Cookie Chick

My sister invited us to an impromptu barbecue for the July 4th holiday. As the only vegetarians, she asked us to bring something we could eat because the main dish would be ribs. The vegetarian burgers we had in the freezer seemed like a good choice.

Instead of buying hamburger buns, I decided to try making them. I found a recipe in the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion that claimed to be the “Best”. The description read, “soft, yet vaguely sweet and golden yellow from the butter and the egg, these simple buns are perfect for burgers, but also for any kind of sandwich.” I decided to try this recipe out. I could always stop at the store if they didn’t turn out well. Also, we would be the only ones having burgers so the pressure for perfection was off.

The dough came together nicely. It had a soft, supple texture. I used all-purpose flour, but I would imagine some whole wheat would work nicely as well. The book also described a method of rolling out the buns by cupping your hand around the dough and rolling it on an unfloured surface. I had to flour the table slightly or the dough stuck and wouldn’t roll. Although the dough balls were not perfect they baked into beautiful buns. My nephew was a little surprised. He said, “You MADE hamburger buns? That’s crazy.”

Crazy or not, these buns are worth the extra effort. They should freeze nicely, if you have any left. We didn’t. These have become a big hit with Dave. I have a feeling I’ll be making them often.

Beautiful Burger Buns

• 1 cup of warm water (110ºF)
• 2 tablespoons of butter at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried onion (optional)

Mixer Method

In bowl of standing mixer, whisk the flour, salt, sugar and yeast together to combine. Attach dough hook and bowl to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and add water, butter and egg. Mix until dough comes together clinging to hook and cleaning sides of bowl. Add more flour if needed. The dough should be smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a covered bowl or other container and let rise for one hour.

Bread Machine Method

If you have a bread machine, this is even easier. Just add the ingredients in the order recommended by your machine and turn to the “dough cycle”. Continue with the next steps…

Both Methods

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll dough in cupped hand to form a ball. Place dough ball onto a greased cookie sheet or one lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rise for 30 - 40 minutes until puffy.

Bake in a preheated 375ºF oven for 12 - 15 minutes until golden. Cool on wire racks.

My friend, Caroline, has a lovely yard full of mature fruit trees. Last weekend, Dave was visiting her and the peaches were literally falling off the tree. He brought a sack full of tiny, luscious peaches home for us to enjoy. There were almost too many of them to eat right away, so I decided to make a fruit crisp to use up the remainder before they became over-ripe and inedible.

I looked through my cookbooks and found a recipe for Apple Crisp that I’ve used before. It had directions for peach crisp, so I decided to use that variation. I only had 1 pound of peaches left, so I used apples to make up the remainder.

It was 94 degrees here today, so I wondered if turning on the oven was a good idea. However, I love crisps and I had all the ingredients available without having to go to the store. I wasn’t sure how to peel a peach but found that quartering these little beauties and gently peeling the skin away worked very well. I had some Fuji apples in the crisper drawer, so they were peeled and diced and added to the peaches to round out the fruit component.

It turned out very nicely. I precooked the apples a bit in the microwave so that they would cook at the same rate as the ripened peaches. The natural sweetness of the peaches and apples contrasted nicely with the salty-sweet crumb topping. I’ve tried oatmeal versions of crisp toppings, but prefer this one made with nuts.

Peach - Apple Crisp

Topping Mixture

• 6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar , packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
• 3/4 cup pecans or whole almonds, chopped coarse (or chopped fine if mixing topping by hand)

Fruit

• 2 1/2 - 3 pounds apples , nectarines, peaches, pears or plums (6 cups cut)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest from 1 lemon

1. For the Topping: Place flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add chilled butter and pulse until mixture moves from dry sand-like appearance with large lumps of butter to a coarse cornmeal texture, about three 4-second bursts. Add nuts and pulse until mixture resembles crumbly sand, about five 1-second bursts. Do not overprocess or mixture will take on a smooth, cookie-dough-like texture. (To mix by hand, allow butter pieces to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; toss to coat. Pinch butter chunks and dry mixture between fingertips until mixture looks like crumbly wet sand. Add nuts and toss to distribute evenly. Do not overmix.) Refrigerate mixture while preparing fruit, at least 15 minutes.

2. Toss cut fruit, sugar, lemon juice, and zest (along with 1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca if using plums as fruit) in medium bowl.

3. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Scrape fruit mixture with rubber spatula into 8-inch square (2 quart) baking pan or 9-inch round deep dish pie plate. Distribute chilled topping evenly over fruit; bake for 40 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees; bake until fruit is bubbling and topping is deep golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Serve warm or at room temperature.