May 23, 2011

Lime & Raspberry Muffins





I don't know why I thought of this flavor combination, but I was out grocery shopping and thought how I wanted to make some muffins and then thought about the combination of lime and raspberry. I didn't even know if there was s recipe out there for lime and raspberry muffins, but I bought the ingredients and then searched for a recipe. I found one from Closet Cooking that looked really good and easy and I already had all the items needed!

Lime & Raspberry Muffins
makes 12 muffins

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/2 cup icing sugar

1. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.
3. Beat in the eggs, vanilla extract and lime zest.
4. Mix in the milk.
5. Mix in the dry ingredients.
6. Gently fold in the raspberries.
7. Spoon the mixture in to a greased muffin pan.
8. Bake in a preheated 375F oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
9. Mix the lime juice and zest with the icing sugar and pour over the muffins.

Original recipe from Closet Cooking

This muffins were...DELICIOUS! I wished there was more of a lime flavor cause the only lime going in the batter itself was 1/4 tsp of lime zest. Also I made my glaze too runny...so there might have been more lime flavor if I had made it thicker so it would have stuck easier to the muffins. Also when I added the glaze I used a baggy cause I wanted a zig-zag effect, but like I said it was too runny so it didn't really add much. But the raspberries are amazing in there and they add a nice mosit-ness to the muffins. These were great for a nice spring time treat in the morning or in the afternoon with some tea!

Definitely try these muffins, they were easy to make and taste great!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry!

-BellaRosa

May 18, 2011

Cookies: Brown Sugar Cookies and Orange Ricotta with Dark Chocolate Drizzle for the Youngblood's Birthday


It was our dear friend John's birthday and he asked his fiance. Just A Girl Baking, not to make him anything, so I said I would make cookies. I love sugar cookies, but I love brown sugar more than white, so I found a recipe for some Brown Sugar Cookies and decided to give those a go. They called for dark brown sugar which I never bought or had before so this was going to be fun! Then I also already had saved, a recipe for some Orange Ricotta Cookies. I have made Lemon Ricotta Cookies before, but these were orange with some dark chocolate drizzled on them, they are super good and easy, a little time consuming, but easy!

Brown Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, room temperature
2 T vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugars. Add egg, vegetable oil and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Add flour mixture to the wet indgredients and mix together until combined. Dough with be crumbly and moist.

Portion dough into 18 balls, a little bigger than a golf ball, and place on lined baking sheets 2 1/2 to 3 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes for chewy cookies and 16-18 minutes for crispy cookies. Remove from oven and cool on pan for 5 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool completely. Store in air tight container.

Original recipe from Furey and the Feast.

These cookies are amazingly chewy and full of a nice caramel flavor from the dark brown sugar. I really love these cookies! And because you make some rather large cookies you have just enough to cookie to last you a whole cup of tea or coffee! And they get the perfect crackle top and look amazing!

Orange Ricotta Cookies with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 T fresh orange juice
1/2 orange, zested

Glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 T orange juice
orange zest

1/2 cup dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 375. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk until ingredients are combined and set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, orange juice and orange zest. Beat to combine.

Stir in the dry ingredients. Spoon the dough, about 1 T per cookie, on to lined baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden on edges. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

To glaze the cookies: combine the powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Spoon about a 1/2 tsp. of glaze onto each cookie and use the back of spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 5 minutes. Drizzle cookies with dark chocolate and let the cookies set.

I made a half batch from the original recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

When I made these it was quite humid here, and even when I took them over to our friend's place it was quite humid and they were left out and they got a little...sweaty. I think the glaze sort of melted off the cookies from under the dark chocolate so they were a little sticky...but otherwise quite good! I love the combination of the light orange flavor and the dark chocolate drizzle. And the drizzle adds a nice snappy texture to the otherwise soft and spongey cookie. I really do enjoy these ricotta cookies and I think either cookie recipe makes a great gift for a loved one!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry!

-BellaRosa