Mud House Year

Mud House Pumpkin Whoopie Pies For An Almost Halloween Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kathy!  That's Kathy in the red costume.  A few years after this picture was taken, I married the handsome hobo, top-right.

In honor of my sister-in-law, Kathy,  I am posting this recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies.  Kathy's birthday is today!  She is an almost-Halloween-baby and that explains why she loves everything Halloweeny and everything pumpkiny.   I adapted this recipe from epicurious.com.  It's easy and delicious as written so I made only a few minor changes.   I just wish I didn't live 2000 miles away so I could actually whip some up  and deliver them to Kathy's door.

Mud House Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Cookies:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 large egg
1  teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.
Whisk together sugar, oil, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla in a separate large bowl until well combined, then stir in flour mixture.Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, drop a scant scoop's worth of batter onto a lined baking sheet to form 1 mound. Make 15 more mounds, arranging them 2 inches apart.

Bake until springy to the touch, 12 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack to cool.
Scoop and bake remaining batter on the other parchment-lined sheet. You should have a total of 32 cookies.

Leave oven on.

Candied pecans:

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon water
1/2 cup pecans

Line a small sheet pan with parchment paper.
Stir together sugar, salt, and 1/2 tablespoon water in a small saucepan. Heat over moderate heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil. Stir in pecans.
Spread mixture on lined sheet pan and bake until coating is bubbling and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Cool completely on pan on a rack.

Coarsely chop candied pecans.

Filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon or 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

While cookies are baking, beat cream cheese, butter, and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add confectioner's sugar and bourbon and mix on low speed until smooth.
If necessary, chill filling until firm enough to hold its shape.

Put it all together:
Fill a pastry bag with filling.  If you don't have a pastry bag, fill a zip-lock plastic bag and cut of the corner. Pipe filling onto flat side of one cookie,  Sandwich with another cookie.  If necessary, chill whoopie pies just long enough to firm up filling again, about 30 minutes.  I did not find it necessary to chill cookies before adding pecans.

Gently press pecans onto filling around middle of each whoopie pie to help them adhere to filling.

A  one-ounce ice cream scoop makes a good-sized whoopie pie.  This picture shows them next to one-inch square Crunchers.  Our dinner party guests ate two pies each for dessert.  If you want smaller, bite-sized pies, use a tablespoon to drop dough onto the cookie sheet.  An ice-cream scoop does result in nice round cookies, though.

Notes:
Definitely go to the slightly extra trouble of making the pecans.  The nutty, sugary crunch is a wonderful counter-point to the smooth, sweet filling. 

I made half of the filling with bourbon and half with vanilla.  I liked the vanilla better.  It's important to use good quality vanilla.  I love my Mexican vanilla.  It's a bit pricey but a it lasts a long time and definitely worth it.

Cookies can be baked 1 day ahead, and kept unfilled on racks at room temperature, covered with a kitchen towel.
Filling can be made 1 day ahead, and chilled, covered.
Pecans can be candied 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Helpful equipment:
Pastry bags and tips
Large, flat baking pans (warped pans result in odd-shaped whoopie pies).  I recently ordered this one from Amazon and have been using it successfully for macarons and whoopie pies.
One-ounce round ice cream scoop
Parchment paper
Good quality vanilla 

 

Happy Birthday Kathy!

 

 

 

First Annual Mud House Pomegranate Celebration

Last night we had  a little dinner party to celebrate the (slightly) cooler weather and the abundance of ripe pomegranates on the trees in our yard.

Guests sipped fresh pomegranate martinis and picked their own pomegranates off of the trees to take home.  
That's my sister, Melissa, and her husband Greg.  They look pretty happy with their martinis.

Then we ate a simple dinner on the patio. 

Mud House Dinner Party Menu, Saturday 10/13/12
Cocktails:  Mud House Fresh Pomegranate Martinis
Appetizer:  Smoked Red Idaho Trout Pate (Al has a new smoker.  It's his new best friend.  SUCH a guy thing.  More on this soon...

