Gobs...Part 1

I'm sure anyone outside of my little area of west central Pennsylvania calls these delicious bits whoopie pies, but here we call them gobs. I'm not sure where the word originated, or why it hasn't caught on. It's a perfect word, wouldn't ya say?

Maybe it came from the fact that a slang word for mouth is 'gob' and you can just stuff these into your gob..... one right after the other. I'm pretty sure I've seen male members of my family eat them like they're going out of style.

Anyway, a traditional gob here is of the chocolate variation, but you can get them of all sorts. For instance, pumpkin, peanut butter and jelly, lemon cream, and the list goes on.  So, while browsing the internet one day I came across a different kind. Strawberry milk! I've never had them before so I decided to give them a go. For one, I love strawberry milk. For two, they're different but easy.

I came across this recipe here: Sprinkle Bake

I'm going to tell you right now, mine are not nearly as pretty as the ones on Sprinkle Bake. It was my first go at this recipe and I'm hoping the more I try this and tweak the recipe the better they look for me. Even when I make chocolate gobs (which I have done 100 times) they do not always turn out the exact same every time, because of humidity and other environmental factors that I can not control.  The strawberry milk gobs however were just as tasty as imagined.

Strawberry Milk Gobs

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

8 tbsp white vegetable shortening

3/4 cup powdered strawberry milk mix

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 whole egg

1 egg white

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp white vinegar

Gob Filling

10 tbsp flour

2 c milk

2 c powdered sugar

1 c crisco

1 c butter

1 tsp vanilla

Note: the gob filling instructions are at the end, but I suggest making it first. 

In a mixer, mix together the vegetable shortening, strawberry milk mix and brown sugar. It should be slightly crumbly. While that is mixing, stir the flour, baking powder and salt (set this aside until the end). Add the egg and egg white to the strawberry milk mixture and beat well. Then add the heavy cream and beat until the mixture is smooth.

Now make sour milk by whisking the baking soda and vinegar in with the milk. Whisk until bubbly. Add this mixture to the strawberry milk mixture. Continue mixing. Now slowly add the flour mixture you made earlier. Continue mixing on low speed until thoroughly combined. The mixture will be thick and should look like the picture above.

Use a cookie scoop and place on cookie sheet as shown on the right. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. On the day I baked them it took exactly 9 minutes. Bake them just until the edges turn golden brown and they are spongy to the touch. If you over bake them they will look more orange in color than pink. Also, they spread very little, so you can probably put them about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. However, this will vary depending on the weather. So, I'd bake the first cookie sheet and see how much the spread for you. 

Make the filling in advance, because the milk and flour mixture needs to cool completely. I use the same gob filling recipe for almost all gobs. Why? Because I hate overly sweet icings and fillings. This one is perfect. It comes from a very old recipe book that my mom got from a church years and years ago. The pages are literally held together by a rubber band, that's how often we use it. 

Mix together the flour and milk until there are no lumps. Cook on stove top over medium heat while whisking until thick. Let this cool completely. Cream together powdered sugar, vegetable shortening, butter and vanilla. Once combined beat in the cooled milk mixture until combined. Then it is ready to spread between two gob halves. Put as much or as little filing as you like.

I don't normally put initials on all my gobs, these were for a bridal shower. Let me know if you give these a try or if you have a favorite gob combination!

Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

I'm sure I looked pretty silly today picking rhubarb. Large stick in tow, which by the way is no where near necessary for picking rhubarb. However, there are two very large milk snakes taking refuge in our rhubarb patch. They're quite aggressive as well. One of them has come flying out at me before. I try to learn my lesson the first time around. So, this time I took a stick to push around the big leaves so I could at least see what I was putting my hands into.  It was a success, I got lots of rhubarb and no snakes in sight.

Said snake.

Anyway, I'll be the first to tell you that I am absolutely the worst at making pretty pie crusts. I suppose it's because I don't have patience for it. I also don't have enough practice. My mom on the other hand is a whiz at it.

