Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

If you are still looking for a last minute addition to your christmas table, may I suggest a citrus tart, cranberry orange shortbread, chocolate pavlova or spiced maple glazed pecans?

I hope you all have a lovely holiday, filled with love, warmth and too much sugar.

xo,
Hannah

recent moments

happy weekend, friends! any exciting plans? i'm going to bake cookies, wrap christmas presents, hunt down twinkling lights on houses, enjoy cups of tea and generally bask in the beauty of these last cozy days of december. see you soon!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

11 days to Christmas. Can you believe that? Here I am posting a autumn-y pumpkin recipe. I have no excuses, only that I had all the ingredients I needed, I'm snowed in, and I felt like baking cookies.



I’m glad I went against the seasonal grain for these, because they are some of the best cookies I’ve ever made, rich, moist, spicy and quite cake like. I originally intended to top them with this brown butter glaze, but they don’t need it!

If you happen to have some pumpkin hanging around from fall, try these out. They’d make a great Christmas gift!




Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Adapted from here

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven.

Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread

The weather has turned cold, deeply cold, the sort of cold that chills you to your bones. Every year it sort of sneaks up on me, one day it’s 75 and sunny, the next I’m staring out the window and flakes of snow start falling from the sky.

Winter is magical, isn’t it? It’s all stark landscapes, bare branches, which are beautiful in their own right, but when that snow falls, everything changes. A winter wonderland, indeed.

What I love most about the change of seasons is the change in the kitchen. Out goes the salads and light fare and in comes the soups and breads, best eaten bowl in hand. Heavier, richer, it’s what I enjoy the most.

Tonight we whipped up some tasty soup and along with it I made up this jalapeno and cheddar cornbread. It’s so delicious and would be perfect with lots of soups and stews!

Cornbread

3/4 cup of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup of butter, melted
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup of buttermilk
oil, for greasing your pan
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, optional
1/4 cup diced jalapenos, optional


Turn on your oven to 400 to preheat.

Grease in the inside of a cast iron pan (or cake pan), place in the oven for about 15 minutes, just so it gets hot. Be sure to not let the oil burn.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

In another bowl, combine butter, egg and buttermilk.

Pour milk mixture into the flour mixture, along with cheese and jalapenos, if using. Stir lightly, only til just combined. Don’t overwork the batter. If there are a few lumps, that’s fine!

Remove pan from over, carefully. Pour batter into the pan, return to oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Fall

Savoring the last days of fall...




In the park...



With my family.



It’s been a good day.

Gooey Cocoa Brownies

Nearly 2 years ago, in the early days of honey & jam, I blogged a recipe called supernatural brownies. Those brownies are delicious, and I’ve been making them regularly ever since. I was pretty sure they were the perfect brownie, but oh, I was wrong.

A couple of weeks ago, I tweeted about needing a new brownie recipe, because I wanted to make some quick and I didn’t have the ingredients to make my favorite recipe. Jeannette from everybody likes sandwiches sent me a link to this recipe. I’ve made them 4 times in 2 weeks.

These brownies are a revelation. Gooey, deeply chocolatey, and not a bit too sweet. Plus, you only need cocoa powder, not bar chocolate, they take about 5 minutes to throw together and only 25 to bake. Perfection? Pretty dang close.




Best Cocoa Brownies

Adapted from Alice Mendrich’s Bittersweet via smitten kitchen
Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks, 5 ounces or 141 grams) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (9 7/8 ounces, 280 grams) sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 7/8 ounces, 82 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, cold

1/2 cup (66 grams, 2 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour

2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and microwave for 1:30 minutes. Remove and stir until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but don’t fret — it smoothes out once the eggs and flour are added.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

Wordless Wednesday: Tea Time.

Apple Crisp baked in a Dutch Oven

My sister Sarah is in this thing called a venture crew, it’s kind of like boy scouts for both girls and boys. They do all kind of outdoorsy things like hike and camp, and they also have dutch oven cook offs. Awesome, right? My sister is participating in one for this first time this weekend, and she enlisted my help to find her a winning recipe. She’s feeling particularly competitive because she’s up against the boy scouts, one of them being our brother. Total sibling rivalry. Fun!



