Jam (technically ours are Cream) Doughnuts

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
4 1/2 tbsp (2 packets) dry yeast
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 stick (8 oz) butter
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups peanut oil
Raspberry jam (we used banana pudding), for filling (pastry bag with metal tip) 
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

*Warning!! Be prepared to spend All Day  doing this. ok, now you know.

Directions:

1. Combine the water, yeast, and 1 tbsp sugar in a mixing bowl and let it stand until the yeast is dissolved and the mixture is puffy. heat the butter and milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter is melted. (take off heat) Whisk the eggs into the milk mixture.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk together the milk and yeast mixtures and pour it into the flour mixture. attach the dough hook and knead the dough on the slowest speed for about 10 minutes; after the first few minutes the dough should clean the sides of the bowl (i mixed it by hand). If the dough is very stick, add more flour 1/4 cup at a time. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it for 30 seconds on a lightly dusted surface. You can also knead this dough by hand, either in the bowl or on a floured surface. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning to coat the dough on all sides. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it to rise in a warm, draft-free place, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
3. Remove the dough from the bowl and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on a floured surface. Cut circles of dough with a 3-inch butter. Cut remaining scraps into 3-inch pieces. Place dough circles and scraps on a piece of floured parchment paper and leave them to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (do you see why this takes all day?) until doubled in size.
4. Line two or three baking sheets with four layers of paper towels. Clip candy thermometer onto a 4-quart pot and pour in the peanut oil. Heat the oil over a medium flame until the thermometer registers 350 (or a piece of bread dropped in the oil bubbles instantly but doesn’t turn dark brown right away).
5. Carefully place three or four doughnuts into the oil. Fry until golden, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side (i found 1 minute worked). Bring the temperature back to 350 between batches. Transfer the doughnuts with a metal slotted spatula to the paper-towel-lined baking sheets. Repeat until all the doughnuts and scraps are fried.
6. Sift confectioners’ sugar generously over the warm doughnuts. When the doughnuts are cool, fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain metal tip (mine was plastic and worked fine) with jam. Plunge the tip into the bottom of each doughnut and squirt in a small amount of jam (or pudding; if you decide to do pudding make sure you make it ahead of time…like during one of the “rising period”s for the doughnuts).

*Notes:
We got way more than 18 doughnuts, which is how much it says there will be. Overall these are really good. I didn’t wait until they cooled completely to put the pudding in. But they still taste great.

White Chocolate Truffle Cake

Ingredients:
Cake:
2 eggs
4 tbsp superfine sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 oz white chocolate, melted
Truffle Topping:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
12 oz white chocolate, broken into pieces (or white chocolate chips)
1 1/4 cup cream cheese
To Decorate:
Dark, milk chocolate melted
unsweetened cocoa, to dust

Directions:

1. Grease an 8-inch round springform pan and flour the base (i just put in some parchment paper). Beat the eggs and superfine sugar in a mixing bowl for 10 minutes or until mix is light and foamy and whisk leaves a trail that lasts a few seconds when lifted. Sift flour and carefully fold with metal spoon. Fold in melted white chocolate. Pour mix into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven (350) for 25 minutes or until springy to the touch. Cool slightly then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Return cold cake to pan.
2. Truffle Topping: Place heavy cream in pan and bring to a boil, stirring to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Allow to cool slightly, then add the white chocolate pieces (still over burner) and stir until melted and combined. Remove the pan from the heat and stir until almost cool, then stir in the cream cheese. Pour mixture on top of the cake and chill for about 2 hours. Remove from the pan and transfer to a serving plate.
3. To make large chocolate curls, pour melted chocolate onto a marble or acrylic board and spread it thinly with a spatula. Allow to set at room temperature. Using a peeler, push through the chocolate at a 25 degree angle until large curls form. Remove each curl as you make it and refrigerate until set. Decorate cake with chocolate curls and sprinkle with a little unsweetened cocoa. (Because I live in Hawaii and chocolate never sets in Hawaii. So I melted my chocolate and drizzled it on some wax paper. I stuck the wax paper in the fridge to set and then just moved it on top of my cake. I sprinkled the unsweetened cocoa over it and presto!)

*Notes:
I didn’t wait until the white chocolate mixture had cooled enough so it made my truffle topping not quite set. it’s still pretty gooey and i dunno if it’s supposed it be that way or not. Either way it’s damn good. hehehe.

