Autumn Rest

As the month of October flies by, it's important to take time to enjoy the autumn. The baked good this week is perfect to serve with tea, cocoa, or coffee and enjoy a minute of rest.
 

English Muffin Breadadapted from One Good Thing by Jillee
makes 2 loaves
Oven 350

2 1/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 pkgs rapid rise yeast
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
5 1/2 cups flour (all purpose, whole wheat, etc)
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
4 tablespoons melted butter or margarine







Mix together all the ingredients (by hand or in mixer).












Divide mixture between two well greased loaf pans that have been sprinkled with cornmeal.












Let rise in pans, 30-60 minutes, or until dough reaches the top pf the pans. Bake for 35 minutes. Brush loaves with melted butter. Bake additional 10 minutes.










Allow to cool completely before cutting.













Best when toasted.

Not Mandatory

Have you ever volunteered for something? To join a committee, chair an event, host a party/dinner, coach a team? As you were doing this, did someone ever volunteer you for something else? It's a goodwill cycle that's hard to break. And, although it's for a good cause, you find yourself completely over-volunteered. At what point do you say no? Can you even choose to say no without feeling that guilt (or is that an Irish Catholic thing)? You want to please and help everyone, but it's not fair to yourself or your family if you're too busy to spend quality time with them. I just try to remember that it's called volunteering for a reason, it's not mandatory.
Coconut Almond Quick Bread
Oven 350

3cups  all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/8 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract







Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.













In another large mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar, and extracts and beat for 2 minutes. Alternate adding in flour mixture and milk and then mix until just combined. Add coconut and mix until just combined.









Pour into 2 regular loaf pans (sprayed with nonstick spray) and bake about 1 hour (or until toothpick comes out clean). Let cool on cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We spent Christmas with family, friends, and our new puppy. She's become a fast member of the family and received many treats for Christmas. We hosted a Christmas Eve Open House on Saturday, lighting both fireplaces and serving many wonderful appetizers, soups, and desserts. One of the desserts was this cake. I slightly adapted it to use up the rest of my white chocolate chips and buttermilk. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
adapted from browneyedbaker.com
Oven 375

Butter Crumb topping:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup cold butter, cut into chunks
1 tsp vanilla extract
Batter:
1¼ cup plain flour
¼ cup cake flour
1 stick butter
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¾ cup white chocolate chips
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup buttermilk
1½ eggs
1½ tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup white chocolate chips, for sprinkling on top of the cake
Powdered sugar, for sifting on top of the cake

 Lightly grease a 9×4 inch loaf pan, and line the inside of the pan with parchment paper or foil, and then great it as well.
Thoroughly mix the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Drop in chunks of butter, using a table knife, cut the butter into the flour until it reduces to the size of large pearls. Sprinkle vanilla extract over, working with fingertips, knead the mixture together until moist, clumpy lumps are formed.
Sift the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and baking soda. Then toss the white chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of the sifted mixture in a small bowl.









Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for about 3 minutes.













Add in the sugar in 3 additions, beating for 1 minute after each portion is added. Add in egg and beat for 45 seconds.Mix in the vanilla extract.  Alternately add in the sifted mixture in 3 additions with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure even mixing.
Stir in white chocolate chips.












Spoon the batter into the baking pan, and spread evenly, smooth the top with rubber spatula.
Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly on the cake batter, make sure that the whole surface is covered.
Bake the cake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake turns out clean. The baked cake should pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.





Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the white chocolate chips evenly on top of the baked cake immediately.
Let the cake cool completely. Use the parchment or foil to lift the cake out of the pan, then sift some powered sugar on top of the cake. Serve.

