Raspberries!

Of all of the new raspberry recipes I've been trying recently, these two are my favorite.

Recipe #1: Raspberry Cinnamon Muffins (from http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com)
2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup raspberries
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Line 18 muffin forms with paper liners, or spray cups with non-stick cooking spray. In bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In another bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside. In mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, blending well.
Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk/vanilla mixture in 2 additions Scrape bowl between additions and mix only until just combined. By hand, fold in raspberries (and nuts if using) being careful so the fruit stays whole as much as possible. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed; 18 to 20 minutes. If tops stick to muffin tins when removing, loosen with a sharp knife.

My notes: I don't enjoy nuts in baked goods, so I substituted a handful of chocolate chips instead. Chocolate + raspberries = yum! Also, I recently discovered powdered buttermilk - what an awesome thing! It keeps in the fridge indefinitely, so no more waste. I used to buy a carton of buttermilk for a recipe, and not have any use for the rest of it, so it would end up going down the drain a few weeks later when it spoiled. (If you don't already know about powdered buttermilk, it's on the shelf in the baking aisle of the grocery store.)

Recipe #2: Crepes with Cheese Filling and Raspberry Sauce (from http://recipes.epicurean.com)

Crepes:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons butter

Filling:
1 pound Ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Raspberry Sauce:
1 pint raspberries
1 teaspoon water
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

The crepes can be made the night before, filled, covered, and refrigerated until morning.

Crepes: Sift together flour and salt in a medium size bowl. Whisk in eggs, egg yolk, and one tablespoon milk to form a smooth, paste-like batter. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla and mix well. There should be no lumps. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet and stir into batter leaving behind a film of butter in the pan. Allow batter to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat skillet over medium-low heat. Stir batter and ladle about 1/4 cup into pan. Thinly coat bottom and edges of pan with batter. Cook until crepe turns golden-brown, lacy, and begins to pull away from pan, approximately 2 minutes. Turn and cook other side 30 to 40 seconds. Slide from pan and continue cooking other crepes. Stack crepes on a plate.

Filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each crepe. Turn in opposite ends and roll up the crepes. Cover and refrigerate. In the morning, fry the crepes in three tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden.

Raspberry Sauce: Place half the raspberries in a saucepan with water and sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and sauce is thick. Add the remaining raspberries and orange zest. Heat through at the lowest temperature setting. Top filled crepes with raspberry sauce and garnish with sour cream and fresh raspberries. Serves 8.