bread and pretzels Archives

Let’s have a Pancake Party!

February 12, 2013 by Betsy Eves 3 Comments

Happy National Pancake Day and to celebrate I had a Pancake Party! Three of my awesome friends and I got up bright and early and made some of the yummiest pancakes ever! It was so much fun and such a simple way to bring friends together.

We started the morning with giant cups of coffee and a big bowl of pancake batter. I had blueberries, strawberries, lemons, raspberry puree, cinnamon, sugar, cream cheese, pumpkin, powdered sugar and maple syrup to create our pancakes with. We decided on three different variations… Lemon Blueberry, Strawberry Overload, and Cinnamon Roll.

Lemon Blueberry – This is one of my all time favorite flavor combinations. It’s light, fresh and so good. Sweet, tart together is just sublime. The flavor of lemon in these pancakes is just the right amount and paired with the blueberry… it’s perfect!

Strawberry Overload – Strawberries in the pancake and on the pancake. It’s a strawberry lovers DREAM. The only thing that might make these better… strawberry whipped cream! hehe Maybe next time!

Cinnamon Roll – Let’s keep it real for a minute and get really honest. These pancakes… I felt guilty with every bite. It’s so good… yet sooo bad. Full of sugar, butter, cinnamon, cream cheese…. yeah, I felt like I was eating a Cinnabon. These pancakes were so incredible good… I can’t see how you’d not want to make them. Seriously.

Yum. Yum and Yum!

The greatest thing about these pancakes were that they were all made with the same buttermilk pancake batter and spiced up with different ingredients! You could do so many variations of pancakes with this batter… the possibilities are limitless!

So… go make some pancakes and enjoy National Pancake Day!

Buttermilk Pancakes

Prep Time: 6 minutes

Yield: Enough for 4-6 people

2-3 pancakes

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the melted butter, vanilla and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until smooth, about 25 strokes.
Heat your skillet or griddle to medium heat. Pour 1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil on the skillet and spread with a paper towel to coat the surface.
Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle. Cook until bubbles form and pop uniformly across the top of the pancake. Flip over and cook until golden brown. NOTE: Don't be tempted to turn up the heat on your griddle. Cooking these pancakes low & slow will allow them rise and get fluffy! Slow and low makes these pancakes perfect!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2013/02/lets-have-a-pancake-party/

Blueberry Lemon Pancakes

Ingredients

Buttermilk Pancake Recipe (above)
1 lemon, zested & juiced
2 Tbsp sugar
1-2 cups fresh blueberries

Instructions

Prepare the buttermilk pancake batter.
In a small mixing bowl, press the lemon zest into the sugar using the back of your spatula.
Gently fold the zest and lemon juice into the batter.
Prepare the skillet the same as you would for the buttermilk pancakes.
Scoop 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake onto the skillet.
After about 30 seconds of cooking, press 6-8 blueberries into the pancake. Use a toothpick to cover the blueberries with a little bit of batter from the pancake... being careful not to disrupt the bottom of the pancake.
Once the bubbles have formed and popped on the top of the pancake, flip it over and continue cooking until golden brown.
Serve with more blueberries on top and fresh grated lemon zest.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2013/02/lets-have-a-pancake-party/

Strawberry Overload Pancakes

Yield: Enough for 4-6 people

2-3 pancakes

Ingredients

Buttermilk Pancake Batter (above)
2 cups fresh strawberries
1-2 Tbsp sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
powdered sugar

Instructions

Prepare the buttermilk pancake batter.
Slice half the strawberries into 1/8in slices and set aside
Dice the remaining strawberries into small chunks and place in a bowl. Add 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1-2 Tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet you want them). Using a potato masher, smash the berries until they have broken down by half.
Prepare the skillet the same as you would for the buttermilk pancakes.
Scoop 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake onto the skillet.
After about 30 seconds of cooking, press 4-6 strawberry slices into the pancake. Use a toothpick to cover the strawberries with a little bit of batter from the pancake... being careful not to disrupt the bottom of the pancake.
Once the bubbles have formed and popped on the top of the pancake, flip it over and continue cooking until golden brown.
Serve covered with mashed strawberries, fresh grated lemon zest and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2013/02/lets-have-a-pancake-party/

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Yield: Enough for 4-6 people

2-3 pancakes

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Buttermilk Pancake Batter (recipe above)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Cream Cheese Drizzle

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
pinch of salt
cinnamon for garnish

Instructions

Prepare the buttermilk pancake batter.
In a medium mixing bowl, whip together the cream cheese and butter using a hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and heavy cream and whip for 2 minutes until light, fluffy and smooth. Spoon into a squeeze bottle or piping bag with a small round tip. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and mix until smooth. Spoon into a squeeze bottle or piping bag with a small round tip. Set aside.
Prepare the skillet the same as you would for the buttermilk pancakes.
Scoop 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake onto the skillet.
After about 30 seconds of cooking, squeeze a swirl of sugar into the top of the pancake creating the look of a cinnamon roll.
Once the bubbles have formed and popped on the top of the pancake, flip it over and continue cooking until golden brown.
Serve pancakes swirl side up. Drizzle the cream cheese over the top and dust with cinnamon.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2013/02/lets-have-a-pancake-party/

Filed Under: blueberry, breakfast, cinnamon, cinnamon rolls, lemon, pancakes, recipes, strawberry

My Dad’s Christmas Applesauce Bread

December 19, 2012 by Betsy Eves 6 Comments

Every Christmas for as long as I can remember, my Mom made the Christmas breakfast casserole, my Grandma made the Chex Mix and my Dad made the applesauce bread. It was tradition. We just couldn’t have Christmas without those three things.

My Grandma handed out the Chex Mix in the beginning of December so we’d have it all month to munch on, my Dad started baking bread several weeks before Christmas and my Mom made the casserole on Christmas Eve so all she had to do was pop it in the oven while we were all opening presents Christmas morning.

Christmas morning as we were opening our stockings, my Dad would have sliced on a plate for us a loaf of his applesauce bread. Normally eating food in the fancy living room where the tree was, was forbidden… but this one day of the year we were allowed this special treat! YUM!

After all the presents were open, we headed to the dining room where my Mom served us Christmas Casserole, sliced peaches,warm cinnamon rolls, orange juice and coffee. After our bellies were full we’d retreat to the TV room and relax by the fireplace, play with all our new toys and nap. By about 3pm our tummies started rumbling again and it was time to snack on more bread and Chex Mix!

And now, I’m in Germany with my own family making this bread for them and my friends. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without it!

What meal time/baking traditions does your family have?

Enjoy!

My Dad’s Christmas Applesauce Bread

Yield: 2 loaves of bread

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour, sifted
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5x3 loaf pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.
Mix in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt cocoa and cinnamon.
In three parts, add the flour. Between each addition, add half the applesauce. Mix only until no more flour is visible.
Fold in the chocolate chips and the raisins.
Separate batter into the prepared pans.
Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
Cool in the pans 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until you're ready to eat it or store it in a ziploc bag or air tight container for up to a week.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/12/my-dads-christmas-applesauce-bread/

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, recipes

Frosted Peppermint Dark Chocolate Cake Donuts

December 3, 2012 by Betsy Eves 10 Comments

Living here in Germany, I don’t get the opportunity to eat very many cake donuts. Last week, the commissary bakery was selling a glazed chocolate cake donut that was pretty yummy. And now… I can’t get them off my mind.

So my cake donut obsession and my current peppermint obsession came together today to make my first peppermint recipe of the season! Baked glazed peppermint dark chocolate cake donuts! NOM!

The recipe is a simple one. Two bowls, one whisk and just a little bit of mixing are necessary to make a thick, fudge brownie type batter that will get piped into a donut pan and baked to puffy, cakey perfection.

Instead of a typical glaze, I wanted a thicker frosting. So, I made my vanilla buttercream and made it a little smoother than I would if I were frosting a cupcake by adding more heavy cream. After frosting each donut, I topped them with crushed peppermint candy canes! YUMMM!

Enjoy!

