Recommended Recipes

If there's one thing that the internet can't do,
it can't waft the smell of fresh baked goods into your house.

Try these recipes yourself.
These are my favorites.
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Gingerbread Cupcakes
makes roughly 12-14 cupcakes

These cupcakes are extremely moist. My grandmother prefers the frosting on them, however, my grandfather does not. It's your own call. They smell like Christmas and aren't extremely difficult to prepare. I got this recipe for gingerbread from America's Test Kitchen, so it isn't mine, but the addition of cream cheese frosting is mine.

2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Ground Ginger
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp. Freshly Grated Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Ground Allspice
1 tsp. Dutch Processed Cocoa
1 stick of butter, melted
3/4 Cup Mild or Light Molasses (I spray the cup lightly with PAM so it pours out easily)
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Buttermilk (I used powdered)
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Large Egg

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Get out your muffin tin. Though I recommend Baker's Joy, you can also grease/flour your tins.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and cocoa in a  medium bowl.
In a large bowl, beat (using an electric mixer) the butter, molasses, sugar, buttermilk, milk, and egg. Slowly add the dry ingredients ( so as not to get flour all over the place) and mix in on medium speed until the batter is uniform which takes about a minute or so. Be careful not to overmix.
Pour mixture into muffin tin. The amount could vary depending on muffin size, but I got 14 or so from this mixture.
Put the tin in the oven.
These muffins can take anywhere from 15-20 minutes, so keep your eye on them.

Cream Cheese Frosting
I think cream cheese frosting complements these really well.
It is a sweeter cream cheese frosting, which has a proportion of about 2/3 frosting to 1/3 cream cheese. I just used storebought Fluffy White frosting and it worked just fine.

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Sam's Apple Pecan Bread Pudding
This recipe is my own. Fall has to be my favorite season. Crisp air and colorful leaves.
Developing a love for bread pudding this summer, I developed a recipe that was not only crusty on top, but eggy and rich underneath. Later, as the air became chilly and pecans were shipped to us in abundance, the idea of apples and pecans in the same dessert kept popping up.
This is the result. I also put spiced pecans on top, but that's optional

3/4ths loaf italian bread, sliced (or ripped) into chunks.
1 golden delicious apple, peeled/cubed
1 cup or so chopped pecans
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2 cups milk
4 large eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp apple butter
2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
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1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

In a 2 quart casserole dish, combine the bread chunks, apple chunks, and chopped pecans. Toss them to make sure the pecans and apple are evenly distributed among the bread.
In a large bowl, combine the milk, eggs, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, butter, apple butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Using an electric mixer, whisk together until evenly mixed. Pour mixture over bread/apple/pecans.
Using a fork, push bread down until even the surface is saturated with egg mixture. Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours so the bread has time to absorb some of the custard mixture.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350.
Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and a tablespoon on cinnamon and stir 'til evenly mixed. Sprinkle evenly over casserole dish. bake for about 55 minutes, or until browned nicely on top


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