What's better than a toasty warm house and a dog by your feet?

How about all that plus the aroma of bread baking?

I would like to share an easy bread recipe with you.

This was previously printed in Volume 1 of Annie's Sweet Tooth.

Hope you will enjoy it!

1 level teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon, slightly heaping, yeast

1 level teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon, slightly heaping, kosher salt

3 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour plus more for dusting.

In a large bowl, mix yeast and salt into 1 1/2 cups warm water, about 100 degrees.  With a spoon, stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches.  After mixing, knead a few times in the bowl.  Cover with a clean dish towel and let dough rise at room temperature for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  After resting, sprinkle dough with a little flour and knead five times.  After kneading, make sure the top of the dough is smoothed out.  Put the dough in a regular loaf pan.  (If a non stick pan, there is no need to grease; otherwise do grease and flour.) Cover with a dish towel and let rise for 40 minutes.  After this second rest, take a knife and gently slash the dough lengthwise, so there is barely a cut down the middle.  Bake at 450 degrees until well browned, about 30-35 minutes.  Remove from oven when baking is complete and allow to cool.  Serve with butter and jam.  

Double Coconut Cream Pie



(from All You, July, 2010)

(Reprinted in myrecipes.com)

 

Ingredients

 

5 cups sweetened flaked coconut

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 large eggs 

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups whole milk 

3/4 cup heavy cream

Additional sweetened flaked coconut, toasted, optional

 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mist a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Place 3 cups coconut in a bowl. In a pan, melt 5 tablespoons butter. Stir butter into coconut until moistened. Press mixture into bottom and sides of pie plate. Bake until crust is deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Check often—if edges are browning before bottom, cover edges with strips of foil. Transfer crust to a wire rack. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot crust and let stand for 5 minutes, until melted. Gently spread chocolate over bottom of crust. Refrigerate crust for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla until smooth. Warm milk in a pan over medium heat until nearly simmering. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot milk into egg mixture. Return milk mixture to pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil and thickens enough to coat back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in remaining 2 cups coconut and 2 Tbsp. butter; let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour custard into crust. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly against surface of custard, and chill completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over custard, swirling decoratively. Chill pie for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with toasted coconut before serving, if desired.

Coffee Toffee Ice Cream Cupcakes

(recipe and photo from myrecipes.com)





• 1 10 3/4-oz. frozen pound cake
  
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
  
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
  
• 2 pints coffee ice cream, slightly softened
  
• 1 cup chocolate-covered toffee bits, such as Heath Bar Bits O'Brickle

1. Arrange 12 paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Cut pound cake into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to cut 12 circles from slices, reserving scraps for another use. Place circles in bottoms of cupcake liners.
2. Combine heavy cream and confectioners' sugar in a bowl and whip with an electric mixer until cream holds stiff peaks.
3. Scoop ice cream into a large bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup Heath Bar Bits; add remaining Bits to bowl with ice cream. Combine by mashing ice cream and candy with back of a large spoon. (If ice cream gets too soft, place bowl in freezer for 10 minutes before continuing.)
4. Top each pound-cake circle with a scoop of ice cream and cover with whipped cream. Sprinkle with remaining Heath Bar Bits. Lightly drape cupcakes with plastic wrap and place in freezer until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

Tropical Coconut Macaroons

(Recipe and photo from the Cottage Journal, Hoffman Media)

Makes about 4 dozen
2 (14-ounce) bags sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 egg whites
1/2 cup finely chopped salted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup finely chopped dried pineapple
1/2 cup finely chopped dried mango

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine coconut, sugar, flour, and salt. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well combined. Add egg whites, beating until well blended. Stir in macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and dried mango. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on pans for 2 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight containers.



Key Lime Pound Cake

(Recipe and photo from  Daily Indulgence of MyRecipes.com)

(Originally from Kathleen Blackman, Ponce Inlet, Florida, Southern Living  MARCH 2011) 



1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lime zest

1/4 cup fresh Key lime juice

Key Lime Glaze

 

1. 1. Preheat oven to 325°. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
   
2. 2. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan.
   
3. 3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.
   
4. 4. Prepare Key Lime Glaze, and immediately brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely (about 1 hour).

 Key Lime Glaze 

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Whisk together powdered sugar, fresh Key lime juice, and vanilla until smooth. Use immediately.

Strawberry Tiramisu

(from the Cottage Journal newsletter by Hoffman Media)

http://www.hoffmanmedia.com/CottageJournal/signup.aspx

Makes 2 servings
1/2 (3-ounce) package ladyfingers
1/4 cup coffee liqueur
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese, divided
1 (4-ounce) bar semisweet chocolate, grated
1 tablespoon strawberry extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, divided
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Garnish: chocolate curls, fresh strawberries

1. Line 2 (4-inch) springform pans with parchment paper. Lightly spray bottoms and sides of pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottoms of pans with ladyfingers, making sure they are very close together. Brush ladyfingers with coffee liqueur.
2. In a small bowl, beat half of mascarpone and chocolate at medium speed with an electric mixer until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, beat remaining half of mascarpone, strawberry extract, and 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar at medium speed until smooth .
4. In a medium bowl, beat cream and remaining 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
5. To assemble, spread chocolate-mascarpone mixture evenly over ladyfingers. Spread strawberry-mascarpone mixture evenly over chocolate-mascarpone mixture. Spread whipped cream over strawberry-mascarpone mixture. Freeze for 4 hours, or until firm.
6. To serve, remove from freezer, carefully release sides of springform pans, and remove. Garnish with chocolate curls and strawberries, if desired. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

Raspberry Coconut Breakfast Bars

(recipe and photo from http://www.driscolls.com/)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup toasted unsweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

2 large egg whites

1 package (6 ounce) Driscoll's Raspberries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, allowing an overhang on sides of pan.

Stir together whole wheat flour, oats, all-purpose flour, flaked coconut, sugar, nutmeg and salt until blended. Stir in coconut oil and egg whites until moist dough forms. Reserve ¾ cup of dough. Press remaining dough into pan until evenly spread.

Mash raspberries in a separate bowl and spread over dough in pan. Crumble remaining dough and sprinkle on top of raspberry layer.

Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Using overhang, transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely before cutting.