Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake

~the farmgirl story~
This recipe is from my friend Anne. Anne is amazing and I love her. She is my food twin. We understand each other on many levels. None more so than on food and treats. I have made this on many occasions. Yesterday it was for a little breakfast party. It's always a winner. Thanks, Anne.

Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 t vanilla
2 cups cake flour (which I never have on hand and regular flour always turns out just fine)
1 t baking powder
1/2 cup blueberries

filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts
mix until combined

cream butter and sugar, add eggs. fold in sour cream and vanilla. sift together dry ingredients, add to wet mixture. fold in blueberries. pour 1/3 batter into greased bundt pan. sprinkle with 1/2 the filling. pour 1/3 batter over top, sprinkle remaining filling. gently swirl cake with a spatula. bake at 350 for one hour. cool and invert onto a serving platter. dust with powdered sugar. serves 12-16

~the farmgirl disclaimer~
As I have discovered over the last 6 months, baking at a higher elevation really does make a difference. This ended up needing to be baked longer than I have ever needed to bake it before. I don't know if that is because of the elevation or not, it's just what happened.

Carmel Pecan French Toast

~the farmgirl story~
I first tasted this amazingness at a Christmas breakfast party about 7ish years ago. They are really, really good. I hadn't made them in quite some time, until I had a little Christmas breakfast get together of my own yesterday. They were a HUGE hit.

Carmel Pecan French Toast

1-cup brown sugar packed

½ cup butter

2 Tbl light corn syrup

1-cup pecans chopped

1 loaf French bread sliced into 18 slices

6 eggs beaten

1 ½ cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbl sugar

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, stir together brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Heat and stir until the butter is melted and brown sugar is dissolved. Pour into a 3 qt. Rectangular baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the pecans. Arrange half of the bread slices in a single layer over pecans (you may have to cut some to make them fit). Sprinkle with remaining pecans and top with the remaining bread slices. In a medium bowl stir eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour over bread slices. Press with back of spoon to moisten. Stir together sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle over bread. Cover and chill 8-24 hours. Bake uncovered in 350* oven for 30-40 mins. or until lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plates. Serves 9.

~farmgirl disclaimer~
I don't usually layer the bread. I like the caramely, nutty goodness on every bite. So I will double every thing else and make two pans (because, really, no one will complain about having too much). It's best served with a bit of whip cream on the top. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Dream Cookies.

~the farmgirl story~
First of all, you need to know that I really do make things other than treats and breads. I just make treats and breads a lot. And most of the time I don't use a recipe when I make dinner I just throw something together. And, well, that just doesn't seem very exciting. So, anyhoo...Double Chocolate Dream Cookies is a recipe out of my Nestle Toll House cookbook. Me madre gave it to me and my sisters nigh unto 14 years ago, there's some tasty stuff in there. This one is a definite favorite. These cookies are chocolatey deliciousness!

Double Chocolate Dream Cookies

2 ¼ cups flour

½ cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1-cup butter- softened

1-cup brown sugar

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 cup chocolate chips

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla in mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake 375* for 8-10 minutes.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~

I sometimes use half shortening, half butter.

Staff of Life Bread

~the farmgirl story~
My mom makes amazing bread. Really, it's awfully good. She's been using the same recipe since forever. It's called Staff of Life Bread, and yes-it is. I could pretty much survive on this stuff. Wait, I already do.

Staff of Life Bread

2 quarts milk -scalded, cooled down and add...
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
1 cup oil
3 tbl. yeast dissolved in 2/3 cup warm water
18 cup flour

Mix all ingredients. Raise 1 hour -punch down- raise additional hour. Put in loaf pans and raise 30 minutes. Bake *400 for 30 minutes.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~
*You may have noticed the gargantuan amount of ingredients....this makes a lot of bread. *When I lived in St. G before I could borrow my mom's mixer I would just cut the recipe way down. *Also, I think the altitude makes a difference, I have much better luck with this bread (well, all breads actually) here than I did down south.

see lots-O-bread

Dressing

~the farmgirl story~
So, yet another family recipe...brace yourselves, there's a lot of them. This dressing recipe is from my great grandma, maybe it's even further back than that. Are you looking for the best dressing recipe ever? Look no further. You should make this. It is fantastic. It's a Thanksgiving staple.

