My darling clementine

Crates of clementines are back in stores! I love them so much. Mostly I peel 'em and eat 'em, but I do have an amazing clementine baking tip. Observe:

Place 3-4 clementines in a pot of cold water. Bring to a simmer and let them go at a slow simmer for a while -- say 2 hours or so. Your house will smell wonderful. Drain and let cool.

When they are cool enough to handle, chop them up -- skins and all -- removing any seeds or bad spots. This will turn into a mash of pulp and juice and soft skin.

You can use this mash the same way you might use applesauce to replace oil in baking recipes. Here is one specific recipe that I adore:

In a small bowl or mug, mix 2-3 Tablespoons of No Pudge! Brownie Mix with enough clementine mash to just moisten the mix. Stir until glossy. Pour batter into an individual ramekin. Place a single Hershey's kiss, or another piece of good chocolate, into the center of the ramekin. Bake at 325 until set.

The result: a clementiney and chocolately molten brownie cake.

Another winner is this clementine torte from JoyofBaking.com. It uses ground almonds instead of flour. I use Almond Meal from Trader Joe's.