Brownies!

So everyone loves brownies, or most everyone! I found a very simple recipe for brownies and an easy fudge frosting recipe that require no cooking! So, here goes!

Brownies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

You only need a half recipe for the brownies....it is so easy!

No-cook fudge frosting

• 4 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup butter , softened
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

• 1. In a bowl mix together the powdered sugar and cocoa.
  2. Add the butter, boiling water and vanilla.
  3. Beat with mixer at low speed until combined.
  4. Beat at medium speed for 1 minute.
  5. Cool for 20-30 minutes or until spreading consistency

Happy Baking!

Like Riley's cookies? There are similar!

So you like tea cookies from Riley's Bakery? Well, these are very similar! They are easy to make and taste very close! I had the recipe years ago and lost it, so here it is again! They are melt in your mouth good!

Confectioner's Sugar Cookies
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1-1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour


Directions
1. In large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar and salt; beat until combined, scraping sides of
bowl. Beat in vanilla. Add flour; beat until dough comes together. Wrap and chill
dough 1 hour or until easy to handle.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Take dough out and pinch off enough dough to make 1" balls, place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets, flatten center slightly with your thumb. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheets 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack; cool completely.

3. Make powdered sugar icing, and dollop a half-teaspoon to one teaspoon of icing onto each cookie

4. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days; freeze up to 3 months.

Powdered Sugar Icing: Mix together 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 stick soft butter and 1 to 3 tablespoons milk one tablespoon at a time. Add food color of your choice to icing.

I hope you enjoy these cookies! They melt in your mouth! Yum!

Homemade Chocolate Chip Muffins! Melt in your mouth!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/3 cup light-brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter*, melted and cooled
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (11 1/2 ounce) package milk chocolate chips

May stir in 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans if desired.
If you don't use self rising flour, use plain flower and add 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.
*shouldn't substitute margarine for butter because of the water content. May cause muffins to be flat and dough-like.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Grease twelve muffin cups.
3. In a large bowl, stir together flour and sugars, (baking powder and salt if used).
4. In another bowl, stir together milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla until blended.
5. Make a well in center of dry ingredients.
6. Add milk mixture and stir just to combine.
7. Stir in chocolate chips.
8. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
9. Now bake for 15-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean.
10. Remove muffin tin to wire rack.
11. Cool for 5 minutes.
12. Remove from tins to finish cooling.

Serve warm! Store leftovers in an airtight container. May warm slightly if desired before eating.






Gift idea! Bake up a batch in a decorative muffin tin, let cool, wrap in color plastic wrap and give with a copy of the recipe.
Gift idea! layer dry ingredients, one at a time ending with the chocolate chips. Copy recipe (change to say contents of jar, add eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla with the amounts of those items), with baking directions and attach to jar with pretty ribbon.

I hope you enjoy the muffins!

Sourdough Coffee Cake

This is a picture of sourdough coffee cake, it is from the internet. After I make mine, I will edit this picture and change it to mine.

A friend posted on one of my blog posts about the sourdough that she had once had a recipe for sourdough coffee cake. I don't have a recipe for that and she had lost hers. If any of you have one, I invite you to inbox me with it! In the meantime, I researched it a bit and found one that looks quite interesting. I will be trying this this week. I will post pictures of the finished product.

In the meantime, here is one coffee cake recipe......Happy Baking!!!

Sourdough Coffee Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sourdough starter
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

Topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup chilled butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch round baking pan.

Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar into mixing bowl. In another bowl, lightly beat egg with fork. Add oil and blend. Add sourdough starter and stir to blend.

Pour sourdough mixture into bowl of dry ingredients. Stir to blend. Pour batter into prepared pan. Arrange apple slices over top of batter.

Mix topping by combining flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in bowl. Cut butter into small chunks and add to ingredients in bowl. Use fingers to work butter into dry ingredients to create a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle all of the topping over sliced apples in cake pan.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick poked into center of cake comes out completely clean. Allow cake to cool in pan on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bread

So, the sourdough starter I posted last night is needed to make this bread. And this bread dough is needed to make the cinnamon rolls, follow the steps through to dividing in half. It takes a little time, but it is so worth it! Makes good sandwiches and makes good roll substitute for any meal! Happy Baking! These loaves can also be wrapped and given to friends as gifts this upcoming holiday season! :)

Sourdough Bread

• 6 cups bread flour
  
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1 pkg active dry yeast
  
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (120 - 130 degrees)
• 1 TBSP salt

-- Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Gradually stir in oil and remaining ingredients.

-- Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead lightly 4 - 5 times. Place in a well bowl, turn to grease top. Cover and let rise 2 hours or until doubled.

-- For bread, punch down, divide in half, shape each portion into a loaf, place in lightly greased loaf pans, brush tops with 2 tbsp melted butter, cover and let rise one hour or until doubled.

-- Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

-- For rolls, punch down, divide into half, shape each half into 12 balls, place in a greased 8 inch round cake pan. Brush tops with butter. Cover. Let rise one hour or until doubled. Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

From 1995 Southern Living Annual Recipes (I have made these many, many times, they are yummy!)

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
1 Recipe Sourdough bread dough
1/2 cup butter or margarine softened (I use butter)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 T. Cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (I omit these)
3 Cups sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
5 - 6 T. milk

• Divide dough in half. Roll each portion into a 12 x 10 rectangle. Spread each rectangle with 1/4 cup softened butter to within 1/2 inch of edge. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup raisins (if desired).
• Roll dough, jellyroll fashion, starting with long side and press firmly to eliminate air pockets. Pinch seams to seal. Cut into 12 1" slices, place cut side down in 2 greased 13 x 9 x 2 baking pans.
• Cover, let rise in a warm place 1 hour or until doubled
• Bake 350 degrees 20 minutes or until golden
• Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Drizzle over rolls.

Yield 2 dozen rolls.
Enjoy warm!

Can refrigerate, just let rise before baking. Can place in aluminum baking pan, cover with plastic wrap and share as a gift or buy a nice baking dish, place rolls in dish with instructions on baking and give as gift for recipient to keep the dish!

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough bread is a great thing! Last nights post about Amish bread got me to thinking more about how I used to start making sourdough bread this time of year every year, so I may do that again this year. I love to make homemade sourdough cinnamon rolls! They are awesome! Everywhere I have ever taken them people have loved them! So, here is the recipe for the starter. I am going to get it started tomorrow, and I will have a cup to give away in a few days. If you want it, just let me know. Over the next couple of days, I will post how to make the bread and the cinnamon rolls.......good luck!

Sourdough Starter
1 pkg dry yeast 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water 3 T. instant potato flakes

Mix dry yeast with 1/2 cup of the warm water. Combine sugar, remaining 1 cup warm water, and potato flakes. Stir and add yeast mixture. Stir. Loosely cover with plastic wrap with two or three air holes punched in it. Let stand all day. Refrigerate. On day 3, take out and bring to room temperature. Feed with feeder below.

Sourdough Feeder
1 cup warm water
3/4 cup sugar 3 T. instant potato flakes

Mix feeder ingredients. Add to starter. Allow to stand out of refrigerator all day. Should start to bubble. At the end of the day (or 12 hours) remove 1 cup starter to use in making bread. Return remainder to refrigerator. After 3-5 days feed again. Remove one cup starter to give away or make bread, return remainder to refrigerator and repeat cycle. Can be stored in a canning jar, glass bowl or plastic bowl!

I usually feed at night, then when the 12 hours are up, it is daytime hours and I make my bread. :)

I hope you enjoy! Coming up:
Sourdough bread
Sourdough Cinnamon rolls!

Note to self! The sourdough cinnamon rolls make great Christmas gifts!