Amish Pancakes

I have a love affair with Amish cooking but being down South here, I'm sorely deprived of anything Amish.  When I lived in Ohio there was an *amazing* Amish restaurant that served the best chicken and noodles I have ever, ever had.  Oh, how I  miss a nice hot bowl of noodles over mashed potatoes.  (insert sad face here)  I decided I'd buy some Amish cookbooks and maybe I could find something similar to my beloved noodles and in the process found this fabulous pancake recipe that has since replaced all my others, hands down.  My 15 year old proclaimed these "the best pancakes he's ever eaten".


The book I found this in is called "The Amish Cook at Home" and goes not by recipe sections like veggies and meats, etc. but rather by seasons and shares with you what life is like in those Amish communities.  It really is a great book; I can hardly say I've read a cookbook cover to cover but this is that rare case where I did.  They really are a fascinating people and I love their simplicity in everything from cooking, to sewing to gardening.  That's what the recipe is...basic, simple and delicious.  I hope you'll agree.


These pancakes fluff up wonderfully, are thick and hearty and have this wonderful cakey flavor.  They are so good I ate one without butter or syrup and it was delicious.  The batter itself is VERY thick so you might need to thin it down with some additional milk as I did.  Using a 1/3 cup, this recipe yielded 9 medium sized pancakes.  Using a 1/4 cup, you should get 12 smaller ones.


Amish Pancakes
adapted from The Amish Cook at Home


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten


Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl.  Whisk to combine.  In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring just till combined.  Don't overmix.


Add to your griddle and cook for 3 minutes approximately per side until golden brown and bubbles form along the dry edge.  Flip and cook on other side for another 3 minutes.

* Picture courtesy of StockXchang as we ate ours too quick to take a picture!

Tuscan Lemon Muffins ~ Light & Airy

Keeping in line with our new lighter and "better for us" menu, I subscribed to Cooking Light and was so pleased to find this recipe in their latest edition.  Muffins are super great for us with hubby being up and at 'em so early in the A.M. for the Army.  He can grab one, a glass of milk and a piece of fruit and he's ready to go.  So when I found a lemon muffin that was moist, tender and in the end good for you, I had to make them.  It was a no-brainer.

These muffins roll in at only 186 calories with 6.2 grams of fat.  Not bad!  And it uses part skim ricotta and heart healthy olive oil.  It is has a wonderful, light taste thanks to its lemon rind and fresh squeezed juice.  Crispy on top, tender in the middle - it became the perfect breakfast muffin in our house. Best part is, your family will never be able to tell these are "healthy" or "light".  They are seriously THAT delicious.   Hope you enjoy them as much as we did.  Here's to keeping it light and healthy!  *cheers*

Country Classic - Creamed Chicken over Buttermilk Biscuits

This is a big post - bear with the length.  

My grandma was an *amazing* country cook.  For eons, every Sunday, we'd all pile into her sunflower yellow little mobile home's kitchen/dining room and after she'd get back from church, lunch was served.  We're not talking like a nice little old brunch either...we're talkin' the full fixin's.  Turkey, green beans w/ ham, dumplings, homemade rolls, pies of all sorts - the list could go on and on.  That woman lived to feed her kids and grandkids!  There was no such thing as a small portion and if you left the table hungry, it was your own fault for not going back for thirds or fourths.  Such was Sundays at my grandma's house.  She raised 4 very big boys and the woman lived in the kitchen.  She was phenomenal to watch too.  Every recipe was in her head and heart - there was never a recipe book in sight.  She made so many amazing meals and while holidays were her shining moments that will forever live on in everyone's minds in the family, I liked when she did smaller meals, like when I'd stop by unannounced just to visit and she'd make dinner for just us.  One of those meals was a creamed chicken over biscuits that just made my mouth water.  Tender pulled chicken in a creamy gravy over hot, buttered homemade biscuits.  There was, and likely will never be, any that compare to hers but I've kinda come to a happy place where I like mine fairly much as I did hers.  Makes me think of her...alot.

