White Chocolate Chippers / Panera Copy Cat

 

Chocolate Chippers (Panera Copycat Recipe)

1 C. butter
1 C. sugar
¾ C. brown sugar, tightly packed
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
1 ¼ C. cocoa powder (dark or mix or dark and regular)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ C. white chocolate chips
½ C. chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat over to 350.  Beat butter and sugars until well combined, add eggs and vanilla and mix.  In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients and then slowly add, mixing just until combined.  Stir in chips, bake for 7-8 minutes until starting to firm up but soft in the middle.  Let 

Grandma's Blueberry Cake

 

Jason’s mom Grandma Wendy made this, using her mom’s recipe.  This picture doesn’t do it justice – there isn't really a streusel layer on top, but there is an amazing, buttery, brown sugar blueberry layer throughout the middle of the cake.  It is not the prettiest of all cakes, but it is delicious enough to make up for it – and then some. 

Grandma Squires Blueberry Cake

1 C. butter
2 C. sugar
2 eggs
1 C. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ¾ C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

1 C. blueberries
½ C. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 pan.  Mix all top ingredients together, then mix the second group together. Put first 2/3 of batter in bottom of pan, scoop the blueberry mixture randomly over the mix, then dollop the last third of the batter.  Cook for 55-60 minutes.  

Peasant Bread

Jason learned how to make this at the fire house recently, and now, it is pretty common that he comes home from a tour and makes this on his first day back.  It is delicious fresh out of the oven and the next day too, though I don't know that ours usually lasts that long.

Peasant Bread
3.5 cups flourheaping tsp yeastheaping tsp salt1 Tbsp Sugar2 Cups warm water, divided.

Mix dry ingredients, then add in 1.5 C of warm water.  Then add in the rest of the water until all the mix is wet. Let sit in the mixing bowl for one hour in microwave (off) with a cup of hot water.

Put in bread pan (coated with butter), then put it back in the microwave (with a cup of hot water) for  25 minutes.  Preheat oven to 425, then cook for 15 minutes, then turn down to 375 and cook for 15 more minutes, brushing with melted butter when there are 5-10 minutes left.  Keep an eye on it and if it appears to start to burn, cover with foil.  Flip out of pan, slice and enjoy!    

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

So I have seen this recipe floating around Pinterest for a while not and never tried it.  But this weekend, fall was in the air, and the ingredients were handy, and it seemed like it would be healthier than making true scratch pumpkin muffins.  I am so glad I gave it a try because these were really good!  And I think they are kind of healthy (pumpkin is a veggie, right?) and I figured the mini muffins out to be about 50 calories each.  Minimal effort, and amazing taste/texture.  Kids and Jason approved as well.  

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

1 box yellow cake mix

1 15 oz can pure pumpkin

optional - brown sugar

Mix the pumpkin and the cake mix and spoon into greased muffin tin.  I used my mini muffin tin and am glad I did, they are perfect for one biting! The bigger ones would work too I am sure.  When you spoon the mix in, it will be sort of stiff and weird shaped but that's totally OK, they taste fabulous.  I guess you could go and flatted the tops of all of them if you were so inclined- but I wasn't.  I did sprinkle some brown sugar on top of them though, just as a lazy chef's streusel, and that added a nice touch to them, so I definitely recommend taking that extra step.  You could make a more proper streusel if you wanted to and I am sure it'd be amazing but this worked and the energy output matched what I had in mind.  

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or so (probably closer to 20 for full size muffins) and enjoy!  

