Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Sunny Citrus Pound Cake

This is a beautiful cake with a fresh citrus taste and a perfect texture.  It's fabulous with coffee or as a dessert with fresh fruit...heck, I ate it for breakfast! 

Sunny Citrus Pound Cake

3 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter

2-1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs

1/3 cup orange juice

grated orange rind

grated lemon rind

3/4 cup plain yogurt

Glaze:

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

Best Chocolate Brownie

  Other than stabbing my pinkie finger with the chocolate fork, making these decadent Best Chocolate Brownies was a pleasure.  You know I'm always searching for "the brownie" - I'm not there yet, but these come pretty darn close.  Hmmm, a total of 9 ounces of chocolate in a 9" square pan: that works out to a delicious, chocolaty ounce per square inch!  They are easy to make and totally rich...and when you are lucky enough to get a bite with a big honkin' chunk of chocolate, wow, heaven!  Enjoy...

Best Chocolate Brownie

1/4 cup flour

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken up

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup sour cream

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used a combination of bittersweet and semi-sweet)

Heat oven to 325 F.  Lightly butter and flour a 9" square pan.  Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together.  Melt butter and first amount of chocolate in microwave (I did it for a minute on high then stirred until the chocolate melted).  In mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla on high until slightly thickened.  Add melted chocolate mixture and mix.  Add flour and mix on low 10 seconds.  Add sour cream and mix just until combined.  Scrape down sides with rubber scraper to combine thoroughly then fold in second amount of chopped chocolate.  Pour batter into pan and spread evenly.  Bake about 40 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before cutting...yeah, right!

 

Cloverleaf Sixty-Minute Rolls

When I served these rolls for dinner no one could figure out how I got them to be that cloverleaf shape.  Can you guess?

It's nice to have a fresh-made yeast roll ready in time for dinner and I love that this recipe delivers that in about an hour.  The rolls can be shaped into crescents, cloverleafs, or regular balls.  Everyone loved the taste although I found the texture to be slightly heavier than usual, probably due to the shorter rising time...but still amazing, soft and warm from the oven.

Sixty-Minute Rolls

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter

4-5 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

4-1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Heat milk, water, and butter in microwave until warm.

Combine 3-1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast in bowl. (It helps if you have a stand-mixer, such as a Kitchen-Aid, to mix the dough, but you can do it by hand.)  Gradually add warm liquids, mix and then knead, adding 1/2 cup more flour at a time until you have a nice, smooth dough.  Place in a greased bowl (turning to grease top) and cover and let rise for 15 minutes in a warm place.  Turn out dough, shape as desired and then cover and let rise again for 15 more minutes.  Bake at 425 F for 12 minutes or until done.

Crescents: Divide dough in half and roll each to 12x9" rectangle.  Cut 12 equal strips about 1" wide.  Roll each strip tightly to form a coil, tucking ends underneath.  Place on greased baking sheets about 2" apart.

Cloverleaf: Divide dough into 24 equal pieces.  Form each piece into a ball and place in greased muffin pans.  With scissors, cut each ball in half, then quarters.

Molasses Bran Muffins

Don't let the bran scare you away from these really delicious muffins.  I love the addition of molasses in the recipe - it adds a rich, sweet flavour and the crispy, caramelized edges are sooo good!  Give them a try and decide for yourself and at the very least your digestive track will thank you!

Bran Muffins

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1-1/2 cups wheat bran

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

400 F, 18-20 minutes

Double Chocolate Biscotti

It's crazy how much you will pay for one biscotti at a coffee shop or bakery.  I much prefer to make them myself and store them in the freezer - then I get to savour one of these twice-baked Italian cookies, (dunked in my coffee!) any time I want!

They are simple enough to make but there are a few steps to follow and, of course, you have to take a little extra time to bake them first in log form, and then sliced into fingers.  The effort is well worth it and the flavour is fantastic.  And hey, dark chocolate and almonds?  Practically health food!

