Pumpkin Muffins with Crumble Topping

What a beautiful day to enjoy some pumpkin muffins and tea. 

French Bread and Log Cabin Chicken PIe

I have the easiest French Bread recipe to share!  

English Muffin Bread

I've set my breakfast near my Valentine tree. 

Rainbow Bread

My youngest son and daughter in law went skiing and my son, Mike, and I watched Harper and Hayden for a few days after our frigid shutdown in Texas.  It was a busy time of tea parties, baking, cookie dipping, slushies from  the neighborhood Ice Cream Truck, and gnome making out of socks.  My son made them an Olaf snowman and drew pictures of Olaf for them to paint.  Harper had kindergarten upstairs with three other little girls and a wonderful teacher.  Hayden was a busy ballerina and tap dancer. 

 

These were our candy dipped Oreo cookies that we had for a tea party. You can purchase molds at Michael's or JoAnn's for making these quick and easy treats. 

 

 

 This was our rainbow bread dough.  I made this several years ago and you can see some of my other grandchildren here.

I love looking back on the grands' younger pictures of fun times in my kitchen.

Yield: 2 loaves

Author: Kitty

Rainbow Bread

This is a fun activity for young ones and the recipe was given to me from my friend, Mary, who had been a preschool teacher.

Ingredients

• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1 T granulated sugar
• 1 c warm water [100° to 115° F, approximately]
• 1/3 c olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 3/4 c hot water
• 2 t salt
• 5 1/2 to 6 c AP flour (start with 5 cups)
• cornmeal or semolina flour

Instructions

1. Stir the yeast, sugar and warm water together in the bowl of a stand mixer; let sit until yeast dissolves and starts to proof.
2. In the meantime, add the olive oil to the hot water and let cool to lukewarm. Add the salt, and combine with the yeast mixture. Stirring vigorously with the dough hook attachment, add the flour 1 c at a time, until the dough almost comes away from the sides of the bowl. [The dough will seem rather soft and sticky at this point.] Continue kneading the dough with the dough hook, adding a couple tablespoons of flour as you go along. Alternatively, you could turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead with your hands. Continue kneading until the dough has absorbed enough flour that it is easy to handle, about 2 to 4 minutes.
3. When the dough is soft and smooth, let rest for 5 or 6 minutes and then divide into two. (At this point, you add your food coloring to dough that has been separated into as many colors as you would like. You can have the child then put them together and stack and twist them). Without food coloring, you roll each half into a rectangle about 12″ x 8″. Starting from the wide end, roll the rectangle up quite tightly, pinching the seams as you roll. Let the rolled loaves rise on a piece of parchment paper, that has been sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina flour, in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 50 to 60 minutes. Place a baking stone* on the middle rack of the oven and preheat to 425° F while the bread proofs. (At this point, I slashed the of the loaves).
4. After the dough has doubled in bulk, place the loaves on top of the hot stone, parchment and all (I use a rimless cookie sheet to transfer the loaves). Bake 30- 40 minutes (directions said 40, but this was too long for my oven!), or until the loaves are a rich, golden color and make a hollow sound when you tap the crust with your knuckles, top and bottom. Cool on a rack and slice when fresh.
5. *If you have no baking stone, butter one or two baking sheets well and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the just-rolled loaves on the sheets, and then let them rise until doubled in bulk. Bake the loaves on the sheet[s] on the middle rack, the same as you would with the stone.

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Artisan Bread

 I've been baking a lot during this shelter in place from the pandemic.  This Artisan Bread was one that my beloved hubby enjoyed.  It's such an easy recipe and it makes four loaves that you can bake when needed, and the dough keeps in the fridge for two weeks. I shared the recipe for this bread when I first started blogging, but I thought I'd share it again. How about some homemade raspberry jam with your slice of bread?

 My sweet late mom always had me drink tea from this pretty teacup when I went to her house. Isn't it beautiful?  It's a Rosina teacup # 5005.  I love the pretty flowers covering it.  

Doesn't the teacup look pretty on my beautifully embroidered  luncheon cloth that my friend, Joy, gifted me?  

 These two little sweethearts came to spend the night!  On their way over to my house, Harper told her Dad, my youngest son, that she wanted to stay for two nights.  Kevin must've said that they'd have to check with me, and Harper said, "Oh Nana will let us because we are her two little angels".  That Harper knows me well, doesn't she?!

