Mom's Favorite is Blackberry Cobbler

When I first moved to Georgia one of the best things I did was join the East Cobb Quilters' Guild.  At my first meeting ever, I sat down and waited for the meeting to begin.  A lady came in and asked if the seat next to me was taken and I said it was not.  We started chatting and found out we were both at the guild for the first time.  Lynda had just retired and lived around the corner from the meeting.  I told her I was new to Georgia and really knew very few people.  That was the beginning of our friendship.  Over the years we found out a lot of things that made us like one another more and more and we have helped each other through the hardest events of our lives which have occurred not in the same window of time, so that we could devote ourselves to serving one another.  She has become my mom of choice.  In fact, I call her Mom, she called me "DOC" for daughter-of-choice.  God has fixed an absence in my life that existed for 25 years.  I miss the mom I was born to, but I am glad to have someone who has filled a million holes in my heart with her love.

Mom's favorite dessert is blackberry cobbler.  I make it for her every time she asks for one and I love it every time because I owe her a great debt of love and service.  I'm always grateful for opportunities to do something for her.  This one is easy and delicious, and I wanted to share it with you all.  Enjoy!

Blackberry Cobbler for Lynda

Base:

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup buttermilk (Do you remember my post about buttermilk?)
1/3 cup melted butter
and
5 cups of blackberries

Topping:

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of boiling water

Directions:

Set oven to 350 F

Grease 9x13 pan with butter

In medium size bowl combine sugar, cornstarch and salt for the topping and set it aside.  DO NOT ADD THE WATER!

Cover the pan bottom with blackberries.  Now I will confess I get a little nuts about this, I want every bit of the pan covered with blackberries and find this is best done by standing them up rather than letting the long side lay down.  Don't feel it necessary to follow my craziness, but it does make me a happy baker.

Combine the base ingredients in a large bowl.  This makes a dough almost like a biscuit.  Spread it out over the blackberries as evenly as possible.  Sprinkle heavily with the topping mix, use it all even when you think it's going to be too much.  

Pour the boiling water as evenly as possible into the pan.  DO NOT MIX!

Bake for 1 hour, remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 30 minutes.  Vanilla ice cream is a lovely addition but not required.  

Amazing Peach Muffins

I found this recipe on All Recipes and made a double recipe which yielded close 100 mini-muffins.  This was well loved and I've been asked for the recipe more than any other in recent history.  I will say mini-muffins do not require 25 minutes to be finished.  Start checking at about 10 minutes.

Recipe By:FBGMOMOF4

"In my hurry to use up some peaches, I came up with this muffin recipe. It turned out so good, just like peach cobbler in a muffin, that I thought I'd share it with everyone! This is also really good bread! Just increase the baking time to 1 hour at 350 degrees F and use 2 loaf pans."

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups peeled, pitted, and chopped peaches

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 16 muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the oil, eggs, and sugar. Stir the oil mixture into the flour mixture just until moist. Fold in the peaches. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Morning Glory Muffins

I love morning glory flowers and it tickles me every time I see muffins named after them.  I've never tried making them before today but I have to tell you they went together beautifully.  These lovely treats are filled with good things like whole wheat flour, carrots, apples, nuts and coconut.

I doubled the original recipe at King Arthur and found I had enough batter to make 4 dozen mini muffins and 2 dozen regular sized muffins.  I highly recommend you use muffin papers, with so much good treasure buried in these muffins they sometimes don't have enough batter to keep them from tearing.  Enjoy!

Morning Glory Muffins

• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour or Premium Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups peeled and grated carrots 
• 1 large tart apple, peeled, cored, and grated (or leave the peel on; your choice)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup orange juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.    I highly recommend using muffin cup liners, mini-muffin or regular sized.
2. In a small bowl, cover the raisins with hot water, and set them aside to soak while you assemble the rest of the recipe.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt. 
4. Stir in the carrots, apple, coconut, drained raisins and nuts. 
5. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and orange juice. 
6. Add to the flour mixture, and stir until evenly moistened.
7. Spoon batter into each cup, filling completely.
8. Bake the muffins for 25 to 28 minutes, mini-muffins took about 12 minutes, until they're nicely domed and a cake tester inserted in the center of one of the inner muffins comes out clean.
9. Place pan on cooling rack for 5-10 minutes then remove the muffins and let them cool completely, if you can can!

Greeting the New Year with Citrus Celebration (Leslie's Orange Rolls)

The first day of the year is always a fun one, even the one where I knew that the coming year was bringing doctors appointments, radiation and chemotherapy just a few days after putting away the Christmas decorations.  I really don't know why I feel this kind of joy, but I do and I'm grateful.  In our home, we have only three people so the big treats that were part of Hubby's and my holiday backgrounds often take two weeks to enjoy.  It works out well, because there's always something sweet, but not all in the same few day period where it goes stale, limp, or trashed before it gets eaten.

