Monday, February 28, 2022

Banana Jam Muffins #MuffinMonday

These banana jam muffins are made with homemade banana jam – so easy! – swirled through buttermilk muffin batter then baked to golden perfection. 

Food Lust People Love: These banana jam muffins are made with homemade banana jam – so easy! – swirled through buttermilk muffin batter then baked to golden perfection.

I was awake in the middle of the night last week, as I often am a few days before Muffin Monday when I don’t have a muffin planned. I ran through the options of 1. what I already own ingredient-wise and 2. what my family is most likely to eat. 

The bottom line is that sweet muffins are more popular than savory so I discarded thoughts of Boursin, cheddar and blue cheese. That left me with blackberries (which I used last month so never mind), raspberries, pears and bananas. Pretty sure I've baked muffins with each of those before and several with bananas.

And then suddenly a thought popped into my head: Can a person make ripe bananas into jam? Is banana jam even a thing? Yes, my middle-of-the-night brain is a weird and wonderful thing. Banana jam was the first thing I googled as soon as I got out of bed that next morning.

You’ve seen my title so you know it is a THING. I’m here to tell you that it’s also delicious. I only made enough for these muffins but next time I’m going to double or treble the recipe because it would be lovely spread on toast with peanut butter. If you decide to do that right now, (and I highly recommend you do) store it in a clean jar in the refrigerator. This banana jam is not acidic enough to be safe for very long as a canned jam. 

Banana Jam Muffins

The banana jam can be made ahead. Just store it in a clean vessel in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake. No buttermilk? Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to your measuring cup then pour in the milk to the half-cup mark.  The jam recipe is adapted from one on FOOD52.

Ingredients
For the banana jam:
2 small ripe bananas (about 4.75 oz or 135g, post-peeling)
1/3 cup, firmly packed, or 66g light brown sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon aged rum
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the 6 muffins:
1 1/4 cups or 156g flour
1/3 cup or 66g sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 120ml buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil
1/2 cup or 150g banana jam

Method
First, we’ll make the jam. Combine the bananas and sugar in a small pot. Before you put it on the stove, mash the bananas with a fork until the fruit is chunky and the sugar syrupy. 

Mashing the banana with a fork

Set over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Add the lime juice and salt. 

Simmering!

Continue to cook at a steady simmer - stirring occasionally - for about 10 minutes, until the jam thickens. When you can pull a spatula through it and the gap doesn’t run closed immediately, it’s done. 

It's done!

Remove the bananas from the heat and stir in the rum and vanilla.

With the rum and vanilla

Set the banana jam aside aside to cool while you assemble your muffin ingredients and prepare the muffin pan.

One half cup of banana jam cooling

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 6-cup muffin pan by greasing it with oil or butter or lining it with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

The dry ingredients

In a smaller mixing bowl whisk the egg, milk and oil together. 

The wet ingredients

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl. Fold to combine. Do not over mix.

Adding the wet ingredients to the dry

 Gently swirl in the banana jam.

Swirling in the banana jam

Divide the batter between the muffin cups in your prepared pan. 


Q1. Did I over fill these cups? That depends on how you feel about very large muffin tops. Q2. Could you bake this batter into 7 or even 8 muffins? Absolutely. Should you? See question 1. 

I stand by my six muffin decision.

Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Yeah, they touch. Fight me. 


Remove from the pan after they’ve cooled a few minutes and put them on a wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. 

Food Lust People Love: These banana jam muffins are made with homemade banana jam – so easy! – swirled through buttermilk muffin batter then baked to golden perfection.

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: These banana jam muffins are made with homemade banana jam – so easy! – swirled through buttermilk muffin batter then baked to golden perfection.

It's the last Monday of the month so that means it's time for Muffin Monday! Check out the great muffin recipes we have for you today. 


#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Banana Jam Muffins!

Food Lust People Love: These banana jam muffins are made with homemade banana jam – so easy! – swirled through buttermilk muffin batter then baked to golden perfection.

 .

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Hobak Jeon - Korean Zucchini Pancakes

Hobak Jeon aka zucchini pancakes are a savory snack popular in Korean cuisine that are made with small pieces of zucchini in a thick batter and fried until crispy with a little oil. Dip them in a spicy sauce to complete this delicious dish!

