Chocolate Chip Stuffed French Toast

This weekend we tried a different variation on stuffed french toast. I modified another Cooks Country recipe. I used miniature chocolate chips instead of regular chocolate chips as the recipe called for and I use an extra egg in the batter so I could make 6 instead of the original 4 in the recipe.

Chocolate Chip French Toast

Serves 6

4 ounces cream cheese , softened
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
12 slices sandwich bread
2 large egg
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple syrup for serving

1. Combine cream cheese, sugar, and chocolate chips in medium bowl. Spread on 6 bread slices. Top with remaining bread slices, pressing down gently, forming 6 sandwiches.

2. Combine eggs, water, flour, and vanilla in shallow pie plate. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Dip both sides of 2 sandwiches in batter and place in skillet. Cook until deep golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining butter and bread. (I used an electric griddle and cooked all 6 at once but it did take more than 3 minutes per side.)

Monkey Bread

This recipe is compliments of Cook's Country (which I highly recommend). It takes some work, but is so much better than using refrigerator biscuits for the dough.



Monkey Bread

Serves 6 to 8

The dough should be sticky, but if you find that it's too wet and not coming together in the mixer, add 2 tablespoons more flour and mix until the dough forms a cohesive mass. Make sure to use light brown sugar in the sugar mix; dark brown sugar has a stronger molasses flavor that can be overwhelming. After baking, don't let the bread cool in the pan for more than 5 minutes or it will stick to the pan and come out in pieces. Monkey Bread is at its best when served warm.

For the Dough
2	tablespoons unsalted butter , softened, plus 2 tablespoons melted
1	cup warm milk (about 110 degrees)
1/3	cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1/4	cup granulated sugar
1	package rapid-rise yeast or instant yeast
3 1/4	cups all-purpose flour , plus extra for work surface
2	teaspoons table salt
For the Brown Sugar Coating
1	cup packed light brown sugar
2	teaspoons ground cinnamon
8	tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
For the Glaze
1	cup confectioners' sugar
2	tablespoons milk

For the Dough:

1. Adjust oven rack to medium-low position and heat oven to 200 degrees. When oven reaches 200 degrees, turn it off. Butter Bundt pan with 2 tablespoons softened butter. Set aside.

2. In large measuring cup, mix together milk, water, melted butter, sugar, and yeast. Mix flour and salt in standing mixer fitted with dough hook, (see below for making Monkey Bread without a mixer). Turn machine to low and slowly add milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until dough is shiny and smooth, 6 to 7 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and knead briefly to form smooth, round ball. Coat large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and coat surface of dough with cooking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in warm oven until dough doubles in size, 50 to 60 minutes.

For the Sugar Coating:

3. While dough is rising, mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in bowl. Place melted butter in second bowl. Set aside.

To Form the Bread:

4. Gently remove dough from bowl, and pat into rough 8-inch square. Using bench scraper or knife, cut dough into 64 pieces.

5. Roll each dough piece into a ball. Working one at a time, dip balls in melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into bowl. Roll in brown sugar mixture, then layer balls in Bundt pan, staggering seams where dough balls meet as you build layers.

6. Cover Bundt pan tightly with plastic wrap and place in turned-off oven until dough balls are puffy and have risen 1 to 2 inches from top of pan, 50 to 70 minutes. (or let the dough do the final rise in the refrigerator over night)

7. Remove pan from oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap pan and bake until top is deep brown and caramel begins to bubble around edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out on platter and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

For the glaze:

8. While bread cools, whisk confectioners' sugar and milk in small bowl until lumps are gone. Using whisk, drizzle glaze over warm monkey bread, letting it run over top and sides of bread. Serve warm.

Monkey Bread Without a Mixer:
In step 2, mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make well in flour, then add milk mixture to well. Using wooden spoon, stir until dough becomes shaggy and is difficult to stir. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface and begin to knead, incorporating shaggy scraps back into dough. Knead until dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes. Shape into taut ball and proceed as directed.

French Toast

I've gone and done it. I made Alton's French Toast for the first time in a good while. Found a loaf of Italian Bread for $.80 at the store and thought it would work. I have had trouble finding the challah or brioche in this area, but I usually get a loaf of French bread and use the whole thing with a double batch of the custard. I used a double batch of custard this morning with the Italian bread and had enough for all but one slice of bread. This is a fussy recipe so I don't make it much, but oh my is it good. We could really taste the honey in this batch. And the texture is unmatched. We like to serve this with maple syrup, but I think you could get by with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

French Toast
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2003

1 cup half-and-half
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 (1/2-inch) slices day-old or stale country loaf, brioche or challah bread
4 tablespoons butter

In medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. You may do this the night before. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.

Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

Banana Pecan Buttermilk Pancakes

I've been using this recipe of about 6 years now. It came from Food TV's Cooking Live with Sara Moulton. I did enjoy her show. The only problem I've had is that it's just too thick so I end up using some extra buttermilk to get it to the consistency I want. And then I still usually spread them out with the back of the scoop. We usually just use maple syrup for serving, but the recipe came with Berry/Maple Syrup. I've never tried to make that though.

