It's Giveaway Time Again !!!

NO MORE SUBMISSIONS BEING ACCEPTED - CONTEST CLOSED MAY 13TH

It is time for another Lemon Drop Giveaway! I had such fun last time I couldn't wait to host my 2nd giveaway.

Please consider this my way of expressing my sincere thanks and deep appreciation to you all - my beautiful followers. You inspire me every day and Lemon Drop is a success because of YOU !

This giveaway has a Paula Deen theme; all items are from her Kitchen Collection. Each item has a matching design so I am giving away all items as one prize to the lucky winner.

The winner will receive the following PRIZES:

A Brand New Paula Deen Recipe Card Box

Matching Mug (this is made of hard plastic, not ceramic)



Recipe Cards to fill your new Recipe Card Box


And last but not least, adorable Paper Cupcake Liners!

Giveaway rules are exactly the same as my first giveaway
and are as follows:

GIVEAWAY TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Minimum requirements (1 chance to win):

• Be a follower of this blog and add a comment to this post stating you are a follower. To follow, simply scroll down on the right until you see the Follow button in the sidebar. Then join up!
  

Please do ensure that you meet the minimum requirement or I regret to say that your entry won't be counted.


Additional chances to win:

• Minimum requirements must still be met

• Publish a post on this giveaway in your own blog and link it back to this post (+2 more chances to win)

• Add a link at the side of your blog (sidebar) to my blog. Feel free to use any image from this post if you want to (+ 1 more chance to win)

• Provide a link to your blog in your comment and leave the post/link on your blog for 1 more week after the giveaway has closed for compilation purposes.

Important:

Contest closes 11 PM EST, May 13th , 2011. An online random selection tool (@ random.org) will be used to select the winner. Name of winner will be announced on Lemon Drop at 12:00 PM EST, May 20th, 2011 and a request will be issued to the winner to contact me privately. The winner has 24 hours after winner announcement to contact me and claim their prize.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL !

Raspberry Breakfast Buns

Easter morning had arrived and I began making cinnamon buns. Then I saw the 2 pints of raspberries hidden the in back of the fridge and had an idea ! Why not switch things up and make fresh raspberry breakfast buns instead? And to go a step further, why not top them off with a raspberry cream cheese icing? The results were wonderful!

These are buttery rolls that taste so fresh and light. Perfect for Easter morning!

Let's get started!

Here they are ready to rise 1/2 hr before baking

Baked and ready to be iced !

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

A bread maker with a dough setting
9X13" baking dish

DOUGH INGREDIENTS

1 large egg at room temperature
1 1/4 cups warm water (80F or 27C)
3 1/2 teaspoons oil (plain vegetable oil works best. I used Becel)
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups white bread flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (I use the type marked for bread maker use)

* melted butter (1/4 cup) and 2-3 tablespoons demerara or turbinado sugar - to be added after rolls have been cut and placed in baking pan

THE FILLING

2 pints fresh raspberries
1/2 cup white sugar or vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

THE ICING

1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sifted icing sugar
4 tablespoons raspberry syrup (set aside while making the filling)


MAKE IT

IN BREAD MAKER, combine all dough ingredients in the order specified (do not add melted butter and demerara/turbinado sugar at this stage) and set to Dough cycle.
This will knead the dough and the allow it to rise for the necessary time
WHILE DOUGH IS RISING, in a large bowl, mash raspberries and sugar.
NEARING the end of the first dough rising stage, remove 4 tablespoons of the raspberry juice which has now pooled at the bottom of the bowl and set aside.
REMOVE 3 more tablespoons of juice and in a small bowl whisk together juice and 1 tsp cornstarch. Add back to berries stirring well to combine
WHEN DOUGH HAS RISEN, flour work surface well and roll out dough into a large rectangle (12" x 16")
SPREAD berry mixture onto rolled dough leaving berry-free 1/4" edge on all sides
ROLL up dough tightly to form a long log and pinch edge together to form a seal
CUT DOUGH evenly into 9 rolls
PLACE in baking pan
BRUSH melted butter over the tops of the rolls.
ALLOW TO RISE 30 minutes, covered with a tea towel, in a warm spot

PREHEAT oven to 350F
WHEN ROLLS HAVE RISEN, sprinkle tops with turbinado or demerara sugar
BAKE 35 MINUTES
PLACE pan on cooling rack and allow to cool 15 MIN before icing

MAKE ICING:
COMBINE all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk on MED speed with electric mixer 2-3 minutes
SPREAD icing over rolls.