Food Lust People Love: Hobak Jeon aka zucchini pancakes are a savory snack popular in Korean cuisine that are made with small pieces of zucchini in a thick batter and fried until crispy with a little oil. Dip them in a spicy sauce to complete this delicious dish!

When I was growing up, I only knew about two kinds of pancakes. The regular fluffy kind that was served with butter and syrup and the thin ones we ate sprinkled with lime juice and sugar. We called those crepes but my British friends and classmates in Trinidad called them pancakes. 

Who knew that there is a whole world full of other delicious pancakes out there! In fact, starting on 28 February, we celebrate Pancake Week, which includes Pancake Day on 1 March, also known as Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday. I’ve asked my Sunday FunDay friends to share their favorite recipes with you so you can join the festivities. Make sure to scroll to the bottom to check out the list. 

I must confess that hobak jeon are new to me and I found them originally on a Wikipedia list of international pancakes. Hobak means zucchini and jeon is pancake or fritter. Since then I’ve discovered that there are many varieties of jeon. They can contain meat or fish, diverse vegetables, even kimchi. Some look more like Japanese tempura – ingredients dipped in a batter - with vegetables sliced in large pieces rather than small chopped bits. Some batters use eggs, many do not. 

I think we could do an entire event just making variations of jeon! What a wonderful, tasty experience that would be! Who's game? 

Hobak Jeon - Korean Zucchini Pancakes

This recipe is adapted from Gastronomy Recipes. The batter could not be simpler so the zucchini flavor gets to shine. Do not skip the dipping sauce though. Its spicy saltiness complements the pancakes perfectly.

Ingredients
For the 8 pancakes:
2 small zucchini, approx. weight 9 oz or 255g before trimming
1 cup or 125g flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup or 180ml water
Sesame oil
Canola or other light oil

For the dipping sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce (I use the lower sodium type.)
1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar (I use aged Chinese black vinegar.)
1 tablespoon minced onion 
2 small cloves garlic, minced 
1 hot chili pepper, sliced

Method
Combine all of the ingredients for the dipping sauce and set it aside. Making this ahead allows time for the garlic, onion and pepper to infuse the soy sauce and vinegar while you mix and pan fry the hobak jeok. 

The dipping sauce ingredients

Cut the ends off of the zucchini and slice them in half lengthwise and then in half again. Trim off the seedy middle and discard. Cut the zucchini in half again through the middle so you have two long, thin pieces for each quarter zucchini. 


Slice each thin piece into smaller sticks. 


Place the zucchini sticks into a bowl and add in the flour and salt. Stir to coat the zucchini with the flour. 


Add the water and combine well with a spoon.


Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over a medium flame and drizzle in 1 tablespoon of oil. 

Scoop about 1/3 cup of batter into the pan and pat it so it spreads out a little with the back of your scoop.


Continue with this process till you have three or four pancakes cooking. Do not overcrowd your pan because you need room to flip the pancakes over with a spatula. 

As the bottom of the pancakes begin to brown, drizzle a little sesame oil into the pan, along the edges of the pancakes. Tilt and shake the pan so that the sesame oil spreads underneath the pancakes.


Cook for another minute until the bottom turns light golden brown and crispy, then turn the pancakes over with a spatula. 


Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the other side is nicely browned. Repeat with the rest of the batter. Continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. 

As the pancakes are ready, put them on a warmed plate. Serve while hot, with the dipping sauce. 

If you aren’t serving them right away, I suggest warming the pancakes in a hot pan again to crispy them up before serving. 

Food Lust People Love: Hobak Jeon aka zucchini pancakes are a savory snack popular in Korean cuisine that are made with small pieces of zucchini in a thick batter and fried until crispy with a little oil. Dip them in a spicy sauce to complete this delicious dish!

Enjoy! 

As mentioned above, it’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing pancake recipes! Anything made with a batter is fair game.  Check out the links below. 

 
We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.


Pin these Hobak Jeon - Korean Zucchini Pancakes!

Food Lust People Love: Hobak Jeon aka zucchini pancakes are a savory snack popular in Korean cuisine that are made with small pieces of zucchini in a thick batter and fried until crispy with a little oil. Dip them in a spicy sauce to complete this delicious dish!

 .

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Pecan Praline Cookies

Nothing says Mardi Gras party quite like the sweet chewy bite of pecan praline cookies! These bake up quick and easy, lighter than air, but with the rich taste of brown sugar and toasted pecans.

