Paprika Potato and Bell Pepper Soup

The picture of this potato and pepper soup in my new magazine (177 Milk Street) was so bright and sunny that I kept coming back to it even though a potato soup isn’t generally something I’m drawn too. I decided to go for it last weekend, to get outside of my comfort zone and try something I typically wouldn’t. I’m glad I did. It is a beautiful soup. Burnt orange and creamy. It’s not flashy flavor-wise, but I found it well-balanced and comforting. The potato gives it great body and mouth-feel, and the pepper and paprika shine through and turn it this beautiful color. Finishing with a couple tablespoons of lime juice gives it the perfect amount of acidity. The only thing I would probably want to change is adding a little bit of heat which would be easy with a red jalapeño or fresno chili.

The toppings are important in this recipe as well. I used both feta, and plain yogurt and they were both great options for that creamy tang on top. The cilantro adds freshness. I did not have avocado or green onion, but I’m sure they would be great as well.

Overall a fairly simple recipe that turns out a large quantity of beautiful creamy soup. Recommended!

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Paprika Potato and Bell Pepper Soup
From 177 Milk Street Magazine, March-April 2020
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large white onion, halved and thinly sliced

• 3 red or orange bell peppers, stemmed, seeding and sliced

• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped, stems and leaves reserved separately

• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts reserved separately

• 6 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

• 2 pounds russet potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 2 quarts (64 ounces, 8 cups) low-sodium chicken broth or water

• Kosher salt and ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• Crumbled or grated queso fresco, to serve

• Dice avocado, to serve

Directions
In a large Dutch over over medium, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, bell peppers, cilantro stems and scallion whites. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, 6-9 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika and cumin, then cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the potatoes, broth and 1 tablespoon of salt.

Bring to a boil over medium-high, then cover, reduce to low and cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a simmer, until a skewer inserted into the potatoes meets no resistance, about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for about 10 minutes.

Using a blender and working in batches, puree the mixture until completely smooth. (Alternately, use an immersion blender and puree directly in the pot.) Return the soup to the pot and cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

Off heat, stir in the lime juice, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve the soup topped with the cilantro leaves, scallion greens, queso fresco and avocado.

German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)

I had the itch to bake something this week. I had two sad looking apples sitting on the counter, and a package of almond paste in the freezer, leftover from Christmas, so when I found this recipe I knew it was meant to be! This is a beautifully simple cake and turned out exactly as I had hoped. The almond flavor really shines through and the almond pastes gives the crumb a little “stickiness” that I enjoy. Topped with thinly sliced apples, the combination couldn’t be more delicious, or beautiful. Highly recommended.

German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)
From 177 Milk Street
Ingredients

• 1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour [I used 110 grams all purpose and 20 grams whole wheat]

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 cup (214 grams) granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling [I cut back to 3/4 cup, 160 grams]

• 4 ounces almond paste, broken into small pieces

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, room temperature

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 small granny smith apples, about 12 ounces total, peeled and cored and halved lengthwise [I used the apples I had, I think one was a red delicious and one was a golden delicious]

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-inch springform pan parchment paper and spray with cooking spray, then dust with flour; tap out the excess and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the 1 cup of sugar, the almond paste and salt on low until the paste has broken into crumbly bits, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase to medium-high and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Reduce to medium, then, one at a time, add the eggs, beating for about 20 seconds after each addition.

Scrape down the bowl, then add the vanilla and continue mixing on medium until well-combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce to low, add the flour mixture and mix just until the batter is evenly moistened, about 10 seconds; it will be thick. Using the spatula, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and give the batter a few folds to ensure no pockets of butter or flour remain. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread in an even layer, smoothing the surface.

Slice each apple half lengthwise into ⅛-inch-thick half circles; do not separate the slices. With your hand, gently press down on each half to fan the slices. Divide the fanned apples into 8 equal portions without undoing the fanned effect. Slide a thin spatula or butter knife under the apples, then slide the slices off the spatula near the outer edge of the cake with the slices fanning outward from the center. One at a time, position another 6 sets of slices on the cake, creating an evenly spaced spoke pattern. Place the last set of apple slices in the center. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar evenly over the top.

Bake until the edges of the cake are deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Run a paring knife around the inside of the pan to loosen, then remove the pan sides. Serve warm or at room temperature; dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Kale Salad with Smoked Almonds and Picada Crumbs

Made this for dinner on a whim the last night of my vacation, after getting home from Arizona the night before. Something light and fresh sounded great. This was a wonderful salad, without cheese! I couldn’t believe it. Rarely do I make a salad without cheese on purpose!. It would be an easy salad to make ahead. There is so much flavor, and what I especially liked was how acidic it was. There are a lot of acidic components which really add a punch of flavor. I think it would be great with a piece of grilled fish. I just had it with some toasts which was also good. Definitely something to make again.

