Recipes
FRIDAY
Hand pies are mini pies. Similar to pop tarts, fill them with whatever you’d like. They keep well in the freezer, unbaked, and just bake from frozen. For this class, your butter needs to be COLD.
We are also going to fill and frost our cake. Make sure your buttercream frosting is totally at room temperature. If you needed to store your frosting in the fridge, please take it out well in advance of class, at least 3-4 hours ahead of time.
Hand Pies
Yield: about 18 pies, depending on size
Ingredients:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 1 1/2 cups butter, very cold
- 1/3-3/4 cup cold water
- 1 cup jam of your choice or pie filling (e.g., Nutella, pie filling, etc)
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp milk or water
- coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions:
- Line baking pan with parchment or a silicon baking mat for easier clean up. Set aside
- Either grate your frozen butter on the large side of a box grater or cut into very small cubes and hold in the refrigerator or freezer.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt until well mixed.
- Add cold butter and toss with flour. Using your hands, break down pieces of butter by rubbing them into the flour until your mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
- Add 1⁄2 cup cold water and 1 tsp apple cider vinegar. Mix with a wooden spoon or your hand until a rough dough is formed. Add additional water as need, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have few to no dry bits of dough.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead briefly just until a cohesive dough is formed. Flatten into a rectangle and fold. Repeat fold 2 more times.
- Divide into two equal pieces, flatten to about 1 1⁄2 inch thickness, wrap with plastic and chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- After dough as chilled, dust work surface with flour and roll one disk of dough to about 1/8-1/4 inch thickness, taking care to lift the dough and redust underneath to prevent sticking. Always roll from the middle out to the edge, stopping right before the edge.
- Use a cutter to cut out desired shapes, taking care to make sure you have a matching top & bottom unless you will fold your hand pies like empanadas.
- Fill with 1-2 tsp of jam or other filling depending on the size of your pie. Lightly wet your finger and use it to moisten the edge of the
- pastry, outside of the filling. Top with a matching cut piece of pastry, making sure that the floured side is UP. Press down and seal using a fork. Place on baking tray. Repeat until tray is full.
- For best results, freeze or chill for 15-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F.
- Make egg wash by beating 2 eggs with 1 tablespoon of milk well. Using a pastry brush to egg wash tops of handpies. Top with coarse sugar if desired. Cut vents in top pastry. Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes.
THURSDAY
It is cake day! Thursday, campers will bake two layers of a sprinkle-filled vanilla cake and make a great buttercream frosting. We’ll store the cake and frosting and fill and frost the cake on Friday during a little down time while our pastry for handpies is chilling in the refrigerator.
We will also take some time to prep our butter for Friday.
Funfetti Vanilla Cake
Yield: 12
Ingredients:
For the Cake
- 125 g whole eggs (from about 2 extra large eggs), room temperature
- 1 cup (252 g) whole milk, room temperature (divided into 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup)
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups (300 g) sifted cake flour (measured after sifted)
- 1 1/2 c. (300 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp fine salt
- 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
For the Frosting
- 6 cups (1 1/2 lbs) powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 cups (1 lb) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (or flavoring of your choice)
- 4 tbsp heavy whipping cream (room temperature)
Instructions:
Make the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottoms of two 8x2 or 9x2 inch cake pans with parchment (or three 6-inch pans).
- In a medium/small bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1/4 cup of milk and the vanilla. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the soft butter, and remainign 3/4 cups of milk. Mix on low until ingredients are moistened and then beat on medium speed (or high with a hand mixer) for 1-2 minutes. Scrap down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the egg mixture in three parts, beating between additions until incoporated. Scrap down bowl. Beat on medium for another 30 seconds. Fold in sprinkles.
- Pour evenly into pans (use a scale for accuracy). Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the cake springs back when lightly pressed, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove BEFORE the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edges to loosen the sides from the pan. Turn out onto a rack and let cool completely.
Make the Frosting
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until very smooth and creamy.
- Reduce speed to stir and add in powdered sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time until well blended. Increase speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes.
- Add vanilla and 2 Tbsp cream and continue to whip on medium for 1 minute.
- Add more cream as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Beat on medium until the frosting is smooth and silky.
WEDNESDAY
Quick breads are bake goods that are risen or “leavened” with a chemical like baking soda or baking powder. Many cakes are a kind of quick bread. In this class we will make a classic blueberry muffin. This muffins are light, with a slightly crunchy top. Fresh or frozen blueberries may be used, but blueberries are in season right now, so it’s a good idea to take advantage!!
Blueberry Muffins
Yield: 12
Adapted from Alton Brown's recipe.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups + 2 tbsp (354 g) cake flour (measure before sifting)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Heavy pinch salt
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
- Vegetable spray, for the muffin tins
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F.
- In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Remove 1 tbsp of mixture to a small bowl.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula mixture for a count of 10.
- Toss 1 cup blueberries with reserved tablespoon of flour. Add to batter and stir 3 more times. Reserve the 1/2 cup of blueberries.
- Spray muffin pan with baking spray. Portion batter into cups. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of berries on top of muffins and press down lightly. Place into the oven and increase the temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven and turn out, upside down on tea towel to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in airtight container for 2 to 3 days.
Notes:
Cake flour substitute: 1 cup cake flour = 3/4 plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour mixed well with 2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot flour. For this recipe, use 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour plus 6 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot flour.
TUESDAY
Cookie decorating day! There is no wrong way to decorate a cookie. This is a basic glaze recipe that keeps for months and can be thickened or thinned out to any consistancy.
Cookie Decorating Glaze
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tsp vanilla (or other flavoring
- extra powdered sugar and water for adjusting consistency.
Instructions:
- Sift powdered sugar.
- Combine corn syrup, water and extracts/flavorings in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine. Add two cups of powdered sugar and mix on low until combined. Continue adding powdered sugar until desired consistency is reach.
- Color with gel food dye.
MONDAY
Campers will mix and bake gingerbread drop cookies. Once the cookies are in the oven, we will move on to mixing the dough for rolled sugar cookies which we will roll out, bake, and decorate during Tuesday’s class.
Gingerbread Drop Cookies
Yield: 16 large cookies
Chewy gingerbread drop cookies adapted from "Desserts by the Yard" by Sherry Yard.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for rolling)
- 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of ground cloves
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Set rack to middle position. Line two cookies sheets or baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium or large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat togeher buter, sugars, and spices. Beat on medium high for 2 minutes. Stop once to scrap down sides with a rubber spatula.
- Add the egg and molasses, beat for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add dry ingredients in three parts, mixing on low between additions.
- Place extra sugar in a small bowl. Using spoons or a cookie scoop, portion cookie dough. Roll into a ball with your hands and then roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet, leaving at least two inches between balls of dough.
- Bake one tray at a time for 15-20 minutes. Check on baking at 10 minutes and rotate pan. Cookies are done with they are browning around the edges and the edges are set.
- Let cool for five minutes on tray, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Yield: 18 4-inch cookies
A slightly lemony roll out sugar cookie that keeps its shape after baking. Adapted from sugar cookie recipe by The Kitchn.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 cups (420 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the sugar and beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, vanilla and almond extracts, and lemon zest. Beat for 2 minutes.
- Whisk togeher the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add to the butter mixture in three part, mixing on stir in between additions.
- Divide dough into two disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least four hours.
- To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment papers. Roll out cookies to about 1/3 inch thick. Cut cookies out of the rolled dough and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- (For best results, chill cut out cookies in freezer for 10 minutes, then bake.)
- Bake cookies for 10-18 minutes, depending on thickness. Let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to a cooling rack.
- Cool completely before icing or decorating, and store in a tightly covered container.
