Rosemary Bread

Unfortunately for my waistline, my girl Sugar Baby loves to bake & try new recipes. This one was her latest and it was soooo good. I can turn down sweet breads and cinnamon rolls if I want to, but I cannot say no to good, crusty, savory breads. This one was so fragrant & flavorful that I was really hoping no one else would like it, so I could have it all! Unfortunately, it was popular with them all. The pepper gives it a nice, slight punch.

Sugar Baby found the recipe at our favorite place - allrecipes.com, of course. Here it is:

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary [she used about 2 Tbs fresh]
  
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select white bread cycle; press Start.

(Sugar Baby used her bread machine to make the dough, but shaped it into a circle and baked it in the oven at 350F until it was golden brown.)

Easy Granola Bars

I like these granola bars because they are easy, versatile, and all of my kids like them!

Ingredients:

4 cups of oats (instant or old fashioned)b
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup of applesauce (today I substituted pumpkin butter and no one noticed)
2 tsp of baking powder
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1/4 cup of chopped nuts (today I used sunflower seeds)

Combine everything and press into a greased 9x13" pan. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly before cutting into squares. Enjoy!

Breakfast Apple Cake

I saw this recipe on allrecipes front page this morning and decided it would be a nice breakfast treat for the kiddos. It came together really quickly and I stuck it in the oven. Twenty minutes later, I checked on it only to discover that nothing was happening. My oven wasn't working.

I ended up carrying it over to my sweet neighbor & she let me bake it in her oven. It was nice to catch up with her.

The kids surprised me by devouring it ALL when I got home. My neighbor tried it too and said it was very good. I will definitely be making it again (well, if my oven will let me, that is).

I altered the original recipe a little.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour (I subbed all purpose flour + 1 Tbs baking powder & 1 tsp salt)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups peeled, cored, and chopped tart apple (I used golden delicious, because it was all I had)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (left these out)
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour and cinnamon. Mixture will be thick. Fold in apple and nuts. Spread in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with butterscotch chips.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Cobbler

The summer fruit is here: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, etc...! This cobbler is an easy & delicious way to use them. Recently, my 7yr old son collected blackberries from our woods and he and one of his big sisters made a cobbler with them for Father's Day.

Here's how ya do it:

Ingredients:

1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup Bisquick*
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups fruit

Melt the butter and put it in a 9x13" pan. Stir together the Bisquick, sugar & milk and pour it into the pan. Sprinkle the berries or whatever fruit you're using evenly over the top. Don't try to push the fruit down into the batter. Bake at 350F until the top is golden. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream!

*If you don't have Bisquick, you can use 1 cup all-purpose flour mixed with 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt in its place.

Strawberry Shortbread Bites

The strawberries in the garden are still coming in! My girl Sugar Baby whipped up a batch of shortbread yesterday & just as it came out of the oven, one of the boys brought in another bowl of strawberries. I looked at the shortbread & I looked at the strawberries & the wheels started turning... there was cream cheese in the fridge... we could do some kind of fruit pizza! So eventually we ended up with these cute little delicious bites.

For the shortbread:
5 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of butter, cut into little pieces (yes, that IS a lot of butter!)

Combine all of the ingredients until it forms a dough. A mixer with a paddle attachment works well for this. Press it into a greased 15x10" pan & prick all over with a fork. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes or until set in the middle. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then cut into 1 1/2" (approximately) squares. Leave in the pan & let cool all the way.

For the cream cheese part:
2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat the 3 ingredients together until smooth.

Place a dollup - about a tablespoon - of cream cheese on each shortbread square. Top with a strawberry slice - or even a whole berry if they are small.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

I love these cupcakes! They have real strawberries in them and are moist and perfectly paired with a not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting.Ingredients:

1 cup of thoroughly squashed strawberries
3 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp strawberry extract
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs

Cream the butter & sugar. Gradually beat in the eggs and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder & salt in another bowl. Stir the milk & strawberries into the butter mixture and then stir in the dry ingredients until everything is combined.

Fill the muffin liners 2/3 full - this batter doesn't rise very much. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool before frosting.

Makes about 4 dozen cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 cups of powdered sugar

Thoroughly beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy and no lumps remain. Beat in the remaining ingredients, adding enough sugar to get the consistency you want. (For piping, add more, for spreading, add less...)

Frost your cooled cupcakes and try not to eat them all at one time! If you do have some left, store them in the fridge. :)

Pops!

These were too cute not to post here!

I've been dabbling with cake pops recently and I've discovered that brownie pops taste wayyyy better!

