poppyseed bread

i made some homemade goodies for a few gifts this year. one of them being this poppyseed bread. i'd like to thank my oldest sister for being hot enough to have a suitor have his mom make this bread and send it to her with the recipe... cause this bread is amazing.
it has a delicious glaze to make the edges crispy, sweet and mouthwatering.

here is the recipe.

3 cups flour
2 ½ cup sugar
1 ½ t. salt
1 ½ t. baking powder
3 eggs
1 ½ cup milk
1 1/8 cup oil
1 ½ T. poppy seeds
1 ½ t. vanilla
1 ½ t. almond extract
1 ½ t. butter flavoring

Mix together and beat 2 minutes. Bake in 2 large loaf pans (greased) at 350 for 1 hour. As soon as out of oven, pour glaze over bread after poking a few holes in bread with toothpick. Be careful to brush it on slowly so that it can be absorbed.

¾ cup sugar
¼ cup orange juice
½ t. vanilla
½ t. almond extract
½ t. butter flavoring

Take out of pans when cooled.

egg nog punch

this is a perfect beverage for the christmas season. we used to have it every new years eve at my egg nog loving brother's request.

1 quart egg nog
2 cups milk
2 (24 oz.) bottles 7-up (don't use sprite or any of the other options, 7-up really is the best for this)
1 quart vanilla ice cream

combine. let ice cream dissolve in punch so that it looks light and fluffy.

the best ever sugar cookies

add veeda's request, an amazing sugar cookie recipe. i love, love, love these. they are not dry like most sugar cookies. they are light almost like a cookie muffin. they make a lot, too. these will be a great cookie to make for company for the holiday season. or just anytime at all.

cream:
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar

beat in:
4 eggs
2 T. milk
4 t. vanilla
1 T. lemon extract (this slight lemon flavor really sets these cookies apart. it's not enough that a citrus hater would be turned off)

add:
4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
5 cups flour

chill 30 minutes to an hour. form into balls then smash down with bottom of floured glass (about 1/4 inch thick, these cookies should be about the same thickness as those pink grandma sycamore's cookies and a little smaller in circumference.) bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes.

frosting:
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. shortening
1 t. vanilla
1/8 t. salt
4 c. powdered sugar
2-4 T. milk

in large bowl, beat butter and shortening until light and fluffy. add vanilla and salt. beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl. add 2 T. milk; beat at high speed until light and fluffy. add enough additional milk for desired spreading consistency. **(this frosting may be made up to 2 weeks in advance and kept in and airtight container before serving. bring to room temperature before serving)**

christmas cookies: spritz

another christmas classic is the spritz cookie. little butter cookies formed with a cookie press like this. i love these little cookies and have OD'd on them more than once.

1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 t. vanilla
1 egg
2 1/3 c. flour
1/4 t. salt

heat oven to 400 degrees. in large bowl, beat sugar, butter, vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. stir in flour and salt; blend well. fill cookie press; press onto ungreased cookie sheets. sprinkle with desired candies and bake. cool completely. makes 5 dozen.

wassail party

so, i had a wassail party and made my mom's insanely good citrus wassail. i didn't get a chance to take a picture of it but i found something online that looks pretty close.

this recipe gets RAVE reviews and is very much one of my favorite things about the holiday season. my mom always keeps some on hand for me.

1 quart water
2 1/4 c. sugar
10 cloves
8 allspice berries
2 sticks cinnamon
1 piece of candied ginger
2 quarts apple cider or juice
1 quart orange juice (i like the extra pulp kind)
2 c. lemon juice

mix water and sugar; boil for 5 minutes. remove from heat. stir in cloves, allspice berries, cinnamon and ginger. let stand 1 hour or more. strain. stir in apple cider, orange juice, and lemon juice. serve warm. yield: 16 servings.

granola

my oldest sister, kristin told me about this granola the other day and it's so delish and easy to make.


