Grapefruit Segments in Vanilla Bean & Star Anise Syrup

Ingredients:
5 Texas Rio Star (red) grapefruits
1 cup sugar
2 vanilla beans, sliced along the seam
water
4-6 whole star anise


Directions:
Sterilize your jars. Keep them warm until ready to use. Supreme the grapefruit. As you work, place the segments in a large measuring cup. Squeeze the membranes and peels into the measuring cup. Discard the peels and membranes. Carefully remove the segments to a heavy sauce pan using a slotted spoon or mini strainer. Add water to the juice in the measuring cup to equal 2 cups (I only needed to add one cup). Add to the sauce pan. Add the vanilla beans and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally but very gently. Remove the vanilla beans and star anise. Ladle the mixture into prepared jars. Cut the vanilla beans to fit and add them and the star anise to the jars if desired. Seal. Process for 5 minutes in a hot water bath.

Yield: 4-5 8 oz jars

Note: It is important to sterilize the jars prior to filling for this recipe due to the very short processing time. Do not over process the filled jars.


Tip: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can.

My thoughts:

I recently was lucky enough to come in possession of a bunch of truly fragrant Texas grapefruit. I had high hopes of finally tackling marmalade making but when I cut into them, about half, while delicious, had very, very thick skin (lots of pith) and I wasn't eager to spend all that time prepping the fruit and making marmalade only to yield a couple of 1/2 pints. We were getting ready to go on vacation so I knew I didn't have time just to eat them one by one and I am not a terribly big grapefruit eater anyway. I looked up tons of grapefruit recipes and none really seemed appealing until I came across a recipe for a poached grapefruit made with lots of fresh mint. It sounded tasty but again, my short deadline and amount of grapefruit I had didn't make this a practical solution. So I took the idea of poaching the grapefruit one further and canned the segments in a very light syrup. In the future I will use it just as I would poached grapefruit: over ice cream, yogurt or panna cotta or even in drinks. The vanilla bean and star anise add interest (and spice of course) to the syrup and keep the grapefruit from being puckeringly overpowering.

Seedless Blackberry Vanilla Bean Jam

Ingredients:
8-10 cups whole, picked over blackberries
4 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 box liquid pectin (3 oz., one of the little packets in the box)
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest of one lemon
3 vanilla beans, scraped


Directions:
Mash the berries through a sieve (use a whisk to get more juice out) or a food mill to remove the seeds. It should yield about 6 cups of pulpy berries. Add the sugar, vanilla bean scrapings and blackberries to a large pot. Tie the vanilla beans together with kitchen twine and attach them to the side of the pan or cut them up and stuff them into a tea ball. Allow to the beans to float in the pan. Prep jars/lids for canning. Bring to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the pectin and lemon juice. Continue cooking at a low (rolling) boil for 5 minutes. Discard the beans. Fill the jars leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Process in the hot water bath for 10 minutes.


Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can. Here is a bunch of other canning books and equipment I find useful.


Yield: about 7 8-oz jars (I ended up with 3 pint jars and 8 4-oz jars)

My thoughts:

I made this a little earlier in the summer but just opened a jar of it for the first time yesterday. I love the combination of blackberry and vanilla so I was extra interested to see if my jam experiment worked and I was excited to see that it had. I would say the jam is 70% blackberry-y and 30% vanilla-y, which I think is the perfect ratio.

Normally, I don't bother removing the seeds from jam but blackberry seeds are pretty big. I actually sort of like the seeds when I am eating a berry fresh from the bush but in jam, they sort of just make everything crunchy and stick in your teeth. It only took a few minutes to run it through the food mill. I had my husband do it while we watched British television on DVD. Alternately, I think you could mash them through a mesh strainer but that would take quite a bit more muscle. If you don't mind some seeds, de-seeding 50-70% of the berries and leaving the rest whole is another option. So, go hunt down some late summer blackberries and make this jam!