There are a few things that are really important to Hubby, what he called "Butterballs" (I call them "Mexican Wedding" cookies) that have become a father daughter baking event every Christmas.   This recipe is maybe his second favorite memory from childhood Christmas.  Now perhaps I should give credit to Momma for this recipe, but I got it from her and from my sister, not just in law but in heart, Leslie.  I am incredibly in awe of her baking abilities.  She also has a wonderful pecan roll that I have never been able to make right, although I should try it again at some point.  This recipe has worked out just fine every time I make it.

Thank you for sharing you heart first and your recipes generously, Leslie.  I love you!

Leslie's Orange Rolls

Momma's Sweet Dough Recipe:

3/4 scalded milk (Does anyone still scald milk?  I get mine hot in the microwave but not to boiling.)

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted

2 packages of yeast (I use mine from a jar and measure it out to just under 5 Tablespoons.)

1/3 cup warm water

3 eggs, room temp 

5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups flour

Proof yeast by sprinkling it over the warm water, add a pinch of the sugar and stir lightly.  Set it aside.  In my whole life of baking I think I have seen yeast fail once, but preparing it this way gets it all in liquid form and easy to combine with the other ingredients.  It always makes me smile to see it begin to foam and I do love the smell of it.  

In a large bowl, whisk eggs to combine them, add in milk, sugar, salt and butter, continuing to whisk to combine.  Switching to a wooden spoon add 3 cups of flour and make a dough.  At this point, you can probably add a fourth cup with a spoon, but after that, you should scatter a cup of flour on the counter or table and pour the dough out on top of it.  Combine the flour and dough together by folding the very soft dough repeatedly, letting it suck up the flour.  You can add another cup and a half if you need to, but what you want is a mass you can knead.  It will take about 10 minutes of kneading.  Now, let me say you can use a mixer and beat it all from the beginning and you know, if you read my recipes that I love using a mixer for a lot of things but believe me when I tell you, this dough will treat you best if you treat it as gently as possible.  Let it rest on the counter while you wash your hands and get a bowl prepared with a light coat of oil.  Pick up the dough and plop it into the bowl.  If you need it to rise quickly, leave it someplace warm.  I'm a big believer in giving a night to develop flavor and what I think of as "love".  Last night's recipe got made at 9:00 and put out on the outside table (it was a chilly night but not freezing) in the summer I would use my fridge.  

This morning I brought the bowl in and turned the dough out onto a lightly floured counter.  I just left it alone for 15 minutes and then begin using my finger to gently poke it from the center out, making a rectangle shape.  It was still cool to the touch and easy to manipulate.  I turned it off, brushed off all the flour I could and covered it with a towel, letting it come to room temp which took about 30 minutes.  At that point, I used a roller to get the dough to a larger rectangle, about 16 x 10, and sliced it in half.  

Orange Filling

4 oranges, zests grated, should measure 1/4 cup or so

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

Combine all and divide in half, spreading it over each of the rectangles.  I am not particular about this.  I use a rubber scraper and plop it down on each, by the time I'm finished spreading it around I can see if one needs more from the other.  I use my fingers to do the spreading, it's not hard work, just a little orange scented heaven working it's way across the dough and into your hands.  I try to avoid one long edge of the dough (maybe 3/4"?) so that you can seal the dough up neatly.  

Roll the dough and cut into 1" slices.  Now, let me say when I make this for Hubby I make it into 1 1/2" pieces.  If I'm making it for a crowd I do it more like 3/4".  Place these in a buttered pan, I used my large casserole dish for a dozen and then a large round cake pan for another dozen.  Leave room between each, cover the pans with clean dish towels and let dough rise, 1-2 hours.  Now, you can do all of this the day before and put the rolls in the fridge or other cold place overnight, bring them to room temperature before putting them in the oven.  

Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.  

Orange Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons orange juice

Make this when your pans come out of the oven.  While still warm, put a spoonful of glaze over each roll, or if you prefer use a spoon to draw a plaid pattern over the whole pan.  (Hubby likes it one way, I like it another... I'll leave you guessing which is which.  They both work.)

I hope you enjoy your New Year!

