Pumpkin Spice Bread with Brown Butter Glaze Sometimes a can is all you have

Ive noticed an alarming trend in my grocery shopping:  I avoid going to the grocery store if I have to take anyone from my family there..

I do not enjoy group outings to the grocery store.  I do not like taking Husband with me (as hell buy something I dont approve of) and I do not enjoy very much, three chattering, active, no-longer-sit-in-the-cart-and-look-cute children, who ask and explore and get excited over things that I cannot imagine.

"Mom, did you know that Jello comes in this bright green color?  How do they do that?"

"Mom, can I buy this [points to most sugary cereal with 27 different artificial colors listed] and eat it for all three meals today?

"Mom, lets walk down this [chips] aisle.  I wanna see all the stuff here.  It looks really yummy here."

"Mom, lemonade comes in a BOTTLE.  Like already made!  How do they do that?"

"Mom, look at these applesauces.  It has only apples listed in the ingredients.  Can we get it?"

"Mom, we need more snacks.  There is nothing I like to eat at home.  THIS SNACK is allergy safe!!"

"Mom.  They have FROZEN pizza.  Now you dont have to make it homemade.  Lets get one."

The mass of craziness, questions, activity, and general flurry of three kids running circles around me generally means that I will avoid going to the grocery store by all means, especially when the kids are on break, and right now, my kids are on break.  They are on a three-week fall break, and I made the mistake taking them to the store once, and I subsequently vowed to myself that wed have to be starving in order for me to go again.

Therefore I began rummaging through the pantry to find new things to cook without going anywhere to get ingredients, and I discovered 6 CANS of pumpkin.  Although the weather was hot, suddenly I felt fall.  I wanted to make something warmly spiced, rich, and typically autumn.  I toyed around with all six cans of pumpkin, making various permutations of this spiced bread, until I came upon the recipe that truly satisfied me.  One major requirement was that I had to USE UP a can of pumpkin instead of having one of those "I have 1/4 cup of pumpkin left that I dont know what to do with" situations.  The other major requirement was that I wasnt going to go to the supermarket to get any missing spices or ingredients.  The result was this super delicious bread that everyone who has tasted has been going nuts over.

(In a funny side story, I knew I wanted cinnamon, but could only find cinnamon sticks. In order to avoid the store, I cleaned out my coffee grinder and ground my own cinnamon, sifted it to make sure it was fine, and drank cinnamon perfumed coffee for a few days, only to find my ground cinnamon 3 batches of pumpkin bread later.)

Lucky for you, this recipe makes TWO loaves - one to give away, and one to keep. Or, if youre selfish, one to freeze and one to keep.  Or, if you have a ravenous family who needs to keep busy eating pumpkin bread, one to eat and another to eat.  The icing is optional - and as my #2 likes to say, "When it has icing, its dessert.  When it doesnt have icing, its breakfast."

Pumpkin Spice Bread with Brown Butter Glaze
Makes 2 loaves

Bread Ingredients
2 ?  cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½  teaspoon baking powder
½  teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½  teaspoon ground cloves
½  teaspoon ground nutmeg

Glaze Ingredients
1 stick (8 tablespoons butter)
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 5 tablespoons whole milk (will vary based on desired consistency)

Bread Method
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease two 9X5X3 loaf pans (or a slightly smaller one, but just know it’ll take longer to bake, the deeper the pan).  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Gently add flour to pumpkin-egg mixture.  Mix slowly and gently, incorporating gently, being careful not to overbeat.  Once mixture is well incorporated, divide evenly between two loaf pans.

Bake for 65 to 75 minutes.  Bake until tester in the center of loaf comes out clean.  Allow breads to cool for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto racks to cool completely.

Glaze Method
In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat, until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.  Carefully pour melted butter into a bowl, leaving excess sediment behind.

Add confectioners sugar, vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons milk and whisk together until uniform and smooth.  If glaze is still too thick, add more milk and whisk again, until desired consistency.  A runny glaze is easier to smooth everywhere but doesn’t set up as easily as a slightly stiffer glaze.  Choose accordingly.

Use glaze immediately.  Pour over bread and allow to set, about 30 minutes.

