Flaky Pastry Dough (Pie Crust)

Makes two 9-inch pie crusts or one 9-inch covered pie crust 

2 ½ cup all purpose flour 
1 teaspoon white sugar 
1 teaspoon salt 
½ cup shortening 
½ cup butter (cold) 
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon ice water (plus a little more if needed) 

Instructions 

1. Put about 1 cup water and ice in a glass and set aside. 

2. In a medium size bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt and whisk together to combine. 

3. Cut shortening into small chunks and add to dry ingredients. 

4. Cut cold butter into small chunks and add to dry ingredients. 

5. Blend in food processor or with pastry cutter. When you are through, some of the fat should remain in pea sized pieces and the rest should be reduced to coarse crumbs. 

6. Pour 1/3 C + 1 tablespoon ice water into a measuring cup, and then drizzle over the mixture. 

7. Combine until the dough just comes together. If the dough is not coming together, add 1 tablespoon water at a time until it just comes together. The dough should still look rough, not smooth. 

8. Press together with your hands and then divide into two portions. Press each portion  into a round flat disk and cover tightly to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to two  days before rolling out. 

9. Dough can also be wrapped air-tight and frozen for up to 6 months. If frozen, then thaw  completely before rolling out.

from Joy of Cooking

Hulk Muffins

2 ½ cups white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup buttermilk
¼ cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces baby spinach
2 mashed very ripe bananas

INSTRUCTIONS 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray (the recipe makes between 16-18 muffins).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a blender, add the egg, sugar, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, spinach and bananas.

Blend until pureed and smooth.

Pour the spinach mixture into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. A few small dry streaks and lumps here and there are ok. Don’t overmix or the muffins can be dry.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling the cups about 2/3 full. I use my #20 cookie scoop to make this process easy as can be.

Bake for 15-18 minutes (increasing time as needed as each oven differs slightly in exact oven temperature) until the tops of the muffins spring back lightly to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan; turn them out carefully onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe and image from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Applesauce Oat Muffins

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar or honey
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease the muffin cups. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oatmeal, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir until just combined (don’t overmix or the muffins will be dense and dry). The muffin batter texture might be a bit different (wetter?) than other muffin batters but no fear, carry on!

Distribute the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake or the muffins will be dry.

Remove the muffins to a rack to cool completely.

Recipe and image from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
½ teaspoon salt
2 to 2 ¼ cups mashed bananas, 4-5 medium bananas
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup melted butter
¼ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons milk
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups add-ins (chocolate chips, nuts, etc), optional

INSTRUCTIONS 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, brown sugar, melted butter or oil, sour cream, milk and eggs until well-combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain. If adding add-ins like chocolate chips, stir them in when there are still a few dry streaks remaining. Don’t over mix or the muffins might be tough and dry in texture.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling the muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs and the top of the muffins spring back lightly to the touch.

Let cool for 1-2 minutes in the muffin tin before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe and image from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Fluffy Blender Rolls

 

2 1/2 cups hot water (not boiling; just hottest water from tap)
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter (I use salted)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
7 cups (35 ounces) all-purpose flour (see note)
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast (see note for active dry yeast)
6 tablespoons butter, melted

To a blender, add the hot water, butter (I just throw the whole stick in there), sugar, and salt. Blend for 10-15 seconds until well-combined. Add the eggs and blend until smooth.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and yeast.

Pour the wet ingredients over the flour and stir with a spoon (or use your hands) until well-combined and no dry streaks remain. The dough will be sticky and bumpy.

Cover and let rise until noticeably puffy and doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Divide the dough in half.

For folded square rolls, on a lightly floured counter, roll half of the dough into a thick rectangle, about 9X14-inches. Cut in half lengthwise and then cut each half into six rectangle pieces. Dip the bottom of each piece in butter and swipe the buttered end back and forth on a half sheet pan and then fold in half (see pictures in post for a visual). Repeat with remaining dough, spacing the rolls about 1/4-inch apart.

For crescent rolls, on a lightly floured counter, roll half of the dough into a thick circle, about 14-inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter. With a pizza cutter, cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece up starting with the wide end and place on a parchment-lined half sheet pan. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cover the rolls and let rise until puffy, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden. If desired, brush tops with melted butter while still warm.

