Pigs in a Blanket 2.0

 I found a new favorite crescent roll recipe 2 years ago and it's now the roll recipe I use to make pigs in a blanket. The dough is SO easy to work with and rolls out really nicely. I make these a few times a year, and sometimes do a double batch which makes 72 pigs! My kids love them for lunches at home and at school. 

Pigs in a Blanket 2.0

1 TBSP instant yeast

¼ cup warm water

½ tsp sugar

1 cup warm milk

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup flour

2 eggs

3-4 cups flour

1 (14oz.) package Lit'l Smokies sausages

 

1. In a 1 cup glass measuring cup, mix yeast with warm water and ½ tsp sugar. Let stand until bubbly.

2. In a large bowl whisk together warm milk, oil, ½ cup sugar, and salt. Add 1 cup of flour to mixture, and mix well. Add 2 eggs and mix vigorously by hand. Add yeast mixture and mix vigorously until smooth (I like to use my whisk again here). With a wooden spoon, stir in 3-4 cups flour to the yeast mixture ( I usually end up doing 3 1/2 cups). Dough should be sticky.

3. Pour the dough into a large bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.

4. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide into thirds (each of my thirds weighs about 14.5 ounces). Roll 1/3 of dough on a floured surface making a circle about 12 inches round. Dough should be about ⅜" thick. Cut into 12 triangles (like a pizza). Place a sausage at the wide end of each triangle. Roll from the wide end to the point. Place rolls onto a lined or greased cookie sheet (I do 3 across and 6 rows down). Repeat with the other 2 thirds of dough. You should end up with 36 rolls, 2 pans with 18 on each. Cover rolls with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise for another hour at room temperature or until the rolls double in size. 

5. Bake at 375 degrees until light lightly browned, which is about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

Sticky Cinnamon-Sugar Monkey Bread

 My daughter works at a sandwich shop and some nights she brings home extra bread dough. This is one of the things I like to make with that dough. It's super easy and yummy. The recipe calls for 2 pounds of frozen dough. Rhodes Bake n Serve White Bread dough works well for this. I have tried it with vanilla and butterscotch pudding and they are both great. This picture is with the butterscotch pudding. 

Sticky Cinnamon-Sugar Monkey Bread

tasteofhome.com

2 loaves (1 pound each) frozen bread dough, thawed 

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, cubed

1 package (3 oz) cook and serve vanilla or butterscotch pudding mix

2 TBSPs milk

2 tsps ground cinnamon

1. Cut dough into 1-inch pieces; place in a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.

2. In a large saucepan, combine remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cook and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Pour over dough pieces.

3. Cover loosely with parchment or nonstick foil. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes, until golden brown . Immediately invert onto a serving plate.

Serves 16

Best Pumpkin Bread

I decided I wanted to try a new pumpkin bread recipe, but I didn't have to make a bunch of different loaves to find the best one, because there's a blogger that already does that! I read The Pancake Princess's pumpkin bread bake-off post and baked her winner. It comes from seriouseats.com and apparently is the pumpkin bread recipe for the San Francisco bakery Tartine and is actually called Pumpkin Tea Cake. It has great spice flavor and a fun crispy sugary crust on top. If you like chocolate chips in your pumpkin bread, don't be afraid to throw some in!

Best Pumpkin Bread

seriouseats.com

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP + 2 tsps ground cinnamon

2 tsps freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup + 2 TBSPs pumpkin or squash puree (canned or homemade)

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/3 cups sugar

3/4 tsp salt

3 large eggs

2 TBSPs sugar for topping

2 TBSPs pepitas (optional but highly recommended)

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

3. In another bowl, beat together the pumpkin puree, oil, sugar, and salt on medium speed until well mixed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Scrape down the sides again, then beat on medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds to make a smooth batter. The batter should have the consistency of a thick purée. Make sure not to overmix, or you will end up with a coarse, tough crumb.

4. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with half the topping sugar, then the optional pepitas, and then the rest of the topping sugar. Bake until a tester emerges clean from the center, about 1 hour

5. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack, turn right side up, and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature. The cake will keep, well wrapped, at room temperature for 4 days or in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

Cheese Popovers

I've been doing a lot of live bake alongs while at home with ZERO plans. I LOVE IT! I watch two on Instagram almost everyday, Christina Tosi at 1pm central, creator/owner of Milkbar in NYC and Masterchef judge, and Bread Ahead at 8am central, an awesome bakery in London. I actually have to set my alarm to wake up for Bread Ahead, heehee. I put my earbuds in, watch, and take notes all from the comfort of my bed. It's great. Christina Tosi is posting all her recipes on her website, so I'm sharing her popover recipe. I made these yesterday and they were awesome! So easy and kinda fun to watch in the oven. I sprinkled a Colby jack cheese mix on the top of mine, but you can do any type of cheese you like. We ate them with Easter dinner leftovers. They are kinda like an eggy German pancake texture.