Food Lust People Love: Nothing says Mardi Gras party quite like the sweet chewy bite of pecan praline cookies! These bake up quick and easy, lighter than air, but with the rich taste of brown sugar and toasted pecans.

When I talk about home, I have a few places that fit that description. Several countries where I've lived overseas; Houston, which I call my hometown because it’s the place I’ve lived the longest at one stretch – the years from fourth to 12th grade, and now two years of pandemic; and New Iberia, Louisiana, where I was born and where my mom made sure we went every time she could find three days off in a row when I was growing up. 

New Iberia was not just where I was born. It is also where both of my parents grew up, where almost all of my extended family still lives. Cajun country. Home of good and spicy home cooked food, heavily laden pecan and fig trees, fields of sugar cane and elderly relatives who spoke French before they learned English in school and loved to pinch my cheeks.

We stayed with my maternal grandparents but my father’s mother lived just a block or so away so every morning, before anyone else was up, I’d pull on shorts and a t-shirt, slip out of the front door and walk to my grandmother’s house. She didn’t seem to sleep much, was always up before the birds, so I knew I’d find hot coffee milk and something good for breakfast in her warm kitchen.

Occasionally we’d make the longer drive all the way to New Orleans to visit my Aunt Karen, my mom’s closest sister. New Orleans meant fun with my cousins, beignets in the French Quarter and, if the timing was right, Mardi Gras parades. 

What a thrill it was to stake out a spot on the parade route and see that first festive float glide graciously into view! “Throw me something, mister!” we’d shout, jumping wildly, wrapping the beads around our wrists like bracelets and draping them around our necks. I was richer than Midas, more brilliantly festooned than the most famous queens of history, never mind the short shorts and skinned knees of a tomboy childhood.

Some of my fondest memories over these last 50 plus years are steeped in Louisiana history where native pecans feature prominently in many baked goods. When my grandparents were still around, I could count on them for a steady supply of freshly shelled Louisiana pecans, which they’d crack and pick, putting aside bags for the whole family. Now when I’m home, I buy them from a farmer’s market and store them – carefully sealed – in the freezer for great recipes such as this one.

Pecan Praline Cookies

Recipe credit goes to Eva Schexnayder who shared these pecan praline cookies in a charity cookbook sold to benefit Shadows-on-the-Teche, an antebellum mansion and National Trust for Historic Preservation property on the banks of the Bayou Teche in New Iberia. If you ever get down that way, I highly recommend a visit.

Ingredients – for 3 dozen cookies
1 large egg white
1 cup, packed, or 200g brown sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups, chopped, or 225g pecans

Method
Preheat your oven to 275°F or 135°C and line your cookie sheets with baking parchment or silicone liners.

Beat your egg white in a clean mixing bowl until stiff peaks form.

Whipping the egg white to stiff peaks

Mix in the brown sugar.

Mixing in the brown sugar

Fold in the chopped pecans and the vanilla.

Folding in the pecans and vanilla

Drop by heaped teaspoons on to the prepared cookie sheets.

Dropping by heaped teaspoons on the prepared baking pan

Bake for 23-­28 minutes or until puffy and cooked through.

The baked pecan praline cookies!

Leave to cool for a few minutes and then transfer with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely. I have to tell you that as delicate as these would seem to be, I have stacked them in a plastic container where they traveled from Dubai to Bali in my luggage and arrived in perfect condition! Don't be afraid to ship some to a friend who might need cheering up.

Food Lust People Love: Nothing says Mardi Gras party quite like the sweet chewy bite of pecan praline cookies! These bake up quick and easy, lighter than air, but with the rich taste of brown sugar and toasted pecans.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and have I got a treat for you, seven special Mardi Gras recipes for your celebration. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime

 
We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

If "praline" is one of your OMG, I love that! trigger words, you might also like my coconut pralines with pecans, my black bottom pecan praline bars or my chocolate praline pretzels. Check 'em out.

Pin these Pecan Praline Cookies!

Food Lust People Love: Nothing says Mardi Gras party quite like the sweet chewy bite of pecan praline cookies! These bake up quick and easy, lighter than air, but with the rich taste of brown sugar and toasted pecans.

 .


