Baking Day

I love to be in the kitchen baking something delicious. With a two year old that sometimes is an impossible task. Today it worked in my favor and I spent the majority of the day in the kitchen. You might be impressed to hear all that I was able to make.

I woke up before Seth and started a batch of homemade Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins. A recipe of my mother's that I will always love. The fresh raspberries from the orchard made the muffins taste just like home. My mother would always make them for me when our raspberry bushes in the backyard started to produce enough berries. They are a very special treat that I was excited to share with my family. Since you are wondering, and your mouth is watering, I will gladly pass on the recipe:

Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 eggs
2 cups fresh raspberries
4 oz. cream cheese, diced into small pieces
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp. sugar to sprinkle on top

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add, alternating with milk, to butter-sugar mixture. Carefully fold in berries and separated pieces of cream cheese. Heap into muffin tins and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Makes 24 regular size muffins.

Note: The cream cheese is very sticky to deal with and the berries very tender so here is another way to make it easy... Fill each muffin cup with a small scoop of muffin mixture, then add a few berries and a few pieces of cream cheese and cover with a bit more mix. It takes forever but your berries will be whole and you can confirm that each muffin got some cream cheese. Just a thought...

After enjoying a breakfast of muffins, Seth and I started in on an apple pie. I have not made an apple pie in years. I was always fearful of rolling out the pie crust in the past but have since conquered the fear rolling out various other crusts. Seth has been learning and reading about orchards and making a pie was something he was set on so I made him help. He actually did really good rolling the dough out and our pie turned out marvelous! Not only did it look good, it tasted fantastic. (Good thing too since we served it for dessert to our company tonight!) The recipe, we all have one. If you want it ask and you shall receive...

Seth and mom rolling out our pie dough.

It was too pretty not to take a picture!

Seth digging in after supper with some ice cream on the side. He was in heaven!

Since I still had plenty of apples left, I was unsatisfied with just the pie and turned to another family favorite: Apple Pie Bars. Some people know them as hand pies. These have been made literally famous by my mother. She could probably go into business and not be able to keep up with the demand as everyone in town has tried and loved them! I learned to make them alongside her and my family now loves them too. Since they are more unique, I will give you the recipe so you can try them for yourselves.

Apple Pie Bars

For the dough:
2 and 3/4 cups flour
1 cup shortening
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup water, add 1 egg yolk plus
enough milk to equal 2/3 cup liquid.

Mix and cut into two. Roll one half thin into large rectangle. Place dough on large cookie sheet.

For the filling:
1 cup crushed Corn Flakes
8 cups sliced apples
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Sprinkle crushed corn flakes on pastry crust, followed by sliced apples. Mix sugar and cinnamon together then sprinkle on top of apples. Roll out second half of dough and place on top of the first half. Roll up edges and press down to seal. Bake for 1 hour in 350 degree oven. Top with Almond flavored powder sugar frosting if desired. (We love them with ice cream too!)

Since I had plenty of apples I made a second pan of Apple Pie Bars and after wrapping it in foil placed it in the freezer. Some evening I can pull it out before we go to bed and let it thaw, then wake up early to sneak it in the oven and have it for breakfast. That is the best time to eat them hot!

POST EDIT: My mother told me that I should never let them thaw
over night, just stick them straight in the oven!

That pretty much wraps up our baking for the day. I had to clean up so we could have our dinner made for company and then enjoy our sweets. I really hope you try one of the recipes since I feel like I am giving away family secrets! Your family will love them too - I promise.