Blueberry Doughnut Muffins

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Blueberry Doughnut MuffinsWhen I saw these muffins, I was pretty sure they were going to be a hit. I love blueberries, I love doughnuts, and I love muffins – win, win, win. What sets these muffins apart from the standard blueberry variety and into the realm of doughnuthood is that the “muffin top” is dunked in a dreamy glaze.  It made a regular, ordinary muffin a little more special. And, it really helped to seal moisture into the muffin. These guys were just as good on the third day as they were on the first!

We have muffins and yogurt often in our home for a quick breakfast before everyone gets off to work or school for the day. They’re so easy to grab and run out the door with, which is another reason to love them. So, I’m always happy to have another recipe to add to my repertoire. And I’ll definitely be making this one again. Looking forward to trying it with different fruits – I’m sure strawberry would be phenomenal too!

Blueberry Doughnut Muffins

For the muffins:
2 lemons, zested
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 1/3 cup fresh blueberries

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter; melted
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon warm water

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugars. Whisk to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Gently fold in the blueberries by hand.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, filling 2/3 of the way full (I use a large cookie/ice cream scoop). Bake for about 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and water. Whisk until smooth.

When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. At this point, you can leave them as is or go for the double dip. I glazed my muffins twice.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Source: adapted from My Baking Addiction

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

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Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovelies! Yesterday at my local grocery store I happened upon some gorgeous long stemmed strawberries. I couldn’t resist picking a pound up to enrobe in chocolate and then cram into my mouth. This is a dessert that is elegant, eye-catching, and easy as pie to make! Folks are always really impressed with them too. For so many people they’re something they buy on the boardwalk, or the county fair – not something you make yourself at home. And, those people are missing out!

I did some fancy tuxedo strawberries – although leave it to me to forget about the bow-tie, we’ll call it a “casual tux”. I also did some that were the traditional dark chocolate dip, with white chocolate drizzle. I had some leftover red melting chips too, from my Kaepcakes, that I melted down and drizzled as well for a pop of color. They came out gorgeous, and tasted as good as they looked. The strawberries were from California, and had wonderful flavor. We all enjoyed them for dessert last night, I took a few over to a girlfriend (my cupcake taste-tester, Jamie) to share, and have exactly 3 left – which I plan to enjoy for breakfast this morning!

If you need a last minute gift idea or dessert for your special someone – chocolate covered strawberries are the ticket. Can be made in under an hour, and they’re so special. I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine’s Day – full of love!

Chocolate Covered “Tuxedo” Strawberries

12 medium fresh strawberries with stems
1 cup vanilla or white chips
3-1/2 teaspoons shortening, divided
1-1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Line a tray or baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside. Wash strawberries and pat until completely dry.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt vanilla chips and 1-1/2 teaspoons shortening at 70% power; stir until smooth. Dip each strawberry until two-thirds is coated, forming the tuxedo shirt, allowing excess to drip off. Place on prepared tray; chill for 30 minutes or until set.

Melt chocolate chips and remaining shortening. To form the tuxedo jacket, dip each side of berry into chocolate from the tip of the strawberry to the top of vanilla coating. Repeat on the other side, leaving a white V-shape in the center. Set remaining chocolate aside. Chill berries for 30 minutes or until set.

Remelt reserved chocolate if necessary. Using melted chocolate and a round pastry tip #2, pipe a bow tie at the top of the white V and three buttons down front of shirt (I actually just use a toothpick). Chill for 30 minutes or until set. Store in the refrigerator in a covered plastic container for up to 1 day.

Strawberries can also be dipped in the semi-sweet chocolate, let to set for 30 minutes, then drizzle with white chocolate (or any color melting chips) using a spoon. Let sit another 30 minutes before serving.

Source: Country Woman, July 1996

Fresh Cherry Cobbler

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Fresh Cherry CobblerBing cherries have been popping up in my supermarket for a reasonable price already this year. They’ve been really good too – dark red and firm. Usually, it’s all I can do to restrain myself from eating them all “as-is” – but I do like to bake with them when possible. And muddling is always fun, and there’s no better reward than these fresh cherry margaritas.

A couple weeks ago, I headed over to the Opportunity Shop on the island. It’s a thrift store that is run by one of our local churches. We were at our weekly lunch excursion to Mom’s, and I left the boys with her to walk over to the thrift store, for a few blessed minutes alone. I always find my favorite props and old table linens there. And, on this occasion – I got an awesome stash of cookbooks. 2 of Giada’s cookbooks, an America’s Test Kitchen cookbook (Restaurant Favorites at Home), and also this Wolfgang Puck cookbook. We went home, the boys took a nap, and I enjoyed a cup of tea and my new cookbooks in peace. When I came across Wolfgang’s recipe for fresh cherry cobbler – I knew that it had to happen. I had just enough cherries in the fridge, so I made it for dessert that very night.

It was absolutely delicious. Often with cherry desserts, the flavor is so artificial. Not the case here! Every bite was bursting with the flavor or fresh cherries, only intensified because they’d been baked. And the cobbler topping just soaks up all the juices that were exuded during the baking process. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it really was Heaven.

