Mini German Pancakes and triple berry sauce

Update 8/11/11
I made this again yesterday, but this time instead of berries I used peaches that I had chopped and frozen.  I also added 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to the syrup.  I was trying to semi recreate peach puff pancake.  This wasn't as good as peach puff, but it was still quite yummy, and lots healthier, so I recommend experimenting with different fruits in the sauce.  Also, I thought of adding almond extract to the batter and maybe omitting the  orange zest.  I had oranges this time so I didn't, but I figure I'd better write myself this note to try for next time.)

Here is a fun recipe I made for breakfast yesterday. It was such a hit that I ended up making a second batch. I found this recipe on Real Mom Kitchen. She found it somewhere else, but I made it using her triple berry sauce, so I'm putting her link. Hers turned out way cuter than mine. I'll include my pictures so you can see, but click the above link if you want to see some really pretty ones.

Mini German Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. orange zest (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Blend first six ingredients (milk through orange zest) in a blender. Be careful to see that any flour clumps get well-blended.
2. Blend in butter a little at a time in order to temper the eggs.
3. Grease muffin tins well and distribute batter evenly between 18-24 tins. Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffy and golden on top.
4. Served with your favorite toppings. (We topped them with triple berry sauce from Real Mom kitchen)

Triple Berry Sauce

4 cups frozen berries
1 cup water
1/2 cup Xagave, agave or honey
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Put berries and Xagave in sauce pan and bring to boil. (If using honey had have to water at this point.) Reduce heat to simmer. Mix cornstarch with water and stir until lumps are gone. Pour cornstarch mixture into berry mixture while stirring slowly. Stir until thickens (about 1 to 2 minutes) and begins to bubble.

I actually had some agave nectar that I had bought for some other recipe. I was actually excited to try it in something. I was surprised at how nice it turned out, and how nice it tasted.


Here are some pictures. The first batch I followed Real Mom's suggestion and used a 1/4 measuring cup. That only got me 14 pancakes. They looked like popovers coming out of the oven. and didn't flatten into cute little bowls, but did end up looking cute enough when filled.
Tavio insisted he was still starving so I made a second batch. This time I filled the tins closer to 1/2 full (to make a total of 18 like Real Mom had) and sprayed the tins with Baker's Joy which is supposed to be grease and flour. I ended up with the last 3 puffing like I figure all of them were suppose to. The ones that puffed came out of the pan quite nicely. The ones that didn't still stuck. In this batch, the ones that didn't puff as cutely did have a lovely cave on the bottom side of the pancake. I turned them over and filled them from the bottom.

Microwave Caramel corn

Here is another recipe I found at allrecipes.com. I love it because it is quick, easy and yummy.

Ingredients

• 4 quarts popped popcorn
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Place the popped popcorn into a large brown paper bag. Set aside.
2. In a 2 quart casserole dish, or other heat-proof glass dish, combine the brown sugar, margarine, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Heat for 3 minutes in the microwave, then take out and stir until well blended. Return to the microwave, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave, and stir in the baking soda.
3. Pour syrup over the popcorn in the bag. Roll down the top once or twice to close the bag, and shake to coat the corn. Place bag into the microwave, and cook for 1 minute and 10 seconds. Remove, shake, flip the bag over, and return it to the microwave. Cook for another 1 minute and 10 seconds. Dump the popcorn out onto waxed paper, and let cool until coating is set. Store in an airtight container.

I have actually never had a paper bag, so I have used a large plastic bowl with a lid. I pop enough popcorn to fill the bowl saving a little "shaking space." I worried about it getting too hot in the plastic bowl, but I've made it 3 or 4 times with no problems.

Hamburger buns

Today I'm doing something a bit different and including some tutorial pictures. (I say different, but I guess that it hard to say since I just started this blog. Let's just say I don't plan on doing this all of the time.) I decided to post the tutorial pics at the bottom. Then if you don't need them, you don't need to look at them, but I plan on sending a friend of mine here who has been asking about breadmaking.

This is a bun recipe I got from allrecipes.com. I have used it a few times before. Yesterday it was for sloppy joes. Tavio is always requesting sloppy joes and I rarely make them, but he gave me the suggestion when I was making the menu for the week so it actually got on the calendar.

I make them a bit different. This is how I make them.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or combination of wheat and white)
• 1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Combine the milk, butter, sugar and salt. Heat on stove or in microwave until milk begins to bubble and butter is melted. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup cold water to cool. (mixture should be lukewarm at this point. If not, let it cool, or heat it up.)
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. After the rolls sit for a minute and relax, flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. You may want to oil your hand first. Set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush onto the tops of the rolls. Position 2 oven racks so they are not too close to the top or bottom of the oven.
5. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the rolls from the oven and return them to different shelves so each one spends a little time on the top. Continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.

Today I ground 2 cups of wheat. It gave me 3 and a little bit cups of flour. I finished out the last of the 5 1/2 cups with AP flour.




This dough started out sticky (left) , but after mixing with the dough hook for a while, it came together nicely. (right) Most dough will come together and look like the dough on the right when done mixing.





Here is the bread in stages. (rolled in balls, flattened, and risen)


Here they are out of the oven. Nice and browned. Honestly today I fogot to put the egg wash on them, but they still browned up quite nicely. I wasn't paying attention to my recipe and didn't see the 5-10 minutes more after switching racks. They probably could have come out a bit earlier. They were slightly dry for a bread, but I like them that way for buns. It makes them nice and hearty for holding whatever you are putting in them. I never think that they look big enough when the come rise or come out of the oven, but Here they are finished with sloppy joe in them and you can see that they are just the right size. I buttered the tops of mine when they came out of the oven. That is why they are shiny. They would be shinier out of the oven had I remembered the egg wash.

Oatmeal and Applesauce pancakes

OK, I'll start with this morning's breakfast. Benjamin wanted pancakes so we tried this recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk

Directions

1. Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-low heat.
2. In a bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix applesauce, sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Stir applesauce mixture and milk into the flour mixture until evenly moist and thick.
3. Scoop about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto the prepared griddle, and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides.

I made my first 6 pancakes following the recipe exactly. The batter was very thick and I didn't like how I had to spread it around so I thought I would thin it out a bit for the last few pancakes. While they were easier to spread, I think the first half of the batch had a bit stronger/better flavor. Next time I make these I want to add diced apple. They tasted like they should have apples in them.You can tell in the photo the one on the bottom was from the first 1/2 of the batch - not uniform because I spread it out with the bottom of the cup I dished it with. The top one was after I added a little bit more milk - poured nicely, and I got a nice circle, but if making these again, I'd probably go with the thicker batter.