Mom's Pie Crust

Some things just need to come from the house you grew up in. While the original recipe used Crisco, it was changed to all butter a long time ago and still seems the same, just because of where it came from. This pie crust recipe makes 4 single crust pies or 2 double crust. Why not make a large batch like this if you are going to the trouble to make crust? It freezes well wrapped in plastic wrap inside a freezer ziplock bag. So you could save some for later to make a pot pie, or galette, or other type of pastry weeks later.

The dough trimmed and partially folded under for a single crust pie. 

Mom's Pie Crust

2 double crust pies or 4 single crust pies

Ingredients 

4 cups flour

2 tsp salt

1Tbs sugar

1 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold

2 eggs used separately 

1 tbs white vinegar

1/2 cup ice water 

Directions 

Whisk together flour, salt, and sugar.

Cut butter into flour mixture until pea size pieces form. Set aside.

Whisk together 1 egg, vinegar, and ice water.

Stir into flour and butter until it barely comes together. 

Knead 10 times.

Cut into 4 equal pieces, form disks and wrap in plastic wrap.

Freeze 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 to bake a single shell. 

Roll out out on floured surface to about 16 inch diameter circle, checking occasionally that it is not stuck to the counter. Add more flour below if it is getting too sticky. 

Carefully, not to crease or break the dough, fold in half and fold in half again, transfer to a pie plate and unfold to evenly cover it. DO NOT STRETCH the dough. Pie crust shrinks as it cooks. If you refrigerate your dough all rolled out and ready in the pan for 10 min or so before baking this also can help it from shrinking.  Just be careful not leave it in the fridge too long. If you put a very cold, or freezing pan into a hot oven, it could shatter from the heat.

**If forming a SINGLE crust pie, cut excess dough off so there is about an inch over hang from where you want your edge to be. Fold the over hang under and start pinching whatever pattern you'd like. Carefully press down as you go to help the dough stick to the edge of pan. Prick a few fork holes on the bottom of crust to avoid bubbles. 

Whisk remaining egg with 1 Tbs water to make an egg wash and lightly coat the crust. 

Bake at 350 for 20-30 min

**For DOUBLE crust pies, place bottom crust in pie plate. Cut off all excess to make the edge of the crust flush with the edge of the pan. Fill crust with your filling and cover with second rolled out crust using the folding method. 

Cut the excess top crust leaving about 1/2 inch over hang that you fold under the bottom crust. Then crimp how you would like, slice a few vents, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with a small amount of sugar if you'd like. 

Ham and Cheese Strata

I thought I'd attempt my first strata since I've been drooling over pictures of them for the past couple weeks. I'm for sure making more of them! Prep the night before and cook it in the morning for an easy breakfast or brunch. And what doesn't go better with eggs than ham, cheese, and bread? Then throw in a little onion for flavor and spinach for color. I basically followed America's Test Kitchen's method with ingredients that I had on hand. And I might add, that it's so nice that I can still have fresh spinach from my garden this late in the season here. But frozen spinach will do fine as well, just be sure to drain and squeeze all the liquid from it before you add any. 

Ham and Cheese Strata

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen's Breakfast Strata

One 8x8 pan

Ingredients

10, 1/2 inch thick slices French bread or other artisan/Italian bread 

Unsalted Butter

1/4 medium onion sliced

7 oz ham diced 

4 oz cheddar cheese grated

2 oz mozzarella cheese grated

1 1/2- 2 cups sliced fresh baby spinach

6 lg eggs

1 3/4 cup whole milk or half and half

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

Directions

With oven rack in middle position, preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Place bread on on large baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp. About 40 minutes flipping halfway through. 

Remove from oven and spread a bit of butter on one side of each piece when they've cooled.  

**While the bread is baking**spray a nonstick pan generously with Cooking spray and heat over medium/low heat. 

Add onions and a few good shakes of salt, stir often until they become caramelized, about 30 minutes. You don't want them to brown. Low and slow.

Add spinach to the pan, allow to wilt and lose most of its moisture. Only a 3-4 minutes here, if you used frozen spinach it may take a bit longer, but not much. Remove from heat. 

Whisk together eggs, half and half, and mustard in small bowl, set aside. 