Double Chocolate Biscotti

8 Tbsp unsalted butter

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup blanched almonds, lightly toasted

1 cup golden raisins

Apple Cinnamon Granola Bread

  I am really enjoying sweet yeast breads lately and this Apple Cinnamon Granola bread is fantastic!  The loaf came out perfectly - it came right to the top of the pan and had a great, light texture.   The aroma while it baked was unbelievable and I couldn't wait to taste it...(it didn't disappoint.)  Here is the recipe: 

Apple Cinnamon Granola Bread

1 cup water

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 Tbsp butter

3/4 tsp salt

2-1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1-1/4 cups bread flour or all purpose flour

3/4 cup granola

1/3 cup dry milk powder

4 tsp packed brown sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp fast-rise yeast

 

NOTE: If you decide to use the "white bread" setting on your bread machine, you can add 1 Tbsp gluten to improve the height and texture of the loaf.

Orange Breakfast Loaf

  Here's a new one for the bread machine: Orange Breakfast Loaf -  I couldn't resist because of the name alone!  Like any bread machine recipe it was pretty much a no-brainer...throw the ingredients in the pan in the order recommended by your particular model's manual and turn it on.  The machine does all the work and you get to inhale the intoxicating aroma of yeast bread baking.  (And then you get to eat it too!)  This loaf came out perfectly and since this was the first time I baked it I was pleasantly surprised how tall and light-textured the loaf was considering it contained not only whole wheat flour but also old-fashioned oats.  I suppose you could select the "sweet" setting and add the cranberries in after the dough has mixed but I actually just used the regular white bread setting for fast-rise yeast and added the cranberries right into the flour.  It mixed up fine.  The cranberries, orange juice, and orange zest added such a refreshing flavour - like the name says: perfect for breakfast.

Orange Breakfast Loaf

1 cup water

1/3 cup orange juice

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp grated orange peel

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 tsp active dry yeast

 

Apple Streusel Muffins

I adore muffins for so many reasons: simple to make, quick to bake, portable snack, easily health-ified...and endless varieties.  These Apple Streusel Muffins fill the bill in all those areas and are just so flavourful and aromatic.  I told my DH they were just like apple fritter donuts without the deep-fried fat.

Did you watch the Super Bowl?  I really don't usually pay much attention to that event but this year I was rooting for the Saints (sorry any Colts fans :(   Having traveled to New Orleans soon after Katrina and
witnessing the damage there first-hand, I was really excited for the team from the Big Easy to be in the big game.  As soon as they won the toss I said to DH "That's a good sign.  They're going to win this thing!" and they did!  Of course, I had to have a theme with regards to the food so I did the traditional chili, cornbread, beer, and nachos...BUT...I had to do it in a healthier way.  I made chili with ground turkey and lots of veggies, plus black beans instead of kidney beans because they are lower in calories.  I used baked tortilla scoop chips topped with chopped peppers, onions, and tomatoes with just a smattering of cheese, with an avocado salsa on the side.  I shared the beer!  It was really tasty and no one noticed any different.  Anyway, it was a fun evening.  The only downside is that in Canada, with cable, we don't get the fun Super Bowl commercials everyone talks about.  (Thank goodness for youtube! ha!ha!)

Apple Streusel Muffins

1-1/3 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oat bran

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1-1/4 cups chopped peeled apples

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/4 vegetable oil

Topping:

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Coconut Queen Buns

  I had to try this recipe for Coconut Queen Buns from the Caribbean cookbook - they looked so delicious!  They were very simple to make and turned out like a combination of hot cross buns, fruitcake, and cinnamon buns.  The coconut flavour was really subtle and the icing added a nice bit of sweetness to them.  They were great out of the oven, warm and soft, but once they were cooled the texture was much heavier.  15 seconds in the microwave brought them back to that wonderful, butter-melting soft dough.  Maybe the rising of the dough was affected by the weight of the added coconut or maybe I just need some fresher yeast but overall they were very tasty and I would definitely make them again. 
(DH loved them and agreed they looked just like the picture!)

Chocolate Mint Brownies

  I must admit that these are not my favourite brownies...they are nice and fudgey but I prefer a regular, chocolate brownie.  However, if you like the taste of mint and chocolate, you will probably love this recipe!  Very simple to mix together and quick to bake (only 30 minutes), so you can have a nice minty dessert or snack ready in no time!

Chocolate Mint Brownies

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 tsp peppermint extract

2 (one ounce) squares sweetened chocolate, melted

1/2 cup flour

350F, 8" square pan, 30 minutes