Banana Pecan Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe courtesy of Georgia Downard

2 cups flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 2 large eggs 6 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, or to taste 2 very ripe medium bananas (about 12 to 14 ounces) 2/3 cups pecans, toasted lightly and chopped Softened butter or vegetable oil, for cooking the pancakes In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, butter and vanilla. Whisk the dry ingredients into the liquid until combined well. Chop fine the banana and add it to the batter along with the pecans. Heat a griddle over moderate heat until hot enough to make a drop of water scatter over surface and brush with butter or oil. Working in batches, drop 1/4 cup measures of batter onto griddle to form pancakes and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip pancakes with a metal spatula and cook until undersides are golden brown and pancakes are cooked through, about 1 minute. Serve with Berry-Maple Syrup, recipe follows. BERRY/MAPLE SYRUP Recipe courtesy of Georgia Downard 1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup 1 cinnamon stick 1 cup picked over berries, such as blackberries or strawberries, stemmed and halved or raspberries or blueberries In a saucepan set over moderate heat combine the syrup with the cinnamon stick and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the berries and simmer for 1 minute. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Yield: about 2 1/2 cups

Milk Chocolate Strawberry Banana Muffins

So I looked in the fridge and there were strawberries well past their prime for eating uncooked and bananas that were calling out to make banana bread or muffins. I had 1 lb. strawberries and 4 bananas so I modified the recipe for a double batch of Banana Nut Bread. I thought I might have to add extra flour to make up for the liquid in the strawberries, but the texture was fine without any adjustment. Here's what I did:

Milk Chocolate Strawberry Banana Muffins
makes 3 dozen muffins

2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening (I like butter flavored Crisco)
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 lb. strawberries, hulled and mashed
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
4 cups flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, bananas and dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips; stir in lightly. Do not overbeat. Spoon into greased regular or mini muffin cups. (I use a #20 scoop for regular muffins and a #60 scoop for mini muffins.) Bake for about 30 minutes or until they test done with a toothpick. I usually smell them when they're about done. Cool in the pan about 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to finish cooling.

Yeasted Waffles

My guys love these waffles. I tried making chocolate waffles as a treat, and the oldest one told me, "Next time make the regular waffles." I was shocked. He likes these over chocolate. Once again, we're using a Cook's Illustrated recipe (March 2004). The ingredients are on the mark, but the original procedure was a nightmare. You had to heat the butter and milk until the butter melted then let it cool to about 110 degrees. So I'd get it heated up, then let it cool, forget about it, heat it up, let it cool. You get the idea. So I didn't make them very often. Until I messed with the procedure. It's a great help in the morning to have the batter already made and this recipe is great for that. It needs to sit in the refrigerator over night to let the yeast do it's thing.

Yeasted Waffles

Seven 7-inch round or four 9-inch square waffles

1 3/4	cups whole milk , or low-fat milk, or skim milk
8	tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 8 pieces
2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
1	tablespoon granulated sugar
1	teaspoon table salt
1 1/2	teaspoons instant yeast
2	large eggs
1	teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Melt butter in the microwave in a two cup measure. In small bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla until combined. Pour the melted butter into the eggs while whisking to combine. Heat the milk in the two cup measure in the microwave for about 1 minute, so it's just warm to the touch. Add to butter and eggs. Meanwhile, whisk flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in large bowl to combine. Gradually whisk warm milk/butter mixture into flour mixture; continue to whisk until batter is smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 12 and up to 24 hours.

2. Following manufacturer’s instructions, heat waffle iron; remove waffle batter from refrigerator when waffle iron is hot (batter will be foamy and doubled in size). Whisk batter to recombine (batter will deflate). Bake waffles according to manufacturer’s instructions (use about ½ cup for 7-inch round iron and about 1 cup for 9-inch square iron). Serve waffles immediately or hold in low temperature oven.

Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins

So I took my mom's Banana Nut Bread recipe, added chocolate chips, and portioned it out into muffins. I usually end up making a double batch and freezing the extras. The last double batch I made yielded 3 dozen muffins plus a couple extra made in oven proof custard cups (because I can't stand to waste the extra batter that wouldn't fit).

Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening (I like butter flavored Crisco)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (Mom uses walnuts, but I prefer pecans)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, bananas and dry ingredients. Add nuts and chocolate chips; stir in lightly. Do not overbeat. Spoon into greased regular or mini muffin cups. (I use a #20 scoop for regular muffins and a #60 scoop for mini muffins.) Bake for about 30 minutes or until they test done with a toothpick. I usually smell them when they're about done. Cool in the pan about 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to finish cooling.

Banana Nut Bread

So my mom has been making this Banana Nut Bread for as long as I can remember. I don't know which book she got the recipe out of, maybe the old faithful Better Homes and Gardens book. But it works out well every time.

Banana Nut Bread

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening (I like butter flavored Crisco)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (Mom uses walnuts, but I prefer pecans)

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, bananas and dry ingredients. Add nuts; stir in lightly. Do not overbeat. Pour into 2 greased 4" x 9" loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until they test done with a toothpick. Makes 2 loaves.