Creamy Apple Wreath

This next recipe was introduced to me by my daughter-in-law, Liz, when she surprised me with it during a party I was hosting on her behalf. I was totally amazed when she left the party for what seemed like just a few minutes, and the next thing I knew, Liz was walking across the patio with this wonderful dessert in her hands. For me, it was love at first "bite". And the guests talked about how good it tasted all evening.

I never eat this dessert without thinking about Liz...and about that party. After raising all boys, having Liz around is a real treat for me. She's a sweetheart, and her personality attracts people like magnet. You know...the type of person who never meets a stranger. In fact, she's a lot like this dessert...very sweet, always a pleasure to be around, and you just can’t help but love her. Yep…that’s my girl!

Creamy Apple Wreath

In honor of my beautiful daughter-in-law, Liz Austin

2 large Pillsbury “Grands” Crescent Rolls (12 total)
2 large Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 (8oz) “Philly” Cream Cheese, softened
¼ cup Brown Sugar
2 tbsp All Purpose Flour
2 tbsp Walnuts or Pecans, chopped
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Granulated Sugar, separated
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon, separated
¼ cup “Caramel” Ice Cream Topping (to taste)

Step 1: On a large “Pampered Chef Baking Stone”, or large pizza pan, gently separate and open each crescent roll, and arrange them in the shape of a Christmas wreath; with the flat end of the rolls facing the center of the stone, and the pointed/narrow end of the rolls falling over the outside edge of the stone/pan about 3". (The result will resemble a child’s drawing of the sun.)

In the center of the stone/pan, there should be a 4” opening where the stone is visible. There should be a 5” deep ring of solid dough, just inside the outside edge of the stone/pan. This 5” ring of dough will be the base for the apples. Wet your fingers with Milk and press gently on the left and right side of each roll, where it overlaps the next roll, to seal the dough and prevent hot juice from bubbling over onto the bottom of your oven.

Step 2: In small bowl cream together the cream cheese and the brown sugar. Once the cheese and sugar is well blended, add only 1 tbsp of the chopped nuts, the granulated sugar and cinnamon, and mix well. Set aside.

Step 3- In a medium size bowl, mix the apple slices with 2 tbsp flour, and mix well. Set aside.

Step 4: With a spatula, cover the 5” deep ring of solid dough with an even layer of cream cheese mixture. Cover the cheese with a layer of apple slices. Once the apples are in place, pull the pointed/narrow end of each roll toward the center of the ring, and press the tip of the dough under the inside edge of the ring with your fingers. When all ends have been sealed in the center of the ring, gently rub the top of the dough with your hands, moistened with a small amount of Milk. Then sprinkle the top with the last of the sugar and cinnamon mixture, and remaining chopped nuts.

Bake in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes, until top is golden brown, and apples are done when tested with a wooden toothpick. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Drizzle lots of caramel topping over your Creamy Apple Wreath and enjoy!

For that special holiday party, stack red, green and gold Christmas bulbs inside the center of the wreath, until it resembles a small Christmas tree. Add a few sprigs of holly or other greenery, and you've got a very classy addition for any potluck.

12 servings

Shortbread

by Verlie Cox

1 cup Butter
¼ cup Granulated Sugar
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
2½ cup All Purpose Flour

In medium bowl, with an electric hand mixer, beat together sugar, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Slowly add flour and mix until well blended.

Divide dough in half. On ungreased cookie sheet, pat each half into 7” circles. With fork, prick dough into 12 pie shaped wedges. (You can also use a shortbread mold.) Bake in a 325° oven for 20-25 minutes, until done. Cool 1 minute, and then move cookies to a wire rack to cool. Break into wedges. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and sliced toasted almonds. (opt)

16-20 wedges

Homemade Biscuits

by Grandma Mallory

2 cups All Purpose Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Table Salt
4-6 tbsp Shortening
¾ cups Milk

In large bowl, cut shortening into sifted dry ingredients until coarse and crumbly. Add milk all at once and mix until just moist & dough begins to lift off side of bowl onto fork or spoon. Scoop dough out onto flowered surface & knead with hands for 1 minute. Use floured rolling pin to roll out to ½” thick. Cut dough into 12 - 2" round biscuits, and place them 3" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 450° oven for 12-15 minutes., until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with butter and your favorite jam or jelly.

1 dozen

Banana Nut Bread

By; Starla Curtis

½ cup Shortening
½ tsp Table Salt
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Granulated Sugar
3 cups ripe Bananas
3 large Eggs
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/3 cup Walnuts or Pecans, chopped

In the following order, add and blend well; shortening and sugar, salt, eggs, flour, baking soda, bananas and nuts. Pour into greased bread loaf pan, and bake in a 350° oven for 40 minutes, or until wooden toothpick comes out clean from center of loaf.

