PEANUT BUTTER ENERGY BARS

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch by sallybr

And now for something completely different! I don’t normally make this type of stuff, but my dear stepdaughter-in-law urged me to give them a try. First, no oven is needed, they require no baking. Second, you can customize them in many different ways. She adds dried fruits, uses maple syrup instead of honey, they always work. I made the recipe exactly as published in my first time but the husband already requested that I add seeds and nuts to future batches. I don’t eat energy bars but must say that after trying a bite of these, I was hooked. Sweet, but not too sweet. Delicious! And a little bit goes a long way indeed, as energy bars are supposed to do.

PEANUT BUTTER ENERGY BARS
(from Erin Lives Whole)

1 1/4 cup oat flour (store bought is best for ultra fine texture)
1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1– 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix together oat flour, protein powder, and salt.

Add in peanut butter, honey, vanilla extract, and 1 tbsp coconut oil. Mix. It will be very thick, I suggest using your hands to really mix well. It should eventually come together like playdough, but if it’s still too dry add more coconut oil. You want them to be FIRM not soft and too much coconut oil will make them soft. Mix in chocolate chips.

Press into a bread pan (~8×4) and add more chocolate chips on top if desired. Press them into the top.

Let sit in fridge for at least 1 hour before cutting into. Store in fridge.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Check the original post to see all the variations Erin has tried. Apparently these are copycat versions of a popular brand called Perfect Bars. I had never heard of them, but as I mentioned, it’s not something I consume. The husband is more into cereal bars and things of that sort. I will be making them again for sure, they lasted a little less than a week for us, and stayed unchanged in flavor and texture sitting in the fridge. Courtnie, my daughter-in-law says they also freeze well. She likes them with maple syrup instead of honey and with tiny bits of dried blueberries…

ONE YEAR AGO: Cocoa-Lattice Sourdough

TWO YEARS AGO: Pistachio Sugar Cookies, the Uzbek Way

THREE YEARS AGO: Carrots and Zucchini Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cookie Therapy, Anyone?

FIVE YEARS AGO: The Quasi-Vegan Quiche

SIX YEARS AGO: Not Quite Moqueca

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Roasted Butternut Squash with Cashew Nuts

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Mississippi Roast and the Open Mind

NINE YEARS AGO: Walnut-Raisin Bran Muffins

TEN YEARS AGO: A Star is Born!

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Chestnut Flour Sourdough Bread

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Kinpira Gobo and Japanese Home Cooking

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Walnut Sourdough

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Thai Chicken Curry

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Zen and the art of risotto

19Apr2025

EASTER BAKES

Posted in Cake, Chocolate Bonbons, Cookies by sallybr

A small collection of bakes to celebrate the occasion… Cupcakes, cookies, bonbons…
Let’s start with cupcakes, shall we?

For the cupcakes, I went with chocolate, and used this recipe which is simple and wonderful. Frosting was a simple American buttercream, but the gilding of the lily was the little nest made with rice noodles broken up in little pieces, coated with melted chocolate and assembled in mini-muffin tins. I have tried other methods to make the nests and this was by far my favorite.

This is really a very very messy process, and there was some colorful language going around The Bewitching Kitchen, I won’t lie to you. But aren’t those nest super cute? Totally worth the trouble. Get the noodles and cut them with scissors in small little pieces. It will make a Royal mess in your kitchen and you will find pieces of noodles in unexpected places. Melt chocolate, coat them well (gloves are mandatory), and while everything is still pliable and warm, stick little portions inside mini muffin tins. Add the eggs and let it all set.

TRI-DIMENSIONAL EASTER EGGS

These are not made of chocolate, the shells are my favorite chocolate cookie (click here for recipe, I omitted the chipotle powder for this version) baked into these cute little molds. Once they are baked, I brushed them with luster powder mixed with vodka, decorated with Royal icing and filled with mini peanut butter eggs.

BUNNY BONBONS

A little labor of love, you’ll need a special mold for these babies, found at one of my favorite stores, Evil Cake Genius. It is a three component mold, so you make the top, let it set, fill with whatever you want (I used lemon brigadeiro), then close the bottom with more chocolate. A very detailed video is available here.

