Bread Recipes: Biscuits, Rolls, Banana Nut Bread & More!

There’s nothing quite like fresh baked bread, is there? And the aroma of homemade bread filling the house as it bakes? Heaven! On the following pages, you’ll find homemade bread recipes, zucchini bread, banana nut bread, cranberry bread, rolls, biscuits, cornbread, buttermilk biscuits, and many more recipes. Sit back and just imagine the aroma.

Blueberry Muffins Recipe

From Baking Basics and Beyond

by Joi

Blueberry Muffin Mix Art Print

Here’s a Blueberry muffins recipe from the cookbook I recently wrote a review for, Baking Basics and Beyond: Learn These Simple Techniques and Bake Like a Pro.  Don’t forget, you’ll want to order this cookbook asap. It’s outstanding!

Everyday Blueberry Muffins

What’s your favorite fruit muffin? After you prepare this basic blueberry muffin recipe, try substituting chopped apples or chopped strawberries for the blueberries. The muffin remains the same – only the fruit changes. For blueberry muffins, I use butter as the fat for the flavor.

Makes 12 Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten
1 cup fresh blueberries

Heat oven to 400 degrees F with oven rack in the middle. Spray 12 cups of a standard muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in center of the flour by pushing ingredients out toward sides of bowl.

Combine milk, melted butter, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture, and stir only until flour is moistened even though the batter is not smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl.

Fold in blueberries, being careful not to break them or the batter will become blue.

Divide batter into sprayed muffin cups, using a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each cup. Cups are usually filed about 3/4 full.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center of a couple of muffins comes out dry. Cool slightly and remove from pan.

Run a small metal spatula around edge of each muffin to loosen them and lift gently from the pan. Serve muffins warm with butter or jam and wait for the compliments!

Baker’s Note: The muffin cups should all have about the same amount of batter so that they bake evenly. You can transfer batter to different cups to even them out but minimize such activity or the muffins will be tough.

Secrets to Success: Muffins should be lightly rounded with a pebbly top and moist and tender inside.

If the muffins are left in the muffin cups too long, they will become soggy on the bottom.

The recipe (and tips) above are from Baking Basics and Beyond: Learn These Simple Techniques and Bake Like a Pro.

Adorable Carrot and Zucchini Mini Muffins

A Giada De Laurentiis Recipe

by Joi

Carrot Zucchini Mini Muffins

Carrot and Zucchini Mini Muffins by Giada De Laurentiis
Makes 24 mini muffins

For the muffins
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup grape seed oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 large egg, room temperature
1/3 cup grated carrots (from 1 medium peeled carrot)
1/2 cup grated zucchini (from 1 medium unpeeled zucchini)
1/2 cup raisins

For the frosting (optional)
1 cup (about 8 ounces) whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1. Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, sieve together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add any solids leftover in the sieve to the bowl and mix in.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the oil, syrup and egg. Add the dry ingredients and mix well until combined. Mix in the carrot, zucchini and raisins.

4. Using 2 small spoons, fill the muffin cups 3/4 full with the batter and bake for 15 minutes until light golden. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool, about 30 minutes.

5. Frosting: In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and honey until smooth. Spread the cooled muffins with frosting and serve.

Credit: Recipe from A Bullseye View!

The Best French Toast Recipe

Plus a Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast Technique

by Joi

Easy Stuffed French Toast

I know the way to my oldest daughter Emily’s heart – a straight shot like an arrow: Stuffed French toast.  I think I could convince her to invade a small country after serving her a plate of French toast… a large country if it’s stuffed French toast.

There are endless combinations and options for making French Toast, but the quickest (and possibly the most delicious) is the one described below.

A Few Tips for Making French Toast

  • My favorite bread to use is Texas Toast. Everyone has their own bread they swear by, but for me, Texas Toast is the best way to go.  Another thing I’m a stickler for is the recipe.
  • I’ve found that using an electric griddle is the easiest and most efficient way to make French Toast.
  • I use the same recipe for French Toast that I always have.  I’ve tried different versions, but always return to the one below.   It’s from one of my oldest, dearest, most-used, don’t-know-what-I’d-do-without-it cookbooks, Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook. When I talk to new cooks, the first cookbook I tell them they HAVE to get is this one. Fact is, even if you’ve been cooking for 20 years, you need this cookbook. The recipes are exceptional.

Betty Crocker’s French Toast Recipe

Yield: 8 Slices

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 slices sandwich bread or 1 inch thick slices French Bread

  1. Beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt with hand beater until smooth.
  2. Heat griddle or skillet over medium-low heat or to 375 degrees.  Grease griddle with margarine if necessary. (To test griddle, sprinkle with a few drops water. If bubbles jump around, heat is just right).
  3. Dip bread into egg mixture. Place on griddle. Cook about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

How to Make Stuffed French Toast

Before dipping the slices of Texas Toast, stuff them with delectable cream cheese.  With a very sharp knife, cut each piece of Texas Toast almost entirely in half (making it look like 2 pieces of traditional-size bread).  Spread a layer of Whipped Philadelphia Cream Cheese on an inside slice and press the two halves together.  NOW dip the slices into the egg mixture and proceed with the recipe above.

In the picture above, I added a little of my homemade whipped topping to the cream cheese to make the filling. Most of the time, I just go with cream cheese.   (Apparently on the night I made these, I was completely out of control!)

After placing the Stuffed French Toast slices on a platter, top with either a homemade fruit topping or a can of pie filling (blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, peach…).    Top this with homemade whipped topping or whipped topping from a can and (optional) dust the entire production with a little powdered sugar.

This makes a delicious showstopper.

See also: Orange Marmalade Stuffed French Toast

Cooking Tip:
I can’t say enough good things about Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook. When I talk to new cooks, the first cookbook I tell them they HAVE to get is this one. What’s more, even if you’ve been cooking for 20 years, you need this cookbook. The recipes are exceptional. So many of my all-time favorite recipes are from this cookbook. I can’t even tell you how many of these recipes I use again and again and again. My favorite pancake, French Toast, Buttermilk Biscuits, eggs, divinity, peanut brittle, pie crust, hummus, guacamole, white chili, beef stew, and chicken & dumplings recipes are all from this cookbook. And that’s just off the top of my head. Get. This. Cookbook. Today.

Healthy Fruit Nut Muffins

Start Your Family's Day on a Healty Note

by Joi

Silicone Muffin Pan

HIC Brands that Cook Essentials Silicone 12-Cup Muffin PanKitchen & Dining)

In keeping with the healthy kids theme we have going today, here’s a great recipe featuring Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder (contains no alcohol or sugar….. just outstanding flavor).  Just look at the amazing ingredients in these muffins.  Everyone in your family will gobble these up, including kids.

Healthy Fruit Nut Muffins
Makes 1 dozen muffins

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup plain yogurt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder
½ cup shredded carrots
1 cup coarsely chopped peeled apples
½ cup raisins
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup coconut

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray twelve muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the egg, yogurt, butter and vanilla powder and mix with a wooden spoon; do not over mix. Stir in the carrots, apples, pecans, raisins, cranberries and coconut; the batter will be thick.

Fill each muffin cup with 1/3 cup batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

 

Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla PowderAbout Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder: Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder is all natural and contains no sugar or alcohol. It is also available in organic form. It can be used in dry mixes, in liquid or color-sensitive products, and as a flavoring for beverages. Use it also to add flavor to fresh fruit or baked goods.


About Nielsen-Massey Vanillas: Throughout its more than 100 year history, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas has earned its reputation as a manufacturer of the finest extracts in the world. The full line of Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Vanilla products include: Vanilla Beans and Extracts from Madagascar, Tahiti and Mexico; sugar and alcohol-free Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar and Certified Organic Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract and Beans.

Nielsen-Massey Vanillas recently introduced a line of Pure Flavors: Pure Chocolate Extract, Pure Almond Extract, Pure Orange Extract, Pure Lemon Extract, Pure Coffee Extract, Pure Peppermint Extract, Orange Blossom Water and Rose Water. All Nielsen-Massey products are Allergen-Free and certified Kosher and Gluten-Free. The company is headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois, with production facilities in Waukegan and Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.

