Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks

Life in the Lofthouse Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks

         

GARLIC PARMESAN BREADSTICKS

Yields 12

Soft, buttery breadsticks topped with a garlic Parmesan seasoning. 

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

12 min

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 1/2 cups warm water (105 - 110 degrees F°)
2. 1 Tablespoon instant yeast
3. 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 4 cups all-purpose flour

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand-mixer, add warm water, instant yeast, sugar and salt. Stir to combine (using the dough hook if in the stand-mixer)
2. Add 2 cups flour and mix well. Gradually add in the rest of the flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and sticks to your finger a little bit. (Remember to only add up to 4 cups flour total. Adding too much flour will make the breadsticks too dense and not soft.)
3. Cover bowl and allow to rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
4. Remove dough from bowl and place on a clean and lightly-floured surface. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray. Roll dough into a large rectangle, about 1-inch thick, and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.
5. Roll out each piece of dough into a long rope then twist. Place dough twist onto prepared baking sheet and repeat with the rest of dough, placing side by side on baking sheet.
6. Cover and let rest 30 minutes to rise again until doubled.
7. Preheat oven to 425° F. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden-brown. Remove from oven and rub a 1/2 stick of butter over the warm breadsticks. Sprinkle tops evenly with Garlic Bread Seasoning.

By Holly

Adapted from Food Network Magazine/ Our Best Bites

GARLIC BREAD SEASONING

INGREDIENTS

1. 1/2 cup powdered Parmesan cheese
2. 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
3. 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
4. 2 teaspoons dried oregano
5. 2 teaspoons dried basil
6. 2 teaspoons dried parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a small jar or container that has a lid. Stir mixture to combine and then seal shut with lid.
2. Sprinkle on top of warm breadsticks OR combine 1 1/2 Tablespoons garlic bread seasoning with 1/2 cup softened butter and spread on a loaf of French bread (cut in 1/2 lengthwise). Wrap in foil and bake at 375 until butter’s melted. (You could also place it open-faced under the broiler for a few minutes, so it gets golden-brown and crispy)

By Holly

Adapted from Our Best Bites

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

1 White Cake Mix
1/2 cup baking cocoa
3 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil/vegetable oil
1/2 cup thawed apple raspberry concentrate (found in the frozen juice section)
7/8 cup water
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or diced raspberry chocolate orange

Icing:
1/3 cup butter- softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 T. thawed apple raspberry concentrate

Beat cake mix, cocoa, eggs, oil, juice concentrate and water for 3 minutes on medium speed.  Fold in chocolate chips. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full.  ( I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup).  Bake at 350 degrees for about 17-20 minutes.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Icing:  Beat butter til light and fluffy.  Gradually add powered sugar, then juice.  Beat til smooth.  If not using right away store in fridge.  Let icing sit out and soften a little before using.  The icing is a very pale pink.  I used a large star tip to pipe icing on cupcake and then garnished with three fresh raspberries on each one.

* Last time I made this I accidentally used a stick of butter instead of the 1/3 cup that the recipe called for and it turned out fine.

Churro Apple Pie Waffles

from Chica Chocolatina

**When I made these I decided to not stuff the pie filling inside the waffles. I just put a little of the apple pie filling over the top of each waffle and then placed a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the pie filling. Also- we used a lot less cinnamon than the recipe calls for in the churro topping.  Next time I'd like to try these with peach pie filling.

   Ingredients
                                                                                                                               

4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 eggs                                                                     

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups warm milk                                

1/3 cup butter, melted                                             

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 3 shakes of cinnamon

For the churro topping:

1 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup cinnamon ( 1/4 cup if you don't love cinnamon like I do)  

1/2 cup of melted butter

Apple Filling- 

1 can of Lucky Leaf Apples or any can you prefer

If your feeling really ambitious you can make your own apple filling.

                                                                 

 Directions

1.In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside.  Also at this time you can combine your churro topping and set it aside. Preheat waffle iron

     

2.In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture;  Next fold in three shakes of cinnamon beat until blended

      

3. At this time you can also melt your 1/2 cup of butter used to pour over waffles. Next generously spray your waffle iron with no stick cooking spray. Than ladle a little batter into a preheated waffle iron, gently place on 4-5 apple slices ( depending on size of your waffle iron, smaller size use 2-3 apples.

