Blueberry Coffee Cake a la menonita

Okay, so this is shameless propaganda for the trilogy of Mennonite cookbooks - but if you don't have them you should get them! Other than throwing in some blackberries and adding a bit of ginger and a touch of nutmeg and cloves, I followed this recipe to the letter. I'm always a bit nervous about making cakes at high altitude, but this one came out just fine without any changes being made. I love that it takes whole wheat flower and is light on the sugar. If you want the recipe ask a menno friend or check out Simply in Season. 

The best pizza I have ever made!!!

So this recipe is from - Simply Scratch, one of my favorite foodie blogs. I stuck pretty close to the recipe, but made a few small tweaks. Instead of one large rectangular pizza I made four small round pizzas so that I could make different kinds. Also, for the sauce I sauteed some garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil before adding the tomato sauce and I used fresh basil instead of dry to give it a more robust flavor. For toppings I used fresh basil, tomato and an Italian cheese blend for one pizza, Italian sausage and pepperoni for my carnivore hubby, veggies for me, and one with meat, veggies and, of course green chile, because as all Burqueños know green chile makes everything taste better :)!

Here is the link for the recipe: http://www.simplyscratch.com/2010/03/pizza-101.html

Mennonite Pie Dough

I could barely reach the top of the kitchen table when my mom taught me to make this pie dough recipe. To date I have made it in every country I have lived in and it has never failed me! It makes enough dough to do several pies at once, or to make pie dough and freeze the crusts for later. I usually get 5-6 crusts per batch (less if you are making double crusted pies).

To start, you will need a large mixing bowl and a pastry blender - if you do not have a pastry blender feel free to mix the dough with your hands.

Measure into the large bowl:
5 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
2 cups shortening or lard

Mix with a pastry blender/hands until fine crumbs form and the crumbs have a yellowish color.

In a one cup measuring cup, beat an egg and add to the egg enough water (ice water works really well) to make one cup. Dump in 1 tsp. of vinegar and stir (try not to spill any of the liquid). Pour this mixture into the crumb mixture and gently blend with a fork until it is completely absorbed. Form dough into disks and roll out on a floured surface - sprinkle pie pans with a pinch of flour just prior to putting the dough into them. Press the dough firmly into the pans, lifting the edges as needed to ensure that there are no air pockets. Trim the edges, crimp, fill and bake according to pie recipe instructions or poke with fork holes if you are baking the crust for cream pie - I usually bake plain crusts for 15-20 minutes at 350. This dough also works great for turnovers and apple/peach dumplings. Happy pie making!

Double Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies with a Spicey Twist

Oh these polarizing chocolate cookies - you will either love them or hate them! They are my husband's least favorite thing I make, but everyone else raves about them. I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen, but have tweaked it a bit (for the original see http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/toasted-coconut-double-chocolate-cookies-with-sea-salt/ ). The tweaks were inspired by the lovely Carly Piccarello - aka cooking genius. If you like chocolate with a Mexican twist, you will love these cookies! 

First, toast the coconut in a skillet on the stove until your kitchen smells amazing and the coconut is brown but not burnt. Set that aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and shortening, and stir in the sugars. Once the sugar is mixed in, add the eggs and the vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, salt, soda, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Mix the flour mixture into the cream mixture until dry ingredients are mostly absorbed - dump in the toasted coconut and the chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheets and place in a preheated oven (350) - I use an ice cream scoop to get the perfect round shape. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until they are just a bit wobbly in the middle, but stable around the edges. Just before you think they are done, pull them out of the oven and sprinkle with sea salt and then place them back in the oven for a minute or two. Let them cool on the cookie sheets for a couple of minutes, then place them on a cooling wrack and then buen provecho!

 

1 cup Flaked Sweetened Coconut
1/2 cup Butter, Softened
1/2 cup Shortening
2/3 cup Sugar (you can add a bit less of both sugars)

2/3 cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1-3/4 cups plus 2 T. Flour
3/4 cup plus 2 T. Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper (you can add less if you like - 1 tsp = picante – 1/2 to 3/4 tsp is just right if you like a little less spice)
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 cup Chocolate Chips
Sea Salt

Fruit Pizza

I love this recipe as a sweet treat for spring and summer. I use my Grandma Hazel's chocolate chip cookie dough for the base, minus the chocolate chips. This makes a rich, thick and soft crust. The yummy cream cheese topping is super simple to make and then you just throw your choice of fresh fruit on top! 

Cookie Dough Base

Cream together in a large mixing bowl:

1 cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar (3/4 cup of each can also be used)

1 cup softened butter

1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

Beat in:

2 eggs

In a separate bowl mix together:

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

Add to creamed mixture and stir until all dry ingredients are mixed in – do NOT over stir. Press dough into a large cookie sheet or a round pizza stone and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until done. Allow the cookie dough base to cool and then frost with topping.

Topping

Beat together in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer: 

1 pkg. (8 oz) softened cream cheese, 1 tsp. vanilla,  ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 small container of coolwhip or three cups of whipped whipping cream. Top with fresh fruits of your choice y ya está lista para comer!

Aunt Mary's Cinnamon Rolls

I learned to make this recipe in my aunt's sunlit kitchen one summer afternoon. She always used a special cup to measure the ingredients - instead of one of those usual measuring cups she used a small glass mug. The cup I use is not exactly the same as hers, but I have never strayed from this trick. It means whoever makes this recipe has to make it her/his own - add a little bit more, or a little bit less - this recipe requires trial, error, and knowing the feel of a good dough. There are few things as therapeutic as kneading dough, letting the energy ooze through your fingers into this mass that you have watched grow from almost nothing.

This recipe is not for those who are in a hurry - it requires active waiting - so curl up with a book or movie and a cup of coffee during the in between times. Trust me, it's worth the wait when you smell the aroma of cinnamon and freshly baked dough wafting from your oven.

In a large bowl mix:

¾ cup flour
¾ T. salt
¾ cup sugar (half white and half brown)

Add and stir in:
1 ½ cups boiling water and 2 cups cold water

Then mix in:
 1 ½ T. yeast (2 pkgs)

Let rise for 20-25 minutes.

Once this liquid mixture is bubbly, add and stir in:

 ¾ cup of oil
 2 T. honey

Once honey and oil are mixed in, add and stir in:

1 cup whole wheat flour
6 cups white flour (more or less as needed)

Grease your hands and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Cover with a damp towel and let rise for half an hour (on top of stove or in oven that is slightly warm, but NOT hot - place a pan of water in the bottom of the warm oven to help dough rise). Punch down dough and allow to let rise another half an hour. Punch down the third time and then allow to rise for an hour and a half. After dough has risen, divide dough in half and roll out on a buttered surface into a large rectangle (about ¼ - ½ inch thick). Butter top of dough and spread evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon mix (1 ½ cups of brown sugar mixed with 3 T. cinnamon). Roll up and cut into rolls about an inch thick. Place into greased pans, or ungreased baking stones, leaving generous space for rolls to grow (tin pie pans work great for this). Once rolls fill out pans (usually takes about a half an hour) place in 350 oven and bake for 15-30 minutes. Allow to cool and then frost.

Frosting: Mix together 4 cups powdered sugar, ½ cup melted butter, touch of salt, touch of cinnamon, 1 tsp. vanilla and enough hot water to get the desired consistency. This recipe is great with vanilla bean caviar instead of the vanilla extract. For an extra kick, add 1½ tsp. espresso powder to the vanilla extract until dissolved.