; let stand until gelatin softens, 10-15 minutes. (4) Whisk remaining sugar, yolks, 1/4 cup whipping cream and 1/4 cup water in a medium metal bowl to blend. Place bowl over a large saucepan of boiling water (don't let bottom of bowl touch water) and whisk constantly until custard thickens and temperatures reaches 160 on an instant read thermometer, 3-4 minutes. Remove bowl; add gelatin mixture and whisk until dissolved. Return bowl over water and add chocolate and whisk until almost melted. Set aside in a large bowl of ice water and whisk until chocolate is melted and custard is cool, 5-6 minutes. (5) Whisk in the remaining mascarpone. In another medium bowl, beat remaining 3/4 c of chilled cream until firm peaks form. Fold cream into custard in 2 additions to make a chocolate mousse. (6) Spread 1/4 c chocolate mousse in bottom of each eight 1-c ramekins. Dunk ladyfingers in the espresso syrup and arrange in a single layer on top of the mousse. Repeat layering with chocolate mousse and soaked ladyfingers. Spread 2 TBSP mascarpone topping over ladyfingers. Garnish with chocolate shavings and serve.

*Don't exceed 61% cacao. Chop chocolate and save some for shavings for garnish.

*Chocolate Tiramisu recipe by Kriss Harvey. Published in the May 2011 edition of Bon Appetite.

Mayan Muffins

Mesoamerica, equatorial South and Central America, has a rich history regarding chocolate. The cacao pod has bitter seeds covered in a sweet pulp. These seeds were used as a form of currency, as a divine gift, a health food and a source of power. The Mayans took the seeds and ground them into a coarse powder that they then mixed with water, spices, and chilies to make a bitter drink. They also added the powder to corn and other fillings to make porridge-like meals. It would be several thousand years before chocolate would be what we know it as today.

Several years ago, I had a chance to travel to Belize and Guatemala on a research trip. While in Guatemala, we visited Tikal National Park and had a chance to see  Stelas and panels and was designated to El Ka'Kau' (the chocolate king). My mother-in-law and a friend of mine are chocolate lovers. These muffins are for them and for any other chocolate-lovers. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 1/3 c butter, 4 oz bittersweet chocolate*, 2 c flour, 1/3 c cocoa*, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, .5 tsp baking soda, .5 sea salt, .25 tsp cayenne pepper, 2/3 c sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, .5 tsp pure almond extract, 1.25 c buttermilk

Instructions:(1) Preheat oven to 375 and prep a 12-c or a 6-c muffin pan with liners or with cooking spray. (2) Melt butter and half of the chocolate over a double boiler, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool. (3) Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, sea salt, and cayenne in a large bowl. (4) In a small bowl, whisk chocolate mixture, sugar, egg, and extracts until blended. (5) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in remaining chocolate. Divide batter evenly amongst prepared muffin cups. (7) Bake for 19-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.

*Don't chop the chocolate too fine. You want big, melty chunks in the muffins. Sometimes I'll use chocolate chunks or chocolate chips; depends on what is in the pantry when I'm making these.
*Cocoa powder should be unsweetened and NOT Dutch processed. You want the bitter flavor in these muffins.
*I usually add a little more cayenne than what is listed above just because I like the heat.