4. Next add more batter on top of apples, be careful not to overflow waffle maker. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. ( Caution, mixing the apples directly into the batter yielded undesirable results for me)

5.Once fully cooked immediately pour melted butter on each side of the waffle and than dip each buttered side into your cinnamon/sugar churro mixture.

Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls

 

Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls from Crazy for Crust

*I used the sweet roll recipe from America's Test Kitchen found here.  I reduced the amount of milk to 2/3 c  and added zest and lemon juice just like in the original recipe. Next time I would double the amount of filling (not blueberries) to get a little more lemon flavor coming through.  I used her cream cheese  frosting recipe and really liked it.  I used regular blueberries and they were big as far as blueberries go. When I sliced the dough into individual rolls some of the blueberries were cut and looked a little like olives. I just turned over any blueberries that had been sliced so they still looked like berries.  I made them the night before I needed them and baked them the following morning after letting them sit out and rise.  Turned out great!

Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls (taken directly from the website)

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes plus overnight rising

I used my favorite cinnamon roll recipe and turned it into a lemon sweet roll with blueberries! This is the perfect recipe to use up your lemon stash and it'll make the cold morning feel like spring!

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

• 2/3 cup warm non-fat milk (think hot bath water, about 45 seconds in the microwave)
• 1 package active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/3 cup + 1/2 teaspoon sugar, divided
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (from 1 medium lemon)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 medium lemon)
• 3 - 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• Paddle attachment & dough hook for your mixer

For the Filling:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1-2 medium lemons)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, make sure they are thawed and drained), see note

For the Frosting:

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 ounces cream cheese, very soft
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• Pinch salt
• 3-4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Make the Dough:

1. Place milk in a microwave safe measuring cup. Heat for 45 seconds in the microwave, until it’s about 120°F, think hot bathwater. (The time you heat it will need to be adjusted depending on your microwave. You can use a candy or a meat thermometer to test the temperature.) Add yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar and stir. Let it sit for a few minutes until frothy.
2. Place sugar, butter, salt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until the butter is distributed throughout the liquids, although it may be chunky. Pour in the milk/yeast mixture and stir for a few seconds.
3. Add 3 cups flour and stir with the paddle attachment just until the mixture starts to stick to the paddle. Then replace the paddle with the dough hook. Continue mixing on low speed until the dough forms a ball in the center of the bowl. The dough will be slightly sticky and elastic. There will be minimal transfer to your finger if you poke it. If it’s still very wet, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in it. Spray the top of the dough ball with cooking spray (lightly) and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for 2-4 hours until it doubles in size. Note on rising: if your house is warm, it should rise no problem. If it’s cold in your house, it may take longer for the dough to rise.

Prepare your Rolls:

1. Stir together butter, sugar, lemon zest, salt and flour until it forms a paste.
2. Once the dough is risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle, about 10” by 14”. Spread the filling as evenly as possible over the rectangle, making sure to reach to the sides so the outer rolls have enough filling. Sprinkle with blueberries. I used 1 cup of mini (or “wild”) blueberries that were defrosted and drained. If you’re using regular sized berries, you might want to use more of them.
3. Roll the dough up tightly from the long end. Slice it into 12 equal rounds. Place the rolls into a 9x13” pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (Or, if you want to make them  the same day, cover with plastic wrap and let them sit for 1 hour until they’ve puffed up a little, then continue as directed below.)
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let them warm up to room temperature while the oven is preheating. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 23-28 minutes, or until they are golden brown. (Mine took 24, be careful not to over bake. The bottoms will turn golden before the tops do.) Note: the blueberries will drain to the bottom of the pan overnight. That’s not a problem.

Make the frosting:

1. Whisk the melted butter and softened cream cheese until mostly smooth. If your cream cheese is too stiff, you can use a hand mixer. Whisk/beat in powdered sugar and 3 teaspoons lemon juice, adding more as desired for thickness. Pour over warm rolls and serve.

Notes:

Note about blueberries: I prefer to use mini blueberries in my baking, as it's what my family prefers. They are often labeled "wild" and they are smaller than normal berries. You can often find them at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. You can use regular sized berries, fresh or frozen, but make sure frozen berries are thawed and drained. Use 1-2 cups, deepening on how many berries you want in your rolls.