Headmaster's Chocolate Chip Scones

PREP: 30 min
SERVES: 8-16


INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp melted butter
3 Tbsp sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients plus chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl with a fork.
3. Add the cream and mix with fork, incorporating more cream by small amounts until it is a sticky mass.
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a few turns (do NOT overdo!) and then pat into a 10" circle.
5. Brush melted butter on top and sprinkle with sugar. Cut into 8 or 16 wedges and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone about 1/2" apart.
6. Bake 12-15 minutes. Cool on a baking rack. Enjoy!

Variations: Substitute other flavors of chips, or cranberries and orange zest.

Sarah's No-Knead Crusty Bread

This recipe was shared with me by my sister, but it's originally from simplysogood.com.

Prep: 15 min
Rise: 18 hrs
Cook: 45 min
Serves: 10 slices

INGREDIENTS
3 cups + 2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 cups water, cool

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast.
2. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-18 hrs. Overnight works great.
4. Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450, place a cast iron pot with lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. OR pot can be placed in cold oven while oven is preheating and leave in for 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating.
6. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes uncovered. Remove bread from oven and place on a rack to cool.

Note: use silicone-coated parchment paper between dough and pot

Try add-ins:
orange zest & cranberries
gruyere & rosemary

Tiffany's Authentic Kolaches

Thanks Tiffany Urbanovsky for all your research and testing for this recipe!

SUPPLIES
liquid & dry measuring cups
small mixing bowl
large mixing bowl
whisk / immersion blender / blender*
spatula
plastic wrap
oil
2-3 baking sheets
parchment paper

DOUGH
Wet Ingredients:
3 packets of dry active yeast
1/2 cup milk or water (to activate yeast)
2 tsp sugar (to activate yeast)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk - lukewarm
2 eggs
Dry Ingredients:
4-5 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt

FILLINGS
Meat - link sausage (most traditional), lil smokies (what most local bakeries & donut shops use), or ham. Shredded cheese is also great with any of these meats.
Cream cheese - combine 8 oz. softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg white, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp lemon zest.
Fruit - if you can find it, use Solo brand pastry & cake filling. Otherwise use pie filling with a little cornstarch mixed in to thicken it.

DIRECTIONS
Making the Dough:
1. Activate yeast per package instructions.
2. In a small mixing bowl, blend together melted butter, eggs, sugar, and milk.
3. In a large mixing bowl, measure 4 cups bread flour and 1 tsp salt. Stir to disperse salt.
4. Dump all wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients and wait 5 minutes before mixing.
5. Using a spatula stir wet and dry ingredients until just combined. This will be a very soft dough.
6. Dump the soft dough onto a floured surface and knead approximately 10 times. If the dough still seems very wet, add a little more flour during the kneading process.
7. Transfer to an oiled or parchment-lined bowl** and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the dough ball to avoid developing a skin.
8. Rest in a warm space until the dough has doubled in size.
Baking:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Once the dough has doubled in size, take golf ball-sized pieces of dough, gently form into a round or oval shape*** and place on a baking sheet approximately 1 1/2 inches apart until baking sheet is full.
3. For klobasniky (sausage kolache) ONLY - Wrap the dough around meat.
4. Cover baking sheet with oiled plastic wrap and place in a warm space.**** The proofing time varies here--try to pull them out again once the proofed dough balls are just touching their neighbor.
5. For klobasniky ONLY - Put straight into a preheated oven. Bake for a total of 10-14 min. Check every 5ish min for browning.
6. For fruit / cream cheese kolaches, take proofed dough balls and use your fingers to create a deep well in each ball (make bigger than you think necessary as they will close back in as they bake).
7. Put a small dollop (a little less than a Tbsp) of the filling of your choice in the well.
8. Cover again with the oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 5 minutes.
9. Remove plastic wrap and bake in a preheated oven for 10-14 minutes. Check every 5ish minutes for browning.

Notes from Tiffany:
*I prefer to use an immersion blender to make sure the eggs and butter are well incorporated, however a mixing bowl and whisk or a regular blender will also work.
**In previous years I have proofed my dough in large mixing bowls in a warm room, however this year I used an instant pot on the yogurt setting and it cut down significantly on the proofing time. If you have an IP, I would recommend this method!
***round if making fruit kolaches, oval if you are making sausage klobasniky
****I used my microwave as it is directly above my oven and gets nice and warm inside when my oven is on. Makes for a great proofing cabinet!

Denise's Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups white whole wheat flour

DIRECTIONS
Mix ingredients in order. Pour into greased bread mold(s) or greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean.

Approximate baking times:
1 large bread mold - 1 hour
3 small loaves - 40 minutes
muffins - 25 minutes

Easy Crostini

Crusty French baguette slices for serving with dips or in making bruschetta.