EGG NESTS CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Very little icing on these cookies, I brushed them with Americolor White + a touch of turquoise before baking. Then just added a few details with piping consistency icing, and placed mini eggs on top. They went together nicely with the cupcakes!

THE GOLFING RABBIT

Same cookie, made with the help of AI-generated image, and a mini-projector… Love these goofy fellows!

If you celebrate the date, I wish you a Happy Easter! Hope you have a wonderful day…

ONE YEAR AGO: Bicolor Ravioli

TWO YEARS AGO: Crispy Asparagus Salad with Toasted Bread Crumbs

THREE YEARS AGO: Low-Carb Super Fast Chicken Parmigiana

FOUR YEARS AGO: Sundried Tomato Spelt Sourdough

FIVE YEARS AGO: A Duet of Chocolate Bonbons

SIX YEARS AGO: Chocolate Tartlets with Honey-Caramel Filling

SEVEN YEAR AGO: Zucchini Soup with Tahini

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Black Sesame Macarons

NINE YEARS AGO: Fine Tuning Thomas Keller

TEN YEARS AGO: Cauliflower Tortillas

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Majestic Sedona, Take Two

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Secret Ingredient Turkey Meatballs

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Swedish Meatballs and Egg Noodles

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Italian Easter Pie

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Black Olive Bialy

9Apr2025

CAKES TO CELEBRATE EASTER

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

I am thrilled to share these because they were my first cakes frosted using my electric turntable, a wonderful gift from my hubby last month (check it out at my last In My Kitchen post). Amazing how much easier it was to get a smooth frosting! Without further ado, here is the first cake, fully dressed for an Easter Party.

VANILLA-ALMOND CAKE WITH RASPBERRY FILLING
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

345 grams (3 cups) cake flour
2 teaspoons)baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
226 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
375 grams (1 + 3/4 cups) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
160 grams egg whites (about 5 eggs)
170 grams (¾ cup) sour cream
170 grams (¾ cup) whole milk
Swiss meringue buttercream for frosting
seedless Raspberry jam for filling

Prepare three 6-inch round cake pans lining them with parchment and spraying with baking spray.

Heat oven to 350F.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Reserve. Mix the sour cream and milk together, making sure they are at rom temperature and well incorporated. Reserve.

n the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Cream together on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through mixing. Slowly pour in the egg whites while the mixer continues running.

Alternate adding the dry ingredients into the bowl in three additions with the milk/sour cream mixture in two additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed between additions until almost fully incorporated. Finish mixing by hand with a spatula.

Transfer the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for about 25 minutes, until a tester comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool the cakes in their pan completely on a cooling rack before turning out of the pan.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Basis formula: 1X egg whites + 2X sugar + 2X butter

For the three layer 6-inch cake I started with 200g egg whites. The magic is all in the temperature control.

Start by dicing your butter and placing at room temperature for at least a couple of hours before making the buttercream. The reason for that is the closer the temperature of the egg whites/sugar and the butter match each other, the smoother the whole preparation will go. All problems with Swiss meringue buttercream happen when there is a sharp difference between those temperatures.

Mix sugar and egg whites and whisk well, then over a bain-marie bring them to 140 F minimum. I take it to 149F because I find it makes a nicer emulsion to work with. Place in a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed for about 10 minutes. You want a stiff meringue.

Most recipes will tell you that it will be enough to bring the mixture to room temperature level, or not feeling warm if you touch the bowl. However, if you measure the temperature inside the bowl you will notice it will probably still be at mid 90’s Fahrenheit, way above the butter that is waiting to be incorporated.

My advice is to turn the mixer off and walk away. Come back in 10 minutes, give it a 20 sec mix, check, the temperature. Still a bit too high? Walk away and repeat the process. I find that if the egg white mixture is around 80F it will be ok to incorporate with the butter, which might be around 72F or so.

Now start incorporating the butter with the mixer running, you can squish it with your fingers as you drop them to help incorporate even better. Once all the butter is added, whisk at high speed for a couple of minutes, change to the paddle attachment and mix for another couple of minutes to smooth out air bubbles.