Butter a 8x8 glass baking dish

Lay one layer of bread onto the bottom of the dish, followed by half the onions and spinach, half the ham, and half of the cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients. 

Slowly pour egg mixture over the bread layers to evenly coat. 

Cover with plastic wrap and weigh the strata down with 2 lbs of evenly distributed pressure. I used a bag full of 2 lbs of rice. 

Place In fridge at least 1 hr and up to 24 hrs. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and while its preheating remove the dish from the fridge and allow to sit at room temp for 20 min before putting in the oven. 

Remove the weight and plastic wrap. 

Bake for 50-60 minutes until the edges AND center have puffed and the edges seem to have pulled away slightly from the edges.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minute. And serve. This thing stays piping hot for a while, careful not to burn your tongue! 

Butter Toffee Popcorn

This popcorn is pretty addictive.  I didn't used to be quite a fan of toffee flavored anything but since I have now been married to my husband for 7.5 years, he has slightly converted me. Slightly.  I find myself seeing recipes and wanting them, needing them, in my life, when in the past I could have cared less and passed right by.  But, I really am a sucker for anything popcorn, besides the Jelly Belly popcorn flavored bean. That's just not right.  Back to this butter toffee popcorn.  It's for sure making its appearance on my neighborhood gift plate this year.  You can make it ahead of time, and its simple so no stress there.  I found this from treatssf, a lady I follow on Instagram. Her treats and goodies she makes are so pretty.  She has a blog too but I'm all about the pictures on Instagram.  She got the recipe for this popcorn from Cooks Country (of course the recipe is from them, its so good). I think the only difference are the nuts.  They suggest salted peanuts but I put in raw pecans that roasted in the oven, and I think that's what treatsf did too.  yum yum.

Butter Toffee Popcorn

Cook's Country

3 1/2 quarts

Ingredients

3 quarts popped popcorn (just shy of 1/2 cup un-popped)

10 Tbs unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1-2 cups raw pecan halves

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. 

Grease large roasting pan and place popcorn in the pan.

Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium/high heat. 

Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer stirring occasionally until it's slightly thickened ~3 min.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and baking soda (it will foam)

Add nuts and pour over popcorn, toss to coat.
Bake, stirring occasionally until popcorn is deep golden brown and caramel has set.  1-1 1/2 Hours

Cool and serve.  

Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to about 5 days.

Almost No Knead Bread

You have to make this bread. This week. You will not be completely happy until you do. America's Test Kitchen has done it again, giving such fantastic results. It's so easy the only problem I have is remembering to start the dough the night before to give it its proper amount of rest time. Next time I make it I will make two loaves -it gets eaten too quickly. My four year old tonight at dinner told me, "Mom, every time you make this bread I say, mmmmm breeeaaaaad". He and my two year old love it. I especially love it for breakfast the next morning. We eat this crusty bread at most family get togethers and I have to thank my Mom for trying the recipe first and sharing her results. 

**Here's a helpful hint: I buy one can of beer and measure 1/4 cup amounts into ziploc bags and freeze them. Then, when I make bread I pull out a bag and add the other wet ingredients to the frozen bag to thaw it, then add it all to the flour mixture. I think one large can gave me 20 portions of lager. That's a lot of bread! 

Almost No Knead Bread

America's Test Kitchen

Makes one loaf

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp yeast

1-1.5 tsp salt

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs water

1/4 cup mild lager, or water

1 Tbs white vinegar 

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Be sure to incorporate all flour. Knead a few times to form a ball. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature 12-18hrs. 

Knead a few times and form into a loaf. Line bowl with a parchment paper and place dough on paper. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and rise at room temperature 1-2 hours. 

With 30-40 minutes left of rising time, place a large oven safe pot with lid on the middle rack in the oven and Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Let the pot sit in there and heat up 30 minutes. 

Turn the oven down to 400 degrees.

Slice 1 or 2 shallow slashes on top of dough with a serrated knife. 

Pick up parchment paper carrying loaf to the preheated pot. Cover with lid and bake 20 minutes. 

Remove lid and bake 20 minutes more. 

Loaf should be beautiful dark golden brown.

Remove from pot, let it cool on a rack. 

Devour.

Ham Bone Soup

So this meal came from Easter, 6 months ago. I froze the ham bone from the ham and am now just getting around to using it.  It was kind of cool and rainy today so soup was a must. Cool for here means 70 degrees haha. 

