In my kitchen

 Today I was busy baking in my kitchen. I haven't done any Christmas baking so far so I have a long way to go. If I can keep the little fingers off of them I should be all set.

Baking with the Girls

Emma hard at work on a kitchen counter.

Somebody had a birthday in our family and the girls made them a birthday cake ALL by themselves (almost). I had the privilege to clean the kitchen afterwards.



Jo working hard at the stove.

They did lots of mixing.



Yes they are sitting on the counter. They can climb anything.

They took turns mixing.

And the best part of making a cake?

Licking the bowl after.

The cake turned out very well. However, I have no picture of it since it disappeared as soon it was ready to be tasted. Nothing lasts in this family when it comes to food.

PEAR and ALMOND TART

This is a recipe that caught my eye many years ago. I just loved the picture and it reminded me of European desserts. Anyway I finally tried it this Sunday. I made it for our Bible study. I had two bites. That is it. Everybody loved it and I cannot wait to make it again so I can have a bit piece for myself:) I know the recipe looks complicated but it is worth of every step (by the way I got this recipe from February 2005 Bon Appetit magazine). PEAR AND ALMOND TART

(8 servings)

PEARS*

4 cups water

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 medium-size firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled (each about 7 ounces)

CRUST

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds

1/4 tsp salt

9 Tbsp (1 stick plus 1 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg yolk 1/14 cups all purpose flour

ALMOND FILLING

2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds

1 Tbsp all purpose flour

7 Tbsp sugar

6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

FOR PEARS: Bring 4 cups water, sugar, and lemon juice to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until pears are very tender, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool pears in syrup. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

FOR CRUST: Blend powdered sugar, almonds, and salt in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and blend until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Mix in egg yolk. Add four. Using on/off turns, blend until dough comes together in clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

FOR ALMOND FILLING: Finely grind almonds and flour in processor. Mix in 7 Tbsp sugar, then butter, blending until smooth. Mix in egg. Transfer filling to medium bowl. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375F. Roll out chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper to 12-inch round, lifting and turning dough occasionally to free from paper. Using paper as aid, turn dough into 9-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom; peel off paper. Seal any cracks in dough. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in, making double -thick sides. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze crust 10 minutes.

Line crust with buttered foil, buttered side down, then fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides are set, About 20 minutes. Remover foil and beans. Bake crust until sides are golden and bottom is set, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes longer. Cool crust in pan on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.

Spread almond filling evenly in crust. Stem pears and cut each in half lengthwise; scoop out cores. Cut each half crosswise into thin slices. Gently press each pear half to fan slices but keep slices tightly overlapped. Slide spatula under pears and arrange atop filling like spokes of wheel with narrow ends in center.

Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into center of filling comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Push pan bottom up, releasing tart from pan. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.

* If you what to save time, do what some French women do in a hurry-use canned pear halves. Just drain the canned pears, dry them very well, and carry on.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Squares

I have been busy baking this weekend and I came across some new recipes that we all felt in love with and I am going to share them with you.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Squares

(makes 16)

Crust

1 Cup all purpose flour

3/4 Cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced

1 cup pecan halves (about 4 ounces)

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

Filling

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

Topping

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

FOR CRUST: Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously butter 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Using on/off turns, blend first 4 ingredients in processor until coarse meal forms. Add pecans; using on/off turns, process until nuts are chopped. Add oats; process using on/off turns until mixture is moistened but not clumping. Press 3 1/2 cups crumbs onto bottom of prepared square pan (do not clean processor). Transfer remaining crumbs to lined baking sheet. Bake crumbs on sheet until golden, stirring once, about 12 minutes. Cool crumbs. Bake crust until golden, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.

FOR FILLING: Blend all ingredients in same processor until smooth. Spread filling over warm crust; bake until set, dry in center, and beginning to rise at edges, about 20 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

FOR TOPPING: Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Spread evenly over hot filling. Bake until topping sets and bubbles at edges, about 5 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. Sprinkle crumbs over topping; gently press into topping. Cover; chill until cold, about 2 hours.

Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Buckle

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar (or less)
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 cups fresh blueberries



Topping:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 8 x 11 baking pan (sometimes I do two 8x8pans)
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs; beat well. Add try ingredients and milk to sugar mixture, beating well after each. Spread batter into pan; top with blueberries.
Topping
In medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Using pastry blender or fork, cut into 1/4 cup butter until mixture is crumbly. (Stir in nuts.) Sprinkle of batter.
Bake at 350 for 55 to 65 minute or until cake is deep golden brown. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm with ice cream if desired.
Great for freezing!!!

ENJOY

Canning, Baking, Cooking ...

I spent the whole day in the kitchen canning, baking and cooking. We went blueberry picking again and picked 12 pounds of berries. We also stopped to pick some raspberries so I was busy making blueberry and raspberry jam. I also made more blueberry buckles and to answer some of your questions yes I do freeze them. They come in very handy when I need dessert and I am running out of time. I will have to admit that this one did not make it to the freezer but into our bellies.

I also make our own tomato sauce. I know our kids are spoiled. The truth is they will not eat tomato sauce from a grocery store so each summer I have to make sure I have plenty for the entire year. It is very messy but we all love it. I freeze mine and as you can see my freezer is starting to fill up.
I still have few more jams to go and a lot more tomato sauce but it will be rewarding in the winter.

Baking on Saturday

I just wanted to let you know that I baked Christmas cookies like crazy today. I only have one picture but I made so much more and I already have some in the freezer that I made earlier. I am almost done. I can not wait to make little bags and take them to the neighbors. Hopefully we will not eat them by then.