Olive Garden Breadsticks

Here in Montana, we only have one Olive Garden restaurant.  And I happen to only live 2 hours away.  Suffice it to say that on more than one occasion, I have found reason to make the 2 hour drive and squeeze in a trip to the yummy Italian restaurant.  I know, I know….its no local fancy Italian place.  But hey, it’s a huge treat to travel to the big city and wait 35 minutes for a table. 

I love these breadsticks.  I have made them plenty of times, and it is often requested when I have family coming to visit.  There are never any leftovers.  And rolling out the breadsticks is a fun task so we all gather round the kitchen to make these.  And I tell my younger sisters that they should be called “won’t be single for long breadsticks”.
Olive Garden Breadsticks
1 1/2 cups warm water (110-120 degrees)
1 pkgs active dry yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
4 1/2 c flour
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp salt
Basting Sauce
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
*Melt all ingredients in the microwave. Mix well
1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in water for 10 minutes. Mixture should be frothy
2. Add flour and salt and melted butter
3. Mix with dough hook until smooth. Do not over knead
4. Cut in to 12 pieces and roll in to a breadstick shape
5. Place on greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise 45 minutes
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes. Baste with basting sauce and cook 6 more minutes. Baste with remaining sauce. Cool 1-2 minutes (if you can wait that long). Devour! Try not to drool.
Enjoy!
Keep up with my current recipes HERE I am always adding new favorites. (find it here first before all your friends find it on Pinterest)

Raspberry Lemon Bread

When it gets to be 90+ degrees in the afternoon, I have to do my baking in the morning.  We love to have quick breads with all the yummy fruits in season.  And there is nothing better than waking up to a house smelling of fruit and fresh bread.  My girls always wake up just a smidge earlier in the morning when I am baking.  Their little noses bring them straight to the kitchen. 

We enjoyed this bread with a little bit of whipped cream cheese.  My 1 year old licks off the cream cheese first, then snarfs down the bread.

Raspberry Lemon Bread
2 cups bread flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter milk
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
3/4 cup fresh raspberries, cut each berry in half.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9x5 bread pan
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together all of the remaining ingredient except for the berries.  Mix until well blended and slightly foamy.  Add in the flour mixture all at once and mix only until dry ingredients become moist.  Do not over mix or you bread will be gummy. It will be a very lumpy, thick batter.  Gently fold in raspberries until evenly distributed.
4. Pour batter in to a greased 9X5 bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes, until done in the middle. 
5. Let bread cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove bread from pan to a cooling rack.  Let cool slightly, slice and serve warm.

Plum Quick Bread

We participate in Bountiful Baskets every other week.  It is so great.  I pay $15 and literally get a whole laundry basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Google it in your area.  This week, I also added on the plums.  Who knew there 11 types of plums grown in California. 

Look at those beauties.  We have been eating fresh plums daily and I realized that we have more than we can eat before they are over-ripe.  So, plum recipes it is.  Today for breakfast it was plum quick bread.  And boy was it a hit.  It has a slight tart zing like rhubarb bread and it is so moist.  The cinnamon sugar on top is a nice touch.

I used a base recipe from allrecipes.com and substituted a few things and added a few ingredients to make it my own.  I may or may not have added one ingredient by mistake, but it turned out delicious so I will keep it in the recipe for sure.
Plum Quick Bread
1 cup pitted, chopped plums
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup soft butter
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
2 Tbsp cinnamon sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9X5 loaf pan
2. Put chopped plums in a bowl and toss with 1 Tbsp. flour.  This coats them so that they will hold in the batter and not sink to the bottom of the pan when baking.  Set to the side.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat butter, white and brown sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time mixing well in between.
4. Add flour, baking soda, salt and mix for 10 seconds.  Add in sour cream and continue mixing until well blended. 
5. Fold in plums with a spatula.
6. Pour batter in to loaf pan and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix.  Bake 50-60 minutes until done in middle.
Enjoy

Lemon Loaf (I LOVE LEMON)

Yes, I typed that in all caps…..I tend to get excited about lemon treats. 

This is nearly identical to the recipe for the Meyer Lemon Loaf.  I liked that recipe, but it didn’t have enough “lemony zip” for me.  So, I found another recipe that uses regular lemons and the measurements are a bit different. 


I usually like to shop at Safeway.  They have a Starbucks at the front of the store.  So, as a little “mom vacation”, I go alone and get a hot coffee and a piece of their lemon loaf.  It is not a good thing for my waist line that this recipe is as close as it gets to the Starbucks Lemon Loaf.  This was seriously…..seriously, so good. 

