Apple Pie Dessert Panini with Salted Caramel

A few week-ends ago I borrowed a Panini press to experiment a little.  I’ve had some good café lunches and wanted to try some of these recipes at home.  As a result, we Panini-d our way through the entire week-end and this Apple Pie Dessert Panini with Salted Caramel was born.

I don’t have very many kitchen appliances and I don’t follow too many food fads and now I know why.  I become slightly obsessed with a new toy or idea, and I make a ridiculous amount of food with it for a while.  Remember the cupcake craze?  I didn’t just make cupcakes for every acquaintance I knew, I opened a cupcake shop and made thousands!  That cupcake craze nearly did me in.  And when I bought our first deep fryer?  This place smelled like a fish and chip shop for weeks.   Our arteries are still recovering.  So yup, when I borrowed that Panini press, I dashed to the grocery store and bought all kinds of breads, meats and cheeses and melt-y things to put inside.  I became a bit of a freak about it, grilling something, and then wiping it down and trying something new.   I’m not kidding when I say, I made something in it for every meal.  As you know, I have teenagers, so when I started making grilled sandwiches again for dinner, a lot of eye rolling ensued.  It was getting to be time to back away from that Panini press, before I started planning my next sandwich shop.  I’m not even kidding.

But I lured those teenagers back with dessert (I’ll take any small victory with my teens at this point)!  I presented them with some golden raisin bread, oozing with brown sugar cream cheese, cinnamon sugar and apple slices.  I topped it with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce while still warm.  All melt-y and sweet and gooey, this Panini dessert was a real winner.  It was a fitting end to a week-end of Panini’s, and a super quick dessert to throw together.

Just to prove to you how over the top I can be, we ate this insanely good treat, and then I packed the press up to return it to its rightful owner.  I had to get it out of here, before the next days meals rolled around.  But not before I made a batch of homemade cherry pie filling, and showed up at their door with a bag of fresh egg bread, and ice cream.  Then I proceeded to invade their kitchen and make dessert Panini’s for them.

True story.

Happy week-end everyone!

• 2 raisin bread slices
• butter to spread on bread
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar cream cheese (store-bought)
• very thinly sliced apple (you will only use 1/4 of it)
• cinnamon sugar (mix 1/4 tsp cinnamon with tsp sugar)
• vanilla ice cream

Salted Caramel Sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp sea salt

1. Make the salted caramel sauce first.   You will have leftovers, so cut the recipe in half if you need to.  But seriously, why would you?  In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium-low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Increase the heat to medium- high and bring to a boil, without stirring.  Use a wet pastry brush to wash down any sugar crystals on the side of the pan if you need to.  Boil until the syrup is a deep amber color, about 7 minutes.   Remove mixture from the heat and very carefully whisk in the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble a lot but keep mixing. Stir in the unsalted butter, and salt. Bring back to the stove on low heat and stir until you have a smooth sauce.  Allow the caramel to cool.   The salted caramel sauce will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
2. While the Panini press is heating up, butter one side of each slice of raisin bread.   Flip the bread over, so the buttered sides are on the bottom.  Spread the cream cheese on one piece of bread.  Layer some apples slices on top of that.  Sprinkle the apples with the cinnamon sugar, and top with the last piece of bread, buttered side out.  Place on the press and grill for 3-4 minutes, until the bread is golden and crispy.  Remove, slice the sandwich in half and top with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce.

 

Better Ginger Cookies

This week I’ve decided to showcase one of my earlier recipes, with a kind of rewind.  Mom’s Ginger Cookies make their appearance at every family get together.  I had them at my wedding.  I sold them in the bake shop.  It’s hands down my most favourite cookie, the recipe that literally ignited my love for baking and all things sweet.  Just the smell takes me home instantly.  Perhaps it has to do with the hours spent with mom in the kitchen, rolling cookies in sugar.  My innocent seven year old self, standing on a chair beside her, taking in her love and kitchen knowledge like a sponge.  The music was always playing loudly while we worked, moms foot tapping away.  The same scene still holds true for my baking today.

