Flour's Cherry Oat Muffins

I found this recipe in my Flour 2 cookbook, and we really liked these.  They are super oatey, which I love, and the cherries add a nice juiciness.  I ate tons of these, and since each one was 194 calories (I made 27 muffins), my calories didn't go so well while these were around.  They are worth it though.  I made them with all purpose flour, but the recipe called for whole wheat flour, which would make these even healthier.  We all gave the muffins a 9, and here's what to do:

Muffins

3 1/2 c rolled oats

1 1/4 c sour cream

1 c whole milk

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

2/3 c sugar

3/4 c packed brown sugar

1 1/2 c frozen sweet cherries, pitted and chopped if desired (I didn't chop mine, they came out great anyway)

1 1/4 c flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

Topping

1/4 c rolled oats

3 T packed brown sugar

dash of cinnamon

Stir together the oats, sour cream, milk, eggs, and butter until combined.  Add in the sugars, and cherries and continue to stir until combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir until well mixed.  Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and place, covered, in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350, line 24 (more or less) muffin cups, and fill the cups about 2/3 full.  

Mix together the oats, brown sugar and cinnamon for the topping.

Sprinkle the topping over each muffin, and cook for about 30 minutes, checking a little before but plan on longer.  Let cool for a few minutes, then serve.

Flour's Eclairs

My mother was/has always been very supportive of my culinary efforts.  When I was young, like 11 or something, I wanted to make eclairs.  My mother said go ahead, but that they were difficult, and might not turn out.  They didn't.  I think the recipe was flawed, but my little eleven year old self was very sad.  We took all the components, and made a cake out of them (my mom's idea), and everything was fine, but I haven't ever attempted eclairs since.  Well, here's to Flour's recipe, which turned out amazing!  I was so happy to see my little eclairs puff up and become super light and airy.  Noah and I gave these a perfect 10, and Aaron and Owen gave them a 9.  These are super delicious, and I love me some eclairs, so I was a happy happy girl when these turned out so well.

I am just going to give the pastry dough recipe, the cream can be tropez cream or pastry cream, and this recipe called for ganache, so the pastries were 377 a piece.  Here's what to do for the dough

Pate a Choux

1/2 c unsalted butter

1 T sugar

1/8 t salt

1 c water

1 c plus 1 T flour

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, sugar, salt and water over medium heat until the butter melts.  Don't let the mixture boil.  When the butter is melted, add the flour all at once and with a wooden spoon, stir the mixture vigorously until the dough becomes thick and matte and starts to leave a film in the bottom of the pan.  Transfer the dough to a stand mixture, beat it on medium-low speed for one minute, then add in the eggs one at a time.  When all eggs have been added, turn up the speed to medium and beat for about 20 seconds, until the dough is glossy.  Pipe the dough using a pastry bag or a ziplock bag (that's what I used) with a 1-inch hole/tip.  Pipe the eclairs about five inches long, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.  After 15 minutes, turn the heat to 325, and cook for 30 minutes more.  Let cool completely, then cut the eclair in half, fill it with tropez/pastry cream and top with chocolate frosting or ganache.  Serve!

Flour's Homemade Oreos

Yum!  As usual, we loved Flour's recipe.  Everyone gave these a 9, because although they were awesome, we have had better cookies from Flour, like the double chocolate cookies we loved.  Anyway, these aren't very difficult, and they make a darn good cookie :).  Each sandwich cookie was 165 calories, so high, but they are really delicious.

1 c unsalted butter, melted

3/4 c sugar

1 t vanilla

1 c semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1 egg

1 1/2 c flour-2 c flour

3/4 c cocoa powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened

1 2/3 c powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

1 T milk

pinch of salt

Whisk together the butter and sugar.  Whisk in the vanilla and chocolate.  Add the egg and whisk until thoroughly combined.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda until well mixed.  Fold the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture.  It should be the texture of play-doh.  (I had to add more flour to get this texture, about another 1/4 cup)  Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 1 hour to firm up.

