Poppy Seed Bread

3 cups flour, sifted

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup milk

1 1/8 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 tsp butter flavoring.

Glaze:

3/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp butter flavoring

Grease and lightly four two 9" x 5" loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350. Mix all bread ingredients together, then beat for 2 minutes. Pour into pans and bake for 1 hour. Mix glaze ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over hot bread in pans. Let cool before removing from pans.

*Notes: We usually double the recipe. A double batch makes 13 mini loaf pans or 5 regular size disposable loaf pans. (Or, I'm assuming, 4 9x5 loaf pans.) When making the mini loafs, bake for 50 minutes. (As always, you can check done-ness by inserting a toothpick - if it comes out clean, it's done.) And don't overfill the pans. A double batch will fit in a stand mixer, but there is a bit of sloshing when you turn it on. Be sure to start on the lowest setting and gradually go up, and I started using a towel around the edges to prevent too much spillage. Also, the sooner you can get the glaze on the hot bread - the more is soaked up and the better the bread turns out. Have it ready when the timer goes off.

The World's Best Guacamole

3 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, diced

juice of 1 lime

1 medium rip tomato, diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

couple dashes of Tabasco sauce

Mash the avocados in a bowl with a fork until slightly lumpy. (I used a pastry cutter - it worked really well!) Stir in the lime juice, tomato, cilantro, red onion and garlic. Add the Tabasco, cumin, salt and sugar (anywhere from 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt.) Mix well. Sample and adjust seasonings. Cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Enjoy!

Mint Capped Brownie Cookie Cups

This recipe is from the back of the Mint Truffle Hershey's Kisses. I've also made it with Cookies and Cream Kisses and Pumpkin Spice Kisses and they are all delicious!

48 Kisses, unwrapped

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 TBS water

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

powdered sugar

48 mini muffin baking cups (paper or foil)

Heat oven to 350. Line 48 mini muffin cups with baking cups. Beat butter, granulated sugar, water and vanilla in large bowl on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, beat well. Stir together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating on low speed just until blended. If necessary, refrigerate dough until firm enough to handle (very important! otherwise you end up with a huge sticky mess and can't roll the dough into balls.) Shape dough into 1" balls; place in prepared muffin cups. Bake 11-13 minutes or until cookie surface is set. Cookies will appear soft and moist. Do not over-bake. Cool about 5 minutes on wire rack. Press chocolate kiss into surface of each cookie cup. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle each cookie with powdered sugar.

48 cookies

Grandma's Breakfast Casserole

8 slices bread, cubed

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

10 (1 1/2 to 2 lbs) pork sausage links

4 eggs

2 1/4 cups milk

3/4 tsp dry mustard

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

Arrange bread cubes in bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Brown sausage links, drain and cut into fourths. Arrange on top of cheese. Beat eggs with milk (2 1/4 cups) and dry mustard. Pour over sausage, cheese and bread. Refrigerate overnight. Dilute soup with milk (1/2 cup) and pour over casserole. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees.

Cranberry Pop Cake

Cake:

3 TBS margarine or butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 TBS baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup evaporated milk

2 cups fresh or frozen whole cranberries (1 bag of fresh is close to 3 cups and I usually just use the whole bag - I love the tart cranberries)

Butter Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

3/4 whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350. For the cake, cream the margarine/butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour to the creamed butter and sugar alternating with the evaporated milk, mixing well after each addition. Fold in the cranberries gently.

Spoon into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (I usually have to bake longer.)

For the sauce, combine the butter, sugar and cream over medium heat. Heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Serve hot with the hot cake.

Serves 9

Frosted Pumpkin Muffins

Muffin Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS butter, cut into pieces

1 cup (heaping) pumpkin puree

1/2 cups evaporated milk

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cups golden raisins (I'm going to try chocolate chips, too!)

Topping:

2 TBS sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 nutmeg

Frosting:

1/4 cup softened butter

4 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 pound powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400. Generously grease 12 muffin tins (or use cupcake liners). Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender until it is fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins. Fold gently until mixture is just combined.

Pour into muffin pans. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar topping.

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool completely.

Mix all frosting ingredients on high until soft and whipped. Spread onto completely cooled muffins.

***This frosting recipe is enough for generously frosting a double batch of muffins!

Serves 12

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

10 TBS unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for the pan

3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) plus more for pan

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree (from a 15 oz can)

3/4 cup light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour 12 standard muffin cups.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and allspice. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of pumpkin mixture, and beat to combine.

Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean - 30 minutes.

Sugar Coating

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Combine sugar and cinnamon. Let muffins cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Working with one at a time, remove muffins from pan, brush all over with butter, then toss to coat in sugar mixture. Let muffins cool completely on a wire rack.