Terrific Butter Dip Biscuits

Last week since Jon and I couldn't decide exactly what we wanted for our menu, we decided to try something different.  We picked ALL new stuff we'd never had before.  Every meal we ate was brand new to us.  That ended up being a good and a bad thing.  Good because I found some really lovely new dishes (as in Jenna's Spicy Sweet Asian Beef) that renewed my faith choosing new recipes but then bad as I wasted ample time and money on others as they went down my garbage disposal from "big name bloggers" which I thought would be better than they were.  *cough* 

Oatmeal Choco-Toffee Muffins & the Georgia Snowstorm

Let me start by saying, I am from the North.  I was born and grew up in Ohio which gets a good amount of snow and ice thanks to the Great Lakes.  I also spent last winter in West Point Military Academy in the Hudson Valley area of New York which gets MOUNTAINS of snow.  We are currently at Ft. Benning, Georgia and last night they called for a snow storm which prompted all kinds of shut downs from schools, offices, and onwards.  You'd think it was a state wide emergency here in our area.  Everyone on the base yesterday was shopping and stocking up.  Every aisle was bare boned from frozen pizzas to ramen noodles, there was nary a box or bag in sight.  We just laughed because if it even RAINS too hard down here, people wig out, can't drive and stay home like shut ins during a hurricane.  But this...lol...was our "BIG" Georgia snowstorm.

Addictive Parker House Rolls

I had a totally different post in mind for today but in light of yesterday's festivities and my subsequent carb overload, I wanted to share with you the most delectable roll I have ever eaten...in my entire life.  I've had my fair share of Parker House rolls in my day but this is by far the best I have had grace my plate.  My hubby and I each took a bite, looked at each other and I knew what he was thinking.  "I'm not sharing."  And I wasn't sharing either!  These buttery, tender, soft rolls were THE highlight of my whole entire meal.  I thought for sure it would be my dessert of the apple crumble bars topped with caramel sauce and bourbon ice cream.  Nope...we went back for seconds, thirds, then FOURTHS of rolls.  We buttered them, dipped them in gravy and ate so many I thought we'd burst but we just could not STOP eating these rolls.  Every time one of us walked to the kitchen, the other called out "Can you bring me another roll?"  It was truly insane.  I may need some addiction therapy after this.

I got this recipe from Food Network's Thanksgiving magazine and had I known then how delicious it was, I wouldn't have waited an entire month to make them.  They are from Alex Guarnaschelli and I kid you not, this will be the end all roll recipe if you try them.  I've never really had a recipe come out to look exactly what the Food Network's pictures do ...until today.  I'm not a baker either!  Yeast breads and I have never been friends really.  I'm beginning to wonder if I missed my call entirely though since these turned out so picture perfect to hers.  And the flavor...omg...had I eaten this at someone's house and they had told me they made these by hand, I'd have said "liar liar".  You just won't believe that YOU made these.  They taste professionally made!

This looks like its super complicated, but its really not.  Its just broken down step by step.  Its very simple to do and Alex did a wonderful job breaking it down and describing how to roll these.  They make 3 big long loafs (as you see below) of 8 rolls.  When they bake, they puff up and touch each other and make a big loaf.  That way, your guests/family can reach in an break one off.  I just had to share.  Its rare I gush over a recipe like this...but o.m.g.  PLEASE make these.  And send some more my way...our 24 rolls are gone.  ROFL! 

If I could eat my monitor, I would.

Parker House Rolls

from Alex Guarnaschelli & Food Network

• 1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 7 1/2 to 8 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus softened butter for brushing
• 2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

Bloom the yeast.

Measure out 1/2 cup warm water and check the temperature: It should be between 110 degrees F and 120 degrees F (comfortable bathwater temperature). Sprinkle the yeast into a large bowl, add the warm water and whisk in the sugar. Let sit 1 minute (it should bubble and froth slightly), then gently stir in 1 cup flour. Set aside near the stove while you prepare the dough. 

Make the dough.

Mix the melted butter and milk in a mixer with the hook attachment on low speed. Add the eggs and mix until blended. Scrape in the yeast mixture and mix until incorporated. Add 6 1/2 cups flour and 1 tablespoon salt; mix until the dough forms a ball, 2 to 3 minutes, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour if the dough is too wet and sticky. 

Let it rise.

Brush a large bowl with softened butter. Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place, 2 hours to 2 hours, 30 minutes. The dough should double in volume.

Shape the dough.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust a clean flat surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Flour your hands; gently press the dough into a 16-by-8-inch rectangle, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (don't use a rolling pin).

Cut the dough.

With the short side in front of you, cut the dough in half lengthwise with a floured knife. Then slice crosswise into 12 strips.

Shape the dough. (again)

One at a time, fold each strip of dough unevenly in half so the top part slightly overlaps the bottom half by about an inch, then tuck the overhang underneath. Place the rolls seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet in 3 tightly packed rows of 8 rolls each. (If making in advance, wrap the baking sheet tightly in plastic wrap and freeze up to 3 weeks.)

Bake the rolls.

Bake until the rolls are bursting at the seams and golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. (If frozen, bake 25 minutes at 325 degrees F, then 10 minutes at 375 degrees F.) Remove from the oven and brush with softened butter. 

Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately. 

Coming up this week (since I skipped it today) - my new favorite dessert, a nifty new appetizer and a super cute twist on meatloaf!  Oh and a recipe swap with Renae of $10 Buck Dinners!  Busy week!  Stay tuned!

Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Bread

I am not the best baker in the world.  I much prefer to dice, chop, saute and cook things.  Baking requires such precise measurements and I am just not that girl.  I can do it and if often turns out wonderful results but I much prefer the fast and furious nature of cooking versus baking.  I love the sound of my knife chopping stuff.  I'm weird I know, but I like the instantaneous results of cooking too.  Baking takes hours sometimes and in my corner of the world, I just don't have time to bake alot.  Occasionally though there comes a recipe that stops me dead in my dicing/chopping tracks and makes me want to bake.  This was one of them.  :)

This was called "Crantastic Cranberry Bread" but when I clicked the link, it went to another site, who got it off another place, who got it out of a magazine, book or something I hadn't heard of.  And each one had changed it in itty bitty ways (as I did myself) so I'm dubbing it Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Bread because that's what's in it and that's what I changed, dang it.  Its just easier that way!

As is my habit on Sundays, I make muffins, pastry or something for hubs to eat during the week for work.  I felt I had muffin'd him out so when I saw this cranberry bread, I thought it would be a lovely change for him.  Let me tell you, this bread IS fabulous with a capital F.  Cranberries are tart by nature but in this recipe, they're surprisingly not so tart and evened out nicely with a sweet overtone.  Slather on some yummy Irish butter and have a mug of tea...YUM!  Its a beautiful loaf of bread and I *think* this might be making an appearance on my Thanksgiving table this year.  I hope you give it a whirl.

You see all those pockets of cranny goodness?

Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Bread

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 large orange
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
1/8 cup raw sugar (or the packets work fine too)


Start by picking through your cranberries and removing any stems or tossing out any bad ones.  Rinse VERY well, drain and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.  In a large bowl (or your mixer stand bowl), mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and zest.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg, cooled melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla.  Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.  Fold in the cranberries and pour into the loaf pan.  Sprinkle raw sugar over top of the batter.

Bake until golden brown on top and toothpick/cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.  (check at 1 hour and go from there)  Cool for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Breadstick Pizza Dough!

I try to steer away from posting every day meals like gourmet burgers or sammies unless they are particularly good or have some kind of spin on them.  Pizza is much in that category as there are 500,000 recipes out there for any kind of pizza you can imagine.  However, this is an exception.  This recipe is actually a breadstick recipe shared by my friend Siggy Spice.  The breadsticks alone are of such addictive quality you could easily just eat them plain...they are truly THAT good and flavorful.  I made these breadsticks last week and my husband, while shoveling in his 8th breadstick says "I bet this would make a good pizza."  And the light bulb went off in my head that I knew I was going to make pizza dough from this recipe one way, shape or form.

