Chaussons Aux Pommes (French Apple Turnovers)

Read the story behind this recipe in the Bon Appétit Cooking Life column, Paris in a Pastry. Author Molly Wizenberg, writer of Orangette, shows us how to channel our inner Parisian and take the American apple turnover to new level.

I attempted to make these a month ago, but I had difficulty locating the all-butter puff pastry. Margarine was easy enough to come by, but would the French make these with margarine? Quelle horreur! I finally found it at a Whole Foods in the refrigerated section. It was at the top of the shelf, and I almost missed it entirely because I was looking for a box like the Pillsbury brand. This one was made by Whole Foods and came in a clear plastic container with minimal writing on the label.

These weren’t just a success, they were a home run. I made them a couple of weeks ago, and Luis is still talking about them. The blend of apples Wizenberg recommends create a sweet filling with just the right amount of tart. With very little added sugar, and even less lemon juice, it’s really apples boiled down in their own juices—a celebration of apple. I plan to make more this weekend.

If you want to be extra fancy and call these by their French name, which translates to something like “slippers of apple,” (correct me if your French is better than mine, which is highly likely, since mine is awful) pronounce it shoh-sohn aw pom. Even if you get it wrong, it’s likely that no one will know enough French to correct you anyway, but maybe that just applies to those of us who live in Texas.

Also, the pastry shell should be nice and browned. I think I took mine out a minute or two too soon. Check out the link above to the original article for Wizenberg’s photo. I forgot to photograph mine until there was only one left, and the prettiest ones had already been eaten. Le sigh.

Chaussons Aux Pommes

Makes 8.

For the filling:

• 3/4 lb. Granny Smith apples
• 3/4 lb. Golden Delicious apples
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice

For the pastry:

• 1 14- to 16-ounce package all-butter frozen puff pastry (1 or 2 sheets, depending on brand), thawed
• 1 egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)
• Superfine sugar (optional)

To make the filling:
Peel, core, and cut apples into 1-inch pieces (about four cups). Place apples in medium saucepan; add 1/4 cup water, three tablespoons sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until apples are very tender, stirring frequently, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Gently mash apples with fork or potato masher until mixture is very soft but still chunky. Cool completely. Filling can be made two days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Position one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

To prepare the pastries:
If using 14-ounce package (one sheet), roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 15-inch square. If using 16-ounce package (two sheets), stack sheets together and roll out on lightly floured surface to 15-inch square. Cut pastry into nine 5-inch squares. Place one generous tablespoon filling in center of each of eight squares (reserve remaining square for another use). Lightly brush edges of one pastry with beaten egg. Fold half of pastry square over filling, forming triangle. Press and pinch pastry edges with fingertips to seal tightly. Lightly brush pastry with beaten egg. Sprinkle lightly with superfine sugar, if desired. Repeat with remaining squares.

Using thin, sharp knife, make three small slits on top of each triangle to allow steam to escape. Place triangles on prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake turnovers until beginning to color, about 15 minutes. Reverse baking sheets from top to bottom. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; continue baking until turnovers are firm and golden, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Zucchini Bread tastes nothing like zucchini

It seems like squash takes over the farmer’s market this time of year, and we’ve been looking for ways to use it up. Enter zucchini bread. So not healthy, but I so don’t care. Have you tasted this stuff? It doesn’t taste much like squash, but it’s so sugary and moist. The edges are crisp and golden. Deelish.

Allie, one of my favorite fashion blog writers, made zucchini bread awhile back, and wrote about it on one of her blogs, My Wardrobe Today. It inspired me to try it for myself. Food, fashion, it’s all good…

The recipe I used was from the Food Network, featured on Paula Deen’s show, Paula’s Home Cooking. I have not seen the show because we don’t have cable (gasp!) and just watch our PBS chefs. There are a lot of reasons we choose to not pay for 500 channels, mostly because of an incident in college when I found myself skipping class to watch an episode of E! True Hollywood Story about the TV show 90210. Sad, sad, sad.

Anyway, I found this recipe through a Google search. Also, the recipe says to bake for one hour, but I found that it took one hour and 20 minutes. Set your timer for an hour, and if it’s not done when the timer beeps, retest every five minutes or so.

Zucchini Bread

Makes two loaves.

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts, and gently fold in. Pour even amounts into two greased loaf pans, for one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in five mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Quest for the perfect bran muffin

Lately I’ve been searching for the perfect recipe for bran muffins. We like to make a big batch on Sunday and freeze them for the following week for a healthy mid-morning snack. (I can’t be the only one with a grumbling stomach at 9:30 a.m.!)

Some that we’ve made have been too mushy. Others have been too hard. These muffins are just right. They’re a bit of a mash-up of a couple of recipes, with a twist. We left out raisins because Luis and I each have specific ideas about when and how raisins should appear in food. I won’t go into that here; it’ll just sound neurotic. Anyway, we substituted dried cranberries, and since orange goes so well with cranberry, we threw in some zest and juice from an orange.

Flavorful, great texture, and full of fiber…couldn’t ask for more from a muffin.

Cranberry Orange Bran Muffins

Makes 12 to 15 muffins.