 

I originally posted the recipe using butter and dark brown sugar.  But I’ve got to admit, that this is one of those times that mom was right, and the recipe really tastes best as originally written, with shortening and white sugar.   The shortening produces a better cookie in this instance, that has a nice rise, a slightly crispy first bite, with a tender, chewy center.  I’ve kept the crystalized ginger in there too, not one of moms additions, but it adds just an extra zing that is drool worthy!

 

This is one of my go to recipes around the holidays, because these cookies are easily made ahead and frozen, with absolutely no compromise to taste.  They are an excellent addition to dessert trays, and a sweet and spicy hostess gift, best delivered in a pretty holiday tin.  I almost always have a batch in my freezer.  Truth be told, I love to dip these frozen gems in hot tea.  Mom froze baked goods to keep us out of them, but I sneaked them just the same, and developed a love for frozen cookies and bars.  I’m guessing many of you did the same.

We’re heading full swing into holiday season every body.  This is one cookie tradition that is best left untouched.  Thanks mom.

Happy baking friends,

Renee

xo

Ginger Cookies

Pre-heat oven to 325°

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

 

1.   In a small bowl sift together the flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt, set aside.  In a large bowl, cream together the shortening, sugar and molasses until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and mix well.  Slowly add dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Mix just until flour is combined.  Stir in crystallized ginger.   Shape into 1″ balls and roll in sugar (no need to flatten).

2.   Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2″ apart.  Bake for 14 minutes (exactly!).  Cookies will still be soft when they come out of the oven.  Leave cookies on pan for 2 minutes then move them to a cooling rack.

Notes:

1. For larger, bakery style cookies, roll into larger balls.  Simply increase your baking time by a few minutes.  I often make 2″ balls when baking for gifts.  I increase my baking time to approx. 18 minutes with the 2 minute rest on the cookie sheet.
2. This recipe is easily doubled, even tripled.
3. The cooled cookies freeze very well, for a few weeks.
4. These cookies make the BEST s’mores!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spicy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel

And so begins the season of pumpkin everything.  Some people celebrate their birthday month, but in this house, we rejoice in pumpkin month.  A celebration, all month-long, of how many recipes I can fit pumpkin into.

Isn’t it funny how the pumpkin craze becomes slightly over the top in October?  People are hoarding cans and cans of puree, and then for the rest of the year the poor pumpkin pie spice sits, untouched, literally ignored?  If you figure out what the deal is with that, let me know.

I haven’t posted cupcakes in a long time, so I thought these Spicy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel, would be the perfect start to pumpkin everything month.  Just as the name implies, it’s a spicy but super moist delicate pumpkin cupcake, with a gorgeous brown sugar swiss meringue swirl, and a sweet and salty pool of homemade salted caramel.    It’s the pumpkin and salted caramel combination that gets me every time.  Not to mention cloves and cinnamon.  I do love the smell of cloves.

These pumpkin cupcakes are an excellent recipe that do double duty as easy muffins too.  I simply double the recipe and freeze half for lunches, because they freeze so well.  They are also an easy make ahead dessert, because every component can be prepared in advance.  Make and freeze the cupcakes until you need them, whip and refrigerate the icing a few days ahead, and keep that salted caramel in the fridge for up to a week!   Your prep time is literally only minutes when you need to ice and serve them.  For this reason alone, these are a superb choice for any Thanksgiving celebrations you might be preparing for.

And don’t be afraid to make your own pumpkin puree too!  Although I do love the convenience of canned puree, it is incredibly easy to buy pie pumpkins from market and make your own.

Now excuse me while I spend the next few hours scouring Pinterest for the next great pumpkin recipe.  Have you got one?  Share it with me in the comments!

Happy pumpkin baking friends,

Renee

xo

Spicy Pumpkin Cupcakes

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp. oil
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350° and line two muffin trays with cupcake liners

1.  In a small bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves, set aside.  In a large bowl combine the sugar and oil.  Mix well.  Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.  Mix in the pumpkin puree.  Slowly add the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
2. Fill tins with a 1/4 cup of batter or use a cookie scoop, to ensure all of the cupcakes are the same size.  The recipe will yield approx. 20 cupcakes.  Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Set aside to cool.

Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Frosting

• 5 large egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed and room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

 

1.  Fill a saucepan (large enough to fit your mixing bowl just a few inches) with a few inches of water.  Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low so water continues to simmer.

2.  In your stand mixer bowl, hand whisk the egg whites and sugar just until combined.  Place over simmering pot and whisk for approx 4 mins until the egg whites are hot (about 150 degrees).  The sugar should be dissolved by this time as well.  Place the bowl of eff whites on the stand mixer and attach the whisk attachment.  Whisk on medium until whites have increased in volume and the outside of the bowl is just slightly warm to the touch.

3.  Remove whisk attachment and replace with paddle attachment.  Beat on low-speed until mixture is completely cooled.  Increase speed to medium and add butter pieces one at a time.  Scrape the bowl and continue to beat until buttercream is glossy, smooth and thick.  It may separate at first, but continue beating and it will emulsify.  Add vanilla flavouring and pinch of salt and beat until combined.  Use immediately or refrigerate for a week.  Icing will need to be at room temperature and whipped for about 5 minutes if kept in the fridge.

Salted Caramel Sauce

*Cooking  Channel TV

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp sea salt

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium-low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Increase the heat to medium- high and bring to a boil, without stirring.  Use a wet pastry brush to wash down any sugar crystals on the side of the pan if you need to.  Boil until the syrup is a deep amber color, about 7 minutes.

2  Remove mixture from the heat and very carefully whisk in the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble a lot but keep mixing. Stir in the unsalted butter, and salt. Bring back to the stove on low heat and stir until you have a smooth sauce.  Allow the caramel to cool.   The salted caramel sauce will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.  Reheat for a few seconds before drizzling if needed.

Cupcake Assembly

Pipe an icing dam around the perimeter of the top of the cake, with a large round tip, leaving a hole in the middle.  Using a small spoon carefully drizzle salted caramel into the hole.  Top with raw pepitas for garnish.  Serve at room temperature.

Skillet Apple Scones {with Maple Butter Drizzle}

Fall is here which means it’s apple picking time everybody!  I’ve been heading to local markets every few days, to buy varieties picked fresh from our local orchards.  They’re so, so good.  Good for eating, amazing for baking.  It’s my favourite time of year, and means the leaves are turning colour, temperatures are changing and the days are getting shorter!  It’s truly the best time of year for baking.

As you know, I love my Sunday mornings and often I’m up before the others to bake something fresh.  I’ve posted my favourite scone recipe a few times, which is so versatile, and it’s easy to adapt the recipe to whatever fruit is in season (these Peach Scones are brilliant).  Apples are an excellent choice too!

I opted for baking in the skillet this morning, which makes for a beautiful presentation.  The scones are rustic looking and full of apple flavour and great texture.  Often people tell me they don’t enjoy scones because they find them dry.  These couldn’t be further from that, moist inside with chunks of cinnamon-y apples and drizzled with an amazing Maple Butter that a friend gave to me.

You don’t need to bake these in a skillet.  You can easily roll and cut them as I’ve done in this Glazed Cherry Almond Scone recipe.  Bake some now and throw the rest in the freezer for later.  They bake up perfectly, right from frozen, and make an excellent breakfast treat or fast dessert with tea when company arrives.

Happy fall baking friends,

Renee

xo

 

Skillet Apple Scones

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat works best)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped apples mixed with 1 tbsp. brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• small apple sliced thinly for garnish
• Maple Butter for drizzle

Preheat oven to 415°

1.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt.  Use a cheese grater to grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture.  Mix gently with a fork to coat the butter with the flour mixture.

2.  In a separate small bowl mix the buttermilk, sour cream and egg.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour buttermilk mixture in.  Mix gently to incorporate.

3.  Knead dough on a floured surface, maximum 1o times.  The idea is to knead very little to keep that butter cold.  As best you can, knead in the cinnamon apples.  Pat the dough into a circle about 6 inches in diameter.  Cut the dough into eight even wedges, but still keeping it in the circle shape.  Place the scones into a well seasoned skillet (a circle of parchment on the bottom works well too), and top each wedge with two apple slices.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until dough is cooked and scones are golden.  Eat warm and drizzle with Maple Butter.

