Cornmeal Drop Biscuits…Being Martha

May 19, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Once you have your ingredients ready to go for the biscuits, I would start the chili first as the biscuits are really easy to make and don’t take much time.  This is my chili from scratch; a really simple recipe.  If there is interest, I can post the recipe.

Combine the dry ingredients first….cornmeal, flour, baking soda, salt, etc.  Then, cut in the butter with a pastry cutter.  If you don’t have one, you can use two knives or this alternate method here.  The one key to cutting butter into dry ingredients is that the butter is chilled.  The buter does not need to be fully blended.  Small pea size chunks of butter are okay.  They make the biscuits even better once cooked.

Add in the milk to the dry ingredients and butter.  Mix until just combined.  It will be chunky because of the butter…that is OKAY!

Use two spoons to drop 1/3 cup size biscuits onto a cookie sheet.  This takes a little bit of coordination and the dough is a little sticky.  Take your time and be patient with yourself.

The biscuits dropped onto the cookie sheets look like they will fall apart.  Resist the urge to make them perfect little balls.  They will ruin the consistency of the biscuits once they good and will not allow the butter chunks to melt throughout.

Do not overcook…pull them out when you see a tinge of golden brown start to show up around the base.  The one thing that I would have done differently was to place parchment paper or a baking liner on the baking sheet.  it would have made it easier to pull the biscuits off with out scraping off the good crunchy bottom.  Here they are all done and ready to eat.

This is such a quick and easy recipe.  I think it would be really good as a topping to a baked chili dish even.  Maybe place your chili in an 8×8 glass dish, top with this cornmeal biscuit dough and cook for 20 minutes….it would be so good!!!

I would rate this an EASY recipe great for the beginner baker or even kids.

I would rate the taste a 9 out of 10.

The one thing I liked about this recipe is that the biscuits were not really dry like other cornmeal breads or muffins.  Instead, they were very moist and had a great taste.

Happy Baking!

Filed Under: baking, create, fall, martha stewart Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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Shortbread Fingers … Being Martha

May 14, 2023 By 2 Comments

In case you don’t know, I have challenged myself to bake everything in the Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.  You can read more about it here or on the menu above by clicking “Being Martha”.  Last night, I decided to try the Shortbread Fingers recipe that is on page 123 of the book. You can find the recipe online here.  They are so easy to make with very few ingredients and so simple to make.

You start by mixing the dry ingredients together which include flour, salt and confectioners sugar (or powdered).  The online recipe class for either confectioner’s sugar or granulated sugar.  I prefer the confectioner’s because of the texture that it gives the cookie.  Plus, you put a ton of granulated sugar on top of the cookie.

Mixing the Dry Ingredients

Add the dry ingredients to the already soft and fluffy room temperature butter that has been beat for about 4 minutes.  Room temperature ingredients make a difference; pay attention to recipes when they ask for this.

Adding Dry Ingredients to Butter

Once the batter is mixed together (don’t over mix) and the consistency of soft cookie dough, it is ready to spread into the pan.  The pan should be a 12×8 pan and the layer of dough will be rather thin.  Use an offset spatula for best results.

Spreading Batter in Pan

Then, you pop the dough in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.  Once it comes out, make some holes in the dough with a fork and pop it in a preheated oven of 325 degrees.

Poking Holes...

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown.  Pull from oven and immediately sprinkler the granulated sugar on top and cut into your desired pieces.  It is important to cut the pieces while it is still hot.  After that, let the cookies cool completely in the pan.  I choose a wire rack to speed up the process.

Right Out of Oven

 Here’s what they look like once they are all cool and you start removing them…nice looking, huh?

Cooled...

 

Arranged on a Plate

These are all ready to eat.  They look lovely on a plate arranged.  I might even cut them into smaller pieces next time or you may even be able to cut them in shapes with cookie cutters right out of the oven.  That would be fun.  They are a rick cookie so the pieces don’t have to be so big.  These would be great with a nice coffee, some fresh berries or even dipped in chocolate.

Ready for Eating

Now for the ratings:

I would rate this an EASY recipe great for the beginner baker or even kids.

I would rate the taste an 8 out of 10.

Check back in soon for new recipes and my next “Being Martha” adventure.

Have a great week.

Filed Under: baking, cookies, create, martha stewart Tagged With: , , , ,
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Let Them Eat Cake

February 5, 2023 By Leave a Comment

It is no secret that I love to bake.  I could really take or leave cooking.  I like to cook as well, but it would be enjoyable if I had more time.  The reality is that I have limited time to do either.  So, if it comes down to cooking or baking…it is going to be BAKING!  

