Pull-Apart Bread

Growing up, there was another Easter staple (also made frequently on regular Sundays) - Pull Apart Bread.  Otherwise known as Monkey Bread.  I did not know that this was called Monkey Bread though until I was in college.  We always called it Pull Apart.  Because, well, you pull it apart for individual servings.  It's really a dessert, similar to cinnamon rolls.  But I won't tell anyone if you don't.  You could serve it for breakfast like a cinnamon roll with a light glaze made from powdered sugar and milk. But I grew up eating this at dinner.

The original recipe for this, from my mom, calls for powdered milk.  Frankly, I never cook with it, and so I don't have it in my pantry.  Do they even sell it in the store anymore?  An easy substitute is to use evaporated milk for 3/4 of your liquid.  Your bread still is fluffy and rich.  The pecans are a nice little surprise and give the rolls a slight crunch.  The best advice I can give you for this is to make sure you don't over bake it, which is easy to do.  When I make mine, I cook it for exactly 30 minutes and it comes out perfect.  Because of the butter and sugar, it could be easy to overcook and scorch your bread, which is yucky.  Really.

Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients:

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1/2 cup hot water
2 Tbs. yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 tsp. salt
4-5 cups bread flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer, stir together evaporated milk, hot water, yeast, and sugar.  Let sit for 5 minutes to activate yeast.

2. Add egg, butter, salt, and 2 cups flour.  Using dough hook, begin mixing ingredients on a low setting.  Mix until flour is incorporated.  Add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from side of bowl and is only slightly sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1-2 hours or until double in size.

3. While dough is rising, combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Grease a bundt pan with cooking spray.  Grab palm size amounts of dough and roll into a ball between your hands.  Dip each ball into the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place in bundt pan to create layers, sprinkling a handful of pecans over each layer.  Pour remaining butter over top of rolls and sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar over top.

*Note: do not place balls so tightly together that they won't have enough room to expand while rising.  Simply place them next to each other.  

5. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until 1 inch higher than pan, about 30 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until browned.

7. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.  Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.  Place a plate on top of the bread and flip pan over to remove bread from pan.  Serve warm.

Serves 15-20

Related articles

• Apple Cinnamon Bread
• Focaccia Bread
• Banana Walnut Bread
• Pumpkin Bread

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Slow Cooker Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

There are so many recipes out there using slow cookers.  Most of the time I use mine for meats and
soups/stews.  But this time around, I thought I'd give Brinner a try.  Using the slow cooker just makes dinner prep so much simpler.  And when I'm running low on time (which seems to be happening a lot lately), it's nice to have something all ready when 5:00 hits.

French Toast is a family favorite over here, so it was really a no brainer on what I was going to make.  And when I found some cinnamon raisin bread on a price cut at the store, I knew I was going to use that to make the French Toast.  A trick that I've learned when making French Toast is to mix your spices with the vanilla extract.  If you do this, the spices will mix in better with the eggs.


*Note, if you have a smaller crock pot, cut the recipe in half.

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 dozen eggs
2 cups milk

1 loaf cinnamon raisin bread

Syrup

Directions:

1. Spray crock pot with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, mix together cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, and brown sugar.  Add eggs and milk.

2. Dredge each slice of bread in the egg mixture and place in crock pot.  When all the bread is added, pour the remaining egg mixture over it and cover with lid.  Cook on low for 5-7 hours.  Keep an eye on it for the last hour to avoid burning.

3. Serve warm with syrup.

Serves 8

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Banana Blueberry Bread

Another quick bread recipe?  Yes please!  I truly love quick breads in the morning for breakfast.  This is a twist on traditional banana bread.  It has the same base, but throw in some plump, fresh (or frozen) blueberries and it gives the bread an added oomph.  You just have to make sure you fold in the blueberries or you'll squish them.  The other tip is as always with banana bread - don't over bake it.  You don't want a crispy crust.  It should be soft.

Banana Blueberry Bread

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 ripe bananas
1 3/4 cups bread flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" bread pan.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Beat on low until smooth.  Add bananas and beat again until smooth.

3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, mix together until dry ingredients are incorporated, but small lumps should remain.  Do not over mix.  Fold in blueberries.

4. Pour batter into bread pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool in bread pan.  Run a knife along edges to loosen bread and remove.

Makes 1, 9" loaf

Serves 8

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Dinner Rolls

Everyone, in my opinion, needs a good go-to roll recipe.  This is mine.  It's simple, it's virtually fool proof, and I use it in a variety of ways.  Not only for dinner rolls but also for my cinnamon rolls and in other recipes that call for a light bread dough.  Do not confuse these though with croissants.  These are regular dinner rolls simply rolled into a crescent.  

Crescent Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup warm milk
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:


1. In a small bowl, mix the yeast, 2 tsp. sugar, and warm water. Set aside to allow the yeast to activate. In a separate bowl, mix the salt, oil, and 1/3 cup sugar. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add the eggs and warm milk. Slowly stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough is firm enough to form a ball (should not be sticky).


2. Cover the dough and allow to rise until double in size (about 2 hours).


3. Divide dough into two pieces. Roll each piece into a circle about 1/4 inch thick. Slice the dough, like a pizza, into 8 wedges, and roll up each wedge from the wide to the narrow end. Repeat with second piece of dough.


4. Place the rolls on baking sheets with the narrow tip of the dough tucked underneath. Cover the rolls and allow to rise for another hour.

5. Brush the tops of the rolls lightly with butter and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Makes 16 rolls

*Tip: You can make these rolls ahead of time and freeze them.  Simply place them on a baking sheet after you've formed them into crescents.  Seal it tightly with aluminum foil and freeze.  You can either leave them on the baking sheet or place the rolls in a freezer bag.  Remove them from the freezer and allow them to thaw and rise for a minimum of 4 hours before baking.

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Cinnamon Rolls and Christmas Morning

HOLY COW!  IT'S DECEMBER!  Can I now start celebrating Christmas without having to hide the fact that my nativity scenes and trees have been up for a couple of weeks?  Yup, I'm one of THOSE people.  I'm writing this post as part of the Inspired Holiday Traditions series on Inspired Bloggers Network.  And I have my own little Christmas tradition that I'd like to share with you.

Christmas 2010

What does Christmas morning mean to you?  For some it means excitement all night long and not sleeping much.  For others it means dreading the sound little feet running to your room as your children are SCREAMING at the top of their lungs for you to get out of bed because, um, duh, "SANTA CAME!"  I know of some parents who even wrap their children's doors so that they can't come out in the morning until said parents let them (brilliant, just brilliant!).

For me, Christmas morning is excitement at seeing my girls' faces at realizing that the morning they've literally waited all year for is finally here.  The go downstairs to see what Santa has brought them, then they come get us.  Which is hilarious.  It's always done very stealthy.  Tip toe into my room and get within an inch of my face, tap me three times on my shoulder..."Um, Mom.  Mom, I just wanted to tell you that it's Christmas and Santa came.  Are you getting up?  Can we have breakfast?"

Breakfast, is that even something people still do on Christmas?  We do.  It's been a tradition in my family since I can remember.  And it's always the same thing served - Cinnamon Rolls and oranges. The oranges have adapted into clementines (Cuties), but the Cinnamon Rolls have remained the same.  I remember my mom making the rolls on Christmas Eve, placing them in the fridge before that final rise.  Then when we got up, she'd take them out to let them rise while we opened our stockings.

Me, Christmas morning 1991 in Biloxi, Mississippi

In the midst of the chaos, we would take a break and go into the kitchen for a family breakfast.  We'd sit down and enjoy the warm, fluffy cinnamon rolls and tart oranges that came in our stockings (a tradition we still carry on) and talk about the beautiful snow outside.  Or was it scarfing it down as fast as we could to get to the presents that remained unopened?  The idealist in me pushes for the lovely family breakfast where everyone sat around and smiled and waited patiently for the others to finish.  (I have 5 younger sisters, patience is a word that was rarely understood in our home)

Our Family, Christmas Eve 2010

Now, with our girls being younger and not understanding the concept of sleeping in, it's a mad dash to the presents with wrapping paper flying everywhere.  But when it's all done, we still take some time to sit down together as a family, turn on a Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas CD, and enjoy our Christmas Morning Breakfast together.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup warm milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon


Frosting:
4 oz. (1/2 package) cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
3 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbs. milk

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix the yeast, 2 tsp. sugar, and warm water. Set aside to allow the yeast to activate. In a separate bowl, mix the salt, oil, and 1/3 cup sugar. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add the eggs and warm milk. Slowly stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough is firm enough to form a ball (should not be sticky).

2. Cover the dough and allow to rise until double in size (about 2 hours).


3. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface into a rectangle, until 1/4 inch thick. Pour melted butter over surface and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up dough, jellyroll style. Using plain dental floss to cut (slide floss underneath dough and wrap around to cut off pieces), cut rolls approximately 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches thick.


4. Place on lightly greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.


5. While rolls are baking, make frosting.  Cream together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla.  Add 1 cup powdered sugar and salt.  Beat until combined.  Add 1 Tbs. of milk and beat again.  Repeat process until all powdered sugar and milk are used.  When the rolls are done, spread icing on while warm.

Makes 1 dozen rolls, Serves 12

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Grandma Cook's Thanksgiving Stuffing

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is a tradition that has been passed down through several generations now - my Grandma Cook's Stuffing.  It's been a staple on the Thanksgiving table for as long as I can remember.  Even when we weren't at my grandparents' house, it would still be part of the meal.  And I am pleased to say that I have converted several members of The Hubs' family to stuffing as well!  People who have sworn off stuffing and profess to hate the stuff try this version and fall in love.  The difference is that my grandmother would use a pork sausage in her stuffing.  It gives the dressing/bread cubes flavor and a little kick, but not so much that you feel like you are reaching for a glass of water to wash it down.

Now, a little something that I do - I like to buy Jimmy Dean's® Pork Sausage with Sage in it.  You can find it in the meat section this time of year.  That way, you can get a little added oopmh.  I also like to make my stuffing a week or two ahead of the holiday to keep myself out of the kitchen for the ENTIRE day on Thanksgiving and the day before.  I place it in an aluminum pan  and seal it tightly with heavy duty foil, then I pop it in the freezer.  I pull it out an hour or two before dinner on Thanksgiving and stick it in the oven for the regular baking time.  And no, I do NOT put the stuffing in the turkey cavity.  Too many risks for food poisoning!

Grandma Cook's Thanksgiving Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 cylinder pork sausage
1 onion, finely chopped
1 russet potato, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 box Mrs. Cubbison's Classic Seasoned Dressing or Cube Stuffing
1 tsp. sage
1/2 Tbs. poultry seasoning

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown sausage.  Add onion, potato, and carrots.  Saute until vegetables are tender.

2. Pour dressing/stuffing into a 9x13 inch pan.  Sprinkle sage and poultry seasoning over dressing.  Add warm meat and vegetable mixture and gently fold until all ingredients are incorporated.

3. Cover with aluminum foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until heated through.

**Tip: You can make this ahead of time and freeze until ready to use.  Just make sure the pan is tightly sealed with foil to avoid freezer burn.  Remove from freezer about 1 hour before heating.

Serves 6

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Banana Walnut Bread

The last round of quick bread that I made (Apple Cinnamon Bread) left me wanting another type of quick, sweet bread with a streussel type topping.  I had some very ripe bananas sitting on the counter, staring me in the face, and I knew that they needed to go.  But I already have a Banana Bread recipe.  Solution?  Add some walnuts and chocolate chips!

The chocolate chips break up the banana flavor (and vice versa) and the walnuts give it a crunch as well as a heartiness that the bread doesn't have alone.  And I learned something in the process: If I bake the bread just 5 minutes less than I usually do, I will end up with the sticky top that I LOVE from store bought sweet breads.  I am getting so excited to have a few sweet bread recipes under my belt before the holidays start.

Banana Walnut Bread

(With Chocolate Chips)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbs. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3 ripe bananas (the blacker the better!)

1 3/4 cups bread flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped walnuts, divided

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" bread pan.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Beat on low until smooth.  Add bananas and beat again until smooth.

3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, mix together until dry ingredients are incorporated, but small lumps should remain.  Do not over mix.  Fold in 1/2 cup walnuts and chocolate chips.

4. Pour batter into bread pan and sprinkle remaining walnuts over the top.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool in bread pan.  Run a knife along edges to loosen bread and remove.

Makes 1, 9" loaf

Serves 8

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Apple Cinnamon Bread

I have gotten into the habit, on the weekends, to make some type of quick bread for us to eat for breakfast. It's been than us running down the street to go to McDonald's.  And it's easier than getting up and making pancakes.  I am NOT that mom.  I'd rather have pancakes for Brinner.  And we have cereal during the week and frankly we just like a little change.

So the mission this week was to come up with a bread that could use some apples that I had sitting in the fridge for a little while.  The bread turned out as a nice coffee cake type bread with a streusel topping.  Chunks of apples mix it up, but not too much.  It was amazing.  The family ate it up within 2 days.  The one thing that I did different was that I gave the bread 2 layers of streusel - one on top and one in the middle - and added some chopped pecans in the middle layer.

Apple Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients:

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 gala apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" bread pan.

2. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Separate into two parts and add nuts to one part.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together granulated sugar and butter.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined.

4. Add 1 cup flour and baking powder and gently mix with a wooden spoon.  Add buttermilk and apples and gently fold until combined.  Add remaining 1/2 cup of flour.  DO NOT OVERMIX!

4. Pour half the batter into bread pan.  Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and nut mixture over top.  Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 1, 9" loaf
Serves 8

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Banana Bread

My parents always tried to get us to eat bananas, A LOT of bananas, when I was growing up.  And without fail, they would always get black spots before we could eat them all.  And then we didn't want anything to do with them.  What is funny to me, that I found out recently, is those dark spots indicate that the banana is ripe.  When they are still green and yellow, they are not ripe.  What?!  NO!  I love my bananas that way!  Anyway, there was always an answer though to using those bananas that were never eaten - Banana Bread.  My mom made it in mass batches.  Then she'd freeze the loaves and save them for later.  

Everyone has a favorite way to make Banana Bread.  But everyone will admit that it's simple, it uses bananas that don't get eaten before they "go bad," and it's delicious.  It's great for breakfast or for a snack.  Personally, I love a nice thick slice of this, toasted, with butter on it for breakfast.  Hubs loves it.  K2 had a slice today for lunch.  It pretty much disappears as quickly as it was made.  Do I complain - nope. Those brown bananas aren't going to waste!

Banana Bread

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
4 medium very ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of 1, 9-inch bread pan with shortening.


2. In mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Add flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until combined. 


3. Pour batter into bread pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and lay pan on its side.  Allow to cool.  Loosen loaf from bread pan by running a butter knife around the edges. Remove from bread pans and allow to completely cool before putting in baggies. Bread will keep for 10 days when kept in refrigerator.

*Emergency substitution: I HATE to buy buttermilk just for the sole purpose of making this, so I make my own: 1 Tbs. lemon juice or white vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup.

Makes 1 loaf

Updated 9/24/2013

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Cornbread

Growing up in the South, spicy food became a love of mine.  So did a little something that just made spicy food so much tastier - cornbread.  I absolutely love the contrast of the sweet and the spicy.  One of my favorite aspects of a crawfish boil is the corn that soaks up the spices.  I can find the same flavor any time I make cornbread and crumble it into anything spicy - Gumbo, Chili, Jambalaya.  But honestly, Cornbread is just plain awesome anytime.

This particular recipe is fantastic.  It comes out full of sweet flavor, and moist.  DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT overcook this.  I have found that 30 minutes is perfect.  It might be tempting to leave it in for a few more minutes, but don't.  You'll dry it out and make it mealy.  If you are uncertain, stick a toothpick in the center.  As long as it comes out clean, you're good to go.

Cornbread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease bottom and sides of 8x8" pan.

2. Place butter in a microwave safe bowl.  Melt butter in microwave.  Whisk in sugar and eggs.  Add buttermilk.  In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, cornmeal, flour, and salt.  Add to liquid and stir until combined, but there should still be some small lumps.  Set aside and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Pour batter into pan.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until edges and top begin to brown.  Remove from oven and allow to sit for a minimum of 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

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Focaccia Bread

Ever go to a restaurant and they bring out some awesome bread to start you off?  And it's so fantastic that you fill up on it before your meal even gets there?  That's me and my horrible obsession with certain chain's Focaccia Bread.  You know, that one with the fantastic crusty bread and yummy olive oil and balsamic vinegar dipping sauce?  And since I don't have mile deep pockets and can't go there just for the bread, I have to do something else - make my own!

One of the aspects of restaurant Focaccia Bread is that it is light and soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside.  Sorry, but in my opinion, bread should have a wonderful crispy crust.  I spent some time in France during my Senior year of high school, and I just fell in love with the bread there.  And that's exactly what it was - light and soft inside and crispy on the outside.  To get that, you need to give the bread a nice little egg wash before baking it.

Focaccia Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
1 Tbs. yeast
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cup bread flour
1 Tbs. rosemary
1 egg

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine water, yeast and sugar.  Let sit to allow yeast to work and become foamy.  Add olive oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, and mix until dough is smooth.

2. Add rosemary and remaining flour.  Knead for 5 minutes or until rosemary and remaining flour are incorporated and dough is smooth.  Grease a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to rise for 2 hours or until double in size.

3. Remove dough from bowl and divide in half.  Using hands, make each piece into a round, about 8 inches in diameter.  Place on ungreased cookie/baking sheet.  Lay a towel over dough and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk egg in a small bowl and brush over the top of dough rounds.  Place baking sheet in oven and cook for 20-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 2 loafs, Serves 8

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