Angela's MOST amazing Cinnamon Rolls

In our neighborhood, if Angela drops by with a pan of her tasty cinnamon rolls, you have scored!  I finally got bold enough and asked for the recipe!  HAPPY Day!  I'll never go back to my own again.  These are fabulous, and, no, there are no eggs in them.

Dissolve 3 Tbsp. of yeast into 3/4 cups of warm water, with about 3 Tbsp. of sugar.  Let it sit until it begins to bubble. 

While the yeast is "working", scald 3 cups of milk in the microwave.  Add 3/4 cup of butter and let it melt into the milk to cool it to lukewarm.  Add it to the yeast mix.  (Never add too hot of a liquid into the yeast mixture or it kills the yeast.)  

Add 1 Tbsp. of salt and 1 cup of sugar.  Then, mix in 10 & 1/2 cups of flour. 

Mix well until the bread pulls away from the side of the bowl.  (It was a slightly sticky dough.)  Let rise one hour.  Roll out onto counter, cover with melted butter (I used 1/2 cup melted for the two jelly roll size pans) and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  

Add nuts or raisins, if desired.  Roll up and then slice.  (I use dental floss to slice!  Coolest trick ever!)  Bake at 400' for about 12-14 minutes.  (12 minutes worked for me.)  Remove from oven, cool a bit and cover with frosting.

Maple Frosting (not Angela's exact recipe, but I found one that sounded like Dan described because he wasn't sure about her specific recipe.)

3 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
4 tbsp. half and half
1 tsp. maple flavoring

Blend together until creamy.  Spread on warm, not hot, cinnamon rolls.  Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

I searched through several local cookbooks and found four different zucchini bread recipes that were the exact same. I  decided that this must be a good one because I knew the ladies who had shared them to be great cooks and  the fact that it was the same one over and over...had to try it!  I doubled the batch and was glad that I did!  Four loaves and less than one left in 24 hours. It's a hit!

Mix together:

3 eggs
2 cups grated zuchhini
1 cup chopped nuts
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 T. vanilla

Sift together:

1 t. salt
1 t. soda
1 T. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. ground cloves
3 cups flour

Add to zucchini mixture. Pour into well-greased loaf pans.  Bake at 350' for one hour. 

English Muffin Bread

This is seriously the most simple bread I've ever made.  It tastes just like English Muffins when it's toasted.  With the price of English Muffins, I thought I'd give it a try.  And seriously.  It was so simple and quick to make.  I used my Bosch Kitchen Machine but,  you wouldn't even need a bread mixer for this recipe.  We have had it with jam, butter, honey and cinnamon sugar.  So tasty!!  

5 1/2 cups warm water

3 packages yeast, instant

2 Tablespoons salt

3 Tablespoons sugar

11 cups flour (I use bread flour)

Mix all of the ingredients together.  (I did mix the water, sugar and yeast and let them rise for ten minutes before adding the salt and flour.)  Mix the flour and salt in just barely enough for it to all be wet.  It does not need to be over-mixed.  It's VERY sticky dough.  VERY STICKY.  Spoon the dough into 4 well-greased loaf pans.  Let rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pans, and bake in 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown.  Take it out of the oven and brush it with melted butter.  Put it back in the oven for ten minutes. Makes 4 loaves. Bread will be moist at first. Allow to COOL COMPLETELY before cutting.  Enjoy!!

The BEST Poppy Seed Bread EVER!

Good friend, Natalie, made this tasty bread and dropped off this loaf "just because".  It's the lightest poppy seed bread I've ever had!  Loved it!

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix

1 package (3.4 ounces) instant lemon pudding mix

1 cup warm water

4 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

4 teaspoons poppy seeds

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs and oil; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Fold in poppy seeds. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).  Enjoy!

Carrot/zucchini/banana Bread

My sister-in-law, Anne, served this tasty Banana bread at our family reunion. Everyone asked for the recipe. I had to share!

Sift together:

2 c flour
2 c sugar
2 t cinnamon
2 t soda1 t salt

Cream:
1 c oil (these days I'm subbing applesauce)
4 eggs
1 c grated carrots
1 c mashed bananas
1 c chopped zucchini

Mix together and fill 3 bread pans ¾ full. Bake 45 min @ 350. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Hush Puppies

After a wonderful and perfect week visiting my dad and family in North Carolina, I've rediscovered my deep Southern roots! While there, I couldn't get enough hush puppies. I was anxious to come home and find a better recipe than the one I'd tried in the past. Before I'd even left NC, my blogging friend, Pam, sent me this recipe. It's the best I've ever tried at home, although, I made a few changes. Loved it! My kids have now decided that we all need to go back to North Carolina to discover more of our roots and to try more southern cooking!

