I love to bake. There. I said it.
Cooking and baking has always been an interest of mine, but here, when I've got a giant kitchen and a need for creative expression, baking has become quite a focus for me.
I bake every Sunday for class on Monday, then either bring the extra to class on Thursday or make something new. Funny fact, Americans are actually known for being bakers. Honestly, the first time I brought cookies to poetry class, the same Fran said, "What is it with Americans and baking?"
I didn't even know that was, like, a thing, like a defining feature of us. But I confirmed it with Naomi. Americans bake. A'ight. I can be your token American baker. Works for me.
Here are some of my recipes (and recipe edits) from the past couple weeks. They're super delicious and interesting, or at least my British counterparts think so. :)
Whatcha need:
-5 oz butter
-5 oz white sugar
-2 beaten eggs
-7 oz flour
-2 Tablespoons milk
-1 Teaspoon orange essence (I used lemon essence, for lack of an option, and it was great)
-zest and juice of 1 orange (any thickness of grating will do, but I would suggest using one of the more fine options. I used a large one and found myself chewing straight zest at some points. Mm. ish.)
-3 Tablespoons icing sugar (this means powdered sugar. I didn't know what the heck it meant and used granulated. Worked just as well and gave the crust a little crunch).
Preheat over to 350F.
Combine ingredients at all, leaving aside the juice and the powdered sugar.
"Flour" and grease a baking pan. Personally, if any flavour is gonna get stuck on my food, I want it to be sweet, so I usually grease and powder sugar a pan. Your choice.
Bake for 40 minutes or until you can pull a toothpick out without it getting covered in gunk.
Whisk together your sugar and juice, poke holes all up in your bread, pour the mix over it.
You can either be done here, or stick it back in the oven for a few minutes.
This bread is sticky and juicy and delicious. I suggest eating it with a wee slab of dark chocolate on the side or a cup of hot chocolate. It's works as a great wake-up.
Alterations:
1. I don't sift flour. Can't figure out why I would.
2. I like to roll the lavender in my hands first, crushing the pods. It stretches it out, releases even more of that beautiful scent, and makes your hands smell awesome.
3. Didn't have wax paper and, knowing my struggles to do normal, basic things, the cutting nice, clean cookies wouldn't have worked anyway. I suggest chilling the dough for a bit, then just spooning it out normal onto a cookie sheet.
At first, I couldn't tell if I liked these cookies because I didn't like eating the dough (I love cookie dough WAY more than the actual cookies. It's part of why I like baking alone. Nobody gets mad at me for snitching the batter), but baked, oh my gosh, they are beautiful.
Fresh out of the oven is best (as par usual) because they're a little crunchy on the top, but the inside is soft and hot, they release this steamy, calming, lavender aroma/flavour. It's a really soothing little cookie. You will eat 10.
Coconut Lime Cookies
Need: -2 and 1/4 cups flour
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 cup shredded coconut (that's desiccated coconut for you UK folks)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup sugar
-3 oz cream cheese, cut up into little pieces (UK: "soft cheese")
-Zest of one key lime (I had no key lime. Used a little extra lime juice)
-1/2 cup butter, melted and still warm (not hot, otherwise you'll cook the egg when you add it)
-1 large egg, room temp (here in NI, you don't refrigerate your eggs. Who knew??)
-1 TBSP whole milk (I used coconut milk for the flavour. Use whatever milk you have near you)
-1 TBSP key lime juice
-1/2 cup of powder sugar for rolling cookies (couldn't even find that for weeks here. Frosting sugar, it's called. Needless to say, I didn't use it. Tried rolling in granulated. Truly not an important step. Go for it, though! I'm sure it's delicious that way).
The key to this recipe is texture, that's why everything is room temp, cut up, or melted. The goal is to avoid using a mixer. Stick with your spatula, folding everything in.
There's technically an "order" to add it all in, but really, I am unconvinced that there is any true reason behind that. Eventually, everything ends up in the bowl. So, as long as all the ingredients are remembered, toss 'em in there in whatever order you feel led.
Bake these little suckers for 11ish minutes at 350F. They won't get super brown anywhere and they've got amazing volume and texture, so just trust the time on the first go-round, taking them out and letting them cool before passing judgment on how long the next batch should bake for.
Personally, I was unconvinced of the limeyness (perhaps due to my lack of zest), but I spritzed my cookies with more lime juice and let them soak in it for a wee bit. I don't think you can really go wrong. It's just flavour preference.
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| Almond cups (recipe below) on left; coconut lime cookies (recipe above) on right |
Ingredients:
-2 TBSP butter, melted but not searing hot
-1 egg (thus the cool-down on the butter)
-2 cups skim milk (you can drink whole milk if you want to)
-1/2 tsp. coconut extract (what. I can't find powdered sugar here. Ain't no way I am gonna locate coconut extract. Used Coconut oil and substituted a bit of the milk for coconut milk)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp baking powder
-2 cups rolled oats (think Quaker)
-1 cup shredded coconut
-1/4 cup sliced almonds (and a healthy dose for the tops of the muffins)
Combine and dump into muffin cups, filling them half full. I found an ice cream scoop works well, if you're looking for a clean way to do this.