Let me tell you about this recipe first though.  It comes together really super quick using rapid rise yeast.  Yes, I know...you hate yeast.  We all have our woes regarding yeast but this is a really good exception.  The rise is only 30 minutes.  For fresh, hot bread that's chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside....that 30 minutes is nothing.  Shred your cheese, chop your toppings...do whatever you want for 30 minutes then come back to it.  No hot towels, no oily bowl either.  Roll it out, plop and stretch it on your pan and walk away for 30 minutes.  Its really just that simple.  My old recipe for pizza dough required overnight rising in the fridge so this - yeah, this is now my go to pizza crust hands down.

You can see Siggy's original recipe here on her blog.  Try making those too!  *DELICIOUS* in every sense of the word.  But try my variation as a pizza dough...sure to please!   The only real change I made was I instead of an herb blend and garlic salt, I used McCormick's Garlic Bread Sprinkle which is a blend of romano, herbs, salt, garlic and all sorts of goodies.  After the pan rise, I brushed olive oil on the dough and sprinkled heavily with the garlic bread sprinkle.  Then I added tomato sauce, then the toppings of hand cut pepperoni and fresh mozzarella/provolone and a heavy sprinkle of Parm-Reg cheese.

The crust was perfectly medium thick (think Pizza Hut hand tossed as a measure of thickness), chewy inside, crispy on the bottom and edges.  See my picture below to see the edges and the inside of the crust.  Sooo good!  Hope you try it out!  (forgive my double cheese, oily pizza...that's how we like it!  Drippy, gooey and super cheesy lightly browned on top!)

Breadstick Pizza Dough

Adapted from Siggy Spice's Recipe

• 1-½ cups warm water
• 1 TBSP instant (rapid rise) yeast from a jar
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 3-½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2-4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• McCormick's Garlic Bread Sprinkle

Mix together water, yeast, sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl or electric mixer and knead for three minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread 1-2 TBSP olive oil (just enough to coat) onto the bottom of a 16"x14" cookie sheet.  Roll out the breadstick dough about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and large enough to fit onto baking sheet.  Place whole sheet of dough on baking sheet, stretching and pressing into shape then brush 1-2 TBSP olive oil over top of dough making sure it is all lightly covered.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap, sprinkle garlic salt and herbs of choice over top of olive oil.  Add tomato/pizza sauce and toppings.  Place in preheated oven and allow to bake for 25-30 minutes until cheesy is bubbly and browned slightly.

'HOOAH' Yoga Muffins

My hubby is a soldier here at Fort Benning, GA.  (in case I haven't talked about it enough already for you to know)  Today is his bi-yearly physical test that all soldiers have to take to make sure they're all within limits and standards for the military.  In preparation for his test, he's been going carb crazy all week long.  It just makes me cringe all those carbs so in order to give him some balance, I made these muffins all week long for him to grab at and go at 5 am when he's out the door and on the way to morning exercises with his unit.

I chose these muffins from Tasty Kitchen and they're made by a lovely CarolAllison.  She calls them Yoga Muffins...the Army boys however, call them Hooah Muffins.  If you don't have a solider in your life, let me introduce you to 'hooah'.  Wiki has a nice description of it but in short, hooah is a word that means yes, sure, all right, woot, roger that, copy, yup and everything else you could possibly say to convey excitement and the like.  If you're an Army wife...this is what you hear.  "Honey, can you take out the trash?"....HOOAH!  (as in, sure!) or "We're going to Florida for a weekend getaway."...HOOAH!!!!  (as in, woot!) or he'll say something like "Yeah, that dude is all hooah about regulations and traditions."  (meaning he's all by the book and Army gung ho) You hear it ALL the time.  I have forbidden it in my presence as it drives me bonkers but he still lets it slip quite frequently.