Friday, February 18, 2022

Broiled Asian-inspired Red Snapper Fillets

The marinade for these broiled Asian-inspired Red Snapper Fillets includes soy sauce, Shaoxing, mirin, miso paste and sesame oil. It elevates any plain fish to fabulous!

Food Lust People Love: The marinade for these broiled Asian-inspired Red Snapper Fillets includes soy sauce, Shaoxing, mirin, miso paste and sesame oil. It elevates any plain fish to fabulous!

A few years ago, we were in California to pick up a vintage MG-D Tourer that had been restored for us by dedicated group of specialists. I had found it online quite by accident while searching for information about my husband’s grandparents. Turns out they were the owners listed on the original bill of sale back in 1932! Of course, we had to buy it. 

The gentleman who was selling it agreed to supervise its restoration in his workshop in Monterey, which is attached to a beautiful home he runs as a bed and breakfast. His only requirement was that we had to come to Monterey when the car was ready so he could teach us how to drive and care for it since there are a few tricks to keeping it running right and changing gears.

While we were there, we spent a few hours at the wonderful Monterey Aquarium, admiring the beautiful sea creatures and learning more about sustainability. I took that opportunity to download their Seafood Watch app which helped shoppers make better decisions about which seafood to buy. It was a great resource! Now you can use their website https://www.seafoodwatch.org to the same effect.

When our host for today’s Fish Friday Foodies chose the theme of sustainable seafood, I knew what I wanted to make. Red snapper has been on a no-no list for a while, but thanks to a new program in the Gulf of Mexico, their numbers are rising and Red Snapper, at least those wild-caught in the Gulf, is now a good alternative to more overfished species. 

Red Snapper from H-E-B, wild caught in the Gulf of Mexico


Ingredients to serve 4
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 red snapper fillets, scaled, approx. weight 1.6 lbs or 726g  

To garnish:
chopped cilantro
chopped red chili pepper (I use the larger ones that aren’t too hot.)
black sesame seeds

Method
Mix all of the ingredients up to the fish in a casserole dish large enough for the fillets to fit side by side. I used a little whisk. 

Making the marinade

Put the fillets skin side up in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but up to a three hours.

Marinating the fish, skin side up

About half and hour before you want to cook your fish, remove it from the refrigerator and turn the fish over in the marinade, skin side down. 

Turning the fish over, skin side down

Broil on high for about 9-11 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish, basting the fish about halfway through with the marinade.

Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes. 

Resting the cooked fish

I like to serve this with coconut rice to which I’ve added some thawed spinach. 

Garnish the red snapper with chopped cilantro, chopped red chili peppers and a sprinkle of black sesame seeds. 

Food Lust People Love: The marinade for these broiled Asian-inspired Red Snapper Fillets includes soy sauce, Shaoxing, mirin, miso paste and sesame oil. It elevates any plain fish to fabulous!

Enjoy! 

It’s time for my fellow Fish Friday Foodies to share their sustainable seafood recipes! Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

Pin these Broiled Asian-inspired Red Snapper Fillets!

Food Lust People Love: The marinade for these broiled Asian-inspired Red Snapper Fillets includes soy sauce, Shaoxing, mirin, miso paste and sesame oil. It elevates any plain fish to fabulous!

 .

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Buttery Herb Sourdough Monkey Bread #BundtBakers

This Buttery Herb Sourdough Monkey Bread is soft and fluffy, full of flavor from the sourdough starter, herbs, garlic and lots of butter!

Food Lust People Love: This Buttery Herb Sourdough Monkey Bread is soft and fluffy, full of flavor from the sourdough starter, herbs, garlic and lots of butter!

We are super fans of garlic bread in our house so when our host for this Bundt Bakers event proposed the key ingredients “herbs” I decided to make a garlicky herby bread instead of a cake or quick bread. It was a good decision!

Once it came out of the oven, all golden, fragrant and delicious, I said to my husband, “You know what would be nice? Pizza sauce to dip the monkey bread in!” He heartily agreed. Fortunately, I almost always have homemade pizza sauce in the freezer. I warmed it up and we enjoyed this pretty little loaf as supper with a salad. I suggest you do the same!

Buttery Herb Sourdough Monkey Bread

We want lots of springy fluffiness for this soft monkey bread so while the sourdough starter is there for flavor, I use active dry yeast as well to make sure these puff right up. For the herbs, I used a mix of fresh oregano, rosemary and Italian parsley. Use your favorite fresh herbs!

