Monday, June 20, 2011

Rhubarb Crisp

I'll admit it. I'm a bad blogger sometimes. Nevermind the months of absence - but occasionally, I forget to photograph my treats. I guess that means I'll just have to make this one again!

Rhubarb is one of my many loves - I think made even more so since we really only can have rhubarb a few short months of the year. So, imagine if you will, my joy when my CSA box the first week came with some exceptionally beautiful rhubarb. Of course, the first CSA box (which ... I can go on and on about my life for my CSA) coincided with a cleanse I was doing. No sugar or carbs for Becky for 10 days. What am I to do with my rhubarb then? The answer ... freeze it and wait 10 days.

Finally, a couple of days ago, I heard the rhubarb calling to me from my freezer. So I found myself a crisp recipe and headed to the kitchen.

This crisp is amazing - it's a nice balance of sweet and rhubarb-y goodness. And! It's super easy. I will be making this again, some day. And then I will take photos - if I don't eat it too quickly.


Rhubarb Crisp

prep time: about 10 minutes
baking time: 45 - 55 minutes

Yields: 8x8 pan of crisp

Ingredients
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup oats (quick cooking or old fashioned)
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 4 cups sliced rhubarb (about 1/2" pieces)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 TBS cornstarch
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together until crumbly.
  3. Press half of the brown sugar and oats mixture into the buttered baking dish. Top with the sliced rhubarb.
  4. In a saucepan: combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch, water and vanilla. Cook together until clear, stirring frequently.
  5. Pour water/sugar mixture over the rhubarb (distributing evenly) and then top the rhubarb with the remaining crumb mixture.
  6. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes

Enjoy by alone, with ice cream or whipped cream!



Friday, June 10, 2011

Citrus Glaze

For your spice cupcakes and all your cupcake & muffin glazing needs...

Citrus Glaze

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Yields: 1/3 cup

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
  • 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Directions
  • Whisk all ingredients together until well combine. Spoon onto muffins / cupcakes immediately.
Enjoy!

Becky's Special Spice Cupcakes w/orange citrus glaze


Okay, so I'm doing a ton of baking this weekend. Nibbley Bits has some orders! Yup - it's been awhile, but people still ask sometimes.

Sitting here right now, I already have baked 94 cupcakes and 40 macaroons this morning. There are some meringues in the works tonight, but am waiting for the general humidity and the heat in my oven to go down. This is my new weight-loss plan. Bake when it's hot out and sweat off the weight. The key: don't eat everything I bake.

These are a new recipe that I'm super excited about. Hope you enjoy!

Spice Cupcakes

Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 20 minute

Yields: 2 dzn cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for tins
  • 4 cups cake flour, sifted, plus more for tins
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Pinch of ground ginger
  • Pinch of ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
1 recipe orange glaze


Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush standard muffin tins with butter; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Alternately, you can use muffin liners

  2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, salt, and spices three times. (This makes for a really well mixed, super fine mixture.

  3. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
  4. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
  5. To finish, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; spoon glaze over cupcakes, and let set. Cupcakes are best eaten the same day they are glazed; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.
Enjoy for a nice light, delicate cupcake!

Well ... it's been awhile (and here's a recipe for coconut macaroons!)

Sorry for the long delay!

The baking bug hasn't been gone, but I've had a busy couple of months in the world of theater and some how blogging has fallen to the wayside. I've been all over the off-Broadway map lately. Well, not really. I've been hovering around midtown making appearances (and baked goods) at a few different theaters.

In the process of all this theater work, I decided to make my own macaroons for Passover this year. The ones in the tins are just so expensive! And I discovered something astonishing. Macaroons - super easy to make. In my almost 30 years on this earth, I didn't know that macaroons didn't need to be dry! I'm ruined. I will never be able to go back to the sad, dry, canned macaroons.

So, here you have it:

Coconut Macaroons

Prep time: 5 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes

Total time: about 25 minutes
Yields about 4 dzn cookies

Ingredients
  • 5 cups flaked sweetened coconut
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla
  • (optional) 2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet chocolate
Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
  3. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl
  4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
  5. Scoop out 1 inch mounds, placed about 1 inch apart, on a lined cookie sheet.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes, until just turning brown.
  7. Cool and store in a sealed container between sheets of waxed or parchment paper.
The macaroons will keep well in an air tight container for several days.