Monkey Bread

This year for Conference, we made monkey bread instead of our usual doughnuts. Yummy!
*Don't fill your bundt pan more than ¾ full. If you have dough left over, make a few cinnamon rolls.

-Sally's Baking Addiction

DOUGH

         1 package (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

         1/4 cup warm water (110F-115F)

         1 and 1/4 cups warm 2% milk (110F-115F, 2% or higher milk fat, no lower)

         1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

         1/4 cup granulated sugar

         2 large eggs

         1 teaspoon salt

         5 cups all-purpose flour

COATING

         3/4 cup unsalted butter

         1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar

         1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

         2/3 cup light or dark brown sugar

         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

VANILLA GLAZE

         1 cup (120g) confectioners' sugar

         3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream (or milk for a less creamy texture)

         1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir it around a bit and let it sit for about 2 minutes. Add the milk, melted butter, sugar, eggs, salt, and 3 cups of flour. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes (using a dough hook if you have a stand mixer or using a hand mixer). By hand add enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. About 5 cups total.

2.Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Do not over-knead, which will yield a tough, chewy bread. The dough is ready when it is smooth and when you can poke it with a finger and it springs back. Form dough into a smooth ball and place into a large greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. I greased the bowl with cooking spray. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

3.Make the coating: melt 1/2 cup of butter in a small bowl. Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon together in another small bowl. Set aside. You will use the rest of the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla later.

4.Spray a 10-12 cup bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Punch the cold dough down very gently to allow the air bubbles to release. Pull apart pieces and roll into balls, about 1.25 inches in diameter. You will need 40-45 balls total, so be modest with their size. Dip each ball, one by one, in the melted butter and then generously roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat them. You may need more cinnamon-sugar depending how heavy you coat each ball. Arrange them in the bundt pan as you go.

5.Preheat oven to 350F. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of butter and whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla until combined. Pour the buttery mixture over the dough balls in the bundt pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cover loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly. Cool for 5-10 minutes and invert onto a large serving plate.

6.Top with the glaze. Simply whisk all of the glaze ingredients together and pour over the bread. You may either cut the bread into generous slices or let everyone pick off the gooey pieces themselves. Monkey bread tastes best served on the same day, but will stay fresh for 3 days if stored covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Hollandaise

Our family loves watching the Food Network. I few months back we saw multiple shows that included eggs benedict for breakfast, so we decided to give it a try. I don't know why I was so intimidated - they're actually quite easy if you make the hollandaise in the blender!

Ina Garten

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pinches of cayenne pepper

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 3/4 teaspoon pepper and cayenne in the jar of a blender. Blend for 15 seconds. With the blender running, slowly pour the hot butter into the blender and blend for 30 seconds, until the sauce is thick. (You can leave it in the blender at room temperature for up to 1 hour. If it is made in advance, add 1 tablespoon hot tap water and blend for a few seconds before serving.

Crispy and Creamy Doughnuts

Brandon wanted to make doughnuts for our Conference treats, so he and Austin made the dough and then we fried them up and delivered them to neighbors between sessions. I must say they were pretty delicious and much like the spud-nuts my Grandma Pulsipher used to make. 

-Allrecipes.com

2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast (4 ½ tsp.)

¼ cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

1 ½ cups lukewarm milk

½ cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup shortening

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Glaze

1/3 cup butter

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons hot water or as needed (we used milk)

Maple Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, melted

2 tsp. maple flavoring

Slowly add milk until frosting is the desired consistency.

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.

In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double.

Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Cream Cheese Spreads

As part of Paige's Baptism brunch, I served mini bagels with a couple different flavored cream cheeses. These aren't really exact recipes - add or subtract to taste.


Sweet Orange
4 oz. softened cream cheese
zest of 1/2 orange
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar - more or less to taste
dash of salt

Mix well and chill for several hours.

Sun-dried Tomato & Basil
4 oz. softened cream cheese
3 or 4 sun-dried tomatoes(that have been packed in olive oil), finely chopped
4 or so fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
Couple dashes of garlic salt

Mix well and chill for several hours.

Sour Cream Cinnamon Rolls

I've made my fair share of cinnamon rolls. In high school, I made and sold pans of cinnamon rolls to raise money for my trip to Spain. I usually just use my standby roll recipe and proceed as one normally would for cinnamon rolls, but the roll part always turns out a little 'bready' after they cool. I've had this recipe in my 'to-try' file for some time now, and thought General Conference was a great time to give them a try. SUCCESS! The roll was nice and soft and although a lot of the filling ran to the bottom of the pan, it was soft and not burned. This is our new favorite!

