Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

These scones right here remind me of butterflies and dandelions. That sounds totally corny, but these really are the perfect springtime scone.

They're perfect in the morning with some black tea or coffee since they're really barely sweet.

You could opt to put a glaze on top, or make them healthier by replacing half of the flour with whole wheat. I think they're perfect as is.

These would make a perfect Easter brunch/breakfast scone. There's a ton of poppy seeds in here (because I love them), but if you want you can cut down the amount to 2 tablespoons.

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

1/4 cup sugar

zest of 2 lemons
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1 tbl baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (8 tbl) salted butter, frozen and grated on a box grater
3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar using your hands until the sugar is light yellow and very fragrant. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, lemon sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the cold grated butter and mix with a fork to disperse evenly. Pour in the almond milk and lemon juice, and mix just until a dough begins to form. 

Using your hands, gather the dough into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Shape it into an 8" round. Slice the dough into 8 wedges and place them at least 1" apart on the same baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a an airtight container.

Source: Recipe inspired by a recipe from Country Living.

Roasted Artichoke Hearts

I can't tell you how much I love stuffed artichokes with bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and lemon juiced drizzled on top. But these roasted artichoke hearts straight from the can are so easy to make that they could put stuffed artichokes out of business. The outer leaves get a little charred and crispy and the wateriness from the canning liquid totally dries up. They fit right in with french fries, potato chips, and onion rings.

I think these would be really great under the broiler with some buttery bread crumbs and cheese, too. Maybe provolone and parmesan? Sort of like faux stuffed artichokes. What about some parmesan peppercorn dipping sauce? Or just plain as a side on Easter Sunday? They're sooo good!!!

Roasted Artichokes Hearts


1 can artichoke hearts, drained
1 tbl olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the artichoke hearts with the olive oil in an 8x8" pan. Roast for about 30 minutes, tossing halfway through. The outer leaves will start to get brown and curl up (yum!). Season to taste with salt, lots of pepper, and lemon juice.

Apple Pie Cupcakes

I've been wanting to make these cupcakes forever. I saw them on Annie's Eats a year ago, and I was infatuated with them. They look so darn cute and the flavor of apple pie in a cupcake sounded like it would be amazing. I've baked a lot of desserts since then, and I decided that I love the concept, but (and I'm sure the original was absolutely delicious) I wanted to make it even more like a real apple pie. I used the same vanilla cake base, except I used browned butter in place of regular butter, replaced some of the sugar with brown sugar, and added a hint of cinnamon. I also used a tweaked version of pie crumb frosting from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook in place of a vanilla buttercream. Altogether this is one of the best cupcakes I've ever had! There's no explaining how delicious the pie crumb frosting is with the apple pie filling and browned butter cupcake base. I really hope you try out this cupcake, you're not going to be disappointed!!

This cupcake recipe requires that you brown butter. I learned from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook that you can actually brown butter in the microwave. The first time I tried it out I ended up with melted butter all over the microwave. I was determined to make it work so I found a tighter fitting plate to put on top, and my butter not only stayed in the cup but came out perfectly browned.

To brown butter in the microwave: put your butter into a large pyrex bowl or measuring cup covered tightly with a plate, and microwave it for 3-5 minutes or until the butter turns a deep brown color. If the butter foams up too much you can stop the microwave, stir, and put it back in. Be careful as the plate and bowl/measuring cup get extremely hot! Cool it to a solid room temp state for this recipe.

Apple Pie Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
For the browned butter cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
5 tbsp browned butter
3 tbsp salted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

For the apple pie filling:
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
2-4 tbsp apple juice or cider

For the pie crumb frosting:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup (8 tbsp) salted butter, melted
1 1/2 tbsp water
6 tbsp salted butter, at room temp
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
To make the cupcakes: preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl sift together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the brown butter, butter, sugar, and brown sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until completely incorporated. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Turn the mixer to low and beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, in three separate additions, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated.

Divide the mixture between the 12 cupcake tins. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the apple pie filling: combine the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and diced apples in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until the butter and sugar are melted. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are softened slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the apple juice or cider if the mixture looks too dry.

