Breakfast | Eat Your Heart Out

Brown Sugar Fig Pop Tarts

February 4, 2013 by Stephie 24 Comments

Remember how I quit my job last week? And did so without having another job lined up?

By the end of the week, I had not one, but two job offers.

Now, neither of these job offers were likely to make me a millionaire. One was a front-of-house bakery job, the other a barista position at Starbucks.

But the point is this: God provides.

In case you’re wondering, I ended up going with the Starbucks job – yes, I know it is shocking that I passed up a job in a bakery, but I couldn’t discount the fact that Starbucks was offering me slightly higher pay and benefits. Not to mention that the manager and I simply clicked - I am looking forward to working for someone who really seems to want me there.

Do I know if this is where I want to be forever and ever, amen? I honestly have no idea. But I am certainly going to take this opportunity to see, and to figure out what it is that I really want to be doing. The more I ponder on it, however, the more I feel something inside of me whispering me toward food and writing.

I am going to stop thinking about my very expensive college degree. I am going to stop wondering what my former classmates will think when they find out that the girl who graduated at the top of the class is working as a barista. I’m going to let go of all of the ideas I have had about what my life is supposed to look like right now. I am opening up my life to new possibilities, and to finding out what makes me truly, deeply happy.

And what made me truly, deeply happy the other day was pulling together a pastry dough, filling it with fig butter and brown sugar, and baking up these pop tarts to absolute perfection.

I don’t say this often, but I will say it now: I personally think that these are some of the best things I have ever made.

I never particularly cared much for iced pop tarts as a kid, so instead of icing these, I opted to give them a light egg wash and an additional sprinkle of brown sugar, making them 100% perfectly toast-able for a lovely morning treat.

Don’t let the number of steps fool you – these aren’t as hard as they seem. And if you are truly, deeply petrified of making your own pastry, you could use a bought pie crust in lieu of the provided recipe (though I certainly encourage you to face your fears and give it a try – you’ll be glad you did!).

Oh wait…you wanted to serve these warm from the oven? For dessert? Then they’re not pop tarts at all – they’re hand pies!

Because, really, it’s all in how you choose to look at it.

Recipe inspired by Smitten Kitchen, though the pastry was (fairly heavily) adapted from my Thick and Crusty Chicken Pot Pie.

Recipe for fig butter.

Brown Sugar Fig Pop Tarts

Yield: 9 pop tarts

Ingredients

For the pastry:

3 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
½ cup shortening
1 large egg
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons cold buttermilk

For the filling:

1 egg yolk + 2 tablespoons water
Fig butter
Brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment; set aside.
Make your pastry: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the cold butter and the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Pour over the flour mixture and, using a fork, stir to combine just until the dry ingredients are moistened. The mixture will be very crumbly.
Turn the dough onto a flour-lined surface. Knead the dough very gently – just a couple of times – to bring it together, then divide in half. Roll each half into a 13×9-inch rectangle – you can use a ruler to measure, or you can cheat (like I did) and use a 13×9-inch pan to check for size and cut around. Trim around the edges of the rectangle so that you have clean, straight edges (again, the pan comes in handy here), and cut each rectangle into thirds in both directions, giving you 9 equal-sized rectangles from each larger rectangle (18 total small rectangles).
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and water. Brush 9 of the pieces with the egg wash, then spoon on about 2 teaspoons of fig butter. Sprinkle the fig butter with a small amount of brown sugar – maybe ½ teaspoon for each piece. Top with one of the remaining dough pieces, pressing along the edges slightly. Using a fork, crimp along the edges of each tart and poke a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape.
Place the tarts on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with some of the remaining egg wash, then sprinkle with a bit more brown sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.
Store cooled pop tarts in a zip-top bag for up to 3 days. To reheat, toast in a toaster set to the medium setting.

Notes

I suspect that these would freeze quite well, though I have not tried it myself. To do so, freeze unbaked tarts on the lined baking sheet, then transfer to a zip-top bag. Bake straight from the freezer, adding extra time to the baking time.

Filed Under: Breakfast Tagged With: Baked goods, Breakfast, Figs, Fruit

Maple Granola with Pomegranate and Honeyed Greek Yogurt

January 9, 2013 by Stephie 12 Comments

This is the time of year when I start to feel a little sorry for myself whenever I walk through the produce section at the grocery store.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy citrus and apples as much as anyone else, but I always still miss the beautiful fruits of summer.

But the one piece of winter produce that I just can’t get enough of? Pomegranates. They’re just so beautiful, bright and fun.

So when my friends over at Chobani sent me a case of their 2% and 0% plain Greek yogurt, I knew I wanted to use it with some of those beautiful pomegranates I’ve been obsessing over.

Tangy, honeyed Greek yogurt. Sweet and crunch maple granola. Bright, tart pomegranate. That’s a breakfast that will make you feel good without feeling like you’ve over-indulged.

Ps – Did you know that there’s a super-simple trick for seeding pomegranates without making an enormous mess? Quarter the pomegranate. Fill a bowl with cold water. Then seed the pomegranate quarters under the water. The seeds will fall to the bottom while the pith floats to the top. So easy!