Cheese Popovers

adapted from Christina Tosi
3 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 3⁄4 cups whole milk
1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps sugar
2 tsps kosher salt
1⁄4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups any kind of cheese you have, shredded

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan. Measure all of the ingredients except the cheese into the pitcher of a blender. Blend on medium-low until smooth and well combined. The batter will be thin.
2. Pour 1⁄3 cup batter into each cup. Each cup should be about 3/4 full. Scatter 2 TBSPs of shredded cheese evenly over the center of each of the filled cups.
3. Put the popovers in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until tripled in size, hollow in the center, and a healthy golden brown on the outside. DO NOT open the oven while baking.
4. Pop out of the pan and dig in immediately. Popovers are best warm out of the oven, or the same day at the very latest.

English Fruit Scones

I love scones! Especially scones slathered with clotted cream and jam. These are the perfect traditional fruit scone. This recipe is like the scones served in the Highclere castle tearoom (according to Lady Carnarvon). I had one of those scones 2 years ago when I visited Highclere Castle. I followed the recipe as written and ended needing to make a few changes. I changed the medium egg to a large, used regular sugar instead of caster sugar, and added a little milk (original recipe in link above). You want a slightly sticky dough, so add the milk/egg a little at a time until the dough comes together and doesn't fall apart, but don't make it too sticky (you need to be able to work with it). You might use all the milk and you might need a little more. The leftover milk/egg mixture is brushed on the tops of the scones before baking. Milk helps the scones to brown. If you use all the milk mixture just brush some milk on the tops. Now lets talk a little out how to eat it. There are 2 traditional ways, the Cornish way and the Devon way. The Cornish way (originated in Cornwall) is jam on the bottom, clotted cream on the top. The Devonshire way (eaten in the county of Devon) is to spread cream first and then the  jam. I have had it both ways, and I'm not sure which I prefer. I like to be able to spread the cream kind of like butter and then add jam on the top, but there's something about a big dollop of clotted cream that I love! Apparently the Queen prefers the Cornish way. Which way do you prefer your scone?

English Fruit Scones
adapted from Highclere Chef Paul Brooke-Taylor's recipe
7 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter, cubed
2/3 cup sugar
5 1/4 TBSPs baking powder
1 large egg
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup golden raisins, currants, or sultanas (aka raisins)

1. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees F
2. Dust two baking trays with flour and place in the fridge.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.
4. Add the egg to the milk and pour just enough of it into the flour mixture to form a sticky, soft dough (see my notes at the top). Stir until dough comes together. Add the golden raisins to the dough and mix in to evenly distribute.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured board or worktop and quickly and gently shape it into a round about 3/4 inches thick. Handle the dough as little as possible. Using a 2 1/2 inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Place rounds on the chilled, floured baking tray and brush each scone lightly with some of the remaining milk/egg mixture (if none remains brush with milk). Reshape dough and cut again, repeating until all dough has been used.
6. Bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes until golden brown and well risen. Put a clean tea towel on a wire rack. Lift the scones off the baking tray with a palette knife, transfer to the tea towel and wrap the towel around the scones. These scones are best eaten warm, soon after baking, and are fabulous with clotted cream, jam. They also freeze well. Makes about 25 scones.

BLT Quiche

I love quiche and love trying different add-ins! It's technically BST, but I'm sticking with the L because it makes more sense. This is my regular quiche recipe with the addition of bacon, spinach, and tomatoes. I used a little chopped fresh spinach from my garden and a few cherry tomatoes halved. I have tried all different kinds of cheese in my quiche and I like using the pizza blend. It has some swiss, which is a typical quiche cheese, but it also has some provolone and mozzarella and I think it works really well. 

