Apple Pie

I arranged a Christmas Tea with some of my co-workers this week and wanted to provide something good to eat (preferably a new recipe.) Since I've made so many different cakes in the past and was giving various cookies as the actual Christmas presents, I decided to try another pie since I'd had fairly good luck with the sweet potato pie at Thanksgiving.

This time, I decided to make an apple pie (largely because I had a large bag of apples in my refrigerator getting closer and closer to their rotting point!) For the recipe, I researched a few of the more popular options on allrecipes.com - though most of the options were more complex than I was really wanting to try (I just wanted a simple, classic pie recipe since I also baked a batch of sugar cookies this evening for a massive 6-hour baking marathon!) Fortunately, I was quite happy with the following recipe; it proved to be a very traditional all-American apple pie. The only alteration I might attempt with this recipe is slightly pre-baking the bottom crust before adding the apple-mixture. I had read in the online comments how this had helped prevent a soggy bottom (but I failed to remember this when baking this pie - though, fortunately, it wasn't that soggy.)


Classic Apple Pie

(makes one 9" pie)

7 cups thinly sliced peeled baking apples
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
a double pie crust (I simply doubled this recipe from my sweet potato pie)

Prepare the dough for the double crust, dividing so that one is slightly larger than the other. Chill for at least 2 hours. In a bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; add to apples and toss. Pour into crust; dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; cut slits in top. Place over filling; seal and flute edges. Beat egg yolk and water; brush over pastry. Bake at 425°F (218°C) for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F (175°C) ; bake 40-45 minutes more or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

Moist Chocolate Cake

A few weeks ago I had a friend post this recipe on Facebook (as what she thought was a wishful, but impossible request on our island.) When I mentioned that I'd easily be able to bake it, she instantly demanded I give it a try!

Surprisingly, most of the ingredients were readily available at my local grocery store - the only thing I was unable to find was the buttermilk. Instead, I found a simple substitution of lemon juice and regular milk. I was a little surprised at just how liquid-y this recipe was however. I mixed the first set of ingredients (everything except for the final cup of hot water) and the resulting batter was the normal consistency for a cake. However, when the extra cup of water was added (I'm not a big coffee fan), the result was a thin batter with the consistency of chocolate milk! (I was a little worried at this point!!!)

I originally planned to bake this cake in my 7" spring-form pan (since it allows for better airflow in the oven); unfortunately, I discovered that the batter was far too runny for this. (A lesson I didn't learn until chocolate batter had dripped all over my kitchen counters and on the bottom of my toaster oven....) Luckily, I was able to quickly grease my 9" pan and transfer the batter into it. I, then, simply baked the two layers one at a time.

Amazingly, the thin batter did end up congealing into a perfectly formed cake. In fact, I was greatly impressed with how easily this cake fell from the pan (it was almost like during the baking process the cake had actually pulled away from the sides of the pan.

To complete the cake, I simply frosted it with a classic chocolate buttercream frosting (from the Wilton website.) The final cake was extremely dense and rich!

Moist Chocolate Cake

2 c. sugar
1¾ c. flour
¾ c. cocoa
1½ t. baking powder
1½ t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
½ c. butter, melted
1 T. vanilla
1 c. hot coffee (or hot water)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Mix sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Beat for 2 minute on high speed. Stir in hot coffee (or water.) Bake for 30-35 minutes in two greased 9" pans.


Wilton Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

½ c. shortening
½ c. butter, softened
¾ c. cocoa
1 t. vanilla extract
4 c. powdered sugar (1 lb.)
3-4 T milk

Cream shortening and butter and add vanilla and milk. Mix cocoa and powdered sugar. Slowly mix the sugar mixture with the liquid ingredients until very well mixed. Add more milk if needed for a smoother, creamier frosting.

Sweet Potato Pie

I have been wanting to attempt my first toaster-oven pie for quite some time; however, I've been a little hesitant since the only "pie" pan I have is a 9-inch cake pan, which happens to have a slight outward angle on the sides. (Plus, pies have never really been my baking forte!)

Fortunately, this sweet potato recipe proved to be fool-proof. Although it has been a few years since I last made a sweet potato pie, this recipe seemed to have a much thicker filling than the recipes I've used in the past. I am also a little disappointed in the amount of spices in the recipe; as I was adding them, I thought it seemed rather meager, and I really wish I had doubled them (though I should note that I prefer pumpkin pies and always seem to spice my sweet potato pies so that they have the spicy kick that I associated with pumpkin pie.) Although the final texture is a little denser and less creamy than my past sweet potato pies, I'm still fairly happy with the results.

Pie Crust (9 inch.)

1¼ c. flour
½ t. salt
1 T. sugar
6 T. chilled butter
¼ c. shortening (4 T.)
3-4 T. cold water

Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut the butter into the mixture. Add the shortening and combine until the consistency of cornmeal and peas. Add 3 T. water and mix. Add more water until dough holds together. Form the dough into a slightly flattened circle, light flour, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least one hour or up to 2 days.)


