All About That Bread

(Disclaimer: Sorry, but there is nothing gluten-free about this post.)

Happiness is...

A warm, fresh, homemade baguette

The smell making your mouth water

and your stomach growl

Crusty and floury on the outside

Soft and chewy on the inside

Generously thick slices, 

with thick layers of butter

Each bite is a taste of home,

of family,

of comfort, 

of love. 

Yes, homemade bread is so great, I wrote a poem about it. Here's how my Mom makes it amazing:

1 c water
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp bread-machine yeast

Put all the ingredients in the bread machine in order, and set the machine on the "dough cycle." When the dough is finished mixing, take it out and roll it in flour, and form a 12-15" log. Place it in a floured banneton, and cover it with oiled plastic. Let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Then gently transfer it to a greased cookie sheet. Slash the top several times with a sharp knife. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 min.

"...with candy canes and silver lanes a-glow!"

Oh yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Spoon Drop Inn! This week Mom made a new festive recipe that I absolutely love - candy cane coffee cake. But silly me, I thought that it was a coffee cake with candy canes in it or on it, but it is actually made to look like a candy cane...

Candy Cane Coffee Cakes (from p. 81 of the BCC): One thing that makes this coffee cake unique is that you heat two cups of sour cream and stir it in with the yeast, warm water, butter, sugar, salt, eggs and flour. Chemically, I don't know what that does to change the consistency, but the bread turned out so nice and soft and fluffy! 

Then you add flour until the dough is easy to handle. Knead, cover, and let rise for an hour, then punch it down and divide the dough in three parts. The recipes says it "makes three cakes - one for the brunch table and two for gift giving" - how charming is that?! Oh, that hospitable Betty...

This is where the fun really begins: you roll out each piece into 15"x6" rectangles, and make 2" cuts at 1/2" intervals on the long sides of the rectangles... so it looks like it's tasseled, like your favorite ugly Christmas sweater. 

You make a mixture of chopped maraschino cherries and dried apricots and spread it down the middle of the tasseled dough rectangles. And THEN... you crisscross the tassels over the filling. Stretch the dough out to 22" and carefully curve one end to form it in the shape of a candy cane.

Bake until they are golden brown, and while they are still warm, brush them with butter and drizzle them with a thin icing made with two cups of confectioners' sugar and two tablespoons of milk.

And now you have beautiful, sweet coffee cake to serve for your Christmas brunch - and of course, two more to give to those you love. I enjoyed a piece yesterday with a cup of Twinnings' Christmas tea - perfect for making the season bright!

A Missionary Buckle

Mom and I had some friends over for coffee this morning, so we decided to make a little something special to have for breakfast. What could be a better choice than the BCC's "Favorite Coffee Cake"? 

Blueberry Buckle (variation of the Favorite Coffee Cake on p. 55 of the BCC): Mom followed the regular recipe for the coffee cake, but added more flour and 2 cups of blueberries. Instead of using the regular topping, the Buckle recipe says to mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter together and sprinkle that on top, making a lighter, less crunchy topping. It was fabulous, light, fluffy, and just sweet enough!

The word "buckle" means to "warp or bulge," and that is what this dish does... the baking powder in the batter causes the cake to rise, but the addition of the blueberries makes it rise unevenly, and look a bit lumpy and bulgey on top. "Buckle down" is an American idiom that means "to begin to seriously work at something," which is what we ladies were doing together this morning. Anna and I have a new ministry idea bubbling in our minds and hearts, and Mom and Kathi were helping us brainstorm and work out the details.  

So, missionaries buckling down with some buckle and coffee... what a great way to spend a Saturday morning!

Our Favorite Pancakes

I think one of my favorite Saturday morning traditions is homemade pancakes at the Spoon Drop Inn. When the whole family is home, and Mom cooks them up hot off the griddle by the plateful, until all the batter is gone. Stacks and stacks! Butter and syrup everywhere! Oohhh, the stickiness! As the BCC says, "Is there a better way to start any day?"