Granola adapted from White Jacket Required.

Maple Granola with Pomegranate and Honeyed Greek Yogurt

Yield: About 6 cups of granola

Ingredients

For the granola:

1 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2½ cups rolled oats
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup ground flax seed
½ cup slivered almonds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Sprinkle of sea salt

For the rest:

1 6-ounce container plain Greek yogurt (low or non-fat)
2 tablespoons honey
Seeds of 1 large pomegranate

Instructions

Make the granola:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup and coconut oil. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the rest of the granola ingredients. Drizzle with the hot syrup mixture and stir well to coat.
Spread granola on the prepared baking sheet and bake, stirring every 5-7 minutes, until the granola is golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Assemble:

Combine the Greek yogurt with 1-2 tablespoons of honey, or to taste. Top with some of the granola and the pomegranate seeds.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Snacks Tagged With: Almonds, Breakfast, Gluten-free, granola, Greek yogurt, Healthy, Oats, Pecans, Snacks, Vegetarian

Treats for Santa: Date Bread

December 5, 2012 by Stephie 16 Comments

This week should really be called “Retro Family Recipes Week” here on Eat Your Heart Out. Earlier this week I shared a recipe for fruitcake cookies – which has been surprisingly well-received, considering the fact that I was afraid the word “fruitcake” might scare off a lot of you. Today I am sharing another old family favorite: date bread.

As with most of my family recipes, this one has a bit of a back story. Apparently this recipe was given to my great-grandmother by a woman who was a professional cook. Now, here’s the thing: she told my great-grandmother that she would only give her the recipe if she promised to keep it a secret.

…whoops.

I’ll admit, I’m taking a risk of my great-grandmother coming back to haunt me by sharing this one with the internet, but I really think this is a great recipe, and one that you should have in your repertoire, especially at the holidays. Much like the fruitcake cookies, this is one of those breads that is good one on day one, better one on day two, and just downright awesome on day three – which means that it is the perfect bread to either make ahead for breakfast or give away to friends and loved ones.

Also…my great-grandmother would have been 112 this year…so I’m guessing that probably means the woman she got the recipe from probably isn’t still around either…which means I’m safe to share, right? (Too depressing? Sorry. Eat a piece of bread and you’ll feel better.)

Date Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

¾ cup brown sugar
1 egg, divided
1 cup pitted, chopped dates
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup boiling water
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups flour
¾ cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf pan; set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the dates, baking soda and boiling water. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, cream brown sugar with the egg yolk. Add the cooled date mixture; stir to combine. Add salt, flour and pecans.
Whip the egg white to stiff peaks; gently fold into batter. Sprinkle baking powder over the batter and fold to combine. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack. Prior to serving, dust the top with powdered sugar, if desired.
Will last for several days, well wrapped, at room temperature. (Or freeze for a few months.)

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast Tagged With: Baked goods, Bread, Breakfast, dates, Dessert, Holidays, Pecans

Plum Poppy Seed Muffins

November 28, 2012 by Stephie 11 Comments

It’s my birthday!

Which means I should probably be posting about cupcakes…but instead I’m posting about muffins. But really, it’s ok because these beauties are from the new Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

A few of my friends and I have been so jazzed about this cookbook coming out that we all decided to each make a recipe from the book and post about them on the same day. When Julia emailed us with a list of approved recipes, I emailed back immediately and requested these muffins. Plum poppy seed muffins?? How could I not want to make those? As soon as I left work that day, I was off to the store to buy plums and these babies were baking away in my oven before I knew it.

What makes these muffins so special? You mean aside from the fact that they consist of almost as much fruit as actual batter? (Glorious, just glorious.)

Browned butter.

Yeah. I said it. And I’ll say it again.

Browned. Butter.

And oh my does it make a difference here. It gives the muffins that certain nuttiness that you just can’t get enough of and pairs so beautifully with tart sweetness of the plums and the sweet muffin batter. It’s just downright amazing, and makes me ridiculously excited to dive into all of the other recipes in Deb‘s new cookbook. Beautifully photographed, well-written, and chock-full of recipes that you could throw together for your family or serve at a dinner party. It’s a little bit of everything…and certainly everything you could want in a cookbook (the spine is even made so that it stays open while you’re cooking!).

Make sure you take a minute to check out what the other awesome ladies have put together for this special post:

Julia of The Roasted Root: Pancetta, White Bean, and Chard Pot Pie

Abby of Seaweed and Sassafras: Apple Cider Caramels

Natalie of Perry’s Plate: S’more Layer Cake <— Visit Natalie’s post to find out how to WIN a copy of Deb’s book!!

Plum Poppy Seed Muffins

Yield: 12 standard-size muffins

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and browned and cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup sour cream or full-fat plain yogurt
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 cups pitted and diced plums (from about ¾ pound)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.
Whisk the egg with both sugars in the bottom of a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then the sour cream. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and poppy seeds, then stir them into the sour cream mixture until it is just combined and still a bit lumpy. Fold in the plums.
Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Rest muffins in the pan on a cooling rack for 2 minutes, then remove them from the tin to cool them completely.