BLT Quiche
1 9in. deep dish prepared crust (like Pillsbury crust, or make this Quick Pie Crust)
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, pizza blend 
1/4 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups loosely packed spinach, roughly chopped
10-20 cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prick bottom and sides of crust with fork. Cover crust with foil, poke a few holes in it, then press it onto the crust. Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the the crust looks dry but not brown, about 4 minutes more. Remove from the oven; reduce the temperature to 325 degrees.
2. While crust is baking, in a medium bowl combine eggs, half and half, salt, pepper, cheese, bacon, and spinach. Stir to combine. When the crust has finished baking, pour egg mixture into the crust. Top with cherry tomatoes, cut side up.
3. Bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. If the edges are browning too quickly, cover them with strips of aluminum foil. Cool 15 minutes then serve.

Fresh Cherry Scones with Lime Glaze

Cherries have been on sale here, so I've been making these scones! I bought a cherry pitter last week. Can you believe I've never owned one?! My 7 year old doesn't like to eat cherries because he's worried he's going to swallow the pit. Now he pits them himself (yes he makes a mess) and eats them like a pro. :) This is similar to my Blueberry Scone recipe but with self rising flour instead of all-purpose and the addition of an egg. If you want to use all-purpose flour in this recipe add 4 tsps of baking powder and 1 tsp of salt. These are made into Americanized triangles but you can also cut them into rounds if you prefer. 

Fresh Cherry Scones with Lime Glaze

4 cups self rising flour
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups pitted, chopped cherries fresh or frozen
1 egg
1 cup milk
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream plus 1 TBSP of cream, separated

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP fresh lime juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with baking mat or parchment paper and set aside. 2. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or rub it in with your fingers until it resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar and cherries.
3. Add the egg, milk, and 2/3 cup of cream. Stir until it comes together in a dough. Do not over mix.
4. Over lightly floured surface, knead dough a few times. split in half. Make each section of dough into a ball and flatten out dough into 8 inch circle.
5. Transfer circles to baking sheet and using a pizza cutter to cut into 8 triangles. Leave them together in the circle.
6. Brush the top of each circle with remaining 1 TBSP of cream.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until scones begin turning golden brown around the edges.
8. While scones are baking, mix powdered sugar and lime juice in a small bowl. After scones have been removed from oven, drizzle glaze over the top. Serve warm.
Makes 16 large scones

Eggnog Baked French Toast

It snowed last night!! San Antonio hasn't had this much snow for 30 years! While it was snowing we were having a perfect snowy night dinner, this Eggnog Baked French Toast. The powdered sugar on top even looked like snow! I have made a bunch of variations of this dish with different fruit, but it was time for a Christmas upgrade. Instead of half and half and a little syrup like my regular recipe here, I just mixed eggnog with the eggs and you can totally taste the eggnog flavor. I grated a little fresh nutmeg on top before baking too. If you are an eggnog lover, this needs to be in your recipe collection!

Eggnog Baked French Toast
1 16oz loaf french bread (day old bakery bread works great)
8 oz cream cheese
4 TBSP butter or margarine, melted
1 3/4 cups eggnog
10 eggs
Sprinkle of nutmeg
Powdered sugar
Syrup

1. Cube bread and layer half of it in a 9x13 in. pan. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and sprinkle evenly across the bread. Cover with remaining bread cubes.
 2. Pour melted butter evenly over the top. Mix eggnog and eggs and pour over evenly. Press down with spatula so that all the liquid is absorbed by the bread. Sprinkle a little nutmeg over the top. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-55 min. If it starts to get too brown, lay a sheet of foil on top until it has finished baking. Remove from oven and sift powered sugar over top. Cut into squares. Serve with syrup
Makes 8-12 servings

Cherry Tomato and Basil Quiche

My garden is producing an overabundance of cherry tomatoes! We have 2 different kinds of plants, Sweet 100s and Black Cherry. My kids don't really like to eat them, so I needed to find a recipe and use some of them up! I was able to use about 50 in this quiche, but depending on the size of your tomatoes, you might want to go with less than that. I loved the tomato, basil, and ricotta flavor! I even use fresh basil from my garden too! I must give a warning with this dish though, the tomatoes are like little volcanoes, so be careful not to spew hot tomato seed lava all over yourself. I shot some out onto the floor in my first bite. :)

Cherry Tomato and Basil Quiche

adapted from atreatsaffair.com
1 9in. deep dish prepared crust (like Pillsbury crust, or make this Quick Pie Crust)
50 cherry tomatoes (depending on size)
4 eggs
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2/3 cup grated Parmesan (I grate mine from a Frigo wedge)
6 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place crust into quiche pan of pie pan. Prick bottom and sides of crust with fork. Cover crust with foil, poke a few holes in it, then press it into the crust-lined pan. Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the crust looks dry but not brown, about 4 minutes more. Remove from the oven; reduce the temperature to 350 degrees.
2. Arrange the cherry tomatoes on top of the crust. You might want to use less than 50, especially if your are on the large side. It's totally your preference. They'll move around a little when you pour the filling on top, so you might do a little rearranging later.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix eggs, half and half, and ricotta with fork. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, chopped basil, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour the filling into the baking dish. If needed arrange the tomatoes so they are not all cluttered into one spot.
5. Bake the quiche into the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or just until it starts to brown on top. 6. Remove from the oven, let cool for few minutes before slicing.

