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Bakery Miscellaneous

Mr. Beachy’s Butter Dips

 

Because I made a big pot of tomato sauce yesterday, I wanted homemade bread sticks for spaghetti tonight and Mr. Beachy’s Butter Dips were the perfect choice!  A quick and easy dough to assemble these little treats are a just-right accompaniment for any  pasta dish.

A note about Mr. Beachy:  He is the proprietor of a fantastic store deep in the Amish country in Arthur, Illinois.  My sister, Mamie, and I love to visit the store for its amazing array of fresh herbs and spices, the vast selection of flours of every kind and texture, dozens of bags of diverse tapioca grains, and the awesome choices of fresh baked goods. If you ever find yourself near Arthur, DO visit Mr. Beachy and his family!  We make the trip as many times a year as we can manage and it is worth every mile traveled.  Two of the thumbnail photos above I included to give you an idea of the huge variety of the merchandise at Mr. Beachy’s!  The store itself is a  baker’s Heaven!

The ample amount of baking powder in this recipe ensures a great rise to the bread. I  roll them out almost an 1″ thick so there is plenty of substance for soaking up the accompanying sauce with which I serve them. Since I was using them with pasta and sauce today, I sprinkled them with a dash of garlic salt before baking.  The small sticks have an almost biscuit-like flavor with nicely browned and crunchy edges.

If you are a pasta-sauce-bread person, these will please you with every bite.  They are also delicious without the garlic and accompanied with a bit of jam or jelly for breakfast.  However you decide to feature them, you’ll be happy with the results.  Enjoy!

Mr. Beachy’s Butter Dips

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter
2-1/2 cups flour
3-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 T. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 450. Melt butter in bottom of 9×13 glass baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and stir well with a wooden spoon in large mixing bowl. When dough forms a ball, turn out on a floured surface and roll out 3/4” to 1” thick. Cut dough into strips 1” wide and about 5” long. Roll in the melted butter in the baking dish and lay strips side by side in pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Serve warm.

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Recipes - Desserts

Blackberry Cobbler

My BFF down in Florida was mentioning blackberry cobbler a lot, at least three times last week, so when I spotted fresh blackberries at my local market yesterday, I knew we had to have our own cobbler, up here, and soon!  These were large beautiful blackberries just made for cobbler or blackberry pie and they did not disappoint. The photos above took as long to fuss with as the actual cobbler prep work did.  35 minutes and its in the oven! The larger photo is as served out of mama’s room tonight at Woodland Hills.  I have to say, “the cobbler thing” was a pleasure, from start to finish!

Do cook your blackberries to thicken, then cool the filling off the stove before adding the topping; cook it just long enough for the juices to coat a wooden spoon; 5 minutes.  The sugar, berries, and the whiff of cinnamon take a minute to boil, as the sugar must melt first.   The cornstarch-water mixture thickens the sauce perfectly.  Taste it as it cools because you might want a little more cinnamon.  The biscuity topping is a terrific complement to the berry filling.  I like to drop it willy-nilly over my berries as that  makes for easy serving.  It does taste like abiscuit, browned on top with a  cake-like texture, perfect for soaking up the ample juices from the berries.  Fresh blackberries, are, of course, a given for this recipe.  These berries were from my local market; youknow, the only “real” grocery store in town; they were beautiful to look at, big as large Bing cherries, and they held their shape nicely too, once cooked.

If you have 60 minutes total, and 3 cups of blackberries, you are in business my friend!  Half of that time is the cobbler baking and you cleaning up the kitchen quickly, right? Start to finish, there was nothing more pleasant to be doing with that hour, and the results were amazing!  Ahhh, the many flavors of Spring!  Dig Right In!

Blackberry Cobbler

Ingredients for berries

3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 T. cornstarch
1 cup cold water
1 T. butter

Biscuit Topping

1-1/2 cups flour
1 T. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup milk

Directions In a large saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar and cinnamon. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into fruit mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Dot with butter.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk just until moistened. Drop by tablespoons onto hot berry mixture.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream. Yield: 9 servings.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Sugar Crusted Raspberry Muffins

 

Knowing there was no way I was not going to use the last cup and a half of fresh raspberries today, I went looking for a recipe for raspberry muffins.  The recipe I used, from Real Simple magazine, resulted in 12 large moist muffins flavored with the first  raspberries  of the season.  Hello Spring!

The batter is simple and was ready in just 10 minutes.  It is a soft batter with milk, melted butter, and an egg for liquid.  Combine your dry ingredients then whisk the milk and egg and add to the dry ingredients.  Fold in the raspberries and nuts gently then scoop the batter into your muffin tins filling each tin 3/4 full for a nice pop to the muffin tops.

Today I added chopped pecans to my batter knowing the nuts would provide texture.  Cool slightly in the muffin tins then remove and cover tightly with foil until ready for serving. This healthy looking batch is today’s  Added Bonus for mama and myself with 10 muffins left for the staff at Woodland Hills; fresh, warm, and savory they make a great start to everyone’s Easter weekend!

