Quarantine baking

artiemom

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The best blueberry muffins IMO are Jordan Marsh's blueberry muffins :yummy: (right, artiemom artiemom artiemom artiemom ?) Have you ever had one Winchester Winchester Winchester Winchester ?
OMG!!! Memories of my childhood... loved, loved, loved Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins!! OMG...

It was a real treat for us to get it.. They are famous in this area..

I remember when either my mom and I, or my aunt would go into Boston, to shop----do you remember Filene's Basement, Dollar Days!!! They would always come home with a box of them for both families... so delicious: enormous muffins, filled with tons of blueberries, large sugar crystals not pop--not too much.. a perfect cake consistency... perfection in each bite..
 

artiemom

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LTS3

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One of the local news stations interviewed the head Jordan Marsh baker a few years ago and published what the baker claims is the original muffin recipe:


Picture below is mine from a couple years ago:

IMAG0127.jpg


The book Jordan Marsh: New England’s Largest Store by Anthony Sammarco includes various Jordan Marsh recipes including two recipes for the blueberry muffins. I found the book at the local library.

do you remember Filene's Basement, Dollar Days!!! They would always come home with a box of them for both families... so delicious: enormous muffins, filled with tons of blueberries, large sugar crystals not pop--not too much.. a perfect cake consistency... perfection in each bite..
Yes, Filene's but I never went into the Basement part. No trip downtown was ever complete without buying a box or two of Jordan Marsh muffins to eat at home :yummy: I remember Jordan Marsh apple muffins but the blueberry ones were the most popular. I don't recall if my parents ever bought anything else from the Jordan Marsh bakery. I always wanted one of those giant swirly lollipops sold at the bakery registers but my parents would never buy one :disappointed:
 

artiemom

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I remember the giant swirly lollipops!!! I had forgotten about them.

I think we did try the banana and the apple muffins. You are so right. The blueberry ones were the best!
 
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betsygee

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One of my friends has been COVID baking lately. She's into cookies and luckily for me, is making too many for her and her hubby to eat alone. :yess: She brought over a batch of chocolate chip/habanero cookies! Just a hint of heat from the peppers. Delicious.
 

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Shoo-fly cake anybody? Just took it out of the oven. I like to bake shoo-fly cake because it brings back memories. This was a cake that Mom made when we were kids. It's also the cake that Rick's mom baked when we went to Half-Way Dam for Sunday breakfast. We'd all go up to picnic on Sunday mornings. She'd have eggs and bacon and sausage. Plenty of homemade bread. Lots of orange juice. Coffee. And dessert was always a shoo-fly cake. Have breakfast, go for a walk, read the Sunday paper. And then come home. Dick (Rick's dad) would take a scenic route home and we saw all kinds of stuff.

When his parents got too old, I took over breakfast. We'd pick them up and I had breakfast ready to go. We used the old Coleman stove. (It still works, BTW).

Anyway, here's the cake.

ShooFlyCake.jpg
 
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betsygee

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Shoo-fly cake anybody? Just took it out of the oven. I like to bake shoo-fly cake because it brings back memories. This was a cake that Mom made when we were kids. It's also the cake that Rick's mom baked when we went to Half-Way Dam for Sunday breakfast. We'd all go up to picnic on Sunday mornings. She'd have eggs and bacon and sausage. Plenty of homemade bread. Lots of orange juice. Coffee. And dessert was always a shoo-fly cake. Have breakfast, go for a walk, read the Sunday paper. And then come home. Dick (Rick's dad) would take a scenic route home and we saw all kinds of stuff.

When his parents got too old, I took over breakfast. We'd pick them up and I had breakfast ready to go. We used the old Coleman stove. (It still works, BTW).

Anyway, here's the cake.

View attachment 347108
What a nice tradition! 🧡

The cake looks yummy. I've heard the name before but I don't think I've ever eaten any. Do you have a recipe for it?
 
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betsygee

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I had 1/2 a cantaloupe in the fridge and did a google search of what to do with it. Found a recipe for cantaloupe quick bread. Who knew there was such a thing! It's good. You can't taste the cantaloupe, it's like adding applesauce or something similar for moisture. I could sure smell it when it was cooking, though--wonderful.

The recipe makes two loafs. I only made one in case it wasn't that good but since it is, and I still have some cantaloupe left, I'll probably make another one tomorrow to give away.

