Ina's "Perfect" Pie Crust

I have been on a quest to find a good pie crust for awhile now and this is the best one I have found so far! The crust is tender, flakey, and delicious! Thank you Ina Garten! 

To make one 10 inch pie crust or two smaller 6 inch pie crusts (like the pictures shown in this post) you will need:

• 6 Tbs UNSALTED BUTTER
• 1 & 1/2 cup FLOUR
• 1 & 1/2 tsp SUGAR
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 3 Tbs VEGETABLE SHORTENING
• 1/4 cup ICE WATER

Before you start, make sure that your butter is very cold! I usually cut the butter into cubes and then pop it in into the freezer for a few hours (or overnight)!

Use a food processor and pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt. 

Add the cold butter and vegetable shortening to the food processor. Pulse another 6-8 times or until the contents start to look like course meal with pea sized butter chunks.

Start adding the ice water a little bit at a time, pulsing in between. (If you have a food processor you can slowly drizzle the water into the feed tube while pulsing.) When the mixture begins to clump together you have added enough water. Pinch the dough in between your fingers to see if it holds together. The 1/4 cup water specified in the recipe should do the trick, but if it is still crumbly and falls apart in your fingers add a little bit more. Be careful not to add too much water though or else the crust will be tough! 

Once the dough starts to clump together, dump the dough onto a clean and dry surface. Take the heel of your palm and press it down into the dough in order to 'shmoosh' the butter and flatten it into layers. Then carefully shape the dough into a disk. 

Look at all of the butter clumps! This will create an extra flaky crust!

Wrap the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (up to 2 days).

Once the dough is chilled, unwrap the dough, and place it on a lightly floured surface. Then, roll the dough out into a 12 inch circle. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick. 

Next, place the dough into a 9 inch pie plate. Carefully press the dough into the corners of the pan so that the dough lines the bottom and sides of the pan. (The picture below is a 6 inch pie plate.)

Then tuck the overhanging dough on the edges under itself and pinch with your fingers. Pour in your pie filling and bake at 400 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes!

I made a strawberry pie, but you could use any filling you want!

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Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbs UNSALTED BUTTER
• 1 & 1/2 cup FLOUR
• 1 & 1/2 tsp SUGAR
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 3 Tbs VEGETABLE SHORTENING
• 1/4 cup ICE WATER

Directions:

1. Before you start, make sure that your butter is very cold! I usually cut the butter into cubes and then pop it in into the freezer for a few hours (or overnight)!
2. Use a food processor and pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt. 
3. Add the cold butter and vegetable shortening to the food processor. Pulse another 6-8 times or until the contents start to look like course meal with pea sized butter chunks.
4. Start adding the ice water a little bit at a time, pulsing in between. (If you have a food processor you can slowly drizzle the water into the feed tube while pulsing.) When the mixture begins to clump together you have added enough water. 
• Pinch the dough in between your fingers to see if it holds together. The 1/4 cup water specified in the recipe should do the trick, but if it is still crumbly and falls apart in your fingers add a little bit more. Be careful not to add too much water though or else the crust will be tough! 
5. Once the dough starts to clump together, dump the dough onto a clean and dry surface.
6. Take the heel of your palm and press it down into the dough in order to 'shmoosh' the butter and flatten it into layers. This will create an extra flaky crust! Then carefully shape the dough into a disk.
7. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (up to 2 days).
8. Once the dough is chilled, unwrap the dough, and place it on a lightly floured surface. Then, roll the dough out into a 12 inch circle. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick. 
9. Next, place the dough into a 9 inch pie plate. Carefully press the dough into the corners of the pan so that the dough lines the bottom and sides of the pan. Then tuck the overhanging dough on the edges under itself and pinch with your fingers. 
10. Pour in your pie filling and bake at 400 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes!

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I found this recipe at the following links: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-pie-crust.html, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fresh-blueberry-pie.html

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

It is no secret that cakes and breads are not exactly "healthy." This is a problem because I love to bake and I especially love to eat what I bake! This chocolate zucchini bread is great because it is fluffy, moist, chocolaty, AND relatively healthy! There is absolutely no flour or sugar in this recipe but you would never know it by tasting the bread! I think it actually tastes more like a chocolate cake than a bread!

