Gosh, I love this time of year…I am especially happy this week because my K is coming home from college for the holiday weekend! We have missed seeing her smiling face around the house. She is a student athlete so she hasn’t been allowed to come home since the beginning of the school year. Her most common complaint while away at school is that she misses mom’s cooking and baking.
Well, I have been baking all morning getting ready for her arrival tomorrow. In the past two hours, I have made Mary’s Irish Scones, Grandma’s Brown Bread, a batch of Jumbo Oatmeal Cowboy Cookies and these Gingerbread Holiday Cookies. I downloaded the gingerbread cookie recipe many years ago from the Martha Stewart website after seeing her make them on her weekly television program. I have been making this recipe for the holidays ever since. (Using various cookie cutter shapes to reflect Thanksgiving and Christmas symbols…stars, leaves, turkeys, candy canes, gingerbread men, etc.)
I will be starting on some of K’s favorite savory meals this afternoon. …Can’t wait to have the family back together for the holidays!
Happy Thanksgiving to all those living in the United States…Happy Day to those living elsewhere! 😉
Category: Baked goods
Unbelievably Moist Banana Snack Cake
Well, the weather outside has quickly turned from a mild Autumn of wind and rain to a wintery mix of cold and snow…I fear that our Midwest winter weather is here to stay for a while.
This recipe is perfect for a cold and dreary day indoors while the snow falls outside. I love to brew a cup of English tea and slice up this moist and flavorful cake. I am always amazed that mixing this simple list of ingredients together can produce such a delicious treat. By the way, this is a another great cake to pack in the lunchbox.
Unbelievably Moist Banana Snack Cake
1 2/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Confectioners’ sugar
In a large bowl, combine flour and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk brown sugar, water, banana, oil, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients, just until moistened. Transfer to greased 8″ square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Dutch Apple Pancake
I have great memories of our years living in Chicago with our young family. One of my favorite breakfast spots was a neighborhood restaurant called “The Original Pancake House”. We would pack up the kids after mass on Sunday and head up Western Avenue to the local restaurant. As we walked in the door, nearly every table held a plate or two filled with a puffed apple pancake sprinkled with powdered sugar and topped with a dollop of butter.
When we moved out of state, I vowed to duplicate the recipe myself so that we could forever enjoy the deliciousness of our favorite pancake.
This morning, I pulled out a few ingredients and made my version of the recipe for the family. This pancake presents beautifully for a special occasion but it’s certainly easy enough to whip up any time.
Dutch Apple Pancake
2 Golden Delicious apples, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Heat oven to 425°. Put an oven-proof 9- or 10-inch skillet or round baking pan in the oven. In a bowl, combine the apple slices with brown sugar and cinnamon; toss gently to coat well. In another bowl, mix flour with salt. In a large cup or small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of the melted butter.
Take the pan out of the oven and add remaining butter; swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Arrange apple slices in the bottom of the pan. Pour batter over apples. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned. Serve with syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Sweet Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
A great sale on canned pumpkin has got me looking through my clippings and notebooks for recipes that include pumpkin purée. When I stumbled across this recipe for pumpkin corn bread muffins, I thought it might be the perfect recipe to revisit. Corn meal and pumpkin purée add an interesting texture to these moist muffins and this is another great recipe that packs well in the lunchbox. I often add a crunchy cinnamon topping to the recipe just before baking. This is completely optional but it adds sweetness and texture to the outside of the muffin making it taste more like a sweet bread. It also tastes great with a cup of tea or coffee when you’re looking for a quick breakfast item.
Sweet Pumpkin Corn Bread Muffins
1 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin purée
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, milk and oil.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir until blended; do not over mix. Fold in pecans. Divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin tin cups. To make topping, mix together brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a fork. Sprinkle evenly over muffin tops. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
Granola Topped Apple Morning Muffins
Recently, I combined three of my favorite recipes to make these delicious muffins. It seems I have been making granola and applesauce quite regularly these past few months. Often, I have a little bit of each left after making lunches for the week. About a month ago, I decided to put the scraps to use by incorporating them into a muffin recipe. I folded the chunky homemade applesauce into a basic muffin recipe and sprinkled granola over the top of each muffin. My granola recipe has a bit of maple syrup in it so it adds another layer of flavor to the crunchy topped muffins. (Substitute your own favorites, if you would like.)
These muffins look and smell delicious as they come out of the oven. It’s hard to resist brewing a hot cup of coffee and sitting down with one of these gems in the early morning hours, as a new day begins.
Granola Topped Apple Morning Muffins
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups applesauce
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chopped pecans, optional
Granola for topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in applesauce. Combine the flour, baking soda and spices; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in nuts.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Sprinkle granola over individual muffins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. This makes about 2 dozen regular-sized muffins.
Here is the link for the chunky applesauce and granola topping
Holiday Mayonnaise Cake
Happy Halloween!
Here’s a moist and flavorful recipe that is sure to put a smile on your face for the holiday! One of the main ingredients is mayonnaise. I have made this cake for years and it’s one of my most requested recipes. You can find the full recipe here. For this cake I used cream cheese frosting and holiday sprinkles but you can use anything that you like. Enjoy!
