cookbooks i need

i've been obsessing over these books as of late and one by one, they will fill my shelves. mark my words.

baked

the pastry queen



the modern baker

hot fudge sundae cake

whenever i don't have a lot of time and need a clutch recipe, this is one of the ones i almost always pick. it's insanely easy and i mean, it's cakey and puddingy (i know but how else do you say it? pudding-like? boring) and melty and it goes with ice cream. oh and did i mention chocolaty? i didn't, but i should have. CHOCOLATY. that should do it. i've tried so many molten chocolate recipes that just... sort of... fall flat. it's just not right for molten and chocolate to not work together. but this recipe kind of owns in that area. do yourself a favor and make this—your mouth, belly, family, friends, etc. will thank you.

1 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. cocoa
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
2 t. vegetable oil (i actually accidentally omitted this last time i made it and it was just fine without)
1 t. vanilla
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. cocoa
1 3/4 c. very hot water

heat oven to 350ºF. mix flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, the baking powder and salt in ungreased square 9x9 pan. mix in milk, oil and vanilla with fork until smooth. spread in pan. mix brown sugar and 1/4 c. cocoa together then sprinkle over batter. Pour hot water over batter. bake 40 minutes.

buttermilk pie

i've seen a few recipes for buttermilk pie here and there, and it got my intrigued. not too far back one of my favorite food bloggers, joy the baker, posted this recipe. i decided now was the time to try it out. and i have to say, i liked the pie. it's fairly rich and buttery, which is usually a pretty good thing. i've seen a recipe for a lime buttermilk pie that i want to try out next time. i like how southern this recipe is--then if you add lime? i don't see how that could go wrong.

Buttermilk Pie with Warm Blackberry Sauce

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled.

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons pur vanilla extrct

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Beat eggs slightly. Mix sugar and flour well and add to the eggs. Mix until creamy. Add melted butter, mixing well. Add buttermilk and vanilla extract. Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour (my pie took about 1 hour and 15 minutes) until the custard sets. Tip: the custard will still jiggle a bit in the oven even when it's set. Just make sure that the middle does not jiggle a lot more than the sides. That means it needs more time.

Blackberry Sauce

1/2 cup seedless blackberry preserves

1 Tablespoon Chamborde liqueur, also consider orange liqueur or a bit
of Triple Sec (i didn't use this, i just used the preserves and added a bit of water to make the sauce thinner.

Pour the preserves in a saucepan and arm on medium heat, stirring constantly with wire whip until smooth. Remove from heat and add liqueur. Let cool slightly and drizzle over pie.

dutch oven peach cobbler

i'm obsessed with peach cobbler. i'm always on the hunt for good recipes and try it whenever i see it on a menu. problem is, sometimes it's too cakey and sometimes it's too biscuity. it's ideal to find the righteous combination of the two, a cake-like flavor, but crunchy on top like a biscuit. the best i have had usually comes out of a dutch oven at a campfire. and as i posted before i got and indoor dutch oven for christmas. of course, my wheels started turning. so i looked around the internet for recipes i thought i could adapt to the dutch oven. i found one that is pretty good. i can't say it's perfect, but the flavor was so good and it was pretty darn close. oh, and i had peaches i froze from this summer, so it was way better than canned peaches. no offense.


Filling -
4 cups of ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Batter -
6 tablespoons of butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups of Flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup of buttermilk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of brown sugar

**remember, i adapted this recipe for my dutch oven. so this original recipe was meant for an 8x8 pan. so, if you use a dutch oven, just substitute that for the 8x8 parts.**

Preheat oven to 350 (i did 325° to be safe with the dutch oven). Combine the 3 ingredients in the filling and set aside. In an 8 inch baking dish place the butter pieces and place in the oven until the butter melts. While it is melting combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. In another bowl mix together the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix until everything is moistened. Remove the pan from the oven and spoon the batter over the
butter spreading evenly but not stiring. Spoon the filling over the top and gently press in the peaches. Bake for 35-40 minutes and then sprinkle with brown sugar (i doubled the amount of sugar for good measure) and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the crust is golden.

found at: http://saltandchocolategirl.blogspot.com/2008/07/peach-cobbler.html

pecan pie

dear pecan pie,

let's face it, you are not a good looking pie. and a lot of people are afraid of your nutty deliciousness and you get a lot of hate. but not from me. i love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. you are best the day after you are made and just out of the fridge. i'm maybe only a little bit ashamed that i spent most of last week eating a few bites of you for dinner when i got home from work exhausted. but just a lil'. because you are delightful and caramely and i really think we could be happy together.

all my love,
caroline

---- ok, i know i got carried away but i just can't help it.



1 unbaked 9" pie shell
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup light corn syrup (usually do 1/2 c. corn syrup and 1/2 maple syrup - my mom thinks it's better)
1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/3 c. pecans

beat eggs. add sugar and mix. stir in all remaining ingredients except pecans. put pecans in pie shell. pour filling over pecans (they will rise to the top). Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. serve chilled or at room temperature.

so easy. so good.