So what's 'hooah' about these muffins?  They are jam packed with yummy healthy stuff to give you lots of energy and keep you going even under rigorous Army PT.  (group exercises)  These fill you up without weighing you down and give you all the *cough* HOOAH *cough* you need to keep yourself going all morning long.  Carbs, fruit and protein all wrapped in a muffin.  And forget all the goodness, they are seriously delicious noms.  Tender, slightly sweet, spicy - Jon describes them as spicy pumpkin bread with bites of yummy, soft baked fruit.  And the house smells positively amazing while baking!  They get you up and keep you going and that's why hubs and the Army boys dubbed them Hooah Muffins.  Carol got a right giggle after I shared that story with her!  She made these for her hubs as well to give him a nutritious breakfast on the go.  :)

Seriously people, make some.  And that's an order!  HOOAH!

'HOOAH' Yoga Muffins

Recipe & Picture (right) From CarolAllison

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
½ cups Rolled Oats, Slightly Ground (I Give Them A Quick Spin In The Coffee Grinder)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 heaping teaspoon Cinnamon
¾ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Allspice
1 cup Canned Pumpkin
¾ cups Applesauce
½ cups Brown Sugar (light Or Dark)
1 whole Egg
½ cups Chopped Apples
½ cups Chopped Walnuts (I used crystallized ginger chips since Jon hates nuts)
½ cups Blueberries, Fresh Or Frozen

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan (these also work in a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan.) 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ground oats, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and all spice. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, applesauce, brown sugar and egg. Add flour mixture to the creamed mix and stir to combine. Stirring lightly almost folding, add chopped apples, blueberries and walnuts. (I used frozen blueberries and the batter does turn a purpley shade...its ok! Over-stirring will break open blueberries and color your batter so go lightly!)

Fill each muffin cup completely with big spoonfuls of batter. They might even be heaping with batter.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 350.

Carol's Other Suggestions

-Other kinds of flours, or a blend of flours works. I have used all-purpose and spelt as well as whole wheat.
-1 cup mashed ripe bananas instead of pumpkin
-3/4 cup mashed bananas instead of applesauce (if you use both of these substitutions at the same time, you will definitely have a more banana-y muffin!)
-Applesauce can be either jarred or cook up your own apples and mash ‘em (that’s what I usually do)
-You can vary the amounts of chopped apples, blueberries and walnuts to your own taste, and also leave out or substitute other fruits or nuts as you please. Just go with the flow!

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Crunch Coffee Cake

Holy smokin' ovens that title is a mouthful to say, isn't it?  Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Crunch Coffee Cake.  As promised in my When Coffee Cakes Go Bad, Vol 1 post the other day, THIS is the correct, yummy version of that black brick of doom I baked the other day at 100 degrees over the recipe's guidelines.  I am very pleased with this recipe now I can actually EAT it instead of using it for a doorstop.

My daughter, step mom and I have an unnatural weakness for Rocher candies with the hazelnuts inside.  There is just something about that creamy Nutella and the crispy shell but my favorite part is the lovely hazelnut on the inside that crunches when you get to the middle.  I can never pass them up and she always finds them in her stocking at every Christmas.  Now she's at college I send her Nutella with Teddy Grahams for snacking in her care packages.  Hazelnut & chocolate were just meant to go together.

I find too, now that its fall, people are reverting to pecan pies and pumpkin everything.  I'm allergic to pecans and I grew up near the Circleville Pumpkin Show.  I've eaten as much pumpkin as I care to eat...ever.  So I give you this coffee cake, a different approach for the fall days ahead.  Its nutty, sweet, crunchy topping is a perfect match to the vanilla heavy crumb cakey bottom.  Not overly sweet either which is great for me as lots of morning pastries tend to be heavy on either icings, fillings or glazes.  Makes a wonderful breakfast with a hot cup of Irish Breakfast tea....