Roll the dough in parchment paper, and roll to make a 2 1/2 inch in diameter log.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hour, until firm, rolling every so often to stop one side being squared off.

Preheat oven to 325.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Cut the dough into 1/4 inch slices.  Bake for 16-25 minutes, checking them frequently after 16 minutes.  (Mine went for about 19)  They should be firm to the touch.  Allow them to cool, then frost and make sandwiches.

Beat the butter for about a minute.  Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until smooth.  Add in the milk and salt, then fill the cookies.  Serve.

Flour's Intense Chocolate Brownies

As with all Flour's recipes, these brownies are delicious.  I know it seems like I have featured tons of Joanne Chang's recipes on this site, but there are so many I haven't featured, this cookbook is worth every penny because everything in it is delicious.  So buy it :)  These are the perfect texture for brownies, and they have just the right chocolatey taste for me.  The boys liked these so much, as did I.  Aaron and I gave them a perfect 10, and the boys said they gave them a 9.5 :).  Each brownie was 220 calories, and these are mostly chocolate, hence the intense in the name.  Try these out, they are delicious and easy!! 

5.5 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2.5 (I used just a little more) oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

14 T unsalted butter

5 eggs

2 c sugar

1 1/4 c flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

Heat the oven to 325.  Grease and flour a 9x13 pan and set it aside.  Melt together the chocolates and butter in the microwave, stirring frequently and don't let the chocolate burn.  Set aside when smooth to cool slightly.

Place the eggs in a stand mixer, and whisk them on low speed, slowly adding in the sugar, then mixing for about 1 minute.  With a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate mixture.  

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add those to the chocolate egg mixture.  Fold in the flour.  Spread in the prepare pan, then bake for about 30 minutes.  Start checking at 20 minutes, these should still have moist crumbs when testing for doneness.  Cool completely and then serve, I cut mine into 24 brownies.

Flour's Milky Way Tart

This, people, was an amazing tart.  Flour comes through again!  With oozy, gooey caramel, delicious chocolate mousse, and a crispy sweet tart crust, this one was a winner for everyone.  It received a perfect 10 from the whole family, including my parents.  I made this for my mom's birthday, and we loved it.  The way I made this each slice, 1/16 of the total, was 335 calories.  I did make a few changes to the recipe, and I am glad I did.  I used bittersweet chocolate rather than milk chocolate, and we all felt like the less sweet mousse was awesome.

See that caramel seeping out on the side there?  Yeah, it's delicious :).  Anyway, here is the recipe for this tart, which is really nice because you make everything the day before, then just spend a few minutes assembling it.

1 recipe Pate Sucree, baked in a tart shell

5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 c heavy cream

1 t cocoa powder

1 dash of salt

3/4 c sugar

1/3 c water

3/4 c heavy cream

2 T unsalted butter

1/8 t salt

2 t vanilla

1 oz bittersweet chocolate, shaved into curls (mine didn't work great :))

Melt the chocolate with the cream in the microwave, stirring very frequently to prevent burning.  Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, stir in the salt, and cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Place the sugar and water in a deep saucepan, and let cook over high heat without touching it for about 3-4 minutes, while the sugar caramelizes.  As it thickens and begins to darken, swirl the pan very gently to allow the darker color to mix with the lighter syrup on top.  Continue to cook until a deep amber, but don't overcook!  Burnt sugar is gross :).

Reduce the heat to low, slowly add the cream, and stir constantly but carefully while you pour it in, then continue to whisk and turn the heat to medium.  Whisk in the butter, salt and vanilla when the cream and sugar come together and soften again.  Remove from the heat, pour it into a container and refrigerate at least four hours, or more.

Spread about 3/4 of the caramel filling in the bottom of the tart shell.  Using a stand mixer, whip the chocolate cream mixture until it holds soft peaks.  Mound the mousse in the shell, and spread it evenly over the caramel.  Drizzle the remaining caramel over the top of the mousse, then top with the curls.  Chill before serving.

