RazzMaTazz Bars

3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter
3 c. Nestle White chocolate chips (divided)
3 large eggs
3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. almond extract
3/4 c. seedless raspberry jam
1/4 c. toasted sliced almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and sugar 9x13 inch pan.
Melt butter in medium sized glass bowl for 1 minute. Stir. Add 1 1/2 c. white chips. Let stand. Do not stir.
Beat eggs in large bowl until foamy. Add sugar and beat until light lemon colored... about 5 minutes. Stir in butter/white chip mixture. Add flour, salt and almond extract. Mix at low speed until combined. Spread 2/3 batter into pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Remove from oven to a wire rack. Heat jam in microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir and spread on warm crust. Add remaining 1 1/2 c. white chips into remaining 1/3 batter and drop by spoonfuls onto jam. Sprinkle with almonds if desired. Return to oven and bake an additional 25-30 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Pizza Dough by California Pizza Kitchen (great frozen)

1 tsp yeast
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs warm water
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs olive oil

Dissolve yeast in water, set aside for 5 minutes. Use mixing paddle in your kichenAid combined the rest of the  ingredients. Mix gradually with yeast mixture. On lowest 2 speeds for 2 to 3 minutes. Lightly oil dough ball and interior of bowl with olive oil. Seal top with plastic wrap for 1 to 2 hours.
preheat oven 500 degrees
divide dough into 2 balls. Use hands to shape into pizza crust. place crust on pizza pan and cook dough only for 3 mins. take pizza crust out of oven. If you are planning on freezing your crust. let it cool and cover with plastic wrap. If you plan to eat now top with pizza sauce, cheese and favorite toppings. Place back in oven for 7 minutes. Enjoy!


Pizza sauce:
1 small can tomato sauce
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder

Garlic Cheese bread:
1 Tbs butter
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbs parmesan cheese
mozz. cheese.

One Hour Rolls

I love hot rolls but they can be so time consuming.  This recipe only takes one hour, can be used with whole-wheat flour (if you use white wheat and don't replace more than half, you don't even notice), and I use it for everything--breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, even pizza bites.

Shirley's One Hour Rolls
by Emilee Wells

1 c. warm water
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. oil
2 T. yeast
Mix together and let stand 15 minutes

Add:
1 t. salt
1 beaten egg
3 or 3-1/2 c. flour
Mix and let stand 10 minutes. Shape and let rise 20-30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. makes 1-1/2 doz rolls . Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

May Craft Group

Ladies,
May's craft group will be on Tuesday, the 1st, at Jill's house.  We will be making cards.  The theme for the recipe exchange is breads.  (I'll be bringing my wheat bread, right, Crystal?)  Don't worry about bringing the recipe; please just post it on this blog either before or after you come.  And if you would, please post the fruit recipe you brought to Angela's house last month as well.

Wheat Bread

I'm posting this recipe now so I don't have to remember to do it later.
I love this recipe because of two things:
1) No dairy in the dough, so it stays fresh-tasting for several days, even if just kept in the cupboard. If frozen, it lasts for much longer. (But we eat it quickly, so I don't know just how long it would last.
2) My sister-in-law told me about just kneading it in the mixer for 10 minutes instead of having it rise the first time in the bowl like most bread recipes. That was always the most irritating part of making bread for me because it dirtied another bowl, and it meant I had to keep track of it for just that one more step. If you don't have a bread machine, Bosch, or KitchenAid, you can use this recipe, and just let it rise once in a bowl before shaping it into loaves.

I have given the quantity that I make because it's as much as fits in my small KitchenAid. If you have a Bosch or larger KitchenAid, you can make a double batch and shape it into three loaves.

Annette's Wheat Bread (Makes 1 large and 1 small loaf)
2 cups hot water
4-1/2 -- 5-1/2 cups wheat flour*
2 tbsp. oil (canola)
1/4 - 1/2 cup honey or brown sugar**
1/4 cup wheat gluten***
1/2 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp yeast, I use instant****

Put all ingredients (but only 3 cups of the flour) into the mixer. (Tip: Put the oil into the measuring cup where you will measure your honey, and swirl it around before measuring the honey. Then the honey just slides into the bowl. Much less scraping.) Mix well. Add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough cleans off the sides of the bowl. Then mix, on a relatively low speed, for 10 more minutes. Shape immediately into loaves and let rise. (I let them rise on top of the oven while it preheats since the warmth helps them to rise faster.) Bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes.

*If homeground, use all wheat flour. If storebought, use half-wheat, half-white.
**Use brown sugar if a baby under 12 months old will be eating this bread. I don't think the spores that are possibly found in honey are killed by 350 degree oven heat, so err on the side of caution.
***Gluten makes the dough stretchy so it rises better, and it adds protein. You can usually find it in the baking aisle of the grocery store.
****If you don't use instant yeast, you will have to bloom it in part of the water before adding it to the bread.

Yogurt Cream

The yogurt cream I brought last time is based on this recipe on Pioneer Woman's website.  However, I only use 1/4 cup brown sugar and about 1/3 cup half-and-half, instead of the heavy cream she calls for.  (Except last time, I ran short of yogurt and used about half sour cream, so I can't claim to be entirely nutritionally virtuous.)  It's fantastic with granola and berries, or as a topping for strawberry shortcake, with strawberries.  Yum!