To make the pie crumb frosting: preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the flour and sugar. Beat to combine. With the mixer on low slowly stream in the melted butter and water. Stop the mixer when the mixture begins to form small clumps of dough, it should be slightly sandy. Dump the mixture out onto the baking sheet and spread the clumps in an even layer. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring the mixture to break up any clumps occasionally. Cool completely before proceeding.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the room temperature butter and powdered sugar until pale and fluffy.

In a blender combine the cooled pie crumbs and milk. Blend to a paste. Add this to the stand mixer and beat to combine, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine.

To assemble: use a knife to cut a cone shaped piece out of the top of each cupcake. Fill the holes with the apple pie filling. Make sure the filling is cool so it won't melt the frosting. Top with pie crumb frosting.

SOURCE
Cupcake recipe heavily adapted from Annie's Eats who got it from Fatty Fat Fats. Pie crumb frosting recipe adapted from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook.

Chocolate Avocado Poundcake

This is the adaptation of the avocado poundcake from Joy the Baker's new cookbook that I made a few days ago. This version is chocolatey and decadent tasting, especially if you're eating it for breakfast.

All I did for this version was to sub out the cornmeal in place of an equal amount of cocoa powder. I didn't want to add chocolate chips or nuts because I think the real draw of this poundcake is the simple avocado addition.

This version is basically delicious and more of a crowd pleaser due to the addition of chocolate. It feels more edgey and less grandma-ish if that's even possible.

I gave it to Riley for breakfast with some fresh fruit and she loved it just as much as the plain avocado flavor. I think it would be a perfect dessert smothered in homemade chocolate malt sauce.

Chocolate Avocado Poundcake


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
6 tbl (3/4 stick) salted butter, at room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup + 1 tbl mashed ripe avocado
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
 scant 1/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x4" loaf pan. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the avocado and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add half the flour mixer and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Add the buttermilk all at once and beat until incorporated. Add the rest of the flour and beat just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely before removing from the pan.

Source: Recipe adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook.

Avocado Poundcake

Did you know what the word "carp" means? It means to argue with someone unreasonably. I like that word, and I think I'm going to adopt it into my everyday speak. Stop carping on me, Jason. That's exactly what I'll say tonight when we go for our car ride to talk. I'm pretty sure I can lighten any situation with the introduction of the word carp. I'll report back on my findings.

This poundcake makes me feel all comforted, like chicken soup. It's homey and plain looking in a sort of grandma-ish way. It's got a slightly green color from avocados and a slightly toothy bite from cornmeal. Altogether it makes the perfect familiar breakfast food with a touch of something new. I'm telling you, it's an instant classic. And it's from the new Joy the Baker Cookbook, so you should instantly like it.

I hate to try to improve or riff on a good thing, but I do it with just about everything, and I can't help it. I think this avocado poundcake would make a slammin' chocolate avocado poundcake with the addition of a few tablespoons of cocoa powder. Just sayin'. Don't be surprised if I test out this theory very soon.

Riley's been eating a lot of avocado poundcake. She thinks she's all fancy. (She totally is).

Avocado Poundcake  *Makes 1 loaf*

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
6 tbl (3/4 stick) salted butter, at room temp
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup + 1 tbl mashed ripe avocado
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
scant 1/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x4" loaf pan. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and baking soda.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the mashed avocado and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Scoop half of the dry ingredients into the bowl and beat on low speed until just combined. Add all the buttermilk, beating on low speed until just combined. Add the remainder of the dry ingredients and beat until incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Recipe adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook.

Spice-Rubbed Brisket with Beer-Beet Braise

Corned beef is something synonymous with Saint Patrick's Day. Most people chow down on corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, green beer, whiskey, Lucky Charms. Ok, maybe the Lucky Charms part is a little out of hand, but I think this corned beef is going to become a part of your Saint Patrick's Day. This "corned beef" is rubbed with cinnamon, coriander, bay leaves, cloves, nutmeg, garlic, vinegar, and mustard. Just picture taking that little spice packet, grinding it up, and spreading it on a big ole brisket. Then it gets braised with oj, beer, onions, and beets. See the fluorescent nail polish colored potato?? It's girly and tasty.

For an easy side dish braise cabbage and carrots in oj and beer, too. Boiled potatoes are also a must. If this recipe doesn't work for you, you could always just make regular corned beef from the grocery store. But this one is so much more pink!!

Spice-Rubbed Brisket with Beer-Beet Braise

2 tbl kosher salt
1 1/2 tbl freshly ground black pepper
1 tbl sugar
3 dried bay leaves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
4 garlic cloves
3 tbl cider vinegar
1 tbl dijon mustard
1 whole beef brisket (around 7 pounds)
1 cup beer
3/4 cup orange juice
1 onion, sliced
3 beets, trimmed, washed well, peeled, and each cut into 8 wedges

Pulse the salt, pepper, sugar, bay leaves, spices, garlic, vinegar, and mustard in a food processor until smooth, scraping the sides as necessary. Rub spice paste all over brisket. Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine beer and juice. Top brisket with onion, and surround with beets. Pour in beer mixture. Bake, covered with parchment-lined foil, basting occasionally, until tender, 3 hours to 3 hours 15 minutes.

Source: Recipe adapted from Lucinda Scala Quinn.

Fix Your Overloaded Stand Mixer

OMG, my computer is being so slow today I'm going to stab myself in the eye with a fork! I've got about 14 tabs open on my Google Chrome including: Keratin Trea..., Food photog...., How to Fix a..., The Inventive..., Molten Choc..., The Ultimate..., Greenslove:..., Easy Spicy Ga... and Blogger of course. The How to Fix a... is referring to How to Fix a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer That Won't Spin, a handy little YouTube video I came across last week showing you how to take apart and replace a broken gear in your Kitchenaid, saving you hundreds of dollars, of course. I got way overzealous and got out my figurative toolbelt before realizing I didn't have the replacement part. After a few phonecalls I finally ordered the thing on Amazon for about $10, and I finally have the pictures and instructions to share with you! I'm so excited for this!

This is super easy and can save you hundreds of dollars from either a. buying a whole new stand mixer or b. sending the stand mixer away to get fixed by someone else when you are completely capable of doing it yourself. So, let's get to business. If your stand mixer is broken from any other reason than overloading, this isn't for you. When your mixer gets overloaded a specific little gear inside (called a worm gear) fails and needs to get replaced. When you turn it on you should still hear the motor run, but nothing should happen.

You're also going to need a new worm gear, which you'll have to order online. I got mine from Amazon for about $10. If you have Amazon Prime it will ship for free and be at your door in 2 days (love it!). You'll have to make sure you're ordering the right part for your model. Just go to this website and type in your model number (usually on the bottom of the mixer) and find the worm gear. Then type that number into Amazon and order the gear. Sounds slightly complicated, but I assure you it's all faster and easier than the alternative.

In case you were wondering, my stand mixer failed on a particularly dry batch of homemade fondant. I accidentally added too few marshmallows and turned the mixer up to high speed. Other things that might overload a stand mixer: kneading tough batches of bread for long periods of time, thick sticky cookie doughs, and homemade marshmallow. Here's how to fix your mixer.

How to Fix an Overloaded Classic Kitchenaid Stand Mixer

1. Order the correct worm gear.

• Ok, so this is the easy part, but also the most important. Here's the website you'll want to use. Flip the mixer over and look on the underside for the model number...it's usually a long number/letter combination. After you locate your model it'll come up with a few diagrams of the mixer. Go through each until you locate the "worm gear". Click on it and either order it from the website or copy and paste the part# into amazon. 
• I have a classic Kitchenaid that most people have and this is the gear I ordered. Get this one if your appliance# starts in 3K45, 3K5, 4K45, 4K5, 4KPD16, 4KSM150, 4KSM50, 4KSM90, 5K45, 5K5, 5KPM5, 5KSM150, 5KSM156, 5KSM45, 5KSM5, 7K45, 7K5, 8KSM90, 9KSM150, 9KSM5, BEA30, K45, K5, KDM5, KSM90, KP50, KPM5, KSM100, KSM103, KSM111, KSM120, KSM150, KSM15, KSM155, KSM158, KSM160, KSM45, KSM5, KSM50, KSM75, KSM90, KSM95, or KSMC50.

