baking as consolation: peach crisp

When I realized my sourdough starter was a flop I decided to console myself by baking something sweet. I had a few peaches left from last weekend’s trip to Green City Market and thought I’d throw together a crisp. Nothing says summer quite like baking with fresh fruit, and this dessert did not disappoint. It’s a super easy and versatile recipe too, making it a perfect choice for a quick treat at the end of the day. It is also a flavor combination I find really comforting.

Okay, so maybe this doesn’t really photograph that well. But trust me, it was tasty!

summer on my plate fruit crisp

Preheat your oven to 350F. Wash/core/pit/peel/wedge whatever fruit you’ll be using. I used 2 medium-sized peaches. Put fruit in a baking tin (I used a loaf pan because that’s all I had) and sprinkle with white sugar. I wanted my crisp to be a bit tart so I only used a little bit of sugar — also, my peaches were pretty ripe and sweet enough already.

In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup quick oats, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and a healthy dash or two of cinnamon. Nutmeg and/or allspice would also be nice additions, if you have them on hand (I did not). I also added a handful of chopped pecans. After blending the dry ingredients, stir in 1/2 stick of melted butter — the mix with come together slightly and get a little crumbly. Sprinkle the topping over your fruit and bake uncovered for 35ish minutes (or until the top is lightly browned and the fruit is bubbly).

I had a ton of extra topping left, which I stored in the fridge. It made a delicious crumb crust for the banana bread I made a few days later.

no-bake kind of mood

I’ve been in such a rut lately.

And the worst part is I don’t even feel like baking.

But the season is about to soon change, people I love are coming into town to visit, and new opportunities are just ahead. So long, crummy rut.

These cookies are perfect for when you’re craving something sweet but just don’t have it in you to labor over an involved recipe. My mom used to make these all the time when my brother and I were little, and making them right now made me feel like I was back at home. There’s nothing fancy about these cookies, but they are a comfort.

And, like my roommate pointed out, you can eat them for breakfast (and claim that you had “oatmeal”).

No-bake chocolate oat cookies A.K.A. “Crumby Ruts” (thanks, cp!)

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or regular, it’s up to you)
3-3 1/2 cups dry quick oats
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa in a good-sized pot. Bring to a boil and keep it there for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, vanilla, and quick oats. Spoon out onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate until set and ENJOY!

PS:

I was chatting with my dad just now and came to find out that my mom happened to make these same cookies just this weekend! I AM MY MOTHER! HA!

Also, I found this video, which is fantastic:

buns in the oven

(that title’s for you, dm)

For about as long as I can remember, Christmas morning in the Mull household involves not just gifts and pajamas, but cinnamon rolls. I LOVE CINNAMON ROLLS. Eating little cakes, drenched in icing, and being able call it “breakfast?” Fantastic.

Last year, my family came out to Chicago so that we all could celebrate the holiday here in the city. It was a memorable visit for a number of reasons, the chief of which was having the chance to welcome them to a place that I’ve come to consider my home. And as any good hostess knows, celebrations and gatherings call for special touches. I decided to make our Christmas morning cinnamon buns from scratch and, instead of drenching them in creamy white frosting, opted for a sticky and sweet caramel pecan glaze.

Christmas mornings have never been the same. So long, rolls from a can!

This recipe is one of my favorites to make. It is super decadent–there is an unapologetically huge amount of sugar and butter involved, which is why these are so so good. It’s great for special occasions; the recipe makes a dozen rolls whose presentation is so nice and tempting that you’ll want to show them off. And while the recipe may seem involved, it really isn’t that difficult–it just takes a little planning and patience. But trust me, each step of this process is worth it! These lovelies are to die for.

sea salt caramels

My favorite recipes are the ones that so obviously require sharing the finished product. I came across these caramels just before Christmas, a time of year that, for me, is best celebrated by the combination of my favorite people and tasty goods full of sugar and butter.

This recipe is pulled from a number of sources and, in all honesty, has come out slightly different each time I’ve made it.  A bit of a confession–I made  five batches of these babies, and two turned out MISERABLY terrible. As in, throw them away terrible. Turns out that you really can’t substitute whole milk for heavy cream (even if it’s cold and dark outside and you don’t feel like walking to the Jewel several blocks away and you figure, “Eh, what the hell. Worth a shot, right?” Wrong). And you shouldn’t really turn the heat up too high, hoping to rush these along. Lessons learned. But the results (and my technique) certainly improved with each attempt–and by the time I got to batch number five, it was, hands down, the best by far (lucky for you, Maryland friends!). So at the very least, I got some candy-making experience under my belt (and gladly sampled as I went along). With a little patience and a fair amount of sugar,  these soft, buttery caramels are actually pretty easy to make. Add a sprinkle of salt on top and you’ve got just the right balance of sweet and salty. Hell, you could even dip them in melted chocolate…but maybe I’m just getting carried away.

gratitude

Thanksgiving is, hands down, my absolute favorite holiday. This may seem funny, considering I’m a vegetarian (but then again, everybody knows that the best part of the meal isn’t the turkey but, obviously, all the side dishes). A day full of good food, family, a little wine, and the likelihood of a post-meal nap? Love it.

As I get older, I’m realizing that maybe what I love  most is the sense of tradition that’s at the heart of this holiday. Thanksgiving would not be the same without Dad’s sweet potatoes, Mom’s corn casserole, the mashed potatoes, the gravy, the peanut butter pie. And while I’m all for a little innovation, I’m also a firm believer in the fact that our Turkey Day menu should–nay, must–be the same each year. Everything that this holiday represents is, for me, intimately tied to what we have each year at our dinner table. And anyway, I couldn’t even imagine what we could possibly leave out.

Except maybe the stuffing. Bread chunks cooked inside a carcass? Gross.

This year, I called dibs on baking the bread that would accompany dinner. I thought I’d try my hand at making some biscuits.

butter = flaky = yes!

Biscuits are fairly easy to make, and since the dough uses baking powder, you don’t need to wait for it to rise–which also makes it a quick recipe. In  about 30 minutes, start to finish, you can enjoy warm, buttery biscuits. How fabulous would they be at breakfast?

But they are also something to work at–to keep perfecting and tweaking until you can really nail the right recipe and technique. I rolled out mine a bit too thin, so while they still had several layers to them, I wish they had turned out a little thicker.

They still did a hell of a job wiping the last bits of gravy and casserole off my plate though, which is just what I like in a biscuit:

about 3 cups of flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon salt
1 stick of butter, cold, sliced
1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredient together. Cut in cold butter until the dough is crumbly. While stirring, slowly add the milk. The dough should form into a ball.

Dust your working surface with flour. Lightly knead dough, adding a little flour, if needed, until dough is no longer sticky. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter (or the mouth of a small glass), cut biscuits and arrange on a greased cast iron skillet (a greased pan will also work). Brush biscuit tops with melted butter, and bake at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

I imagine that substituting heavy cream or buttermilk for the milk, or shortening for the butter, would also yield tasty results. I fully intend to experiment and see.