There are a lot of places you could go with this one, changing the flavors a little bit here and there. I did make some changes based on what I had.

What did I change/do differently: I used less olive oil than the recipe called for by a long shot. Didn’t have smoked almonds, so used toasted walnuts instead. Didn’t have thyme, but did have parsley, cilantro and mint so in that all went. Added a little smoked paprika since I didn’t have any smoked almonds. Used regular curly kale not lacinato. I only used a small amount of honey, maybe 1-2 teaspoons, not 2 tablespoons. Added sweet red pickled peppers, sliced thin, for a little extra flavor, color and acid. I also think some olives would be a lovely addition.

Kale Salad with Smoked Almonds and Picada Crumbs
From 177 Milk Street
Ingredients

• 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

• 5 tablespoons sherry vinegar

• Kosher sald

• 2 Tablespoons of honey

• 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Ground black pepper

• 1 cup smoked almonds

• 4 ounces white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika

• 2 bunches lacinato kale, stemmed, washed, spun dry and thinly sliced crosswise (10 cups)

• 1 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together the shallots, vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt. Allow to sit 10 minutes. Whisk in the honey, 5 tablespoons of the oil and ½ teaspoon pepper; set aside.

In a food processor, process the almonds until coarsely chopped, about 8 pulses; transfer to a large bowl. Add the bread to the processor and process to rough crumbs, about 20 seconds. Add the thyme, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, paprika, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Process until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Transfer the crumb mixture to a large skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Add the kale and mint to the bowl with the almonds and massage the greens until the kale softens and darkens, 10 to 20 seconds. Add the dressing and crumbs and toss to combine. Taste, then season with salt and pepper

Christmas Party Cupcakes

The Christmas party for my work was postponed until January. We’re going through a big EMR switch, and that, combined with everyone’s busy holidays led to a January party. Fine by me! I volunteered to make cupcakes for dessert after some of my coworkers mentioned that they would price out cupcakes from some local bakeries to buy for dessert. I figured I could just do it, especially since my day off is Thursday and the party was Friday. I figured I could make a few dozen the day before and we’d be set.

I made two types of cupcakes, red velvet and a dark chocolate with chocolate frosting. I’d made the dark chocolate ones before (the original recipe is for a dark chocolate cupcake with a ganache center which I have done and it is amazing, but I made it simpler this time and omitted the filling and they are still delicious!) but I’d never made a red velvet cupcakes, although I have made a red velvet cake multiple times so not too different.

Both turned out really well. I ended up making a double batch of each recipe. I think I made the red velvet a little smaller than they were supposed to be because I ended up getting 30 cupcakes and a mini loaf cake (just for fun!). The chocolate cupcakes made a perfect two dozen.

I made the cream cheese frosting a few days in advance and it was just fine, I didn’t even need to re-whip it. With that being made ahead of time, it took me about 5 hours from start to finish to make these all. That was with a quick 20 or so minute break for lunch.

Overall, two nice recipes, perfect for a celebration with friends and co-workers! I love being able to share my joy of food, baking and cake with others!

While both recipes were good, I would say that the chocolate cupcakes were pretty amazing (even without the ganache filling), and the red velvet were average. The red velvet had nice flavor, but I wasn’t blown away by the final result. Perfectly acceptable, but nothing beyond that. The recipe also had quite a few steps including whipping the eggs whites separate. While I would happily make and eat these cupcakes again, I would be more likely to look for a different recipe next time (this review does not apply to the frosting, which was so good! But cream cheese frosting generally is!).

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Cupcakes 
From America's Test Kitchen (and see previous blog post as well)
Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
Ganache Filling [I omitted this time, but highly recommend]

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine

• 1/4 cup heavy cream 

• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar 

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine

• 1/3 cup (1 ounce) Dutch-processed cocoa 

• 3/4 cup hot coffee 

• 3/4 cup (4 1/8 ounces) bread flour 

• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar 

• 1/2 teaspoon table salt 

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil 

• 2 large eggs 

• 2 teaspoons white vinegar 

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions

FOR GANACHE FILLING: Place chocolate, cream, and confectioners’ sugar in medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave on high power until mixture is warm to touch, 20 to 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth; transfer bowl to refrigerator and let stand until just chilled, no longer than 30 minutes. (Do not chill for longer than 30 minutes. The ganache gets too hard and sinks to the bottom of the cupcake during baking. Still just as delicious, but quite messy, and not as easy to eat. I found 20-25 minutes to work well.)