Ingredients
For the bread dough:
3/4 cup or 155ml milk
3 tablespoons or 42g butter, plus extra for greasing the Bundt pan
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup or 57g sourdough fed starter 
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 1/2 cups or 312g flour, plus extra for kneading
Several sprigs assorted herbs, stems discarded, leaves chopped

For baking: 
1/4 cup or 57g butter 
1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
(1/2 the herbs from above)

Optional for serving:
1/8 cup or 28g butter, melted, for brushing on finished bread

Method
Put the milk in a large microwaveable vessel and add in the butter. Microwave until the butter is mostly melted. Let it cool for a few minutes.

Put the yeast and sugar in your mixing bowl and pour in the warm milk/butter mixture and set aside for about 10 minutes. You are hoping that the yeast activates and gets all bubbly. If it doesn’t, you need to buy some new yeast and start over.

Bubbling and active!

Now add the sourdough starter, the egg yolk and the salt along with about half of the flour to your mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until all of the flour is incorporated.  

Adding the sourdough starter, egg yolk and salt with half of the flour

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to mix in any flour left there. It’s a very runny batter at this point.

Continue mixing and add the remaining flour by spoonsful until all is incorporated. Now it should be wet and soft sticky dough but that’s what is needed for soft and tender rolls.

The finished dough. Keep kneading!

Now add half of the herb mix and knead for 3-4 minutes, changing to the dough hook, if necessary, to help develop the gluten.

Adding half of the herbs to the dough and knead

Cover the bowl with cling film and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about an hour or until it doubles in size. If it's cold in your kitchen, you can partially fill the sink with hot tap water and put the bowl in it for warmth.

After the first rise

Meanwhile, grease your 6-cup Bundt pan liberally with butter.

Add the other half of the chopped herbs and the minced garlic to a microwave safe bowl with the butter. Microwave on high until the butter is melted, stirring once or twice. This takes just a minute or so. 

Once the first rise is done, punch the dough (620g) 17 balls about 26g each down and knead it briefly on a floured surface. Cut the dough ball into small pieces about the size of golf balls. Roll the dough pieces into balls, pinching them from underneath to stretch the tops so they are nice and round. 

Divide the dough and roll into balls

Roll them in the herby butter then put the balls, side by side, then on top in another layer, pinched side down, filling your prepared Bundt pan as you go. 

Filling the Bundt pan with dough balls rolled in the herby garlic butter

Spoon any leftover herb garlic butter over the dough balls. 

Spooning the leftover herby garlic butter over the dough balls

Put the whole baking pan in a clean, new garbage bag, capturing some air before you clip it shut, so that the bag doesn’t touch the top of the dough. Allow the monkey bread to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

The risen dough balls

About 15 minutes (or however long your oven takes) before the second rise is completed, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Bake the monkey bread in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until it is golden brown all over. I like to put the Bundt pan on another larger pan to make it easy to 

Out of the oven!

Allow to cool for a few minutes then invert the pan and decant the monkey bread. Brush with more butter, if desired. (Do it!)

Brushing with more butter!

Serve warm, if possible.

Food Lust People Love: This Buttery Herb Sourdough Monkey Bread is soft and fluffy, full of flavor from the sourdough starter, herbs, garlic and lots of butter!

Enjoy! 

Food Lust People Love: This Buttery Herb Sourdough Monkey Bread is soft and fluffy, full of flavor from the sourdough starter, herbs, garlic and lots of butter!

It’s the third Thursday of the month so that means it’s time to bake something in a Bundt pan! Our original host for this event is Lara of Tartacadabra. We send her our best wishes for good healthy and well-being and thank Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for stepping in to take over the hosting duties! Check out all the Bundt bakes with herbs below!

#BundtBakers badge

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Buttery Herb Sourdough Monkey Bread!

Food Lust People Love: This Buttery Herb Sourdough Monkey Bread is soft and fluffy, full of flavor from the sourdough starter, herbs, garlic and lots of butter!

 .



Sunday, February 13, 2022

Baked Nutty Truffles

These baked nutty truffles are soft and chewy, so chocolatey, perfect for your Valentine or special people you love. If you don’t have a heart-shaped pan, use a mini muffin pan. It’s all good. 

