Brioche Loaf

For a rich buttery bread to compliment Bean and Veggie Sliders, I decided to try a Brioche Loaf. The bread came out well, the sliders, not so much. Another great recipe for National Bread Machine Baking Month!

Brioche Bread
The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk

2 cups bread flour
2 tbs sugar
Optional: 2 tsps gluten for a lighter fluffier texture
3/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 tsp bread machine yeast

7 tbs unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:
Add in order according to your machines instructions: w/d/y except for butter. Set crust to medium, basic cycle, 1.5 loaf size. Start.

About 10 minutes into the 2nd Knead cycle, slowly add in pieces of butter until they are all incorporated. Close lid and let machine finish. Open lid after machine is done. 15 minutes after bread has rested, remove and cool on a wire rack.

Sour Cream Bread

The first casual bread recipe I tried out in the Bread machine for National Bread Machine Baking month, this will fast become a favorite. Not as strong as sour dough, but a nice flavor on a dense white bread. Perfect for garlic breads and sandwiches.

Sour Cream Bread
The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook


As always follow your particular bread machines instructions when adding the order of the ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 1 tbs water
1 cup sour cream

3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tbs light brown sugar
Optional: 2 tsp gluten for a lighter texture
1 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast

Directions:
Place all ingredients in and program to Medium crust, Basic cycle, 1.5 loaf and press Start.

Remove immediately when baking ends and cool on a rack before slicing.

Champagne-Soaked Baba

Okay, so actually It's Ginger-ale Soaked Baba but only because I'm pregnant. LOL

January is National Bread Machine Baking Month. Since my BFF Sarah bestowed upon me her Breadman (as she is now Gluten Free and those breads don't do as well with the Bread Machine) I decided to finally free it from the dark confines of my pantry and use it to honor National Bread Machine Baking Month. What better way to kick it off then with a New Year's appropriate bread?

Read your Bread Machine Instructions clearly as some machines prefer Wet/Dry/Yeast ingredients to be added in a different order. Breadman is a W/D/Y method. Seriously this is so easy my Dachshund could probably make this bread.

Champagne Soaked Baba
Page 521 of The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Baking Cookbook

For a 1 and 1/2 pound loaf:

1/3 cup water
3 large eggs
6 tbs unsalted butter, melted

2 cups bread flour (I used Gold Medal)
1 1/2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest (I used zest from one whole lemon)
1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 tsp bread machine yeast (I use Fleischmann's)

For Soaking Syrup:3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sweet champagne or Gingerale (for us pregnant people)

Directions:Add Dough ingredients to machine in manufacturer's order. Set crust for medium and program for Sweet Bread cycle; press Start.

My machine took about 3 hours to complete bread process, rise, baking time. So with about an hour left, I made the Soaking syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small sauce pan and heat until sugar is dissolved. cool until warm and add Champagne or gingerale. Set aside.

When bread is finished baking, poke wholes with a skewer and turn bread out onto a deep plate. Pour the syrup all over and let it stand to absorb. cover with plastic wrap until all liquid has been absorbed. Serve with warm fruit glaze. Recipe includes an apricot jam glaze but I chose to serve with homemade Pear Preserves or Applebutter.

Stephen and I are not huge fans of Soaked breads due to the soggy texture but this bread did have an excellent taste. Would have even been fine without the soaking mixture and just served with jam.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

One of my Dad's neighbors has HUGE blueberry bushes the size of houses with the most amazing blueberries. She doesn't charge to pick them and people who know her drive from states away to come pick her berries. My father brought me a gallon of blueberries this past weekend. I was in heaven.

Since it was a co-workers birthday yesterday, I decided to try out a new recipe that has been formatting itself in my head for awhile. A cross between my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins and the Blueberry Muffins I love so much.