Frosted Peppermint Dark Chocolate Cake Donuts

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 13 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 10 full size donuts and 12 mini donuts

Ingredients

Donuts

2 cups flour
1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
3-4 Tbsp heavy cream
Crushed peppermint candy canes or peppermint sprinkles for garnish

Instructions

Donuts

Preheat oven to 325 F degrees. Spray donut pans with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients... flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Make sure there are no sugar clumps remaining.
In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and extracts.
Make a well in the flour mixture. Slowly pour in the wet ingredients and begin to whisk. Whisk until smooth, about 15 strokes.
Spoon batter into a piping bag (you can use a ziploc bag too). Squeeze batter into donut pan filling about 2/3 full.
Bake full size donuts for 12-14 minutes. Bake mini donuts for 9-11 minutes. The donuts will be done when you gently press down on them and they spring back.
Cool in pans for about 3-5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

Beat together the sugar and butter until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Add the heavy cream slowly until you get your desired consistency. I like my frosting smooth, creamy and spreadable
Spread frosting onto each donut. Sprinkle crushed candy canes or sprinkles on top.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/12/frosted-peppermint-dark-chocolate-cake-donuts/

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, chocolate, dark chocolate, doughnuts, doughnuts, peppermint, peppermint and mint, recipes

Thank You Bread & And a Story About Cora

November 12, 2012 by Betsy Eves 43 Comments

Although this post has a recipe at the end… it’s not the usual post you’ll see here on my blog. This is a very personal story of my life in November 2102. A story that has changed me forever…

The last three weeks have been the hardest weeks of my life. I’ve been through a lot of stuff as an adult, but nothing really can compare to the devastation I have faced.

Three weeks ago on a Thursday, I went in for what my German doctor called a “special ultrasound.” I was about 12 weeks pregnant and super excited to see my growing baby! Typically, this screening & ultrasound isn’t done until 16-20 weeks in the States, but here in Germany, the doctors like to do it sooner.

For 30 minutes, I laid on the table, watching my little nugget swim around in my belly. It had fingers and toes and was jumping around like crazy. I watched in awe as I saw this precious life, my baby, alive in front of me! I was so excited! But… sadly, that excitement was put to a stop when my doctor had asked me to wait in the lobby while he was called away for an emergency. As he left he told me we’d have to “discuss the situation and how to proceed.” My heart dropped. Shit. Something was wrong with my baby.

Those 15 minutes were probably the longest of my life up to then. I called my husband and began sobbing, worrying, speculating what in the world could be wrong with my baby. Finally, the doctor returned and began to explain what he saw in the ultrasound.

There are some things I really appreciate about having a German doctor. This day, I was grateful for his inability to know how to “sugar coat” things in English. He knew only enough English to tell me the facts and nothing more. The doctor explained to me that my baby had a layer of fluid built up under the skin, surrounding the entire body and that the intestines were growing into the umbilical cord. Both of these key indicators that the baby had a genetic disorder. Which disorder, he was unsure of but needed to have further testing done to give a proper diagnosis.

The Chorionic Villis Sampling was scheduled for Tuesday. Similar to an amniocentesis this sampling tests the genetic make up of the tissue around the baby, which is the same as the baby. It would tell us which genetic disorder the baby had.

I’ve had surgery before, I’ve broken bones, I’ve been in car accidents… but the pain this test caused me was like nothing I’d ever felt. The needle into my uterus felt like it was just prodding into my soul, ripping my heart out at the same time. This test was going to tell us the fate of our child… and I was scared and sad. So very sad.

The results of the test came in on Friday. The doctor confirmed what he suspected, our child had a genetic disorder called Trisomy 18. What this meant is that on the babies 18th chromosome, instead of two pairs of DNA, there were three. This disorder causes all kinds of physical disabilities including a shortened life span. Most don’t make it to birth and those that do die with in days.

Wow. This was a lot to take it. I mean, we’d researched the possibilities of what genetic disorder it could have been… but Trisomy 18 was just about the worst one possible. Our baby was going to die. Die sooner than any baby should die. How in the world was I going to deal with this?

Our first decision was an easy one. When the doctor asked how we wanted to proceed… either abortion or let the baby live as long as possible… we knew right away we wanted to give our baby a chance at life. However short or long that would be… she deserved a chance to live. So, we began planning what steps we’d need to take to get the best medical care possible for our child and a move back to the USA was starting to take place.

Doctors appointments were made for 5 hours away at Landstuhl Medical Center… the closest American doctor and actually the only place in Europe, Asia and Africa that had a genetic specialist, a visit to the Chaplain and we gathered the necessary paperwork for a move back home. The puzzle pieces were moving and things were looking hopeful that we’d get our baby the best care possible.

We were holding on to the hope that our baby would make it to birth. That we’d be able to hold her, touch her, tell her how much we loved her. Oh…. did I mention that the genetic test also told us she was a girl? So yes!! A girl! And we named her Cora Marie! Through all the sadness, my husband and I truly believed Cora would beat all the odds and she’d be in that small percentage of babies who make it to birth and we’d be able to meet her! It really was the only way we kept our sanity, day to day…. the only way we could remain happy.

And we held on to that hope until Thursday of this past week. Thursday, everything changed. I woke up early in the morning and found blood after going to the bathroom. I wanted to ignore it, but I couldn’t. I started to worry. I hoped that maybe it was just nothing… that’d it would go away. But… it didn’t. By early evening there was more blood… enough not to ignore. So, my husband took me to the Emergency Room.

We were seen by a doctor who actually helped deliver Matthew back in March. It was nice to see a familiar face. She did an ultrasound to see how things were with the baby. Immediately, I could tell something was wrong. Cora wasn’t moving, she laid there in my belly so still, no movement at all. And then, when the doctor moved the image to her chest area… there it was… no heartbeat. And I knew… she was gone. The doctor confirmed with a few more tests and measurements on the screen and then told us what we were seeing… no heartbeat and no bloodflow… our baby had died.

Wow… this was not what I wanted, expected or ever dreamed of happening. It had already been such a stressful and emotionally charged 2 weeks… I just thought I’d have more time before I had to deal with this part. I really just thought I’d have more time.

Now what? I asked the doctor. Another shock came… I had to deliver my baby. HUH? WHAT? Yes… she was too big for the doctors to remove with a D&C and too small for a C-section removal. I had to let my body deliver her naturally. I was to stay overnight, see if my body would start the process on my own and if not, they’d give me some medication to help things along.

The next morning, nothing had happened so the doctors gave me that medicine. It wasn’t until the second dose later that afternoon that I really felt things happening, changing, progressing. My uterus was contracting and I was in so much pain… none of the pain killers the doctors had me on all day were working anymore. We called the nurse in to let her know of the pain I was in and she said ok, left the room and wasn’t to be seen again.

As I was trying to get myself comfortable to help ease the pain, I got on my knees with my head on my pillow on my bed. This seemed to be the only position I could get any relief. And then… it happened. My water broke. With my first two kids, I had never experienced this sensation. It was like a balloon burst between my legs and water spilled out everywhere. I rushed to the bathroom to sit on the wheelchair toilet they had put in my room to collect fluids in situations just like this. The remaining fluid rushed out and my contractions began to ease. We called the nurse again, told her my water broke… and again she disappeared.

With no clue for what I should do next, I laid down on my bed and tried to rest. My husband stroked my forehead and I fell asleep. The first sleep I had gotten since I’d been at the hospital.

What happens next… it maybe be hard for you to read. It’s graphic and upsetting. So please, skip ahead as it may be difficult to get through.

As I lay in bed, trying to sleep, I am awakened by more fluid coming out of me. I head back to the bathroom wheelchair toilet and sit there. Still, no nurse or doctor had come to check on me or help me. By this point, it had been about 20 minutes since my water broke.

Without warning from my body, I feel something warm slip out of me. Not certain of what it was… I thought maybe a blood clot, I asked my husband to look. I sat forward and he looked behind me. His words still haunt me… It’s Cora, he said. My hand covered my open mouth and I sat there in shock. My baby was dangling from me. I had just delivered her in a toilet. I sent my husband outside to get a nurse, anyone to help… but no one came. For 10 more minutes, I sat there. What was I to do? My baby was hanging from me and all I could do was sit there. I held my husbands hand and we cried. Cried for my baby, cried for us. Cried.

