Gluten-Free Berry Pecan Muffins

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Lorinda

~~Shamed~~ Challenged by my daughter to try a gluten-free muffin, my wheels started turning. I can’t say I was excited by the idea (my idea of a breakfast pastry includes butter, white flour, and sugar) but decided to give it a try…and was surprised and pleased by the results.

I used buttermilk and honey, so this isn’t vegan, but it is a lot healthier than my usual creations, and unexpectedly light and fluffy!

Use whatever fruit you like. I put chopped strawberries and blueberries in mine, but will also be trying these with raspberries and chopped banana in the near future. If you toast your pecans before adding them, it will boost the flavor factor immensely.

I also have a thing about toppings on muffins – more is better! For the sake of keeping these reasonably healthy, I toned that down a bit and just put a tiny amount on each muffin before baking. You can simply sprinkle them with finely chopped nuts and cinnamon if you prefer, or leave them plain. (Here I go…can’t help myself: a drizzle of simple powdered sugar icing would be lovely too!)

Gluten Free Berry Pecan Muffins

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Makes 12

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup berries (if using strawberries, chop them coarsely)
1 tablespoon orange zest
⅓ cup chopped pecans
½ cup buttermilk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ cup melted coconut oil
STREUSEL TOPPING (optional)
1 teaspoon melted coconut oil
2 teaspoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
1 teaspoon coconut flour
3 tablespoons finely chopped pecans

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 F.
Place foil or paper liners in 12-cavity muffin pan
In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Add berries, orange zest, and chopped nuts. Stir to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, honey, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
Add melted coconut oil, whisking briskly, and immediately pour it into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined.
Divide between 12 liners. They will be generously filled.
Combine all of the ingredients for streusel, if you are using it. Press gently onto each muffin.
Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of a muffin.
Move pan to a cooling rack and let them cool a bit before eating.

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Add fruit and nuts to dry ingredients

Add liquids to dry ingredients

Add a little topping if desired, and bake.

No, I haven’t exactly turned over a new leaf, but I have to admit I’m a little more open to the whole gluten-free idea after this success. For now, though, I have this idea. This truly decadent idea that is screaming to be made into reality, and will be posted soon. One step forward, two steps back I guess!

Lorinda

Taunee’s Blueberry Pancakes

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Lorinda

Pancakes for two, anyone? I’ve “done” pancakes before (see: The Real Scoop on Pancakes) but my sweet little granddaughter is working on a school project and specifically asked for a photo of blueberry pancakes. How can a grandma refuse?

So I changed my basic recipe a wee bit, making it a little richer (butter instead of oil), a little sweeter, and cut the recipe to make approximately 6 large pancakes. Pancakes just don’t get any better than this!

Mmmm. Ready to serve!

I used fresh blueberries, but if you want to use frozen, I suggest you sprinkle them on top of the pancakes once you’ve poured the batter on the griddle; that way your pancakes won’t turn a funky color.

Here you go, Taunee. Pancakes from Eema’s kitchen:

Taunee's Blueberry Pancakes

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
¾ cup buttermilk
¼ cup milk (or water)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup fresh blueberries (if using frozen, don't stir into batter - drop onto poured pancakes before flipping over.)

Instructions

Heat griddle on medium high. Grease generously. (I prefer shortening, but bacon grease is good too.)
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, and milk together well. Whisk in melted butter.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients, mixing just until combined. I like my batter to be fairly thick, spreading it into circles on the hot griddle with a spoon. If you prefer a thinner batter, add more milk or water until it's the desired consistency.
Spoon batter onto hot griddle. Lift and peek - when the bottom is a rich brown and the top looks a little dry and bubbly, flip the pancakes and cook until brown on both sides.

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Whisk liquids into dry ingredients.

Spoon batter onto hot, greased griddle. Cook until brown on both sides.

and…enjoy!

Hope you get an A+, Miss. Taunalee!

Tender Yucateco Pork

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Lorinda

I’m sure we’ve all experienced a moment where a whiff of fragrance transports us back in time . I chased a woman down the mall once to find out what perfume she was wearing, because it was the same scent my preschool teacher wore! Our sense of smell remembers and teases us with quick trips to the past.

