Pumpkin pancakes

Happy National Pancake Day!

In honor of this, ahem, most important, um, holiday, here's a healthy pumpkin pancake recipe. I know it's February and long past the typical pumpkin season, but I love pumpkin, and there's always a can or two lurking in my pantry. In fact, the Mush is hooked on this super-healthy pumpkin bread that I make for her... more on that in a post coming soon.

Speaking of the Mush and pancakes, if you noticed the photo when you first got here (taken with a phone, apologies for the quality!), you might be wondering why the pancakes are wrapped in plastic and not set out on a pretty plate, dripping with syrup. I wanted to take a moment to answer a question I get a lot from friends, which is what I send for lunches for the Mush.

One favorite of hers is pancakes. So whenever Mark or I make a batch over a weekend (often), we make sure they're full of good, healthy ingredients, and we cook extras so we can wrap them in twos, freeze them and send them to school with the little one. That, along with a vegetable (usually raw green beans, chopped cauliflower, corn, carrots or cucumbers), some kind of protein (usually scrambled eggs, Ian's fish sticks, edamame, chick peas, black beans or roasted chicken) and a snack (usually a little container of plain yogurt, an organic stick cheese, some cheerios, Annie's bunny crackers or occasionally some applesauce), and that's lunch. Pretty uncomplicated, and fairly wholesome.

Anyway -- here's the pancake recipe. Enjoy!

Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes

Makes about 12

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup oat bran

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup whole milk (or almond milk)

1/3 cup plain yogurt (not nonfat)

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

4 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup grapeseed oil or melted unsalted butter (or vegetable oil)

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. Combine flour, oat bran, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk milk, yogurt, pumpkin, yolks, oil or butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into flour mixture and stir until combined.

2. In another clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into pumpkin mixture in 2 batches.

3. Preheat griddle; brush with melted butter (or mist with cooking spray). Spoon 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto griddle and cook until bubbles form on top and bottoms are golden, about 1 1/2 minutes. Flip and cook until golden on other side, about 1 minute longer. Keep pancakes warm on a plate in the oven while cooking remaining pancakes. Serve with additional maple syrup on the side.

PB&J bars

Do you love Ina Garten as much as I do? Seriously, I love her. I don't watch a ton of food shows on television, but when I catch hers, it makes me smile.

So when it came time to decide what to make for a particular special occasion, I turned to Ina and these bars. What was the occasion, you ask? Well... my husband, Mark, who you might remember is an amazing visual effects supervisor (for super-cool movies like this one and this one), is also an up-and-coming director. Last week he shot his first music video, for the band The Icarus Account. As a rule, I don't use the word "awesome," because I think it's woefully overused -- but these guys are awesome (seriously! Listen to them here). And so is the video! I'll link to it when it's live.

So anyway, back to the bars. I thought the guys in the band, their amazing director and the rest of the cast and crew could use a treat during their long day, so hence these bars. I wasn't at the shoot, but I'm told they disappeared pretty quick!

Enjoy!

PB&J Bars

(I used this recipe from Ina Garten, adapted a tiny bit)

Yield: She says 24, I say at least 30, possibly 48

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 16-oz. jar peanut butter (she recommends Skippy, so that's what I used)

3 cups flour (she uses all-purpose, I used half AP and half whole-wheat pastry flour)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

16 oz. seedless raspberry jam

2/3 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil and mist with cooking spray.

2. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. With the speed on low, mix in vanilla, eggs and peanut butter until well combined.

3. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until just combined. Spread 2/3 of dough in baking pan, pressing evenly. Spread jam evenly over dough. Drop dollops of remaining dough over jam (don't worry if it doesn't completely cover jam). Sprinkle with peanuts.

4. Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely in pan before removing and cutting into bars. (I covered and refrigerated it overnight before cutting.)

Blackberry jam bars

Well, I promised you we would take a little break from all the chocolate, and so we are. I whipped up these buttery, fruity little bars to take to a good friend's birthday party. She requested "no gifts," and while I believe strongly in respecting the birthday girl's wishes, I don't think I'm physically capable of showing up to a party empty-handed. I figured she'd let it slide, since the gift was edible.

To my delight, she gave me a big grin, said, "Oh, did you make these??" opened the box and shared them with all the guests. Whew!

I usually make these with raspberry jam, but the jar of blackberry at Trader Joe's was calling out to me, so I used that. Really, any jam will do -- I've slathered on apricot, strawberry, and even cherry. But the blackberry dressed these up somehow. 

Anyway, these are super-quick and easy to make -- and sometimes, if I'm feeling especially fancy, I'll cut them into tiny rounds with a cookie cutter and call them "tartlets." Make them for a party, or just because.

Enjoy!

Blackberry Jam Bars

(From my book, "You Made That Dessert?")

