Raspberry & Orange Scones

Sometimes when I am having a bad day some simple baking can help get me in a better headspace. I like to use what I have laying around the house and I have a few oranges that need to use up so I figured, why not make some scones! The key to making scones is to knead as less as possible, you’re going to think that the scones aren’t going to come together, but trust me, they will! I got some inspo from Sally’s Baking Addiction, especially grating the frozen butter!

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 2 1/2 TSP Baking Powder
  • 1/2 TSP Salt
  • 2 1/2 TSP Orange Zest
  • 2 TSP Fresh Orange Juice
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, frozen & grated
  • 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1 TSP Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Cup Fresh Raspberries [can do frozen]

Orange Glaze

  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 3 TBSP Fresh Orange Juice

Let’s Get Baking

Combine the flour + sugar + baking powder + salt + orange zest in a large bowl. Add in the grated butter and combine until the mixture comes together, looking like small crumbs. Place it back in the fridge.

In another bowl whisk together heavy cream + egg + vanilla + orange juice. Grab the flour mixture and drizzle the liquid over. Add in the raspberries and mix together until there is no dry flour.

Pour onto the counter and with floured hands, work the dough into a ball, and be very gentle. Press into an 8-in disc and cut into 8 wedges. Brush with extra heavy cream. Place back into the fridge for 15 min.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Combine the ingredients for the glaze and drizzle over the scones.

Enjoy!

Made with Love,

Hannah

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Recently, one of my coworkers asked when I would be bringing in dessert again. I love bringing in my baking creations to share with my teammates and so since it was requested I thought it would be prime time to make something that screams “AUTUMN”. What stood out to me the most from this recipe from Eating Well was the gingersnap crust. I love gingersnaps and I was so excited to try it out rather than the boring and bland graham cracker crust. I have to say this is going to now be my go-to crust, and maybe even my new Thanksgiving pie!

Ingredients

  • 8oz Gingersnap Cookies
  • 1/4 TSP Salt, divided
  • 3 TBSP Melted Butter
  • 3 8oz Packages Reduced-Fat Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
  • 4 Eggs
  • 15 oz Unseasoned Pumpkin Puree
  • 1 TBSP Vanilla Extract
  • 2 TSP Pumpkin Pie Spice (Nutmeg, Ginger, Cinnamon)

Let’s Get Bakin’

Preheat the oven to 325F

Coat a 9in springform pan with butter. Tightly wrap the outside of the pan with foil, making sure to cover the bottom and sides.

Grab a small sauce pan and fill with water, bring to a boil.

In a food processor or blender, pulse the gingersnap cookies and 1/8 TSP of salt. Once finely ground, drizzle in the butter and scrape down the sides as needed. Make sure all the crumbs are all softened. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and about 1/2in up the sides. Place in the freezer.

Clean the food processor/blender and then combine the cream cheese + sugar + eggs + 1/8 TSP Salt and blend well until smooth. Remove 1/4 cup of the batter and reserve. Add in the pumpkin + vanilla + pie spices to the remaining mixture and process until smooth.

Pour the pumpkin batter into the chilled crust. Drizzle the reserved batter over the top and run a knife through the batters to swirl together.

Place the pan in a roasting pan [I used a baking sheet]. Pour in the boiling water to come up about 1in up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake the cheesebake until set around the edges but the center is slightly wiggly, about 1hr 30 min.

Remove from the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the wter bath for about 1hr.

Remove from the water bath and remove the foil, refridgerate for atleast 3 hours before serving.

Serve with whip cream if you desire & enjoy!

Made with Love,

Hannah

Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

I feel that apple cider unfairly takes spot #2 when it comes to fall flavors. Pumpkin always reigns supreme but I respectfully disagree. This doughnut cake from Princess Pinky Girl truly showcases that apple and cinnamon should be the real stars of fall flavors. My mom made this cake for a dinner with friends and I had to get the recipe from her to share because it may be one of my new favorite fall desserts.

Ingredients

  • 1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
  • 1 Cup Apple Cider
  • 1/4 TSP Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup Cinnamon Apple Sauce
  • 3 Large Eggs, room temp
  • 1 TBSP Brown Sugar
  • 1 TSP Vanilla
  • 1/4 TSP + 2 TBSP Cinnamon
  • 1/4 Cup Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, melted

Apple Cider Glaze

  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Apple Cider

Let’s Get Bakin’

Preheat the oven to 350F

In a large mixing bowl combine the cake mix + apple cider + apple sauce + water + eggs, and mix until well combined. Add in 1/4 TSP cinnamon + brown sugar + vanilla and mix well.

Lightly butter a bundt pan and flour it as well. Pour the cake mixture into the bundt pan and cook for 45 minutes. Once done, remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan once cooled.

To make the glaze: combine the powdered sugar + apple cider in a small bowl. Whisk until desired consistency.

In a separate bowl mix together the cinnamon + sugar. Once the cake has cooled, brush the surface with the melted butter. Coat the cake with cinnamon sugar.

Serve the cake with the glaze drizzled over the slices.

Made with Love,

Hannah

Julia Child’s Apple Tart

Julia Child is the end all be all. I received her both volumes of her cookbook Mastering The Art of French Cooking for Christmas one year and they are both something I would grab if my house was on fire. This recipe is all homemade, from the tart shell to the apple filling. This will 100% impress your friends and family when you present this. Be ready to set some time aside, but it is totally worth it.

