Lemon Poppy Seed Bread--Gadgets Are Included #1

If you were to look in my kitchen, you would find a lot of gadgets and utensils. I have a lot, and I am always looking for new places to store them and new ways to use them. That's what this new feature is about. The first Monday of each month I will be featuring a different gadget or utensil from my kitchen, sharing a recipe I make using that gadget, and asking you to link up recipes that use the gadget of the month.

To get this kicked off, I'm going to start with one of the gadgets I use the most--a whisk. I have a couple, but my favorite is my large balloon whisk. It gets used for everything from making gravy to making bread. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite uses for my whisk is to make quick breads. A single bowl, some basic ingredients, and about 45 minutes in the oven to have a loaf of fresh banana or zucchini bread, all without having to hunt down any of the attachments for the mixer.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

This morning I woke up and came downstairs to find five bananas that needed to be used immediately or thrown away. Since everyone else was still asleep, I decided to wake them all with the smell of banana bread baking in the oven. Sure enough, thirty minutes later my wife and both kids came down the stairs, sniffing out the wonderful smells coming from the oven. The hardest part was making them wait for the bread to cool off enough to cut it without burning myself.

Grandma's Buttermilk Biscuits

If you grew up in the southeastern part of the United States, you are very familiar with homemade biscuits. Everyone's mother or grandma had a recipe that made them light and fluffy, yet still firm enough to hold up to the homemade jams and jellies that were slathered on top of them. Smothering them with sausage gravy was the stuff dreams were made of. No matter what the occasion, if these biscuits were being made, you knew it was going to be special.

Pumpkin Muffins

According to my wife, pumpkins are only good for two things: pumpkin bread and Halloween decorations. I personally like pumpkin a little more that, and try to work it into the rotation whenever possible. I like everything from pumpkin pancakes to pumpkin ravioli, but these are for her. These muffins are very similar to her beloved pumpkin bread, and are a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee.

French Bread

To me, French bread is perfect. Nothing makes better garlic bread than a loaf of fresh French bread. At the same time, nothing is simpler to make than fresh French bread. In fact, it is nothing more than flour, water, yeast, salt, and sugar. The key is in the preparation.

Breakfast Danishes

Breakfast in my house is usually very rushed. I have to be at work, the kids have to go to school, and my wife has to referee any fights that occur during this time. Everyone is pulling in a different direction, which makes it difficult to have anything more for breakfast than a bowl of cereal or oatmeal on most days. On occasion, though, I like to make up a batch of danishes. These danishes are in no way the healthiest breakfast you can have, but they are a nice change of pace. They also freeze well, allowing me to make a dozen and freeze them in bags of four. Then all I have to do is lay them out the night before and we have some lovely pastries for breakfast.

The dough for these is a basic yeast dough that needs to rise, then is rolled out and topped with butter. It is then folded over and rolled out again several more times to create multiple flaky layers. This may seem like a lot of work, but it is necessary to create all the layers. The danishes are then shaped, topped with a little jam, and baked until golden brown and delicious. At that point, they can be served, but I like to finish them off with a drizzle of lemon flavored icing.

As far as the filling goes, my favorite is my homemade Triple Berry Jam, but you can also use any flavor of homemade or store bought jam you like. Some other favorites are strawberry, apricot, blackberry, and blueberry.


Breakfast Danishes

1 1/3 cup warm water (100-110 degrees F)
4 tsp yeast
6 1/2 oz cake flour
14 3/4 oz bread flour
1/2 Tbsp salt
4 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), divided
3/4 cup fruit jam
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and stir to dissolve. Leave for 15 minutes or until foamy. Place the flour, salt, sugar, and 2 Tbsp of the butter in a large bowl. Add the foamed yeast and egg. Mix together to for a sticky dough, then turn out onto a floured work surface. With floured hands, knead for five minutes. Place in mixing bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place (75-80 degrees F) for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Roll dough out into 12 x 18 inch rectangle. Slice remaining butter into very thin slices and arrange in single layer over 1/2 of the rolled out dough.

Fold dough over to cover butter. Fold dough in thirds and wrap in plastic. Return to refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out into a 12 x 18 inch rectangle. Fold in half, then in thirds again. Wrap and return to fridge and chill 30 minutes. Repeat this step two more times.

Roll dough out into 14 x 18 1/2 inch rectangle  Trim edges to make 13 1/2 x 18 inch rectangle. Cut into 12 4-1/2 squares. Fold edges up to form danish shape. Place danishes on baking sheet and cover with a towel. Let rise 40 minutes. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Divide jam evenly among danishes. If desired, brush tops of pastry with melted butter. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and delicious. Let cool at least one hour.

In small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice. If needed, add up to one extra tablespoon of lemon juice to bring icing to a good drizzling consistency. Drizzle icing over top of cooled danishes. Serve with coffee, if desired.

Double Chocolate Muffins

In my house, there is one thing I can usually get everyone to agree on. We all LOVE chocolate. Whether it be Hershey's bars, my Nutella Brownies, or my Chocolate Pie (don't ask, I've never shared that recipe with anyone), it will get eaten. These muffins are no different.

