I thought I’d be able to get this done, but I have something really important to deal with . . . our taxes, since the extenstion deadline looms!  I’m pretty bummed out, too, since I really wanted to make this week’s dessert:  Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy chose, Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake.  I’ll be back next week, but be sure to check out the TWD blogroll to see how others did.

This week, we were allowed to go back and do a “rewind” recipe (one that we may have missed), instead of making this week’s choice, creme brulee.  I jumped at the chance because (1) I couldn’t find any butane for my torch, and (2) I don’t like the “brulee” on creme brulee.

I chose Orange Berry Muffins (page 3 of Dorie’s book), and they were fantastic.  I swapped cranberries for the blueberries, sprinkled a bit of cinnamon sugar on top of each one before I baked them, and I whipped up the whole thing in my food processor, so not too many pans to clean!

I usually use an ice cream scoop to fill muffin cups, but if you decide to do that, be aware that you will end up with nine muffins instead of twelve.  If you have empty muffin cups, fill them with some water to keep the pan from warping, like you see in the photo to the left.

These really are wonderful – a soft, cakey, moist crumb, perfumed with orange, but not so much that it overwhelms.  I love the sourness of the cranberries combined with the orange.  Definitely on the repeat list, and one of my favorite Dorie recipes so far!  You can find the recipe after the jump, and be sure to check the TWD blogroll to see what others did this week. 
continue reading "TWD Rewind- Orange Berry Muffins"

This week, Michelle of Bake-en selected, Dimply Plum Cake on page 41 of Dorie’s book.  Although Dorie offers several fruit/spice combinations, I went with the main one because (1) I had plums, and (2) I love cardamom, and welcome any opportunity to use it.

I ended up using only one plum, and slicing it thinly to layer on top of the cake.  To finish, I sprinkled Penzey’s marvelous Cake Spice on top, and baked the whole thing for about 50 minutes.

The cake was delicious, though a bit dry, but I kind of like that.  It’s something that goes really well with a cup of tea or coffee, the kind of cake you’d like to dunk.  Master Chow loved the flavor, too:  the cardamom and orange really came through, but did not overwhelm the cake.

Next week:  Creme Brulee!  To see how others did with this week’s pick, check out the blogroll.

This week, Claudia of Fool for Food chose Chocolate Chunkers, and you can find the recipe for them on her blog, or in Dorie’s book.

I blogged about these cookies earlier this year, and to date, they are my favorite Dorie cookie.  Cookies are not high on my list of things to eat or bake (weird, I know), so when a cookie makes my repeat list, that’s really saying something.  And while other Dorie cookie recipes have been well-received by friends and co-workers, I just don’t see myself making them again.  Except for these.

I didn’t bake them this weekend because I stepped on the scale and screamed.  Since I have a plum cake and creme brulee coming up later this month, my thighs told me they needed a break.  I concur.  I’m also hoarding the pound-plus of chocolate that is needed for these cookies because Christmas baking is looming. To see what other fabulous cookies others have made, be sure to check out the TWD blogroll.

For this week, Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart chose Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops.  You can find the recipe on her blog, or on page 85 of Dorie’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.  My husband took these to work and his coworkers devoured them – one very slim young lady ate five.  I think she’s a size zero.  Sigh.

Believe it or not, I could not find malted milk powder anywhere, and I did not want to buy a huge jar of Ovaltine, because it would sit in my cupboard for years.  So, what did I substitute for the malted milk powder, you ask?  Ground up malted milk balls!  Hooray!  And it worked perfectly.  I didn’t bother to sift the ground up whoppers along with the other dry ingredients, just added them to the mixture.

After reading some of the other posts, I didn’t cut up the remaining malted milk balls, and just threw them whole into the batter, along with about 2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (I didn’t add the full amount because I’m already on sugar overload).

The end result?  A chocolaty, caramely, soft and chewy cookie.  The malted milk balls just melted into the batter, leaving toffee-like pockets in the cookies.  Boy, are these RICH.  Next week, however, Claudia of Fool for Food has picked Chocolate Chunkers, my favorite Dorie cookie recipe of all the ones I’ve tried so far.  When I give those away, they go only to my most favorite people!

To see how everyone else faired with the chocolate whopper malted drops, be sure to check out the TWD blogroll.