Two problems might happen if the temperature was not a real good match: buttercream will be grainy (butter too cold), or soupy (meringue too hot). Both can be fixed by either warming the bowl (hair-dryer works great), or placing it in the fridge for 15 minutes and whisking again. Contrary to popular belief, Swiss meringue is not that tricky and can always be salvaged even if it looks like Armageddon in a bowl.

For the layers I added a circle of white buttercream on the perimeter of the cake, filled the center with raspberry jam, and repeated that for the upper layer. I crumb coated with white frosting, then dyed most of the buttercream with Sky Blue (just a couple of drops), and the tiniest amount of black to mute the tone. A small portion was dyed brown for the nest. Malted chocolate eggs and sprinkles finished the decor.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This is pretty much like a wedding type cake, very white because you omit using egg yolks. It is delicate and moist, truly one of my favorites for layered cakes. I adapted the recipe from versions that call for more sugar, I prefer the cake a little less sweet. Sugar is important for structure so there is a limit of how much you can reduce, but this formula works great. My rookie mistake was to use parchment paper to add the sprinkle border at the bottom, and it took me so long to do it, that the buttercream warmed up and the paper got stuck at places. All my hard work to get the smooth surface was a bit compromised, but nothing that strategically placed sprinkles would not fix!

Feedback on the cake was wonderful, I cannot show you the cut cake as I dropped it whole and it was cut later in the evening. But I hope it looked ok inside…

Moving on…

LEMON POPPY SEED LAYERED CAKE WITH BLACKBERRY FILLING

I cannot share this recipe because it is copyrighted from a very interesting book called “I’LL BRING THE CAKE” by Mandy Merriman. It is unusual in the sense that all cakes start from a boxed mix, but they are heavily doctored. If you are totally against boxed mixes, the book is not for you, but I wanted to give those a try and her cakes are quite delicious.

This was my very first cake using the turntable, and I opted for a watercolor effect, which started by adding blotches of darker color all over the frosted cake.

Then you just turn the cake and allow the color to mingle with the background until you are satisfied. For the decorations on top I mixed the white with the mauve-dyed buttercream and used the trusty 1D tip for rosettes.

I hope you found some inspiration for your Easter festivities with this post!

ONE YEAR AGO: Flower Stencil Sourdough

TWO YEARS AGO: Happy Easter!

THREE YEARS AGO: Mini-Blueberry Cakes

FOUR YEARS AGO: Wood Plank Cookies, Learning from the Best

FIVE YEARS AGO: OMG Spinach Pies

SIX YEARS AGO: Avgolemono Soup, My Way

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Chocolate Twist Bread

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Dan Lepard Times Three

NINE YEARS AGO: Turkey Portobello Burger

TEN YEARS AGO: Raspberry Ricotta Cake

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2014

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Whole-Wheat Pasta with Lemony Tomatoes and Spinach

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Blood Orange Duck: A work in progress

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Grilled Mahi-mahi with citrus marinade

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Memories of Pastéis

21Mar2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Posted in Breads, Cake, Cookies, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

The date came and went (March 11th), but only now I have a chance to share a few things I made for the occasion. As you may know, most of the sweets I bake we don’t get to eat, but this series of bakes is the exception that confirms the rule. We got to savor all the sweetness! But let’s start with the bread components.

FOCACCIA ART

Maybe you remember the Quilted Focaccia Buns of a recent past? I got this idea from the book Beautiful Bread, which I highly recommend, as Theresa Culletto shares amazing designs and all the tips to make them happen. It is all a matter of making a big enough dough to cover a large baking sheet, and then planning decorations with veggies cut in shapes.

It is quite amazing how much flavor and smell little pieces of leeks impart to the dough. You can also use chives for the stems if you prefer, they will likely be easier to work with, no real prep needed.

Moving on, I had to bake a sourdough, and chose a Springtime design for it…

And now, to the sweets… From Molly Yeh’s new book Sweet Farm, one of the most delicious cookies ever, a Cherry Mahlab Linzer! I cannot share the recipe for copyright issues, but I’m tempted to tell you that the book is worth it JUST for that one. Mahlab is a Middle Eastern spice that resembles cinnamon and imparts great flavor to the dough. I will be using it often.