Sunflower Lollipop Cookies
This recipe is from an old cookbook that I have used for years. When my children were little, we lived one block away from their grade school. For school parties, I always made a basket of lollipop cookies reflecting whichever festive holiday season the classroom may be celebrating…sunflowers for the early fall, ghosts and goblins for Halloween, colorful leaves and turkeys for Thanksgiving, Christmas trees and snow people for the winter parties. I’d pack a festive bucket or basket with floral foam, push the lollipop sticks into the foam, wrap the whole thing in cellophane wrap and tie a pretty bow to the outside of the package. Everyone’s eyes would light up as I entered the classroom with my package of goodies.
What I like most about this recipe is that the cookie dough is simple to make with just a few ingredients and that the dough doesn’t have to be chilled before rolling it out. (When I start a project, I want to get it done quick… I have no patience waiting for the dough to chill and harden for an hour.)
Adding food coloring to the dough is also a time-saver…no need for icing. This recipe has always been a holiday favorite in my house!
Sunflower Lollipop Cookies
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
(Extra Supplies)
Flower cookie cutter
Yellow icing color
1 pkg. 8″ lollipop sticks
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add baking powder and flour. Tint cookie dough with icing color. Pinch off a small amount of dough, make twelve to eighteen 1/4″ balls. Place balls, 3″ apart on cookie sheets. This will serve as the cookie base. Press lollipop stick into each ball; flatten slightly. Roll remaining dough out at 1/4″ thick. Cut dough, dipping cookie cutters in flour before use. Place cutout cookie on each stick, press lightly to attached cutout to cookie base. Add chocolate chips to each cutout center. Bake for 8-12 minutes until slightly golden around the edges. Cool completely before carefully removing from cookie sheet.
(Adapted from Wilton Gifts from the Kitchen Cookbook)
Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread
A few weeks ago, as I was looking through my old recipe notes, I came across a recipe that I haven’t made for some time. Lately, my bread machine has been working double time to provide lots of loaves for school lunches. In the last two weeks, I’ve probably made this recipe 3 or 4 times. It makes a sweet, light, loaf that slices easily for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or for a hearty slice of toast. By the end of the week, when the loaf is nearly finished, I cube the end of the bread up to be used in a Saturday morning cinnamon toast casserole so that nothing is wasted.
Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread
1 cup water
2 tablespoons Butter or Margarine, softened
3 cups Bread Flour
3 tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons Bread Machine Yeast
1/2 cup Raisins
Place all ingredients, except raisins, in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. For best results, raisins can be added during the first kneading cycle so that the become well incorporated in the dough. This should be about half-way through the cycle.
Select Basic/Light cycle on the bread machine. When finished baking, remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
Ken Williams Orchards Apple Slices
Many years ago, we traveled from Chicago up to a beautiful apple orchard in Three Oaks, Michigan called Ken Williams Orchards. After a day of picking and picnicking, we headed to the counter to pay for our bushel of apples. On the counter sat a sheet of paper that was entitled, “Favorite Apple Recipes” and listed five of the orchard’s favorite recipes. I asked the clerk if I could have the sheet and she said, “Sure, take one, they’re free!”
Well, I have used this recipe sheet over and over for the last 16 years…our favorite recipe of the bunch is something called Apple Bars. I have changed the recipe a bit and I call them apple slices. It really doesn’t matter what you call them…they will always be delicious! This is definitely the best apple slice recipe I have ever tasted.
Ken William’s Orchards Apple Slices
2 1/4 cups flour, divided
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine
2 egg yolks
4 cups sliced apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
Combine 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until crumbs are the size of peas. Stir in egg yoke. Press half of the mixture in the bottom of a 9×13″ baking pan, and reserve the rest. Combine apples, remaining flour, sugar, and cinnamon; place apple mixture over crust in pan. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Cool and drizzle with thin icing of powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.
Westhaven Date Cake
As I was rummaging through my hand written recipes this morning, an odd shaped piece of paper brought back memories of Aunt Nance. She was Jim’s Aunt, and a very special person. She would often bake this cake and bring it along to family gatherings. The chopped dates in the recipe are undetectable after baking but they are essential as they add great flavor and moisture to the cake.
Years ago, I asked Aunt Nance to share the recipe with me and this is the piece of paper she slipped in my hand as I was leaving the gathering.
When I finally got around to baking the cake, I noticed that mine wasn’t as dark and chocolatey as hers was. After investigating further, I realized that she had forgotten to include 2 tablespoons of cocoa in the recipe. The cake was still quite delicious so I make it both ways and it’s always a crowd pleaser.
Westhaven Date Cake
1 (8 oz.) package dates, chopped
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
chocolate chips
nuts
powdered sugar
Over chopped dates, pour 1 cup boiling water; let cool. Add baking soda and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Pour date mixture into dry ingredients, mix well. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and cool cake before serving.
Simply Made Kitchen and Crafts 