INGREDIENTS
French baguette, sliced into 1/4" slices
olive oil
salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay slices flat, covering the surface of a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 5 minutes, or until bread is lightly browned around edges and crispy.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread (no sugar added)

*Adapted from this recipe on 100 Days of Real Food.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 ripe bananas, smashed
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil (I used coconut oil)
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease pan (I greased with coconut oil).
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix mashed bananas with yogurt, honey, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
4. Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until blended. Do not overmix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake large loaf 40-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. For 3 small loaves, bake approximately 30 minutes.

Notes: I may try melting the coconut oil 10 seconds in the microwave so that it's liquid instead of solid next time. I also used vanilla-flavored yogurt, but did not use the vanilla extract, and we all thought it was very tasty!

Denise's Blueberry Oat Muffins

*I wanted a healthier muffin recipe to use up the load of delicious blueberries I bought on sale at HEB. I used ideas from several allrecipes.com blueberry muffin recipes. I couldn't be more pleased with these! They're especially delicious right out of the oven. Yum! I think I'll probably just double the recipe from now on since this dozen disappeared so quickly.

PREP: 15 minutes
SERVES: 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup oat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Splenda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 egg whites or 1 egg
1 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease (or paper) 12 muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oat flour, flour, sugar, Splenda, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the milk, oil, applesauce, and egg until batter is evenly moist. Fold in the blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. Mix oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the batter.
4. Bake 20 minutes in preheated oven or until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Easy Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

*From Betty Crocker recipes.

PREP: 15 minutes
SERVES: 9

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Bisquick mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stir Bisquick mix, milk, and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

Extra Corny Corn Bread

*Adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The original recipe can be viewed online here. I thought the original recipe was too fluffy and didn't have enough of the corn flavor, so here's my version.

SERVES: 8
PREP: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil or melted butter
2/3 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed


DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine eggs, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Fold in corn kernels.
3. Pour batter into a greased 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a 9-inch round baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm with butter and honey (optional).

OPTIONS:
1. For Corn Muffins, prepare as above except spoon batter into 12 greased muffin cups, filling two-thirds full.
2. For Green Chile Corn Bread: Prepare as above, except fold 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese and one 4-ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained, in to the batter.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
8 servings

       Calories 222.6   

      Total Fat 9.1 g       

      Saturated Fat 1.2 g       

      Polyunsaturated Fat 2.5 g       

      Monounsaturated Fat 4.8 g   

      Cholesterol 54.7 mg   

      Sodium 302.7 mg   

      Potassium 157.3 mg   

      Total Carbohydrate 30.6 g       

      Dietary Fiber 1.8 g       

      Sugars 6.9 g   

      Protein 5.5 g

Libby's Pumpkin Roll

*Adapted from allrecipes.com; originally from Libby's canned pumpkin.

SERVES: 10
PREP: 45 minutes (plus 1 hour to chill in refrigerator)

INGREDIENTS:
*CAKE*
1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
*FILLING*
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

DIRECTIONS:
FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan (cookie sheet with rim); line with wax paper (trim any excess). Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel or paper towels with powdered sugar (do not use a terry cloth towel).

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Re-roll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

COOKING TIP:
Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Serving Size: 1" slice
Servings Per Recipe 10 servings

AMOUNT PER SERVING

Calories	370
Calories from Fat -	150

Total Fat - 16 g
Saturated Fat - 10 g
Cholesterol - 105 mg
Sodium - 280 mg
Carbohydrates - 52 g
Dietary Fiber - 1 g
Sugars - 43 g

Pumpkin Bread

*adapted from allrecipes.com "Pumpkin Bread IV"

Serves: 36

INGREDIENTS:
3 cans pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 cups white sugar
6 eggs
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 8 mini-loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine all other ingredients. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until well-blended. Divide the batter evenly between prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.

*This recipe originally called for "3 cups of canned pumpkin puree," but I mistakenly added "3 cans of pumpkin puree". The color was much richer than the picture on allrecipes.com, the pumpkin flavor was great, and the bread was very moist. In fact, I didn't realize I had made a mistake until I started typing this recipe on the blog.
**Know that if you make it with the "3 cups" like the recipe originally called for, that it'll only fill up 3 regular-sized loaf pans.

*adapted from allrecipes.com "Pumpkin Bread IV"

Pampered Chef Cornbread

INGREDIENTS:
2 pkgs. cornbread mix
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 11-oz. can Mexican-style corn, drained

DIRECTIONS:
Combine ingredients and mix well. Pour into 2 greased round pans or greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Gail's Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS:
1 stick margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3-4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

DIRECTIONS:
Mix ingredients in order. Pour into greased and floured bread molds or greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Less baking time required for muffins.)