Printable recipe

I can stay at home for this.  

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Pumpkin Scones with Brown Butter Glaze the object of desire

My book fair team and I took on the job of keeping the book fair up and running for a week, in order to raise money for our school library.  Its a job Ive done for the past 5 years, and one that I really enjoy, mostly because I love to talk to kids about books.  I run around, talk about book titles, encourage kids to try books out beyond an interesting cover, and give mini book talks to as many people will listen, in order to promote the reading of books.  There were a couple of not so great incidents this year, including a mom pointing (literally) her finger at me, when I wouldnt do what she wanted, and a young boy who shoplifted, and the other boy who insisted on coming in repeatedly asking for a book that we didnt have and wasnt going to get.

But the funnier aspect of this book fair, came in the form of the book Sisters.  I knew it was going to be the hot item of the book fair, especially since it had just come out in August.  I knew kids would be excited to read it, buy it, own it, only I underestimated the "hotness" of the book.  The first day of the fair, Friday, we opened, and before lunch I placed my first restock for 10 more copies.  The first 30 sold out in a day, and I promised a long string of girls that Id be "getting more" very very soon. The weekend passed, and I didnt really think much about it.

However, when we opened on Monday, I saw a long string of girls come in and ask if I had Sisters.  Sweetly I reminded them that Id be getting more, but I just didnt have any at the moment.  They all patiently walked away and I called out after them, "Im supposed to get some more before the end of school!  See you then!"  I received my shipment, placed them on the shelf, and braced myself for the after school rush.

What I experienced was like being a rock star or some movie star where people want your autograph.  I was mobbed by girls and boys alike, all clamoring for a copy of the book.  I passed them out, first come first serve, disappointing many when I quickly ran out.  I cleverly came up with the idea of looking in the hold boxes for the teachers for some more, and suddenly a mob of girls closed in on me saying, "ME!  Its mine, its mine its mine!!!"  At the end of that Monday afternoon sales hour, I felt as if I had many people pulling and tugging at my clothing, all vying for a piece of me.  In reality all they wanted was the book, but still, I felt intensely drained.  That book was a serious object of desire.

As Ive been baking a lot while on vacation, I decided to take on pumpkin scones.  Mostly it was kind of a casual experiment, as I had those many cans of pumpkin in my kitchen, and I just wanted to test some things out. However, as those in my neighborhood heard of my pumpkin scone, I received numerous texts and requests for one or more of the scones.  I discovered that the primary pumpkin scone purveyor, Starbucks, was no longer making them.  (Maybe your local Starbucks will, but ours in the Bay Area do not.)  I had people offering to buy them from me, some for their son, some for their mom, and one guy came over walking his dog, begging for one for his pumpkin-scone-starved family members.  I was inundated with request, but in this case it worked out, because the recipe I created makes 16 scones, and no family should eat 16 scones in a single sitting.

Once again, I designed the recipe to USE UP AN ENTIRE CAN OF PUMPKIN, because I do not like the remnant pumpkin in the can situation.  It actually drives me crazy when I get in that situation. The scone is tender and moist, with the fragrance of all those amazing spices we associate with fall. The brown butter icing is a favorite with everyone, and with a black cup of coffee - it is an object of desire.  Take your time making these, and enjoy the experience, because once they are ready, youll be deluged with requests for your presence scones.

Pumpkin Scones with Brown Butter Glaze
Makes 16 scones

Scone Ingredients
4 ½  cups all-purpose flour
?  cup packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon baking soda
½  teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter cut into one inch cubes
2 eggs
15 oz can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
¼ cup of milk, possibly more IF your dough is too dry

Scone Method
In a large bowl of a mixer, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.  Add cut butter.  Turn the mixer on low and allow the mixer to cut the butter into the flour, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 2 minutes.   In another bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin and ¼ cup milk. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead gently 10 to 12 times, until dough comes together.   Divide dough in half.  Pat each portion into an 8-in. circle and cut into 8 wedges.  Repeat with the other section of dough.  Separate wedges and place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Brush with milk.

Bake at 400° for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to from pan to cool on racks.  Once scones are fully cool, make glaze.