To make this chocolate zucchini bread you will need:

• 1 cup ALMOND BUTTER
• 3 Tbs HONEY
• 2 Tbs COCOA POWDER
• 2 LARGE EGGS
• 1/8 tsp SALT
• 1 Tbs VANILLA
• 1 tsp APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
• 1/2 tsp BAKING SODA
• 1 cup ZUCCHINI, shredded (squeeze as much of the excess water out as possible)
• Optional: 1/3 cup NUTS (I used pecans)

Start off by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F. Then put the almond butter, honey, cocoa powder, eggs, salt, and vanilla into a medium bowl. Use a handheld mixer to blend on a medium speed for 2 minutes.

Add the vinegar and baking soda to the mixture and blend for another 30 seconds.

Next, fold in the zucchini and the nuts with a spatula.

It won't exactly look pretty... but I promise it tastes good!

Pour the batter into a loaf pan that has been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake the bread for 25-35 minutes depending on how much water you were able to get out of the zucchini.

Note: I would recommend checking the bread with a toothpick every few minutes after the first 25 minutes until it comes out clean.

You can serve it warm or at room temperature!

I cut my bread into pieces that were 3/4 to 1 inch thick which gave me about 10 slices.

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Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ALMOND BUTTER
• 3 Tbs HONEY
• 2 Tbs COCOA POWDER
• 2 LARGE EGGS
• 1/8 tsp SALT
• 1 Tbs VANILLA
• 1 tsp APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
• 1/2 tsp BAKING SODA
• 1 cup ZUCCHINI, shredded (squeeze as much of the excess water out as possible)
• Optional: 1/3 cup NUTS (I used pecans)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Put the almond butter, honey, cocoa powder, eggs, salt, and vanilla into a medium bowl. Use a handheld mixer to blend on a medium speed for 2 minutes.
3. Add the vinegar and baking soda to the mixture and blend for another 30 seconds.
4. Next, fold in the zucchini and the nuts with a spatula.
5. Pour the batter into a loaf pan that has been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. 
6. Bake the bread for 25-35 minutes depending on how much water you were able to get out of the zucchini. Note: I would recommend checking the bread with a toothpick every few minutes after the first 25 minutes until it comes out clean.

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I adapted this recipe from the following blog: http://wholelifestylenutrition.com/recipes/organic-chocolate-zucchini-bread-recipe/

Strawberry Scones

I made these scones last weekend and they turned out to be delicious! I ran across this recipe online when I was searching for new things that I could make with some leftover buttermilk. I rarely buy buttermilk, so when I have it around I want to use it!

To make 6 large strawberry scones (or probably 8-10 medium sized scones) you will need:

• 3/4 cup (FROZEN or FRESH) STRAWBERRIES, chopped
• 2 & 1/4 cup FLOUR
• 1/2 Tbs BAKING POWDER
• 1/2 tsp BAKING SODA
• 1/4 cup GRANULATED SUGAR
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1 stick very cold UNSALTED BUTTER, cubed
• 3/4 cup BUTTERMILK
• 1/2 tsp LEMON JUICE
• 1 tsp VANILLA EXTRACT

For topping:

• 1 & 1/2 Tbs UNSALTED BUTTER, melted
• 2 Tbs LARGE CRYSTAL SUGAR or GRANULATED SUGAR

Start off by chopping the strawberries into bite sized pieces. Then stick them in the freezer while you prepare the dough. Freezing the strawberries will prevent the juices from oozing when you mix them into the dough making the dough too wet. (If you use pre-frozen strawberries you obviously don't have to wait around for the strawberries to freeze which makes the process go faster!)

Cut the stick of butter into cubes and then put it in the freezer with the strawberries to allow the butter to get very cold! When your strawberries are pretty frozen (this could take about an hour if you use fresh strawberries) preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Mix well to make sure all of the ingredients are equally dispersed. Next cut the cold butter into the flour using either a pastry cutter or two knives. You want to end up with pea sized balls of butter in a coarse flour mixture.

In a small bowl, mix the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Pour the buttermilk mixture and frozen strawberries over the flour mixture.

Gently mix together the wet ingredients and dry ingredients with a spatula until the dough just starts to form. (I had to add a few extra tablespoons of buttermilk to get the dough to come together. If you need to add more liquid be careful to not add too much, add it one tablespoon at a time!)

Once the dough will just hold together, (I should still be kind of crumbly!) form it into a rectangle on a floured surface. Press the dough out to be about 1 & 1/2 inches thick.

Next, brush the melted butter onto the dough and sprinkle the sugar on top. The sugar will almost create a crust on top of the scones once baked.

Cut the large rectangle into 6 pieces and then transfer them to the baking sheet. You could cut the scones into smaller pieces if you don't want such large scones.

