There are moments in my life when I know that I’m a baker to the core.  I had one such moment today.  Why?  Well, I was thinking about cornbread all day.  Of all things!  Cornbread.  I was turning over cornbread formulas in my head, thinking of possibilities, researching recipes and jotting down notes.  That’s how I know I’m a baker, because I think about cornbread for hours on end.  And even if I were stuck in some random job as an accountatnt, I’d be the accountant that thought about cornbread all day.

It turns out that thinking about cornbread is like opening a can of worms.  There are so many styles! There’s the sweet style cornbread with sugar and honey.  There’s the dry unsweetened cornbread with fresh kernels mixed in.  There’s skillet corn bread.  There’s corn muffins.  I could go on and on… and I did, in my head, all day.  It had to be just right.  So I came up with Brown Butter Cornbread Muffins with Fresh Blueberries and Apricots.

Allow me a moment of self congratulation because frankly, I nailed it!

And now I’ll share.

While these muffins are simple in their ingredients, they pack the maximum amount of flavor.

Let’s start with the butter.  Browned butter brings out an almost nutty flavor in the butter.  That little bit of time over the fire adds a tremendous depth of flavor, and aroma.

Cornmeal is important too.  I chose a medium grain stone ground cornmeal.  The medium grind adds just a hint of crunch.  Brilliant!

Fruit was my summer addition to these muffins.  If you wanted to serve the muffins with chili or something savory then leave the berries out.  As a morning muffin, the fresh blueberries and diced apricot add an delicious touch.

Other delicious contributing factors-  sour cream and honey.  Sour cream gives the muffins a light tender crumb. Yes, more tender than buttermilk.  And honey adds a depth of flavor to the sweetness.

Now, these muffins aren’t over the top sweet.  If you like the your muffins on the sweeter side, increase the sugar from 1/4 cup to a heaping 1/3 cup.

Brown Butter Cornbread Muffins with Fresh Blueberries and Apricots

Print this recipe!

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal, medium grind

1/4 cup sugar, or a heaping 1/3 cup for sweeter muffins

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted until lightly brown

2 Tablespoons honey

1/3 cup blueberries

1/2 cup fresh apricots, diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

On a stove top, in a skillet, melt 3/4 of a stick of butter over medium high heat.  After the butter is melted, keep an eye on the pan, occasionally swirling the butter, until the crackling stops and the butter is a light amber color.  This may take about 5 minutes.  Measure about 1/4 cup of melted butter and set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Combine egg, sour cream, milk and honey.  Stir until no lumps remain in the sour cream.  Pour browned butter into the egg mixture and stir to incorporate.

Stir wet ingredients into dry until just moistened.  Fold in blueberries and diced apricots.

Spoon batter into lined muffin tins and bake at for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  These also freeze very well and defrost in the microwave after 15 seconds.  Hope you enjoy!

Here are five important (read: random) things you should know about me.

1.  I have a very strong, well documented affection for pancakes.

2.  I’ve lived in all four corners of the United States, as proven by the following list:

Burlington, Vermont

Miami, Florida

Seattle, Washington

Los Angeles, California

3.  I’m sometimes (read: often) really awful about returning phone calls.  It’s nothing personal. I’m just not very good on the phone.  I’ll admit it- I’m kinda awkward on the phone.  I’m especially bad at goodbyes.  I always either say bye too soon or too late.  It’s laughable really, and awkward.

4.  I like to eat everything with a spoon, except spaghetti.  That’s just a losing battle. Spoons help me get larger amounts of food in my mouth faster.  Brilliant.

5.  I love old stoves.  Luckily I made friends with the owner of a bad-ass O’Keefe and Merritt stove.  In the middle of this beauty is the hottest griddle known to man!  I had the distinct honor of breaking in this fine griddle with these Triple Berry Pancakes.  Now that’s livin’!

The pancakes were really only an excuse to get at that griddle.  Since I had loads of berries in my fridge, I could think of nothing better but to throw them all into pancakes.  I used strawberries, raspberries and blackberries.  If I had blueberries, believe me, I would have thrown them into the fray… alas.  Please use any berry that brightens your morning!

Triple Berry Pancakes

adapted from Gourmet Cookbook

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1 cup whole milk

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 stick (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup white whole wheat flour ( you can use app-purpose flour if you like)

4 teaspoons baking powder

4 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup diced fresh berries (you could also used thawed and drained frozen berries)

Whisk together milk, eggs and 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil in a medium bowl, then whisk in the butter.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt in another medium bowl.  Whisk in the egg mixture until just combined.  Gently fold in the berries until just incorporated.

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet (or on a bad-ass griddle)  over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.  Work in batches of 3 or 4, pour 1/3-cup measures of batter into the skillet and cook until bubbles have formed on top and broken, less than 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes with a spatula and cook until undersides are golden, about 1 minute more.  Add another 1/2 teaspoon of oil in between batches.  Lower heat if pancakes brown too quickly.  Serve with butter and warm maple syrup.

