PUMPKIN PIE CRUNCH

This recipe is great for fall even if you aren't a pumpkin pie fan. This was one of the first recipes Taylor & Kristin learned to make...that's how simple it is.

PUMPKIN PIE CRUNCH

1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin (not pie mix)
1 can (12 oz.) canned evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice (2t.cinnamon, 1t. ginger, 1/2 t. cloves)
1/2 t. salt
1 box yellow cake mix
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. (2 sticks) melted butter or margarine

Grease Bottom of a 13 x 9 pan. Preheat oven to 350.

Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, spices and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture. Top w/ pecans. Drizzle w/ melted butter. Bake at 350 50-55 minutes until golden. Cool completely. Serve w/ sweetened whipped cream. Refrigerate leftovers.

Pecan Pie Bars

Fall has arrived! These decadent bars cut nicely with a buttery, thick crust. They are always a big hit!

Pecan Pie Bars

Brown Sugar Shortbread Crust:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. white sugar
3 T. light brown sugar
1/4 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut in chunks

Pecan Pie Filling:
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. light corn syrup (karo)
1 t. vanilla extract
2 T. whipping cream
2 large eggs
pinch salt
2 c. coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 11x7" pan.

For crust: In a food processor, blend flour, both sugars, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and pulse to break in butter until mixture barely begins to hold together. Press into bottom of prepared pan and bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven. REDUCE oven temp. to 325.

For Filling: In a medium bowl, using a whisk, blend all filling ingredients (except pecans). Once well mixed, fold in pecans.

Bake 25-35 minutes in a 325 oven or until filling is just set. Cool well before cutting into bars.

Note: Sometimes, I add about 1/2 c. chocolate chips to the filling for chocolate/pecan pie bars. Delish!

Moo Moo's Banana Ice Cream

Legend has it that once upon a time in Clarendon a banana truck caught on fire outside Poops's veterinary clinic.  Moo Moo--being the resourceful mom that she was--salvaged countless boxes of smoky green bananas and kept them in a dark closet, pulling a few out at a time to ripen.  I imagine that this alleged banana incident was the root of some of Moo's delicious banana recipes.  My mom still harbors a deep-set disdain for all things banana, but she will occasionally make an exception for Moo's banana ice cream.

Moo Moo's banana ice cream is a much-loved favorite in my family.  It is YUMMY!  You can make it at home, but it will never be as good as when Moo Moo makes it for you.

I am including two recipes.  The original is straight from Moo Moo, and is for her 6 quart ice cream maker.  My ice cream maker is only 4 quarts, so I have also included an altered recipe for a smaller batch.  You may need to make additional changes depending on the size of your machine.  It is best to use bananas that are a little bit too brown to eat, but not quite brown enough for banana bread. You can mash your bananas with a little bit of lemon juice and freeze them ahead of time if you want.

*This recipe calls for raw eggs.  If you are serving this to young children, pregnant women, or the elderly (or if raw eggs just creep you out), use egg beaters or pasteurized eggs instead.

Moo Moo's Original Banana Ice Cream Recipe
6 eggs (or equivalent amount of egg beaters, see above*)
3 C. sugar
1 T. vanilla
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cans evaporated milk
5-6 large bananas, mashed with a little bit of lemon juice to prevent browning
Milk to fill freezer

In mixing bowl or bowl of stand mixer, add eggs and sugar and beat well until light.  Add vanilla, condensed milk and evaporated milk and bananas and stir to combine.  Chill this mixture very well.  Prepare ice cream freezer.  Pour ice cream mixture into freezer container and fill to the top with milk.  Cover and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

4 Quart Banana Ice Cream Recipe
4 eggs (or equivalent amount of egg beaters, see above*)
2 C. sugar
1 T. vanilla
1 can sweetened condensed milk, minus a spoonful or two
1 can evaporated milk
4 large bananas, mashed with a little bit of lemon juice to prevent browning
Milk to fill freezer

In mixing bowl or bowl of stand mixer, add eggs and sugar and beat well until light.  Add vanilla, condensed milk and evaporated milk and bananas and stir to combine.  Chill this mixture very well.  Prepare ice cream freezer.  Pour ice cream mixture into freezer container and fill to the top with milk.  Cover and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.  

Cinnamon Rolls

My mom makes amazing cinnamon rolls.  She learned from her sister, my Aunt Sandy.  This recipe has been a staple of family holidays since before I was born, and both my mom and aunt have sold thousands of these rolls in their lifetimes.

Making these rolls takes several hours, so don't try to make them if you are short on time.  They are addictive, and especially good while they are still warm from the oven.  You literally cannot eat just one.

This recipe takes some practice to perfect, but it is worth it!  You will end up with several pans of rolls to share (or not, if you choose.)  They make excellent gifts.  They can be eaten right away or frozen for later.  If freezing, you can wait to ice the rolls and briefly re-warm them in the oven once thy have thawed.

I forgot to take some photos of making the dough, but I will take some next time.

After the dough has risen for about 1 hour, punch it back down and allow to rest for 15 minutes

Divide dough in half,  form one half into a ball on lightly floured surface (this is too much flour.)

Roll dough out into oval, brush with butter up to 1/2" from the edge, sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon.  Mmmmm......

Roll up from center seam.  Using a serrated knife, carefully cut into 1" rolls.

Place 1/2" apart in greased pan.  Allow to rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour.

Bake, ice, and enjoy!  

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough recipe
2 packages dry yeast
1/4 C. Warm water
1 1/4 C. boiling water
2 sticks butter
3/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 C. cool water
2 eggs
8 C. flour, divided

Making the dough
1) Combine packages of yeast and warm water.  Set aside.

2) In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 1/4 C. boiling water, butter, sugar, and salt.  Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved.

3) Add the cool water, eggs, and yeast mixture to the mixer bowl.  Add 4 cups of flour and blend with the paddle attachment until a very wet, sticky dough forms.  Continue to add the remaining flour, a little bit at a time, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  You may not need to use all the flour.

4)  When the dough starts to pull away from the bowl, switch to the dough hook attachment to knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, adding small amounts of flour if needed to create a smooth, elastic dough.

5) Place dough in a warm, greased bowl, turning to coat the top of the dough.  Cover and let double in bulk.  This will take about 1 hour.  Punch the dough down after it has risen.  Knead lightly, cover, and allow to rest 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare to roll out and fill the cinnamon rolls.

Filling (measurements are approximate)
2 sticks melted butter
2 C. sugar
6 T. cinnamon

Making the rolls
1) Divide dough in half.  Roll each half of the dough into an 8x15" rectangle (or oval, in my case) on a lightly floured surface.

2) Brush with melted butter up to 1/2" from the edge.  Sprinkle heavily with sugar and then cinnamon.

3) Cut rectangle (oval) in half lengthwise, and roll each side up tightly, starting from the center seam.  With a bread knife using slow and even strokes, cut the logs into 1" rolls.  Be careful not to mash the rolls as you cut.  Place the cut rolls in a well greased pan, 1/2" apart.  Cover rolls and allow to rise in a warm place until double in bulk (approximately 1 hour).

4)  Bake rolls in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Drizzle with icing (recipe follows.)

Icing
1 C. powdered sugar
approximately 2 T. milk

Combine sugar and milk, adding milk a little bit at a time until you reach the desired consistency.  Icing should be runny enough to easily drizzle over warm rolls.

No Knead Bread

This is a bread recipe that I found and LOVED.  It is so easy and super impressive.  It makes a dense, chewy artisanal loaf of bread with a crisp crust that crackles as it cools.  It takes almost no time to put together, but be advised that you will have to wait overnight before you bake it (totally worth the wait, by the way!)  This bread with a little bit of butter and some HEB jelly is my idea of heaven!


Steph is much more practiced in making this (and many other types of bread) than I am, but here is a video link and the basic no-knead bread from Jim Lahey:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU


Basic No Knead Bread Recipe

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting

1 1/2 cups water
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.