DIG IN !

THESE ARE STICKY - A FORK AND KNIFE WORK WELL

Maple Sugar Liège Waffles

I am having a lot of "first" baking experiences lately and this is one of them. I had read about Liège waffles for quite some time but finding pearl sugar here in Canada is like spotting Santa sliding down the chimney. It just doesn't happen. Then I found a recipe online that stated you could substitute with maple flakes and that I do have !

These are not a quick thing to make. There are 2 rising stages with the dough, each one lasting 1/2 hr. But never rush a good thing. These prove there is truth in that saying.

The consistency reminds me of a sweet roll. There are little tiny pockets of melted sugar within the bread-like finished product. The outer crust is crispy and sweet. I can safely say, I adore these. I had 1 1/2 to myself and was beyond stuffed yet seemed to continually catch myself tearing off a bit more here and there. I felt so "European" eating these and as if I was indulging in a guilty pleasure; no surprise given the amount of butter in these beauties. Serve them plain, dusted with icing sugar, drizzled with syrup or topped with a smear of good jam. Entirely up to you!

Now let's get started because you need to make these - NOW

RECIPE*:

* Source recipe which I have altered can be found here Eat My Cake Now

WHAT YOU NEED

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk, heated to 100F
2 tablespoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
the scraping of one vanilla bean
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2/3 cup maple flakes


MAKE IT

IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together milk, yeast and sugar. Allow to sit 5-10 minutes
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together flour and salt
ADD eggs, vanilla extract and vanilla bean scrapings to milk mixture. Whisk until well combined
ADD wet mixture to flour mixture and stir until dough starts to hold together and no visible dry areas
COVER with a tea towel and let rest in a warm area for 1/2 hr
IN MEDIUM BOWL, with electric hand mixer, beat butter for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
STIR in maple sugar flakes
WITH your hands, knead the butter mixture into the dough mixture just until combined.
COVER again with tea towel and lest rest another 1/2 hr

PREHEAT your waffle maker
SCOOP 1 heaping tablespoon of dough into each waffle area
BAKE according to waffle maker instructions

ENJOY!

Featured Here: Sweet Tooth Friday

Featured Here: FOODIE FRIDAY !

Baked Donuts with Chocolate Glaze

My first attempt at making donuts. These are baked as I simply was not in the mood to start messing with hot oil.

Technically, baked donuts should result in reduced calories compared to the deep-fried version but in this case, the glaze makes up for the difference!

These are simple old-style donuts flavored with nutmeg and a dash of vanilla extract.
They bake up very quickly and have a lovely light and airy texture.

The glaze is a mixture of chocolate, butter and corn syrup. I drizzled the tops with yellow, white and pink melted candy coating and finished them with white ball sprinkles. I like how the drizzle hardens for a sweet crunch but stays adhered well to the gooey glaze underneath.

The kids have tried these baked delights and voted: YES !

LET'S BEGIN


I ordered this pan online and it arrived today. I couldn't wait to try it out
so I jumped right in and started baking! This particular pan is made by Wilton.

The batter makes 12 donuts so I simply baked up 6 at a time. They only have to cool 5 minutes in the pan and then you can put them on a cooling rack. They only need to bake for 7 minutes and are cooled down and ready for glazing in 15 minutes maximum.

These are a huge hit with our entire family and won't last long!