Use those extra almonds to top off the cups.
Now, this recipe is super healthy. I find health a bit averting, so I sprinkled brown sugar atop all of these. Gave them just the right amount of sugar to take the edge off the fiber. If you've already manipulated your tastebuds into believing that coconut oil is sweet enough for you!, then I'm sure you'll like the recipe as is. Enjoy.
Bake at 350F for 20ish minutes.
Now, they are super lavender-y, so if you just want a whiff of them, add in less. But they're so good, oh man.
Fresh from the oven, they've got a great crunchy top of sugary, lavendery goodness.
A note on the frosting. I think I have a complex with frosting. No matter what I do, I cannot make pretty frosting. All my frosting is YUM, but it's also liquid. So for me, I put a little less batter in my fairy cake cups, so that I've got a half to a four of inch of play room post-bake to pour my frosting into rather than let it drip all down the sides and create a sticky mess.
If you're like me, this may be the best course of action for you as well.
Cupcakes are best eaten that night or next day.
Berry Banananut Oatmeal Bars
Okay, these are max healthy, but also absolutely scrumptious. You can eat 10 squares and not feel guilty. I mean, you can feel guilty, but you would have no grounds to be so.
Ingredients:
(Order does matter this time)
-2 cups rolled oats
-1/3 c packed brown sugar (light or dark)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 c. of your favourite nuts. Recipe calls for walnuts, but I used almond slices
-1 c berries (any berries. and no need to be fresh. I used a frozen bag of mixed)
-1/2 c. milk chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark are also completely acceptable)
-2 cups milk
-1 egg
-3 TBSP melted butter
-1 TBSP vanilla extract (yes, you read that right. a whole tablespoon. I ran out and halved it with almond extract. Totally acceptable).
-1 ripe banana (somewhere between green and black will work) cut into slices (sans peel)
Oven at 375F.
Grease that 9x13 pan.
BOWL NUMERO UNO: Mix oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, HALF the nuts, HALF the berries, and HALF the chocolate.
BOWL NUMERO DOS: milk, egg, butter, and vanilla (the hot butter may cook a bit of the egg. Temper this by whisking as you add the butter, but if it does cook it just a bit, it's going to be okay. Everything will cook in the oven.)
Put bowl 1 into the baking dish.
Add the second halves of the nuts, berries, and chocolate to the top, as well as the banana slices.
Pour all of bowl 2 over everything until all mixture is saturated. Shake it a little bit to make sure all the oats are soaked.
Personally, I like a little more uhmff to my mix, so I threw in some more almonds and sprinkled coconut on top like magic bars (which are also super yum).
Really, this recipe is flexible and forgiving, so you can really add in any breakfasty ingredient you have lying around that sounds good to you.
Bake your bars for 35 or so minutes until brown on top and milk has set.
Sprinkle the top lightly with brown sugar.
*Alterations/Notes*
-Don't bother with that parchment paper/silicone crap. As my Irish friend Emma would say, that's notions. Just grab you a regular joe cookie sheet. You're fine.
-These cookies don't spread much, so make them as big or small as you want and space them as closely together as you darn well choose without them touching. I did about an inch, but you could probably stand to do a half inch. No need to flatten. Just glob it on there. But follow your heart. :)
-The lemon zest you'll use (which is essentially the zest of one large lemon) will leave you with a naked lemon to squeeze for the glaze. Juice it all out, but then use a sharp wee knife to get out any of the excess pearls of lemon juice. This will both stretch it (so ya only need one lemon) and give your glaze a nice texture.
-The glaze is super good. After I dipped mine, I put all my finished cookies out on the baking sheet, squeezing them close together, and poured the remainder of the glaze on top, letting my cookies soak in all the lemony goodness.
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| Naomi, Craig and I went out on Saturday and, after lunch, BBQd the cookies. The sugar got all caramelized. Such a good idea. |
You'll start to notice a common ingredient here. Bananas are inexpensive and versatile. I eat a lot of them.
This is the first recipe so far that's given me any trouble. The end result was quite good, but honestly, I thought it would never be done baking.
Everything else is the same. If you don't have chocolate chips (like the UK...), break up a chocolate bar into chunks or grate a chocolate bar (it may change the color of your bread pretty dynamically, though).
You will need your beaters for only one step: the butter.
Other than that, fold. Fold with the spatula, much like the coconut lime recipe.
Save the honey, yogurt, and chocolate chips for last and merely swirl them in.
Now, bake.
If your bread was like mine, it will look done on the outside and stay gooey on the inside. Forever. No matter how dang long you bake it.
It also won't burn (in my humble experience), but it won't bake either.
I came to the conclusion that that's how this bread is supposed to be.
So, stick your toothpick in, look for a brown top, and take it out.
You can either let it cool, or you can spoon out some of your extra yaogurt atop it like ice cream and eat it hot and gooey. Even today, I came home for a wee snack and broke up a sticky slice (even cooled, it's still a weird consistency. Good....just weird) into my yaogurt with a drizzle of honey. Healthy and satisfying, even for a chocoholic healthaphob.