 

My son, Mike, and I walked them to an open park, and the girls set up a tea party right on the side walk.  They found lots of painted rocks that were hidden by the neighborhood  people. I said "hi" to one little boy that was riding his bike and he said, "I can't play because of the coronavirus". 

Yield: 4 loaves

Author: Made in Kitty's Kitchen, recipe is adapted from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day

Artisan Bread

This is such an easy bread and the dough keep in the fridge for two weeks. I hope you try it! You can even use the dough to make pizzas.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough
• Cornmeal

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into the lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).
2.  Bake at this point or refrigerate the rest of the dough, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece . Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on parchment paper that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Allow to rest for 40 minutes. Keep the rest of the dough in a covered container that is not airtight, in the fridge.
3. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler pan on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.
4.  Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone by using a rimless cookie sheet (who needs a pizza peel??) parchment paper & all. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 35 minutes. Cool completely.
5. Yield: 4 1-lb. loaves.

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Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

 I really can't get enough of the flavors of winter time, and decided to make my favorite cranberry orange nut bread. I always buy extra bags of cranberries to put in the freezer for when I need them. 

 My sweet friend, Michele, sent me this teacup and matching plate last year, and I just love them for winter time.

 My sweet sister sent me this charming teapot years ago.  Isn't it pretty?

 My lady vase that sits on my sink counter, always makes me smile.  She's sporting a real pin cone and faux greenery.

 Here's what I actually have on my coffee table for January.  My sis gave me the pine one candle holder years ago, too.

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

Yield: 1 large loaf or 4 mini loaves

Author: Made in Kitty's Kitchen, but adapted from Ocean Spray

This bread is so moist and scrumptious! I like making mini loaves for gifting to friends.

ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 t. salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• zest of 1 orange (about 1 tablespoon)
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen , coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

instructions:

How to cook Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. 
3. Stir in the orange juice, oil, orange zest, and egg.  Mix until well blended. Stir in the cranberries and nuts.
4. Spoon into a greased 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. (I actually used 4 mini loaf pans).
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes for the large loaf, and check the mini loaves around 25 minutes, making sure that a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling completely on a wire rack.

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French Bread

Let's break bread together for tea time!  Isn't the potted rose plant that my neighbor gifted me for my birthday, so pretty?  The sweet cherub is hoping for Spring to arrive soon!

 

My friend, Colleen, gave me this March Royal Albert trio set, and I think it's such a pretty one.  

 I had four of my grandchildren over during Spring break and I was one  happy Nana!!! It was so nice to see these cousins together in my home.    We went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, which is always a favorite. However,  before we went to lunch, we prepared the dough for the French Bread, and let is rise while we were gone.   Here they are rolling out their dough to make their twisted green and white St. Patrick's Day breads to take home. 

 Here are their finished loaves!   They took nibbles of their bread because it was hard to resist that warm bread from the oven, especially with Irish butter.  

. 

Yield: 2 -3 large, or 4-8 small size loavesAuthor: Kitty

French Bread

This bread is a cinch to make because it's done in the food processor. I often use this recipe for pizza dough, or I'll use the French Bread for French Bread pizza. I hope you'll try it.

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 T. yeast
• 1 T. sugar
• 4 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 1 T. butter
• 1 cup ice water

instructions:

1. Mix sugar & warm water together in a small bowl. Sprinkle on the yeast & let proof for about 5 minutes.
2. Put flour, salt & butter in food processor & mix with the plastic blade. Pour the warm water mixture down the food tube while running & let run until well mixed.
3. While running, slowly pour the ice water down the tube & let the processor run (and knead) until the mixture balls up. After it balls up, let it run another 45 seconds.
4. Put dough in a greased bowl, cover loosely & let rise several hours until it has quit rising. Punch down on a clean, dry counter & roll out into a rectangle about 12 x 16 inches. Now you can either cut it lengthwise into 2, for larger loaves, or 3 for baguette size loaves. You can also make 6-8 sub-style "hard" rolls. Cut 4-6 slits slits on the diagonal on the top. Cover & let rise until double.
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. I usually moisten the top of the bread. If you want a very shiny crust, you can brush with a beaten egg white. You can sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if you wish. Bake about 15-20 minutes, or until golden.
6. Let cool on wire racks.
7. Makes 2-3 large loaves, or 6-8 small loaves (these are great for meatball or Italian subs)

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The kids also make bunnies from socks, which turned out so cute!  They love doing crafty things.  

 I had lunch with my daughter, and her three boys.  Cissy was busy with friends. 

I had my two youngest grands over for a Saturday visit.  Don't these sweet sisters look cute in their St. Patrick's Day outfits?  

Thank you for your visit!  xo

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Irish Brown Bread

I made some bread over the weekend to remind me of my dream vacation to Ireland that my late beloved and I took back in September, 2009.  Let's have a slice and some Irish tea, shall we?

 Of course, we must use some Kerrygold butter on our bread.  The teacup's design reminds me of Celtic knots.  The little harp vase was gifted to me several years ago. 

 My County Cork, Ireland teapot was a $1.50 thrifty find, and I think of my Great Grandmother Hannah that was born in that county.  Aren't my shamrock lights from the Dollar Tree a fun decor piece?

 My scruffy leprechaun was sent to me by my sister several years ago.  He has his pot of gold and a lucky bird by his side.  Maybe he was out and about harvesting potatoes?  My shamrock plant made it through the winter, a little unkempt, but will perk up soon.

Here are my mini loaves of Irish Brown Bread fresh from the oven.  When I worked at Frito-Lay years ago, I would bring loaves of my homemade bread that is made from a starter to my co-workers,  on a rotating basis.  Sometimes I would send home a loaf to my friend, and co-worker, Cindy's mom, who dearly loved the bread.  One Christmas, her mom bought me these darling loaf pans that I use so often.  I always think of Cindy and her late mom whenever I use them. 

Yield: 1 9 x 5" loaf, or 4 mini loavesAuthor: Kitty

Irish Brown Bread

When my late beloved and I visited Ireland, the most delicious brown bread was served in tearooms, and restaurants. I've tried and tried to find the perfect recipe, and FINALLY stumbled upon The Barefoot Contessa's recipe. It is SO GOOD, full of hardy flavor, and has a moist texture.  It took me back to memories of our dream vacation.   I don't think I'll ever serve Irish Soda Bread again, after finding this recipe. I hope you try it!

ingredients:

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant),  plus extra for sprinkling ( I used old fashioned oats and pulsed them in the food processor a bit)
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I used light brown because that's what I had), lightly packed
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 (11- to 12-ounce) bottle Guinness extra stout beer, at room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken (I used 4 T.  powdered buttermilk  + 1 cup water )
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt (I added the dry buttermilk powder at this point).   In a separate bowl, whisk together the beer, buttermilk ( I added the water), melted butter, and vanilla. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well.   Stir the batter from the middle of the bowl to the outside, until it's well mixed. It will look more like cake batter than bread dough.
3. Brush a 9 x 5 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan, or 4 mini loaf pans,  with melted butter, or use a cooking spray.   Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with oats. Put the bread in the oven, immediately turn the temperature down to 400 degrees, and bake for 45 minutes, or 30 minutes for the mini loaves,  until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn the bread out onto a baking rack and allow to cool completely. Slice and serve with salted butter.  You will be in Irish heaven!

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread and a Birthday

 Our teatime today is on a rainy day, and I'm setting it up in my living room.  Please join me for some pumpkin spice tea and some pumpkin cream cheese bread, won't you?

I want to thank everyone who read my post on My Beloved Mom.  Your thoughts, prayers, and condolences are so appreciated during this time of sadness and loss.  

 One of my favorite tea sets is this one that I bought from Ross years ago.  

 My calico teacup is so pretty for Fall, too.

This Johnson Brothers Olde English Countryside transferware platter is another favorite.

I saw a pillow at Kirkland's recently and went home and sketched out a design that resembled it.  I made a envelope style pillow, but this time used one rectangle of 42" long by 18 and 1/2" wide.  by doing it this way, there aren't any side seams.  First I found the middle and appliqued my design, leaving it kind of shabby.  The pumpkin base is made from osnaburg fabric, and then on top, I used an old sweater that my sister sent me.  After I appliqued,  I then did the envelope sytle in the back and stitched the top and bottom seams...so easy!