RECIPE*:
* Source donut batter and glaze recipe: Wilton

WHAT YOU NEED

Donuts

2 cups cake and pastry flour, sifted
3/4 cup fine granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Glaze

1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup ( I love Lyle's Golden Syrup)
2 - 3 teaspoons hot water

Drizzle

1/2 cup pink candy melts
1/2 cup white candy melts
1/2 cup yellow candy melts
sprinkles - feel free to choose whatever kind you like!

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 425F
SPRAY donut pan with cooking spray
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together first 5 dry ingredients
IN MEDIUM BOWL, combine remaining donut ingredients and whisk until combined
ADD WET INGREDIENTS to dry ingredients and stir just until combined
SPOON batter into prepared pan. I found that 3 teaspoons per donut cup works well. Give the pan a little shake after filling the cups to even out the batter

BAKE 7-9 minutes or when donuts spring back to the touch. Mine were perfect at 7 minutes.
ALLOW to cool in pan 5 minutes then transfer donuts to cooling rack. Just flip the pan upside down over the cooling rack then turn the donuts right side up to cool completely

MAKE GLAZE

MICROWAVE all ingredients except water for 1 minute at 50% power stirring occasionally until melted. Add water until you have a consistency you like.

MAKE DRIZZLE

PLACE CANDY MELTS in individual bowls to keep colors separate. Melt according to package instructions. You can drizzle these by either using drizzle bottles, piping bags or just going back and forth over the donut with a spoon.

DECORATE DONUTS

LEAVING DONUTS ON COOLING RACK, place the rack over a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to ease the pain of clean-up.
SPREAD chocolate glaze over donuts
DRIZZLE colored candy melts in zig-zag fashion or cross-hatch (totally up to you)
FINISH off with sprinkles

NOTE: if you want a more "deep fried" taste dip them in melted butter when they are still warm then toss them in some cinnamon sugar. FANTASTIC !!

DIG IN!

Featured Here: Sweet Tooth Friday

Featured Here: FOODIE FRIDAY !

Vanilla Sugar

Anyone can make vanilla sugar. It is as easy as 1-2-3. It is lovely to have a jar of vanilla infused sugar handy whenever your heart (and tummy) desires.

Sprinkle it on cereal, add it in your tea or coffee. Especially great when added to cookies, muffins, cupcakes, pancakes and waffles.

My personal fave: rolling sugar cookies in it right before they are pressed down into discs. A wonderful way to add extra flavor.

Now let's get started !

To make your own vanilla sugar
just follow these simple steps:

• Choose a container that will allow you easy access to the sugar. I purchased my diner-style sugar dispenser from Bulk Barn here in Canada. I know Walmart carries them too.
• Fill the container nearly to the brim with fine granulated sugar
• Pour the sugar out and into a clean bowl
• Take 1-2 vanilla beans ( based on how much you like vanilla because 2 beans means very, very vanilla sugar) and score them down the middle with a paring knife
• Scrape out the seeds and whisk them into the sugar
• Cut the bean into 1/4" pieces and add to the sugar giving it a quick stir
  
• Pour everything back into the jar and seal tightly
• Allow to sit for at least a week so the vanilla can fully infuse the sugar

ENJOY !

Bacon, Cheddar and Chive Scones

A rich and flaky scone filled to the brim with bacon, cheddar and chopped chives. A good dose of freshly ground pepper added to the batter really kicks these into high gear.

I have been meaning to make these for several days now and they were worth the wait. To be honest, I am more of a savory gal than sweet so these are utter perfection for me and my taste buds.

Another fantastic recipe from the Pastry Queen's Cookbook though I did alter the recipe somewhat. If you truly want the original then head out there and pick up the book.

Now let's get started !

But first: Here is my leftover dough after already making up a batch of 8. As you can see, this is a hefty recipe and I loved it for it ! You can never have too many scones. This leftover dough was patted out again and made into another batch of scones. Not a scrap leftover.

They rise up beautifully. I always put a small dent in the tops of my unbaked scones right before they go into the oven. This prevents them from toppling over during the rise process.