Finally, the doctor arrived and he looks at me like… What? What’s going on? I tell him… THE BABY CAME OUT! She’s hanging there!!! He instructs me to get up and move to the bed. The nurse holds Cora between my legs and I waddle to the bed. I sit down, the doctor cuts the umbilical cord and lays my baby down on a feminine pad. (This didn’t bother me until later…. but really, a pad? He couldn’t find a blanket or towel or something?!!) They left the room and gave us some time with our daughter.

She was so tiny. Only 2 inches long. Her bones had not developed yet, but her body was forming. Head, body, arms, legs…. even little toes and fingers, knees too. She had eyes, nose and a mouth too. She was so tiny. She was beautiful.

I held Cora and I told her how much I loved her, how sorry I was that she didn’t get to live longer… but that she was going to join my Mom in Heaven. Grandma Nancy was waiting for her… I told Cora that Grandma was going to hold her, snuggle with her, sing to her and take care of her until we got to Heaven to be with her.

And that was it… 10 minutes with my daughter.

The nurses took me to the operating room and a D&C was performed to clean out my uterus and ensure everything was okay. An hour after that procedure, I was heading home.

The following day was the most emotional for me. I was pregnant, delivered a baby in a toilet and then came home… with no baby. I wanted her so badly. I wanted Cora in my life. I wanted to hold her. Love her. Raise her. I wanted for Matty to be a big brother to her. For Emily to teach her everything she knew about what it meant to be a girl, a teenager. But… I was never going to have any of that. She was gone. I was lost. I cried most of the day. I needed to release it all.

Last night, I had a dream… Cora came to me. She looked to be about two months old. Big eyes like Matty but they were brown like Emily’s and she had a head full of dark brown straight hair. She looked healthy, happy and she gave me a look… a look so deep into my soul and she told me… Mommy, I’m okay. I made it to Heaven and I’m with Grandma and everything is going to be okay. I love you Mommy.

And I instantly felt peace.

See, a few years ago when my Mom died… she came to me in a dream a few days after she died too. She told me something similar, that she had made it to Heaven and that everything was going to be okay. I also, felt at peace with her passing.

Today, three days after I said goodbye to Cora… I am at peace. I am still sad, I will always miss her. But I feel peace. I know she is in Heaven and I know that everything will be okay.

My husband and I also decided to get matching tattoos today to have something tangible to remember Cora by. I didn’t have anything with her name on it, no blanket she laid in, no clothes she wore… so I thought a tatoo was fitting. I got her name on my left wrist and Dave got the day she went to Heaven on his right wrist. That way, everytime we hold hands… Cora will be there.

And I feel I need to take a moment to thank my husband. Dave… there isn’t another person in this world that I would have wanted to experience all of this with. You are the love of my life and I am so thankful to have your love through all of this. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and having you with me made it somewhat more bearable. Thank you Dave for loving me. Thank you for loving Cora. Thank you for holding me as I cried. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

During that 24 hours at the hospital, I was lucky enough to have two amazing friends step up and help out. My friend Chrissy offered me emotional and moral support and my friend Chasity watched my kids for me. And as the Facebook messages, text messages and emails poured in from friends near and far… it was these two ladies who really held my life together for me as I felt as it was all falling apart.

Chasity, Chrissy – I will forever be thankful what you did for me those days. You held my family in your hands and you never let us fall. You loved us, cared for us… and I can’t say it enough how grateful I am to have you in my life. I love you!!!

So today, I baked some bread for them. I simply call this bread “Thank You Bread”. I’ve never made it before, but this recipe was derived from an applesauce bread my Dad makes every Christmas. I just kicked it up a notch!

If you have sometone you need to say Thank you to, consider this bread and think of Cora for me!

Thank You Bread

3 loaves

Ingredients

11 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 Tbsp dark chocolate cocoa powder
3 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 2/3 cup cinnamon chips (1 10oz bag)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Grease and flour 3 9x5x3 loaf pans. I also lined the bottoms with parchment paper.
Cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on high for 4-5 minutes. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
While that's beating, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, and cocoa.
Add the flour to the creamed mixture in three parts. Between each part, add half the applesauce.
Fold in the cinnamon chips, chocolate chips and raisins.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix 10 more strokes to ensure the batter is fully incorporated.
Divide the batter into the three pans evenly.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 20 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/11/thank-you-bread-and-a-story-about-cora/

One day at a time… that’s how I’m getting through this. Great friends, an amazing husband… and one day at a time.

Filed Under: apple, applesauce, bread and pretzels, chocolate, cinnamon, life, recipes

Easy Banana Bread

October 20, 2012 by Betsy Eves Leave a Comment

I’ve had 5 super duper ripe bananas sitting on my counter for the last week just waiting for me to have time to use them in bread. It’s finally Saturday and I have a few minutes to whip up a batch.

I wanted an easy recipe, one that didn’t require a mixer to cream butter and sugar, and one that would really bring out the banana flavor in the bread. Sometimes banana bread tastes more like cinnamon and spices than it does banana. I think I really got what I wanted from this recipe!

This bread is super duper dense. If you like a really moist bread, you’ll like this!!

Enjoy!

Sorry for the crappy camera phone pictures… I was being lazy this morning. haha

Easy Banana Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

One 9x5 loaf

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
5 medium overripe bananas
2 cups flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Add the eggs, applesauce, cinnamon, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in the wet mixture. Fold together.
Add the milk and whisk about 10 strokes or until the batter is smooth.
Pour into pan and place in the center of your oven. Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Slice and serve!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/10/easy-banana-bread/

Filed Under: banana, bread and pretzels, recipes

Pumpkin Scones with Pumpkin Maple Glaze

October 10, 2012 by Betsy Eves 3 Comments

Mmmmm scones. Really, is there anything better for breakfast than a scone, hot from the oven smeared with soft butter or your favorite jam? No. I didn’t think so. :)

Scones have become a whole lot easier and quicker for me to make now that I’ve got a food processor. Cutting butter into flour is sooooo time consuming and my food processor gets it done in just seconds! YAY for technology!

These pumpkin scones are full of pumpkin & spice and are so super moist and delicious. They’d be great smeared with butter, hot out of the oven or slightly cooled with a pumpkin glaze on top! Either way… they are a must make for your family this fall!

Pumpkin Scones with Pumpkin Maple Glaze

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: At least 8 scones

Ingredients

Pumpkin Scones

2 cups flour
scant 1/2 cup sugar (1/4 cup + 3 Tbsp to be exact)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6 Tbsp COLD unsalted butter, cubed
2/3 cup COLD canned pumpkin puree (just pop it in the fridge a few hours before you want to make these)
1 egg
3 Tbsp heavy cream

Vanilla Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream

Pumpkin Maple Glaze

1 heaping cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

Scones

Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with non-stick spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cold pumpkin puree, heavy cream, and egg.
In the bowl of your food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Pulse 2-3 times to mix.
Add the cubed butter and pulse 5-6 times or until the butter has been broken into pieces no bigger than a pea.
Pour the flour/butter mixture into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle.
Add the pumpkin mixture and fold in with a spatula until a dough ball forms.
On a floured surface, knead down ball 2-3 times - not any more than this!
Press the dough into a large rectangle and transfer to prepared baking sheet.
Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into triangles. You can cut them as big or as small as you'd like. I cut 8 triangles. Separate out evenly on baking sheet.
Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges just begin to brown and tops have slightly hardened.
Remove from oven and cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.

Vanilla Glaze

Whisk together the sugar and cream until smooth.
Spoon glaze over each scone so they are completely covered. Use the back of the spoon to spread evenly over the scone.
Allow glaze to set up before pouring on pumpkin glaze.

Pumpkin Maple Glaze

Whisk together the sugar, pumpkin and maple syrup.
NOTE: You want this syrup to be a bit thicker than the vanilla glaze, so be mindful of that when adding the maple syrup. If it's too thin, add a Tbsp more of sugar until you get the consistency you want.
Using a piping bag and a very smell round tip, pipe pumpkin glaze in a back and forth pattern over the vanilla glaze on each scone.
Allow glaze to set up before serving.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/10/pumpkin-scones-with-pumpkin-maple-glaze/

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, glaze, pumpkin, recipes, scones, scones, seasonal

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

September 15, 2012 by Betsy Eves 89 Comments

It’s definitely pumpkin time! The grocery stores have started stocking fresh pumpkins and the shelves of canned pumpkin puree are always empty! (Luckily, I got a few cans before it was all gone!)