Of course I said I’d help her, you know, girl power and all that. The only problem was, I had never actually worked with a dutch oven, outside, with coals doing all the heating. Thankfully, our dad has done it quite a bit and he helped me convert a regular recipe into a dutch oven one.



When I was thinking about what would be best to bake in a dutch oven, the first thing that popped into my head was apple crisp. It’s rustic, easy, and totally delicious. Sarah loves apple crisp, so she loved the idea.



This recipe is one I’ve used many times. It’s about as simple as they come. It’s perfect for a dutch oven cook off, or a fall afternoon. I’ve included directions in the recipe for both dutch ovens and regular ovens so you can make it even if you feel like staying inside. ;) I’ll let y’all know if she wins this weekend! Good luck, Sarah!



Apple Crisp
Adpated from Rustic Fruit Desserts

Topping:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 stick butter, melted

Filling:
8 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced into to thin slices
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons apple pie spice

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.
Make the topping; mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the butter, then press topping together in your hands to form small clumps. Set aside.

Make the filling; toss the apples, sugar and apple pie spice together in a large bowl. Transfer the filling to the baking dish. Press the topping evenly over the fruit, then bake for 55-60 minutes, until top is golden brown and the corners are bubbling.

For dutch oven cooking, spread filling into the bottom of a 12 inch dutch oven, press topping evenly over the fruit. Place 12 hot coals below the oven and 10 on top. Cook for 45 minutes, turning every 7 minutes or so.


PS, thank you all so much for your kind comments on my last post. They were all so sweet! You guys are awesome.

Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Pecan Filling

So, October is almost over, can you believe that? It’s been quite the month for me.

You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been around this place much lately. That’s because October 8th, my mom was admitted to the ICU with a massive blood clot, a saddle pulmonary embolism. It was there the doctor looked me in the eye and told me that the mortality rate for this condition was incredibly high, he compared it to a heart attack and stroke, and that I should prepare myself for the worst.

My mom spent over a week in the hospital, and I stayed with her the entire time. It was incredibly hard, the worst thing I’ve ever been through, but also a really joyful time. I watched my amazing, strong mother laugh and smile in the midst of facing her mortality, I watched her pull through, I heard the doctor tell her that she was so blessed, a miracle, that most people don’t make it. I experienced the worst day of my life and the best day of my life, when the doctor walked in and told her she was being discharged.



Needless to say, it’s been a tough month. I didn’t think I was going to watch the leaves change color through a hospital window. I think that this experience has me leaving the month of October a more grateful person though, grateful for family, for modern medicine, for my heavenly father. I’m going to spend these last days of the month soaking it all in, celebrating life.

I’m starting the best way I know, with food! This pumpkin loaf is the essence of the season. It’s gooey, pumpkiny and cinnamony. What more could you ask for?



Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Pecan Filling
Adapted from Martha Stewart, makes 2 loaves

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups canned pumpkin purée
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup milk

Filling:
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 chopped pecans
1/2 stick butter, melted

To make filling: Combine sugar, cinnamon, pecans and butter in small bowl, mix to combine.


For bread: Preheat the oven to 350ºF and coat your pans with butter. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, spices, and salt, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the pumpkin and sugars. Mix until well combined, and then add the eggs and oil. Mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. With the mixer on low, add the flour in two batches, alternating with the milk, and mix until just combined.

Fill loaf pans half way, add filling, top with remaining batter.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. A cake tester should come out clean. Cool the pans on a rack for ten minutes, remove the loaves from the pans, and cool completely.

Caramel Cake with Apple Filling

Fall snuck up on me this year. One day it was hot and humid, the next it was all golden leaves and cooler temperatures. The last few days have been down right chilly. I’m not complaining, I’m celebrating. Fall is my very favorite season!



The cake is quintessential fall. The richness of the caramel icing and the sweetness of the apple filling are things that just cant be fully appreciated in the heat of the summer. They need a cool breeze to feel at home.

It’s inspired a recipe in the September issue of Food and Wine, a cake called the Revelatory Cake. It’s from the cookbook The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook, which I cannot wait to get my hands on. It’s co-written by John T. Edge, whose work I have admired since I first heard about him on The Splendid Table.

