Meyer Lemon Curd

This recipe was originally published on April 15, 2013 on Cooking for Seven. It's one of the most delicious things I've ever made, so of course I needed to share it here on Buttered Side Up!

For some reason I am finding it particularly hard to write this post. Perhaps because I feel a disconnect with this recipe since I made it almost two months ago. That’s right – I made this delicious lemon curd for a bridal shower that I attended one day before I went into labor.

Ah yes. Now I remember how delicious it was spread on fresh scones; how surprisingly easy it was to prepare; and how pretty it looked in a Weck jelly jar.

If you have never made lemon curd before, let me urge you to give it a try. It’s hardly more bother than making a pudding. And it’s amazingly fresh and rich at the same time. If you’re a lemon fan, this is definitely something not to be missed.

Meyer Lemon Curd | from Williams-Sanoma | makes 2 cups | PRINTABLE PAGE

Ingredients:

• 8 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar (natural sugar can be used, but the curd won’t be as pretty)
• 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice
• grated zest of 2 Meyer lemons
• 12 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1) Have ready a heat proof bowl and a fine-mesh sieve. In another heat-proof bowl (or the top of a double boiler) combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk vigorously for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk for another minute.

2) Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Add the butter one piece at a time, whisking until completely melted before adding another.

3) Remove from heat and strain the curd through the sieve into the heat-proof bowl, pressing the curd through the sieve. Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the curd and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Now you’re ready to serve your lemon curd on fresh scones (with butter and Devonshire cream), or however you wish!

Note: some links are affiliate. All opinions are my own.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Meyer Lemon Curd

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Pumpkin Pie Pudding

As I've said before, pumpkin is my favorite of all the pies. However, there are few days besides Thanksgiving and Pi Day that I feel inclined to attempt an acceptable pie crust. If only I could find a way (besides using shortening: the horror!) to make a good pie crust without tears, blood and sweat. 

Thankfully there's this delicious little thing called Pumpkin Pie Pudding. It's hardly more trouble than regular homemade pudding (which is stupid easy), and has the lovely, spicy flavors of a pie.

I was a bit apprehensive about the outcome of this pudding. I've made some pumpkin flavored recipes that didn't exactly please (I don't know if I can ever bring myself to make a pumpkin smoothie again). But to my relief, this was scrumptious. Helen loved it, and so did Reuben. 

Is is every bit as good as pumpkin pie? No, but it's so much easier (and just about foolproof). Make sure to serve with a big dollop of whipped cream.

Pumpkin Pie Pudding Recipe

Adapted from Health.com

Makes about 4-6 servings

Printable Page

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sucanat
• 1/4 cup cornstarch, preferably organic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup pumpkin puree, homemade or canned
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• Whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg, for serving

Directions:

1) In a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the eggs. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk and cream. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes.

2) Temper the whisked eggs by slowly whisking in about half of the hot milk mixture. Pour into saucepan and return to heat. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes.

3) Remove from heat and whisk in the pumpkin, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Pour into a heat-proof storage container (I used a large glass bowl). 

4) Let cool a bit then press plastic wrap onto the surface to keep the pudding from developing a skin. Let cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator. Serve with plenty of whipped cream and a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.

Note: Some links are affiliate. All opinions are my own. I would never share something with you guys if I didn't care for it.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Pumpkin Pie Pudding

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Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey y'all! Two posts in one week, what what!

I'm thinking about starting a series called "Phone Friday" where I share a quick recipe with photos provided by my iPhone. What do you guys think? Do you like the idea of a Casual Friday post?

Often times I'll make something that's utterly delicious, but I simply don't have the time to drag out my camera, pose the food perfectly and edit the photos. In other words, there's some awesome recipes I wish I could share with you guys but never get the chance.

Let me know in the comments if I should do more of these!

But about these cookies. My gripe against cookies is that they're often overly sweet. However, if you cut back on the sugar too much you mess with the texture. Adding a sprinkling of coarse salt on top is a wonderful solution. It balances out the sweetness of the cookies nicely. The added crunch is quite pleasant as well.

Notes:

• These cookies are pretty soft and crumbly. Please to not over bake unless you like your cookies on the firmer side.
• In addition to the salt the sucanat and demerara provide a bit of crunch as well.
• I did, of course, cut back on the sugar a bit. If you like your cookies pretty sweet you can go ahead and add 3/4 cup each of the sugars.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted slightly from Baking Chic

Printable Page

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• scant 2/3 cup sucanat
• scant 2/3 cup demerara 
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dark chocolate chip
• Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).

