Biscuits

Let me tell you I have tried and tried to make biscuits for YEARS!!! They started out like hockey pucks LOL. But with lots of practice and a family that loves to try them, I have finally gotten some that are pretty darn good.  They aren't Hardee's good but they are pretty good.  Here ya go!

2 cups self-rising flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp Butter

4 Tbsp Crisco, butter-flavored

3/4 - 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Cut in the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and stir together with a spoon. DO NOT DUMP the milk in all at once.  Start with about 1/2 cup and gradually add until the dough is wet.  Turn out onto a generously floured surface.  DO NOT KNEAD.

Roll or pat out your dough to about 1 inch thick.  Cut out biscuits.  I used a 2-inch biscuit cutter so they would be a bigger biscuit to use for breakfast sandwiches.  Spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray. Place biscuits touching each other on the baking sheet.  Brush tops with additional buttermilk.  Bake in preheated 425 degrees oven for about 15-20 minutes until brown on top.  Makes between 8-10 biscuits.  

I personally do not use buttermilk.  I use either whole milk or 2% milk and they are still delicious.  

Breakfast Morning Bake

 I love a good breakfast bake.  Especially when you have company over and you can make up ahead of time.  Then in the morning when everyone gets up all you have to do is put it in the oven.  Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb breakfast sausage, cooked and drained
• 20 oz shredded hashbrowns, thawed
• 1/4 cup onion finely chopped
• 2 cups shredded cheese, split
• 8 eggs
• 1-1/3 cups milk
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (if baking immediately). Grease a 9×13 inch pan or a 3qt baking dish or spray with cooking spray.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until no pink remains.  Drain Fat.
3. In a bowl, add the hashbrowns, onion, and 1 cup cheese.  Gently mix the ingredients and spread evenly into your baking dish, that has been sprayed. 
4. Spread sausage over hashbrowns.
5. In a large bowl mix eggs, milk, salt, pepper, mustard, 1 cup cheese, and seasonings: whisk until combined.
6. Pour the egg mixture over the hashbrowns mixture.
7. Cover the dish with foil and refrigerate overnight if desired, or bake immediately.
8. Bake covered for 40 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until it is set in the center.
9. Let rest for at least 10-15 minutes so it has time to set up.

*You can substitute any kind of meat.  I love it with ham or bacon too.

*You can also add green peppers, red peppers, mushrooms, heck any of your favorite vegetables if you would like.

*I just use a full bag of hashbrowns.  Some may be 20 oz, some maybe 26oz.  If you use more hashbrowns than 26 oz, I would add an extra egg so it doesn't get dry. 

Cinnamon Rolls

Tangzhong

• 1/2 cup (113g) whole milk
• 3 tablespoons (23g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Directions for the Tangzhong:

• Combine both the ingredients in a small saucepan, and whisk until no lumps remain.
• Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook the mixture, stirring regularly, until thickened, paste-like, and the spoon or spatula leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. This should take 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the strength of your burner.
• Remove from the heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer, or the bucket of a bread machine (whatever you plan to knead the dough in).

Dough

• 2/3 cup whole milk, cold
• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 package of vanilla instant pudding
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

To Make the Dough:

• Add the cold milk, then the flour and remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl in the order listed; the heat from the tangzhong will help to warm the cold milk.
• Mix on low speed of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, to bring the dough together. Next, knead the dough until it’s smooth, elastic, and tacky. This will take 10 to 12 minutes on a medium-low speed of a mixer.
• Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a reusable cover.
• Let the dough rise until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 to 90 minutes (depending on the warmth of your kitchen).

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 3 to 4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 to 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1/16 teaspoon (pinch) salt

• To make the filling: While the dough is rising, put the melted butter into a medium bowl and add the remaining ingredients, stirring until the mixture is the texture of damp sand. Set aside.
• Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment paper.

To assemble the rolls:

1. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface and press it into a 10” x 12” rectangle that’s about 1/2” thick. For evenly shaped rolls, try to pat the dough into an actual rectangle (with corners), rather than an oval. 
2. Sprinkle the filling over the dough, covering all but a 1/2” strip along one long side. 
3. Starting with the filling-covered long side, roll the dough into a log.
4. Score the dough lightly into eight equal 1 1/2” to 2” pieces; this will make large, saucer-sized cinnamon rolls — their generous size is part of their charm. Cut the dough at the score marks. Dental floss will give you the cleanest cut: pull off a long piece of floss, loop it underneath the log at the score mark, and pull the ends in opposite directions to cut the dough. Repeat until you've cut all of the rolls. If you don’t have dental floss, a bench knife or sharp knife will work. 
5. Place the rolls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them so there’s at least 2” between each one and they’re 2” away from the edges of the pan; a 3-2-3 arrangement works well. To prevent them from unraveling while they rise and bake, tuck the ends of the spirals underneath the rolls so that they’re held in place.
6. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap or a reusable cover and let them rise for 30 to 60 minutes (depending on the warmth of your kitchen). The rolls should be puffy and the dough shouldn’t bounce back immediately when gently pressed.
7. About 20 minutes before you’re ready to bake, position a rack in the top third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
8. Bake the rolls for 14 to 18 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown and a digital thermometer inserted into the center of one roll reads 190°F. Bake for the lesser amount of time for extra-soft rolls, and the longer amount of time for rolls with a bit more color and slightly firmer texture.
9. Remove the rolls from the oven, place the pan on a rack, and brush the hot rolls with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Let the rolls cool for 10 to 15 minutes before icing.

Waffle

This is a recipe that Melissa found.  It is so good.  The best part of this recipe is it doesn't require anything fancy.  All the ingredients are ones that are found in your pantry so you probably don't even have to run to the store.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla, just until smooth.
2. Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot.

Cinnamon Rolls

We are stuck inside today due to a snow storm.  We were warned last night so my husband and I went off to the store to make sure that I had plenty of goodies on hand so I could bake.  There is nothing more that warms the house when it smells like fresh baked goods.  Today I baked cinnamon rolls.  I absolutely LOVE this recipe.  I have played with it till I was happy with it. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup warm Water

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 pkg Yeast

1 cup Milk

1/4 cup melted Butter

1 Egg

4 cups Flour

1 package Instant Vanilla Pudding dry

2 tsp Gluten

1 1/2 tsp Salt

In a small glass bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Sprinkle with sugar to "feed" the yeast. Stir to combine and let sit for about 10 minutes. The yeast should become foamy and bubbly. This means it's active.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add melted butter, milk, sugar, salt, egg and 2 cups of flour.

Mix on a medium speed to combine.

Add the yeast mixture and continue to mix, slowly adding the remaining 2 cups of flour. Mix for about 3 minutes, until a dough forms around the hook.

Remove dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and place in a well-greased bowl.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel, and set the bowl in a warm, dry place for 1 hour, or until the dough almost doubles in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured work surface and punch it down, releasing the air bubbles.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 9 x13" rectangle.

Filling:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon

Once the dough is rolled out, use a pastry brush to cover the dough rectangle with softened butter.

Evenly spread the brown sugar across the dough.

Dust with cinnamon.

Starting from the edge of dough closest to you, roll from the bottom up, like a jelly roll.

Trim the ends, and then slice the roll into 1-1 ½-inch pieces with waxed dental floss, yielding 12-14 rolls.

Place each piece into a greased 9x13" baking dish or 2 round pans.

Cover the pan once again with a damp towel and return it the warm, dry place for another 30 minutes, or until the dough is risen.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake cinnamon buns for 30-35 minutes, or until light-golden brown.

Frost once completely cool. 

White Bread

About three months ago, I stopped buying bread from the store.  Not cause we couldn't afford it, but I was sick and tired of throwing bread out every week.  I  mean when bread is getting to over $3.00 a loaf I just couldn't take it any more.  With just my husband and I we do not eat bread fast enough.  So when my husband was gone I decided to figure out how to make bread with my kitchen aid.  I have made it in the bread machine before but wanted to figure out how to make it more "homemade".  So I read a few articles off Pinterest and tried a couple of different recipes.  The first time I didn't proof my yeast, so it didn't turn it out at ALL.  In fact I threw the first loaf in the garbage.  Read some more and figured out what I did wrong.  So here is the recipe that I use almost every time I bake bread.  Mariah absolutely loves this recipe.  I really wouldn't use it for sandwiches but to make toast - it absolutely rocks.

1 package yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
4 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Cup warm water

Add water, yeast and sugar in the bowl of the kitchen aid mixer, set aside and let proof for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes add the following ingredients to the bowl.  

3 cups flour
4 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup milk
3 tsp gluten
1 1/2 tsp salt

Using a dough hook let mix for 7-8 minutes. * I usually do have to add in 1-2 Tbsp of water to help dough clear sides of the bowl. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise until almost double.  1 1/2-2 hours depending on how warm it is in your house.










When done rising, punch dough down and roll into shape of a loaf.  Place into greased 9x4-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes.  Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes. When golden brown remove and brush with butter.  When cooling on rack lay on side so it doesn't deflate.

