Beer Bread

Do you know how easy it is to make your own beer bread?!?

Super. Easy.

Especially if you get yourself a bag of self-rising flour (if you don't have it, or don't want to buy an extra bag of flour, you can make regular flour "self-rising" by adding 1 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp of salt to each cup of all-purpose flour).

Okay, onto the beer bread recipe.  Remember how I said it was super easy?  I did not lie - you just need three things.  Okay, four if you count the butter you're going to brush on top after it's baked.  

Brown Sugar.
Bottle of Beer.
Self-Rising Flour.

That's it!  

In a bowl, combine 2/3 c. brown sugar with 12 oz. beer until sugar is dissolved.  Stir in 3 c. flour, until fully combined.  Pour into a greased loaf pan.

Bake at 375 for 45-55 minutes.  Immediately coat top with butter (I just take a stick of butter and rub it across the entire surface a few times).  Let cool in pan about 5 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.  

Experiment with the types of beer you use.  My husband likes to try all sorts of beer - the darker, the better for him.  But there are also some with coffee, some with pumpkin, some with cider...You really can't go wrong here.  This time, I used Wisconsin Amber (kind of an homage to our new home, if you will).  And the taste is really, really good! 

Pumpkin Donuts: Baked, Not Fried

Baked Pumpkin Donuts

Updated 9/17/2012: it was brought to my attention that I left out the most important ingredient of these delicious donuts - the pumpkin!!  I have no idea how that happened, but it is now corrected below.  Please make sure you make these WITH pumpkin...they're much better that way.  I'm going to go hide in embarrassment now.  Thanks!  :)

These beautiful gems showed up in my Pinterest feed the other day.  The original recipe can be found on the King Arthur Flour website.  I adjusted a few things to make them "mine."  Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that if it's got pumpkin in it, I'm probably going to make it.  And eat it.  My kids are HUGE pumpkin fans as well - probably because I make everything with pumpkin from September until December.  

I happened to have a large donut pan for baking, and a mini one.  Which is kind of a funny story -- I had insisted on getting them years ago, then never used them and ended up putting them in a yard sale or something.  Then last year, a friend of mine brought these two pans to me and said someone had given them to her as a gift but she never used them and since I'm always baking I should have them!  I'm kind of glad I took them, too, it makes recipes like this so much fun!  And my kids love having donuts for an afternoon snack :) 

Now, if you do not have donut pans, these can be made in a mini muffin pan (think of them as donut holes if you want to), or even regular muffin tins - just don't fill those all the way to the top, and adjust your baking time accordingly.

These are moist, pumpkiny treats coated in a generous shaking of sugar mixed with pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have any on hand, you can make your own by combining 1 tsp of cinnamon with 1/2 tsp each of nutmeg and ginger - this will make you 2 tsp, increase accordingly to what you'll need!)

Recipe
Pumpkin Donuts
1/2 cup *coconut oil (in liquid state)
3 large eggs
1 (15 oz.) can of PURE Pumpkin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

(*regular oil or melted & cooled butter can be used in place of the coconut oil.  I have been using the coconut oil in place of oil and butter in many of recipes with great success - and no, it does not make everything taste like coconut!)

Preheat your oven to 350.  Lightly grease your donut (or muffin) tins.
Place your oil, eggs, pumpkin, sugar, spices, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.  Beat together until fully combined and smooth.  Slowly add in the flour, stirring just until combined.

Spoon into wells, not filling them more than 2/3 full.  Bake regular sized donut tins for about 15-18 minutes (mini donut pans for about 13-16 minutes, regular sized muffins for 22-25 minutes), use cake tester or sharp knife in center to test doneness.

Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes so they can be moved easily.  Remove from pan and cool on rack a little bit longer.  While still warm (but not so hot they'll fall apart when handled), toss with the pumpkin spice cinnamon sugar coating:

Coating:
1 c. white sugar
1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
Add both to gallon size ziplock bag.  Close and shake well, until spice is even distributed.  

Toss donuts one or two at a time in bag.  

This recipe made 12 regular sized donuts (yes I had to wait until the first 6 were done before and out of the pan before I could make the rest of them) AND 12 mini donuts.  