Click to enlarge.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Crunch Coffee Cake

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cold butter, in pats
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped

Cake:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  (double check you didn't set it to 450 like me!  LOL)  Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray or grease/flour pan.  Set aside.

For the topping, in a medium bowl, stir the sugar and flour together.  Use a pastry cutter and cut in the butter pats until they resemble fine crumbs.  Stir in the chocolate chips and the hazelnuts.  Set aside.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Set aside.  In your stand mixer (or big bowl), cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla on medium speed.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well before adding next egg.  Turn mixer to low and gradually beat in the dry ingredient, alternating with the milk.  Mix well until smooth and creamy.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth.  Sprinkle with the topping evenly and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan before serving.

Tip:  I made a small drizzle glaze of milk and powdered sugar for this batch but its not necessary.  Good without!  :)

'Nana Muffins

My hubby is bonafide bananas about bananas. Every single time we walk into the store, we're greeted by a bright, shiny produce section and he without a doubt will say dreamily "I should buy some more bananas. I like bananas." After 8 years, I know this already and I roll my eyes as he stands there for 20 minutes picking out the perfect bunch. (in the meantime I have hit the deli, the fish counter and am halfway through the canned aisle when he catches up finally)

Being a late night gamer girl AND an Army wife don't necessarily make me the best homemaker at 5 am when his alarm goes off and he's getting ready for morning formation. I would love to get up to make him a stack of pancakes and bacon and send my soldier off with a full belly. But...playing World of Warcraft till 2 am kinda puts a damper onto the whole thing. So I decided to be pro-active and find some kind of happy middle where my conscious felt better.

I made muffins. Banana muffins to be exact for him to eat ALL week long. And can I tell you, the man was thrilled. You'd thought he'd won the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes. "For meeee?! Really?! Wooooooow!" He's easily excitable, what can I say?

The muffins I made are an adaptation from the Farmhouse Banana Muffins posted by Emily on Tasty Kitchen. You can see that recipe by clicking here if you'd like.  When I saw the simplicity of her recipe, I was happy but I knew immediately that it needed some help for our palates.  There was no spice.  Sure, banana flavor is great but can also be kinda bland.  So I added vanilla, a healthy dose of cinnamon and some nutmeg.  I also used butter flavored Crisco to add another flavor to the mix.  I think it was a great choice. I'm sure you could add in a few nuts if you wanted to for die hard banana bread fans but these certainly do not need it.  They smelled so delicious baking and I'm not a banana bread fan in the least but I was totally wanting to try one!  These are small, moist, springy little pops of buttery, banana joy.  The problem is stopping at just a few.  LOL

My hubby...all I can say is, if he has some past day 2, I'll be shocked.  He's gobbling them like the Cookie Monster.  Thanks Emily and I hope you all enjoy the additions I made.

Click to enlarge.

Farmhouse Banana Muffins

• ½ cups milk
• 3 Tablespoons vinegar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup Sugar
• ½ cups Butter Flavored Crisco (or shortening)
• 2  large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 Ripe bananas, mashed (I actually left mine in chunks for more bite)

Note: For the serving size, this recipe makes 5 dozen mini muffins or 2 loaves of banana bread.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by measuring out the milk and adding the vinegar to it so it sours; set aside.


In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, using your mixer, combine the sugar and shortening. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.  Add vanilla.  Mix in the soured milk and gradually add the floured mixture.  Stir in the bananas by hand.  (small chunks, diced, sliced, mashed...however you want it your muffin texture)


For mini muffins: Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray and fill each mold nearly to the top. Bake 12-14 minutes.  For loaves: Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Divide the batter evenly into each pan. Bake 45 minutes to an hour.  Transfer muffins or loaves to cooling racks and cool completely. Store covered.

Coming soon:  old fashioned creamed chicken recipe, my take on a Murphy burger/Horseshoe hamburger stack and a Tasty Kitchen bowtie skillet lasagna recipe review.