Poppy Seed Lemon Bread

This is one of the best and easiest lemon poppy seed bread recipes out there.  It is so moist and easy.

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 pkg instant lemon pudding (3.4 oz)
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup warm temped water
1/4 cup Poppy Seed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt pan or 2 bread loaves pan. Combine dry cake mix and dry pudding mix. Add eggs, water and oil and stir until well blended. Stir in poppy seeds.   Pour mix into Bundt pan. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. If top of cake looks wet after that time, turn oven off and let it bake a few more minutes. Remove cake from oven and let it cool at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, then invert into serving plate.

Cinnamon-Apple Coffee Cake

I was looking through my recipe drawer (I have been collecting for a LONG time) and thought this is crazy.  These are stuffed in a drawer and what good are they doing in there?  So I decided that I needed to start working on putting more recipes on my page.  Not all of these I have tried.  But I wouldn't have kept them if I didn't think my family would like them. None of these are going  to be extravagant, just good old ingredients that you can find in any local store.  So if you try one and your family enjoys it please let me know. 

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Land O Lakes Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium (1 cup) tart cooking apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

Topping:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Land O Lakes Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all coffee cake ingredients except apple in large bowl; stir just until moistened.  Stir in apple.

Spread butter into greased 8 or 9 inch  square baking pan.

Combine 1/3 cup flour and 1/3 cup brown sugar in medium bowl; cut in 1/4 cup Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over coffee cake batter.  Bake for 28-32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool.

Banana Bread

WOW time sure does go by fast.  I didn't realize that I hadn't posted in so long.  I have been cooking but really haven't made anything great so I haven't blogged.  But last night I tried a new recipe and boy was it good.  I will post my recipe and also post the link of the original recipe.  Of course I can't just try a recipe and not put my own twist on it.  Here you go.  This recipe makes two loaves so in one loaf I put nuts and the other I put mini chocolate chips.  I will say I didn't measure the chips or the nuts.   I just put in what I thought looked good.  Sometimes I cook like my Grandma Lucy did - just throw in until it looks good or tastes good. Enjoy - with butter or without!!

 
Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant banana cream pudding mix
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4 to 5 medium)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips, optional

Directions

•In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, bananas, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in nuts if desired.

•Transfer to two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 80-90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each).

I changed the pudding flavor, omitted the cinnamon and exchanged 1/2 cup buttermilk instead of all oil.  I believe buttermilk helps add to the moisture.  Other than that I followed the recipe.  I believe mine took around the whole 65 minutes to bake.  Put a toothpick in the middle - when it comes out clean than it is ready. 

Here is the link to the original recipe - try both and let me know what you think. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Moist-Banana-Bread

Banana Bread

5 large bananas
4 eggs - well beaten
1 cup butter
2 cup white sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt

May add nuts, if desired... I used 1/2 cup walnuts for the one loaf.

Beat bananas to liquid, add beaten eggs.

In separate bowl, cream butter gradually adding sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add banana and egg mixture to this and mix well. 

In another bowl, combine flour, soda and salt and add to #2 mixture beating well. 

Pour into 2 well greased large sized loaf pans.

Bake at 300 for 1 1/4 hours until toothpick comes out clean.

Monkey Bread

16 frozen white dinner rolls
3 oz butterscotch cook and serve jello
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon

Spray bundt pan.  Place frozen rolls in pan.  Put pudding mix, brown sugar, cinnamon in a small bowl.  Scatter over the dough.  Melt butter and pour over top.  Let rise at room temperature overnight.  In the morning, cook at 350° for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes.   Turn pan onto a serving platter to serve.  Serve by pulling apart in chunks.

Grandpa Kuhlmann's Pancakes

These are absolutely the best pancakes.  This recipe has been handed down from generation to generation.  It isn't an Eich breakfast if these pancakes aren't served.

2 cups (heaping) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 quart buttermilk (room temperature)
2 heaping Tbsps butter
2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp (heaping) baking soda

Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl.  Use 1/4 cup to spoon onto the griddle.  Cook until bubbles appear. Flip over.  When golden brown take off the griddle.

Caramel Rolls

I got this recipe from my niece Kris.  This is a warning that these are rich but OH so DELICIOUS!!

2 packages Buttermilk Grand Biscuits in a tube (8 per package)

Place biscuits in a greased 9 x13 pan.  Only 15 will fit into pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup vanilla ice cream

Put above ingredients into a sauce pan and cook on medium heat.  Stir constantly.  As soon as mixture begins to come to a boil, put over biscuits.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  You may also sprinkle chopped pecans over the caramel if you wish. 

Once you remove from oven, turn upside down onto a platter or cookie sheet to serve.