Brown Sugar Bread

 

This bread from Julie Blanner is one of my go-to breads for gifts specifically. It has a hint of sweetness.

Ingredients

• 2 cups light brown sugar packed
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups milk
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 6 miniature loaf pans.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat to combine eggs, milk and vegetable oil.
• Gradually blend dry mixture into the wet mixture until just combined
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pans filling an inch below the rim to compensate for rise. Optional: sprinkle sugar or chopped nuts on top.
• Bake 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.

Notes/Substitutions

• Brown Sugar - You can substitute white granulated sugar if you'd prefer.
• Milk – Use whatever you have on hand from skim to Vitamin D. Make it dairy free using Almond Milk.
• Vegetable Oil – Substitute with canola oil or melted butter in a pinch.

Variations

• Nuts - fold in walnuts, pecans or almonds or use them to garnish the bread just before placing it in the oven.
• Fruits - you can add in banana slices, apples or dried fruits, even raisins to your mixture as well.
• Spices - Blend in a tablespoon of cinnamon or combine cinnamon with 2/3 cups sugar and swirl it in.
• Chocolate - white or milk chocolate chips are also a delicious addition.
• Oats - fold them in and sprinkle on top for added texture.
• Glaze - add a cream cheese glaze, apple glaze or classic glaze.

Baking Alternatives

• Large Loaves - You can also make this in 2 – 1 pound loaf pans or cut the recipe in half for just 1 loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes.
• Make Muffins – If you prefer to make brown sugar muffins, just grease miniature muffin tins and fill each to 2/3 full. Bake 12 minutes.
• Make it Ornate – Alternatively, you can also bake it in an ornate loaf pan with the same minimal effort!

Tips

• Don’t overfill your loaf pan. Allow room to compensate for rise.
• Use the toothpick test to ensure it’s ready. Bake time varies based on your loaf pan size and material, altitude and even oven temperatures can vary. Insert a toothpick into the center. When it comes out clean it is done.

To Store

• Room Temperature – Store no yeast bread in a sealed plastic bag or covered in saran wrap at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• Refrigerate – Up to 1 week in an airtight container.
• Freeze – Wrap them tightly in heavy foil, saran wrap or place them in freezer bags (I like to do at least 2 to prevent freezer odors from seeping in), and freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature to serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 117mg | Potassium: 179mg | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 55IU | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Recipe Found on: https://julieblanner.com/brown-sugar-bread/

Biscuits & Gravy Casserole

 Thanks to In fine Taste for this yummy breakfast!

Ingredients

For Gravy

• 1 pound ground pork sausage
• 4 ½ cups milk
• ½ cup flour
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

For biscuits

• 2 7.5 ounce cans refrigerator biscuits or use our homemade drop biscuit recipe

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.Spray 13 x 9 inch glass pan with oil cooking spray.
• Brown sausage in a medium sized pot; transfer sausage to prepared baking dish. Use a paper towel to blot out grease from sausage.
• Add butter to sausage drippings in pot and melt over medium heat. Add flour, salt and peppers and stir to combine and create roux (mixture of fat and flour used to thicken many dishes). Cook 2-3 minutes until roux begins to brown.
• Add milk a little at a time, whisking until smooth. Cook on medium-low, stirring often until thickened (several minutes). Pour gravy over sausage in baking pan.
• Separate refrigerator biscuits and cut each into fourths OR, make homemade biscuit dough and divide into small portions. Top gravy with biscuit pieces. 
• Bake 25-30 minutes until biscuits are golden brown. Serve warm.

Best Zucchini Bread

 My family agreed that this is, in fact, THE best zucchini bread of their lives haha. Thanks, Food Charlatan for this one!

Ingredients

Bowl 1

• 2 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom optional
• 2 cups shredded zucchini 12 ounces, about 2 zucchini

Bowl 2

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) melted
• 1/4 cup neutral oil vegetable oil, canola oil, light olive oil, etc
• 3/4 cup brown sugar* packed
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Optional

• 1 cup chocolate chips I used half mini, half dark chocolate chopped
• 3/4 cup toasted walnuts or pecans
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar or granulated sugar, to top bread

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line one 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper, or grease well with nonstick spray.
• If you plan to add nuts to your bread, toast them now. Spread about 3/4 cup chopped nuts on a dry baking sheet. Toast at 350 for about 5 minutes. Stir the nuts and continue baking in 2 minute intervals, stirring every time, until the nuts are browned and very fragrant.** Set aside to cool.
• Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled), 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom. Whisk together and set aside.
• Mix the wet ingredients. Add 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) to a large microwave safe bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave.
• Add 1/4 cup oil, 3/4 cup brown sugar*, 1/4 cup sour cream, 2 eggs, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Whisk together until combined.
• Shred the zucchini. Shred your zucchini using the side of your box grater with the largest holes. (Don't chop off the knobby end of your zucchini; use it as a handle!) You can also use the grating tool on a food processor to shred your zucchini.