This makes 2 loafs and takes a bit of time.  My little sister and I turned on season 2 of Gilmore Girls and baked while we laughed.  Have you seen that show?  It is by far my favorite.
Recipe from Sweet Pea Kitchen: her source is at the bottom.
Gather your Supplies:
For the Lemon Loaf:

• 1 ½ cups cake flour
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• 8 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¼ cup grated lemon zest (from about 4 lemons)
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Lemon Syrup:

• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 4 to 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Enjoy your time in the kitchen

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed combine sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice. With the mixer still running, drizzle the butter into the bowl. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix to combine. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Remove bowl from mixer.
4. Sprinkle in the flour mixture over the batter, one third at a time, folding gently after each addition until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.
6. While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.
7. Remove loaves to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the loaves. Brush the tops and sides of the loaves with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cakes cool completely.
8. To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Source: Baked: New Frontiers In Baking

Snickerdoodle Bread

Whenever I think of snickerdoodles, I think of my Grammy. She used to help me make these as a kid, and she showed V how to make them a few months ago when she was here. Snickerdoodle cookies are so yummy with their soft, buttery middle and their crisp, cinnamon coating.
I knew I would love this bread when I saw the name and the ingredients. Sour cream in a quick bread?!! Yes please!!!


Snickerdoodle Bread
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup cinnamon chips (1 pkg. Hershey’s)
2 T. flour
Topping:
2 T. sugar
2 t. cinnamon
Combined 2 1/2 cups flour and baking powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream butter and 2 c. sugar, salt and cinnamon until fluffy, about two minutes. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix to combined. Add flour mixture stirring until just combined. Coat the cinnamon chips with 2 T. flour and stir into batter.
Spoon batter into two 9×5 greased loaf pans.  Combined 2 T. sugar and 2 t. cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of batter in the pans. Bake at 350º for 60 to 70 minutes until a toothpick inserted into a crack in the center of the loaf comes clean. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.
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Resurrection Rolls

I have found that if I have a fun activity ready for my toddler right after nap time, we all do a lot better.  This week I saw these rolls on Pinterest and I knew they would be perfect for little toddler fingers and tummies.
All you will need is:
16 large marshmallows
Melted butter
Cinnamon sugar mix
Refrigerated crescent rolls

Roll the marshmallows (symbolizing Jesus’ body) in melted butter and cinnamon sugar mix.  This represents the preparation of Jesus’ body before he was put in the tomb.

Place one marshmallow in the center of a crescent roll and roll up tight.  Be sure to seal up all the edges so the marshmallow is totally enclosed.  It will look more like just a round ball of dough.  The crescent dough represents the clothing that they placed Jesus in.

Look at those sweet toddler fingers!


Bake the rolls at 375 for about 12-14 minutes.  When they are done, they should be a light golden brown.


Show your little ones that the roll still looks the same on the outside, but it is hollow on the inside.  When Jesus rose, all that was left were his wrapping cloths. 

These rolls were delicious!!  And for the rest of the evening, my daughter kept telling us about the rolls that were empty like the tomb. JESUS has RISEN!! 
Happy Easter!

Meyer Lemon Loaf

When I was pregnant with my youngest daughter, I was sick for all 40 weeks.  About the only thing that I consistently could keep down was citrus. Something about the sour flavor made my queasy stomach settle.  I always had a stash of sour candies on hand and lemonade in the fridge.  Often at restaurants, I would get ice water but have them fill the glass with lemons first.  Something about sour was the ticket.
When I came home with two bags of Meyer Lemons, I think my husband was curious as to why I was suddenly needing lemons.
Nope, not pregnant, I just really love lemon cake.  

Look at those delicious ingredients!  Heavy cream, butter, and lemons

I have a really nice micro plane zester that I love.  It makes zesting a lemon easy and fast.

When I bake, it isn’t a pretty or clean process.  This is the damage to the kitchen.

This cake is a process.  This is the warm loaf.  We let it cool for a bit before drenching it in Mayer Lemon Syrup.  This is the “secret sauce” that makes the loaf so moist.



A glaze that is “drool worthy” all on its own.  This lemon loaf gives Starbucks Lemon Loaf a run for its money.