Notes

To brown the butter: In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden, and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot: You may be impatient for it to start browning, but the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast Tagged With: Baked goods, Bread, Breakfast, Muffins

New England Sticky Buns {Cookbook Review and Giveaway!}

November 20, 2012 by Stephie 35 Comments

It’s Thanksgiving week, my friends! Are you as ready for a break as I am? I know I can’t wait to spend a few days with my family where the biggest worry on my mind will be whether eating too many appetizers will mean less room for pie later on…

If you’re still looking for a decadent breakfast treat to feed your guests this weekend, this sticky bun recipe is definitely one that you are going to want to try. I recently made them for my dad’s birthday and everyone went ca-ray-zay for them. This recipe comes from the cookbook I Love Cinnamon Rolls! by Judith Fertig (Andrews McMeel Publishing) – yes, that’s right, an entire cookbook dedicated just to cinnamon rolls! I know, I thought I had died and gone to heaven, too, when I realized this was a real thing.

And it’s not just a real thing – it’s a great thing! Guys, this cookbook is a real winner. Not only are the recipes great – in addition to the sticky bun recipe I am sharing with you today, I also tried the Cinnamon Rugelach – but the cookbook is set up to help even beginner bakers achieve cinnamon roll success. The book starts with an introduction which spells out the exact kinds of ingredients you will need for the recipes and explains all of the steps – from measuring to kneading to baking and storing – in easy-to-understand language. But the best part? The author includes eight different dough recipes (each with accompanying filling suggestions), with varying degrees of difficulty and perfect for different dietary needs. That means that vegan, gluten-free and beginning (or advanced!) bakers all have amazing options that are sure to impress family and friends.

And so, because this week is Thanksgiving…

…and because next week is my birthday…

…and because I think this cookbook would be a great addition to your personal library…

…the kind folks at Andrews McMeel Publishing are providing one copy of I Love Cinnamon Rolls! for me to give away to one lucky reader!

To enter, comment below and tell me your favorite Thanksgiving memory.

By leaving a comment below you are agreeing to the Official Rules, outlined here.

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Only U.S. residents over the age of 18 are eligible to enter.
Duration: Tuesday, November 20 through Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 10 PM central time.
Leave a comment answering the question to enter. You can receive up to 4 additional entries by doing the following and leaving one separate comment for each additional item. (If you are already a follower, simply let me know that you are.)

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Become a fan of Eat Your Heart Out on Facebook.
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The winner will be randomly selected and announced at 10 pm (central time) on Tuesday, November 27. I will email you (so be sure to enter a valid email address) and you will have 48 hours to respond.

While Andrews McMeel Publishing provided review and giveaway copies of I Love Cinnamon Rolls!, I was under no obligation to post a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

New England Sticky Buns

Yield: 12 large buns

Sticky buns, beloved in New England, feature a gooey, caramelized pan sauce that forms the topping when a pan of rolls is inverted. Inspired by Joanne Chang’s fabulous sticky buns at Flour Bakery and Café in Boston, these buns bake to a dark brown, glossy finish and are best served warm. To toast whole pecans, place them on a baking sheet at 350°F for 15 minutes, then chop.

Ingredients

Traditional Cinnamon Roll Dough:

1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and dusting
2 ½ teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast

Pan Sauce:

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
1½ cups packed light brown sugar
⅓ cup clover honey
⅓ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup toasted, chopped pecans

Cinnamon-Pecan Filling:

¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup toasted, chopped pecans

Instructions

Make the dough:

In a 4-cup measuring cup, combine the milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Microwave on High for 1 minute or until warm. Whisk in the eggs.
Place the flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the liquid ingredients. Mix on low speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time, until the dough forms a soft mass and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 5 to 6 minutes.
Remove the paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook. With the mixer on low, knead the dough with the dough hook. Sprinkle the dough with a tablespoon of flour, if necessary, to keep it from sticking to the sides of the bowl. When the dough is smooth, not sticky, and springs back when you press it with your finger, you’ve kneaded enough (4 to 6 minutes). Place the dough in a large, oiled mixing bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise in a warm place (about 85ºF) for 45 to 60 minutes, or until it has almost doubled.
Proceed with a cinnamon roll recipe.

Make the rolls:

For the pan sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk in the brown sugar until well combined but not smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the honey, cream, and salt until smooth. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, then pour and spread into\ a 9 by 13-inch pan. Scatter the pecans over the pan sauce.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll to a 16 by 20-inch rectangle.
For the filling, combine the sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Spread the dough with the butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture, then the pecans. Starting with a short end, roll up and form into a tight 16-inch cylinder. Cut the cylinder into 12 slices. Place each slice, spiral side up, in the prepared pan. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until medium brown in the creases. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn out each roll, one by one, onto a serving platter and top with pan sauce.

Notes

In order to avoid lots of work in the morning, I made these the night before and allowed them to do their second rise (after being filled and cut) overnight in the refrigerator. I then just allowed them to come to room temperature before baking the next morning.