I think they need a little tweaking to notch that flavor up a level but they are yummy just the same!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Heat oven to 375° F. Lightly coat a 12-cup standard muffin tin with oil and set aside. Mix 8 ounces (one block) cream cheese, 1 egg, and 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
Splash of vanilla
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4 to the top.

Place two teaspoonfuls of cream cheese filling in the center of each cup. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

I use a cookie scoop to fill muffin cups. So I used two scoops of blueberry batter and one scoop of cream cheese mixture.

Peach and Blueberry Sonker

I promised I would list every version and concoction of the Sonker through the summer. This one is not much different then the previous post but here it is. I am trying to clean out my freezer to make room for fresh preserves. I found a lone package of peaches frozen from last year. The package was small so not enough to do the traditional peach sonker but I mixed it with a pint of blueberries and some vanilla for a flavorful purple pie full of antioxidants and southern goodness. I can not express the simple goodness of this pie. I put this together with hardly any time while waiting for my ingredients to cook for my zucchini casserole. Both items went in the oven together. I turned the oven off when I took the casserole out and let the pie finish baking as the oven cooled down. When we were done with dinner, the pie was ready! How perfect can you get for a summer dessert?

Ingredients:
2 cups sliced peaches
1 pint blueberries
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups Self Rising Flour
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
In a 350 degree oven, melt butter in 9 x 13 casserole dish. When butter is melted, whisk in sugar and flour. Slowly whisk in milk and vanilla. When there are no lumps spread fruit evenly across surface. Bake for 45 minutes.

Blueberry Sonker

Growing up, I always looked forward to peach season. I LOVE peaches. They are probably one of my favorite fruits. There was something else about peach season I loved: Dessert. My momma was never one to bake desserts often. She could bake, don’t get me wrong, but it was for special occasions. She was a busy woman with two unruly girls to raise, gardens, farming, house and yard and a family business to deal with. So baking desserts wasn’t high priority and truth be told, none of us needed it anyway.

Oh the peaches though. We would get a box on the way home from the beach and we would have peach EVERYTHING. Peach ice cream, peaches in milk, peaches on cereal and Peach Cobbler were the highlights of childhood summers (okay, that and watermelon but that’s an entirely different story). My momma made the most delicious peach cobbler that she called Easy Pie. Boy was it easy. It was one of the first things I remember making with her and it can be added to and changed at ease (a little vanilla, a little cinnamon and nutmeg, a mix of berries etc).

Since I’ve grown up, I still make it but have learned a few things. It’s not just peaches that go well with this dish. It’s any soft fruit. I’ve also recently discovered (thanks to my momma) that this pie has a real name. Fruit pies made like this are called Sonkers. Sonkers is a name completely indigenous to the Mt. Airy, North Carolina area and expands out from there. (That’s Mayberry, as in Andy Griffith to ya’ll). They actually have a Sonker Festival every year complete with Pies of all size and fruit, blue grass music etc. that benefits one of the historical homes in the area.

There are several variations of the traditional Sonker and some argument about what the original was! Some use old biscuits and juicy blackberries. Still other’s make a deep dish fruit pie with dumplings. The most well known is the Easy Pie version.

I’m THRILLED and I am TOTALLY going to go this year. October 2nd. Mark your calendars if you are anywhere close to the area or planning a trip to “my neck of the woods.” I will report back on all the various ways of the Sonker and what is my favorite (though I doubt I will find one to rival my Momma’s but that’s pure sentiment…just don’t tell her that!)

Blueberry Sonker

Ingredients:
2 cups Sugar
2 Cups Self-Rising Flour
2 Cups milk
2 sticks of butter
1 pint Fresh Blueberries

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Melt butter in heated oven. Whisk sugar into melted butter (right in the dish). Add Flour. Slowly whisk in milk. Pour fruit evenly over the top.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until bread is golden brown on top. Enjoy!

As I play with different versions of the Sonker I will definitely post them!

Strawberry Mascarpone Scones

As part of my plot to conquer anything and all things strawberry, I decided a strawberry scone was in order. Not just ANY scone, but one with creamy Mascarpone cheese to make a luscious thick lightly sweet scone. So good. Even my husband who is not a sweets person, has been taking these to work for breakfast. YAY! They are very delicate, crumbly, juicy strawberries bursting in your mouth, a hint of cheese (almost Danish like but just a hint) and not too sweat. Love it.

Strawberry Mascarpone Scones
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups self rising flour
½ cup sugar plus some for sprinkling
1 stick butter, chilled and diced
1 egg
¼ cup milk
¼ cup mascarpone cheese
Zest of one lemon
1 ¾ cups fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions:
In food processor, combine flour and sugar. Add butter, and pulse a few times until butter is incorporated and the size of peas (like you are making a pie crust). In a small bowl, whisk together: egg, milk, mascarpone cheese and lemon zest. Set aside. Transfer flour to KA Mixer and add strawberries. On low speed for just a few seconds, mix with paddle attachment just so the strawberries are covered in flour and sugar but not so they are mashed or broken.

Pour cheese mixture into flour/strawberry mixture and gently on low mix until just incorporated. Turn dough out onto a WELL floured board and kneed for just a minute until its no longer sticky. Form patties, or cut into triangles for your scones. Place on a well greased baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar and bake on 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Let cool completely. ENJOY!

These would also be good with a light powder sugar glaze if you want them a little sweeter.

Popovers

I decided to make Popovers to go with the Rhubarb Strawberry Jam I made to send to my parents. I've actually never made Popovers before, so I turned to Ina Garten for a recipe. I followed her tips and they came out well but a little overdoneon the outside for my taste. I would recommend keeping an eye on them through the oven glass or if you can't get a good look because your oven light is dim like mine, crack the door at 25 minutes to take a peek. These are VERY smooth and light on the inside. Perfect for bites of jam.

Popovers

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup cream
1/2 cup 2% milk
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Preheat your muffin pan while heating the oven. When you take it out, spray it with Pam. In a KAMixer using the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the popover pans about half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek. (I had some batter left over)

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Muffins

I decided to try a little experiment this weekend. Instead of adding pieces of RAW fruit to the muffin mix or making plain muffins and spreading jam, I decided to add the jam to muffin mix. The batter was excellent. Fragrant, strong, pink. The muffins are a little bland though. Because the jam has so much sugar, I didn't put that much in the mix, so they are not very sweet and the fruit flavor is just hinted at after the baking process.

Not bad at all, but not exactly what I was going for. I even tried some butter cream icing on them but it overpowered the muffin completely...so no cupcakes either. If you are not sure about the flavor combination, try these because its very subtle. Or double the amount of jam or add some raw strawberries and these will be excellent.

Hey, not every concoction can be perfect on the first try right? I like them, don't get me wrong, they are just a light on the flavor for me.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup Prepared Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
3 cups Self Rising Flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 stick butter
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Cream Butter and sugar. Add sour cream and blend until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Add Vanilla.

Add flour 1/2 cup at a time. At the end dough will get really thick. Add Jam. This will loosen up the dough and make it creamy. Spoon mixture into cupcake cups about 3/4 full. This rises but not too much. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This is the recipe I impressed my grandmother with at Easter. Seriously, poised older Southern baptist lady. Compressed smile, folded hands, peering over her nose in disapprovement prissy grandmother. I finally got to her through my coffee cake (and my spinach lasagna). SCORE!

This recipe comes from a fellow NCer (soon to be back in her native SC-Congrats on the Farm!) and horse lover Branny from Branny Boils Over. Check out her site, its lovely!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups Self Rising Flour
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter (room temp)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Mix topping ingredients together and set aside. In KA mixer on medium speed with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in 1/2 of flour, then sour cream and then flour until blended smooth. Pour half of the batter in a greased and floured loaf pan. Sprinkle half of topping mixture and carefully spread. Carefully smooth the rest of the batter on top. Sprinkle the rest of the topping mixture and then bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

Make sure you use a large loaf pan or put a baking pan underneath. Mine went over the side a little bit.

I served with a choice of sides: sugared strawberries in juice, sweetened whipped cream and chopped walnuts. Everyone was able to make it their own special piece and LOVED IT.

Easy Flaky Pie Crust

I admit to taking the easy way out...a lot! When it came to pie crusts I mostly just did Pillsbury roll out. Easy, tasty. Yum. In my new quest for health I decided to go the unpreserved route and finally conquer my own. So I turned to my trusty "Joy of Cooking" book and applied their basic recipe to the method I've seen on the food channel, because well, I'm still lazy. LOL It worked GREAT! Not complicated, flaky and delicious. I'll probably never go back to ready made again.

Easy Flaky Pie Crust
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Self-Rising Flour
1 tsp white sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter (very cold and in small pieces-slice down center and chop at tbs marks)
1/3 cup plus 1 tbs ice water

Directions:
In food processor, combine flour, sugar and butter and pulse until butter is covered and in pea size pieces. As you continue to blend on low, add icecold water. When balls start to firm it will only take a few seconds before you get one big dough ball.

Roll dough ball out onto floured surface. Gently smooth the ball and wrap in plastic. Place in fridge for atleast thirty minutes to make sure it is nice and cold. Roll out gently (don't mash it) and place in pie shell. Trim extra and place back in fridge to chill until you need it!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I've been seeing Sweet Potato Biscuits running around on Food Network and blogs since Thanksgiving. With a plethora of sweet potatoes in season, I thought this would be the perfect time to try some new recipes. Sweet Potato Biscuits to serve the zesty chicken burgers on. Sweet and bright flavors combined. It was worth a shot!

The one thing I wish I had done was roll the dough out on a floured board and cut biscuits out instead of scooping them out with a measuring cup. The ended up spreading out too much and looking lumpy but they stayed together perfectly and were a bright orange color.

Sweet Potato BiscuitsIngredients:
1 cup self rising flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp crisco
3/4 cup mashed sweet potato
1/4 cup whole milk

Directions:
Peel 2-3 sweet potatoes and cut into chuncks. Put in boiling salted water for about 30 minutes until tender. Place chuncks in food processor and blend until smooth. Measure out 3/4 cups.

Stir together all ingredients until dough is well blended and smooth.

Either roll onto floured board and cut out with biscuit cutter or glass. OR scoop with a 1/2 cup onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

*Note: I'm not sure where I got this recipe from. It is not referenced like most of mine. Since I didn't change the ingredients hardly at all and just changed the process some, please let me know if this is your recipe and I'll be happy to give credit!*

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

This recipe post has been a long time coming. Why you ask? Because I've been too busy making these decadent little darlings, to post. I've kept this recipe all to myself savoring the complete joy and utter bliss that are these concoctions. This by far, has to be one of my all time favorite sweet treats. The Orange Glaze I add is the PERFECT addition and I do not recommend you changing a thing. Seriously. Do not mess up my perfection. ;)

*Warning*-These little rascals have a tendency to jump into your mouth out of nowhere. I periodically wrangle them back into the cake plate but I find stowaways in my work bag, purse, plate and other obscene places (like stuffed into my cheeks) constantly. They are wiley little devils when it comes to disappearing into your tummy. Also, may cause eyes to roll back in your head, moaning and other embarrassing sounds to eminate from your body so be careful where you eat these.


