Chocolate Chip Muffins

     Before I show you this recipe, I would like to say that if you want to have tips on making a perfect muffin, visit my earlier post at http://pppiano99-recipeforsuccess.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-make-delicious-muffin-ps-this-is.html.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats *optional

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans *optional

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

     Combine oats and milk and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin.
     Stir egg, oil, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of the pecans into the oat and milk mixture.
     Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add oat mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Fill each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with the remaining brown sugar and pecans.
     Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Scones

          Do you know what I love about scones? You can make them anyway you want them. Dried fruit, fresh fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, anything. This one calls for chocolate chips but you can litterally substitute whatever you want in it. You can even just take it out in general and this is the perfect breakfast, and perfect snack.


Ingredients
2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1/2 cup (90 grams) milk or semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 - 3/4 cup (160 - 180 ml) buttermilk

*If you don't have buttermilk, and I usually don't, you can just have 1 cup of milk to 1 Tbsp. of lemmon juice/vinegar.

          Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
          In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. (The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.) Stir in the chocolate chunks (or chips) and dried cherries. In a small measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla extract and then add to the flour mixture. Stir just until the dough comes together (add more buttermilk or flour as necessary). Do not over mix the dough.
          Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 4 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.
          Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
          Makes 8 scones.

Fluffy Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
1/3 cup peanut butter
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cups packed brown sugar
1 eggs
1 tbsp. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. Baking powder
1/8 tsp. Salt

     Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
     In a large bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla one at a time. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Press each ball once with fork tines.
     Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are lightly browned.

Apple Crisp/Crumble recipe

     This recipe is absolutly delicious. I found it and made my adjustments. I made it for my youth group and they loved it. I hope you enjoy:

Topping:
1/2 cup (65 grams)           all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams)           granulated white sugar
1/4 cup (55 grams)           light brown sugar
1/2 tsp.                            Ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp.                            Fresh or ground nutmeg (optional)
1/8 tsp.                            Salt
6 tbsp. (84 grams)           cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup (30 grams)          old-fashioned rolled oats
Filling:
2 1/2 pounds (1.2 kg)      Apples; Preferably Gala (Peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch chunks)
2 tsp.                               Lemon juice
3 tbsp. (40 grams)           white granulated sugar

     Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter or spray with a cooking spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) deep dish pie plate or an 8 x 8 x 2 inch (20 x 20 x 5 cm) baking dish. (Can also make 8 individual ramekins.) Set aside.
     For Topping: Place all the topping ingredients (flour, sugars, spices, butter, oats and nuts) in a bowl and work in with a fork (looks like coarse meal) and there are no large pieces of butter visible. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
     For Filling: Place the apple chunks in a large bowl. Toss with the lemon juice and sugar. Transfer to your prepared baking dish. Spread the topping evenly over the apples.
     Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes (20 - 25 minutes for individual ramekins) or until bubbly, and the topping is golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 30 minutes before serving.
     Serve with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Refrigerate leftovers and reheat before serving.
     Makes 4 servings.

Todays Tid-Bit

     Here is a little Tid-Bit for today...it's not much but it should do. I personally think this is a good piece of advise.
     When shopping for oatmeal, go to super store. Get the no-name brand of rolled oats. It is absolutly apperent that you get rolled oats, not quick cooking ones. Let me tell you why...
     The quick cooking oats are good if your making oatmeal, so if thats all your making then disregard this post. But if you are planning on putting them in baking then the rolled oats are the best option. They have better texture, and use the moisture and sugar to your benefit. Unfortunatly they don't taste the same when making oatmeal...but that can be easily fixed. Before making oatmeal, use a food processor and grind up the rolled oats a little. (Ps. thats pretty much what the companys do to make quick cooking oats) This way everyones happy. Also you have a better tasting recipe, you buy only one kind of oatmeal, and you save money if you get the no-name brand one at superstore. Happy shopping :)

Scrumptious Banana Bread

     Today, I’m going to show you my famous banana bread recipe. It took me years to find and perfect this recipe because most recipes you find on the internet don’t turn out the way you want them to. Banana bread is an excellent recipe for you if you have bananas that are about to go off or are a little browner than you want them to be. These are the ingredients:

-3 ripe bananas (a little brown works good too)
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup oil (or butter, depending on what you like
-1 cup sugar
-1 ¼ cups flour
-1tbsp. baking soda

     Preheat oven to 350 for bread pan, and 400 for muffin tins. Mash bananas. Mix in eggs, oil, and sugar (can be done in food processor). Mix in flour and baking soda. Put in greased pan and bake 1 hour or 11-12 muffin cups for 18-20 minutes. If you double the recipe it can be baked in a round flout pan. Happy baking :)

Waffles/Pancakes With/Without Eggs

     Ok, here’s the story. I was planning on making waffles because I knew I had pancake mix in the cupboard. I make the mix and start the waffles and when I try them they taste funny. I checked the due date on them and it was MORE THAN A YEAR AGO!! So I obviously chuck them, but I still want waffles. Problem is, I have no eggs. So I look up egg replacements and find a couple. One of them was the banana trick, which most people know, half a banana and a extra ½ teaspoon of baking powder per egg, but I have no bananas. So I look at the second suggestion and it says vinegar and baking soda. I think to myself, why not. So I tried it and it was delicious! Here’s the recipe.


Ingredients:
-2 cups flour
-2 tsp. baking powder
-some salt (1/2 tsp. or less)
-2-4 tbsp sugar (or more depending on what you like)
-2 cups milk
-2 eggs/ 2tbsp vinegar & 2 tsp. baking soda

     Blend together with whisk or electric mixer until smooth. Then follow directions of waffle maker or make pancakes. This recipe is very open for substitutions. One thing I like to put in waffles is bacon. You cook bacon in microwave, but not too much, and then break them into bits and sprinkle on waffles. Delicious. Happy baking :)