Author: heidishotplate

My Best Cornbread

I’ve tried dozens of cornbread recipes – savory, spicy, some with actual corn or creamed corn, in cast iron – but this is the one I always come back to. It’s the perfect blend of earthy cornmeal, with a hint of sweetness.

This is the recipe that I make every time I make soup, or stew, a pot of beans or chili. It can be made in muffin tins (makes 12), but preparing it in a square baking dish is easy, excellent and foolproof. It is also the cornbread I make as the basis of cornbread dressing. (And there is a big difference between from-scratch cornbread and the box mix.) It is adapted from a Pillsbury cookbook from the early 1980s.

Welcome to my kitchen!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray an 8 x 8 inch or 9 x 9 inch square pan with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine:

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

2 Tablespoons sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

To that mixture, add:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg, slightly beaten

Mix by hand until just combined. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Grandma Reta’s Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

The holidays often make us look backward. Nothing quite keeps us connected to loved ones who are no longer here as do the flavors and memories of Thanksgivings and Christmases around the table. This recipe is no exception.

My mother-in-law, Reta, made this dish every holiday, and it remains a favorite of her children and grandchildren, as well as in my own family. A double batch was specifically requested this year.

It’s perfect for a holiday dinner because it can be made completely the day before, refrigerated overnight and popped in the oven the next day.

Welcome to my table!

Butter a 2 1/2 quart glass baking dish.

Peel and cut up:

9 russet potatoes (I prefer these over red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes, which can become gummy when mashed and baked.)

Place potatoes in pan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium, and continue cooking 15 minutes until tender. Drain potatoes in colander.

In a large mixing bowl, add:

8 ounces softened cream cheese

1 cup sour cream

2 Tablespoons butter + 2 more Tablespoons for topping

2 sliced green onions

Salt and pepper to taste

Add potatoes to bowl and mix until just blended. Do not overmix. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Place mixture in buttered dish and dot with butter (about 2 Tablespoons). Refrigerate overnight, or bake right away.

Place covered dish in cold oven. Heat oven to 325 degrees, and bake 45 minutes covered and 45 minutes uncovered.

Banana Cranberry Muffins

Banana Cranberry Muffins

These bright and cheery muffins are perfect any time of year. Not too sweet, these are full of natural banana sweetness with the tang of fresh, whole cranberries.

The berries add a pop of red at the holidays or Valentine’s Day. Buy a few bags of fresh cranberries now while they are available, and simply pop in your freezer for a lively breakfast treat. They will thaw quickly and bring a reminder of fall.

This recipe is loosely adapted from a 1980s-era Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Usually, I use chocolate chips instead of cranberries, but I had the cranberries in the freezer, and voila! A new family favorite that’s as easy as can be.

Welcome to my table!

Preheat oven to 400, and spray a 12-cup nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together:

1 3/4 cups flour

1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Add:

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup milk (whole, 2% or skim)

1/4 cup cooking oil (I use canola)

2 ripe, mashed bananas

Stir until just combined, add:

1 cup whole fresh cranberries, quartered (Substitute 1 cup fresh whole blueberries, or 1/2 cup chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts or dried cherries. Customize as you would like, but reduce sugar by 2 Tablespoons if not using fresh cranberries.) I have made these with chocolate chips more times than I can count.

Spoon batter into muffin tins, and bake for 20 minutes.

Tip: When removing muffins from the oven, immediately tip the individual muffins in their tins to cool in the pan so that the bottoms are not touching the pan. This keeps them from becoming soggy, and keeps them warm.

For Buttermilk Muffins (which makes for a denser muffin) of any variety:

Substitute 1/2 cup buttermilk for the milk

Reduce baking powder to 1 teaspoon

Add 1 teaspoon baking soda

Make recipe as directed above.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Pumpkin season seeems to start earlier than ever, and the aromatic spices — cinnamon and cloves and nutmeg — smell like the holidays themselves. I suppose some might say the season ends as the new year begins, but don’t let that stop you from making the best pumpkin muffin recipe I have ever made — and there are a lot of them!

This one is adapted from a Gourmet recipe from November 2008. These big beautiful gems are perfect for breakfast or brunch or (if you substitute nuts for the chocolate chips) a lovely, dense accompaniment for a bowl of savory soup.

Welcome to my table!

Preheat oven to 400, and spray a nonstick muffin tin (12 muffins) with cooking spray.

Melt:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter (set aside to cool)

Whisk together:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

Melted butter

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

3/4 cup canned pumpkin (This is about half a can. Do not use pumpkin pie filling.)

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add this mixture to dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.

Stir in:

1/3 cup chocolate chips (You can substitute any number of additions: pecans, walnuts, raisins, dried cranberries. My family loves chocolate chips in anything!)

Divide batter among muffin cups, and bake until wooden toothpick comes out clean, approximately 20 minutes.

