Pumpkin bread & autumn in Iowa

I think I've mentioned before that I'm trying to focus my time on family favorite recipes.  Now that canned pumpkin is on sale at the local grocery store, I'm baking up loaves of pumpkin bread to freeze and share with my family.  I can't believe how many recipe variations there are for simple pumpkin bread!  I finally settled on the version I found from Better Homes and Gardens.  It has my favorite fall spices -- nutmeg and cinnamon (I can't believe some pumpkin bread recipes don't have cinnamon!).  It also uses vegetable oil instead of shortening. 

It's a great recipe. My only complaint is I don't think my old oven is working right.  It takes forever to bake anything lately, including these pumpkin bread loaves.  And by the time it was finally cooked through the middle, the outside was a little dark and dry.  We probably should replace our oven, but we've got so many other projects on our list right now!

Before I share the recipe, I thought it would be fun to show off my neighborhood in the fall.  I live in a small town with a lot of old, large trees, and each tree turns a different color.

 Unfortunately, I also have quite a few leaves to rake up!

The first freezing night finally arrived two weeks ago.  I picked the few last flowers from my garden before they were gone.

For Halloween this year, I made the popcorn ball recipe from Two Chicks from the Sticks.  It was my first attempt at making popcorn balls, and they were so good!  They tasted like caramel popcorn.  You can buy the Two Chicks cookbook here.

Here's the pumpkin bread recipe, if you want to try it at home.  Enjoy!

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Pumpkin bread

• 3-1/3 C. flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1-1/2 C. sugar
• 1-1/2 C. brown sugar
• 1 C. vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 C. water
• One 15-oz. can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch pans, three 8x4x2-inch or four 7-1/2 x 3-1/2 x 2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, 2 tsp. cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; set aside.

In an extra-large mixing bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add eggs; beat well. Alternately add flour mixture with the water to egg mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Spoon batter into the prepared loaf pans, spreading evenly.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes for 9x5-inch loaves, 45 to 50 minutes for 8x4-inch loaves, 40 to 45 minutes for 7-1/2 x 3-inch loaves, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the centers comes out clean.

Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wrap and store overnight.

Homemade pretzels

Pretzels must be a hot food trend right now, because I've been seeing them everywhere -- in cooking magazines, on fast-food menus, at the grocery store bakery.  I took a few days off of work earlier this fall and decided to try a pretzel recipe I found in the latest issue of Hy-Vee's Seasons magazine.

I was surprised by how easy this recipe is. I mixed and kneaded the dough in my Kitchenaid mixer.  (Thanks again to my parents & sister for giving me the mixer for my birthday!)  The dough rose beautifully.  The hardest part was rolling out the pretzels. I don't have enough counter space to roll out the dough in long ropes.  So my pretzels puffed up quite a bit in the oven and ended up looking more like pretzel rolls than knots.

My hubby got the bright idea to turn the pretzels into hamburger buns. He made blue-cheese mushroom burgers (with Maytag blue cheese).  So good!

You can find the Hy-Vee Seasons pretzel recipe here: https://www.hy-vee.com/seasons/recipe.aspx?r=8778.

Have you ever made homemade pretzels?  Do you have any tips for shaping the pretzels?  I'm definitely going to try this again, now that I know how easy it really is.

Crumb topped apple pie

A few weeks back, my mom and I rode on the annual Boland, Iowa, bike ride and we were treated to pie at the finish. I picked the crumb topped apple pie and loved it so much I wanted to make it at home.

Pie after our Boland bike ride

I clipped a recipe for crumb topped apple pie from Taste of Home a couple years ago. I loved the back story behind the pie: The 80 year old pie baker from West Des Moines makes dozens of apple pies each fall for her son's business clients. Sounds like her recipe is a keeper!

My apple pie didn't turn out as pretty as the recipe photo, but it tastes terrific. I used MacIntosh apples from Center Grove Orchard near Cambridge, Iowa.

