Baking and Cooking Groups - January

I am currently in 4 baking and cooking groups. (one of the groups does not start until February).  Instead of doing a blog post for each of the groups I decided to go with one blog post.  This way I am showing what I have been up to for the last month and 3 of those groups I will not be posting recipes.  The reason for not posting the recipes: Their cookbooks just came out and I don't have permission from the publisher to post the recipes.  This way if you like what you see you can purchase the cookbook without going into it blind.

The first recipe comes from Baking Partners: Group of Home Bakers We had our choice of baking a Traditional Dutch Apple Pie or Kofieebroodje (Dutch Coffee Buns).  I chose the Traditional Dutch Apple Pie.  This pie might look like a lot of work however, it is a very easy pie to make.

Traditional Dutch Apple Pie

Crust:
300 grams all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
200 grams butter (cold)
150 grams packed brown sugar
1 large egg
zest from one lemon

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

To make the crust, in a bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Add cold butter cut into chunks, using hands rub butter into flour until a crumbly dough has formed. Add brown sugar, egg and lemon zest.  Knead dough until everything is incorporated and forms a ball.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least a 1/2 hour.

Filling:

6 granny smith apples
1/2 lemon juice
1 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup rum (or apple cider)
75 grams brown sugar
1 tablespoon Speculass Spices *
2 tablespoons plain dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup apricot jam

Soak raisins in rum or cider while you prepare apple.  Peel and core apples and cut into chunks. Drizzle with lemon juice making sure all apple chunks are covered.  Drain raisins add to apples.  (do not discard rum/cider)  Add brown sugar, speculass spices to apples mix until coated.

Remove dough from refrigerator and cut 1/5th of the dough and set aside.  With the remaining dough press into and up sides of a 9" springform pan. Sprinkle bread crumbs in the bottom of the springform pan on top of the dough.  Add apples and raisins.  Take the dough you set to the side and roll into strips to make a lattice top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 40 to 45 minutes.  10 minutes before pie is done in a small saucepan add apricot jam and reserved rum heat until melted.  After the pie is taken out of the oven brush the top with the apricot mixture.  Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing springform.  Cool to room temperature before slicing.

* Speculass Spice

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground mace
1/3 teaspoon ground ginger
1/5 teaspoon white pepper
1/5 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/5 teaspoon coriander
1/5 teaspoon anise seeds
1/5 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Next from Baking through Lick The Bowl Good we made the Banana Pecan Breakfast Cake, on page 151 of Monica Holland's cookbook Lick The Bowl Good: Classic Home-Style Desserts with a Twist which can be found on Amazon by clicking the link.   The coffee cake was moist and delicious and a nice change from the standard coffee cake and what a great way to use up the ripe bananas.

Last but not least from Cooking from The New Midwestern Table by Food Network Star Amy Thielen on page 85, Best-Ever Beer Cheese Soup.  Serve this soup with a loaf of crusty bread and a beer and you are set for chilly night.  I love that you use a sharp white cheddar cheese which is one of my favorites.  You can purchase Amy's book The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes from Amazon.

If you would like to join any of these baking/cooking groups the links are above.  For February we are adding another baking group which is Baking through Wintersweet feel free to check us out.