Flaky Whole Wheat Pie Crust

https://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/
how-to-make/flaky-whole-wheat-pie-crust/
Ingredients

5 to 8 Tbsp Water (ice cold)
1 tsp Sea Salt
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter chilled
2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour or Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

Instructions

Sift flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into 12 pieces and rub into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some pea-size pieces. Sprinkle water over mixture, one tablespoon at a time and knead lightly just until dough forms. Form dough into a ball. Cut in half and press each into a disc shape. Wrap each disc in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.



Makes two 9-inch pie crusts (16 slices).

Peach Crisp

Ingredients
For the peaches:
4 cups sliced fresh peaches
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of Nutmeg


For the topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats 

1/3 cup pecan pieces  Optionial  

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
I used peaches that I froze...they produced a lot of juice so I added the flour for thickening.
Place peaches in a medium sized bowl. Add all the ingredients and mix well.

Arrange peach mixture evenly in an 8x8-inch baking dish. I used a 7-1/2 x 11-1/2 pan.

Mix flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl using a pastry cutter until evenly crumbled. Fold oats into flour mixture; sprinkle and press topping into peaches. 

Bake in the preheated oven until topping is lightly browned and the peaches are bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Hot Milk Skillet Cake

I found this recipe on the Golden Barrell Website.  Their website recommends a broiled coconut topping.  I chose a chocolate cream cheese icing.  I used my 8", #5 cast iron skillet, which was the perfect size for this cake.

2 large eggs
1 cup Golden Barrel organic cane sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one 8" cast iron skillet (or cake pan). Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, measure out dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring to combine. Set aside. In a bowl attached to a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat eggs until frothy. Add in sugar and beat on high speed for several minutes until thickened and light yellow in color. With mixer turned to low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

In a saucepan, heat together the milk and butter until just-boiling. Remove from heat and pour hot mixture into cake batter along with the vanilla extract, beating to combine.

Pour batter into prepared skillet and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and let cool on rack while preparing coconut topping.

TWINKIE BUNDT CAKE

We have been having a lot of conversations about childhood favorite foods lately, most of which are no longer available...

Here is a copycat recipe for a Twinkie Bundt Cake that is wonderful and even better the second day.
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This recipe is from Brown Eyed Baker, I have tried many of her recipes and I have never been disappointed


INGREDIENTS:

For the Cake:
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups (340 grams) cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups (397 grams) granulated sugar
½ cup (99 grams) vegetable oil
3 eggs, at room temperature
4 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 cup (237 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
For the Cream Filling:
1 (7.5-ounce) jar marshmallow crème
½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Powdered sugar, for dusting
DIRECTIONS:

Make the Cake: 

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and vanilla on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat until evenly mixed, about 1 minute. With the machine still running, slowly pour in the oil and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.

Reduce the mixer speed to low. Alternately mix in the flour mixture and buttermilk in 3 additions each, ending with the buttermilk. Mix on low speed just until the batter is smooth and no lumps remain. Turn off the mixer and gently fold the batter several times by hand with a spatula to ensure everything is incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely in the pan, about 2 hours.

Make the Cream Filling: 

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the marshmallow crème, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip or spoon it into a large resealable plastic bag with a bottom corner snipped off.

Fill and Assemble the Cake: 

While the cake is still in the pan, use a paring knife or an apple corer to make 6 or 7 deep, evenly spaced holes in the bottom of the cake, each about ¾ of an inch in diameter, being careful to cut no more than halfway through to the top of the cake. Discard (or eat!) any cake scraps. Using your fingertips, gently forge a horizontal tunnel through the cake that connects the vertical holes.

Insert the tip of the pastry or plastic bag into each hole and squeeze in some of the filling, tilting the bag back and forth as you work to encourage the filling to make its way into the horizontal tunnel. When the cake is filled, use a spatula to scrape away any excess filling from the bottom of the cake.

