Improved Dutch Baby Recipe!

 

I added an egg to my Dutch Baby recipe and now it puffs up without all the care I put into it before  (Read about all my efforts HERE. I jumped through a lot of hoops to get my Dutch Babies to puff up. I write all the details in that post.)  4 eggs, instead of 3, is the way to go.

Improved Dutch Baby Recipe

3 TBS. clarified butter or clarify your own butter*

4 eggs 

3/4 cup milk 

3/4 cup flour 

1 TBS. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

Pinch of salt

Confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 400° F. While the oven is preheating place a 10 inch iron skillet into the oven. Heat the skillet for no less than 15 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the eggs and milk in a mixing bowl. Whisk until mixture is light yellow and no longer stringy, about 1 minute. Add flour, sugar, vanilla, and salt, whisk vigorously to remove lumps and incorporate air, about 1 minute. Set aside batter and let rest for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Pour 3 TBS. butter oil into the hot skillet. Give the batter one last quick whisk. Pour batter into hot skillet. Swiftly return the skillet to the oven. Cook the Dutch Baby 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown around the edges.

Remove from oven. Allow to cool a few minutes. Slice into wedges and serve. Dust with confectioners sugar as desired 

*To clarify butter: melt the butter in a heat proof container in the microwave or in a sauce pan on the stove. 

Skim the foam from the top of the melted butter and discard.

Gently, dip the butter oil out with a spoon, avoiding any milk settled at the bottom of the vessel.

Doll Hair Tutorial With Yarn

 

Of course a Doll can't grow hair, but have you ever wondered how a Rag Doll goes from this..........

to this,.......?

In this blog post I will share how I give my Rag Dolls a full head of hair. 

(IF you are interested in purchasing my Rag Dolls or my Rag Doll pattern visit QuietStandards on Etsy.)

Back to the tutorial.

The supplies are:

Thread 

Needle

Thimble

A whole bunch of yarn strings cut to 12-14 inches long

Use a pencil to draw a line down the middle of the back of the doll's head.

Carry this line over to the front of the doll's head.

Take a strand of yarn and fold it in half.

Stitch the center of the piece of yarn to the doll's head, using the pencil line as a stitching guide.

Loop your thread around the center of the yarn.

Use your needle to stitch down into the doll head at the back side of the yarn and bring your needle up a few millimeters out in front of the yarn, setting up for the next piece of yarn.

And then loop the next stitch back over another piece of yarn and so on and so forth....

Keep going.

When you have stitched the last piece of yarn onto the doll's head, tie off the thread in an inconspicuous area of the head where the knot will not be visible once the hair is braided.

Tie the hair into ponytails using a length of thread or yarn.

Tack the ponytails to the sides of the doll's head with a couple stitches that go around the thread or yarn tying the ponytails and back through the fabric of the head.

Carefully braid the ponytails and tie off with thread or yarn.

Use scissors to trim the long ends, leaving as much tassel as you like.

 

Even up all the ends, making all the strands the same length.

And that concludes this tutorial. If you have any questions, please send me a message or leave a comment!

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

 I saw a hummingbird this week! That means it is time to clean up the hummingbird feeders and make some nectar.

Every year I forget the recipe and have to look it up online.

Here is the recipe, in case I am not the only one who forgets.

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

1 part sugar

4 parts water

Heat all the water or part of the water (enough for the sugar to be dissolved in).

Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

Let the sugar water cool down to room temperature before filling hummingbird feeders. If you have only heated part of the water now is when you add the rest of the water to the concentrated sugar water.

It is important to use pure white sugar for the hummingbird nectar. Hummingbirds can't have the molasses that is in less refined sugars, like Sugar In The Raw or Zulka.

For more information about feeding hummingbirds you can visit this article on Birds and Blooms website.

Happy bird watching!

Real Croissants!

Croissant Dough: 

(Yield 15)

4 cups Flour

1/2 cup + 2 TBS. Cold Water

1/2 cup + 2 TBS. Cold Milk

1/4 cup + 2 TBS. Sugar

3 TBS. Soft Butter

1 TBS. + 1/2 tsp. Yeast

2 tsp. Salt

Butter for Laminating:

1 1/2 cups Butter (2 1/2 sticks)
 

Combine ingredients to form a dough. Knead briefly.

Refrigerate over night in airtight package.

The following day, cut the butter lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick strips. Arrange these butter pieces on a large section of wax paper. Cover the butter with another section of wax paper. Using a rolling pin smash the butter together and roll the piece into a 7 1/2 inch square. Chill this butter square in the refrigerator while you prepare the dough.

Take the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it into a 10 1/2 inches square.

Retrieve the butter from the refrigerator and position it, at an angle, onto the dough.

Fold the extending corners of dough over the butter. Pinch the seams together, encasing the butter in the dough. As illustrated in the picture.

Roll the dough/butter package into a 8×24 inch rectangle.

Fold 1/3 of the dough over onto itself.

Fold the other end of the dough over the center layers.

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 20 minutes.

Repeat this rolling, folding, and resting twice more. Wrap in airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

The following day prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.

Take the dough from the refrigerator and press it in several places with the rolling pin to "wake up" the dough.

Roll the dough into a very long and narrow rectangle about 44×8 inches. 

Cut a couple inches off of the ends to square up the ends. 

A yard stick makes the next step easier.

Along the top edge measure in 2 1/2" and cut a notch to mark the measurement. Then make notches all the way down the length at 5" increments.

Along the bottom edge of the dough make notches every 5". 

To make diagonal cuts use a ruler for a straight edge. Line the ruler up with a notch on the top and a notch on the bottom. Use a pizza cutter to make diagonal slices, forming triangle shaped pieces of dough.

In the center of the base of each triangle make a cut about 1/2 deep. This will help the croissants be curved when they are rolled up.

As you roll the croissants, gently stretch the skinny end.

Place the croissants on the prepared baking sheets. Pinch the tips together to finish the croissant shape. 

Brush the shaped croissants with egg wash and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425° F. Brush a second coat of egg wash over the croissants.

Bake the croissants for 10 minutes, then rotate and swap the positions of the baking sheets. Bake another 8-10 minutes. If the croissants are browning too quickly reduce the oven temperature by 10°. Cool croissants on baking wracks.

Enjoy!