FOR CUPCAKES: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-size muffin pan (cups have ½-cup capacity) with baking-cup liners. Place chocolate and cocoa in medium bowl. Pour hot coffee over mixture and whisk until smooth. Set in refrigerator to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into cooled chocolate-cocoa mixture until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Place one slightly rounded teaspoon ganache filling on top of each cupcake. Bake until cupcakes are set and just firm to touch, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before frosting, about 1 hour. 

TO FROST: Mound 2 to 3 tablespoons frosting on center of each cupcake. Using small icing spatula or butter knife, spread frosting to edge of cupcake, leaving slight mound in center.

Mocha Frosting
From Cook's Country 
Makes about 4 cups
This recipe makes enough frosting for two 9-inch layers, a 13 by 9-inch sheet cake, one Bundt cake (made in a 12-cup Bundt pan) or 24 cupcakes. The frosting can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Before using the frosting, let it stand at room temperature until softened, about 2 hours, then whip with an electric mixer briefly to re-fluff.

Ingredients

• 24 tablespoons unsalted butter (3 sticks), cut into pieces and softened 

• 3 tablespoons heavy cream 

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

• 1/4 teaspoon salt 

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar 

• 3 tablespoons cocoa 

• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso 

Directions
CREAM BUTTER In an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter, cream, vanilla, and salt on medium-high speed until combined. 

WHIP FROSTING Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. With motor running, slowly add confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and instant espresso and mix until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

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Red Velvet Cupcakes
From Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, room temperature and separated

• 1 and 1/3 cups (160g) all-purpose flour (alternatively you can use 1 and 2/3 cups [192g] cake flour and omit the cornstarch below)

• 1/4 cup (32g) cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 4 teaspoons (6g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup (105 grams) canola or vegetable oil

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

• 1 ounce red gel food coloring (I used Wilton brand)

• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, room temperature

• Cream cheese frosting for topping (See below)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a one to two muffin pans with cupcake liners (the recipe makes about 14 cupcakes). With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat 2 egg whites on high speed in a medium bowl until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Sift the flour and cornstarch together to make sure it is evenly combined. Whisk this, along with baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the oil and beat on high for 2 minutes. Add 2 egg yolks and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the vinegar and the food coloring– until you reach your desired color.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Fold whipped egg whites into cupcake batter with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The batter will be silky and slightly thick.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners filling 1/2 – 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting
From Sugar Spun Run
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened

• 8 oz cream cheese softened

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 4 cups (500 grams) powdered sugar

Directions
Combine butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or you may use an electric mixer) and beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free. Add vanilla extract and salt and stir well to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined. Use to frost completely cooled cake or cupcakes.

*Note: I made a double batch of frosting and it was enough to frost my 30 cupcakes with a small container leftover. I’d probably made a 1.5 batch if I was frosting 2 dozen cupcakes, and the full batch would then be plenty for a dozen cupcakes.

Kale and Leek Strata with Ricotta

For brunch on Christmas day this year, I went sweet with cinnamon rolls and Lara went savory with this yummy strata. She adapted it from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it originally from Gourmet. I posted the original recipe below but Lara did a lot of adapting and replacing ingredients. The core of the recipe was the same though as she followed the basic custard as posted in the original. However, she replaced the spinach with kale, the onion with leeks (approximately 2 medium), and the gruyere with ricotta mixed with lemon zest and salt (approximately 12 ounces of ricotta).

The leeks were sautéed until nice and soft. Once they were pretty much done the kale was added, some on heat until wilted down, and then a little more added off heat to wilt just slightly but still maintain some texture. I don’t really have a measurement of kale, she just added it until it looked right! However much or little you want. She then layered it as done in the original recipe; bread, then leek/kale mixture, and then blobs of yummy ricotta. We had leftover baguette so used that for the bread. Ended up using a little extra bread, more like 12-14 ounces. This type of recipe is very flexible!

Spinach and Cheese Strata
From Smitten Kitchen, Adapted from Gourmet, February 2003 Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed, squeeze of all excess liquid, and chopped

• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 8 cups cubed French or Italian bread in 1-inch cubes (1/2 lb)

• 6 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)

• 2 ounces finely grated parmesan (1 cup)

• 2 3/4 cups milk

• 9 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Directions
Sauté onion in butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking for one minute. Stir in spinach, remove from heat and set aside.