When I pondered what to make for a Cinco de Mayo roundup with my blogger friends, a dish my son and I prepared during my recent visit to California was the obvious choice (even though it has nothing at all to do with baking). At the time we couldn’t find achiote paste, so had to make a homemade version in our own freestyle way. But this time (thanks to Amazon) I have the real stuff, and HOO BABY, does it smell delicious. When I opened the package I was instantly taken back to a family vacation in Cozumel when I was fifteen years old. That was a long, long time ago. There was a hotel/restaurant down the beach where we ate often, and this…THIS is the exact aroma I remember. Heavenly. (Wistful sigh here.) I jazzed up the Xni-pec topping, adding carrots and red cabbage for more crunch. It’s similar to cole slaw, only spicier. A dollop of sour cream on the top cools it down a bit. Speaking of cooling it down a bit, you know you should always wear gloves when working with peppers, right? I know this too. I do. But right now I’m housesitting at a friend’s place and didn’t have access to disposable gloves – and it was just one little jalapeno pepper, right? From experience I can tell you that if you rub your eye after cutting up a jalapeno pepper, you will need to wash it out thoroughly with milk. ‘Nuff said.

Tender Yucateco Pork

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Ingredients

4-5 pound pork shoulder blade roast
2 ounces achiote paste
6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
½ red onion (save the other half for the Xni-pec)
Juice from 1 lime
½ cup orange juice
1 Tablespoon orange zest
½ cup apple cider vinetar
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon oregano
10 whole cloves (or ¼ teaspoon ground)
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half (or ¼ teaspoon ground)
8 whole allspice (or ¼ teaspoon ground)
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped - or more to taste
XNI-PEC:
2 cups chopped red cabbage
½ red onion, chopped
1 habanero pepper, chopped finely
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely
1 cup grated carrot
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon sugar
Juice of 1 lime
Chopped cilantro, if desired

Instructions

Place pork in a large crock pot.
Put in a blender: achiote paste, garlic, onion, lime juice, orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, pepper, salt, and oregano. Blend until smooth. Pour over the meat.
Sprinkle with cloves, cinnamon stick, allspice, and chopped pepper..
Cover and cook on high for one hour. Turn heat to low and cook for 5 hours, or until meat is fall-apart tender, turning the meat over once during the cook time. Remove the pork to a platter or baking dish and shred, using 2 forks. Remove and discard any large pieces of fat or whole spices. Strain the juice from the crock pot to remove whole spices and return the juice and meat to the pot, keeping it on warm until you are ready to serve.
Combine all of the ingredients for the Xni-pec. Allow to sit for 15-20 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
Serve the pork in hot corn tortillas. Top with xni-pec and a little sour cream.

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The leftover juices in the crock pot make a wonderful base for a spicy Mexican soup! Trust me – you’ll want to freeze this for later. Just ladle off the fat from the surface, or chill in the refrigerator to make it easy to remove the solidified fat and freeze in an airtight container.

Put goodies in blender.

Blend until smooth.

Pour over pork in crock pot.

Sprinkle with peppers and whole spices.

Separate meat with forks and strain the sauce.

Shred meat with forks and strain the sauce.

Return meat to sauce. Keep warm until ready to serve

As always, feel free to change this recipe to suit your taste. I’m kind of wimpy when it comes to hot, spicy foods, so I kept the heat down to a reasonably fiery level. You may want to add more peppers to your batch. I’m also thinking of adding a bit of dark chocolate to the crock pot next time for another layer of flavor. Pile the pork on a tortilla, top with Xni-pec and a little sour cream (chopped tomatoes are nice, too) and enjoy!

For five other delicious Cinco de Mayo recipes, please visit these amazing pages:

From Tampa Cake Girl: Margarita Cheesecake

From Hun, What’s For Dinner?: Dessert Chimichangas

From Crumbs in my Mustachio: Easy Taco Salad

From Cooking from a SAHM: Easy Salsa

From Moore or Less Cooking Blog: Chicken Fajitas

Brownies for a Crowd

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Lorinda

The other day I needed to make lots and lots of brownies…enough for 60 women. And because “good enough” just doesn’t cut it for our Homemakers’ Club annual spring tea, I also felt the urge to gussy them up and make them pretty.

I usually use a mixture of oil and butter in my brownies, but I wanted these to be rich and decadent, so I skipped the oil and used lots of butter. They turned out even better than I’d hoped, with enough height to look impressive, and a density somewhere between fudge brownies and cake brownies.

If you don’t have a crowd to cook for, you could cut the recipe in half of course. But I’d go for the full recipe and freeze some if I were you; they’re that good!