  You need 12 ounces of zucchini. If you don't have a scale, measure out 2 cups, making sure to pack it in so you get the full amount. Usually this is about 2 smallish-medium zucchini.***
• Blot/ Squeeze the zucchini. Once your zucchini is grated, take the time to blot it on a paper towel, or squeeze it out. I like to lay a few paper towels on the counter, spread out the zucchini, then top with another layer of paper towels and press it down until both paper towels are soaked. Blotting your zucchini will keep your bread from being gummy. If you skip this step, you are still going to get great zucchini bread. I prefer the texture when the zucchini is blotted or squeezed.
• Add the zucchini to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix only until just combined.
• If you plan to add (1 cup) chocolate chips*** or (3/4 cup) nuts, add them to the batter before the flour is even all the way mixed in, see photos. Then stir together with a spatula with as few strokes as possible. Over mixing the batter will result in tough bread.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top your loaf with 1 tablespoon raw or granulated sugar, or a scatter of chocolate chips (or both! But use sparingly, if you add too much it will weigh down your loaf so that it doesn't rise well.)
• Bake the bread in the center of the oven at 350 for about 60 minutes. The bread is done when a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out with no batter on it.

  You may need to bake the bread for up to 70 or even 80 minutes, so prepare to be patient. Do not take it out of the oven until a toothpick comes out clean. (Be sure that you're not seeing chocolate if you used chocolate chips) Cover your bread with foil as it finishes baking if it is getting over browned.
• Let your bread cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 15 minutes. At this point, if you used parchment paper, lift your bread out of the pan and let finish cooling on a wire rack. If you didn't use parchment paper, let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Then flip the bread into your hand or a plate, then transfer back to the cooling rack. Let finish cooling on it's side for extra crispy edges.
• Store zucchini bread in a sealed container on the counter for up to 5 days.
• Freezer instructions: Make sure that your bread is completely cool, then wrap the entire loaf in plastic. Stick it in ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Or to stash individual slices, wrap each cooled slice in plastic wrap, and store them all in a large ziplock. Let thaw (still wrapped) at room temperature on the counter. If you are in a hurry you can try heating it up in the microwave at a lower power level, or using the defrost button. Once thaw, we love to toast individual slices of zucchini bread to get them nice and toasty on the edges. And then slather in butter of course.

Bread Machine Dough Recipe

 

This amazing recipe from Passionate Penny Pincher is our favorite bread machine recipe so far!! I actually skipped the last several steps and just let my bread machine finish the job and it turned out wonderful!

Ingredients

1 Cup Water Warmed (110 - 115 degrees)

1 Tbsp Milk

2 Tbsp Oil

2 Tbsp Honey If you don't have any, you can skip this, and it will still turn out fine!

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tsp Salt

3 Cups All Purpose Flour (You can also substitute with half whole wheat flour)

2 tsp Instant Active Dry Yeast

Instructions

Heat 1 cup of water to 110 degrees.  (If you don't have a thermometer, just use slightly hot tap water and it will be just fine. (really!) I never use a thermometer and never have any problems with my bread machine dough rising.)

Put all ingredients in the order above into bread machine (you don’t need to stir it , just dump it in!)...Water, milk, oil, honey, brown sugar, salt, flour, then finally - yeast.

Set bread machine on white bread and let it do it's thing! 

French Toast Casserole

 

This recipe from Together as Family is such a good breakfast casserole! I love that I don't have to let this one sit overnight because I don't usually plan that far ahead haha! Enjoy! 

Ingredients

10 cups large cubed white bread *see notes below

2½ cups whole milk

6 large eggs

1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1½ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons salted butter softened

1 cup light brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish by spraying it really well with cooking spray.

Spread the cubed bread evenly into the prepared baking dish.