NOTES

Yeast: I've only ever made this recipe with instant yeast (which doesn't need to be dissolved and proofed in liquid before using). If you want to use active dry yeast, use the same amount, but add it to the blender at the very end after adding the eggs and blend for just a second or two.

Flour: I use unbleached all-purpose flour; to measure the flour, fluff the flour very well, scoop in the cup and then level off with a knife. Don't pack the flour into the measuring cup or these rolls will be overfloured and dry. I haven't tried these rolls with 100% whole wheat flour, but I have subbed in two cups of whole wheat flour for two cups of white flour and it works great. I recommend using white whole wheat flour for a lighter, less dense roll.

Freezing: I haven't frozen the dough or the shaped rolls, but I have frozen the baked and cooled rolls, and they freeze great. Thaw at room temperature. They tend to dry out if warmed up too much, but they can be lightly warmed in a 200 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Doubling: this recipe doubles well. I use 2 1/2 tablespoons yeast for a double batch; everything else I double straight across.

Recipe and Photo from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Sour Cream Muffins

1 3/4 cups (8.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (it's very subtle)
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or line with muffin liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
In a liquid measuring cup or in a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, granulated sugar, coconut oil, vanilla and eggs.
Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry and using a rubber spatula or large spoon, fold and mix until just incorporated (no overmixing unless you want dense, dry muffins!). The batter will be on the thick side of things.
Fill the muffin tins evenly, 1/2 to 2/3 full, and bake for 14-16 minutes until the top lightly springs back to the touch.

Recipe and photo from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Muffins

1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla and/or lemon extract

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup grated carrots

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a standard 12-well muffin pan. Or line the pan with paper muffin cups, and grease the cups.

To make the filling: Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on low power for 40 seconds. Stir in the sugar and extract. Set aside.

To make the muffin batter: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.Fold in the grated carrots, stirring to combine.

Drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here) into each muffin cup, spreading it to cover the bottom. Dollop on a heaping tablespoon of filling. Cover with enough batter to fill the muffin cups quite full. The batter will come to within about 1/4" to 3/8" of the top of each muffin cup. But don't try to use all the batter; unless you have particularly deep cups, you'll have abut 1/3 cup batter left over. Bake it in a separate custard cup, if desired.

Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the cake part of one (not into the cream cheese filling) comes out clean, about 20 minutes. The tops of the muffins will feel firm to the touch. Remove the muffins from the oven, and as soon as you're able to handle them, transfer them to a rack. If you serve the muffins warm, the filling will be molten. If you wait for them to cool, it'll firm up.

Refrigerate or freeze if not eaten within 2 hours or so.

Yield: 12 filled muffins plus 1 unfilled muffin. Also works very well as mini muffins (makes approximately 36), just adjust the amount of batter and filling in the cups, and shorten baking time to 12-13 minutes.

adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Cornbread Muffins

2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 cup (about 5 ounces) yellow cornmeal

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces) sugar

8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly

¾ cup light or regular sour cream

½ cup milk

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin (plus a few more – my batches usually make about 16 muffins).

Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl to combine; set aside. 

Whisk the eggs in a second medium bowl until well combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add the sugar to the eggs; whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add the melted butter in 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add half the sour cream and half the milk and whisk to combine; whisk in the remaining sour cream and milk until combined. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; mix gently with a rubber spatula until the batter is just combined and evenly moistened. Do not over mix. Using a large spoon sprayed with cooking spray, divide the batter evenly among tins.

Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15-18 minutes, rotating the muffin tin from front to back halfway. Cool the muffins in the tin 5 minutes; invert the muffins on a wire rack, stand the muffins upright and cool 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Via Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Coconut Lime Banana Bread

2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large)
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
3 Tbs milk*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut

*may substitute 1 Tbs. lime juice for part of milk

Topping: 2 Tbs additional coconut
Glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar whisked with 1 1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until blended.  Add eggs and beat to combine.  Add banana, sour cream or yogurt, apple juice (or milk), and vanilla.  Beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat at a low speed until just combined.  Stir in 1/2 C coconut.

Pour batter into a 9×5″ loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle additional 2 Tbs coconut on top. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until a knife or skewer inserted in center comes out clean.