Brownies for a Crowd

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Makes approximately 72 brownies, 1½-inch by 2-inches each.

Ingredients

6 cups sugar
2¼ cups (4½ sticks) butter, melted
9 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup "Special Dark" cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (more if desired)

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 F.
Lightly grease two 9-inch by 13-inch baking pans, line with parchment, (the grease will hold the parchment in place) and spray lightly with an oil/flour combination spray like Baker's Joy.
In a very large bowl, combine the sugar and melted butter. Stir well.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla until frothy. Add slowly to the sugar mixture, stirring well.,
Add the cocoa powders, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until combined.
Gently stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
Divide evenly between baking pans, spreading with a dough scraper or offset spatula.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center of the brownies comes out clean. If it has batter on it, bake in 3 minute increments until done. Don't overbake.
Cool COMPLETELY in pans on cooling racks. Remove the brownies by lifting the edges of the parchment. Mark and cut as desired. Since they are thick and rich, I found that 1½-inch by 2-inch pieces were perfect.

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Spreading batter. (I used one huge pan, 13″ x 18″)

I was so busy slam-dunking this project, I failed to take pictures as I went. But the decorations were pretty simple for the most part. A swirl of chocolate buttercream icing (ganache would be great, too!) a few buttercream roses and leaves, and nifty little edible flowers and butterflies I got from Sugar Robot. There is no sugar in them, so they were perfect as decorations for the batch of sugar-free brownies I also made.

The little bees were simple and fun to make. To make a bee I used two jelly beans – a yellow one for the body and a “ginger ale” jelly bean for the head and wings. (White would do nicely, too.) I melted a little white chocolate in a small dish to use as glue, then cut the end off of one of the lighter beans for a head and glued it to the end of a yellow bean, using the white chocolate. Then two more thin slices of the light bean were attached to the sides for wings. You will need to hold them in place for a few seconds to let the white chocolate dry.

Melt a small amount of dark chocolate in a plastic zipper-type bag and snip a teeny tiny bit of one corner off. Dot eyes onto the head and then stripes on the back of the yellow bean. (The reason my stripes look a little wimpy is because I thought I’d try painting them with black paste food coloring. Not recommended!) That’s it. Let them dry for a few minutes before moving them onto the brownies.

Here’s how I know these brownies are the best I’ve made: usually, I prefer them with lots of chocolate icing, but I had some leftovers that didn’t get decorated, and I actually preferred them plain. Irresistible!

Happy spring…

Lorinda

Triple Cheese Ham Bake

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Lorinda

Once again my five favorite cohorts and I have gotten together to bring you some delicious recipes. This month, we’re digging into our favorite pasta meals. (Yum….pasta!) Here’s a comfort casserole from me, with links to the other dishes at the bottom of the post.

Triple Cheese Ham Bake: the ultimate comfort food!

Pasta is one of those comfort foods that we Baby Boomers were fed often, especially when times were tough and budgets needed to be stretched. In my family, pasta was usually cooked in the form of spaghetti, tuna casserole, goulash, or macaroni and cheese.

Pasta came in a bag and was boiled until it was almost falling apart. We hadn’t heard of cooking it “al dente”, buying or using fresh pasta, or – heaven forbid – making it ourselves.

This is a basic casserole, perfect for using up leftover ham. You can jazz it up with peas, broccoli, or asparagus tips if you’d like, to make it a complete meal. You could also use leftover chicken instead of ham.

Here’s the beauty of this casserole: you don’t have to boil the pasta! I mentally rate recipes by bowls and pans that will have to be washed. By using this method you will save the effort of washing a large pan and a strainer…a big plus in my book!

Triple Cheese Ham Bake

Author: The Rowdy Baker

An easy casserole that's a perfect way to use leftover ham. Serves 8.

Ingredients

1 pound Rotini pasta (uncooked)
2-3 cups cubed ham
1 small can sliced olives (more to taste)
½ cup chopped onions
3 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar, mozzarella, and three-cheese Italian)
1½ cup milk
1 cup cream
1 cup chicken broth
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon coarse pepper
2 tablespoons butter
TOPPING:
1 cup Panko-style breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 F.
Pour the dry pasta into a large casserole dish. (I used a 13x9x2" rectangular casserole.).
Sprinkle ham over the pasta.
Sprinkle olives and chopped onions over the ham.
Cover with cheese.
Heat milk, cream, chicken broth, garlic salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons butter in a small pan until butter is melted. Pour over the cheese.
Cover tightly with foil. Place pan on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove foil. Combine Panko and melted butter. Sprinkle over casserole and return to oven for 30 additional minutes.
Allow casserole to sit for 15 minutes before serving.

