Pull Apart Apple Bread

Non-stick cooking spray
1 can Grands Butter Tastin’ Biscuits (8 count) and 1 small can (5 count)
½ cup oats
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 apple, cored, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
4 Tbsp. butter
4 oz. cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a bundt loaf pan with cooking spray.  Place oats, cinnamon and sugar in a processor.  Pulse to grind.  Pour into a small bowl.  Cut biscuits into 1/4s 4 biscuits at a time.  Roll each in oat mixture pressing lightly to coat.  Place in bundt pan.  Top with 1/2 of the apple chunks.  Cut the next 4 biscuits, roll in oats mixture and place on top of apples.  Top with remaining apples.  Cut up remaining biscuits and place on top of the apples.  Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture. 

In a small saucepan combine butter and sweetened, condensed milk, mixing well as butter melts.  Pour half over top of biscuits and apples.  Bake 45 minutes or until biscuits are done.  Add cream cheese to remaining condensed milk mix.  Heat over low until cream cheese has melted and blended with condensed milk.  (It will thicken).  Spoon over biscuits and apples while still hot.

Comments:  This is so delicious! I made this Christmas and passed it out to some of my testers.  They all wanted more.  You can make this smaller by using a loaf pan and only 1 can of biscuits and 1 apple putting down a layer of biscuits, the apples and the remaining biscuits.  The cooking time will still be about 45 minutes due to there not being the bundt pan hole in the center.  If your cream cheese doesn’t melt completely, which is hard to get it to do in the milk, don’t worry about it.  It just adds even more flavor to the bread.  You can add nuts to this too if you want.  I would mix them in with the apples.

Gluten Free Sausage Balls

1 cup gluten free baking mix
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 lb. lean sausage, cooked and drained
2 cups shredded cheese
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Shape into 1 - 1 1/2" balls.  Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes 3 1/2 - 4 dozen.

Comment:  I love sausage balls but since I'm trying to do away with gluten I thought I would never enjoy them again.  Then I spotted a box of Natural Gluten Free Cafe All Purpose Baking Mix.  The back carried 2 recipes.  One for muffins and one for Zucchini Bread - both sweet - so I decided to work it up along the way.  The above recipe turned out perfect.  The sausage balls come out light and so good.  Use your favorite choice in cheese flavors.  I used extra sharp cheddar but some good blends would be good too.  This will be my one and only Sausage Ball recipe from now on.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

4 bananas, mashed with a fork (the riper the better)
4 eggs
1/2 cup almond butter
4 Tbsp. Ghee
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.  In a large bowl add bananas, eggs, almond butter, ghee and vanilla.  Use a hand blender to combine well.  Add in the coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend well.  Pour into the loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool slightly before slicing.

Comments:  This is my 1st real, homemade gluten free dish.  I did do a few things different.  I let my bananas go until the peel was black.  When they say the riper the better it should say the riper the sweeter.  When I bought my almond butter I bought the 'crunchy' type to add a texture.  From what I could find on Ghee it is clarified butter so I hate to say it but I used melted butter instead of the Ghee.  The coconut flour can be quite expensive.  I priced it in the grocery stores and the health food stores and it sells for about $10.00 a lb.  I found it in Walmart for $6.00 a pound.  Coconut flour must be refrigerated after opening so don't leave it out in the pantry after using.  When I read the 1/2 cup of coconut flour I was a little worried.  I couldn't see how that small amount would make 'bread' when combined with that many bananas and eggs.  Surprise!  That 1/2 cup thickened the mixture to make an actual fairly thick batter.  I only used 1 tsp. of the cinnamon because I felt it would overpower the banana flavor.

Now for taste.  At first bite I thought "well, I'm not so sure."  Within a matter of seconds I wanted another bite, then another and ate the whole slice and loved it.  I could taste the bananas which gave it the perfect sweetness.  I could taste just a hint of cinnamon but most of all I had an aftertaste of something I truly love - coconut.  I could actually taste the coconut from the flour!  This is a bread I'll make often.  And it's healthy!!!

Strawberry (or Peach) Cream Cheese Bread

 

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups strawberries, rinse, dried and chopped (or peaches)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan. I use "Pam for Baking."  Use an electric mixer to cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.  In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Blend flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended. Add buttermilk and only stir until just combined; do not over mix  Carefully fold in strawberries. Dough mixture will be thick.  Bake in a 350°F oven for 50 to 60 minutes

Comments:  This recipe came to me from Author Mary Kennedy.  As most of you know by now, I always change something.  In this case I used peaches instead of strawberries simply because that is what I had on hand.  It worked perfectly!  Can't wait to try this with other fruit such as blueberries and blackberries. This bread is getting raving reviews from my Food Testers.

Apple Cheddar Bread (1982 cookbook)

2 cups sifted self-rising flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup coarsely broken walnuts or pecans (I used pecans)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups apples, peeled and chopped (1 large or 2 small)
1/2 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (I used 1 cup)
1/4 cup milk (I used 1/2 cup of Almond milk)
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  (I used non-stick spray).  In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and nuts.  In another bowl mix the remaining ingredients.  Stir wet mixture into flour mixture.  Batter will be lumpy (and thick).  Spoon into loaf pan and bake 60-70 minutes.  If top browns too quickly, cover it with foil the last 15 minutes.  Remove from pan immediately and cool on a wire rack.

Comments:  This is another recipe I found in one of my older cookbooks.  The apple type is your choice.  I used Gala and 1 large made 1 1/2 cups.  I believe 2 small would give you about the same but I also don't think that a little extra apple will hurt this bread.  As for the cheese - I love apple pie with melted cheese so this just didn't seem to be enough cheese for my taste so I used a full cup instead of the half.  And since the Almond milk is thicker than regular milk I increased it to 1/2.  Actually this wasn't a bad idea because I think the batter would have been a little too dry so the extra I added worked perfectly.  Now for taste.  OMGoodness!  You get a slight sweetness from the sugar, a slight tart from the apple and a touch of salt from the cheese.  This bread couldn't have been better.  This is a dish that everyone will love, even those who don't like cheese.

Coconut Muffins

2 cups flour

1 tbsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick butter

1 large egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Melt the stick of butter, allowing it to cool afterwards but do not let it coagulate again.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Add in the sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix well.  Line your muffin pan.

Add the melted butter slowly to the egg mixture. You do not want it too warm or it will cook the egg. You also only want to add a little at a time, mix, add some more, mix and keep going until it's all in. Now add it to the dry ingredients you set aside and mix.  Do not over-mix. Lumpy is good!  Add 1/4 cup of coconut and mix.  Add the mixture to muffin pan. Fill almost to the top of the liner. Set aside when all are topped up.

Now, in a small sauce pan, add the other 1/4 cup of coconut. Turn the heat to med-high and keep stirring the coconut over the heat until it is lightly golden.  When it is golden, remove from heat. 

Using a small spoon, add some 'toasted' coconut across the top of the muffins. It gives a streusel-like topping.  Now pop those bad boys in the oven and bake until the toothpick comes clean, or approximately 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven.

*Please note: The mixture is a basic muffin mix. If you want blueberry or some other flavor, just replace the first batch of coconut with desired flavor. Then omit the last step of toasting coconut. You can have any kind of muffin you want with this mix.*

Comments:  I found this recipe on a site titled Freda's Voice and since it contains coconut I had to give it a try.  Love it!  I did make a couple of changes.  The original recipe above called for 1 cup of milk and I used Almond Coconut Milk which is thicker than regular milk so I added an extra 1/4 cup (1 1/4 total).  I also used the full half cup of coconut in the batter and toasted another 1/4 cup for the topping.  One mistake I made was to toast the coconut too long.  Let the coconut get barely tanned because it will darken while baking.  In fact, I will probably not toast my coconut topping at all the next time, letting the oven do it for me.  These muffins are not super sweet making them really appealing to me.  And as you can see from the note above, you can actually use this recipe for just about any kind of muffins.

Comment form Food Tester Carol:  Martha, when you brought over these coconut muffins, we were so excited!  There is nothing like toasted coconut and we dove into them!  This must be an "old-fashioned" recipe because it is so pleasingly simple and the coconut permeates everything.  It reminds us too, of a coconut pie with toasted coconut on top that some of the ladies in mother's church make for the harvest picnic (and we all stand in line for even a sliver!)."

Apple Cinnamon Glaze Muffins (Upside Down Apple Muffins)

6 Tbsp. melted, butter
6 Tbsp. sugar
cinnamon
1 large apple peeled, diced thin


Into a 12 tin muffin pan put 1 tsp. of the melted butter.  Add 1 tsp. of sugar to each tin and sprinkle with cinnamon (to taste).  Divide the apple evenly between the tins. 


Batter:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  To the beaten egg add milk and melted butter.  Stir liquid into dry mix.  Stir until batter is smooth.  Divide evenly between the muffin tins.  Bake 20-23 minutes.  Turn out of pan at once.  Serve warm or cold with butter.


Comments:  I found a version of this recipe in a 1950s pamphlet put out by the National Association of Margarine Manufacturers.  All of the recipes within this booklet called for margarine.  Well, in the 50s margarine was made a little differently than it is today.  Back then margarine was made from "highly refined vegetable oils and cultured pasteurized skim milk."  Most of the margarines you see on the grocery shelves are soft spreads and are made from a variety of ingredients making them not as easy to use when baking older recipes.  That is why I used butter instead of margarine.  The original recipe also called for cherries.  You would use a 1 lb. can of sweetened cherries, drained.  I decided to try this with apples and added the cinnamon.  Either way, this is another great 'oldie but goodie' recipe from the past.  It's simple and can be made with the apples, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, etc.  Think with Your Taste Buds when making this recipe.  Oh yeah!  If you have someone who likes cherries, another who likes blueberries, and yet another who likes apples, make your muffins by adding different fruits in some of the tins and other fruits in others.

Comments from Food Tester Carol:  We were rescued this week by Apple Cinnamon Glaze Muffins.  Coming home from a two-hour stretch of therapy and having no lunch, three of us arrived home to find these delightful muffins.  They were just right to bring our stamina - the chopped fruit on top, with just a hint of butter and sugar - just the way we used to experience our mom's pineapple upside down cake.  What a marvelous way to revive an old treat, present it with various fruits and a light cake muffin.  It looks more complex than it really is.  I believe Martha when she says it is simple to make, but oh so delicious.

Streusel-Nut Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (5 med. ripe)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter
1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc.)

Streusel-Not Topping
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc.)
In a small bowl mix sugar and flour.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixtures resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in nuts.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 2 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2 loaf pans or one 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan, with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, sugar and oil.  Add to dry mixture all at once stirring just until moistened.  Fold in nuts.  Pour into pans.  Sprinkle Streusel-Nut Topping over batter.  Bake 55 - 60 minut4es for the 9 x 5 x 3 pan or 40 to 45 minutes for the 2 smaller pans, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing form the pan.


Comments:  I love banana bread but this has to be one of the best recipes I've ever tried.  The Streusel topping gives it an added texture and taste.  It's the perfect solution for using up those over ripe bananas.  I used pecans in mine but I'm sure it's just as good with walnuts.  I also want to give this recipe a try using black walnuts.  I think the combination of the 2 will make for a really delicious bread.  Of course due to the strong flavor of the black walnuts, I'll cut their amount down to about 1/2 what is called for with the walnuts and pecans.

Mrs R's Date & Nut Loaf

1 cup dates, chopped
3/4 cup boiling water
1 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
several whole walnuts to decorate

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour an 8 x 4" loaf pan.  Set aside.  Bring the water to a boil.  Remove from heat, add dates and soda.  Allow to cool.  In a bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Stir in flour and salt.   Add cooled date mixture.  Stir in chopped walnuts.  Don't over mix.  Spread in prepared loaf pan.  Smooth over and place whole walnut halves on top in a decorative manner.  Bake for 1 hour or until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to sit in pan 5 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.  Store covered in an airtight container.  This tastes even better the next day.

Comments:  Years ago I found date nut bread in cans.  I loved them and could easily eat a whole can with cream cheese.  I haven't found them since and have never really given much thought to making my own.  That is until I spotted this recipe.  The recipe came from Marie Rayner @ Cook Eat Share and if you aren't a date nut bread lover, I have no doubt that you'll find many other dishes posted by this lady that will fit your taste buds.  But if you are, give this recipe a try.  It's easy and sooooo delicious.

Canned Biscuit Sticky Buns

2 tubes (10 count) butter me not biscuits
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup light corn syrup
11/2 tsp. rum flavoring
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a bowl combine syrup butter and rum flavoring.  In another bowl combine sugar, cinnamon and nuts.  Pour half into the bottom of a tube/bundt pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over syrup mixture.  Open biscuits and place standing up around the pan forming a ring.  Spoon the remaining syrup and remaining sugar mixtures over biscuits, opening them slightly to allow both mixtures to fun between each biscuit.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and then invert onto a serving platter.

Comments - The original recipe came from The Jones Way.  It called for 1/2 cup of pancake syrup which I didn't have so I used the light corn syrup and added the rum flavoring.  You can increase or decrease the rum but taste it after the butter has been added for a truer flavor.  The original recipe also called for 2 small tubes or 1 large tub of Grand biscuits.  I decided to try the Butter Me Not (those with chips of butter throughout the biscuits).  These worked wonderfully and allowed me to use 2 cans.  I also increased the amount of cinnamon from 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp.  When tasting I felt it needed just a bit more.  So, Think With Your Taste Buds on this one.  There are so many options.  You can use the corn syrup and change up the extract flavorings.  You can change the biscuits to maybe flaky.  You can even change from cinnamon to allspice, apple pie spices, nutmeg, etc.

Cheezy Bacon Grit Muffins

1/2 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled
2 pkg. (individual size) instant grits
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 cup self rising flour

Make grits according to directions on package. Add milk, egg , cheese and flour. Combine until moistened. Fold in bacon. Line muffin 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Spray with non-stick spray. Divide mix equally into muffin tins. Bake 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven

Try this with sausage or ham. It's good no matter what type of meat you enjoy for breakfast.

Black-Eyed Pea Dressing

1 lb. hot ground sausage
1 med. onion, diced
1 box (6 oz.) stuffing mix
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cans (15.8 oz.) black-eyed peas, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Cook sausage and onions in a large skillet over med. high heat, stirring until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain. In a food processor grind stuffing mix until it looks like bread crumbs. In a large bowl combine stuffing, flour and baking soda. In another bowl stir together eggs, buttermilk and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. Add sausage, peas and cheese. Blend well. Pour into a 13 x 9 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake uncovered 1 hr. Serves 6-8