4 Days Until Thanksgiving.
(I really love this quote! It's a great reminder that being thankful isn't just saying "I'm so thankful..." it's an act. You need to show your thankfulness by sharing it with others! It's an attitude! Have an attitude of thankfulness.
So, it's been a while since my last post. That is because I've been baking. And cooking. A lot. I really love to watch the Food Network, and then I really love to cook what I see them make. Doing this brings me so much joy!
So I'll share some of these recipes with you. Some were great... some were not.
Blueberry Muffins
These muffins, I kid you not, were so easy to make, and I've never had better in all my seventeen years of life. Earlier this year we went to pick our own blueberries so we had some fresh frozen blueberries that I used. I actually made these three times in two days. They were really good. I got the recipe from a William-Sonoma cookbook that I'd never looked at until I got food-fever from the Food Network and then read all of our cookbooks.
For the topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For the muffins:
7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries or frozen unsweetened blueberries, unthawed
Preheat the oven to 375. Put muffin tins in muffin pan. Set aside.
To make the topping, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, (I used my fingers which worked very well especially because the butter is cold and hard to break up. And we don't have a pastry blender. What's a pastry blender?) cut or rub the flour mixture just until coarse crumbs form.
To make the muffins, in a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Ad the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until blended into the butter mixture.
In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Ad the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Stir just until evenly moistened. (If you over stir, the muffins will be to dense!) The batter will be slightly lumpy. Using a large silicone spatula, gently fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. Take care not to break up the fruit. Do not overmix.
Spoon the batter into each muffin cup, (I used a large ice cream scoop, because that makes sure that the muffins are all the same size, and it's much easier!) filling it level to the rim. Sprinkle each muffin with some of the topping.
Bake the muffins until golden, dry on top, and springy to the touch, 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean. Cool muffins for 5 minutes (who even does that?) and serve with maple butter.
Maple Butter
(Makes about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
In a small bowl, with a silicone spatula, beat together the butter and maple syrup until well combines and completely smooth. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
This is a recipe my sister Elizabeth is famous for making. (Thank you for sending me my iPod back!) They are crunchy and chewy and perfect with a glass of milk! Great recipe for kids to help with!
Snickerdoodles
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. fine salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
(Yields about 20 cookies)
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
2. With an electric mixer beat together the shortening and butter. Ad the 1 1/2 cups sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Ad the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.
3. Mix the 3 Tbsp. sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll the dough, by hand, into 1 1/2 inch balls. (That really matters, so get out a ruler. Just kidding.) Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar. Flatten the balls into 1/2 inch disks, spacing them evenly on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake until light brown but still moist in the center, about 12 minutes.
This apple pie was delicious. It was runny, because for some reason, whenever I bake pies, I see that the top is perfectly golden brown, and I think, "Wow! That was really quick. It's perfect" and I pull it out. And then every time it's a surprise to me that it's runny inside. But it does always taste good! And it looked so pretty.
So, besides the baking, I've started making CHRISTMAS CARDS! I love to make my own cards, and this years cards are the best I've ever made, if I do say so myself. But that's mostly because of Pinterest.
I had been meaning to go to Michaels to get all of the materials I needed, but then one night, I went into the garage, and right there, inside the door, was a bag. Inside this bag there were boxes of blank cards, cardstock, buttons, ribbons, and scrapbooking paper. It was the "Card-Makers bag of Heaven." So I scooped up the bag, pushed the need to clean my room down to second on my to-do list, and spent the night making cards and listening to Christmas music while everyone else was asleep. It was magical.
My un-organized card making station. Working around clutter is better, in my opinion, because it feeds your imagination and inspires creativity. I love doing crafts. They are magnifique! (I've also been speaking with a French accent a lot since I've been cooking and baking so much.)
It started to snow again yesterday! In about 30 minutes we go a few inches, enough to have to shovel the driveway and be able to go sledding. So some of us went out and (well, I shoveled) went sledding and then came back in and enjoyed some hot chocolate and banana muffins. (I've been making a lot of muffins.)
Becca really doesn't care for the snow. So yesterday, while it was snowing, I was in the kitchen, and I turned around. There was Becca, sitting in this box, holding this sign.
"Handle with care. Send to Bungalow 13, Bora Bora. Is quiet. Will work for an occasional apple sauce and an air mattress."
Thanksgiving is in 4 days!!! I can't believe it! I'm so excited. We're going to have a lot of little kids at our house, so I've been looking for some games that everyone can play. One that I thought looked really fun was "Who's the Best?" You put everyone into a group of 4 or 5 people, depending on how many you have, and have somebody host the game. Once everybody is in their groups, the host will announce a category, and each team picks somebody to represent their team. The category will be something like "the tallest" or "the loudest". After each team has someone to represent them, the host will then add to the category by saying "Who has the tallest thumb?" or "Who has the loudest snap?" For every round won you get 5 points. The host keeps track of the points and the first person to 25 points wins!
I also found a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition to start. "The Giving Plate"
"This plate shall have no owner, for it's journey never ends, it travels in a circle of our family and friends. It carries love from home to home for everyone to share. The food that's placed upon it was made with love and care. So please enjoy what's on the plate then fill it up again, the pass it on and the heart it holds to your family and friends." And it's great because you don't just do it during Thanksgiving! You can pass this plate around all year long!
I hope you are all enjoying this most wonderful time of the year! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Check back soon for more!
Rachel Merry
