Brynn's Specialty OR Paper Bag Apple Pie

My sister Brynn is an excellent baker.  Her confection of choice?  Pie.  

 She has perfected the crust making, made the fillings the most delicious and bakes them golden brown.  I have her recipes, but I somehow cannot replicate the perfection that she achieves.  Brynn always makes the pies for Thanksgiving and this year was no different.  I enjoyed a slice of each kind, topped with soft whipped cream.  It was Thanksgiving, after all.  Many different pies have been perfected by her- but the apple is always one of my favorites.

 

I happened to have a few apples left from my produce basket last week and decided that a pie was in order.  One pie that I have got down pat is our family's Paper Bag Apple Pie.  A yummage pat-in-the-pan crust, simple apple filling and a crumble topping- then baked in a paper bag!  You really should let it cool before slicing, but I can never wait.  The girls and I cut a generous slice to share with a cold glass of milk.  Hot apple pie on a cold afternoon- could life get any better?

PAPER BAG APPLE PIE

Crust:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 Tbs. milk

Combine: pat into pie plate.

Filling:
5 cups sliced apples
2 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix together; pour into crust.

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chilled butter

Mix until crumbly; sprinkle over the top.
Place the pie in a brown paper bag and close with paper clips.  I like to put mine on a baking sheet for transferring into the oven.  Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350.

chocolate cake for breakfast! OR the best chocolate zucchini bread

Growing up, my siblings and I loved listening to Bill Cosby's standup routines on tape. 
One of our favorite bits he did was the "dad lets us eat chocolate cake for breakfast".  He tells how his kids begged for chocolate cake for breakfast.  As he thought through the ingredient list: 
Milk!  Health food!
Flour!  Health food!
Eggs!  Healthy!
So he sliced off a piece for each of his kids and watched their happy faces as they ate chocolate cake for breakfast.  "Dad is great....gives us the chocolate cake" the kids sang. 

This is that cake. 
I like to call it "bread" so we can eat it just about anytime!
It's moist, chocolatey and super yummage. 
And healthy!  That's right. 
Just look at the ingredient list: 
Flour!  Healthy!
Eggs!  Health food!
Zucchini!  Vegetable!

We eat this warm for breakfast and also for dessert with a dollop of whipped cream.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread {makes 2 loaves}
Recipe by Our Best Bites

2 C flour
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C canola oil
1 C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/2 C sour cream
3 C grated zucchini
3/4 C mini chocolate chips
optional: zest from one orange
Topping:
2 T brown sugar
2 T white sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans and set aside. Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Place flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.With a stand or hand mixer beat oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined and slightly fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
Add vanilla and sour cream and mix until combined.
Gently stir in the grated zucchini (and zest if you’re using).Take a spoonful of the flour mixture and stir in with the chocolate chips (that will help keep them evenly distributed.)Add the remaining flour mixture to the batter and stir just until combined. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.
Divide the batter between the two pans. and sprinkle topping over each. Place pans on a cookie sheet for easy moving.  Bake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. I set my timer for 45 minutes and then keep an eye on it for the remainder. Ya never know how different ovens handle things.
When it’s done a toothpick or skewer should come out without goopy batter on it and the top will be gorgeous and cracked with sugar.  Let it cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes and then remove from pans.

the drip catcher idea OR popsicles

My girls love popsicles.  Any flavor, any shape. 

Our freezer is on the bottom, so from a young age- the girls have been able to open the frosty door and check out all the goodness inside.  I have a shelf devoted to all their chilly treats right inside the door.  A few favorites include frozen grapes, little dollops of yogurt and homemade popsicles.  They sit out on our back deck under the umbrella with red or purple sticky streaks running down their arms.  Then they "wash" in the kiddie pool on the lawn and really soak in what it means to be a kid in the summertime. 

After several stained favorite shirts, they asked for a "drip catcher" solution.  Mine?  Buy pink, yes- they must be pink, paper muffin cups.  Cut a small slit in the bottom.  Slide the popsicle stick in and enjoy a dripless treat!

Oh yes, I occasionally buy the fancy kind of pops from the store.  The one's with shapes or lots of colors, but the girls get such a kick out of helping me make popsicles- I stock up on molds and we let our imaginations run wild!  Here are two of our favorites.

Nutella Fudgesicles

1 1/2 cups chocolate milk
1/2 cup Nutella

1.  Whisk ingredients thoroughly- I use my blender.  Chill for one hour.
2.  Pour  chocolate goodness into popsicle molds, leaving a slight headspace for freezing.  Freeze until solid. 


Mango-Peach Yogurt Pops

2 ripe mangos, chopped
2 ripe peaches, peeled and chopped  (I use my bottled peaches)
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt  (We like greek)
1/2 cup milk

1.  Blend ingredients until smooth in the blender.
2.  Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until solid.