Note: Check bread after about 40 minutes.  If the top has browned and the coconut pieces are looking toasty, cover top of bread lightly with a piece of foil.  Continue baking until done.

When done, remove pan from oven.  Let cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes and then carefully remove from pan.  Whisk powdered sugar and lime juice together for the glaze and then drizzle over top. Cool for another 15 minutes before slicing.

Slightly adapted from ourbestbites.com

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
5 Tbs. cold butter
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. milk

1/4 c. butter
dash garlic powder
dash oregano
dash salt

In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, and garlic powder.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the cheese then the milk; stir by hand until just combined.  Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 425 for about 15 min. or until slightly brown on top. 

While biscuits are baking, combine butter, garlic powder, oregano, and salt.  Brush butter over hot baked biscuits.  Serve warm.  Makes 12-15 biscuits.

Utah Scones (French Beignets)

1 cup warm water

1 cup warm milk

1 Tbsp. dry active yeast

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/4 cup melted butter, cooled

1 Tbsp. salt

5 – 6 cups bread flour

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Combine warm water and warm milk (think baby-bottle warm).  Stir in the sugar.  Add dry active yeast and stir lightly.  Allow yeast to activate, about 10 minutes.  In a stand mixer, fitted with a bread hook, add milk mixture and melted cooled butter.  Add the salt.  Start the mixer and add the flour one cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Dough should be slightly sticky but workable.  Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel.  Set in a warm place and allow to rise until double (about 1 - 1 1/2 hrs.)

Pour your oil in a large pan (with sides deep enough to fully immerse the scones) or a deep fryer and heat slowly over medium heat.  While the oil is heating, roll the dough out onto the counter, without flour, into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.  You may choose to butter the counter lightly.  Using a pizza cutter, cut into 12 squares, then 1/2 each square to make 24 triangles.

Heat oil to between 350 – 360 degrees and cook scones until golden brown on each side. Drain on a paper towel. Serve immediately, but don't burn your fingers!  Original beignets are tossed in or sprinkled with powdered sugar (Mmm!), or try it Utah style and serve with honey butters.  But don't miss enjoying them with buttermilk syrup!

Recipe slightly adapted from www.make-it-do.com

Yogurt-Bran Muffins

2 cups bran cereal
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 cups vanilla yogurt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup fresh raspberries or blueberries*

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Fill 2 muffin pans with 24 muffin cups or grease cups.  Crush the bran cereal in a plastic bag.  In a bowl, stir together eggs, oil, and yogurt.  Add cereal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Stir until moistened.  Gently stir in berries.  Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

*I think these are great even without the berries.  They would also be good using some mashed banana in place of some of the yogurt.

Pizza Dough

1 cup water PLUS
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons oil
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place ingredients in pan in order listed or as directed per machine instructions. Select white dough cycle. Makes two 12 inch regular crusts, one 16 inch deep dish crust, or 4 personal-sized crusts. Top with desired toppings and bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes or until crust is light brown.

Crepes

1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbs. margarine
3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Beat egg, add milk, vanilla, and melted margarine. Whisk in dry ingredients. Spray a small skillet with oil. Pour about ¼ c. at a time into hot skillet. Tilt to form a circle, cook until brown on both sides.

Cornbread

1 c. cornmeal 1 c. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt ¼ c. sugar ¼ c. butter 1 c. milk 1 egg Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Add egg and milk, mix just until blended. Pour into greased 8” square pan. Bake at 400° for 25 min.

Carrie's Cheesy Breadsticks

From my friend, Carrie Miller

Combine & let Bubble:
1 Tbs. Yeast
2 Tbs. Sugar
1 ½ c. Warm water

Then Add:
1 tsp. Salt
3 ½ c. Flour

Knead. Let rise for 1 hr. In a bowl, melt ½ cube of butter. On the counter, flatten out dough with hands and form into rectangle. Cut with a pizza cutter into 12 strips. Roll each breadstick in melted butter, twist several times, and place in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle breadsticks with Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Sprinkle generously with grated parmesan. Bake at 390° for 10 min. or till breadsticks start to brown. Sprinkle generously with shredded mozzarella. Bake 5 more minutes or till cheese melts.