Quickly and carefully turn the cake onto a platter. Dust with powdered sugar and serve. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container (or covered tightly with plastic wrap) at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Pumpkin Cream Pudding by Valerie

We give this recipe a 5 star rating, Valerie's Recipe

After making at least a million baked custard pumpkin pies for the holiday season...NO MORE.  We are huge fans of Vanilla Cream, Banana Cream and Chocolate Cream Pies..  We are going to add Pumpkin Cream to the list.  

I used home made pumpkin puree for this recipe so the colors aren't as bright and what comes out of the can.  I am also using Valerie's Directions, though I feel that they make the process sound WAY too complicated. It comes together quickly, just remember that it's very important to keep stirring the mixture as it heats up, mixture will burn easily on the bottom of the pan if you don't.  There is a stage of thickening where the mixture will look lumpy, hang in there it will smooth out.

Ingredients
4 cups whole milk
One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie mix), about 1 1/2 cups
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 to 12 ginger snap cookies
Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine three cups of the milk, the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and ginger. Whisk to combine and then set over medium-low heat and bring to a gentle simmer.
Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks and the remaining 1 cup milk.
Whisk half of the hot milk-pumpkin mixture into the egg mixture until smooth, then gradually whisk the egg-milk-pumpkin mixture back into the saucepan. Continue to cook, now over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until it has thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.
To assemble, layer the cookies and pudding mixture in a serving dish or parfait glasses. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold (at least 2 hours).
Recipe courtesy of Valerie Bertinelli

Banana Buttermilk Layer Cake

If you are a banana lover, this cake is for you!!!  It is flavorful and moist and no added spices so all you get is Banana!  I have not made a layer cake in years, mostly because I can never make a pretty cake!  I still can't make a pretty layer cake, the flavor takes the place of pretty..  I'm good with that,  The only thing I changed in the Cooking Classy recipe is I added 1 teaspoon of baking powder.  Link to her site is below.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (from about 4 medium bananas)*
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 9-inch round cake pans with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang of foil on two sides. Spray foil with cooking spray, then dust evenly with flour and shake off excess.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt for 30 seconds. Set aside. Mash bananas with 1 tsp lemon juice. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, whip together butter, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, granulated sugar and light brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl, about 3 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 Tbsp vegetable oil. Blend in eggs one at a time, mixing until combined after each addition. Stir in vanilla and mashed bananas. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add flour mixture alternating with buttermilk in 3 separate batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing just until combined after each addition. Divide batter evenly among prepared cake pans and spread batter into an even layer.

Bake in preheated oven 45 - 50 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

*I tried this with both 1 1/2 cups and 1 3/4 cup mashed bananas and the 1 3/4 cup seemed to make the cake more dense and it didn't really need any of that extra moisture so I'd recommend that you measure the mashed bananas and use 1 1/2 cups.
Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

Fudgesicle Bars

We love Fudge Bars!  It is getting really difficult to find a GOOD premade bar in the frozen food section..  This recipe fixes that problem, a homemade pudding pop, thick rich and creamy. .  A creation from Brown Eyed Baker.   

yield: 8 fudge pops
prep time: 30 minutes
total time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2½ cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 wooden Popsicle sticks
DIRECTIONS:
1. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave on 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth.

2. Combine the melted chocolate, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add the vanilla and butter, and stir until well combined.

3. Let the mixture cool slightly (it should still be warm but not hot to the touch), and then pour into 8 popsicle molds. Freeze for 30 minutes, and then insert sticks. Freeze completely before serving.

Note: I used the Progressive International Freezer Pop Maker.

(Recipe adapted from On a Stick! by Matt Armendariz)

Cran-Apple Crisp

Okay, we're not big fans of cranberry's here. But staying with tradition we have them every Thanksgiving.  Now what to do with what's left.

This actually turned out great, cranberries combined with apples and brown sugar is a great friendship...

Preheat Oven 350 degrees

5-6 peeled, cored and thinly sliced
whole cranberry sauce- about 15 oz.

