Linzer Cookies # Baking Partner's Feb '14 Challenge

Linzer Torte is an Austrian torte named after the city of its origin,  Linz in Austria. It is believed to be one of the oldest cakes in the world and is regarded as a holiday classic in several parts of Europe. In North America, it is often made like small tarts or cookies and are called the Linzer Cookies. In imitation of the lattice design that is signature of Linzer torte, the cookie versions are made by sandwiching a layer of jam between two almond flavored cookies, one of which has a peekaboo- circle, heart or flower-cutout in the center..

With Valentine's day in mind, this month Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen challenged the baking partners to bake either Linzer Cookies or Heart Shaped Crunchy Seed Cookies. She had tried and tested the recipes for both the cookies from the book Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich and provided us with step-wise instructions for both. The Linzer Cookies  had been in my to-do list for a long time, so I chose to bake them for Valentine's day.

They were a big hit. On returning from work, husband was happy to be greeted with a plate of bright red cookies and the toddler, who had been helping me cut the cookies, felt both happy and proud for being part of the project...

Initially we did not think much of these cookies. But the more we ate the more we wanted.. The flavors are subtle and addictive and they go very well with both tea and coffee. I made only a few for V day and froze the remaining dough.. but it seems like I'll have to unfreeze the dough soon and bake the full batch on demand...

Apple Jam with Speculoos Spices

I think I am a little addicted to  making jams. I see fresh fruits at the fruit stand and immediately start contemplating a jam with it. Of course an apple jam had been in my mind forever.. but since apples vanish from our fruit basket in no time so I never got around making one till now. This time I got down to business as soon as the apples were home... and look what a fantastic jam I made with them. The idea of using speculoos spices came from the Dutch Apple Tart recipe which some of the Baking Partners have baked this month. Other than that the recipe was inspired by the Apple Pie Jam from Taste of Home. 

I used Red Delicious apples to make the jam.. and then added some lemon juice for flavor. You might however like to reconsider the amount of lemon juice in case you use a tart apples. But do sample this recipe out.. its too good to pass..

Red Hot Cranberry Jam

Fresh cranberries are not common in India and I hadn't tasted any till recently.  All the cranberry desserts in blogosphere were making me curious so I got home a bag  last week and after tasting the first one, thought that they somewhat resembled Kul or Jujube Fruit. Having eaten enough sweets already, my family wasn't in the mood for another one so I decided on a cranberry jam instead... a hot one because that last jalapeno had to be used right away and the combination of tart cranberry with hot jalapeno felt just right... 

Herbed Manchego Cheese Soufflé with Onion Pear Jam

Earlier today I shared with you the recipe of a spicy Onion Pear Jam and as a teaser for what was about to follow, I shared a photograph of my herbed Manchego cheese soufflé topped with the spicy Jam. I had planned to post the souffle sooner... but then life happened and I had to wait till everything fell into place and I was free to jot down the recipe.. 

So here's the recipe of the cheese soufflé for you... I adapted it from Dorie's recipe of Muenster cheese soufflé. A few weeks back I had tried out her recipe for French Fridays with Dorie and found it a little bland for my taste. Recounting the experience I tweaked the recipe this time to add more flavors and guess what.... this time it turned out great. The soufflé tasted delicious with the added herbs and spicy jam and this time both husband and I loved it. 

Spicy Onion Pear Jam

Todays recipe is adapted from La Mia Cucina, the blog that belonged to the original Daring Baker,  Lisa Cifelli. She recently passed away and in her memory many Daring Bakers and old time bloggers posted gorgeous bakes soon after...  I did not know her personally or even otherwise but was led to her space and this particular Onion-Pear Jam several times in the past few weeks. It looked too interesting to pass off. So I adjusted today's menu and decided to give it a try..

It turned out even more gorgeous than I had imagined.

Kiwi and Apple Jam

These days I push my luck with fruits. Husband buys relatively unripe ones in bulk and puts them on the kitchen counter to ripe. We then conveniently forget to eat the fruits and one fine day realize that we need to eat them right away or else  they go to the bin. It is then that jam recipes like this one come to rescue and brighten our days :D Though husband and I both like Kiwi, we thought it tasted even better when jammed up with apples....

Maple Glazed Pear Jam Doughnut Muffins # Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge

Its time for another round of Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge. This month Sheryl challenged us to prepare a dessert with pear and maple. With my spiced pear jam in hand I knew exactly what I wanted to prepare...Maple Glazed Doughnut Muffins with Pear Jam filling...

I had booked this recipe by Nigella a while ago. The muffins looked cute and attractive and I was certain that my son and husband would like it ... Well. I was partially right about that. Husband loved it. So did I. But our son refused to taste... which meant more fluffy yummy muffins for us :D...  We enjoyed them with our evening tea, then at midnight with some hot milk and again for breakfast the following day. Thankfully I had made a small batch or else we would still be feasting on them and then felt guilty about eating so many muffins at a go.....