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup cold butter, grated with large side of food grater
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons snipped chives. I use my kitchen shears to cut these up into small pieces
10 slices of bacon, cooked to crisp and crumbled
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream (half and half works fine too)

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 400F
LINE a cookie sheet with parchment paper
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt
ADD butter and cut in more with a fork; dough should be crumbly with bits of butter peaking out everywhere
ADD cheddar, chives and bacon. Stir in with fork
ADD buttermilk. Stir again with fork until it starts to clump together in a shaggy dough
ON A FLOUR DUSTED WORK SURFACE, mound up the dough into a loose ball. Then gently pat down to 1/4 inch thick
FOLD the dough in 1/2 and gently pat down again to 1/4" thickness
FOLD the dough in 1/2 one more time and pat down to 1/2" thickness
WITH FLOURED BISCUIT CUTTER OR DRINKING GLASS, cut out scones
PLACE on cookie sheet
COMBINE egg and cream in a bowl whisking til combined
WITH PASTRY BRUSH, brush egg mixture onto tops of scones. If you like, feel free to sprinkle a bit of sea salt on the tops before baking
WITH BACK OF A TEASPOON, press a small indent into the center of each scone
BAKE for 18-20 minutes until golden brown
ALLOW to cool 5 minutes on a baking rack then indulge !

I find these always taste the best when warm. If they do cool down it is advisable to reheat in the oven at a low heat vs the microwave which tends to give you chewy biscuits vs the flaky kind.

ENJOY !






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Rocky Road Triple Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies

My second baking experience with a recipe found in The Pastry Queen's cookbook and it was a fantastic experience indeed.

These cookies are filled with nuts, 3 kinds of chocolate and mini-marshmallows. They almost have a meringue texture on the outside and are filled with richness and crunch on the inside.

They have minimum flour and use 3 eggs as the glue to keep all these lovely goodies together to form one gorgeous cookie.

LET'S GET STARTED !

The recipe can also be found in this amazing cookbook; page 128

To begin, you need to toast two kinds of chopped nuts in your oven:
walnuts and pecans for 7-9 minutes. Don't bypass this step.
Toasting the nuts adds such incredible flavor!

Now onto the chocolate! You need to have 3 types of chocolate on hand - chocolate chips, bittersweet and unsweetened. The chips are added at the last prep stage. The other 2 chocolates are melted together with butter before adding to the egg/sugar mixture.

While chopping your chocolate, go ahead and cut your mini marshmallows in half too.
The recipe calls for them to be quartered but I found they were too small.

This recipe makes quite a bit of cookies - I counted 24 large cookies
measured out with my cookie scoop.

The result: plump cookies with crackled tops.

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper then sprayed thoroughly with cooking spray
1 cookie sheet set aside for toasting nuts

1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped walnuts
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows, halved

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
SPREAD chopped nuts in a single layer onto an ungreased cookie sheet
TOAST 7-9 minutes until golden brown
SET aside and allow to cool completely

IN SMALL saucepan, combine chopped chocolate and butter
MELT over low heat , stirring constantly until fully melted.
SET ASIDE and allow to cool completely

IN A LARGE BOWL, combine eggs and sugar
WITH ELECTRIC MIXER, beat 3 minutes, MED speed
ADD vanilla and melted chocolate.
BEAT MED SPEED for 2 minutes
ADD flour, baking soda and salt.
MIX just until combined
STIR in chocolate chips and marshmallows
ALLOW dough to sit 20 minutes

PREHEAT oven to 350F
WITH cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop rounded mounds onto greased parchment-lined sheets
PRESS down tops of cookies slightly so they are not as peaked
COOK 11-12 minutes until cookies are no longer shiny and are starting to crack
LEAVE cookies on cookie sheet for 10 minutes then transfer with a spatula to cooling rack

Cookies are at their best if eaten within 3 days or they can be frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap then in foil, for up to 3 weeks.

ENJOY !