Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins

I found a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup that I wanted to try (check back tomorrow for that recipe!) and thought I'd pair it with cornbread. A quick search brought me to this recipe for Buttermilk Cornbread. Lucky me forgot that I even wanted to make this, and dinner time arrived without me noticing. I had already made the soup yesterday, so I debated making the cornbread all together. I decided to improvise and just make it into muffins so it would bake faster. I couldn't be happier with my problem solving skills on this one. Definitely a good call on my part!

These are super easy and come together very quickly!

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease an 8x8 pan, or a muffin pan- it makes 12 muffins.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt:
1/2 c butter

Let cool a second, then add:
1/2 c sugar

One at a time, stir in:
2 eggs

Combine and then add to the mix:
1 c buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda

Last, mix in:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Stir until well combined and few lumps remain, then spread into pan and bake 30-40 minutes, or 20 minutes for muffins. It's done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Olga's Bread, Snackers and Cheese Dip

I <3 Olga's. And if you don't know what Olga's is, then you live in the wrong part of the country. They make the most delicious pita bread. It's sweet, but not too sweet. It's soft and chewy. It's delightful. We've been really cutting back on our restaurant trips (if you couldn't already tell by the surge of blog posts), and so I wanted to attempt to curb my Olga's craving by making their bread. I found a copycat recipe, but I'm not sure if the creator has ever been to Olga's.

I attempted making the snackers as directed and I also tried it as the pita bread. It's not that it was bad, but you know when you are expecting one thing and you get another- it tastes awful? It was kind of like that. Granted, after I got the whole disappointment that it simply wasn't a copycat recipe, the bread tasted delicious with my BLT. The snackers, however, were nothing to write home about. And the cheese dip wasn't on the top of my list either. Carl said it was good, I think I was just overwhelmed that it really not what I was expecting. There is another copycat Olga's bread that I want to try, so I'm hoping that will taste more like the real deal. Otherwise, this bread is perfectly suitable for our BLT nights!

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 pkg. dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups Borden's eggnog, canned
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided use

Combine water, sugar and dry yeast in measuring cup and stir to combine. Let stand to proof until doubled (about 5 minutes).

Meanwhile, beat all of the eggnog with only 3 cups of the flour. Set the remaining 1/2 cup flour aside to use when kneading bread later.

After adding about a cup of the flour, work in the yeast mixture beating well. Work in the rest of the flour until completely mixed. Turn into a large, greased bowl and invert another bowl, same size if you can, over dough so you can see it rising.

After it begins to rise (15-25 minutes) work in the last 1/2 cup flour, kneading well into the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Return to greased bowl and cover again to let rise until doubled (about 90 minutes).

Separate instructions for the snackers and bread below.

For the Snackers:

When doubled, turn out onto floured surface and cut into 8 equal portions; roll each into ball and then flatten each with rolling pin to make a very thin circle. Cut each circle into 6 inch triangles. Place these 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet.

Spray tops with garlic-flavored Pam or use plain Pam and dust with a little garlic powder. Then dust well with paprika and seasoned salt.

Bake at 350˚ about 20-25 minutes until firm to the touch.

For the bread:

When doubled, turn out onto floured surface and cut into 8 equal portions; roll each into ball and then flatten each with rolling pin to make a very thin circle. Heat a skillet on medium-high. Do not spray or coat the pan with anything. Heat each dough round for approximately 1 minute on each side, but keep an eye on it and allow to cook until mottled brown spots appear.

Cheese Dip:

INGREDIENTS

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
* 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted, divided
* 1/3 cup mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg


DIRECTIONS

1. In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the Swiss cheese, 1/3 cup almonds, mayonnaise, onions, pepper and nutmeg. Spoon onto a lightly greased pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees F for 14-15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Serve warm with crackers.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

I love lemon poppyseed muffins. I have since I was little. Not really sure why I've never made them in the past. Thanks to the lovely Annie, I finally did it. I found these to be just a touch salty, so I might do a scant 1/2 tsp next time. I doubled the batch and actually got 24 nice sized muffins plus 24 mini muffins. So I'm thinking I also could have gotten 24 big muffins. They were a hit, and will definitely be on my list for any brunch or afternoon gathering. Nice and light with a lot of flavor!

For the muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)

For the glaze (optional):
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Combine the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir briefly to combine. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in the lemon zest and the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in two additions alternating with the yogurt, beating each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the muffins are still warm, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl to make the glaze. Drizzle a small amount of the glaze over each muffin. Let the glaze set before serving.

Banana Pecan Bread

I had some extra ripe bananas just begging to be made into something fantastic. Luckily, I didn't have any walnuts on hand, so it made me search for a new recipe that included pecans, something I did have. This recipe calls this Moist Banana Pecan Bread, and it is! I'm enjoying a warm piece out of the oven now...and you should too!

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar until creamed. Beat in eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla until creamy.
3. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually add this dry mixture into creamed mixture and mix well. Batter will get thick.
4. Stir in chopped pecans.
5. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 for 70-80 minutes. (Mine took the full 80 minutes)
   
6. Makes 1 loaf.

Cranberry Orange Scones

I had some leftover cranberries from the Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake...well and some oranges. So when I saw this recipe on The Way the Cookie Crumbles, it was screaming my name. I really love to eat scones, so I thought I'd try my hand at making them. Yummy! This is the perfect sweet bread for breakfast. I'll totally make them again...I'll have to try some variation though!

Makes 8 scones

1½ tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
2½ cups (12 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ cup (3.5 ounces) sugar plus 3 tablespoons
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1½ cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse (I usually do this in the food processor)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a small bowl, toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar. In another small bowl, lightly beat the egg and yolk, then stir in cream.

3. In a food processor, pulse the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and zest until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a large bowl. (You can also just smoosh the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers instead of using a food processor.) Stir the cranberries into the flour mixture. Then gently fold the egg mixture into the flour until just combined.

4. On a well-floured surface with floured hands, pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter). With a 2-inch round cutter or the rim of a glass dipped in flour, cut out as many rounds as possible, rerolling the scraps as necessary. (Or cut the circle into wedges, which is my standard method.) Arrange the scones about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool about 10 minutes, then serve.

*I did however find the dough to be a bit moist, so I just added some flour as I went.

Raisin Challah French Toast

I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful coworker bring me some raisin challah bread. She is celebrating Rosh Hashanah and brought a few of us our own loaves! She highly recommended making french toast with it, so I didn't delay. We enjoyed it this morning!

Not much of a recipe here, but here's what I did:

1. Cut the challah in 1/2 inch slices- I did 4 slices
2. Mix two eggs, 1/4 c milk and 1 tsp of cinnamon in a shallow bowl
3. Heat a pan on med-high and spray a non-stick spray
4. Dip the bread in the egg mixture, flip and dip again
5. Cook the bread on each side for approximately 4 minutes- be sure to check it though of course!
6. Eat it! Mmmm! We sprinkled with powdered sugar, and of course used real maple syrup.