It's been quite a while since I shared anything from my Virginia Bed & Breakfast Cookbook. That's what happens when you collect as many cookbooks as I have collected.
I made a delicious Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Banana Bread and had leftover canned pumpkin that I needed to use. I found myself in one of my breakfast-for-dinner moods and picked up the cookbook to see if I could find anything that used less than a whole can of pumpkin.
Eureka!
These Pumpkin Waffles are from the Hearth n' Holly Inn in Penn Laird, Virginia. An 1890s farmhouse, the inn is located on 15 acres with views of Massanutten Mountains, and is just ten minutes from Massanutten Resort and James Madison University. (I am sure I could enjoy the beauty of nature and the marvelous mountains for many hours sitting on the first porch.)
I cut the recipe in half because it said it makes 4 servings and I didn't want to make that much, but next time I will make the full recipe. The Browns said "this batter holds up beautifully when made the night before. Leftover batter keeps well in the refrigerator for the next day." I won't mix it up the night before, but I will refrigerate what we don't use the first time and make fresh waffles the next day.
I am including the recipe for the Cinnamon sugar butter because it sounds like it would be perfect on them. I didn't mix it up because I was in a hurry to get to handbell practice and didn't have time. I will the next time though.
The recipe says it makes 4 servings. As I said I cut the recipe in half and made 3-1/2 waffles. That makes me feel like you can make at least 7 waffles from the full recipe.
PUMPKIN WAFFLES with CINNAMON SUGAR BUTTER
2-1/4 cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour.)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 cups milk
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
Cinnamon sugar butter:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, salt, and brown sugar into a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, egg yolks, and melted butter; mix well.
Make a well in flour mixture;
add pumpkin mixture to well and stir until combined.
In a medium, clean, dry bowl beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
Fold gently into batter just until combined.
Bake waffles in a preheated waffle iron until golden brown.
Serve with cinnamon sugar butter.
For the cinnamon sugar butter: Warm butter in a small bowl or saucepan until smooth and soft. Add sugar and cinnamon; mix well. If not using immediately, refrigerate, then let stand at room temperature to soften before serving.
I know it seems like I have been making lots of quick breads lately and I guess I have. When I needed something to take to Hillcrest Thrift Shop last week, I decided to make another quick bread instead of a cake or bars or something extra sweet. I considered making the Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Bread again because it was so good, but when I saw this recipe for Apple Loaf, I knew I wanted to try it.
I found the recipe in a newsprint magazine-like cookbook simply called Women's Circle Cookbook of 500 - Recipes (Pies, Cakes, Donuts, Salads, Soups, Bread, Cookies, Puddings) published by Women's Circle Books in 1963. It also says Number One so I guess they had subsequent issues. Mrs. Earl J. Van Tassel, Jr., of Theresa, New York contributed the recipe. I decided to add the dried cranberries and am glad I did. They were the perfect addition AND the volunteers at the thrift shop really enjoyed it.
APPLE LOAF
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce (If not sour apples, add 1 tablespoon vinegar and then fill cup with sauce.)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 -inch loaf pan or a 9 x 5 - inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
Cream the shortening and brown sugar til smooth.
Add eggs and mix well.
Add applesauce. (I used unsweetened applesauce and did put 1 tablespoon of vinegar in measuring cup before I added the applesauce.)
Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
Add to mixture.
Add nuts and cranberries.
Spread batter in pan and bake for 55 minutes.
Cool in pan for at least 10 minutes
before removing to finish cooling on wire rack.
I then wrapped the bread in foil and waited until the next day to cut and serve it. I wanted it to be good and moist. (And it was.)
The last time we "watched" the MO grandkids, we had fun picking up apples from under their apple tree. (I thought it was just an old apple tree, but my husband says it is a particular variety, he just doesn't know which one.) My son doesn't spray the tree so you have to check the apples closely before eating one. We spent time teaching Madison and Tyler which were good apples to keep from all of the ones on the ground. (My son and his wife chose not to make use of the apples.) We ended up bringing about 3 bags of apples home but took two in the house for the kids to eat after I peeled and cored them. The apple is really delicious and the kids really like them.
I have seen recipes for Apple Pan Dowdy in some of my Amish cookbooks in the past, but this one was in the Dinner Horn Country Inn cookbook. Bonnie does say in the cookbook that their menu comes from Pennsylvania Dutch traditions. Anyway it was really good. It is not like a crisp at all. Surprisingly I liked it better the second day with a little whipped topping.