Makes 16

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (it's all-purpose in the book)

1/4 tsp. baking soda

Pinch of salt

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant)

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup seedless blackberry jam (it's raspberry in the book)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, leaving a 20-inch overhang on 2 sides. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Mix in the vanilla. Using a flexible spatula, stir in the flour mixture, then the oats and almonds.

3. Measure 1/2 cup of the oat mixture and set aside. Press the remaining dough evenly in the pan. Spread the jam over the dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border on all sides. Sprinkle the reserved dough in small clumps over the jam. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the dough is golden brown and the jam is bubbling. Remove the pan to a wire rack to cool. 

4. Use the foil overhang to pull the bars out of the pan. Carefully remove the foil before cutting into squares or using a small cutter to make round tartlets.

Dark Chocolate Tart

Happy Pie Day! 

Yep, that's right -- Jan. 23 is "officially" National Pie Day, according to the American Pie Council. Now this is a holiday I can get behind! 

In honor of it, I made this lovely chocolate tart. It's easy to make and uses very basic ingredients, but it makes one luscious, impressive-looking dessert. You'll love it!

You may be tiring of chocolate around here, after last week and the week before -- but I promise, next time there will be another flavor.

In the meantime get your chocolate on and make this tart for someone you love.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Tart

(Adapted slightly from this recipe in All You)

Serves 10-12

Crust:

10 oz. shortbread

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 Tbsp. sugar

Pinch of salt

Filling:

12 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (or 6 oz. semisweet and 6 oz. bittersweet)

1 cup heavy cream

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Position a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2. Make crust: Pulse shortbread in a food processor until ground. Add butter, sugar and salt; pulse to combine. Press mixture evenly in a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Place on baking sheet and bake until crust is dry and set, about 8 minutes. Remove and place baking sheet on a wire rack.

2. Make filling: Set a saucepan filled with about 1 inch of water over low heat until simmering. Place chocolate, cream, butter, sugar and salt in a metal bowl that will fit on top of pan without allowing bottom to touch water. Cook, whisking often, until chocolate mixture is melted and smooth. Remove bowl and whisk in eggs and vanilla. Pour filling into crust.

3. Bake until edges are set but center is still slightly jiggly, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 1 1/2 hours before slicing and serving.

NOTE: For clean slices, cut with a thin, sharp knife, and wipe knife clean between each cut. 

Supernatural Brownies

Hello from the frozen tundra of Brooklyn!

I know what you're thinking: "What, brownies again?" I know, I know. But last week's were guilt-free, New Year's resolution-friendly treats, and these are... not. But they're worth it, I promise.

First a brief story. So it's New Year's Eve eve, and Mark and I are home making a flourless chocolate cake to take to a New Year's Eve party. I have the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler, melting nicely, when Mark tastes a little shard of the chopped chocolate from the cutting board, scrunches up his face and says, "I think this is unsweetened." No, it can't be! The store that was selling this chunk of (not inexpensive!) chocolate had it marked "dark," which is semisweet or bittersweet, not unsweetened! But I tasted it for myself and sure enough, unsweetened. Unhappily I sent Mark back out to get what we needed, bittersweet. 

I looked at the bowl, which was full of 2 sticks of butter and 8 oz. of (not inexpensive!) chocolate and thought, there's no way I can throw this away. I hate hate HATE wasting food. So I covered it, stuck it in the fridge, and got back to my cake.

Fast forward to yesterday, when it was 17ºF, windy and horrible outside. The Mush woke up from her nap ready to have some fun, so I figured, let's make some brownies with the leftover cake materials. And that's just what we did. My little 2-year-old is becoming quite the baker -- she cracked the eggs, she helped me weigh all the dry ingredients, she whisked and folded and poured just like a champ! And got covered in flour, head to toe, giggling like mad, all the while. It made the aggravation of the flourless cake incident disappear.

We used the amazing Nick Malgieri's famous Supernatural Brownie recipe -- and though his calls for bittersweet chocolate and mine was unsweetened, I figured there was enough sugar in there to make it work. And my, oh my, let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I'm sure they're fabulous with bittersweet chocolate, but they come out beyond luscious, fudgy and decadent, with unsweetened. 

These would make a perfect Valentine's gift, if you have a sweetheart who you REALLY want to impress!

Enjoy!

Supernatural Brownies

(Adapted very slightly from this recipe by Nick Malgieri, originally published in this book)

Makes 24

16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate (Nick calls for bittersweet), chopped

4 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. fine salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil; mist foil with cooking spray. 

2. Pour enough water into a saucepan to reach 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Combine butter and chocolate in a bowl; set bowl over saucepan. Cook, stirring, until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from heat.

3. Whisk eggs together in a large bowl. Add sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk to combine. Stir in chocolate mixture; fold in flour. Pour batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a rack.