Banana Bread

From Taste of Home Cookbook

1/4 c. butter, softened (I'd say 1/3 c.)
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
1/2 c. sour cream
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. ground cinnamon
(dash of ground cloves)
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Variation:
Fold in 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or vanilla or white chips)

1) In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

2) Stir in bananas and sour cream. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir into banana mixture just until moistened. Fold in nuts.

3) Transfer to a greased 8x4x2 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick is inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Infamous Cheese Zombies :)

Anyone who went to high school in the Mount Diablo School District knows about these yummy rolls filled with melted cheese. It is the ultimate comfort food! Perfect for rainy days! I guess I wasn't the only one who was addicted to these. I have heard of many people who share this "food memory" with me that still crave it! It seriously makes me laugh! People talk about going back to our high school just to walk through the lunch line to get one...and some actually do! Good thing I'm a couple states away or that could be me! I pulled this recipe off of my High School's Facebook page. Someone took the time to contact the school district to get this recipe.

Cheese Zombies

To make 2 ½ pounds of dough:

2 cups warm water

1½ - 2 Tablespoons yeast

6 cups bread flour (can use 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white flour)

¼ cup sugar

1 – 1 ½ teaspoons salt (depending on taste)

¼ cup butter

Directions

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add remaining ingredients and mix with dough hook about 10 minutes until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Dough should be soft and pliable. Let dough rest a few minutes then divide into 1-pound portions. Roll the portions into logs. Cut each log into 5 equal pieces. 

Place your favorite filling on top of each dough slice, then pull dough up from the sides to cover filling. Pinch closed very carefully. Place zombies pinched side down on parchment paper or a greased cookie sheet pan (parchment works best). If desired, brush with egg wash. Let rise until almost doubled in size. Bake @350 degrees until brown on top, about 15 to 20 minutes. 

*When I have tried to make these I don't brush with the egg wash. To soften the rolls, I immediately brush them with water a couple of times--which steams them.

Fillings: If traditional filling is desired use 1 ½ to 2 oz. of cheese per zombie, however, you can use a variety of different fillings. For example: pepperoni, pizza sauce & cheese, ham & cheese, sausage, green chilies, ground beef, sloppy joes, scrambled eggs, vegetables, etc.

Danish Pastry

Recipe from Linda Beach

(This recipe makes 2 large pastries)

2 pkgs. dry yeast (2 tsp. each) dissolved in 1/2 c. warm water (shouldn't feel hot to the touch)

1 lb. butter

1/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 c. milk

6 c. flour (3 c. at a time)

Fruit Filling:

3/4+ can cherry or blueberry pie filling or about a cup of jam (slightly drained is helpful)

Almond Filling: (To make "bear claws" :) 
3/4 c. Zwieback crumbs (I used 1 1/2 c. crumbs from Zwieback toast)
1/2 c. butter, melted (I used 1/4 c.)
1 egg, beaten (I used 2 egg whites)
1/2 t. almond extract
1/2 t. cinnamon (try 3/4 t.)
1/2 c. powdered sugar (can increase to 3/4 c.)
1 (7 ounce) stick of almond paste (found at Pirate O's)--it helped to grate it.com
*combine filling ingredients together and mix well; set aside.
**enough filling to make 2 full size pastries

Pastry:
 

Cream 1 stick of butter with the sugar and salt. Add the eggs and beat well. Mix in the milk and yeast mixture. Add the flour, one half at a time. Mix just enough in to moisten the flour and form a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured counter and pat into a 14" square. Fold all sides under to form a square. Gently pat down and wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1/2 hour or until well chilled.

Place chilled dough on a lightly floured counter and roll out into an approximately 12x17 inch rectangle. Cut one of the cubes of butter (chilled, or slightly thawed butter) into an 15 or 20 pats and place one half of them down the center third of the dough. Fold over one side and place the other half of the butter down the center again. Fold over remaining side. Turn the dough sideways and roll it back into a large rectangle. Repeat the process two more times with the two remaining cubes of butter. Cut the dough in half and wrap with plastic wrap and chill well. Take one piece and roll out on a lightly floured counter into a 13x18 inch rectangle. (Place parchment paper under pastry before cutting--helpful) Spread the filling (jam or pie filling) down the center third of the dough. With a sharp knife, make diagonal slices on the two outer thirds of the dough approximately one inch apart, within 1/2 inch of the filling. Moisten the outer edges with water. Fold down the top edge and cross over the top two slices, sealing them on the other side of the jam. hold with two toothpicks. Continue to fold the strips over the jam, pressing them firmly on the other side of the jam and alternating the sides until two strips remain. Fold up the bottom edge and cross over the last two strips and seal with two toothpicks. Lift off of the counter with two spatulas and place onto a greased jelly roll pan or large cookie sheet. (I like to use parchment paper). Cover with plastic wrap and a light towel to insulate. Let rise until doubled -it takes about one hour.

*WARNING: Don't put pastry in a warm oven to raise or the butter will melt out of the layers and they will disappear! (I know, it's so tempting!)

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 mins. or until lightly browned. (I also check to make sure that the inner dough isn't too doughy before I take it out of oven. If the inside is doughy and the top is already browned, cover with foil and bake a little longer.) Drizzle with a powdered sugar frosting made of 1-1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. of vanilla and 1/2 tsp. almond extract and enough milk to make a thin glaze.

*P.S. - I just made this for Justin for the first time after he got home from his mission and when I pulled it out of the oven he said, "It looks amazing." :) After he tasted it, he said, "I didn't know you could cook!" ;) ...and "This is the best pastry I have ever had!"..."Not that it's better than my cookies, because it's in a different category." Ha! Anyway, that made it worth the effort! :D By the way, I think I started "cooking" more after Justin left on his mission. Surprise! :)

Soft Pretzels

When I was more ambitious and adventurous, this was one of my 4th of July traditions. I still crave these pretzels about this time but too lazy to do them. Fun activity to do with kids if you are "up" to it. ;) We made shapes like teddy bears with them with some of the dough and just made knots out of the rest of them. The key to this pretzel is in the salt. A good coarse salt like Kosher salt is great, although back in the day I used magarita salt since Kosher salt was nowhere to be found.

This recipe was from my 7th Grade Foods Class. :) It's a keeper.

1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/2 c. lukewarm water
3/4 t. salt
1 1/2 t. sugar
4 c. flour
1 egg
coarse salt (Kosher salt)

Soften the yeast in lukewarm water in a large bowl. Add salt & sugar. Mix in flour well. Knead to make a soft dough. Do not let rise. Cut in small pieces. Roll in long, pencil thin ropes and form into pretzel shapes. It helps to moisten the dough (using a little water on my finger) in areas that you want to stick together.

Place pretzels on a cookie sheet that is covered with foil and dusted with flour. Brush pretzels with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse salt. (or cinnamon and sugar) Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until light brown.

Serve with melted butter, or mustard. Carb heaven. :)