Pumpkin Cranberry Bread...

6 c flour (all purpose must!)
3 tbsp plus 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp salt
6 c sugar
1 can (29oz) pure pumpkin
8 eggs
2 c vegetable oil
1 c orange juice or water
1 c sweetened dried, fresh, or frozen cranberries

Preheat oven to 350, grease and flour four 9x5 loaf pans. Combine flour, spice, soda, salt in bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, juice/water in bowl. With wire wisk mix in large bowl until just blended. Add pumpkin to flour mixture, stir until just moistened. Fold in cranberries. Spoon 4 c of batter into each bread pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until center is done. Cool in pan or wire racks for 10 minutes, remove to wire rack to cool completely.

My notes: This is by far my most favorite pumpkin bread recipe. I usually use my mini loaf pan and it takes about 45 minutes to bake. You can halve this recipe and this bread freezes great! Once you try this pumpkin bread you will be in love! I alter the recipe and add nuts and/or raisins and sometimes leave out the cranberries and just have regular pumpkin bread. Yummy! You will not be disappointed!

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

3 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup oil (I use 1/2 cup oil an 1/2 cup applesauce to cut down on the fat)
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar (I use 2 cups white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar)
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 Tblsp. ground cinnamon (I add a dash of nutmeg too)
1 pint (2 cups) blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 4 mini loaf pans, 2 large loaf pans, or a 9 x 13 pan (I usually use the 9 x 13 pan).
In a large bowl beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Put in pan.

Topping: Put on before baking
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick soft butter

Bake 50 minutes or until knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pan.

I tried this with the mini loaf pans and it exploded all over my oven. Next time I will not fill them as full and I will place a cookie sheet underneath to catch and drippings. This is yummy!

Dinner Rolls

1 1/4 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F)
2 envelopes Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup warm milk (100 to 110 degrees F)
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs

Directions:
Place 1/2 cup warm water in large warm bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved. Add remaining warm water, warm milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 2 cups flour. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed with electric mixer. Add eggs and 1/2 cup flour. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap; let rest for 20 minutes.

Punch dough down. Shape into desired shapes for dinner rolls. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until done. Remove from baking sheets; cool on wire racks.

***To freeze: Punch down dough. Shape into desired shapes for dinner rolls. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and foil, sealing well. Freeze up to 1 week. When frozen, rolls may be placed in plastic freezer bags.***

Remove from freezer; place on greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until done. Remove from baking sheets; cool on wire racks.

Oatmeal Bread

1 pkg. dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup quick oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tblsp. salt

2 Tblsp. margarine

2 cups boiling water

5-6 cups flour (I used bread flour, but you don't have to)

1. Dissolve yeast in warm (120 degrees) water.

2. In large bowl combine oats, 1/2 cup flour, sugar, salt, and margarine. Pour boiling water over all and mix well. When mixture is cooled to lukewarm stir in yeast mixture.

3. Stir in approximately half remaining flour. Turn onto floured surface and knead in remaining flour.

4. Place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise until double. Punch down. Shape into two loaves and place in greased bread pans. Let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cool on rack, brushing loaves with margarine for a soft crust.

I completed steps 1 and 2, then put everything all together in the bread machine on the "dough" cycle to knead and raise. I then put the dough in the pans, let it raise again, and baked in the oven. This is irresistible out of the oven!!

Pumpkin Oat Muffins

1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup oats

Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tblsp. flour
3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 Tblsp. cold butter or margarine


In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine the egg, pumpkin, milk, and oil; add to the dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in the oats.

Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, and pie spice; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle one rounded teaspoonful over each muffin. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Breadsticks

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. onion powder
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed

In a shallow bowl, combine the first five ingredients; set aside. Divide dough into 12 -16 pieces; roll each into a 6 inch rope. Dip ropes in margarine, then roll in cheese mixture. Place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Let rise about half and hour. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Bread

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Stir together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Variations: Add nuts and/or raisins to the bread (1/2 cup each). I also add ginger or pumpkin pie spice for an extra kick.

Have I said that pumpkin bread is my weakness? I love this stuff and I am always trying new pumpkin bread recipes! I have been in the pumpkin bread making mood lately! Yummy!!

Banana Bread

Since I made 5 loaves of banana bread for our church's bake sale and country store I figured I might as well share my recipe.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
3 bananas
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream oil, sugar, and eggs. In separate bowl, mash the bananas with the cold water. Add to creamed mixture. Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla. Pour into greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

You can add nuts or chocolate chips to this bread if you like. I generally use my mini loaf pan (makes 4 mini loaves) and it bakes about 40 minutes.

Bubba's Beer Biscuits

These are courtesy Ms. Paula Deen. And they are the best beer bread recipe I've found and super easy and quick. You can even do these in a loaf but the biscuits are nice for soups and stews. We had them with our Beef Stew last night!

4 cups biscuit mix (recommended: Bisquick)
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
1 (12-ounce) can of beer 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all ingredients well, adjusting the sugar according to how sweet a biscuit you prefer. Pour into well-greased muffin tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with honey butter.

Streusel Rhubarb Bread

1 and 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil (or whatever kind of oil you like to use)
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup milk with 1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 and 1/2 cups rhubarb

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tblsp. cold butter or margarine

Combine brown sugar and oil, add egg; mix well. Beat in buttermilk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into brown sugar mixture just until combined. Fold in the rhubarb. Pour into two greased loaf pans.

For topping, combine sugar, cinnamon, and butter until crumbly, sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Soft Sandwich Buns

Success! After trying a recipe that totally flopped the other day, I made the BEST buns today. They are the lightest buns I've ever had. I have a really good recipe for buns, but they honestly take all day to make. So I only ever make them for special occasions. I wanted a quick recipe I could make quite often, and I finally found it. It made a pretty big batch, so I was able to freeze quite a few. I'm still on a mission to find a recipe for the perfect loaf of bread.

1 and 1/4 cups ginger ale (I had diet 7 up on hand, so that's what I used) heated to 120 degrees

1 egg (room temperature), beaten

2 Tblsp. butter or margarine, softened

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

3 and 3/4 cups bread flour

1 and 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1 Tblsp. butter or margarine, melted

In bread machine pan, place the first seven ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer (mine says to put liquids in first, then dry ingredients, with yeast on the very top). Select dough setting. When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch down. Divide dough in half. Roll each portion to 3/4 inch thickness; cut with biscuit cutter ( I used two sizes so I could make larger hamburger buns, and smaller dinner type rolls). Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Brush tops with melted butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours usually. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Lazy Doughnuts

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup shortening

Cream sugar and shortening; add beaten egg, milk, and dry ingredients. Put in greased mini muffin pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Pour following mixture over doughnuts while still in pan:

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Banana Bread

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups flour
4 tblsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 to 3 bananas, mashed
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream shortening, sugars, and eggs. Mix in vanilla, milk, and bananas. Add dry ingredients, then chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

This is a recipe from my grandma, who was an excellent cook. She didn't have very many recipes written down, so I treasure the few that I have from her.