Flour's Brioche au Chocolat

I love brioche, and I love chocolate, and Flour's recipes are always amazing, so it's hard to go wrong here.  Aaron, Owen and Noah all gave this a 9, and I gave them an 8 because I felt like they were a tiny bit dry, my fault because I cooked them a little too long.

My picture isn't great, but these are some delicious pastries, each one 450 calories.  

The brioche is the same as Flour's Sticky Sticky buns that I made before, and you can find the recipe here for the sticky buns, and the brioche dough I used.  I made the full batch this time, and I made one loaf of brioche bread, then made these with the other half.  

1/2 recipe brioche dough

1-2 c pastry cream

4 oz bittersweet chocolate

1 egg beaten

Roll out the brioche dough into a large rectangle on a lightly floured surface.  Spread the pastry cream all over the dough, then scatter the chocolate over the bottom half.  Fold the top half over the bottom, then cut into 10 (I only got 9) pastries.  Lay on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and allow to rise for two hours in a warm place.  After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 350, and brush the tops of the pastries with the egg.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the pastries are golden brown.  Serve after cooling for a few minutes.

Flour's Homemade Poptarts

So I don't even want to tell you how much of a pig I made of myself about these.  These are what poptarts should be, but aren't.  Flour came up with this recipe, and although I didn't execute it perfectly, it surely is tatsy :).  Aaron gave these a 9, and the rest of us gave them a perfect 10.  I needed to use thicker jelly, but the glaze and the pastry dough were fabulous.  This is a horrible picture, but these don't taste horrible, I promise :).  You make a flaky, eggy pie dough basically, and put in jam/other fillings, then glaze with a basic powdered sugar, vanilla milk glaze.  Easy, delicious, and so fattening.  Each pop tart was 486 calories, but you can use a less fatty pie dough.  Anyway, try making your own poptarts, and hopefully they will be more beautiful than mine :).  Here is the recipe for the Pate Brisee in Flour's cookbook:

1 3/4 c flour
1 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1 c cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
2 egg yolks
3 T cold milk

Using a stand mixer (or a food processor, which I prefer), mix together the sugar, salt, and flour.  Add in the butter until the mixture clumps when you put it between your fingers.  Mix the egg yolks and the milk together, then add it to the flour until the dough just comes together.  Work the dough with your hands for a few minutes until the butter is streaked throughout, then refrigerate for at least four hours.  Divide the dough in two, roll it out, and create your poptarts.

Flour's Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins

These are some amazing muffins!  Raspberry and rhubarb make a great combo with this sweet, light muffin.  Noah says these are his favorite muffins ever, and even Owen gave them a 9.  Noah gave them a perfect 10, I gave them a 9, and Aaron gave them an 8.  Each muffin was only 148 calories.  I think Flour must make the biggest muffins in the world, because although the recipe said it was only going to make 12 muffins, I ended up with 30 muffins, and Flour's pumpkin muffins made even more.  Anyway, they are low in calories and delicious, so win win :).

I am putting in the directions for how I did this recipe, it is basically the same as the Flour recipe, but I had to make a few minor changes.

3 1/4 c flour

1/2 t baking soda

3 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 1/3 c sugar

10 T butter, melted

1 c milk, at room temperature

1 c sour cream, at room temperature

2 t vanilla

1 c frozen raspberries

1 c chopped rhubarb

Preheat oven to 350 and line 30 muffin cups with paper liners.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Whisk together the eggs and egg yolk in another bowl.  Slowly whisk in the sugar, butter, milk, sour cream and vanilla until well combined.  Pour the butter-sugar mixture into the flour mixture and using a rubber spatula, fold gently just until combined.  Gently fold in the raspberries and rhubarb until evenly distributed.  Lumpy batter is good :).  Bake for about 20 minutes, checking after that to ensure the muffins don't over cook.  Cool and then eat or freeze.

