TWD: Peppermint Cream Puff Ring

I have to say a great big thanks to Caroline of A Consuming Passion for choosing this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe. And thanks to Dorie for writing it. This was fabulous! This weeks recipe was Peppermint Cream Puff Ring. Now, I knew right away I wouldn't be using the peppermint because I am not a big fan of mint. I just omitted all of the mint and used vanilla extract instead of peppermint extract.

My husbands grandparents were in town last weekend and we gobbled this up quickly. I didn't even get a chance for seconds! (Really I had some puffs hidden in my fridge so I had those later when no one was looking!)

The recipe came out perfectly. I just baked it for the whole time even though it looked like it was getting over-done. I had no eggy centers- just yummy puffs and a pretty ring of puffy wonderfulness.

I will definitely make this again. :) Here is the recipe.

Tops in my book...

Here are a few recipes I thought I'd share if you haven't already seen them. Hope you enjoy!

Ina's Jalepeno Cheddar Cornbread from Anne Strawberry

Bacon Cups from not martha

Dr. Pepper Peanut Brittle from Homesick Texan

French Toast Bagels from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Amazing Black Bean Brownies from 101 Cookbooks

La Palette's Strawberry Tart

It's Tuesdays with Dorie time again. This week's choice of La Palette's Strawberry Tart was chosen by Marie of A Year In Oak Cottage.

This recipe was simple and wonderful! My mother-in-law said it was like Christmas in summer in her mouth. The crust really tasted like a Christmas cookie and topped with the wonderfully summery taste of strawberry. Simply put- I loved it. I used a very tasty strawberry jam, strawberries that were not terrible but not quite the best and a tad bit of strawberry liqueur. I put all of that on the basic crust and topped it off with fresh whipped cream.

The Tuesdays With Dorie group will no longer be posting the recipes we make every Tuesday so that we don't hinder the sales of Dorie's cookbook. You can find the recipe here. Support Dorie- buy her cookbook :)- it's great!

Tuesdays with Dorie

This week's assignment for Tuesdays With Dorie was chosen by Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook. She chose French Chocolate Brownies. However, my grandmother passed away Sunday morning after a long battle with Alzheimer's and I will not be able to make them. I am going to try to make some Toll House Cookies because those were her favorites. Be sure to go check out all of the wonderful bakers who did make the French Chocolate Brownies over at Tuesdays With Dorie.


French Chocolate Brownies

- makes 16 brownies -Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.
Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour1/8 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden1 1/2 tablespoons water1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces3 large eggs, at room temperature1 cup sugar
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.
Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.
Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.
Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.
Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.
Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!
Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.