My only complaint was the cobbler topping though. Not really a fan of the fact that you roll it out, then cut squares. Next time I’ll probably cut a cute shape out with a cookie cutter. Or maybe just do a crumbled cobbler topping – there’s something about that rustic look that I just love. Regardless, this was a wonderful dessert that I’m definitely looking forward to making again when cherry season is in full swing!

Fresh Cherry Cobbler

For the topping:
2 cups cake flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small chunks
3/4 cup heavy cream

For the filling:
2 pounds fresh cherries, pitted
1/4 cup honey, mild flavored such as clover or orange blossom
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Kirsch (I used my DIY strawberry vodka)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces, plus butter for the pan
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar

Powdered sugar for dusting
Good-quality vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)

Make the shortcake topping. Put the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a food processor fitted with the stainless steel blade; pulse a few time to combine. Add the chilled butter and pulse the machine several times until the butter is chopped up into small pieces the size of gravel. With the motor running, pour the cream through the feed tube; stop processing the moment the dough barely begins to form. With a lightly floured rolling pin, gently press or roll out the dough to an 8-inch square. With a sharp knife, neatly trim the edges of the square, then cut it into 8 equal squares. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, transfer the squares to the baking sheet, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until needed.

Pre-heat the oven to 375. In a medium bowl, stir together the cherries, honey, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Dissolve the cornstarch in the lemon juice and Kirsch, and stir into the cherry mixture. Mix thoroughly. Grease and 8×8 baking dish with soft butter. Pour the fruit mixture into the buttered pan. Dot the surface with the chilled butter.

Arrange chilled shortcake squares neatly on top of the filling in the pan. Brush the shortcake with the heavy cream and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Bake in the preheated oven until the shortcake is golden brown and the fruit is bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it settle at room temperature for at least 10 minutes.

To serve, use a large spoon to transfer each square of shortcake and the filling beneath it to an individual dessert plate. Dust with powdered sugar, and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.

Source: adapted from “Wolfgang Puck Makes it Easy” by Wolfgang Puck

Blueberry Chocolate Scones

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Blueberry Chocolate SconesCan you believe that before I made these, I’d never had a scone in my life. Which is pretty lame considering a majority of the blood running through my veins is Scottish and English. When given he opportunity I always go for the muffin, or the doughnut – and pass over the scones without a second glance.

I was watching an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” last weekend, a show which every time I watch it, I swear I’ll never watch it again – because after every episode I have a list of things that I need to make, like – right now! Anyway, this guy was on there making nectarine scones that looked absolutely fabulous. It made me sad that I’d never had one! So, I decided then and there to make them for breakfast on Sunday morning.

A few weeks ago, Brookside Chocolate contacted me asking if I’d be interested in trying some of their products. Free chocolate? Well, that’s a no-brainer! They sent along the nicest little kit that included three bags (Blueberry with Acai, Pomegranate, and Raspberry with Goji) of their chocolate covered fruit juice pieces. Which, I promptly devoured most of. They’re so good. The fruit pieces inside are just sweet enough to really let the flavors in the chocolate come through. The chocolate is high quality too, just as rich and smooth as can be. I had pulled a recipe for blueberry white chocolate scones, but thought adding some of the dark chocolate blueberry-acai pieces would be fun! So, that’s what I did.

I’m proud to announce that I am now a scone fan! I’d say the best way to describe them is halfway between a cake and a biscuit. Fluffy, and creamy – studded with delicious blueberries and chocolate. I honestly can’t think of a better way to start the day! Oh wait, maybe I can – the good people at Brookside have offered to give away a tasting kit to one of my fine readers! It includes:

1 pkg. Brookside Dark Chocolate Pomegranate
1 pkg. Brookside Dark Chocolate Açai with Blueberry
1 pkg. Brookside Dark Chocolate Goji with Raspberry
Crate & Barrel 3-part server with central loop handle
Crate & Barrel stainless steel cheese server
Crate & Barrel porcelain cheese board
2 stemless wine glasses
Grocery gift card ($30)
Gaiam exercise headband
1 year subscription to Fitness Magazine

All you need to do is leave one comment telling me which flavor you’re most looking forward to trying! Contest runs through next Thursday (2/7) at 12 PM EST. Winner will be chosen using a random number generator.

Congratulations to Meryl, with entry 37! She’s looking forward to trying the Dark Chocolate Pomegranate. Thanks to Brookside for sponsoring such a great giveaway!

Blueberry Chocolate Scones

2 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup Brookside dark chocolate blueberry acai pieces, chopped
3/4 cup buttermilk + 2 Tbsp
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Mix on low to combine. Add the butter, and mix on low speed until the butter pieces are the size of a dime.

Slowly add in 3/4 cup buttermilk and mix until it forms a stiff dough. Add in the blueberries and chopped chocolate, and mix until just combined.

Turn out dough to a floured work surface and pat down to a 9×9 inch square. Cut dough into thirds. Then, cut each third into three triangles and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the 2 Tbsp of buttermilk, then dust it with sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until starting to brown on the edges. Serve warm with butter or honey.

Source: adapted from Food.com (user Just Call Me Martha)