1 standard loaf

Zucchini Bread

by Liz Austin

3 cups All Purpose Flour
½ tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 cups Granulated Sugar
½ tsp Table Salt
2 cups Zucchini; grated with skins
2 Large Eggs
½ cup Crisco or Olive Oil
3 tbsp raisins
3 tbsp nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. In large bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder and nutmeg. Set aside. In a separate medium size bowl, combine sugar, zucchini, oil and eggs. Slowly add wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir well. Bake in 2 greased and floured bread loaf pans for 55-60 minutes, or until wooden toothpick comes out clean, after inserted into center of loa

2 standard size

Homemade Baking Powder Biscuits

by Verlie Cox

8 cups All Purpose Flour
5-6 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Lard or Shortening
1 tsp Table Salt
3 cups Water, room temp

Sift flour and baking powder together into large bowl. Add lard, or shortening, and salt and blend well. Slowly add cold water and mix well.

Scoop dough out onto floured surface, and roll with rolling pin until dough is ½” thick. Cut shapes from dough and bake in a 350° oven for 10-12 minutes, or until wooden toothpick comes out clean from center of biscuits.

14-16 biscuits

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Can you imagine how much our lives would change if we were suddenly transported back in time, back to the days when women had to do everything by hand? No freezer, refrigerator, self-cleaning oven, microwave oven, coffee pot or grinder, blender, mixer or dishwasher. And most importantly...no "electricity". Which meant...you also had to make your own light source... candles.

A glass of milk? Sure thing...don't forget the bucket on your way out to the barn in the morning. And no butter unless you're prepared to churn for hours. Want chicken soup for dinner? No problem. Just run out to the shed and kill, pluck, clean and cut up a chicken. And don't forget to stop by the garden on your way back to the house, for potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, corn or green beans. And before you can cook the food, you'll need to build a nice fire. In a home with NO air conditioning. And when you're not hanging out in the garden... you can wash the laundry "by hand".

Mrs Steele lived during time period I am referring to. Around 100 years ago. Yet...she somehow found time to document her recipes so that I would be able to share them with other people who enjoyed cooking.

If she were alive today; I wonder how she would feel, knowing her recipe for Cinnamon Raisin Bread has made it into kitchens all over the world the world.

Recipe shared by: Mrs. Steele

1 pint Water, room temp
¼ cup Lard or Shortening
2 lbs Raisins
1 pint Milk
4 lbs All Purpose Flour
1½ oz Dry Yeast
¼ cup Granulated Sugar
¼ tsp Table Salt

Grease bottom and sides of 4 large bread loaf pans, and set aside until called for in instructions.

In large saucepan, combine milk and water, and heat until liquid is warm (not hot). Dissolve yeast completely in warm Milk mixture, then add all other ingredients, and mix until well blended. Pour mixture out onto a floured cutting board or other flat surface. Knead dough for 3 minutes (6-10 pulls & folds with hands). Pat dough into round ball, and place it inside a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a light cotton kitchen towel and place it in a warm area in the kitchen. Allow the dough to rise to twice it's current size (1-2 hours).

After dough doubles in size, place dough onto floured surface again, and punch down inside the center of the dough with both fists, several times. Knead dough for a few minutes with hands, pulling outer edges of dough toward the center, then pushing the edges down into the center of the ball. Repeat this motion until the size of the dough is reduced again. Separate dough into small oval shapes, which will fit into the bottom half of several bread pans. (Do not over fill pans.) Place covered pans in a warm, dark area, and let the dough rise again.

When dough rises above sides of pan, bake bread in a 450° oven until golden brown on top, and wooden toothpick comes out clean from the center of each loaf.

Crusty Garlic Bread

There are days, when I get home from the shop, when I am just too tired to cook. Everyone has days like that. Fortunately, my husband has some type of radar that picks up my mood the second I walk through the door. And before I get a chance to say, "How was your day honey?", we're together in the kitchen throwing something together.

It doesn't seem to matter what we decide on for dinner...steak, chicken, or just a nice green salad with Italian dressing. Because, more often than not, the garlic bread is the last thing we put on our plates before we leave the kitchen.

This Crusty Garlic Bread is a "9", on my scale of good recipes. The only thing better, in my book, is adding it to leftovers, from the night before. We always save the leftovers. But by the next evening they're almost always gone. Because Roger normally takes them to work with him, for his lunch. But every once in awhile I get lucky. When he forgets to check the refrigerator.

Crusty Garlic Bread

by Phillis Allard

2 loaves French Bread; cut lengthwise
2 cloves Garlic; finely minced
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese; finely grated
2 tbsp fresh Parsley, chopped
½ tsp Paprika
2 tsp fresh Marjoram (¾ tsp dried)
½ tsp dried Thyme
2 sheets Aluminum Foil

Preheat oven to 350º. In small bowl mix garlic and olive oil, and set aside. In another small bowl combine Parsley, Thyme, Marjoram, Paprika, and Parmesan Cheese. Mix very well. Cut french bread into two equal halves, lengthwise, and brush all exposed center parts of bread with garlic and oil mixture. Then sprinkle the herb and cheese mixture over the top of bread, as evenly as possible.

Wrap each loaf in Aluminum Foil, and bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Open foil and fold down around sides of bread so that entire top of bread is exposed. Change stove setting to Broil, and toast top portion of bread for 1-2 minutes, until lightly toasted. Check bread often to make sure tops do not burn. When finished toasting, immediately remove from oven, and cool for 30 seconds. Transfer bread to cutting board and slice as desired. Serve warm.

(Note: I'm working very hard to find and correct any mistakes I have made. Thanks for understanding, and have a great day.)
Blessings!