Cranberry Spice Biscotti - Crazy Ingredients Challenge

I am the worst cookie baker in the world. Yet knowing this, I forwent my initial plan to make biscotti for this month's Crazy Ingredients Challenge and tried my hand at shortbread. Big mistake. I know what you're thinking. Biscottis are cookies and shortbreads are the easiest cookies to make. Right on both counts. But you see, biscotti, doesn't mind being in the oven a little long. It doesn't need to come out before it's done. It's OK for biscotti to be hard. This is my kinda cookie. As for the shortbread being easy? I don't want to talk about that. There was a cupcake plan too but to be honest, after eating half a cake in fewer days than anyone should eat half of an 18000 calorie cake, making cupcakes just seemed like a bad (but oh so delicious) idea.

But let's rewind a bit. I have not actually introduced you to the ingredients for this month. This month cranberries and gingerbread spice won the poll. Festive! And so much easier than last year's gingerbread spice and onions. That one had me scratching my head and ready to quit. I didn't even know what gingerbread spice was. But thanks to our then host - Jutta - and Google, I learned. The mix really varies a lot but I decided to keep it simple. I went with 2 parts cinnamon, 2 parts ginger, 1 part nutmeg, 1 part allspice, 1 part cloves. Other mixes include other spices such as anise, cardamom and even black pepper.

I really enjoyed this biscotti and hope you do too. Within hours of baking and cooling, I had already eaten a significant number. I still have those cupcakes on my mind and think I may try to fit them into my schedule in the upcoming week.  Scroll down to see what festive dishes others came up with for this month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge!

Cranberry Spice Biscotti

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup - 1 cup of chopped dried cranberries

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line one large or two small baking sheets with parchment, non-stick foil or baking mats. 
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. 
Whisk spices and brown sugar into melted butter then whisk in egg and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix just until the flour streaks disappear. Stir in chopped cranberries. Don't over mix. Dough will be very sticky.
Divide the dough into two. With floured or wet hands, pat each piece into an 11" x 2.5" smooth rectangle.
Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for another 25 minutes then slice at 1/2 inch intervals on a slight diagonal.
Place the slices cut side up and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the cookies and bake for another 5 minutes or until both sides are golden.
Cool completely.

Notes
You'll note that my ratio of cinnamon/ ginger to other spices is a bit more than 2 parts. I thought the biscotti could do with an extra cinnamon and ginger kick so I added an extra half teaspoon of each but didn't increase the other spices.

An InLinkz Link-up

Mint Tea Mini Bundts - #BundtBakers

I struggled with what to make for this month's Bundt Bakers. I knew that I would be baking myself a huge birthday cake and wondered if I should use the same batter for one of the layers of my cake and the Bundt. Laura, our host, chose mint for this month's theme  But that meant a mint chocolate layer and while I absolutely LOVE mint chocolate, I just wasn't feeling a mint chocolate layer this year. I was sipping a cup of tea when an idea struck. Perhaps I could use tea in my Bundt.

 I am not much of a hot beverage drinker. This is a fact that makes all my Jamaican friends give me the side eye. Poll several Jamaicans, and I can guarantee you that 99% of them will tell you that they always start their days with a hot beverage. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate (made from balls of pure chocolate), porridge. They just do not feel good without it. Pass me a cold beverage. Don't put porridge near me. However, if I am not feeling well, I will make myself some tea. I usually choose one of three options - mint, ginger or lime leaf. I know someone is raising his/her eyes at lime leaf. Hehe. Considering that most of the first page Google results for "lime leaf tea" are Jamaican, this might be a Jamaican thing.

The tea infusion worked better than I expected. The cake is has a light mint flavour and also a slight green tinge. I left the leaves in because my dried mint leaves were pretty small and I liked the look. but you could strain if you wish. I can't wait to try this with other teas. I meant to add an orange tea to this but opted to try just mint for now. orange and chai will come later.

There are lots of minty cakes and bread for you to drool over this month. Scroll down to see the list!

Mint Tea Bundt

Recipe by: Kelster    Adapted from: Holy Vegan

Yield: 3 one-cup size mini Bundts

Ingredients 1/2 cup hot milk 1 teaspoon dried peppermint leaves 1/2 teaspoon vinegar 1/4 cup butter 6 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2/3 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda pinch of salt

Directions Thoroughly grease and flour 3 one cup capacity mini Bundt pans. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place the tea leaves to steep in the hot milk. When cool, strain milk, if desired, and add the vinegar. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Alternate adding the flour and milk to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Pour into prepared pans and bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a cake comes out clean.

