Pear & Bleu Crostini with Salted Maple Caramel Drizzle

Alright friends, I'm feelin' classy right now. Get this girl a glass of champagne or something in a martini glass already! 

But seriously, I just bought two really awesome cocktail-party dresses, so I'd love an invite to your fancy autumn cocktail party. Okay, thanks. 

And also, if you invite me, I might bring these fall crostinis with pears, bleu cheese, sage, walnuts, and salted maple caramel. It's all kinds of sweet and salty and nutty in one bite. You get that invitation in the mail, and I'll get these guys on a platter. Let's do this. 

Pear & Bleu Crostini 

Makes about 20 crostinis 

1 large pear, diced small

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped or broken 

1-2 tablespoons of crumbled bleu cheese

4-5 large sage leaves, thinly sliced

Spritz of fresh lemon juice

Fresh cracked black pepper

1 baguette, sliced in thin rounds, lightly toasted

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Heavy pinch of good flaky sea salt

Toss together pears through black pepper, and top baguette rounds with mixture. Stick under broiler until cheese is melted, for just a minute or so (keep your eye on it). 

Add butter, brown sugar, syrup, and sea salt to a small, heavy bottomed pot, and heat over medium-high, stirring the whole time, until everything is melted and bubbly and mixed together. Taste and add more salt if desired. 

Drizzle caramel on top of crostini. 

Apple Muffins with Crunchy Oat Bottom & Maple Glaze

You know those stupid, fattening, sweet, buttery muffins that parade around as breakfast but are really just dessert? 

Well, sorry. That's what these are. 

I said I'm sorry!

Ok, but really… I'm not all that sorry. For starters, swimsuit season is over, my friends. Time to put on some extra weight to stay warm through the winter, right? And they do have whole wheat and apples, hello…that's healthy-ish. And also, my house smelled so amazing and warm and fall-y when I was making these, which is reason enough to whip up a batch.

Sidenote: have you seen the most obnoxious Gwyneth Paltrow food quotes? OMG. I love it so much. I just want to find ways to incorporate autumnal yum into my daily vocabulary. These muffins are a pretty good excuse…they're chock-full of autumnal yum. 

Do you remember the apple muffins at Costco? I'm not talking about the ones they have now, with the streusel topping… I'm talking about the ones they used to have with the crunchy oat-crumble bottom. You guys, those muffins were awesome, as far as dessert muffins go. That's what I was going for here with the crispy oat bottom, but the muffins themselves are loosely based on the blueberry muffin recipe in the Grand Central Bakery Cookbook. I changed it up quite a bit. I mean, obviously I used apples (big hearty chunks of 'em) instead of berries, but I also used whole wheat flour and oats, and lots of warm fall spices. And butter. There's a good dose of the good stuff in here. You could definitely use coconut oil, but the butter makes these so good. For dessert, I mean. 

Apple Muffins with Crunchy Oat Bottom and Maple Cinnamon Glaze

Makes 24 standard sized muffins

I made some in paper liners and some directly in a greased muffin tin. The crunchy bottom seems to come out of both just fine, but either way, be sure to cool entirely before trying to remove, to avoid leaving behind delicious crumble. 

Crumble bottom:

1.5 cups quick oats

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) melted 

1/2 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

Muffin batter:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup quick oats

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

2 medium apples, diced (about 3 cups of apple chunks)

4 eggs

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup with 1 tablespoon lemon juice)

Glaze: 

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Juice from half a lemon

Dash of cinnamon 

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 24 muffin tins, or line with paper liners. 

Make the crumble bottom: Stir all ingredients together until combined and set aside.

Make the batter: 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour through allspice, and stir in the apples until coated. Make a well in the center.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and melted butter, and pour into the well in the dry ingredients. Evenly pour the buttermilk around the outside ring of the dry ingredients. 

With your hands, mix the dry and wet ingredients together, using big, slow circular scrapes. Be sure to incorporate the dry ingredients on the bottom of the bowl, but stop as soon as everything is incorporated. Don't over mix! 

Bake: Fill each muffin tin with a small scoop of crumble, and pat down with your hands or the back of a spoon. The spoon muffin batter on top of crumble, filling tins about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely in the tin, then gently run a knife along the outside edge to release the muffins. 

Mix together glaze ingredients (add more syrup if it's too stiff, or more sugar if it's too runny), and glaze cooled muffins. 

Ham & Cheese Waffles

It's March! And it looks like spring out there! I've learned not to pack up my sweaters too soon, though. We've had snow in May. But, I'm definitely excited for spring to hurry up and get here, I'm ready for asparagus! In other news, here are some things I've been digging lately. 