Favorite Pancakes - Blueberry variation (from p. 57 of the BCC): Yes, the BCC actually calls them "Favorite Pancakes," and I must agree, I've never had better pancakes than these. Betty isn't bragging, she is simply speaking truth. The book has the recipe for classic, plain batter, so you can make plain pancakes. But the great thing is, there are nine variations listed below! And if that wasn't enough, there are specialty pancakes listed, with toppings, syrups, fillings, and butters. You could basically make and enjoy a different kind of pancake every day for two weeks! Or have a pancake festival with the whole smorgasbord! Ok, I'm getting a little too excited and carried away... But if you try any of the variations, please share them with us!

At any rate, we did the blueberries yesterday, because that's a Chandler traditional favorite, and for very good reason. It includes 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries... and when they are hot, I love to poke them and make them burst warm purple juice all over my plate. Here, we have a lovely display of the morning's pancakes, in all their golden glory, with Mom's Pfaltzgraff Yorktowne stoneware dishes, which she has had as long as I can remember. They are about as nostalgic to me as the BCC...

Aaaand now, from the South!

Happy October, everyone! I hope you have enjoyed reading and cooking some great recipes so far. Every day we hear positive feedback from more of your readers out there, and it is so encouraging to us! Keep your comments comin'! 

Southern Biscuits (from p. 45 of the BCC): Today's tasty treat is something you dear "Southern Mamas" are probably very familiar with - you may even have your own special variations of this recipe that your families love, and if so, please tell us about it! These biscuits are traditionally heavier and denser, so don't worry when you pull them from the oven -they're supposed to come out that way! It makes them much better for eating with gravy - you need a hearty bread that won't fall apart. One thing I love about the BCC recipe is that you make them small - only about 2 inches in diameter at most. (Then you can have more, and not feel guilty!)  

I mentioned gravy, and that's how we ate it today... You may be familiar with sausage gravy, but Mom made a chicken gravy that her grandma used to make, and it was sooo yummy! It was very easy, just chicken and cream-of-chicken soup. Cut the biscuits in half on your plate, and smother them with gravy. Add a side of corn and home-grown beans, and you are in for a comforting treat that will rival Cracker Barrel.

So, Southern Mamas, how do you serve Southern biscuits?

Autumnal Variations

Since the temperature has finally dipped below 75, Mom has decorated the house for the autumn season, in classy-elegant cream tones with splashes of brilliant orange, red, and gold, and it all puts me so in the mood for chai tea, pumpkins, and everything cinnamon... 

Apple Muffins (from p. 47 of the BCC): Mom followed the "Popular Muffins" recipe (more milk and salt, less sugar), and did the apple variation. Warning: there are seven variations, so there may be more muffins in our dietary future! For the Nut-Crunch Topping, Mom used walnuts, which were an excellent choice. She made a dozen regular-sized muffins, and had enough left over to make some mini muffins too!

Tea drinkers: Mini apple muffins go great with a hot spiced or vanilla chai for afternoon tea time! If you aren't a tea drinker, don't worry, I also tried the regular sized muffins for breakfast with coffee, and they were just as delicious. No matter what your favorite hot beverage is, these muffins are the perfect thing to welcome in the cooler air, shorter days, and changing leaves... such beauty and flavor in this time of year!

By the way, a few of our readers have mentioned wanting to buy this edition of the BCC to follow along, so I went on Amazon, just to see how much it would cost. Did you know that a brand new 1976 ed. BCC is actually selling on Amazon for $689.43?! That's crazy - and doesn't even include shipping cost! I mean, granted, it claims no shelf wear, unread quality AND it will come to your door in bubble wrap (additional fun... for the kids, of course!). But how valuable can an unused recipe book really have, anyway? People, use your recipe books to make delicious food for your loved ones. Wear them out, get them covered in flour and stained with vanilla extract and speckled with tomato sauce, and that book will become priceless!