Sweet Potato Bread

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Happy New Year, Everyone! Having a New Year’s Eve party? Try serving this yummy quick bread; it’s full of flavor. The taste reminds me more of Amish Friendship Bread than of sweet potato, but the yams make it healthier–or at least make you think it is so you don’t feel as guilty when you eat half a loaf in one day…

Ingredients:
3 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t salt
2 t baking soda
2 t ground cinnamon
2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground cloves
3 C white sugar, plus topping
4 eggs
1 C vegetable oil
3/4 C orange juice
2 C mashed sweet potatoes aka yams (I used canned; see link below for instructions on how to use from fresh)
1. If you haven’t already done so, mash the sweet potatoes in a bowl with a flat bottom using a potato masher. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix most of your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl: flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
3. In a separate large mixing bowl, beat together sugar, eggs, and oil. Stir in orange juice and sweet potatoes. Stir flour mixture into egg/sweet potato mixture until just combined.
4. Pour batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour 25 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean. (This recipe yields 2 9×5 loaves. If you’re making mini loaves like I did, check them after 30 minutes.)
Source: lightly adapted from Sweet Potato Bread II as submitted to Allrecipes.com by Umm Asiyah

Puffy [German] Pancakes

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I come from a German family. We make a lot of German food… SOMEHOW I never was introduced to this sweet little secret. Pancakes that you bake? Yum! I saw this recipe on a favorite blog and we had it for dinner the next night. It’ll definitely be something I’ll make over and over. (did I mention my husband and son LOVED these too??)

German Pancakes

Ingredients
5 large or extra-large eggs
1 cup of milk (more fat the better… I actually used some heavy cream mixed in with my milk)
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
4 tablespoons butter

Directions
-Preheat your oven to 375-degrees.
-Place butter in a 9×13 dish and put the dish with butter in the oven while it is heating. Make sure the butter does not burn. Pull out once it’s melted.
-While your butter is melting place rest of ingredients in a blender. For easier mixing, put the liquids in first. Blend until all of the flour is incorporated. You may have to pull out a spatula to scrape down the sides.
– With the melted butter in the pan, pour the flour mixture into the pan.
– Bake for 15-20 minutes. (17 or 18 minutes is usually the perfect time)
– When the pancake is done, it’s sides will have risen high out of the dish and the middle will be slightly puffy. If it is completely flat in the middle you may want to give it another minute or two to be sure it is done.

*We served these pancakes with syrup and powdered sugar. I think nutella, fruit, or preserves would be tasty as well!

Source: MADE (aka… one of my favorite blogs to follow!)

Butterfly Crescent Rolls

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Nothing takes me back “home” more than the smell of freshly baked bread permeating the air. Grandma and Mom are the best bread bakers I know and, with Grandma’s permission, I share this delicious recipe. Big holiday dinners just would not be the same without these rolls!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Boiling Water
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/2  Cup (1 stick) BUTTER
1 Egg
1 Tbsp Yeast
4 Cups Flour (divided)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In your favorite mixer* (I own a Kitchen Aide, which I LOVE–but I’d prefer a Bosch for bread…here’s to someday!), mix the water, sugar and butter until the butter is melted.
3. Add the eggs and the yeast. (Test the temperature before dumping in your yeast. If it’s too hot, the water will kill it.) Mix well.
4. Add half of the flour, and all of the salt and baking powder. Mix until fully incorporated.
5. Add the remaining flour. The dough should be slightly stiff.
6. Let your machine knead the dough for 10 minutes.
7. Move your dough to a Large Bowl (optional) and cover with a towel. Let rise until doubled in size.
8. Punch the dough down.
9. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1/2 of the dough out in a circle (pizza shaped) until 1/2 an inch thick.
10. With a sharp knife (I use a pizza cutter), cut the dough like you would a pizza into several slices. The number of slices depends on what you’re making the rolls for. The fewer the slices, the bigger the rolls–good for sandwiches. The more slices, the smaller the rolls–good for a dinner side!

11. Take a slice by the fat end and roll it up to the point.
12. Place on a slightly greased cookie sheet, point down so it doesn’t come unrolled while baking and make bird shaped bread–NOT that I’m speaking from experience! *ahem*. Place them about 2 inches apart.
13. Continue until all the slices are shaped into rolls and on cookie sheets.
14. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled.
15. Repeat steps 9 – 14 for the other 1/2 of the dough.
16. Bake rolls for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the rolls are a nice golden brown color.
Doubles easily.

*If you don’t have a mixer, that’s fine! I used to make these by hand. When you get the kneading part, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand, turning about 200 times or for 10 minutes.