My first pumpkin recipe of the season is this bright orange pumpkin bread! When I first saw the picture of this bread on Fever Avenue I loved how truly orange the bread was. You could really tell it was a pumpkin flavored bread! And those chocolate chips just looked to gooey and melty and delicious! Now, the only problem… the recipe on Fever Avenue wasn’t in cups and tsp, it was in grams. Ugh.

So I set out to convert the recipe to something I could bake with… and I think it’s a success! The bread is full of pumpkin flavor and when eaten warm…. oh that chocolate gooeyness is TO DIE FOR!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Yield: 1 loaf of bread

Ingredients

1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup + 1/4 cup chocolate chips, divided
powdered sugar, to garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease & flour loaf pan. (I also lined mine with parchment paper.)
In large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt TWICE.
In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin, eggs, oil, vanilla and sour cream until smooth.
Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Pour into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top.
Bake 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan on a wire rack 20 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
Dust top with powdered sugar to garnish.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/09/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bread/

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, chocolate, pumpkin, Pumpkin Recipe Round Up, recipes, seasonal

Mini Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls

August 29, 2012 by Betsy Eves 1 Comment

We make homemade calzones with store bought pizza dough a lot. So it’s not that often that I have an extra roll of dough just hanging out in my fridge. Well, today… I did and the baking Gods said to me: “BETSY MAKE CINNAMON ROLLS”.

And so it was done.

Now… let me tell you that these aren’t your typical delicious, Pioneer Woman Heavenly goodness style cinnamon rolls. They are super basic, just average in flavor… BUT, kid friendly. (My daughter may or may not have eaten half of them today).

I made these mini’s cause, well… cause I’m a dumbass and I rolled them the wrong way and well, they’re mini.

One more disclaimer… they taste like pizza. Not like pepperoni and sauce…. but definitely pizza dough. Duh, you’re saying… you made it with pizza dough. Yah, I know… but somewhere deep, down inside I expected the dough to taste more…. doughy.

But whatever… they’re still worth it if you’ve got extra pizza dough!

Mini Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

1 can Pillsbury pizza dough
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened*
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed*
1/4 cup sugar*
1 Tbsp cinnamon*
1/4 cup raisins*
*note: these are all estimates, if you want to add more/less... do it!

Vanilla Glaze

1/4 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
heavy cream or milk

Instructions

Spray 8in cake pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to temperature listed on pizza dough packaging.
Remove the pizza dough from the roll and lay it out flat. Roll the dough out until it makes a large rectangle.
Spread butter from edge to edge of the dough.
Sprinkle the sugars and cinnamon evenly over the butter. Using your fingers to rub it into the butter, creating a kind of paste.
Spread as many raisins you want on top of the butter and sugar.
Roll dough as tight as you can so you have a long snake of cinnamon roll.
Cut each roll into 1-2 in pieces and place in the prepared pan, edge to edge.
Bake about 10 minutes or until golden on the edges. NOTE: These rolls won't rise, so don't be alarmed when they come out the same size.
Cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove to a plate to cool.

Vanilla Glaze

Combine the powdered sugar and vanilla and whisk until forms a paste. Add enough heavy cream or milk until you get your desired consistency. Thick if you want to spread it, thin if you want to drizzle it.
Top each mini roll with glaze. Eat!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/08/mini-pizza-dough-cinnamon-rolls/

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, breakfast, brown sugar, cinnamon, cinnamon rolls, recipes

Strawberry Shortcake

May 7, 2012 by Betsy Eves 6 Comments

The weather has been so beautiful lately (minus the thunderstorm this morning) and I’ve been dying to make strawberry shortcake! Last week on my favorite daytime tv show, The Chew, Carla made a strawberry shortcake that looked so amazingly delicious that I knew I had to find her recipe and make it myself!

This shortcake makes enough for 12 servings and can be easily made in two batches for a larger group… but for me, I don’t want to share… I might be eating most of this myself. I LOVE biscuits and I LOVE strawberries.

Nom.

Nom nom nom.

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

Go get some strawberries and make this!

Strawberry Shortcake

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: 12 strawberry shortcakes

Lemon zest & sour cream bring life to these biscuits topped with fresh sliced strawberries and a lemon & mint infused whipped cream!

Ingredients

Biscuit

1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup cold sour cream
1/3 cup cold milk
1 Tbsp cold water
2-3 Tbsp Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Whipping Cream

400ml heavy cream
3 5in sprigs of mint, leaves removed and torn in half
zest of 1/2 lemon + lemon peel, cut into strips
1 Tbsp sugar

Strawberries

6 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned and sliced
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla

Instructions

Biscuit

Preheat oven to 350F degrees and move baking racks to upper third of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and generously grease or spray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, press lemon zest into sugar using the back of your spatula until the sugar becomes fluffy.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well combined.
Cut the butter into the flour using a fork until no large chunks of butter remain. Use your fingers if that's easier for you.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk and water.
Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the milk mixture. Using a spatula, fold ingredients together until just combined. DO NOT OVERWORK THE DOUGH. You want it lumpy, not smooth.
Using an ice cream scoop, drop 12 mounds of dough onto prepared baking sheets.
Sprinkle Turbinado sugar over the top of each biscuit.
Bake about 15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.
Immediately remove to wire rack to cool.

Whipping Cream

In a small sauce pan, on high heat, stir together heavy cream, mint leaves, lemon zest and peels until right before boiling point. DO NOT BOIL.
Remove from heat and cool completely.
Strain so that only cream remains. Refrigerate until ready to use.
When ready to use, whip cream in a cold metal bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment until soft peaks form.
Add the sugar and continue whipping until you reached your desired texture and consistency.

Strawberries

Clean and slice strawberries until you have about 6 cups worth.
Toss strawberries with lemon juice, sugar and vanilla extract. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow flavors to come together and juices to form.
Refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembly

Place one biscuit in a bowl. Scoop 1/2 cup of strawberries on to the biscuit, making sure lots of juice from the berries is included.
Dollop a generous scoop of whipped cream on top.
Garnish with a mint sprig.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Carla Hall's recipe on The Chew

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/05/strawberry-shortcake/

Filed Under: biscuits, bread and pretzels, cake, lemon, perfect for spring, recipes, rolls & biscuits, shortcake, strawberry, whipping cream

Strawberry Lemonade Scones

April 17, 2012 by Betsy Eves 6 Comments

I’ve been trying to get into the kitchen at least once a week lately. I just have to. Baking is what makes me feel like… me. So, this morning I whipped up a batch of scones. Not just any scones though…

Strawberry

Lemonade

Scones

Yah… I said it. Two of the most perfect fruits paired together to make a sweet and tart delicious breakfast treat!

I actually wanted to make these over the weekend for my family, but when I went to the store to buy the berries…. they were all out!! How rude of them to be out of berries when I needed them.

I was inspired to make these scones by Munchkin Munchies. She made a strawberry lemonade scone and it looked so yummy! But, I’m lazy and didn’t want to make lemon curd to top it with… so I came up with my own recipe to incorporate the lemon more into the dough to create a stronger lemon taste.

I’m thinking they turned out pretty darn amazing!

Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade Scones

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 6-8 scones, depending on size

Ingredients

Scones

1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
2 Tbsp sugar
zest from one large lemon or 2 Tbsp
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold buttermilk
1 heaping cup fresh strawberries, cut into chunks
Turbinado sugar or Sugar in the Raw
Flour - for kneading and work surface

Lemon Glaze

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp milk

Instructions

Scones

Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly spray with cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl, press lemon zest into sugar using the back of a spatula. Add the lemon juice, egg yolk and butter milk and whisk until just combined. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter using a fork and your fingers until no large chunks of butter remain.
Add the sugar mixture to the flour, stirring to make a soft dough.
Fold in the strawberries. NOTE: Dough will get sticky with the addition of the berries.
Turn out onto a generously floured board and knead about 15 times or until the outside of the dough is no longer sticky.
Pat/press dough until it's 1 inch thick. Cut into 6-8 squares and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.
Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes or until edges and top turn golden brown.
Remove to wire rack to cool.