Flour's Double Chocolate Cookies

These are a perfect 10 from our family, they are heavenly.  Please don't try these double chocolate cookies from Flour unless you really like chocolate, because they are chocolate overload :).  Aaron actually asked for these again for his birthday rather than the usual Nestle Tollhouse cookies, so that tells you how delicious these are.  The recipe makes 16 cookies for me, and each cookie is about 287 calories.  Here's the easy recipe:

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely shaved
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
1/2 c unsalted butter
1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 c sugar
4 eggs
1/2 c flour
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t cream of tartar
1/8 t salt
1/4 t instant espresso or coffee powder

Melt the 4 oz unsweetened chocolate, 5 oz bittersweet chocolate, and the butter in a microwave, stirring frequently to prevent burning.  Whisk in the vanilla and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, beat together the sugar and eggs for about 5 minutes, or until light, thick, and pale yellow.  On low speed, slowly add the chocolate mixture and mix for about 15 seconds.  In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, espresso powder, the shaved unsweetened chocolate and the small chopped bittersweet chocolate.  Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the sugar-butter mixture just until the flour is totally incorporated and the dough is evenly mixed.  Cover the mixture tightly and refrigerate over night.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees, and drop the dough in 1/4 c balls onto a cookie sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes, then cool on the cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes, then cool completely.

Serve with milk and die from chocolate happiness :)

Flour's Cheddar Scallion Scones

I grew up eating a cheesy onion bread made from Bisquick, and it was one of our family's favorite things.  This reminds me of that bread, and I think this was even better, although not everyone else agreed with me.  Aaron gave these a 5, Owen gave them a 7, and Noah and I gave them an 8.  I thought the cornmeal was a little bit distracting, but I liked everything else.  This comes from Flour's cookbook, and again, that is such a great cookbook!  Each scone was 351 calories, and it makes 8 scones.

1 3/4 c flour
1/2 c medium-coarse yellow corn meal
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 t cumin
3 oz cheddar cheese, diced
5 green onions, minced
1/2 c cold unsalted butter, cut into 8-10 pieces
1/2 c cold buttermilk
1/2 c sour cream
1 cold egg
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350.  Using a paddle attachment on a stand mixer, mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cumin, cheese, and scallions on low speed for 10-15 seconds.  Scatter the butter over the top and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the butter is broken down to grape-size pieces.  Whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and the whole egg until thoroughly mixed.  Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and beat for about 30 seconds.  Turn the dough several times in the bowl to pick up the extra flour.  Dump the dough onto a baking sheet and pat it into an 8 inch circle about 1 inch thick.  Brush the egg yolk evenly over the entire top of the dough circle.  Cut the circle into 8 wedges, then bake for 40-50 minutes or until the entire circle is golden brown.  Cool for 30 minutes, then cut and serve.

We spread ours with some butter, and ate with our dinner.  Yummy!!!

Flour's Pumpkin Muffins with Candied Pepitas

These are really good muffins, and the pepitas on top make them really interesting.  They are moist, and full of flavor, but somehow instead of the 12 muffins the recipe said it made, I made 34 muffins, so close, right ;).  Anyway, it makes it less calories, only 167 per muffin, and these are great, so try them soon!  I am loving this Flour cookbook, everything I have made we have enjoyed.  Aaron gave them an 8, and the rest of us gave them a 9.  Here's what to do:

3/4 c pepitas
1 egg white
1/4 c sugar

3/4 c unsalted butter
2 c sugar
3 T molasses
4 eggs
3/4 c fresh orange juice
16 oz pumpkin puree
3 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves

Line a small tray with parchment paper.  In a small bowl, stir together the pepitas, egg white, and sugar to make a loose slurry.  Pour the seed mixture onto the prepared try and leave out, uncovered, to dry overnight.  The next day, using your fingers, break apart the pepitas in to separate pieces.
Preheat the oven to 350 and line the muffin cups with paper liners.  Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and molasses on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides intermittently.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to combine the eggs and butter sugar mixture thoroughly.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once more.  ON low speed, add the orange juice and pumpkin and beat until combined.
In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.  Dump the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and fold carefully just until they are well combined.  Fill the muffin cups, and sprinkle with the pepitas.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown on top and spring back when pressed in the middle.  Cool and serve.