Mine is quite different from the original though. I used Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake and filled mine with an apple filling. The icing is the only thing I used from the original recipe, and it is delicious.

Enjoy!



Perfect Party Cake
from Baking: From My Home To Yours

For the Cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the tough – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

For the Filling:

2 large apples, grated
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and cook until apples are tender.

For the Icing:
From The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook

3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a saucepan, stir 2 1/2 cups of the sugar with the corn syrup and milk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Keep warm.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a deep, heavy saucepan. Cook the sugar over moderate heat, swirling occasionally, until an amber caramel forms. Carefully pour the warm milk mixture over the caramel. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the caramel dissolves. Stop stirring and cook until the caramel registers 235° on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter, vanilla and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream. Strain the caramel into the bowl of a standing mixer. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Beat the caramel at medium speed, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup of cream, until creamy, about 15 minutes.


Set 1 cake layer on a plate. Top with apple mixture. Add the top layer and pour icing over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides. Working quickly, use an offset spatula to spread the icing gently around the cake. Let the cake stand for 2 hours to set the icing before serving.

Things I'm loving!

Hi everyone! You know how I haven’t updated my blog in 3 weeks? Yeah. About that. You see, my camera is broken AGAIN! Total bummer, but I should have it back super soon! In the meantime, I thought I’d show you a few of the things I’ve been loving lately.


Cake for dinner. Oh yes. Specifically, lemon cake with lemon glaze. It’s this recipe, minus the rhubarb.


Fall squash. Those colors!

My daily inspiration, fantastic food photographers.

Noel Barnhurst
Meeta Wolff
Sara Remington
Penny De Los Santos


My new boots for fall. They are my favorite shade of brown.



Everything from shopterrain.com. Pretty overload.


This lovely World War II era reproduction postcard from a friend.


Pumpkin spice lattes. As soon as Starbucks has these, it feels like fall.
(picture courtesy of Broderick of Savory Exposure. Love his blog!)



Adorable prints from Mary Kate McDevitt. Could they be any prettier?!


I hope you enjoyed! Have a lovely weekend.

Cherry Pomegranate Sorbet

Summer. I love you, I do. I spend the last days of winter dreaming about your warmth, every single year. I love your long days, your wonderful light, your abundance of fresh fruit and veggies. You have plenty of things going for you, but there are a few things I’d like to discuss. Namely, your sweltering heat. Your oppressive humidity. What’s with that? Could we at least do something about the humidity? It makes me want to sit in the air conditioning, avoid turning on the oven at all costs and eat nothing but cold things.

Which, actually, isn’t really that bad, now that I think about it. It leads to tasty things like this cherry pomegranate sorbet. So thanks for that, Summer.



A while ago the lovely folks at Pom Wonderful sent me a whole bunch of their yummy pomegranate juice, the moment I opened up the package I knew what I wanted to make - pom sorbet. But then my brother and I drank all the juice. Opps!

I still had the pomegranate sorbet on the mind though, so I purchased some more, this time their cherry pomegranate juice. I had cherries in the fridge and I’ve been loving them so much lately, the idea of cherry pomegranate sorbet sounded too good to pass up.

And oh, honey, it is good. So good. Like I could eat the every day for the rest of my life good. It’s sweet, but the flavors of the cherry and pomegranate just shine through. Please, make this ASAP. Even if it’s winter where you live. This sorbet transcends seasons.



Cherry Pomegranate Sorbet

This recipe makes 1 quart - the vodka is the secret ingredient. It keeps it from freezing into a solid, impenetrable mass. You don’t taste it at all!

1⁄2 cup sugar

3 cups pomegranate juice
1 cup water
2 tablespoons vodka
3/4 cup sweet cherries, chopped

Place sugar, 1 cup water, and pomegranate juice in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled. Add vodka.

Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. After 10 minutes in ice cream maker, add cherries.

Cherry Rosemary Scones

Life has been a little crazy lately. Just busy, really. I suddenly have lots of work taking portraits - something I said I’d never do! I’ve really been enjoying it though, it’s a whole new experience for me. It’s fun to try and get people to smile and laugh, and to capture their love for each other.