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Cover the dry pasta with ham.

Add olives and onions and smother with cheese.

Pour liquids over the cheese, cover, and bake.

Let it sit for 15 minutes and serve!

Here are the links for everyone’s pasta recipes. Hope you’ll check them all out!

From Tampa Cake Girl: Greek Pasta Salad

From Hun, What’s For Dinner?: Spring Pasta Salad

From Crumbs in my Mustachio: Caprese Pasta Salad

From Cooking from a SAHM: Ranch Pasta Salad

From Moore or Less Cooking Blog: Mexican Stuffed Pasta Shells.

Savory Bacon Crackers

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Lorinda

I can’t even begin to tell you how ~~relieved~~ thrilled I am to be posting this recipe for Savory Bacon Crackers. After countless tries, with results ranging from “marginal” to “close…but no cigar”, I finally produced crunchy, flavorful crackers that got gobbled up by the tasting crew.

I tried making them yeast-based (bleh), I layered the dough with butter (like croissant dough), I baked them hot and fast, and low and slow. I tried chilling the dough for days.

Meh.

In the end, it was just a matter of getting the proportions right and finding a way to make sure the crackers were crunchy all the way through. These aren’t flaky (like Ritz), but are delightfully light and crunchy, yet still sturdy enough for dipping. And did I mention they taste great?

Crushed bacon adds flavor and texture. Make sure you cook the bacon until it’s extra-crispy. I pan fry mine, then wrap it in paper towels and microwave for a minute or two and shake the bacon out onto another piece of paper towel to cool. Crush with a rolling pin or use a sharp blade – either a knife or an ulu – to make small crumbs.

Savory Bacon Crackers

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Makes almost 1 pound of crackers.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
½ cup finely crushed bacon - about 10 strips (reserve the grease)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ cup oil (I use peanut oil)
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup water
Sea salt

Instructions

Heat oven to 425 F.
Grease two baking sheets with bacon grease (or you may use shortening if you prefer)
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, garlic salt, onion powder, pepper, brown sugar, and crushed bacon.
Stir in the liquid smoke, oil, buttermilk, and water. Mix until well combined. This will be a soft dough, but shouldn't be sticky.
Working with half of the dough at a time, either roll between two pieces of parchment (flour dough lightly if necessary) or roll directly onto the baking sheet, dusting the top with flour as needed.. Try to roll the dough out as thinly as possible...less than ⅛-inch. You may cut round shapes out, re-rolling the extra dough, or simply cut into squares or diamonds, using a pizza cutter.
Place pans in preheated oven for 4 minutes. Remove both pans. Brush the tops of the crackers with bacon grease (or butter, if you prefer) and lightly salt. Using a spatula, flip the crackers over.
TURN OFF THE OVEN. Open the door for 20 seconds. Place pans back in the oven, close the door, and leave the crackers to cook slowly for 1 hour, as the oven cools down. Check one to make sure it snaps crisply when broken. If not, leave them in the oven for another 30 minutes.

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Crush the crisp bacon or finely chop.

This is a must! Add Liquid Smoke.

Roll them THIN, and cut however you like.

Brush with bacon grease, sprinkle with salt, flip over, and return to oven.

Do you have any idea how good these would be with my Succulent Salmon Dip? I’d leave the bacon out of the dip (unless you’re a really hardcore bacon fan) and offer a knife to spread the dip on each cracker. Ham spread would be yummy too.

Okay – this was my obligatory savory recipe before I go into full-blown Easter mode. I’ve stocked up on powdered sugar, chocolate, and sprinkles…and will be putting it all to good use soon!
Lorinda

Corned Beef Pot Pie

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Lorinda

March Madness is here! Six of us bloggers are posting our favorite recipes to brighten up a gloomy month. I brought comfort food, but if you scroll down to the bottom (after you’ve read my post of course) you’ll find the links to the rest of the sweet, delicious desserts.

We never, EVER have enough corned beef left after indulging in our St. Patrick’s Day feast. We love to nibble on it, make huge sandwiches, cook corned beef hash, and (provided I was smart and cooked two pieces) we adore Corned Beef Pot Pie. I’m guessing you will too, so hit those sales after St. Patrick’s Day and put a couple of extra packages of corned beef in your freezer!