Glaze Ingredients
1 stick (8 tablespoons butter)
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 5 tablespoons whole milk (will vary based on desired consistency)

Glaze Method
In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat, until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Carefully pour melted butter into a bowl, leaving excess sediment behind.

Add confectioners sugar, vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons milk and whisk together until uniform and smooth.  If glaze is still too thick, add more milk and whisk again, until desired consistency.  A runny glaze is easier to smooth everywhere but doesn’t set up as easily as a slightly stiffer glaze.  Choose accordingly.

Use glaze immediately.  Dip scones face tops down, lift and hold over bowl, allowing dripping.  Turn over and place on a cooling rack over a tray to catch any residual drips.  Serve with coffee.

Printable recipe

Objects of desire

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Carob Peanut Butter Cups Yum Yum!!

Happy Thursday and Friday folks!

Thanks for all your birthday wishes for Daddy Rainmaker and my dad. When I told you all that I was making something for my dad that involved carob chips, I didnt know what I was going to make yet. Ha!

But I found this recipe in a cook book given to me by my mother called "The Ten Talents."

This recipe is super easy and literally only took me like five minutes to whip up.

Here is the finished product...16 peanut butter bars.

Carob chips in natural lighting on the back of my couch.

First you mix 1 cup of natural crunchy peanut butter and 1/3 cup of honey on the stove over medium. It takes a few minutes...

Then, after its combined you mix in 1/2 cup of carob chips (still over medium) until they are melted and a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla ...another few minutes...

It looks like this.

Then, the recipe actually asks for you to put them in small paper cups to chill or freeze.

Since I didnt have that, I just pressed them into a pan for bars.

Here they are up close.

My opinion?

Theyre great!

They have this wonderful chewy texture,

the flavor seems to change the more you chew it.

You can taste the honey. It has an almost rich taste to it.

Total calories per bar is 141.

BUT...they are completely sugar free...aka...guilt free.

But they are higher calorie so you have to watch your intake.

But how wonderful to be able to eat something so rich and yummy.

Oh, here are some shots of the birthday boys.

My dad...looking great!

Daddy Rainmaker after the kids surprised him

with snakes and a tarantula for some of his gifts.
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Well, I took off from the gym yesterday to cook, clean and prepare for last nights fun. I had a few more calories than I wanted, around 1,900 last night.

Then, I actually went up a pound this morning, so Im now at 5 pounds in 18 days. So, apparently, my body is fluctuating and adjusting. Its annoying, but I hold to the idea that by the end of 10 weeks, I will usually average out to a two pound a week loss. So, if I can be down at least six pounds by Monday...that six pounds in three weeks.

Today I made it to the gym for a 55 minute leg work-out, a 2 1/2 mile bike ride, a 1.25 mile run, and abs.

For calories Im estimating that I consumed around 1,700.

Hope you you all have a good Friday!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

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Brown Butter Blondies Finding my way back

I took a long break from the blog.  I think from mid-November to mid-February, I was more or less silent.  I did a little bit here and there on my Facebook Week of Menus page, and still answered emails and questions from readers who were reading older posts, but I was not putting up anything new.  I actually found myself feeling guilty initially, a feeling that I was disappointing all of my readers and they were eagerly awaiting my next post, but that guilty feeling (which got no rhythm in case youre a WHAM fan) soon faded away and it became easy to not blog anymore.  I discussed with a few friends the possibility of just closing it all together and so as to not put any pressure on myself to continue having to write or think or photograph anymore.  All said leave the blog up, and all said post again when I was ready to post.

During this period of silence, I did embark on quite a bit of soul searching, primarily because I wanted to remember why I wrote.  I often told myself the writing was for others, but really the writing was for me, as a mode of expression, thinking and processing silly details about my life.   Time, or really the lack of time, took away my ability to write.  With the absence of the writing, came an absence of a huge part of my processing mode.  I stopped thinking so much, I stopped searching so much and sort of let myself get lost in a life that was becoming super chaotic and overly committed.

