Apples and warm spices - oh my!

Here in blogging land it's fall and it's apple and pumpkin baking season. I've wanted to try this Apple Cinnamon Texas Sheet Cake for a bit but didn't really have a reason - a baby shower was the perfect reason! Maybe I used a few too many apples, hard to say, the batter oozed and dripped in the bottom of the oven, oops. A little vacuum job was needed. The frosting was very interesting, cook on the stovetop and pour on when the cake was hot. The cake turned out very tasty with great reviews... it was gooey... like hard to cut, but sure did taste good.

Apple Cinnamon Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cups (200 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup (200 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (226 grams) salted butter
1 cup apple cider
2 large eggs, at room temperature and beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (125 grams) sour cream
For the Apples:
2 cups (200 grams) peeled apples cut into small ¼-inch cubes
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Glaze:
½ cups (113 grams) salted butter
¼ cup apple cider
3 cups (375 grams) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Prep and Preheat. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly grease a half sheet pan (a pan that’s 17.25×12.25 with a 1-inch rim) and grease with butter or shortening and dust with flour. Set aside.
Whisk the Dry Ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. We’re building flavor right from the start.
Make the Warm Butter-Cider Mixture. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the apple cider over medium heat until the mixture is steaming and just beginning to bubble. Carefully pour the hot mixture over the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth and glossy. The heat will help dissolve the sugars and bloom the spices—your kitchen will smell incredible.
Add the Eggs, Vanilla, and Sour Cream. Allow the batter to cool slightly (we don’t want scrambled eggs). Whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream until smooth and well combined. The batter will be loose and pourable. Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan and spread it evenly with an offset spatula.
Toss and Top the Apples. In a small bowl, toss together the diced apples, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon until the apples are well coated. Scatter the apples evenly over the batter, then gently press and swirl them in with an offset spatula so they’re nestled just under the surface.
Bake the Cake. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Make the Warm Glaze. While the cake bakes, melt the butter and apple cider together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the powdered sugar, sour cream, and cinnamon until smooth and pourable.
Glaze While Hot. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the warm glaze evenly over the hot cake. Use an offset spatula to spread it all the way to the edges. The glaze will seep into the top layer and create that shiny, sweet finish.
Cool and Slice. Let the cake cool until just warm before slicing into squares. Serve straight from the pan to happy friends and fam.

Let's do it again!

I've tried my hand at Pad See Ew before and oh what a fail! This was less of a fail and was pretty tasty. Was it like we get at our favorite place for Pad See Ew? Nope, but they have years of practice and great recipes behind their dishes, I have my own half ass attempts at things. This was pretty dang good. I added shreds of carrot since that's what normally comes in our take out. the noodles weren't the same but it's what Target had that I could order. I didn't have time to go to the Asian market this time. Maybe next time. I made this in a Dutch Oven and that worked pretty well. Noodles got a little sticky and stuck on the bottom so it was a bugger to clean but it's worth it for good food. This received "make it again" reviews. I think I would double the sauce, we are saucy folks. So lots of sauce for those noodles and veggies. Mmm... let's make it again!

Pad See Ew – Thai Stir Fried Noodles
Noodles
200g / 7 oz dried wide rice stick noodles , or 15 oz / 450g fresh wide flat rice noodles (Sen Yai)
Sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce (or all purpose)
2 tsp white vinegar (plain white vinegar)
2 tsp sugar (any type)
Stir Fry
3 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil , separated
2 cloves garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 cup / 150g / 5oz chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), sliced
1 large egg
4 stems Chinese broccoli

Chinese Broccoli – trim ends, cut into 7.5cm/3" pieces. Separate leaves from stems. Cut thick stems in half vertically so they're no wider than 0.8cm / 0.3" thick.
Noodles – Prepare according to packet directions and drain. Time it so they’re cooked just before using – do not leave cooked rice noodles lying around, they break in the wok.
Sauce – Mix ingredients until sugar dissolves.
Cooking:
Heat oil: Heat 1 tbsp oil in a very large heavy based skillet or wok over high heat.
Cook garlic and chicken: Add garlic, cook 15 seconds. Add chicken, cook until it mostly changes from pink to white.
Chinese broccoli STEMS: Add Chinese broccoli stems, cook until chicken is almost cooked through.
Chinese broccoli LEAVES: Add Chinese broccoli leaves, cook until just wilted.
Scramble egg: Push everything to one side, crack egg in and scramble.
REMOVE chicken from wok: Remove everything in the wok onto a plate (scrape wok clean).
Caramelize noodles: Return wok to stove, heat 2 tbsp oil over high heat until it starts smoking (HOT is key!). Add noodles and Sauce. Toss as few times as possible to disperse Sauce and make edges of noodles caramelize – about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Add chicken back in: Quickly add chicken and veg back in, and toss to disperse. Serve immediately!

Warm hug in a bowl

Happiness is a cool breeze and a fire burning while the kids are having fun carving pumpkins. Yes I know it's new years as of this posting, but as of this writing it's fall! It was a little chilly outside for pumpkin carving so we pulled the Solo Stove out and had ourselves a bit of a fire, ok a big fire. I like doing pumpkins outside because the mess stays outside and not on my kitchen floor. Either way Bernard gets lots of pumpkin snacks from the kids either on purpose or accident. While we were out in the chilly weather talking about dinner, I was considering our plan for Pad See Ew but also realizing we had the ingredients for Wonton Soup. I'd never made it before but since we had some premade wontons in the freezer, and everything else, why not? It was very easy to get the broth ready to roll while I was doing other things, then drop the premade dumplings in and there we had soup! Delicious soup! We'll for sure be making that again, warm, cozy and delicious.

