We Don' Need No Stinking Mixes!

I have been a bit of a slacker lately, but it's mostly due to exhaustion and health issues...so, there you go. I've been a lot stressed out, so I'm required to cut back the baking to manageable levels. I'm also trying to spend more time with my adorable kiddos! So I thought in between the other recipes I haven't had a chance to post yet, and until I'm feeling better, I will try to post a What I Made Today recipe.

Today I made pancakes. It's my favorite basic pancake recipe from a super old-timey Betty Crocker cookbook that my sister picked up at the local second hand shop. It's made from soured milk, which is just milk that you add a little vinegar to...I suspect this is a brilliant fix from back in the depression era or some such when you couldn't always get buttermilk. (Put 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar in a measuring cup and add enough milk to make one cup. Let stand for 5 minutes.) But if you have buttermilk, that works too.

These are mostly the instructions it came with. I've swapped out the shortening for canola oil. It's a one bowl recipe, so I whisk mine together in a big (4 cup size) glass measuring cup with a spout so I can just pour them on the griddle.

Favorite Pancakes

Beat:
1 egg

Add and Beat Well:
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/4 cups soured milk or buttermilk

Add and Beat Until
mostly smooth:
1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

~Cook on a hot griddle (350-375).
~Turn the pancakes when they are puffed and full of bubbles.
~Cook the other side until golden brown.

Banana Fana Fo Fana

It seems like no matter how many bananas we try to eat, we always end up with a freezer full of spotty, over-ripe loners that are begging to be made into something tasty (except the ones that end up falling hard and frozen onto my TOES.)

Speaking of which, don't throw your speckled bananas away! Throw them in the freezer and they stay in ripe banana limbo for months! To defrost, just submerge them in a bowl of warm water until mooshy, then tear off the stem and squeeze the banana into a bowl.

This is my redux for my favorite Banana Pancake recipe, reducing the fat and adding fiber where I could without sacrificing the taste, since I'm trying to eat healthier. They're really good and very filling. I suppose, if you were feeling like you needed some say, extra anti-oxidants with endorphin inducing benefits, you could add a few semi-sweet mini chocolate chips to the batter.

This recipe makes a LOT of pancakes. But you could always make them and freeze them. Then they're ready to pop in the toaster or microwave for a quick breakfast.

Fluffy Banana Pancakes

3 egg whites
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1-In a bowl beat the egg whites until frothy, then mix in bananas, applesauce, and buttermilk. Set aside.

2-In a large mixing bowl stir together the dry ingredients, then add the banana mixture. Beat together until everything is well incorporated. (You can add more buttermilk if you feel the batter is too thick.).

3-Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a preheated griddle. Flip over when the edges begin to dry and the batter bubbles on top.

4-Serve with sliced bananas and/or warm maple syrup.

Apple Cinnamon Goodness

My apologies for not posting this coffee cake recipe sooner. I made so many things this week that it had completely slipped my mind. Ray said a few people had been asking for the recipe and that I must post STAT! :)

This particular recipe is one that is sitting in my recipe file (read: a big pile of papers that sits in a drawer in my kitchen...I really wish I was more organized) scribbled down on the back of an old Comcast bill, so I have no idea where it comes from originally, but I've made it so many times I don't even really need to look at the recipe anymore. It's been used so much it's spotted with vanilla!

This one is easy peasy to throw together that you'll be quite pleased with the wonderfully tasty results. It's a good way to use up apples that are on their last legs. You might even find yourself going out to buy apples just to make it. It's been known to happen at our house.

Apple & Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
2 cups apples, diced (about 2 large apples)

For the topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, cold

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Grease a 9x13 pan or a 10 inch round springform pan.
-Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then blend in vanilla.
-Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a seperate bowl.
-Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
-Fold in the apples until evenly distributed.
-Spread batter into prepared pan.
-In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon.
-Cut in the cold butter until it is crumbly with a few chunks of butter remaining.
-Sprinkle over the top of the batter evenly.
-Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
-Drizzle with vanilla butter glaze while warm if desired (recipe follows).
-Serve warm.

Vanilla Butter Glaze
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
milk as needed

-Mix together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until well blended.
-Add milk as neccessary until desired consistency is reached.

Good Morning

Today is a testament to how much I not only love my husband, but all the really nice people he works with. I got up at 6am to make them cinnamon rolls as our Christmas gift to them. For those of you who have never made bread from scratch, this is a labor of love....that and a really good outlet for frustration. :) Making bread is a wonderful thing to do on a cold day, and very cathartic.

I am a huge fan of cinnamon rolls. There is nothing wrong with a cinnamon roll. I remember when Ray came to Utah for the first time I took him straight to Crossroads Mall and stopped at Cinnabon so he could taste the best cinnamon rolls ever. When that Cinnabon closed down I was very sad. So I started making this recipe to fill the void. The last time I had an actual Cinnabon was when we were stuck in Chicago on a layover to Scotland and I have to tell you a secret. I think that these might be better.

This really is a great recipe, the dough is very forgiving...and full of interesting ingredients you would never think to see in a cinnamon roll. If you've never made yeast bread before, I think it's time to put your hands to good use. It's nice to think that you're doing something that people have been doing for thousands of years. I always imagine my grandma in her kitchen making 10 loaves of bread and how satisfying it is to make things with your own two hands. My hope is that this never becomes a dying art.

Copycat Cinnabon Rolls

2 tablespoons or 2 packets dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix (4 serving size)
milk (for pudding)
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups flour
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
8 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

-First, make the cream cheese frosting: mix all the ingredients together until smooth and set aside.
-In a small bowl combine the yeast, sugar and water, stir until dissolved and set aside.
-In a large mixing bowl make the vanilla pudding mix according to package directions.
-Add in the melted margarine, eggs and salt and mix well.
-Add in yeast mixture (which should be foamy by this point) and blend.
-Gradually add the flour. Once all the flour is in, turn out and knead on a floured surface until smooth.
-Place the dough in a large greased bowl and grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and place in a warm area. Let rise until double.
-Punch down and let rise until double again.
-Next, roll out on a floured surface to 34x21 inches.
-Take the soft butter and spread over the entire surface.
-In a bowl mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle over the top of the buttered dough.
-Roll up tightly.
-Using a piece of thread or unwaxed dental floss, cut the dough every two inches. (Do this by sliding the thread under the dough, crossing the thread over the top and pulling quickly to cut.)
-Place the rolls on a lightly gread cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Take your hand and lightly press down on each roll.
-Cover with plastic wrap and let rise. In the meantime preheat your to 350F.
-When rolls are doubled in size, bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they just start to turn golden. Don't overbake!
-Frost while warm with the cream cheese frosting.

Makes about 20 rolls.