Notes:

1.  My Maple Butter was from Gilbertson’s Maple Products.  Amazingly good.  My jar is hidden in the back of the fridge.  Some things aren’t meant to be shared, like colds, chocolate, bad photos, and really good Maple Butter.

 

 

Perfect Fresh Peach Scones {For Your Freezer}

I made these scones this morning.

I made these scones yesterday morning.

I probably will make these scones tomorrow morning.  And the morning after.

I’ve been making scones first thing in the morning for a really long time.  When I had the bake shop, I baked thousands of scones at the crack of dawn.  Literally.  Hand rolled and cut, these were one of our most requested items.   Some with just a sprinkle of sugar on top and some with a sweet sugar glaze.

Who doesn’t love a fresh warm buttermilk scone straight from the oven?   Rolled and layered with chunks of fresh seasonal produce, it’s the perfect morning snack or tea time treat.

The beauty of this scone recipe, is the versatility.  Switch out the peaches for fresh pears and some ginger.  Remove the cinnamon and add lemon zest and fresh blueberries.    Throw in some cinnamon and raisins.

It requires minimal mixing and next to no kneading.  The less you work it, the better.

I roll new flavours all summer long as produce comes into season.  Then I freeze unbaked scones on a cookie sheet.  Once frozen, I store them in a freezer bag and bake as needed all fall and winter long.

 

I throw a few into the oven each morning as I’m getting ready for work.  Then a quick wrap with saran and the kiddo’s can grab a warm one on their way out the door.

Isn’t that the best way to start your day?

The recipe makes a generous amount of scones, bake some today and freeze the rest!

Do you have a favourite scone recipe?  I would love to hear about it!

Enjoy!

 

Fresh Peach Scones

• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup butter, frozen
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup sour cream (full fat works best)
• 1 egg
• 1 medium fresh peach, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp melted butter and cinnamon sugar for topping (2tbsp sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon)

1.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon.  Use a cheese grater to grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture.  Mix gently with a fork to coat the butter with the flour mixture.

2.  In a separate small bowl mix the buttermilk, sour cream and egg.  Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour buttermilk mixture in.  Mix gently to incorporate.

3.  Knead dough on a floured surface, maximum 1o times.  The idea is to knead very little to keep that butter cold.  Roll into a large rectangle, about 22 inches by 12 inches.  Spread thin peach slices all over the surface of the dough.  Starting with the longest side, roll the dough up towards you into a log.  Tuck in the seam.   You should be left with a log about 22 inches long.  Pinch the ends together and press down on the log to slightly flatten it.   Keep the seam on the bottom.

4.  Brush the scone log with the melted butter.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Cut the log in half.  Cut each half in half.  Cut each quarter in half.   You will be left with 8 squares.  Cut each square on the diagonal to make 2 scones, for a total of 16 scones.

5.  Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or place unbaked scones on a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze for at least an hour.  Place frozen scones in freezer bags for easy storage.  Bake from frozen.  Eat warm!

 

Mini Cinnamon and White Chocolate Cupcakes and Frosting For The Cause

I’m so thrilled to be sharing today’s post with you!

It’s my first guest post over at Frosting For the Cause and I’m just tickled about it.  The site is an inspiring year-long collaboration from bakers all over the United States and Canada.  It is completely dedicated to raising awareness of women’s cancers, while sharing some amazing recipes and personal stories.   This site was developed by Paula Kelly-Bourque, also known as the Vanilla Bean Baker, who really is an example of what a compassionate soul is.

Today is SweetRevelations day, and I chose to make these Mini Cinnamon and White Chocolate Cupcakes.  I make gourmet cupcakes for people all the time and I was so nervous about delivering these to some pretty amazing ladies who were participating in the After Breast Cancer Luncheon in my community.    Please head on over to Frosting for the Cause to check out my recipe and my personal story.

I also wanted to send some thanks to Najwa over at Delicious Shots.  She put together a beautiful virtual Christmas Magazine full of beautiful recipes and DIY projects.   I am so excited to have one of my posts featured on this very creative piece!  Please take a moment to check it out, a SweetRevelations creation is featured on page nine!

