Sweet and moist cornbread

Tonya found this recipe on Facebook.  Looks good enough to try.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Stuff you will need

8x8 inch square pan, or 10 inch round cast iron skillet

Mixing bowl

Whisk

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using your hands or brush, heavily oil the sides and bottom of an 8 x 8-inch square pan or cast-iron skillet. Place pan or skillet in oven while you mix the cornbread.

In large bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Add eggs, milk, sour cream and vegetable oil. Whisk or stir until there are not any lumps.

Pour into the heated pan and cook at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Strawberry Pie

 

Cast iron skillets are great to use when baking pies. The heat transfer and even heating of cast iron can result in tall pies with beautiful crusts.

Ingredients

1 homemade pie crust

4 pounds strawberries, sliced into quarters

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

6 tablespoons tapioca starch or cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons cream

Directions

Toss berries with one cup sugar and let them sit for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Drain the strawberries well (you can reserve the liquid for a refreshing drink!). Toss the berries with lemon juice, cornstarch, and vanilla. 

Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and roll out the larger piece of dough until it is about ⅛ inch thick. Fold it into thirds. Unfold into the skillet. Trim the edges to hang about 1 inch over the lip. Place it back in the fridge while you roll out the small piece of dough.

Roll the small piece of dough into an oblong shape and cut it into five or six 1-1½ inch strips.

Place strawberries in chilled crust and lattice the top with the excess dough.

Mix egg yolk and cream with a fork and brush onto the pie dough. 

Place skillet on a sheet pan. Bake for one hour on the bottom rack, or until the crust is golden brown and the center of the filling is bubbly and thick. Cool on a wire rack or on an Enamel Trivet at least two hours before slicing. 

Cream Cheese Custard Pie With Fruit Topping

The a simple custard recipe for this pie makes it a great dessert to cap off any meal. Its light creaminess also perfectly complements a myriad of flavors, so we encourage you to try different fruit toppings, a chocolate drizzle, a homemade caramel sauce on top, or even just eat it as a simple custard pie.

Ingredients

Filling

16 ounces full-fat cream cheese, room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

Topping

Assorted fruits, such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi

Directions

Make Basic Pie Dough recipe. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and have an ungreased 9 Inch Pie Pan ready. 

Use a large bowl and stand mixer to beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until thoroughly blended and smooth, 3- 5 minutes, scraping down the sides periodically. Add the eggs 1 at a time and beat until well blended. 

Pour the filling into the crust and spread evenly.

Bake until the custard is just set, 45-50 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for about 1 hour.

Decorate with fruit and allow to chill for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours before serving. 

 

Bagels

Make it bagel time, anytime. Not only are these homemade bagels delicious and customizable to your favorite bagel flavor, but they are incredibly adorable, too. Top with a schmear of cream cheese or jam and enjoy!

Ingredients

2¼ teaspoons instant or active dry yeast

2 tablespoons honey

1½ cups water, lukewarm

4 cups bread flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

4 quarts water

1 tablespoon molasses

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, honey, and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour and salt together.

Turn the stand mixer to medium speed with the dough hook attached. Slowly add the flour ½ cup at a time until the dough comes together. Lower the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls from the sides of the bowl, 5-7 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl and flip to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for 1 hour. 

Punch down the dough and recover to rise for another 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces covered with plastic wrap.  

Place the dough one piece at a time on a lightly floured countertop. Flour hands and pull the edges of the dough onto themselves 5 or 6 times making a misshapen ball. Make the “okay” sign with your hand and place on top of the ball resting your pinky and side of your palm on the countertop. Make contact with the dough but don’t press it down. Make small circles, about an inch in diameter, with your hand over the dough. The dough should form a nice ball. Cover with plastic wrap and repeat with the remaining dough.

Lightly flour your hands again. Using your thumb and middle finger, press through the center of the dough. Start stretching the dough into a ring a little at a time. Once the ring is 2 inches in diameter, place on a greased cookie sheet and cover. 

Repeat with remaining dough.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in an enameled dutch oven or large stock pot. Reduce the heat to a slight simmer and add 1 tablespoon molasses.  

Carefully add as many of the bagels to the water as you feel comfortable. Be sure not to crowd.  

Simmer for 1 minute per side. Use caution when turning the bagels over—we used a slotted spatula (or fish turner).

Place simmered bagels on a greased pizza pan and season immediately with your favorite bagel toppings. Leave about an inch between bagels. Repeat with the remaining bagels.  

Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pizza pan once halfway through.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest on a cooling rack for 15-20 minutes 

Braided Challah Loaf

I seen this on the Lodge Cast Iron website and thought this would be interesting to make.

Ingredients

Dough

1½ tablespoons active dry yeast

½ cup honey, plus 1 tablespoon

1¾ cups warm water

½ cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2½ teaspoons salt

8 cups bread flour

Egg Wash

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon water

Directions

In a bowl or a stand mixer, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon honey in 1¾ cups warm water. About 5 minutes.

 

Use the hook attachment to whisk in the eggs and oil and the rest of the honey and salt. Add flour a little at a time until the dough comes together. Knead the dough on medium speed until smooth, about 10 minutes. The dough should pull cleanly away from the mixing bowl. Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 1 hour until doubled.  

Punch the dough down and recover. Let it rise a second time in a warm place, about 30 minutes.

Divide the dough in half and cover one portion with plastic wrap.

Using half, the dough, cut the dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 20-inch rope. You may need to let the rope rest for a few minutes before continuing to stretch it out. 

Lay the three dough ropes parallel to one another on a clean work surface. Press the ends of one side of each rope together. Braid the ropes in an overlapping pattern until you reach the end. Press the ends together and place on a sheet of parchment paper.

Repeat these steps with the other half of the dough and cover the loaves with plastic wrap for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with one rack in the center of the oven and one rack on the bottom. Place a large cast iron skillet on the bottom rack to preheat.

Brush loaves with egg wash all over. Place loaf on a pizza pan sprayed with oil and place in the oven. Add one cup of water to the preheated skillet already in the oven, just before closing the oven door. The trapped steam will help give the bread a quick start, essentially searing the exterior. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating once halfway through baking. Challah should be golden brown, and the internal temperature should be 195 degrees F checked with probe thermometer. 

Cool on wire rack before eating.

Pro tip: To ensure even browning, quickly brush the loaves again with egg wash after 15 minutes in the oven.

Bacon Spirals

 

I haven't personally done this.

Actually this morning is going to be the first.

I've got Montreal Spiced Bacon in the fridge.  I'm going to do about 1/2.  If it doesn't turn out, well, I've only wasted about 1/2 of the bacon.

Then again, how could it go wrong?

Ingredients

Thick cut Bacon

Stuff you will need

Cookie sheet

Tin Foil

Wire Rack

Directions

Twist uncooked thick-cut bacon into tight spirals and place on a wire rack set inside a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until crispy, about 35 minutes. Let cool on rack.