Praline-Apple Bread

Every fall for the last few years, I want to make something that a good friend of mine and I made when we were roommates about five years ago.  It's Southern Living's super yummy and easy Praline-Apple Bread. 

What I really like about this is that the bread itself uses sour cream. This gives it a GREAT texture, and also a mild tanginess along the lines of when you cook with buttermilk. 

Sour cream mixture

The batter came together very easily and well, despite the fact that I had a couple of incidents of "floofing" the flour around, and one time where I didn't pay attention and turned the liquid mixture up instead of down.  Did a bit of cleaning the area after all of that *cough* before I carried on...  

 
Adding in the eggs

 

 

Cutting up apples and toasting pecans

Since the recipe said to cover the bread after 50 minutes to prevent extra browning, I set my timer for that length and went to do something random for a while.  I was surprised to come back to an almost-cold oven  o_O   and I still can't figure out what I did, but it must be the fact that we're not even a month into this new house and I clearly don't know how to work the appliances.  *shrug*

 

Into the oven - the cold, cold oven....  =;D

 

Sooooo, after an extra 45 minutes.....   :-|   The bread came out, and they (I doubled the recipe) looked fabulous!  I sent a couple of slices home with the stepkiddos sans the praline topping because of the oven "issue", but we also tried a little before they went back to their other house and everyone loved it!!  The Boy was not a huge fan of pecans, but I suggested that he pick around them for what he liked, LOL.

Later, I made the topping, which was also easy, but you have to make sure it doesn't boil over - and DON'T LEAVE THE POT while it's cooking!  I'm saying that just as a word of warning, but seriously, that stuff gets super-hot and bubbly, and you have to ensure you're stirring it the whole time it tells you to cook so that it doesn't stick. 

I poured some immediately on the breads, then waited for maybe a couple of minutes to let the rest cool a bit and not be quite so runny.  I would suggest doing this, because when it's right off of the fire it is extremely liquid and all it wants to do is run over and down the sides more than it wants to sit up on top and make a pretty drizzle. 

I had dark brown sugar instead of the lighter that it calls for, but it was totally fine in taste and texture.  I also added sea salt to the butter and brown sugar to help bring out that flavor, and it was awesome!  We definitely enjoyed tasting all of the drippy excess.  Mmmmm.... 

This recipe was easy, and I like that it lends itself to a good deal of flexibility.  Adding cinnamon or apple spices would, I think, enhance things; and I'm considering swapping out the apples for pears....  I also think it would be good in mini-loaves or as muffins.    Feedback has been excellent, and the Hubbs, kids, and friends have all raved over the taste and texture.  Definitely a regular standby in our kitchen! 

Pressing onward...

See what I did here?

 

I can't tell y'all how many years I've had this French press coffee makeer. My mama gave it to me, and I have always used it as a cute decorative item. Sad, I know... I'm on like my fourth day of nursing a cold and wanting to sleep. all. day. but there are many, many things I need to do in this house, and I need the energy to make a dent in things.

So it's a French press kind of day. 

Y'all, it's not that hard, I promise. I wish I'd taken pictures as I went, but I hadn't had caffeine yet. But here's the gist of it:

1. Measure out about 8 Tbsp of coffee into the bottom of your nice, clean French press. You can use already ground, or grind your own beans. I myself was too lazy to pull out the grinder this morning. 

2. Get a pot of water boiling. I realized as I was starting that I don't have a teapot  o_O  so I literally used a saucepan on the stove. Worked fine.  

3. Pour enough water to cover the coffee grounds and fill the press halfway. Don't do anything except let this sit for a minute (I set my timer because I'm easily distracted). 

4. After the minute has passed, GIVE THE COFFEE MIXTURE A FEW GENTLE STIRS. This will ensure that nothing got stuck on the bottom and that everything is mixed equitably. It also gives your coffee this dreamy light brown creamy layer on top. 

5. Fill the container with the rest of the hot water, or to the top. 

6. Put the top of your French press on (it should be all smoothed together at this point) and press the handle downward in a single smooth motion. The mesh section will filter the grounds and push them to the bottom, if done properly. Push gently yet firmly, until the mesh filter has nowhere to go and is resting on the coffee grounds. 

7. Add cream and/or sugar, or not. Your move, there. Do, however, ENJOY. ☕️

#1 Post ;)

Okay, y'all (AKA my imaginary friends who read this), I'm excited today! 

A few years ago, I was involved in a group called the Daring Bakers.  They began in 2006 as a handful of people who wanted to expand their baking expertise by doing monthly challenges.  I was involved with the D.B.'s in 2008-2009 with another blog, but life happened and a LAWT of things have changed in those years. 

Now that stuff is rather settled on a personal level, and I have a new kitchen with a lot more space, I had the desire to hook back up with the group!  I found out that a lot of things have changed with the Daring Bakers, too.  Ten years and a large number of people later, they have changed to the Daring Kitchen, but they still do monthly challenges. 

And over the weekend, I got an email saying that I was activated to go onto their website and check in to see what the October challenge is!  :D It's posted on the first of every month, but I can't tell you what it is yet....  Members have to keep it under wraps until the 27th of each month, and can do their reveal post on that day or up to a week after (well, in order to be an Active Member). 

All I can tell you is that I'll definitely have a challenge on at least one aspect of it, but I'm looking forward to flexing my culinary muscles again.  And I can't wait to be able to show you in T minus 24 days and counting...! 

And if you like a baking challenge, check out www.thedaringkitchen.com -- you can see all the recipes they've done from the beginning, and sign up to participate beginning with next month's challenge!