Breadsticks

Tried my hand at breadsticks today. They look good and taste pretty good. The lesson I learned today was that the breadsticks really need to be oiled before being baked to help keep them moist. I tried just spraying them with oil spray, but it just wasn't quite enough. All in all, easy and good!

Ingredients

1 c. water

3 T. butter, softened

2 1/2 to 3 c. flour

1-1/2 t. salt

3 T. sugar

2 T. ground flax seed (optional)

2 T. dry milk powder

1-3/4 t yeast

Toppings

finely shredded cheddar cheese, finely shredded parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic salt

Directions

1. Place first 8 ingredients in bread machine. Select Dough cycle; press Start.
2. When dough cycle is almost complete, spray two baking sheets with cooking spray and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. When dough cycle is complete, remove dough to a lightly oiled surface. Divide dough into 12 pieces. Roll each piece on an oiled board, from center of piece to the outside edges to form bread sticks. Place bread sticks at least 1 inch apart on the prepared pans. Sprinkle with desired toppings.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies with Pecans and Dried Cherries

It's been awhile since I've made Brandon's favorite cookies. They are great! This time around, Brandon asked me to make a lot of them, and make them smaller. This is what I learned. This recipe is AWESOME, but it doesn't double well and making them smaller is a bit of a challenge that I haven't master. That being said, they still tasted good, they just weren't AS good. I HIGHLY suggest making them according to the recipe, and don't double. I hope everyone enjoys these cookies!

Ingredients

1 1/4 c. flour

3/4 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

1 c. toasted pecans (4 ounces), chopped coarse

1 c. dried tart cherries (5 ounces), chopped coarse

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks

12 Tbs. butter

1 1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large (18 by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.
3. In medium bowl, stir together oats, pecans, cherries, and chocolate.
4. In standing mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until no sugar lumps remain, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl; with mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture; mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer still running on low, gradually add oat/nut mixture; mix until just incorporated. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.
5. Using 3Tbs. cookie scoop, scoop dough into 16 rounded cookies.  Stagger 8 balls on each baking sheet.  Using hands, gently press each dough ball to 1 inch thickness. Bake both baking sheets 12 minutes, rotate them front to back and top to bottom, then continue to bake until cookies are medium brown and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will seem underdone and will appear raw, wet, and shiny in cracks), 8 to 10 minutes longer. Do not over bake.
6. Cool cookies on baking sheets on wire rack 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Irish Soda bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I decided to go Irish today and make some Irish soda bread. It looks great, but I didn't like how it tasted. Brandon said he'd eat a little more of it, just because it is something different, but it just wasn't good. On the bright side, it was the easiest loaf of bread I've ever made without my bread machine!

Ingredients

2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. rolled oats

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 T. sugar

2 1/2 c. buttermilk

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400°.
2. Combine everything but the buttermilk in a large bowl and stir the ingredients with your hands.
3. Make a well in the mixture and pour in 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk.
4. Continue mixing with your hands, adding the remaining cup of buttermilk as you combine the ingredients. The resulting dough will be wet and very sticky.
5. Dust your hands with flour, shape the dough into a ball, and place it on a floured cookie sheet (we used a nonstick baking mat). With a knife, score a deep X in the top of the ball, widening it with the sides of the blade as you cut.
6. Bake the bread until it's golden brown, about 50 minutes.
7. Transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I saw a recipe for pineapple upside down cake and realized I hadn't had one of those for like 10 years and I had never actually made one myself. It seemed to be time to make one. It turned out well. Between the 5 of us for dinner tonight, this cake was gone. It was also super easy and was great served with some Cool Whip.

Ingredients

7 slices canned unsweetened pineapple (20-ounce can)

3 Tbs. butter

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

19 maraschino cherries

2 large eggs

2 Tbs. buttermilk

1/2 t. vanilla

1 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

3/4t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

6 Tbs. butter, softened

6 tablespoons buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Drain pineapple and place in one layer on paper towels to absorb the excess juice.
3. Place the 3 tablespoons butter in a 9x2-inch round cake pan. Place the pan in the oven until the butter is melted. Tilt to coat all sides with butter. The extra butter will settle in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan.
4. Place one pineapple ring in the center of the pan and arrange six more around it. Place the maraschino cherries in the center of each ring and in the spaces between them.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, 2 tablespoons of buttermilk and vanilla with a fork.
6. In a mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
7. Add the 6 tablespoons of butter and 6 tablespoons of buttermilk. Beat on low speed just until the flour is moistened, then increase the speed to medium, or high if using a handheld mixer, and beat for 1 1/2 minutes.The batter will be stiff.
8. Add one-third of the egg mixture at a time, beating for 20 seconds and scraping the bowl after each addition. Scrape the batter over the fruit in the pan and spread evenly.
9. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 40 to 55 minutes. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the pan.
10. Place an upside down serving platter on top of the pan. Turn the cake onto the platter and then lift off the pan. If any fruit or cherry pieces are askew, use a fork to push them back into place. If any brown sugar is left in the pan, scrape it up and spoon it over the cake.
11. Serve warm or cool.

Makes one 9-inch cake

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Yeah, you read the title right. These cookies have peanut butter, chocolate chips, and oatmeal in them and don't they look delicious? I really wish you could try these straight through the computer, they are great. They cooked up nice: thick, chewy, and rich! Everyone should try making these!

Ingredients

1 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 c. rolled oats

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets and set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the egg and beat to combine.
5. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.
6. Use a large cookie scoop, 3 tablespoons, and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 -11 minutes.  Cookies will not look finished, but will be nice and golden brown around the edges near the pan.
7. Cool completely on the baking sheet.  If the cookies were cooked too long, let them sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes to firm up, then move them to a cooling rack.

Makes 15-16 large cookies