Classic Cream Scones

It’s Royal Wedding time (sorry Danielle). I’m not as into the whole thing as some people, but I have to say that it is an historic occasion and I think it’s a fun opportunity to celebrate a bit and maybe brew some herbal tea and make some tea sandwiches. And what would an English tea party be without scones? Here’s an easy recipe.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together:

2 cups flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Cut in 1/2 cup unsalted butter—cut into 1/2” cubes and chilled—with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs

In a separate small bowl, mix:

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Stir liquid mixture into dry mixture just until blended. Turn onto a lightly floured board and pat or roll dough into a 1/2” thick disk. Using a biscuit cutter, cut dough into circles and place onto a lightly buttered cookie sheet (or use a Silpat mat). Brush unbaked scones with one egg whisked together with 1 teaspoon water, if desired. Bake for 13-15 minutes at 425 degrees or until golden brown.

1/2 cup currants may be added into the dough before cutting out and baking if desired.

Serve with Mock Devonshire Clotted Cream (recipe follows) and lemon curd or fruit preserves.

Mock Devonshire Clotted Cream

3 oz. cream cheese

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix all together in a food processor until quite thick. Will store well in a refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

Naan

Amy mentioned serving naan with the Honey Curry Chicken she posted yesterday.  After refusing to pay $3 for 2 pieces at the grocery store a few months ago, I came across this recipe and it is fantastic.  Eat it plain, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic salt, or drizzle honey on it for a sweet treat!

1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 large egg
melted butter or oil, for frying

In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.

Stir in the flour, salt, oil, yogurt and egg and stir, then knead until you have a soft, pliable dough. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to double in size (about 1 hour).

Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces and on a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into a thin circle or oval.

Cook each naan in a nice hot skillet drizzled with oil (I use our griddle and brush it with melted butter -- that way I can make a few at a time) until blistered and cooked, flipping as necessary (when the surface has big blisters and is golden on the bottom, flip it over and cook until golden on the other side).

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Sean has made these a couple of times and they disappear pretty quickly. He likes to take them to people he visits and I get notes of thank you for the wonderful muffins. Ha!

The recipe was found on allrecipes.com and slightly adapted. Yields 24 small muffins. They are also great as mini-muffins!

1-1/2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.


2.Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.

3.Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

A friend of mine (Heather Howell for you current and former New Yorkers that know her) introduced me to this Red Lobster biscuit knock-off recipe a few years ago. They are really simple--actually more of a “semi-homemade” type item than real home cooking but still a delicious treat. We don’t have them too often but when we do they go fast! They go great with spaghetti in lieu of garlic bread or just with some fried chicken and cooked mixed vegetables like we had tonight.

3 cups Bisquick® baking mix (or other similar mix)
1 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I like sharp)
1/4 cup butter (margarine works too), melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Parsley flakes for garnish (optional)
Mix baking mix, milk and grated cheese with a fork until moistened--will be lumpy. Drop by spoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until nicely browned. Generously brush tops with melted butter that has been mixed with the garlic powder (I use all the butter). Serve while hot. Good stuff. Serves about 8.

Grandma Carter’s Banana Bread

There’s been a little buzz among some of my extended family (in-laws) lately about my grandma’s banana bread recipe so I thought I’d post it for those who aren’t blessed enough to have one of my mom’s prized cook books. ;)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup fruit juice (orange, grapefruit, pineapple, etc.)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Combine all ingredients thoroughly adding the eggs last. Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan at 350 degrees for 60 minutes (mine sometimes takes a little longer—it may be an altitude thing). I usually test mine with a toothpick to make sure it’s done but don’t over bake it.

I also often sprinkle the top of the batter with a little bit of brown sugar before baking. It adds just a touch of texture and extra sweetness. Plus I just really love brown sugar. We like to enjoy our banana bread with a schmear of plain cream cheese. Yum!

Soft Wrap Bread

Love this bread with cold cuts, chicken and egg salad, grilled meats and veggies (Italian sausage with peppers and onions is amazing!), and especially these.

Recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour
3 c. flour
1 1/4 c. boiling water
1/4 c. potato flour OR 1/2 c. potato buds or flakes
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. vegetable oil
1 tsp. instant yeast

Place 2 cups of the flour into a bowl or the bucket of a bread machine. Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl or bucket and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes or buds) and the remaining 1 cup of flour with the salt, oil and yeast.

Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several minutes (by hand, mixer or bread machine) to form a soft dough. Note: You can allow the dough to go through the entire kneading cycle(s) in the bread machine, but it's not necessary; about a 5-minute knead in the machine, once it gets up to full kneading speed, is fine. The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat sticky. Add additional flour only if necessary; if kneading by hand, keep your hands and work surface lightly oiled.

Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each about the size of a handball, around 3 ounces), cover, and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes.

Roll each piece into a 7"- to 8"-circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) over medium heat for about 1 minute per side, until they're puffed and flecked with brown spots (I did three at a time on my electric griddle). Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out.

Transfer the cooked breads to a wire rack, stacking them to keep them soft. Serve immediately, or cool slightly before storing in a plastic bag.

Oatmeal Wheat Bread

Makes two loaves. 


2 cups milk
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup warm water (105-115°F)
2 Tbsp. yeast
1/3 cup honey
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
5 cups white whole-wheat flour (I use 3 c. white flour, 2 c. whole wheat flour)
1 Tbl. salt

Heat milk in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan over low heat until hot but not boiling, then remove pan from heat and stir in butter, honey, and oats.  Let stand, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooled to warm.  Combine remaining ingredients and knead 5-7 minutes.* Form dough into a ball and transfer to an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl loosely with a damp kitchen towel; let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly butter loaf pans. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times to remove air. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a loaf, then place 1 loaf in each buttered pan, seam side down, tucking ends gently to fit. Cover loaf pans loosely with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Bake until bread is golden and loaves sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove bread from pans and transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.


*I use instant yeast that does not need to be proofed (it just gets added with the dry ingredients).  If you are using regular active yeast, stir together water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon honey in a small bowl; let stand until foamy, 5 minutes or so, and then combine with milk mixture and then the remaining ingredients.

Favorite White Bread

I love this everything about this bread;  the taste, the texture, the ease with which I can make it.  I usually rely on my trusty Kitchen Aid to do most of the work, but have done it by hand without much effort.  This recipe makes two loaves, one of which I made into cinnamon raisin bread for the first time the other day.  As you can tell from the picture, it was a hit in my house -- those nubs are all that were left by the time I thought to get a picture!


6-7 c. white flour (I have substituted a couple of cups of whole wheat flour for the white in the past)
3 Tbl. sugar
1 Tbl. salt
2 Tbl. shortening
2 pkgs. yeast (4 1/2 tsp.)
2 1/4 c. very warm water (120-130 degrees)
Margarine or butter, melted

In large bowl, stir 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, shortening and yeast until well mixed. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.  Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

Grease bottoms and sides of two 8x4-inch or 9x5-inch loaf pans with shortening or spray with cooking spray.  Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half with hands or rolling pin into 18x9-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 9-inch side. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Pinch each end of roll to seal. Fold ends under loaf.  Place seam side down in pan. Brush loaves lightly with butter (or spray lightly with cooking spray). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 35 to 50 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 425°F.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire rack. Brush loaves with butter (most times I don't bother with this); cool (most times I don't bother with this :).

For cinnamon-raisin bread:  Stir in 1 c. raisins with the second addition of flour.  Mix 1/4 c. sugar and 2 tsp. ground cinnamon.  After rolling dough into rectangles, sprinkle each with half of the sugar mixture and 1 Tbl. water.  Shape as instructed above.

English Muffins

I first found this recipe in an issue of Family Fun magazine about 8 years ago;  it's a little labor intensive, but definitely worth it!

1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup warm water (110º F/45º C)
1 package (1/4-ounce) active dry yeast
Cornmeal
5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Combine the milk, butter, and honey in a medium-size saucepan. Warm the mixture over medium-low heat until the butter starts to melt, then whisk it briefly. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the liquid to cool until lukewarm.  While the milk cools, pour the water into a medium-size mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir the liquid gently with a fork. Set the bowl aside for 5 to 10 minutes, until all of the yeast has dissolved.

Line two baking sheets with waxed paper and sprinkle on a generous amount of cornmeal. (This is where you'll set the muffins to rise.)

Pour the cooled milk into the dissolved yeast and gently stir the mixture until well blended. Add 3 cups of flour and the salt to the liquid and beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth (about 100 strokes). Beat in enough of the remaining flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, so that the dough is firm enough to knead and no longer sticky.  Scrape the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour. Flour your hands as well, and knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and pushing the pin from the center out, until the dough is a half inch thick.  Cut the dough into circles with a 3 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Gather and reroll the scraps and cut out more circles (you should end up with 18). Now shape each circle into a heart: use a knife or scissors to cut a third of the way into the circle, round the cut side into the top of the heart, and then pinch the opposite side into a point for the tip (I think I only did this the first time I made them -- cute idea, but I usually just leave them as circles now).  Transfer the muffins to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them well apart. Sprinkle cornmeal on the tops. Cover the muffins with a dry, lightweight towel and let them rise until they are almost doubled in height--about 35 to 45 minutes.

When the muffins have risen, heat a large, heavy, ungreased skillet over medium heat. (If you have two skillets, you may want to prepare both so you can cook more muffins at once.) Or you can use an electric griddle heated to 300º. Carefully lift the muffins from the waxed paper and place them in the heated pan or griddle, spacing them an inch or so apart. You should be able to fit 4 or 5 muffins in each pan.  Cook the muffins for about 10 minutes on each side, using a spatula to flip them. You may have to adjust the heat if the muffins are browning too quickly or slowly. Transfer each batch of cooked muffins to a wire rack to cool before splitting and toasting them. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

Navajo Fry Bread

This recipe was given to Sean by Brother "Lucy". It's the best thing he ever did for us. :)

-Bisquick and flour 1:1 ratio (I used 2 cups flour, 2 cups Bisquick and made plenty for dinner and dessert
- 1 tsp of salt per 2 cups of Bisquick mix
- Add warm water slowly until the mixture is tacky

Cover with a wet paper towel until you are ready to use it

Fill a frying pan with vegetable or canola oil. Get it REALLY HOT, but not boiling.
Do a test by throwing a small amount of the dough in to the oil. It should float right away if the temperature is right.

Roll out golf ball sized amounts of dough as flat as you can and place in the oil. After about 10 seconds flip the bread over and fry on the other side for another 10 - 15 seconds or until evenly browned.

For dinner we topped these with a mixture of black beans, corn, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, green onion, salsa, and sour cream.
For dessert you can top with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. SO GOOD! Honey butter is also fabulous on these.

One thing that I did learn... these are better in the summer time. The air in my house was filled with smoke and we had to open some windows. It was 20 degrees outside!

Enjoy!

Jiffy-like Cornbread

I am from the North.  In the North, we like our cornbread sweet.  So sweet, in fact, that many times we will serve already sweet cornbread with honey or jam.  Delicious.  This recipe makes a yummy pan (11 x 7) or tin of muffins (approximately 12).

1/4 c. oil
1 egg
1 c. milk
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbl. baking powder
1 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal

Combine oil, egg, milk, sugar, and salt.  Add baking powder, flour, and cornmeal until combined.  Pour into greased pan/tin.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Rolls

I have very happy memories of my mom making these on Christmas morning. Sometimes if I'm feeling too harried on Christmas morning I'll save the task for New Year's Day. I can't think of a better way to start off the new year!

2 cakes yeast (Do they even make cakes of yeast any more? I just use 2 packets or the equivalent thereof).
1 Tablespoon sugar
Warm water to dissolve yeast
1/2 cup Mazola or Wesson oil (I just use Canola or whatever I have)
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 5 cups flour, sifted

Softened butter
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Chopped pecans (optional)
Raisins (optional)

Crumble yeast in a cup. Add tablespoon of sugar, Barely cover yeast and sugar with warm water. Scald milk (I just do this in the microwave for a few minutes until a skin forms--very easy). Add oil and sugar. Place into mixing bowl. Add eggs and salt. Mix until smooth; add 2 cups flour. Add yeast mixture. Beat 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Add 2 more cups flour. Knead into mixture with dough hook. Put entire mixture into a large greased bowl. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Divide in half. Roll dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle (about 12 inches long). Spread with 1 stick of softened butter, sprinkle liberally with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll from long side of rectangle into a roll. Mark rolls and cut with thread. Repeat process with other half of dough. Let rise on greased cookie sheets until doubled. Bake at 375 to 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Yield: 24 rolls.

My mom would usually make these with chopped nuts and occasionally with raisins. Both are tasty additions.

Seriously Tasty Breadsticks

I have been searching for a yummy breadstick recipe for a very long time.  I wanted something comparable to Olive Garden fare, but every recipe I came across required frozen bread dough, and they never turned out to be exactly what I wanted.  Well, I have finally found one that meets my criteria -- soft, chewy, garlicky, delicious.  This site has a bunch of terrific recipes, and this one is no exception!  They recommend using it for pizza dough as well, but I wasn't terribly fond of it (I tried it a couple of weeks ago before making the breadsticks).  The original recipe has you making 12 breadsticks, but they do come out very large, so unless you are serving it with soup (where you would want a nice chunk of bread to go with it), I would recommend stretching it to 16 or 18 breadsticks.  Enjoy!

1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour


In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly. 

Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

 Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Remove from bowl and place on a lightly-floured surface. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll into a rectangle and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.

Roll out each piece of dough into a snake and then drape over your forefinger and twist the dough. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining 11 pieces of dough. Try to space them evenly, but it's okay if they're close; pulling apart hot bread is one of life's greatest pleasures!

Cover pan and allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes. When there's about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425. When done rising, bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Rub some butter on top of the breadsticks (just put a ziploc bag on your hand, grab some softened butter, and have at it) and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning or the powdery Parmesan cheese in a can and garlic salt. Or you could sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar.

Apple Crunch Cakelets (Muffins)

My sister shared this recipe with me a few years ago and it is a family favorite. Delicious, easy and versatile! These come together really quickly.  They are great hot out of the oven with a little butter or cold the next day for a snack. (My eight year old told me he wished he could have them for a snack every day.) I have also made these with pumpkin. Just use an equivalent amount of pumpkin in place of the grated apple and substitute a little pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon. Try some other variations as well--banana, blueberry, mashed sweet potato or whatever strikes your fancy.                                             

1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 cup apple (peeled and grated)

Cream shortening and sugar until well blended. Add egg. Beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients with milk and stir just until blended. Stir in apples. Drop in 12 greased muffin tins (or 24 greased mini muffin tins). Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes (10-15 minutes for the mini muffins).

Honey Butter

Yesterday morning my family enjoyed hot scones and honey butter while watching General Conference.
These "scones" are not the typical english, cake like, scones. We fried wheat bread dough. They are absolutely perfect with this honey butter recipe on top;

1/2 cup of softened butter
1 1/2 to 2 TBSP of honey
1/2 cup of marshmallow fluff or marshmallow creme

Mix together well. So easy, and SO very tasty. This is fantastic on pancakes, cornbread, a spoon, or whatever. ;)

Best Banana Bread

I love banana bread. I found this recipe about 6 years ago. I can eat a whole loaf of this stuff all on my own. If I make it early enough in the day my husband doesn't even know it ever existed. ;)

3/4 cup butter
2 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup crushed nuts (optional)
5 very ripe bananas
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add vanilla, sour cream, lemon, juice, oil, cinnamon, nuts, and bananas. Add dry ingredients.

Pour batter in to 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

This is a sinful banana bread!

Pumpkin Bread

Apples, pumpkins, blue skies, changing leaves -- I LOVE autumn!  I tend to cook/bake seasonally, so when September 1st rolled around, I had to pull out this recipe.  I no longer have the original recipe that says what size pans/how many to use, but from what I remember I usually end up making 3 or 4 mini loaves and a dozen muffins.

3 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbl. cinnamon
4 eggs
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1 c. oil
3/4 c. water
Chocolate chips (optional)

Stir flour, baking soda, salt , cinnamon and sugar together. Add oil, eggs, water and pumpkin. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pans for 5-10 minutes and then remove and place on cooling rack.  This tastes even better the next day for breakfast. Or lunch.  Or dinner.  Or snacktime...:)

French Toast Bundt

In my mind, this is a fancier, tastier version of Monkey Bread. :)

12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed but still cold
2 eggs
1/3 c. liquid hazelnut coffee creamer
1/4 c. maple/pancake syrup
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger

Additional syrup and powdered sugar

Cut rolls in fourths.  Mix other ingredients in a bowl.  Dip rolls in mixture and place in bundt pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Pour remaining mixture over rolls.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until rolls reach the top of the pan.

Remove wrap and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  Invert onto a serving platter.  Slice and serve with syrup and powdered sugar.

Holiday Morning French Toast

All right. So I realize that there really aren’t any big holidays coming up soon. Who makes a special breakfast for Labor Day? Not me. I sleep in that day. Anyway, this is the only baked French toast recipe I could find in my recipe box. There isn't any syrup baked in but the brown sugar, butter, etc. would make it kind of syrupy. It’s probably not the one you were thinking of Amy, but this one is for you my dear.

1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter, melted
3 tsp cinnamon (divided)
3 tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced
½ cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 loaf French bread,cut into 1 inch slices
6 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 Tbsp vanilla

Combine brown sugar, butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a 9x13 baking dish. Add apples and cranberries; toss to coat well. Spread apple mixture evenly over bottom of baking dish. Arrange slices of bread on top.

Mix eggs, milk and vanilla and remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon until well blended. Pour mixture over bread, soaking completely. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 24 hours.

Bake, covered with aluminum foil, in preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm.

French Breakfast Puffs

This is a recipe that I will forever associate with my grandma;  she was by no means a great cook/baker, but these always came out delicious.  Think snickerdoodle in muffin form...yum. :)

3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease muffin tin.  Beat milk, oil, and egg.  Stire in flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, just until batter is moistened.  Bake 18-20 minutes, or until very lightly browned on top.  Roll hot muffins in 1/2 c. melted butter, then in a mixture of 1/2 c. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon.  Makes 12 smallish muffins -- I usually double the recipe to make 18 generous sized ones.