Buttercream Icing

I finally took the cake decorating class that I'd always wanted to and I learned how to make real buttercream icing!  This is the good stuff.  The big thing you need to know is what consistency you are trying for- you need a stiff consistency for flowers, medium for writing and balloons or most other things, and a thin consistency for frosting the whole cake.  You can also experiment with subbing in butter instead of shortening, but then it will affect the color of your final produce.  But butter...mmm.  Half butter and half shortening might be a winning combo.  All butter sometimes makes it too runny to write or decorate with but you could probably still frost the cake.  If you're picky about the color that you want, then you need to make sure and use white vegetable shortening (I usually buy the butter flavored which is yellow and will affect the color) and clear vanilla (again, the normal stuff is kind of brownish so buy clear if you want pure colors).  Also, watch out for the powdered sugar.  I'd assumed that a bag is a pound, and it turns out it is two pounds!  Broke my hand mixer learning that the hard way. :-)

Buttercream Icing
1 C. solid white vegetable shortening
1 tsp. vanilla extract, clear is best
7-8 tsp. milk (or water, I always use milk)
1 lb. powdered sugar
pinch of salt, optional

Chocolate Buttercream
Add 3/4 C. cocoa powder or 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate squared and an additional 1-2 Tbsp water.

Crusty Artisan Bread

One of my new neighbor's made this for us for Christmas and no lie, it was the very best Christopher and I have ever had, EVER.  She was kind enough to teach me how!

No-Knead Crusty White Bread
3 C. lukewarm water (bath water temperature)
1 1/2 T. instant yeast (about 1.5 packets)
1 T. sugar, to get the yeast going
32 oz of flour (best to measure by weight but usually about 7 Cups)
1 T. salt

Measure your flour into a really big mixing bowl, I use my XL one.  I do measure by weight for this recipe only.  Add salt and set aside.

Measure your water and get it warm enough that it would be nice to take a bath in.  Definitely plenty warm but not quite to an ouch level of heat.  I've read 105 degrees is the magic number but I don't have a candy thermometer so I guessed.  Stir in the yeast and the sugar.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir it up as well as you can to combine.  You're going to have to get your hands in there and fair warning, this is a very sticky dough.  Take off your rings first!

Cover with saran wrap and put the whole thing in the fridge for at least two hours and up to 7 days.  They say the closer you get to Day 7, the more sour-dough-ish it will taste.  You can prep this dough and let it sit, just make a loaf whenever you want fresh bread!  This recipe makes four round loaves, by the way.

Take the bread out and grease your hands!  Sprinkle with flour and then pull out a handful.  Section the dough into fours (about 14-19 oz each) and then shape into a ball.  Here is a video I found on how to do this, the first time I made mine they were kind of muffin-y shaped.  I am thinking that bread making is sort of an art though, and it will get better with practice.  Put your shaped dough on parchment paper (ideally, I think you can also spray your cookie sheet), sprinkle lightly with flour and let it rise for 45 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 450 and put a metal bread dish (or other metal tray) on the bottom rack.  Right before you put your bread in the oven, add about a cup of water to your metal pan- I guess this keeps moisture in the air while it cooks?  Not sure of the significance of the metal pan but the directions I read specify metal and not glass.

Right before you put it in the oven, give your bread a couple of slices on top, and cook for 25 minutes.   Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Energy Bars

I made these with my sister Kat a couple of months ago and they are SO good!  They are supposed to be a pre or post run snack, sort of a healthy, homemade granola bar of sorts.  This is the sort of thing that I could just take a spoon to though, so I'll have to be careful, but they are definitely worth posting. :-)

Peanut Butter Energy Bars
1 C. dry oatmeal
2/3 C. toasted coconut flakes (I didn't toast mine)
1/2 C. sunflower seeds
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. ground flax seed or wheat germ (I blended my flax seed and it worked perfect!)
1/2 C. chocolate chips
1/3 C. honey
1 tsp. honey

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Let chill in the fridge for half an hour.  Roll into 1" balls if you like, or if you're lazy, like me, then press them into a greased pan and then cut to size.  Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes 20-25 balls.
Optional add-ins: chopped dried fruit (apricots, raisins, berries) or nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts)

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie

Just had a fabulous week in LA visiting my mom and sister, and one morning, we made these breakfast cookies.  I tripled the recipe in the same dish and it came out just fine, and I even cooked one of them in the original bowl I used to mix (cause I hate cleaning up) and it cooked just fine, too.  So good, so easy, and very satisfying.  I wasn't hungry even four to five hours after eating, and my awesome exercising lifeguard sister had the same sentiments.  Definitely a keeper, and I am considering making five or six bowls worth at a time, and then storing them individually in plastic bags and then adding the wet ingredients before cooking.  Seems like a good idea, anyway.

