So remember two weeks ago when I was all excited about the Ravens playoff win and those cranberry muffins? Well now I’m not so excited about the Ravens–it’s been nearly a week and I’m STILL in shock at that missed field goal. Seriously, how do you miss that? Le sigh.

But I am still excited about oat based quick breads–and I made this one that night of the football excitement. Oats just make everything so warm and delicious. Like a big thick, snuggly blanket turned into bread. And the apples allow this quick bread to be low on sugar, but still big on taste. And thanks to the oatmeal, this bread stays nice and moist…and dare I say it, even better the second day than the first?

But the bread wasn’t the only thing I was excited about that weekend–my cousin Christi was also up to visit! Christi deserves a special shout out, because I’m pretty sure she’s one of the longest regular readers of the blog, even if she isn’t a big commenter. We all grew up together, but had fallen out of touch for a few years, and I’m so happy to have her back in my life! We had a great weekend together–girl talk, Once Upon a Time, Beauty and the Beast in 3D (my favorite Disney animated movie EVER, even with an unfortunate interruption for a power surge) and sushi happy hour! And I’ve seen her three times in the last year, which means I get to cross another one off the list!

Apple Oat Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1-1/2 cups (about 2 medium) chopped apple
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and oats in a large bowl. Add apple, eggs, milk, and oil. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Mixture will be stiff.

Put mixture into prepared pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until done. Let sit for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.

It’s freezing. Like literally. I tried to go out for a long long run this morning and I ended up cutting it to a medium long run, because 5 miles in my legs were so frozen that they weren’t moving. No good.

So for the rest of the day, I’ve been cocooning in the house. Cuddling on the couch, watching football, and of course, baking. Okay, that sounds way more blissful and relaxing than our afternoon actually was. We were really stressed out watching the Ravens game and trying to keep Noel from breaking things at the Broadkill Beach Club. Yikes!

But there was baking! And what better thing to make on a cold day than some warm and hearty muffins so keep you warm and satisfied on a cold January day? And these muffins are so easy, you can whip them up during a commercial break from the football game!

Cranberry Oat Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup regular oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 stick melted butter
1 cup milk
1 egg

Toss cranberries in granulated sugar to coat.

Combine dry ingredients well. Stir together milk, egg, and melted butter. Combine liquid ingredients with dry mixture. Add cranberries. Bake 15 to 20 minutes in 12 well greased muffin cups at 425°F.

Now that it’s the new year and my 30th birthday is scarcely 10 weeks away, I knew it was time to get serious about the list. So a long weekend to start the year seemed like the perfect time to tackle one of my more ambitious baking projects on the list–homemade baguettes!

Baguettes might seem like a strange baking project, but they’re one of my all time favorite things to eat. I think I could give up sweets and alcohol, but if you took away my bread, I might get ANGRY. So the idea of making my own baguettes–crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, seemed like a perfect thing for me to try.

And you know what? They weren’t particularly hard to make, just a lot of waiting. And the results were amazingly delicious–like a good artisan one from the store. So I think this is a project I’ll be undertaking again, when I have some time to wait for delicious bread!

Crusty Baguettes
Adapted from the King Arthur Catalogue

Although the baguettes were surprisingly easy, you do need some special equipment. Either a flour sack, a baker’s couche, or a baguette mold will help the bread rise into its desired size and shape.

Ingredients:

Starter:

1/2 cup cool water
1 cup unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough:

All of the starter
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Directions:

Mix the starter ingredients until smooth, cover and let rest at room temperature overnight.

The next day, mix the starter and the remaining ingredients. Knead until the dough is spring, but not totally smooth. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for 3 hours, deflating and flipping over after one hour and two hours.

Divide the dough into three pieces and shape each piece into a log about 15 inches long. Place each log on a well floured couche shaped into pouches. Cover and let rise until puffy but not doubled, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Toward the end of the rising time preheat the oven to 425. Carefully transfer loafs to baking sheet. Brush or mist each with warm water, the slash the top. Bake loafs for 22 to 28 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Turn off the oven. Take the baguettes off the pan and place them on the oven rack. Leave the oven door slightly ajar, and allow loafs to cool completely in the oven.