In a mixing bowl combine the milk, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Stir together with a whisk until it's combined well. Set this bowl aside.

In a separate smaller bowl, combine the softened butter and brown sugar. Stir together to form a crumbly mixture.

Pour the milk and egg mixture over the cubed bread. Use your clean hands or a spoon to very gently stir and coat all the bread cubes in the milk mixture. Sprinkle the brown sugar crumble over the top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the middle of the pan is set.

Let the French toast casserole cool for 5-10 minutes so it can set. Serve with powdered sugar, syrup, and fresh berries.

Cinnamon Sugar Air Fryer Donuts

This one from Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons is one of our favorites! I actually cheat a little bit and don't make them a donut shape-I take each biscuit and cut it into fourths and cook those small triangles. We have lots of little mouths around here and the bite-size snacks work better! You decide what you like best!

Ingredients

1 can Jumbo Flaky Biscuits like Pillsbury Grands

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

5 Tbsp butter melted

Instructions

Preheat air fryer to 360 degrees. To do this, simply turn your air fryer on at 330 degrees and let it run for about 3-5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.

Open the can of flaky biscuits and cut the center out of each one using a 1-inch round cutter. Lightly coat air fryer basket with coconut oil spray (you can also use olive oil spray). Do not use non-stick spray like Pam (those sprays could be harmful to your air fryer).

Place the donuts (not holes), in your air fryer. Bake for 5 minutes at 360 degrees. As the doughnuts are cooking, melt the butter.

Using a silicone pastry brush, coat the baked doughnuts with your melted butter. Then cover the donuts with the cinnamon sugar mixture by dipping and rolling around. Use a spoon to coat the top as well. Gently shake off excess cinnamon sugar. Serve doughnuts hot.

Donut Holes

When you air fry the “holes”, set your timer for 3 minutes and repeat the process of dipping in butter and then adding the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Cinnamon & Spice Sweet Potato Bread

OHMYGOSH we died over this amazing bread from Averie Cooks! Love love love!!

INGREDIENTS

 1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (2 medium or 1 very large)

 3 tablespoons water

 2 large eggs

 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

 1/4 cup buttermilk (or yogurt, Greek yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk powder)

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

 2 teaspoons baking soda

 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

 1 teaspoon ground ginger

 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

 pinch salt, optional and to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan (what I used), or two 8-by-4-inch loaf pans, or a 10-cup Bundt pan, or a muffin pan with floured cooking spray or grease and flour the pan(s); set aside.

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Peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into 1-inch sized chunks. Place chunks in a large, shallow microwave-safe bowl. Add 3 tablespoons water, cover with plastic wrap, and cook on high power for 15 to 17 minutes, or until potatoes are very fork-tender. Pour off any water. Mash sweet potatoes with a fork. Allow them to cool momentarily so you don't scramble the eggs.

To the sweet potatoes, add the eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla and whisk until combined; set aside. (I used buttermilk powder and added 1 tablespoon powder to the dry ingredients and 1/4 cup water to this wet mixture)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, optional salt, and whisk to combine.

Pour the wet sweet potato mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir to incorporate. Take your time stirring until no stray bits of dry ingredients are visible, folding and scraping the bottom of the bowl with a spatula as necessary because it's very easy to miss dry ingredients hiding at the bottom of the bowl in this batter. Stir and fold with a gentle hand as to not over-mix and over-develop the gluten, which results in tougher bread.

Turn batter out into prepared pan(s), smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes for a 9x5 pan, or until top is domed, golden, loaf is springy to the touch, and cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Tent pan with foil in the last 15 minutes of cooking if top is browning a bit fast before interior has cooked through.

Allow bread to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

NOTES

I estimate that 8x4 loaves will take about 40 to 45 minutes, a Bundt about 1 hour, muffins about 18-20 minutes, but I haven't tried those versions and they are just guesstimates.

Bread will keep at room temperature for up to 1 week. I store my bread by wrapping the completely cooled loaf in plasticwrap, and then placing loaf inside a gallon-sized Ziplock.

Moist Sweet Potato Muffins

Had a ton of sweet potatoes to eat up and I Heart Recipes saved the day with this gem! My kids loved them!

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes rinsed & scrubbed

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp heavy cream

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Bake the Sweet Potatoes:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Place the sweet potatoes on a baking dish, then place in the oven.

Bake the sweet potatoes until tender (about 35-45 minutes), then scrape out the meat of the potatoes.