In Honor of Harry Potter :) Sugar Mice & Pumpkin Pasties

Sugar Mice Ingredients:
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Combine the butter, corn syrup, and vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the confections’ sugar slowly on the slowest speed until it forms a dough-like consistency. Add more confectioners’ sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, if the mixture is sticky. Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and refrigerator.
2. To make the sugar mice, pinch off a small piece of fondant and roll into a 1/2-inch ball. Roll the ball into an oval and pinch one end for the nose and two ends to make pointed ears. You can make two indentations for eyes with a toothpick. Pinch off another piece of dough to form a 1 1/2 inch ball and shape into an oval for the body. Attach the body to the head. You can stick a piece of licorice into the back for the tail. If the fondant gets too soft to work with, put it back in the refrigerator to firm up again.
3. Repeat until all the fondant is used up. Line mice up on parchment paper and leave out overnight to dry.
   *Notes: These basically taste like frosting. I didn’t make them all. Oh, and if you live in Hawaii keep your mice refrigerated as they Will melt.

Pumpkin Pasties Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
5 tbsp cold butter, ct into chunks
3 tbsp vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into chunks
4-6 tsp  ice water
Filling:
1 cup canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor (or blender). Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter and shortening over the flour mixture. Pulse about 15 times until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal, with now white powdery bits remaining (because i did it in a blender, it got all clogged and i ended up using a pastry cutter for the rest of the mixing).
2. Transfer the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle 4 tbsp of cold water over the mixture. Toss the mixture together with a spatula until it starts clumping together. If it’s too dry, add more water 1 tbsp at a time (better too wet than too dry). Gather the dough into a ball and pat it into a disk. Wrap it in the plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.
3. Combine the pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Preheat the oven to 400. Roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick. Use a saucer to cut out 6-inch circles.
4. Put 2 to 3 tbsp of filling in the center of each circle of dough. Moisten the edges with water, fold the dough over the filling, and crimp with fork to seal the edges. Cut slits to make vents. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 30 minutes or until browned.

*Notes:
Basically taste like pumpkin pie. Before i put them in the oven i painted them with a beaten egg and sprinkled sugar over them.

Chocolate-Almond Torte

Ingredients:
2 sticks plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces; plus more for buttering
9 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, chopped (chips work fine)
6 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup superfine sugar
2 ounces almonds, finely ground (about 1/2 cup) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter a 10-inch springform cake pan and set aside.
2. In a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined. Set aside to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually pour melted chocolate into egg mixture, stirring constantly. Fold in almonds. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes. (Torte will be very moist in the middle). Transfer Torte to a wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.

Triple Citrus Bars

Ingredients:
Crust:
10 oz graham crackers
6 tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sweetened shredded coconut
8 tbsp unsalted melted butter
Filling:
4 oz cream cheese, room temp
3 tsp grated lime zest
3 tsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsp grated orange zest
2 pinches salt
2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp orange juice

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil (i used parchment paper), allowing excess foil (paper) to overhang sides for easy lifting when bars are ready to remove. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray (you don’t need to do this with parchment paper).
2. Crust: In a work bowl of food processor, pulse graham crackers until broken down and evenly fine. Add brown sugar and salt; process to combine. Add coconut. Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter, about ten 1-second pulses (i don’t have a food processor, so i used a blender, of course 10-oz of graham crackers is a lot so i just combined the butter and everything else in a bowl with a pastry cutter.) Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn the oven off.
3. Filling: While crust cools, stir cream cheese, zests and salt with rubber spatula in a medium bowl until softened, creamy and thoroughly combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain. Whisk in egg yolks, add juices and whisk gently until incorporated (mix will thicken slightly). Assemble and bake: pour surface with rubber spatula. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1-1 1/2 hours. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.
4. Loosen edges with paring knife and lift bars from baking pan using foil (or paper) extensions. Cut bars into 32 squares and serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 2 days; crust will soften slightly.

the concepts of Jake’s cooking prowess :)

While i don’t have a recipe for you today, i do have some great pictures. Jake made a piecrust (from scratch) to wrap around the sausages we bought to go along with the Potato Pancakes. Basically he made piggies in a blanket ( i usually don’t like them, but these were good). He still had a whole piecrust left so he bought some apple pie filling and (as you can see from the pictures above) rolled his piecrust out and put it on the pan. He made this pie all by himself and it was Delicious (yes, that’s with a capital D). I love my hubby.

Lemon Drops

                                              

Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp (i used more like 1 1/2 tsp) lemon extract
*optional: a little bit of yellow food coloring

Directions:

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Combine the water, sugar, corn syrup, and cream of tartar in a small saucepan. Cook over the medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to bubble. (add the dye…i only put like 2-3 drops. you don’t need alot). Wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in hot water if sugar crystals have formed on the sides. Clip a candy thermometer to the pan and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 300 (So i only went to 230 and the candy set…more or less, it was just really gooey once it made it into your mouth, but at least it didn’t burn).
2. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in lemon extract (the sugar syrup should bubble a little when you pour the extract in). When the bubbling has subsided, use an oiled teaspoon to drop teaspoonfuls of the sugar syrup onto the prepared sheets.
3. To store candies, wrap them in sheets of parchment paper, making sure the candies don’t touch, as they will stick together.