Spiced Pear Jam

Yesterday morning I spotted three soft green Anjou pears in the fruit basket that were desperately seeking my attention. One had browned in parts and the others were threatening to take that route. after a week of birthday cakes, no one in the house was in the mood for another cake... so a preserve was in order. Soon after the boys left, I googled for a recipe of pear jam, one that did not require pectin. This one popped up and minutes later a big pan was set to simmer with all the listed ingredients and a few more... Two hours later I was rewarded with two jars of DELICIOUS jam. Husband loved it and I did too... and ever since I have been wondering why we have never bought a jar of pear jam. Its so darn delicious ! 

Spiced Pear Jam Adapted from Taste of Home
Preparation Time : 5 minutes                          Cooking Time: 2 hours 15-30 minutes                        Yield : 22 oz
Ingredients      4 cups of chopped Green Anjou Pears ( I chopped 3 pears, did not peel them. just removed the bruised and damaged parts)  2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 4 sticks of clove 11/2 tbsp lime juice zest and pulp from 1/4 of a juicy orange -   Instructions Combine all the ingredients in a large enough preferably non-stick container. Simmer, uncovered for 2 hours to 2 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir more frequently as the mixture thickens.  Once the mixture has attained the desired consistency, switch off the heat and ladle the mixture into sterilized jars.

Sharing this at the following weekly parties..

Monday Food: Made with Love Mondays, Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Inspiration Monday Party, Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party,Mix it up Monday, The Scoop

Tuesday Food:  Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul blog Hop

Wednesday Food: What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2

Thursday Food: Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

Friday Food:      Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes 

Jam Swirled Eggless Muffins # June Challenge for Baking Eggless

This month Priya from Priya's Versatile Recipes challenged the members of Gayathri's Eggless Baking Group to bake these fantastic Eggless Jam Swirl Muffins.

The original recipe, the one with eggs, was by Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen . She had created these amazing muffins  by swirling some blackberry lemon jam into Dorie's lemon poppy seed muffins... and we followed suit.

since the only jams i had in the kitchen were the orange marmalade and some apricot jam, I baked my first trial batch with applesauce as the egg substitute and raspberry coulis (for the color) and some apricot jam. Think the coulis made the batter a bit more soggy than desired and i ended up baking the muffins for 30 minutes. They looked and tasted fine but were a little dense. i was not completely satisfied and decided to make another batch. this time i used sweetened condensed milk as a substitute for eggs and the did not try too hard to make the swirl. mostly because i used orange marmalade and that wouldn't really show up. the result was e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t. The muffins were super soft and delicious. and the whole batch vanished faster than i would have liked. I had halved the recipe and had made 9 muffins and Mr MN and I finished it all within a day. we simply kept feeling hungry-for-the-muffins... 

now the recipe...

Eggless Jam Swirl Muffins (makes 9) Adapted from Technicolor Kitchen

ingredients 3 tbsp ground sugar (i ground it in the coffee machine)  the dry ingredients to be sifted together 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/8 tsp salt the wet ingredients 90 ml sour cream or yogurt (i used sc) 3 oz sweetened condensed milk 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1/3 cup jam -   what i did i preheated the oven to 400 degrees F ; buttered a standard muffin-cupcake pan ; sifted the dry ingredients together and kept them aside and whisked the wet ingredients together until they were well blended. i then added the ground sugar to the sifted flour mixture and mixed them, then  poured the wet ingredients into flour-sugar mixture and using a fork, lightly whisked the mixture. * next i added the jam to the mixture, whisked it lightly and pouring the batter into the prepared pan, transferred it to preheated oven and baked for 20 minutes, that is until the surface turned golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin came out clean.* then removing the baking pan from the oven, i left it to cool down completely before taking out the muffins and relishing them. * see my notes

Notes 

•  It is really important to whisk the mixture lightly otherwise the muffins get tough.
•  Though these are called Jam Swirl Muffins, its best not to try to hard to create the swirl. it   does not  show up like a marble cake swirl even if you try very hard. trying too hard only makes the muffins tougher...  

 I tried both the "don'ts" the first time and ended baking this set and regretting.

So much for today. Hope you had a relaxed weekend. we spent a regular Sunday shopping, cleaning and planning for the 4th of July weekend. 

Sharing these muffins with  
Monday : Made with love Mondays, Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Meatless Monday @Veggie Mama's,  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory, Just Another Meatless Monday @ Hey What's for Dinner Mom, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Mop It Up Monday, Mealtime Monday, Recipe Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party
 Tuesday Food:  Tempt my Tummy @Blessed with Grace, Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings 
Wednesday Food : Wow Me Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday @ Confessions of Overworked Mom, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain ,  Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2, Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network
Thursday Food:Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  
Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes,  Weekend Kitchen Link Party