Radish Cream Cheese Spread for Spring

Are you a part of the radish fan club or do you not care for them because of their peppery and at times, sharp taste? If you already like radishes I don't need to convince you, but if you are on the fence about this vegetable or even hate the way it tastes (gasp) here are a few facts that might sway your mind. The little red root vegetable is actually good for you! Yes, I know, I know, all vegetables are good for you, but these little guys are full of vitamin C, have cancer fighting properties and are low in calories to name a few. See, I thought this might peek your interest. 

My husband loves radishes as much as I do, however my kids are staunch radish opponents. When I try adding them to our salads, they always end up picking theirs out. They really don't know what they are missing out on ;-) One of my favorite ways to enjoy radishes growing up was adding thin slices of them on top of a piece of buttered rye bread, with just a tiny sprinkle of salt. Super simple, but so tasty. In fact, I get fairly nostalgic thinking about the beautiful red radishes from my mom's garden along with that wonderful baked bread that German bakeries are well known for.

 
While radishes are available year round these days, I tend to think they are synonymous with spring. This easy to make radish cream cheese spread is the perfect appetizer or light lunch for the season. Cream cheese paired with plain yogurt, radishes, chives, lemon zest and lemon juice give this spread a light taste and make it irresistible. Add a dollop of the spread on top of a piece of seeded bread and sprinkle with some beautiful micro greens for added color. Arrange them on a platter and you now have the most perfect appetizer to serve for a spring luncheon or your Easter celebration. Oh, and for the record, everyone in my family enjoyed this radish cream cheese spread. Yes, even my radish haters!

Radish Cream Cheese Spread
~makes about 1 1/2 cups~
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:
1 bunch radishes, washed and finely cubed (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (can use 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1/4 cup plain (2%) yogurt 
2 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
Zest from 1 lemon
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Micro Greens
Sliced Bread

Directions:
Place your washed and cubed radishes in a small bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt and let sit for about 20 minutes to draw out excess moisture.

In a medium bowl whisk together cream cheese, yogurt, chives, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Drain salted radishes well and fold into the prepared cream cheese mixture. Place mixture in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before assembling.

When ready to serve place a dollop of the radish cream cheese on your bread slices. Top with micro greens and serve.


Notes: Drawing the moisture out of the radishes before adding them to the cream cheese is an important step that will prevent your spread from getting to watery after it sits.

You can also serve this radish spread as a dip. In this case place the dip in a bowl and serve with bread, crackers and assorted vegetables, like carrots, bell peppers, and celery.

For a change of pace, use the spread as a tasty bagel topping.

The spread will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Recipe inspired by: Kuechengoetter.de

Blueberries and Cream Muffins with Lemon Glaze

When it comes to grocery shopping, I'd like to think I'm a pretty organized person. I write out a list and mostly stick to it. The only exception is Costco. I can never leave that store without a few additional items in my cart that are new to the store or that I find while browsing the aisles.

A lot of times that also means I find inspiration for new recipes by discovering ingredients while out shopping. It is often that these finds will make my wheels start turning and I come up with ideas on the spot. Usually my poor husband is on the receiving end with recipes spewing out of my mouth as we continue our grocery haul. I do have to give him credit though, he always listens patiently and gives good constructive criticism, but I'm sure many times he would rather roll his eyes at his crazy wife.

Finding a big bag of dried blueberries at Costco was my inspiration for today's recipe. I kept thinking along the lines of cookies, but after inspecting my pantry and seeing a big jar of coconut oil and a bag of white chocolate chips the idea for a muffin recipe was born. While most blueberry muffins are made with fresh berries, the dried version works extremely well in this recipe and adds a lot of flavor without adding the extra liquid or discoloring the finished product. The addition of coconut oil over a more traditional canola oil added the slightest hint of coconut without overpowering the finished baked good, along with giving the muffins a light and airy texture.