This ham bone soup is full of vegetables and the broth gives the best meaty flavor. And since it's not boiled for too long it's not too salty, in fact, you will have to add salt to it.  The crunch of the bacon gives good texture and a touch of salt. Make sure you have some good crusty bread to go along with it. 

Ham Bone Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients 

1 ham bone

4-5 slices bacon, diced and cooked until crispy

1/2 tsp dried thyme, rubbed between your fingers 

Dash of garlic powder 

2 bay leaves

1/2 onion, chopped 

2-3 celery stalks, chopped 

2-3 carrots, chopped 

2 medium potatoes, diced

1 1/2 cups chopped green cabbage

1 can white beans, like kidney

1-2 cups frozen corn

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

Place bone in a large pot and fill the pot with water until the bone is barely covered. 

Bring to a boil over high heat then simmer on low for about an hour. 

Remove bone. 

Turn heat to medium high heat. Add bay leaves, thyme, onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. 

Bring to a boil then turn heat down to low to simmer 20ish minutes until potatoes are almost cooked through.

Add corn and beans and salt and pepper  and simmer another 5-10 minutes. 

Serve with bacon sprinkled on top. 

Enjoy

Chicken Salad with Raspberry Balsamic Dressing

I've been making this salad pretty consistently this summer. It's sweet and salty with a bite of Parmesan and crunchy toasted pecans. Mmm. I found a recipe for Arugula Salad with Figs, Prosciutto, Walnuts, and Parmesan in the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook and doesn't that sound dreamy? All but the walnuts, yes ;)  I never have figs or prosciutto on hand, and my fridge was bare of arugula, so this salad was born. I basically took their dressing and subbed raisins for figs, and onion powder and garlic powder for a shallot then poured it over a ton of veggies and chicken and said "Voilà! Dinner." So thank you, Cook's Illustrated, for a delicious dinner! I love the leftovers from this. I know, weird, to love leftover salad that could possibly be wilty. I think I mostly just love sitting down to something yummy I didn't cook myself that same day. The best combination on the fork, I think, is a piece of chicken, celery, raisin, Parmesan, and pecan, all in one bite. Yumm 

You can use pretty much any veggies you have on hand and I think any flavor of jam would go too. It's just the sweetness you're looking for. 

Chicken Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette 

Adapted from The Cook's Illustrated Cook Book, Arugula Salad with Figs, Prosciutto, Parmesan, and Walnuts 

Serves 4 as a main dish

Ingredients 

1/4 c balsamic vinegar 

1 heaping Tbs raspberry jam (any jam really)

1/2 c raisins

1/4 c canola oil

1/8 tsp onion powder 

Dash or 2 of garlic powder 

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 heads romaine hearts, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

1/2-1 cup sliced cucumber 

1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 

1 cup shaved Parmesan 

3 chicken breast 

Directions 

In small bowl, combine vinegar, jam and raisins. Cover with plastic wrap and puncture a few holes for ventilation. Microwave about 30 seconds-1 minute just until raisins are plump. 

Add oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Mix well with fork until oil is evenly dispersed. 

If your pecans aren't already toasted, heat a small pan over medium heat and toast them until they are slightly browned and fragrant. 

In a large bowl combine veggies.

Heat medium pan over medium high heat. Spray with oil. 

Dry off and salt and pepper the chicken and cook about 8 minutes per side. (Or grilled on a preheated grill sprayed with oil) 

Pour dressing over salad and top with sliced chicken, pecans, and Parmesan. 

Serve immediately 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

How many variations of of banana bread can you have? Clearly not enough.  So far we have 3 different kinds on this blog and I'm pretty sure there will be more. But this one, this banana bread is simple, clean, and completely banana. No cinnamon to hide behind and with the occasional hit of chocolate.  I think this banana bread could also be called Bluth banana bread in honor of Arrested Development.  Unless you can cover a whole loaf of banana bread and chocolate.Yum :) And remember, "There's always money in the banana stand."

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread 

Makes 1 8x4 inch loaf

Ingredients 

2 c flour 

1 Tbs baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

Juice of half a lemon

1/2 c unsalted butter

1 cup sugar 

2 lg eggs

1 1/2 c (~3) mashed over-ripe bananas 

1 Tbs vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease or line an 8x4 inch loaf pan with parchment.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

In a stand mixer cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs, vanilla, bananas, and lemon juice and mix well. 

