Apple Swirl!

Cinnamon swirl bread is certainly impressive when you cut into a loaf, and this is probably one of the best recipes I've ever tried. Even the dough has apples in it, lending it a nicely sweet flavor.

Seeing as I don't own a bread machine...or even a stand mixer for that matter, this bread is not beyond reach for anyone! (However it did gum up my hand mixer, so be
careful and watch out for crawling dough!) The recipe states all purpose flour, but I used King Arthur bread flour, which makes perfectly wonderful bread. I've never made bread as good as when I use King Arthur flour. It's well worth seeking out.

Not only is this one of the tastiest breads I've ever eaten, it's also one of the prettiest. I loave the way that it's rolled instead of the traditional spiral. It makes two loaves--one to keep and one to give away...if you want to, that is. ;)

Cinnamon Swirl Apple Bread

5-6 cups all purpose flour
1 packet active dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup grated apples
1 and 1/2 cups peeled and finely chopped apples
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted(optional)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 slightly beaten egg white
1 tablespoon water
coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

-In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Set aside.
-In a saucepan heat the milk, sugar, butter and salt until just warm (120-130 degrees) and until butter is almost melted.
-Add milk mixture to the flour mixture along with the eggs.
-Beat with an electric mixer or stand mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl down constantly.
-Then beat on high speed for 3 minutes. (This point may gum up your hand mixer, so be careful.)
-Stir in the grated apple, then stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
-Turn dough out onto a flour surface and knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes).
-Shape dough into a ball and place in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.
-Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 hour).
-Grease two 9x5 loaf pans.
-Punch dough down and divide in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
-In the meantime for the filling, mix together the chopped apples, nuts (if using), cinnamon and brown sugar. Set aside.
-Roll half the dough into a 14x9 inch rectangle. Spread with 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of the softened butter then spread with half of the apple filling.
-Beginning at the short ends roll each end up jelly-roll style meeting at the center. This should form a swirled 'U' shape. (Refer to the second picture if you're confused.)
-Place the loaf rolled side up in a prepared loaf pan and repeat the process with the second half of the dough, butter and filling.
-Cover the pans with plastic wrap and let rise until almost double in size, about 30 minutes.
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
-Stir together the egg white and the water. Brush the egg mixture over the top of each loaf, sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
-Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when you tap the top. It may be necessary to lay a sheet of foil over the loaves during the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning.
-Immediately remove loaves from pans (you may need to run around the pans with a knife to loosen) and cool on wire racks.

Look Ma, No Oven!

5 Ingredients. 6 steps. No oven. They taste like Reese's. What more do you need?

Maybe a glass of milk.

These are really good, but insanely rich so cut small...okay, not that small. ;)

No Bake Reese's Squares

1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup butter, melted
1 12 ounce bag milk chocolate chips

-Line a 9x13 pan with foil, waxed paper or parchment overhanging the ends for 'handles' (this makes them easier to get out of the pan).
-Combine the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter and mix well (it will look crumbly)
-Pour in the melted butter and stir until well combined.
-Press the mixture evenly into the pan.
-Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler. Spread over the peanut butter mixture.
-When chocolate is set, cut into bars. You can chill them until the chocolate is set, but they're hard to cut if the chocolate gets too hard, so don't leave them in there too long!

Enjoy!

Orangel Food?

When I was in high school I remember using my Mom's beat up cookbook to cook everything. It was one of those plastic ring bound ones with no pictures...just page after page of contributed recipes. We made everything in that book at least once, I think. We used it so much it was falling apart. Pages had fallen off and were inserted in random spots in the middle so they wouldn't get lost. I miss that book sometimes.

One of my favorite recipes to make was an Orange Chiffon cake. It never had any glaze on it that I remember, but I think I did put powdered sugar on it. I loved that cake! A few weeks ago I bought a giant bag of organic oranges for $4 and I've been trying to think up ways to use them. Then I remembered that I hadn't dug out my tube pan for quite some time and I decided to see if I could find an Orange Chiffon recipe. Besides, what's more fun than putting an upside down cake on a bottle to cool?

This recipe makes one unbelievably tall, light cake and a lovely orange glaze if you're so inclined...plus lots of dirty dishes, but heck, that's half the fun of cooking, isn't it?

Orange Chiffon Cake with Orange Glaze

2 cups flour
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
7 egg yolks
7 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
-Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
-In another bowl put the oil, orange juice, orange zest, water, vanilla and egg yolks.
-Pour this into the flour mixture.
-Beat using and electric mixer until smooth and no sugar granules remain, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
-In a large bowl (not plastic!) beat the room temperature egg whites until foamy, then add in cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
-Using a spatula gently fold the egg whites into the flour mixture until completely incorporated.
-Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan (angel food cake pan).
-Bake for about 1 and 1/4 hours or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
(I use a piece of dry spaghetti to check mine.)
-Once out of the oven invert the pan and allow the cake to cool completely. This works best if you set the center tube over a long necked glass bottle to hold it up in the air, like a vinegar bottle or the like. I used my olive oil bottle.
-When cake is cool, run a knife around the sides and the tube of the pan and lift the insert out. Then cut the cake away from the top of the pan and invert onto a serving plate.
-Drizzle the cooled caked with glaze if desired.

Orange Glaze

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
Pinch of salt
Grated zest from 1 orange
Juice from one orange
3 cups powdered sugar
1-2 drops orange food coloring (optional)
milk as needed

-Put all the ingredients except the milk in a bowl and whisk together. Add milk if necessary to reach desired consistency. The food coloring is optional, as the glaze on it's own is a lovely shade of pale yellow.

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Tips from the Kitchen McMitchell

Why is it important to bring your egg whites to room temperature?
Egg whites at room temperature will give greater volume, which is especially important when you're making an angel food or chiffon cake. Your cake will be much higher and fluffier if you use room temperature egg whites. This can be acheived by putting your whole cold eggs in some warm (not hot!) water for 5 minutes, although this makes them harder to seperate because your yolks won't be as firm as they are when they're cold.
Alternately, you can seperate your eggs when they're cold and let your egg whites sit for about 20 minutes to come to room temperature.

Why can't I use a plastic bowl to beat my egg whites?
If you use any kind of dish that could have an oily residue left on it, your egg whites will never be able to form peaks. You can beat them all day and nothing will ever happen other than foam. This is also why it's important not to get any yolk in your whites. If you use a clean metal or glass bowl to beat your egg whites you shouldn't have any problems.