1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

mix together and then add:

3 cups oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sliced almonds

Mix together and pour onto greased cookie sheet (i used a silpat and i think it helps it to not burn.) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes stirring often. Add handful of raisins while cooling (i put them in the last few minutes so they'd plump up a bit.)

packaging is everything

these would make my cupcakes so much better! thanks for the link, whoolia.

brownie muffins

so, i've been trying to find a recipe for brownies that can be made from scratch that can be better than box brownies. which is really hard. the box just kind of "kills" it. they are so good. also, i have documented my love for corner pieces so i decided to try them in a muffin pan so it would have "corners" all around. however, i don't think they maintained the texture of a corner piece. maybe it would have worked better with silicone baking cups or paper liners or something. i will have to experiment some more.

here is the recipe from baking illustrated.

5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 T. cocoa powder
3 large eggs, room temp.
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. salt
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour


in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, melt the chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. whisk in the cocoa until smooth. set aside to cool.

whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. whisk the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture; then stir the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined. pour the misture into the prepared muffin pans for 15 minutes. (or 8x8 pan for 35 to 40 minutes if you don't want to use the muffin pans)

butterhorn dinner rolls

ok, so these are the rolls my whole family goes crazy for and devours every holiday. this was the first time making them by myself so i had a few tips from my mom and oldest sister and figured i'd try to document the process so it would make it easier for anyone to figure this out in the future. so here goes the step by step tutorial.

1 T. yeast dissolved in 3 T. warm water and 1 t. sugar
1 c. salted (salted really makes a difference) butter
2 eggs, beaten
4 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. warm milk
1 t. salt

cream butter and sugar. add eggs. add alternatively flour (with salt), and milk and lastly, dissolved yeast. dough will be sticky and the consistency of cookie dough. refrigerate overnight. (the dough won't have risen really by morning) but will be pretty hard, so take out about 30 minutes before you want to start working the dough. cut in fourths.


roll out dough in as perfect a circle as you can. about 1/4 t0 1/8" thick. melt 1 stick of salted butter, spread over dough, then cut into wedges like so.

roll into horns from large to small end into horns like shown below. put on buttered (or i use a silpat - which i love) cookie sheet, cover with a dishtowel and raise for three hours. (fills two trays)


after 30 minutes, they look like this. not much more raised but, just a little bit.

bake at 350° for 20 minutes. brush hot rolls with more of the melted butter. serve as soon as possible.


enjoy these delicious. rolls. easy recipe but fairly time consuming and very worth the effort.

pumpkin cheesecake with praline sauce

so, another idea for thanksgiving dessert is another favorite, pumpkin cheesecake. it always goes over very well and is a great alternative to a traditional pie.

crust:
1 T. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. finely chopped pecans
1/4 c. fine dry bread crumbs
2 T. sugar
2 T. butter, melted

filling:
4 (8oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
5 eggs
1/4 c. flour
2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 (16oz.) can pumpkin

sauce:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. butter
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. chopped pecans (optional for non-nut lovers)
1/2 t. vanilla

heat oven to 350 degrees. butter 9" springform pan using 1 T. butter. in medium bowl, combine 1 1/4 c. pecans, bread crumbs and 2 T. sugar. drizzle melted butter oer pecan mixture; toss to combine. press into botom and up sides of buttered pan. refrigerate.

in large bowl, beat cream cheese at medium speed until smooth and creamy. gradually beat in 1 c. brown sugar and 2/3 c. sugar until smooth. at low speed, add 5 eggs, 1 at a time. beat just until blended. in small bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin; mix well. gradually add to cream cheese mixute; beat until smooth. pour into crust-lined pan.

bake at 350° for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until center is set. turn oven off; let cake stand in oven 30 minutes with door open at least 4 inches. remove from oven. run sharp knife around sides of pan. cool to room temp. on wire rack. cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours.

in small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/2 c. brown sugar, water and 1/4 c. brown sugar, water and 1/4 c. butter. bring to a boil; boil 2 minutes. gradually blend small amount of hot syrup into beaten egg. return egg mixture to saucepan; cook over low heat 1 minute, stirring constantly. remove from heat; stir in 1/4 c. pecans and vanilla. remove sides of pan from cheesecake. serve sauce slightly warm over wedges of cheesecake. store in refrigerator.