Of all the things I had anticipated about being a new mama — the sleep deprivation, the fact that sometimes babies cry for no reason, whatsoever, that they look ridiculously cute things that are too big on them — at least one of the things that I hadn’t considered was, well, the Itch. The one you get at the end of your nose nearly the second after you start feeding the baby and have not a finger free to scratch it.
It’s not always an itch, though. Sometimes it’s a just a bit of water that you need — just a sip! from that glass just two feet in front of you! Oh, how you would do anything for that sip of water! But a lot of times these days, it’s a recipe. I can’t help it. I have so little time to cook and yet these recipe ideas are getting louder and louder in my head… winter salads and tangy pies and buttery leeks and funky salsas and I have more dishes than I could cook in two hundred nap times, it seems, nonetheless in the 15 minutes of a single one that is left after I have both scratched my nose and taken that sweet, sweet sip of water.
So, I keep a list. I jot all of these ideas down and I arrange them according to urgency and to keep myself sane, I only look at the top item at any one time and try to plot my course accordingly. A couple weeks ago, it was a faintly gingerbread-spiced bread pudding with chunks of apples, studded with plumped raisins and on our next trip to the market, I bought some apples and on another trip, Alex bought some raisins and we hit up one of those Ukrainian restaurants in our neighborhood for some of their homemade challah and on another run I remembered to buy some milk and eggs and finally, 9 days and 14 hours and 26 minutes (or so) after I had started dreaming of a fall bread pudding that could be dessert or decadent breakfast or just something to make our apartment smell so ungodly awesome, it even mesmerizes its tiniest inhabitant, I had this one in front of me.
Easy Streusel Pumpkin Bread
Recipe notes: When I first made this in 2009, I did away with the separating eggs in the original recipe. I noted that you could add another egg and cup of milk if you’d like an eggier custard, but I rarely do this with a sweet, rich bread such as the challah shown here; it’s not needed. These days, in this 2020 update, I make several additional changes. I double the cinnamon (adjusted below from 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon), use a little less sugar (heaped 1/2 cup) when I’m using a sweet bread like challah and the full amount with a regular white bread, halve the raisins (using 1/2 cup instead of 1 cup), don’t plump them unless they’re hard, don’t bother heating the milk and molasses, and assemble everything in the baking dish, not a bowl. I do not remove the bread crusts (especially with challah), and I like to toast the almonds before I begin or they stay pale in the oven. Finally, I often make this the night before I need it and let it soak in the fridge overnight; I bake it cold from the fridge, to serve it warm.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter either a 9×13-inch deep baking dish or six 8-ounce ramekins. If using ramekins, set them on a baking sheet.
Spread the bread cubes on a large baking sheet and toast in the oven for 6 minutes, until crisp. Transfer to baking dish(es). Add the apples and raisin and toss gently to combine.
I Tried Smitten Kitchen's Pumpkin Bread Recipe
In a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer or whisk, beat the eggs with the sugar, spices, vanilla, salt, and molasses. Gradually add milk, beating well. Pour the custard over the bread mixture, nudging the bread around a bit to make sure it soaks all of the pieces. Let stand for 5 minutes at room temperature (minimum) or overnight in the fridge, covered tightly.
Sprinkle the almonds on top before baking. Bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes (and up to 50 minutes if cold from fridge), until puffed and set, with the tops lightly browned. Let the bread pudding(s) rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, my first cookbook, turns 10 years old in a few weeks, and inside it is what I call one of the best summer desserts I’ve ever made, peach dumplings with bourbon hard sauce. These were a whim that occured to me one morning before dawn when my then-baby (and, as of 11 days ago, a Bar Mitzvah) woke up early and lacked interest in going back to sleep and my mind drifted, as it does, to things I’d like to cook.
The peach dumplings were modeled on old-fashioned apple dumplings and I’m not sure why it took me so long to reverse this process for fall, but now that I have, I don’t want to bake anything else. I’m absolutely obsessed with these perfect packets of apple pie. Everything I loved about the peach dumplings is true here too: The crust, unhindered by a heavy filling, expands and flakes like puff pastry. When you cut into each, a trickle of buttery brown sugar caramel floods your plate. And the best part of it is actually the mess — chunks of spiced baked fruit, buttery layers of dough, a mingled puddle of juices. And should you like a splash of whiskey with your apple desserts, you are going to swoon over it in the sauce, melting over the sides. Please make these soon. You’ll be so glad you did.