Click here for a link to the recipe, if you want to give it a try: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Crumb-Topped-Apple-Pie

Iowa recipes: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

So this is probably my third or fourth attempt at trying to find the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie recipe.  But I think I've finally found my favorite.  I found this recipe after digging through my old Iowa State Fair blue-ribbon cookbooks.  I love everything about this cookie: the cinnamon flavor, the plump raisins, the chewy texture.

Here's the recipe, if you want to give it a try at home.  Enjoy!

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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• Hot water
• 1-1/2 C. raisins
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 C. brown sugar
• 1 C. butter or margarine
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1-1/2 C. quick cooking rolled oats

Pour just enough hot water over raisins to cover; set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream sugars and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Add flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon; mix well. Stir in oats and drained raisins by hand. Drop by teaspoonsful onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Texas brownies

 

I had a fierce craving for chocolate cake -- with chocolate frosting.  So I looked through my Iowa cookbooks and found this recipe for Texas brownies.  I'm pretty sure most folks call this Texas sheet cake.  They're definitely cake-like, but brownie-like at the same time.  Not sure if that makes sense, but I'm going with it :)

The frosting was definitely the best part.  It was almost like a layer of fudge on top of cake!  Can't wait to make this again for family and friends when they come to visit.

Here's the recipe, if you want to give it a try at home.  Enjoy!

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Texas brownies

• 2 sticks butter
• 5 Tbl. cocoa
• 1 C. water
• 2 C. sugar
• 2 C. flour
• 1 Tbl. baking powder
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 C. buttermilk or water
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting:

• 1 stick butter
• 5 Tbl. water
• 1 box powdered sugar
• 4 Tbl. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 C. walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and combine with cocoa and water. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Pour the butter/cocoa mixture over and mix well. Add eggs, buttermilk or water, and vanilla, beating well. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting: Melt butter and combine with water, cocoa and vanilla. Add powdered sugar slowly until well combined. Stir in walnuts. 

Note: Frosting must be hot and spread on hot brownies. Cool and cut into squares.

Peach crisp

OK. So this photo looks a little bit like a mess in a bowl, but I was focused more on eating this more than taking the picture!

Peaches went on sale at my local grocery store (78 cents a pound!). I made a batch of peach jam and was planning to make a peach pie. But my hubby requested peach crisp.  I've tried a few different recipes for peach crisp (or cobbler) and haven't really found one I really like.  So I just decided to use my favorite recipe for apple crisp, but substitute peaches for the apples.  It was a good decision!  The peaches were super juicy, which is why this crisp looks a little soupy.  But the oatmeal topping was good and crunchy on top.  I ate my peach crisp with vanilla ice cream and a raspberry sauce I made based on this recipe from AllRecipes.com. (Raspberries were on sale, too.)

You can find the recipe for my favorite apple crisp (and now peach crisp) from my previous post.

Do you have a favorite peach recipe?  I'm a huge fan of peach pie.  I'd like to try to make peach ice cream sometime, too.

Blueberry muffin bars

 

I love baking with fresh blueberries.  I found this recipe for blueberry muffin bars in the latest King Arthur Flour newsletter.  The magazine calls them blueberry brownies, but I think they taste more like muffins in bar form.  My husband and I gobbled these up.  They go great with coffee, or even a morning treat. Give this recipe a try if you enjoy baking with blueberries as much as I do.

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Blueberry brownies

Adapted from King Arthur Flour's Baking Sheet

 1 C. butter

2 C. sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 C. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 C. blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13 inch pan, line with parchment paper or foil and grease the paper or foil.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat in the eggs. Scrape the bowl, then add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined, then stir in the blueberries. Transfer the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes if using frozen berries, 30 to 35 for fresh, until edges begin to pull away from pan. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes before lifting out of the pan to cool completely. Yield: 24 brownies.

Roasted banana bread

Every once and a while, I like to visit the bookstore and buy a bunch of cooking magazines, not necessarily to cook every recipe, but to keep up on all the latest food trends. I especially enjoy the Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications. The photography and design are so beautiful and fun, even if the recipes tend to be a little above my cooking skill level. (But most everything is!)

