My Real World & Bake Day

I finally have a moment to catch my breath and blog.  Life has proven to be rather hectic the past two weeks.  I finished up my classes at school and then turned around and started my 5-week externship program.

It's been quite awhile since I have worked a normal 9-5 work day.  Let's just say that it kicked my booty this past week.  I came home everyday feeling beat down.  It didn't help that my sinuses/allergies were out of whack a couple of days.  Sinus pressure and pain makes for a LONG day.  I haven't even checked Twitter in the past week and have barely touched Facebook.

Next week should flow a little more smoothly.  My body and mind are starting to adjust to the new schedule.  At times, I really miss being done with my day at noon.  Going to school was a nice little gig.

Thankfully, my Bake Day didn't fall during the middle of the week.  Somehow, it worked out to be today.  YAY!  I was eager to get into the kitchen and work on a project for The Friendship Bread Kitchen. The theme this time around is a Savory recipe incorporating Friendship Bread Starter.  I love a good challenge.

I gave it a lot of thought and decided to create Garlic Parmesan Friendship Biscuits.  Garlic and Parmesan are two of my favorite ingredients to use while cooking.  Plus, they make the kitchen smell so tasty that you almost want to lick the air.

Here's my lovely & perky Starter before the magic happens.

Here are the beautiful wet ingredients (including 1 cup of Starter).  I love the color of Egg Yolk.

These little gems are ready to sit for 30 minutes and rise.

And the finish product.  Yummy!  You can see the shredded parmesan baked into the biscuit.

Slice one open & it's ready to eat.  This was taste-tested by the Hubby & passed the test!

Garlic Parmesan Friendship Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup Amish Friendship Bread starter
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup oil
¼ stick butter, melted
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup parmesan cheese (grated or shredded)

2 cloves of garlic (freshly minced)

1 tsp garlic powder (add to melted butter)

Directions

1. Preheat over to 325° F (165° C).
2. Combine all wet ingredients except butter in a medium-size bowl.
3. Combine all dry ingredients (minus the cheese & garlic) in a larger bowl and make a well in the center.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and whisk until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Add cheese & garlic to the dough and mix in to distribute evenly
6. Transfer dough mixture to a lightly-floured surface and roll (or pat with your hands) to 1/2-inch thickness.
7. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out biscuits and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
8. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes, removing when the tops are lightly browned. Serve immediately.
10. Enjoy!
    

Bake Day!

Today was my Bake Day for Amish Friendship Bread.  I decided to try out a new variation that I thought would be wonderful for Mother's Day celebrations.  Trust me, this recipe is good any day of the week but Moms would go wild for this on their special day.

That's my happy little Starter ready to do it's job.  It has been waiting for 10 days now & couldn't contain itself any longer.

Here are my spare Starters ready to go in the freezer.  I don't have anyone to give them to around here right now.  Plus, I want to use one while my parents are visiting next weekend.  Can you tell I'm not a good aim when it comes to getting it neatly in the Ziploc bag?

Any idea what this is going to be???  Don't worry, I'll tell you...

Still guessing?  This lovely pan is going to turn into delicious Chocolate Craisin AFB Muffins.  Is your mouth watering yet?  It should be.

Here we are up close & personal with the finished product.  This tasty morsel does not disappoint.


I also baked two loaves of Chocolate Craisin AFB Bread as well.  I haven't decided where all these lovely little treats are going to end up, but I'm sure I can find them happy homes.

And here's my lovely Starter back in it's jar.  Thankful to be saved & live another day...10 days to be exact.


RECIPE:


Chocolate Craisin AFB Bread

Ingredients

   1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
   3 eggs
   1 cup oil
   1/2 cup milk
   1 cup sugar or Splenda
   2 teaspoon vanilla
   1 tsp cinnamon (can be omitted)
   2 cups all-purpose flour
   1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
   1/2 teaspoon baking soda
   1/2 teaspoon salt
   1 small box chocolate instant pudding (may use 2)
   1/2 cup cocoa powder
   1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
   1 cup craisins


Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325° F (165° C).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the starter, eggs, oil, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract until everything is well combined.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cocoa and pudding mix. Add the starter mixture to the flour mixture and gently stir until the batter just barely comes together. Gently stir in the chocolate chips and craisins.  
4. Grease the muffin tins and fill each one half way.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Let them sit in the tin for 3-5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
6. Enjoy!