From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I wish I had a wonderful story to accompany today's feature, but the truth is I had unclaimed Halloween treats that I wanted to get rid of. Chocolate covered raisins are under appreciated by my family, so I had boxes of them left from the holiday and did not want to throw them out. I've had a recipe for pumpkin muffins for a while now and I thought the raisins would be a nice addition to the muffins which are based on a recipe created by Dorie Greenspan. While the muffins are a bit dense, they are tasty and very easy to make. They were also a great way to rid myself of the coated raisins before they went stale or spoiled. If you have an extra can of pumpkin puree in your kitchen, you might want to give these muffins a try. One caution. They stale quickly, so plan to eat them the morning they are made. They'd be great for Thanksgiving breakfast. Here is how they are made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I don't have great luck with cookbooks. Generally, if between their bindings, I find two recipes that will work for my family, I consider myself lucky and move on. There are, however, exceptions. Shortly after I began One Perfect Bite, I came across The Grand Central Baking Book and happily moved from page to page, experimenting far more often than I usually do, because I was so delighted with what I found. The recipe I'm featuring tonight comes from that book and it is making an encore performance because I can't let September pass without baking it at least once for my crew. It has, with good reason, become a family favorite and I suspect those of you who try it will quickly add it to your fall dessert rotation. The cream cheese gives the cake a lovely crumb and uniquely smooth texture, while the apples add their unique flavor and moisture to the finished loaf. I think you'll love this treasure of a recipe. Here is what I had to say about the recipe when it first appeared on One Perfect Bite.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've had these rolls in the freezer for a month now. My original plan was to serve them for breakfast on Thanksgiving Day, but unexpected guests depleted my freezer stash this morning. The good news is the rolls disappeared quickly, and that always is a sure sign that a recipe is good enough to share with you. The recipe was developed by Diane Rattray, a Southern cooking expert at about.com. I've worked with her recipes before, so I knew the rolls would be great. The recipe looks long and a bit complicated, but it is neither. The ingredient list contains a lot of common seasonal spices and several types of sugar that I suspect you already have in your pantry, and I'm happy to report the directions that come with the recipe, include instructions for making the rolls by hand, with a dough hook or in a bread machine. Unbaked rolls can be frozen for up to a month and those that are baked can also be frozen for that length of time if they are not frosted. I love to serve these warm and dripping with the cream cheese glaze, but there is no reason they can't be served at room temperature. If you are looking for a seasonal breakfast roll, you might want to give this one a try. Here is how the buns are made.
