Quick Tip: Breakfast Pocket Pastries

I categorized this recipe under quick tips, as it is such a cinch to make that you can roll, cut, fill, and bake these babies in about 12 minutes.

Store-bought Pop Tarts, you know the ones - they're chalky and taste incredibly processed. Yes, they're quick to prepare - just pop them in your toaster - but that's about the only positive point to this breakfast item.

The idea of a pop tart is wonderful, though - flaky, buttery crust enveloping sweet fillings such as jams, chocolate or Nutella. And as much as I'd love to make the whole thing from scratch, these days I just don't have the time. So, here's a quick alternative.

In 10-12 minutes, you can have pocket pastries filled with anything you'd like! Plus these are so easy to make, your kids can do it and be thoroughly pleased with themselves as they are eating them, as my 5-year old son was yesterday. I must say, he's got the crimping down to a science.

Easy Baked Pop Tarts

1 package (1/2 box) refrigerated pie crust (NOT the frozen kind)
1 egg
Jam, Nutella, or other filling
Flour, for dusting
Sprinkles, for decorating (optional)

Turn on your oven to 450*F. Dust your counter with flour and unroll the pie crust. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough, applying some pressure to thin it out just a bit. Cut the largest rectangle you can out of it. Then, cut several smaller rectangles out of this. I made mine about 4"x3" each but they can really be any size you'd like them to be.

 Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle and spread it to within 1/2" of the borders of the crust. Do this for 1/2 the rectangles.

Mix the egg with 1 T of water to make an egg wash. Then lightly brush the egg wash along the 1/2" perimeter of the rectangles with filling. Take a rectangle without filling and place it right on top of the filling, making sure to crimp the edges with a fork. 
Dock the tops of the tarts with a fork to allow air to escape from the pockets during baking.

Then brush the tops with egg wash and decorate with sprinkles if you so desire. Place the stuffed rectangles on a Silpat- or parchment-lined tray about 1 1/2" apart.

Bake them in your oven for 9-10 minutes or until the dough is lightly browned on the edges. When they are done, take them out of the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes before eating.
Enjoy!

Orange Chocolate Snowballs and the Cookie Craze

It's been a while since my last post and for good reason. Last week was spent baking around 1000 cookies for my dearest friends' and family's holiday gifts that I sent out at the end of last week. This year it took me ages to come up with the quartet of goodies I'd be sending, but finally it took shape and I made these four items:
1. Chocolate Mint Buttons - chocolate sugar cookies infused with mint, frosted with mint cookie icing, decorated in holiday colors.
2. Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Biscotti - a hit last year, I thought my friends would appreciate it popping up in their gift baskets again this year.
3. Holiday Marshmallows - homemade vanilla marshmallows in a red and white swirl for the season.
4. Molasses Spice Cookies - delicious, chewy, spicy cookies deepened in flavor with molasses and rolled in sugar.
Riding the cookie train, on Saturday evening I had a small cookie swap with a couple of friends. It was fun, the treats were delicious. I made two treats to partake in the swap - White Chocolate Mocha Cake Balls and Cinnamon Roll Cookies. I initially wanted my cake balls to taste like tiramisu, but the end product tasted more like a white chocolate mocha. These recipes will be posted as soon as I come up for air.
Something in the air gets us in a cookie mood come Christmastime. I can't help by run to my KitchenAid and start mixing up dough at least once a day to try a new recipe or bring back a tried and true holiday favorite.

 
This year was no different, because after a week full of baking cookies, I'd have thought I'd be sick of them by now, but not yet. Yesterday, I made another cookie - a delicious, delicate orange-scented nutty snowball studded with chocolate chips.

If you think snowball cookies are a bit on the bland or boring side, try this recipe. The orange and nuts and chips make for a burst of flavor in its one bite. I used walnuts and pecans, but you can use any combinations of toasted nuts, citrus zest, and chips that you desire.

Tossed in confectioners' sugar while still warm, they become little snow-covered gems of delight for the season.

Orange Chocolate Snowballs
(Recipe by Leelabean)

2 1/2 c flour
2 1/2 c confectioners' sugar, divided
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 sticks (1 c) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
zest of 1 orange
3/4 c toasted nuts (I used walnuts & pecans)
3/4 c mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a mini-food processor, grind up the nuts until they resemble coarse meal. Set this aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, ground nuts, baking powder, and salt and whisk together. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream 1 1/2 c confectioners' sugar and butter until light and fluffy - about 2 minutes. Then add the egg, vanilla, and zest of an orange. Blend well. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Wrap this dough in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until cold and firm throughout (at least a couple of hours). This dough can be made up to 2 days ahead. When you are ready to bake, heat your oven to 375*F. Pinch off pieces of dough that are the size of about 2 teaspoons and roll into little balls. Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet about 1 1/2" apart from each other. Bake them in the preheated oven for around 8 minutes. It could be a minute or two more or less depending on your own stove. They will turn the slightest light brown on the bottoms when they are ready. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes.
In a small bowl, put in the reserved 1 c confectioners' sugar. In groups of 5 or so, toss the cookies in the confectioners' sugar until well coated and place back on the cookie sheet to fully cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week. Make sure to put some of these out on a plate for Santa on Christmas Eve. :-)

Superhero Birthday Party!