• La Roux! I may be late to this discovery, but I've become completely obsessed with La Roux and lead singer Elly Jackson! Their music is really far from my typical taste, but I'm loving it so much right now. I pretty much watched every video on You Tube. Watch this one. And this one.   
• Speaking of music, on a totally other different end of the spectrum, I saw my friend Kimber's band Della Mae perform at Wintergrass bluegrass festival last night. Those ladies are incredible! 
• My grocery store started carrying Midnight Moon moonshine! I bought the apple pie flavor and I loooove it! I really want the blackberry next!
• Did you guys read this article about the guy who found a baby in a train station, adopted the baby, and now, 10 or so years later, got the judge who did the adoption to do the marriage of him and his partner? Gah, it's incredible. I cried a little bit.
• Shutterbean's fig balsamic dressing. OMG. I've made it like three times in the last week. I also used it on a really tasty roasted chicken salad I'll share with you soon! 
• Have you ever shopped at Zulily? I have a friend who works there, and the other day she posted that they were having a TOMS sale. I bought two pairs. Plus a laptop sleeve. Plus a hat. 
• Along with everyone else on the internet, I'm in love with Jennifer Lawrence right now. But, I fell in a love a little bit before that, when I read this article.
• Amanda brought me this can o' maple syrup from her recent trip to Montreal. It's so good (and how cute is that can!?). Perfect for ham and cheese waffles!

Ham and Cheese Waffles

This is the perfect breakfast for someone who can't choose between savory and sweet breakfast. The salty ham and cheese goes so well with the tangy waffles (from the sour cream!) and sweet maple syrup. 

Serves 2 (makes 4 thin waffles)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large egg

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup diced ham

For serving:

Fried eggs

Warm or room temperature pure maple syrup

Combine flour through salt in a large bowl, and whisk together. In a glass measuring cup, combine the sour cream and water, and whisk until combine. Add to dry mixture, add egg, and stir until well blended. The batter will be a tad thicker than you may be used to for waffles. Gently fold in the cheese and ham. Preheat waffle maker, and add a fourth of the batter to the center, close, and cook until golden. Repeat until you have four crispy, cheesy waffles. Serve topped with syrup and fried egg. 

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012: Waffle Cookies

It’s holiday cookie swap time! This year, I decided to participate in THE BEST COOKIE SWAP EVER: The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! How could you not love an event that combines some of the best things ever: baking and eating cookies, supporting a good cause, receiving fun mail, exchanging recipes, and meeting new friends. Here’s how the creators, Lindsay and Julie, describe the swap:

"The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap brings together food bloggers from around the world in celebration of all things scrumptious. The premise is this: sign up. Receive the addresses of three other food bloggers. Send each of them one dozen delicious homemade cookies. Receive three different boxes of scrumptious cookies from other bloggers. Eat them all yourself (or, you know, share. If you want. No judgement either way.) Post your cookie recipe on your blog. See everyone else’s cookie recipes. Salivate. Get lots of great ideas for next year's cookie swap. Rinse and repeat."

To impress my three lucky matches, I wanted to make a cookie that I love, and that other people may not have tried before. I immediately thought of my mom’s waffle cookies with maple glaze. While my dad was always the baker and sweet tooth in my house (not to mention the waffle fanatic), it was Mel who always made the waffle cookies.

Growing up, Amanda and I were obsessed with waffle cookies. Along with Mel’s smoky salmon dip, Oma’s poppy seed struedel, and whole pomegranates from Grandpa’s tree, waffle cookies were one of those things that the other kids (in rural Washington in the late 80s/early 90s) didn’t have in their lunch box. Imagine the cafeteria trading power we could have had! But alas, we hung on to our waffle cookies for dear life, they were far too delicious to part with!

Mel’s cookies have shortening, but I went with full on butter for a cookie that’s buttery, dense, salty, sweet, and just downright delicious. And top that with sweet maple-cinnamon glaze….need I say more?

Waffle Cookies with Maple Glaze

1.5 cups unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1.5 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
4.5 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

For glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of cinnamon

Cream butter, both sugars, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt, and mix into butter mixture until stiff dough is formed. You'll need to chill your dough before cooking, but you have a few options. You can either roll dough into walnut sized balls, spread out on a cookie sheet, and pop in the freezer for 30-60 minutes, or you can roll into logs, freeze for 30-60 minutes, and slice off half-inch thick slices to cook. Cook in a hot waffle iron until golden brown. 

Whisk together glaze ingredients, and drizzle over cooled cookies. 

These hold up really well in shipping, and also stay fresh quite away. To package for shipping, I filled 2 little treat bags with 6 cookie each, and put those side by side in a plastic container filled with tissue paper, which went into a shipping box filled with packing paper. 

Wait, there's more!

Looking for more recipes from the cookie swap? Check out the blogs of my random matches: the gals I sent these bad boys to, as well as the gals who sent cookies to me!