Yield: 1 large loaf, and one mini, or 4 mini loaves, 6 cakelets, and 2 mini bundtsAuthor: Kitty, adapted from Heart and Soul Among Friends

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Loaves

This is my daughter, Molly's,  favorite bread that she likes to give as gifts. It's so nice to bake some, and store them in the freezer to give away.  The addition of the cream cheese layer is a nice touch!

ingredients:

For the Bread:

3 and 1/3 cups flour

4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 and 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup oil

4 eggs

1 lb. can pumpkin puree

2/3 cup water

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

6 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Topping:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon butter

instructions:

For the Bread:

Grease 1 regular size loaf pan and one small, or a mixture of minis.

Sift together the flour, pumpkin  pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

Beat together sugar and oil until light.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Beat in pumpkin.

Add dry ingredients, alternatively with water to the sugar/oil mixture until it is well blended. 

For the Filling:

Mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat well.

For the Topping:

Mix the dry ingredients together and cut in the butter until it resembles cornmeal.  Set aside.

Spoon half the batter into each prepared pan. 

Spoon a layer of filling over each. 

Sprinkle with half the topping. 

Add the rest of the pumpkin batter.  Finish off with rest of topping.

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes for small loaf,  and 45 minutes for regular loaf.  Use a toothpick to check to see if it comes out clean.

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 Today is Harper's 4th birthday!!  Doesn't she look adorable dressed in her butterfly wings and fairy dress?  Her party was at the Butterfly Gardens, which is a magical place with the prettiest butterflies that I've ever seen!  Of course, Harper was the cutest butterfly ever!

What little girl wouldn't love this mushroom fairy house birthday cake?! 

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No-Knead Crusty Cherry Walnut Bread

I thought for President's Day, we'd share some of this Crusty Cherry Walnut Bread by the fire.  My friend, Debbie, over at Mountain Breaths recently shared this recipe here.  It looked so fabulous, and since I love making bread, I wanted to try it.  The original version is with dried cranberries, but I love Montmorency dried cherries, and since it's President's Day, that's what I'm using.  Debbie got the recipe from a friend, as that's how recipes go, right?

 

I'm using my favorite cherry teacup, which was a gift from a dear blogging friend,  and having some Black Forest tea that another sweet friend sent me awhile back, but I wanted to save for a special occasion. The tea mat and the teabag holder were gifted to me from another dear blogging friend.  Aren't they perfect for my cherry tea?

This is the reverse side of my tea cozy that Bernideen made.  She said that she didn't intend to make her cozies reversible, but isn't it pretty?

 

Just look at this warm bread right from the oven!!  My son tasted it and asked, "Is that what you had sitting in the plastic container, on the counter last night?"  It's so wonderfully chewy, and delightfully tasty.  I hope you make some soon.  Keep one and give one away to make someone happy.

Yield: 1 large loaf, or 2 small onesAuthor: Kitty

No-Knead Crusty Cherry Walnut Bread

This is one of those wow factor breads, that's embarrassingly easy, but oh so tasty!

ingredients:

• 3 cups + 2 Tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts ( walnuts or pecans)
• 3/4 cup dried cherries (dried cranberries or apricots would be good, too)
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 and 1/2 cups warm water (about 95 degrees)

Needed:

• 6 quart or higher dutch oven or 2 smaller dutch ovens, if making small loaves,  or any large oven-safe pot with a lid.

instructions:

1.  Stir the first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir in the warm water. The dough will be pretty sticky-- you want a sticky dough!  Gently shape into a ball as best you can. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Set on the counter at room temperature,  and allow to rise for 12-18 hours. The dough will double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and be covered in air bubbles.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using lightly floured hands, shape into a ball as best you can. Transfer dough to a large piece of parchment paper. (Large enough to fit inside your pot and one that is safe under such high heat.
3. Using a very sharp knife, gently score an X into the top. Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap and leave alone for 30 minutes.
4. During this 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Place your dutch oven (with the lid) or heavy duty pot inside for 30 minutes so that it's extremely hot before the dough is placed inside. After 30 minutes, remove the dutch oven from the oven and carefully place the dough inside by lifting it up with the parchment paper and sticking it all-- the parchment paper included-- inside the pot. Cover with the lid.
5. Bake for 25 minutes with the lid on. Carefully remove the lid and continue baking for 8-10 more minutes until the bread is golden brown. Remove pot from the oven, carefully remove the bread from the pot, and allow to cool on the counter for 30 minutes before breaking/slicing/serving.
6. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for 1 week.

http://www.kittyskozykitchen.com/2018/02/no-knead-crusty-cherry-walnut-bread.html

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