Here's how to do it:

Bake a box of brownie mix, using 1 less egg than the directions call for. Let it cool and then roll & squish it into balls that are slightly smaller than a golf ball. (I made the chicky ones a little more egg shaped - or at least tried to).

Chill the balls for at least an hour and dip in candy coating and allow to dry.

NOTE: Do NOT attempt to add food coloring to candy coating/bark. Trust me on this one.

Overnight Coffeecake

We've been going to the early service at church on Sunday mornings. Getting eight people fed, dressed & out of the house by 7:45am is no easy task! This recipe is great, because I can make it at night, stick it in the fridge and then bake it in the morning. Mmmm... and with all that sugar & cinnamon, everyone is bound to love it.

Overnight Coffeecake from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts [I had none, so I left these out]
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon [I crumbled the brown sugar with 3Tbs of butter before sprinking]; sprinkle over coffee cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Combine confectioners' sugar and milk; drizzle over warm coffee cake.

Apple Strudel Muffins

I love muffins! And especially ones with struesel/strudel (or whatever that sweet, crumbly stuff is called) on top! This is another yummy one that I found on allrecipes and tweaked a little. It makes your kitchen smell so good when they're baking, too!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups chopped apples
• 
  
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, oats, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
4. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Roasted Garlic Swirl Bread

I came up with this bread recently and now it is one of my favorites! It is french bread with a swirl of roasted garlic, parmesan cheese, italian seasoning and olive oil.

First, make a batch of french bread dough.

Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Meanwhile, slice tips off of 3 heads of garlic. drizzle with olive oil and wrap with aluminum foil. Bake at 400F for 30 minutes. Let cool enough to handle and then squeeze the cloves into a bowl. They will easily pop right out of their skins.

In the bowl with the garlic, stir until pasty:

1/2 tsp salt
2-3 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried italian seasoning
2/3 cup of parmesan cheese

Punch down the dough and divide it into thirds. One third at a time, roll the dough into a large rectangle - until it is about 1/2" thick. Sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the garlic mixture. There won't be enough to spread and coat the dough, just try to get little blobs of it distributed as evenly as possible. Roll up the dough tightly and pinch to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Allow to rise until doubled. To make the loaves prettier, brush with a beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and done. Cool for a few minutes, if you can wait, and cut into slices for serving.

Tastycake Cupcakes

Mmmm! Better than the real thing! Use my Tasty Cake recipe and make cupcakes instead. Let them cool completely.

Combine the filling ingredients in a mixer until fluffy:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 pinch salt
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spoon filling ingredients in a pastry bag that is fitted with a decorating tip that's got an opening about 1/4" across. Stick the tip about 1/3 of the way into each cupcake center and squeeze the bag until it reaches the top of the cupcake.

Frost with the Tasty Cake Chocolate frosting and enjoy!

Sugar Baby's Brownies

This is what a brownie should be like. Crusty on the top, dense, sturdy, fudgy, chocolatey, rich and not at all cakey. Sugar Baby (my 12 yr old) made these recently and I quickly tossed aside my old recipe and clung to this one. (Thank you, Sugar Baby, I'm forever indebted to you!) She adapted the recipe from Deep Dish Brownies, which she found on allrecipes. Here's what she did:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions;

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Thoroughly combine all the ingredients.
3. Bake 40-45 minutes or until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool before cutting, if you can wait. If not, enjoy them with a spoon and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top to cool them enough so that you don't burn your tongue. ;)

P.S. The recipe doubles easily to fill a 9 x 13" pan.

Mini Bittersweet Chocolate Cheesecakes

Oooh, la la! Fancy and easy!
These soft little cheesecakes definitely have a bittersweet chocolate taste, so if you'd rather have less of the bittersweet taste, use semi-sweet and they will be a touch sweeter. The recipe was adapted from an issue of Fine Cooking.

Ingredients:

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs sugar
4 oz chocolate, chopped, divided and melted (bittersweet or semi-sweet)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 300F. Line 6 muffin tins with liners & spray them lightly with cooking spray. (I used a silicon tart baking pan. Each tart "hole" is about 4" across.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and 3 ounces of the melted chocolate. Add the egg & beat just until blended. Spoon into the muffin or tart tins and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the centers are just barely jiggly when nudged. Cool completely. Refrigerate (up to 3 days) until ready to serve. (Or freeze up to 1 month.) Just before serving, drizzle with the remaining melted chocolate.