APPLE PAN DOWDY
2 cups fresh apples, peeled and sliced
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (I lowered the temperature to 325 degrees F because I was using a glass baking dish.)
Cover apples (slices) with salted water to prevent discoloration. (I had a 4 cup mixing bowl that I filled with 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt. I filled the bowl with apple slices until the water lever rose to the 4-cup mark.)
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in an 8 - inch square baking pan.
Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
(I just stirred until all of the sugar was wet as their was not enough butter to dissolve the sugar.)
Remove apples from water, arrange slices in the baking pan. (I made one single layer and then covered spaces with another slice.)
Sprinkle with walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg. (I misread the directions and combined the cinnamon and nutmeg with the other dry ingredients. Worked out fine.)
Sift dry ingredients together.
Combine with remaining butter, egg, sugar, and milk.
(It wasn't clear in the directions, but I didn't melt the butter. I thinly sliced the cold butter and then worked it in with my fingers and then added the egg, sugar, milk.)
Pour over apples.
Bake for 35 minutes.
May be served with whipped cream.
I'm so excited because I found another great quick bread to have to eat with my yogurt for breakfast each morning. This one is definitely a winner full of "good-for-ya" ingredients. I used whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour and it was fabulous. I also added dried cranberries and chopped walnuts.
I found the recipe somewhere from Amanda @ runningwithspoons.
GREEK YOGURT PUMPKIN BANANA BREAD
1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (can use all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium ripe banana, mashed to equal 1/2 cup
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9 x 5 - inch loaf pan OR an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 - inch loaf pan. (I used the latter.)
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.
Lightly beat the eggs in another mixing bowl.
Add mashed bananas, pumpkin, yogurt, maple syrup, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir til well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Do not overmix
Fold in the dried cranberries
and then nuts.
Pour batter into the loaf pan and
bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the bread. (I just pressed gently on the center of the bread to test doneness.)
Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan to finish cooling on wire rack.
Wrap or store in airtight container to stay moist.
Trying to get in as many of my pumpkin recipes as I can. Before you know it, it will be time to be thinking about holiday (Christmas for me) baking. But I still have a month until then.
I was sitting in the living room and enjoying the different "outlook on life" (I really should do it more often, but that's what happens when you also have a family room/den.) and picked up a cookbook in a small bookcase by the chair. (I have cookbooks all over the house. I need a library in this house.) I haven't looked in it in months. It is called Holidays & Parties. It is easy recipes from Home Economics (Family and Consumer Science) Teachers of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. I really don't know who I bought it from but when I was looking at the section on Halloween, I saw this Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie recipe. The title was enough to make me check it out and then I noticed that it was contributed by Nanci Burkhart from Hueneme High School, Oxnard, CA. Nancy and her family were members of the same United Methodist Church as we were when we lived in Ventura, CA. I probably bought it from one of her children.
Anyway, it was very exciting as I prepared the pie to know that I was making Nanci's recipe. I followed Nanci's directions but instead of just garnishing the pie with whipped cream, I decided to top it completely with whipped topping because the filling didn't fill up the crust. I also didn't have any orange juice so I used lemon juice instead. Turned out great. Very light tasting as it doesn't have any eggs, etc to make it like a custard or pumpkin pie.
Nanci called it a "refreshing holiday dessert" and she was so right.
PUMPKIN ICE CREAM PIE
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon orange juice (I did use lemon juice instead.)
9" prepared graham cracker crust
1 8 ounce container of whipped topping
Scoop ice cream into a bowl and allow to soften.
In a second bowl, blend the pumpkin, sugar, spices, and juice with an electric mixer.
Fold into softened ice cream.
Spoon into graham cracker crust.
Freeze. (I covered it with the plastic lid that covers a purchased graham cracker crust.)
After it has frozen (about an hour or two later), cover with most of the 8 ounce container of whipped topping. Recover with clear plastic lid.
Remove from freezer 10 to 15 minutes before ready to serve.
If you do not serve it all at once, return the pie covered to the freezer to keep it frozen.
Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, salt, and brown sugar into a large bowl.
Make a well in flour mixture; 
add pumpkin mixture to well and stir until combined.
In a medium, clean, dry bowl beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
Fold gently into batter just until combined.
Bake waffles in a preheated waffle iron until golden brown.
