Apple Bread Pudding

We went to Apple Fest in Bayfield, Wisconsin, last weekend, and came home with some apples!  I've been thinking about making bread pudding for a couple of weeks now, so I looked for a recipe that included apples.  I adapted this recipe from the Gramma's Apple Bread Pudding on allrecipes.com.

4 cups soft bread cubes (I used some kaiser rolls that were getting dry)
1/4 cup raisins (I used 1/2 cup)
2 cups peeled and sliced apples
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cups milk
1/4 butter
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 7 x 11 inch baking dish.

In a large bowl (I did this right in the pan), combine bread, raisins, and apples.  In a small saucepan over medium, combine brown sugar, milk and butter.  Cook and stir until butter is melted.  Pour over bread mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk together cinnamon, vanilla and eggs.  Pour over bread mixture in baking pan.

Bake in preheated oven 40-50 minutes, or until center is set and apples are tender.

In my opinion, bread pudding MUST be served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

 From--where else?--allrecipes.com.

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup shortening (I used butter)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional)
• 4 cups fresh blueberries (I used frozen)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and cinnamon, if desired. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the shortening (butter) and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. 

We had these the first day warm with ice cream, and after that cold from the refrigerator.  They were great both ways!

Apple Pie

We got a bunch of apples from a friend of my husband's, and hubby requested that I make apple pie with some of them. I went over to allrecipes.com and found this highly rated recipe for Grandma Ople's Apple Pie. I had never made a lattice crust before, so I just winged it. The pie was awesome!

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (I used Pillsbury refrigerated crust)
  
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced (I didn't use Granny Smith, just whatever variety we were given, which were a semi-tart, firm apple)
  

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

Rhubarb Dump Cake

I was looking for a new rhubarb recipe and found this one on allrecipes.com. It was really easy to make, and although not my favorite rhubarb recipe, the kids loved it.


1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used almost 4 cups)
1 cup white sugar
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin mix (I used cherry flavor)
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup margarine, melted (I used butter)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Spread the rhubarb evenly in the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb, followed by the gelatin mix, and finally the cake mix. Pour the water and melted margarine over the top. Do not stir.
3. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the rhubarb is tender.

We had this warm with vanilla ice cream. The kids finished it off the next day with a little bit of whipped cream on top.

Blueberry Buckle

I was looking through my freezer to see what I could use up to free up some space. I found a package of blueberries I froze last summer and found this recipe for Blueberry Buckle on allrecipes.com. The kids kept picking at the leftover bits until it was all gone.

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 8x8 inch pan. (I think I'll try an 8 x 11 pan next time.)
   
2. Cream together 3/4 cup sugar, shortening, and egg.
3. In a separate bowl mix together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into sugar mixture, alternating with milk. Stir in blueberries. Pour into greased 8x8 inch pan. (The batter was pretty thick and didn't pour--I spooned it into the pan.)
   
4. To make topping: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. Sprinkle over cake batter. (I also added some oatmeal to the topping.)
   
5. Bake at 375 degree F (190 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes. (This took longer than 30 minutes to bake--probably about 40-45 minutes, and the very center was still a bit doughy.)
   

Irish Soda Bread

I made this last week for St. Patrick's Day. The house smelled amazing while it was baking! I adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com.


1/2 cup white sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups raisins (I used less, a little less than 2 cups)
1 tablespoon caraway seeds (I did not use caraway seeds)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I used milk with lemon juice instead of buttermilk)
1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch round cast iron skillet or a 9 inch round baking or cake pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour (reserving 1 tablespoon), sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins and caraway seeds. In a small bowl, blend eggs, buttermilk and sour cream. Stir the liquid mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Knead dough in bowl about 10 to 12 strokes. Dough will be sticky. Place the dough in the prepared skillet or pan and pat down. Cut a 4x3/4 inch deep slit in the top of the bread. Dust with reserved flour
3. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 65 to 75 minutes. Let cool and turn bread onto a wire rack.

Rival Bars

This recipe has been in our family since I was a kid. I've also seen these called rebel or revel bars.

Crust/Topping:
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 cups oatmeal

Filling:
1 pkg. chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 T. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

For crust: Mix together butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda and oatmeal. Pat 2/3 of mixture onto bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Reserve remaining mixture.

For filling: Melt chocolate chips (in double boiler or microwave). Add sweetened condensed milk, butter, salt and vanilla. Pour over the oatmeal layer. Drop pieces of remaining oatmeal mixture over the top. Drop with teaspoons. Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Triple Berry Crisp

Another recipe from allrecipes.com.

