Baked

Happy Tuesday!  Hope your week's off to a good start.

Life has been pretty busy, and maybe just a little chaotic, so I took out a moment to bake. Something I haven't been doing that much these days, but when I do it's quite calming.  I'm also trying to eat healthier...not always easy ;) These tarts definitely have a little dose of fat, but only a sprinkle of added sugar. I try ;)

The crust is made from almond meal, and I like to have these ready to fill with anything. This time I roasted some peaches and sprinkled the tops with almonds. Easy and pretty delicious. Click here for a savoury tart with an almond crust.

Peach Tarts with Almond Crust - makes about 24 mini tarts

3 cups almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water

Peach filling:
4 large peaches, cut into slices
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
sliced almonds to top
icing sugar to sprinkle on top

For the crust:
Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Spray a little oil in mini muffin tin and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond meal, baking soda and salt. Add oil and water and stir until dough forms (I use my hands for this part. Add to that calming experience!). Press about a tablespoon of dough into each mini muffin cup to form a cup. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until just slightly golden on sides. Allow to cool completely before adding a filling or place in an airtight container to store for a few days.

For filling:
Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Spread out sliced peaches on a baking sheet. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over top. Cut small pieces of butter and place on top of peach mixture. Bake for about 15 minutes. Fill almond crust cups with peach mixture, top with sliced almonds, and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until tops just start to turn golden brown. Allow to cool completely then sprinkle with a little icing sugar. Enjoy!

Have a great day!

janis

Baked

How's your week so far? I've been slightly under the weather, and editing hundreds of images. Wednesday popped up out of no where!

Picked up some peaches and made a quick batch of muffins. These are so good, not too sweet and not too hideous for you either ;)

Peach Cornmeal Muffins - makes 12

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup almond meal
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 peaches, peeled and chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
brown sugar and flaked almonds for topping

Preheat oven to 400f/200c. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, egg, honey, yogurt, and almond extract, until smooth, then add the applesauce and vegetable oil.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Stir in the liquid mixture until just combined. Batter should be lumpy. Carefully fold in the peaches.

Spoon the batter into each muffin cup and top with a sprinkle of almonds and brown sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until lightly golden in colour. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Baked

I'm happy to see Monday, as it seems to have brought some sunshine with it! Hope you all had a great weekend.

I made these roasted peaches this weekend, and they are really good. Super simple too. The recipe calls for amaretti (Italian cookies), so I made a quick batch of those. Again, really simple to make. All together it took about 75 minutes to make (including baking time).

Roasted Peaches with Amaretti & Almond Crumble - serves 6 (or a couple of greedy adults)
(I think I got this recipe, originally, from Bon Appetit magazine)

5 amaretti cookies (about 3/4 oz) (you can buy these or make your own. If making your own, make cookies first)
3 tablespoons whole raw almonds
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 firm, but ripe, large peaches, rinsed, wiped clean of fuzz and halved

Preheat oven to 350f. Lightly butter an 11x7x2 inch glass baking dish. Combine cookies, almonds, flour, and sugar in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Add cold butter to processor and pulse until moist clumps form.

Place peach halves, cut side up, in prepared dish. Spread topping over surface of peach half (about a tablespoon for each), pressing lightly to adhere leaving a bit of a border around peach.

Bake peaches for about 35 minutes, until tender and topping is golden brown. Cool slightly. Serve warm!

Amaretti Cookies - makes about 24 

2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups finely ground almonds (almond meal)
Topping:
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 300f. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff glossy peaks form (about 5 minutes). Beat in almond extract, then fold in ground almonds.

Drop tablespoons of batter on parchment paper lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar over cookies. Bake for about 20 minutes until firm to the touch, and light golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Well that's it! Really simple, not to heinous for you, and delicious. What more can you ask for?
Have a great day!

Back soon.
janis