-Prairie Home Cooking

Dough:
2 pkg. active dry yeast (5 tsp)
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 cups sour cream
4 Tbsp. butter
6 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
6 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup. butter, softened

Glaze:
3 cups confectioner's sugar
4 Tbsp. milk or light cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Prepare the dough: Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water in a small bowl; do not stir. Set aside to proof to a foamy consistency. heat the sour cream in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sour cream is lukewarm, about 4 minutes. Add the butter, sugar, baking soda, and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted, about 5 minutes more. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl (or Bosch), and using an electric mixer, blend in the egg and the yeast mixture. Mix in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time; you will have a sticky and somewhat thick dough. turn out the dough onto a floured board and knead it for 3 to 4 minutes (or mix in Bosch), or until the dough is elastic and no longer sticky. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let the dough rise for 10 minutes.

2. Prepare the filling: Combine the sugar and the cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. Divide the dough in half, and transfer one of the halves to a floured board (I just spray my counter with Pam). Roll out the dough into a 13x10-inch rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick. Brush half of the melted butter over the surface of the dough and sprinkle it with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll up the dough in jelly-roll fashion, starting with the long side that is least even; you will end up with a roll about 13 inches long. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Cut the roll into 1-inch lengths and place each piece, with a spiral side facing up, on the baking sheet. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough. Cover the cinnamon rolls with a tea towel, and let them rise for 1 hour, or until they have about doubled in bulk. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes, or until they are puffed and browned. While the rolls bake, make the glaze: Whisk together the confectioners' sugar and the milk in a bowl. When the mixture is smooth, the vanilla.

4. Remove the rolls from the oven, and while they are still hot, drizzle them with the glaze. Let them cool slightly before serving.

Variation for Orange Rolls:

Filling:

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar
zest of 2 oranges

Glaze:
3 cups confectioner's sugar
zest of 1 orange (Optional, for more orange flavor)
orange juice - enough to make a thin glaze

Cream Cheese French Toast Bake

This recipe comes from one of our church recipe exchanges. It's delicious and easy to prepare. A definite hit with our family!

-Cristy Clayton

1 loaf French bread, cut into 3/4-1" slices

1 (8 oz) container cream cheese
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 quart fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar

Spray a 9x13" glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread about 1 Tbsp. cream cheese on half of the bread slices. Top each with remaining slices to form 2 sandwiches per serving. Place sandwiches in baking dish, covering bottom. Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Add milk, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Beat well. Pour over bread in baking dish. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Turn bread sandwiches over. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Chop 1 cup of the strawberries; refrigerate remaining berries. In glass or plastic bowl, combine chopped strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover baking dish. Drizzle bread slices with melted butter. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile slice remaining strawberries and add to chilled strawberry mixture. Serve French toast with strawberry topping. Can also top with other berries, or syrup.

Apple Raisin Muffins (Mini)

Mini muffins are perfect for kids and adults alike. These muffins are tasty and make a yummy snack. This recipe makes close to 5 dozen mini muffins, so put some in the freezer for later!

-Paula Deen (with some changes)

1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated apples (2 large granny smith)
1 cup raisins
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp. baking soda
3 1/2 cups flour

Combine the water, sugar, apples, raisins, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a saucepan; bring to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using dark pan).

In a large bowl, stir the nuts and baking soda into the flour. Add the cooled mixture to the bowl, and stir until blended. Fill greased miniature muffin tins with batter to the top. Bake for 15 minutes.

Tropical Muffins

How can you go wrong with sour cream? This muffin is moist and delicious!

-Country Magazine

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. imitation rum flavoring (1 tsp. was plenty)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, sour cream and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in the pineapple, coconut and pecans.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

French Breakfast Muffins

My kids always eat the top of these muffins first, but the bottom half is equally delicious!

-Aunt Kristi

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter (1/4 cup if only dipping top)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 15 (12) muffin tins (I use paper liners). Thoroughly mix shortening, 1/2 cup sugar and egg together. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg alternately with milk. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes. In separate bowl, mix 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon together.

Immediately after baking, roll muffins in melted butter, then in cinnamon mixture. Serve hot.

Sunny Morning Doughnuts

These are easy and delicious cake-style doughnuts. I made the dough Saturday night and then we fried them this morning for a yummy Sunday breakfast. The recipe calls for a dusting of powdered sugar, but I made a glaze of powdered sugar, milk and orange extract. The doughnut holes were everyone's favorites. I halved the recipe and it made more than enough to fill our family. The extras actually improved during the day and made yummy snacking treats!

-Taste of Home, Sherry Flaquel

Full recipe:
4-1/2 - 5 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 Tbsp. orange juice
4 tsp. grated orange peel
Oil for deep-fat frying
Confectioner's sugar (or glaze using powdered sugar, milk, orange extract)

In a large bowl, combine 4-1/2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. combine the eggs, milk, oil, orange juice and peel; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Overnight)

Turn onto a floured surface, roll to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. doughnut cutter. In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375. Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners' sugar (or dip in glaze).

Petite Sticky Buns

I love my Taste of Home magazine! This recipe comes from the May 2009 issue. I've had lots of sticky buns before, but loved the ease of making these in muffin tins. Right out of the oven, these are light and airy and I liked the addition of maple flavoring to the sugar mixture. This makes 24 and I only had muffin tins for 18, so mine had a little more 'bun' than they are supposed to, but they were a big hit and perfect for our Sunday breakfast.

-Taste of Home, Lisa Naugle

3 to 3-¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 ½ tsp)
1 tsp. salt
1 ¼ cups milk
¼ cup butter, cubed
1 egg

Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup butter, cubed
¾ cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. maple flavoring

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough (dough will be sticky). Do not knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

In a small saucepan over low heat, cook topping ingredients until butter is melted. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into 24 well-greased muffin cups.

Stir dough down. Fill greased muffin cups half-full. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Place muffin cups on foil-lined baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. (Remember if you have dark pans to reduce temperature 25°.) Cool for 2 minutes before inverting onto baking sheets. Transfer to serving platters. Serve warm.

Flower Cup Quiche

How cute are these?! These particular flowers have a quiche filling, but I think it would also be great to make a sweet version using lemon pie filling.

I didn't have any sugar snap peas or celery, so I just cut leaves out of some romaine lettuce with my kitchen shears.

-Fairies Cookbook, via Gourmet Mom on-the-go

Filling Ingredients:
1/4 c. grated parmesean cheese
1/4 c. grated cheese, any flavor (we used a cheddar blend)
3 eggs
2 T. light sour cream
2 T. fat free half & half (or milk)
dash salt & pepper, to taste
any other finely chopped ingredients you want (ham, peppers, sausage, onion, mushrooms, whatever)

Other Ingredients:
1 package refrigerated piecrusts (2 in a pack)
4 Cherry tomatoes, sliced
Sugar Snap Peas or celery, for stems
Flower Cookie Cutter (My Wilton flower cookie cutter worked great)

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, mix all filling ingredients. Set aside. Spray nonstick cooking spray on a mini-muffin pan. Unroll piecrusts and use cookie cutter to cut flowers.

Gently press flowers into mini-muffin pan, leaving some space between each one. Fill with about 1 T. filling mixture. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and filling is set.

Let cool slightly, remove from pan and garnish with a slice of cherry tomato and sugar snap peas for the stem/leaves.

Cherry Bars

My friend Thomalee made these yummies and brought them to our going-away party in San Jose. I recommend halving the recipe unless you're making them for a large gathering!

-Thomale Abraham

1 3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. butter
6 eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla
4 1/2 c. flour
2 3/4 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
2 cans pie filling (cherry, blueberry or raspberry)

Cream sugar and butter, add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. (Dough will be sticky) Spread half of the dough on large baking sheet (18"x 13") and cover with pie filling. Take remaining dough and drop by little spoonfuls and then spread it around with your fingers. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Cool completely and then drizzle with vanilla frosting and sprinkle with chopped almonds. (I used almond extract instead of vanilla and didn't add the nuts).

Big Beautiful Muffins

-Anna Hampton (from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)

3 c. all purpose flour

1 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ c. plain lowfat yogurt
2 large eggs
8 T. butter, melted and cooled

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees (350 if using a dark pan). Generously coat a 12 cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk the yogurt and eggs together in a medium bowl. Gently fold the yogurt-egg mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula and until just combined. Fold in the melted butter.
Use a large ice-cream scoop or measuring cup to divide batter evenly among the muffin cups.

(Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar)

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes.
Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

VARIATIONS

Apricot-Almond Muffins
Add 1 teaspoon almond extract to the yogurt-egg mixture. Fold 1 c. finely diced dried apricots into the finished batter. Sprinkle several sliced almonds over the top of the batter in each muffin cup before baking.

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
Add 1 t. grated lemon zest to the yogurt-egg mixture and fold 1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries that have been tossed in 1 T. flour into the finished batter. If using frozen blueberries, rinse them in a strainer until the water runs clear, then drain on paper towels and pat dry before stirring (unfloured) into the batter.

Sweet Crepes

At our house, crepes are often the choice for special occasion breakfasts!

-Dinners for a Year and Beyond

3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

In a blender, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, butter, flour, salt, and sugar. Blend on high for 30 seconds.

Butter an 8-inch nonstick pan and heat over medium heat. Pour about 2 tablspoons of batter to form a thin sheet in the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 30 seconds until the edges just begin to brown and pull away from the side of the pan. Using a spatula, flip the crepe over and brown on the other side for about 15 seconds. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining batter.

Fill with fruit and whipped cream, roll and dust with powdered sugar.