A simple lemon powdered sugar glaze provides a nice contrast of flavors while adding a bit of tartness to the muffins, but you could certainly serve them as is. This recipe got two giant thumbs up in our family and has since been added to our favorites list.

Blueberries and Cream Muffins with Lemon Glaze
~makes about 15 muffins~
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:
For the muffins:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup milk (almond milk is ok)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

For the glaze:
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
For the muffins: Pre-heat oven to 375° F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners OR grease well. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.

In another bowl combine eggs, sour cream, coconut oil, milk, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. 

Fold in blueberries and white chocolate chips.

Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups filling each about 3/4 full and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

For the glaze: Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle over cooled muffins.

Notes: I used Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin coconut oil in these muffins. I found my giant container at Costco, but you can also find it online.

When using lemon zest in a recipe, I like to use an organic lemon. Most grocery stores carry them and they don't cost much more than conventional ones. 

A Susi's Kochen und Backen Original Recipe

Ina Garten's Lemon Chicken Breasts

 

A few weeks ago I came down with a strep-throat like infection. I was miserable for several days and was pretty much surviving on  pudding and chicken broth until the antibiotics finally kicked in and brought relief. To keep me entertained, while trying to feel better and occupying the couch, I decided that watching some food-network was in order. Needless to say, it was also quite torturous watching the chefs prepare delicious looking dish after dish and not being able to eat. On the plus side though, I took tons of notes and ended up with several recipes on my "must-make list". One of the shows I watched was with Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa, which had me and my husband (who kept me company) literally drooling watching her prepare a recipe for lemon chicken breasts. We decided right then and there that this recipe would make an appearance on our dinner table as soon as I was able to eat solid food again.

This recipe is a must for any garlic and lemon lover. There are no subtle flavors in this dish, it is a smack you in the face kind of recipe and will truly satisfy a craving for a "done right" chicken dish. Nine garlic cloves are heated in a bit of olive oil on the stove before lemon juice, lemon zest, white wine, oregano and thyme round out this flavor experience. The scented oil is then poured into a baking dish, de-boned, but skin on chicken breasts are placed on top of the lemon-garlic mixture and are brushed with more olive oil before receiving a final sprinkle of salt and pepper. For good measure and to ensure even more flavor a cut up lemon is tucked in between all of the meat into to the pan before baking. After a baking time of around 40 minutes, you are left with incredibly moist pieces of chicken and a sauce that is to die for.

I served this dish with rice, freshly grilled asparagus, and some crusty bread which helps to sop up all of the delectable sauce that is literally good enough to drink. This recipe is easily made on a weekday, but certainly would make for an impressive entree if entertaining as well. If you've been in a chicken "rut" and are always on the hunt to add a little excitement to dinner time, I highly recommend this dish. This is one of the few recipes that I've made recently that was good to go as written without me changing anything and that doesn't happen all too often. So far, none of the Barefoot Contessa's recipes have failed me yet and this one will be added to the list!

Ina Garten's Lemon Chicken Breasts

~serves 4~

(Print this recipe)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup good olive oil

3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)

1/3 cup dry white wine (I used a Chardonnay)

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme eaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6 to 8 ounces each)

1 lemon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don't allow the garlic to brown. Remove pan from stove, and off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Pat the chicken breast dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn't browned enough, put it under the broiler for about 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Serve hot with the pan juices.