So this one is done and done! And I’ll definitely be doing it again!

In addition to our Magic and Merriment trip, we had a very Merry Christmas with our families. We’re fortunate enough that although our families are in three states, they’re all relatively close together so we can see everyone in the holiday period! We started off by seeing my Mom at her new house on Friday night with a side of tTHE BEST cream of crab soup!

Then Saturday morning we were off to PA to enjoy Ravens and Christmas Eve/Christmas morning with Noel’s brother and his family. Gosh do I love those kids! And they’re basically the perfect age to really love the whole Christmas routine–from leaving cookies for Santa and reading The Night Before Christmas, to running down the stairs Christmas morning! So wonderfully magical. And we made out pretty well Christmas morning–who knew Santa would know to leave us gifts in PA? But this is by far the favorite:

Yeah, Noel looks pretty good as a werewolf, right?

After a morning with Noel’s family, we headed off to the Broadkill Beach Club to catch up with the rest of my family. We made it to Delaware in record time, then settled in to exchange presents and enjoy a traditional Christmas ham.

The strange thing about all of this? I didn’t cook AT ALL. I didn’t even carry a tray of cookies or treats with me. So by Boxing Day, I was pretty much going through withdraw. Good thing Dad made my Christmas gifts cupcake themed this year, including a babycakes cupcake maker, which I used to make these Dangerous Donut Muffins that morning. It worked like a charm and so did this recipe!

Donut Danger Muffins
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup Flour
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 teaspoons Nutmeg (I used apple pie spice)
1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/3 cups melted butter
3/4 cups White Sugar
1 whole Egg
3/4 cups Milk

Directions:

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Combine melted butter, sugar, egg and milk. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the white sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl.

Shake muffins out while still hot. Butter the tops, then roll them into the sugar/cinnamon mix. Let cool.

This face says it all!

So maybe I’m on a chocolate mint kick this year.

Okay, who am I kidding, I’ve been on a chocolate mint kick my entire life. I blame it on my dad. When I was a kid, we used to get a peppermint patty every time we went to the gas station. We drove around A LOT, so that’s a lot of patties. Oh delicious.

So is it any surprise that when one of my coworkers brought these cookies in, it was love at first bite? And they were immediately at the top of my cookie list for this year? No, I don’t think so. I will note that these could have been mintier for me, so if I make them again, I’ll add more peppermint. Because can you have too much peppermint?

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Mint Cookies
From Taste of Home Holidays

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a microwave or heavy saucepan, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. In a bowl, beat sugars and egg; add buttermilk and peppermint extract. Beat in chocolate mixture.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to sugar mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes or until dough becomes firmer.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

This weekend was the seventh edition of the Ratskellar Holiday Party, our big annual celebration of the holidays, good cheer, and friends.

It’s hard to believe that we’ve lived in this house long enough to have SEVEN holiday parties here. How did that happen? It feels like yesterday that we–committed uptown Baltimore people–moved to Southeast. There are lots of jokes in Baltimore about people who live in Southeast–we don’t like to go north of Orleans or East of President, we would rather DIE than go to Federal Hill, and we think Southeast is the best place to live in the city. The longer we here, the more true these things are. No denying.

But back to the party. The really important thing for you all to know about the Ratskellar party (other than its awesome) is that it’s the impetus for my annual cookie baking bonanza. And this year was no different! There were many, many tasty cookies, many of which I want to share with you. But I want to start off with one so simple, you should really make a batch tonight and share it with your coworkers tomorrow, and they’ll think you’re some kind of candy making genius!

All for about 10 minutes worth of work! Really! Try it please!

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Bark

Ingredients:
2 bags good semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli)
1/2 package Famous Chocolate Wafers, crushed
4 crushed candy canes
4 oz white chocolate, melted

Directions:

Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Using the microwave melt the chips, stopping every 30 seconds to stir the chips. The chips should take about 2 minutes. Once they are mostly melted, stir until smooth. Spread the melted chocolate on a baking sheet lined with foil. Sprinkle the crushed chocolate wafers and candy canes evenly over the chocolate. Place melted white chocolate in a zip top bag, close the bag and snip off one corner. Pipe the white chocolate over the spread chocolate mix.

