Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits

I absolutely adore goat cheese. I also adore biscuits. So when I found this recipe I knew I had to give it a try. I had it saved for while but the new baby kept me VERY busy so I'm just now getting around to posting this.

I managed to only get 9 biscuits though the recipe is supposed to yield 10. I guess I dropped big biscuits?





Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) goat cheese
1 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
garlic and herb seasoning, optional


Preheat oven to 425º.  Place a 10 inch cast iron skillet in oven during preheating.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut in goat cheese and 4 tablespoons butter. Make a well in center and add buttermilk.  Using a wooden spoon, stir ingredients until just moistened, adding up to a tablespoon more buttermilk if needed.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven and add 1 tablespoon butter.  Once butter has melted, use a 1/4 cup measure to drop batter into skillet. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and brush over biscuit tops.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, until biscuits are golden on top.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garlic and herb seasoning.

Yield: 10 biscuits
Adapted from Savory Spicy Sweet, originally from Art Smith

Hamburger Buns

Ground beef was on super sale this week so I thought this was the perfect time to try making my own hamburger buns! They seemed easy enough to make and I hate buying those packaged ones from the grocery store. I searched high and low for an easy recipe but couldn't find one that matched what I had in mind. So, I borrowed from a few and created my own! Most of the recipes I found were for something between 8 to 12 buns so I drastically cut the ingredients. Peter and I don't need a ton of hamburger buns in the freezer! We ate 2 and I froze 2 so I guess we'll have hamburgers again sometime soon.

I STILL do not own a Kitchenaid stand mixer so I did this all by hand. Maybe one day I won't have to...


Hamburger Buns
yields 4 buns

1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 packet yeast
1/8 cup warm milk (between 105-115 degrees)
1/2 cup warm milk (between 105-115 degrees)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (I really only ended up using about 2 1/4 cups)
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water (egg wash)

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the mixture and let sit for approximately 10 minutes. Once foamy, add the oil, salt, milk and one cup of the flour. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes. Add the remaining flour a 1/4 cup at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be very relaxed so add just enough flour to keep it from being sticky. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for approximately 7 minutes. Transfer the dough ball to an oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise for 1 hour.

After the dough has doubled in size, transfer it to a lightly oiled work surface. Oil your hands and roll the dough into a log like shape, about 16 inches long. Cut into 8 equal portions, about 2 inches each. Roll each section into a ball and then flatten into a disc, about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the discs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Space them about 1/2 inch apart so that they will touch after rising. Let sit for about forty five minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Before placing in the oven, brush the top of each bun with egg wash. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and place on wire cooling rack.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Every few weeks I make a batch of breakfast muffins and freeze them so I have something quick to eat in the morning. I also like to have something on hand for easy snacks when I don't feel like eating yet another banana. I have been loving my strawberry cream cheese muffins but I wanted to try something new. I found this recipe and decided I had to try them because I LOVE blueberries and lemons!


I found that the muffins only needed to bake for about 16 minutes before they were ready. I am not sure if that is because of my crazy hot oven or the altitude. Just keep an eye on yours while baking :)

The recipe indicates that it yields 12 muffins but I was able to make 24.


Blueberry Lemon Muffins
3 cups + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp lemon zest

1 1/2 cup plain full-fat yogurt12 oz blueberries (thawed if frozen)

Demera sugar (optional)

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in medium bowl; set aside.
Cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon zest.

Beat in one-half of dry ingredients. Beat in one-third of yogurt. Beat in remaining dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the yogurt, until incorporated. Toss blueberries in remaining 1 Tbsp flour and fold in to the batter.

Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray or line with paper liners. Divide the batter evenly among cups. Sprinkle top lightly with Demera sugar, if using. Bake until muffins are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, until a skewer comes out with moist crumbs. Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Chewy Sugar Cookies

Yesterday Peter and I were walking around Denver in flip-flops and short sleeves. Today it started raining mid-morning and now it's snowing. I got the urge to bake chocolate chips cookies but unfortunately, I had everything except the chocolate chips. Peter offered to run to the store, he must have REALLY wanted chocolate chip cookies, but I found this amazing sugar cookie recipe instead. I think he was a little disappointed but when he saw these come out of the oven he felt better!

Chewy Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups margarine

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup white sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just blended. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets and flatten slightly.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned at the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pao de Queijo

So you know how the powers that be at Fogo de Chao hope you fill up on the salad bar before the parade of meat begins? Yeah, I don't even go to the salad bar. I just wait for the waiter to bring the basket full of cheese bread. Then I fill up on that and don't end up eating much meat at all. That is some expensive bread I've been eating. I needed to find an alternative.

I have been dying to make these for weeks. My friend Susan sent me a recipe that I tried and the results were less than stellar. I was convinced I hadn't read the instructions carefully, so I tried again. The results were no better. I was bummed but after some internet research I realized I was using the wrong kind of tapioca flour. I went back to Whole Foods and could not find the correct type of flour so I ordered online. Five days later I was back in business!

I used this recipe but skipped the blender and the toppings. I cannot adequately describe how amazingly these turned out. I want to eat them all the time.


Pao de Queijo
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Blend very well, making sure no bits of tapioca starch are left unmixed.

The mixture will be a little thinner than pancake batter. Pour the batter in mini-muffin tins, to no more than 3/4 of their capacity, and cook for 20 minutes. Most will come out right away without sticking. If some stick slightly, allow them to cool for a few minutes and probe them out gently with the tip of a knife. The recipe makes 20-24 little cheese breads.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Peter and his team have to work late tonight so I thought they might appreciate a snack to power them through. I looked at what I had on hand, did a little interent seaching and found this awesome recipe. The muffins turned out great! I packed them up and sent them along with Peter when he left for his meeting...I also kept ten or so at home with me :)

I didn't have any baking cups so I just sprayed the muffin pan with Pam. Next time I will run out to get the cups because some of the muffins were lost during the removal process. Oh well.


Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins
makes 24
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixer cream together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix until just combined. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. The batter will be thick, almost like cookie dough. Fold in the strawberries. Spoon batter into a paper lined muffin pan. Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are golden. Cool on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes.