Breakfast Bars

I have seen this recipe a few times and needed a reason to make it.  Why not Easter.  I have since found a recipe that also had a a cinnamon filling.  Perhaps I'll find a reason to try that as well.  The first one I tried was very cold, and ended up not tasting that great.  These are much better when they are at room temperature or perhaps even a little warmer.

Ingredients

2 pkg. crescent rolls

8 oz. cream cheese

1 egg

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon

Directions

1. Pat 1 package crescent rolls into a 9x13 pan.  Press seams together.
2. Mix cream cheese, sugar, and egg yolk until creamy.  Spread cream cheese mixture on top of rolls.
3. On wax paper, spread second package of crescent rolls to 9x13 size, pinch seems together.  Flip over onto cream cheese mixture.
4. Brush egg white on rolls.  Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top.  (I think you could use about half as much sugar on top, just enough to make it crispy and delicious.)
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Banana Bread

Okay, so I've made my fair share of banana breads in the past. They have been good, but I always felt that they weren't great. Something just isn't right, but now I know! I saw this recipe on America's Test Kitchen, and had to try it. This is THE best banana bread I've ever had. Period. It was far better the same day it was made. Make this, and eat it. It is great!  If you are using frozen bananas, thaw them and skip steps 3 and 8.

Ingredients

1 3/4 c. (8 3/4 oz) flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

6 large very ripe bananas (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled

1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 eggs

3/4 c. (5 1/4 oz) packed light brown sugar

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. walnuts , toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)

2 t. sugar

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.
3. Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife. Microwave on high power until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes.
4. Transfer bananas to fine-mesh strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cup liquid).
5. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth.
6. Whisk butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla into bananas.
7. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
8. Slice remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1½-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise.
9. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over loaf.
10. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 50 to 75 minutes. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

The picture doesn't really do this dessert justice. We make this quite a bit, and Brandon has decided that he likes it better than chocolate flourless cake! When you make it, you pout coffee over the top of the whole thing, and while it bakes, the coffee soaks down through the sugar and chocolate and makes cake with hot fudge on the bottom! It is AWESOME!

Ingredients

2 t. instant coffee

1 1/2 c. water

2/3 c. (2 1/2 ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/3 c. (1 3/4 ounces) packed brown sugar

1 c. (7 ounces) sugar

6 T. butter

2 oz high quality semi or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 c. (3 3/4 ounces) flour

2 t. baking powder

1 T. vanilla

1/3 c. whole milk

1/4 t. salt

1 egg yolk

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly spray 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Stir instant coffee into water; set aside to dissolve.
3. Stir together 1/3 cup cocoa, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup granulated sugar in small bowl, breaking up large clumps with fingers; set aside.
4. Melt butter, remaining 1/3 cup cocoa, and chocolate in small bowl; whisk until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
5. Whisk flour and baking powder in small bowl to combine; set aside.
6. Whisk remaining 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt in medium bowl until combined; whisk in yolk.
7. Whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until well combined.  Add flour mixture and whisk until batter is evenly moistened.
8. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and spread evenly to sides and corners.
9. Sprinkle cocoa/sugar mixture evenly over batter (cocoa mixture should cover entire surface of batter)
10. Pour coffee mixture gently over cocoa mixture.
11. Bake until cake is puffed and bubbling and just beginning to pull away from sides of baking dish, about 45 minutes. (Do not overbake.)
12. Cool cake in dish on wire rack about 25 minutes before serving.

Dutch Letters

Well, half of my family is Dutch, very Dutch, so it's only natural to have a recipe for Dutch Letters. As this was my first attempt at making them, I did not venture away from lower case l's as my letter of choice. They are quite a bit of work, however they make a lot of them, and they freeze. Today, I pulled these out of the freezer just to see how well it worked. It was awesome.  To freeze, simply make them up into the shapes that you want a freeze prior to brushing with egg whites.  Pull them out whenever you want this sweet treat!

Ingredients

Dough

1 lb. butter
4 c. flour
1 c. water

Filling

1 lb. ODENSE almond paste

2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Directions

1. Dough: Mix butter and flour. Stir in water and mix well. Chill overnight or longer.
2. Filling: Beat almond paste with an electric mixer until smooth.  Then add remaining filling ingredients and mix well.  Chill.
3. When ready to bake, divide dough and filling into 14 equal parts. (This will make Dutch letters that are about 12 " long and 2" inches wide. I just make them straight instead of the 'S'.)
4. Roll 1 section of dough into a 14" x 4" strip.  Then take a section of filling and spread it down the center of the dough strip.  Lap one side of dough over the filling, then the other side and pinch the ends shut.
5. Place on greased cookie sheet with seams on the bottom.
6. Brush tops with beaten egg whites and sprinkle sugar on top and prick with fork every 2 inches for steam to escape.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.