Cactus-Shaped Pan for Perfect Southwestern Cornbread

Plus A Lot of Cornbread Tips from a Straight Up Fanatic

by Joi

Cactus Cornbread Pan

My family is fanatical for cornbread, so I try to have it as often as possible.  It seems, for some reason that I make it more often in the fall and winter than I do the spring and summer. I guess that’s because my favorite meals to serve it with are chili and beans, which we have far more often in cooler weather.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy leftover  cornbread:

  • Coarsely (very coarsely) crumble or cut cornbread into chunks and place in a bowl or large mouth glass.  Add buttermilk and eat with a spoon.  I SWEAR this is absolutely Heavenly.
  • Serve cornbread the next morning with eggs.  You can warm the cornbread up on a griddle (with a little butter, of course) and place a fried egg smack on the top of it.  Or, simply eat it with butter and jelly as you would toast as a side.
  • Of course there’s the old school favorite – use leftover cornbread for stuffing!  All in all, I still favor it in a bowl with buttermilk. If you’ve never tried this, you seriously don’t know what you’re missing.

A few other tips about cornbread:

  • Buttermilk always makes the cornbread taste better than regular milk.
  • Use a cast iron skillet or pan for the absolute best cornbread or cornbread muffins on earth. Like buttermilk, it somehow makes a HUGE difference.
  • Green Chilies are a great stir-in addition to cornbread.
  • Like pancakes and brownies, cornbread batter doesn’t like to be manhandled. Just combine the dry and wet ingredients, and put the spoon down. Don’t even think about using your electric mixer.
  • The wet ingredients  activate the leaveners in the batter, so once you’ve combined the wet and dry ingredients, get it into the pan(s) and get the show on the road. Act fast, don’t doddle.
  • When using leftover cornbread (for the next day), keep it wrapped in the refrigerator. If you’re saving it for cornbread dressing or stuffing, cornbread can be kept in the freezer for 6 weeks.
  • If you’re making cornbread, in bulk, for stuffing, Jiffy Cornbread Mixes are excellent!
  • When making cornbread that’ll be used for stuffing or dressing, add a little sage to the batter.
  • Here’s a recipe for Cheddar Cornbread from Taste of Home.  I’ve actually never made cheddar cornbread but, after seeing this recipe, I’ll be correcting that oversight SOON.
  • Here’s an Alton Brown recipe for Creamed Corn Cornbread you’ll love.

Adding a little chopped jalapeno to your cornbread batter adds a lot of flavor – and it looks pretty cool too… especially when you make cactus-shaped cornbread, courtesy of the Lodge Logic Pre-Seasoned Saguaro Cactus Pan, shown above.

Product Features

  • Cast-iron cactus pan with 5 saguaro impressions for making cornbread and muffins
  • Preseasoned with vegetable oil formula and ready for immediate use
  • Cast-iron construction heats slowly and evenly
  • Nonstick, rustproof finish releases foods cleanly; hand wash only
  • Measures 15-1/4 by 1 by 5-3/4 inches (W x H x D); lifetime warranty

Amazon.com Product Description

Southern chefs will tell you that nothing bakes cornbread like a good cast-iron pan, and this Lodge Logic cactus pan is among the best. The vessel features a series of five saguaro cactus impressions, each measuring 4-1/4 inches long and 2-1/2 inches wide. The cactus shapes are clever and precise, with a pair of arms that extend out and up in the traditional saguaro manner. Meanwhile, the batter cooks beautifully thanks to the cast-iron material, which heats slowly but evenly and holds its heat far longer than stainless and aluminum rivals. The resulting cornbread cakes and muffins are cooked to the peak of perfection, with slightly crisp exteriors and moist, flavorful insides. It’s the perfect way to add a Southwestern touch to your chili and black-eyed pea recipes.

NOTE: Yesterday, I told you I’d be making the Cucumber Salad recipe for supper. It was beyond delicious.  My youngest daughter, Stephany, helped me in the kitchen last night and that’s always a special treat. We actually wound up doubling the recipe because we kept sampling so much as we went along!  The dill adds such a wonderful flavor to the fresh, crisp cucumbers. Outstanding.

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