Add flour to butter mixture slowly. 

Stir in chocolate chips. 

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 for 50min - hour. Insert and remove toothpick to make sure the middle is done and batter isn't pulled out with the toothpick. With this banana bread I check a few times. The top will be golden brown and maybe a little darker than you're used to. 

Allow to cool for 20 min in pan on a cooling rack then remove it from pan and finish cooling on the rack. 

Chicken and Chickpea Yellow Curry

Curry is a favorite of ours when we go out to eat. I've tried making it on the past but it's all been a little 'meh'. This recipe from the Pioneer Woman is quiet delicious. You'll find yourself going back for seconds and even, um, ehem, thirds. I added veggies and replaced a can of chickpeas with chicken breast.  I'd squeeze potatoes in there too if I could but that would add cooking time and this curry is whipped up pretty quick. Curry in a hurry, if you will. 

Chicken and Chickpea Yellow Curry

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman's Chickpea Curry

Serves 4-6

Ingredients 

2 cups jasmine or basmati rice 

2 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 onion, diced

2-3 carrots, diced 

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp yellow curry powder 

2 chicken breast 

1, 15 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed 

1, 13.5 oz can coconut milk 

1.5 cups chicken broth

Squirt of sriracha 

2 Tbs honey 

 

Directions 

Cook rice according to package directions.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium low heat. 

Add onions and veggies to the pan with some salt and pepper and cook until onions are translucent and soft. 

Stir in garlic and curry powder.

Pat chicken dry, salt and pepper it and add to the pan. 

Allow to cook for about 5 minutes or so.

Flip chicken and add coconut milk, chicken broth, chickpeas, sriracha, and honey. 

Keep pan on medium low and allow to simmer about 10 minutes.

Remove chicken and slice then add it back to the pan. 

Salt to taste. 

Serve with rice. 

Oven Dried Tomatoes

Pretty much the only thing my garden was good at producing this year was tomatoes. I didn't want to waste so much and at the same time try something easy. Just having a baby makes me a whole lot less ambitious. I figured this was my answer. And who doesn't love sun dried tomatoes? I tried two different ways, leaving the seeds in with a higher oven temperature and squeezing the seeds out with a lower oven temperature. They actually took about the same amount of time and it the only difference seems to be the seed-in high temp version came out a little darker in color. I was hoping they would dry out faster with the higher temperature but they didn't really. 

Oven Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients 

Couple pounds of Cherry tomatoes 

Salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. 

Halve the tomatoes and lay cut side up in one layer on a cookie sheet with edges aka jelly roll pan.

Sprinkle with salt. 

Bake for about 8 hrs. Checking every few hours removing any tomatoes from the pan that have dried and taken on a leathery feel. 

When all have dried place in freezer ziplock bag and freeze. 

 

Or if you don't want seeds, 

Squeeze out seeds from cut tomatoes. Lay cut side up

Bake at 150 from 6-8 hrs. Checking every couple hours. 

Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Herbs

This year I have had tons of tomatoes from my 2 ginormous plants. They are monsters. It's my first time growing them here and they have done great but since the middle of June they have started to get some dried leaves and branches. 100 degree weather will do that I guess. I think they are either about done giving tomatoes or just slowing down for a bit. I guess we'll see. But anyway, all these tomatoes I were going to go to waste so I decided to dry them in the oven. Worked out pretty well and I think I plan on doing it again. It's super simple, just takes a bit of time drying in the oven.

Now that I had all these dried tomatoes I needed to try them out to see if it was worth it, and they were delicious (I'll have to post about those too). So here is this weeknight meal that was the product of all these tomatoes. It could easily be served when company is over too. Lots of flavor and pretty easy.  I made mine all in one pot and could be even simpler without adding any protein. So good. 

Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Herbs

Serves 4

Ingredients 

1 lb pasta (penne, spirals, bow ties, etc) cooked according to package directions and drained

2 Tbs olive oil

1 lg chicken breast 

3 Tbs unsalted butter

3 Tbs flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 small clove garlic minced

1/2 tsp dried basil*

1/4 tsp dried oregano* 

1 tsp dried parsley* 

2 cups (one can) chicken broth

1/4 cup grated Parmesan 

salt and pepper

Pinch red pepper flakes

3/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes 

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions

*Fresh herbs would be ideal, chopped very fine and added at the end instead of dried herbs added at the beginning, but all my herbs died. Some things get forgotten after you have a baby... oh well.

In the same pot that you cooked the pasta, heat olive oil over medium heat. 

Add chicken with some salt and pepper and cook. To make things super simple I often cut the chicken in the pan while it's  cooking with my spatula . Shh don't tell anyone. 

Remove from pan, add butter and flour.

Whisk well to make a roux. 

Add cream, garlic, red pepper flakes, and herbs and allow it to get fragrant. 

Add chicken broth and Parmesan and turn heat up to medium high heat for a few minutes to reduce slightly. Whisking occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom.

Salt to taste. 

Turn off heat and add noodles, chicken, tomatoes, and pine nuts. 

Serve immediately. 

Graham Cracker Toffee

I have a serious problem. I have 8 weeks left in this pregnancy and this might be my number one craving lately. And maybe a small craving for a Machine Gun sandwich from Bruges Waffles and Frites in SLC, mmmm. A few months ago I wanted a bahn mi from Oh Mia Vietnamese restaurant in SLC, now this. Breaking up the sandwich cravings. And this one isn't located 400 miles from my house and can easily be made in my own kitchen. I'm not even a toffee lover. Or a nut lover. The combination of the graham crackers, carmel, and chocolate is perfect. Then top it off with some nuts for even more crunch... drool. I think this version of toffee is so good to me because it's not a teeth breaking variety. The graham crackers are what really give the carmel it's crunch so it's not at all damaging to your jaw. 

My mom shared this recipe with me about a year ago when she found it in the newspaper.  I think it's pretty well known but for some reason my family must live under a rock. The ingredients are always on hand in my pantry and it's so easy even this big and tired 32 week pregnant mom can have it whipped up in no time. Pair it with an apple and it's like a delicious, no fuss carmel apple.  Try this recipe this week, you won't regret it.  

Graham Cracker Toffee 

Ingredients 

2 pkgs graham crackers

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup gently packed brown sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

1/2 cup chopped nuts, or other topping of your choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment and lay out graham crackers covering the whole pan. 

In a medium, microwave safe bowl, heat the butter and sugar for a minute and stir. Watch it so it doesn't boil over.

Continue until it's all melted and has had a chance to boil for about 2 minutes. About 3-4 minutes total time in the microwave. 

Pour over the graham crackers spreading with a spoon to coat them evenly. 

Place in the oven for 7 minutes or until it's all bubbly. 

Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let them sit for a couple minutes to melt then spread with the back of a spoon. 

Sprinkle with chopped pecans, almonds or other topping and allow to cools to room temperature. This may take a couple hours. 

I place my pan in the fridge to cool it off much faster. I would put it in the freezer but it doesn't fit in mine. 

Enjoy! 

Macaroni Salad

The weather is starting to really warm up here down in southern Utah. I imagine in about a month the northern states will feel the warmth and people will start to pull out their grills. This macaroni salad is pretty addictive for me. It's sweet, salty, and tangy all at once, perfect for any outdoor party. Why buy a macaroni salad at a store deli when this one can be whipped up so quickly? The bits of small chopped veggies give a good texture change to the macaroni. 

I'm pretty sure it was my sister-in-law that introduced my family to this macaroni salad. I got the recipe from my mom a few years back. Delicious. 

Macaroni Salad

Serves 6-8

Ingredients 

4 cups uncooked macaroni 

1 cup mayo

1/3 cup sugar 

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 1/2 T yellow mustard

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 Small chopped onion (I prefer a few dashes of onion powder so you don't chomp down on raw onion)

2 stalks celery, chopped 

1 small green pepper, chopped 

1 large carrot, grated

Directions 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta until just al dente. 

While its cooking mix all the other ingredients in large bowl. 

Drain and rinse pasta to cool it off.

Add pasta to the large bowl and stir together. 

Refrigerate until needed. 