Chocolate Cakey Waffles ~

"You want regular or chocolate waffles?"  Jon's eyes gleamed with glee and he stared at me blankly, as if staring right through me, thinking dreamily about a mini-stack of chocolate cake waffles on his plate drenched in sweet butter and maple syrup.  His lip quivered a bit as the word "chocolate!" came out.  I shouldn't have even given him a choice because like a woman cracked out on a PMS binge, he will choose chocolate undoubtedly every single time. So we set about this morning making chocolate waffles and thought I'd share.

I would love to claim fame to these and say I came up with this culinary choco-treat but alas, I believe it's Alton Brown's.  I've had it so long and tweaked and played with it so many times, I can't really remember it's origins.  It started out as a Christmas brunch dessert item one year, served with vanilla ice cream and a fruit compote topping but its really just as great slathered with peanut butter and jam for breakfast.  Butter and syrup work too!

Chocolate chips, butter and syrup!  Hello!

These waffles have never been "super crispy" but are rather more cake consistency on the inside as you can see if you blow up the picture.  The edges do crisp up nice though and are a great contrast to the cakey interior.  The chocolate chips in the batter just give you a nice melty pop of gooey factor too.  They are a real treat on a lazy weekend.  I certainly can't imagine giving my kids this on a regular basis or they'd be bouncing off the walls!  But on occasion, this is a nice change up from the norm. 

Dress them up for dessert or just plain old butter and syrup - either way, they are out of this world good.

Chocolate Cake Waffles

1½ c all purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar
½ c cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional, but delicious)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 whole eggs, beaten
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
¾ c chocolate chips (mini's are best but I used regular in the picture)
vegetable spray, for waffle iron

Preheat waffle iron.  (I do mine on max setting, if yours is adjustable like mine.)

In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon (if using), salt and baking soda. In another bowl, beat together the eggs, melted butter and vanilla then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry.  Stir in chocolate chips until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Ladle a heaping 1/3 cup of  the batter into the center of the iron and cook till crispy on both sides. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

Makes around 8-10 waffles depending on your iron size.

Note - if halving this recipe, use 1 whole egg and the whites only of another.



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Homemade Doughnuts O' Plenty

click to enlarge

I want to introduce you to Pioneer Woman's homemade doughnuts.  Oh, you've not met?  Shame.  Let me tell you a bit about these doughnuts.  These doughnuts aren't donuts.  These are refined doughnuts and demand respect.  They're not made from a petty can or a chilled tube.  No, these are made from a real dough that works it magic overnight and awaits your tastebuds in the morning.  They are, without a doubt, the best doughnuts I have EVER eaten.  And they are relatively easy to do if you're comfortable with yeast doughs.  Some people love yeast, some people hate it.  Once you've mastered "the soak", yeast is fairly simple.  And it really does make this doughnut.  The fragrance of the freshly mixed dough was enough to make you want to eat it raw and forget about the overnight wait time.  Seriously good eats, people.

I have to say too, I've not had much luck with many of Pioneer Woman's recipes but I somehow managed to pull this one off!  I have her cookbook and I love the way everything looks but I somehow lack her touch of cooking grace or something b/c nothing ever turns out for me.  Except her Passover Brisket.  (oh, forgive me - I'm drooling)  So I was skeptical I could manage these doughnuts but they looked so dang good!  I just had to try.  You can see her step by step by clicking here if you'd like.  I know it looks like a daunting, long and hard recipe but it's not.  It's just really in depth so you don't mess up anything.  Don't be shy.  You know you wanna try these!  :)

Yes, mine are square.  Your eyes aren't deceiving you.  I couldn't find my round cutters and you want to work quick to keep the dough from drying out so I grabbed my squares.  It all frys the same!  If you do make these, a note for you.  The wet towel over top while rising IS desperately needed.  And the warm rising environment too.  I had a few that could have puffed a bit more and benefited from a few more minutes rising but the prancing pony Jon was having no more waiting.  We were frying those the moment the timer went off.  LOL