Dining (and binge-ing) for One
Peanut Butter Nutellanana Sandwich
Okay, so it's not an official recipe, but it's what I've been eating a lot of and it's delicious.
Getchu two pieces of bread, some peanut butter, a slathering of nutella, and a banana cut in half, then longwise in fourths (much cleaner to eat than sliced across). George Foreman that sucker.
No George Foreman? Toast the bread first.
Add milk.
And love.
Trenchnanas
Trenchnanas
Right, so this is "litrally" the easiest snack to prepare, and it will wow.
The only ingredient you really need is a banana. Everything else is up to you.
You get yourself a banana, cut a panel into it along its curve, but only 3 sides, making it into a flap.
Then, using a spoon or knife, dig a trench into your banana.
The rest is up to you.
In my trenchnanas, I like to do a spread of peanut butter and nutella both, then add in things like marshmallows, m&ms (if I have them), chocolate chips (if I have them), coconut, maybe a bit of instacoffee (not my best choice), Crunchie Bar. Anything. Stuff it, but don't fill it so much that your flap won't lie down well.
Then, move your banana to one of three places:
1. The oven. Use a small bread pan or prop it up with something and let it bake until melty.
2. The George Foreman (are you beginning to catch a theme in my self-cooking?)
3. Wrap banana in foil and put over a fire or grill. Until melty.
Peel back flap and spoon out.
Best with glass of milk. :)
Also, it's a cheap and fun group snack. Just sayin'.
Chicken Quesadillas
I make super quesadillas, and they take all of 5 minutes to prep and cook.
-tortilla
-cooked chicken thigh (I George Foreman all my chicken thighs at the start of the week, then chill them and take as I go)
-cream cheese
-OREGANO, rosemary, thyme. Or something like Italian Seasoning
-Cheese. I like to use whatever white cheddar is cheap. Mine comes in block form. Yours may come grated.
-Salsa. (Here's hoping your salsa options are better than mine..)
Take your tortilla and spread the cream cheese across one half of it.
Sprinkle your chosen herbs over it.
Rip apart your thigh to pieces and spread evenly over cream cheese.
Either sprinkle your grated cheese or cut up/grate your block cheese and slip into empty spaces left by chicken.
Douse in salsa.
George Foreman.
If no George Foreman, go get a George Foreman.
Until that time, a flip or two over the stove should do it.
It's the perfect "forever alone" meal. Or, if you struggle in the kitchen, a way to seem impressive and make something your friends will absolutely love without actually having to do anything that impressive.
Cake in a Cup
Cake in a Cup
While on our monthly skype date together, Anna wanted a snack. So, I talked her through the recipe of one I discovered about a week ago and loved. I don't know if she loved it as much as I did, but her lava'd out of the cup and mine had honeycomb. HELLO.
You will need:
-a beaten egg
-4 Tablespoons white sugar
-4 Tablespoons flour
-3 Tablespoons unsweet cocoa powder
-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-3 Tablespoons milk
-1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
-Vanilla (option or obsession)
For minimal dishes, put the egg in the cup first, beat it, and then add in all the other ingredients. The recipe has a particular order, but let's be honest. It doesn't matter as long as it's batter by the end.
I also added a broken-up Crunchie bar (a UK chocolate honeycomb candy that is so delicious), but you could add in your favorite candy, chocolate chips, coconut, graham cracker, etc.
For cake on the gooey side, microwave for 1.5 minutes. At that point, take it out, check it for preference, then either be satisfied or nuke it for a bit more time. Then, add a glass of milk or some ice cream and you are set.
Contextual Beverages
Nutella Hot Chocolate
A delicious alone-time beverage, nutella hot chocolate is super easy and oober yum.
-A cup of milk
-a big ole spoonful of nutella
-a half teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract
Heat milk on stove or, like me, in the microwave where it belongs, stick your nutella-laden spoon down in the boiled milk after, swirl about.
Add marshmallows or whipped cream as the spirit leads you.
If you want to make your own topping, I hear this one is good:
1. 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.
2. Whip till fluffed.
Hot Tottie
There are healing powers in this beverage. Take courage, ye sore-throated!
Potion:
-A half shot of whiskey (I use Bushmills just because I like to support my adopted country).
-1 TBSP honey (any kind will do, but if you're dealing with allergies, it's BEST to use a locally harvested honey. It will literally help you gain immunity against your allergens or airborne illnesses. What.)
-1 TBSP lemon juice (I like to use fresh and zest a bit of lemon into my cup after)
-1 Cup hot water (heat before adding, not after. After will mess with the alcohol).
-Cinnamon and cloves, to taste.
The alcohol numbs, the honey has antibacterial qualities that heal, the lemon has immune system boosters.
(alternatively, if you don't have booze but you do have jello powder, toss some of that but for sure not the whole package into a cup with honey and hot water and drink it up. The gelatin coats and numbs, the honey heals)
That's all for now. I've been baking up a storm (and even doing my dishes after!).
Wife points, life points.
However you put it, tastebuds have been tested, and my friends are pro-my food.
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