Flour's Vanilla Cream Filled Donuts

This was a triumph for me.  I haven't ever made donuts before, and I am rather averse to frying, but donuts are something I can definitely get over my frying dislike for ;).  These are fabulous, full of flavor, and after I figured out how to properly get enough cream into the donuts, these turned out great.  I made more donuts than the recipe called for, and since I can never give exact calories for fried foods, I will estimate.  Each donut, for 12 donuts, was around 600 calories, but these are worth the calorie bomb, I promise!  These took a little while to make, but it was a fun experiment.  Next time, I will try to make them lighter, because they were a little heavy, but I think they would be better with practice :).

We all gave these a perfect 10, how can you go wrong with fried yeast dough and pastry cream ;)?  Anyway, here's what to do:

2 1/2 t active dry yeast

2/3 c milk, at room temperature

3 1/2 c flour

1 1/4 c sugar

1 t salt

3 eggs

7 T butter, room temperature, cut into 6-8 pieces

Frying oil

6 T heavy cream

2 c pastry cream

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast and milk.  Stir together briefly, then let sit for about 1 minute to dissolve the yeast.  Add the flour, 1/4 c of the sugar, the salt and the eggs and mix on low speed for about 1 minute.  Then, still on low speed, mix for another 2-3 minutes to develop the dough.  Add in the butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to mix for 5-6 minutes, or until the butter is fully incorporated.

Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 15 hours.

Lightly flour a baking sheet.  On a well-floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 12 inch square about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut out 12 donuts, arrange them on the baking sheet, and cover them with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for 2-3 hours, or until they are doubled in height and feel poufy and pillowy.

Heat 3 inches of oil to about 350 degrees, then in batches, fry the doughnuts for 2-3 minutes on one side, flip, then fry for another 2-3 minutes.  Transfer the doughnuts to a paper towel lined plate, and let cool.  Toss the donuts into the remaining 1 c sugar, then return it to the tray to cool completely.  

Whip the cream until it holds stiff peaks, then fold it into the pastry cream.  

When the doughnuts are completely cooled, poke a hole in each one.  Fit a pastry bag with a small round tip and fill the bag with the pastry cream mixture.  Make sure to squirt the filling all inside the donut, then serve.

Flour's Oatmeal Maple Scones

I received the Flour cookbook from my Mother-in-Law for Christmas this year, and I love it.  I wanted to try these scones right off, they sounded super delicious and easy, my kind of food ;).  I didn't have enough maple syrup, although I thought I did, so I used some regular pancake syrup in addition to the maple syrup, and also for the glaze I used vanilla and almond extracts, and almond milk rather than maple syrup.  We all really liked these, especially after we let them sit a little while.  Aaron gave them an 8, and the rest of us gave them a 9.  Each scone had 487 calories when made with the original recipe, a little less when made the way I made them.  Here's what I did:

Scones:
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/4 c old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
1/2 c hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 c Craisins
1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into 8-10 pieces
1/3 c cold heavy cream
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c pancake syrup
1 cold egg
Glaze:
1 c powdered sugar
2 T almond milk
1 T vanilla and almond extracts mixed, mostly vanilla
1 T water

Using a stand mixer, mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, hazelnuts, and Craisins until combined.  Scatter the butter over the top and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the butter is somewhat broken down and grape-size pieces are still visible.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cream, syrups, and egg until thoroughly mixed.  On low speed, pour the cream mixture and beat for 20 to 30 seconds, or just until the dough comes together.  It will be fairly wet.
Drop 1/3 c sized scones onto a cookie sheet, making 8 of them.  Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for a few hours.
Preheat the oven to 365, and bake directly from the freezer for 40-45 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes.
To make the glaze, whisk together all the ingredients until you have a smooth, pourable glaze. 
Brush or pour the glaze over the tops of the scones and then serve after allowing the glaze to soak in for a little while.

Yummy!