• 3 cups bran
• 2 cups organic flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup cane sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• zest of 1 organic orange
• 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and oil the muffin tins. Zest and then juice the orange. In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix together the bran, flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the sugar, honey, oil, water, vinegar, zest, orange juice, and cranberries. Stir together (or blend) until just mixed. Spoon into muffin tins, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, testing with a fork or skewer to see if they’re done. Let cool (the hardest part!).

Key lime and cupcake: A perfect union

The folks at Buttersweet Bakery in Atlanta are geniuses. In the September issue of Bon Appetit, they share their recipe for Key Lime Cupcakes, which they say match the chartreuse walls of their “retro funk” bakery.

Cupcakes have been somewhat of a craze lately, with cupcake shops popping up all over town. I can’t say for sure what started it all, although the cupcake did make a cameo on Sex and the City which could explain some of its popularity. Personally, I adore the cupcake because it’s a perfect serving size of bliss. A mini-cake just for me. It doesn’t ask for much, either. You don’t need serving ware. You don’t even need a fork. It’s self-contained comfort food, and it can be anything you want it to be. Even key lime pie.

These cupcakes are at once creamy, tart, and sweet, and the buttermilk makes them extra-moist and perfectly rich. Not too rich, though. Just right. After one bite, Luis and I declared this recipe a keeper.

Key Lime Cupcakes

Makes 12.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp finely grated lime peel
• 1/4 tsp neon green food coloring (or mix a few drops of yellow into green)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

For frosting:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tbsp finely grated lime peel
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk both flours in a medium-sized bowl. Beat butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, beat to blend. Beat in eggs one at a time, then next three ingredients (batter may look curdled). Beat in flour mixture in three additions alternately with buttermilk in two additions. Spoon scant 1/3 cup batter into each liner. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.

The frosting is tres easy. Just beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes. Mangia!

An apple (bran muffin) a day

Last Saturday I dropped Luis off at the airport, and he flew out to Las Vegas for a business conference. Le sigh. Not to sound like one of those shmoopy, smug marrieds, but I can’t sleep when he’s gone. I feel anxious during the day, and I wake up five or six times at night. Even my high-strung cat, who leaps five feet in the air when the AC kicks on, has this “chill out, already” look on her face.

To keep myself busy, I got overzealous in the kitchen. Feeling particularly granola and crunchy, I started by making these vegan Apple Bran Muffins from How it All Vegan. I bought the book when I was writing a magazine feature story about veganism in Austin. As part of the story, I tried out the vegan lifestyle, and this cookbook was a big help when I was wondering what I could eat. I kept the book because the food is delicious and oh-so-healthy.

I enjoyed one of these muffins and chai tea while my Zucchini and Tomato Gratin baked in the oven. It doesn’t get much more granola than that!

Apple Bran Muffins

Makes 6–8 muffins.

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup bran
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup sweetener (cane sugar is a good option)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3/4 cup soy milk
• 1 1/2 cups apple sauce (I used organic, unsweetened sauce)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 banana

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, bran, and baking powder.
3. In a separate bowl, blend the sweetener, oil, milk, applesauce, vanilla, and banana.
4. Add liquid ingredients to the flour mixture, and stir until just mixed.
5. Scoop into lightly oiled muffin tins and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

Cookies and milk

No, really. They are irresistible. Just try to make them and then not eat them. I baked two batches, and I’ve already eaten five six eight.

Luis is at work today, and it’s a Saturday. I think if I had to work on a Saturday, coming home to a full cookie jar would be a good thing. I mean, who doesn’t want to come home to cookies?

I dug out the recipe book that came with the KitchenAid, and lo and behold, I had all of the ingredients for peanut butter cookies. (By the way, you don’t need a KitchenAid mixer for this recipe. A hand mixer would be nice, but you don’t need that, either. You can burn calories mixing by hand, and then eat lots of cookies afterward to replenish your energy.)

The recipe was modified to exclude Jif in favor of a natural, crunchy PB. You have to stir the natural stuff to mix in the oil, but it’s made from peanuts and salt, no artificial gunk and no trans fatty oils. If you’re like me and you want to know way too much about peanut butter (“Well, actually Normie, it’s a little-known fact…”), Slashfood posted a survivor’s guide to all-natural peanut butter. I also used almond milk, only because that’s what I drink so that’s what I had.

Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 36 cookies.

• 3/4 cup natural, crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 vegetable shortening
• 1¹/₄ cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1³/₄ cups all-purpose flour
• ³/₄ tsp salt
• ³/₄ tsp baking soda
• parchment paper (optional)

Let’s cook

1. Place peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. If you are using a mixer, beat about a minute on a low to medium speed. If you’re hand mixing, roll up your sleeves and beat until well-blended and uniform.
2. Add egg and beat until just blended.
3. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl.
4. Gradually mix in dry ingredients, mixing until just blended.
5. Drop teaspoons of batter two inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. If you’re not using parchment paper, drop them on ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Flatten slightly with a fork in a crisscross pattern. (Isn’t that the best part about making peanut butter cookies?)
7. Bake at 375 degrees for seven to eight minutes, or if you like them crunchier like I do, bake for 10 minutes.
8. Cookies will harden as they cool. Serve with cold milk.