Wonton Soup
Ingredients
50 – 60 frozen dumplings
Broth (for 2 servings)
3 cups / 750 ml chicken broth
2 garlic cloves , smashed
⅓” / 1 cm piece of ginger , sliced (optional, but highly recommended)
1½ tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
¼ – ½ tsp sesame oil
To Serve
Shallots / scallions , finely chopped
Bok choy , quartered, or Chinese broccoli cut into 10cm /4″ lengths (optional)
Broth:
Place Broth ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Add white ends of scallions/shallots.
Place lid on, bring to simmer then reduce to medium high and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes to allow the flavors to infuse. Pick garlic and ginger out before using. (or leave in if you chopped it)
If using vegetables, blanch in the soup broth and place in serving bowl.
Assemble Soup: Add frozen dumplings to soup and let simmer per package directions
Serve!

Baking feels like home

Traveling and being crazy busy for such a long made me really want to bake something new and delicious to eat with soup, pretzel bread was the perfect something. These little loaves were easy to whip up, rise, and bake. The kids took a bite and said "this tastes like a pretzel" - yeah.. um... that's kind of the point.
Slices were amazing dipped in soup and slathered with butter. Certainly, a good side to warm cozy soup as the weather here is finally starting to feel more fall (even though I know this posts in winter and well it's prob REALLY cold where time is as posting).

Homemade Pretzel Bread
Pretzel Bread Dough
1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees F)
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
4 Tablespoons salted butter (melted)
2 Tablespoons whole milk
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Baking Soda Bath
4 quarts water
½ cup baking soda
Topping
1-2 Tablespoons coarse sea salt
2 Tablespoons salted butter (melted)

Make the Dough
Combine water, and brown sugar and yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let stand for 5 minutes (until foamy). (Or put it in a large bowl and mix by hand).
Once yeast is proofed, add melted butter and milk to the yeast mixture and mix on low speed with dough hook until just combined.
Add flour and salt and mix with dough hook until flour is fully incorporated.
Knead in a mixer until the dough forms a slightly tacky, but firm ball.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, cover with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm place for one hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat Oven
Once dough is risen, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius).
Lightly oil or grease a large baking sheet, or line it with a silicone baking mat (do not use parchment paper).
Prepare a Water Bath
Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil.
Once the water is boiling, slowly add the baking soda a little bit at a time (Be careful not to add too much at once or the mixture will overflow).
Boil & Bake
Remove the dough from the bowl and gently press out the air bubbles.
Make two balls of dough the same size (note: The total weight of the dough comes out to be about 800 g, so each loaf should weigh about 400 g), forming them into the shape you want (Do not let it rise here).
Carefully place one of the balls into the boiling baking soda water. Boil for 45-60 seconds on each side, turning it once to guarantee both sides covered. Remove the dough from the baking soda bath with a slotted spoon, shake off the excess water from the dough and place it on an oiled baking sheet.
Immediately sprinkle coarse sea salt over the bread to your specific tastes, and use a knife to cut a small "X" on the top of the bread.
Repeat with second ball of dough. (Do not let it rise at all here. Straight from boiling into the oven).
Bake the bread for 22-25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through. You know the bread is done when the outside is deep golden brown, the loaf sounds hollow when hit with a wooden spoon, or the internal temperature is 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once removed from the oven, immediately brush the melted butter over the loaves to guarantee a soft crust. Transfer to a wire rack to cool just enough to enjoy!

More chocolate because yes

A melted butter cookie stirred in a bowl makes for easy cookies, make that brown butter and it's even better. These cookies were very easy to make and bake. They spread quite a bit - so give them some elbow room or you are looking at cookie bars. The recipe calls for chopped chocolate bar, yeah no... semi sweet chocolate chips are great - regular size and mini and I did a full cup because - yes... Did I forget the salt on top? yes... was I making four things at once and just incapable of doing it all? Yes... in fact that is how life was that night. When do thing slow down? I haven't figured that out yet, or ever... maybe some day...

Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
3/4 cup unsalted butter (browned and slightly cooled)
1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
2¼ cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. fine salt
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans ( plus more for garnish)
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate bar (or semi sweet chocolate chips)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (for garnish)
Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon, for finishing)

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir frequently until the butter foams, turns golden brown, and has a nutty aroma. Pour into a large heat-safe bowl and let cool slightly for ~10 minutes. Just so it’s not super hot anymore.
Brown butter cooling in mixing bowl for brown butter pecan cookies.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and heavy cream.
Mix dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Fold in the pecans and the chopped chocolate.
Using a large 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop 13 dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them a few inches apart.
Bake for just 8-10 minutes, until edges are set and light golden but centers still look slightly soft. Pro tip: I like to bang the baking sheet on the oven rack 1 or 2 times during baking for extra crinkly edges.
Immediately after baking, use a round cutter or glass to “scoot” the cookies into neat circles. Top the warm cookies with the semi-sweet chocolate chips (or more chocolate chunks if you prefer), extra pecans, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.