Well, Madam Chow has dragged her tired derriere to the computer to get this post up now that she’s back in town. Master Chow is delighted that TWD once again produced . . . cookies! I stayed pretty true to the recipe: just added some pecans I had in the freezer, added chocolate chips, and used dark brown sugar because I was out of light brown. All the oatmeal in these helped me believe they were “healthy” (that sound you hear is my hysterical laughter), so I ended up eating five of them. FIVE cookies, people. In one afternoon. Thank heavens for the elliptical machine, that’s all I have to say.

Thanks to Stefany of Proceed with Caution for choosing these. Be sure to check out what everyone else did by perusing the TWD blogroll!

I’m out of town for the next few days, and won’t have access to my photos, but I’ll be back soon and will post my TWD cookies and my Daring Bakers challenge by Friday. Thanks for sticking around – I’ve been swamped the past few weeks, but things are getting back to “normal,” whatever that is! I’m looking forward to getting back to all of your wonderful blogs to see what you’ve been up to.  I’m leaving you with a picture of sweet little Gus, because that’s all I’ve got at the moment!

This week, Michelle of Bad Girl Baking chose Granola Grabbers (you can find the recipe on her blog) for Tuesdays with Dorie. I left out the wheat germ, raisins, and the coconut, and just added a bit more peanuts. Oh, and chocolate chips. One must NOT forget to add chocolate chips. Or some chocolate chunks, or chocolate-covered something or others. I love cookies, but don’t like baking them, so adding a bit of chocolate helps alleviate the angst.

These surprised me – I wasn’t sure what the granola would make them taste like, but in the end they tasted like a chocolate and peanut oatmeal cookie, and what’s not to like about that? They are sweet, but no more than a chocolate chip cookie. Be sure to check out Tuesdays with Dorie to see how others faired with the recipe. I had not made cookies since Christmas, when I baked about 20 different kinds, and triggered a major case of cookie-baking burnout. It was nice to make a batch again, and take a break from my bread baking experiments. Thank you, Michelle, for the great pick!

**Update** I forgot to mention that I used lime instead of lemon, and after about a week, the flavor of the ice cream was really, really good, but I still had trouble with the texture.  I plan to try this again, but I’m going to substitute low fat sour cream and half-and-half (light cream) for some of the heavy whipping cream. **

This week, Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity chose Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream on page 434 of Dorie’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. I found some fresh blueberries on sale, and decided to double the recipe, making one small change: I replaced only 25% of the full fat sour cream with low fat sour cream. I also made the galette again to take to a dinner party, and it was polished off in record time!

The verdict? My least favorite recipe to date. Don’t feel bad, folks, I don’t consider this a failure. My husband enjoyed it, and I learned a bit more about what I like in an ice cream recipe. Namely, in a fruit ice cream, I like to taste the fruit. With this recipe, I was overwhelmed by the cream, sour cream, and the grease slick they left on my lips and the roof of my mouth, which is exactly why I don’t like Cold Stone Creamery brand ice cream. So, if you DO like really rich ice cream like Cold Stone, this is a recipe for you!

For the recipe, check out Dolores’s blog. To see how everyone else faired, go to the TWD blogroll.

I have an announcement to make: This is our favorite item to date out of Dorie’s book,Baking: From My Home to Yours. Thanks to Michelle from Michelle in Colorado Springs for this week’s fabulous selection. It’s on the repeat list, and we thought it was so wonderful, I will be serving it to dinner guests in the future. Everything about the galette was absolutely delicious: the tender and buttery crust, the sweet white peach filling . . . .

What I changed: I cut the dough in half and made a smaller galette. I skipped the custard completely, because we didn’t need more calories, and because I didn’t want to detract from the flavor of the incredible white peaches that I had found. The skin on the fruit was so tender, I didn’t even have to peel it – just sliced it thinly and fanned it out over the pastry dough (yes, folks, I used one ONE peach!). I also used plum jam, and amaretti cookies, an idea that came courtesy of Ulrike over in the comments section of the TWD blog (be sure to check it out for links to the other participants). I froze the whole thing for 15 minutes before baking, per Dorie’s recommendation – it’s over 90 F over here, and the pastry really needed it.  Then I brushed the pastry with cream, sprinkled it with sugar, and baked it.  We devoured the galette in record time.

One more thing: as with the blueberry pie, I substituted low fat cream cheese for the shortening. This may well be my new favorite pie dough, too!