Adapted from: Ina Garten

Israeli Couscous with Balsamic Glazed Vegetables

I'd like to thank you all of you for your kind comments, thoughts, prayers and emails regarding my surgery. It meant a lot and I don't say this lightly. My surgery went off without a hitch Thursday and I was back home resting that evening. I had a few days of more pain than I expected, but I'm feeling a little better with each day.  I still have to take it easy for a few more days, but didn't want to leave you all "hanging". I'm not ready to hop back into the kitchen just yet, but I made a few recipes ahead of time before I went in for my procedure. So again, thanks to all of you and your support :o)

I love shopping at Trader Joe's and no, this is not a paid advertisement, it just happens to be one of my favorite grocery stores. It reminds me a lot of the stores I grew up with as a kid. Small, neighborhood stores with a fairly limited assortment of products, but yet everything available that you would need. Trader Joe's is like that. I could spend hours walking through that little store, checking out all of the cool and unique products they have. I always check out their flowers and more often than not, I end up with a bouquet in my basket to brighten up my day. Next up, I always have to stop at the cheese coolers, the glorious, amazingly stocked cheese coolers where I usually stand and have to check out all of the mouthwatering and at times, unique flavors. I also enjoy their wine selection and always seem to walk away with a new find. In fact, they do carry a lot of things that you just can't find at an ordinary grocery store and it is also the place where I buy my couscous among many other things. Israeli couscous that is, because my local supermarket likes to be difficult and won't stock it.

Israeli couscous is just one of those interesting foods, that put a little smile on my face every time  I cook with it. I don't know exactly what it is about it, but I guess I enjoy that the texture is quite unique and unlike regular couscous. Many times I turn it into a salad or simply cook it in some chicken broth for a bit of added flavor. This time though, I wanted to incorporate a good amount of vegetables into the dish and not just any vegetables, but balsamic glazed ones. Red and green bell peppers along with onion and baby portobello mushrooms were my choice for this recipe. To make this a true vegetarian dish, I decided to cook the couscous in vegetable broth to infuse flavor throughout. While the couscous cooks, the cut up vegetables are simply sauteed in a bit of olive oil.  They are seasoned with salt and pepper and a final touch of balsamic vinegar made these vegetables a standout. I also made sure to cook them "al dente" since I wanted to keep the integrity of the vegetables intact. Finally they are folded into the cooked couscous before serving.

The end result was such an incredibly tasty dish, that goes well with so many things. Anything from chicken to fish would be wonderful alongside, but it can certainly stand on its own as well. I served this dish hot right out of the pan, but happened to try it once it had cooled down, and it was equally delicious at room temperature. This turned out so well, that my family has already requested this dish again and with it being chock-full of good for you ingredients, I certainly won't have a problem cooking this in the future.

Israeli Couscous with Balsamic Glazed Vegetables 
~makes 8 servings~ 

(Print this recipe)

Ingredients:

For the couscous:

1 1/3 cup Israeli couscous

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 3/4 cups vegetable broth

For the balsamic vegetables:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, 1/2-inch diced

1 green bell pepper, 1/2-inch diced

1 pound baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:

For the couscous: In a 2 quart saucepan, saute 1 1/3 cups Israeli couscous with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until couscous is lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Slowly add 1 3/4 cup hot vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer for 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

For the balsamic vegetables: In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, peppers and portobellos and saute until vegetables begin to soften. Season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. Continue to cook until most of the moisture from the vegetables has evaporated and the balsamic has glazed them, making sure not to over-cook the vegetables. Fold the sauteed vegetables into the cooked couscous and serve immediately or at room temperature.

A Susi's Kochen und Backen Original Recipe

Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake

Tomorrow I'm having a surgical procedure. Nothing huge, but I will receive general anesthesia and will most likely be quite uncomfortable for a few days. Stuff like this tends to give me a little bit of anxiety in the days leading up to it. To keep my mind of off things, I headed into the kitchen over the weekend to work on some recipes and posts so you guys would be well entertained during my "down time". Working in the kitchen, concentrating on a recipe, always has a calming effect on me and helps me to clear my head and this time was no different.

