Pumpkin Nutella Crepes

INGREDIENTS

• Pumpkin Crepe Batter
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 
  Garnish/Filling Ideas
• Nutella
• powdered sugar
• syrup
• berries
• cream cheese

Directions:

1. Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl then whisk in pumpkin puree, milk, water and butter until combined. Whisk in remaining Pumpkin Crepe Batter ingredients and beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly greased griddle or nonstick skillet pan over medium high heat. Pour batter using 1/4 measuring cup on the griddle/skillet and tilt pan in a circular motion to spread batter. Cook crepes approximately 1 minute or until bottom is lightly golden, flip and cook another 30 seconds or until cooked through. Repeat until all the batter is gone.
3. To stuff with Nutella: Spread half of a cooked crepe with Nutella. Fold in half then cover the top half of the crepe with Nutella then fold in half one last time.

Week#2 Lesson

We had so much fun learning Science and Math while we made homemade rolls into pesto bombs. The kids learned how to properly activate yeast and make it bubble by using a temperature thermometer and checking the temperature of the milk and butter. They learned how to knead the dough and when to add additional flour while they knead, were also taught how to use a pastry brush and how to shape the dough into rolls.

This is what some of the kids created...

Pesto Bombs-Homemade 30 minute Rolls

Pesto Bombs 

Ingredients

• 1 packet of dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons if you like to buy bulk yeast like I do; I've always just used regular active yeast, but rapid should make it rise faster)
• 1/4 cup warm water - not hot, should be around 105-115°F or comfortably warm to stick your finger in for several seconds
• 1 cup milk (I use whole because if I'm going to the trouble to make homemade bread, I want to be sure it tastes the best it possibly can)
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter (You can totally use 4 if you have a half stick to use up)
• 1 large egg, beaten 
• 2 Tablespoons honey 
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt 
• 1 cup + 2 cups all-purpose flour + more for kneading (you'll likely use 4 or more cups by the end)
• Oil or non-stick spray

Instructions

1. Set a stick of butter out to warm up so you have spreadable butter when your bread is done - nothing worse than forgetting and not having spreadable butter! 
2. Add yeast to the warm water - again make sure it's not too hot or your yeast will die.
3. Stir until yeast is mostly dissolved and allow to bloom (or sit) 5 minutes. The mixture should have bubbles on the surface - otherwise your water was too hot and killed the yeast or your yeast is dead and you need to start with a fresh batch, but at least you found out at the beginning! 
4. While the yeast mixture sits, place milk, butter, honey/sugar, and salt into a microwave-safe bowl/cup or saucepan. Microwave for around 1 minute according to how powerful your microwave is or heat over low heat on the stove. I like to cut the butter into small pieces before heating to make sure it all melts without the milk getting too hot. If the mixture is over 115°F or feels hot to the touch, you'll need to let it sit a few minutes to cool down.
5. While the milk mixture cools down, add 1 whole egg and 1 cup flour to the yeast mixture and stir/mix on level 2 with a dough hook to combine. It doesn't need to be mixed perfectly like a cake batter, it will look shaggy. Once the milk mixture has cooled enough, add it to the flour/egg/yeast mixture. Add another cup of flour and mix with a spatula or on level 2 with a dough hook.
6. Then add a third 1-cup of flour and mix in. This should make the dough wet and sticky and still shaggy, yet pliable enough to start kneading (by hand or in the mixer). See photo #2 below.
7. Flour your kneading surface lightly if kneading by hand - I like to use a silicone mat to help the dough stick less and have things be easier to clean.
8. Knead the dough 6-8 minutes (4-6 in the stand mixer), adding a small amount of flour to the surface and/or your hands when the dough starts to stick. The amount of flour this will take will depend on the humidity of the day and even the flour you are using. Around the 6-8 minute mark, the dough should be noticeably smoother and be elastic (springs back when pulled). The dough should be soft and still slightly sticky. For mixer kneading, the dough should be forming a ball that clears the sides of the bowl - once done it should be elastic when you pull on it. If the dough is overly sticky when you do this, you need to add a bit more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time.
9. Take your clean rising bowl and coat with cooking spray or oil. Form the dough into a smooth ball by tucking the seam around a few times to the base. Place the bread "pretty" side down to coat with oil and then flip it so this side is now on top. This is so the dough doesn't dry out. When using the mixer, I just pat the dough down evenly and let it rise there - hooray for less dirty dishes! See photo #3 below.
10. Cover the dough with a clean towel (you may want to slightly dampen if it's a really dry day) or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm area for around an hour until doubled. If your house is cold, turn your oven on the lowest setting a few minutes while kneading, then turn off and add your dough container to rise.
11. At this point, if you're not ready to use the dough once it has risen, you can either punch it down and let it rise again until you're ready, stick it in the fridge punching down as needed for up to 2 days, or freeze.
12. After the dough has doubled, it's time to punch it down. Just make a fist and "punch" the dough until all the air is out.
13. Shape the dough as desired - classic yeast rolls, cloverleaf rolls, a loaf, boules, etc. The classic roll is easiest. Flatten dough into a circle like a pancake and using a pastry brush, brush the pesto sauce on, add your cheese in the center and wrap it together. 😉
14. Take the piece of dough, grab an edge and fold it down to the bottom, repeating on all sides until you have a roundish shape with a smooth top. Place the roll in the pan with the unsmooth or "ugly" side down. Brush with pesto sauce.
15. A note on pans and crust - If you like a softer crust, I suggest placing them in a glass dish with high edges, like a 9x13. If you like a crisper crust, I suggest a metal sheet or pan, like a half-sheet so the edges are more exposed during baking. Either way, make sure you leave about 1/2 to 1 inch between the rolls so they have room to rise and expand, with just enough space so that they will touch when fully risen. This will help them rise nice and tall and create that flaky pull-apart yumminess we all love.