Notes My peppermint leaves were pretty small so I left them in. You could strain the milk and add leaves that have been processed finely to the flour mixture. You could also place the leaves in a cheesecloth but squeeze well and you may need to add more milk after.

 

• Mint Chocolate Truffle Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• Creme de menthe butter bundt from Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Double Mint Mountain Bundt Cake from Baking in Pyjamas
• Bundt cake with chocolate glaze and mint frosting from La cocina de Aisha
• Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake from Making Miracles
• Peppermint Cappuccino Cake from Magnolia Days
• Mini Minty Bundt Cakes from Brunch with Joy
• Candy Cane Bundt from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Fudgy Peppermint Bundt from A Day in the LIfe on the Farm
• Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake from Adventures In All Things Food
• Chocolate bundt cake with peppermint dark chocolate ganache from Brooklyn Homemaker
• Candy Cane Chocolate Bundt Cake from Cassie's Kitchen
• Chocolate Mint Bundt Cake from Box of Stolen Socks
• Double Chocolate and Mint Cheesecake Bundt Cake from Un Mordisco Un Pecado
• Peppermint Mocha Pound Cake Bundt from DessertStalking Blog
• Peppermint Candy Cane Bundt Cake from I love Bundt Cakes
• Candy Cane Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake from Patty's Cake
• Candy Cane Bundt Cake w/a Chocolate Ganache Drizzle from The Freshman Cook
• Peppermint Whipped Cream Pound Cake with Shaved Mint Chocolate from The Spiced Life
• Peppermint Patty Bundt Cake from Eat, Drink, Be Mighty
• Peppermint Candy Bundt from Tea and Scones
• Mint Tea Mini Bundts from Passion Kneaded
• Candy Cane Cup Bundt Cake from From Gate to Plate
• Orange and Mint Bundt bread from A Kingdom For a Cake

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Filling or Frosting

Every year, for the lat few years, I bake myself two special cakes - one for the anniversary of my brain surgery and the other for my birthday. Each year I tell myself that I am going to document the process (or the final result) on my blog but it never happens. Sometimes there's a minor hiccup with the cake that I just don't have time to fix (like an extremely sweet frosting in 2012). But most times it's because I am in a deep sugar coma and just can't get around to sorting through my endless cake notes.

This year after the annual "post on Facebook" ritual, someone asked for a recipe. So here I am, sorting through my notes. The cake has 4 layers - 2 brownies, one blondie and a cookie dough layer. These are then covered in a brown sugar Italian meringue buttercream. I'm going to take it one layer at a time. I know myself better than to try to write this up all at once. So first up is the chocolate chip cookie dough.

I adapted the recipe from Sprinkle Bakes. I used softened butter instead of melted butter and reduced the sugar a bit. I also did not add milk. See the recipe/notes for more information on that. Also, I opted for 2/3rds of her "I love a LOT of cookie dough" recipe. I do love a lot of cookie dough but there is a lot of cake here (18110 calories of it to be exact!). This made an approximately 0.8"  high layer when pressed into a 9" pan.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Filling or Frosting

Recipe by: Kelster    Adapted from: Sprinkle Bakes

Yield: 1 batch

Ingredients 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup butter, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup chocolate chips milk, as needed

Directions Whisk together the flour and salt and set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy then beat in vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined and no flour streaks remain. Add milk by the tablespoon to get dough to preferred consistency. For a layer in a cake, you may only need about 4 tablespoons or less. For frosting, you may need up to 12 tablespoons. After desired consistency has been reached, stir in chocolate chips. For a layer in a cake, spread the cookie dough into a plastic wrap lined 9" cake pan. Cover and freeze. To use, simply place the frozen cookie dough on a layer of cake.

Notes One can also use mini chocolate chips. I was happy with the consistency of my filling and did not use any milk.

Garlic Multigrain Bread - #BreadBakers

Talk to me, fellow bakers. Talk to me about your oven mitts. I've been using pretty standard oven mitts - nothing fancy. And they functioned well enough - until last Saturday morning when I removed this bread from the oven. Well, it was when I removed the cloche. I won a beautiful Emile Henry bread cloche and knew before it arrived that I wanted to use it for this month's Bread Bakers. Our host, Mirelle, chose quinoa as our theme and I knew pretty quickly that I would make a simple no knead loaf to test the cloche.