I ended up buying a copy of the latest BH&G publication, "Cook's Secrets."  And, boy, is this issue a keeper.  I recommend you pick up a copy if you find one at the store.  Lots of basic recipes for a so-so cook like me.

The very night I brought the magazine home, I broke out my mixer and made the roasted banana bread recipe.  Unfortunately, I didn't remember to take a photo of the finished banana bread (but I'm sure you know what banana bread looks like).  I did snap a few photos of the roasted bananas as they came out of the oven.  Yes, they are supposed to look black!

The recipe says the benefits of roasting the bananas are that you can use bananas at any stage of ripeness, and you don't have to mash the bananas, just mix them in. Here's a video I found from BH&G that explains the roasting banana process and how to make the bread.  If you try it, let me know how it works for you.

Blueberry coffee cake

 The local Hy-Vee grocery store has featured blueberries on sale several times already this spring and summer. I love baking with blueberries, and I was in the mood for coffee cake, with that wonderful brown sugar crumble topping.  I did a little online searching and found this blueberry buckle coffee cake from King Arthur Flour.  Wow, was this coffee cake good!  My hubby ended up eating almost the whole pan himself!  And it's a nice alternative to the standard blueberry muffins.  Let me know if you give this recipe a try.

Iowa recipe: Rhubarb Dream Bars

 

Wish I would have taken a better photo of these rhubarb dream bars.  But I barely remembered to take the photo before we gobbled them all up!

One of my Facebook friends, who is a farmer, posted this recipe for rhubarb dream bars. She said that she brought these bars to her husband and the guys out in the field this spring, while they were planting corn, and they ended up eating the whole pan.  With that rave review, I had to try them myself!

What's great about these bars is I had all the ingredients on hand.  I grow quite a bit of rhubarb in my backyard, so I'm always looking for new recipes to use it up. Seriously, one of the reasons we bought our house is because of the rhubarb plants growing by the garage!  I love rhubarb that much. And these bars are like a rhubarb version of lemon bars, which are my husband's favorite.

Here's the recipe if you want to give these a try at home.  As my friend said: "I'll bet you can't eat just one!"

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Rhubarb Dream Bars

• 2 C. flour
• 3/4 C. powdered sugar
• 1 C. butter

Mix together and press in jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

• 4 eggs
• 2 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. flour
• 4 C. diced rhubarb

Beat together eggs, sugar and flour. Stir in rhubarb. Pour over baked crust. Bake an additional 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool and cut into bars. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Baked doughnuts: Take 2

My hubby gave me a nifty baked doughnut pan for Christmas, and I've been experimenting with different doughnut recipes this winter and spring.  I've been in a bit of a baking rut lately.  Every time I try a new recipe, I make a mistake and mess it up.  The other day, I added baking soda to a cookie recipe, but when the cookies didn't spread, I figured out that I should have added baking powder. (Or maybe it was the other way around. I have a hard time keeping the two apart!)

Further proof of my baking rut: My doughnuts were missing their holes.  I filled the cups too much, but I hate wasting batter!

But even though my doughnuts were holeless, they turned out to be my favorite baked doughnut recipe so far.  I found the baked doughnut recipe on Shutterbean, if you want to check it out.  Instead of an extra large egg, I used a large egg, since that's what I have in my fridge, and it turned out terrific.

My husband requested chocolate frosting, so I used a recipe I found in an old copy of King Arthur Flour's Baking Sheet.  I'll include the recipe at the end of this post.

I had some leftover buttermilk and blueberries in my fridge, so I decided to mix up the same doughnut recipe but add blueberries.  Another good choice!  I topped the doughnuts with a lemon juice-powdered sugar glaze, which turned out a little too runny.  Next time, I'll try to mix up a thicker glaze.

And again, these doughnuts are missing the holes!  I hate wasting batter.

Here's the recipe for the chocolate glaze.  If you give these a try, let me know how they turn out for you.  Enjoy!