Lesson #1

It was so nice getting to meet your kids this week. We had a lot of fun creating these amazing bars!

The kids were taught and learned to always read their recipe first before they are ready to cook or bake. They were taught to get all their ingredients out and ready and place them on their work station.  

They were taught the difference between teaspoons and tablespoons along with the abbreviations and the measurements for 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/4 cup etc. They learned how to properly crack an egg. As well as creaming butter no sugars together. They learned what it means to combine dry ingredients into wet ingredients. They all learned what baking powder does in our recipe. They learned what cups they need to make 3/4's of a cup. They were also taught that when you cook and bake, you also do Math and Science.

S'mores Cookie Bars Week #1

S'mores Cookie Bars

Soft, chewy, and slightly crunchy graham cracker cookie bars with a marshmallow swirl and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

yield: 9

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cups All-Purpose Flour

3/4 cup fine graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup marshmallow cream

1/2 cup chocolate semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper or foil.

Beat together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg and vanilla.

Mix in the baking soda, salt, flour, and graham cracker crumbs until dough forms.

Press 3/4 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spread the marshmallow cream over top. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the cream.

Press the remaining cookie dough over top of the chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes.

Let cool before cutting and serving.

*** In class we used a bag of chocolate chips and mini marshmallows instead of marshmallow cream. Either way works. ***

Welcome to Cooking and Baking Summer/Fall 2016

Hello,

Welcome to Baking/Cooking Class for Kids! I hope you are excited and looking forward to a fun experience for your child. 

Students will learn the difference between a teaspoon, a tablespoon, and how to properly measure liquids, as well as many other cooking/baking techniques. The kids will be introduced to all the kitchen gadgets. This is a “hands” on class and the kids will get to participate in every class. 

For safety, I will be instructing and helping in the preparation of the recipes. Please let me know if your child has ANY food allergies or sensitivities as soon as possible. Please E-mail me at ilcscookingelective@gmail.com or at ewilliams@inlandleaders.com

***PLEASE NOTE*** The cost for this Elective is $75. All payments are due by next week, Sept.19th-23rd. Please make your check payable directly to: Esmeralda Williams, you may also pay by cash.

I don’t foresee having to cancel any classes but in the event that I do; I will notify you via email.

Recipes for this trimester are available on our Cooking/Baking Blog website. Please visit this site for ALL recipes and class lessons. www.ilcscookingelective.blogspot.com

Thank you, 

Esmeralda Williams

805 201 5865

ilcscookingelective@gmail.com or ewilliams@inlandleaders.com