Saffron Buns

Before my Aunt Jean passed away, she used to make my dad hot cross saffron buns every year for Easter. I attempted a few times to make them but the recipe I had never worked out. This one works amazing, and passed for my dad with flying colors!

Ingredients:

3/4 c. milk
1 tsp. saffron threads
1 tsp. plus 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 ounce pkg. active dry yeast
3 1/2 c. flour (plus 1/2 c. more if necessary)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. salted butter, softened
1/4 c. sour cream, light
2 eggs (plus 1 beaten for glaze)
1 c. currants

Heat the milk, saffron and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a small saucepan until the milk is steamy. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let cool to 115 degrees.

Sprinkle the yeast over the saffron milk and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. In an electric mixer, whisk the 3 1/2 cups of flour, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and salt together. Make a well in the center and add the saffron yeast milk, eggs, butter and sour cream.

Mix until well incorporated. Switch to the dough hook and on low speed, start to knead the dough. Add additional flour now if necessary but the mix should still be slightly sticky. Add in the currants. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit in a warm place for 1-2 hours (I turn the oven on warm before hand, and then turn it off when I put the dough in to sit so that the oven stays warm but isn't continually heating).

Once it has doubled in size, for the dough into balls (2-3 inches diameter). Place onto a pan lined with parchment paper 2 inches apart. Cover the dough with plastic wrap ad let rise again for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the tops and sides of the buns with egg wash. Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before eating.

Frosting:

Combine 2 cups of powdered sugar with 2-3 tablespoons of milk. I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Place into a Ziploc bag and snip the corner off. Pipe an "x" on top of each bun and let cool fully before stacking or putting into a container.

Apple Zucchini Bread

The perfect pair for a fall bread! The shredded zucchini makes the bread soft and the chunks of apple makes the bread even more sweet!

Ingredients:

3 eggs
2 c. Splenda
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. applesauce
4 c. zucchini, shredded
3 apples, peeled cored and chopped
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large loaf pan or small loaf pans with non stick cooking spray with flour. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, Splenda, oil and applesauce together. Add in the vanilla, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and baking soda and stir together. Lastly, add the apples and zucchini. Divide among the bread pans, filling about 1/2 way to 2/3 full. Bake the large loaf pan for 45 minutes, and small for 35. Insert a toothpick in the center to make sure it is fully cooked.

Mini Canadian Bacon and Dill Toasts

These little tasty toasts go great as a side with some over easy eggs, or would even be good as an appetizer at a casual gathering. You could also add some scrambled eggs on top and call them little mini breakfast pizzas!

Ingredients:

3 Sara Lee Hawaiian Dinner Rolls (or King's Hawaiian), cut in half
24 mini pizza style Hormel Canadian Bacon slices
1 Tbs. fresh chopped dill
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray
1/8 c. reduced fat shredded marble (or colby) cheese

Flatten each dinner roll half using a rolling pin or your palm. Spray each half (cut side up) with the evoo spray. Heat a large skillet to medium heat and place the bread butter side down. Cook 1-2 minutes until the butter spray turns the bread a deep golden brown. Heat the oven to broil.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the toasted buns golden side up. To the top of each, add 4 slices of Canadian bacon.

Sprinkle the top with about 1 tsp. shredded cheese each, and then finish with the fresh dill. Stick under the broiler for 1 minute or less, or just until the cheese melts.

Mini Beer Bread Cheese Curd Muffins

 

Well, football season has ended for the year (I don't actually watch football, I just like to make awesome appetizers that you would serve if you actually HAD people over to watch football....but anyways..), and the Superbowl was yesterday. I made these cute little bite size beer bread with Wisconsin cheese curds on top! (And no, I am not from Wisconsin, nor do I like the Packers..... my husband and I as sad as it may be, although they did do good this year, are both Lions fans.) These bite size morsels are absolutely delicious with a honey mustard dip!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. dill cheese curds, broken into small pieces (or use normal cheese curds and 1-2 Tbs. fresh dill)
12 oz. beer (someone left a Keystone at our house, use whatever you want to get rid of)
1 pouch beer bread mix (I used pampered chef)
1 Tbs. margarine, melted
2 Tbs. chives, freeze dried or fresh
2 tsp. garlic salt

Spray a 24 cup (or 2, 12 cup) mini muffin tin with non stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix the beer, bread mix, margarine, chives and garlic salt together. Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full with the batter. Place part of a cheese curd in the center of each cup and press down slightly. bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms are slightly golden and the cheese is melted. This recipe makes around 50-52 so spray the tins again and repeat the filling and cooking process until the batter is gone.

I served this with a honey mustard sauce. I combined 1 1/2 Tbs. champagne mustard, 1 1/2 Tbs. course or stone ground mustard, and 2 tsp. honey. Double, triple or quadruple depending on how big of a crowd you are serving this for.

Cheese and Sausage Breakfast Bread

There has been a package of Johnsonville sausage in the camp freezer for a while so I decided to take it home and transfer it into something that my husband could take to coffee break at work. Why not put breakfast ingredients into bread right? All that is missing, and this is a pretty good idea too, is a fried egg on top or smothered with gravy and scrambled eggs.

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Johnsonville Vermont Maple Syrup breakfast sausage, casings removed
1/4 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. grated cheddar bacon cheese (if you can't find, use cheddar and 1 tsp. bacon bits)
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 1/2 c. Bisquick, Heart Smart
1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. milk, 1 %
1/4 c. Miracle Whip, Light

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large loaf pan with non stick cooking spray (I used Pam with flour). Heat a medium skillet to medium low heat. Crumble the sausage with your fingers into small pieces (or chop) and add to the pan. Pour the chopped onion in the pan and let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent. Drain on a paper towel and let cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the egg, cheese, hot sauce and salt. Add in the baking mix, milk and Miracle Whip and mix. Lastly, add in the cooled sausage and onion mixture and mix everything together until just blended.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes. Let cool in the pan for at least ten minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cool fully before slicing.

Pumpkin Bread

Fall is the time for everything pumpkin. This bread is soft and fluffy and has all of the flavors of fall in each bite! You might want to double the recipe, because this loaf will go quickly!

Ingredients:

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, eggs, oil and sugar together. Slowly whisk in the dry ingredients until you have a smooth batter with minimal lumps. Spray a bread loaf pan with non stick cooking spray (I used Pam with flour). Pour the batter into the pan and slightly tap on the counter to distribute evenly. Bake for an hour in the oven. Let cool ten minutes before transferring to a wire rack and let cool fully before serving.

Ranch Oyster Crackers, a Daycare Favorite!

When I was little I made MANY memories at the daycare that I went to. The funny part is, I can remember quite a bit from my time there, even to this day. I met my best friend of almost 3 decades there, had my first "kiss", and watched my very first musical on TV. There are also a few recipes and snacks that were everyone's favorite, such as their famous banana bread recipe (Nancy and Barbara's Banana Bread), and their Ranch Oyster Crackers, recipe to follow! I am blessed to have such great memories and lifelong friends from my years going there!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 tsp. dill weed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 bag oyster crackers

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the dressing mix, dill, garlic powder and vegetable oil together. Add the oyster crackers and stir with a rubber spatula. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil. Pour the crackers out and spread in as even of a layer as possible. Bake 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, and then either add to a serving dish and serve right away, or store in an air tight container until ready to use!

Apple Brie Pecan Crescents

 

If you are looking for an appetizer that looks pretty and will stop people dead in their tracks from sheer beauty, this is NOT that recipe! It is tasty, has all of the sweet and savory notes, but let's be honest, when brie melts it has a mind of it's own!

Ingredients:

1 apple, cored and sliced
1 tube crescent rolls
16 pecan halves
1/4 brie round, rind removed

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay out the perforated triangles on a flat surface. Cut a thin slice of brie and place at the end of the triangle. Top with a thin slice of apple and a pecan half. Starting at the wide end of the crescent, roll upward until the end of the crescent is tucked under. Make sure that you place them on a non stick baking sheet lined with parchment paper, with the pecan facing up. Repeat for the remaining crescents and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet and the using a spatula, scrape any loose cheese while it is still warm up towards the crescent again. Let cool fully and place on  your serving tray. This would be really good served with a warm jam to spread on top or dip in!

Ham and Swiss Cocktail Sandwiches

If you need a recipe that feeds multiple people that doesn't take forever to get ready and make, I suggest you test out this recipe. There is a very heavy, very dense version of this that is out on the internet everywhere that uses mayonnaise and melted butter. I wanted to make a light version that still has some of the same great flavors, and still uses the dense Hawaiian rolls that everyone loves, but is much better for you.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pkg. (20) King's Hawaiian Rolls, original
Stone ground mustard
1 pkg. deli style shaved honey ham (Oscar Mayer or Hillshire)
1 pkg. thin sliced Swiss cheese (Sargento)
Spray butter (Parkay)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the rolls apart from each other, and slice in half with a bread knife. Lay 20 bottom halves of the buns in an ungreased, nonstick 13x9 baking dish. "Squirt" and spread about 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of mustard on top of the buns. Top each bun with 1 slice of deli shaved ham, folded to fit on top of the buns. Break or cut the sliced Swiss cheese into quarters, and place 1 piece of Swiss on top of each piece of ham. Spray the inside of the top of the buns with butter spray, and place on top of the cheese. Bake for 7-9 minutes until the cheese is melted on the inside and the top of the buns are toasty and slightly browned.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Bars

So as you saw in a few previous recipe posts, I went to the farmers market and found a HUGE zucchini. The seeds are so large in them that it is better to use in cooking, or remove the seeds and make lasagna. I wanted to make some bread but didn't want to wait an hour for it to cook, so I made this recipe for a quick and delicious zucchini bread that is topped with mini chocolate chips!

Ingredients:

2 c. grated zucchini
1 stick butter, softened
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in the zucchini with a spatula. Pour into a greased 11x17 pan in an even layer. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Let cool fully and then cut into squares.

Raspberry Almond Chia Muffins

This past Friday I went raspberry picking with one of my good friends out in the subdivision that I live in. The rain has been so sparse lately that I didn't expect a lot to be out but there was quite a bit, and definitely enough to make some baked goods with. I love wild raspberries and blueberries for that matter because they may be tiny, but they have SO much more flavor. This is definitely in the top 10 muffin recipes that I have made so far!

Ingredients:

1 stick margarine, softened
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sour cream, light
3 tsp. chia seeds
1 c. wild raspberries (or store-bought big ones)
1/4 c. slivered almonds (plus a few for the top)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In an electric mixer, combine the margarine and sugar until creamy. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients until the combination is mixed well. Stir in the sour cream, raspberries, almonds and chia seeds with a spatula. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups. Add a few slivered almonds on top. I also added some coarse sugar (sugar crystals). Bake in the oven for 23-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the batter is fully cooked. Transfer out of the pans and let cool fully on a wire rack.

(Makes 12 muffins, 6 WW points per muffin.)