Of course, when it was time to start baking, I started having second thoughts. Maybe I should try something else. I am in the midst of a serious chocolate craving and adding chocolate and making the bread in a loaf pan just seemed like the right thing to do. When one craves chocolate, one should make any and everything chocolate. It took several cookies and a huge brownie to talk me out me of that. But the chocolate craving rages on. (Two more days until a choclatey cake. A few hours until more brownies. I can make it. I hope.)

I like adding things to no knead loaves. Let's be honest, if you have ever made a no knead loaf, you know that they can be pretty blah. I knew the quinoa would add texture but not a ton of flavour so I threw in some chopped garlic. Flax seeds were in my line of sight so they got added too. Then finally, I added a 5 grain cereal mix. Party in the mixing bowl! If I had beer, I would have added that too. Seriously. Cook's Illustrated recommends it. After a long rest, it was time to bake and time to test the cloche. I could have used a cold cloche (the instructions booklet mentioned several recipes starting with a cold one) but I wanted to test it preheated. And oh man was it heated.

When I removed the cover some minutes into baking, my oven mitts threw up the white flag. I have taken a vessel out of a 450 F oven before but clearly, that was just pretending to be hot. The cloche was HOT and I felt it through the mitts.The mitts even scorched a bit.  So this is where I need some help. Clearly, I need new mitts. Mitts that can really stand the heat. My first thought was to get some silicone ones. Have you tried them? Do you have specific brand recommendations? I would hate to grab some that claim to be resistant up to 450 F and then find out that they really aren't. Because this cloche holds on to every bit of heat in that oven. Great for bread, not so for fingers.

Here's my recipe for this garlicky loaf. But be sure to see how my fellow Bread Bakers used quinoa below. I even spy a loaf with chocolate!

Garlic Multigrain Bread

Recipe by: Kelster

Yield: 1 loaf (~ 690 grams)

Ingredients Dough 400 grams all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast 43 grams quinoa, rinsed 35 grams 5 grain cereal 20 grams flax seeds 15 grams garlic, finely chopped (~4 cloves) 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 300 grams water

Directions In a large bowl mix together flour, yeast, quinoa, 5 grain cereal, flax seeds, garlic and salt until evenly distributed. Add the water and mix until all the flour is moistened. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours. The dough is ready when it's risen and very bubbly.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and form it into a ball. Place the ball in a parchment lined (our heavily floured cloth towel-lined) bowl or skillet. Cover loosely and let rise until doubled in size - up to 2 hours.  At least 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 F. Place a heavy covered baking vessel such as a dutch oven, crock or cloche in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully transfer the dough to the hot vessel. You can simply place the dough in the vessel on the parchment paper or carefully turn the dough out into vessel. Bake covered for 25 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 15 - 20 minutes or until the loaf is well-browned and registers 200 F. Cool completely before slicing.

Notes I used Bob's Red Mill 5 grain cereal. 35 grams is approximately 1/3 cup. You could substitute rolled oats or a mix of your choice.  Don't feel like chopping garlic? I completely understand. Try garlic powder. If you do not have a vessel with a cover, foil can be used to cover the vessel.

• Eggnog Cranberry and White Chocolate Quick Bread by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas
• Garlic Multigrain Bread by Kelly at Passion Kneaded
• Maple Walnut Quinoa Quick Bread by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Mocha Porter Quinoa Loaf by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• No Knead Quinoa Bread by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pan de Quinoa y Miel by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Quinoa and Millet Bread by Anshie at Spiceroots
• Quinoa Apple Muffins by Robin at A Shaggy Dough Story
• Quinoa Poolish Baguettes by Adam at Bakers and Best
• Quinoa Oatmeal Bread by Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Quinoa Pumpkin Muffins by Kathya at Basic N Delicious
• Red Quinoa Sourdough Bread by Sophie at Sweet Cinnamon & Honey

What is Bread Bakers? It’s a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Bread Bakers Pinterest Board. Links are also updated after each event on the Bread Bakers home page. How is the monthly theme determined? We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Would you like to join in the fun? If you are a food blogger, send an email with your blog name and url to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Eggnog Kringel - Foodie Extravaganza

I have a confession to make. Up until last week, I had never tasted eggnog. No, no. I promise that I'm not (that) sheltered and eggnog is enjoyed in Jamaica. It's just that I don't drink milk and that "embargo" extended to all milky drinks. I'm not lactose intolerant either. I just have zero interest in the substance . Well, not zero, I do bake with it but otherwise it's never used.