First thing I made was this Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake that I found once again on "Tasty Kitchen". It struck a chord with me right away for its flavor combination, but also for the simplicity of the recipe. Another bonus: getting rid of some of my very last frozen berries, which is perfect since fresh berry season is just around the corner. The cake is made quickly with just a few everyday items. Once baked, it almost appears like the cake has layers because of the blueberries sinking to the bottom and the taste is very reminiscent of an old fashioned cake you would find in Grandma's kitchen. The cake crumb is just lightly sweetened with hints of lemon throughout, without the citrus flavor being too overpowering. The buttermilk ensures a light and fluffy texture and the juiciness of the berries works perfectly. To top it all off, the cake has a crunchy sweet crust from sprinkled on sugar which is added right before baking. The sugar crust also helps balance the sweetness level.

This cake is simply wonderful for breakfast or even dessert, especially when enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea. Since I made this on the weekend it was an amazing early morning treat that everyone in the family gave the thumbs up to. This recipe worked great with the frozen berries and there was minimal "bleeding"; however, I'm really looking forward to making it again when fresh berries are in season. Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake; it's a good thing!

Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 large egg

1/2 cup buttermilk, well shaken

5 ounces fresh (or frozen, un-thawed) blueberries

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches, mixing until just combined. Carefully fold in berries.

Pour batter into cake pan, spreading and smoothing the top. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 35* minutes. Remove from oven  and cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack and cool for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Invert onto a plate and cut into 8 slices.

*When using fresh berries start checking the cake after 20 minutes 

Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

Spring Onion Jam Bruschetta

 The time has come for another Progressive Party. Progressive Parties, in case you are wondering, are a wonderful way for bloggers to get involved with companies or sponsors to showcase their creative side in coming up with unique recipes. Six bloggers taking a stab at one ingredient in six different courses, sounds like fun, right? The parties are the brainchild of Casey and are hosted over at Kitchen Play where you can find all the info and can check out today's and previous parties.

Many of you might remember my previous involvement last November when I created the "Bloody Olivia". Imagine my excitement when I was chosen again. This month the "mystery" ingredient happens to be spring onions or sweet onions and is sponsored by the National Onion Association. When I first received the assignment and it said spring onions, I was actually a little puzzled and wasn't quite sure what they were. Thankfully with some research on the association's great website, I was ready to get in the kitchen and start creating.  Spring onions are also called sweet onions and are typically available from March through August. They tend to have a much lighter, thinner papery skin and are sweeter than storage or fall onions. Their moisture content is also higher and with that, they are actually more susceptible to bruising. Some common trade-names that you all might be familiar with are Walla Walla Sweets, Maui Sweets and the ever popular Vidalia Onions just to name a few.

For this progressive party I was assigned the appetizer course and decided to go with Walla Walla Sweets for my dish. I was still able to find them at my grocery store in the fall, which is when I was assigned with this party. Unfortunately this particular kind won't be available again until the June time frame, but there are many other options that will work just as well, like Vidalias. Just head on over to the National Onion Associations' website to see what's available. Coming up with a recipe wasn't quite as easy as one might think. I use onions on a daily basis in my cooking at home and we are typically a family of onion lovers. However, I wanted to make sure to create a dish that showcased the onions' sweet taste, but was also light and "spring like" tasting.  My first instinct was to go with bruschetta which I love serving as an appetizer as you can really transform them to fit any season or occasion.

I played around with a few different applications for the onions, but finally decided that making an onion jam would highlight this great ingredient best. Typically, onion jam is made with dark balsamic vinegar, but in order to keep my jam light tasting, I decided to use white balsamic instead. That, along with light brown sugar and white wine, made for a great start. Some seasonings, fresh thyme and just a bit of apricot jam added the finishing touch. The onion jam turned out beautiful, with just the right amount of sweet to tart ratio. 

After taste testing several bruschetta combinations (I know, being a food blogger is rough), I decided to create a bruschetta that would satisfy all of my senses. I had in my mind that the bruschetta should be sweet, but also creamy, crunchy and salty. I found the latter three components by simply putting the onion jam together with crunchy, toasted baguette slices, creamy and slightly tart goat cheese and last but not least, salty slices of prosciutto. Topped with the spring onion jam, this appetizer turned out even better than I had dreamed.