2015 began with an explosion of moments where it became clear that my life was battered enough and that I needed to slow down.  I made concerted efforts to remove extra commitments, and tried to become a calmer, less intense and less frazzled version of me.  I tried to be more present for the kids, more focused with the Husband, and overall better to myself.  The end result is really that I found time, both in my head space and in my life space.  In a sudden moment, I tentatively thought to myself - should I try and write again?

I gingerly dipped my toe into the proverbial pond again, hesitating as I planned the writing mentally, and pausing a lot more than I normally do.  Does it sound right?  Does it read right?  Am I capturing the moment?  I questioned my writing a lot more than I used to, even considered not posting, but in a rush of "oh whats the big deal" I pushed publish, and showed my face to the blog world again.

What surprised me more than anything was the amount of response I got.  I figured after three months of not posting, Id have to push to find people to read my work again.  I didnt.  My readers were all waiting, and I was really taken aback at how much that gratified me since I always thought to myself that most of the writing was for me and not the audience.

But writing is generally for an audience.  Although I write to keep a record for myself, I also write a blog which means I am taking into account a larger body of people to read my words and think about my recipes.  And as it turns out, the larger audience is what encourages me to keep going.  Their response, their attempts at my recipes, and their feedback is such a gift that Ive found my foot space in blogging again.

As a sweet celebration thank you for all of you who have waited patiently, here you go.  This is a sweet easy cookie to make, and its so good that youll have none leftover if you leave the pan out.  I love the texture - chewier, like a brownie, and denser than a regular cookie.  Its one pan, you dont need a mixer and it throws together super easy that youll make it again and again.

Brown Butter Blondies
Makes 32 or 64, depending on your cuts

Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter
½ cup white sugar
1 ½ cups packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon  pure vanilla extract
2 ½  cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 ? cups semisweet chocolate chips

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9X13-inch baking pan. Grease pan very well, either using spray or additional butter.

Melt butter in saucepan.  Cook until butter melts, foams, and the brown bits begin to form.  Remove from heat when butter has lots of golden brown flecks within.  Transfer butter to a heatproof bowl.  Stir in white sugar and brown sugar.  It may not fully incorporate but this is okay.  Stir in egg and vanilla, then flour,salt and baking until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks; spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Bake until browned on edges and set, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in pan set on a wire rack, then carefully cut and serve.

Great with ice cream, hot coffee, or a cup of milk.

Printable recipe

Sweet treats.  Thank you.

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Whole Wheat Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies The fingerprints we miss

The other day, I overheard Daughter #2 saying to Daughter #1, "Im only going to have one kid. More than that is just too many."

I quickly whipped my head around and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Mommy.  You always tell us that three kids is a lot of work," she stated.  

I asked, "Do you think Mommy doesnt like having three kids?"

"You always say three is hard work so Im only having one," and she walked off.

After she left, I wondered what decisions she would make for her future life based on her current one.  I grew up with two brothers (younger) and had in my head that I definitely wanted an older brother and that I wanted my kids to have an older brother.  As we all know, this did not happen.

I wonder how many of my actions will determine their actions.  I wonder how many of my own choices help them decide their own.  Im curious to see if Children take on the strongest parts of my personality - my activist side, my cooking side, my writing side...my baking side.

I do know that these cookies caused a major stir in the house because of the smell of brown butter.  Daughter #2 has never been one to INSIST on eating a cookie after Ive told her that one is enough but this particular bunch has her all worked up.  She came home from school today after I had baked a bunch for the teachers and danced around the kitchen saying, "But I want one SOOO BAD!"  I told her no and to eat her fruit and her crackers for snack.  I heard her mutter later, "When Im a mom, Im just going to bake and eat them all."  Hmm....not sure about my influence on this point.

The trickier part of these cookies are making brown butter.   (For a great tutorial, check out this post on Simply Recipes.) After that, there is nothing different from a regular cookie making trek except for the use of whole wheat flour.  Before you tell me that youre not interested in a whole wheat cookie, let me assure you that no one will know and no one can tell.  Theyll only wonder what makes this cookie so special. I love it because the whole wheat gives a thicker, less "spread out" texture and toasted flavor of whole wheat provides an extra interesting note to this killer cookie.

