French Bread (Oui Oui)

I'm fairly certain a great bread is my weakness...

Don't even ask for the bread basket at restaurants because I'll pretend like I only want one piece, then slowly devour 2-3 more.

Then I'll most likely be too full to eat my meal, but that means leftovers. So it's honestly a win-win.

Nothing beats a warm piece of bread with a crunchy exterior and a chewy-moist inside. Slather with some sweet cream butter...Game. Over.

Now that I know how easy it is to make at home I haven't quite decided if it's a good thing or bad thing.

Shout out to the people on no-carb diets right now! Word.

French Bread:
(makes 2 GIANT loaves or 3 medium sized loaves)

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons (or 1 packet) yeast
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3/4 Tablespoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
7 cups bread flour

cornmeal for dusting
1 egg for wash

In a large bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, sugar and vinegar and let sit for 5-10 minutes until bubbles start to form (this means your yeast is doing a happy dance!).
Add in the salt and vegetable oil and whisk. One cup at a time, mix in your bread flour until a dough starts to form. You will want to knead your dough for 2-5 minutes until it has reached a soft/sticky consistency (IT WILL BE STICKY!!!!)
Set a small pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and place the pot of boiled water and your bowl of dough into your oven. The water will keep the dough moist. Close your oven door and check on the dough after 45 minutes, if the dough has risen to the top of the bowl punch down. Continue this process, punching down the dough every time it reaches the top of the bowl. Depending on your time constraints, do this 3-5 times.
After your final rise, using floured hands and a floured surface, form the dough into a ball and portion into 2 large, or 3 medium sized equal pieces. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and lightly dust with cornmeal. Roll the dough balls into oblong pieces and transfer to your cookie sheet (s). Slash the tops of the bread 5 or 6 times diagonally. Whisk the egg and brush over the tops of the loaves.

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees. Place loaves into the oven and let rise for 20-30 minutes (varies depending on your desired loaf side) Without opening the oven, turn it up to 375 degrees and bake loaves for 25-30 minutes or until cooked thoroughly and golden brown.

Enjoy! Just try not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting :)

Pumpkin Churros

Are you sick of pumpkin yet?

Because I'm not. My goal is to blog one pumpkin recipe per week until the beginning of November... THEN you might be sick of pumpkin!!

Or if you are anything like me, probably not!

And not only is pumpkin delicious, but mix it with melted butter, fry it and coat with cinnamon sugar and you have the REAL DEAL.

I introduce, pumpkin churros...

You're welcome.

Churro Dough:
(give or take 5,00 churros... jk! but it makes a lot)
adapted from bakergirl

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
4 eggs

vegetable oil for frying

On a small plate, combine the sugar and one teaspoon cinnamon and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Set aside.

Heat the water, pumpkin, vanilla and butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Cook until everything is combined, smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and quickly stir in your flour mixture. Place this back over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
Remove from heat and working quickly, incorporate one egg at a time.Mixture will be smooth and sticky.
Spoon into a piping bag with a large star tip. I used a 1 inch tip, bigger would always be better!

In a pot, add in your oil to measure 2 inches up the sides. Heat the oil to 350 degrees.
Gently pipe dough into the hot oil, snipping the ends.
Or if you like the circle shape, pipe a wreath shaped churro onto a spoon and gently drop into the hot oil. Turn the heat down and fry the churros at 325 degrees, adjusting when need be to keep the oil at this temp.Fry about 2-3 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. (You might want to test a couple first.)
Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, gently pat dry and place warm churros into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Let cool slightly ( I advise not shoving the hot churros into your mouth right away. It's hot inside of those puppy's and you might burn the roof of your mouth. Not that I would know...)

Best enjoyed warm and the day you make them!!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Creamer

"Hi my name is Veronica and I'm addicted to Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. I've been an addict since Tuesday."

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem... well, I have a problem. It's all I talk about, all I think about and all I want. And I'm almost glad the pumpkin cream cheese muffins have been sold out in our area or I'd be admitting another problem. I obviously have issues...

I decided to fumble around with making my own, because not only is the addiction a problem, but the fact that it's almost $5 for a latte!! Good grief.

So, with an empty wallet and pumpkin latte jitters I introduce my recipe...

(P.S: this only costs about 30 cents a serving, that's like 1/17th of one from Starbucks. Or something like that, because I'm not a math major.)

Creamer:
(about 10 servings, give or take how much you like in your coffee)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
4 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
4 Tablespoons pancake/maple syrup
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the heavy cream, milk, pumpkin, syrup and spice. Whisk gently until the edges are bubbly and the milk begins to steam. Take off of the heat and stir in your vanilla extract.

Place a strainer over your container* (this is important to catch the pumpkin and majority of spices). Let cool on the counter before transferring to your fridge.
*old Starbucks Frappe bottles, Mason jars, or milk bottles are great containers for this!
Enjoy!!

Homemade Nillas + Homemade Vanilla Pudding=....

This will be kind of a long post, but bear with me.

Silly me for thinking "lets make EVERYTHING for the banana pudding" instead of like a sane person with two kids, who buys a box of Jell-O and Nilla Wafers....

Trust me though, the taste of this banana pudding (compared to the boxed version) is far, far better.

So I'll break this post down into three parts for you, all of them combined make an amazing banana pudding and each individual recipe makes a great snack/dessert on their own!

Enjoy and Happy Labor Day!

