Sour Cream Banana Bread

3/4 c. butter softened

3 cups white sugar

3 eggs

6 ripe bananas

2 c. sour cream

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking soda

4 1/2 c. flour

1 c. chopped walnuts (optional) 

Pre-heat oven to 300. Grease 3 large bread pans, if pans are small may need to use 4 pans. Cream butter and sugar together. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Next, mix in salt, baking soda, and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. I have found baking the bread at 300 is nice because it doesn't get so brown, but it seems to take longer than an hour for me.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

½ cup butter
½ vegetable oil
4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c water

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
½ teaspoon salt

½ c. buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 - grease a 13x9 inch baking pan.

2. In a medium saucepan combine butter, oil, cocoa, and water; whisk until blended. Bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts and mixture is smooth. Take off stove and let cool down on counter for 5 min.

3.  In large bowl mix together flour, sugar, and salt.

4.  Add to the flour mixture; buttermilk, baking soda, vinegar, vanilla, and eggs. Mix until well blended. Slowly add chocolate mixture and beat until smooth.

5.  Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35 - 40 min. or until done ( may take longer ). Punch holes into cake with a fork and pour chocolate icing over the hot cake. Cool completely before serving.



Chocolate Icing
(for Chocolate Sheet Cake)


½ cup butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tablespoons milk
1 (16 ounce) box confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In medium saucepan, combine butter, cocoa, and milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; stirring constantly.

2. Remove from heat; add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.

3. Transfer to a mixing bowl and beat at medium speed with mixer until smooth.

4. Pour over hot cake.

Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Let me say....this is the most wonderful pound cake!!!

I was trying to explain to my boys the difference between a pound cake and a coffee cake. The major difference is the Butter 3 cubes of it...Yikes, and that it is more of a dense texture.

The batter on this recipe will fill a normal size bundt pan, and when baked, mine tended to bake over the edge a little. I think some of the newer BUNDT pans may be a little larger. But it still works, I guess you could put it in an angel food cake pan too.

The secret to getting this wonderful crunchy top is to start with a cold oven. DO NOT Preheat the Oven for this recipe, start with a cold oven and bake at 300 for 2 hours.

By the way this recipe is not WW friendly...its 15 WW points for 1/16 of a piece. HAHA

Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon orange extract
1 heaping teaspoon orange peel, finely grated

Directions

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy.

2. Add the sugar, one cup at a time and blend well.

3. Add 2 eggs; then one cup flour and blend until mixed.

4. Add 2 more eggs; then another cup of flour and blend until mixed.

5. Add last 2 eggs and last cup flour and blend well.

6. Add salt, orange extract and orange peel and blend until well mixed.

7. Grease and flour a bundt pan and pour cake dough into bundt pan.

8. IN A COLD OVEN, place the cake pan and turn oven on to 300 degrees.

9. Cook for 2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Sweet Cornbread

For years I looked for a sweet cornbread recipe, and a couple of years back I found one, so I will share it with you.. This is my family's favorite and mine too. Enjoy :)

Sweet Cornbread

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1 cup milk

½ cup oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray with Pam a 9 inch round cake pan. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients, then stir in egg, milk and oil until well combined. Pour batter into greased pan.
Bake for 20 -25 minutes until done.

*****This recipe only makes one pan, I double the recipe and use two cake pans.

Blueberry Oat Muffins

One of my favorite fruits is blueberries....I especially like them in muffins and quick breads. We grow our own and I hope to add a bunch more blueberry bushes this year. I freeze them and then we can use them all year long. This recipe uses oats which in my opinion "Makes the Muffin".

Blueberry Oat Muffins

2 eggs

1 c. milk

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 c. oats

1 c. flour

½ c. sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ fresh or frozen blueberries

Topping:

½ c. oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon butter, melted

Combine eggs, milk, butter and vanilla; mix well.

Add dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in berries then pour batter into muffin tin (12).

Sprinkle topping mixture over muffin batter.

Bake at 400 for 20-22 or until tops are lightly browned.

Cool 5 min. before serving.

Banana Muffins

2 eggs

½ cup melted and cooled butter

3 ripe bananas, mashed about 1 ½ cups

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ¾ cups flour

¾ cup white sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tins with non stick spray, or line with muffin papers…which I also spray those too.
Mix wet ingredients and then add dry ingredients. Do not over mix or you will have rubbery muffins. Fill 12 muffins cups bake for 20- 25 minutes or until done. Enjoy :)

Crescent Rolls

 *****I AM MOVING MY BAKING BLOG BACK INTO MY MAIN BLOG...TO HARD TO KEEP UP WITH TWO BLOGS :)

I needed a bread to go with my Herb Chicken and this came to mind. Another very easy recipe which starts in the bread maker and then using the oven to bake. Some day I would like to fill these with raspberry preserves....sounds so good!!!

Crescent Rolls

¾ c. plus 2 Tablespoons warm milk (70 to 80) degrees
¼ c. water (70 to 80) degrees
4 Tablespoons butter cut into pieces
1 egg, beat slightly with fork
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 c. bread flour
1 Tablespoon yeast


2 Tablespoons melted butter

Put the 8 ingredients listed in order into your bread machine.
Set to dough cycle.

When cycle is complete, turn out dough onto a floured surface;
Punch down and divide into, two equal parts. Roll into two 10 inch circles. Melt remaining butter and brush onto both rounds.

Cut each circle into 8 triangles; totaling 16. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place seem side down on GREASED baking sheet; keep them 2-inches apart. Curve ends around to form crescents.

Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.
Preheat oven to 375.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done. Place on racks to cool.

****My baking sheets are large so I can only bake one at a time.