Orange Chocolate Chip Scones
Ingredients:

2 cups Self Rising Flour
1/3 cup sugar
6 tbs cold unsalted butter diced
1 large egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
4-5 tsps orange zest (two oranges)
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
Juice from two oranges (about 3-4 tbs)
1/2 tsp grated orange zest (should be enough leftover from the two oranges)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the sugar and flour (till pea size chuncks or smaller). Whisk together the rest of your ingredients and then add them to the flour/sugar/butter mixture. combine with wood spoon. When just mixed together, turn out onto a floured surface and kneed gently until smooth. Press out into a 1/2 thick square. Cut into 12 wedges and place on greased baking sheet. Brush top with cream. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Cool on wire rack. Blend together Glaze ingredients. When scones are cool, pour glaze over the top and let harden. ENJOY!

Biscuit Surprise a.k.a Stuffed Biscuits

I got the bright idea to play with my empanada stuffing using buttermilk biscuits instead of pie crust. I chuncked up the chicken in large dices to make it a little more substantial and whipped up some Buttermilk Biscuits. The beauty of this is that you can add and change anything about the recipe and still have a fabulous meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner that is perfect to reheat and on the go. For example, add some green peas and celery for a nice spring dinner. Add some bacon bits, cranberry and apple for a great fall breakfast. This is one of those PERFECT starter recipes that is delicious on its own but can be taylored for you and I'm very proud of this one. It was light, hearty, fluffy, soft, warm, cozy and satisfying all in one dish. A big hit amongst friends and family.

One of the few dishes my husband said "Mmmm, this is good, make this again!" He calls them Biscuit Surprise because when you bite into them, there is yummy filling in what looks like an ordinary biscuit. ENJOY!!

Stuffed Biscuits
Filling Ingredients:
1 tsp salt
5 ounces cream cheese
6 ounces colby jack shredded cheese
4 cups diced cooked chicken (I used leftover of the roasted lemon garlic chicken)
1 diced small onion
1 diced small shallot
1/2 tsp pepper

Biscuit Ingredients:
Ingredients:
5 cups of flour
3/4 cup crisco
2 cups buttermilk

Directions:
Mix your filling ingredients and set aside. Mix your flour and shortening with a pastry cutter and add in your buttermilk. Mix until moistened. Turn your biscuits out on a floured service and kneed gently to form a ball. Press out with your hands to about a 1/2 inch thick, square it up and cut into large squares (about nine pieces) (as if you were cutting for scones). The pieces will be about the size of your hand. Place a generous cookie scoop size dollop of filling in the center of each square and fold the endes up around it. Smooth into a rounded biscuit. (you should see no filling).

Brush biscuits with cream or butter.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until biscuits are lightly browned. Enjoy a warm flaky gooey biscuit and be sure to come back and tell me how much you love them because I know you will! And the only reason I added this dark blurry picture is because Cody is in the bottom corner begging which I didn't notice until I uploaded it. Hillarious.

Homemade BUTTER!

A friend of mine (Nikki) and I braved making butter. It looked so simple. How hard could it be?

Homemade Butter
Ingredients:
Cream (heavy whipping cream or whipping cream...we tried both) (1 pint makes about 1 1/2 sticks)
salt (optional)

Directions:
Use a KA Mixer with paddle attachment and set on medium high setting for about 15-20 minutes. The cream will get frothy, then almost look whipped..this part of the process takes the longest...then in the last 2-3 minutes it will clump up and turn yellow as the buttermilk sloshes around the bottom. This last part happens amazingly fast and within a few seconds you have a yellow ball of butter rolling around.

Take the butter out and run it under cold water while kneading out any extra buttermilk. At this point add your salt and knead into the butter. Place in wax paper or tupperware.

You will get about a 1/2 cup of buttermilk out of it that can be used in biscuits etc.

I am amazed at how easy this was. Is it cost effective..probably not. We figured up the price and its cheaper to buy it in the store. HOWEVER, if you want to go organic and/or local, and price isn't an issue, than you can buy cream locally and its a little cheaper than buying butter locally from what I've seen. I think its worth knowing how to do it and a good idea for flavored butters for parties/gifts etc. Everyone should try it and it gives you an appreciation for how are foods we take for granted are produced and how much work it would take to do this the old fashioned way...I can't even imagine churning butter!

