Sunday, May 31, 2020

Had To Use Up My Buttermilk

My husband had bought buttermilk to make Chicken Fried Steak. He usually uses buttermilk whenever he has to bread and fry something. This leaves with leftover buttermilk to use up. Pinterest to the rescue. I found a few recipes to try.


 I really did not want to make anything sweet, so first I found this Buttermilk Mac and Cheese. This recipe had eggs in it, which made to overall result a more firm custard like consistency.  It was alright. Not the best mac and cheese. When my son, who devours mac and cheese, did not go for seconds; That means this recipe was not a winner. I added Ritz Crackers on top. If you like a creamy mac amd cheese stay away from this. If you are into the more custard type texture, then feel free to give it a try. The reviews for this recipe are mixed. I for sure won't make this again.
 This next recipe however is a winner! Buttermilk Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins.  At this point it is the next day after I made the mac and cheese and still had buttermilk left. I did not care anymore if I made a sweet item. Unlike the mac and cheese, I like how these muffins turned out. What is there not to love about chocolate and peanut butter. This recipe does make 24 cupcake size muffins, which was a concern as there is only 3 people in the household.  I will make these again if I find myself with extra buttermilk again.
I still had buttermilk left after making the muffins. I ended up using the last of it to make buttermilk busciuts.




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Saturday, May 23, 2020

Banana Bran Nut Bread

 I had bananas, I had bran cereal left over from the Pineapple Nut Bread, I come across the banana bran nut bread in the vintage cook book I have been using in the series of bread recipes I have been doing.

I guess I now officially have a bread series going on.



Banana-Bran Nut Bread

Preheat oven 350 degrees
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
1 cup whole bran cereal (I used crushed bran flakes)
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas (I used 3 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts


Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and salt together.
Cream shortening and sugar together until fluffy.
Add egg until combined.
Add bran, bananas, and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients and nuts until just combined.
Spread in well greased in loaf pan
Bake for about 1 hour

Enjoy!




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Saturday, May 16, 2020

Cocoa Swirl Coffee Cake With Orange Glaze


 Out of this vintage cookbook comes this tasty orange and chocolate coffee cake. I had made this up for breakfast and it is so good. If you are into the chocolate orange flavors, this coffee cake is for you.

This recipe has a cake section, a chocolate crumb section, and an orange glaze. To layer the cake you put one third of the batter in the pan, followed by half of the crumb mixture, followed by 1 cup of the cake batter, the remaining crumb mixture and the remaining cake batter.

I got the batter in..

Then half of the crumb mixture..
I added more batter, but I started to realize I am starting to run low on batter and may have initially put too much in at the beginning.
I ended up with a little bit of batter on top.
I decided to swirl the crumb mixture with a knife. It had worked out. 

Cocoa Swirl Coffee Cake with Orange Glaze

Preheat oven 350 degrees
Cake batter ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
Chocolate Crumb Mixture
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons melted butter
Orange Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon grated orange peel

Combine flour sugar, baking powder and salt, cut in shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs.
add the reaming cake batter ingredients; set aside.
Combine the chocolate crumb ingredients until it forms a crumb mixture.
Spread 3/4 of the batter in greased 8x8 pan.
Sprinkle half the crumb mixture.
Spread 1 cup of the cake, sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture. 
Spread the remaining cake batter.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes until cake tester (or toothpick) inserted comes out clean.
While cake is baking make the orange glaze, combine all orange glaze ingredients until smooth.
When the cake is done, let is cool slightly. 
Spread with the orange glaze and serve warm.
Enjoy!



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Thursday, May 14, 2020

Chocolate and Vanilla Iced Waffle Cookies


I have never made waffle cookies before, I made these as a last minute dessert idea for dinner one night.
I did not want to make a large batch because there are only three of us, I found this chocolate cookie recipe on Pinterest and only did 1/4 of the recipe. I used the waffle iron to make cookies because I had a casserole in the oven. I also thought it would be a novel idea to try something new.

Kudos to Oh So Delicioso for making this recipe. 

The recipe is found here.

But if you want to do the 1/4 recipe like I did, here are the portions I used. It made 9 cookies.

  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1 egg 
  • 6 Tablespoons of sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 Tablespoons cocoa
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

  1. Preheat your waffle iron.
  2. Using a hand or stand mixer combine butter and eggs. Mix until well combined.
  3. Add sugar, flour, cocoa, and vanilla, and mix until well combined.
  4. Spray waffle iron with nonstick spray.
  5. Drop batter by the tsp onto waffle iron about 2 inches apart.
  6. Close waffle iron and cook for 1 to 1.5 minutes.
  7. Remove from iron and transfer to a cooling wrack. Let cool completely.

The recipe also includes the frosting, but I put together a frosting by using powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. I dunked the top half of the cookie into the bowl of frosting.

Also a note, I had a difficult time remove these cookies from the waffle iron. The cookie are soft and started to fall apart taking them out. I had to be careful. The cookie firms up once it cooled. But don't let this little issue stop you from making these delicious cookies. These were a hit and will definitely be making this again.

Monday, May 11, 2020

Pineapple Nut Bread




Here it is, The pineapple nut bread. Hopefully when you make yours you don't forget the melted shortening like I did. I left it in the microwave. The batter was thick, It might not been as thick if I remembered to add the melted shortening. It was still delicious and my favorite quick bread I have made so far. 





Pineapple Nut Bread

2 1/4 cups of flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
 1 cup whole bran cereal (I used crushed bran flakes)
1 1/2 cups undrained crushed pineapple
1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons of melted butter or shortening
3/4 cup of walnuts

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
Add remaining ingredients
Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour and a half or until lightly brown.

Saturday, May 09, 2020

Raisin Spice Bread





It is a another bread recipe. It is the same recipe as the Cinnamon Nut Bread except I increased the cinnamon, added nutmeg and raisins. My son has tried this and says it tastes like the Raisins Spice Cookies.  It does have the same flavor and really delicious. This one is really a hit and I am likely going to make this again. This is definitely not going to be the last bread post. There is a pineapple bread recipe coming up soon.




Raisin Spice Bread 

2 cups of flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup milk
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1cup of walnuts
1 cup raisins

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt
Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Combine milk, egg, and melted butter and add it to the dry ingredients
Add walnuts and raisins
Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour or until lightly brown.

Sunday, May 03, 2020

Cinnamon Nut Bread

Going back to the baking funk everyone seems to be in, I found a recipe out of this book I wanted to try. This publication was originally done in 1964, reprinted in 1969. I am reading over this introduction and it is definitely dated. here is the final part of that introduction:
".....The modern hostess is ever on the alert for new ideas in form and fillings. To her, this book comes as a most welcome addition to her culinary library and an opportunity to add to her reputation for attractive entertaining."
I just cracks me up how sexist this is, however I understand that at the time women are more likely going to be the main audience of this book. I think that even today women are still likely to host a party or gathering (not so much at the time of this publication thanks to coronavirus). This publication leans heavy on party type sandwiches.  There are many recipes in here I want to try. Here is one that I did for breakfast.

It is the Quick Nut Bread recipe. I did added my spin to this and added cinnamon and vanilla. Therefore I call this recipe Cinnamon nut bread.
I could begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this, I will definitely make this again. The nuts I added to this is pecans and walnuts. I used 1/3 cup of pecans and 2/3 cup of walnuts in this recipe. But first you sift the dry ingredients. 2 cups of flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add in 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Combine 1 cup milk, 1 beaten egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of melted shortening. Pour into a greased loaf pan. and baking 1n 350 degree oven for about an hour or until lightly brown.



I clearly did not use a standard loaf pan. I have a favorite oblong baking stone I used, so my baking time was reduced to 45 minutes.

There are many more recipes that I am likely to try and some I am going to stay away from like the Baked Bean and Frank Bunwiches. You might like this one if you are into franks and beans. I am not.

However don't be surprised if you see Pineapple Nut Bread in the future.