What do you do when the weather turns on you? You bake.
I made Sweet Potato Muffins from the Noble Pig blog. They turned out perfectly even when the power went off 22 minutes into baking them. I had made a double batch and was thinking they would take about 25 minutes to bake. I just left them in oven and then checked them when the 25 minutes were up and they were fine.
The only modifications I made to her recipe were to make a buttermilk substitution (1 tbsp. lemon juice in a measuring cup and then add whole milk to the 1 cup line. Stir well and let it sit for five minutes) and instead of brushing the entire muffin with melted butter and rolling in cinnamon sugar I just did the tops.
Can we talk about buttermilk for a second? Why is it you can only buy it in quart containers? Most recipes call for about 1/2 cup and if your household is like mine no one else is going to touch it so the rest of the quart goes to waste. I'm never buying it again. I'm going to use my substitution which worked just fine.
Last weekend I made scones. I always use Pam Anderson's Simple Scones recipe and they turn out perfectly too. The trick is to freeze your stick of butter and then grate it before working it into the flour mixture. Makes for flaky scones. I've had a number of store bought scones that were really biscuits being passed off as scones. Too fluffy. I think a scone needs to have a certain flaky denseness to it.
What shall I bake next? We watched "It's Complicated" last night and after watching Meryl Streep and Steve Martin making pain au chocolat I want to try my hand at croissants. Actually maybe that is the "complicated" in the movie title.
Kathleen Grace says
Sweet potato muffins!? Those are something I have to try. I used to wonder what I would do with the rest of the buttermilk, but it keeps practically forever and we usually make pancakes a few times. Hubby has even been known to add the tag end to regular milk and let it sit out overnight and culture for more buttermilk. Then into the fridge it goes:>) Thanks for the recipe!
Karen says
That is making me hungry. It is far too late to be looking at pictures of yummy things. Yum!
LisaInCT says
They do make a powdered buttermilk. They sell it in the baking aisle (at least they do here in CT).
Linda W says
Hi Andrea-
I have been a “lurker” for more than 2 years! I am a big fan of Nicole’s Sister’s Choice blog and just left my first comment to her as well. When I read your sweet potato muffin entry, I knew it was time to comment here!
I have had the buttermilk issue too! You can freeze leftovers, by the way. I now use the powdered kind- you can keep it in the fridge forever. It is in the baking section of the grocery store. It’s so much easier.
I also love the movie “It’s Complicated”!-and I don’t say that about many movies.
I look forward to your blog every weekend (can’t quite keep up daily). Early Saturday or Sunday mornings, I get my coffee and catch up on the week of posts. I especially enjoy Friday’s Favorites, your etsy recommendations, and your beautiful photography. I have enjoyed many of the blogs on your sidebar as well. Thanks for the inspiration!