Slightly Late Easter Post!

Mom and I searched through many different cookbooks to find our Easter breakfast this year. Something special to accommodate our lovely died eggs. Then Mom found it, this amazing breakfast bread that was very easy to make! We did one like the recipe said then we also did one with a raspberry sauce filling. Personally I liked the almond one better, but they were both good!

Cherry Almond Braid
From: The Best of Country Cooking- 1998

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 c. slivered almonds (I toasted ours)
1/3 c. chopped maraschino cherries (We didn't have any, so we skipped these)
1 batch of the crescent roll recipe in the last post. (Or 2 packages (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls)

Glaze:
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
Additional slivered almonds for garnish.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add extract. Fold in almonds and cherries; set aside. Roll out crescent roll dough to make a 12-in. square. (With the homemade crescent roll dough, we got two 12-in. squares, so we made one raspberry. You can either double the filling or just make the rest regular rolls) Spread the cream cheese mixture down center third of square to within 1 in. of top and bottom; fold top and bottom edge over filling. Bring long sides over filling and overlap. Pinch seams to seal. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. Combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and butter; pour over top of loaf, Garnish with almonds. Yield: 8-10 servings.

Crescent Rolls

There are many stories to how the crescent or croissant roll got invented, when and why. Some say it was invented in Europe to celebrate the defeat of a Muslin invasion in 732. Others say it was invented in Vienna to celebrate the defeat of the Turkish siege as a reference to the crescent on the Turkish flag in 1683. However these little delicacies were invented I don't really care, I'm just glad they were!

2 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. warm water
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. shortening
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/4 c. sugar
4-1/2 c. flour

In large bowl, sprinkle yeast and 1/2 tsp. sugar over warm water; stir until dissolved. Add milk, shortening, salt, eggs, 1/4 c. sugar and 1-1/2 c. flour.

Using mixer at low speed, beat until well blended. Increase speed to medium, beat 2 minutes. Add 1 c. flour; beat 2 minutes more.

Stir in enough additional flour to make soft dough. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Place in greased large bowl, turning over dough so that top is greased. Cover with towel and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and divide it in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

With lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each dough half into a 16 inch circle. Spread each circle with 3 tbsp. butter or regular margarine, softened.

Cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up each wedge, starting at the wide end. Place rolled wedges, points down, 2 inches apart, on greased baking sheets. Curve the ends to form crescents.

If you want your rolls to be crusty, brush with 3 tbsp. melted butter after shaping and let them rise, uncovered. Otherwise cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake in 375 degree oven 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. If you want the crust to be soft, brush with 3 tbsp. shortening or softened butter immediately after baking. Remove from baking sheets right away. Serve warm. Makes 24 rolls.

Homemade Tortillas

I found this recipe online and it has become a family favorite! Store bought ones just don't taste so good any more, I think the homemade ones are more filling too. They are really easy to make and turn out soft and yummy!

Flour Tortillas

2 c. flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. oil
3/4 c. warm water or milk

Stir together first 3 ingredients, Mix in liquids. Dough will be sticky. Knead 2 minutes. Let rest 10-20 minutes. Divide into about 8 balls and let rest for another 10-20 minutes. Roll or press out as flat as you possibly can. Fry on a dry skillet until slightly brown. You can keep them warm and soft if you cover them with a damp towel. Enjoy!

Treasures....

These are killer cookies! Their name describes them well...Treasures. I brought them to a Church potluck on Sunday and they went over really well! I used Snicker bars when I made them and they were delicious! And super easy to make. Here's the recipe.
Treasures
1 c. soft margarine
1 c. peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar, packed
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Miniature Milky Way, Snickers or Three Musketeer candy bars

Cream margarine, peanut butter, flavoring, eggs and sugars together. Combine and add dry ingredients. Quarter tiny candy bars; wrap enough dough around each piece to cover. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees about 8 minutes. Let cook on pan 5 minutes before removing. Enjoy!

French Bread

French Bread is a really simple and delicious bread to make. I love it with spaghetti or lasagna or toasted with butter, cheese and garlic.

French Bread

Dissolve:
2 pkg. (2 Tbsp.) yeast in 1/2 c. warm water.

Combine:
2 c. hot water
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1/3 c. oil
3 c. flour

Stir well, then stir in yeast. Add 3 c. more flour and mix well. Leave spoon in batter (or leave it in your mixer) and let it rest for 10 minutes. Stir down. Repeat 5 times. (A total of 6 times). Knead lightly and divide into 2 parts . Roll up in oblong loaves. Let rise 30 minutes. Cut 3 diagonal slices into each top. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until nice and brown. (You can brush top with egg white for crustiness.)

We like the texture that letting it rest 10 minutes then stirring down gives it. We do it with our pizza dough also. Happy bread baking!

Apple Pie

Something about fall makes me want to bake with apples. And since this year we have a bunch of them it's perfect! So the other day I made an apple pie. First I went out (in the rain) and picked about 8 yellow delicious apples off one of the trees in our orchard...

First get about 6-8 apples. I used yellow delicious, but any good baking apple is good. Next you need to make the crust, for a 2 crust pie: 1-1/2 c. flour, 1/2 c. shortening, and 3/4 tsp. salt. Using a pastry cutter or a fork smash it until it looks like bread crumbs. Then add 1/4 c. cold water and carefully mix to together until it sticks together enough to form a ball. Divide in half and roll one half into a circle on a floured surface. Then to be sure it's big enough take your pie pan (I used a 10 inch one) and lay it upside down on your pie dough and if the dough extends about an inch or more over the edges of the pan you're good. So carefully place your circle of dough into the pan and trim the edges if necessary. Put that and your other ball into the fridge to keep them good and cold while you work on your filling.

For your filling you need to peel and core your apples and then slice them into thin slices. Put your slices into a bowl and toss with: 3/4 c. sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. Then take out your pie crust and put your filling in the bottom crust. Dot with butter and roll out your top crust. Place your top crust on top of you pie and pinch a seal on your edges. Prick the top a few times with a fork, and bake it at 350 degrees until it's golden brown and when you stick a fork into the top it goes in easily. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream or just by itself. Enjoy!

I Guest Posted!

Hey everyone! I guest posted for my Mom the other day, you should go check it out. TheChocolateLadyDishes.blogspot.com
I posted about these brownies I made with my good friend Courtney. Enjoy!