Rosemary, Onion, Tomato Foccacia

This recipe was adapted from the book "Making Fresh Bread" by Love Food (an imprint of Paragon Books) that was given to me by my friend Rachel.

It is a lovely recipe that is simple and was a big hit with the guys at work. My darling husband was not too fond of it since he doesn't like cooked tomato on bread and it did send my allergies into overdrive (not sure if it was the yeast or the rosemary) but it had a nice crisp crust, fluffy inside, and light aromatic flavor.
Oh how I longed to eat more of this lovely bread. (sigh).

Rosemary, Onion, Tomato Foccacia Bread

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbs dried rosemary
6 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 fresh tomotoes, sliced and then halved
One onion sliced into rings
1 tsp sea salt

Directions:
Sift flour and salt together into bowl. Add yeast and most of rosemary (save some for sprinkling). Make a well in the middle and pour in 4 tbs of oil. Mix Quickly. Place in KAmixer turn on low using paddle and slowly mix in water. Dough will be crumbly. Turn onto dusted board and knead for 2 minutes.

Place ball into oiled bowl. Cover with plastic or a damp warm towel and set in a warm spot for 2 hours to rise. Brush a cookie sheet with oil. Turn out the dough onto the floured board and punch down. Knead for 1 minute. Put the dough onto cookie sheet and spread flat and even. Cover with plastic or damp warm towel and let rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 475. Whisk remaining oil with a little water. Dip your fingers in it and press into dough to dimple it. Sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary. Cover with tomatoes and onion rings.

Reduce the oven to 425 and bake the foccacia for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool and serve warm.

Beef Stew and Buttermilk Biscuits!

My Momma makes the BEST Beef Stew and biscuits. This was probably one of my top 5 dishes growing up. I've tried several beef stew recipes and many of them include tomato/barbeque base broths which I find pretty much disgusting. I've come across a few that I like well enough but nothing beats the way my momma does it.

I was so desperate for some of her beef stew that I decided to give it another shot. This time, I came pretty darn close and I was so proud.

Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1 lb stew beef
flour
1/4 cup or so of oil
1 diced yellow onion
1 stick celery
2 fat carrots, peeled and coined
2 tbs chopped garlic
3-4 tbs butter
3 cups chicken broth (you can do 4 broth, 4 water if you prefer)
5 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
6-8 small/medium potatoes peeled/diced

Directions:
Roll beef chuncks in flour and brown in hot oil, drain oil and place beef in large stock pot. Saute the onion and garlic in butter. After onions start to look translucent, add carrots and cook for about a minute. Add celergy and cook maybe a minute more. Pour into stock pot.

Add broth and water and potatoes to stock pot. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add salt and pepper. Cook until potatoes are cooked through. If broth is too soupy, take about 2 cups out and whisk some flour into it (1/8 of a cup) and re-added to pot...the flour will thicken the broth. Salt and pepper to taste and serve over warm buttermilk biscuits.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:
5 cups of flour
/4 cup crisco
2 cups buttermilk

Directions:
Use pastry cutter to mix crisco into flour. Add buttermilk and cut in with pastry cutter. Once it starts getting to be a sticky dough, I like to use my hands. If its TOO sticky you can add a bit more flour. Turn dough out on a floured surface and roll out and use a biscuit cutter if you wish. For "cathead biscuits" just form large balls in your hand and then press down. This is how momma made them. These biscuits are thick and perfect for "sopping up" the gravy. If you want a FLUFFY buttermilk biscuit you have to add yeast to the dough to get the airy rise.

LowFat Applebutter Cake

I'm going to count this as a failure, but not one of mine. I made the cake to the recipe's instructions and it came out as a nice cake. The taste is very bland. (Low fat right? I should have expected this). There is NO SUGAR in this recipe, AT ALL. I greatly questioned this when making it, however, I used HOMEMADE Cinnamon Applebutter (which I will post a recipe for this coming fall when I make more). My applebutter is very flavorful and sweet so I thought "okay, maybe it will be okay."