2 c. self-rising flour

2 c. self-rising white cornmeal (I used yellow cornmeal. Mu local stores did not carry self-rising.)

1 tsp. sugar (I used 2-3 Tbsp. because we like our cornbread sweet!)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 large onion, finely grated (I used only half the onion.)

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional) (I opted not.)

2 c. buttermilk

1 large egg

Combine first 5 ingredients; stir in onion and, if desired, jalapeno. Whisk together buttermilk and egg; add to flour mixture. Pour oil to a depth of 3 inches in a dutch oven; heat to 375 degrees. Drop batter by level tablespoonfuls into oil (the smaller the drop, the better the cook); fry in batches 5-7 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Yield: 5 dozen

ENJOY!

Thanksgiving Stuffing

This is one recipe that I've never recorded before because I've never really measured what goes in it. This morning, I took note of what I was using. It makes a TON of stuffing, but I use it for a casserole with leftover turkey. Besides that, stuffing is one of the best things to snitch a piece of all weekend, right? Especially with cranberry salad for a snack! This recipe could be cut in half or thirds, but here's what I make each Thanksgiving, whether we are having 30 people or 2. It does freeze well, but we never have any left after a few days. It's not diet stuffing!

3 - 12oz. bags of Pepperidge Farms Herb Flavored Stuffing croutons or crumbs

1 large bunch of celery

2 large onions

2 cans sliced mushrooms or 1 large package of fresh mushrooms

1 pound of butter (told ya!)

6 eggs

about 6- 8 cups water

1 Tbsp. poultry seasoning

2 regular size cans of chicken broth

salt and pepper

Finely chop the celery, onions and mushrooms. Saute the veggies in 2 sticks of butter until cooked well. In a very large bowl (the large FixNMix Tupperware bowl), pour the sauteed veggies over the bread crumbs and cubes. In a separate large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, poultry seasoning and water and also two more sticks of melted butter. Pour over the bread. Also pour the chicken broth over the bread and veggies. Mix well. Add more water, if desired, to get the bread mixture to the desired moistness and texture. We like it very moist. Pour and spread into three large baking sheets. (I use the Pampered Chef deep baking sheets.) Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until cooked through.

I usually make this stuffing the day before Thanksgiving. Keep it sealed tightly with the foil and reheat. before serving. Cut into squares or scoop into a bowl after reheating to serve. Enjoy!

Fabulous French Bread

I discovered this fabulous and simple french bread recipe a while ago and we all loved it so much, I could bake it a few times a week. This recipe makes two large loaves and the longer you let it raise, the better and lighter the bread is, so start it early.

2 1/4 cups warm water

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. dry yeast

1 tbsp. shortening

1 tbsp. salt

6 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Mix in the remaining ingredients, adding the flour slowly. Knead for five minutes. Let raise until double. Divide the dough in half and roll out into 12x6" rectangle, then roll the dough to make a long french loaf. Slash the top of the loaves three times diagonally with a sharp knife. OR make two large balls of dough and slash a diagonal tic-tac-toe board on top. (Serve this way as pull-apart bread instead of slices.) Raise until doubled. Bake on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle the pan with corn meal, if desired. Just before baking, brush with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool a bit before cutting. Enjoy!

Julie's Wonder Dough!

While at a girls night out at the ranch last winter, Julie and Erin made Navajo Tacos that were to die for! Not only were they delish, they made them in no time flat! When they went into the kitchen to prepare dinner, I figured it would be 2 hours before we ate. We were eating in 30 minutes. They'd made Indian Frybread or Scones from scratch. I call them donuts without sugar. VERY TASTY. This is one of the most versatile things you'll ever cook and so so simple! A must try recipe!

1 Tbsp. dry yeast

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1 cup warm water

1 tsp. salt

2 1/2 cups flour

2 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil

Mix the yeast and sugar in warm water until bubbly and fluffy. (Let it sit for five minutes.) Add salt, oil and flour. Stir 20 times with a fork. Let rise about fifteen minutes.

For pizza: Bake 20-25 minutes at 450 degrees. Use all the dough to make one large pizza or split in half for a thinner crust. *For crispy crust, roll out in corn meal. (Yummy.)

Breadsticks

Roll out dough, cut and twist into strips. Coat with garlic butter and/or cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until golden.

Fry bread/scones

Stretch or roll dough out flat and fry in hot oil (375 degrees) until golden.

