Homemade Pop Tarts

I really, truly want to think of something beautiful and eloquent to write about these homemade pop tarts because boy are they deserving of everything good I could write. But the only thing that I can think of, having just finished eating one, is OH MY GOSH. This, my friends, is what a toaster pastry was intended to taste like before it turned into the processed, flavorless, under-filled brick you have come to know as a pop tart.

I have stumbled across a couple different recipes for homemade toaster pastry over the past couple weeks and immediately thought it was a fun and innovative take on breakfast. And when the flawless Deb of The Smitten Kitchen posted a similar recipe on her site I knew I wouldn't be able to resist. So if you were to have stopped by my apartment around 11:30 last night, you would have found me, covered in flour, fully immersed in pastry dough making.

In the past I've been frustrated with pastry dough. It has always made me feel inadequate and insecure about my baking ability because I didn't feel it was flaky, buttery, or delicious enough. My mom, who growing up served as one of my best, and toughest, critics held the bar pretty darn high when it came to an acceptable pastry crust, always comparing it to her mother's pie crust. If you met my grandmother and had a piece of one of her pies, you would know how high of a bar we are talking. So it's really no surprise I felt bad about my own pastry skills. Until now.

Throughout this whole pastry making process, I was convinced it wasn't actually worth the effort but boy was I wrong. These things are seriously amazing - this coming from a girl who doesn't even like pop tarts and hasn't eaten one in over 10 years. They are yummy, and charming in the familiar-yet-different way. I can already imagine making them on weekends when I want to make breakfast a little (or a lot) more special.

Homemade Pop Tarts
Adapted from Deb via The Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:
Pastry
*2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
*1 tablespoon sugar
*1 teaspoon salt
*1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
*1 large egg
*3 tablespoons milk

*1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)

*1 recipe Jam Filling (below)

*1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (not the natural variety)

*1 cup powdered sugar and 1/4 cup milk stirred together for glaze

Jam Filling
1/2 cup raspberry preserves stirred together with 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Instructions:

Make the dough

Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. If you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.

Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days. (I refrigerated overnight and found that the dough was still a bit crumbly so I put the dough back into the food processor after refrigerating and pulsed it 6-8 times, then formed it into a rectangle and rolled it out. Worked like a dream and the pastry was still oh so flaky!)

Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9" x 13" pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. Place a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter into the center of each rectangle followed by a teaspoon of the jam mixture, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Spoon a tablespoon of powdered sugar glaze on top of hot pastries. Cool in pan on rack.

Happy Baking!

Madison

Homemade Granola: Base Recipe

Remember that time not so long ago when I made Whole Wheat Granola Breakfast Cookies? Well, it turns out I am not only the type of girlfriend who likes to bake for her boyfriend, I am also the kind who likes to make her boyfriend's mom think I'm trying to kill her son by means of serious allergic reaction and anaphylactic shock.

Because adventurous eater and fruit and veggie loving me fell in love with someone allergic to more items than even he can count, including, evidently, commercially produced granola and granola bars. And when his mom, who happens to read Espresso and Cream (Hi, Lisa!) noticed I was sending her son a box of cookies filled with granola she did what any caring mother would do and sent him a heads-up e-mail.

It just so happens that before making those fateful cookies, I had just finished whipping up a batch of homemade granola and decided to use it for the cookies. After talking with J. about what I put into my homemade granola, we determined that he could eat the cookies and avoid a life-threatening allergic reaction, or at least a trip to the hospital. So from here on out I've accepted that as long as J. is in my life, I am bound to a life of granola making instead of granola buying. Thank goodness it is both fun and easy!

This granola base recipe is very similar to a recipe for cranberry-almond granola I made this winter, with a few minor changes. It couldn't be easier and it's just so gratifying to see the oats toast up in the oven and transform into granola in under an hour. While we were in Florida last weekend, J. had a bit of a culinary revelation: my 10 year-old sister's vitamin gummy bears. So while this may not radiate culinary brilliance or sophistication, it will be serving a healthful purpose when it arrives up in Minnesota. Customize it fit your taste or leave it plain for a simple, yummy breakfast base.