2) In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add the sugars and mix for a few minutes. Mix in the egg, milk and vanilla.

3) Dump your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the mixer. Mix on low speed until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4) Form the dough into flattened balls with your hands. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven until the bottoms are just browned, 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with the coarse sea salt while still warm. Allow to cool on pan for about 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks. 

Store in an airtight container for a few days.

Note: Some links are affiliate. All opinions are my own. I would never share something with you guys if I didn't care for it.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Homemade Salted Caramel Corn Recipe

For some reason I used to have a fear of homemade caramel corn. Which is quite silly since I had never tried my hand at making it. I just assumed that the stuff from the store (full of highly processed ingredients) could not be recreated at home. Boy, was I wrong.

My sister made a batch of caramel corn and it was AMAZING. My preconceived notions about homemade caramel corn melted away. 

Caramel corn is one of the more addicting foods. It's sweet, but it's also salty, so you don't get overloaded on either flavor. It's so easy to toss kernel after kernel into mouth.

I'm sad that we already finished off this batch. Which can easily be remedied...

Homemade Salted Caramel Corn 

adapted from King Arthur Flour

Makes about 15 cups

Printable Page

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn (to make about 15 cups popped)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (if using unsalted, you may want to add a bit of salt to the caramel)
• 2 tablespoons unsulphered molasses
• 3/4 cup sucanat
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Coarse sea salt, to taste

Directions:

1) Pop your popcorn. Place in a (very) large bowl. Line a large roasting pan with parchment paper. If you don't have a roasting pan you can use two 13 x 9 pans. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). 

2) Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the molasses, sucanat and honey. Stir and cook until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

3) Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. Don't be alarmed - the mixture will foam and get airy. Pour over popped popcorn and toss to coat evenly.

4) Spread in the prepared pan and sprinkle with coarse sea salt to taste. Bake in preheated oven for an hour, giving the caramel corn a stir every 15 minutes or so. 

5) Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before attempted to eat. Once it's completely cool you can store it in an airtight container for a few days. It probably won't last that long.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Homemade Salted Caramel Corn Recipe

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Dirty Chai Pancakes with Spiced Caramel Sauce

This was originally posted on October 15, 2012 on Cooking for Seven. These are some of the yummiest pancakes I've ever made and I'm still quite proud of my photos. :) 

Alright, time for the promised pancakes!

When Emma pinned these Dirty Chai Pancakes the other day, I knew I needed to make them. And so I did.

Reuben loved them. “These are really good pancakes,” he told me with his mouth full.

Lovely Chai spices are mixed in with the dry ingredients. Fresh-ground espresso makes these “dirty” pancakes.

You should whip these up. Today. For breakfast, lunch or supper! They’re good any time.

Recipe Notes:

The original recipe called for spelt flour, but I subbed whole wheat and AP flour with great success. It also called for non-dairy milk, but I just used regular whole.

I didn’t have any maple syrup on hand, so I just mixed up a spiced caramel sauce. You could also mix a few spices into warmed maple syrup if you prefer.

Dirty Chai Pancakes with Spiced Caramel Sauce | adapted from The First Mess and Foods of Our Lives | serves 3-4 | Printable Page

Ingredients

For the Spiced Caramel Sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch each of: ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves

For the pancakes:

• 1 1/3 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• ¾ cup white whole wheat flour
• ½ cup all-purpse flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground espresso

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• 2 tbsp maple syrup or sweetener of choice
• 1 tbsp melted butter or coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

To make the caramel sauce:

1) Place the sugar in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir vigorously with awooden spoon until the sugar melts. This will take a few minutes.

2) Once the sugar has all melted start adding the butter one piece at a time. Whisk until the butter is completely melted. Wait about 3 seconds and then add the cream slowly. Whisk as you add until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Remove from heat.

3) Add the salt and spices and whisk again a couple times just to incorporate.

To make the pancakes:

1) Combine the milk and vinegar in a liquid measuring cup. Stir lightly and set aside to curdle for at least 5 minutes.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground coffee, cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves. Add the curdled milk, maple syrup, melted butter and vanilla extract. Stir gently to combine, taking care not to over mix.

3) Heat a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush the pan with melted butter. Drop 1/3 cup measures of the pancake batter into the pan. Allow the first side to cook for 1 to 1-½ minutes, or until bubbles pop on the surface and the edges appear dry and lightly browned. Flip the pancakes over and cook for another minute. Remove pancakes and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.

4) Serve pancakes with lots of butter, spiced caramel sauce or maple syrup. Yum!

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Dirty Chai Pancakes with Spiced Caramel Sauce

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