Baked Long Johns

I'm not sure why every week day when my alarm goes off a little before 6, I long for three more hours of sleep.  To sleep in until 9....SUCH a luxury.  Which is why, on the weekends, it's a puzzle that I'm up by 7 making coffee.  Not that coffee is a bad thing to get out of bed for, but I could enjoy it just as much a few hours later.

This morning it was dark and rainy, and it struck me that it was a perfect occasion for donuts.  Typically the kids will sweet talk their daddy into making a run to town to the local convenience store on a weekend morning, where he'll pick up a dozen.  

Yes.  It's sad that our donuts come from a convenience store.  I know.  But the kids don't.  It's normal for them.  

It's also normal for them to have a mom that makes donuts that are baked, not fried.  I'm a total buzz kill.

Since these are made with a yeast dough, they do require two rises and some rolling. 

Thus at my house, they will never be made on a school day.  Tehya was practically pacing the kitchen by the time I put them in the oven.

Fortunately they do bake up quickly.  I was a little worried that they would taste like little bread loaves, because they looked like little bread loaves and obviously they weren't fried.

The maple frosting, though, sent them right into long john territory.

I was tempted to fill them.  When I splurge on a donut, I definitely go for the filled long john.  (Not the gross custard kind, but the fluffy whipped kind).  However, I didn't think Tehya would make it a moment longer. 

Even without the deep fat fryer, and even without the filling, they got a five star rating from the taste testers.  I'm guessing we'll have to make them again!

Baked Long Johns
Adapted from this recipe for maple bars  

For the donuts
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup scalded milk
4 T sugar, divided
3 T shortening
1 tsp salt
1 packet (2.25 tsp) yeast
1/4 cup very warm water

For the frosting
3 T butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 T milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp Mapleine (extract similar to vanilla)

In a saucepan, heat 3/4 cup milk to 180 degrees and remove from stovetop.  Add shortening and 3 T sugar.  Whisk until combined.  Allow to cool slightly.  In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of very warm (not hot) water with yeast and 1 T sugar.  Whisk and allow the yeast to activate until it becomes foamy (about 5 minutes).  In a bowl or mixer, combine the flour and cinnamon until the cinnamon is well distributed in the flour.  Add the milk mixture and stir to cool down the milk.  Whisk the egg into the yeast water, and then add to the flour mixture.  Mix until well combined, then knead for about 5 minutes.  Place the dough in a large greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 1 hour.

After the dough has at least doubled, flour a countertop and roll the dough until it is about an inch thick.  Attempt to roll in a rectangle that is much longer than it is tall.  With a knife or straight edged bar cutter, cut the dough into 16 - 18 long john-shaped pieces.  Place on two greased cookie sheets and allow the dough to rise again for about 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 425.  Bake the donuts for 7-8 minutes, until it just begins to brown.  

While the donuts are baking, begin on the frosting.  In a small saucepan, bring butter, milk and brown sugar to a boil.  Boil for about 3 minutes, then remove from heat and add the Mapleine, then the powdered sugar.  Beat vigorously until the frosting is smooth.

Allow the baked donuts to cool until they are not too hot to handle.  Then frost and serve warm.  Or cold.  We had positive reviews both ways!  
 

Adult Cookies

I'm not being flippant when I report that these may be some of the best cookies I've ever made.  And yep, I'm totally calling them "adult cookies" instead of something that would reflect more of what is in them.  Not only is it shorter and easier than oatmeal-dried-cherry-pecan-white-chocolate-chip cookies, but it's also descriptive about their best audience.  Adults.

Adult cookies kind of sound naughty but I can assure you they aren't x-rated, and they aren't boozy.  Though boozy might be fun.  They do contain ingredients that most kids fail to appreciate.  I definitely remember that crazy sense of disappointment when I realized the Christmas fudge I picked out from the big plate at my grandma's house had walnuts in it.  Total joy crusher.  I never, ever would have chosen an oatmeal cookie over a chocolate chip one.  Dried fruit typically came as small raisin boxes, which were absolutely disgusting.  Still are.

These start off like the kind of cookies kids like...plenty of butter and brown sugar.

But then you add a bunch of oatmeal.

And you really alienate the kids here when you add dried cherries and chopped pecans.  If you add fruit and nuts to a cookie, brownie or most any type of bar, you've lost the interest of every child in my house.  

  Even the addition of white chocolate chips doesn't interest them after the fruit.  

(Maybe my kids are so spoiled by all of the baked goods they get that they've become treat snobs.  Oh dear.) 

The thing is, every time I bake these I have to give them away.  My kids won't eat them.  And I will.  Lots and lots of them.  Because they are so, so good.

Chock full of the things you come to appreciate when your palate ages into something more sophisticated.  Kind of like red wine.  And squash.  And sweet potatoes.  And red wine....

Forget the glass of milk.  I'm thinking these cookies would be a perfect accompaniment to that bottle of zinfandel I've got in the pantry!