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

• 1/4 C + 1 T rolled oats (rolled, not instant)
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t vanilla
• 1-2 t maple syrup
• 1/2 medium banana [3” worth of banana]
• 1/4 t baking powder
• 1 egg white
• 1 -2 T chopped walnuts
• 1 T semi sweet chocolate chips (optional, I suppose, but they add a lot) 
• 1T milk [any milk would work]

• In a small bowl [about 5” diameter] mash banana with a fork.  Whisk in egg whites.  Add other ingredients and mix well.  Microwave for about 2 minutes, maybe a little less.  Watch out, the bowl (or plate) will be hot.  Eat with a fork and enjoy!   

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Check out how spoiled my son is.  He says that he is "bored of cookies" because I make them "all the time."  :-) And he brings a valid point, I'll admit it.  Tonight we were hungry for a good dessert but Christopher and I really weren't into the standard chocolate chip cookie thing- so I found these when I searched for the recipe for the Costco muffins, which are among the very best.

These went from idea to oven in about four minutes.  Super easy to mix up and really good.  I didn't have any pudding mix this time but they were still awesome.  I'm leaving it in here because I am sure the pudding mix wouldn't hurt.

1 Devils food cake mix (or any chocolate cake mix)
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding (it's OK if you don't have this, my first time I didn't and they were fantastic!)
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt (plain works too)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips, mixed in, plus extra to sprinkle on top 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (maybe my oven is just too hot, but 400 was burning mine so just keep an eye on them, next time I will probably do them either rat 350 or 375). Lightly grease muffin pan (this makes about 20 muffins) or use muffin liners. Set aside. In a mixing bowl combine cake mix and pudding mix. In a separate bowl combine yogurt, water, oil, and eggs. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on each muffin.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until center springs back. Cool on wire rack. These muffins will store for a couple of days, if you can avoid eating them that long.

Pizza Dough

This can be used to make pizza or calzones, or probably breadsticks.  It has to sit in the fridge for 8-24 hours though, so you need to plan in advance- but it is really good if you can manage it!

Pizza Dough

2 1/2 C. flour
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. yeast
apx. 3/4 C. hot water

Knead all of the above ingredients with flour.  Refridgerate for 8-24 hours, toll out, add toppings.  Let rise for about 30 minutes at room temperature.  Bake on the bottom rack at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

Yellow Cake

This is a perfect base for Pineapple Upside Down cake, or you can use it as a short cake and add fresh fruit and whipped cream. 

Yellow Cake
1/2 C. margarine
1 1/3 C. sugar
2 eggs
1 C. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Cinnamon Bread (or Rolls, or Pockets)

Cinnamon Bread (or Regular Rolls or Cinnamon Rolls or Pockets)

- 1/2 C. butter
- 1/2 C. sugar
- 1 Tbsp (packet) of Yeast in 1 C. lukewarm water
            Make sure the water is hot enough, should be fairly warm to your wrist.  The yeast will
            change the water to a tan-ish color if it dissolves properly.  Wendy puts the yeast in the
            measuring cup first, seems to help activate it.
- 2 eggs - best if they are at room temperature, so they don't kill the yeast- and make sure to add
            them after you've stirred the yeast water into the sugar and butter.)
- 4 C. bread flour (+1/2 C. to knead)  King Arthur's seems to be the better brand, if you can
            find it- it raises better than the other one.
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 C. brown sugar (roughly)
- 3 Tbsp. cinnamon (yes, its a lot)

Mix butter and sugar, then add eggs. 

Add dissolved yeast and stir in as well as you can- it is OK that the mixture has weird buttery things in it. 

Add flour and salt and stir with the spatula until it looks about right.