Chocolate Chip Vanilla Bean Hazelnut Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
6 oz semisweet chips
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Split the vanilla bean in two down the seam. Scrape the seeds into a large bowl, then add the butter, vanilla and sugar. Cream together. Add the egg, beat until fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and oatmeal. Mix until well combined. Fold in the nuts and chips. Place tablespoon sized blobs of dough on the lined cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart and bake for 12-14 minutes or until they look "set" and the bottoms are just golden. Carefully remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

My thoughts:

The name is a bit of a mouthful but these are great cookies. Chewy, crunchy, chocolate-y. Not the most showy of cookies but I've never seen anyone turn one down. I love them because they are a bit of a change from a simple chocolate chip oatmeal cookie but are still quick to make with ingredients I have on hand. Homey, delicious and comforting. The best kind of cookie.

Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

Ingredients:
1/2 oz unflavored powdered gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 vanilla bean

confectioners' sugar for dredging


Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Allow to seep for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the beans. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a vigorous boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed for 1 minute. Add the salt, vanilla and vanilla bean scrapings and beat for 12 minutes. Oil your hands and a spatula and scrape into a 9 x 13 inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap or sprayed with cooking spray and spread evenly. After pouring marshmallow mixture into the pan, take another piece of oiled plastic wrap and press firmly on the top, oil side down, to smooth the marshmallow. Allow to rest 3 hours. Invert the pan into plate full of confectioners� sugar and dredge the marshmallow through. Remove and cut into pieces with kitchen sheers or a knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners' sugar. Store in an air tight container.


*1/2 oz. gelatin is equal to 2 packets Knox unflavored gelatin

My thoughts:

These are super vanilla flavored marshmallows- no "plain" vanilla here! There are flecks of vanilla beans throughout the marshmallow and a true vanilla flavor. For even more vanilla flavor, use vanilla infused confectioners sugar (easily made by storing a vanilla bean in with the confectioners sugar) or the super fine vanilla bean infused vanilla sugar I've found at Ikea.

I loved them in hot chocolate but I dream of using them in homemade nibby toffee Rice Krispie treats. Or in s'mores or fondue. They would also make a great party favor or hostess gift.

Blueberry Vanilla Bean Frosting

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
2/3 cup blueberries
1 vanilla bean, split length wise
pinch salt

Directions:
Beat the egg whites and salt to soft peaks using an electric mixer. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring sugar, vanilla bean blueberries and water to a boil, stirring occasionally, mashing the berries a bit with the back of your spoon. Continue to boil until it reaches soft ball stage (when a drop of the syrup forms a soft ball when dropped in cool water) while continuing to stir occasionally.




Whisk the mixture through a fine sieve into a heat safe measuring cup and discard the blueberries. Keep the mixer running (to be safe use a stand mixer or a friend to complete this next step) and pour a continuous stream of molten syrup into the egg whites. Continue to beat for about 5 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy, glossy and cool. Frost cooled cupcakes or cake.

My thoughts:

The best word to describe this frosting is ethereal. It has an incredibly light and smooth texture and is infused with blueberries and vanilla. So good and perfect for summer.

Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

Ingredients:
3 1/3 cup flour
1 1/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3 tablespoons vanilla paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 egg yolks

chocolate cream cheese frosting


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour or spray with baking spray two 8 inch round pans. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and egg yolks, mix until well combined. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add the vanilla paste to the milk. Mixing continuously, add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Divide evenly into the prepared pans and bake about 40 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Cool on wire rack, removing from the pans after about 5 minutes. Cool completely then ice.

My thoughts:

We had some friends over for dinner and I used it as an excuse to make a classic vanilla cake with chocolate icing. I've been wanting to make a layer cake for ages but living in the household of two, there is just no hope that we would be able to finish it. Th cake is moist and has tiny flecks of vanilla beans throughout. The vanilla flavor is present but surprisingly subtle considering the amount of vanilla paste that went into the cake. Which isn't to say it is bland just that the flavor is very natural tasting and not overpowering.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 egg, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean, cut length-wise
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean together until the milk just boils. Remove from heat and let cool for about 1 hour. Then remove the vanilla bean. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the milk. Discard the remaining bean pod. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together the salt, flour and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Alternately add the flour and milk mixture until well combined. Divide batter into about 20 lined or greased cupcake wells. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the middle cupcake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and then ice.

My thoughts:

Today is my (27th!) birthday and my sweet husband made me these vanilla bean cupcakes. They are so bursting with vanilla flavor it is hard to even put into words their incredible vanilla-ness. He frosted them with pink cream cheese icing.