No-Knead Bread

Ingredients
3 cups of bread flour alternative: 1/2c whole wheat flour + 2 1/2c bread flour
1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast (a little extra doesn't hurt!)
1 teaspoon of table salt alternative: 3/4 tablespoon of kosher salt
1-1/2 cups of lukewarm water



Directions
Day 1:  
Put ingredients into a large bowl, stir until mostly combined, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for 12-20 hours.

Day 2:
Dump out onto a floured surface, fold the dough edges under to get a reasonably smooth-surfaced ball.
Let ball rest in a tall bowl for 2 hours.

1 1/2 hours into the rest, put a cast iron dutch oven (e.g., Le Creuset) in the oven to preheat at 450°F.

At the end of the rest, put the dough in the now-hot dutch oven, cover with dutch oven lid and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

Elapsed time: 14-22 hours
Work time:  5 minutes

Stolen from:  http://steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html
You can find it all over the Internet but this is a nice write-up.

Wally's Gooey Butter Cake

Ingredients
Crust:

1 Package (18,25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

1 large egg

Filling:

1 Package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

3 ¾ cups confection sugar; sifted

Directions

1.      Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Set aside an ungreased 13 by 9 inch baking pan.

2.      For the crust, place the cake mix, melted butter, and egg in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 2 minutes. Stop the machine and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The batters come together in a ball. With your fingertips, pat the batter evenly over the bottom of the pan, smoothing it out with your fingers until the top is smooth. Set the pan aside.

3.      For the filling, place the cream cheese in the same mixing bowl that was used to make the crust, and with the same beaters (no need to clean either) blend with an electric mixer at low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add eggs, vanilla, and melted butter and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and add the confectioners’ sugar. Beat on medium speed until the sugar is well incorporated, 1 minute more. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the filling into the crust and spread with a rubber spatula so that the filling covers the entire surface and reaches the sides of the pan. Place the pan in the oven.

4.      Bake the cake until it is well browned but the center still jiggles when you shake the pan, 45 to 47 minutes. Remove the pan from the over and place it on a wire rack to cool, 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

5.      Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or freeze it, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Stained Sunglasses Cookies

Stained Sunglasses Cookies

Aunt Bonnie's Chex Mix

Ingredients

2 sticks butter

3 T Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 cups of cashews  

1 T Lawrys seasoned salt

8 cups of Chex cereal  (I use corn, rice and wheat)

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Melt butter in oven in roasting pan

Add Worcestershire sauce and seasoned salt and stir to mix

Add the Chex cereal and cashews and stir until they are all coated

Bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

1 Pork roast or 2 pork tenderloins
1 bottle Hunt's Hickory and Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce
Dry Rub (I use a Montreal seasoning but any dry BBQ rub is fine)

Pour 1/2 bottle of BBQ sauce into the slow cooker. Rinse pork with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Cover pork in dry rub seasoning. Place pork into crock pot (pork should not touch the sides, only the bottom of the cooker). Pour remaining BBQ sauce over pork, making sure the entire piece is covered with sauce.

Cook pork on low for at least 8-10 hours. Remove pork and use fork to pull pork (pork should be very moist and easy to pull). Serve with baked beans (I use Bush's baked beans, any flavor). Also goes well with potato salad or with rolls for a pulled pork sandwich!

Saint Theresa Cookies

My mom would make these cookies every Christmas. The smell of the walnuts and the tangy dough are delightful!

Ingredients:
Dough:
1 cup butter room temperature
8 ounces of cream cheese room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon honey
4 cups flour
pinch of salt

Filling:
1 pound ground walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
honey and cinnamon to taste

Directions:
To make dough:
Mix cream cheese, butter, and sour cream together in a mixer. Add honey. Add 3- 3 1/2 cups of flour to form a stiff dough. Divide into three flat balls, wrap in plastic wrap, store in refrigerator overnight.

To make filling:
Combine walnuts, sugar, brown sugar, honey and cinnamon to create a wet paste. Add water if needed.

To make cookies:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle surface with flour and roll out dough to 1/4 inch. Cut dough into diamond shapes. Spoon filling onto one end of dough and roll into a crescent shape. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool.

Crisp Rosemary Flatbread

Think of it as a cracker version of rosemary-flecked flatbread. But these are the easiest crackers you’ll ever make: Rather than cutting the dough into small pieces, you bake three large pieces, then break them into smaller ones to serve. The jagged edges invite nibbling.

 

Serves 4

• Active time:15 min
• Start to finish:45 min

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
• Flaky sea salt such as Maldon

Preheat oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle.

Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.

Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin).

Lightly brush top with additional oil and scatter small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slide round (still on parchment) onto preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer flatbread (discard parchment) to a rack to cool, then make 2 more rounds (1 at a time) on fresh parchment (do not oil or salt until just before baking). Break into pieces.

 

Cooks’ note: Flatbread can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.