Logic would tell you that a beef pie needs beef gravy, but corned beef is different – definitely not your traditional beef flavor. So I use chicken broth in my white sauce, which is delicate enough to allow the amazing flavor of the corned beef shine through.

If you have lots of leftover carrots and potatoes from your dinner, you could certainly use those instead of cooking more; they’d add even more flavor. Aim for 4 cups of veggies, and don’t worry about getting even amounts of each.

For this recipe, I’ll assume you only have leftover corned beef. Need a pie crust recipe? Here’s my favorite:

Never Fail Pie Crust
(makes 2 crusts)

1 cup chilled shortening
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vodka (or vinegar)
1/4 cup milk

Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in the shortening until it looks like coarse crumbs.
Mix vodka (or vinegar) into milk. Combine all at once into flour mixture.
This can be rolled into crusts immediately, or flattened into disks and placed between sheets of plastic wrap and chilled first in the refrigerator.

Since I like big, thick top crusts, I usually double the recipe and freeze leftover dough. Just sayin’.

Corned Beef Pot Pie

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Ingredients

2 cups carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups (or whatever you can spare) cooked corn beef, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup chopped cabbage
2 thin slices onion, chopped finely
1 small can mushrooms (optional)
6 tablespoons butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth (I use low sodium)
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup milk (more if necessary)
½ teaspoon sugar
pepper and garlic salt to taste
Pastry for 2 crust pie

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 F.
In a large pot, boil carrots for 4 minutes
Add potatoes and boil for an additional 5 minutes
Strain carrots and potatoes and put in a large bowl.
Stir in corned beef, cabbage, onions and mushrooms (if using).
In a large pot on medium heat, melt the butter.
Gradually whisk in the flour, and continue to whisk and heat for 2-3 minutes.
Slowly add the chicken broth, and then the cream, whisking continuously.
Add the sugar, pepper, and garlic salt.
Bring to a simmer and gradually add milk until the mixture is thick but pourable.
Turn to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Mixture may thicken...add more milk as needed.
Pour into bowl with the meat and vegetables, and stir to coat.
Place pie crust into a deep pie pan and fill with the mixture, pressing down firmly.
Place a top crust over the filling. Crimp the edges and cut vents in the crust.
Put the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the crust is a rich golden brown.

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Adding the cream sauce to the meat and veggies.

Fill and top with upper crust.

Bake it until it’s rich golden brown

and….eat!

This rich pie will serve six people easily. If you let it sit for twenty to thirty minutes after it comes out of the oven, it will be easier to serve, and won’t burn any tongues. (Ahem.)

After the pie you’ll be ready for dessert, and there are some lovely choices in the links below!
Lorinda

From Tampa Cake Girl: Going Ape Over Banana Pudding Cake

From Hun, What’s For Dinner?: Chocolate Mousse Cake

From Crumbs in my Mustachio: Chocolate Raspberry Roll

From Cooking from a SAHM: Lemon Blueberry Puffs with Lemon Whipped Cream

From Moore or Less Cooking Blog: Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake

Pot o’ Gold Cupcakes

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Lorinda

If you’re looking for a last minute idea for St. Patrick’s Day, here are some delightful cupcakes. They are filled with ganache made with Irish Cream, but if you’re making these for the kidlings, you can use regular heavy cream instead.

Here’s the recipe, but if you’re in a hurry and need to use a cake mix, I won’t hold it against you. The important part is the filling (whooeee, it’s potent!) and the decorations.

Pot o' Gold Cupcakes

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Milk chocolate cupcakes are filled with Irish Cream ganache and decorated with buttercream icing and sour strip rainbows. Makes 24

Ingredients

GANACHE:
4 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped
½ cup Irish Cream liqueur (like Bailey's)
CAKE:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs, room temperature - divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup whole milk
2 cups cake flour
¼ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoons baking soda
Green buttercream icing, sufficient to frost 24 cupcakes
Junior mints (optional to use in place of ganache for pots of gold)