2. Gather your tools.

• Don't worry, this requires mostly basic household tools. Here's a list of what you'll need:
• Phillip's head screwdriver
• Flathead screwdriver
• Pin punch (although I jimmy-rigged one from a tool bit for most of the process)
• Hammer
• Putty knife, butter knife, or spoon
• Lots of paper towels
• A few rags you don't care about
• A paper plate or regular plate to put dirty equipment on
• Your new worm gear

3. Take apart the mixer.

• Yup, you got it. We're going to take this baby apart, appliance repairman style. You can do this, what's a little screwing and messy hands (that sounded really bad!)? I promise, although it seems like a lot of work it's really just a handful of screws to take out, a pin or two to punch out of a hole, and a whole lot of icky black grease. It'll probably take you an hour to replace the gear, and five minutes to put it back together. This video on YouTube explains it perfectly for you, and shows you exactly how to do it so you know if you're going the wrong way. I also included my own directions and pictures, just 'cause. 

• First step is to take the back casing off the mixer. It's held on by a tiny screw. Don't lose it!  

• Now use your flathead screwdriver as a wedge to knock off the ring around the rotating part of the mixer. Position your screwdriver like you see in the photo and use some pressure to pry the ring down. It's totally easy. 

• Now there's a tiny little pin you're going to have to punch out to remove the spinning mechanism-thingy. So just take the pin punch (yes, I have a ghetto jimmy-rigged pin punch thing) and hammer that pin out. 

• Now you can pry off the spinning mechanism. Use the flathead screwdriver as a wedge and just pry that sucker off. Eventually you can get enough leverage to pull it the rest of the way down. Stick it somewhere that can get messy.

• Now you're going to unscrew those five screws in the picture and put them somewhere safe. We're getting ready to take the top off this baby.

• There's two more screws on the underside to remove, and two more on the back end. One of the screws on the back end will have a round washer attached to it, keep in mind. Once  this is done, we'll be able to lift the top off.

• Get ready to lift off the top! First you'll need to pull the cord out from the back of the mixer like you see in the picture. Then just use your muscles to pull the top from the base. Don't be alarmed at the insane amount of grease! We'll deal with that in a second.

• Look at all the grease!!! See why you need a lot of paper towels and rags? You have to remove some of it so you can see what you're doing. Use a putty knife/butter knife/spoon and scoop the excess grease from the base of the mixer and put it right into the top. Don't throw it away even though it's icky. 

4. Remove the broken worm gear and replace it.

• Now that you've got everything taken apart you'll need to get rid of the broken worm gear. This is the part that gets really messy due to all the greased parts you'll be handling. Keep rags and/or paper towels right at hand and wipe down anything you need to see more clearly. Water and soap aren't going to help here, just use the rags and wipe. 

• First, remove the part holding the worm gear. It's held in place by two little screws. 

• The worm gear is right there in yellow. If you notice that there's a piece of the gear missing you can probably find it in the grease, like I did. There's another pin to remove (smaller than the previous one). Use your pin punch and hammer again. It gets slippery from the grease and the rotor may try to turn on you. Place it on a non-slip surface like a rag, and hammer hard until it comes out. 

• Take out the gear holding the worm gear in place. Then remove the worm gear itself. It has two round washers on either end - save them! I was getting impatient at this point, so I didn't take as many pictures. 

• Put the washers at either end of the new gear and replace it!!! You just did that (yup).

5. Put the Kitchenaid back together.

• So, I wish I had taken some pictures of this process, but it's pretty self explanatory. Put everything back in reverse order. There are a few points you'll need help at, though. 
• When you stick the gear that holds the worm gear into place, you'll need to swivel it around to align the holes for the pin. 
• There are two little "buttons" that hold the entire worm gear piece into place on the mixer - you can use them as a guide.
• When you replace the top of the mixer, there's a hole that the large metal rod fits into. 
• There will be a small space between the top of the mixer and the base when you put it on - don't force it down! Stick a pin punch inside the hole of the spinning mechanism (where you punched out the first pin) and spin it around until the gears align (you'll feel this happen) and the top slides down the rest of the way.
• When replacing the spinning mechanism, the same is true. Rotate the gears until they're aligned. You'll also have to align the holes to get the pin back in. You can use a pin punch or screwdriver to pry the holes together (watch the video if this doesn't make sense). 

6. Marvel in all your handywoman/man glory.

• You did it! Now go make something! How about rosemary focaccia, whole wheat bagels, or yellow butter cupcakes? Do it.