Care for a lift?

Keep your kids off the sidewalks and your grannies from crossing the street.  Someone's legal.

First crack at it too. Only thirty points taken off for minor things.

Way to go kid!

Apple Muffins

Storm had a craving for Apple Muffins.

I didn't have an actual recipe to turn to, but I did have an Apple Coffee Cake recipe I'd made a couple of times before (ripped out from a random magazine). I never did like the streusel they put on top so I made the crumb topping from my Grandma's Crumb Cake that I love.

One part coffee cake. One part Grandma's crumb cake. All yumminess.

Apple Muffins

Yields 12

CAKE

1 1/4 cup flour      1/2 cup sugar

2 1/4 tsp baking powder   1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt  1/2 cup milk

4 tbsp oil (or melted butter)   1 egg, beaten

2 apples, peeled and diced

• Mix the dry ingredients for the batter in a medium bowl.
• In a separate bowl, mix milk, oil and egg.
• Pour into dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in apples.
• Pour into lined muffin tin. Put on a generous tablespoon of Grandma's crumb topping.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out dry.

GRANDMA'S CRUMB TOPPING

1/4 cup butter, slightly softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

• Mix together until crumbly.



You can come over for one of these though, if you hurry. I doubled the recipe thinking that original cake recipe wouldn't make twelve and I had enough to make 24!

Quick! Come save my arse from getting any wider!!

French Bread

I can't take the credit for this recipe, but I can share it with you! I originally found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine, and then it sat on my recipe shelf for about .. oh, a year at least. But today I pulled it out and figured I'd give it a whirl.

Yum! Two amazing loaves of french bread in under 3 hours total.

French Bread

2 tbsp. active dry yeast       2 cups warm water

2 tsp. salt      1 tsp. sugar

4-1/2 to 5 cups bread flour*

1 tsp. cornmeal

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the salt, sugar and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
• Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hr.
• Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into 12" long loaves.
• Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 mins.
• Sprinkle with cornmeal. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf.
• Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

* I used regular AP flour and they turned out great. I'm going to experiment with using actual bread flour and see what the difference is. They can only get better. I made the entire recipe in my large mixer bowl using my dough hooks. I took it out and kneaded it for maybe 2 minutes or so!

I'd invite you over for a slice or two, but in this family, homemade bread doesn't last long!