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Posts filed under Baking. Show all blog posts.
I made these muffins for my citrus hater, the one who thinks he doesn’t like anything that contains lemon let alone lime, orange or clementine. While I could dine on citrus-infused anything, he turns his nose if he spots the juicy flesh and pulpy rinds of this seasonal fruit within an inch of his plate.
Needless to say, he doesn’t drink juice (I’m okay with that)—and he prefers the parts of the chicken that haven’t been splashed with my usual lemon-rosemary poultry perfume. And he certainly never, ever eats the poppy seed muffins I make for the lunch box—until now.
I can’t say for sure what’s different about these muffins than the usual ones you’d find at your favourite coffee shop, except that they’re a heck of a lot healthier. Made with whole grains, buttermilk and honey, they’re void of the cup of sugar that usually accompanies this recipe. They also don’t use any liquid from the fruit—just heaps of zest, taken from the outer skins before the fruit is juiced for the rest of us.
I’m hoping the fact that he devoured six of these in one sitting is a sign of changing times, but I’m not going to be too optimistic. In either case, I’m happy to tuck these into the winter lunch box or pack them up for a little apres sledding snack.
Find the full printable recipe here: Citrus, Poppy Seed & Cornmeal Mini Muffins
A few weeks ago, I brought a small tin of Millionaire’s Shortbread in to the Monday morning editorial meeting at the SavvyMom office. The treats were a hit, but what had everyone talking was how neatly they were cut.
Years of working in catering taught me a few tricks I keep up my sleeve—and this is one of them. Here’s how I cut my dessert squares into even pieces with clean edges.
- Remove your squares from the baking pan, if possible, by lightly tugging on the parchment paper overhang. (Even if your recipe doesn’t call for parchment paper, I always use it for this purpose alone.)
- Fill a large glass with very hot water and collect a sharp knife and dishtowel.
- Dip the knife in the water, wipe it off with the towel and trim approximately ¼” from all sides of the baked good in order to create straight and even edging. Dip, wipe the knife again and continue to slice into the bars creating an even cut.
- Repeat the dip and wipe method every two or three cuts, cleaning off the knife as needed.
There you have it…a foolproof way to make your bars and squares look like they came from a bakery.
Do you have any cutting tips to share?
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