Add about 1/2 C. of extra flour to your counter and knead the dough into a ball, probably 30-40 times, folding it in on top of itself, so it is always sort of a ball shape.  The dough should be sort of stiff, not like cookie dough.

Add some flour to the bottom of the pan (so it doesn't stick) and let it rise for about an hour, or use the "proofing oven" trick below.

After it has doubled in size, then roll it in ONE direction into a rectangular shape.  You only need to roll one direction because as soon as you start rolling, it is the right width for a bread pan.  After you have the shape you like, flip it over one last time, so the more floured side is on top.

For cinnamon rolls or bread, roll out dough, brush lightly with water making a good paste (with the flour that is already on the bread) and then combine brown sugar and cinnamon.  Rub mixture into dough before rolling up to form loaf. Most of it should rub in to the bread and sort of stick to it- you don't want too much extra.

As you roll the dough, pull it before rolling so that it makes a nice, tight spiral when you cut it later on.  Use a little bit of water to "glue" the edges shut as well, and then put it in the pan with the edge side down.  

After you place it in a greased bread pan, let it rise for another hour. 

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes (rolls) or 30 minutes (bread).


Proofing Oven Trick:
Preheat oven to 350, then turn it off a minute or so before it reaches it.  Super important that the heating element is OFF.  Boil about 2 C. of water in the microwave (3 minutes in a glass Pyrex is my recommendation) and then place an 8x8 pan on the bottom shelf of your oven.  Pour the boiling water in (you can actually grab the handle, its not hot!) through the oven grates if you need to, and then place the dough (also in a glass pan, not metal) into the oven on the shelf above it.  The moisture from the boiling water should add steam, and the warm oven should help the bread to rise faster.  In the winter months, it might take a little longer than normal.

Makes 24 rolls, 12 cinnamon rolls or 2 loaves of bread.

Granola

My wonderful neighbor made a batch of this granola, and I don't think I will buy pre-made granola ever again.  This is so easy and so delicious, and it doesn't have any of the preservatives or mystery ingredients in the commercial stuff.  She made hers plain, but you could add dried fruit, nuts, chocolate or whatever else.

Granola

1/2 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 C. Honey
4 C. Oats (Regular, not quick)
1 T. Vanilla (or a touch more)
1 T. Cinnamon (or a touch less)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and spray cookie sheet.  Mix all ingredients and spread out on a single layer on cookie sheet.  Cook for a total of 30 minutes, but VERY IMPORTANT, flip the granola around with a spatula every 10 minutes of cooking.  The edges will start to cook first, so move them to the middle, etc.  The granola she made was very fine and perfect for mixing in to greek yogurt but if you want it more clumpy, then drizzle some honey and stir it a little in the middle of cooking.  Yum.

Pumpkin Bread

OK, this bread was amazing. It is fairly involved, I had to get out the food processor and had three bowls going at the same time. I spilled about a tablespoon of cinnamon all over both me and Christopher- but we had a lot of fun. My only advice or change is to only fill the bread pans about 1/3 of the way full at the beginning before adding your frosting layer. I overfilled on accident and my frosting layer soaked through to the top, and while it still tasted amazing, I wasn't able to get the pretty white ribbon through the middle of the bread. Yummo. Oh, it also freezes well, so you can eat one loaf in the 24 hours after you make it, and save the other one for another day, or another person.

Pumpkin Bread

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature or cold if you have a food processor
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Pumpkin Bread:
1 cup pecans or walnuts (I used pecans)
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 - 15 ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Pumpkin Bread:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter and lightly flour two - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans. Set aside.

To toast nuts: Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Cool completely and then chop coarsely. Set aside.

Cream Cheese Filling: In your food processor, process the cream cheese just until smooth. Add the sugar and process just until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing just until incorporated. Do not over process. Stir in the flour. Set aside.

Pumpkin Bread: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the sugar and melted butter and whisk until blended. Whisk or stir in the pumpkin, water, vanilla extract, and nuts.

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined. (A few streaks of flour is fine.) Do not over mix as it will make the bread tough.

