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Almond Flour and Roasted Apple Scones

7 Jan

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This recipe was given to me by a friend who is avoiding gluten. Wonderfully nutty, lightly sweetened, and quite toothsome, it is not lacking anything in the way of desirability. If you use fresh almond flour in this recipe, you’ll end up with a treat that has the crumb of a sturdy cake; if you use almond flour that is, ahem, a bit older, the dryness of the flour will result in a drier, though certainly no less tasty, crumb. Truth be told, I have made this recipe with both fresher almond flour and less-fresh almond flour and loved both versions of this bread/cake/scone. The baked good seen here was meant specifically for a friend of mine who is diabetic, and therefore has to maintain strict control of her carbohydrate intake. Though she is often deprived of sweets in general, I’d like to think that her enthusiasm over these scones was based more on upfront taste, rather than on relief over finally being able to eat a baked good. In either case, I’ll take it as a good sign that, though I can eat gluten and carbohydrates, I find this recipe wonderful enough to make any time I am craving something warm from the oven.

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Last Year: Cod and Leek Chowder

Almond Flour and Roasted Apple Scones

Let’s talk texture for a moment. There are a few different types of almond flour one can use in this recipe, and all of those flours will result in a slightly different baked good. Blanched almond flour (that is, almond flour made with almonds with the skins removed) will produce a more tender product, as will any fresh almond flour that you grind up yourself. Almond flour with the skins ground in will produce a more crumbly baked good, though one that is no less delicious. In regard to terminology, I have found that there is a 50/50 split between companies that refer to their product as either almond flour or almond meal. Without getting into a long discussion about it, the gist of it is, either almond flour or almond meal can be used in this recipe and things will still turn out beautifully.

1 large apple, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch chunks (you’ll end up with roughly ½ to ¾  of a cup—sometimes more, sometimes less—of apple chunks)

2 ¾ cups almond flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons agave nectar (you could also use honey, though be aware that honey will impart a much more pronounced flavor)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then arrange apple chunks on parchment and roast in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, until the apple chunks feel fairly dry to the touch and are just tinged with a golden hue. Remove apples from baking sheet and allow to cool while you prep other ingredients.

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, agave or honey, apple cider vinegar, and lemon zest. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in roasted apple chunks.

On a parchment-lined baking sheet, shape dough (it will be rather sticky) into an 8-inch round. Score the center of the round with a ½-inch deep X. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, then turn off oven and allow round to sit in oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before slicing into triangles.

Makes 6-8 scones, depending on how you choose to slice.

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Raspberry Squares, Plus Baking with Kids

6 Dec

Bake Sale is the story of two friends, an eggplant and a cupcake, who work together to fund a dream trip to Turkey (which I just now realized is also the name of a food, which is a detail, intended or not, I now find totally hilarious). Cupcake owns and runs a small bakery, and while he is renowned amongst a small local following for his fantastic cakes and pastries, he is not exactly swimming in enough cash to fund his Turkish vacation. Through months of hard work and clever baking ideas, Cupcake eventually saves up enough money to accompany Eggplant on his trip. Cupcake’s fundraising bake sales are presented in lively detail, with one afternoon taking him to the Westminster Dog Show to sell homemade dog biscuits, and another to a farmers market to peddle his sweet offerings of vegetable-based baked goods.

At the end of the book lies a delightful treat: A ten-page spread of recipes based on the treats showcased in the story.

For months my son had been clamoring to make the raspberry squares featured in the book, so when we found ourselves with an open afternoon a few weeks ago, we open the book and dove right into the recipe. We had a great time. My son really wanted this project to be his, so I spent a fair amount of time out of the kitchen, purposefully keeping my prying mitts off of his work.

And then something completely unforeseen happened. The raspberry squares were terrible. I mean, they were just awful. The base was loose, greasy, and tasted of raw flour. The crunchy topping was so sweet, it almost made my teeth dance. You couldn’t cut a square without it melting into a pile of slick, separated ingredients. What a disappointment. We tried to pretend that the squares were at least somewhat salvageable, but, in the end, we had to toss them out. It was a total disappointment.

