What are you Baking the Week of October 30, 2022?

[Mike Nolan]

I haven't been in a baking mood lately.

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[BakerAunt]

I began the week by baking Pumpkin Oat Muffins for Sunday breakfast, a recipe that I adapted from a 2010 special issue, Taste of Home Fall Baking (p. 122). It has been a favorite. I use half whole wheat flour, add 3 Tbs. milk powder, make my own blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice rather than use pumpkin pie spice, halved the salt, reduced the brown sugar to 1/3 cup, and replaced the ¾ cup canned pumpkin with 1 cup homemade puree. I also changed how they are mixed, by combining the oats with the pumpkin and milk and allowing it to rest for about 10 minutes. I deleted the topping and sprinkled with a bit of Penzey's cinnamon sugar. I baked the dozen muffins in Halloween muffin papers.

More baking projects are planned for the day.

[navlys]

I thought the brownies I made last week with Bensdorp cocoa powder were delicious. Come to find out some people (including my husband) like a shiny crispy top on their brownies. So back to the drawing board I went. I found a recipe that uses chocolate and cocoa powder. The technique was a little different from my first recipe. It appears I found nirvana or so says my husband! The recipe is on Tutti Dolci's blog. They are called "the ultimate crinkle brownies".

[Mike Nolan]

If you research 'how to get a shiny top on brownies', you'll find at least two general recommendations. One has to do with thoroughly mixing the sugar and the melted butter, the other has to do with mixing the sugar and the egg (white), the theory there being that the shiny surface is essentially a thin layer of meringue.

There are other theories, as well, such as King Arthur's recommendation to use chocolate chips.

Yet another theory I've seen over the years says to let the batter sit in the pan for a few minutes before popping it into the oven, I guess this one has to do with allowing oils to rise to the surface.

[BakerAunt]

I continued my baking on Sunday by baking my Maple Cookies without Butter recipe and using my Nordic Ware Halloween cookie stamps for pumpkin, cat, and spider designs. I next baked my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese crackers from dough I made last week. My final project was baking Roasted Beet, Greens, and Goat Cheese Flatbread, a recipe that I adapted from Ken Haedrich's The Harvest Baker.

[navlys]

I looked up "how to get the crinkle on the brownie" on the internet also. Another suggestion along with the ones you mentioned was to beat the eggs for 5 minutes. Too much overload!

[navlys]

BA I love your maple cookie recipe. I haven't made the cookies in a while and now I am inspired!

[navlys]

One last post here. Has anyone tried toasting their powdered milk and how did you use it and what were the results? Curious minds want to know!!!lol.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm not sure what the value would be in toasting powdered milk. Is this something you've seen recommended somewhere?

[Mike Nolan]

My feeling on the how to get a shiny top on brownies question is that there are multiple methods that work, possibly for different reasons. And the explanation given might not be the right one. Science is full of things where everybody assumed X was the cause until someone discovered Y.

King Arthur's suggestion to use chocolate chips seems to be one of those "it works but we can't say why" things. Chocolate chips are complex things, you can't just substitute them for baking chocolate in a recipe.

[Joan Simpson]

I baked a recipe of brownies from Allrecipes.com called Mmm mmm Better Brownies.I baked this one because it uses no butter but oil instead.It made an 8x8 pan and I was pleased with the results.Shiny top and they stayed soft after baked.I'm going to try Navlys recipe later but I'm low on butter and saving that.

I baked corn bread to go with stew tonight also.

[chocomouse]

Today I made 2 loaves of whole wheat oatmeal bread, and cranberry white chocolate oatmeal cookies.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--Cookies and cakes made with oil stay softer, while those made with butter begin to dry out.

I baked two loaves of my Pumpkin Rye Whole Wheat Bread on Tuesday, as the last of the bread was eaten at lunch. I greatly adapted this recipe from one by Jane Brody.

[Joan Simpson]

Thanks BakerAunt I'm looking into recipes or replacing oil for butter.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--I've been experimenting with oil recipes for the past four years, in part to reduce my cholesterol. I am still eating a low-saturated fat diet, even though I have started taking a statin. Another benefit of oil recipes is not having to wait for the butter to soften. A third benefit is that oil (even avocado oil) it is less expensive than the amount of butter required.

The oatmeal raisin cookies without oil recipe at Jenny Can Cook is great. Just be sure to use quick oats and to flatten them slightly before baking.

I have posted some of my "oil instead of butter" recipes here at Nebraska kitchen. I have not posted the Maple Cookies without Butter recipe yet, but if people are interested, I will. The recipe Navlys mentions is the Maple Shortbread recipe, which I posted back when cholesterol was not a concern for me--and I still miss their deliciousness. I can only bake them if I have other people around who can eat most of them. The recipe without oil will never have the light, crumbly texture of shortbread, but it makes a cookie that lets me use my cookie stamps and highlights the maple flavor.

For cookies, I have been using avocado oil, which gives a richer taste. I also use half avocado oil and half canola oil in my pie crusts.

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