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Chocolate glaze

• 1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbls. butter
• 1 Tbls. plus 1 tsp. light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt the ingredients together over low heat or in the microwave, stirring often. Add extra corn syrup if needed to make a smooth, shiny glaze. Yield: about 1/2 C. glaze.

Oatmeal raisin cookies

I've been trying to go back to the basics lately and find good, classic recipes.  I've never had much luck with oatmeal raisin cookies, for some reason.  Most of the recipes I've tried don't have a lot of flavor.  I decided to try this King Arthur Flour recipe for Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  My hubby and I liked these cookies so much that we ended up gobbling up the whole batch over the weekend.  Thankfully, it wasn't a big batch of cookies!  My only complaint is that the cookies were too soft the next day and fell apart.  Not sure why that happened.  But otherwise, these were excellent!  If you give this recipe a try, let me know how they turn out for you.

Blondies

My hubby's favorite bars are blondies, so he's always requesting them.  Only problem is, there are a lot of variations on the blondies recipe, and each one turns out a little different: either too dry or undercooked, too thin or too thick.  But my hubby really enjoyed this blondies recipe I found on the Taste of Home website.  They're a little thin, but they weren't too dry.  We ended up finishing the whole pan ourselves!

Do you have a favorite blondies recipe?  I'm still looking for the perfect one to add to my recipe box.

Frosted sugar cookies

I wish I could say that a 9-year-old decorated these sugar cookies, but it was all me.  I guess that I don't have a hidden talent for cookie decorating!

My hubby gave me a cake decorating set for Christmas.  I finally gave it a try to make these Easter sugar cookies.  I found all the necessary decorating tools at Wal-Mart: cake frosting dye, blossom shaped cookie cutters.  The bunny and chick cookie cutters are from my own personal collection of antique cookie cutters.

For the cookies, I tried out the frosted sugar cookie recipe from the Two Chicks from the Sticks cookbook.  They turned out exactly as I hoped -- a nice, soft, cake-like cookie that was easy to roll and cut.  I would share the recipe, but I don't want to discourage anyone from buying the cookbook, which is excellent.  I'm thinking about baking my way through the entire cookbook as a fun project.

Can you tell which cookie my husband decorated?

 To get the full use out of my decorating set, I also tried to decorate a few cookies following these terrific instructions from one of my favorite blogs, Brown-Eyed Baker. I think they turned out pretty good for my first effort. And it was way easier to mix up the frosting than I thought it would be. 

Can you tell this is a bunny? It's about as artistic as I get!

I'm already looking forward to making cutout cookies for the next big holiday.  I'm thinking star cookies for the Fourth of July.  Can't wait for summer!

Carrot cake

I haven't been able to do a lot of baking lately, but I did find time to try out this carrot cake recipe I found in the January/February 2013 issue of Taste of Home. This recipe was crazy good, but it also has a crazy thick layer of cream cheese frosting on top. It was almost too much frosting. Almost. My hubby really enjoyed the addition of crushed pineapple in the cake.

Here's the recipe, if you want to try it at home.  This would be a terrific cake for Easter or to bring to a church potluck.  Enjoy!

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Carrot Cake

Recipe from Taste of Home

• 3 C. shredded carrots
• 1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, well drained
• 2 C. sugar
• 1 C. canola oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 C. flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

Frosting:

• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 C. butter, softened
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3-3/4 C. confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, beat the first five ingredients until well blended. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and cinnamon; gradually beat into carrot mixture.

Transfer mixture to a greased 13-inch-by-9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

For frosting, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over cake. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

Iced lemon bread (baked with Truvia)

I always look forward to getting the new issue of Hy-Vee Seasons magazine.  I enjoy learning a little bit more about how the foods I shop for at Hy-Vee end up at the stores.  The latest issue features a terrific article on different types of citrus fruits.  I loved the look of the iced lemon bread recipe in the magazine, so I decided to give it a try.