Salad:  Grilled Romaine
Entree:  Grilled New York Strip Steak
Side Dish:  Crash Hot Potatoes (Thanks Pioneer Woman)
Wine with Dinner:  Something Red (It's my favorite color)
Dessert:  Mud House Pumpkin Whoopie Pies and Crunchers

Party Favors: Pick Your Own Pomegranates, Please!!

The weather was actually cool, and cool is a big deal around here, so everyone was in a festive, fall-is-here-finally, mood.  We ate on the front porch, with candles.                                                                                                       
It was actually cool enough to have a little fire in our outdoor fireplace! Of course, it's going to be 90 degrees again on Monday so our fall-like-cool-weather-hysteria was short-lived but much enjoyed, none-the-less.

Ok back to reality.   Please stayed tuned this week as I share some of the recipes from our little gathering.  

 

 

Pinterest Wednesday

 
I recently joined Pinterest and I'm kind of addicted, seriously.  My sister-in-law, Kathy, is to blame. She invited me to join.   I am holding Kathy personally responsible for all of the time that passes while I find fun stuff on Pinterest instead of doing the 100 other things I should be doing.  Anyway, I was reviewing my boards, and it occurred to me that my "Recipes I Want to Try" board was overflowing. "Hmmm,"  I thought,  " Why don't I try one recipe a week and, if I like it, move it to my 'I Tried It, I Like It'  board?"   Then, I can share my weekly Pinterest recipes here, with you, and let you know  if I liked them.   Maybe I will even rate them from 1 to 5,  with 5 being the best, in my humble opinion.

For this first week of Pinterest Wednesday, I selected Crunchers.  It is billed a "one of the most popular recipes on Pinterest."  It comes to us from "Twirl and Taste," and offers an intriguing combination of crackers and chocolate.   Sounds like a good place to start to me.

Here we go:

Crunchers 
80 club crackers
1 cup butter
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup butterscotch morsels

Line an ungreased 9 X 13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an extension of foil on either end. Line the foil with 1 layer of club crackers, cutting to fit if necessary.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.

Add graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, milk , and sugar.

Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly (begin timing 5 minutes from when you see the first bubbles).

Remove from heat and spread half of butter mixture evenly over crackers. Place another single layer of crackers evenly over butter mixture, cutting to fit if necessary. Spread remaining butter mixture evenly over crackers. Top evenly with remaining crackers.  In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter, chocolate morsels, and butterscotch morsels.

Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.

Spread evenly over top of crackers.

Cover, and chill for at least 1 hour. Lift foil overhang and remove bars from pan. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

These are delicious.  They've got that salty/sweet, crunchy/smooth, chocolatey/caramelly thing going on.  What more can you ask for?  I am moving them to my "I Tried It, I Like It" board.  

                        

            I' m giving this Pinterest recipe 5/5 Prickly Pear Margaritas and a big thank you to Libby Murphy at " Twirl and Taste." 

Enjoy!

 

  

 

Prickly Pear White Chocolate Ganache

In a small saucepan, I brought an 1/8 cup of my frozen prickly pear juice and 1/8 cup sugar to a boil.  I turned down the heat and simmered it for 10 minutes, reducing to a thick syrup.

I realize most of you don't have prickly pear juice in your freezer so just buy the syrup, already made, by clicking here.

Prickly Pear White Chocolate Ganache

 This is what you will need:

 Makes about 3/4 cup

5 oz  good-quality white chocolate,  finely chopped 
1/3 cup heavy cream
3/4 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature and cut in half
1 tablespoon reduced prickly pear syrup
1 drop magenta gel food color

1.  Put chopped chocolate in heat-proof bowl
2.  Bring heavy cream to a bowl, then pour it over the chocolate.  Let it sit for two minute to soften the chocolate.  With a spatula, slowly stir the cream and chocolate until it is smooth.  Add the butter and stir gently until combined.