Instructions

MAKE GANACHE:
In a small pan on low heat, combine the chocolate and Irish Cream. Heat and stir gently until chocolate is melted and mixture looks well blended. Set aside, stirring occasionally while the cakes are made.
MAKE CAKES:
Heat oven to 350 F.
Line 2 cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy.
Slowly add sugar, beating continuously, and scraping bowl often. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
Add egg YOLKS, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the vanilla, buttermilk and whole milk.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda.
Beginning with the dry ingredients and ending with the wet, add alternately, approximately ⅓ of each mixture at a time, scraping the side of the bowl often.
Whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into the batter.
Fill cupcake cavities ⅔ full and bake for approximately 20 minutes. A toothpick should come out cleanly when inserted into the middle of a cupcake.
Cool in pans on racks for 5 minutes, and then turn out the cupcakes to cool thoroughly.
Place ganache in a piping bag with a large round tip. Press tip into the center of each cupcake, almost to the bottom, and squeeze gently while pulling the tip back out. Don't try to put too much ganache in each one; they'll crack if you do. The remaining ganache will be used to make the pots of gold.
Cover each cupcake with green buttercream icing. (I used a large closed star tip).
Pipe a round "pot" on each cupcake. With a paintbrush, add gold powder. If you don't have any, yellow frosting or candy will do. OR you can use junior mints, cut the top off so a little white shows, and "paint" it with yellow food coloring.
Place a small strip (about 3" of sour striped candy on each cupcake with one end next to the pot of gold.

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Filling the cupcakes with Irish Cream Ganache

Frost ’em purdy!

Add a little magic gold dust (or see other options in the recipe).

If you’d like more ganache in each cake, make two holes in each cake, or try unwrapping the cupcakes and squeezing the tip in the sides of the cakes.

This is the last St. Paddy’s recipe for this year. Onward….Easter is only a few weeks away!

Lorinda

Irish Pretzel Knots

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Lorinda

A little chewier than a soft pretzel, but not quite as crunchy as a hard pretzel, these beauties go perfectly with an ice cold beer. (Preferably green beer if you’re making them for St. Patrick’s Day.)

I know, I know…pretzels are German, not Irish. But “Irish Knot Pretzels” just didn’t sound as good. Pffft.

If you look at images of Irish Knots on your search engine, there are some great designs you can use. I made simple Trinity Knots and a slightly more complicated Celtic Cross. And by “slightly more complicated” I mean that if you have reasonably good spatial abilities, these will be easy. For you. I struggle with spatial concepts, so my learning curve was really, really big. Looking at a picture and deciding which part of the dough rope went over and which went under…well…let’s just say I should have made a video – just for laughs.

It took me a while, but I finally nailed it. The rest were much easier!

But YOU can do it! Of course, if you don’t want to, you can always just make pretzel bites or sticks. You could also dye the dough green, but the brown outside might have a funky hue to it.

I experimented this time with a lye bath and loved the results. Since I’ve been warned about liability issues, I can’t give you directions or advice about this. However, I will say that the pretzels were delicious. If you’re interested in using lye instead of baking soda, please spend some time searching for safety information and instructions.

Attempting to create a crunchy, hard pretzel was more challenging than I expected. I made a few small changes to my Pretzel Bomb recipe, and was pleased with the results. The pretzels pictured are slightly crunchy with a nice, chewy texture. But being stubborn, I was determined to get more crunch, and learned that putting them back in the oven for an hour at very low heat dried them out satisfactorily. For the record, The Man preferred the chewy version, liking them even more than soft pretzels.

Irish Pretzel Knots

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Ingredients

1 can (12 ounces) beer(or 1½ cups water)
4 teaspoons brown sugar, divided
1 package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon softened butter
2 teaspoons salt
3½ cups bread flour
9 cups water
½ cup baking soda
1 egg whisked well with 1 teaspoon water (egg wash)
Coarse salt

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 F.
Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Heat beer until very warm - about 110 degrees.
In a large bowl (preferably using a stand mixer), combine warm beer, 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar, and yeast. Let sit for 6-8 minutes, or until bubbly.
Add remaining sugar, butter, salt, and 3 cups of the bread flour. Mix well.
Slowly add remaining flour. Dough should come cleanly away from the side of the bowl, and will feel slightly tacky. If it's STICKY, add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead well - at least 5 minutes if you're using a mixer with a dough hook, or 8 minutes by hand. This will make the dough elastic.
Work with small amounts of the dough at a time, using your hands to roll out thin ropes - about 18 inches long, if possible. Avoid rolling on a floured surface; you need friction! Try slightly spritzing your work surface with water or lightly buttering your hands before rolling.
Create shapes with the ropes of dough. Use the blog photos to form Irish knots, or make your own creations. Set shapes aside until you have enough for one baking sheet.
Bring water and soda to a boil in a large pot. Drop pretzels into water, a few at a time, for 30-40 seconds. Lift with a slotted spoon or spider, and set on prepared pan. Brush lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 30 minutes, or until very dark brown. Repeat with remaining pretzels.
To achieve crunchier pretzels, return to oven set at 250 F for up to 1 hour. Test after ½ hour. If the pretzels are close to being dry, turn off oven and let them sit until cooled.