Homemade Granola: Base Recipe
Adapted from Chow.com
Ingredients:
*3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
*2 Tbsp. brown sugar
*1 tsp. ground cinnamon
*1/4 tsp. salt
*1/3 cup honey
*1/3 cup canola oil
*Desired stir-ins of your choice (I used gummy bear vitamins)

Instructions:
*Preheat oven to 300*F.
*In large bowl combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, combine honey, oil, and extract and stir until well combined. Pour mixture over oat mixture. Stir until well-combine. Use hands, if necessary.
*Pour mixture into a large baking sheet or pan. Spread into a thin, even layer. Bake 40 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring once halfway through. Remove from oven and cool completely. Stir the mixture once or twice while it cools (it will harden as it cools). Once cooled, add in desired mix-ins. Store in an airtight container or zip top bag.

Happy cooking!
Madison

Best Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread

The way I see it, my job with at Espresso and Cream is to sort through all the millions of recipes out there and share with you only the best, and most reliable ones. And trust me, there is a lot of junk out there to sort through, and after tonight I am sure that even the best and most trustworthy sources fail every now and again.

Two containers of cornmeal, 1 1/2 dozen eggs, 1/2 a gallon of buttermilk, 1 1/2 lbs. of butter, and plenty of flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. All baked up and thrown in the trash in search of the perfect, most reliable cornbread recipe. There was the whole wheat cornbread muffins that were so dense and chewy that they hardly even resembled cornbread, and the cornbread recipe from a trusted blogger who shall remain nameless that were about as flavorless as can be.

And finally, thankfully, Bethany Weathersby came to my rescue. No, I do not know Bethany, but I am oh so thankful for her grandmother's buttermilk cornbread recipe. Let me explain. Usually, I try to steer clear of recipe websites like All Recipes and Cooks.com because I find them to be unreliable and very hit-or-miss when it comes to success, since anyone can upload and post a recipe. However, at my wits end, I was willing to try almost anything, including this recipe on All Recipes from Bethany, mostly because her cornbread recipe had over 1,600 reviews from others users, almost all positive in nature.

This cornbread blew me away. It was a perfect mix of lightness and density, with a slightly crispy crust and pleasantly crumbly texture. Typically, I am in the 'salty cornbread' camp, but this recipe is pleasantly sweet without being overwhelmingly so. With a sprinkle of salt before baking, it hits both sweet and salty notes harmoniously. While this recipe was baking in the oven, my mom e-mailed me with the version from my childhood, a slightly saltier and lighter variety, though every bit as delicious. You can best believe that it will pop up here sometime in the not-so-distant future. Until then, this will have to suffice. And believe me, it will.

Best Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread
Ingredients:
*1/2 cup butter
*2/3 cup white sugar
*2 eggs
*1 cup buttermilk
*1/2 teaspoon baking soda
*1 cup cornmeal
*1 cup all-purpose flour
*1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
*Preheat oven to 375*F. Grease an 8 inch round or square pan.
*Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Add buttermilk and baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
*Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Happy Cooking!

Madison

Roasted Parmesan Zucchini

Last week while teaching a class on healthy cooking, a number of the women in the class were interested in learning exactly how you roast vegetables, which is actually incredibly easy once you get down the basics. In my opinion, there is no better, or easier, way to cook veggies.

Broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, and sweet potatoes get roasted most often in my kitchen, and I can't get enough of the sweet, toasty flavor roasting imparts on vegetables. Roasting is usually done with fairly dry heat with just a bit of oil or other liquid in a pan, baking sheet, or baking dish or some sort. It can also be done at a slightly higher heat in the oven. Most of the time when I'm roasting veggies, it's done between 400 - 450*F.

As we speak, I'm posting from Florida. Meant to post this a few days earlier, but was having so much fun in the sun and sand that I completely forgot! Back to regular life tomorrow.


Roasted Parmesan Zucchini
Ingredients
*2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
*1 Tbsp. olive oil
*1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp. table salt)
*1/2 tsp. ground cumin
*1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
*1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
*Preheat oven to 400*F.
*Toss zucchini with olive oil. Place in a pan or baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, cumin, and black pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 10 minutes, tossing once half way through. After 10 minutes, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the zucchini and bake 2 minutes more to melt the cheese.
*Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Happy Cooking!