Keep leftovers stored in refrigerator.

Bacon and Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

I had a biscuit like this at the Magnolia Market Silo Bakery. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I thought why not add bacon, cheese, and chives to my own biscuits, and here they are! They are fluffy and buttery with the extra goodness of bacon and cheese! Make a double batch, because you'll want more.

Bacon and Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour
3 tsps baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 TBSP sugar
5 TBSPs cold butter, cut into cubes (or use a cheese grater)
2 TBSPs cold shortening
1 cup cold buttermilk, plus an extra 3 TBSP in case you need it
3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 TBSP fresh chives, chopped
1 TBSP melted butter for brushing on top

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper, silpat, or aluminum foil, dull side up.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together until combined. With a fork or pastry blender, cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until each piece is coated and the size of small peas.
3. Add bacon, cheese, and chives and mix until combined.
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in one cup of the buttermilk. Gently mix it around until it's combined. If the dough doesn't look wet, add in the extra 3 TBSPs of buttermilk to moisten it. You don't want it runny, just visibly moist.
5. Flour your surface and gently place your dough on top. Dust the top of the wet dough with a little more flour ensuring that your fingers don't stick into the dough. Bring the dough together with your hands, gently, for about 10 seconds. Flatten into a 1-1 ½ inch thick circle. Cut dough into biscuits using a floured glass or biscuit cutter (I used a 2½ inch). Do not twist cutter when cutting; this crimps the edges of the biscuit and hinders rising.
6. Place each biscuit on the lined baking sheet, so that the sides are barely touching. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter.
Makes 6 large biscuits

Apple Cider Syrup

I love apple cider! Trader Joe's sells a really fresh tasting Honey Crisp cider that is so good! I used it to make some syrup to go on my Apple Pie French Toast (see pic below) and it is amazing! I like the taste of it without cinnamon, but if you want a cinnamon apple syrup feel free to add cinnamon. Would also be great on crepes or ice cream.

Apple Cider Syrup
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 TBSPs cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
2 cups apple cider
1 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP butter

In medium sauce pan combine sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon (if desired); blend well. Slowly whisk in apple cider and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat. Add butter; stir until melted. Makes 2 cups. Serve with THIS!

Apple Pie French Toast

Apple Pie Baked French Toast

I've made this with blueberries, peaches, and now I've added a fall spin! In between layers of cubed french bread is a layer of cream cheese and apple pie filling! Even better I've topped it with Apple Cider Syrup. Yum! I also mixed some cinnamon with powdered sugar to sift over the top too. Amazing fall breakfast and would be perfect to wow your Thanksgiving guests.

 Apple Pie Baked French Toast
1 loaf french bread (day old bakery bread works great)
1 21oz can or jar of apple pie filling
8 oz cream cheese
4 TBSPs butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups half and half
10 eggs
Powdered sugar
Cinnamon (optional)
Apple Cider Syrup (optional) or whatever you want on top

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 in baking dish with non stick spray.
2. Cube bread and layer half in prepared dish.
3. Scoop apples out of can and unto cutting board (save the gooey glaze left in the can). Roughly chop them and spread the apples in a layer on top of the bread cubes.
4. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and drop them on evenly across the apples. Cover with remaining bread cubes.
5. Pour melted butter over the top of the bread cubes.
6. Whisk together half and half, leftover apple glaze from the can, and eggs. Pour over the top of the bread as evenly as possible. Try to cover all the bread. Press down with spatula so that the liquid is absorbed by the bread.
7. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
8. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. If it starts to get too brown, lay a sheet of foil on top until it has finished baking. Remove from oven and sift powered sugar over top and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Cut into 8-12 servings. Serve with Apple Cider Syrup.

