Baking Beauties Bingo Package..

Wow! Say that 3 times fast! Ok, so I am such a slacker! I should have posted about this weeks ago! A little while back, I played Baking Beauties Bingo which was hosted by the lovely beauties themselves, Dawn and Jeanine. This lasted for 4 weeks, the first 3 weeks you had to get bingo in a certain form, and the 4th week was the blackout board week. Surprisingly, I won that week, so, I received 2 prizes. One from Dawn and one from Jeanine. So, Thank you girls for putting up a wonderful event! I hope that you do it again! And Thanks for the wonderful prizes. And, please, pretty please forgive me for taking so long to post about it!

First, here is the flirty apron that Jeanine made. I hate pics of myself, but the good thing about this is, I am now 10 pounds lighter!! And, I absolutely LOVE this apron!!!

This is what came in the box with the apron, 2 potholders, and little notebook that was hand embellished and the thing (not sure what it is called) that you put plastic bags in. I guess it would be called a plastic bag holder. :)

In my second box, there were recipe cards, flavored teas, 3 handmade cards (that I just can't bear to give away because they are precious!) A magnet notepad, a recipe book that was handmade, cake tester and mini spatulas. I think that was it! Thank you girls so much!!

Cookie Carnival-Blackberry Almond Bars

For this month's Cookie Carnival, Kate chose Blackberry Almond Bars. I was super excited about this recipe, well, because anything with blackberries, I will eat it. Now, last night, I had a co-baker with me in my kitchen, Charlotte at Taylor Loves Chocolate. Charlotte is a newbie to the blog world, and is a newbie in the baking kitchen as well, so go and check her out. Taylor is my niece and Charlotte has been in the family for about 3 years, and hopefully someday will make it official as my SIL (hint, hint to my brother!)ok, so now back to these bars!

First, you puree the blackberries and strain them to get the seeds out, then you make them into a curd. Make an almond based shortbread crust, bake it, then top with the curd and bake some more, top with powdered sugar when cooled. These will definitely be made again and again! Love them! What are you waiting for, go and try them for yourself!

BLACKBERRY ALMOND BARS
(williams-sonoma)

INGREDIENTS:
For the shortbread:
* 12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup ground toasted almonds
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 tsp. salt

For the blackberry curd:
* 2 pints blackberries
* 4 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* Pinch of salt
* 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
* 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room
temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-by-2-inch cake pan.
To make the shortbread, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, flour, almonds, granulated sugar and salt and process until small lumps form. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom. Bake until the shortbread is golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

Meanwhile, make the blackberry curd: In a food processor or blender, puree the blackberries until smooth. Pass the puree through a chinois set over a bowl, using a pestle to press on the solids and extract as much juice as possible; discard the solids. You should have about 3/4 cup juice.

In the top pan of a double boiler or in a nonreactive saucepan, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until blended. Then whisk in the blackberry juice, salt and lemon juice. Set the top pan over but not touching simmering water in the bottom pan, or set the saucepan over medium-low heat. (If using a saucepan, take care not to heat the mixture too quickly.) Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula or spoon, until the mixture is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Begin adding the butter a little at a time, stirring each addition until blended before adding more. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan, until a finger drawn across the back of the spatula leaves a path, 8 to 10 minutes more. Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Pass the curd through the chinois set over a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Whisk to blend, then pour the curd over the shortbread, spreading it evenly to the edges.
Bake until the curd is set, about 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into individual bars, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Dust the bars with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Makes 20 bars.

Peaches from the Farmer's Market

We have a new Farmer's Market here in Knoxville on Thursday evenings. So, I loaded up the kids and went this past Thursday. The only thing that I bought were these peaches, so what do you do when you have a bag full of peaches? Make jam of course! I love to make jam, there is just something about the fact that you use fresh fruit, sugar and a couple of other ingredients, cook it down for about 20 minutes, put it into some jars and let it cool. When you open up the jar, you have thick jam. The only addition to my normal go to recipe was that I added half of a scraped vanilla bean, so you have those lovely little specks throughout the jam. I also have a little trick to get my jars to seal, when you fill the jars with your jam, put the lids on tight and flip them up side down on their lids to cool. Once cooled, flip them back over and the lids should be sealed. This is easier to me than sticking the whole jar down into boiling water.

Peach-Vanilla Bean Jam

2 pounds peaches, peeled, and cubed

5 cups sugar

2 Tbsp vinegar

1 pinch of salt

1/2 vanilla bean, scraped

Combine all ingredients into a large pot and bring to a rolling boil. Stirring frequently, continue boiling for about 15-20 minutes or until your candy thermometer reaches 220 degrees F. Transfer to your canning jars and cool. This recipe made 10 of the small jars that I used.

