Recipes Reviews and Gadgets

I found this awhile ago but tweaked it a bit to give it more flavor. It is really delicious right out of the oven. I sprinkle cinnamon on the apples before I add the maple, and I also sprinkle cinnamon in with the flour and oatmeal.

• 5 apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 3/4 cup rolled oats

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Place the apples in an 8×8 inch baking dish. Pour the maple syrup over the apples. In a bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Stir in the flour, salt and oats. Sprinkle the oat mixture over the apples.
3. Bake in preheated oven 35 minutes, until golden and bubbly and apples are tender.

One of my online coworkers shared this recipe. She loves it! I have not made it yet, but it sounds great. I think you can add just about anything fruit, nut or flavored chips and it would be good.

Amish Baked Oatmeal

3 cups quick oats
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup raisins OR chopped dates OR dried cranberries OR fresh blueberries

Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.
Cut into bars or scoop into bowl.

All I have to say is WOW, that was a lot of work! I had to send my husband to the store for the instant pudding, and he came home with cook and serve! Called him told him it was wrong, need INSTANT! He brings home the right thing, I start mixing the last day and trying to divide it into four bags for my “friends” so I can pass this along and it is going everywhere in the kitchen. I get to the final step, and I have no oil. I hardly ever bake with oil. Back to the store I go! It did make two huge tasty loaves of very very sweet cake like bread (so my husband said). He loved it, and my dogs happily cleaned the pans.

Not so sure I want to be the recipient of this again though - it was quite the project. I had my husband pawn off the remaining bags at work today!

Here is the starter recipe in case anyone wants to pass it along!

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

This is the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe that you’ll need to make the Amish Friendship Bread (above). It is very important to use plastic or wooden utensils and plastic or glass containers when making this. Do not use metal at all!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk (110°F)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir well.

2. In a 2 quart glass or plastic container, combine 1 cup sifted flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or the flour will get lumpy when you add the milk.

3. Slowly stir in warm milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Loosely cover the mixture with a lid or plastic wrap. The mixture will get bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the cycle, or the day you receive the starter.

Day 2 - stir

Day 3 - stir

Day 4 - stir

Day 5 - Add 1 cup each flour, sugar and milk.

Day 6 - stir

Day 7 - stir

Day 8 - stir

Day 9 - stir

Day 10 - Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Divide into 4 containers, with 1 cup each for three of your friends and 1 cup for your own loaves. Give friends the instructions for Day 1 through Day 10 and the following recipe for baking the bread.

After removing the 3 cups of batter, combine the remaining cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter with the following ingredients in a large bowl:

2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour

1 package vanilla INSTANT Pudding
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Using a fork beat by hand until well blended. You can add 1 cup raisins and 1 cup nuts (optional).

Grease two loaf pans with butter, sprinkle with sugar instead of flour.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour (individual oven temperatures vary). Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans. Makes two loaves of Amish Friendship Bread.

Why gain weight going to Dunkin Donuts, when you can eat unhealthy right at home!!! LOL

1 pkg. regular or quick−acting yeast
1/8 cup warm water (105−115 degrees)
3/4 cup lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/6 cup shortening
2 1/2 cups all−purpose flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water in mixing bowl. Add milk, sugar, salt, egg,
shortening and 1 cup of flour. Beat on low speed while scraping bowl for
30 seconds. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, 2 minutes.
Stir in remaining flour until smooth. Cover and let rise in warm place
until double, about 50−60 minutes. Turn dough onto floured surface.
Roll dough 1/2− inch thick. Cut with round cookie cutter. Cover and
let rise on floured baking sheets until double, 30−40 minutes. Heat
vegetable oil in deep fryer or Dutch oven to 350. Slide doughnuts into
hot oil. Turn doughnuts as they turn golden brown, about one minute on
each side. Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surfaces) and drain.
When cool, make small hole to insert vanilla frosting. Take a sharp
knife and carefully make a large cavity inside of the doughnut to hold
the frosting. Fill the doughnuts generously with vanilla frosting and
dust heavily with powdered sugar. Makes: 12 doughnuts
VANILLA FROSTING FOR FILLING:
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. clear vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1 tbsp. milk
Cream butter and shortening, gradually add sugar 1/2 cup at a time.
Add milk and vanilla, beat until light and fluffy.

This looks like it takes some work, but I bet they taste good. I was wondering if I could substitute whole wheat flour and make them healthier.