Spread one third of the bread cubes in a well-buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other ceramic baking dish. Top with one-third of spinach mixture and one-third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice with remaining bread, spinach and cheese.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and chill strata for eat least 8 hours or up to a day.

The next day, let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 350°F. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

I was invited over to my brother and sister-in-laws for Christmas day brunch this year. A casual gathering of her family and my family. It was a lovely time. Relaxing, doing a whole lot of nothing, and eating some good food. I wanted to make something special that I won’t make on a regular basis, but save for special occasions and celebrations. For brunch I always think of cinnamon rolls, they are my favorite! I had been eyeing this sourdough version for a bit now and thought this would be the perfect time to try them out.

I had a lot of fun with this recipe. I don’t make brioche often, and it always surprises me how much butter you can add to a dough! Wow! The dough turned out silky and smooth and butter (obviously! :) ) It rolled out super easily. I ended up shaping the rolls on Christmas Eve and baking Christmas morning. Didn’t seem to be a problem at all. They ended up baking quite a bit shorter time than the recipe called for. I baked for 38 minutes and they could have possibly gone a minute or two less. Start checking at 30 minutes.

I topped these with a random assortment of leftovers! I had some mascarpone glaze that I beat some leftover cream cheese into and it was very tasty. I think a cream cheese frosting is a great idea for these.

They turned out dense and rich as brioche should. Very yummy. I think on a day-to-day basis I prefer a lighter, fluffier cinnamon roll, but these were wonderful and fun and perfect for Christmas!

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Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
From The Perfect Loaf

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Spread

• 215g light brown sugar

• 40g all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix or whisk everything together in a bowl so there are few clumps remaining. Keep covered until needed.

Sourdough Briocher Dough:
Total dough weight: 1250g
Yield: 12-15 rolls

• 477 grams all-purpose or bread flour

• 133 grams cold milk

• 191 grams large eggs (About 4)

• 191 grams butter

• 48 grams white sugar

• 11 grams salt

• 200 grams mature, 100% hydration liquid sourdough starter

Directions:
First, take out butter and cut into 1/4” to 1/2” squares, let sit in a bowl for 30 minutes to warm to room temperature while gathering and mixing other ingredients.

Initial Incorporation:
In a medium bowl add the cold eggs, cold whole milk, sugar, and mature sourdough starter. Whisk together until incorporated.

Add the flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Set the mixer to low (level “1” on my machine) and slowly start to pour the liquid into the mixer bowl. Add a little at a time over the course of 3 minutes. Once finished the dough will look very wet and have clumps, let it rest for 10 minutes before further strengthening.

Strengthen Dough:
After the 10 minute rest turn the mixer to medium speed (number “4” on my machine) and mix for about 5-6 minutes until the dough starts to come together and all clumps have disappeared. The dough should start to pull from the sides of the bowl but it will not completely remove from the bottom. If the dough just doesn’t want to come together and it’s overly wet add a little flour, a tablespoon at a time until it comes together.

Incorporate Butter:
Add the butter to the dough one square at a time, waiting until the previous block is absorbed before adding the next. It incorporates easiest if placed right where the hook meets the dough. Continue until all the butter is added and there are no butter patches visible, this could take 8-10 minutes at low/medium mix speed.

Bulk Fermentation
Transfer the mixed dough to a bulk container and let ferment for 2 hours at 75ºF. Do 3 to 4 sets of stretch and folds during bulk spaced out by 30 minutes. If the dough is very strong after the third set, skip the last set but let the dough rest for a full 2 hours.

Chill Dough
Place the covered bulk container into the fridge for at least 2 hours (I like 3-4 hours), or overnight. The timing here is very flexible, I’ve done overnight batches that turn out fantastic. This way the rolls could be prepared the day before, shaped and proofed first thing the morning, and then baked so they’re fresh for breakfast (or late breakfast, depending on when you get up). The dough does need to be completely cold and firm to the touch before rolling out, do not shortcut this step.

Shape Rolls
Before rolling out the dough make the Brown Sugar Cinnamon mixture

Flour your work surface. Then, remove the chilled dough from the fridge and turn it out to the floured surface. Flour the top of the dough and the rolling pin and begin rolling the dough. Roll it out to an 11” x 21” rectangle. Sprinkle the dry Brown Sugar Cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough.

Starting at the long end nearest you, roll up the dough and cinnamon/sugar filling into a log. Cut the log into even slices (12 to 15 total). Transfer the cut discs to a baking pan with some space around each one.

