English Muffins

Yes, this happened. I don't honestly know why I never thought of making these myself before. We now have a ton in our freezer and I'm sooo happy for that. They turned out amazing and they were super easy to make. Sean even helped. He was a little unsure at first, never making bread before but he had fun shaping them and manning the griddle. Yes! You griddle them! I really never pictured that either. Silly now that I think of it.

Anyways, it's bread so we followed the recipe exactly. We will definitely make them again. The recipe says 16, we got 22. It may be because they were smaller or because we REALLY let our dough rise. If you need them to be the exact same size, not judging I do it too, you should probably weigh the balls.

English Muffins
(Adapted from Homemade English Muffins)

1 3/4 cups lukewarm milk (I heated my milk in the microwave, 30 sec on med, stir, repeat till 100º)
2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) yeast
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 large egg
4 1/2 cups flour
Pam for bowl and hands
Cornmeal for griddle

Place milk in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and sprinkle yeast over top.

Let sit for 10 minutes and then add the butter, salt, sugar, egg, and flour.

Mix on low until the flour is incorporated and then switch to medium and beat for 5 minutes - dough will be very soft and sticky.

Scrape dough out into an oiled bowl and cover, letting rise for ~2 hours.

Keeping your hands well oiled to prevent the dough from sticking, pinch golf ball sized pieces of dough off (2 oz, if you have a kitchen scale), form a ball, and place on a griddle pan that is generously dusted with cornmeal.
Lightly press down on the balls once on the pan (I could fit 8 on my large pancake griddle and then I put the remainder on a baking sheet to cook in three batches).

Let rest for 20 minutes to rise again. This is what mine looked like in the cornmeal, risen, before cooking.

Turn burner or grill to medium low and cook until golden brown, about 14 minutes on each side. (If they brown too quickly, reduce the heat.)

Carefully transfer the second batch to the griddle so as not to deflate them and cook until done.

Let cool completely on a rack before splitting open with a fork.
Muffins will keep fresh on the counter a few days and freeze well.

Here's a finished picture!

Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream

I knew I wanted to make some type of ice cream with the hot temperatures over the past few weeks. I really didn't know what type I wanted to make though, so I skimmed Pinterest until one jumped out at me! I did find a few but I knew my boyfriend would love this and I had all of the (modified) ingredients. It might be a bit heavy on the coffee flavour for some people and I used strong coffee. So adjust accordingly!

This is super creamy and doesn't get too hard considering it isn't a cooked ice cream. I know, until I figured out what that meant, it sounded really strange to me. But I won't confuse you with the details. My next one will probably be a cooked one, so you will see then!

Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream
(Adapted Slighty from here)

1 Cup 1% Milk (Any is ok)
2 Tbsp Instant Coffee (2-4 individual packs)
3/4 Cup White Sugar
1 Pinch Salt
2 Cups 18% Cream (You probably could use 10% too)
3/4 Cup Dulche de Leche (I used Eagle Brand in a tin)

Whisk together milk, instant coffee granules, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, then cover and refrigerate until chilled. If your ingredients all went in cold, this won't take long. It will help to dissolve the coffee a bit more. 

Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions until it reaches "soft-serve" consistency. It took me about 35 minutes. The heavier cream you use, the more likely it will be for the ice cream to sort of "over flow" out of the top of the machine. 

Transfer a couple scoops of the ice cream to a one- or two-quart lidded plastic container. Pour some of the caramel sauce over the top, then repeat the layers with the remaining ice cream and caramel. Swirl the caramel into the ice cream using a chopstick or knife if desired but mine sort of absorbed into the ice cream and swirled it self.. Cover surface with plastic wrap and seal. For best results, ice cream should set in the freezer for at least 2 hours.