Baking aboard the Ark

 

We’ve had a bit of rain, things are wet, but we no longer toss that “D” word around these days. The last thirty days have been a real toad-strangler, and although I fear I may jinx things by complaining, I can’t resist my need to swear, “Enough is enough!”….

Things happen. Take for instance that garden. It grew nicely, but without the intervention of soaker hoses it would have been for naught. I think I had twenty tomatoes via thirteen plants. The gods must have been warning me about that number. Who knows.  All I can tell you is that I heeded caution over the beets, fennel and swiss chard seeds earlier this week, opting to delay the planting of my fall garden until after the ‘potential’ flood had receded.   Normally I would ignore the weather men and women, but I caught sight of a ‘real nasty’ poke-in-the-eye, via satellite, heading east via Cabo this past weekend. “It” was dancing rough and getting ready to tumble inward. I chose to just belly up to the bar and hold the planting until after the promised deluge.
Rather a good idea.  Had it not been for the french drains, this ark would have found its way to the Rio Grande and then onward to the Gulf of Mexico.  As it is, we held ourselves to the buoys and docked this sucker hoping for a reprieve.  Hey, it’s still overcast kids, but the patio is no longer under water and the dog has only had to be hosed off once in the past few hours. 

I thought about submitting a recipe for mudpies, but it’s been awhile since I’ve had the nerve to feast upon a few, so here’s my answer to, ‘Ark fever’:

 

Choc-O-bits, Orange & Cream Cheese Muffins

(a variation of a recipe Frances gave me in the last millenium.  Yields approximately 21 muffins, give or take.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

 

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese (room temp)
1 stick of unsalted butter (room temp)
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs (room-temp)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I like K.A.)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup milk (room-temp)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
3 Tablespoon chocolate jimmies (the REAL kind)
2 Tablespoon orange zest (fresh)

…..

Orange Glaze

1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 to 3 cups confectioners sugar
…………

Cream butter and cream cheese in mixer, add sugar and beat until light and fluffy .. total mix time, approx., 5 minutes. Add eggs, beating well after each addition.

Combine the sifted flour, baking powder, salt, and add to the creamed mixture, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with the sifted flour contents. Stir well, but do not over beat. Finally, stir in pecans, orange zest, chocolate chips and jimmies. Spoon batter into lined muffin pans 3/4 full and bake at 375 degrees for 24 to 26 minutes.

…..

Allow muffins to cool for ten minutes in baking pans before removing to a wire rack. Using orange and confectioners glaze, drizzle each muffin and allow to finish cooling before serving or storing for later use.

These will freeze well and can be kept for later use. Simply defrost in fridge overnight or uncovered on countertop for one hour.

Enjoy!

~ by coffeegrounded on October 22, 2009.