My mother said that I stopped drinking milk when I was a baby. I loved it. Then one day I would scream bloody murder if it was brought near me. She suspects that my nanny is responsible somehow. But she never made a big deal out of it. She doesn't drink milk or milky drinks either so she wasn't about to force her daughter. This means there was never milk around. Well, that's not true. There was always condensed milk available for coffee and hot cocoa. I don't think you'd ever find a Jamaican fridge without condensed milk. There are stories of children eating the stuff on bread and there's a desert made with just fruit and condensed milk. I can't vouch for the taste though because I pretty much ignored the condensed milk too.

But back to eggnog. December is eggnog month and Foodie Extravaganza (through our host, Alexis) chose eggnog as the theme this month. So it was time to drop my eggnog "embargo" and have a sip. Luckily, the day I was brainstorming ideas, my grocery store had eggnog trifle samples. That was some good stuff. I was tempted to just replicate that until my bread baking side reminded me that I've been meaning to make another kringel for a while.

The Estonian kringel is a beautiful braided bread that's filled with sugar, spices and often dried fruit. I took some liberties and used eggnog as the liquid and added nutmeg to the filling.Oh, this was some good bread. The eggnog flavour shone through and there was a lovely hint of rum. That's right - you really want to use a spiked eggnog. Plain eggnog will be good. Spiked eggnog will be amazing. This is best enjoyed warm and is at it's best on the first day. I probably will never pour myself a glass of eggnog but I'd be happy to use it as an ingredient in dessert. If you're looking for ways to use eggnog, be sure to scroll down and check out all the amazing recipes this month.

Eggnog Kringel

Recipe by: Kelster

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients Dough 375 grams all purpose flour 7 grams active dry yeast 28 grams oil 24 grams sugar 1 large egg yolk 5 grams salt 200 grams eggnog (See notes) Filling 3 tablespoons softened margarine 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions Combine all the dough ingredients except the eggnog in the bowl.Start adding the eggnog and kneading. Add enough eggnog  to form a soft, non-sticky dough. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rest until dough has doubled. This could take from 1 to 2 hours. After dough has risen, remove dough from the bowl and roll out into a 15" x 13" rectangle. If dough resists, let rest for a few minutes then continue rolling. Spread the dough with softened butter. Mix the remaining filling ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the dough. Starting along a longer edge, roll up the dough into a tight log. Gently, stretch the log out a bit. Using a sharp knife, split this log lengthwise. With the cut sides facing up, twist these two new pieces into a rope then form the rope into a circle. Seal the two ends together. Cover and let rise until almost doubled (30 minutes - 1 hour). Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for 10 minutes then reduce temperature to 325 F. Bake for another 20 - 30 minutes or until the kringel registers 190 F. If the kringel is getting dark too quickly, cover with foil.

Notes Some eggnogs will be thicker than others. Start with approximately 3/4ths of the suggested amount and add as needed.     .

 If you would like to participate in the next Foodie Extravaganza, just go to the Facebook page to join.  We would love to have you!

Enjoy these 17 Eggnog Recipes!

Gingerbread Eggnog Cookies - A Day in the Life on the Farm

Nutty Nog Caramels - Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Eggnog Rice Pudding - The Joyful Foodie 

Peppermint Eggnog Hot Chocolate - Trial and Eater

Eggnog Chocolate Chip Cake - Fearlessly Creative Mamas

Eggnog Cookies - Sew You Think You Can Cook

Fruity Eggnog Bread Pudding - Cindy's Recipes and Writings

Chewy Eggnog Cookies - We Like to Learn as We Go

Eggnog Waffles and Syrup - Making Miracles

Eggnog Pound Cake with Eggnog Glaze - Food Lust People Love 

Eggnog Kringel - Passion Kneaded

Banana Chocolate Chip Eggnog Coffee Cake - The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Eggnog Cupcakes - Baking in Pyjamas

No-Bake Eggnog Cookies - Rhubarb and Honey

Eggnog Mexican Flan - Pantry Friendly Cooking

Eggnog Fudge - Mrs. Penguin

Eggnog Creme Brulee - The Freshman Cook

Tangerine Screwdriver Mini Bundts - #BundtBakers

Growing up there was hardly ever any alcohol in my house. We drank the occasional Shandy as kids. (My mother bought it for us. We weren’t hiding and drinking. I‘m actually not sure what the legal drinking age is in Jamaica. I think I read recently that it‘s now 18 instead of 16(?) but I really do not know nor think it‘s enforced.) However, at Christmas, rum, red wine and stout were bought for the Jamaican Christmas cakes. (Note to self: Bake a cake this year AND blog it.) Even our favourite Christmas drink - sorrel (made from the sorrel/roselle/hibiscus/flor de Jamaica plant) - was alcohol-free.. That is pretty much unheard of in Jamaica. Sorrel is usually LOADED with rum. Instead, my mother loaded it with spices and we did not miss the rum. At least, I didn’t. (Another note to self: make and blog sorrel.)

Now, while I rarely pour myself a drink, I definitely love alcohol in my cakes. I’d probably add liquor to every single cake if left to my own devices. Every microwave mug cake that I’ve made has had a splash or two of rum or wine. Every single one. I’ve been known to bake a boozy cake for a friend’s birthday and then eat half the cake before the pick up. Oops.

So basically, boozy cakes as a theme for Bundt Bakers is PERFECT for me. Since I don’t drink much, I rarely explore different cocktails and pretty much stick to the ones that I know - screwdrivers, fuzzy navels and strawberry daiquiris. Two of my friends in undergrad liked screwdrivers and fuzzy navels so I adopted those two as my drinks. Strawberry daiquiris joined the list when I moved to Miami and tried one at Flannigans. I wanted to make a fuzzy navel bundt back when we did stone fruits but thought I’d wait for a booze theme. Now that it’s here, I’ve switched to the screwdriver. Peaches aren’t in season and I wasn’t in the mood for jam.

You’ll see from the title that I’m using tangerines instead of oranges. This isn’t because I wanted to add a twist - OK, that is part of the reason. However, the main reason is that oranges (used to?) trigger my migraines. I can get away with drinking some brands of orange juice but I don’t try too often. But I can’t get away with orange zest/rind and I wanted to use some here. It’s been a while since I’ve had a migraine(*knock on wood*) and I really wanted to test it. But I thought I’d leave well enough alone.

So tell me, do you like alcohol in your cakes or solely in your glass? I have a friend who does not like alcohol in her cakes. I’m not sure how we’re still friends. I hope you like boozy cakes though because there’s an amazing list of boozy cakes below. Thanks, Lauren for choosing a great theme!

Dark and rainy day = Worse than normal pictures. I'll rebake and retake soon.

Tangerine Screwdriver Mini Bundts for Two

Ingredients

Cake

1 egg

3 tablespoons of sugar

1 tablespoon of tangerine juice

6.5 tablespoons of cake flour

tangerine zest

Glaze 1

2 tablespoons tangerine juice

3 tablespoons vodka

2 tablespoons powdered sugar. 

Glaze 2 (optional)

powdered sugar plus enough tangerine juice and/or vokda to make a pourable icing.

tangerine zest for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In a metal bowl, whisk together the egg and sugar. Place this metal bowl over a pot of lightly simmering water. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl.

Whisk until the mixture is warm, has lightened in colour and is frothy. 

Remove from heat, whisk on medium speed then add the tangerine juice. Whisk mixture until the bottom of the bowl has completely cooled.

Add tangerine zest then fold in the cake flour until just combined. Batter will be lumpy.

Pour into thoroughly greased mini bundt pans

Bake 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Whisk together the ingredients for glaze 1 and pour over warm cakes. Cool then remove from pans.

If using the second glaze, pour over cooled cakes.