Ingredients

Pastry Shell:

  • 2 Cups Sifted All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 TSP Salt
  • 2 Pinches of Sugar [her words not mine]
  • 1/4 lb Chilled Butter cut into 1/2 in cubes [again this is where a kitchen scale really comes in handy]
  • 3 TBSP Chilled Vegetable Shortening
  • 5 TBSP Cold Water

Apple Tart

  • 4 lbs Crisp Cooking apples, I used half granny smith and half honeycrisp hybrid
  • 1 TSP Lemon
  • 2 TBSP Sugar + 2/3 Cup
  • 1/3 Cup Apricot Preserves, forced through a sieve
  • 1/4 Cup Calvados, Rum, or Cognac [can substitute for a TBSP of Vanilla extract]
  • 3 TBSP Butter
  • 1/2 TSP Cinnamon & grated rind of 1 lemon/orange

Let’s Get Baking

I love Julia Child, but jeez her recipes can be unnecessarily complicated so I am going to do my best to make this simple.

We are going to start with the pastry shell. You are going to add together the flour + salt + sugar + butter + vegetable shortening into a large bowl. Using the tips of your fingers, rub together the fat until it has broken into small pieces. Don’t worry about them getting incredibly small they will blend more later.

Slowly add the water and blend the mixture with the other hand. The goal is to gather the dough into a large mass. Sprinkle up to another TBSP more of water over any parts that have not added to the main ball of dough. Press the dough into a firmly shaped ball, it should hold together but not be sticky.

Lightly flour a cutting board and with the heel of one hand, rapidly press the dough down onto the board. I did this a couple times to fully incorporate the butter. Scrape together all the dough and knead it slightly into a smooth ball. Cover with wax paper and place into the fridge for an hour, or freeze up to 3 days.

When it’s time to bake the shell, preheat the oven to 375F. Carefully roll out the shell into a 10inch circle. Gently place the shell into a tart pan and press down until the pastry fills the tin. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Then remove the shell, prick the bottom of the shell with a fork and bake for about 8-10 minutes more. The shell will remove slightly from the mold and will brown.

Now onto the apple tart. You are going to quarter, core, and peel all of the apples. Cut the apples into about 1/8 inch slices, enough for about 3 cups. I recommend using a mandolin. Once you have 3 cups, add in the lemon juice and 2 TBSP of sugar, mix together and reserve for the top.

The rest of the apples will be cut into rough slice, about 8 cups. Add the apples into a pan and cook covered on low heat for about 20 minutes. Stir here and there until tender. Beat the remaining ingredients into the pan, including the remaining 2/3 cups of sugar. Increase the heat until it bowls and is thick enough to hold a mass on the spoon.

Preheat the oven to 375. & spread the apple sauce on the precooked pastry shell.

Cover the applesauce with the left over apples in concentric circles. Top off with some of the apricot glaze and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove and place on a cooling rack, service warm or cold.

I say warm with vanilla ice cream is always the way to go.

Always Hungry,

Hannah

Macaroons

I have been wanting to make macaroons for a long time. However, people have mentioned to me how difficult they can be to make, so I strayed away. My pinterest feed recently has betrayed me, bringing up all sorts of different macaroon recipes. I decided to finally cave, despite the warnings people gave me, and attempt to make my own macaroons. I went with another internet recipe from Delish. I am so happy with the way they came out. With the success of these and my croissants last Sunday, I think I might just quit my job and open a bakery.

Ingredients

  • Parchment paper
  • 1 3/4 Powdered Sugar, spooned
  • 1 cup Super-fine Almond Flour, spooned
  • 3 Large Egg Whites, room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
  • Pinch of Kosher Salt
  • 1/4 Cup Superfine Sugar
  • 8 Drops Pink Food Coloring

Butter Cream

  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, room temp
  • 3/4 Cup Powder Sugar, spooned
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Let’s Get Cooking

Set a sieve over a bowl and sift powder sugar + almond flour. Press through until only solids remain.

Separate egg white and add into a mixing bowl. Add cream of tartar + salt to the egg whites. Beat the egg whites until frothy (it starts forming bubbles). Increase the speed to medium high & add the sugar. Beat until egg whites are stiff & glossy about 2-3 minutes.

Beat in the food coloring to make whatever color you desire. I went with pink like the recipe called for because I think they look so cute!

Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the whipped egg whites. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pipe the batter into about 1 inch circles. Mine were not all exactly 1 inch circles so don’t stress about the measurements, I mean really who has time for that.

Tap the baking sheet on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, let sit for 45 minutes.

When your 45 minutes has passed, preheat the oven to 300F. Bake for 13 minutes, and turn the pan halfway through.

While you are waiting for your cookies to cool, make the buttercream!

When I made the buttercream I added a bit more vanilla and powdered sugar to the recipe, so you might have to adjust to your personal taste.

Place butter + powdered sugar + vanilla in a mixing bowl and whip until fluffy.

Spread icing on the cookie + top with remaining half.

Once you’re done don’t forget to share your cute & colorful little french cookies with the world. You will feel like a real baking pro after completing this, trust me!

Made with Love,

Hannah

P.S it’s all about how you whip the egg whites