Pumpkin Scones with Berry Butter

I tried this recipe from my Mom's October/November 2008 copy of Taste of Home. Such a fantastic source of recipes! This particular magazine had a whole section on recipes made with pumpkin. What could be better?!? This recipe stood out to me and was actually the grand prize winner in their "Pumpkin Patch Specialties" contest. I decided it would be the perfect breakfast for Christmas Eve morning. I was right! This is such a delicious recipe and simple to make. I love scones, but these in particular are fantastic. And the cranberry butter recipe to accompany the scones - amazing! Just make sure and make the butter the night before. It's better that way. I know the Fall months of baking pumpkin recipes are over, but in my personal opinion, pumpkin recipes are great year round! :) Give this a try - you'll love it!

PUMPKIN SCONES WITH BERRY BUTTER

Berry Butter
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Place cranberries in a small bowl; add boiling water. Let stand for 5 minutes; drain and chop. In a small mixing bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and cranberries; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Pumpkin Scones
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cold butter
1 egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons chopped pecans, optional

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, pie spice, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, pumpkin and milk; add to crumb mixture just until moistened. Stir in pecans if desired.

Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead 10 times. Pat into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges; separate wedges and place on a greased baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with berry butter.

Yield: 8 scones and about 1/2 cup berry butter

Robin

Cranberry-Orange Bread

This delicious recipe came from the mother of my mother's dear friend growing up, Mrs. Beissner. It is a delicious recipe and really pretty easy to put together. The kids helped me with it today!

Cranberry-Orange Bread

2 cups sifted flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp. grated orange rind
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1-2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Combine orange juice and grated rind with well-beaten egg. Pour all at once into dry ingredients, mixing just enough to dampen. Carefully fold in chopped nuts and cranberries. Spoon into greased loaf pan. Spread corners and sides slightly higher than the center. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until crust is golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from pan. Cool.

** I am not a nut person, so I leave them out. It is still delicious!

Celeste

Nibble Sticks

Like Celeste, I knew when I was planning our curriculum for the fall that I wanted to include special "tea times" at least once a week. (Maybe more!) However, knowing how much I love to bake, especially in the fall and winter months, I was a little worried that this might lead to an excessive amount of unhealthy snacks. Yesterday, though, I was paging through a cute little cookbook I bought used a few months ago (Alpha-Bakery Children's Cookbook) and came across a recipe for "Nibble Sticks", which sounded quite tasty and relatively simple to make. Since it was nearing lunchtime, I rounded up the kids and led them to the kitchen, where they helped me mix together a quick batch. The ingredients are ones that I usually have readily available, and required such little effort. They turned out delicious, too! We actually ended up eating only these for lunch (I had thought we'd include them with lunch), and even Meghan enjoyed munching on one. But the highest compliment came from Darren, who, devouring three in rapid succession after arriving home from work, asked me, "Um, honey? Do you think you could maybe have these on hand all the time?" :)

Here's the recipe:

Nibble Sticks

2 cups of Gold Medal all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of shortening

2/3 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup finely chopped salami, bologna, or fully cooked ham (we used ham lunch meat)

About 3/4 cup of milk

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture is crumbly. Stir in cheese and meat. Stir in just enough milk so a soft dough forms.

3. Sprinkle a surface lightly with flour. Turn the dough onto the floured surface. Knead gently 10 times. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Pat dough into an 8 inch square; cut square in half. Cut each half crosswise into 1-inch strips.

4. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or cool with ketchup, mustard, or cheese dip if you like.

Enjoy!

Melissa

Sunday Morning Cinnamon Rolls

When Darren and I were still dating, I sometimes liked to surprise him at the bookstore where he worked with a tray of hot, homemade cinnamon rolls to share with his co-workers on cold Sunday mornings. It made me happy to serve him this way, but the considerable amount of time spent in the kitchen on those crisp fall and winter days were quite enjoyable for me, too, warm and comforting, in a cozy, domestic sort of way. I realized a few weeks ago that it's been years now since I last made cinnamon rolls for him, and never, in fact, have my kids experienced the pleasure of pulling apart the sticky, fresh baked treats, warm from the oven and served by Mom. And so, when I came upon a recipe for cinnamon rolls on the back of a Jiffy baking mix box two weekends ago, I thought I'd give them a try. Not quite the same as the confections of the past, but still, we all agreed, rather tasty. Never satisfied to settle for less than the best, however, I decided this past Saturday night that I was going to redouble my efforts and really go all out for Sunday morning's breakfast. Cinnamon rolls were, again, on the menu, but this time, they'd be the real deal. Out came the cookbooks. Through the cupboards I rummaged. And wouldn't you know, I did, in fact, have everything I needed to try the recipe I loved most! (Thank goodness I finally found that last pesky package of yeast, which I just knew had to be hiding in there somewhere!)

Having reviewed the general instructions, I knew that this would not be a quick, mix together and stick in the oven affair. I was quite all right with that, though, because it was really the effort of "doing" that I actually desired most. I rose at six before the rest of my family was stirring to start the dough, which I knew would have to rise for at least an hour and a half. During that time, in the still, dark quiet, I unloaded the dishwasher and read in the silent living room, joined eventually by Dylan, who curled up beside me on the couch with a book of his own. As the rest of our family joined us one by sleepy one, there was much excitement and happy anticipation as the heady aroma of the rising dough filled the kitchen. When the time finally came to roll it out, all three of my kids were up at the counter, helping and tasting with wide smiles and twinkling eyes. I have to admit that we deviated just a bit from the printed recipe; in place of raisins, we opted instead to fill our rolls with chopped pecans and chocolate chips, a decision that was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from all of us! I'm convinced that these will become a regular Sunday breakfast in our home over the coming months, and I look forward to many happy, toasty mornings spent in my kitchen, serving my family with love.

Cinnamon Buns

1 recipe Sweet Yeast Dough (see recipe below)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup raisins (we used about a 1/4 cup each of chocolate chips and pecans
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Prepare Sweet Yeast Dough; let rise as directed.

Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Cut dough in half. Roll one half of dough into 12x8 inch rectangle. Brush rectangle with half of melted butter, sprinkle with half of sugar mixture and half of raisins. Starting with 1 (12 inch) side, roll up jelly-roll style. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cut each roll into 12 (1-inch) slices. Place slices 1/2 inch apart in prepared pans. (Rolls will spread as they rise.) Cover with towel; let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 20-25 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Cool in pans on wire racks 5 minutes. Combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in small bowl until smooth. Spread mixture over rolls. Serve warm.

Sweet Yeast Dough

4 to 4 1/4 cups all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Set aside.

Combine milk and butter in 1-quart saucepan. Heat over low heat until mixture is 120 to 130 degrees. Gradually beat milk mixture into flour mixture with electric mixer at low speed. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and 1 cup flour. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes. Stir in enough additional flour, about 2 cups, to make soft dough.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; flatten slightly. Knead about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding remaining 1/4 cup flour to prevent sticking if necessary. Shape dough into a ball place in large greased bowl. Turn to coat with grease. Cover with towel; let rise in warm place 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch down dough, knead on lightly floured surface 1 minute. Cover with towel; let rest 10 minutes.

(Recipes from In the Kitchen with America's Favorite Brand Name Recipes.)

Melissa

Bean's Banana Bread

Well, you really must try it. I take absolutely no credit, whatsoever. Today we finally got around to making Danielle Bean's recipe for banana bread and it was delicious! I really like the fact that it has no nuts! Go on over to Danielle's place and try the bread. You'll be pleased.


Celeste

And here they are!

The real things! 'The Best' Blueberry Muffins. We made them tiday using some really delicious blueberries. We used an extra cup (a little secret from my mom).


Celeste

Homemade French Bread (or Sandwich Rolls)

This is a versatile little recipe which is easy to make. It is no knead. It can be either a loaf of French bread, served hot alongside a meal, or made into sandwich rolls, stuffed with a fantastic filling (maybe tomorrow, I will share our favorite one!). So without further ado...


French Bread

1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon melted shortening
4 cups all-purpose flour


Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water. Add sugar, salt, shortening, and remaining water. Add flour and stir until smooth.Cover and let rise 1 hour, or until doubled. Roll out onto floured surface, divide into halves and rest 10 minutes. Roll each half into a 10 inch by 8 inch rectangle. Roll up from a long side and pinch to seal. Place seam side down on baking sheet, cover, and let rise 45 minutes. Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Makes 2 loaves.

If you want sandwich rolls: Complete above through first rising of an hour. Then divide dough into 7 individual 4-inch circles (will be about 2 inches tall). Let rise for 45 minutes and then bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Will supply a great beef and cheddar filling for these later! Enjoy!


Michele

'The Best' Blueberry Muffins

I know everyone has their favorite recipe for blueberry muffins, but these are "the best". Not only do I think so, but the title actually says it!

My mom has been making these blueberry muffins for as long as I can remember. She clipped this recipe from the Houston Chronicle's weekly Food section years and years ago! It has been a staple ever since. I hope you enjoy it as much as I always have and still do! Here is the recipe as it appears in the newspaper clipping.


'The Best' Blueberry Muffins

From Muffins Elizabeth Alston. The secret is an extra half cup of blueberries which are mashed and added to the batter.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar or less depending on tartness of blueberries
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups blueberries (mash 1/2 cup with a fork)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12 to 18 regular muffin cups including the area between each cup, or use foil or paper baking cups.

In a medium bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla, baking powder and salt.

Mix mashed berries into batter.

Fold in half the flour with a spatula, then half the milk. Add remaining flour and milk. Fold in remaining blueberries.

Scoop batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg sugar. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let muffins cool at least 30 minutes in the pan before removing so they won't crumble.

These produce a soft, more cake-like muffin than some recipes. Be sure to adjust amount of sugar to tartness of berries and let cool in pan as directed after baking.

* My mom and I have always used a mixture of cinnamon and sugar instead. It is purely a matter of taste.

Celeste