peach cobbler perfection

Hi, y'all!  I'm so sorry to have neglected my lil' Wild Honey blog here...I have been cooking up a storm (and even taking pictures of lots of it), but haven't made time to blog it.  But I am back with peachy perfection in a cobbler.  And it couldn't be easier to make.

Get ready for mouth-watering, peach cobbler.  This recipe comes from my church cookbook, so you know it's quality.  (Credit given to Laura's Aunt Virginia.)

Pretty please may I have some peaches with sugar on top??

I halved her recipe to make an 8x8 cobbler.  I found these sweet peaches at a farmer's market.  You'll need 2 cups of peaches, chopped in bite-sized pieces.  I think I wound up using 4 peaches.  Add 1/2 cup sugar.  For good measure, I also put in a dash of vanilla.

 

Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

Preheat your oven to 375ºF/190ºC and put a half stick of butter (1/4 cup) in your dish in the oven until melted.

Now for the easy cobbler batter: stir together 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of flour.  The recipe calls for self-rising flour, so I also added 1 t of baking powder to my regular flour.  Pour the mixture over the butter.  Do not mix.  Pour the peaches over that, again not mixing it.  I also sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on top.  Bake for about 25 minutes, until brown and bubbly.

 YUM.  It makes for a cakey-cobbler (as opposed to my Mother's delightful more pie-like cobbler, but variety's good, y'all).  Very simple and seasonal.

Happy summer!  What's your favorite thing to eat this time of year?

Bon appetit,

lilrevchef

pumpkin perfection

               

I'm not saying that the following recipe for pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing and pecans is the most delectable thing on the planet.  I'm only saying that if John the Baptist knew about these divine treats he would have given up the whole "Wild Honey & Locust" diet real fast.  These cupcakes have rapidly become my favorite way to celebrate autumn.  I've given them to friends and family and eaten more than I'll divulge here.  Alongside butternut squash risotto, they're certain to become one of my fall favorites.

Ready for some pumpkin perfection?  The cupcake recipe comes from the never-fail Ina Garten, but I decided to swap her maple frosting for Martha Stewart's cream cheese frosting (because cream cheese frosting is just heavenly).  The recipe makes 10 cupcakes, but feel free to double or triple it. :)

How cute is my can of pumpkin?  I found this at a local shop and will have to save the can to plant herbs in.

Preheat your oven to 350ºF/176ºC and line a muffin tin with baking cups.

Let's get our dry ingredients together.  We'll begin with the fragrant spices that make these taste like fall.  Freshly grate (really, it's worth it) 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and add...

 1/2 teaspoon ginger,

 and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Take 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder,

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and

1 cup of flour.

Sift all of the above ingredients together.

(To be doubly sure that all the seasonal spices were mixed in well with the flour, I also whisked it together briefly.)

Easy so far, right?  Now, take a larger bowl and crack in two room-temperature eggs (for you Belfast folks you may need to but them in the oven to get there - ha!).

Add in one cup of that luscious pumpkin puree.  This'll be a bit more than half a can.  Be sure you don't accidentally buy pumpkin pie filling, all you need is 100% pumpkin, already blended up and ready to go.

Of course, save the leftover pumpkin in the fridge (for Belfast folks, on the counter - okay, enough with the cold weather jokes).  I ended up using mine to make more majestic cupcakes, but I'd really like to try some sort of pumpkin ravioli with brown sage butter.  Any recipes out there, foodie friends??

Add 1/2 cup of sugar to your eggs and pumpkin,

1/2 cup of brown sugar (light or dark, it doesn't matter so much),

and 1/2 cup vegetable oil (NOT olive oil, that has too strong a flavor.  I used canola oil I think.)

And that's it!  Whisk it all together until well incorporated.  Stunning colo(u)r, right?

Add in your flour mixture and whisk until just smooth.

Here's that beautiful batter.

Spoon it into your baking cups, distributing evenly between 10 cups.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Mine took exactly that amount of time and were perfect.  Whilst waiting for pumpkin perfection to bake, you can do any of the following:
1. Watch half an episode of NCIS.
2. Update your facebook status ("Baking pumpkin cupcakes...who wants one?")
3. Take your dog for a quick walk.  Or let him take you on a quick walk.
4. Make the following decadent cream cheese frosting.

Should you choose #4 (which lilrevchef highly recommends), you'll want to keep reading:

Take 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese and soften a bit with a spatula.

Add in 8 ounces of room temp butter, cut into tiny pieces.  (Ignore butter-craving dog.)

Schmoosh (technical term) the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and well mixed.

Sift in 1 cup of confectioners/icing sugar.  (Again, avoid eye contact with precious dog, lest you end up being overwhelmed with pity and giving the dog lots of sugar.)

Whisk together well, until smooth and silky...

...like this.