IMG_8868.jpeg
 

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In my files I have some handy dandy information on converting cake to cupcakes:

Plan about 12 cupcakes from the same amount of batter that will yield one 9-inch-round cake layer. This will vary based on the cake’s density. A light cake that has a lot of rise will yield more cupcakes than something dense like a cheesecake. Set the oven to the same temperature as for the cake.

How much will the cupcake rise? How long will you need to bake it for? The best way to answer these questions is to bake a test cupcake. Fill a cupcake liner halfway full and bake for around 20 minutes. Check your test cupcake at around 15 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry. If your test cupcake was too short, fill the others higher; if your test cupcake overflowed, don’t put as much batter in the others.
 

catapault

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What I baked today were cranberry walnut cornmeal muffins. Of course there wasn't a recipe that read like it would be quite what I wanted so I had to play home cooking chemistry lab.

Chopped cranberries. Toasted walnuts. Didn't have enough buttermilk so I poured what I had into a measuring cup and added enough yogurt to bring it up to the scant cup I wanted. Flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, melted butter. 14 muffins now cooling on the rack, looking pretty good.

What's the difference between muffins and cupcakes? IMHO muffins are not as sweet. And cupcakes must be frosted. You?

Some will go to the farm and feed as a thank you for the two pallets he was kind enough to bring right to my house. He doesn't know I actually want two more . . . if he likes these muffins I'll offer a plum version.
 

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Yes, as a general rule, muffins aren't as sweet as cupcakes and the texture is different. I frost most cupcakes, but sprinkle a streusel mixture on my most of my muffins. And I can serve cupcakes as a dessert, but muffins are more for breakfast or for dinner with soup or salad.
 

catapault

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Issues with chocolate chip cookies.

I make a half batch of the Toll House cookie recipe on the Nestle chocolate chip bag. This makes 9 large cookies for Himself to enjoy. I have been making this recipe for so long that I have it memorized.

When I turn the oven on to pre-heat I take a stick of butter out of the refrigerator. 20 minutes late I start preparing the dough. By the time it is mixed the oven has just reached temperature.

I never grease the cookie sheet for these cookies. Also do not line with parchment paper. Not necessary.

When previous batch over-spread and cracked I used a new box of baking soda for the next one. Which came out looking like this -

Chocolate Chip Cookies_2020-09_cracked.jpg
I use a scoop to portion the dough. Use the large bag of chocolate chips from Costco, which have given good results previously, and also with this same bag. Same brown sugar as previous satisfactory batches. Same flour. Checked oven temperature, which was correct.

Next thing to try after Himself finishes the cookies (they taste fine, just look ugly) is to slightly reduce the amount of flour for the next batch.
 
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betsygee

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I have to share my friend's quarantine baking. He's been perfecting his bread making skills. My hubby loves all things tie-dye. Look what he got as a thank you for a tool he'd lent our friend--tie dye brioche! It was delicious as well as colorful.

IMG_9121.jpeg IMG_9122.jpeg
 

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Not really quarantine baking, but I didn't know where else to put this picture. Anybody want a garlic-parmesan roll? Rick came home from the dentist this morning, walked in the house, sniffing the air, walked out to the kitchen, and well, there are rolls missing! Just barely browned, these are so good, rich in Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and lots of freshly chopped garlic. With a smattering of black pepper and some oregano. So soft and the olive oil and garlic topping gives just a wee bit of crunch. Yum! (And before I got them into the freezer, two more disappeared, so he ate four!)
GPRolls.jpg
 
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betsygee

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You made those?! 😲 I can almost smell them. You're such a talented baker.
 

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Not really quarantine baking, but I didn't know where else to put this picture. Anybody want a garlic-parmesan roll? Rick came home from the dentist this morning, walked in the house, sniffing the air, walked out to the kitchen, and well, there are rolls missing! Just barely browned, these are so good, rich in Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and lots of freshly chopped garlic. With a smattering of black pepper and some oregano. So soft and the olive oil and garlic topping gives just a wee bit of crunch. Yum! (And before I got them into the freezer, two more disappeared, so he ate four!)
View attachment 353051

I can't blame him. I can smell them from here. :yummy:
Garlic parm rolls are like cats. They are better in pairs so having two at a time is correct. :lol:
 
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