For Navajo Tacos: Serve all the toppings along with the fry bread and let your guest add what they'd like. Choose from:

Browned ground beef with onions, peppers and taco seasoning mix

Refried beans, pinto beans, chili

shredded cheddar cheese

lettuce

onions

olives

tomatoes

any of your favorite taco toppings

top with salsa and ranch dressing!

OR

Serve the scones for breakfast with a choice of toppings:

Jams and Jellies

Honey Butter

Powdered sugar

cinnamon sugar

Sugar

A powdered sugar glaze

fresh fruit and whipping cream

ENJOY!!!

The BEST garlic rolls EVER! EAZZZZZY!

Seriously, the first time I tried one of Linda's garlic rolls, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! They are the best and so totally simple to make! One thing about my friend, Linda, though is that if she's making it, she's being generous with every ingredient that is sweet or fattening! That's why everything she makes, tastes so good! These babies are almost gooey with the topping that she puts on them. Divine!

2 T. Yeast
2 T. sugar or honey (Linda uses honey)
3 cups warm water
1 t. salt
8 cups flour

Mix until doughy and form into bread sticks. I let them double in size before rolling them out. Linda doesn't. Linda rolls them about 3-4" long. They bake to be about half the size of a hotdog bun... sort of short and fat.

Before baking, mix:

2 sticks butter
1/2 cup mayo or miracle whip
½ cup parmesan cheese

Dip and roll the breadsticks in the bowl of butter until they are dripping in it. Place on a jellyroll pan. Pour any remaining butter over breadsticks. Season to taste with garlic salt. Let rise for about twenty minutes. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy! Plan on an extra four mile walk tomorrow.

Very simple and most delish French Bread

Everyone ranted and raved at our recent Relief Society Social when our good friend Christie served two fantastic recipes! A terrific french bread and a pulled pork. I'll share them in two entries so that they are easier to index. I've had a french bread recipe that I've used for years but after tasting Christie's, I'm replacing the old for hers! Loved it!

1 1/4 C very warm water

1T yeast

Dissolve yeast in water and add:

3 cups flour

1 T oil

1 T sugar

1/2 T salt

Christie mixes this in her kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook until dough is smooth and elastic. Then, she leaves it in the bowl, and covers it with a towel until doubled (about an hour). Punch it down, and flatten it down on counter top, (use olive oil on your hands and counter to keep from sticking) and roll it up (like cinnamon rolls, except Christie doesn't roll it out, she flattens it with her hands, maybe about 1-1 1/2 inch thickness). Pinch the seal together and tuck under and pinch the ends together. place on a greased cookie sheet, and let rise until doubled. Cook at 400 for 20 minutes (the browner it gets, the crustier it will be :) )

Christie also recommends adding 1-2 t dried rosemary, crushed, with the flour too. This is awesome with it. She has also added garlic and cheese after flattening it out, then roll it into the dough. Enjoy!!

Lovable but Lethal Pecan Rolls!

These are unbelievably wonderful! And I believe, if you share them with someone you love, the fat grams and calories all disappear when you invert them in the pan! If you really want to kill someone with love, spread a layer of cream cheese frosting over top just before serving! Doug would describe these as "lethal". But... oh, sooooooooooooo good!

1 cup crushed pecans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

Using a 12 muffin pan, put 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of butter and cover the bottom of each muffin cup with pecans.

2 cups bisquick

2/3 cup smashed bananas

1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix well and knead. Roll into a rectangle on a floury counter top. Spread 2 more tablespoons of melted butter across the roll. Spread 1/2 cup of caramel topping evenly over that. (You can use the kind you dip apples in or ice cream topping or about 16 caramels, melted with 2-3 tablespoons of evaporated milk .) Sprinkle with more brown sugar (about another 1/4 cup). Roll it tightly and slice into 12 pieces. Place each piece into the muffin tins on top of the butter/nut mixture. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake! Remove from the oven and flip the pan upside down onto a cookie sheet or foil covered counter. Leave upside down for about 2 minutes so that the butter mixture settles into the roll. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Wisconsin Cheddar and Chive Biscuits

One of our favorite restaurants is Red Lobster. Quayd loves it because of the "all you can eat shrimp". (Remember, he'd love a shrimp birthday cake!) I love it because of the cheesey biscuits served before the meal. I found this recipe in a cookbook given to me by my mom years ago and it's as close as I've come to matching Red Lobster's. As a matter of fact, they may even be better! The secret to making great biscuits, according to my Grannie from the deep woods of North Carolina, is not over-mixing them. The butter and flour may still be "clumpy, but they'll turn out real good!"