Danish Braid for the Daring Bakers

Updated: I love this dough! I loved making it, folding it, everything! This month was chosen by Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What's Cooking?, they chose the danish braid from Sherry Yard's, The Secret of Baking. This is something that I would have never tried on my own. That is why I love the Daring Bakers, each month we are given a challenge out of our comfort zone. I would definitely recommend trying this dough, it is easier than expected and you get to make yummy danishes from it. The fillings are endless. I chose to make a cream cheese and peach filling. The only regret I have from this, is that my peaches were not ripe and still crunchy and tart after the baking. But, if I pick out the peaches, it is wonderful! I do have extra dough in the freezer, and plan to make individual size danishes with several different fillings.

Thanks to the hosts for a wonderful challenge this month, and check them out for the recipe!

I am sure that you have seen the Danish Bread popping up all over blogland from all of the Daring Bakers as of yesterday. That is when mine should have been completed and posted...but, obviously, it is not. The dough was made yesterday, it is still in the fridge, waiting to be filled and baked. That will be done as soon as I get home today, so check back later tonight.

***And don't forget to get me your Cupcake Hero entries before midnight tonight!***

Just Rambling....

Ok, so, this is really a reminder for myself! ha!

Don't forget about Taste Like Home..sign ups end tomorrow at midnight! We just had a Farmer's Market open up here, and I super excited to go and check it out later today!

Next, Cupcake Hero deadline is Monday June 30th, don't forget to get me your entry. This has been harder than I expected! We have great cupcake bakers in this blogland! Thanks for the entries that I have gotten so far!

I have a couple of thank you posts coming soon from things that I have won. There is a great prize from The Baking Beauties Bingo, I won the blackout board. And a giveaway from Nashbabe. Thanks a ton for you both and that post is coming soon!

And finally...Knoxville has a Cupcake Bakery!! It is a franchise owned bakery. I am really excited to go and check them out as well. This will be a Saturday field trip. I will try to take pics and post about it as well. I am curious about it. Knoxville hardly ever has anything here. I really don't understand why people to come vacation here. There is nothing, unless you go to Pigeon forge and Gatlinburg. But, that is 30 minutes from here.

Alright, I think that is all for today. Have a great one!

Snickerdoodles for the Cookie Carnival

If you like snickerdoodles, this is the one to try! This cookie is my husbands number 1 favorite cookie, so he was excited when this one was chosen. This recipe was simple and quick to put together, roll into balls and then coat with sugar and cinnamon and bake for 10 minutes, with a quick spin after 5 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes and move them to a cooling rack. But, if you are like my family, eat them warm, with a glass of milk!

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ingredients
Makes 4 dozen.
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening
* 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
* 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
* 2 large eggs

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

2. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.

3. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after 5 minutes.

Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

TWD-Mixed Berry Cobbler

This week's TWD recipe was chosen by Beth at Our Sweet Life. I am really glad that it was a fairly quick and simple one to throw together. These past 3 weeks have been crazy at my house and I am ready for some baking time. I really miss being in my kitchen! Now, on to the cobbler...

This cobbler recipe is not my usual recipe. This one makes a biscuit like topping, where my normal recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk, and 1 cup of self rising flour. Mix them together, pour them on top of your berries and bake. My normal fruit mixture is 1 cup of sugar for every 2 cups of fruit. Cook them in a pot until bubbly, and the sugar is dissolved, pour into the baking dish, top with the topping and bake it. With that said, I was curious to see how this recipe differed from my normal. So, here goes!

With the price of fresh berries here lately, I decided to go with frozen, which is completely fine, because Dorie had said it is completely fine to use frozen, and no need to thaw them! Even better! I also chose to only use blackberries. They are great on their own, and don't need any other berry added, in my opinion. Add just a few ingredients to the berries and throw them into your baking dish. Mix the biscuit dough, AP flour, baking powder, a little sugar, some cold butter and heavy cream. I think my favorite part of mixing this together was adding the butter and mixing it together with my hands. There is just something about breaking up the butter that makes me happy! Crazy, I know. I can admit that! There had been some talk on the TWD site that the biscuit dough was rather bland, so I added a little more sugar and some vanilla, and sprinkled some extra sugar on the dough before baking.

Next, you roll out the biscuit dough, put it on top of the berries, cut a few venting slits and cut a hole in the middle. Bake for about an hour and there you have it, and nice and bubbly cobbler. This recipe was quick and simple and tasty. Although, I will probably not make it again, only because I like my normal go to cobbler better. I really like my dough mixed in the fruit instead of just a topping.

Make sure that you go and check out the other TWD chicks, as we are over 200 now! If you want this recipe you can find it here. Next week has been chosen by Karina at The Floured Apron, Apple Cheddar Scones.