Mari Bickmore Design | Having a Blast In Interior Design and Staging

Menu

Breads and Muffins

Gourmet Mac and Cheese Appetizer Muffins (Gluten Free!) 1024 768 Mari Bickmore

Gourmet Mac and Cheese Appetizer Muffins (Gluten Free!)

For the first time in several years I am playing Bunco again.  I only know one of the ladies, so it will be a great opportunity to meet some people.  Doesn’t hurt that I won….a whole $15!!!  Plus, I think it is going to a fun group.  I had to make an appetizer to bring with me, so I made some nice comfort food, namely macmac cheese muffins 11 and cheese.  These could be rolled into balls, chilled and fried, also.  You can’t tell this quinoa macaroni from the original, but there are alternatives such as brown rice macaroni.  I just like the quinoa better.  The muffins could actually be served either as a side dish or an appetizer, or a snack for your children.  You could definitely use this recipe for a pan of mac and cheese too.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon melted butter, plus more for baking dishes
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
8 ounces grated sharp Cheddar cheese
4 ounces grated Fontina
4 ounces shredded Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for topping
8 ounces elbow macaroni
1 1/4 cups whole milk (or for creamier use half of whipping cream and half of water)
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes.
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp nutmeg

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Butter two muffin tins for a dozen muffins each.
3. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon melted butter with breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan and set aside.

4. Cook macaroni until al dente, In a large pot of boiling salted water, according to package instructions; drain.

mac cheese muffins 3mac cheese muffins 4
5. In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; add cubed cream cheese and stir until melted, about 2 minutes.

mac cheese muffins 2mac cheese 6
6. Gradually stir in remaining cheeses until melted, about 5 minutes.

mac cheese muffins 5mac cheese muffins 1
7. Add cooked pasta, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; and nutmeg and stir to combine.

mac cheese muffins 7
8. Divide the mixture into muffins tins and bake until bubbling, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven; sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake until golden, about 8 minutes more.

mac cheese muffins 11mac cheese muffins 8

Commentary: Islam’s atrocities for the past few days..

2015.02.05 (Damascus, Syria) – The Army of Islam sends rockets into mainly Christian neighborhoods, killing ten residents.
2015.02.04 (Beni, DRC) – Seven women are among twenty-one villagers hacked to death by ADF-NALU.
2015.02.03 (Mabrook, Libya) – Islamists storm an oilfield and slit the throats of thirteen employees.
2015.02.03 (Raqqa, Syria) – The caliphate releases a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a cage.
2015.02.03 (Alexandria, Egypt) – A civilian is killed – and a child injured – by an Islamist bomb at a checkpoint.
2015.02.02 (Raqqa, Syria) – Another gay man is thrown from a building by Sharia activists.
PUMPKIN CRANBERRY SCONES 1024 898 Mari Bickmore

PUMPKIN CRANBERRY SCONES

SCONES

My son and his wife came in from Redondo Beach (to the cold Midwest) for Thanksgiving and brought my darling granddaughters with them! I am so thrilled to have those little girls here with me. They live far too far away. Since we no longer have a minivan to cart everyone around in (thank the heavens!), my husband had to pick them up from the airport alone (and, oops, my son forgot to tell him that they were coming in an hour later than the email said so he had to sit there forEVER waiting). But that’s another story. Anyway, I wanted them to come home to the smell of baked goods and cocoa, and I wanted to try these scones. They certainly fit the bill, with that pumpkin and cinnamon aroma that is the embodiment of fall. I used a new gluten-free flour that I found at Costco that is cup for cup exchange for regular flour. I hadn’t tried it before, and frankly I had tried some that failed miserably, so I was taking a big chance for catastrophe, but this one is fabulous. I am sure that if you had scones made with regular  flour side by side with the gluten-free ones there might be a difference, but these were great. I will try more types of baking with this flour and see how it turns out, but for now I am sold.

NAMASTE FLOUR

These were really yummy and with the cinnamon butter on the side… I also served these with eggs and sausage, but they could stand alone at breakfast or high tea!

These were originally from Bon Appetit, now with my slight variations.
PREHEAT OVEN TO 400
INGREDIENTS
CINNAMON BUTTER
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoon pure maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

SCONES
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups Namaste gluten-free flour (or all-purpose flour)
¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter
½ cup chopped fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries (I used fresh)
1 large egg
½ cup canned pure pumpkin
¼ cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
2 tablespoons raw sugar

CINNAMON BUTTER
Mix butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.
Cinnamon butter can be made 4 days ahead. Cover and chill.

SCONES
1. Whisk granulated sugar, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, cloves, baking soda, and 2 cups flour in a large bowl.
2. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate in butter, tossing to coat in dry ingredients as you go; toss in cranberries. Mix in egg, pumpkin, and ¼ cup buttermilk.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into a 1½”-thick disk. Cut into 8 wedges.
SCONES DISK

4. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, 25–30 minutes.
5. Brush scones with buttermilk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until golden brown, 25–30 minutes. Serve with cinnamon butter.

Sorry, but several of my pictures disappeared! Hope you like this! If you do drop back in!