It’s fun, but also sort of stressful, since it’s so new to me. It was nice to spend some time in the kitchen today, decompressing. It’s so calming, I can get lost in the measuring, stirring, kneading. I love the process. That’s my very favorite thing about baking, I think, and why I enjoy it so much.



These scones were originally supposed to be biscuits, I saw a pictures of them on Shannalee’s photostream, a recipe from Fresh365. I knew I wanted to try them right away. I had cherries in the fridge and rosemary in the garden, but no cheese, so they evolved into scones.

I’d never tried cherries and rosemary together before, which is a shame because it is a delightful combination. They work perfectly together. These would be awesome for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I spread some of my homemade sour cherry jam on them and ate them at 4 in the afternoon.




Cherry Rosemary Scones
1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (I use King Arthur)

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup heavy cream


1 cup chopped cherries

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (you can add more or less, depending on your preference)


Preheat oven to 375F. In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cherries and rosemary. Make a well in center; add heavy cream, using your hands, pull dry ingredients towards center until all is combined.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface; knead a couple of times. Pat into an 8-inch disk. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 pieces. Cover with plastic wrap, freeze for 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375F. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes. Best served slightly warm.

Plum Berry Crisp plus tips on freezing berries!

You have no idea how good it feels to finally be back here, sharing a recipe with you. My life has been all sorts of crazy lately. Soon after I got my camera back from the repair place (it was gone nearly 20 days!!), we had company staying with us and then my sweet puppy Otis was bitten by a rattle snake.



Since then, it has been non stop Otis care, doing everything we can to get him well. At first his prognosis was not good at all - we were all prepared for the worst. But this crazy dog has too much life in him, the rattle snake wasn’t enough to bring him down. He’s home now, and expected to make a full recovery. It’s so incredible to be able to write out those words, we were so sure he wasn’t going to make it. We should probably rename him miracle!



In all the hullabaloo, the month of July passed me by in a blur. Only today have I had the time to get in the kitchen and bake up something new. I wanted to use what was in season, so I picked up a bunch of fruit from my local orchard. Blackberries, blueberries and plums galore.



This crisp is a celebration of August, with its late summer fruit, and a dash of cinnamon in the topping to hint at fall. It’s sweet, and a little tart, it may be my new favorite crisp recipe, the berry and plum combination is incredibly tasty.



Plum Berry Crisp
adapted from Epicurious

For filling
1 1/2 pounds purple plums, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup blackberries
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (I used white sugar, as I was out of brown, you could cut down on the sugar if your fruit is super sweet!)

For topping
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into bits and softened
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in upper third.
Toss together all filling ingredients in a 2-quart shallow baking dish and bake 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, blend together all topping ingredients in a bowl with your fingertips until butter is evenly distributed and mixture is crumbly.
Stir fruit filling, then sprinkle oat mixture over it and bake until topping is crisp and golden and fruit is bubbling, about 30 minutes.



I have tons of berries left, so I thought I’d share my tips for freezing them fresh. I meant to take pictures but, well, I forgot!


1. wash and dry the berries throughly

2. lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet

3. freeze for about 2 hours

4. remove from freezer, place in zip lock bags

5. put them back in the freezer

6. enjoy a taste of summer even in the dead of winter!


Freezing them on the cookie sheet is the most important part, that way you don’t have big clumps of berries in your freezer. You can remove the amount you want to use without having to defrost the whole bag!

Things I'm loving..

Hey guys! My camera is currently in for repairs - and I'm missing it dearly. So while it's gone I thought I'd do a big round up of things I'm loving. I hope you enjoy!


this antique store find. it put a smile on my face.

The music of JJ Heller and Melody Pool.


my sweet doggys paws - always in motion.

Teri Lyn Fisher's gorgeous photography and blog.
Adrianna's blog A Cozy Kitchen. Everything looks so good!
Tina's blog townabovewater. Gorgeous.


cows, of course.

Absolutely beautiful bags from Forest Bound.


the first wild blackberries of the season.

Beautiful clay work from Carnevale Clay. (via the kitchn)


my new toy - i can't wait to get film for it!


summer light. it's the best.

Have a good weekend, everyone!