I couldn’t let things end that way. This was a recipe from Bake Sale, one of my son’s favorite books! We couldn’t let the recipe fail us like that. Determined to start anew, I took a look at the original recipe, located a number of red flags, made a number of intuitive changes, and rewrote a plan of baking action. Ever the trooper, my son agreed to give things another go. The second time, we knocked those raspberry squares out of the park. With a crisp, flaky crust, a crumbly, lightly sweetened topping, and a good balance of toothsome crunch and fruit filling, the raspberry bars were given a new, completely delicious life. Bake Sale will forever remain one of our most treasured books, and now, revised and edited, these raspberry squares just might make the cut as one of our favorite treats.

Last Year: Dutch Apple Pie and Chocolate-Dipped Lime Shortbread

Raspberry Squares Recipe

Very heavily adapted from Bake Sale, by Sara Varon

Crust:

1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

½ cup unpacked light brown sugar

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 cup low or reduced sugar raspberry preserves

Topping:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup unpacked light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 1-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

To make the crust, combine butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Stir together with a sturdy spoon until the ingredients are incorporated with one another and no streaks of butter show through. Spread dough evenly into a 9’ by 13’ baking dish. Press down on the dough so it forms a flat and even layer of crust (you can use a piece of wax paper or the wrapper from a stick of butter to do this). Bake crust in center of oven for 17-20 minutes, until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

While the crust cools, prepare the topping. In a large bowl (you can even use the same bowl you used to mix the crust—I promise I won’t tell anyone), mix together the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Scatter the butter pieces over the top of the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter pieces into the flour mixture until the mixture takes on the appearance of coarse crumbs.

When the crust has cooled, spread the raspberry preserves over the crust, leaving a ¼-inch border around the edges of the crust (if the preserves touch the side of the pan, they will burn during baking). Scatter the crumbly topping evenly over the preserves.

Bake in center of oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until topping is light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool significantly (at least 30 minutes, but preferably 1 hour) before cutting into squares.

Depending on how large you make your squares, you can get anywhere from 20 to 32 (or more) squares.

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Apple Maple Ricotta Muffins

15 Nov

These muffins make me want to cozy up in front of a crackling fire, coffee cup in hand, with no immediate plans in my future. This is notable, because most muffins make me want to brush my teeth and drink a gallon of water to offset all of the sugary cake I just ate for breakfast. Sugary cake that, disguised as a passable breakfast food, is going to make me feel nothing but remorse as the day unfolds before me.

These muffins are a perfect example of how my tastes have changed over the years, and how I have gently altered my cooking habits to suit those tastes. Chunks of apple are folded into a lightly maple-sweetened batter that has been plumped up with creamy ricotta cheese and a scoop of whole wheat flour. A sprinkling of cinnamon sugar dusts the top of each muffin, and a crunchy pecan half completes the package. Perfectly toothsome, delicately sweetened, and studded with little surprises of apple in every bite, it’s the perfect muffin to start your day off right, with no lingering regrets.

Last Year: Salsa Roja

Apple Maple Ricotta Muffins Recipe

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup pure maple syrup (preferably grade B)

2/3 cup milk

1 large egg

½ cup ricotta cheese

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large tart or semi-tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch chunks (you should end up with about 1 ½ cups chopped apple pieces)

Topping:

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

heaping ½ teaspoon cinnamon

12 pecan halves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin, or line the tin with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, ricotta, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir the apple chunks into the liquid mixture.

Gently stir and fold the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only until the two are just combined (the batter should still appear slightly lumpy). Over-mixing the batter will result in a tough and chewy muffin.

Evenly divide the matter amongst the 12 muffin cups. Mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle the top of each muffin with a dusting of cinnamon sugar (you don’t need to use all of the cinnamon sugar; you may have some left over). Place a pecan half on top of each muffin. Bake in the center of the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops of the muffins are rounded and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin emerges with just a few moist crumbs attached.

Remove from oven, and allow muffins to cool in tin for at least 10 minutes. Remove muffins to a wire rack to further cool. Best when eaten only slightly warm, or at room temperature.

Makes 12 muffins.

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