Here’s one of my best muffin-baking cooking tips:

As soon as you take muffins out of the oven, tilt the individual muffins in their tins, so that the bottoms are off the pan. A simple way to cool your muffins in the pan while still keeping them warm. It also keeps them from sticking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Espresso Chocolate Fudge

Espresso-Chocolate Fudge

Smooth and dark and rich, fudge should not be reserved only for Christmas. Valentine’s Day — or any occasion really — is the perfect time to stir up a batch of sophisticated coffee-flavored fudge. Nothing says “I love you” more than homemade candy straight from the heart of your kitchen.

This recipe is modified from a Bon Appetit recipe that I have been making for years and is not difficult.

Welcome to my table!

Line an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish with foil. Then combine in a mixing bowl:

6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup marshmallow creme

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan (I use a 4 1/2 quart dutch oven), mix:

1/2 cup water

2 Tablespoons instant espresso powder

(I have also used in place of the above 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of brewed coffee.)

Stir until dissolved. Add:

1 1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup whipping cream (heavy or regular)

1/4 cup butter

Attach a candy thermometer to pan, and stir constantly over medium heat until thermometer reaches 234 degrees. Note that this is 2 degrees below soft ball stage.

Immediately pour mixture over chocolate and other ingredients in the first bowl. Stir vigorously for 3 minutes until mixture is thick and glossy. Don’t skimp on the stir time.

Pour mixture into square dish, smooth top, and refrigerate for two hours. Lift from pan using foil sides and remove foil before cutting into squares. This will keep for weeks refrigerated.

 

 

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

These Christmasy cookies are my family’s absolute favorite. Adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe from 1994, it delivers that peppermint taste, via crushed peppermint candies, synonymous with the holidays, but comes together quickly — no rolling or cutting or food-coloring. My daughter tried one from a fresh batch last night, and said, “Hmmm, Christmas!”

Welcome to my table!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Beat butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.

1 whole egg

1 egg white

Add eggs and mix until batter looks grainy and is well-mixed.

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

Add dry ingredients and mix until dough forms a ball and pulls away from sides of bowl.

3 ounces peppermint candies or candy canes — I use the small, individually wrapped candy canes because they are easy to crush. Put them in a freezer bag and then another bag, and go outside with a hammer and crush away. (I put a towel between the bag and concrete.) Fun for the kids!

Add the candy canes to the mixing bowl, and mix until they are incorporated.

Now, take a break while the dough chills in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Place some plastic wrap over the dough. You can also make these ahead and bake the next day.

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Butter baking sheets. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional powdered sugar, and place on baking sheet. Press down vertically and horizontally with a fork (like peanut butter cookies). Bake for 14 minutes. Watch carefully; as soon as they are slightly golden around the edge, remove immediately.

Makes about 40.

 

 

 

 

 

Nanny’s Sugar Cookies

Nanny's sugar cookies

My Grandma Harris (my younger cousins nicknamed her “Nanny”) was my Dad’s mother. Not quite 5 feet tall (“no bigger than a minute” was one of her “Nanny-isms”), she was a powerhouse of energy. I never saw her sit down. She worked a full-time job at Sears in the girls and boys clothing department and came home in the evening to cook a meal for her family.

This classic sugar cookie recipe is hers. I treasure it, and I hope you will, too.

I like to make the dough a day before I bake these.  Once it is all mixed together, I leave it in the mixing bowl and put a piece of plastic wrap or foil directly on top. Nanny wasn’t a fancy person, so I doubt she actually used pricey butter in this recipe. But I do, which doesn’t mean you have to. She most likely used “Oleo.”

You can color or decorate these any way you want. Add any food coloring after the eggs and before the flour.

Nanny’s Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks — let this sit out a bit to soften)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup white granulated sugar (Nanny always preferred Imperial.)

1 cup confectioner’s (or powdered) sugar

In a large mixing bowl blend these four together, scraping down the bowl periodically. A heavy-duty stand mixer works best, but you can make these cookies with a decent handheld mixer, too.

Add:

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Food coloring, if desired.

Continue mixing until light and fluffy.

Add:

4 1/2 cups flour (do this in two batches)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Continue mixing until well-combined and dough begins to form a ball and pull away from sides of bowl.

This is where I cover and place in the refrigerator.

Grease your baking pans with butter (not cooking spray). Using a melon-baller or just a spoon, scoop out and roll dough into walnut-sized balls, roll in granulated sugar and place on baking sheet. I used the bottom of a shot class dipped in sugar to make these “wreaths.” Any glass will do. Sprinkle with decorator’s sugar or more granulated sugar. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes. Watch carefully, because you don’t want the tops of the cookies to brown, only the bottoms. Remove immediately to parchment paper or wax paper and let cool. Before loading up your next sheets, butter the pans again. Makes 60.