Then bake for 25-30 minutes! Look how much they grew!

 Don't they look yummy!

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Strawberry Scones

Ingredients:
To make 6 large strawberry scones you will need:

• 3/4 cup (FROZEN or FRESH) STRAWBERRIES, chopped
• 2 & 1/4 cup FLOUR
• 1/2 Tbs BAKING POWDER
• 1/2 tsp BAKING SODA
• 1/4 cup GRANULATED SUGAR
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1 stick very cold UNSALTED BUTTER, cubed
• 3/4 cup BUTTERMILK
• 1/2 tsp LEMON JUICE
• 1 tsp VANILLA EXTRACT

For topping:

• 1 & 1/2 Tbs UNSALTED BUTTER, melted
• 2 Tbs LARGE CRYSTAL SUGAR or GRANULATED SUGAR

Directions:

1. Chop the strawberries into bite sized pieces. Then stick them in the freezer while you prepare the dough. 
2. Cut the stick of butter into cubes and then put it in the freezer with the strawberries to allow the butter to get very cold! 
3. When your strawberries are pretty frozen (this could take about an hour if you use fresh strawberries) preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Mix well to make sure all of the ingredients are equally dispersed. 
5. Cut the cold butter into the flour using either a pastry cutter or two knives. You want to end up with pea sized balls of butter in a coarse flour mixture.
6. In a small bowl, mix the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Pour the buttermilk mixture and frozen strawberries over the flour mixture. Gently mix together the wet ingredients and dry ingredients with a spatula until the dough just starts to form. (I had to add a few extra tablespoons of buttermilk to get the dough to come together. If you need to add more liquid be careful to not add too much, add it one tablespoon at a time!)
7. Once the dough will just hold together, (I should still be kind of crumbly!) form it into a rectangle on a floured surface. Press the dough out to be about 1 & 1/2 inches thick. 
8. Next, brush the melted butter onto the dough and sprinkle the sugar on top. The sugar will almost create a crust on top of the scones once baked.
9. Cut the large rectangle into 6 pieces and then transfer them to the baking sheet. You could cut the scones into smaller pieces if you don't want such large scones. Then bake for 25-30 minutes! 

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I adapted this recipe from a recipe I found on the following site: http://www.breadtastic.com/quick-breads/tartines-strawberry-buttermilk-scones/

Butterbeer Cupcakes

A few months ago my husband and I started hosting a dinner and a movie night once a week. We have been working our way through the Harry Potter series and finally finished last weekend (I have mixed emotions anytime Harry Potter comes to an end). In honor of the movies I decided to try my hand at making some butterbeer cupcakes. I found this recipe on Pinterest and have been dying to try them!

If you are like me and haven't been able to make your way down to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter yet you might wonder 'What does butterbeer even taste like???'. After doing some research, I found that most copycat butterbeer recipes contains some combination of melted butter (or imitation butter flavor), cream soda, butterscotch, and sometimes rum. In the case of these cupcake, the 'butterbeer' flavor comes mostly from butterscotch chips, imitation butter flavor, and a little bit of cream soda. Maybe next time I'll experiment and try to work in some rum...

These cupcakes have a butterscotch cake (infused with cream soda and imitation butter flavor) that is filled with a butterscotch ganache, that is then topped with a butterscotch and butter flavored icing. Sound like a lot of flavor doesn't it?

After making them, here are my thought on these cupcakes:

• They are good but not great. Sorry to be a buzz-kill... (Although a few of our dinner guests loved them, so maybe it's just me...)
• The ganache is delicous, but if you make it I would recommend starting off with less heavy cream than the recipe suggests (my ganach was a little too runny).
• The icing was also delicious!
• But the cake...it wasn't bad, but I think it could use some work. There was something about the texture of the cake that I didn't love, but it could possibly be fixed by leaving them in the oven a few minutes longer (The cupcakes were cooked through (a toothpick came out clean!), but they still just seemed almost under cooked in the middle somehow). They were also surprisingly lacking in flavor! In the end, it turned out to be ok because the ganache and icing had so much flavor and sweetness, that it balanced it out.

If you would like to try these butterbeer cupcakes, here is the recipe I used: http://www.pastryaffair.com/blog/2011/7/14/butterbeer-cupcakes.html

Happy baking!

 Here are some more pictures of my cupcakes, because I think they're cute!

