Fresh Apricot Muffins

I've always been a huge fan of dried apricots, but I've overlooked the fresh ones until recently. While they're lovely on their own, or in a fruit salad, I really wanted to take a stab at baking with them and muffins seemed like the perfect vehicle. I wasn't disappointed- the muffins themselves aren't too sweet and the unique sweet-tart tanginess of the apricots shines through. 

I'm not a fan of big cakey muffins- I always use greek yogurt in the batter which makes the more moist and fluffy than dense- something to with the lactic acid in the yogurt tenderizing the flour. It's better for you and (I think) it tastes better too.

The muffins themselves are quite small compared to the average American muffin, so you may want to consider making a double batch- I wish I had!

FRESH APRICOT MUFFINS

Makes 12 small muffins

1 vanilla bean

1 lemon

1 cup chopped fresh apricot + 1 fresh apricot sliced into 12 thin strips

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg

1 cup greek yogurt
3 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp honey

Preheat your oven to 350F and butter a 12 cup muffin tin. 

Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and zest the lemon, then add both to the chopped apricots, along with 1 tbsp of sugar; stir together; set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg into a large bowl.

In another bowl combine beaten eggs with the yogurt, the melted butter and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, beating slowly, and then add the chopped apricot stirring just til everything is combined. Spoon batter into the muffin pan and  then top with the sliced apricots. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until a fork inserted in the top comes out clean.

Let cool for a few minutes and.. yum!

Double Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches

Last week I spent a few hours doing research on homemade ice cream sandwiches for an upcoming book, and after a while I had an unbearable craving for them. So this weekend I whipped up some homemade peanut butter chocolate chunk ice cream and double chocolate cookies, stuck them together and voila- craving satisfied. The end result was ridiculously decadent- I could barely finish one. These would be perfect for one of those nights when you skip dinner in favor of dessert, which sometimes just has to be done.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHUNK ICE CREAM

1 cup peanut butter (not natural)
3/4 cup sugar
11/4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
11/2 teaspoons vanilla

pinch of sea salt
1 cup chopped chocolate (from your favorite chocolate bar)

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the peanut butter and sugar together until smooth, then add the milk and mix on low speed until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla and salt.
Pour the mixture into freezer bowl of your ice cream maker, and let it mix until it's thick, about 30 minutes. Just before it's finished, add the chocolate through the top and let mix in completely. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, and freeze.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1 stick of butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla 

3/4 cup flour (I used white whole wheat flour but all purpose will do)

2/3 cup good quality cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup chopped chocolate (from your favorite chocolate bar)

Preheat your oven to 375. 

In a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar together until they are creamy, then add the egg and the vanilla and keep mixing until everything is combined. At that point add your dry ingredients; once the mixture starts to look like batter add the chopped chocolate.

Drop 2" rounds onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. When done, let cool on a rack.

Once your cookies are thoroughly cooled you can start to assemble your ice cream sandwiches. The yield is 6-8 sandwiches and you'll still have ice cream left over.

Basil Ginger Lemonade

Hello again- I know it's been a while, but I hope this amazing lemonade will make up for it! Last month I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks in Panama and what an amazing place it was—beauty everywhere, and some seriously friendly locals. Although the food is very good and very fresh, we didn't eat a whole lot. A plate of eggs in the morning, as many pineapple and banana batidos as it took to get through the sweltering heat, and if we were lucky (and had the energy) we would finish the day with fish tacos. My culinary highpoint was the lemonade that we found in a few expat cafes. Seems a bit strange- but it was no ordinary lemonade; fresh squeezed lemons mixed with things like basil, ginger, coconut, and rosewater. Seeing as it was too hot to eat much (as it is right now), these exotic lemonades were the perfect remedy.

Upon my return I recreated a basil-ginger combination and was not disappointed. Try it, it's easy, nutritious and will keep you cool and happy.

BASIL GINGER LEMONADE

makes 1 pitcher

6-8 lemons

6 cups cold water

2 large bunches of basil

Ginger Simple Syrup 

Ginger Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

fresh ginger, peeled and cut into three 1" pieces

Make the simple syrup first; put the sugar into a saucepan with the water and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer, add the ginger, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Take off heat and cool to room temperature and store in a jar in the refrigerator. 

Once the simple syrup is cool, remove the stems from the basil and puree the leaves in a food processor. Juice your lemons, strain out any seeds and combine the juice with the basil and cold water in a large pitcher. Add the simple syrup to taste. Enjoy!