Source: My wonderful grandma, KaraLyn Taylor

ENJOY!
~Kara

The Great Pumpkin Dessert

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More Pumpkin, anyone? 
Ingredients:
1-15oz can pumpkin
1 can of evaporated milk (shake well)
3 eggs
1c sugar
4tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 package yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
3/4c butter, melted
1 1/2c chopped walnuts (or make it 2c if you really like nuts…I thought 1 1/2 was enough)
  1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9×13 pan
  2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. 
  3. Transfer the pumpkin mixture into the 9×13 pan
  4. Sprinkle the cake mix over the pumpkin, drizzle with butter, then top with walnuts!  
  5. Bake at 350* for an hour*  or until knife comes out clean.
*I think baking it for an hour was a little to long.  I like stuff a little more on the gooey side.  So, if you’re like me…go with 45-50 min.  The fork/knife test should still hold true (for the most part).  =)
*This recipe was one that I copied down at a potluck in in DeKalb, IL.  I thought for SURE I wrote this lovely sister’s name on the card, dag nab it!!  

Homemade Magic Shell

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Not that I’m a huge fan of Magic Shell, but I have to admit the coolness of instant-hardening chocolate sauce is pretty hard to resist.  The kids think this is pretty awesome.  And truth be told, so do I.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Place coconut oil and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and cook on HI for 1 minute.  Allow the bowl to set for just a minute or two so the hot oil can melt the chips.  Stir well with a whisk.
2.  Pour sauce over ice cream servings!

Notes:

  • Coconut oil is a solid at room temperature so look for a jar of it, not a bottle.  The brand I bought is Spectrum.
  • Store your leftover sauce in something that you can microwave later.  It helps to have a bottle that is microwave safe so you can pour easily, but you don’t have to.  We just spooned it on.
  • Store in the fridge.  To use, reheat in microwave at 30 second intervals until it’s liquid again.
Source:  alphamom.com, who has way cooler photos than I do

Microwave Fudge

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Okay, it’s 3 days before Christmas, you are in a wrapping, baking, last-minute-shopping frenzy!  Oh snap, the neighbors dropped off some goodies!  You were so not expecting that!  What do you do?  You pull out this recipe and whip up a batch (or 2 or 3…) of yummy, quick fudge!

Ingredients:
1 box (1 lb.) powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
chopped pecans ( opt.)

1.  Pour ingredients in microwavable bowl.  Cook 2 minutes 30 seconds on high.  Stir until smooth.  
2.  Pour into greased pan and cool.
3.  Cut into pieces and ENJOY!!

And for you, Mom, on January 2, when the kids are back in school…a glass of fudge and a good book.  Ahhhh…..

Vanilla (Christmas) Caramels

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These caramels always bring a bit of nostalgia with them. The very taste brings fun childhood Christmas memories with family and and friends; “Skating” on the road in our snow boots and memories with my own children. This is a must have item at Christmas at our house. However, they are yummy any time of year!

You can “half” the batch if this is too many (can that be possible?)for your family.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 cube) butter (real)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 cups light corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
wax paper

1. Butter 9 x 13 inch pan
2. Place butter in 5qt sauce/soup pan and begin melting on medium high heat
3. Add sugars and creams and stir with a wire whisk until well blended
4. Add corn syrup and stir with wire whisk until blended, continue stirring until mixture starts to boil
5. Stir with wooden spoon often until mixture reaches firm ball stage (240 F) approximately 35-40 minutes. Mixture will start to look like caramel.
6. Remove from heat and add vanilla stirring constantly until incorporated
7. Pour into prepared pan and let cool (about 4 hours)
8. While caramel cools, cut up sheets of wax paper about 3 x 4 inch
8. Cut into 1 inch squares and place on cut up sheets of wax paper – roll candy roll style – makes 70-90 pieces.
Enjoy!

Source: My mom and the ” A Taste of Oregon Cookbook”

This entry was posted in Candies.

Real Banana Muffins

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I guess its the “purist” in me that loves these Banana Muffins, because they taste like bananas! Don’t get me wrong, I like the traditional banana bread. But, this,…its just so great! The muffins are moist, and the flavor of the banana is awesome! These would be great to serve for breakfast over the holiday vacation!
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, 2 mashed & one chunked
1-1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs until light and fluffy. Stir in 2 mashed bananas and mix well. Add flour and baking soda, stirring enough to moisten. Stir in 1 chunked banana. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Start watching at 25 minute mark and check with toothpick to see if its done.

Recipe adapted from Stephanie Daniels

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