Whole Wheat Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce
Makes 5 dozen

Ingredients
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method
Make brown butter.  Heat a heavy pot or skillet over medium heat and add butter pieces.  Whisk frequently to ensure even melting of the butter. After about 5 to 6 minutes of melting, the butter will foam up and subside.  At this point, watch the butter carefully to see if the bottom of the pan is becoming covered in brown specks and the color of the butter has turned from yellow to warm brown.  The difference between brown butter and burnt butter (which is used in other recipes) is about 15 seconds. Once the pan bottom has golden specks, remove butter from heat and set aside to cool for about 2 hours.

 Whisk together flour,  baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl.  Set aside until needed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the browned butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat on low speed for about 1 minute until just mixed . Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition, then add the vanilla extract.  Scrape sides of the bowl.  

Add the flour mixture and mix slowly until just combined.  The dough will be stiff.  Add chocolate chips and mix until chocolate chips are incorporated throughout the dough.   Scoop cookies however you normally like; I use a tablespoon scoop.   Make sure to lightly press down the tops of the cookies so that they have a chance to spread out evenly and nicely.

Bake for 16 minutes, until golden brown and the flavor of nutty brown butter fills your home.

Serve warm  or cool.

Printable recipe

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Brown Butter Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies New friends in old places

For SN - and our budding friendship

It takes a long time for me to build a friendship.  Im mostly friendly to a lot of people but I dont open myself up to a lot of friends.  Im incredibly slow to warm up and it takes me a while to be ready to get to know new faces.  But when I do open up, the excitement I feel from opening my life up to another person to have fun with, share my life with and grow old with makes me giddy. Its similar to that feeling that you have when romance first begins - the excitement of seeing that persons face and wondering what he or she will say next.   (Husband - of course you still have my romantic spark and adoration, but this is different.)

In the last few weeks Ive gotten to know another mom from school and it turns out that although we have very little in common (except for a bit of that tiger mom roar) we totally get each other.  Shes skinny but Im not.  Im funny - and she might be a little funny.  (Im funnier for sure.)  She loves to eat more than she loves to cook and I definitely like to do both.  Im more relaxed that she is, which is very hard to believe and on any given day, youll find her volunteering at school while youll find me doing something at the gym.

But its nice, the building of new friendships.  I often forget how nice it is to open myself up to new relationships as my general shyness and fear of people overtakes me on most days.  But having a new relationship means new chances at finding someone else who is like you in your nuttiness and understands that youre not perfect, even on the best day.  I think thats what I like best about building a new relationship; the goal isnt about showing how perfect you are, but rather allowing all your imperfections to show and have the other person accept you anyways.

I made this cookie and it reminded me of new friendships.  It has a richness, a wholesomeness and a tart sweetness which pretty much epitomizes the best of friendships, dont you think?  There is a mix of whole wheat and regular flours, a hefty amount of oats and the special addition of ground flaxseed as well.  These cookies end up not being overly sweet because of the bulk of oats, flax and flour.  The texture has a bit of softness but still structurally chewy.  I love the brown butter back notes, but you can certainly NOT do it as brown butter, and simply just make them with room temperature butter.

Brown Butter Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter cut into pieces - either melt and turned into brown butter or room temperature butter
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups dried cranberries
¼ cup ground flax seeds (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 350.

Make brown butter if desired.  Heat a heavy pot or skillet over medium heat and add butter pieces.  Whisk frequently to ensure even melting of the butter. After about 5 to 6 minutes of melting, the butter will foam up and subside.  At this point, watch the butter carefully to see if the bottom of the pan is becoming covered in brown specks and the color of the butter has turned from yellow to warm brown.  The difference between brown butter and burnt butter (which is used in other recipes) is about 15 seconds.  Set aside and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Whisk both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon in another bowl set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat brown butter (or regular butter) and brown and white sugars until light and creamy.  Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl and beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla extract and beat again.

Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, carefully so that flour gets mixed into dough.  When flour is just mixed, oats, cranberries, and flax seeds.

Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out dough, separating them 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Press down balls of cookie dough to help spreading process.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

Printable recipe

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