Sweet Potato Pie
(9 inch pie)

1 lb. Sweet Potatoes (2 cups)
½ c butter, softened
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
½ c. milk*
2 eggs
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla extract
1 (9 in.) unbaked pie crust

Boil sweet potatoes in skins for 40-50 minutes or until done. Remove the skins and mash the potatoes. Add butter, sugars, milk, eggs, spices, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour filling into the pie crust. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 55-60 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

*The original recipe called for ½ cup evaporated milk, which I could not find on my island. After reading online, it seemed that milk would be an adequate substitute (and it didn't seem to cause any problem with my finished pie.)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

In Korea (and most of Asia), Valentine's Day is reserved as a day when women give gifts to their boyfriends/husbands; then a month later, on March 14th, the men return the favor on a holiday known as "White Day." To help celebrate the holiday at work, I baked a couple batches of cookies for my coworkers. I baked a 3½ dozen chocolate chip cookies and 3½ dozen oatmeal raisin cookies.

Although oatmeal raisin cookies are one of my favorite cookies, I've never actually baked them before. I found this recipe online (though it's basically the same recipe found on the box of Quaker Oats - the only difference is the addition of clove.) Although the end cookies tasted fine, I was a little disappointed with the cookies' appearance. I had hoped for a thick, chewy cookie; instead, I got flat cookies (though they are at least still chewy.)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
(yields 3 dozen cookies)

¼ c. butter, softened
¼ c. shortening
½ c. packed brown sugar
¼ c. sugar
1 egg
½ t.vanilla
¾ c. flour
½ t. baking soda
½ t. cinnamon
¼ t. ground cloves
¼ t. salt
1½ c. rolled oats
½ c. raisins

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Cream together butter, shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and combine well. Mix in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Unattractive, but Delicious Cornbread

After my failed attempt at "good" cornbread earlier this month, I decided that I needed to alter my recipe for a more "corn-y" taste. Thankfully, my alterations gave me just the taste I'd hoped for! I made this extra small batch so that I'd have just enough to fill the two small loaf-pans I'd purchased several months ago. Sadly, the finished appearance left much to be desired...but the taste was perfect!

Perfect Cornbread
(2 small loaf-pans or 4 muffins)

3½ T. butter, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
½ c. milk
½ c. flour
½ c. cornmeal
1½ t. baking powder
¼ t. salt

Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Cream butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine egg and milk. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix well and pour into greased pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Extra Chewy Brownies

One of my friends recently brought me a couple pounds of Crisco from the States, so I decided to repay her by making her favorite brownies (which oddly required none of the shortening!) I found this delicious recipe for extra chewy brownies online and couldn't be happier with the results. I baked these in the 7" springform pan I purchased in Seoul last weekend (and can't understand why I haven't used springform pans for everything!) It was so nice just popping the sides off and having the brownies on a ready-serve plate!


Extra Chewy Brownies
(fills a 7-8" round pan, or double the recipe to fill a 9 x 13 pan)

5 heaping T. unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ c. sugar
5 heaping T. butter, melted
1½ eggs
½ c. all-purpose flour
1 t. vanilla extract
a dash of salt
powder sugar for decoration (optional)

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Mix melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix well. Bake for 30 minutes in a greased pan.

Buttery Valentine Cupcakes

This weekend, I ventured to Seoul's Bangsan-dong Baking Market in order to stock my kitchen with all the baking equipment I can't find in my area. Although I found a lot of pans and decorating instruments, I was less able to find the ingredients I'm lacking (the Foreign Food Mart was sold out of Crisco.)

Fortunately, I did find these little metal individual cupcake molds, which I thought would be perfect for my toaster over. Tonight, I gave them a test run with this Butter Cake recipe from Wilton (listed below). Although these cupcakes are delicious, I'm a little disappointed in their appearance; I don't know if it was the pans or the recipe, but they didn't really rise as well as I'd hoped (I know butter cake is suppose to be dense and all, but I would have at least liked a nice little dome top...)

Butter Cupcakes
(yields 12 cupcakes)

¾ c. butter
1¼ c. sugar
3 eggs
½ t. vanilla
1½ c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
a pinch of salt
½ c. milk

Preheat oven to 375°F (175°C). Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add vanilla. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture (start with the flour mixture.) Pour into lined cupcake molds, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Simple Frosting

3 c. sifted confectioner's sugar
¼ c. milk
½ t. vanilla
Dash of salt

Combine sugar, milk, vanilla and salt; mix well. Add food coloring.

Valentine Hearts

Since I had such success with my sugar cookies back at Christmas time, I decided to repeat the same recipe as an early Valentine's surprise for a couple of my friends. I used the same recipes for both the cookies and the frosting (though I used a little more guess-work on the frosting this time.) Fortunately, I'm quite happy with the three different tones I created for the hearts - I merely added more and more red food-coloring after frosting 7-8 cookies.

Cornbread Muffins

One of my good friends loves cornbread, but sadly it is completely impossible to find cornmeal in South Korea (at least at all the stores in my area.) So, on a recent trip to Egypt, I stopped at a grocery store and picked up a couple bags (not exactly the easiest things to get through customs, by the way.)

Today, I finally decided to begin experimenting with online cornbread recipes. I'm not exactly sure what drew me to the recipe below, but it did have very positive reviews. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be my preferred recipe; while it does produce a very moist, cake-like muffin (which required no additional butter), I found it lacking in "corn" flavor. The muffins tasted more like a plain cake, with just a mild corn taste - my Midwestern roots require a much stronger punch of corn!

• 
  
• Buttery Cornbread
• (yields 14 large muffins)
• 
  
• 2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups milk
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Cream sugar and butter. Mix milk and eggs. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt. Add to the creamed butter alternating between wet and dry ingredients. Bake at 400°F (205°C) for 20-25 minutes.