This time the occasion is my dad’s birthday.  I went back to my favorite location for baking recipes at the moment…MARTHA STEWART.  I can hear my mom and mother in law sigh in disgust; Martha seems to represent someone evil to them.  Despite all the stories (oh and the jail thing), I like her recipes and clear instructions.  Yes,  I know, she probably has an army of people working for her that make her house look so perfect and the kitchen so damn clean when she cooks with everything neatly organized in those little bowls.  But, can’t a girl dream….

I would like to think that would be the reality of my life if I didn’t have a full time job.  I would flit from one creative thing to another throughout the day while making sure that my sheets were pressed, the roses pinched back and dinner roasting in the oven.  Wake UP…you have to go to work tomorrow!!!

So, for the cake….I used the recipe from Martha Stewart for Butter Cake.  In addition, here are the details below.

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups milk

Shot from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition.
  3. Divide batter between the prepared pans, and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Reinvert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.

First Cake Turned Over - Used My Patience on This One!

Cake All Wrapped up in Refrigerator Overnight

And, here’s the recipe for the amazing chocolate frosting….also from my friend Martha.

Ingredients

  • 24 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
  • 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • Yellow Butter Cake
  • Colored sprinkles (optional)

Melted Chocolate - Make Sure to Cool to Room Temperature Before Mixing w/ Butter/Sugar

Directions

  1. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water. Turn off heat; stir occasionally until chocolate has melted completely, about 15 minutes. Set bowl on countertop, and let chocolate cool to room temperature, 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl; stir until cocoa is dissolved.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add melted chocolate; beat on low speed until combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in cocoa mixture.
  3. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level; brush off crumbs. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the first layer on the cake plate, and spread top with 3/4 cup of frosting. Place the second layer on top, bottom side up, and spread top with 3/4 cup of frosting; repeat process with the third layer. Place the remaining layer on top of the third layer, bottom-side up; insert a dowel into the center of cakes if necessary. Spread entire cake with remaining frosting. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

See the Disaster on the Side of the Cake - Fixed w/ A Little Construction

And, of course…my TIPS….these are the embarrassing things that no one else will admit to or tell you how to handle.

  1. The recipe is for two 9″ layer cakes.  The recipe in my cookbook is not clear so I doubled the recipe.  So, if you do this and fill up each of the cake pans, you have overflowing goodness on the bottom of your oven.  Lovely.  If this happens, act quick and place a cookie sheet on the rack below so you don’t have burnt goodness wafting through your house.  However, I did have extra cake for my husband which made him happy.
  2. When you are mixing the flour and milk alternately, the texture seems really weird (kind of lumpy).  It turns better as you empty your last batch of flour mixture.
  3. If you have a gas oven like I do, the baking temperature should really be more like 300 degrees and the time for baking is more like one hour.  My oven is calibrated, but it cooks the top and outside too quickly at 350.  For baking, I typically lower it by 25 to 50 degrees and bake longer.
  4. Be patient…HELLO!  You think I would know this by now.  When you take the cakes out of the oven and let them rest for 30 minutes, follow the instructions.  For the first cake, I followed the instructions and turned the cake over onto a wire rack.  It is simplest if you use two wire racks on either side to squeeze the cake together.  It worked great.  I guess I got cocky on my second cake layer and decided to do it by hand.  Ooops…the cake broke in half!
  5. Stick the cake layers in the fridge over night….it will fix everything.  Hopefully.
  6. Put a layer of parchment paper between your cake plate and your cake.  I didn’t and it was a pain to clean out the chocolate frosting out of all the little holes of the cake plate.  Lovely.
  7. Cutting even cake layers is harder than it looks.  Be patient and don’t cut too deep or you will have crooked layers.
  8. Use a cold cake to fix your problems.  I had a large hole in the side due to #3 above.  As a result, I was able to fill this area with some cake cut off the top and do some construction with the frosting.
  9. DO A CRUMB LAYER OF FROSTING AND THEN PUT THE CAKE BACK INTO THE REFRIGERATOR!  Best tip ever…this will make it so much easier to put your second layer of frosting on without crumbs all over the place.
  10. Make extra frosting for your husband to lick.  Otherwise, you will get mad at him!

Cake w/ Crumb Layer of Frosting - Goes Back into Fridge for 30 Minutes

Last, but not least…have fun!

Swirl Textures w/ Frosting & Sprinkles

Filed Under: baking, cakes, create, entertaining, inspiration Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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