pumpkin muffins with almond & oat crumb topping

Now that Thanksgiving and Christmas are over, I finally have some free time to test bake. Sadly, my holiday baking fell a little short this year. I caught the flu and it was absolutely miserable. Needless to say, I was not in the best condition to whip up any holiday treats. I am totally ashamed of myself. And, even worse, I had an unopened can of pumpkin purée that clearly didn't get any lovin'.

Well, it's still pumpkin season in my book. I wanted to try Smitten Kitchen's Pumpkin Muffins recipe, because she never lets me down. I also added my own personal touch-- my Almond and Oat Crumb Topping.

Almond and Oat Crumb Topping

INGREDIENTS
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together all ingredients except melted butter.
2. Add melted butter to mixture and combine well. Break up into crumble pieces to your preference.
3. Use as a topping for muffins, fruit crisps, etc.. If preparing ahead of time, can be refrigerated until ready to use.

So, I usually prepare the topping first, so then I just have to put it all together. This pumpkin muffin recipe is stress-free, not overly sweet, and just amazing. The moist muffin with the crunchy topping is   too good.

Pumpkin Muffins

Adapted by Smitten Kitchen

Yields about 24 standard cupcake-sized muffins

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all- purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 cups canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2/3 cup canola oil
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
Almond and Oat Crumb Topping (see above for recipe, also used here)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. 
3. In a larger bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, and white granulated sugar.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined. 
5. Fill muffin cups 1/2 to 3/4 full.
6. Add a heaping tablespoon of Almond and Oat Crumb Topping to each muffin cup.
7. Bake about 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then, transfer to cooling rack until warm or room temperature.
9. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container. Muffins will remain fresh for up to 3 days at room temperature. Then can be frozen to store for longer until needed (just defrost before serving).

homemade oreos

After all the Milk and Cookie Shot excitement yesterday, I don't think it's possible for me to ever make anything to top that. I still have PTSD from Day 1 and parts of Day 2. Let's just put it out there. Spring Break is almost over and I really don't have time to invest in another big project. That took everything from me, particularly my confidence as a baker (at times) and most of my dignity. I repeat: never again. Just so we're all clear. 

Because I had one more day off (meaning, one last opportunity to get some of that dignity back), I decided to pursue something a little less stressful-- like Homemade Oreos. This, I can do.. and you can, too. 

Homemade Oreos 

Recipe by Smitten Kitchen

Yields 25-30 Oreos (or enough for you and possibly a few select people you know)

INGREDIENTS

For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup white, granulated sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. **I HIGHLY recommend using the food processor. It was easy to do without overmixing! While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

3. Take rounded teaspoons of dough and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

4. To make the cream, use a stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer and a medium bowl. Place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and beat until cohesive consistency. Then, at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high speed and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

5. Place the cream into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip. **I just put in a Ziplock bag and snipped off the tip. Nothing fancy but works just as well. 

6. Pipe teaspoon-sized blobs of the cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

7. Dunk in milk and enjoy or, if your feeling generous, share! :)

And because I'm addicted to Insta video these days.. Enjoy this clip of my Oreo making! 

edna mae's sour cream pancakes

Happy National Pancake Day! I didn't even realize it was National Pancake Day until after I made pancakes this morning. I must have a sixth sense for these things. As you know I've been trying to use up a carton of sour cream, and I've hardly put a dent in it. So, I woke up this morning and immediately started googling recipes for pancakes with sour cream.

I found a recipe on Smitten Kitchen that looked easy enough. The recipe was adapted from The Pioneer Woman, so I knew it had to be good. One of my favorite food blogs using a recipe from another one of my favorite food blogs. Sounds like a win/win.

The only difference between the two recipes is that Smitten Kitchen reduced the amount of sugar and vanilla, which totally works for me. Other than that, everything else is the same.

Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes
Yields about 8 5-inch pancakes
Recipe by Smitten Kitchen, adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

INGREDIENTS
7 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream (plain Greek yogurt would be a great substitute!)
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I might add 1 tsp next time, as in PW's original recipe,  because I love a stronger vanilla flavor.)
butter
maple syrup

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat; you want to get slowly get it nice and hot. I used a stovetop griddle on medium heat and it worked for me.
2. Stir the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in the bottom of a medium bowl. Dump the sour cream in on top and stir it together very gently; it's okay to leave the texture a bit uneven.
3. Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl and stir them into the sour cream mixture, once again, being careful not to overmix.
4. Melt about a tablespoon of butter in your skillet or griddle and pour the batter in, a scant 1/4 cup at a time. Cook for about 2 minutes on the first side, or until bubbles appear all over the surface, flipping them carefully and cooking for about a minute on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.
5. Serve in a stack, topped with a pat of butter and a cascade of maple syrup. I also added banana slices and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top! Fresh berries would have been a great addition, too.. if only I had some.

I was a little hesitant to actually make these after reading 1 cup of sour cream. That's just terrifying. It took some self-encouragement but, ultimately, I decided that using the sour cream I had was necessary. I took the plunge, and I'm totally happy I did.

These pancakes exceeded my expectations. I should know better than to question Smitten Kitchen and Pioneer Woman. They would never do me wrong. I've made a lot of pancakes and these are the easiest and lightest pancakes I've ever made/eaten. I didn't even have to beat egg whites separately and fold them in. Because there's so little flour and sugar in the batter, the eggs and sour cream make these super light. The key is to not overmix-- if your batter looks airy, your end product will be light and fluffy.

I guess I could have just gone to IHOP today to get a free shortstack, but these left me so satisfied that I don't even care. This will be my new go-to pancake recipe. It's flawless and I can't wait to indulge again with some other topping variations.