Whole Wheat Rolls

by

Morwen 

Remember what I said about Whole Wheat Flour and Honey in my last post?  Well this is our favorite dinner roll recipe and it has been made with Whole Wheat and Honey as long as I can remember.  Now we do usually use part Whole Wheat, part Unbleached All-Purpose, but it can also be made with full Whole Wheat as the above pictured rolls were.

 

1 ¼ cups Warm Milk

¼ cup Butter, melted

3 tablespoons Honey

1 Egg, slightly beaten

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

½ teaspoon Salt

2 teaspoons Instant Yeast

  Chuck it all into a bread machine, put it on the Dough setting and let it run it's course.  Then shape into 24 rolls, place in a greased 8x11 glass casserole.  Let rise for 30 minutes, than bake on 400° Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

  Or, if making them by hand...

  Dissolve Yeast and Salt in Milk.  Stir in Butter, Honey and Egg.  Beat in 2 cups of Flour.  Then stir the rest in, stirring until dough leaves sides of bowl.  Knead until smooth and elastic.  Place in greased bowl, grease top and cover with plastic.  Let rise until double.  Punch down.  Divide into 24 and proceed as above instructed.

 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

by

Morwen

My older sister is a chocolate disliker in a family of Chocohalics, so the poor thing has to put up with mostly chocolate desserts being made.  When I had to stop at the store a week or two ago, I grabbed chocolate chips for Mom and some butterscotch for Melody.  She does love Oatmeal Cookies and it's our annual Pumpkin Month so I thought I'd try to find a Pumpkin Oatmeal cookie recipe.  Oh I found one all right, and surprisingly enough, it used Whole Wheat Flour and Honey, not something I find very often!  We try to use those ingredients as much as possible and I often alter recipes to include them.  It was really nice to not have to this time.  I did make a few adjustments, the original recipe was actually a Chocolate Chip one and called for mini chips, I just substituted the same amount (a few extra may have accidentally spilled in) of Butterscotch Chips, I also made my own Light Brown Sugar and added Ginger.
You can find the original recipe HERE.

1 stick Butter, softened

½ cup Light Brown Sugar*

½ cup Honey

2 teaspoons Vanilla

1 ½ cups Pure Pumpkin**

3 cups Old-Fashioned Oats

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Soda

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

½ teaspoon Nutmeg

½ teaspoon Ginger

1 teaspoon Salt

2 cups Butterscotch Chips

 *I made my own Brown Sugar by combining ½ cup Organic Cane Sugar with 1 teaspoon Molasses.  Make sure you mix it until no lumps of Molasses are visible.

 **Make sure you use Pumpkin Puree, and NOT Pumpkin Pie Filling

  Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the Butter, Brown Sugar and Honey. Add the Vanilla and Pumpkin and beat on low speed until just combined.

  In a separate bowl, whisk together the Oats, Whole Wheat Flour, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger and Salt. Add to the wet ingredients and beat until well combined. Stir in the Butterscotch Chips.

  Form dough into two-teaspoon sized balls and place about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball of dough slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are set and start to brown a bit around the edges and on top. Let cool on cookies sheets 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry No-Bake Pie

by

Morwen

Every year for Mother's Day, I make something delicious and I wanted to use Raspberries and Dark Chocolate this time.  I found a random No-Bake Pie recipe online, and working off of that, created this delightful dessert.

  Crust

  10 Chocolate Graham Crackers

  1 stick Butter

  Crush the Graham Crackers and melt the Butter.  Mix together and press firmly into a 9 in. pie plate.  Baked for 10 minutes on 350° F.

  Filling

  12 oz. Fresh Raspberries, reserve 8

  1 8 oz. block Neufchâtel, softened

  1 ¼ cup Heavy Whipping Cream

  1 12 oz. bag Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips

  Wash the Raspberries. 
  Whip 1 cup of the Heavy Cream to stiff peaks.  
  Thoroughly melt the Chocolate Chips with the 1/4 of Heavy Cream.
  Mix together the Cream Cheese, melted Chocolate and whipped Cream.
  Gently stir in the Raspberries. 
  Carefully spoon the filling into the crust and spread evenly. 
  Place the reserved Raspberries on the top.
  Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
  Serve and enjoy!
 

Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies

by

Morwen

These are absolutely scrumptious!  They melt in your mouth and just ooze lemony goodness!!  Below I'll post the link for the recipe I used, but I'll give the alterations I made.

Lemon White Chocolate Cookies

  1½ cups Flour
  ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
  ½ teaspoon Salt
  ¾ cup (1½ sticks) Butter, softened
  1/3 cup Honey
  1 medium Egg
  1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
  2 cups White Chocolate Chips
  zest from one Lemon

 

  And remember to zest your lemon before you juice it!

Orange Cranberry Scones*

by

Morwen

The book from which this recipe comes, is the most delightful book ever!  And I will never be able to thank my friend enough for giving it to me!  It has everything from regular bread and quick breads to crumpets, scones, biscuits and even calzone and pizza!  Today I bring you these scrumptious scones filled with tart cranberries and the sweet taste of orange.  I did alter the recipe slightly, so those are the measurements I am listing, for example, these scones call for Sugar, but as usual, I used Honey instead.  I also discovered that I added a 1/4 cup more Orange Juice then was called for.  Guess that would be why the dough was super sticky and I had to add more Flour!