• Anisette and Orange Bundt Cake by Samantha at Un Mordisco Un Pecado 
• Apple Bundt Cake with Whiskey Salted Caramel by Lauren at From Gate to Plate 
• Baba au Rhum by Terri at Love and Confections 
• Banana Bourbon Bundt Cake by Linda at Brunch with Joy 
• Champagne Soaked Cranberry Bundt Cake by Teri at The Freshman Cook 
• Chestnut and Rum Kugelhopf by Jelena at A Kingdom for A Cake 
• Chocolate Baileys Bundt Cake by Bea and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes 
• Chocolate Chambord Mini Bundt Cakes by Tara at Noshing With The Nolands 
• Chocolate Guinness Bundt by Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen 
• Chocolate Kahlua Bundt Cake by Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook 
• Chocolate Kahlua Bundt Cake with Kahlua Glaze by Tanya at DessertStalking Blog 
• Coffee Baileys Bundt Cake by Kathya at Basic N Delicious 
• Frangelico and Fig Bundt Cake by Victoria at Just One Bite Baking
• Gin and Tonic Bundt by Jane at Jane’s Adventures in Dinner 
• Gingerbread Rum Bundt Cake by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas 
• Grand Marnier and Chocolate Chips Bundt Cake with Seville Orange Sauce by Anna at Media racion doble, Por Favor 
• Grand Marnier and Tangerine Bundt Cake by Caro at En la Cocina de Caro 
• Guinness Chocolate Bundt Cake by Patricia at Patty’s Cake 
• Irish Coffee Bundt Cake by Laura at The Spiced Life 
• Kentucky Bourbon Cake by Cassie at Cassie’s Kitchen 
• Lemon Rum Bundt by Catherine at Living the Gourmet 
• Limoncello Bundt Cake by Natalia at Principiando en la Cocina
• London Porter Bundt with Lemon Glaze by Stacy at Food Lust People Love 
• Peach Brandy Pound Cake by Renee at Magnolia Days 
• Pomegranate and Chocolate with Rum Glaze by Rocio at Kidsandchic 
• Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Rum Pudding Cake by Rebekah at Making Miracles 
• Rum Raisin Apple Bundt by Maleka at La Luna en Dulce
• Southern Sweet Potato, Bourbon, and Pecan Bundt by Margaret at Tea and Scones 
• Spiced Apple Cider Bundt Cake with Bourbon Glaze by Tux at Brooklyn Homemaker 
• Tangerine Screwdriver Mini Bundts by Kelly at Passion Kneaded

 #BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Tangerine Muffins with Breadcrumb Topping - Crazy Ingredient Challenge

I had a really difficult time deciding on a recipe for this month’s Crazy Ingredient’s Challenge. The ingredients this month are not even “crazy” but I decided to make it hard on myself. No savory dishes. No bread pudding. No Brown Bettys. Uhm. So what does that leave? Not much apparently. My initial plan was to make a dessert dumpling - perhaps one filled with chocolate. But then one day that changed to pop tarts. That was partly influenced by current need to turn everything into a pop tart after making some here. I was all set to make the tarts. And then two days ago, I found myself craving muffins. I couldn’t shake the craving.

Oh I tried. Were muffins really going to be as good as that buttery tart crust? Was I really that happy with my tart plan? Were muffins just an easy way out? I went back and forth for a while. I almost made both things. Luckily, the busyness of this week forced me to make a decision. Muffins won. Sorry, tarts. Your time  will come again soon.


These muffins are a work in progress. The flavour is fine. But the batter was really thin. Next time I'll use yogurt or sour cream instead of buttermilk. Because of the thin batter, my breadcrumbs topping simply sank down. I wanted crunch! Ah well - next time.

Tangerine Muffins with Breadcrumb Topping

(Yield 7 high top or 12 regular muffins)

Ingredients

Muffins

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 cup tangerine juice

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons tangerine zest

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko)

2 tablespoons melted butter

3-4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

For high top muffins, preheat oven to 425 F. For "regular" muffins, preheat to 350.

Combine all the topping ingredients and set aside.

Whisk together sugar, egg and oil then stir in tangerine juice and yogurt. 

In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg cloves and salt. Add to liquid ingredients stirring only until just combined.

Pour into greased muffin wells. For "high top" muffins, fill the wells to the top.Sprinkle topping evenly over batter. Bake at 425 F for 6 minutes then lower heat to 350 F. Do not open oven. Bake for6-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pumpkin Pani Popo - #BreadBakers

Joining Bread Bakers was probably the best decision that I made this year. It's definitely shaking me out of my bread baking rut. I have bookmarked several bread recipes but seem to just scroll past them when looking for something to bake. Take for example, pani popo. A friend sent me a link to this bread some time ago. I loved the sound of it. Pani Popo is a Samoan bread baked in sweetened coconut milk. (Pani means bun and popo means coconut.) When finished, there is a coconut jelly/jam type mixture at the bottom of the baking pan. It's often served for upside down with extra coconut sauce scooped on top.