Glaze

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, juice and milk.
Drizzle over cooled scones.
Sprinkle more Turbinado sugar over glaze.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/04/strawberry-lemonade-scones/

Filed Under: berry, bread and pretzels, breakfast, buttermilk, featured, fruit, lemon, recipes, scones, strawberry

Berry BlogHop: Chocolate Dipped Berry Empanadas

April 1, 2012 by Betsy Eves 19 Comments

I’ve had my eye on these empanadas for a while now. My friend down the street can make empanada dough from scratch and fills them with so many yummy things and then CakeSpy posted a recipe for peanut butter filled empanadas… I’ve been inspired.

So for this months Berry BlogHop I decided I needed to fill empanadas with berries and dunk them in chocolate.

Oh yeah. OH YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Chocolate Dipped Berry Empanadas

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: 45-50 Empanadas

Chocolate Dipped Berry Empanadas

Flaky crust filled with sweet berries dipped in chocolate... can't get much better than this!

Ingredients

Empanadas

2 boxes premade pie crust (4 crusts)
2 12oz bags frozen berries (I used bags that contained blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and cherries) NOTE: You can also use fresh berries - you'll need about 4 cups worth.
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 Tbsp corn starch
1 egg + 1 Tbsp water (for egg wash)
sugar, for dusting

Chocolate Ganache

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup milk or cream

Instructions

Empanadas

Bring pie crusts to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large pan, melt the butter on high heat.
Add the berries and sugar to the pan and stir to coat the berries.
Once the berry juice beings to bubble, remove 1/2 cup of the juice and combine it with 2-3 Tbsp of corn starch. Whisk the juice and starch together until all lumps are gone. Add this mixture back into the pan with the berries. Bring to a boil to thicken, stirring often and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Once the mixture has thickened, remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, unroll pie crusts. Using a rolling pin, flatten out crust until it's as thin as a dime.
Using a 3in round cookie cutter, cut dough rounds and place on cookie sheet.
Brush egg wash around edges of dough round.

Spoon 1-2 tsp of berry filling into the center of each round. Fold the round over and press the edges closed with a fork.

Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on wire racks.

Chocolate Ganache

Melt butter and chocolate together on low heat until smooth.
Add the cream and stir until combined and smooth.
Dip cooled empanada in the melted ganache.

Set on wire rack to cool and harden before serving.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/04/berry-bloghop-chocolate-dipped-berry-empanadas/

Please be sure to check out what my fabulous co-hosts are bringing to the table:

A little bit of everything ~ Roxana GreenGirl ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl
Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins
BigFatBaker ~ Erin Meyer ~ @bigfatbaker
Bon à croquer ~ Valerie ~ @valouth
Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess.com
Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies
Elephant Eats ~ Amy
Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19
Java Cupcake ~ Betsy Eves ~ @JavaCupcake
Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ T.R. ~ @TRCrumbley
Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose
Queen’s Notebook ~ Elizabeth Quirino ~ @Mango_Queen
Rico sin Azúcar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar
Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @Simplyreem
Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood
Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna Segrave-Daly ~ @tspbasil
That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!! ~ Liz ~ @thatskinnychick
The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~ @TAofCRF
The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian
Vegan Yack Attack ~ Jackie S. ~ @veganyackattack
Vegetarian Mamma ~ Cindy ~ @vegetarianmamma

Filed Under: berry, blog hop, bread and pretzels, chocolate, desserts, empanadas, recipes

Fresh Fruit Stuffed French Toast

March 24, 2012 by Betsy Eves 3 Comments

Living in Germany we have access to all kinds of delicious fresh breads. One of our favorites is a loaf of Paderborner bread which is a rye and wheat sour dough bread baked in tins, ideal for for sandwiches, toast, and this morning… french toast!

We always have a wide array of fresh fruit in our house too. This morning we had blueberries, bananas, strawberries and raspberries and used all that delicious fresh fruit to stuff inside a thick slice of Paderborner bread to make stuffed french toast! YUM!

It’s really super simple to make and SO GOOD! Especially when topped with a dollop of Nutella or a drizzle of honey.

Fresh Fruit Stuffed French Toast

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 slices (depending on size of loaf)

A perfect Saturday morning breakfast!

Ingredients

Loaf of your favorite bread, uncut (I used a German Paderborner loaf)
3 eggs (or more if you have more bread)
3-4 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon & 1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh fruit, sliced (I used sliced bananas and strawberries, blueberries and raspberries)
butter
Nutella, peanut butter, honey, maple syrup, & powdered sugar (or any other toppings you'd like)

Instructions

Cut loaf of bread into 1 1/2 in thick slices. (Our loaf sliced 4 slices.)
Using a small serrated knife (like a steak knife), slice open a pocket in each slice of bread. Be careful not to cut all the way through to the sides or bottom. You're creating a pouch for your fresh fruit.
Stuff/layer the fresh fruit into the pocket. I layered strawberry, banana, blueberry, raspberry, banana and strawberry. Don't stuff it too full or the fruit will fall out when cooking.
Preheat, on high, a skillet or frying pan and melt 1-2 Tbsp of butter in the pan.
While that is heating, prepare your eggs. Crack the eggs in in a bowl with a flat bottom. Add the milk, vanilla and spices then whisk until combined.
Once your skillet is hot, reduce heat to medium. Dip both sides of your stuffed bread into the egg mixture, making sure all sides are covered. Let the bread sit in the egg mix on each side for 5-10 seconds.
Place once slice of stuffed bread in the pan at a time (you can cook more at a time if you have a larger skillet surface) and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until egg has cooked and bread has turned a dark golden brown. NOTE: Watch your heat, you don't want it too hot otherwise the egg will burn quickly and your french toast won't cook though.
Cook bread on its sides for 30 seconds.
Remove from plan and place on a plate.
Serve topped with butter, a sprinkle of powdered sugar and more fresh fruit. Also, Nutella, peanut butter, maple syrup and honey make excellent toppings for your french toast!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/03/fresh-fruit-stuffed-french-toast/

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, breakfast, french toast, fruit, recipes

Cinnamon Crescent Rolls & a New Baby

March 10, 2012 by Betsy Eves 10 Comments

I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Well… back to baking, that is. I’m about at 20% right now, but I wanted to get back in the kitchen and bake something our first weekend home with my new baby boy.

Oh, you didn’t know I had a baby? YES… this week, Monday!

Matthew William was born (via c- section) on Monday, March 5, 2012 at 8:31am in Weiden in der Oberfalz, Germany weighing 5lbs 12oz and 19.5in long. He has all 10 fingers and 10 toes, blue eyes, brown hair and looks just like his daddy! He’s pretty much perfect and I’m so in love with him.

Matty came home on Thursday and this morning I decided that I wanted to bake something simple. I can only stand for a few minutes at a time since I’m healing so slowly. (In Germany, they don’t give you any pain medication or send you home with anything after a c-section, so I hurt… a lot.) I decided to use a can of pre-made crescent rolls and saucy them up with ooey gooey filling of cinnamon, sugar and butter. It only took me about 10 minutes to put together and a few more in the oven before these breakfast pastries were ready! A perfect way to get back in to the kitchen!

Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

Prep Time: 7 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

8 rolls

Quick, simple and delicious breakfast rolls filled with butter, sugar and spice! YUM!

Ingredients

Rolls:

1 can of refrigerator crescent rolls (I used Original Pillsbury)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, soft
1/4 cup brown sugar, NOT packed
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Glaze:

1/4 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp heavy cream (you can use milk if you don't have cream)
pinch cinnamon

Instructions

Rolls:

Preheat oven to the temperature listed on the refrigerator crescent rolls packaging. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a small prep bowl, add butter, sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg. Using the back of a spatula, press the sugars and spices into the butter until combined.
Roll out the crescent rolls and separate each triangle, laying them out on your counter or work surface. Scoop a Tbsp of the butter/sugar mixture onto each piece of dough and spread evenly across the entire surface.
Roll the dough as you normally would and place on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake 1-3 minutes longer than what the crescent roll baking instructions require. NOTE: Filling will ooze out of the rolls onto the sheet. Don't worry! You can scoop this out with each roll and it's delicious!
Remove immediately to a wire rack to cool.
Drizzle with glaze before serving.