Combine sliced apples and cranberries, add to a greased 8 inch deep dish

(I have a new Kitchenaid attachment that is labeled as a food processor and it does a great job evenly slicing the apples.  I did not peel my apples which was a mistake, peelings stayed tough and chewy.)

The crisp topping recipe comes from my very old (early 1970's) Better Homes and Gardens Encyclopedia of Cooking,  I have been using this recipe since the beginning of time.  The only thing I did different for this is add 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.

3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped pecans ** Optional

Combine oats, sugar, flour and cinnamon; cut into butter to make a crumb like mixture.  Sprinkle over apples,  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes,  Serve warm with cream, if desired.

Test apples to make sure they are soft before removing from oven,  I ended up baking for about 50 minutes because I used a deeper pan so I had a really thick layer of apples to bake,

Maple Oatmeal Pie

Ingredients

Pastry for Pie crust or graham cracker crust

2 eggs, slightly beaten
¾ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup milk
½ cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flaked coconut
¾ cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts

Cinnamon whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare pastry crust or graham cracker crust. Set aside.

Preparation
For filling: In a large bowl, combine eggs, maple syrup, sugar, brown sugar, milk, butter and vanilla. Stir in coconut, rolled oats, and walnuts. Pour filling into unbaked pie shell.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours
Cinnamon Whipped Cream: in a chilled bowl combine 1 cup whipping cream, 2 tbsp powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and ½ tsp ground cinnamon. Beat on medium speed with electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Spring Harvest Maple Farm

Apple Butter Pan Bread

This is a very basic "tea" bread recipe.  I didn't add apple butter to the batter, but you can, just decrease the milk by the amount you are adding.

2 1/2 cup Gold Metal Flour
1       cup Sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1       teaspoon salt
3       tablespoons salad oil
1 1/4 cup milk
1       egg
1       teaspoon vanilla

2 to 3 tablespoons apple butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour one 9" to 10" cast iron skillet.  Beat egg and sugar until light, add salt and vanilla, slowly add the oil, one tablespoon at a time.  With mixer on low, slowly add flour alternating with milk.  Pour batter into prepared pan drizzle apple butter over the top of the batter, using a knife pull the apple butter through the batter.  Place pan in oven and bake for about 35 minutes depending on the size skillet you are using.

Once bread is done, remove from pan or serve while warm.  Bread will continue to bake if you leave it in the hot pan and will dry out quickly.  Top with Fried Apples and whipped cream.

Fried Apples

3 medium Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) melted butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Apple Butter

Melt butter in medium hot skillet, add sliced apples and coat with butter add lemon juice.  Fry apples until they start to slightly soften.  Add sugars and stir until a thick syrup starts to form.  Add Apple Butter and cook until it is blended and syrup is still thick.
Serve warm.

Crockpot Apple Butter

Fall has arrived and boxes of apples are showing up at every festival.  We are lucky enough to have a local guy that goes to northern Missouri and brings back a huge trailer of five (5) different kinds. This year I bought three (3) different kinds to share with the family.  Fuji, Red Delicious and Granny Smith.  This recipe has some of each kind.  I don't think it really matters that much what type you use, they all cook down into a wonderful sauce.

Here is what I did..

Get that crockpot out!  Next, you will need five (5) to six (6) pounds of apples not pealed.

I have an apple slicer that cores and cuts the apples into eight (8) even slices.. 

 Once the apples are cored and sliced, it's time to dice into 1/2" cubes.  You should have enough apples to almost fill your pot.

In a separate bowl add:

1 1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used a mix of light and dark because that is what I had)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix thoroughly making sure all the lumps are gone.  Throw the mixture over the apples and mix coating the apples.

Cover crockpot and cook for an hour or two on high.  Stir and turn pot to low, cover and cook for at least eight hours.  If there is too much liquid cook tilt the lid creating an air gap letting the moisture escape or cook off.

When apples reach the desired thickness, process the apples with a blender, food processor or smart stick until smooth.

Now to finish,  add 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract and 4 tablespoons of real butter.  Stir until incorporated.