There is an easy solution to not so pretty crusts for pies. I turn everything that originally had intentions of being a pie into a rustic tart. There is no need for pinching the edges, braiding, neatly folding, weaving or spending minutes upon minutes trying to reach symmetrical perfection.

That's the reason behind this creation. I saw a recipe for rhubarb pie, which of course looked absolutely pretty. So, I decided to make a rustic tart.

Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

crust:

2 c flour

1/4 c yellow corn meal

1/3 c sugar

2/3 c butter, cold and cubed

1/2 c buttermilk

filling:

4 c rhubarb, chopped

2 c strawberries, chopped

4 c boiling water

2/3 c sugar

1/4 c flour

2 tblsp cream of wheat

1 egg white, slightly whisked with fork

Alright, I generally make my crusts in my food processor. It's just so much easier. Plus, it takes less time, which means less time for the butter or fat to melt while working it into a dough. Meaning they stay the perfectly little butter/fat pockets that melt in the crust when it is baking in the oven. So, whether you make your dough in a food processor or with a fork in a large bowl is up to you, and requires the same process nonetheless.

Mix flour, corn meal and sugar in food processor.

Add cold butter and pulse processor until it forms fine crumbles, as shown on the left. Then slowly add the buttermilk, continue pulsing until the dough starts to come together into a ball. 

Dump it out onto a lightly floured countertop and form into a disk. Shove it in the refrigerator for at least a 1/2 hour.

While the dough is chilling make the filling. Put rhubarb in a colander and pour the boiling water over it. Let water drain out and add to a large bowl. Add strawberries, sugar, flour and cream of wheat. Cream of wheat is the secret in any super juicy pie. It helps absorb the juices so they stay inside. But shhh...it's a secret so don't tell anyone.






Once dough is chilled roll it out to about a 14 inch circle on a floured surface. Be sure to flour your rolling pin as well. Make sure the dough is also about 1/2 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a foiled cookie tray or pizza pan. This part is probably easier than it seems. Just roll the dough around your rolling pin and transfer it over to the tray that way. Spoon the filling atop the dough, leaving about 2 inches of edge. Pull those edges up around the filling in any way you want. That's the best part. It doesn't matter if it's even or some come up further than others. Brush with egg white.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Serve warm with some cold vanilla ice cream on the side, and you wont regret a single bite.

Simple enough, wouldn't you say? Let me know if you gives this one a try!

Also, just in case you don't have buttermilk sitting around in your refrigerator (which I didn't), you can make it. Sort of. Technically it's just soured milk, but works practically the same. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring cup and then fill to 1 cup. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using your desired amount.

Rhubarb and Berry Crisp

Sometimes gloomy chilly days require something a little more. Something to make you forget the fact that it is almost May and it still feels wintery. That is exactly why I decided to go ahead and make this. Plus, rhubarb is in season! It's sweet, tart and warms the heart.

Rhubarb, Strawberry, Blueberry Crisp

Filling:

2 c. rhubarb, chopped

2 pints strawberries, quartered

1 pint blueberries

1/2 c. granulated sugar

2 tblsp. flour

3 tblsp. lime or lemon juice 

zest of 1 lime or lemon

Topping:

1 c. oats

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/3 c. flour

8 tblsp. butter (1 stick), melted

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, granulated sugar, flour, lemon juice and zest in a medium sized skillet (make sure it is one you can put in the oven) or baking pan. Let the berries macerate for 5-10 mins. Mix oats, brown sugar, flour in another bowl, just use your hands. Add the melted butter and mix with hands. It will form yummy clumps of sweetness. Once berries and rhubarb is ready cover them in the crisp topping. It does not have to be perfect. Just evenly spread it across the top of the berries and rhubarb. Put the skillet in the oven and bake for 40-50 mins, or until top is crispy and brown. 

This tastes so amazing as soon as it comes out of the oven. I add a little milk to my serving. You could serve it with ice cream. I think it is the combination of the warm crisp with the cold milk or ice cream that makes it perfect. Also, really you could use any berries or combination of fruit that you have. These berries were starting to go bad in my fridge, so I used them all up. You could even omit the rhubarb if you're not in love with it like I am. This serves about 12, depending on serving size.