Sounds great, right? So what was I waiting for? Why didn't I bake it immediately?! I suspect that it was the roll factor. Soft sourdough rolls are difficult for me and at the time, I only used my sourdough starter. Thankfully, pani popo sounded just perfect for this month's Bread Bakers' theme - Thanksgiving/Celebratory Dinner Bread. Let's celebrate with some delicious rolls!

I added some fresh pumpkin to make it more seasonal. Oh and some spices. Let's be honest, depending on the variety of pumpkin that you use, pumpkin by itself can be pretty bland. The flavour can definitely get lost in a bread dough. The spices liven things up. Feel free to use even more than I did. Now as I said, I used fresh pumpkin. Fresh pumpkin has a much higher water content than the stuff in a can. It was also a different variety.  If you use canned pumpkin, you will need to add milk to get the dough to the right consistency - soft and tacky.

This may be my new favourite bread. It's unbelievably soft and fluffy. The coconut sauce is amazing - I actually wanted more of it. I will definitely use more coconut milk next time. And there will definitely be a few more times. I can't wait to try the original plus other additions. Sweet potato, perhaps? My mother visits me in a week and I still haven't decided what kind of bread I am making for her. Sweet potato pani popo could be it.

My pani popo is just one of the many rolls that would be great at your Thanksgiving dinner table. Be sure to scroll down to see the list. Thanks for hosting, Holly!

Pumpkin Pani Popo

Recipe by: Kelster

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients Dough 320 grams all purpose flour 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 160 grams cooked and pureed pumpkin 28 grams oil 24 grams sugar 1 large egg 5 grams salt ½ teaspoon nutmeg ½ teaspoon ginger ¼ teaspoon cloves milk as needed (see notes) Coconut Sauce ¾ cup coconut milk ¼ cup sugar, or to taste

Directions Combine all the dough ingredients, except milk, in the bowl of a stand mixer. Knead on low speed for 7 – 10 minutes. Dough should be soft and tacky but not sticky. It will clear the sides of the bowl but still stick to the bottom of the bowl. If necessary, add milk by the tablespoon. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover and allow to rest at room temperature until doubled. This could take 1- 2 hours depending on the room temperature. After dough has risen, divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. My pieces were approximately 57 grams each. Roll each piece into a tight ball and place in a greased round 9.5” baking pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until almost doubled. This may take as little as 30 minutes. While dough is rising, blend the coconut milk with the quarter cup of sugar and preheat the oven to 350 F. When dough is ready, use a tablespoon to pour coconut milk over each individual roll. Bake for 18 – 25 minutes or until the rolls have reached 190 F.

Notes I used fresh pumpkin which has a higher water content than canned pumpkin. As water content of pumpkin may vary, it's best to wait and add milk only if the dough seems dry. Here's a great visual for tacky vs sticky dough .

• Brown Butter Sage Biscuits by Sophia at Sweet Cinnamon & Honey 
• Butterflake Rolls by Anshie at Spice Roots 
• Buttermilk Rolls by Renee at Magnolia Days 
• Cast Iron Parker House Rolls by Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen 
• Cheese & Mustard Pull Apart Bread by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas 
• Classic Anise Dinner Rolls by Kathya at Basic N Delicious 
• Crusty French Bread Rolls by Robin at A Shaggy Dough Story 
• Gruyère Gougères by Nicole at The 2nd 35 Years 
• No Knead Dinner Rolls by Heather at Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks 
• Parker House Rolls by Tara at Noshing With The Nolands 
• Parmesan Garlic Knots by Lauren at From Gate to Plate 
• Pumpkin and Rosemary Bread by Rocío at kids&chic 
• Pumpkin Pani Popo by Kelly at Passion Kneaded 
• Pumpkin, Sage & Cheddar Pull Apart Rolls by Mireille at Chef Mireille's East West Realm 
• Overnight Rosemary Rolls by Holly at A Baker’s House 
• Soft and Tender Dinner Rolls by Stacy at Food Lust People Love 
• Sourdough Cornbread Rolls with Sage by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories 
• Sweet Potato Rolls by Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings 
• Tomato Herb Loaves by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Zopf - Braided Swiss Milk Bread by Carola at En la Cocina de Caro

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Pop Tarts

Welcome back to our monthly Foodie Extravaganza!

If this is your first time joining us, the Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly party hosted by bloggers who love food! Each month we incorporate one main ingredient into recipes to share with you and this month that ingredient is a classic family favorite...PEANUT BUTTER!

Which means you can see 18 more delicious and unique peanut butter recipes at the end of this post. 

