cappucino muffins

One of the really good cooks in our congregation served these at Coffee Hour a couple of weeks ago and was kind enough to share the recipe. I would be wrong to keep it to myself. She said she got the recipe from Taste of Home 2000.

Espresso Spread

4 oz. cream cheese
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
½ teaspon instant coffee granules

Combine spread ingredients; cover & refrigerate until serving OR when muffins are cooked, cut out an upside down cone from top of each muffin; fill cavity with spread; invert cone on top.

Muffins

2 cups flour
2 tablespoon instant coffee granules
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter, melted
2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, & salt. In another bowl, stir milk & coffee granules until coffee dissolves; add butter, egg, & vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened; fold in chips. For about 12 muffins, fill greased medium muffin cups 2/3 full; bake at 375 for 17-20 min. (For about 36 mini muffins bake only about 12 min.)

Peace,
Milton

autumn galette

A galette is a tart made with an unleavened crust -- basically a sort of rustic tart to you and me.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced (1 stick)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Pulse the flour and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the egg and pulse 1 to 2 times more, until the dough starts to stick together, but don’t let the dough form a mass around the blade. Remove the blade and bring the dough together by hand. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

1 large apple, cored and halved from top to bottom
1 small or 1/2 medium butternut squash
1 small yellow onion, peeled, and cut in half
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons sweet mustard (I used Stonewall Kitchen's Maine Maple Mustard)

Turn the apple cut side down and cut it crossways in 1/4 inch thick slices. Cut the squash so the slices are about the same size as the apple. Lay the onion cut side down and slice it into half moon shapes about 1/4 inch thick. Add the oil, mustard, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper and toss gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper and toss again.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch disk and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Starting 2 inches from the edge, alternate pieces of apple, squash, and onion in overlapping circles—if you have extra pieces of one or another, tuck them in where you can or double them up to use all the filling. Fold and pleat the dough over the edge of the filling. Bake until the crust is brown and the apple, squash, and onions are tender and caramelized, about an hour. Cool the galette briefly on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and serve.

The pastry can be used for any number of tart ideas; it's really good.

Peace,
Milton

This recipe was adapted from one I found at Food Network Kitchens.