Glaze:

In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp of cream with a fork.
Add upto one more Tbsp of cream until you come to a consistency which can be drizzled over the rolls.
Add a pinch of cinnamon and mix in.
Drizzle glaze over slightly cooled rolls.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/03/cinnamon-crescent-rolls-a-new-baby/

Filed Under: baby, bread and pretzels, breakfast, brown sugar, cinnamon, family, glaze, life, recipes, rolls & biscuits

Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

March 10, 2012 by Betsy Eves 3 Comments

My last morning before baby arrived I decided I needed to do some baking. Usually, I wake up in the morning and eat a bowl of cereal topped with raspberries and other fruit… but I’m always in need of a mid-morning snack. So this breakfast cake will be perfect for that!

I saw the recipe for Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Cake on Six Sisters Stuff… one of my new favorite blogs to read! There are so many blogs out there that it’s hard to keep up with them some times. I was featured on their blog a couple of weeks ago, so I

bookmarked them, follow them on Facebook and keep coming back to their recipes!

This cake is good room temperature, but we sliced it right out of the oven after I drizzled the glaze on top and it was so OOOEY AND GOOEY and yummy! Swirls and chunks of the cinnamon/sugar all through it with the sweet glaze on top. It’s pretty much a perfect Sunday morning treat for the family!

Definitely a WINNER!

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 15 bars

Warm, gooey, breakfast cake that rivals any Cinnabon cinnamon roll!

Ingredients

Batter - 1st layer :

3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract (I used homemade!)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Batter - 2nd layer:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature and soft
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of cinnamon for dusting

Instructions

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 325 F degrees. Grease a 13x9 in metal pan. (I also like to line the bottom of my In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder from the "1st layer".
Add the milk, eggs, and vanilla from the "1st layer" and whisk until smooth.
Gently mix in the 4 Tbsp melted butter.
Pour batter into prepared baking pan and spread to the edges.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the "2nd layer" butter and brown sugar.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix in the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth.
Using a tablespoon, drop this mixture evenly over cake batter. Use a knife or spatula to marble/swirl through the cake.
Bake 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out nearly clean from center (a few crumbs is what you want). You may need to cover the pan with foil for the last 5-10 minutes to prevent the edges from getting too brown.
Allow to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then glaze, cut and eat warm!

For Glaze:

In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
Drizzle over warm cake, dust with cinnamon , cut and eat!!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/03/cinnamon-breakfast-cake/

Recipe adapted from: Six Sister’s Stuff

Filed Under: bars, bars, bread and pretzels, breakfast, cake, cinnamon, cinnamon rolls, featured, glaze, recipes

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Banana Bread

February 23, 2012 by Betsy Eves 2 Comments

Happy National Banana Bread Day!!!!

I’ve had 4 ripe bananas on my counter for 4-5 days now waiting for me to use them. All I can think about is baking but my pregnant body just won’t have it. HA! So, I’ve procrastinated. This morning my daughter wanted to eat a banana for breakfast but I was said, “NO! I might want to use those today.” Hahah, ya right.

But, then after my morning hour of drooling over recipes on the internet, I discovered that it’s actually National Banana Bread Day. Well shoot, I have no excuse now… I HAVE TO make banana bread!

I didn’t want to make Emme’s Banana Bread again (although it’s probably one of the most tasty breads we’ve ever made here in our house) so I decided to come up with something new.

Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Bananas. Can’t go wrong with that, right?!?

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Banana Bread with a Peanut Butter Drizzle

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 1 large loaf + 1 small loaf

Celebrate National Banana Bread Day with this peanut butter & chocolate banana delight!

Ingredients

Bread:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
4 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup peanut butter, heaping
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Drizzle:

2 Tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Bread:

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line bottom of loaf pan with parchment paper and then grease/flour the pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder. Set aside.
In another large bowl, mash/whisk/mix together the bananas, vanilla, milk, sour cream, peanut butter, oil and egg.
Make a well in center of the dry flour mixture and the pour in the wet banana mixture. Using a large spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry. Fold/stir/scrape about 30 strokes or until all the dry is combined.
Add the chocolate chips and fold to incorporate.
Pour 2/3 of the batter into the large loaf pan. Pour the remaining 1/3 into the small loaf pan.
Bake small loaf for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Bake large loaf for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate loaves half way though baking time.
Let cool in pans for at least 30 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Drizzle:

Once bread has completely cooled, prepare the drizzle.
In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, sugar and milk.
Add more/less milk depending on the consistency you desire.
Drizzle over the bread and sprinkle with mini chocolate chops.
Allow to set for 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/02/peanut-butter-chocolate-banana-bread/

Recipe adapted from: Taste & Tell

Filed Under: banana, bread and pretzels, chocolate, peanut butter, recipes

Baked Sour Cream Doughnuts

February 7, 2012 by Betsy Eves 10 Comments

A couple weeks ago I bought my first set of doughnut pans and I’ve been waiting for a reason to make them. But then I realized, do I really need a reason? hehe So tonight, my husband requested I make him sour cream doughnuts (they’re his favorite) to bring to work tomorrow to share with the office.

I searched the internet and didn’t really find a recipe that stood out to me as being simple enough for a first go-round with these pans but yummy enough to be successful. So, I took inspiration from a few places and came up with my own recipe.

I made these three ways… first I shook them in cinnamon-sugar and second, I dunked them in glaze and third, I dunked them in glaze and sprinkles.

I think for my first round of baked doughnuts using these pans, they turned our pretty good! I’m not sure if they’re going to make it to my husbands work tomorrow! HA!

PS…. I even dressed a few of the mini’s up for Valentine’s Day! These would make a super simple, easy treat for teachers on the special day of love!

Enjoy!

Baked Sour Cream Doughnuts
Makes about 1 dozen full size and 1 dozen mini doughnuts

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt

2 2/3 cup flour
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Grease doughnut pans with cooking spray.
Cream together the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until smooth. (About 4 minutes)
Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl so that everything is incorporated.
On low speed, add half the flour and mix until just combined.
Mix in the sour cream then add the remaining flour. Mix just until combined.
Add the milk and bring up the speed to medium for about 15 seconds or until the batter is glossy and smooth. Do not over mix!
Using a pastry bag, fill the holes of the doughnut pan 5/6 full.
Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pan after about 7 minutes. (This time works for both the full size and minis.)
NOTE: The bottoms of the doughnuts will be a bit browner than the top, but this will be covered by any glaze or cinnamon you add to the doughnuts.
Let cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool a few more minutes before glazing.

Cinnamon-Sugar
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp melted butter

Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a zip-loc bag.
LIGHTLY brush doughnuts with melted butter on all sides. NOTE: You don’t want to brush on too much butter because they won’t dry properly and will get mushy.
Place 1-2 doughnuts at a time in the sealed zip-loc bag and gently shake the doughnuts until covered. Be careful, because they are warm, they are very fragile and can break or crack, so shake GENTLY!
Place on wire rack to cool completely before storing.

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1-1 1/2 tbsp milk

sprinkles

In a bowl with a flat bottom, whisk together the sugar and milk until smooth. Add a few more drops of milk if you want a thinner glaze, but be careful a little milk goes a long way.
Place sprinkles in a flat bottomed bowl just big enough to fit the doughnut.
After the doughnuts have cooled, dunk the tops in the glaze and swirl a bit to shake off the excess.
Immediately dip glazed top into the sprinkles.
Set doughnut on cooling rack to drip.
Allow doughnuts to set up for at least an hour before storing in containers with lids.
If you are just glazing the doughnuts, set them on the cooling rack immediately after dunking and shaking off excess glaze.

Filed Under: doughnuts, doughnuts, glaze, recipes, valentine's day

CitrusLove BlogHop: Clementine Cranberry Scones

December 26, 2011 by Betsy Eves 25 Comments

I used fresh cranberries for the first time in my Mandarin Orange & Cranberry cookies last week. And let me tell you… I must be a crazy woman for not ever using these before!