  
Adult Cookies
(or Cherry Pecan White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies)
Adapted from this recipe by Rachael Ray.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter at room temperature
1.5 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
5 oz dried cherries (one package)
4 oz chopped pecans (two small packages)
1.5 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  In your mixer, beat butter and sugars until very fluffy.  Add in vanilla, then the eggs one at a time until well incorporated.  Sprinkle on the baking soda, then slowly add in the flour until well incorporated.  Add the oatmeal until mixed in, then the dried cherries, pecans and white chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded scoopful onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  A smaller scoop will obviously result in more cookies.  I used my 4 tablespoon size scoop from Pampered Chef to get larger cookies, but fewer of them.  Bake for 13 - 15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies and your oven.  Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for a few minutes, then slide the parchment paper onto the counter to allow the cookies to cool completely.  Then enjoy!

Garden Spaghetti Sauce

Let me disclaim that making your own spaghetti sauce is not less expensive than buying it in the store, and it REALLY isn't more convenient or easier or faster.  However, when you see the ingredient list you'll notice there isn't anything secretive like "natural flavor" or other "ingredients that are natural or naturally derived" like this one.  And there's just something amazing about growing your own food, and then making something with it.  

Almost everything in these jars of spaghetti sauce came from our garden--from the tomatoes and green peppers to the basil and oregano.  

Of course, there are things we didn't grow too--like black pepper and salt and brown sugar--but at least those are 'natural flavors' I can identify!  

I debated long and hard this morning about making salsa instead to use up those lovely jalepenos, but the truth is my kids don't like salsa very much.  It looks too much like vegetables.  I like it, but a girl can only eat so much salsa by herself.  Spaghetti, though, they'll eat.  

I wish I could say you just dice up everything you want in your spaghetti and stick it in a pot, but I learned the hard way last year that tomato skin is unappealing on top of pasta.  It rolls off into these noticeable clumps and my kids definitely turn their noses at noticeable clumps.  What am I saying...my kids turn up their noses at tomatoes, much less their peeled rolled skin.  So you've got to boil the tomatoes for a minute, then shock them in cold water, then peel off the skins before you can dice them.  That takes some time.

Though I'm growing green onions and red onions, I didn't grow vidalias so I bought some at the store.  If I lived in Georgia, I'd totally be growing vidalias.

For some reason my red and yellow peppers ended up being green, but it's all good....

 These guys come from the little herb garden right by the patio off the kitchen.

After you boil and peel and dice and chop, it all gets tossed in a big heavy pot with the spices and a bit of tomato paste.

And it cooks for an hour into a lovely sauce like this.

I love those chunks of pepper and tomato, but if I served it like this to my children I'd find those chunks pushed to the edge of their plate when they finished their meal. 

So I'm sneaky.

I use my immersion blender a bit, until most of the chunks are blended in.  Try picking those green peppers out NOW!  (maniacal laughter)  

We take our victories however we can.

I use a wide mouth funnel to get the sauce into jars.  I might have taken 30 pictures of the jars like this.  They just looked so garden-y and fresh, and they smelled so savory and Italian!

Unfortunately I still haven't picked up a big stock pot, so to process them in boiling water for 30 minutes I had to lay them on their sides in the biggest pots I own.  Note to self: buy a stock pot.  I made that note to myself last year, too.

It isn't 'correct' but it still works.  

Case in point:

Spaghetti sauce.  This winter when I use this jar, I'm going to think about my summer garden.  It will help get me through February in Iowa!

Spaghetti Sauce
My own creation!
 
12 cups tomatoes - peeled and chopped (I used Romas)
2-3 cups green, red, or yellow peppers
3 cups sweet onions
2 T chopped garlic
fresh oregano and basil to taste (I used about 15 leaves of basil, and pulled the leaves off of about 10 branches of oregano)
24 oz tomato paste
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T salt
2 T vinegar
1 T black pepper

Wash all vegetables.  Boil water in a large pot, then add in tomatoes and allow to boil for about a minute.  Transfer the tomatoes to another large bowl of ice water, and the skins should peel off pretty easily by hand.  Then dice the tomatoes into small pieces.  Dice the peppers and onions, and mince the garlic, oregano and basil.  In a large heavy pot, add the diced vegetables and all other ingredients.  Stir and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for one hour.  If you wish, use an immersion or other blender to incorporate the vegetables if you have picky eaters, or leave the vegetables chunky as they are.  

Using a wide-mouthed funnel, ladle sauce into clean, hot jars, leaving about an inch of space at the top.  Add lids and secure with rings.  Place the jars in a large pot, covering completely with water.  Bring the water to a low boil and process the jars for 30 minutes.  Remove and place on wire cooling racks.  You should hear the lids "pop" as they seal.  When they are entirely cool, store as you wish.
 