Madison

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

This weekend I had the pleasure of teaching a healthy cooking class for a women's conference back in my home town. Because it was one of my first formal presentations on healthy cooking for a large group I was a bit nervous, but the women were great and I enjoyed sharing about one of my favorite topics.

Rewind to earlier this week, when I was putting together my Power Point presentation and was finding it hard to focus, so what's a foodie to do? Bake oatmeal chocolate chip cookies of course! But since I was in healthy eating mode, I gave these cookies a healthy twist. What was sacrificed? White flour. What wasn't? Taste.

These little delights, an adaptation from a recipe by the lovely Deb of the Smitten Kitchen, are delightful - both chewy and crispy all at once and packed with antioxidant-rich dark chocolate. The whole wheat flour takes nicely to this recipe, so much so that you would hardly notice any difference from cookies made with all-purpose, and instant oats impart lightness not normally found in cookies made with old-fashioned oats. Worth making again? Most certainly....since they are already gone.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from "Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies" via Smitten Kitchen
 
Ingredients:
*1/2 cup sugar
*1/2 cup brown sugar
*8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
*1 large egg
*1 tsp. vanilla extract
*1/2 tsp. baking soda
*1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (may substitute milk or semi-sweet if desired)
*1/2 cup instant oats

Instructions:
*Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
*Beat the sugars and butter together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.
*Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and oats.
*Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches (10cm) apart, on each of the baking sheets.
*Bake cookies for 15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely on wire racks.

Happy Baking!

Madison

Spinach-Parmesan Multi-Purpose Spread

I've had a few people ask me if I eat everything I put on my blog. The short answer is: no. With the endless parade of cookies, pies, cakes and desserts of all kind that find their way to Espresso and Cream, it would be an amazing feat if I were able to. Instead, most of my sweet treats get packed up and shipped off or taken with me to work. Thus far, none of my coworkers have complained.

I love making desserts, but it's the savory dishes I consume every day that I am most passionate about, though I post these recipes less frequently because they are somewhat second nature, rarely even involving a recipe. But when I realized how much I was using this spread, I thought it was time to whip out my measuring cups and really find out what I was putting in my Spinach-Parmesan Multi-Purpose Spread.

I find endlessly useful and super delicious. Sandwich spread? Check. Salad dressing? Check. Chip and veggie dip? Check and check. Like I said, it's so incredibly versatile. A little bit salty, creamy, and even a bit healthy (hello spinach!) it stores well when tightly covered in the refrigerator.


Spinach-Parmesan Multi-Purpose Spread
Ingredients:
*3/4 cup olive oil
*1 cup tightly-packed spinach
*2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
*2 Tbsp. dried Italian herb mixture
*1/4 c. sour cream
*3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
*Add all the above ingredients into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
*Serve atop toast for a sandwich spread, as a dip for veggies, or in place of your favorite salad dressing.

Happy Cooking!

Madison

Whole Wheat Granola Breakfast Cookies

This year I've developed a new appreciation for springtime. Maybe it is because our winter in Iowa was particularly brutal, or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm not preparing for finals and dealing with the stress of graduation, like so many people I know.

One of those unfortunate people? J. - who has about 5 weeks to go until the big graduation day. So instead of sending him a box of fat and calorie laden study treats, I decided to whip up some 'brain-food' to help fuel the final stretch of studying. What resulted was a whole wheat cookie chock full of granola - healthy enough to justify eating for breakfast or a snack every now and again, yet delicious enough to be consumed by a college guy and his five roommates. Crunchy, substantial, and slightly chewy in the center, I think I may keep these cookies for myself next time instead of boxing them up and shipping them off to Minnesota.


