Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 egg

1/3 cup milk 1 cup fresh blueberries 1/2 cup white sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup butter, cubed 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2.	Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3.	To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4.	Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2012 Allrecipes.com

Printed fromAllrecipes.com2/5/2012

Some things i do different:

Crumb topping:

3T butter

1/4 c flour

2/3 c brown sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

Cut the butter into sugar and flour until you get a crumb texture.  Enough crumb for 3 batches.

Coat the blueberries in a bit of flour so they don't fall to the bottom of your muffins.

I only use liners.  No grease.

Soft boiled eggs

My newest thing lately has been soft boiled eggs.

There is something so satisfying in the act of making and consuming a soft boiled egg. It is certainly faster to fry up an egg but it has become to me the most elegant and tasty ways to cook an egg. It requires no butter or oil; just a pot of boiling water. Its form remains in tact until you delve your spoon into its core to reveal its rich center perfectly equal in textures, firm and creamy.

Its elegance, to me, harkens to 18th century England. Haha perhaps I like Jane Austen a bit tooo much! The middle and upper class being served a soft boiled egg in a dainty egg cup along with crusty toast and a variety of fruits. I am enamored with the entire period in general or perhaps it is really the idea that meals are thoroughly enjoyed lesiurely and formally.

Bring a pot of water to boil.
Pierce egg with a pin.
Place egg into water with a slotted spoon.
Set the timer to 4 1/2 minutes.

The Gobbler

The Black Seal in Essex used to have the most delicious sandwich and about a year ago they decided to take it off their menu! sobs...

Fortunately for me they still have the description on their website.  I will have to recreate at home!

GOBBLER (via)
An open faced sandwich consisting of sliced roasted turkey over wheat bread with tomato, bacon, Russian dressing & melted swiss cheese.

You can't eat this thing without a knife and fork!  drooool

And of course... russian dressing from scratch:

RUSSIAN DRESSING (via)

1 1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1/2 C. sour cream
2/3 C. chili sauce (this is a condiment typically sold near cocktail sauce)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. minced dill pickle
1 Tbsp. minced green pepper
2 Tbsp. minced green onion
4 tsp. fine grated fresh horseradish or drained bottled horseradish
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. Tobasco
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. minced parsley
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until thoroughly mixed, but do not over blend. Refrigerate in a covered jar until serving time. Stir before using.

Sugar cookies

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies
 

Rated:
Submitted By: Jill Saunders
Photo By: soccermomma
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 8 Minutes
Ready In: 3 Hours
Servings: 60
"Whenever you make these cookies for someone, be sure to bring along several copies of the recipe! You will be asked for it, I promise!!!"
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 4/17/2011



We're using this recipe for our first Easter cookies. We've already bought tin cutters in all sorts of Easter shapes from Target. Can't wait to get started!

Gingerbread Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

Makes 16 cookies .

• 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup unsulfured molasses
• Royal Icing
• Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. Cut into snowflakes with a 7- inch snowflake-shape cookie cutter. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
4. Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
5. Put icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #7). Pipe designs on snowflakes; immediately sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let stand 5 minutes; tap off excess sugar. Let icing set completely at room temperature, about 1 hour. Store cookies between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

First published   

Copyright 2010 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gingerbread House

Adapted by Food Network from a recipe courtesy of Beatrice Ojakangas

Prep Time:

1 hr 15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

15 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

One recipe of dough makes one

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

For assemblage and decoration:

• Melted white chocolate or Royal Icing (recipe follows)
• Gumdrops, licorice and peppermint, as desired

Directions

Gingerbread House:

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth. Blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough. Chill at least 30 minutes or until firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut paper patterns for the gingerbread house:

Two rectangles (figs. A and B), 3 by 5 inches, to make the front and back of the house. Two rectangles (figs. C and D), 3 by 5 1/2 inches for the roof. Two pieces for the ends of the house (figs. E and F), 3 inches wide at the base, 3 inches to the roof line, and slanted to a peak 5 1/2 inches from the bottom. Four smaller rectangles (figs. G, H, I, and J), 1 1/2 by 1 inch for the roof and sides of the entryway. And one piece (fig. K), 2 inches wide at the base, 1 1/2 inches to the roof line, and slanted to a peak 2 1/2 inches from the bottom for the front of the entryway.

Roll gingerbread dough out to edges on a large, rimless cookie sheet. Place paper patterns onto the rolled out dough. With a sharp, straight edged knife, cut around each of the pieces, but leave pieces in place.

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes until dough feels firm.

Place patterns on top of the gingerbread again and trim shapes, cutting edges with a straight-edged sharp knife. Leave to cool on baking sheet.

Place royal icing into pastry bag with a writing tip and press out to decorate individual parts of house, piping on decorations, windows, door, etc., as desired. Let dry until hardened.

Glue sides, front and back of house together at corners using royal icing. Place an object against the pieces to prop up until icing is dry (it only takes a few minutes).

Glue the two roof pieces to the pitched roofline of the house. Then, similarly, glue the sides and roof of the entryway together with icing. Attach the entryway to the front of the house.

Continue decorating the house, glueing on gumdrops, licorice and peppermint, as desired.

Royal Icing:

• 1 pound (3-3/4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
• 1 to 2 large egg whites, or substitute 4 teaspoons packaged egg whites and 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon almond extract, vanilla or lemon juice

Mix all of the ingredients together using an electric hand mixer, until the icing is smooth and thin enough to be pressed through a pastry bag with a writing tip. Add more lemon juice, if necessary.


http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/2009Q4/ms_hol09_swedish_gingerbread_house_temp.pdf

Shortbread

Made basic shortbread last Christmas for the first time.  What I love about shortbread is it keeps for THREE weeks.  I'll have to dip some in melted dark chocolate this year like the photo above.  It's really yummy with coffee and it only takes one square to satisfy a sweet craving.  With all that butter, it's definitely rich!

 

Ingredients

Publish Post

Makes 8 to 10 wedges

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 cup confectioners' or granulated sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2-inch round cake or springform pan. Sift together flour and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, cream butter until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, and continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 2 minutes more. Add flour mixture, and beat on low, scraping bowl if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed.
2. Pat dough into prepared pan. Use a paring knife to score dough into wedges; prick all over in even intervals with a wooden skewer or fork.
3. Bake until firm in the center and just starting to color, about 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Cut into wedges. Cookies will keep, in an airtight container, at room temperature 3 weeks.

From The Martha Stewart Show, December 2008

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Basic Shortbread - Martha Stewart Recipes