Proof:
Place the baking pan with cut dough somewhere warm, around 77ºF, to let proof for 2 hours. During proof, the rolls will relax out and start to puff up, eventually, they may touch each other but it depends on how much space you have between rolls.

Bake:
Preheat oven to 350ºF during the last 30 minutes of proof. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes until the rolls look well colored. Top with glaze or frosting once cooled.

Banket

It’s been a few years since I made banket. I want to make it every year but it doesn’t always happen. This year I was determined to do it and so I did! And a lot of it! This was the best batch that I’ve made yet. It took one test batch with an almond past filling explosion to get the ratio of filling to pastry correct but after that the remainder baked up beautifully! The problem seems to happen if you try to overfill the pastry. When I rolled out the first batch I didn’t make them quite as long and so there was a thicker piece of filling rolled up inside that couldn’t be held in when expanding while baking.

After figuring out how long to roll out the dough I was able to make some beautiful sticks of delicious pastry! They always leak a little bit of filling, but you get to cut that off and nibble on it. Not a problem at all.

The dough is so tender and extremely flakey. I used a food processor to make the dough and it comes together very quickly and easily.

What happens when you fill them a bit too full!

Try some chocolate!

This year I ended up making several batches due to high demand from friends and family. Each batch ended up being only 3/4 of the recipe posted, and I made 9 banket each time, so a little shorter than the posted recipe. You can make them however big or small you want.

I also tried a couple of different things this year in the filling. I added some chopped chocolate to one, and some leftover mascarpone frosting to another. Delicious. I think it would be a lot of fun to experiment with lots of different fillings.

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Banket
Ingredients
Dough

• 4 cups flour

• ¼ cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• 1 pound cold butter, cut into small pieces

• scant 1 cup cold water

Filling

• 1 pound of almond paste

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

To Finish

• 1-2 Egg yolks

Directions
Dough: mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the pieces of cold butter and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until the butter is about pea sized. Make a well in the middle and add cold water, mix until a shaggy dough is formed, don’t over mix. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

For the filling, break up almond paste in a bowl. Add eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day cut divide both the dough and the filling into 8 equal portions, use a scale if you have it.

Take one piece of dough and roll out into a long, thin rectangle, approximately 13x4 inches. Place one piece of filling on the rolled out dough, spreading it along the length of dough, a little closer to one side, forming an even line. Roll up the long way, folding the ends under. Pinch together slightly so the filling doesn’t ooze out.

Dock the rolls with a fork, brush with egg yolks.

At this point you can stick the pans in your freezer until the Banket is frozen hard. Then you can wrap them up and bake off as needed.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool before slicing into 1-2 inch pieces, enjoy!

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

I had a work Christmas party this week. It was low key and relaxing, just how I like it. We were all asked to bring something to share. I offered to bring bread (the host was providing soup so I thought these two things would go well together). It was my day off work so I was able to spend the time to bake a two different breads. I started with my simple go-to sourdough, but didn’t want to leave it at just that so I did a quick online search and came up with these pumpkin dinner rolls.

I had some leftover pumpkin in the freezer from earlier in the fall so thought this would be a great use for it. The recipe was easy and came together very well. I did end up scaling the recipe down just a tad so I knew it would fit in my pan. I decreased all the ingredients amounts by 25% (so the recipe is 75% of the original). 15 rolls fit nicely in a 9x13 pan so that’s what I did. I baked it as directed for 25 minutes.

The pumpkin flavor was definitely present. The rolls were ever so slightly sweet but not overly rich or dessert like. The sweetness of the raisins and the hint of cinnamon made the final rolls just a little more special. The original recipe called for crystallized ginger in addition to the raisins but I didn’t have any. I would probably increase the raisins just a tad if I make these again, I’d like a little extra pop of sweetness.

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Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients

• 425 grams all purpose flour

• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ginger

• Pinch cloves

• 38 grams brown sugar

• 1 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

• 128 grams pumpkin

• 1 egg

• 128 grams water

• 43 grams butter

• 96 grams raisins

Directions
Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients except the fruit in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook, until you've made a soft, fairly smooth dough, 6-8 minutes. Pumpkin varies in water content, so add extra water or flour if needed. Right at the end, knead in the fruit. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours, until it's almost double in bulk.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface, gently deflate it, and divide it into 15 pieces, roughly 60 grams each. Roll each piece into a ball. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan, 3 rolls by 5 rolls.

Set aside, covered lightly, to rise for 1 hour, or until the rolls look puffy. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls for 25 until they're lightly browned and the center of one reads 190°F on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove the pans from the oven and turn the rolls out onto a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.