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries (I used strawberries)
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
4 tablespoons white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups butter (I only used 1 cup of butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1. In a large bowl, gently toss together blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and white sugar; set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press half of mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Cover with berries. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture over the berries.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Cherry Cheese Pie

I take after my dad in that I love desserts made with cherries. This is an easy, refreshing dessert for the summer--just don't trip on your way to put it in the fridge in the garage to chill like I did last fall!

1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice from concentrate
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-9 in. baked pie shell of graham cracker crumb crust
1-21 oz. can cherry pie filling, chilled

In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla.
Pour into crust; chill 4 hours or until set. Top with desired amount of cherry pie filling before serving. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Cherry Crisp

This was our dessert on New Year's Eve.

1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup butter
1 can cherry pie filling

Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter until you get fine crumbs. Put half of crumb mixture in 9 x 9 pan. Spread cherry pie filling on top. Put rest of crumb mixture over pie filling and pat down.
Bake at 350 degrees of 30 minutes.

Triple Chocolate Cherry Bars

This recipe was on the back of a Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix.

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist chocolate fudge cake mix
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (I used regular, not miniature)
1 container Betty Crocker Whipped chocolate frosting

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees, or 325 degrees for dark or nonstick pan). Grease and flour, or spray with baking spray with flour, 15x10x1-inch pan (I used this size), or 13x9-inch pan.

2. In large bowl, gently mix dry cake mix, pie filling, eggs and chocolate chips with rubber scraper; break up any undissolved cake mix by pressing with scraper. Carefully spread in pan.

3. Bake 15 x 10 pan 25 to 30 minutes, 13 x 9 pan 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Frost with frosting.

Bread Pudding

This recipe is from allrecipes.com, the Bread Pudding III.

10 slices white bread, cut into cubes (I used dry buns)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
6 eggs, beaten (I would use probably 4 eggs if I use this recipe again)
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups hot milk (160 degrees F)
1 pinch ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter one 2 quart baking dish.
2. Combine bread cubes, butter, cinnamon and raisins; mix well and place in baking dish.
3. Beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add milk, mix well and pour over bread cubes.
4. Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake for 25 minutes. (I baked mine an additional 15 minutes or so, as it didn't seem to be setting up at 25 minutes.)

And in my opinion, serve hot with vanilla ice cream on top. The combination of the hot bread pudding and the cold ice cream is soooo good!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

From allrecipes.com

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/4 cup milk
• I also added chocolate chips
  

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cocoa powder. Set aside.
• 
  
• 
• Zucchini, cocoa/flour mix, and cake batter
• 
  
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. In a small bowl, combine shredded zucchini with milk. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the zucchini mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
• I think this is best served on the day it is baked. After the first day, the cake was a little on the dry side.
• The original recipe also suggests frosting with cream cheese frosting.
  

S'more Cookie Bars

The Wit's End Bakery and Corner Store next to our office makes the best s'more cookies, so I was looking to duplicate their recipe. I didn't find a cookie recipe, but I did find this bar recipe at bakingbites.com.

S’More Cookie Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs*
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s) (I used chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows) (I used regular marshmallows)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.
Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick.
Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.
Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool completely before cutting into bars.

I put all the dough in the pan and baked about 25 minutes. Then I added a layer of marshmallows and baked an additional 5-10 minutes until they were puffy and lightly brown. I took them out of the oven, sprinkled with chocolate chips and let them melt, and then spread the chocolate chips over top.

Makes 16 cookie bars.

*Note: 3/4 cup crumbs is approx 7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, whizzed in the food processor until fine. (I put the crackers in a plastic bag and crush with my rolling pin.)

Rhubarb Raspberry Crunch

My dad found a rhubarb patch in the trees behind our house when he was here last weekend, and mom brought some frozen raspberries from their patch with them. I went to allrecipes, where you can enter ingredients to find recipes that use those ingredients. I entered rhubarb and raspberries, and this is what I decided to make.

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant tapioca (I didn't have any tapioca, so I added an extra tablespoon of cornstarch)
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (I increased the brown sugar, oatmeal and flour to about 2/3 cup each)
  
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan (I used an 11 x 7 pan).
In a large bowl, combine sugar, tapioca, cornstarch and salt. Place rhubarb and raspberries into bowl making sure to completely coat them with dry ingredients. Pour into baking pan.
In a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour and oats. Cut in butter until mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Spread on top of fruit mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until rhubarb is tender.
Tastes good plain; tastes even better with whipped cream or ice cream.