Dressing

1 1/2 lbs. sausage browned
1 cup chopped onion
2 cup chopped celery
3-4 quarts seasoned stale bread (3 boxes Mrs. Cubbisons cube stuffing)
1 tbl. salt
2-3 tlb. parsley
1 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. sage
1 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

Cook sausage, onion and celery together until the celery is a bit soft. Mix bread and sausage, add seasonings and mix. Moisten with chicken broth until you grab a handful and it sticks together. Cover and heat through.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~
*I took a picture of the stuffing you need to buy, sometimes it's hard to find. Be sure to get the cubed stuffing. *I always err on the side of 'it might be a little too moist'--not a fan of dry stuffing!

Applesauce Cookies

~the farmgirl story~

These cookies have been around as long as I can remember. I had to ask my mom where the recipe originated from. When she was Primary President (way back when she was pregnant with my little sis, some 28 years ago) all the primary teachers drew names for Christmas. The lady that had my mom brought her these cookies in a tin. She loved them, asked for the recipe and they've been around ever since. Mike and the kiddos love them too. Mike always tells me they would be delicious with boiled raisins...clearly he's crazy. Does he not know my feelings about fruit and dessert? How long have we been married??? Any-hoo, these cookies are mighty delightful. Enjoy.

Applesauce Cookies

1cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 egg

1 cup applesauce

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cloves, cinnamon & nutmeg

1 tsp. soda

1 12 oz bag chocolate chips

Mix soda with applesauce. Mix together sugar, shortening and egg. Add applesauce to sugar mixture Sift together dry ingredients and stir into sugar applesauce mixture. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes or until light brown.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~

*Don't mix the soda and applesauce in a metal bowl. Unless, of course, you like purple applesauce. *Again, I never measure the chocolate chips--just add until it seems like plenty. *I always use semi sweet chocolate chips.

Caramel Popcorn

~the farmgirl story~
This recipe has been around longer than I have. The story goes (as I remember it) that shortly after my parents were married my mom made some caramel popcorn for my dad. He thanked her, said it was good and that his mother had a recipe she might like to try. She did, and has never made anything different since. Neither will you. This is THEE best caramel popcorn recipe, ever. I have many happy memories watching my parents make this gooey caramel gold on Sunday evenings. My dad loves his caramel popcorn.

Caramel Popcorn

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup karo syrup
1 cube butter
2 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cook all ingredients, except vanilla, in sauce pan until it just starts to boil. Add vanilla, stir. Pour over popcorn.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~
#1 This makes a lot, so don't skimp on the popcorn. #2 I don't actually have written instructions, basically you just want to cook it long enough for the sugar to dissolve, but not too long--nothing worse than hard popcorn.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

~the farmgirl story~
I don't remember where I got this recipe, but it's been with me a long, long time. It is tried and true, always a winner. When we lived in St. G the neighborhood kids dubbed these bad boys "Freezer Cookies" because I always had a bag of them in the freezer for after school snacks...or any time kids were at my house snacks. Friends were a common occurrence at our house and as the kids and their friends grew, the cookies disappeared faster and faster. The teenage boy bunch made short work of a bag. I've baked a lot of cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

chocolate chips

Cream together shortening, sugar, brown sugar,and vanilla. Beat in egg. Mix in flour, soda, and salt. Add chocolate chips and mix. Bake *375 for 8-10 minutes.

~the farmgirl disclaimer~

#1 DO NOT be scared off by the idea of "shortening cookies", these are delish--I promise. #2 I ALWAYS 4 times the recipe--it's just the way it should be done. #3 I put a bit more flour in than it calls for...maybe a couple tablespoons more ?-ish-? #4 I don't measure the chocolate chips--just pour them in until it feels right to ya. #5 I think they are best with both milk and semi sweet chips.