Stephanie's Muffins

Stephanie’s Muffins

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
2 large eggs
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl whisk together yogurt and eggs. Fold the flower mixture into the yogurt mixture until smooth. Fold butter into flour/yogurt mixture. Coat muffin tins well with vegetable oil spray. Evenly divide batter between all 12 muffin holes. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

For a berry muffin use 1 1/2 cups of frozen mixed berries. Defrost under warm water until water runs clear.

Best-Ever Banana Bread

This is a great banana bread recipe. It's from a book of recipes that a bunch of church ladies put together. There's no cover and it's bent to be permanently opened at the banana bread recipe page. 

Best-Ever Banana Bread 

 5 large bananas 

4 eggs, beaten 

1 cup shortening 

2 cups sugar 

3 1/2 c flour 

2 tsp. baking soda 

1 tsp salt 

1 cup walnuts, broken (optional) 

 Beat bananas to a liquid, add eggs. In a separate bowl cream shortening thoroughly, gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add banana mixture. Combine flour soda and salt and blend into batter. Stir in walnuts. Bake in two well-greased loaf pans at 300 degrees for 1 1/4 hours or until firm to the touch. Makes 2 loaves. NOTE: I did this in the kitchen aid. I did not cream the shortening with the sugar, and I did 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup white sugar. Turned out WONDERFULLY.

Yorkshire Pudding

For years it was a tradition to have these for Sunday dinner with roast, mashed potatoes, and the works. Yorkshire Pudding and roast go together like bees and honey. 

Yorkshire Pudding 

 1 cup flour 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 cup milk 

2 eggs 

oil or lard 

 Place scant Tbsp of oil (or a pad of lard) in each muffin cup. Heat in oven until temp reaches 425. Combine remaining ingredients and wisk until fluffy. Add batter to hot oil in muffin tins and replace in oven. Cook for 25 minutes or until golden brown. (They should get all puffy, but if they turn out to be disks... they still taste good!)

Easy Breadsticks

These are the easiest breadsticks EVER!! You don't have to scald milk, or let it rise multiple times. There are a few different varieties of breadsticks that you can get..... when I need the bread fast I use method #1, when I feel like being fancy or have guests coming I'll use method #2.

Breadsticks

1 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 c warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cube butter (method #2)

Combine yeast, sugar and water. Set aside to puff up. Add flour and salt to yeast mixture. Mix well. Knead 2-3 minutes, set aside 2-3 minutes. (or if you have a Kitchen Aid you can mix it in there for 4-5 minutes.)

Method #1-
Divide bread into 12-18 pieces, roll into a bread stick shape, place on greased cookie sheet. Let sit 5 minutes. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

Method #2-
While yeast is puffing preheat oven to 375. Place cube of butter in 9x13 pan and place in oven to melt. Continue with the bread, but keep an eye on the butter, once it's melted take it out of the oven. After your dough has rested 2-3 minutes roll dough into a rectangle between 6-8 inches in height, and then as long as it takes to make the dough about 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into 1 inch strips (I use a pizza cutter). Now, take the pan that has the butter in it and put a hot pad or towel under one of the sides, so that the butter creates a little pool in the other side. Take one of the strips of dough and dip it in the butter. Fold it in half and then twist a few times. Place it in the other side of the 9x13 pan. Repeat until all the dough has been buttered & twisted. Let this rise 15-20 minutes. Add topping* of choice and Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes.

*toppings can be parmesean cheese, garlic salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds or go for sweet and have it with cinnamon and sugar.

Note: This also makes a quick and easy pizza dough.