For the Vanilla Wafers:
(makes about 4 dozen cookies)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg and vanilla. 
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Dump flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat until just combined. 
4. Roll small balls, about the diameter of a nickel and place onto prepared baking sheet. Spacing about an inch in between the cookies. 
5. Bake for about 15 minutes, checking on them the last minute or so. You want a golden brown cookies. Baking time will vary depending on how small or big you want your cookies (the nickel size mimics the store bought ones).
6. Cool on baking sheet then transfer to wire rack.
7. Store in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.

Vanilla Pudding:
(2 cups)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan and whisk. While constantly whisking, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of the milk until smooth. Once smooth, mix in the egg yolks and remaining milk.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking often, until the pudding begins to thicken and bubble, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and switch to a rubber spatula. Stir constantly, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan, until the pudding makes ribbons when dropped on itself.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until the butter is completely melted and incorporated. Immediately transfer to a resealable container. Lightly press a piece of plastic wrap on top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.

For the Banana Pudding:
2 bananas, sliced
Vanilla Wafers
Vanilla Pudding
Whipped cream for topping

In the container of your choice, layer Vanilla Wafers, then banana slicers. Lightly spread a layer of vanilla pudding over the 2. Continue this pattern again. I found for the size dish I used, that more vanilla pudding would have been nice.
Cover with plastic wrap and let set up in the fridge.

Portion out individual servings (if you haven't already set it up this way) and top with whipped cream.

The Vanilla Wafers hold up wonderfully to the pudding and the taste is sublime.

Make this tonight!! 

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Brown Butter Icing

I finally gave in to my pumpkin craving! Curse all of you other bloggers for posting delicious pumpkin things so early, it does things to a girl's ego.

So I went on a mission to find canned pumpkin (because I'm actually kind of a snob and roast my own for purees during the holidays).I thought finding pumpkin would be pretty easy, because I think canned pumpkin has like a 5 year shelf life or something. I went to TWO local grocery stores and they tell me

"We don't have any pumpkin because there was like, a shortage or something..."

What!? A shortage or something? You've got to be kidding.

So yes, I traveled 20 minutes to Target to get pumpkin because...

They weren't like having a shortage or something.

For the Coffee Cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
15 oz can pumpkin
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Streusel:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease the inside of a tube pan, bundt pan,  8x11 baking dish or 2 8 inch pie pans (the choice is yours!)
In your stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Add the pumpkin and eggs and mix thoroughly. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and spices. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix on low speed, then medium speed until combined. Pour the batter into your prepared pan.
Combine the Streusel ingredients in a medium bowl and sprinkle over the cake batter.
Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool completely before frosting.

Brown butter icing:
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
whole milk

Place your butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt until browned and fragrant (about 3-4 minutes). Check the butter often. Pour the butter into the powdered sugar and combine with a whisk. Add just enough milk, starting with one tablespoon at a time until you have a pour-able icing.

Drizzle over the cooled cake and shovel pieces into your mouth.

This makes it feel one day closer to Fall!!!!

Halloween Link Party!

I know you're all thinking "Halloween!? But its August" Well, my very best friend Amy over at Crafts, Cakes, and Cats and I are planning a Halloween Link Party for October 1st. And come on people, that's only a month away!

We are looking for other bloggers who want to participate with a fun homemade Halloween Craft, Recipe, Cocktail, anything really! We will take all of the submissions (links) and link them at the bottom of our blog post (asking you all do the same) and have one fun virtual Halloween party! Since we are new to the blogging scene we are looking for as many bloggers as possible to participate!

Please comment on this post or email me at cookingmorningnoonight@gmail.com to get started!

Have a great night!!

Compost Cookies

So... I know the word "compost" isn't very sexy.

...I know you're all thinking "yum, I've been dying to try that Compost Steak" or "Oooh, there's not much better than some Compost Coffee!"...

But I will change your mind. And see, I can't call them "potato-chip-chocolate/peanutbutterchip-pretzel-oatmeal-graham cracker crust-coffee ground cookies. That's even LESS sexy.

So stick with me and your mind will be BLOWN...

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I begged you all to go out and buy the Momofuku Milk Bar cook book? Well, let me give you just one more reason to buy it...

For the Dough:
(makes 15-20 cookies)

2 sticks, room temperature butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon corn syrup
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup graham cracker crust
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons ground coffee
2 cups potato chips
1 cup mini pretzels

1. Combine the butter, sugars and corn syrup in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 7 to 8 minutes (this might seem like a long time, but trust me it creates the perfect chewy inside with crunchy exterior).
2. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, baking powder/soda and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than a minute. Do not walk away from the machine or you will risk over-mixing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
3. Still on low speed, add in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, graham crust, oats and coffee. Mix just until incorporated, 30 seconds or so. Add the potato chips in whole and slightly crush the pretzels by hand. YOU WANT THICK PIECES. Be careful not to over-mix.

1. Using a 1/3 cup measure, portion out the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Pat the tops of the domes flat. Wrap the sheet tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for anywhere from 1 hour to 1 week. Do not bake the cookies from room temperature, they will not bake properly.
2. Heat your oven to 375 degrees.
3. Arrange the chilled dough 4 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets. Bake for 15-18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crack and spread. Check after 15 minutes, they should be very faintly brown on the edges yet bright yellow in the middle. Give them a little extra time if this is not the case.
4. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to an airtight container.

The best part about these cookies is you can add in or take away anything you want. The options are endless.... everything but the kitchen sink! Hey, that's a good name for them!

Enjoy! (with milk...duh!)