At the last minute, I decided to replace the sugar in the bread with Truvia baking blend.  I usually don't use sugar substitutes, but I bought the Truvia baking blend on the suggestion of a Hy-Vee dietician, who gave a presentation on healthy holiday recipes at our workplace last month.  She likes the Truvia sweetener because it comes from a natural source (the stevia plant). I found the Truvia in the Health Market aisle of Hy-Vee.

This was my first attempt at baking with the Truvia, and the bread turned out great.  I actually forgot that I used the Truvia until my husband complimented me on this recipe.  The top of the bread was nice and brown when I pulled it out of the oven. However, I only used the Truvia in the bread batter; I stuck with regular sugar to make the glaze and icing.  I assume the Truvia works best in cookies, bars, quick breads and muffins.  I wouldn't use it for making frostings, pie crusts, candies, etc.

Sorry that these photos aren't the best.  I was more interested in eating this bread, then taking pictures of it!

Have you ever baked with sugar substitutes?  I'm going to be experimenting more with the Truvia baking blend now that I've had such good results with it.

Baked doughnuts

My husband usually doesn't pay attention when I drop "hints" for Christmas gifts, but this year, he listened and gave me a doughnut pan.  And it's a better quality pan than I would have bought myself!  It's a commercial-grade aluminum pan, which he found online.

I've tried out a couple baked doughnut recipes, including this recipe from King Arthur Flour.  The recipes were OK, but I'm still looking for "the one" that will become my favorite.

Do you make baked doughnuts at home?  Do you have a favorite recipe?  I'm looking for any suggestions.  Thanks!

King Arthur Flour brownies

 

On Sunday morning, I was checking out Facebook while eating breakfast. My husband walked in the kitchen to refill his coffee mug, and he asked me: "What is King Arthur baking today?"  I guess he's figured out that I'm a big fan of the King Arthur Flour recipes!

A few seconds later, I saw that King Arthur Flour posted a fudgey brownie recipe on its Facebook wall in celebration of National Brownie Day. Well, it just so happened that I've been craving brownies and was looking for an excuse to bake a batch.  So I followed my husband's advice and tried this favorite brownie recipe from King Arthur Flour.  I was impressed by all the good reviews these brownies have earned, and the recipe didn't disappoint.  And I loved the shiny crust!  Just like the boxed brownie mixes, which I also love. But it's even more fun to eat brownies that I've made myself from scratch.  Give the recipe a try next time you have a craving for brownies.

Brown sugar cookies

Have you been busy baking Christmas cookies?  I haven't even started my holiday baking. I'm just not feeling it yet, I think because of the unseasonable warm weather.

I've been admiring all the beautiful cookie recipes on Pinterest right now, but for some reason, I couldn't get this recipe from the latest King Arthur Flour Baking Sheet newsletter out of my mind.  It's so simple, I had to see why the authors were raving about it.  And these brown sugar cookies were excellent.  I added toffee chips, and I'm glad I did.  These would make a great "lunchbox" cookie, if you're looking for a simple and sweet snack.  Here's the recipe, if you want to try it yourself.

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Brown Sugar Cookies

From King Arthur Flour's Baking Sheet

• 3/4 C. unsalted butter
• 1-1/4 C. brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2-1/4 C. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 C. bittersweet chocolate chips, optional
• 1 C. toffee chips, optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets, or line with parchment.

In large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg; scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix into the butter and sugar until combined; scrape the bowl, mix for a few seconds more. Stir in chips if using.

Scoop by the tablespoon on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 8 to 12 minutes, just until the edges turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on the pan for crispy cookies; for chewier cookies, transfer to a rack. Yield: 3 dozen plain, 4 dozen with add-ins.

Joy the Baker's Chewy Almond Coconut Raisin Bars

My husband and I eat a lot of granola bars because they make great portable snacks when we're at work. I've been trying out different homemade granola bars, just for fun. These granola bars from Joy the Baker are my new favorites.  They were crumbly, but not to soft; sweet, but not hard as a rock from all the sugar (like some of the bars I've tried).

I found the recipe in the Joy the Baker cookbook (which I love!), but here's another version I found online. Give them a try if you're looking for a break from holiday cookies.