About a month ago, one of my friends asked me to make her son's 4th birthday cake decorations - that's right, decorations. Not the cake, not the cupcakes, just the decorations. I thought this was such a great idea, especially for those who like to bake and want the look of a custom cake but may not have the time or experience of making such detailed and labor-intensive decorations.

Her son, quite the little superhero himself, wanted his party to have a superhero theme. And not just any superhero, but quite nearly all the superheros! It was such fun for me to create these little medallions that would go atop the cupcakes my friend would make for his birthday party. I have to be honest, I didn't know many of the logos belonging to these superheros, but a quick Google search took care of that.

Top row (left to right): Green Lantern, Spiderman, The Hulk, Flash Gordon. Bottom row (left to right): Captain America, Batman, The Incredibles, Superman.

 These superhero medallions were created during the week Sandy hit. We had no power that week and making these medallions was a great way to spend the sunlit days. And since they required no baking or refrigeration, it was quite perfect.

Onomatopoetic words

I've made and blogged about these fondant medallions before, both here and here. They are proving to be such a versatile adornment to cupcakes and can really fit in with any theme. 

It was such a pleasure to be responsible for such a fun, memorable part of this special little boy's very special day. Thanks for the opportunity, guys.

My friend's home-made cupcakes topped with my fondant medallions.

Peanut Butter Caramel Dip

Condensed milk is one of those things, I pull out to use for a recipe, hoping there will be some left over to enjoy with a spatula. It's sweetened reduced milk that has a creamy, lightly caramelly flavor and it is used in such recipes as fudges, pies, and to sweeten beverages to name a few. It takes the place of milk when a richer result is desired. A while back I did a post on Dulce de Leche cookies. Dulce de Leche is made by cooking condensed milk until it caramelizes and if you haven't tried it, you must. Dulce de Leche is amazing. It's like a more complex, exotic version of caramel. In fact, the holidays are just around the corner. Add Dulce de Leche cookies to your cookie arsenal this year. They are simple to make and everyone will rave about them!

The recipe I am bringing to you today is for a simple dip. This Peanut Butter Caramel Dip is delicious and uses condensed milk as its base. My children absolutely love it with some crisp apples but it would be equally satisfying with a banana, over ice cream, or even sandwiched between some bread!

Forget all of that. When it's in the fridge, I can't walk by without taking a spoon to it. It's just that good. It's simple to make and keeps well in the fridge. Try this today, for your kids.. for the fruit going south in your kitchen.. for you.

Peanut Butter Caramel Dip
(Created by Leelabean)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (you can use fat-free)
1/2 c smooth peanut butter
1 t vanilla extract

Mix the condensed milk and peanut butter in a saucepan. Heat them on the stove over a medium flame. Continue to cook, mixing all the while with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes or until the mixture starts to boil. Continue mixing and once the mixture has been bubbling for about 1 minute, remove it from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Let the dip cool and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. To loosen the dip, you can microwave it for a few seconds.

Thanksgiving, 2012: Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Soups are a great way to start a dinner. They get your taste buds warmed up for the big meal and refresh you at the same time. This soup is warm and cozy. Butternut squash, a popular holiday vegetable, is quite simple in flavor so the curry and spices added to this soup make for a nicely complex starting dish. Adding coconut milk substantiates it quite a bit - so this soup could easily double as lunch with a light salad or a sandwich on the side.

I found it to be a perfect start to my Thanksgiving feast this year as temperatures are dropping quite rapidly in the Northeast and soup is just the thing for this heartwarming celebration. If you like spices, please try this! If you like soup, you must try this! If you are fond of butternut squash, definitely make this!! You will love it! It's not overly spicy... it's really quite perfect... All the spices round out so nicely and fit like they were meant to be together. Top it with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche or eat it alongside some buttered crusty bread for a mouthful of Fall.
You could easily swap the butternut squash out and sub in pumpkin for an equally fantastic soup!

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Yield: 8 generous servings

1 1/2 medium-sized butternut squash
4 T extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 c red onion, chopped
1 c carrot, chopped
1 c celery, chopped
2 t curry powder
1 1/2 t cumin, round
1 t ginger, ground
1/2 t cinnamon, ground
salt & pepper, to taste (I used 3 t salt and 1/4 t pepper)
4 c chicken stock
1 13.5oz can coconut milk

Wash, peel, and cut up the squash and lay them in a roasting pan.

Toss it with 2 T extra virgin olive oil, some salt and pepper.

Roast the squash at 400F for about 1 hour, or until a knife pierced into the largest piece quite easily with no resistance, indicating it's cooked through.
In a large saucepot, heat up the remaining 2 T olive oil. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for 5 minutes until the vegetable begin to brown. Add the curry powder, ground cumin, ground ginger, and cinnamon and mix, coating all the vegetables. Cook this for 2 minutes. This will toast the spices, allowing them to become more fragrant and flavorful.

Add the roasted squash to the pot and mix with the spiced vegetables to coat. Season as needed. Saute for another 5 minutes.

Then add the chicken stock. The liquid should just cover the squash.
Bring this to a boil and then cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, blend your soup until its smooth and no lumps remain. Season to taste.

Serve, piping hot with croutons, some crusty bread or a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.