 

French Bread (loaves or rolls)

Since discovering this french bread on epicurious I've made it quite a bit. French bread is so versatile, it goes with dinner, can be used for any type of sanwich and I also like to make quick pizzas on it. My boys and I like to eat this French bread just with some butter and jam. This bread also freezes well so French bread rolls are pretty ideal for my family, who had about a million sandwiches a month. The French bread rolls also work well as just a side with dinner. I'd say the crust on these is pretty in he middle as chewiness goes. Not too hard for my little ones to chew but still enough for me, even though I love a crusty chewy crust. This French bread will not disappoint. 

French bread rolls on their second rise. 

French Bread (loaves or rolls)

Adapted from epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/french-bread-235423)

2 loaves or 12 rolls

Ingredients 

4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp distilled vinegar

2 tsp yeast

1 2/3 cup lukewarm water 

1 Tbs olive oil 

Directions

In a stand mixer mix flour, salt and vinegar well. Scraping down sides once or twice. 

Mix yeast with water in small bowl for a few minutes allowing it to bubble and foam. 

Add olive oil and yeast water to the flour and mix well until a smooth dough ball has formed. About 5 minutes. 

Cover with plastic wrap and raise unt doubled in size 1-2 hours depending on the room temp. 

Line one large baking sheet with parchment.

Pour dough out on a well floured surface and cut into two even pieces. 

If you are making loaves: roll one section of dough into about 5"x15". 

Fold into thirds length wise making a long loaf and gently pinch to seal it closed.

Place on a baking sheet sealed side down. 

Repeat with second piece of dough. 

Brush with olive oil and allow to raise 1 hr or until doubled in size. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Place a baking dish with 1" of water in it on the bottom rack. 

Slice shallow slashes across top of loaves with sharp knife and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

Remove from oven and rub the smallest amount of olive oil on the tops while they are warm. 

Cool on a cooling rack completely before slicing. 

To make rolls: shape both dough pieces into about 12" long loaves and cut to divide each into 6 even sections. 

Shape all 12 into evenly shaped balls. 

Place on baking sheet. 

Brush with olive oil and allow to raise for 1 hour or until double in size.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place a baking dish with 1 inch of water in it on the bottom rack of the oven. 

Make one shallow slash across tops of rolls with sharp knife. 

Bake 20-30 minutes.

Remove from oven and brush with a very small amount of olive oil while they are still warm. 

Allow to cool on a cooling rack completely before slicing. 

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are the key to any mans heart, I'd say. Make these for someone you're dating and he'll want to marry you.  These cinnamon rolls are just slightly more dense than my original cinnamon rolls I posted (grew up with those and will always be a favorite). But this new version is right up there and the denser dough, I think, actually thaws better than the fluffier kind. I like to freeze cinnamon rolls since the recipes usually make so many and they taste just as fabulous thawed. I just slide them into a freezer bag or put them in a pan that my freezer has room for and cover them with press and seal then foil. Cinnamon rolls are great for when you have to bring something to a large party or holiday dinner or even to hand out to the neighbors. A bit of simple work feeds a large crowd. And you WILL get loads of compliments for these, promise. 

This dough is actually the same dough I like to make dinner rolls out of as well. I'll have to post the directions for those soon as well. 

Before its risen 

Buttered dough

Buttered, sugared and cinnamoned 

Rolled up ready to slice

On the pan, half pressed gently down with my fingers almost ready to rise. 

Cinnamon Rolls 

4 dozen

Ingredients 

4 1/2 tsp yeast

2 cups hot water 

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter

6 eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

8 1/2 cups flour

Filling:

1/2 - 1 cup salted butter

~4+ cups brown sugar

~2+ Tbs ground cinnamon

Directions 

Heat water in the microwave about 2 minutes. 

In a stand mixer add the granulated sugar and unsalted butter. 

Pour hot water over the sugar and butter. Allow butter and sugar to melt (doesn't have to melt completely) and cool to just luke warm (If it's too warm you will kill the yeast you're about to add)

Stir in yeast and allow to sit a few minutes until it's bubbles/foams. 

Add eggs and salt and mix well. 

Slowly add flour. 

Cover with plastic wrap and raise in a warm, draft free spot until double in size. Varies from 1-2 hours depending on the temperature. 

Line two large baking sheets with parchment. 

Pour dough out on a floured surface and divide dough into 4 equal balls.

