Butterscotch Monkey Bread

As mentioned in my last post, this was the second treat I made while at Lake Burton. This didn't turn out as expected, but I liked this version better. Traditionally, Monkey Bread is in the shape of a tube pan. You typically use uncooked biscuits which end up sticking to one another and filling out the tube pan. I used frozen dinner rolls, so the expanding and sticking together didn't happen. Instead of having a cake shape of bread that had to be torn apart to eat, we had a bowl of yummy sticky rolls. I honestly think it was easier to serve this way, so I'll be doing it again. This would be great to enjoy with the family during the Macy's parade tomorrow or maybe on Christmas morning. I hope you enjoy it!

Butterscotch Monkey Bread
2 trays of Sister Schubert frozen dinner rolls
1 box (3 3/4 oz) butterscotch pudding mix (not instant)
1/2 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c chopped pecans
Crisco (to grease your tube pan)

The night before you want to serve these, arrange the dinner rolls in a greased tube or bundt pan. Sprinkle the dry pudding mix on top. Over low heat, cook the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans until bubbly. Evenly pour the mixture over the rolls. Cover with aluminum foil or saran wrap. Allow to sit on the counter overnight. The  next morning, uncover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Dump the rolls into a bowl and serve!

Girls Weekend at Lake Burton with Sour Cream Apple Streusel Pie and Butterscotch Monkey Bread

A few weekends ago, I got the chance to go to a friend’s lake house for the weekend. We only packed our pajamas, pups, gossip magazines, great movies and wine. Could it get any better? We got to kayak around the lake some, let our pups explore the great outdoors, and simply relax. It was really a great weekend. Here’s a shot from their deck and the one picture I could grab of Etta while she was investigating.

I wanted to bake a few treats to show my appreciation. Instead of lugging around the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and such, I packed all of my ingredients pre-measured in plastic baggies. It made the process much easier. Both of these would make great treats for Thanksgiving or Christmas. They’re not difficult, and they really impress!

Sour Cream Apple Streusel Pie
via
Filling:
2 T. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg lightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sour cream
4 c. thinly sliced apples (I used a combination of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith)

Streusel Topping:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. butter, softened
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients. Add the sliced apples last, and toss gently to coat. Poke holes in the bottom of your unbaked, thawed pie crust with a fork. Then layer the apple mixture into your crust. Slightly mound them in the middle. Feel free to egg wash your crust at this point to make sure it's perfectly golden brown. Bake this at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

While this is in the oven, combine topping ingredients Cut in the butter until you have coarse crumbles. Use a  pastry blender for this process. Remove the pie from the oven after 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees, and evenly top with crumble mixture. At this point, I covered my crust edge only with tin foil because it was already really brown. Continue baking for an additional 30-40 minutes at the reduced temperature until apples are still firm but tender. This can be served warm or at room temperature. It would be great with a scoop of ice cream :) Enjoy!

I'll share the recipe for the Butterscotch Monkey Bread in my next post. Feel free to comment if you have any questions about the pie.

Homemade Cheese Crackers

Don't waste your time with the garbage in the red box anymore. These are an excellent all natural replacement! The red pepper flakes give them a great bite, but not too much heat. This recipe doesn't make very many crackers, so I'd suggest doubling it if you intend to serve these at a party. They will stay fresh for a couple days when stored in an air tight container in the fridge.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting as needed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbs milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Put all of the ingredients other than the milk in a food processor. Pulse for 5 seconds at a time until the dough is in coarse crumbs.

Add the milk and process until the dough gathers in a ball. Roll the dough out on a floured board with a rolling pin that has also been floured. Roll dough to about 1/8 inch thick.

Cut the dough into 1 inch squares using a sharp knife. Use the end of a wooden skewer to press a hole into the center of each cracker. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on these to make sure you pull them out as the edges just start to brown. Pull them out and let cool completely.