via French Macarons a special Valentine’s Day treat for your Sweetheart!
Two of my favorite ingredients in on delicious tea bread, pumpkin and cranberries! Tea bread or loaf bread is easy to make and can be frozen for up to two months. I love to bake and freeze then I can always have a delicious treat to serve with a cup of hot tea.
“Tea makes everything better. ” Bindi Irwin
What to do when you have very ripe bananas and can’t eat them all, make banana-nut bread. Quick loaf bread,(they call them quick because they are fast to make) are wonderful. Just mix all the ingredients in a bowl, pour into a loaf pan and bake. This can be frozen for up to two months. I like to slice and freeze in small packages so I can take a few slices out at a time to enjoy!
2 2/3 cup sifted flour
3 tsp baking power
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 cup of sugar
3 eggs
2 medium-size ripe bananas, peeled and mashed ( about 1 cup)
3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
2 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1. Grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan, line the bottom with wax paper; grease paper.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar, until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fluffy again.
4. Stir in flour mixture, alternately with mashed bananas; fold in pecans, orange rind, and cranberries. Pour into loaf pan.
5. Bake 325 F for 1 hour and 10 minutes*, or until golden, and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen around edges with a knife; turn out onto rack; peel off waxed paper. Let cool completely. Wrap and store overnight.
* Depending on your oven this can be done in 1 hour and 10 minutes or 1 hour and 20 minutes. I have said before that I find ovens to bake differently. I always recommend the first time you make a recipe that you bake for less time and keep adding more time until done. This bread is moist, not dry. Add vanilla ice cream for a nice treat.
Enjoy
Country Summertime Peach Pie
I love making fresh fruit pies especially in the summer. Pies are perfect for all occasions especially family reunions, picnics, barbecues or just a plain old family dinner. Bake up a delicious pie and what it quickly disappear like magic! Don’t be daunted by making your own crust you can always purchase pie crust in the dairy sections of the grocery store for excellent results too!
Flakiest Pie Crust
Ingredients:
Servings: Makes two 9″ pie crusts
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Preparation:
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Toss butter in flour mixture to evenly coat. Working quickly and aggressively, use your fingers to rub butter into flour to create large, shaggy pieces of dough (the idea is to smash the butter into the flour, creating some pieces that are flat and thin and some that are large and chunky).
Combine vinegar and 3 Tbsp. ice water in a small bowl and drizzle over flour mixture, running your fingers through the flour as you drizzle to evenly distribute (think of running your fingers through your hair). Knead dough in the bowl until it starts to come together (it will still look a little dry).
Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead 1 or 2 more times, pressing to incorporate shaggy edges. Divide dough into 2 pieces and press into about 1″-thick disks. Wrap with plastic and chill at least 1 hour.
Do Ahead: Dough can be made 5 days ahead; keep chilled, or freeze up to 1 month.
Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ripe peaches(about 5 pounds)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon butter
Milk or cream
Sugar
Mix sugar, four, cinnamon and salt together.
Drop peaches, 3 or 4 at a time, into boiling, water, leave in 15 to 30 seconds; lift out with slotted spoon. Peel off skins: cut in half; remove pits, then slice(you should have 10 cups).
Place peaches in a large bowl; sprinkle with lemon juice and almond extract; toss lightly. Sprinkle with sugar mixture; toss gently mix.
Prepare pastry. Spoon filling into bottom crust; dot with butter.
**Weave lattice top(directions below). Brush lattice top with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake in 425 F 15 minutes; then lower to 350 F; continue to bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until pastry is golden and juices bubble up near center. Cool on wire rack 1 hour.
Lattice pie top:
1 Before starting the lattice top, roll out half of your pie dough and line your pie dish with it. The dough should extend beyond the rim of the pie dish by about half an inch. Put it in the refrigerator to chill while you work on the lattice. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the other half of your pie dough to the same extent as the first half (about 3 inches beyond the diameter of your pie dish). Make sure your dough is chilled.
2 Cut the dough into even strips, 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch wide, depending on how thick you want your lattice strips. You can use a blunt knife, pizza wheel, or pastry wheel with a ruler as your guide.
3 Fill your pie shell with the pie filling. Lay out 4 to 7 parallel strips of the pie dough, depending on how thick your strips are, on top of the filling, with about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch space between them. Fold back every other strip.
4 Place one long strip of dough perpendicular to the parallel strips as shown. Unfold the folded strips over the perpendicular strip.
5 Now take the parallel strips that are running underneath the perpendicular strip and fold them back over the perpendicular strip. Lay down a second perpendicular strip of dough next to the first strip, with some space between the strips. Unfold the folded parallel strips over the second strip.
6 Continue this process until the weave is complete over the top of the pie.
7 Trim the edges of the strips flush with the dough of the underlying pie dish, which should be about half an inch over the sides. Fold back the rim of the shell over the edge of the lattice strips, and crimp to secure.
**If this sounds too complicated there are many video’s on line that will help you make a perfect lattice top.
Happy President’s Day! I’m celebrating with a good old fashioned American Apple Pie. I’ve added a little extra to this recipe, dried cranberries soaked overnight in cognac.
Pastry:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
Measure flour and salt into a bowl. Cut into butter thoroughly with a pastry blender. Sprinkle in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing with a fork until flour is moistened and dough almost cleans the side of the bowl.
Gather the dough into a ball, then shape, divide the dough in half and shape into 2 flattened rounds.) Chill dough for at least one hour. On a lightly floured board roll each dough rounds 2 inches larger all around than the inverted pie pan. Place pastry on parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet, and chill.
9 medium-size firm tart apples, thinly sliced. (I used Granny Smith)
1/2 cup dried cranberries, soaked overnight in cognac. I used Ocean Spray.
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 400F. Put apple slices and raisins in mixing bowl, sprinkle with sugar, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg and toss to mix well. Place pastry round on the pie plate. Pour apple mixture into the pie crust and dot with butter. Carefully cover the apples with top pastry, trim the overhang, and crimp the edges to seal. Bake the pie for 45 to 50 minutes or until pastry is nicely browned and the juices in the center of the pie are bubbling. Let cool slightly on a wire rack before serving. Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream!
Enjoy!