Refrigerate for one hour, or until chocolate is set. Break apart. Store in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve.

Guess where I went this weekend?

New York City. A place I love to visit, and thanks to some very sweet friends who let us crash with them in Brooklyn, we got to experience for a lot less and with a different experience. There were a lot of really amazing things during this trip–from seeing the Radio City Christmas show with the Rockettes to seeing How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe and John Laroquette and then getting to go backstage and tour the theatre (and get really, really close to Dan, who is fantastic in the show BTW). But for me there was one thing that really stuck out–a fantastic baker experience for me.

WE VISITED BAKED! Long time readers have seen me make many, many recipes from the two Baked cookbooks. And I was supposed to meet the authors of the cookbooks and the owners of the bakery at an event at last year’s Epcot Food and Wine festival, but thanks to an unfortunate flu bug, I missed it. So when Eileen and I realized we had a free afternoonand we were already in Brooklyn, we decided to venture down to Red Hook to check out the original bakery!

Two trains and one VERY crowded bus later, we made it to the heart of Red Hook and the Bakery! I felt like I was walking into a place I knew so well, even though I had never been there before, because after spending so much time with their cookbooks and making so many of their recipes (to name a few!), it was like an old favorite. Eileen and I had a very hard time choosing (so many choices!) and eventually decided to get two cupcakes to share and a bunch of their famous bars for the road.

As Eileen and I were enjoying our cupcakes, a camera crew came in and started setting up. As we wondered about what they were filming, a lot of people started coming in and out of the kitchen, and soon Renato, one of the owners of the bakery was sticking his head out! Eileen waved at him and we explained that Eileen had seen him at Disney the year before. And then we proceeded to chat with him about baking! He told us that this is his busiest time of the year because of all of the pie orders that they get for Thanksgiving. I mentioned that pie isn’t that hard, you just have to get the feel for it and he admitted that it’s true, but that he lives off that healthy pie fear! So funny! And then he asked us about what we were doing for the rest of the evening, and when we told him we were going to see a show, he suggested we take the water taxi from Ikea instead of taking the train into the city. What an amazingly nice, down to earth guy!

I held it together while we were in the bakery and then started jumping around like a little kid when we got outside! I was so happy that we made it to the bakery AND that we met Renato!! Far beyond my expectations, and really such a great experience. And the baked goods were really good too! I’ll definitely head back to Baked next time I’m in Brooklyn!

Happy National Bundt Day! The one day each year when we celebrate the beauty that is the bundt cake–a classic, simple form that’s so pretty it doesn’t even need icing!

Since I’m not the biggest icing fan in the world (I know, I know, I love to make big fancy cakes, but I don’t always love eating them), I’ve always been a fan of the minimalist bundt. Because it plays up the best aspect of cake–the cake!

Mary, The Food Librarian, also LOVES the bundt! So much in fact, that this is the THIRD year that she’s celebrated National Bundt Day with a Bundt Marathon–30 bundts in 30 days–to celebrate the day! Mary is pretty much amazing for keeping this feat up! This is also the third year I’ve baked along with Mary, see my previous contributions here, here, and here.

So enjoy the beautiful bundt footage here and pop over to Mary’s site to see her cakes! They’re amazing!

Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt
Adapted from Eating Well

This cake is a super moist chocolate cake with just a hint of pumpkin flavor underneath. Don’t let the flavor combination scare you off, it’s really delicious!

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 cup all-purpose, flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg white, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Glaze & Garnish:
1/2 cup packed confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon nonfat milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Make sure it’s well coated!

Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl.

Whisk 1 cup buttermilk, pumpkin puree and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat in whole egg and egg white. Stir in oil, corn syrup and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

Bake the cake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 60 to 75 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on the rack, about 2 hours.

To glaze and garnish cake: Combine confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon milk in a small bowl, stirring until completely smooth. Place the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the glaze over the top.

I have a tendency to latch onto baking and cooking ideas. And once I’m latched, it’s only a matter of time before I make the item. Because I just can’t get things out of my head! I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s just so true!