Meyer Lemon Loaf (from utryit blog)
For the Cake:4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
Zest of 3 Meyer Lemons
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Meyer Lemon Syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Meyer Lemon Juice *I just squeezed a few Meyer lemons*
For the Meyer Lemon Glaze:1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

To Prepare the cake:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan.
1 .Cream the butter sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
2. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, followed by the lemon zest.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. In another bowl, combine lemon juice, the heavy cream, and vanilla. Add the flour and cream mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, smooth the top, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean.

To Prepare the Meyer Lemon Syrup:In a small saucepan, combine sugar and Meyer lemon juice and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
When the cake is done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and set it on a rack over a tray lined with foil (for easy clean up). With a toothpick, prick holes all over the cake. Spoon the Meyer lemon syrup over pricked cake. Let the cake cool completely.

To Prepare the Meyer Lemon glaze:
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the Meyer lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the cake and allow the glaze to drip off the sides.
Enjoy and Happy Easter baking!!

Glazed Chai Muffins

I love chai.  I make chai mix to keep on hand at all times. *FIND THE RECIPE HERE*  I saw these muffins on Pinterst and I knew I had to make them.  I found this recipe from a blog called “my baking addiction”.
 
These were so easy to make and watching the glaze drip down the sides of a warm muffin was a drool worthy site.
 
I love to bake for breakfast.  My 2 year old usually is not ready to eat right away and wants a project.  So, we bake together.  Her favorite part of this was taste testing the frosting.  I told her that is a very important job
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Glazed Chai Muffins

For the Muffins

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

For the Glaze

3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

 

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin, or line with 12 paper muffin cups. 2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth. 3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to combine. 4. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, black pepper, salt and vanilla. Mix well to fully incorporate. 5. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined. 6. Using a large scoop (I used my ice cream scoop), divide the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the wells nearly full. 7. Bake the muffins in preheated oven for 15 to 19 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. Prepare the glaze.

For the Glaze

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, spices, vanilla and milk. Whisk until smooth. 2. When muffins have cooled slightly (about 5 minutes), dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. At this point, you can leave them as is or go for the double dip. I glazed my muffins twice. 3. Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Muffins will keep at room temperature for about a day.

Pioneer Womans Cinnamon Rolls (With a quick version)

Seriously, have you guys made these yet?  I have always steered away from cinnamon rolls because they always seem to have something wrong with them.  Too dry on the outside, not enough frosting, too much frosting, to flat….etc.  You get the idea, I have high standards when it comes to my sweet breads.

Enter Ree Drummond.  She is quite the gal.  I want to be her BFF and offer to do her dishes if she will teach me her cooking ways.  And she has beautiful red hair and a basset hound, pretty great right?!

Don’t these look divine?  (That is Ree’s word to describe these sweet, gooey bites of heaven)  Do you see that frosting.  It has maple and coffee in it.  Now, if you don’t like coffee, don’t shy away.  You wont even notice it.  It just does something for the flavor that nothing else can do.  My friend does not like coffee and she ate 3 of these without so much as an nod to the coffee.
This is directly from her website.  See the bottom of this post for how I made it quick, quick, quick.  The normal prep time on this is 2 hours.

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• Plenty Of Melted Butter
• 2 cups Sugar
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
• _____
• MAPLE FROSTING:
• 1 bag Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Melted Butter
• 1/4 cup Brewed Coffee
• 1/8 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions

For the dough, heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute. Add 8 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl. (Note: dough is easier to work with if it’s been chilled for at least an hour or so beforehand.) Preheat the oven to 375°F. To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan/bowl. On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches. The dough should be rolled very thin. To make the filling, pour 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle half of the ground cinnamon and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter. Don’t be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar! Gooey is the goal. Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don’t worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down. When you’re finished, you’ll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log. Slip a cutting board underneath the roll and with a sharp knife, make 1/2-inch slices. One “log “will produce 20 to 25 rolls. Pour a couple of teaspoons of melted butter into disposable foil cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.) Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough and more pans. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover all the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove the towel and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Don’t allow the rolls to become overly brown. While the rolls are baking, make the maple icing: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt. Splash in the maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more maple, sugar, butter, or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable. Remove pans from the oven. Immediately drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top. As they sit, the rolls will absorb some of the icing’s moisture and flavor. *Now, there are 2 ways that I have made this quicker.  First, I used my bread machine to make the dough. I just used the recipe that came with my machine for cinnamon roll dough and that was a real time saver.  Second, I made these after dinner the night before I wanted to serve them.  Just make the rolls as you would, put in a butter drizzled pan, and cover with saran and place in the fridge overnight.  They will be all ready for you in the morning.  Just take out of the fridge and let set and rise on top of the stove for about 30 minutes and let your oven preheat.  Then bake as directed and DRENCH drizzle in the maple frosting.  ENJOY!

Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread

We had a North Pole Breakfast this year.  Our elf on the shelf, Twinkle, came to visit and we had special North Pole treats.
I adapted this recipe from one on the Pilsbury website.  I wanted to make it very fast and easy.  Basically, all I did was sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mix rather than rolling each piece of dough in it.
Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread
2 cans Pilsbury Flaky Supreme refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
2 granny smith apples, peeled and finely chopped
2/3 cup cinnamon sugar mixture (I just made my own)
1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease a round bundt pan.  I used and angel food cake pan, worked great
2. Cut each cinnamon roll in to 4 pieces. 
3. Sprinkle bottom of pan with some apple and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
4. Layer half the cut cinnamon rolls on top.  Sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar (about 1/3 cup on this layer)
5. Top with remaining apples and cut rolls.
6. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool for 15 minutes.
8. Turn upside down on a plate and smother with icing. 
9. Enjoy!!
These are so gooey and delicious.  It would make a very fast and delicious Christmas morning breakfast.

Best Ever Pumpkin Bread

This is just too yummy!!  I had 3 recipes for pumpkin bread that were just "ok".  So, I played around with the recipe and this is what I came up with.  And let me just say WOAH!!  So good!

Pumpkin Bread
3 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
4 cups sugar
6 eggs-beaten first
4 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat together pumpkin, oil, applesauce, sugar, and eggs
3. In a seperate bowl, combine dry ingredients until well mixed.  Add to pumpkin mixture and stir until well blended. 
4. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9 X 5 loaf pans.  If you only have 8X4 pans, this will make 4 loaves.
5. Bake 45 min to 60 min.

*This is great to put in the freezer as well.  Just bake, let cool completely, wrap with saran and then double wrap with foil or use a freezer bag.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Bread

When I first read this recipe, I noticed that pudding was on the ingredient list.  I then immediately printed it and went to the store.  I love anything that has pudding in it.   I also really really love cake.  And quick bread is just an acceptable cake for breakfast.
 
Cinnamon Bread
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Mix with a whisk in a large bowl and set aside.
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Whisk together and add to wet ingredients.  Mix until smooth. 
Pour in 2 greased loaf pans and sprinkle each loaf with 1 Tbsp cinnamon sugar mix.
Bake att 325 for 50-60 min or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Carmel Apple Sticky Buns

Doesn't this picture make you drool. Oh my heavens, these are good!!! I ate 4!! I have no shame.  Your next overnight guest may never want to leave if you make these.  Also, I plan on making these for my neighbors at Christmas....I really want them to like me.

I adapted the recipe from allrecipes.com

Carmel Apple Sticky Buns

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped peeled apple
• TOPPING:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, cubed
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (you can also use chopped apple in place of the nuts)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla (stirred in after the topping is removed from heat)

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt, and cinnamon. In a saucepan, heat the milk, water and butter to 120 degrees F to 130 degrees F. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour and apples. Do not knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile in a saucepan, combine the topping ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring until blended. Stir in vanilla after removing pan from heat. Pour into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Stir dough down. Spoon walnut-size pieces of dough over nut mixture. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 1 minute before inverting onto a large serving platter.

Olive Garden copy-cat breadsticks

Olive Garden Breadsticks

1 1/2 cups warm water (110-120 degrees)

1 pkgs active dry yeast

2 Tbsp sugar

4 1/2 c flour

2 Tbsp melted butter

1 Tbsp salt

Basting Sauce

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

*Melt all ingredients in the microwave.  Mix well

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in water for 10 minutes.   Mixture should be frothy

2.  Add flour and salt and melted butter

3.  Mix with dough hook until smooth.  Do not over knead

4.  Cut in to 12 pieces and roll in to a breadstick shape

5.  Place on greased cookie sheet.  Cover and let rise 45 minutes

6.  Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes.  Baste with basting sauce and cook 6 more minutes.  Baste with remaining sauce.  Cool 1-2 minutes (if you can wait that long).  Devour!  Try not to drool.

Enjoy!
Keep up with my current recipes HERE I am always adding new favorites. (find it here first before all your friends find it on Pinterest)