These muffins bake up light and fluffy, and have an intense chocolate flavor. I use a mixture of cake flour and all-purpose flour for these, but you could use just all-purpose flour if desired (if so, use a total of 3 cups + 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour). The chocolate chunks inside give a little added texture and a punch of additional chocolate flavor. While I like to use semi-sweet chocolate for the chunks, you could also use milk chocolate or dark chocolate if you prefer. Just go with what you like.

Just like my Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins, this recipe will make 12 jumbo size muffins, or 24 standard size muffins. Either way you go, just remember to line the muffin tins with paper or grease them well. There is nothing worse than putting the time and effort into making these, only to have the pan refuse to let them go.

Finally, the best thing about these muffins is... they are called muffins. If you called them cupcakes, you would be inferring that they are dessert. By calling them muffins, that makes them breakfast, right?


Double Chocolate Muffins

2 cups cake flour
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups chocolate chunks or chips + 1/2 cup chips or mini chips for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Prepare muffin tins by greasing or lining with paper liners.  In large mixing bowl, stir together cake flour, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and powdered sugar.  In separate bowl, beat eggs.  Add milk, oil, and vanilla and whisk to combine.

Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients and stir until just combined (if there are a few lumps, don't worry about it).  Add 1-1/2 cups chocolate chunks and stir gently to combine.

Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin cups (each cup should be about 2/3 way full, or 1/3 empty if you are slightly pessimistic).  Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over top of batter.

Bake at 375 degrees until toothpick inserted into center of muffin come out clean (16-19 minutes for standard muffins, 22-25 minutes for jumbo size).  Remove from oven and let cool in pan 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack until completely cooled.  Store in plastic bag for up to 2 days or freeze any leftovers.

Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins

I received the Taste of Home cookbook for Christmas and let me tell you one thing...I love this cookbook.  There are so many great recipes in the cookbook, it will take me all year to make the ones that look appetizing.

These muffins are based on the first recipe from this cookbook I tried.  The original version  of these muffins had a streusel topping and a sugar glaze over them.  I simplified them a bit by sprinkling them with just a pinch of coarse sugar on top of each one before baking.  Also, I doubled the original recipe since I had double the blueberries that the recipe called for.  I baked them as jumbo muffins, but you could also do them as standard size (2-1/2 inch) muffins.  Using the recipe below, I was able to make a dozen jumbo size muffins, so the yield for standard size muffin tins would be about two dozen.  If you make the standard size muffins, make sure you check them at 15 minutes, as they will cook a lot quicker than the jumbo size versions.


Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins

2 Tbsp butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
16 oz sour cream
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups blueberries
Coarse turbinado sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together for two minutes.  Add eggs and sour cream.  Beat 1 minute or until fully incorporated.

In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  Add flour mixture to sour cream mixture and mix until just blended.  Gently fold in blueberries.

Prepare muffins tins by lining with paper cups or greasing.  Divide batter evenly between cups.  Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top of muffins.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 23-28 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Remove muffins from pan and cool on wire rack until completely cool.

Dutch Brown Bread

This is the second in a series of loaves of bread I have made in my Black and Decker All-In-One Deluxe Bread Maker.  The first loaf was my Rich Egg Bread.  This loaf is a whole wheat bread and is chewier than the first loaf of the series.  Due to the amount of whole wheat flour in the dough, this bread does not rise as high, so the loaf is comes out denser.

This bread is a European style bread flavored with cinnamon and molasses.  The cinnamon does not over power the bread, so this is not a sweet bread as some might think.  The flavor of this bread makes it perfect for a hearty sandwich, such as ham and Swiss cheese w/mustard.


Dutch Brown Bread

1 cup warm water (80-85 degrees F)
1 egg
3 Tbsp molasses
1-1/2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1-3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Place ingredients in bread maker in order recommended by the manufacturer (I have a Black and Decker All-In-One Deluxe Bread Maker, so the list above is the right order for me).  Select wheat or grain cycle and desired crust (I went with normal instead of dark).  Turn on bread maker and let it run through its cycle.

After the bread has been kneading for about 5 minutes, check the dough.  It should be a smooth round ball. If dough appears too sticky, add additional flour, one tablespoon at a time until the dough reaches the proper consistency.  If dough is too dry, add additional water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough reaches the proper consistency.

At end of cycle, remove bread promptly and cool on wire rack.  If bread is left in appliance too long, the top can fall and the bottom of the loaf will get soggy from the trapped steam.  Let cool at least 20 minutes on a wire rack before slicing.

Rich Egg Bread

Recently I found a bread maker for sale at a garage sale.  It was in very good shape and was only $20.  Can't beat that.  The problem was, there was not instructions.  After combing the internet, I finally found an electronic copy of the owner's manual which told me the correct order to place the ingredients into the bread maker.  I've baked a few loaves of bread in it now, and I will be sharing some of my favorites over the next few months.

The ingredients you use to make bread are very important.  In the United States, using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour will result in a loaf with a better texture.  I usually bring cold ingredients, such as milk and eggs, to room temperature before using them (I find 30-35 seconds in the microwave is about right for a cup of milk).  Not only do you want to use quality ingredients, but make sure you measure them accurately.  An extra tablespoon of water or flour could throw off the texture of the bread.