Banana Muffins

These muffins are soft, moist, and extremely flavorful! They are the best banana muffins I have had in a long time. They are incredibly easy to make and you don't even have to dirty any dishes!

To make 12-15 of these delicious muffins you will need:

• 3 ripe BANANAS (about 1 cup mashed)
• 2 EGGS
• 1 cup SUGAR
• 1 cup FLOUR
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 3/4 tsp BAKING SODA
• 1/2 tsp BAKING POWDER
• 1/2 tsp CINNAMON
• 1/2 cup VEGETABLE OIL
• 1 tsp VANILLA
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped WALNUTS or PECANS

To minimize the number of utensils you will need, measure all of the ingredients with a 1/2 measuring cup and 1/4 teaspoon. Then use either a large freezer baggie or a medium sized bowl to mix the ingredients up in. If you use a baggie, you can just throw it away after the muffins are made, no clean up! I didn't have a baggie big enough so I just used a bowl. (One bowl isn't bad though!) Another perk to using a baggie is that you can seal it and use your hands to mix the ingredients together where you need a fork or spoon to mix the ingredients in a bowl.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Then line a muffin tin with cupcake papers. Start making the batter by mashing the bananas.

Mix in the eggs and sugar, making sure that eggs are incorporated before adding the sugar. Once the sugar is mixed in, add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. When the dry ingredients have been incorporated, add the oil, vanilla, optional nuts, and then mix well.

If you are using a baggie, snip the bottom corner off the baggie creating a small hole and squirt the batter into the cupcake papers. If you are using a bowl, you will have to simply pour the batter in. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full with batter. (I skipped the cupcake papers and the muffins still turned out great!)

Bake the muffins for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean!

I know the muffins look a little bit dark around the edges because I didn't use cupcake papers, but they aren't hard or burnt tasting at all!

These muffins are so good! You can't eat just one!

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Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe BANANAS (about 1 cup mashed)
• 2 EGGS
• 1 cup SUGAR
• 1 cup FLOUR
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 3/4 tsp BAKING SODA
• 1/2 tsp BAKING POWDER
• 1/2 tsp CINNAMON
• 1/2 cup VEGETABLE OIL
• 1 tsp VANILLA
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped WALNUTS or PECANS

Directions:

To minimize the number of utensils you will need, measure all of the ingredients with a 1/2 measuring cup and 1/4 teaspoon. Then use either a large freezer baggie or a medium sized bowl to mix the ingredients up in. If you use a baggie, you can just throw it away after the muffins are made, no clean up! I didn't have a baggie big enough so I just used a bowl. (One bowl isn't bad though!) Another perk to using a baggie is that you can seal it and use your hands to mix the ingredients together where you need a fork or spoon to mix the ingredients in a bowl.

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Then line a muffin tin with cupcake papers. (I skipped the cupcake papers and the muffins still turned out great!)
2. Start making the batter by mashing the bananas. 
3. Mix in the eggs and sugar, making sure that eggs are incorporated before adding the sugar. Once the sugar is mixed in, add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. When the dry ingredients have been incorporated, add the oil and vanilla and mix well. 
4. If you are using a baggie you can snip the bottom corner off the baggie creating a small hole and squirt the batter into the cupcake papers. If you are using a bowl, you will have to simply pour the batter in. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full with batter. 
5. Bake the muffins for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean!

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I got this wonderful recipe from the following blog: http://www.yammiesnoshery.com/2013/10/the-best-banana-bread-muffins-ever.html

Valentine's Sugar Cookies

Here is one more Valentine's treat! Every year the collegiate chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota that I was initiated into has a bake sale for Valentine's Day. They usually have 2-3 bake sales a year and as a member I always got really excited when one started to get close because that meant I got to bake something! So this year, even though I have now graduated, I decided to make a special treat to send to the girls for the bake sale! I'll use any excuse I can find to bake something! ;)

I decided to make some Valentine's sugar cookies so I could try out a new decorating technique and I think they turned out pretty well! I forgot to take pictures until the last minute so that is why most of the pictures are of the cookies already bagged and in the box!

I think this one was my favorite! I didn't plan on making black (or I guess dark grey) and white flowers, but I started running out of pink so I gave it a try and I think they turned out beautifully!

These were probably my second favorite, simple, yet pretty! I probably need to get some more practice with writing on cookies though... 

Onto the box pictures! Haha. Here is the first layer of cookies that went into the box! So pretty! I will definitely make these again!

...and the second layer!

...and the top layer! 

I hope you liked my cookies because I sure enjoyed making them!