3 1/2 cups flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

10 Tbsp. butter, chopped

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

4 tbsp. fresh chives, chopped

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I use milk and lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a baking sheet. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Rub the butter into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add the cheese and chives and stir to mix. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add the buttermilk and stir until the batter comes away from the sides of the bowl. Drop in 3 tbsp. mounds spaced 2-3 inches apart onto baking sheet. Bake for 12 -14 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!

Norma's Doughnuts!

After hearing about her tradition, we began our own this year, by gathering together with friends and making donuts by the masses. It was too much fun! I got the recipe from my sweet friend, Norma, who is in her 90s! She's an amazing woman and I'm tickled to have a special recipe from her files!

1 cup shortening (I used butter flavored)

2 Tbsp. yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water

5 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. salt

1/2 tsp lemon extract

2 cups mashed potatoes (she recommends making them from instant potatoes)

4 cups luke warm milk

5 pounds of flour (about 10 cups)

Scald milk with shortening, add salt, sugar and enough flour to the batter about the consistency of cake batter. Add the potatoes, beaten eggs and dissolved yeast, extract and enough flour to make a soft dough. Let raise twice and roll out flat. Cut into donut shapes. Let raise until light and fluffy (about fifteen more minutes.) Cook in hot oil (375°), turning as they become golden brown. Glaze or frost or dip in cinnamon sugar, plain sugar or powdered sugar. Enjoy!

A few tips:

• each batch makes about 60ish doughnuts


• we doubled the batch last night and used one gallon of Wesson Oil


• from the rolling out to eating point, it took one hour


• don't forget to cook the doughnut holes, toss them into a zip-lock bag of sugar and shake.


• Store them tightly once completely cooled


• Share some with a neighbor or friend!

Cranberry Craisin Nut Bread

I've not made this recipe yet with my camera in hand. BUT. Picture or not, Oh, my! You're going to love this bread! That's all I can say!

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg beaten

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 small can pumpkin

1/c butter, melted

1 egg

1/2 cup water

1 cup craisins

1 cup chopped pecans

Combine cream cheese, egg, sugar. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients. Add pumpkin, butter, egg and water. Pour batter into greased, floured 9x5" loaf pan, reserving 2 cups. Pour cream cheese mixture over pumpkin batter. Sprinkle craisins and nuts over cream cheese. Top with remaining pumpkin batter. Swirl a knife through the batters mixing gently. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes. Enjoy!

Pull-apart Bread

This is an old tried and true recipe but it's worth rementioning especially at this time of the year because families are home for breakfast and we're looking for quick and simple things to prepare ahead of time. Some call it monkey bread or bubble bread. No matter what you call it, this is one tasty breakfast bread and has definitely been a hit at many a family gathering over the past twenty years.

24 oz. Rhodes frozen dinner roll dough (or use your own roll recipe)


1 cup packed brown sugar


1 3.4 oz package instant butterscotch pudding mix


1/4 cup sugar


2 t. cinnamon


1/2 cup melted butter


1/2 cup chopped pecans



The night or several hours before, grease and flour a 9 or 10 inch tube pan. Mix brown sugar, pudding mix, white sugar and cinnamon together. Place frozen dinner rolls in pan a layer at a time. Sprinkle brown sugar and pudding mixture over first layer of roll. Spread half the nuts and melted butter over first layer. Repeat with the next layer. Place on counter over night. Do not cover. The next morning, bake in a preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes.
Let stand a few minutes and turn pan over onto serving platter. Serve warm! Enjoy!

Savory Bread Bites

After searching several cookbooks for something tasty for a baby shower, I decided to create my own! I used my own roll recipe and added the following ingredients.

10 ounces diced swiss cheese (about 3/8" cubes)

1 tbsp. dry mustard

1/2 - 1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/3 cup bacon bits

I mixed up my rolls as always and added these ingredients during the kneading. When the dough has risen, form tiny balls (between the size of a mini-marshmallow and a regular size marshmallow and place them on a buttered baking pan. Preheat the oven to 400°. Let them raise until doubled in size and bake 14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush them with generously with melted butter immediately. Sprinkle generously with salt. (The swiss cheese demands it.) Serve them right out of the oven as tiny appetizer bites. Very tasty! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These are, without a doubt, the favored muffins in our home! The batch is huge, which makes for a great treat to take to any gathering at any time of the day. My favorite thank you for these tasty baked treats came from my friend, April, who said, "My boys just looked at them like 'Pumpkin? No thanks! Then they promptly woofed down everyone of them!" They are especially good on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning... prepared a day in advance, just pop them in the microwave and they are perfect for a snack/breakfast before the big meal! We are planning on delivering them to a friends and neighbors this year while the turkey is cooking! Enjoy!