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The first half of the knot.

Another view…about 4 inches long.

Add second half.

An easier option – the Trinity Knot

What else can I tell you? I don’t let the dough rise first for these pretzels, because I’m looking for more crunch and less puffiness. If you’re after a soft pretzel, let the dough rise once for about an hour, punch down, and form your pretzels. Let them rest for 30 minutes before dipping or boiling them.
Keep your extra dough covered while you’re working. A damp cloth is good – even over the pretzels you’ve laboriously shaped while you’re working on enough for a full baking sheet. If the dough in the bowl rises, just punch it down and use it. Or you can let it sit, covered, in the fridge. Work as quickly as you can, but if you’re falling behind, the refrigerator is your friend.

I hope you’ll have fun with these. They’re good any time, of course, not just for St. Patrick’s Day.

Lorinda

Drunken Leprechaun Balls

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Lorinda

Yes, you read that correctly; I’m posting a recipe for Leprechaun Balls. There are so many jokes that will be left unsaid…probably.

These green confections are quite (ahem) firm – a cross between fudge and cookies. To make them you will need to bake a batch of green shortbread cookies, but trust me…the cookie recipe is very easy, and the balls are a slam dunk! What more could you ask for this St. Patrick’s Day?

My shortbread recipe makes a little more than you’ll need, so you should end up with 6-8 extra cookies to munch on. I tried rolling the dough out on a cookie sheet and baking it in one piece, which worked pretty well, but it’s harder to get the center of the dough cooked completely that way. So…I recommend you make cookies, even if they’re just squares of dough. You’ll be crushing most of them, so the shape doesn’t matter.

Drunken Leprechaun Balls

Author: The Rowdy Baker

Green shortbread is baked and crushed, then blended with Irish Cream Liqueur and Whiskey for a tasty adult treat. Makes about 36.

Ingredients

SHORTBREAD:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
green food coloring
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon milk (if needed)
BALLS:
3 cups crushed green shortbread (recipe above)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup powdered sugar
pinch salt
2 tablespoons corn syrup
¼ cup Baileys (or other Irish Cream Liqueur)
2 tablespoons Jameson (or other whiskey)
powdered sugar and green sugar for rolling cookies in

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl (use a stand mixer if possible; this is very stiff dough) beat the butter until soft and creamy.
Add powdered sugar and mix well.
Add egg yolk and enough food coloring to create a deep green color, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl often.
Add dry ingredients. (If using a stand mixer, you may want to switch to your dough hook.) The mixture will be very dry and stiff but should come together into a dough. If it isn't cooperating, add milk a little at a time until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and you can form it into a ball.
Roll dough out to about ¼-inch thick and cut into cookie shapes. (You can also form into small balls and press with a cookie stamp if you prefer. ) Place close together on baking sheets and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes. If you see a tiny bit of brown along the bottom edges, they are done. Don't overbake them, because green cookies turn an unpleasant color if they brown.
Cool cookies on a rack and crush in a bowl until you have 3 cups. Eat the rest!
BALLS:
Combine the crushed cookies, nuts, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.
Roll scant tablespoons of dough into balls and roll them in a dish of powdered sugar and colored sugar.
Refrigerate until firm. These can be served chilled, which will give them the texture of fudge, or at room temperature, which will make them a little softer.
I'm sure you know this, but just for the record: DO NOT SERVE TO MINORS.

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Combine dry ingredients, then stir in wet ingredients.

Roll the balls gently in your palms, then dust with sugar.

By all means, improvise. Use walnuts instead of pecans, switch the booze around and use 1/4 cup of whiskey and 2 tablespoons of Irish cream (you may have to add a little more crushed cookie in this case), or roll them in coconut or sprinkles. Pop Rocks? Hmmmm.

Enjoy! And…hello? Keep ’em out of the reach of kiddies, of course.
Lorinda

For each petal on the shamrock this brings a wish your way. Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day. (Irish Blessing)