Take one ball and roll it out to about a 14" by 10" rectangle. 

Use a spatula or the back of a large spoon and spread about 1/8 cup of the salted butter onto the dough keeping about an inch away from the edge. Just evenly coat the dough. 

Sprinkle about 1/8-1/4 inch of brown sugar evenly onto the buttered dough and gently press it down.  Again leaving about and inch around the edge. 

Sprinkle cinnamon evenly on the brown sugar. 

Roll up carefully length wise (hotdog style) and gently pinch to seal  so it doesn't unroll. 

Turn the seal toward the counter. 

Cut the rolled up dough into 12 evenly sized slices and lay them on half of a baking sheet (two dozen on one pan). 

Do this with the remaining 3 dough balls.

A trick I learned from my mom- gently press each cinnamon roll slice down otherwise when you bake them the middles will rise to make huge cinnamon roll mountains. 

Cover for about an hour until doubled in size. 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees after 30 minutes of rising. 

Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown and the middles look done. My oven is about 13 minutes.

Allow to cool then frost. 

These are great with cream cheese frosting- but not too overly sweet. 

I have yet to write down the exact measurements for the frosting but it's 1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1/2 cup cream cheese, a splash of milk, dash of salt, squeeze of lemon juice- cream those then begin adding the powdered sugar by the cup full until it tastes right haha 😁

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My Dad's favorite kind of cookie is oatmeal raisin and they have been steadily rising to the top of my list over the years. I think it has something to do with age. You never wanted them as a kid but now, all the overly sweet desserts and cookies seem too much for your aging palate. America's Test Kitchen has come up with my favorite variety of oatmeal raisin cookies, their Big and Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies. They don't, however, put any cinnamon in the dough and depending on my mood I will follow the recipe or add just 1/4 of a teaspoon. Lately I've been leaving it out like they suggest.  I also don't make them as big as they suggest either. Mine are probably half the size, using about 1 Tbs of dough per cookie. 

I should add that these oatmeal cookies get crispy real quick if you over cook them. That's why my cook time is weird like 16-17 minutes. Keep an eye on them toward the end so you know how your oven cooks them. Remember that the recipe says to keep them on the pan for two minutes so maybe error on the slightly under done side for your first time cooking them. 

Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen medium size cookies 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp nutmeg 

16 Tbs unsalted butter, softened 

1 c packed light brown sugar

1 c granulated sugar

2 lg eggs

 3 c old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 c raisins

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter and both sugars.

While they are creaming whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. 

Add eggs to the butter mixture just until combined.

Add flour mixture to the butter mixture.

Stir in the oats and raisins just until combined. 

Scoop out about a Tbs of dough per cookie and keep it pretty rounded, roll with your hands if you'd like. 

Place 2 inches apart on pan. 

Bake about 16-17 minutes, until edges are just golden brown and the middles still look a bit wet.  Allow to sit on pan for two minutes after removing them from oven. 

Transfer to a cooling rack. 

Orange Cinnamon Banana Bread

I love this banana bread. I've started to learn not to say certain things are my favorite or perfect because I often find something later that I like better, or my taste will change, but this banana bread is at the top of banana breads I've tasted. The top is crispy and the inside is moist like banana bread should be. I even gave mini loaves of this bread to our neighbors for Christmas this year. I have been meaning to try honey in place of the sugar but keep forgetting, so if you try it let me know how it is. 😊

Orange Cinnamon Banana Bread 

Makes 1 8x4 inch loaf

Ingredients 

2 c flour 

1 Tbs baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Tbs cinnamon 

Zest and juice (about 1/3 c) of one orange 

1/2 c unsalted butter

1 cup sugar 

2 lg eggs

1 1/2 c (~3) mashed over-ripe bananas 

1 Tbs vanilla

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease or line an 8x4 inch loaf pan with parchment.

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and zest in a medium bowl.

In a stand mixer cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs, vanilla, bananas and juice and mix well. 

Add flour to butter mixture slowly. 

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 for 50min - hour. Insert and remove toothpick to make sure the middle is done and batter isn't pulled out with the toothpick. With this banana bread I check a few times. The top will be golden brown and maybe a little darker than you're used to. 

Allow to cool for 20 min in pan on a cooling rack then remove it from pan and finish cooling on the rack.