When peanut butter was chosen for this month's Foodie Extravaganza, I immediately knew what I would make. A couple months ago, I made a peanut butter pie with an oatmeal crust and it was amazing. I ate it for breakfast, with lunch and dinner and as a snack. I meant to write a post about it but just never got around to it. Here was my chance. I particularly loved the oatmeal crust. I have always had difficulties with traditional pie crusts and this oat crust was simple with an extra boost of whole grains and fibre. 

But as today drew closer, I changed my mind. I didn't want an entire pie anymore. That would probably be dangerous. I ate that last one in..er.. perhaps I shouldn't say how few days it took. So what to make? I asked a couple friends and one suggested a tart. She was thinking in the style of Jamaican plantain tarts which are puff pastry pockets filled with plantain cooked in sugar and spices. I was still hesitant about laminating dough when making pop tarts popped (pun so unintentional) in my head. Time to face the pie crust demon.

This was actually my most successful pie crust attempt. It just worked. I don't know if the pie crust gods were just on my side. Or if it was the fact that South Florida was experiencing record low temps. (It was in the 50's on Sunday morning!) Maybe I just had more confidence and patience. Who knows. I just know that these pop tarts were good. Very, very, good. I want to "pop tart" everything. Don't be surprised if pop tarts show up again for the next few posts. The pumpkin and peanut butter combination is different. The peanut butter slightly overwhelms pumpkin. Maybe next time I won't use equal amounts so it will  be pumpkin with a nutty undertone. I loved having that hint when I made carrot soup with peanut butter. I didn't use a lot of sugar. Feel free to increase or use a sweetener of your choice. Maple syrup should be good. Play around with the spices too. 

Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Pop Tarts

Ingredients

Crust

6 oz all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 oz cold butter, in half inch cubes

Filling

2 tablespoons cooked and pureed pumpkin

2 tablespoons peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

1.5 tablespoons sugar, to taste

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

pinch ground nutmeg

pinch ground cloves

Frosting 
1 cup powdered sugar
milk
 

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Toss in cold butter cubes then place the mixture in the freezer for ten minutes. 

Empty the contents of the bowl onto a baking mat. Using the heel of your hand or a rolling pin, flatten the cubes of butter into the flour. Repeat until all the flour seems to be buttered.

Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture and add just enough milk to get the dough to start clumping together. It should not be wet. It may even seem dry. Press everything together, flatten into a rough rectangular shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Blend together all the filling ingredients. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to a 8" x 12" rectangle. Cut into 8 4" x 3" rectangles. 

Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of 4 of the rectangles leaving a half inch border around the edges.. Poke vent holes in the remaining rectangles. Top the filled rectangles with a vented-top. Use a fork to seal the edges.

Place the tarts in the fridge while the oven preheats to 350 F. 

When the oven is heated, bake the tarts on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

When cooled, mix the powdered sugar with just enough milk to make a thick frosting. Spread on tarts.

Don't miss the rest of these delicious peanut butter recipes!

To see more delicious Foodie Extravaganza treats or learn how to join the party each month visit us here!

Savory Dishes

• Peanut Butter and Chicken Pumpkin Stew by Reneé at Kudos Kitchen by Reneé
• Peanut Butter Beef Stew by Joy at The Joyful Foodie
• Peanut Butter Curry Ramen by Marissa at Rae Gun Ramblings
• Peanuty Autumn Roots by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Sesame Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles by Melanie at Garnish and Glaze
• Thai Peanut Chicken Skewers by Pantry Friendly Cooking

Sweet Treats

• 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies by Lindsay at My Creative Days
• Applesauce Peanut Butter Muffins by Kathleen at Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Buckeye Brownie Bites by Teri at The Freshman Cook
• Dairy Free Chocolate Syrup Swirled Peanut Butter Blondies by Mary Frances at The Sweet {Tooth} Life
• Hong Kong French Toast by Tara at Tara's Multicultural Table
• Peanut Butter & Potato Chip Fudge by Kaylin at Keep it Simple, Sweetie
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes by Jacklyn at Mrs. Penguin Bakes
• Peanut Butter Filled Steamed Buns by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Peanut Butter Potato Candy by Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Pop Tarts by Kelly at Passion Kneaded
• Reese's Krispies Popcorn by Rebekah at Making Miracles
• Salted Vanilla Bean Peanut Butter Cup Fudge by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas