Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I've tried several pumpkin bread recipes, and this one is by far the best!  The oil makes this bread moist but not greasy, and the chocolate chips are a yummy bonus. The grandkids love this bread slathered with my Spiced Pumpkin Butter.

3 cups white sugar
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1 T ground cinnamon
1 T ground nutmeg
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1 cup miniature chocolate chips (or regular choc chips, chopped)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9x5 loaf pans.  In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water and eggs.  Beat until smooth.  Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.  Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.  Fill the pans 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Bake for one hour, or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks before removing from pans.

Serve with homemade pumpkin butter!

Mornin' Glory Muffins

I've always loved the name of these hardy little breakfast muffins.   Though the recipe belonged to my Aunt, they invoked memories of my dear little grandmother, who would greet me each morning with a cheery, "Mornin' glory," as I'd enter her breakfast room.


I'd thought the recipe lost, until I found it tucked inside an old recipe box my cousin had stashed away for safe keeping.  This particular version is lower in sugar than most you'll find for similar muffins.  If they were any sweeter, they'd have to be called cupcakes.  


My Aunt justified serving them for breakfast, by reasoning that they were chock full things that were good for you - apple, raisins, and carrots.  The coconut and pecans add both taste and texture.


I loved staying at my Aunt's home, which oozed hospitality.  Each morning her guests would rise to a selection of homemade muffins she'd bake in advance, and slip into the freezer.  It was always hard to choose, but in the end, we always had a glorious morning!


2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots (can substitute a cup of zucchini for one of the cups of carrot)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded, sweetened, coconut
1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla

Into a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients.  Stir in the grated carrots, raisins, chopped pecans, coconut, and apple.  Set aside.

In small bowl, beat eggs with vegetable oil and vanilla.  Stir egg mixture into the fruit and flour mixture, just until combined (don't over-mix).

Spoon batter into lined, or well greased muffin pans, filling them to the top (for a real meal, bake them in the larger, bistro-size muffin pans).  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 - 35 minutes, depending upon size.  Watch them, as they tend to burn easily.  When fully cooked, they should be springy to the touch.

Serve warm, or freeze and reheat in a toaster oven.  To add a bit more sunshine, split the warm muffins, and add a dollop of peach or apricot jam to each half =)

I couldn't resist pairing the image of the sunflowers, taken on the sidewalk in Pittsburgh's Strip District, with this happy recipe.

Little Monkey's Banana Fritters

These bite-sized little doughnuts are as simple to make as they are delightful to eat!  I like them even better than apple fritters because they're naturally sweeter.  The banana cooks quickly too!

2 medium-sized bananas, ripe but firm, peeled and chopped into nickle-sized chunks
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
3 cups vegetable oil for frying
confectioners' sugar, to sprinkle
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


In a deep saucepan or deep-fryer, heat oil.  Combine all of the above ingredients, except the oil, sugar and cinnamon.

When oil is hot, drop batter by large tablespoons (try to include at least banana chunk in each tablespoon) into the saucepan (fryer), a few at at time (the more you try to cook at a time, the longer they may take to cook).  When the fritters float to the surface, turn and continue cooking until they are golden-brown (about two - three minutes).

Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towel, and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture (I like to mix the cinnamon and sugar in a sifter).

Plate, and watch the monkeys go WILD!

Cinnamon-Spiced Sweet Rolls with Pecans and Cream Cheese Frosting

The secret to the golden-glow, is the pumpkin!

My grandmother's homemade, caramel-pecan sticky-buns, where a staple on every holiday dinner table.  My brother and I were always on the look-out for seconds and thirds, and would gladly have made them our entire meal.

I followed Grandma's recipe for the gooey, golden yeast rolls for years, but was disappointed when I'd find myself having to toss a half-eaten, or slightly picked-at sticky-bun in the trash.  I finally conceded that Grandma's vintage recipe produced a roll that was heavy and dense by today's standards.  My family just didn't seem to care for them.

Unwilling to give-up on the family sticky-bun tradition, I tried several different contemporary recipes, but none seemed special enough to accompany a stuffed roast turkey, or standing rib roast.  I'd nearly given up, when I stumbled across this very different recipe in our local newspaper.  While not a true sticky-bun (no caramel) these sweet, cinnamon-infused spirals, are a delightful accompaniment to any holiday meal.

This no-knead recipe is incredibly easy to follow, and produces an extraordinarily light, and tender yeast bread. The secret to the golden glow, is the pumpkin.  I topped mine off with a cream cheese glaze.  Unlike many homemade yeast breads, left-overs stay fresh-tasting and moist for a day or two, after the main event!  Pop one in the toaster oven the morning after, and enjoy it with a cup of chai-tea or a lightly spiced holiday coffee.

Dough

1/4 cup water

1 package yeast (one level tablespoon)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1-15 ounce can pumpkin puree

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

5 1/2 cups flour

Filling

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups finely chopped, toasted pecans, divided in half

Frosting
powdered sugar
cream cheese
milk

For dough:
Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and mix to dissolve.  Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan until the butter is melted.  Pour the milk mixture over the sugar, in a large mixing bowl, and stir to dissolve the sugar. When the milk/sugar mixture is still very warm, but not hot, stir in the dissolved yeast mixture.  Add the pumpkin puree and stir to combine.  Finally, add the salt and 5 cups of the flour.  The dough should form a shaggy, moist ball when all the flour is combined.  If it appears to be too wet, add up to 1/2 cup of additional flour (too much flour will make the rolls heavy).

Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 to 3 hours (until doubled in size).  Punch the dough down and refrigerate until ready to use (overnight or up to 18 hours).

To continue:  Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface.  Pat it into a rough rectangle (the dough will be soft and tender).  Using a floured rolling pin, shape into a rectangle that is about 1/2 inch thick.

For filling:  Melt the butter.  Add the brown sugar, and spices.  Spread filling mixture over the rectangle of dough, to the ends of both short sides and one long side.  Leave a 1 inch band of dough free of filling on one long side (the top of rectangle).  Sprinkle one cup of chopped pecans evenly over top.

Beginning with the bottom of the rectangle, roll the dough into a cylinder.  Pinch the dough together at the top of the rectangle to seal.  Coat two 9 x 11 glass casserole dishes with butter.  Cut the cylinder into individual 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces.  Place each piece in a casserole dish, spiral side up, leaving a little wiggle-room between each piece.  Continue until the casseroles are both full.  Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for for 30 - 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let baked rolls cool for about 10 minutes.

For glaze:    Place about 2 cups of powdered sugar in a small bowl.  Add 3 ounces of softened cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of milk.  Carefully, blend until all lumps disappear and glaze is smooth (add more milk if necessary).

Beginning at the center of each roll, spread a dollop of glaze.  Quickly, sprinkle 1/2 cup pecans on each casserole.  To serve, remove rolls from casseroles using a spatula, and place each on an individual bread plate to the left of the dinner plate.  Serve with additional soft butter for a real treat!

Note:  After further contemplation, I bet these could easily become sticky-buns, with the addition of a simple caramel syrup in the bottom of the casserole.  The buns would have to be inverted onto a cookie sheet immediately after baking.  I think I'll try this variation at Christmas, and let you know how it turns out! 

Lemon Crunch Muffins

I absolutely adore these little bursts of sunshine with a cup of hot coffee on a cold, cloudy morning.  I make a full recipe, and then freeze them in zip-lock bags.  Believe it or not, I actually bought a little toaster oven (remember, I'm not a big fan of specialty appliances) so I can easily heat a muffin or two, whenever I feel like it.  I especially like this recipe because my muffins still crunch after spending time in the freezer.

This recipe is a customized version of a basic muffin recipe I found in my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  The Test Kitchen calls them Big Beautiful Muffins, and they are.  I added the lemon, poppy seeds, and the lemon crunch topping.  

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons poppy seeds (optional)
1 1/2 cups plain lowfat yogurt (the key to the wonderful texture)
2 large eggs
1 stick butter, melted
zest from one lemon
granulated sugar (for topping)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and place paper liners in a 12 cup muffin tin.
 
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds together in a large bowl.
Whisk the yogurt, eggs and 1 tablespoon lemon zest together.  I don't like the texture of large bits of peel in my delicate little muffins, so I use my microplane spice grater to get a finely grated zest.
Gently fold the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, just until combined.  Do the same with the melted butter.  Remember, if you over-mix, you'll end up with flat, dense muffins.

Fill your muffin tin with batter.  Each cup will be fairly full.  Next, combine equal amounts of grated lemon zest and granulated sugar, in a very small bowl (about two teaspoons of each).  Use your fingers, to mix and then sprinkle the lemon-sugar mixture on the tops of the muffins.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  The muffins should be crusty and golden, when baked (see photo).   Serve them warm, with apple, pear or pumpkin butter.

Almond-Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon Streusel

The perfect little bite to accompany a cup of coffee or tea.

These pretty little cupcakes are akin to coffee cake.  I found the recipe in a Cooking Light magazine so they're supposed to be a bit less caloric, and have a slightly lower fat content than a traditional breakfast cake.  

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup less-fat cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter softened

2 T amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur, or 2 T milk and a 1/4 tsp almond extract)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/4 cup 2% milk

3/4 cup finely chopped cooking apple

1 T all-purpose flour

Streusel Topping:

2 T all purpose flour

2 T brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 T butter, chilled

2 T sliced almonds

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

4 tsp 2% milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place liners in 12 muffin cups.  Spray top of muffin tray with cooking spray.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.

In large bowl, combine granulated sugar, 1/4 cup butter and cream cheese.  Beat well.  Add amaretto, vanilla and egg to sugar mixture, and beat with an electric mixer.  

In another small bowl, combine sour cream and milk.  Whisk until blended.  

Combine apple and 1 tablespoon flour.

Add flour mixture and sour cream mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Beat just until blended (don't over-mix).  Fold in apples.

Divide batter evenly into muffin cups.

To prepare streusel, combine 2 tablespoons flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Cut in 2 tablespoons butter with a hand pastry blender (photo at right).  Add the sliced almonds.  Crumble the streusel evenly over each cupcake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 27 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Prepare glaze.  When the cupcakes are cool enough, drizzle the glaze over each one.  Serve and enjoy!