Quote of the Day ~ Number One

Hello, dear friends! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the week!

I was recently nominated by my beautiful friend, Sadie, at Sadie’s Nest for the three day quote challenge. I thought this sounded like a lot of fun, so I eagerly accepted.

I want to thank Sadie not only for nominating me, but for being the wonderful friend that she is. She brings such love and inspiration to her lovely blog!

The quote I chose for Day One comes from Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place. Her book is incredible, and I highly recommend it.

Excerpt from Wikipedia: Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom (15 April 1892 – 15 April 1983) was a Dutch Christian who, along with her father and other family members, helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. She was imprisoned for her actions. Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, describes the ordeal.

Rules for the challenge:

Thank the blogger that nominated you.
Share one new quote on three consecutive days on your blog. They can be from anywhere, anyone, or anything.
On each of the three days, nominate three more bloggers to carry on with the fun! No   pressure; nominees are free to decline.

My first day Quote Challenges are to the following:

B at Folkbird

Bethani at Bethani Bakes

Claire at Paintbox Mum

 

 

A Winter Walk

Last week, we welcomed another snow storm which left us with several inches of fresh white powder. The girls were delighted, immediately grabbing their gear to build a snow man and take in an afternoon of sledding.

The chickens on the other hand — well, if you’ve been reading this blog recently, you’re well aware of how our chickens react to the snow. However, they did seem a little braver after this last storm and welcomed the straw that we scattered on the ground for them!

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, our eldest daughter loves photography.

I smiled as she grabbed her camera and headed out the door to capture the essence of a winter day.

I thought you might enjoy a few of her photos …

Honey Pecan – Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love the flavor of candied pecans as well as the combination of chocolate with pecans, so I’ve tried to incorporate all three flavors into this new muffin recipe. These are great for a snack, light dessert or sweet breakfast. I hope you’ll give them a try and let me know how you like them!

Honey Pecan – Chocolate Chip Muffins

*I prefer to use all organic ingredients

1 cup pecans, finely chopped or pulsed in a food processor

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon coconut sugar

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup vanilla almond milk

2/3 cup raw honey

6 Tablespoons coconut oil, softened

1 Tablespoon vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

-In a food processor, pulse together the pecans, cinnamon and coconut sugar. You can also finely chop the pecans and mix together in a small bowl.

-In a stand mixer, with a hand mixer or by hand, gently whisk together the eggs, vanilla almond milk, honey, coconut oil and vanilla until combined.

-Gently blend in the flour, baking powder and salt until incorporated into the wet ingredients.

-Gently fold in the pecan, cinnamon, coconut sugar and chocolate chips by hand.

-Fill muffin liners or cases approximately 2/3 full, and bake for 13-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

-Garnish with chopped pecans and shaved chocolate, if desired.

Enjoy!

Update on Chocolate Cream Eclairs

A quick update on the Chocolate Cream Eclairs recipe — I completely forgot to include 1 cup of water to the éclair dough recipe! Oops! The recipe has now been updated for those of you who would like to re-save it.

I apologize for the error, and bless you, dear Lynn, for catching that for me! 🙂

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

~ Anna

Chocolate Cream Eclairs

One of my most treasured dessert cookbooks is the Hershey’s 1934 Cookbook. It was a gift from my Mom many years ago (she knows how I love chocolate!), and what makes it extra special to me is the photo of the young boy on the front. He reminds me a lot of how my Dad looked as a child. (My Dad even had a little sister like in the photo.)

I’ve been craving some sort of French dessert, and while perusing this cookbook, I came across a recipe for Chocolate Cream Eclairs. I had never made this recipe before, and it turned out quite delicious! I think I’ll enjoy experimenting with this recipe in the near future — possibly trying out a darker chocolate for the filling, although the original is wonderful as is!

The recipe is in three steps — chocolate cream filling, éclair dough and finally the glaze, but it all comes together very easily!

Chocolate Cream Eclairs

Recipe adapted from the Hershey’s 1934 Cookbook

*I prefer to use all organic ingredients

Chocolate Cream Filling

5 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup raw cane sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups milk

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

7 ounces milk chocolate (in pieces or chips)

-In medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, sugar and salt.

-Whisk in milk and egg yolks until well blended

-Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture boils, then boil for one minute.

-Remove from heat — add chocolate and vanilla. Stir until chocolate melts.

-Pour into large bowl, cover with waxed paper on surface. Set aside to cool.

Next step …

Éclair Dough

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs

-Grease cookie sheet and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

-In medium saucepan, stir water, butter and salt over medium heat to a rolling boil. (Make sure butter has melted.)

-Add flour, and stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball. (It will resemble a ball of mashed potatoes.) Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.

-At this point, I transferred the dough to a stand mixer, but the bowl will also work fine.

-Add one egg at a time, mixing well for one minute (or until smooth) between each egg addition.

-On greased cookie sheet, shape 1/4 cups of dough that are approximately 4 inches long, 1 inch wide and 3 inches apart from each other.

-Bake 35-40 minutes or until they become puffy and golden brown.

-Cool on a wire rack while preparing chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

4 ounces milk chocolate, in pieces or chips

2-4 teaspoons water

2 teaspoons coconut oil

-Using a double boiler, stir all ingredients over hot, but not boiling water, and stir until smooth.

The Eclairs!

-Cut each éclair horizontally, and remove any soft dough from inside.

-Fill with 1/4 cup of chocolate cream, cover with top.

-Spoon warm glaze over the top, and dust with cocoa powder, if desired.

-Refrigerate until serving, and refrigerate any leftovers. What leftovers?

Enjoy!

–

New Year, New Cookbook Review!

Happy New Year, everyone!

What better way to start off a fresh new year than with a great new cookbook brimming with an abundance of new recipes?

I’ve been so excited to write my very first cookbook review — especially since this is a cookbook I am greatly enjoying!

I was immediately drawn to Whitney Miller’s new cookbook, New Southern Table, because fabulous recipes with southern warmth and charm is most definitely a winning combination! Gorgeous photos and heart-warming tales of Ms. Miller’s family traditions are delightfully interwoven throughout the book, giving the reader a genuine taste of true southern hospitality. From classic favorites with a new twist to a toasted coconut cream pie with chocolate and pecans, this wonderful cookbook is sure to become a family favorite! With three of the chapters entitled “Family Suppers“, “Sunday Dinners” and “Company’s Comin’“, I am equally inspired to gather together and re-connect at the family dinner table with loved ones! Menu inspiration is plentiful with recipes such as Smoked Brisket, Olive Oil Biscuits, Sweet Potato Cornbread and Sweet Corn Grits. Ms. Miller’s dessert selection is a chapter that is near and dear to my heart! (as well as my sweet tooth!) Her Brownie Cookies are moist, rich and chocolaty — but wait, there’s more! As if this cookie recipe wasn’t already amazing on its own, it can be delightfully transformed into not one, but two Mississippi Mudd Pies that are sheer bliss! I found the recipe for two 9″ pies to perfectly encompass the tradition of southern charm — one for you, and another to share!

Whitney Miller has graciously shared her Brownie Cookie recipe on her lovely website — I’m sure you will also enjoy reading more about her!

I made the brownie cookie recipe this week — need I say more? I think the chocolate picture speaks volumes!

I also made her recipe for Mississippi Mudd Pie which can be found in her new cookbook — page 262 in case you are already on your way to buy it — which I highly recommend!

Another picture that speaks volumes …

A piece of that wonderful pie!