3.  Add 1 tablespoon syrup and one drop magenta food color.  Stir gently until smooth.

4.  Ganache will thicken as it sits.  You may keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use.  Bring it to room temperature and use a pastry bag to pipe ganache onto macarons.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Mud House Prickly Pear Macarons

     Macarons and I don't get along.  We've had a love-hate relationship for years.  No matter how hard I try, something always goes wrong.  They might look perfect on the outside but they're hollow on the inside.
Or,  if I stop folding the meringue a moment too soon, they mock me with their little top-notches.   I can't tell you how many times I have thrown a batch into the trash, swearing I would never make them again.   I try to forget them, ignore them, put them completely out of my mind, but then, they start to call my name.   They entice me with those magical little feet and lure me with hints of whimsical flavors. So, in spite of my better judgement, I make another batch.

For all of you who struggle with this obsession,  don't give up.  In my old house, I baked macarons in electric convection ovens.  I experimented with the convection on and off and was never happy with the results.  The Mud House has a propane gas stove.   Kiss of death?   Complete disaster? Probably.   I put it off as long as I could, but that siren song was calling me.   I had visions of electric-pink-prickly-pear-white-chocolate-ganache sandwiched between two perfect, green, footed macarons.   Once the prickly pear simple syrup was made, I was a goner.  So here we go...

Mud House Prickly Pear Macarons

A few words about technique.  I use the Italian sucre cuit method.  I have tried the French method but the Italian just seems to work better for me.  Humidity can be a problem for macarons. However, this is seldom an issue in the desert, so I do not find it necessary to age the egg whites or rest the shells before baking. In fact, when I first started making macarons, I experimented with resting the shells for 15-30 minutes.  Every single attempt resulted in lopsided macarons.  I do, however,  find it helpful to dry the almond flour before combining it with the powdered sugar. 

Preparation:

Note:  Please excuse the quality of the photos and the Christmas cooking utensils.  I didn't expect to blog about this,  considering my history, so really wasn't focused on the details.  

Cover a good quality, flat (not warped) double cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Place a template under parchment, if using.  I have a provided a template for you to download in "Notes",  below. Place parchment on a  second cookie sheet (any old one will do) to dry almond flour. Prepare pastry bag and tip, I used an Ateco 808.   Pre-heat oven to lowest temperature then turn off.

This recipe makes a small quantity, about 30 shells or 15 completed cookies.   It's a good size for experimenting.

Ingredients: 

100 grams egg whites, divided into 50 gram portions, room temperature
134 grams almond flour
134 grams powdered sugar
134 grams granulated sugar
32 grams water
green gel food color

Weigh 134 grams of almond flour and spread evenly on parchment covered cookie sheet. 

Place almond flour on cookie sheet in warm oven for 10 minutes.  Then remove almond flour from oven and bring to room temperature.

Preheat oven to bake macarons.  I tried to keep my gas stove around 335 F  by using an oven thermometer.   The temperature numbers on the knob that turns on my oven are worn off,  so it took some estimating.   Every oven is different so find the temperature that works for you.

Place 134 grams powdered sugar into bowl of food processor.  Add almond flour to food processor and pulse, combining sugar and almond flour.

 

Place almond/powdered sugar  mixture in large bowl, add 50 grams egg whites and food color. Make the color a little darker than what you want because it will be lighter after you add the meringue.

Mix to your heart's content.  It will start out grainy and dry but will come together.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Now this is where it gets tricky.

I place my mixer next to my stove so it is in easy reach.

Place the remaining 50 grams of egg whites into the mixer.   Be sure your bowl and whisk are grease-free.

Place the 134 grams of granulated sugar and the 32 grams of water in a tall narrow pan .  I use my asparagus cooker.  (I know... I got it as a wedding present...not on the registry... but handy for this project.)  Secure your candy thermometer to the pan.

When the temperature reaches 235 F, start beating the eggs on medium speed.   

When it reaches 245 F, pour the sugar into the egg whites with the beater continuing on medium speed. Pour the sugar slowly down the side of the bowl to avoid splattering.  Once all the sugar has been added, turn the beaters to high and beat to glossy peaks.  

Add the meringue to the almond mixture.  

Then the macaronage, (folding) the egg whites into the almond mixture. This is what it should look like.  This is the step that is so important for perfect, smooth, footed shells. There are many YouTube videos that show you how to do this, so I won't go into detail here (plus I didn't take any pictures due to my high level of concentration!)