Glazed Apple Cinnamon Buns with Toasted Pecans and Raisins

A little over a year ago I started making a lot of our bread from scratch.  There is nothing more delicious with a meal than a warm loaf of bread right out of the oven.  See?  My repertoire is more than just dessert!  And, I know exactly what is in it and I can add whole wheat and other healthy goodies to suit everyone’s needs.   I actually have a recipe for a killer loaf of honey and oatmeal bread, but that is another post!

This morning I made some white bread dough and used it for these….

This is one of the few things that propels me to mommy greatness.  A warm batch of Glazed Apple Cinnamon Buns.  All of my kids love cinnamon buns and this recipe is so easy to prepare.  I like to make a double batch and freeze them so I can bake them as a treat before school sometimes.  What a great way to wake up and start the day!

You know how the middle piece is the gooey-est, sweetest part?  Full of cinnamon and brown sugar syrup.  Finger lickin, sticky, sweet….amazing.

Some people are really intimidated by the yeast thing.  Honestly, once you’ve done it, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is.  This recipe uses instant yeast, which makes things even more simple.  This does take some time however, so give yourself 4 hours from start to finish.   You can use this dough to make a plain white bread, cinnamon swirl bread and dinner rolls too.  It’s very versatile.

This recipe is adapted from Cooking With Candra’s Homemade White Bread.  She has a great site and her tutorials are fantastic for newbie bread makers.

*yield is 2 batches of dough, approx 12 rolls in each

• 5 1/2 – 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast, quick rise
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 cups warm water, 110 degrees

Apple Filling

*this is enough for one batch of cinnamon buns

• 2 tart cooking apples, peeled and thinly chopped
• 1 tbsp flour
•  1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter (use this to spread on dough before adding filling in step 5)

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar
• 1 tsp milk, more as needed
• a few drops of vanilla

1.  First, make the glaze:  add milk and vanilla to sugar only a few drops at a time until you reach desired consistency.  It should just be thin enough to drizzle, almost syrup consistency.  Keep at room temperature until buns are baked.

2. Next make the apple filling: combine all apple filling ingredients, except pecans and raisins, in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes on low, just until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add pecans and raisins. Cool to room temperature.

3.  For the bread dough: in a stand mixer, with the dough hook, add 3 cups of the flour, honey, butter and yeast.  Mix for about 1 minute, until combined.

4.  Add the water, salt and 1 more cup of flour.  Mix until incorporated.  Add the egg and one more cup of flour.  Mix until incorporated.  Add the last cup of flour a little at a time.  The dough should be forming a ball and sticking to your dough hook.  It will begin to come away from the sides of the mixing bowl.  Add just enough flour so that your ball of dough is no longer sticky.

5.  Place dough in a large bowl that has been greased with some shortening or olive oil.  Turn the dough around in the bowl for a few seconds so that the top of it is slightly greased as well.  Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and place a tea towel on top.  I usually stick my bowl in the oven with the light on while it rises.  Let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.

6.  Punch down the dough in the bowl and cut it in half.  This will give you enough for two batches of rolls.  One for now and one to freeze!  Roll out one half, on a lightly floured surface.  Make a rectangle, about 10 x 8 inches, with the long end facing you.   Spread rectangle with butter and top with the cooled apple filling.  Start at the long end farthest from you, and begin to roll the dough into one long tube.  Cut the tube into 12 even portions and place side by side in a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Note:  I like to sprinkle some brown sugar and cinnamon on the bottom of my greased pan before I place the cinnamon rolls on top (about 2 tbsp sugar and a generous pinch of cinnamon).   The creates a yummy gooey sauce on the bottom of the rolls.  Cover again with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another hour.

7.  Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes.  Remove from oven, invert on a plate if you wish, and drizzle glaze on top.

8.  Repeat with second ball of dough.  This time, you can prepare the rolls and freeze them in a greased pan , covered well with plastic wrap.  Remove from the freezer the night before you want to bake them.  They will do their second rise in the fridge over night.  Just pop them in the oven in the morning.  Or, make dinner rolls!  Roll bread dough into small balls (about 2 inches in diameter) and place side by side in a greased 9 x 13 pan.   Cover and allow to rise for an hour.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes.  Remove immediately from pan once done in the oven and allow to cool.