WRONG. You can taste a hint of the apple butter flavor but thats it. Just a hint. This cake is very bland. However, I always post my failures and winners and to me this was bland but to someone out there who may be diabetic or prefer lightly flavored food, it may be a fantastic answer to their prayers. (yea, okay.)

To this Southern girl, it was a perfect desecration of two cups of perfectly good applebutter! LOL My girl Tonya is dropping by later to pick up the cake. Maybe she will comment on her families opinion of it!


Low Fat Applebutter Cake
Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
pinch of baking powder
2 cups apple butter
2 egg whites
2 cups finely chopped apples (I used two large apples)

Directions:
Combine the dry ingredients and stir. Add the apple butter and egg whites and mix well. Fold in the apple pieces.

Pour into greased bundt pan and bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Cool.

Zucchini Almond Biscotti

I wanted a nice Southern Biscotti while the inlaws were in so I tried my hand at creating a soothing blend between a scrumptious zucchini bread and a flavorful almond biscotti. It turned out pretty well. Biscotti simply means twice baked so I started with a basic Zucchini bread recipe that is tried and true, but flavored it up with some slivered almonds and almond extract. Then cut it in slices and placed on parchment and rebaked on a low temp to remove the moisture. I think it got a little too done but it paired excellently with coffee. Enjoy! I think this would be perfect in the summer too with fresh zuchini to enjoy on a Saturday morning overlooking the garden with a cup of coffee. YUM!

Zucchini Almond Bread

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cups flour (self rising)
2tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 c. slivered almonds

Directions:
Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini. Slowly add in dry ingredients. Finish with your extracts and then fold in almonds. Bake in 13 x 9 greased pan for 1 hour at 350.

When it has cooled, turn loaf out and cut into biscotti strips. Place strips on parchment paper in oven at 200. Cook each side for about an hour to slowly remove moisture but do not burn. Keep an eye on them, you may choose to lower the heat or the cooking times if you like them a little less crispy on the inside.

Figgy Cranberry Pudding

"Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding, and bring it right here. We won't go until we get some, we won't go until we get some..."

Have you ever noticed how bossy Christmas songs are? YOU WILL ENJOY CHRISTMAS AND YOU WILL FEED US. What is figgy pudding anyway? Figgy pudding is a tradtional sweet bread or fruit cake in Britain dating back to atleast the 16th century. Most traditionally steamed, they are now baked in a variety of flavors like Christmas Pudding, plum pudding etc.

In my desire to preserve tradition and retain some history, I decided to try figgy pudding. The only figs I could find were extremely pricey dried organic figs that were almost candied. To really bring in some flavor and modernize it a bit, I decided to add some dried cranberries as well and sweeten it with some brown sugar to cut the heavy molasses. Topped it with fresh whipped cream sweetened with confectioners sugar and cinnamon and it was a delightful end to Christmas day. Unfortunately you will have to take my word for it as I forgot to take a picture.

While I don't consider this experiment in history a failure, I'm not sure figs and I are friends. I think I prefer the tradition of gingerbread and peppermint at this time of year! Figs and molasses are a rich DARK taste, like what dark chocolate is to milk chocolate. I'm more of a milk chocolate girl.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
2 cups chopped dried figs
1 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup pecans (Chopped)
2 1/2 cups self rising flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Dash ground cloves

Directions:
Cream butter and sugars. Add molasses, buttermilk and eggs. Slowly add rest of ingredients (minus figs, pecans and cranberries). Fold in fruits and nuts. Pour into a greased 8 x 4 souffle dish. Bake at 325 for one hour. Let cool. Spoon out like pudding or cut into wedges. Center will be quite moist and may fall. I served up like a pudding.