(please bear with the pictures from this post. I’m trying to take the training wheels off my camera. See #27 on the list. And I really wanted you all to have this recipe before Thanksgiving, because you need these at Thanksgiving dinner. And for Turkey sandwich leftovers!)

Not that I’m particularly prompt in executing these ideas, but they’re like little seeds that are planted in my brain and eventually they bloom. Sometime, somehow!

This particular seed was planted earlier this fall. At the beginning of pumpkin season, I was looking for more savory pumpkin recipes to feed my undying love, and I knew that the idea of a yeasted pumpkin bread was very appealing. I looked at pumpkin bagels, tried pumpkin waffles and yeasted waffles, but nothing stuck. Then when I was at a friend’s house for the AC Marathon, she had a yeasted pumpkin bread, so I knew it could be done. But I still wasn’t sure quite how.

Then last Sunday, after I opened a can of pumpkin to make baked pumpkin oatmeal and I was looking for a way to use the rest of it, I was poking around the King Arthur Website. And I found it. A yeasted, slightly sweet pumpkin bread recipe from one of their old Baking Sheet newsletters. And it had a ton of favorable reviews. So I went for it. And the rolls that came out were amazing–like the best potato roll I had ever had with just a hint of fall spiciness. Basically fall bread nirvana. We ate them with chicken salad, apple butter, egg sandwiches, and just plain with a bit of butter. All wonderful. So please try this now!

Pumpkin Yeast Bread
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

I contemplated making this dough by hand, but since I made these on a busy baking day, I decided to go with a bread machine method for dough making instead. This will only work in a machine if you have a large one, preferably with double paddles. No bread machine? Try the instructions at the King Arthur website.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water
2 packages (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups puréed pumpkin, either fresh or canned
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, more for dusting
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

The bowl of your bread machine, combine all ingredients in your normal method (by normal method, I mean however your machine takes ingredients. Mine likes liquids on the bottom, dry stuff on the top, with yeast on the very top!). Set the machine for the dough setting and start. Keep an eye on the machine as it starts to knead the dough, if after about a minute it doesn’t seem to be mixing, use a spoon to manually combine the ingredients a bit. Six cups is A LOT of flour for most bread machines. Close the lid after you mix and allow cycle to complete

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a well floured surface. The dough will be sticky, so well floured is important here. Deflate the dough, then cut into your desired number of pieces–2 for loaves, 14 for large rolls, or 20 for smaller dinner sized rolls. Shape into the desired shape (I made rolls) and place on a parchment lined baking sheet or in a loaf pan. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for about one hour, or until doubled in size.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven. Loaves bake about 30 minutes, rolls about 20. Rolls should be golden brown on top when they’re done. Immediately remove bread or rolls from pans and cool on a wire rack to prevent crust from becoming soggy.

How are all of you this fine holiday monday? Yes, I’m lucky enough to have Columbus Day off. Thank you Mr. Columbus for not actually discovering America! I really needed the extra day this weekend, since I was feeling seriously under the weather Saturday and then running/painting wiped me out yesterday! The good news is the painting is almost done, and hopefully there will be a big reveal soon!

Luckily for me (and Noel and Carlos) I wasn’t too tired Saturday morning to make this baked oatmeal, which has been making it’s way around these interwebs.

One of the things I’ve always liked about blogging and the blogging community is how things can take on a life of their own and just buzz right around the internet. Like this pumpkin baked oatmeal. When I saw it pop up on Biz‘s blog last week, I knew I had seen it somewhere. Turns out it was originally from Jen‘s blog, another one of my favorites. It’s been back and making the rounds with a vengeance this fall season!

And oh holy yum, after making this I know WHY it’s making the rounds. IT’S AMAZING. Like, I wanted to eat the whole pan myself amazing. Good thing Carlos was willing to come over and safe me from myself eat some too. This will definitely become a weekend staple in our house–it’s too easy not to make a return appearance!

Baked Pumpkin Apple Oatmeal
Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

2 cups old fashioned oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium apples chopped with skins on

Preheat oven to 375 and spray and 8 by 8 pan with cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients (through the baking powder) in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients, then stir in apples. Spread in the prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until middle is set and top is golden brown. Serve hot.