You can keep the first batches of pancakes warm until they’re served by keeping them on a warm baking sheet in a 200 degree F oven.

]]> http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/06/triple-berry-pancakes-or-everything-but-the-blueberry/feed/ 20 http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/06/homemade-almond-milk/ http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/06/homemade-almond-milk/#comments Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:54:40 +0000 joythebaker http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/?p=96

It’s just an ordinary day, except for the fact that I made milk!  Not the yummy stuff that comes from the cow, but Almond Milk with a touch of honey.  It might just give Old Bessie a run for her money.

Let me tell you a little about me.  I’m part Irish, part African American, and A Little Bit of Hippie.  Today we’re only going to discuss the Hippie in me.  My parents raised me on, what seemed at the time to be, the gnarliest health food on the planet.  I remember sitting down to dinners of Tofu Potato Baker (which I did eventually come to love- thank you ketchup), loads of barely-steamed-mostly-raw brocolli, whole wheat fig bars and fresh squeezed carrot juice.  Granted, I love all that stuff now, but what I would have given for some Chips Ahoy and Kentucky Fried Chicken when I was 5.

I make my family’s dinner habits sound like abuse, don’t I?  That’s probably not fair.  In their choices, my parents instilled in me, what I call, A Little Bit Of Hippie.

As a person with A Little Bit of Hippie in her I am prone to do things like enjoy vegan food on Friday night and throw back a medium rare filet on Saturday night.  I also might ride my bike to work, but only twice a week.  It’s also the Little Bit of Hippie in me that lead me down the granola bar path and inspired me to make these Banana Blackberry Smoothies with Homemade Almond Milk.

I think we all should have at A Little Bit of Hippie in us.  Maybe the the world would be more full of peace, love and Homemade Almond Milk

The milk is SO easy to make.  It tastes light, but full of almondy flavor.  Give it a go!  I love it in smoothies and on granola.

Almond Milk

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1.  Place 1 cup toasted almonds in a glass jar, or clean container with a lid.

2.  Cover almond with 4 cups filtered water.

3.  Tightly close the jar or place the lid on the container.

4.  Refrigerate for 1 day, 2 days at the very most.

5.  I know the picture isn’t all that charming, but pour the almonds and water into a blender and blend until relatively smooth.  It will never smooth completely, but blend on and off for about 1 minute and 30 seconds.  (During this step I added 1 Tablespoon Honey to the almond milk.)

6.  Drape a cheesecloth over a medium sized bowl and place a fine mesh strainer on top.  Pour the contents of the blender into the strainer.  Gather all four corners of the cheesecloth and slowly lift and squeeze the liquid from the cloth.

7.  You’re left with almond milk and almond pulp.  Discard the pulp, or think of something extra hippie to do with it.  The milk- drink it.

Banana Blackberry Breakfast Smoothie

In a blender combine:

1 ripe banana

6 blackberries

3/4 cup almond milk

1/2 cup plain yogurt

I have nicknamed this bread Crazy Face Mango Bread.  Why?  Because every time I tell someone what this treat is- Fresh Mango Bread, they make a crazy face.  I don’t even mention that it’s made with whole wheat flour and also has grated apples (and golden raisins… shhhh!).  That might just send them over the top!

I bet you’re making a crazy face right now.  I’m sure you are…  But this bread is great!  Turn that crazy face into action and whip up a loaf for yourself!  With the flavors of ginger and cinnamon, and the surprise pieces of fresh mango, this bread is perfect with tea for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

I found myself with loads of fresh mango that I had gotten for a steal.  I had already treated myself to mango sorbet.  With thoughts of fresh mango margaritas swirling through my head, I thought I better be good, and make a whole grain breakfast bread.  I was pleasantly surprised.  This bread is delicious warm from the oven, and amazingly enough, tastes even better the next day.

Try. Please.  I wouldn’t let you down.

Fresh Mango Lime Bread

adapted from Baking a la Mrs. Greenspan

Print this recipe!

3 large eggs

3/4 cup flavorless oil such as canola or safflower old

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (of course you can use all-purpose if you like)

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 to 1 1/4 cup diced mangos from 1 large peeled and pitted mango

1 cup grated apple from 1 peeled Granny Smith apple

3/4 cup moist and plump golden raisins

grated zest of 1/2 lime

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess.  Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on tow regular baking sheets stacked on on top of the other.  This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from over baking.

Whisk the eggs and the oil together.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.  Rub the brown sugar between your palms into the bowl, breaking up any lumps, then stir it in.  Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, switch to a sturdy rubber spatula or wooden spoon and mix until blended- the batter will be very thick (really more like a dough than a batter) and not easily mixed, but persevere, it will soon come together.  Stir in the mango, apples, raisins and zest.  Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake the bread for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  If the bread looks as if it’s getting too brown as it bakes, cover loosely with a foil tent.  Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before running a knife around the sides of the pan and unmolding.  Invert and cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.