Placing the ingredients in the appliance in the wrong order is a sure way to fail when it comes to making bread.  For example, if the salt comes in contact with the yeast to early, the yeast will die and the bread will not rise.  My bread maker has me place the liquid ingredients in first, followed by any salt and flavorings, then the flour, and finally the yeast sprinkled over the top.  If you try this recipe, make sure to follow the recommendations for your bread maker.  You can also make the bread by hand if you wish.


Rich Egg Bread

1 cup milk
1 egg
1-1/2 Tbsp butter, softened
2 Tbsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt
3-1/4 cups bread flour
2 tsp active dry yeast

Place ingredients in bread maker in order recommended by the manufacturer (I have a Black and Decker All-In-One Deluxe Bread Maker, so the list above is the right order for me).  Select basic cycle and desired crust (I went with normal instead of dark).  Turn on bread maker and let it run through its cycle.

After the bread has been kneading for about 5 minutes, check the dough.  It should be a smooth round ball. If dough appears too sticky, add additional flour, one tablespoon at a time until the dough reaches the proper consistency.  If dough is too dry, add additional water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough reaches the proper consistency.

At end of cycle, remove bread promptly and cool on wire rack.  If bread is left in appliance too long, the top can fall and the bottom of the loaf will get soggy from the trapped steam.  Let cool at least 20 minutes on a wire rack before slicing.

Blueberry Pancakes

Pancakes are very popular in my house, and we usually have them at least once a week for breakfast.  My kids and I love blueberries in our pancakes (my wife prefers her plain).  During the summer, I get fresh blueberries from the farmer's market and use them in these pancakes, but with the year round availability of frozen blueberries, we can have them when ever we want.

The batter for these pancakes is a standard batter, and the blueberries are added after the batter has been poured onto the cooking surface.  This helps to keep the berries whole and prevents the batter from turning an unappealing blueish-purple color.  As far as cooking the pancakes goes, you can use a non-stick skillet on the stove, but I prefer to use an electric griddle.  The flat surface and even heating help ensure the pancakes come out evenly browned, and not having to deal with the sides of the pan makes flipping them over very easy.

I usually get 12-16 pancakes out of this recipe.  Any leftovers I individually freeze on parchment paper and then place in freezer bags for storage.  They can then be reheated in either the microwave or the toaster.


Blueberry Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Non-stick cooking spray
Fresh or frozen blueberries
Butter and syrup, for serving

In medium bowl, combine flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate container, stir together eggs, buttermilk, and oil.  Add liquid to dry ingredients all at once and stir just until moistened (if there are a few lumps, don't worry about it, they will cook out).

Heat electric griddle to medium-high.  Spray surface with non-stick cooking spray and ladle 1/4 batter per pancake onto griddle.  Quickly sprinkle with blueberries and cook until edges begin to dry and bottoms are golden brown (about 2-3 minutes).  Carefully flip pancakes with spatula and finish cooking on the other side.  Remove from griddle and serve immediately with butter and syrup.

Pesto Crescent Rolls

Sometimes, I just need a quick side dish.  When I want some type of bread for that side dish, I usually reach for a package of refrigerated biscuits or rolls.  That's where this recipe started.  I decided to have crescent rolls with dinner, so I opened the package up, and laid them all out.  Suddenly, I remembered I needed to add something to the main dish I was making.  I opened the refrigerator and there was a jar of leftover pesto sauce just staring at me, begging to be used.  I decided to spread a little over the top of the crescent rolls before rolling them up.  I then baked them according to the package directions.  They came out delicious.  Hope you enjoy.


Pesto Crescent Rolls

1 tube crescent rolls
3 Tbsp pesto sauce

Unroll and separate crescent rolls.  Using pastry brush, spread pesto sauce over top of unrolled crescent rolls.  Roll and bake according to package directions.  Serve hot.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Bread

My family loves quick breads.  Banana, zucchini, and carrot are all favorites with everyone.  This recipe is something new I decided to try.  The base for this recipe is a pumpkin bread, but I adjusted the spices to fit our tastes more and added mini chocolate chips to the bread.  If you ask my wife, adding chocolate to anything is a good thing.

This bread is good by itself, or you can melt some store bought cream cheese frosting in the microwave and drizzle it over the top.  It also goes good with a cup of coffee for breakfast or a snack any time of the day.

The recipe makes 2 9x5x3 inch loaves or 3 8x4x2 inch loaves, so there is enough to enjoy and give one away to a friend.  The loaves also freeze well.  I usually remove them from the pans, freeze until solid, and vacuum seal for long term storage.  To thaw the bread back out, I just leave it on the counter overnight.


Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
2/3 cup water
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of loaf pans; set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and oil together at medium speed.  Add eggs and beat well; set aside.

In separate bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.  Alternately add flour mixture and water to sugar mixture, beating until just combined.  Add pumpkin and beat until fully incorporated.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Divide batter equally between loaf pans.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool thoroughly.  Wrap with plastic wrap for storage.