Note: If you serve immediately, the pieces won't stay in a formed square. They'll break apart as you dish it up. For uniform looking pieces let cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins

Love these!! This is fall in a little paper cup. Now that it's finally starting to cool off at night here in Texas, these will go perfectly with my hot cocoa and TV watching. :) The Pumpkin Pie Spice is a McCormick seasoning that is made up of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. So if you don't have any, you can make your own mixture with those 4 spices.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins
adapted from thenovicechefblog.com
Pumpkin Batter
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsps vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Batter
1 pkg (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 18 muffin cups with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk in the flour mixture, until there are no lumps.
4. Using a large scoop (about 1/4 cup), scoop batter into the prepared muffin pan.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/3 cup sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
6. Drop 1 TBSP of cream cheese batter into each muffin cup and use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter a little.
7. Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Nutella Stuffed French Toast

This might be one of the best things ever. I bought a loaf of Challah bread from the store just to try my hand at a Nutella french toast and I loved it so much! All you really do is make a Nutella sandwich and then cook it french toast style. If you've got some Nutella sitting in your pantry you need to go make this! Don't even bother waiting for breakfast! We had it for dinner. :)

Nutella Stuffed French Toast
12-14 slices bread, I like Challah or Brioche but anything works!
Nutella
3 eggs
1 cup milk
2 TBSPs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, bananas, or syrup

1. Spread Nutella on a slice of bread. Top with another slice like you are making a sandwich. Repeat until you have 6 or 7 sandwiches.
2. In a shallow bowl or pie pan, whisk eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla until combined.
3. Heat skillet or griddle to medium and lightly grease it with cooking spray or butter.
4. Dip sandwiches in egg mixture turning to evenly coat both sides.
5. Cook on skillet until browned on both sides.
Serve with powdered sugar and bananas or syrup.
Makes 6 or 7 pieces

Peach Sauce

I made this peach sauce to go with my Peaches and Cream Baked French Toast. It would also be great with pancakes, waffles, or desserts!

Peach Sauce
2 cups fresh or frozen peaches
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSPs cornstarch, mixed with 2 TBSPs cold water

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the peaches, 1/2 cup of water, sugar and lemon juice. Stir frequently, and bring to a low boil.
2. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water.
3. Slowly stir the cornstarch mixture into the peach mixture. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, about 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat. Serve warm. Store covered in refrigerator.

Notes: You can adjust the sweetness of the sauce by decreasing or increasing the sugar. Also, if you want it to be more syrupy instead of thick, then add a little more water.

Peaches and Cream Baked French Toast

I almost went a whole month without posting!! I'm in my new kitchen and getting settled. I'll do a post about it soon, but we're trying to finish painting it right now. This week I bought a bunch of peaches for $.78 a lb and wanted to try my Brazos Baked French Toast recipe with them. It was AMAZING! I've made it with blueberries too, but we liked this even better. I also used some to make a peach sauce, which I'll post separately, but the link will be listed below. It's super easy and great for breakfast, brunch, or if you're like us, dinner. :)

Peaches and Cream Baked French Toast
1 loaf french bread (day old bakery bread works great)
3-5 peaches, peeled and thinly sliced
8 oz cream cheese
4 TBSPs butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/4 cup peach jam
10 eggs
Powdered sugar
Peach sauce (optional) or whatever you want on top

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 in baking dish with non stick spray.
2. Cube bread and layer half in prepared dish. Layer the sliced peaches in rows on top of the bread cubes. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and drop them on evenly across the peaches. Cover with remaining bread cubes. 2. Pour melted butter over the top of the bread cubes.
3. Whisk together half and half, jam, and eggs pour over the top as evenly as possible. Try to cover all the bread. The jam might sink to the bottom and end up on top after pouring, which is totally fine. Press down with spatula so that the liquid is absorbed by the bread.
4. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
5. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. If it starts to get too brown, lay a sheet of foil on top until it has finished baking. Remove from oven and sift powered sugar over top. Cut into 8-12 servings. Serve with peach sauce or syrup.

Whipped Nutella Mousse

What could be better than this?! These 3 ingredients would make anything taste amazing! I was directed to this recipe by my sister. You can use it as a fruit dip or cupcake filling, but I put it in crepes. This is the crepe recipe I use here. The crepes were seriously so good with a little of this mousse, strawberries, and bananas. YUM!!

Whipped Nutella Mousse
jamiecooksitup.net
1 cup Nutella
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup Cool Whip or other whipped topping

1. Combine Nutella and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Beat until combined and smooth.
2. Add Cool Whip and stir with a spoon until combined.
3. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 Note: Refrigerating the mixture will make it stiffen up.