Divide the batter in half. Take one half and divide it evenly between the two prepared pans. (Only put in about a third of your batter, not half!) Divide the cream cheese filling in half and place each half of filling on top the two pans of batter, smoothing the tops. Top with the remaining half of batter.

Bake the breads for about 55 - 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Place pans on a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes before removing breads from pans.

Can serve warm, cold, or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator or else freeze for later use.

Makes 2 loaves.

Apple Muffins

These are pretty good, and they freeze well too.

Apple Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup nonfat milk
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped apples
raisins (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease one 12-cup muffin tin.
Lightly beat egg whites.
In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Gently fold in egg white. Add to the dry ingredients. Stir until barely moistened. Batter will be lumpy.
Fill greased muffin tins two-thirds full. Bake about 20 minutes until lightly browned.

From AllRecipes.com

Frozen Blueberry Muffins

These are pretty tasty and very convenient- we usually have all of the ingredients on hand- so this is worth holding onto. I would like to amend this recipe or find one that has more of a streusel topping, but this is a good start.

Frozen Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups frozen blueberries, unthawed

TOPPING:
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla; mix well. Stir in dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in frozen blueberries. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Combine sugar and nutmeg; sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

From AllRecipes.com

Biscuits and Gravy

Jason's mom Wendy gave us this biscuit recipe. It is really good for making biscuits and gravy- one of Jason's specialties. For the gravy, we just use the McCormick "Original Country Gravy" mix and pour it on top of the biscuits. You can crumble in sausage too, if you like.

Biscuits

2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup of milk (or more)

Cook in preheated oven at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Makes about 15 biscuits.

Banana Bread

This recipe is a merger of two separate ones. The first and bulk of the recipe comes from a "low fat" recipe that I found. Then I saw the picture above in a Raley's magazine and I had to incorporate the smiling, happy gooey layer into my normal bread. I have done bread a few times but I also do muffins and mini-bread-loaves too with this recipe- just adjust the cooking time WAY down and keep an eye on it so you pull it out when it is done.

Banana Bread

2 eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup applesauce
1/3 cup nonfat milk
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans)

Nut mixture:
1 1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a full sized bread pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust lightly with flour. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in bananas, applesauce, milk, oil, vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture, just until blended. Fold in walnuts. Pour half of batter into bread pan, and then add half of the nut mixture. Repeat the layers one more time, ending with nut mixture on top. Do not fill pans more than half way or they will go overflow while baking. Bake in a preheated oven until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about one hour. Turn bread out onto a wire rack and let cool.

12 servings.

Nutritional Info (of original recipe, minus the nut mixture).
182 calories, 4 g fat, 36 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 207 mg sodium, 4 g protein.

Zucchini-Pineapple Quick Bread

This is a really good bread and the pineapple adds a lot to the flavor and consistency. I have also made muffins using this mix and that works out well too. This recipe is from Cooking Light.


Zucchini-Pineapple Quick Bread

This recipe makes two loaves. Freeze the extra loaf, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil, for up to one month. Thaw at room temperature. Slices are good microwaved at HIGH for 10 to 15 seconds.

Yield: 2 loaves, 14 servings per loaf (serving size: 1 slice)


Ingredients
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini (about 1 1/2 medium zucchini)
2/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (8-ounce) cans crushed pineapple in juice, drained
Baking spray with flour
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, salt, and next 3 ingredients (through ground cinnamon) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

3. Beat eggs with a mixer at medium speed until foamy. Add sugar, zucchini, oil, egg substitute, and vanilla, beating until well blended. Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in pineapple. Spoon batter into 2 (9 x 5–inch) loaf pans coated with baking spray. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Nutritional Information
Calories:167 (32% from fat)
Fat:5.9g (sat 0.5g,mono 3.3g,poly 1.7g)
Protein:2.4g
Carbohydrate:26.5g
Fiber:0.7g
Cholesterol:15mg
Iron:0.9mg
Sodium:151mg
Calcium:16mg