 

Dilled Salty Wheat Bread

In July I get to home office a little bit for work, which gives me a lot of time to bake and blog.  When I go back to work in August, I still bake, but it happens in the evening.  I'm just not a good photographer in the evenings...  I don't have the white umbrellas or special lighting, which means all of my photos turn out yellow from our lighting and the flash.  If I can't take pictures during the day, I won't take pictures at all.  

So I've been planning and scheming about what I'd bake this weekend when I could get good pictures, and I realized I haven't shared dilled salty wheat bread with you.  Everyone must know this recipe.  It's a total supper staple around here on the weekends when I have time to wait for bread to rise.  You must make it!

It probably sounds unappetizing to use dill in bread.  But it's not.  It's scrumptious.  I use a dill mix from Pampered Chef, but I'm sure any dried dill would work.

There are two rises for this bread, so it doesn't go fast.  I make Irish Brown Bread or garlic cheese biscuits or cornbread if I don't have time for bread rising.  Today, there was time.  Rise one - 

And rise two-

What's that, you say?  Why is there a second bread loaf pan on top in that middle picture?  Because I've never found a way to cover dough when it's rising with anything, without the dough sticking all over whatever I covered it with.  Saran wrap?  Nope.  A damp cloth?  That's a disaster.  So I just cover one pan with another, and my bread can rise without mashing into whatever is covering it.  It works.  (Note: I do remove the top when I bake it.)

Here's the secret to dilled salty wheat bread.  When it comes out of the oven, butter the top... 

and then sprinkle it with coarse salt.  I know.  That probably sounds unappetizing too.  It's not.  It totally makes the bread.  Don't skip that step!

Let it cool a little bit.  That's super hard.  It smells divine.  Your house will smell divine. 

The wait is worth it.  This bread is homey and substantial.  The dill makes it interesting, and the salt keeps everyone coming back for "just one more piece."  Try it next time you make a stew or grill meat.  It's yummmmm-mmmmma!   

 

Dilled Salty Wheat Bread

(Disclaimer: I didn't invent this recipe but I've had it for such a long time that I have no idea where I got it from.)

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. wheat flour
2 T sugar
1 T minced dried onion
1 pkg (1/4 oz) yeast
2 tsp. dill weed
1 tsp. salt
1 c. cottage cheese
1/2 c. water
1 T butter
1 egg
2 tsp butter
coarse salt

In a small saucepan, bring cottage cheese, water and 1 tablespoon of butter to 120 - 130 degrees.  As that is warming, combine the flours, sugar, dried onion, yeast, dill weed and 1 tsp salt in a mixer.  Mix all dry ingredients together.  Add the warmed cottage cheese mixture and mix until just combined.  Add the egg, and mix until a smooth dough forms.  Switch to your dough hook and knead the bread for 7-8 minutes.  Or do it the hard way and knead by hand.  

Butter the inside of a large bowl.  Place the dough in the buttered dish, turning once so the top is also buttered.  Allow the dough to rise for an hour, until doubled.  Punch down, shape into a loaf, place in a buttered loaf pan and allow to rise again, about 3/4 of an hour.  During that second rise, preheat your oven to 350.  Bake the bread for 25 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown.  Remove from the oven, and brush with 2 tsp of butter.  Sprinkle the top with coarse salt.  Allow the bread to cool, then slice and enjoy!

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

I know it doesn't seem like it based on all of my sugary and fattening blog posts, but I'm really health conscious.  I don't buy my kids white bread.  I don't feed them much processed food.  No sugar cereal.  No hot dogs.  No treats from a box.  Rarely anything with corn syrup.  And I generally don't cook with shortening.

These cookies are the exception.  The sole reason I ever buy the stuff.  And I wouldn't make them, except my oldest boy likes them so much.  And he's the skinniest kid.  He needs these fat and calories.  I shove food on him very regularly--healthy food, of course.  He'd live on sweet tea, ice cream and cookies if I'd let him.  And though I can tell him 'no' on Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Fruit Loops, I cave in on these cookies from time to time.  

Friends, there are a lot of calories, a lot of fat, a lot of shortening in these.  It's why they taste so good.

But they've got oatmeal in them (a whole grain!).  And they're made from scratch.  Which means they aren't processed.  And I guess at least I can take solace in that. 

Here's to hoping our son can actually fill out those 29 x 33 jeans this year.  Without a belt on the last notch. 

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
Recipe from Taste of Home

For the cookies:
1.5 cups shortening
2 2/3 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
4 cups old fashioned oats

For the filling
3/4 cup shortening
3 cups powdered sugar
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
1 to 3 T milk

Preheat oven to 350.  To make the cookies, beat shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.  Add vanilla, then baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Combine thoroughly.  Add flour until incorporated, then mix in oats.  Drop by rounded tablespoonful about 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet.  I've found these cookies spread, so give them space.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack or newspaper.

For the filling, beat shortening, powdered sugar and marshmallow creme until light and fluffy.  Add in enough milk to soften the filling so it is spreadable.  Spread a generous tablespoon of filling on a cookie, then top with another cookie to form a sandwich.  Then enjoy!