Spice Puffs

Spice Puffs

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

5 1/2 Tbs melted butter

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl mix together wet ingredients. Ad wet mixture to dry and stir just until combined. Mixture will be lumpy.

Grease muffin cups. Fill each cup 3/4 full with muffin batter.

Bake for 20-25 mins. until muffins are golden.

Before I baked the muffins I added a tsp each of ricotta cream and pear sauce left over from my cannoli.


And I got to use my new autumn muffin tins.
They were very yummy!





They were so tasty that the chickies only got to try one muffin.
They gave it 9.5 beaks out of 10.

Wow! I Won!

Yay!

I won most unique interpretation on The Leftover Queen Forum!

I entered my cannoli recipe.

I've already started working on the next months challenge.

If you're not a member join the Leftover Queen Forum!

~

A blizzard is forecast for tomorrow, so I'll have plenty of time to cook.

I really want to make some Russian Lace, snowcream and maple whip, but I need some fresh snow!

Daring Baker's November Challenge - Cannoli

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural)........

Ta da!

Ok, I'm a few (24) hours late posting this challenge, but it really wasn't my fault!

It was the sun's fault.

Yes, the sun. If you have ever been to the north in the Fall/Winter you may have noticed a lack of something. Sun. Yes people, we invented SAD. The sun went on vacation to Florida for a week and then another week and...yeah, you get the idea.

I refused to do the challenge until I had natural light to photograph my cannoli! It was a great excuse!

Yesterday the sun came out.

Entonces - aqui estan!

If you want the recipe, please go to Lisa Michele's site.

We start with a dough.

An amazing dough!

It went together like a dream and felt like a Granny's bingo wings.

Of course, if your Granny makes cannoli she probably doesn't have bingo wings, 'cause cannoil take some WWF upper body strength.

Good.

Work up an appetite for those cannoli.

P.S. I used a nice riesling wine in this.

Rolling the dough out.
Use those muscles!
I tried to use a pasta maker loaned to me by my parents.
Stupid machine ate half my dough before I gave up using it.
I found taking a small piece and rolling it out super, super thin and then wrapping the piece around the cannolo form worked the best.



My cannoli forms.
Long story.
My part of the country is better known for leftsa, than for cannoli, so it was impossible to find cannoli forms.
Except.....my Mom went to the local hardware store and found these lengths of pipe for me!
Yay! Copper!
Very heavy.
Are real cannoli forms heavy?




Rolling dough around form.




Dough ready for frying.



Dough fresh from the fryer.

Cannoli with ricotta/lemon filling and cinnamon Red Hot pear sauce.

I canned the pear sauce* myself.

Fancy tea party, anyone?

My entry for the Royal Foodie Joust.

Cannoli with ginger/fennel/cinnamon pear sauce.



So, what did I think of this challenge?

It was a good one.

It expanded my cooking horizons.

I tried cannoli in a Little Italy bakery 2 years ago, but I wasn't too impressed.

Homemade cannoli are much better.

And my pear sauce is awesome. ;)

*Red Hot Pear Sauce

Remember 3 months ago when I asked you all what I should do with a ton of pears?

And you suggested pear sauce?

Ta da!

3 months later.... Recipe here

I decided to try out a savory cannoli idea. I used a slice of locally made smoked cheddar, pickled herring and a dollop of my own pear chutney. It was good.