Heed the Feed: http://heedthefeed.com 

Wee Eats: http://wee-eats.com

My Kitchen is Open: mykitchenisopen.com

The Right Recipe: http://therightrecipe.org

a periodic table: http://aperiodictableblog.com

The Hardistys: http://thehardistys.blogspot.com

Winter Bourbon Cocktails

My dad and I have a darker skin tone than Mel and Amanda, we have dark hair, and both have a penchant for dark drinks. The two of us go crazy for super dark, heavy beers—porters and stouts—and dark booze. When I was a little kid, and no one was looking, I would sneak a taste of John's whiskey and cokes, dipping in my finger in for a quick taste. It was the 80s, that kinda stuff happened.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love whiskey? Well, I love it. Quite a bit. Especially this time of year. Cold, dark winter days just beg for a warm, spicy whiskey drink. By the way, have you ever wondered what the difference is between different kinds of whiskey (bourbon, rye, etc)? Well, wonder no more. As usual, Wikipedia has us covered. 

You can shake together a ton of combos of tasty fall flavors for a delicious whiskey cocktail. Apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, lemon, rosemary—all go great with whiskey. Just start throwing stuff in a shaker. If all else fails, add more sweet stuff. Or more whiskey. 

Snappy Bourbon & Cider Cocktail 

Makes 2 small or one large drink

1/2 cup fresh apple cider

2 ounces good bourbon

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

splash of bitters

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

juice from 1/4 of a lemon

pinch of fresh nutmeg

3-4 smashed cardamom pods

cinnamon sticks and apple slices for garnish

Add all ingredients (except garnish) to a shaker with ice, and shake everything is incorporated and shaker feels chilly to the touch. Strain into glasses, and serve with a cinnamon stick and apple slice. 

Cheater, Cheater, Cookie Eater

These cookies aren’t dessert, I swear.

Every January, Amanda and I do a cleanse, of sorts. Last year we gave up meat and booze for the month. This year, we decided to give up dessert. Actually, it started out as no sugar, but my friends all said I was pretty boring this time last year, so I didn’t want to exclude alcohol. So, it became less about sugar, more about sugary-dessert-food. Cookies, cakes, pastries, candies, ice cream, brownies—off limits.

Friends, this is hard for me. Really hard. I’m a cookie-a-day kinda gal. I’m a firm believer in dessert after dinner. Or before dinner. Or—who am I kidding—instead of dinner. But, ya know what? It wasn’t too bad! The first two weeks were a breeze. I stopped craving sugar, started eating an apple-a-day, and even resisted sweet treats at the office. No biggie.

But then, something happened. Snow. I’ve been snowed in all week (for all you people calling us wimps, these picture were from the beginning of the snow-storm...duh). And you know what I want to do on a cold, snowy day? Bake. It’s an animalistic instinct, people. Snow makes bears hibernate, and it makes humans bake, it’s just nature’s way. 

As quickly as the snow started falling, my resolve started crumbling. I found myself staring at dessert blogs, then at the snow, then at the oven, then back at the desserts…a vicious cycle. Just as the urge became almost unbearable, I stumbled upon Heidi’s sugarless, butter-free peanut butter cookies.

I called Amanda to see if this was cheating. She said it was. To be fair, we agreed that pure maple syrup and peanut butter were both ok. Technically, these cookies were within cleanse regulation. But, they did contain a cup of syrup, which I guess tips the scales (and my scale) in the other direction. Desperate to have cookies (I think I was literally salivating and clawing at the peanut butter jar at this point), I cut the recipe in half, and then substituted half the remaining syrup with Mel’s home-canned applesauce. A quarter cup of syrup divided amongst 16 cookies is fine, it’s fine I tell you!

At first they didn’t taste like peanut butter cookies. So I tried another one, and another. And ya know what? After 3 cookies, there it was! Peanut butter cookies! These are SO not dessert.

Right?

Absolutely Not Dessert Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1 cups whole wheat flour

½  teaspoon baking soda

Pinch sea salt

½ cup chunky peanut butter

¼ cup pure maple syrup

¼ cup apple sauce (or more)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional: shredded coconut, sliced almonds, chocolate chips (I mean, if you’re eating that sorta thing)

Preheat oven to 350. Place racks in the top third.

In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a larger bowl, combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, apple sauce, olive oil, and vanilla. Stir until combined. Pour the dry mix over the wet mix and stir until combined. It should be a crumbly still, but if it seems too dry, add more applesauce. Taste, and add more salt, syrup, vanilla, applesauce—as needed. Since there aren’t eggs, you can taste a few more times, if you’d like. Hell, you can just eat it as is, if that suits your fancy. Stir in optional add-ins.

Roll into small balls (should make about 16 cookies), and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Press down to flatten each one. Bake for 10 ish minutes, sprinkle with more sea salt, cool on a drying rack, and eat—guilt free.