Better Late than Never

I finished my first administration class on Monday. So happy that I have my Monday night back and part of my weekends! And I finally got my diploma for my master's degree in the mail...just a few months later. My husband and I went and got a frame for it tonight and put it up in our stairwell with the rest of our degrees. It looks good and feels much more official, especially since I didn't walk in a graduation ceremony. My sister, Audrey, requested an ice cream cake for her 20th birthday. So I purchased one of those but decided to make some dessert to bring also. It's dairy-free and can easily be adapted to make two or more loaves. If you don't like raisins, you could use chocolate chips or walnuts.

Pumpkin Carrot Raisin Bread
adapted from verybestbaking.com
Oven 350

1 1/2cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup canned pure pumpkin

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

1 /2 cup carrots, shredded

1/2 cup raisins

Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl.










Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and water in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened.










Fold in carrot and raisins. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan.












Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

We've got the Power!

We survived Hurricane Irene with only a few tree limbs broken and a very messy yard of sticks and leaves. Surprisingly enough, we only lost power for about a minute. We were very fortunate to have power this week. Most of our families went without power for quite a long time. Unfortunately, some people still do not have power back. I had professional development days on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. However, school for the students will not start until Tuesday of this week. It's sad to say we've already had two "snow" days and school hasn't even really started!

My administration classes start this Wednesday. I received an email from the teacher of my Monday class with detailed lists of assignments due before our first class, including five chapters of a book I have not even purchased. I guess I better get on that!

One of my friends from high school, Laura, got married yesterday. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding, complete with tents, fireworks, a butterfly release, a beautiful bride, and great cake! It was a great day for it and I was so happy to have been a part of their special day.

Not too much going on in terms of the house. I tried a yellow paint in my office, not quite sold on it yet. I'll have to take some pictures of it. It's a bit more yellow than I had anticipated. The good thing is that I only paid $5 for the paint. Has anyone else every shopped at the clearance/mistake rack at Lowes or Home Depot? If you're not super picky about a color it's a great deal!

Strawberry Bread
from mybakingaddiction.com
Oven 350

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups strawberries, rinse, dried and chopped







Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.With electric mixer cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.















In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended.

















 Add buttermilk and only stir until just combined; do not over mix.

 
 Carefully fold in strawberries. Dough mixture will be thick. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes

Has it been that long?

  My husband and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on Thursday. It's hard to believe that it's already been four years. We've been together for about 10 years now, 12 years if you count the first time we dated. I love him more everyday and I couldn't imagine being with anyone else. In the past, we've travelled to Paris, Ireland, and Disney World for our anniversaries. This year we had a "we-just-bought-a-house-and-it-has-a-pool"-cation. We went out to dinner, but we both agreed that it was very strange to not be travelling anywhere. Maybe next year.
  This week is my last week of vacation before school starts again. This summer was different since we didn't travel anywhere, we bought a house, we took down massive amounts of flower wallpaper, we painted almost every room, and I got my master's degree. It's been a very busy and productive summer. Is it too early to be counting down to next summer?!?!

Lemon Blueberry Bread
from joyofbaking.com
Oven 350
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup milk or soy milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) the bottom and sides of a loaf pan.In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until softened (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy.













Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and milk (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined.













Gently fold in the blueberries.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.














Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring a 1/4 cup of sugar and the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
When the bread is done, remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Pierce the loaf all over with a wooden skewer or toothpick and then brush the top of the loaf with the hot lemon glaze.







Cool the loaf in the pan for about 30 minutes then remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. This bread is best served on the day it is made

Irish American

I don't need peppy, crazy, over-the-top reporters/weathermen at 6 am. Just tell me if I need a coat, umbrella, or an alternate route to work. After moving, one local channel was the only one that I felt gave me the most amount of information without annoying me. Sadly, my satellite company decided to cancel the station (contract negotiations) and thus, ruin my morning for a week. It's amazing how something like this can throw you off so much. Thankfully, this week should be better...they came to their senses and we have our local channel back!

