All posts by Sonte

Quick Breads

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits in a Hurry

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Not that Baking Powder Biscuits are all that time consuming to make but sometimes the thought of digging around for the pastry blender, doing the actual pastry blending is enough to put you off making biscuits altogether. Well, here is a super quick way to whip them up in your Kitchenaide!

Super Quick Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
Super Quick Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

4 cups Flour, or half White Flour, half Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
2/3 cup Shortening or Butter, cold, cut into small cubes
1 2/3 cup cold Skim Milk (Soy Milk)

Preheat oven to 450F.
Lightly dust baking sheet with a bit of cornmeal; set aside.

Place flour(s), baking powder, sugar and salt in Mixer bowl; attach bowl and flat beater to mixer.
Turn to Stir Speed and mix just until all the dry ingredients are well blended.
Add shortening  and continue mixing for about 1 minute; while that is mixing, add shredded cheddar cheese.
Add milk, all at once, and continue stirring on Stir Speed just until dough starts to cling to the beater. AVOID  OVERBEATING!
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and gently knead about 20 seconds. Gently roll out with floured rolling pin or pat into 1/2″ thickness. Cut into wedges.
Place on prepared baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 12 – 15 minutes.
Serve immediately.

About, Muffins and Scones

Date Bran Muffins

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These bring back memories of the Bran Muffins we used to get at Smitty’s Pancake house back in the 70s. My brother Bill and I worked together at Smitty’s and the favourite coffee break snack was a Bran Muffin fresh out of the oven with a portion of whippped butter and a dollop of honey. Yummers!

Wonderfully moist!

1 1/2 cups Raw Bran
1 cup Buttermilk
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
1 large Egg
2/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla

1 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1teaspoon Cinnamon
pinch of ground Cloves
1/2 teaspoon Salt

3/4 cup Chopped Dates

Preheat oven to 375F (190C)
Line muffin tin with paper liners.

In small mixing bowl combine bran and buttermilk and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground cloves, salt and chopped dates; make a well in the center.

In small mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg, add vanilla and vegetable oil.
Stir brown sugar into buttermilk soaked bran then add egg mixture and continue stirring.

Pour the combined wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until all the flour is moistened. The batter will be lumpy.

Using a 5 ounce Pampered Chef scoop, or a heaping tablespoon,  portion batter into prepared muffin tin.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, rotate and continue baking for another 7 – 10 minutes.
Remove from oven when pick inserted comes out clean and let rest, in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Turn out of muffin tin to cool completely.

Yield: 12 muffins

Indian Cuisine

Onion and Garlic Naan

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This is absolutely the best Naan! I started out with a basic Naan recipe and this is what it has morphed into! Luke and I regularly visited India Gate on Robson St when we lived in Vancouver and fell in love with their Garlic Naan; I was challenged to come up with something to match the competition! I think it is safe to say, this one wins!

There is nothing like the taste of home made Naan!
Naan
The best Naan!

4 cups Flour, divided (2 cups plus 2 -/+ cups in the second stage)
2 teaspoons Rapid Rise Yeast http://www.breadworld.com/products.aspx (because I like to add my yeast to the dry ingredients rather than proofing it first)
2 teaspoons Sugar

*1 2/3 cups (100 to 115F) Warm Water
1/4 cup melted Butter
1/4 cup Plain Yogurt
2 teaspoon Salt

2 Tablespoons minced Garlic
4 Green Onions, chopped

1/4 cup melted butter, for brushing cooked naan

In large bowl combine 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons Rapid Rise yeast, 2 teaspoons sugar; set aside.
In small mixing bowl combine warm water, melted butter, yogurt and salt.
Stir liquid ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients and continue stirring for 2 – 3 minutes.
Gradually add enough flour to make a soft dough, stirring well after each addition, about 2 cups.

Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for a 5 – 6  minutes, forming a smooth, elastic ball; cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Uncover dough and knead in garlic and green onions.
Portion into 8 – 10 rounds.
Cover and let rise for 30 – 45 minutes.
On lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin roll each portion out to 1/4inch thickness.

While rolling dough out, place cast iron frying pan over medium to high heat, the pan is ready when a drop of water dances across the surface.
Place a naan in the pan and cook for about 2 minutes.
Flip and continue cooking for a few minutes; you are looking for random brown spots, not all over golden brown or anything like that.
While second side is cooking, brush top side of naan.
Remove from heat and brush second side with melted butter, if desired.
Place on baking tray fitted with a wire rack and keep warm in the oven while cooking remaining naan.

*110 to 115F degrees…kinda like a lovely warm shower; if the water is too hot you will kill the yeast, too cold  same, same

Note- I now cook this on my counter top griddle as per the advice of an Indian girl I had a discussion with; I used to cook it under a broiler, have cooked it on a BBQ – my fave is to cook this on a gas stove in a cast iron frying pan.

About, Loaves

Banana Bread

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Everyone has a banana bread recipe in their repertoire. I have been making this one for the past 28 years and have always gotten rave reviews.

2 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt

3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/3 cup Milk (Soy Milk)
1 1/4 cup Bananas, mashed (2 – 4 bananas)
1 large Egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla

1 cup chopped Walnuts
1 cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly spray bottom only of 9X5X3 inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray.

In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In small mixing bowl combine mashed bananas, vegetable oil, milk, egg and vanilla.
Pour liquid ingredients all at once into dry ingredients and stir just until all the flour is moistened.
Fold in chopped nuts and chocolate chips.

Spoon into prepared loaf tin and bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 – 60 minutes.
Cool in baking pan on wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Wrap and refrigerate for no longer than one week or store in Tupperware Bread Keeper.

 

Coffee Cakes

Ponderosa Cake

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My sister in law, Lydia, gave me this recipe years ago; guess she was tired of my Banana Bread and Banana Choc Chip Muffins? It soon became a family favourite.

Ponderosa Cake
A wonderful blend of Banana, Chocolate and Cinnamon

1 cup Butter, softened
2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
4 mashed Bananas <–not four cups of mashed bananas like I did once!!! O.O

3 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
pinch of Salt

1 cup Sour Cream

Topping 
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
Preheat oven to 350F
Lightly spray a 9X13 with Vegetable Oil Spray

Topping
In small mixing bowl, combine Brown Sugar, Cinnamon and Chocolate Chips; set aside.

In another small mixing bowl, combine Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder and salt; set aside.

Cream Butter with Sugar and add 1 Egg at a time.
Beat until light and fluffy.
Stir in Vanilla and Mashed Bananas.

Add Flour, BS, BP and salt to creamed mixture alternately with the Sour Cream, ending with the Flour mixture.

Spoon and spread 1/2 the batter into greased 9X13 pan. Sprinkle with half the Brown Sugar/Cinnamon/Choc Chip mixture.

Spoon remaining batter into pan, spread evenly and top with remaining Brown Sugar/Cinnamon/Choc Chip mixture.

Bake in 350F  oven for 50 – 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool, in pan, on wire rack until completely cool.

Cut into Squares and transfer to airtight container.

Can be served warm with Whipped Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream.