Cinnamon-Sugar Roll Cookies

 

Basic Cookie Dough - (see below)
1/2 cup salted and roasted mixed nuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

 

 

 

Vanilla Glaze - (see below)
Chopped salted and roasted mixed nuts (optional)

Method
Prepare a Basic Cookie Dough.
Between sheets of lightly floured waxed paper, roll dough into a 16×9-inch rectangle.
In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup mixed nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Cut in butter until mixture clings together.
Sprinkle mixture evenly over dough.
Starting from a long side, roll up dough tightly.
Wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper.
Freeze about 2 hours or until dough is firm enough to slice.

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cut roll into 1/4-inch slices.
Place slices 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool.
Drizzle cookies with Vanilla Glaze.
If desired, sprinkle with additional chopped mixed nuts.

Notes:

Makes about 60 cookies.
To Store: Layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Vanilla Glaze: In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in enough milk (3 to 4 teaspoons) to make a glaze of drizzling consistency.

Basic Cookie Dough Recipe:
In a large bowl, combine 1/4 c. butter (softened), 1/4 c. shortening, and 2 ounces cream cheese (softened).
Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
Add 1 c. brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg.
Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally.
Beat in 1 egg and 2 tsp. vanilla until combined.
Beat in as much of the 2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour as you can with the mixer.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour.
Makes about 2-3/4 cups dough.

 

Bisquick Cheese Bread

This is great as a loaf because you can slice and butter more easily.  If you mix in some of your favorite herbs you will have something similar to the wonderful biscuits that the Schwan's man brings.... :)  I'll add a photo for you later!  Promise.

 

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 1/2 cup milk
3 3/4 cups Bisquick baking mix
1 cup Cheddar cheese - shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat egg on low speed. Add remaining ingredients and beat 1/2 minute medium speed until blended. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake 1 hour or until golden brown.

 

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Preheat to 325F


1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Beat
Add 1/2 cup peanut butter
2 mashed bananas

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
mix
fold in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or peanuts
bake for 70 minutes or until toothpick comes clean

Tomato Soup Loaf

Preheat Oven to 350F


1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 can tomato soup
1teaspoon baking soda
mix all
Add 1.5 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins
*Pour into 9" x 5" loaf pan (I always line mine with parchment paper)
Bake one hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Delicious Potato Rolls

Filling:
2 TBSP butter
1 bunch scallions, minced (white and light green parts only)
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 TBSP  sour cream
¾ TBSP chopped fresh dill
½ c freshly grated parmesan cheese (or Romano cheese)
1 tsp kosher salt (or ½ tsp of table salt)
½ tsp black pepper
1½ c refrigerated hash browns (or frozen hash browns that have been thawed in the fridge)

9 Rhodes Roll Dough balls, defrosted in the refrigerator

Lightly spray a dinner plate with cooking spray. Place 9 frozen dough balls evenly spaced out on the plate – making sure that the rolls are not touching. Spray the rolls with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to slowly defrost for about 5 to 6 hours or overnight.

After the rolls have been defrosting for 5 to 6 hours, preheat the oven to 350F. Start the filling by melting 2 TBSP butter over medium heat in a small skillet. Add the scallions and garlic and cook until the onions are tender – about 4 minutes. Add the scallion mixture to a large bowl. To it, add the crème fraîche, dill, parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper then stir to combine. Add the refrigerated hash browns and gently mix thoroughly. Divide the filling into 6 portions.

Butter or spray six wells of a muffin tray.

Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and cut 3 of the rolls in half. Pick up a whole roll and one of the halves and use your palms to smash them together. Do this with the remaining dough. You will have six flatted dough disks when finished. Next roll out one of the dough disks into a 4 1/2" circle. You should not need to use any flour. If the dough wants to stretch back, let the disks sit for about 5 minutes and then reattempt to roll them out. Place the rolled out dough in your cupped palm and add 1/6 of the filling to the center of the dough. Gently place the dough and potatoes in one of the muffin cups making sure that the dough is evenly spaced around the sides of the muffin cup. The potato mixture should be open at the top and should not be covered with dough. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Bake for about 18-22 minutes or until the dough is well browned. Serve them warm or at room temperature (they are great either way). Before serving, add a small amount of dill to the top as a garnish. Want to be daring? Add some chopped smoked salmon to the potato mixture before filling. Yum!

Slow Roasted Turkey and Gravy

Just in time for Thanksgiving.  The turkey breast is a favorite of mine, when it isn't dried out, and cooking it this way will ensure a nice moist result.

1-8 to 9 lb Bone-In Turkey Breast
Salt to taste
1 1/2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Turkey Gravy
3 TBSP butter
3 TBSP flour
4 cups turkey drippings and broth
Chicken broth (if needed)
Salt and pepper to taste

Adjust your oven rack to the lowest position. Preheat oven to 250F.

Rinse and dry the turkey breast. Even when I purchase a brined turkey breast, I still like to lightly salt the turkey breast under the skin. You, of course, do not have to. If the turkey breast that you purchase has NOT been brined or koshered, liberally salt the breast under the skin.

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat with the oil. When hot, add the turkey, breast-side down. Add the onion around the edges of the bird. Add the garlic on top of the onions. Cook several minutes or until the skin has browned. Flip the bird over so that the breast is facing upward. Stir the onions and garlic. Cook a couple minutes longer. If you have a probe thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the breast – making sure the probe is not sticking up in the air in a way that would impede your covering the turkey breast with a lid. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and top with a tight-fitting lid. Crimp the foil around the seam of the pot to ensure steam does not escape. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 160F – roughly 2 1/2 hours.

When the turkey is done, remove it from the oven and flip the bird over so that the breast is submerged in the accumulated juices. Cover and let rest 15 minutes. During this time, the internal temperature will increase to at least 170F.

Remove the turkey from the pot and place it on a large platter. Keep it tented so it stays warm. Strain the liquid and solids from the pot into a large bowl. Use the back of a ladle to make sure you smash the onion/garlic to extract all of the juices. Discard the vegetable solids. Skim some or most of the fat that settles on top of the broth and discard any unwanted fat. Measure how much turkey broth you have. If you do not have at least 4 cups, add some chicken stock to come up to a total of 4 cups of liquid. If you like particularly thin gravy, you can add an extra 1/4 to 1/2 cups of turkey/chicken broth. If you like thicker gravy, reduce the liquid by 1/4 to 1/2 cup.

To make the gravy, heat a saucepan over medium heat with three tablespoons of butter. After the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk to combine. Cook the butter/flour mixture for about 5 minutes or until it is brown in color. Add the turkey broth and whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Bring to a boil then simmer about 5 minutes. Too thin? Simmer another few minutes or until the gravy is your desired thickness. Too thick? Add more turkey broth, chicken broth, or even water. When the gravy is your desired level of thickness, taste it and add some salt and pepper, if needed. You'll probably need at least some salt.

Serve the turkey breast and gravy with some mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, your favorite veggie side dish and voila! you're done!

Batter Fried Chicken or Fish

 



1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders or a mild, white fish (such as cod)
Salt to taste
Flour for dusting

For the Batter:
1 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 TBSP cornstarch
1 TBSP corn flour (not corn meal)
1 1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp Accent (MSG), optional
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 c water plus more as needed
1 tsp vinegar

Oil for frying

Dry the chicken tenders (or fish) well. Salt the chicken tenders (or fish) and set aside. For the batter, whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add 1 cup of water and vinegar and whisk smooth. Set aside.

Add about 3" of oil to a medium pot over medium-high heat. The pot needs to be deep enough to hold the oil plus leave plenty of room for the oil to expand when frying. Heat the oil to 350F. While the oil is heating, preheat the oven to 200F.

When the oil is approaching 350F, whisk the batter again. If it has thickened too much, add another tablespoon of water and whisk. Toss 2 to 3 pieces of chicken (or fish) in some flour (dredge the number of pieces that will fit in your pot without crowding it). Shake off all excess flour. Dip a piece of chicken (or fish) in the batter, allow most of the excess to drip off, then slowly add to the hot oil. Repeat with the remaining piece(s). Fry until deep brown. Transfer the chicken to a wire rack inserted into a sheet pan and place the sheet pan in the oven to keep warm until all of the chicken has been fried. Allow the oil to return to 350F before adding more pieces.