Sunday, June 21, 2009

white chocolate orange cookies

my own recipe! picture to come when my hubby gets home with the camera. this makes a sturdy dough and the cookies stay nice and round, which i love. flat cookies don't appeal to me! although i still eat them. these are very sweet and very yummy with a glass of cold milk!

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
zest of two oranges
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 (12 oz.) bag white chocolate chips

preheat oven to 325 degrees. cream together butter and sugar. add orange zest and vanilla extract. add egg and beat until fluffy. sift together flour, soda, powder, and salt. add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and blend until combined, but do not overbeat. stir in white chocolate by hand. drop by scant tablespoons onto cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake until lightly golden- about 13 minutes.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

my mama's banana bread


1/2 cup crisco
1 large egg
2 cups flour
heaping 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup freckled banana, mashed
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

preheat oven to 350 degrees. cream together shortening and sugar until well-blended. beat in the egg and lemon juice. whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. add to shortening mixture and blend well. batter will be thick! fold in the bananas and nuts. pour into 9x4" loaf pan that you've lined with parchment and sprayed with baker's joy. bake 60-70 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. cool on a wire rack.

i could eat this for breakfast every day. and i plan on doing just that for the next 2 weeks or so, because i baked 2 large loaves of it tonight.

biscuit quest 2009


one of my goals for this summer was to find the perfect biscuit recipe. it's turned out to be a short-lived search, because i think i found it on the second try. and wouldn't you know, it's the recipe on the back of the Gold Brand Self-Rising Flour bag. the only change the hubby and i made was to add 1/4 tsp of salt. the flour does have salt in it already, but i'm pregnant and have had to add extra salt to pretty much everything for the past 7.5 months. anyway, these are stellar and beau and i each ate two and a half of these straight out of the oven.

Gold's Buttermilk Biscuits

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
2 tsp sugar
1 stick butter, straight out of the fridge
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk

preheat oven to 450 degrees. sift together flour, sugar, and salt. cut the butter into small pieces and then using your fingers, cut into flour until only some big chunks of butter remain. add in 3/4 cup buttermilk and stir gently. if the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl, don't add anymore. we had to use about 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon. gently knead on a lightly floured surface until just smooth, then roll out to a generous 1/2". use a biscuit cutter and press straight down (DO NOT TWIST!). place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 9-12 minutes or until they're the golden color that whets your appetite. 9 was the right amount of time for us.

Friday, June 5, 2009

best garlic cheese bread ever.



i can't tell you how delicious this bread is.

1 loaf italian bread, sliced lengthwise
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise

preheat oven to 350'.
in a bowl, combine all ingredients except the french bread.
spread the bread with the mixture. place side-by-side on a cookie sheet covered with parchment or foil.
bake until cheese is melty, then broil until cheese starts to turn golden.
remove from oven, slice, and serve.