Food Lust People Love: These baked nutty truffles are soft and chewy, so chocolatey, perfect for your Valentine or special people you love. If you don’t have a heart-shaped pan, use a mini muffin pan. It’s all good.

A few weeks ago we needed an outing and since restaurants unmasked still aren’t feeling safe, we headed out to Target. Our nearby store was recently renovated so we wanted to check it out. 

While I was aimlessly roaming the aisles, I came across a heart-shaped  mini cupcake pan on a random shelf nowhere near kitchenware. Fortunately, there was working price check scanner one aisle over. When I scanned the barcode, it told me the price ($12.99) but also that the item was out of stock. Au contraire, I said to myself and anyone else who happened to hear me, I hold one in my hand! I took that as a sign that I should buy it. 

It’s made out of silicone but has a metal frame inside which makes it sturdier than plain silicone bakeware which bends in half so easily. That said, I still put it on another baking pan before putting it in the oven.

My Trudeau heart-shaped muffin pan

Baked Nutty Truffles

I used sweetened condensed coconut milk for this recipe. It adds a subtle coconut flavor to the baked truffles. If you can’t find it though, replace it with dairy condensed milk. The truffles will still be delicious! This recipe is adapted from one on the Betty Crocker website

Ingredients
For the baked truffles:
2 oz or 56g semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for the baking pan
7 oz or 198g sweetened condensed coconut milk
1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur
1 1/4 cups or 156g flour
1/4 cup or 30g chopped almonds
about 1/4 cup or 40g dark chocolate morsels 

For the icing:
1/2 cup or 63g powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk

Candy sprinkles for decorating, if desired

Method
Lightly toast the chopped almonds in hot pan over a medium flame for just a few minutes, until they are golden. Shake the pan frequently to stop the almond pieces from scorching on one side. 

Toasting the nuts

In large microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and butter uncovered on medium (50%) 2 minutes, stirring once, until melted. 

The melted chocolate and butter

Stir in the condensed milk, liqueur, flour and nuts. 

Stirring in the condensed milk, liqueur, flour and nuts

Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

The truffle mixture ready for chilling

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your mini muffin pan or mini heart pan by greasing it with a little butter.

Shape dough by tablespoons around two chocolate morsels. 

Pressing two chocolate morsels into the middle of a truffle ball

Press the mixture into the spaces in the buttered baking pan. Continue until all 16 holes are well filled. 

Filling the mini heart-shaped cupcake pan

Bake 13-15 minutes or until the dough is shiny on top and set but still soft. 

Just out of the oven

Cool for 20 minutes then remove from the baking pan to a cooling rack. Cool completely before adding the icing.

Truffles on a wire rack to cool completely

To make the icing, mix together both ingredients, adding just enough milk to make it piping consistency. 

Pipe some lines on the little hearts and immediately add sprinkles, if using, so they stick to the icing. While I was searching through my box of sprinkles, I came across a small jar of red hearts so I pressed one of those on each as well. 

Piping the icing and adding sprinkles

These would make a pretty little gift for someone special. If you don’t have a decorative box or plate, cover a square of stiff cardboard with foil and tape the bottom to secure. Add a paper doily, if you have one. If not, just wrap with cling film. No bow necessary because the pretty truffles show through!

Food Lust People Love: These baked nutty truffles are soft and chewy, so chocolatey, perfect for your Valentine or special people you love. If you don’t have a heart-shaped pan, use a mini muffin pan. It’s all good.

Enjoy!


Food Lust People Love: These baked nutty truffles are soft and chewy, so chocolatey, perfect for your Valentine or special people you love. If you don’t have a heart-shaped pan, use a mini muffin pan. It’s all good.

It's Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with heart! Our host is Rebekah from Making Miracles and she introduced the theme thusly: "You gotta have heeearrrttttttttt!! Happy almost Valentine's Day! Interpret this literally or figuratively. Is your recipe full of the love you poured into it, does it actually contain some type of heart, or is it heart-shaped? Be creative!" Check out all the recipes with heart below.
 
We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin these Baked Nutty Truffles!

Food Lust People Love: These baked nutty truffles are soft and chewy, so chocolatey, perfect for your Valentine or special people you love. If you don’t have a heart-shaped pan, use a mini muffin pan. It’s all good.

 .