This morning, the Cake Duchess posted a recipe for scones that featured these beautiful little berries and I knew I just had to whip up a batch with the rest of my cranberries!

The scones turned out SO GOOD. Seriously. Warm, fresh from the oven with a little butter on them. Almost too good to eat! They are tart, yet sweet… full of beautiful color and flavor with a crispy sugar crust.

I will definitely be making these again!

Clementine Cranberry Scones
makes 6 large scones

Supplies:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 3 Clementine oranges, about 2-3 tsp

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

1 cup chopped fresh cranberries

1 tsp vanilla extract
8-10 tbsp milk, divided

1 tbsp sugar (use turbinado if you have it)

cookie sheet
parchment paper
cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly spray with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, orange zest, and salt
Add cubed butter to flour mixture. Using a fork, press butter into the flour mixture against the side of the bowl. The goal here is to create a very dry dough where the butter is in small pieces, not chunks… coarse like.
Add the cranberries and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
In a small measuring cup, mix together 5 tbsp of the milk and the vanilla together. Add milk to the flour mixture and combine.
Add 3-5 more tbsp of milk at a time until the mixture forms a dough and no dry ingredients remain.
Move the dough to your cookie sheet and flatten into a round circle about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut it into 6 equal triangles with a sharp knife, and space evenly across sheet.
Brush the scones with a tablespoon of milk and sprinkle generously with sugar.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until tops of scones brown. Watch carefully you don’t want them to burn!
Remove to a wire rack to cool… or you could smear them with butter and eat warm! YUM!

Recipe adapted from: Cake Duchess

Filed Under: blog hop, bread and pretzels, cranberries, featured, recipes, scones, scones

Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

September 14, 2011 by Betsy Eves 14 Comments

I had the pleasure of getting 11 apples from a new friend here in Germany that came from her parents apple trees in Schweinfurt, Germany. I can’t say that I’ve ever tried an apple from Germany so this was a real treat. The apples she gave me were crisp and slightly tart, but full of great flavor!

Everyone told me I should make an apple pie with the apples, but I really wasn’t in the mood for pie. So, I surfed the internet for inspiration and saw a pull apart bread baked with diced apples and tons of cinnamon and brown sugar. I’ve always wanted to try a pull apart bread so I thought this would be the perfect time to start.

The recipe I got my inspiration from came from Flour Me With Love. It’s got a great photo tutorial that I followed to put together the dough and bread. I changed up the ingredients just slightly and of course added my own flair to it. I liked this recipe a lot because I didn’t have to wait for the bread to rise. I just made the dough, rolled and cut it and into the oven it went!

Apple Filling:
6 apples, peeled & diced (I used my apple peeler, corer, slicer then cut into pieces. This worked great!)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp nutmeg
pinch of ginger
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp warm water

Peel, core and dice your apples. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over them.
In a large pan, combine the butter, apples, sugar, vanilla and spices.
Mix the corn starch and water together then add to the mixture.
Bring to a light boil and cook for 3-4 minutes,
Reduce heat and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes, continually stirring.
Set aside to cool and thicken.

Dough:
3 cups flour (plus more for work surface and kneading)
1 package yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan.
In a small sauce pan, bring the milk to a simmer… just until bubbling. Remove from heat and add the butter, stirring until melted. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer with the hook attachment, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt and brown sugar.
Add in the water, egg and milk/butter mixture.
Turn on your mixer to medium speed and mix until a ball forms. My dough wasn’t coming together, so I added another 1/4 cup of flour to help it come together.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a well floured surface.
Knead for 5 minutes adding more flour to keep the dough from getting sticky or sticking to your hands or counter.
Roll out into a large rectangle (or the best you can do), about 1/4 inch thick.
Spread 2 tbsp butter over the dough then spread the apple mixture over it evenly. Reserve about 1/4 cup of apple mixture.
Using a pizza cutter. Cut about 4×5 inch pieces of dough. Stack them into piles of three pieces. Don’t worry if sizes aren’t exactly the same, just do your best to stack like sizes together. If you have odd sizes, just add them to the tops of your piles of three.
Hold your baking pan on it’s end. Stack your pieces into the pan. Set the pan down and spread the pieces out so they fill the entire pan.
Use the reserved 1/4 cup apples to spread on top.
Bake for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown. If the apples on top start to brown or burn, cover the loaf with foil.
Let cool in pan for about about 30 minutes, there may still be some raw dough in the middle, but don’t worry!
Run a butter knife along the edges of the pan to help it come out.
Glaze and enjoy!

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp milk

In a medium bowl, whisk together the powered sugar and cinnamon.
Add the vanilla, butter and milk and mix until you get a smooth consistency.
Pour over slightly cooled bread. Allow to set up before cutting into the bread.

Filed Under: apple, bread and pretzels, cinnamon, featured, fruit, recipes

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting

September 5, 2011 by Betsy Eves 10 Comments

The holidays are coming and what better way to start off my first recipe with PUMPKIN! While scanning through the pumpkin entries of Pinterest I knew I had to try them out. When gathering ingredients at the store I noticed when I got home I got pumpkin pie filling and not canned pumpkin! I tried it with the pie filling without adding the spices just a little less salt, the right amount a sugar, and a lot of taste testing and it came out perfect so it can work both ways! The caramel frosting adds the perfect touch for this holiday treat!

CINNAMON ROLLS
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
2 cups bread flour (you can use regular all purpose flour but bread flour makes them lighter)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter

CARAMEL FROSTING
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 dash salt
3/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. In small saucepan, heat milk and 2 tablespoons butter just until warm and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly. In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with electric mixer until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast.

2. Add half of the flour to pumpkin mixture. Beat mixture on low speed 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft). Turn into lightly greased bowl, then grease surface of dough lightly.

3. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Spray a surface with cooking spray or turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy enough to handle. Roll dough into 12×10 inch rectangle.

4. In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush surface of dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jellyroll style. Pinch seam to seal. With sharp knife, cut roll into 12 1- inch slices. Place rolls, cut side up, in greased 11X17 inch square baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.

5. Bake rolls at 350 degrees about 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack. Cool 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Caramel frosting. Makes 12 rolls.

Caramel Frosting:
In small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar and milk.

Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cook over medium low heat 1 minute.

Transfer to small mixer bowl and cool mixture. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and confectioners’ sugar. Beat with electric mixer until well blended. If necessary, add more confectioners’ sugar for desired consistency.

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, caramel, cinnamon, cinnamon rolls, posts by danielle, recipes

Mini Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

August 9, 2011 by Betsy Eves 9 Comments

Cinnamon rolls are an ooey gooey cinnamon sugar treat that EVERYONE loves. But when I saw cinnamon rolls as cupcakes on Pinterest I knew these were right up my alley.

I took a basic cinnamon roll recipe, rolled them small and baked them in cupcake liners then topped them with a basic frosting. Fresh from the oven or warmed up 3 days later, these cinnamon rolls will be a delicious delight for your belly!

Dough
Makes about 24 cupcake rolls

2 1/4 tsp. or 1 packet dry active yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees Fahrenheit)

2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. salt

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
3-4 tbsp ground cinnamon

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm milk in a large bowl and let stand for about 10 minutes until foamy.
In the same bowl, whisk in the eggs, butter, salt, and sugar. Add flour and mix until well blended and the dough forms a ball.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 5-10 times. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about one hour).
After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners, and lightly spray over the top of them with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
Roll dough into a large rectangle (approx 12×24) or 1/8in thick on a lightly floured surface.
This is where it gets fun. Smear butter over dough then sprinkle the sugars and cinnamon over the top. Using your fingers, work the sugars and butter together creating a paste like spread. Make sure it’s spread evenly over the dough.
Roll up dough and cut into at least 24 rolls. I unrolled each one and rerolled it tighter so it would fit nicely into the cupcake pan. Place each roll in a cupcake liner.
Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake rolls until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Let rolls cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool another 10 minutes.
Frost cupcakes while they are still slightly warm. You’ll want the icing to ooze into the cupcake but not drip off the size.

Icing
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 to 6 tbsp hot water

In a stand mixer, cream the butter.
Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time and beat until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Add the hot water 1 tbsp at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Spread 1-2 tbsp on slightly warm cinnamon rolls.