2 cups oil

2 cups brown sugar

4 cups sugar

Beat together and add:

8 beaten eggs

1 1/2 TBLS baking soda, dissolved in 1/3 cup warm water

4 cups pumpkin (I use one large can, even though it's about 1/3 cup short)

7 cups flour

2 tsps baking powder

2 tsps salt

1 1/2 tsps ginger

2 tsps cloves

2 tsps nutmeg

4 tsps cinnamon

Mix well, then add:

1 cup warm water

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1cup milk chocolate chips

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes as soon as they start to brown. Do not over cook.

A most versatile and easy roll dough

These rolls are very simple to make but mostly because I have a Bosch Kitchen Machine. This is actually my third Bosch and we bought our first the week after our honeymoon 31 years ago. No kitchen should be without one. It's worth the almost $400 and will pay for itself over and over and over. That said, if you do not have a heavy duty kitchen mixer, the rolls may not turn out as well, but I wouldn't know because I've never done them without the Bosch. I searched and searched through 20,000 photos and can not believe that I don't have a photo of the rolls. But, here's the Cinnamon roll version of them, also listed below. As always, enjoy!

In a 4 cup measuring cup or bowl, heat 2 cups of milk in the microwave until hot but not boiling. Not even until it makes that little layer of skin. Just hot. (How's this for a real recipe?) Remove from the microwave and add 1/2 cup butter. You'll know if the milk is hot enough because it should melt the butter.

Place in mixing bowl:

3 Tbsp. yeast

1/2 cup warm, but not hot, water

1/2 cup sugar, sprinkled evenly around the yeast and water.

Let this sit for 20 minute until the yeast has risen.

Add to the mixing bowl:

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. salt

4 cups of flour

Pour the now warm milk over the flour, eggs, yeast mixture. Mix, adding more flour and kneading until the dough is light and moist. I add flour until the dough stops sticking to the sides of the bowl as it is mixed. Honestly, depending on the weather, some days it's 7 cups total and some days it's 9. Mix until a light fluffy dough. (In my Bosch, I let it mix for ten to fifteen minutes on low.) Then let it sit for 30 minutes. (If you are in a hurry, you can rush the first rising by placing the dough into a well greased bowl and covering it with a damp cloth completely. Place it in the microwave on the lowest setting for ten minutes.) Then, form the rolls into balls or ropes or three little mini-balls placed together in well-buttered muffin tins. Make sure that the pan is lathered in butter. Let raise for 30 more minutes. Bake at 400° until the rolls are golden brown. (about 17 minutes.)

This is the dough that I use for almost everything.

• Add an extra half cup of sugar to the dough for cinnamon rolls. Roll out into a rectangle. Smother in melted butter. Cover in brown sugar and/or cinnamon sugar. Add raisins or nuts if desired to the dough or sprinkle on at this point. Roll into a long roll. Then, the best trick I ever learned... take a 24" piece of dental floss. Wrap it around your fingers as though you were going to floss. Then, slide the floss under the dough roll, bring it up over the top and around the dough. Pull the floss through the dough, slicing it as thick as you desire. It's so much more simple than any knife or tool I've ever tried!


• Roll the dough out into breadsticks and cover with butter, garlic salt, basil and fresh Parmesan cheese for the best garlic rolls ever.


• Roll the dough into breadsticks and generously brush melted butter over them in the pan. Then sprinkle with brown sugar and/or cinnamon sugar. Bake then serve with cream cheese frosting on the side to dip them in. *the favorite*


• Roll the dough out very thin onto pizza pans that have been covered in butter for "Pan Pizza".


• Roll the dough out into 3/8" thickness and deep-fry them for scones. Serve with honey-butter or cinnamon sugar or peanut butter or jam or any topping that flips your trigger!


• Roll the dough out into a large rectangle on your baking pan (a jelly roll pan works best). Fill the center third length-wise with meat (bbq beef, sliced turkey, ham, roast beef, ground beef, you name it) and then top with shredded cheese and the dressing of your choice. Either braid the top of the bread or simply fold over the sides to the top and blanket the filling. Bake until the bread is golden brown. You can brush egg white on it before baking, if desired. This is dinner! NUM!


• Roll the dough into a rectangle and simply fill it with cheese on one half. Wrap the other half over the cheese and then seal the edges. Giant Calzone style. Dip the bread into ranch dressing, jelly, you name it! Great snack and great way to use left-over dough.