This is really an amazing appetizer and I'm incredibly proud of this creation. I've served this already several times to friends and the reaction is always overwhelmingly positive. On a side note, while the jam is spectacular in the showcased combination, it is also fantastic in many other applications. Think of it as a tasty condiment which can perk up a vast array of dishes.

If at this point my recipe has made your mouth water, go ahead, make the spring onion jam bruschetta, blog about them and submit your link to Kitchen Play. By doing so, you will have a chance to win $100.You have until April 30th, 2011 to enter, so don't wait, I know all of you could use a little extra money with vacation time approaching!

Spring Onion Jam Bruschetta

A Susi's Kochen und Backen Original

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

18 1/2 -inch thick diagonally cut baguette slices

Olive Oil

18 tablespoons soft goat cheese

9 thin prosciutto slices, cut in half crosswise

 Spring Onion Jam (recipe to follow)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange bread slices on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush top of each with olive oil and roast bread until top is golden 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool toasts on sheet.

Spread 1 tablespoon goat cheese on each cooled toast. Arrange prosciutto halves on top of the goat cheese and top each toast with spring onion jam. Arrange on platter and serve.

Spring Onion Jam 

A Susi's Kochen und Backen Original

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large spring onions (I used Walla Walla Onions), sliced thinly

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup white wine (Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio works well)

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons apricot jam

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

Kosher Salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Melt butter and oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onions and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add the sugar, wine, balsamic vinegar, apricot jam, thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the liquid thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 35 minutes.

Transfer the onion jam to a bowl and let cool. Serve at room temperature.

Asian Inspired Cucumber Salad

We are a family of salad lovers. I know I've said it before, but I'm truly blessed with children who are not picky and always willing to give something new a try. They also adore their "greens" and a meal at our house would not be complete without a salad or vegetable along with dinner. Sure they all have their favorites, but even some of the less liked vegetables get eaten. They are all in agreement though when it comes to cucumbers; every single one of my kids loves them. They enjoy them when tucked into their lunchboxes with a little bit of light ranch dressing, but also love cucumbers with abundance when included in any kind of salad. 

My husband brought home two gorgeous looking English cucumbers a couple of days ago and after snacking on one, I still had one leftover to make a salad. I was looking for an Asian inspired recipe since I was preparing a Thai meal that evening. Checking the inventory of my fridge I also found carrots, radishes and red onion and figured all of them would fit perfectly into a salad. I found a basic recipe on Savory Sweet Life and decided to give it a go. This salad comes together quickly, it's the cutting of the carrots and radishes into matchsticks which will take you the longest. Once all the vegetables are cut, they are combined with the dressing. The vinaigrette is a simple mixture of rice vinegar, sugar (which I reduced from the original), chili garlic sauce and salt. The dressing is added to the vegetables and then everything is refrigerated for a couple of hours. I added two teaspoons of the chili garlic sauce and found it a sufficient heat level, but feel free to add more or less to taste.

This salad turned out great. The kids and us adults really enjoyed this great mix of sweet and sour along with the crunch of the vegetables. This is definitely a keeper and lends itself to so many different meals. I especially loved this salad since it is very light and with no oil in the vinaigrette it is also not too shabby on your waistline and boy, don't we all know that the bathing suit season is approaching!