281721_10100514103214938_10733760_57782993_604901_n

Filed Under: cinnamon, cinnamon rolls, cupcake recipes, recipes

German-style Salted Pretzels with Spicy Beer Mustard

July 5, 2011 by Betsy Eves 2 Comments

Almost everyday here in Germany, I go to the bakery and buy at least 2 German style pretzels. They are big, soft and chewy on the inside and have a crust covered in big chunks of salt.

A lot of people like to dip their pretzels in cheese or mustard, but I like mine plain with an ice cold Pepsi. So yumm!

One of the blogs I follow posted a recipe for pretzels and that got me to thinking that I could make my very own German style pretzels at home and have them fresh any time I wanted. So, I set out on a search of the internet for recipes. I read 7 or so recipes for pretzels and decided I’d combine the dough recipe from The Fresh Loaf, the cooking style from Alton Brown and the mustard from My Fare Foodie. Of course all of them with my own twist on things!

The first batch out of the oven turned out smelling and looking so good that I had to taste one right off the pan. OH. MY. HEAVENS! It tasted the same, if not BETTER, than the ones I get in the German bakeries! Soft and chewy on the inside and a firm crust with salt, lots of yummy salt!

I made traditional pretzel twist and then a few sticks. Both were perfect for dipping in the mustard sauce made with German beer. Really, you could make the sauce with any kind of beer you like, but I used a Dunkelweisen my husband likes.

German-style Salted Pretzels with German Beer Spicy Mustard

Yield: 18 3-4in pretzels & 12 pretzel twists - 1 1/2 cups dipping sauce

Ingredients

Pretzels

1 package Active Dry yeast (or about 1 tbsp)
2 cups warm milk (2 minutes, 30 seconds in my microwave on high)
2 tbsp brown sugar
5 cups bread flour
2 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp melted butter
non-stick cooking spray or butter for greasing
1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water
coarse salt
10 cups of water
2/3 cup baking soda
parchment paper
large baking sheet
2 spatulas

Mustard

9 heaping tbsp course grain mustard
3 heaping tbsp spicy brown mustard
3 heaping tsp horseradish
3 tbsp German Dunkelweisen (or your favorite Hefeweisen or Lager beer)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

Pretzels

Grease a large bowl with butter, set aside.
Heat the milk in a microwave safe cup that pours. After warm, mix in the brown sugar and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until it begins to foam. This step activates the yeast.
In a stand mixer with a hook attachment (or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon) mix together the flour and salt.
With the mixer on low-medium, slowly add the melted butter and milk until combined. My mixer didn't really enjoy this too much, so I took the hook out and finished incorporating the ingredients by hand.
Lightly flour a flat surface and knead the dough until it's smooth and all the ingredients are combined. About 5 minutes.
Form the dough into a large ball and place it in the greased bowl. Cover with with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough doubles. (I waited an hour and my dough hadn't exactly doubled, but I was in a time crunch and just went with it. They still turned out yummy!)
Bring the water and baking soda to a boil in a large pot. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with non stick cooking spray or butter. Preheat your oven to 425 F degrees.
In the meantime, grease a flat surface (like your counter) with butter or cooking spray. Roll out your dough about 1/4in thick into a large rectangle.
Cut 1in slices of dough. Roll them out about 15 inches long. If you roll them too long, you can fold them in half and cut them. It's really up to you how big you want them. The thicker you roll the dough, the thicker the pretzel you'll have. Shape the dough into a pretzel or twist. Place on prepared baking sheet.
Once you've rolled out enough pretzels to fit on the baking sheet, you'll begin the boiling process. First, beat the egg and water together in a small bowl, set aside.
One at a time, place one pretzel on your spatula then place the second spatula on top, like a sandwich. This will help you keep control of your pretzel. Submerge the pretzel into the boiling water for 30 seconds or until the pretzel floats to the surface. You'll want to hold onto the pretzel with the spatulas for about 10 seconds before letting go. This will help make sure the pretzels keeps it's shape. The larger pretzels I did 1 at a time, but I found that 3-4 smaller twists were okay to boil at once. The Fresh Loaf has a great tutorial on how to do this, which is where I learned. Place the boiled pretzel back on the prepared sheet.
Once all the pretzels are boiled, brush each with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt. I used sea salt because it's what I had on hand, but your favorite coarse salt would work.
Bake the pretzels for about 15 minutes or until browned.
Eat immediately! Or you can let them cool on a wire rack.

Mustard

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix.
Add/omit/change it to your taste!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2011/07/german-style-salted-pretzels-with-german-beer-spicy-mustard/

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, recipes

Hot Cross Buns

April 25, 2011 by Betsy Eves 1 Comment

I’ve heard of Hot Cross Buns before and I knew they were a holiday tradition, but it wasn’t until this Easter that I realized what the tradition meant. [Read more...]

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, perfect for spring, recipes

Twisty Garlicy Cheesy Breadsticks

April 25, 2011 by Betsy Eves Leave a Comment

On a trip to Regensburg, Germany last week we picked up some local white asparagus to go with our dinner that night. My new friend Chrissy recommended it. And let me tell you… YUM. Seriously. [Read more...]

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, recipes

Guest Blogger Ashley shares her Banana Bread Pie

April 9, 2011 by Betsy Eves 2 Comments

I can not tell you how honored I am to do a guest blog for Java Cupcake! I am a huge fan of the blog and am just so excited to be able to share a recipe with you guys. Alittle about me before I get into the recipe. My name is Ashley and I am a foodie. [Read more...]

Filed Under: banana, bread and pretzels, guest blogger, pie, recipes

Loaded Beer Bread

January 8, 2011 by Betsy Eves 4 Comments

My husband has been begging me to get into the kitchen to make beer bread since he’s been back from Iraq. Everytime I’ve been busy with my cupcakes to let him get an hour in the oven. I know, I know… I’m such a mean wife. haha [Read more...]

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, recipes

Pumpkin Spice Bread

November 7, 2010 by Betsy Eves 5 Comments

It’s the season of pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and squash! I’ve been in the mood to try so many new recipes with these ingredients that I could hardly wait until I got home from vacation to get back in the kitchen! It’s 10pm on a Sunday night and I’ve got bread baking in the oven. [Read more...]

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, cinnamon, misc. baked goods, pumpkin, recipes, seasonal, spiced

Emme’s Banana Bread

March 21, 2010 by Betsy Eves 6 Comments

My daughter Emily has always loved being in the kitchen with me and today, while we were washing the dishes before we started she says to me, “Mom, I love it when we’re in the kitchen together. Even if we’re just doing dishes or we’re baking cupcakes, I really like spending time with you in here.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: bread and pretzels, featured, fruit, recipes

Keep In Touch

Let’s have a Pancake Party!

My Dad’s Christmas Applesauce Bread

Frosted Peppermint Dark Chocolate Cake Donuts

Thank You Bread & And a Story About Cora

Although this post has a recipe at the end… it’s not the usual post you’ll see here on my blog. This is a very personal story of my life in November 2102. A story that has changed me forever…

Easy Banana Bread

Pumpkin Scones with Pumpkin Maple Glaze

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Mini Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Lemonade Scones

Berry BlogHop: Chocolate Dipped Berry Empanadas

Fresh Fruit Stuffed French Toast

Cinnamon Crescent Rolls & a New Baby

Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Banana Bread

Baked Sour Cream Doughnuts

CitrusLove BlogHop: Clementine Cranberry Scones

Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting

Mini Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

German-style Salted Pretzels with Spicy Beer Mustard

Hot Cross Buns

Twisty Garlicy Cheesy Breadsticks

Guest Blogger Ashley shares her Banana Bread Pie

Loaded Beer Bread

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Emme’s Banana Bread

About Me

HOT RIGHT NOW!

Get Caught Up

Sponsors

Featured On…

May 2013
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
« Apr
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

Keep In Touch

Although this post has a recipe at the end… it’s not the usual post you’ll see here on my blog. This is a very personal story of my life in November 2102. A story that has changed me forever…

About Me

HOT RIGHT NOW!

Get Caught Up

Sponsors

Search by Category

Featured On…