Fudgy Pie

Mmmm... This pie was so good! I found the recipe at allrecipes (surprise, surprise) and changed it a little (surprise, suprise) and discovered a simple, yet richly delicious dessert!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Mix sugar and cocoa together. Beat the eggs then add to the cocoa mixture. Beat in the milk, butter and vanilla.
3. Pour mixture into 9 inch unbaked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 - 55 minutes or until set. (The middle will be slightly jiggly until it cools & sets.) Let cool before slicing.
   

Very Light Biscuits

Growing up with my great-grandma meant I ate a lot of biscuits. I never did figure out how she made hers -she wasn't the most patient teacher - but I do remember spending time with her in the kitchen, patting the biscuits into shape and begging for bits of dough to eat (maybe that's why she wasn't so patient?). Mmmm... Now my kids do the same thing to me! They hang out next to me under the guise of "helping" because they want a nibble or two, or better yet, a chance to scrape the bowl of all the leftover dough.

This recipe is really good. It is fairly simple and makes deliciously light biscuits. The key to light, flaky biscuits is to work the dough as little as possible.

Ingredients:
4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup butter, cut into cubes
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix all of the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter until the dough is crumbly. It's okay if some of the crumbs are lima bean size and some are petite pea size. The butter pieces melt & create flaky, airy biscuits. Stir in the milk, just until combined. Turn onto a floured surface and pat just enough to hold it together. Pat it to about 1" thickness. Cut with a floured biscuit cutter, and place 1" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 425F for about 10-13 minutes or until golden on the bottoms. Serve hot & with jam or gravy. Makes about 3 dozen 2" biscuits.

Cranberry Orange Almond Muffins

This is one of my favorite flavor combinations for a muffin. I love the sweetness of the orange paired with the tartness of the cranberries. I must admit, though, my kids really didn't go for them, but they're not too crazy about cranberries to begin with. (That's okay, it just means more for me! :)

(The recipe originally came from allrecipes & I tweaked it a tiny bit.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• Grated peel of 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 cup dried cranberries
  
• 1 cup coarsely chopped almonds

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg. Add orange juice, peel, butter and hot water. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Gently fold in cranberries and almonds. Spoon into muffin tins or liners. Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Makes 12 muffins.

Glazed Cinnamon Breakfast Scones

We have another name for these in our house: Lazy Buns. Glazed Cinnamon Breakfast Scones sounds a lot nicer, though, doesn't it? I invented them one morning when I wanted to make cinnamon buns but didn't feel like it. They're like a cross between biscuits & cinnamon buns, except they're a lot faster and don't require all the rolling & cutting (and messing up of countertops). My kids love them and so do I because they are so easy to make.


Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups milk

2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 Tbs sugar

Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbs milk


Stir together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening until the mixture looks crumbly. Stir in the milk until everything is combined, but do not stir it too much or the lazy buns won't be as tender.

Combine the 2 tsp of cinnamon and the 2 Tbs of sugar and stir/fold these into the dough. You don't want them to spread throughout the dough, but rather be in streaks or veins throughout it.

On a lightly greased baking sheet, pat the dough into a large circle about 1" thick. Cut into wedges and separate slightly. Bake at 400F for 13-15 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden.

While baking, combine the glaze ingredients. Drizzle over hot buns & serve immediately. Serves 6.

A Bread Tip

I just wanted to share a little tip that I figured out for making sandwiches from homemade bread. Often homemade bread is soft -which is a good thing- but it can make it difficult to slice & use for sandwiches. However, if you shape your dough & bake it as long hoagie-like rolls, you can slice it horizontally & it is a lot easier to make sandwiches with it. It even holds up to having peanut butter spread on it. Anyway... you may have already figured this out, but just in case you hadn't, I thought I'd share. Happy Baking!

Black Bean Brownies

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't tasted it. These are really good! All six of my kids liked them and asked for seconds. (Of course, I didn't tell them there was anything different about the recipe - not sure if I ever will...)

This easy, moist & fudgy recipe came from allrecipes...

Ingredients:

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder [the original recipe didn't call for this, but I added it anyway]
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee (I used 1 Tbs strong brewed coffee instead)
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (I added a couple of Tbs of sliced almonds, too)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.
2. Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a blender or food processor; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips/nuts over the top of the mixture.
   
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.
   

Streusel Topped White Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I love this banana bread. It is easy to whip up & makes a great dessert, snack or breakfast! It is really moist & sweet.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk (may substitute milk w/1 tsp lemon juice)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Streusel Ingredients:
2 Tbs butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs brown sugar

Combine all except streusel ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the streusel ingredients together until crumbly. After baking the bread for about 30 minutes, sprinkle the streusel on and bake until the bread is no longer gooey in the middle (about 5-10 more minutes).

Note: the white chocolate chips usually sink to the bottom while baking, but we don't mind. :)