Asian Inspired Cucumber Salad

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 English cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced (a mandolin works great)

1 large carrot, peeled and matchstick-julienned

4 radishes, matchstick-julienned

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

In a microwavable bowl add rice vinegar, sugar, chili garlic sauce, and salt. Heat the bowl in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir the vinaigrette until the sugar is completely dissolved. In a medium size bowl add the sliced cucumbers, carrots, radishes, and red onion. Pour vinaigrette over the cucumber mixture and toss. Cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Slightly adapted from: Savory Sweet Life 

Snickerdoodle Muffins

I bookmark and print out a lot of recipes almost daily. There are so many fabulous bloggers and blogs out there that have appealing dishes, that my list is ever growing. Unfortunately, it also means there are not enough hours in the day to make all of these delicious sounding and looking dishes. If there was, I'd be in serious trouble and probably would be spending more time at the gym than in the kitchen anyway. Every once in a while though, I look through my piles of papers or bookmarks to try something new. This week was the perfect opportunity to make some muffins. The kids were on spring break and had been begging me to fix some muffins for breakfast. Looking for something that could be made quickly, I remembered a recipe for Snickerdoodle Muffins which I had printed out a while back from Tasty Kitchen.

I made Snickerdoodle Cupcakes almost a year ago and the entire family loved them, but they are hardly what I call breakfast appropriate. These muffins seemed to fit the bill a little more. Now, don't get me wrong, they are still not healthy, but they are a great occasional treat. The dough comes together quickly, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla are mixed with flour, baking soda, baking powder and cream of tartar. The addition of sour cream and buttermilk are what makes these muffins light as a feather though. The dough is fairly stiff once it is all mixed together and this is were the real fun starts. You drop "blobs" of it (a 3 Tbsp. ice cream scoop works great) into a cinnamon sugar mixture and carefully roll the dough around in it to make sure it is coated on all sides before carefully placing it into a lined muffin tin. Then, another sprinkle of cinnamon sugar is applied on top before being baked.

These muffins bake up beautiful. The top starts to crackle and gets a nice little cinnamon sugar crust. The muffins itself aren't overly sweet, but have a great flavor because of their "bath" in the sugar mixture. The inside of the muffins are incredibly delicate and light, they literally melt in your mouth. Huge hit with the entire family and they are perfect with a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa, which is how my crew decided to enjoy them. This recipe got two thumbs up all the way around, or in the words of my 13 year old "Mom, these muffins are super duper delicious!"

Snickerdoodle Muffins

 ~makes 20 muffins~

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk

For the topping:
2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream and buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have smooth batter, making sure not to overmix.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Use an ice cream scooper (I used a large 3 tablespoon one) and plop a scoop of batter into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Gently roll the batter in the sugar and cinnamon. Place the ball into the muffin liner.

When you have completed all of the muffins, sprinkle the leftover cinnamon sugar onto the tops of all of the muffins.

Bake the muffins at 350 degrees F for about 15-18 minutes or until they are golden on top and just baked through.

Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

German Soft Pretzel Bites

I grew up eating pretzels from a young age. Us Germans start early on with cultivating our love for certain foods, in fact, even young babies around 1 year of age tend to have their first pretzel experience by being handed a piece of pretzel to chew on. There are so many ways to enjoy a good pretzel in Germany. In Bavaria for example, a good pretzel or "Brezen" is enjoyed with beer, a pair of Weisswurst and German sweet mustard on the weekends for brunch. While the soft pretzel shape is very popular in Germany, the same dough is also formed into rolls or bread-sticks, before being immersed into a lye mixture which will give the pretzels their typical color and taste. For the "home-baker" though, a baking soda/water solution will produce a similar result.

You would think with eating pretzels all my life I would be an expert on making them as well, but forming a decent one is more difficult than it looks. I've tried it many years ago and while they didn't look half-bad, it is much easier to purchase them, especially when living in Germany. You can find great bakeries on almost every corner. Their prices are great and most of these bakeries still produce their daily offerings on site. Unfortunately, the closest thing I've ever found to an authentic tasting German pretzel here in the United States happens to be at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia where some of the Amish vendors sell them and they taste almost like home.