Next, put your batter into your prepared pastry bag and pipe onto your cookie sheet.  Again, some great videos out there on this. 

Bang the cookie sheet on the counter a few times to settle any lingering top-notches and to bring air bubbles to the surface.

Then, into the oven...

Ah! Yes! Feet. YAY!

I baked my cookies at approximately 235 F for 12 minutes, turning the cookie sheet after 6 minutes.  

After baking, let them come to room temperature, pipe filling of your choice, store in refrigerator in airtight container.  Macarons are at their best 24-48 hours after filling.

These are the best I have made yet.  Although it took some adjustments, opening door etc. to maintain temperature, my propane stove is my new best friend

Next up:

The ganache!

 

Notes:

Template:   I downloaded a template from the internet, cut it to fit my cookie sheet and glued it to a manilla folder. It's not pretty, but it slides in and out from under my parchment paper.  If you would like to do this, here is a Download IMG of my template.  You can print, size and customize it for your pan.  Be sure to slide it out BEFORE baking macarons.

Place a dab of batter under each corner of your parchment to hold it in place on the cookie sheet before piping cookies.

Cooking sugar:  It's difficult to cook such a small amout of sugar and get an accurate reading on a thermometer.    You may want to cook a double batch of sugar.  When it reaches 245 F,  pour mixture into a a warmed measuring cup.  Then pour half of the sugar mixture down the side of the bowl.  I know this wastes some sugar but it results in a better final product, especially while you are first learning.

Temperature:  This is so tricky because ovens vary so much.  Experiment to see what works for you and check the links below for good information.

I could not have done it without these guys...

http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2010/02/macaron-101-italian-meringue-part-1.html

http://www.syrupandtang.com/200712/la-macaronicite-1-an-introduction-to-the-macaron/

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/546793/Demystifying%20Macarons%20-%20Desserts%20Magazine.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

A Prickly Situation

Ok.  So, harvesting cactus?  Actually, harvesting the fruit of the cactus known as "pears." Usually I limit my cactus exposure to drinking prickly pear margaritas at El Charro.     

But, if you have this in your front yard...

and this...

and this...  

Whatchagonnado?

Well, first you get some gloves.  Then some metal tongs.  And then a torch.  I'm not kidding.  These are prickly little guys.  They may look all pink and innocent but they have tiny, almost invisible thorns that will drive you nuts.The pears are easily removed with tongs by a little tug and turn.   Wear gloves and DO NOT TOUCH THEM, really.

Collect about 50 pears in a double paper bag.  That may sound like a lot, but collecting them is easy and goes quickly.  DO NOT TAKE THEM IN YOUR HOUSE YET, seriously.

Pour the pears from the bag into a large colander and rinse them with a hose for several minutes.   

So pretty.  Let them drain for a little while, then...

Use a small torch to burn off the little thorns.   Do this in a fire-safe, outside area with a garden hose at the ready. 

NOW YOU CAN TAKE THEM TO YOUR KITCHEN!

Some people skip the torch step, but I found that once I burned the prickles off, I could handle the pears with my bare hands.  This made the next step much easier.  I was able to hold the pears and slice them into quarters without using the tongs.  I decided to put my gloves back on, just in case, but once we used the torch we did not encounter any more thorns.

Once they are quartered, put them in a large pot with enough water to cover the pears.  

Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 20 minutes.   While the pears are cooking, line a colander with four layers of cheesecloth and place over a large bowl.

After simmering for 20 minutes, gently pour pears and water into the cheesecloth and let drain several hours or overnight.  

This recipe results in about 8 cups of prickly pear juice.  I used one cup of juice to make prickly pear simple syrup  and I froze the rest in individual 8oz portions to use later.

Prickly Pear Simple Syrup

1 cup prickly pear juice
1 cup sugar

Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Cool syrup, keep refrigerated and use the same day.

Upcoming posts will highlight some fun prickly pear syrup recipes.  No worries if there are no prickly pears in your yard.  I will tell you where to buy prepared prickly pear syrup.

                                                
Oh yum!

The final step...

                       

Burn that bag that held the pears!  It's full of thorns!

For more information and recipes, click here.