Crumpets anyone?

Dan (my husband) and I went to Seattle for our honeymoon last year. I know Seattle might not be typical honeymoon location, but it was by far PERFECT for us :) If you have not been to Seattle yet...get plane tickets now! Its amazing there. Luckily, when we went last June, we hit amazing weather. The worst weather we had was maybe a few minutes of light drizzling. It was funny because we see people bust out their umbrella for the littlest rain...and us being from Arizona...well we just laughed and enjoyed the time we spent. Besides the most AMAZING scenery, we also enjoyed the most wonderful, delicious, tasty, awesome food that Seattle had to offer. One of our most FAVORITEST places to eat was this little crumpet shop where Pikes Place Market is located. This place had the most creative ways to serve crumpets. It was super delicious. I know it has been a year but I have been craving these off and on since. Today, I finally decided to give it a go :)
You can find the  recipe here:: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/crumpets/

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, divided
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the milk, 1 tablespoon butter and egg; mix well. Add flour and salt; beat until smooth. 

 

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. 

Brush griddle and 3-in. metal rings or open-topped metal cookie cutters with remaining butter. Place rings on griddle; heat over low heat. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter into each ring. Cook for 7 minutes or until bubbles begin to pop and the top appears dry.

 Remove rings. Turn crumpets; cook 1-2 minutes longer or until the second side is golden brown. 

Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack and toast before serving.

**When grocery shopping at Defalco's, we saw the brand of Ricotta cheese that the Seattle crumpet shop used. We also bought the preserves that the crumpet shop used when we were in Seattle. This is what is used  in the picture below**

SOOOOOO delish! Enjoy :)

St. Patty's Day cupcakes!

So I was in charge of making dessert for our annual "Jewish" St. Patty's Day dinner. My mom says that any holiday that has corn beef in it,. is a Jewish one :) I was asked to make cake with beer in it, since it has been ALL OVER Pinterest. I looked at the recipe by Miss Make who posted a Blue Moon Cupcake recipe. This is how I did it::

3/4 c unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 c sugar

2 1/2 c flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

2 drops red food coloring

10 drops yellow food coloring

1/2 tsp orange zest

1 c Blue Moon beer

1/4 c milk

Frothy White Frosting [recipe follows]

small orange slices, for garnish

Directions:
1. Line 24 cupcake trays with liners. [Use white liners if you can, they become translucent during baking and really sell the mini Blue Moon image]. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking power and salt.

 2. In a large bowl beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar a little bit at a time, beating well. Once it's all added beat for 2 more minutes.
3. Add eggs, beating after each.
4. Add vanilla, food coloring and orange zest and beat.
5. Mix beer and milk in a measuring cup. Alternatively add beer / milk mixture and flour mixture to butter mixture in the large bowl, beating after each. End on the flour mixture.

 6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes at 375 degrees F until cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

 7. Once cool, frost each cupcake with a generous amount of frosting. Just before serving, garnish each with a small orange slice.

Frothy White Frosting

2 egg whites, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp orange juice

1 c sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/3 c water

Directions:
1. In a saucepan, mix sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook on medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbly.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, vanilla and orange juice until soft peaks form. Slowly add hot sugar mixture, beating continuously. Beat for 7 minutes until stiff peaks form.

I accidentally bought blood  oranges instead of the regular kind. Oopsie! The cupcakes do not taste like beer but have a nice citrus taste to them. You can definitely add more orange zest to it depending on how citrus-y you want them to be. These are super tasty! I also keep forgetting how cool egg whites can be :) I hope you enjoy! Let me know how yours comes out!!!
Here is the actual link to Miss Make::
http://www.missmake.com/2011/08/blue-moon-cupcakes.html

<3 Shawna