The dough rolls like a dream, browns beautifully in the oven, and crumbles in your mouth with that texture that only almond flour will provide. Absolutely a must-make!

From the past, I re-visited the German Chocolate Macarons, which I did not have a change to taste the first time I made, but the feedback was so great, I was intrigued and could not wait to make again FOR US. Wonderful they were, all modesty aside… Recipe available here.

TWO VERSIONS OF BRIGADEIROS

Red Velvet and Lemon. They were both made with the same basic method: 1 can condensed milk + 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan. To the Red Velvet I added one full tablespoon of cocoa powder + 1/2 tsp Red Velvet Emulsion from LorAnn and a pinch of salt.

To the Lemon version, I added 2 tablespoons Lemon Curd (store-bought), and a pinch of salt. On a later version I added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some lemon zest, I liked that better. Both versions cooked the way described in this old post of mine.

And now, for the Piece of Resistance, THE CAKE! Choice of the husband, who found the recipe online and twisted my 65 year old arm to make it. Recipe published here, and also in his cookbook SWEET.

This is one amazing cake! Luscious, moist, tender, almost feels like flourless. The ganache on top takes it exactly there: over the top. And of course, I had to add a Brazilian flair to it and topped with Red Velvet Brigadeiros. And some luster powder. Because if I cannot bling on my own Birthday, there would be something wrong with me.

ONE YEAR AGO: Incredibly Simple: Air-Fried Salmon Bites

TWO YEARS AGO: Chocolate-Covered Oreos

THREE YEARS AGO: Pan-Steamed Broccoli with Miso Vinaigrette

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cookies and Rubber Stamps

FIVE YEARS AGO: Macarons for all Seasons and Reasons

SIX YEARS AGO: Lentils and Radicchio? Yes, please!

SEVEN YEAR AGO: Tres Leches Cake

EIGHT YEARS AGO: The Joys of Grating Squash

NINE YEARS AGO: Auberge-Pecan Walnut Bread

TEN YEARS AGO: Gluten-free and Vegan Raspberry Bars

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Lasserre, a French Classic

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Bread with Walnuts and Dates

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Apricot Glaze

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Pork Tenderloin and Blue Cheese

5Mar2025

CHICKEN BREASTS IN CREAMY TURMERIC-MUSTARD SAUCE

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

This is very rich with heavy cream, but if you don’t mind splurging a bit for a special meal, totally worth it. Boneless chicken breasts can dry up easily but in this method they stay moist and tender.

CHICKEN BREASTS IN CREAMY TURMERIC-MUSTARD SAUCE
(adapted from epicurious)

1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp kosher salt, divided
1 + ½ tsp. ground turmeric, divided
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
Herbes de Provence, to taste
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Heat oven to 375°. Mix 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp. ground turmeric in a small bowl to combine. Sprinkle 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts all over with flour mixture.

Heat 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a medium ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Cook chicken until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side; transfer to a plate. Reduce heat to medium; heat remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in same skillet. Cook the shallots sprinkled with Herbes de Provence until soft and fragrant. Add the heavy cream, turmeric, mustard, honey, black pepper and the remaining salt. Bring to a simmer, then return chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet.

Transfer skillet to oven and bake until sauce is slightly reduced and chicken is cooked through, 20–25 minutes.Remove skillet from oven (HANDLE WILL BE HOT!) and transfer chicken to a cutting board. Let rest 5 minutes, then slice against the grain ¼” thick. Return chicken to sauce, place back on the stove for a couple of minutes just to warm up the slices in the sauce. Serve right away.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Normally I do not make recipes with so much cream and saturated fat, so this was a departure from the way we eat. It was delicious indeed! I was afraid the heavy cream would dry out too much during baking, uncovered, but it was not the case. Keep an eye on it, add a little water if it is getting burned. I love turmeric… And PLEASE be sure to remember the handle will be hot. I did not, and paid a painful price. Enough said.