Sugar Crusted Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 cup pecans, chopped small (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 400° F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat it with cooking spray, vegetable oil, or butter. In a medium bowl, combine 1-3/4 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and combine. In a second bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined; the batter will be lumpy. Toss the berries with the remaining flour in a bowl. Gently fold the berry mixture into the batter .Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Sprinkle the batter with the remaining sugar. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Serve while still warm.

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Recipes - Entrees

Stuffed Baby Yorkies

Yorkies with mashed potatoes and au jus
Yorkies with mashed potatoes and au jus

While snooping through my fridge this morning, I was delighted to find another container of left over roast beef.  The largest part of it will be for the Beef Barley soup that has been food whispering in my ear, but I also wanted something quick and easy for tonight’s supper. The recipe below is what developed.  Using only 4 oz. of roast beef and flavored with horseradish, Stuffed Baby Yorkies are a mixture of a hot roast beef sandwich (my style), plain Yorkshire pudding, and a batch of delicate popovers.

The batter is extremely thin and  does benefit by mixing early and allowing it resting time of at least 30 minutes while your oiled muffin pan heats in a hot oven.  I used less oil in each cup than called for in the original recipe after reading the recipe reviews, just 1/2 T. per cup.   I had batter left over even filling my muffin cups 3/4 full so if you want 12 pieces that is possible, too, by filling the cups only half full.  I sauced my two pieces with hot au jus also left from cooking the roast and topped each with peppered mashed potatoes tonight, leaving the table feeling that nothing at all was lacking.  I’ll take two popovers without the potatoes and au jus for mama and me to snack on tonight; they are jolly good, mate!

Stuffed Baby Yorkies

1 cup flour
1 t. salt
4 eggs
1-1/4 cups milk
Wesson oil
4 oz. cooked roast beef, thinly sliced/shredded
1/4 c. prepared horseradish
1 cup au jus, heated
Mashed potatoes, optional

Directions

Stir the flour and salt  in a mixing bowl; beat the eggs quickly and add to bowl; add half of the milk and continue whisking well until the mixture is smooth and glistening.  Add the rest of the milk and whisk well again.  Set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place 1/2 tablespoon oil in each cup of a muffin pan. Place the pan in the oven while the batter is resting. Return and whisk the batter briefly. Remove the pan from the oven, and immediately fill each cup 3/4 full with batter. The oil should be sufficiently hot so the batter sizzles and begins cooking.  Spoon about 1 T. roast beef and 1/2 T. horseradish into the center of each cup. Immediately return pan to the oven, and bake until puffed and golden, about 15-20 minutes. Top with mashed potatoes, if desired, and drizzle with heated au jus to serve.

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Recipes - Side Dishes

Southern Spoon Bread

cold, with syrup
cold, with syrup

Southern Spoonbread was a practical, and tempting, choice for supper tonight after spending the better part of the day cleaning and organizing the pantry. This simple dish, easily prepared any time with ingredients normally on hand, makes a fine side dish at any meal. Eaten warm, just out of the oven, it is best described as a spoonable cornbread pudding. The center is creamy with a top that browns and thickens enough to give texture.  Eaten cold, as a midnight snack, drizzled with maple syrup, the texture had firmed and it tasted a little like bread pudding.  With only a teaspoon of sugar, the dish is  not overly sweet, but it is rich with eggs and cornmeal.

There are dozens of versions of this classic Southern recipe and today I modified the one I normally use because I didn’t have corn meal other than the self-rising variety and that wouldn’t do for this dish. I used boxed Jiffy Mix as a substitute, and though the souffle was not as dry as when using plain white corn meal, the texture was still satisfying. The top will crack as the souffle bakes and that is fine. The hardest thing about making this is resisting the urge to eat it right out of the pan. I managed to do so only by walking out of the kitchen and occupying myself elsewhere for 15 minutes. This is comfort food at its Southern finest.

Do beat your egg whites separately and until they are stiff and firm and fold them into the batter gently to lighten it. This could easily be baked in a 2-qt. souffle dish also.

Ingredients

5 T. unsalted butter, softened
4 cups milk
1 cup fine-ground white or yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. sugar
4 eggs, separated
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions Preheat the oven to 400. Butter a 1-1/2 quart soufflé dish with 2 T. of the softened butter; set aside. In a large saucepan, heat milk until just below boiling. Slowly whisk in cornmeal; bring to boiling. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat for about five minutes or until the mixture thickens and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat; transfer to a large mixing bowl. Cool 10 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 3 T. butter, salt, and sugar. Beat in egg yolks until well blended.

In a separate large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with a clean large whisk until they form soft glossy mounds. Stir one-third of the beaten egg whites into the cornmeal mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining egg whites. Gently turn into prepared soufflé dish; the batter will nearly fill the dish. Bake 30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool five minutes at least before serving.

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