1 lb. All−purpose or bread flour
1 teas. Salt
1 1/2 Tbl. Dry yeast
1 teas. Sugar
1 cup Warm milk
2 oz. Butter, melted
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and leave in a warm place. Dissolve
the yeast and sugar in warm (105 F) milk (M−Waved). Let froth,
then mix in the butter. Stir all the liquid into the warm flour and beat
well until smooth and elastic. Cover and proof in a warm place for 50
minutes or until doubled in bulk. Turn onto a well−floured board and
knead, working a little more flour if necessary to make the dough easier
to shape. Round up the dough, roll into a thick sausage shape and (using
the sharpest knife you have) slice into 8 to 10 portions, each about 1 1/2
to 1 3/4 inch thick. Shape each one into a round with straight sides. Put
onto a greased baking sheet. Cover (use greased plastic wrap) and put
in a warm place to proof for 30−40 minutes or until springy to the touch.
Leave room for expansion and be careful not to over−proof, as the muffins
will get flabby and lose their shape. Warm and grease the bakestone
lightly. Lift the muffins carefully onto the bakestone and cook over very
moderate heat for 8−10 minutes until pale gold underneath. Turn and cook
the other side. Wrap in a cloth and keep warm if cooking in batches. To
serve, insert a knife in the side, pull the top and bottom slightly apart,
and insert slivers of butter.

We always have an abundance of blackberries growing in our yard. So many as a matter of fact we cannot pick them all. The dogs eat as many as I pick! We froze pounds of them last year, and still have some in the freezer. I found this great cobbler recipe and it makes a large pan. It is great for breakfast when you have visitors or a nice dessert with ice cream.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 3 1/2 cups blackberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Once oven temperature is reached melt butter in a 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, sugar and milk; batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour mixture on top of melted butter in baking pan. Do not mix butter and mixture together.
3. Drop blackberries into batter; if more crust is desired add less blackberries. Bake in preheated oven for one hour or until golden brown.

I love going into Starbucks and seeing those great treats they have in the case. Well this is a nice coffee bar recipe you can make right at home and serve for breakfast with a nice cup of coffee or tea. It is also great as a snack or dessert. These are quick and easy to make. Now you have something to do with that leftover coffee in the morning.

Coffee Bars

2 C Brown Sugar

1 C oil

1 tsp Baking powder

1 C warm Coffee

2 eggs

3 C Flour

1 tsp salt

1 Bag Chocolate chips

Line Jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Mix together sugar, oil coffee and eggs. In separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixure slowly to wet mixture and mix well. Spread into Jelly roll pan (12×9). Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool and cut into squares.  If you would like these thicker you can make in 9×9 pan!

Looking for something for Easter Morning to shock the kids? Or how about just a fun treat? I ran across this today and I think I would be too scared to eat it! It is an “egg muffin” mad with Cadbury Creme Eggs. I was tempted to try these out, but I think my husband would have fainted if I ruined his precious Cadbury Creme Eggs.

Cadbury Creme Egg Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
12 mini Cadbury creme eggs (not full size)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, melted butter and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in milk.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Evenly distribute muffin batter into prepared pan. Place 1 mini Cadbury creme egg in the center of each muffin. You can use a small knife to pull a bit of batter over the top of the mufin, if you like.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, until the top of the muffin springs back when lightly pressed and the edges are a light gold.
Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Makes 12.

My cousin and I both found this recipe on the same day! You have to trust two beautiful Italian women She loves monkey bread, I have never made it, but have had it. I will have to try this healthier version.

1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated reduced-fat buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3/4 cup fat-free caramel topping
2 teaspoons vanilla
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with cooking spray.
2. In 1-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag, mix sugar and cinnamon. Separate both cans of dough into 16 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into quarters. Add biscuit pieces to sugar mixture. Seal bag; shake to coat. Layer biscuit pieces and pecans in pan.
3. In small bowl, mix caramel topping and vanilla. Pour over biscuit pieces.
4. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information 1 Serving: Calories 250 (Calories from Fat 80); Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 3 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 640mg; Total Carbohydrate 39g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 15g); Protein 3g

These are a nice dessert and you can use any jam or jelly you prefer, sugar free even! They are quick and easy to make and great to bring to friends or a party!

• CRUST
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• TOPPING
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup  jam (I have used strawberry and blackberry)
• 1 3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) milk chocolate chips

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 9-inch-square baking pan.

FOR CRUST:
COMBINE flour and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press onto bottom of prepared baking pan.

BAKE for 18 to 22 minutes or until set but not brown.

FOR TOPPING:
COMBINE flour, nuts and brown sugar in small bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

SPREAD jam over hot crust. Sprinkle with morsels and Topping.

BAKE for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.