Whip the potatoes until nice and creamy, then set to the side until it’s cool.

Prepare Muffin Batter:

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until everything is well combined.

In another bowl, combine the oil, whipped sweet potatoes, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly.

Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold to combine. (Note: the muffin batter will be thick!)

Using a scoop or 1/4 measuring cup, spoon the batter into the muffin pan.

Bake the Muffins:

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean

Let cool before serving. Enjoy!

Easy Pepperoni Rolls

Thanks, All Things Mamma for this awesome addition to our school lunches! My kids love them!

Ingredients

1 Pillsbury pizza dough tube

40 pepperoni slices

10 mozzarella cheese sticks

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

marinara sauce for dipping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Spread pizza dough out on a cutting board and Cut the dough into 10 equal-size rectangles ( a pizza cutter makes this job easier)

Arrange 4 pepperoni slices on each rectangle and top with a mozzarella cheese stick.

Roll up the pizza dough, enclosing the cheese stick, pinching the seams closed.

Melt the butter and stir in the parmesan cheese.

Brush the pizza sticks with the melted butter mixture.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Eat immediately with a side of marinara for dipping

Homemade French Bread

I Heart Naptime did it again with this super easy and delicious French Bread recipe!! Definitely a keeper!!

Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 32

INGREDIENTS

2 cups warm water , about 105°F

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast

2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

5 cups (650 g) all-purpose flour , more as needed

2 1/2 teaspoons table salt or fine sea salt

1 teaspoon olive oil

Melted salted butter , optional

INSTRUCTIONS

In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit 5 minutes, or until it begins to foam.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture on medium-low speed or by hand. Knead in 1/2 cup of the remaining flour in increments until the dough is smooth but not sticky. Add more flour as needed.

Rub the olive oil around the dough ball, cover the bowl with a towel and let rest 15 to 30 minutes. If you have more time, let rise up to 1 hour.

Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and divide it in half. Set one half aside. Roll the other half into a rectangle (about 15 inches). Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a cylinder.

Turn both ends in and pinch the seams closed. Round the edges and place onto a baking sheet. Repeat with the second dough ball. Make three diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf. Cover loaves lightly with a towel. Let rise 30 to 60 minutes (the longer the better, if you have the time).

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake 17 to 23 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. When you knock on it, it should sound hollow. If it's browning too fast, lightly cover with foil and lower the temperature to 375°F.

Brush the top with melted butter, if desired. Slice and serve while warm.

NOTES

Crispy crust: I prefer a soft crust, but for a crispier/shinier crust, brush 1 egg white (whisked) with a teaspoon of water before baking french bread loaf. You can also add a few ice cubes into the oven to help trap the steam and add a few minutes onto the cooking time.

Storing: This bread stores best in a brown paper bag on the counter. 

Freezer instructions: Allow to cool and then place in a large zip top bag to freeze (preferably before slicing). Remove all the air from the bag and then freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight on the counter. Reheat in the oven at 300°F for 5 minutes.

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Sally's Baking Addiction has some of my favorite dessert recipes and this one did not disappoint!! Fall weather and Halloween decorating called for some apple cider and apple cider donuts this weekend! These have more steps than I typically like for desserts, but they really are easy. Put on Hocus Pocus and you'll be entertained while making them! ;)

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) apple cider
• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)*
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice*
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (120ml) milk, at room temperature*
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping

• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon apple pie spice*
• 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted

---

Instructions

1. Reduce the apple cider: Stirring occasionally, simmer the apple cider in a small saucepan over low heat until you’re left with about 1/2 cup. Start checking at 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc until you have 1/2 cup (120ml). Mine takes about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
3. Make the donuts: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
4. Whisk the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, and vanilla extract together. Pour into the dry ingredients, add the reduced apple cider, and whisk everything together until smooth and combined. Batter will be slightly thick.
5. Spoon the batter into the donut cavities—for ease, I highly recommend using a large zipped-top bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling about halfway.
6. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. To test, poke your finger into the top of the donut. If the donut bounces back, they’re done. Cool donuts for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Re-grease the pan and bake the remaining donut batter.
7. Coat the donuts: Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and apple pie spice together in a medium bowl. Once cool enough to handle, dunk both sides of each donut in the melted butter, then generously in the apple spice topping.
8. Donuts are best served immediately. Leftovers keep well covered tightly at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.