Croissants Singing Hallelujah with Ham and Blueberries

I am really blessed to be friends with Lisa Ghenne.  I knew her before she ever started her blog, The Cutting Edge of Ordinary.  I love her cooking and baking, but honestly, I just love her, and the best part is that she loves me, too.  I've made a recipe she posted a couple of years ago, actually, she posted a link to a third blog.  I have wanted to play with this recipe and finally have.  Here is my adaptation of her delicious recipe, it's perfect for Christmas morning.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Ham Croissant Casserole

10 cups of croissants, torn up in small pieces (small croissants were torn into about 8 pieces each, FYI)

2  8 oz packages of cream cheese, brought to room temperature

1 1/3 cup of sugar

5 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups whole milk or half and half

2 cups frozen blueberries

1 cup ham, cut in small cubes

Set oven to 350 F

Fill large casserole dish with torn croissant pieces, add frozen blueberries and ham and toss to combine. In a large bowl use a mixer to blend cream cheese and eggs until smooth.  Add vanilla and milk and mix to combine.  Pour over the croissant, berry and ham.  Carefully use a rubber scraper to turn everything at least once to combine.   Let stand for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.  If chilled, you might want to take it out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before baking.  

Bake for 40-50 minutes uncovered, check center, if it is still wet (mine was) cover with tin foil and bake 10 more minutes.  

Pixie's Blue Muffins

I found the recipe for these muffins the year I got married and made them frequently enough that they became "my way" of making muffins.  Feel free to substitute fruit, citrus and if you add nuts, just take some space in the 1.5 cups for fruit, maybe 1 cup fruit and 1/2 cup nuts.  I have not made these muffins in recent years.  Other things have always been higher on my list, including not making a dozen large muffins for a family of three who are trying to eat a little healthier than I used to!  This week is not the time for that.  Having been focused on health more in the past few years, I felt great about making a treat like this for Christmas Eve morning.

I often begin recipes like this the night before.  Streusel and dry ingredient mix were done and sitting in bowls on the kitchen counter.  Muffin pan was out, egg was left out overnight and lemons sat on the zester so it was ready to grate early in the process.  All other ingredients were pulled from the pantry and by my own error, not all the measuring cups were pulled out, but here's a confession, I don't always get things right.  I find this kind of prep makes it easy to get up and put the recipe together and into the oven.  It also means I have everything I need.  Enjoy!

Pixie's Blueberry Muffins

Set oven to 400 F and prepare a large muffin tin.  I recommend using muffin paper liners AND greasing the top level of the pan, these lovely muffins rise a lot.

Struesel Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon soft butter
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts)

In a small bowl mix all these ingredients together until well blended and set aside.

Blueberry Muffins:
Dry Ingredients
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine these in a bowl and set aside.

Wet ingredients
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon of citrus zest (lemon or orange work well with blueberries)
1 egg, room temperature is easiest to combine
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a larger bowl whisk these ingredients until well combined, add dry ingredients and make sure you mix well, I like a rubber scraper.  Then add:

1 3/4 cups frozen blueberries

Gently mix the blueberries into the batter and using almost a cup measure, I fill each muffin cup completely.  Bake for 15 minutes and then without opening the door turn the temperature down to 350 F for another 10-15 until muffins are done.  Set on a rack until cool enough to lift out of pan (if you can stand the wait!) and allow to cool completely.

Shall we take a trip to the dump? Dump Bars Recipe

We had a crazy weekend last week.   (Um, October is a crazy month for high school marching bands.  Every post I make this month might start with a "crazy weekend" sentence!) Katie Blue was performing at a game on Friday night and then had to be up very early, hair and make-up at least started and get on a bus to make it to the competition site before 9:00.  They had to wait all day to find out the results of the daytime performance and know if they would perform in the finals competition of the evening.  It was Wednesday of last week when I started asking myself what on earth I was going to make for Sunday when I wasn't going to have time on Saturday night to get it done.  (And, if I was out to midnight, would I really want to get up on Sunday morning at 4:30 to do something, let it cool, cut it and plate it for an 8:30 departure time?  Um, no.)

I began searching recipes for things I could do on Saturday morning or even on Friday that would wait patiently for Sunday morning delivery.  It had to be moist but not sticky.  Of course it had to be tasty.  What on earth would I make?  I started thinking about some of the things from my childhood and for whatever reason it lead me to a book I own called "The Church Potluck Supper Cookbook" by Elaine Robinson and started to flip through it.  It makes me laugh because I honestly don't know when or where I got this book and I can't tell you what drew me to it this month, but I promise you I will be using it more in the future.  There were some great dessert recipes and lots of interesting recipes for meals that don't have sugar, chocolate and nuts in them.  

I was able to make these bars early on Saturday morning and leave them cooling while we were at the competition.  I cut and plated them when I got back to the house Saturday evening and went to bed grateful to be able to "sleep in" to 6:00 AM!!  Enjoy!

Dump Bars

2 sticks butter

1 pound brown sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups, plus 1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup coconut

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds in one pan, walnuts in another, both worked.)

1 cup chocolate chips

Set oven to 325 F and grease a 9 x 13" pan.

Melt butter, add sugar and stir to combine.  Add eggs, vanilla and salt.  Mix well.  In a smaller bowl combine flour, baking powder and coconut and add it to the liquids.  Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle the top with nuts and chocolate chips.  Bake 35-40 minutes.