While browsing blogs, I happened to come across these Pretzel bites on Two Peas and Their Pod and was instantly intrigued by the color of these little gems along with the ease of the recipe. Would I be able to produce a similar tasting experience I grew up with? The dough is a simple yeast dough which comes together with ease, especially when using a Kitchen Aid or a bread-maker. The dough then sits to rise for about an hour before being formed into long ropes. The ropes are cut into 1 1/2 inch size pieces before being immersed into a water/baking soda mixture for 30 seconds. Finally, the nuggets get a brushing with egg-wash and a sprinkle of Kosher salt before being baked.

These little guys are perfect! The do taste very similar to the pretzels I remember and I was instantly thrown back to my childhood. As soon as I pulled one tray out of the oven my husband and kids kept nibbling away on them and I had to remind them that I still needed a few to take pictures with. I served my pretzel bites with assorted mustards and they were simply fantastic. These nuggets would be fabulous served at any time and a glass of cold beer on the side makes them even better. Now I wish I could just get my hands on a pair of those Weisswursts.

German Soft Pretzel Bites

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

3 ounces unsalted butter, melted

4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil

3 quarts water

3/4 cup baking soda

1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water

Coarse Kosher Salt

Preparation:

Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the salt and 4 1/2 cups of flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 yo 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

Oil a large bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the water to boil in a pot over high heat and add the baking soda (be careful while you do this as your pot will start to bubble over very easily).

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (I ended up with 9 pieces) about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape. Cut the dough into 1 1/2- inch pieces to make the pretzel bites (a bench scraper works wonderful for this). Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches (about 15 pieces at time). Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon. Place pretzel bites on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooing spray. Make sure they are not touching. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minute or until golden brown. (The color of my nuggets is pretty much spot on with a German pretzel).

Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. Serve with mustard. 

Adapted from: Two Peas and Their Pod

Nutella Chocolate Cookies

Dear Mr. Pietro Ferrero, 

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for inventing "Pasta Gianduja" or as we have come to know it, Nutella, in 1946. Because of your incredible creation you have brought me hours at the gym joy in eating, and just as much happiness baking with this wonderful chocolaty goodness. It is rare that something that is quite simple in ingredients would sweep nations and cause almost "mass hysteria" when showcased in a dessert. You have done an outstanding public service, and for that I'm eternally grateful!

Sincerely,

Susi's Kochen und Backen Adventures

Oh yeah, my love for Nutella is like no other. I'm hardcore and prefer it straight up, with a spoon, but also can't pass up a great dessert made with this stuff. So it was only logical when I came across today's recipe and saw it was utilizing one whole cup of the brown gold, that I had to make it. Another good reason (or justification), all three of my kids are on spring break and we all know that kids and cookies go together hand in hand, right? This recipe makes for pretty thin, crispy cookies, but the center stays semi-soft. Most of my family prefers big thick chewy cookies, but I haven't heard any complaints so far and the batch is almost gone. 

This cookie doesn't look fancy, but don't let that deceive you. The batter is kicked up with the addition of Nutella, chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Both of the latter ingredients mimicking Nutella and with that, the cookie is full of flavor and depth. 

The batch makes quite a lot of cookies, but after sending some to work with my husband and countless neighbor-kids "passing by", there are only a handful left. I had a couple of 9 year old boys tell me that I make the best homemade cookies. That made my day and earned this recipe a permanent spot in my recipe files. So, if you are like me and harbor a quite unnatural love for Nutella and cookies, don't wait to make these little guys. There is never a wrong time to bake cookies and these chocolaty gems taste great with a big tall glass of milk or a cup of coffee.

Nutella Chocolate Cookies

 ~makes 6 dozen~

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup Nutella

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup chopped hazelnuts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter in an electric mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and Nutella and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each. Add the vanilla and mix for 10 seconds.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda (do not skip this step as sifting eliminates clumps of cocoa). Mix into the butter mixture on low speed until fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides at least once to ensure even mixing. Fold in the chocolate chips and hazelnuts and refrigerate the dough for ten minutes.

Spoon tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto parchment or silpat lined cookie sheets. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Adapted from: Simply Recipes