And they all disappeared as soon as the kids were home from school...

Back to School, Back to Blogging!

Yes, it's been a while.  A long, long while.  But lots of changes have been occurring, and I'm ready to relaunch this blog!  I have missed it.  I haven't stopped baking and I haven't stopped taking pictures of my food...but I have not been blogging about ANY of it, and if you know me at all, you know I use recipes more as "guidelines" and if I don't write it down right after I change it, I probably won't remember what I changed!  So I am going to do my best to get this back up and running and bring you something yummy to try each week!  Feel free to leave comments, tips, suggestions...or just drop in to say hello!

So our biggest change is that we have moved - from Northern NY (where there are more cows than people) to a city in Wisconsin!  We have stores and restaurants and parks - all within walking distance of our new house!  Our older two kids have started their new school (also within walking distance) and are really enjoying their second grade classes.  For their first day of school, I took a page from my friend Chris's book and made them a Giant Cookie to celebrate!

I got the original recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and of course tweeked to for what I had on hand.

GIANT COOKIE RECIPE 

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup *coconut oil, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup peanut butter chips (you can use chocolate chips or whatever you want here; I happened to have pb chips so that's what we used!)
Buttercream Frosting

*You can use butter (melted & cooled) instead - I have started substituting coconut oil for butter and oil in recipes with great results!

Cream together sugars and coconut oil.  Add in egg, soda, salt and vanilla; mix well.  Stir in flour until fully combined; fold in chips.

Pat into a circle shape (about 1/2" thick) onto a parchment paper lined pan, or a baking stone.  It will spread while baking, so make sure there is room so it doesn't outgrow the pan!

Bake at 350 for 13-16 minutes until lightly golden.  Let cool COMPLETELY on pan.  Decorate with Buttercream frosting if desired.

Here is the recipe for the frosting I made:
1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese
2 sticks butter, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 lb confectioners sugar, more or less for desired thickness
1 Tbs milk or cream, more or less for desired thickness

Cream together cream cheese and butter until fully combined and fluffy.  Add in vanilla and add confectioners sugar a cup at a time.  Add 1 Tbs of cream.  Beat on high until nice and fluffy (you can adjust the amounts of sugar and cream to get your desired taste and texture).

To decorate, put frosting in gallon size baggie, squeeze into corner, snip off corner and pipe frosting onto cookie.  You can color the frosting with food coloring (paste is recommended).

Kids love the huge cookie (my kids are already asking for one instead of a birthday cake!)...keep it in mind for your next special or fun occasion!

My Favorite Cookie

Today is a very, very cold day.  We needed to bake to keep things toasty and warm in our big old drafty house. The kiddos helped me decide on a few things to make - first up?  My favorite cookie EVER!  I used Jessica's recipe from How Sweet It Is, and we whipped up a batch!  They smell sooooo good, and don't tell the kids (because I said we couldn't eat them yet) but they taste delicious too!

Recipe (adapted from How Sweet It Is - Original recipe)

1 stick butter, room temp

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 3/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 1/2 Tbs. milk

1 Tbs. cinnamon (I used Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus which also has nutmeg & cloves in it!)

1/4 c. white sugar

Cream together butter and sugars.  Add in egg and vanilla and beat until fully combined.

Add in flour, baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.  Stir until dough begins to form.  Add in milk, and mix until smooth dough forms (if crumbly, add a little milk at a time until dough is uniform).  Chill dough for 30 min.

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix 1/4 cup sugar with 1 Tbs. cinnamon in small bowl.  Roll chilled dough into 1" balls.    Roll dough balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating fully.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 11-13 minutes until they just begin to turn golden and the tops are slightly cracked.  Remove to cooling rack.

Makes about 20 cookies.

Zucchini Bread ~ Recipe 1

I'm a bread-loving girl.  I'll admit it.  I'll also blame a few of my extra lbs on my love for bread :)  I love banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, bread-bread!  I am a purist though - I don't typically like add-ins.  No nuts, no chocolate chips, just a nice moist, dense bread.  Lots of flavor.