3 cups All-Purpose Flour

3 tsp Baking Powder

3/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

6 TBSP Butter, cut into small pieces

1 TBSP finely grated Orange Zest

1 cup dried Cranberries (the recipe originally calls for 1 cup fresh Cranberries, coarsely chopped)

2 medium Eggs

1/4 cup Honey

1/4 cup freshly squeezed Orange Juice

3/4 cup Milk

  1. Preheat the oven to 415°F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet without sides.  Combine the Flour, Baking Powder, Salt and Nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk to blend thoroughly.  Add the Butter and cut in with a knife (I used my hands) until the mixture is crumbly.  Add the Orange Zest and Cranberries, and toss to combine.

  2. Ina  separate bowl, whisk together the Eggs, Honey and Orange Juice.  Stir in the Milk.  Make a well in dry ingredients.  Pour in Egg mixture and stir gently til combined.  Gather the dough together and turn onto a light floured surface.  Knead 25 times, sprinkling flour if necessary to prevent sticking.  

  3. Pat the dough into a 10x10 in. square.  Cut into 5 equal strips, then cut each strip into 5 pieces.  Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.  Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Serve immediately or cool on a rack.  

*this recipe is a variation of the Orange Cranberry Scone recipe from Judy Gorman's Breads of New England.

Black Bean & Cheese Enchiladas

by

Morwen

Though this meal is scrummilicious, it can be exhausting to make...or at least I find it exhausting sometimes.  But I make my own tortillas, enchilada sauce and re-fried beans, so that is why it's so labor intensive.  This meal goes well with Spanish Rice and Lettuce.

  Enchiladas

22 Tortillas (see HERE)

16 oz Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Black Bean Re-fried Beans - 4 cans or homemade (see recipe below)

Red Enchilada Sauce (see recipe below)

Sour Cream

2 9x13 Glass Casserole Pans

  Pour a 1/2 cup of Sauce in the bottom of each pan.  On each tortilla, spread approx. 3 TBSP of Beans down the center.  Sprinkle with a little Cheese and roll.  Place in pan (11 in each) and cover with the rest of the Sauce.  Sprinkle  with Cheese and bake on 350° on for 30 minutes.  Serve with Sour Cream. 

  Black Bean Re-fried Beans

6 cups cooked Black Beans

1/2 cup Hot Water

1 TBSP Coconut Oil

1 tsp Salt

1 TBSP Chili Powder

  Into a blender, put 3 cups of Black Beans, Water, 1/2 TBSP Coconut Oil, 1/2 tsp of Salt  and blend until smooth.  Dump into a medium sized bowl.  To the bowl add the other 3 cups of Beans and mash well with a potato masher.  Add the other 1/2 TBSP of Coconut Oil, 1/2 tsp Salt and the Chili Powder.  Mix well and use.

  Red Enchilada Sauce

6 oz. Tomato Paste

6 cups Water

1/4 cup Oil

1/4 cup Flour

2 TBSP Chili Powder

  In a measuring pitcher, measure out the 6 cups of Water.  Add the Tomato Paste and mix thoroughly.  In a large saucepan, heat the Oil for 3 minutes on medium heat.  Add the Flour and Chili Powder, whisk thoroughly.  Gradually add the Water/Tomato Paste mixture and whisking all the while 'til it is all incorporated.  Cook until it begins to boil, whisking every few minutes.  Use and Enjoy.

And I think that covers everything.  Please do not hesitate to ask questions!!

See ya!

Rhubarb Roundup ~ Rhubarb Cheesecake Bars*

by

Morwen

  We all love cheesecake, and these chilled, cheesy bars are so good on a hot summer afternoon.  They are also our traditional 4th of July dessert.

  Crust

 1 cup Flour

  ¼ cup Honey

  ¼ tsp Salt

  ¼ cup Cold Butter

  ½ cup Walnuts, chopped

    In a bowl combine Flour, Honey and Salt; cut in Butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in Walnuts.  Pressed into a greased 9x13" baking dish.  Bake at 350° for 10 min.  Cool slightly.

  Filling

  2 (8 oz.) packages Cream Cheese, softened

  3 Eggs

  1 tsp Vanilla Extract

  ¼ cup Honey

    In a mixing bowl, beat Cream Cheese and Honey until fluffy.  Add Eggs and Vanilla; mix well, pour over the crust.  Bake for 20-25 min. at 350° or until center is set and edges are light brown.  Cool.

  Topping**

  3 cups Fresh or Frozen Rhubarb, thawed and drained

  ½ cup Honey

  ¼ cup Water

  1 TBSP Cornstarch

  ½ tsp Cinnamon

    In  a saucepan, combine the Rhubarb, Honey, Water, Cornstarch and Cinnamon; bring to boil over medium heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 5 min.  Remove from heat: cool.  Spread over filling.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

* This is a Taste of Home recipe.  I don't recall which issue it's from.

** See Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade recipe.