*Notes:
I’ve yet to get the full 40 candies this recipe promises—mostly because the syrup dries so quickly that it’s hard to scoop fast enough. These were pretty good. they stick to your teeth like no other though. I made some lollipops. I bought lollipop sticks off Amazon last October. These candies are pretty good. they’re not traditional lemon drops like i was hoping but they’re still decent.

Acid Drops (attempt 2)

                   

Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp citric acid

Directions:

1. Line two baking sheet with parchment paper (not wax paper or you will be peeling paper off the back of your pops and drops) and set aside. Combine the water, sugar, corn syrup and cream of tartar in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to bubble. Wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in hot water if sugar crystals have formed on the sides. Clip a candy thermometer to the pan and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches 300F (Ok, so i made this twice and the first time i let it reach 300 and it burnt. this time it made it to 250 and i took it off cause it was starting to smell burnt…and still tastes a little burnt. so i’m thinking 230 might be the key temperature. Any candy makers?? want to give a clueless cooker a clue?)
2. Remove the pan from heat. Sprinkle the citric acid over the sugar syrup and stir to combine. When the bubbling has subsided used an oiled teaspoon to drop spoonfuls of the sugar syrup onto the prepared sheets about 2 inches apart to allow room for spreading.
3. To store candies, wrap them in sheets of parchment paper, making sure the candies don’t touch, as they will stick together.

*Notes:
I’ve never had such a difficult time with a recipe in my life…

Triple Chop Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:
Cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add dry mixture to the creamed mixture. Stir in chips. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto greased baking sheets. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake!

*Notes:
I would suggest using parchment paper...I would have but i ran out... Parchment paper is the best for cookies. :)

Potato Pancakes with Nutmeg

Ingredients:
1 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and grated (i used one 1-lbs. potato)
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and grated
1 tsp salt (originally this said 1 tbsp and ours were really salty.
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
*Pair With grilled chicken sausage and drink apple cider!
Direction:
1. Toss potatoes, onions, salt, pepper, nutmeg, flour and egg together in a large bowl. Heat 3/4 tbsp canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Drop 3 tbsp of potato mix (1 tbsp per pancake) into pan. Flatten each pancake with nonstick spatula.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until pancakes are golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat using all batter, adding more oil as needed. Serve Warm.

*Notes:
Like i mentioned earlier, when we made these they ended up really salty. Also, if you're the kind of person who likes to put things on pancakes, we would recommend Ranch dressing. Syrup doesn't hang with onions and neither does ketchup...well Our ketchup might be bad so it might go fine with good ketchup. We live in Hawaii and could not find chicken sausage so we just used little smokies and they were just fine. I would say B- for this recipe.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp poppy seeds (Hawaii has them, yay!)
Zest of 2 large lemons
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, poppy seed, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles very coarse meal (Just gunna say, i still am not sure what this means…). Pour in heavy cream and 1/4 cup lemon juice, stirring until dough forms.
2. Using your hands, gather dough together and gently press into a ball. Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet and shape into an 8-inch disk. Cut into 8 wedges and separate so scones are about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into a center comes out clean, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer scones to a wire rack and let cool, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix confectioners’ sugar with remaining lemon juice and stir until smooth. Using a spoon, drizzle glaze over cooled scones.

*Notes:
All in all, these are pretty good. What was funny was i had them all formed and they looked just like the picture in the magazine and i was really excited. I just popped them in the oven and then i saw it…the lemon juice i had forgotten to add. So…i pulled them out of the oven, put all my cute little scones back in the bowl, smushed them together and then poured in the lemon juice. I mixed it all together and the dough was sticky and slimy [well compared to what it was before]. then i—slightly disheartened—plopped the scones back on the pan. After that I tried to shape them into the little triangles they were in before but it was really no use. Anyway, they turned out pretty good. B+

Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
3 tbsp butter
8 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
2 pkg (10-0z) dried cheese-filled tortellini
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (i forgot the parsley)
1/2 tbsp pepper
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cover, and cook garlic, celery, onion and carrot in butter in 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in chicken broth and water. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Stir in tortellini; cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally or until tortellini are tender.
3. Stir in parsley, pepper and nutmeg. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes. Top each serving with cheese.

*Notes:
Our Tortellini Soup was more tortellini than soup. I did some bad math (English Major!) and only got 6 cups of chicken broth instead of 8. Oh, and our grocery store doesn’t sell tortellini in packages of 10 ounces, they sell it in packages of 8 ounces so we had to buy 3…and when i thought about it i was like “why not add an extra 1/2 cup of tortellini (the extra 4 oz)? What could it hurt?” so i did and when i went to “stir occasionally” i thought the tortellini was going to attack me. Who knew it got so big? My advice? 1. Read the recipe sheet multiple times before you go shopping, 2. Know the correct conversions from cups to ounces, and 3. Follow the recipe.Haha, other than that, this is some pretty good soup. **You might want dessert to be vanilla ice cream…just saying** Happy Cooking!