Add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and whisk again to get that vanilla-y goodness all throughout your frosting.

Here it is ready to go!  (And again, the dog's ready for some.  Sigh.)

Take those glorious cupcakes out of the oven, savoring the way your whole house now smells like Thanksgiving.

After letting them cool in the pan for a few minutes, transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.

While those are cooling, chop about 1 cup of pecans and toast at 350ºF/176ºC for about 10 minutes, until fragrant and just starting to brown.

Let's frost those crave-worthy cupcakes.  I used this old (antique, vintage, er, rough-around-the-edges) cake tool and attached it to a very high-tech, professional pastry bag:

Cut a snip out of the end of your high-dollar pastry bag and insert your tip through it, or just don't bother with using a frosting tip at all and pipe it straight out of the bag.

             

I didn't take pictures of this because I seem to be lacking a third arm/hand with which to hold the camera (how does The Pioneer Woman do it?).  But you simply go in a swirl design, making circles from the outside of the cupcake and ending at the center.  Fear not if it looks imperfect, that how folks will know they're homemade.  Plus, pecans cover a multitude of frosting mishaps.  Scatter those crunchy pecans on top and you're done!  Really gorgeous little autumnal treats.

                  

 

As a rule, I adhere to the Supremacy of Chocolate for Dessert tenant, but these moist, spicy, sweet cupcakes give chocolate a run for its money.  

Bon appetit!

lilrevchef

Gigi's giant cookie

We have a bit of a birthday tradition in my family, and of course, it involves chocolate.  Growing up, I always had a giant chocolate chip cookie for my birthdays and now my nieces do, too!  I made this cookie for Gianna's 2nd birthday and she was pretty excited about it (though she's equally excited by wearing shoes to bed and wearing necklaces like every day is Mardi Gras).  I thought I'd share the recipe we always use, partly so you can be a part of this family tradition of mine, and partly so I'll have it here to find anytime I have a hankering for a Texas-sized cookie.  It's wonderfully simple to make.

You'll need some of these little drops of joy (about a third of a package).  Notice my dog's longing "give me chocolate" look.  Fear not, as amazing as chocolate is, I won't poison my dog with it.  And a bit like Gigi, he's excited easily, and makes this same face while I'm trimming brussels sprouts.  No, he doesn't get a nibble of those either.

Here's the recipe.  You can see how well-loved it is.  It continues onto the back of the card as well, but I'll explain it all step-by-step-like here. I think our old neighbor Mrs. Whetten is responsible for this divine dessert.

You'll need about 1/2 cup of pecans.  Chop em up and toast them in a 300ºF/149ºC oven for ten minutes.  It's always a good idea to toast any nuts you're putting in something.  It brings out the natural oils and flavor and makes them nice and crunchy.  After you're done toasting the pecans, go ahead and preheat the oven to 375ºF/185ºC.

Take one stick of softened butter and put in your mixing bowl.

Add 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar (I used light, but I'm not sure it matters a great deal).  The only sugar in this cookie is brown sugar and it gives it a heavenly rich flavor and deep color.  Beat sugar and butter together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.

Then, add one room temperature egg...

...and one teaspoon of vanilla.  If I were Ina Garten I'd say "good" vanilla, but I don't live in the Hamptons, have an all-white kitchen or wear only black button up shirts. So I say use any old vanilla you have (and I'll let you know that I prefer Mexican vanilla).

In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour plus 2 tablespoons...

with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda...

and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Salt's essential to baking.  You know, like chocolate.

Stir flour mixture into wet mixture in two batches.

Add in those fabulous chocolate chips and pecans.

Now it gets serious, y'all.  Is anyone else amused that the Crisco container is emblazoned with "No Trans Fat"?  I'm pretty sure no one is under the illusion that this tub of who-knows-what is healthy.  But sometimes, it is necessary.  You need to lightly coat your round cookie sheet/pizza pan with it.  Otherwise, that heavenly cookie will cling on for dear life and will only become cookie crumbles.

Put a little flour in the middle of your crisco-coated pan and (over the sink) gently knock the edges of the pan to get it evenly coated with flour.  Once coated, turn it over in the sink (floured side down) and give it a little tap to get rid of excess flour.

(It'll look like this.)

Put dough in the center of the pan and gently spread it almost to the edges of the pan.  This takes a little time (perhaps because I used the back of a spoon).  If you have one of those fancy skinny spatula dealies, that would probably make quicker work of it.

Bake for 15 minutes.  It will be golden brown when it's done (thank you, brown sugar!)

And here's mine all decorated for Gigi.  I ran out of icing, so it just says "Gigi 2."  I joked with my brother-in-law that I should've made it say "Gigi 2.0."

I think she liked it.  You can see more pictures of the festivities here.

Bon appetit!

lilrevchef