Apple Slab Pie
I did not mean to disappear on you, or the newsletter. As you might have guessed, I was thrown off course by that aforementioned Bar Mitzvah [“what’s a Bar Mitzvah?“] and 13th birthday — which seem impossible as he was just born, right? — and a few other exciting things. Smitten Kitchen Keepers, my third cookbook, will be out in 48 days, and a week earlier than originally planned. We are working on putting the final details together for the Fall 2022 Book Tour — I’ll have everything for you next Thursday, 10/6. I might even have another new recipe before then, since I was behind in posting, not cooking, hooray. Did I cover everything? I probably forgot something so away in the comments!
Here is a video where you can watch me make pie dough. What apples are good to bake with? King Arthur has a guide here, but I’d say anything fresh and crisp is good here; these are more forgiving than a full-sized pie or crisp. I’m using here my forever favorite white baking dish (I have 3 and have told friends not to return them and buy another, because I think everyone needs one); you can find some shopping links to it and most items I use regularly on the Shop page.
Assemble the dumplings: Peel and halve your apples. Use the large side of a melon baller, if you have one, or a tablespoon measuring spoon, to scoop the core out of each half. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the apples. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mound a heaped tablespoon of the mixture in the scooped-out center of each apple half. Dot the top of each with a piece of the cold butter.
Best Ever Apple Cake — Pancakes And Biscotti
On a well-floured counter, roll your dough out to a 12-by-18-inch rectangle and divide into six 6-inch squares. If dough gets too soft or warm while you’re rolling it, continue to the square stage, but then transfer the squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill them in the freezer for a couple minutes, until they’re semi-firm again.
Place a filled apple half, cut side-up, in the center of each dough square. Bring corners up to meet each other over the center – if it feels tight, or as if you’re short of dough, make sure that the dough underneath is flush with the apple curve; it holds a lot of slack – and seal the seams together, pinching with your fingertips.
Bake dumplings: Arrange dumplings in a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Whisk egg together with one teaspoon water to form a glaze. Brush glaze over the tops and exposed sides of dumplings. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until pastries are puffed and bronzed on top.
I Tried Smitten Kitchen's Even More Perfect Apple Pie With Extra Flaky Pie Crust
To finish and serve: While the dumplings bake, beat butter, powdered sugar, and whiskey, lemon juice, or milk together with vanilla until smooth. When dumplings come out of the oven, dollop each with a heaping tablespoon of the sauces, which will melt over the sides. Serve right away.
I did not mean to disappear on you, or the newsletter. As you might have guessed, I was thrown off course by that aforementioned Bar Mitzvah [“what’s a Bar Mitzvah?“] and 13th birthday — which seem impossible as he was just born, right? — and a few other exciting things. Smitten Kitchen Keepers, my third cookbook, will be out in 48 days, and a week earlier than originally planned. We are working on putting the final details together for the Fall 2022 Book Tour — I’ll have everything for you next Thursday, 10/6. I might even have another new recipe before then, since I was behind in posting, not cooking, hooray. Did I cover everything? I probably forgot something so away in the comments!
Here is a video where you can watch me make pie dough. What apples are good to bake with? King Arthur has a guide here, but I’d say anything fresh and crisp is good here; these are more forgiving than a full-sized pie or crisp. I’m using here my forever favorite white baking dish (I have 3 and have told friends not to return them and buy another, because I think everyone needs one); you can find some shopping links to it and most items I use regularly on the Shop page.
Assemble the dumplings: Peel and halve your apples. Use the large side of a melon baller, if you have one, or a tablespoon measuring spoon, to scoop the core out of each half. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the apples. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mound a heaped tablespoon of the mixture in the scooped-out center of each apple half. Dot the top of each with a piece of the cold butter.
Best Ever Apple Cake — Pancakes And Biscotti
On a well-floured counter, roll your dough out to a 12-by-18-inch rectangle and divide into six 6-inch squares. If dough gets too soft or warm while you’re rolling it, continue to the square stage, but then transfer the squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill them in the freezer for a couple minutes, until they’re semi-firm again.
Place a filled apple half, cut side-up, in the center of each dough square. Bring corners up to meet each other over the center – if it feels tight, or as if you’re short of dough, make sure that the dough underneath is flush with the apple curve; it holds a lot of slack – and seal the seams together, pinching with your fingertips.
Bake dumplings: Arrange dumplings in a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Whisk egg together with one teaspoon water to form a glaze. Brush glaze over the tops and exposed sides of dumplings. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until pastries are puffed and bronzed on top.
I Tried Smitten Kitchen's Even More Perfect Apple Pie With Extra Flaky Pie Crust
To finish and serve: While the dumplings bake, beat butter, powdered sugar, and whiskey, lemon juice, or milk together with vanilla until smooth. When dumplings come out of the oven, dollop each with a heaping tablespoon of the sauces, which will melt over the sides. Serve right away.
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