Whole Wheat Flax'n Apple Muffins

Muffins are my favorite weekend breakfast food. My personal preference being bran or whole wheat with fruit. I found this recipe on the back of the Flax Seed box and was very pleased with the results.

1/4 cup Flax Seed

3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 cup White Flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups finely chopped apples

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Blend dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine egg, vegetable oil and milk. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in apples and nuts. Batter will be thick. Fill well-greased muffin cups 2/3 full.

Streusel Topping:

2 Tbsp cold butter

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp flour

Cut cold butter with sugar and flour. Spoon onto top of muffins. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until top springs back when touched.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

How can you go wrong when cream cheese and pumpkin are joined in holy matrimony? These muffins were divine! Thank you to www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/

For the filling:

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

For the muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the topping:

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp flour

3/4 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

To prepare the filling, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1 1/2" in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hrs. The mixture will still be somewhat soft but firmer. (Confession: I only froze the cream cheese mixture for maybe 30 minutes and it still worked)

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep muffin pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

Fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom. Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 12 equal pieces and place into the center of each muffin of batter. You want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because i t will rise a lot during the baking process. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Trasfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. I thought they tasted even better the next day.

Homesteader Cornbread with Berry Honey Butter

I love cornbread because it's so quick to make and provides a great accompaniment to soups or salads. This recipe reminds me of the cornbread at Frontier Pies for any of you Utah or Idaho people!

CORNBREAD

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.


BERRY HONEY BUTTER

2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
3 Tbsp. Raspberry Jam

Whip all together with an electric mixer and serve at room temperature (can be refrigerated and softened).

Savory Pull Aparts

Some of the best recipes come from eating dinner with friends and learning about their family recipes. This tasty recipe is provided by my friend Kari, who made it for dinner one night at their house. I made it this week with the cauliflower cheese soup and it was super yummy to dip in the soup!

1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
2 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
Dried dill

Mix yeast and warm and let stand for 5 min. Meanwhile combine 1 cup flour, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 2 Tbsp softened butter. Finally add the yeast/water. Mix together then add egg and beat for 3 minutes. Then add 1 1/2 cups (more or less) flour. Knead or use dough hook, then roll dough out into a rectangle shape. Cut long rectangular strips. Melt remaining butter and dip strips of dough in the butter layering in a greased bundt pan. Sprinkle dill inbetween layers. Let rise for 1 1/2 hours. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Orange Rolls

I find myself making a lot of these lately. In my Relief Society calling I find myself constantly taking a meal or treat to those who for whatever reason need a little comfort. This is the perfect comfort treat I think.

Dissolve:
1 pkg dry yeast (1 Tbsp) in 1/4 cup warm water

Combine:
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup margarine
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
Cool to luke warm

Stir in:
2 cups white flour and beat 2 minutes

Add:
2 beaten eggs
softened yeast mixture
2 tsp. dry orange peel (or 2 Tbsp fresh)
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cups flour (you want a SOFT dough)

Let rise to double in size; punch down and let set 10 minutes. Roll out onto floured board into a rectangle; spread with melted butter and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar. Roll up in jelly roll fashion and cut in about 1 inch slices. Let rise 15 minutes of more. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees then frost with glaze.

Glaze:
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter

Boil glaze 5 minutes and brush on the tops of each roll.

Sticky Buns

This is Bret and Ethan's favorite part of our Christmas morning breakfast!

1. Sprinkle bottom of greased bundt pans with chopped pecans (Optional).


2. Place 15-17 Rhodes frozen rolls in a bundt pan on top of chopped pecans.


3. Sprinkle 1 small pkg. of dry Cook-N-Serve butterscotch pudding on rolls.


4. Sprinkle cinnamon over all.


5. Melt 1/2 cup brown sugar with 1/2 cup butter and pour over

Let rise all day or night (in a cold oven). Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Remove immediately from pan and serve hot.

Homemade Bread

This is a wonderful bread recipe from my brother-in-law, Jeremy Hay. I like it because the bread rises fairly quick and can be made in a short amount of time.

Combine in bowl:
2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cube butter or margarine
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 cup sugar

2 cups hot water
3 cups flour
3-4 cups flour to finish

Combine butter, sugar, and salt. Add hot water and let butter melt. Add 3 cups flour, mix well. Next, add east. Stir in more flour and knead. Knead about 10-15 minutes. Let sit about 10 minutes. Shape into loaves, rise about 30-45 minutes. Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees. cover top with foil the last 10 minutes if it's getting too brown Makes 2 loaves. For whole wheat, put 2 cups wheat flour in first, then white flour

White Flour French Bread

This is a recipe from the Haltern family, who I grew up near in Orem. They were German and had fantastic German recipes. I remember not being fond of their Christmas cookies that always tasted sort of a few cups of sugar, but this french bread is delicious especially when it's warm.

2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups hot water
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
5 Tbsp oil
6 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine hot water, sugar, salt and oil; add half of the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in dissolved yeast. Add the rest of the flour. mix with a wooden spoon. Cover and set for about 50 minutes; stir every 10 minutes. Knead lightly on floured board. Form dough into loaves. Gash tops with a knife. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise about 10 minutes and bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Banana Bread

Everyone has a favorite banana bread recipe for those days when the 10 bananas you buy from Costco all go yellow at once. Here's my favorite recipe. I like that is uses whole-wheat flour and lots of bananas.

3/4 whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large egg whites
3 very large mashed bananas or 4 small mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 cup nuts (optional, I like Macadamia nuts)

Mix the flours with the baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar and oil with a wooden spoon until well combined. Mix in the egg whites, bananas, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined.

Pour the batter into a greased regular loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans. Bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean. 55 to 60 minutes for the regular loaf pan, and 25 to 30 minutes for the mini loaves.

Amber's Breadsticks

1 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 C. warm water

Mix together and wait for bubbles.

Add:
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 C. flour

Mix for 5 minutes with an electric mixer. Dough will be slightly sticky. Let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Roll into a long rectangle. Cut breadstick size strip's with a pizza cutter, fold ends together and twist. Place 1/2 cup butter on a cookie sheet and put in the oven preheating to 400 degrees (don't let the butter brown!) Place twists onto pan of melted butter and brush tops with the butter, then sprinkle with garlic salt, parmesan cheese, and sesame seeds. Cook for 12 minutes at 400 degrees. YUMMY!

Pumpkin Bread

Combine:
3 C. Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda
3 tsp. Cinnimon
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
In a seperate bowl, mix:
3 Eggs
1 C. Oil
2 C. Sugar
3 tsp. Vanilla
Combine the dry ingredients to the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Then add:
2 C. Pumpkin
Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees.

Glaze
In a small saucepan melt:
2 Tbsp. Butter
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. White Sugar
2 Tbsp. Whipping Cream (I used milk and it turned out fine)
Boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool for 2o minutes. Then add:
1/3 C. Powdered Sugar
1/4 tsp. Vanilla
Spread glaze over warm bread. Makes 2 loaves.