I got a few big zucchinis and decided I needed to make a few loaves of bread with them.  It turned out okay, but I think I will try a few different recipes to see if I can perfect it.  These were a little dense, and the sugar kind of "floated" to the surface and crystallized.  It was still yummy, but I was imagining something different.

So here is my first attempt at zucchini bread.  Stay tuned for future attempts!

3 1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. baking soda

pinch salt

3 c. sugar (I might try substituting brown sugar for 1 c.)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 c. water

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 c. grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)

Preheat oven to 350; butter & flour 2 standard loaf pans.

In large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.

In a separate large bowl, combine sugar, oil, butter, eggs, water, lemon juice and zucchini until fully combined.

Slowly combine with wet ingredients with dry ingredients, stir until combined (but do not overmix!)

Pour batter into prepared pans, bake for 1 hour until tester comes out clean.

"Berry White" Muffins...can't get enough of this love, baby

I keep buying berries this summer with the intention of making really amazing recipes...and instead we just end up eating them or letting them shrivel up and get past their prime.  Last night, I had the brilliant idea to crank my oven up to 400 degrees on a hot, humid night, so that I could use the berries I'd just bought.  But it was sooooooo worth it -- these muffins turned out beautifully and I wish I could stop eating them!  They're just the right texture, so moist, with a crumbly top.  

You will make these and you will love these.  Your friends will love you.  You will wish you had made more.  Much more (then you will be thankful that you didn't because you won't be able to stop eating them!).  

Recipe:
Muffins:
2 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 egg
1 c. milk or plain yogurt
1/2 c. butter, melted (slightly cooled)
3/4 c. blueberries
3/4 c. strawberries, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. white chocolate chips

Streusel topping:
2 Tbs cold butter, cut up
1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbs flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400, grease or line 12 muffin cups.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, 1/4 c. brown sugar, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat egg until frothy and light yellow.  Beat in milk.  Stream in melted butter.  Add vanilla.
Add flour mixture in 2 to 3 installments, stirring only until combined.
Fold in white chocolate chips.
Fold in berries until incorporated throughout the batter.
Divide among 12 muffin cups - they will be full, and that's okay!
For streusel, mix together 1/4 c. brown sugar, 2 Tbs flour and cinnamon.  Cut in cold butter with fork until mixture becomes crumbly.  Divide among muffins, pressing lightly.

Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes (you may want to put a tray on the rack underneath, to catch any drippings), until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan about 5-10 minutes, remove to rack to cool completely.

This Ain't Your Mother's Better-Than-Sex Cake

Seriously.  This is my twist on a pretty old favorite - I've heard of this and I've seen the same basic concoction for years.  I never made it.  I've sampled it....people make it with chocolate OR vanilla cake, a bunch of ooey-gooey-goodness, and some sort of candy on top.  Sometimes whipped cream is involved.  You could google it and find out for yourself, I suppose, instead of me droning on.  You probably just want me to get to the good stuff. 

Like this.

I'm not sure if this picture is speaking to you, but let me tell you what it says to me:  ooey.  gooey.  CHOCOLATE.  Throw in a few Oreos and I'm sold!

Here's how I make this party for your mouth:
1 dark chocolate (or devil's food) cake -- you can use a (gasp!) box mix, or use  your own favorite recipe
1 c. mini chocolate chips
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
Caramel ice cream topping
Dark Chocolate Fudge ice cream topping
About 12 Oreos, coarsely chopped

After mixing up cake batter as directed, add mini chocolate chips.  Bake in a greased & floured Bundt pan at 350 (it's okay if it's not done done, as long as it's mostly done.  Trust me on this).  Cool about 10 minutes. Leaving in pan, poke several holes in the still-warm cake with the handle of a wooden spoon.  Pour sweetened condensed milk over cake, filling holes, and drizzling over the rest of the cake.  Let cool completely.  Invert onto serving dish (it's best if it is a dish with sides or something that will keep the ooey-gooeyness from running off the dish!).  Drizzle with caramel liberally, then with fudge.  Top with crushed Oreos, and drizzle just a little more caramel over top.  Slice into slabs and serve with a smile!