Whole Wheat Granola Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients:
*1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
*1/3 cup sugar
*1/3 cup brown sugar
*1 large egg
*1/2 tsp. baking soda
*1/4 tsp. salt
*1 tsp. vanilla
*1 cup whole wheat flour
*1 3/4 cups granola (any kind)

Instructions:
*Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease two baking sheets and set aside.
*Beat butter until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add in the sugar and brown sugar and beat 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and beat until well combined, followed by the baking soda, salt, and vanilla, scraping down the sides as needed.
*Beat in the flour until combined, followed by the granola.
*Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons and form into balls. Flatten each ball slightly with your hand and place on baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Cool on wire racks.

Happy Baking!

Madison

Almond-Date Energy Bites

One of my favorite energy/health bars out there is the Lara Bar. They are gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegan, and kosher, but that's not why I love them. My reasons are much simpler - they taste amazing and every bar contains five or fewer ingredients. If you've ever taken a look at some of the health bars out there, you have probably noticed that some look like a short novel, which makes Lara Bars' five-ingredient feat even more amazing. 

But the simplicity of these bars, and the $2/bar price tag, got me thinking how easy it would be to make something similar. And it was, though I made a few adjustments in both ingredients and shape for simplicity's sake. Instead of making bars, I rolled the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls and rolled them in sesame seeds for a little extra crunch. 

Once you get this recipe down, which shouldn't take long, I can imagine a whole host of variations, like substituting walnuts for almonds, adding in raisins, or substituting almond butter for the peanut butter for those with peanut allergies. I've been eating these little energy bites atop my yogurt at breakfast and taking a couple along for a mid-afternoon snack at work and can safely say they both taste great and provide a little extra energy throughout the day.  

Almond-Date Energy Bites 

Ingredients: 

*10 oz. whole dates

*6 oz. slivered almonds

*1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

*1 Tbsp. honey 

*1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Sesame seeds, cocoa powder, or graham cracker crumbs 

Instructions: 

*In a food processor, process the dates and almonds until mixture is finely ground into even 'crumbs' (3-5 minutes). 

*Add the peanut butter, honey, and ground cinnamon and process until the ingredients are evenly combined. 

*Scoop out the mixture by heaping tablespoons and shape into balls. Then, roll the balls in the sesame seeds, cocoa powder, or graham cracker crumbs. 

Happy Cooking!

Madison 

Chocolate Raspberry Cups

After an unintended break from Espresso and Cream, it feels good to be back in the kitchen and at my computer. Sure, lots of baking and eating was done over the weekend, and I spent many a moment kicking myself for not remembering my camera to take photos of all the kitchen adventures and Easter weekend triumphs. In honor of Easter weekend, I baked a double batch of World Peace Cookies for my family and made around three dozen homemade peanut butter cups. Rest assured those very same peanut butter cups will find their way here sometime very soon. 

But before I get around to peanut butter cups, I have these little gems to share with you. Because while peanut butter cups are always in season, raspberries are not, and as soon as reasonably-priced fresh berries appear in the grocery store I start thinking of how many ways I can incorporate them into my cooking and baking. What I love most about chocolate cups of all sorts is how deceptively fancy and labor-intensive they look - the kind of treat that makes a beautiful, impressive gift. In truth, it's just chocolate, a simple creamy filling, and fresh raspberries. Yum, yum, and more yum. 

Chocolate Raspberry Cups

Ingredients: 

*1 (12-oz.) bag of milk chocolate chips

*1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

*1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened 

*1/3 to 1/2 cup raspberry preserves 

*3 cups powdered sugar

24 whole fresh raspberries

24 mini muffin liners 

Instructions:

*In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, melt chocolate, stirring frequently. Melt the chocolate only until just melted. Remove from heat and stir in the vegetable oil. 

*Spoon teaspoons of chocolate into the liners. Then, prepare the filling.

*Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy. Add in the raspberry preserves and beat until well combined followed by the powdered sugar, in three additions. If a slightly thinner consistency is desired, add a couple of tablespoons of milk until desired consistency is reached. 

*Spoon the filling mixture into a piping bag or gallon zip top bag. Snip the end of the pastry bag or one of the corners of the zip top bag. Pipe filling into the center of the chocolate cups. (this will push the chocolate up the sides of the liners while the filling will remain in the center) 

*Top with a raspberry in the center of the filling and refrigerate cups until chocolate is hardened. 

Happy Baking!

Madison