They really ARE delicious.  Crispy on the outside, chewy on the outside and so worth the effort of rolling them out and all.  We did an assembly line...I fried, he dunked in glaze and it worked well.  You really have to watch your oil though.  More than 3 frying at a time and my oil dropped too low...less than 2 and it went too high.  It is a balancing game of keeping it around 375 degrees.  And drain them puppies good!  My oil was just right enough that they fried quickly and didn't absorb much at all.  And they made a TON!  Her serving size said 18.   But we ended up with about 23 doughnuts and 22 holes (I dropped one in the sink!).  It made ALOT.  I can see where this would be great for kids dunking them in icing or adding sprinkles after they've cooled.  What a great Sunday morning activity!  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.  Hats off to Ree...she nailed this one!

See that chewy middle?!  Mmm!

Homemade Glazed Doughnuts by Pioneer Woman

DOUGH
1-⅛ cup Whole Milk, Warm
¼ cups Sugar
2-¼ teaspoons (one Package) Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
2 whole Large Eggs, Beaten
1-¼ stick Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups All-purpose Flour
¼ teaspoons Salt
Canola Oil

GLAZE
3 cups Powdered Sugar
½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Vanilla
½ cups Cold Water Or Milk

To Make the Dough:
1. Make sure milk is nice and warm, but not overly hot.
2. Add sugar to milk. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add yeast into a small bowl.
4. Pour milk/sugar mixture over yeast. Stir gently, then let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Melt butter in separate bowl until butter is almost melted. Stir to finish melting so butter won’t be overly hot.
6. Add beaten eggs to melted butter, stirring constantly to make sure the butter’s not too hot for the eggs.
7. Add the egg/butter mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.
8. With the mixer on 3 or medium-low speed, pour in the yeast mixture.  Add salt.
9. Allow the dough hook to stir this mixture for a couple of minutes, making sure it’s thoroughly combined.
10. With the mixer still going, add helpings of the flour mixture in 1/4 to 1/2 cup increments until all the flour is gone.
11. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl, then turn the mixer on the same speed for five whole minutes.
12. After five minutes, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl.
13. Turn on the mixer for 30 seconds.
14. Turn off the mixer and allow the dough to sit in the bowl undisturbed for 10 minutes.
15. After 10 minutes, transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough to coat, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place straight in the fridge.
16. Refrigerate dough for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

To Make the Doughnuts:
1. Remove bowl from fridge and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Roll out to 1/4 to 1/3-inch thickness.
3. Using a 3-inch cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, then roll out remaining dough and cut as much as you can, etc.
4. Cut holes out of each round using a 1 1/2-inch cutter.
5. Place both doughnuts and holes on a floured baking sheet.
6. Cover with large tea towel and place in a warm place in your kitchen; my kitchen is very drafty, so I have to briefly warm the griddle, then turn it off and set the sheets on top to keep warm.
7. Allow doughnuts to rise undisturbed for at least 1 hour; 1 hour 15 minutes if necessary. Doughuts should be visibly puffier and appear to be airy.

To Fry the Dougnuts
1. Heat plenty of canola oil in a large pot until the temperature reaches 375 to 380 degrees—do not let it get hotter than 380 degrees! 375 is ideal; keep the thermometer in the pan to continually monitor.
2. One to two at a time, gently grab doughnuts and ease them into the hot oil. Allow them to cook 1 minute on each side; they will brown very quickly.
3. Remove doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, allowing all oil to drip off.
4. Place doughnut immediately on several layers of paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over onto a clean part of the paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over again; the purpose, obviously, is to drain as much grease as possible before it soaks into the doughnut.
5. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and holes. The holes will cook more quickly than the doughnuts; about 30 seconds per side.
6. Allow doughnuts to slightly cool.

To Glaze
1. Mix all glaze ingredients in a bowl until completely smooth.
2. One by one, dip doughnuts into the glaze until halfway submerged. (Note: completely submerge doughnut holes, then remove with slotted spoon.)
4. Remove from glaze, then turn right side up on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to catch dripping glaze.)
5. Serve warm if possible, or room temperature.