I had many ideas for what to bake this week, in preparation for St. Patrick's Day. I thought about Bailey's Cheesecake, Guinness Chocolate Cake, and even Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes (sounded good, but it would involve purchasing a lot of Irish alcohol). One of my least favorite Irish baked goods has been the Irish Soda bread. I set out to find a recipe that would make me like it, something not so dry. This recipe is an Irish American version in the form of muffins. It seems like a very adaptable recipe while still staying true to the flavor. Enjoy!




Irish Soda Bread Muffins
from kingarthurflour.com
Oven 400

1 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

3/4 cup 100% White Whole Wheat Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups currants (first choice) or raisins
1/2 to 2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream
6 tablespoons butter, melted; or 1/3 cup vegetable oil
sparkling white sugar, for topping



Lightly grease a standard muffin pan; or line with papers, and grease the papers. Makes about 18 muffins.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, currants or raisins, and caraway seeds.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk (or equivalent) and melted butter (or equivalent).














Quickly and gently combine the dry and wet ingredients; honestly, this won't take more than a few stirs with a bowl scraper or large spoon. As soon as everything is evenly moistened, quit; further stirring will cause the muffins to be tough.















Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling the cups about 3/4 full; the stiff batter will look mounded in the cups. Top with sparkling white sugar, if desired.



Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove them from the oven. Tip the muffins in the pan, so their bottoms don't get soggy. Wait 5 minutes, then transfer the muffins to a rack to cool. Serve them plain, or with butter and/or jam.

Monkeying Around

My sister had her baby shower, yesterday. She is due in February with my first nephew.The theme of the shower centered around monkeys. And, naturally I made chocolate covered bananas and monkey bread. I was also asked to make bruschetta for one of the many appetizers. After making everything, I had leftover banana, so I made banana muffins for a family dinner. The shower was a great success, plenty of food, and some really cute outfits and gifts.










Monkey Bread Muffins
Oven 350

2 cans of refrigerated biscuits

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 cup brown sugar

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Cut the biscuits into eights.

















Combine the cinnamon and sugar; pour mixture into a gallon-size plastic bag. Add biscuit quarters, seal the bag, and shake until biscuit quarters are coated.










Place 6-8 pieces in each muffin cup.












                                 

Melt the butter and brown sugar in a small pot on the stove. Stir until melted and bubbly.

















Pour the sauce over the muffins.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.














Cool for a minute in pan before removing.

Santa? Did you bring me a pony?

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope it was a great one filled with family and friends. We got to open stockings and presents under our first tree. Santa brought me a lot of Disney things, including two new Disney cookbooks!

We got to spend time at both parents' houses and ate way too much: roast beef, turkey,ham, loaded potatoes, corn pudding, etc. The corn pudding was a new side dish I decided to try. Not only did it make the house smell amazing when cooking it, but it also tasted amazing.

I also made a Santa bread for each house. I think in the future I might try different flavors, but the traditional white bread worked out well.

Golden Santa Bread
from tasteofhome.com
Oven 350


Premade pizza dough or frozen bread dough
2 raisins
2 egg yolks
2 to 3 drops red food coloring

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into two portions, one slightly larger than the other.Shape the larger portion into an elongated triangle with rounded corners for Santa's head and hat.



Divide the smaller portion in half. Shape and flatten one half into a beard. Using scissors or a pizza cutter, cut into strips to within 1 in. of top. Position on Santa's face; twist and curl strips if desired.





Use the remaining dough for the mustache, nose, hat pom-pom and brim. Shape a portion of dough into a mustache; flatten and cut the ends into small strips with scissors. Place above beard. Place a small ball above mustache for nose. Fold tip of hat over and add another ball for pom-pom. Roll out a narrow piece of dough to create a hat brim; position under hat.



In separate small bowls, beat egg each yolk. Add red food coloring to one yolk; carefully brush over hat, nose and cheeks.



With a scissors, cut two slits for eyes; insert raisins into slits.



Brush plain yolk over remaining dough.



Cover loosely with foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-12 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.