I first started making this baked oatmeal after I had my daughter because I was breastfeeding. I learned that certain foods would help promote the production of breast milk and oats was on that list. I didn’t want to submit myself to having instant oatmeal and I didn’t really have time to make (let alone eat) instant oatmeal. I would make this once a week and typically would be rushing out the door and would be eating this in the car (of course minus the berries).
I pulled this recipe out of archive recently because we all want to be healthier and also because my beautiful cousin just recently had a baby. If there is a way that food can work its magic in health (i.e. lower cholesterol, boost breast milk production, etc), I am there!
Michigan Ingredients: Oats, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Homemade Applesauce
Mix your flour, dark brown sugar, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg
I know you are probably wondering… why dark brown sugar. It’s one of those things that just makes this taste better. It takes good with light brown sugar, don’t get me wrong. BUT! It takes more homelike. More… just trust me and get a package of dark brown sugar 
Combine your eggs, milk, applesauce, vanilla. Now the original recipe calls for a lot of butter. I cut that in half and replaced the other half with the applesauce. There is a slight apple taste, but not enough to overpower it; which means that you can top it with anything.
Seriously… this is the most amazing applesauce. It was difficult not eating the whole jar.
Pour half a stick of melted butter (1/4 cup) over the oats. Like I said earlier, I made this recipe probably over a thousand times as I breastfed my daughter for two years. I learned very early to pour the butter in the “dry” mixture. By doing this, you take the risk of scrambling the eggs out of the equation. I did that twice and would get frustrated and figured this was the next best step. I know some might say… temper this and temper that… but when you can take the shortcut and it still tastes amazing, do it.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and…
Combine! Now it may look a little runny, but think about when you make instant oatmeal. It seems like there is too much liquid and poof! After being in the microwave for a couple of minutes, the oats soak up the liquid and is delicious. This is the same thing. Those beautiful oats will soak up the liquid.
Pour the mixture into your favorite 9×13 glass pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until done. For me it is always 25 minutes, but I still check it at 20 just in case my oven decides to be crazy. You will know it is done when it doesn’t jiggle (technical term). Top with whatever fruit you have or yogurt.
- 3 cups Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 cup Brown Sugar (dark or light)
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Milk
- ¼ cup Butter (melted0
- ¼ cup Applesauce
- 2 large egg
- Couple of splashes of vanilla extract
- Combine your oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Combine milk, eggs, apples sauce, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
- After you have melted your butter, pour the butter into the dry mixture. This will help prevent the dread scrambling of the eggs due to the butter being warm.
- Add the milk and egg mixture and combine.
- Pour the mixture into a 9x11 glass baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. You do not want to forget that.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until it reaches the firmness that you desire.
- Top with fruits, yogurt, etc.
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This is the perfect snack for the fall and the upcoming holidays. This popcorn is a classic snack for those cool and cozy nights while you are watching a movie with loved ones.
Cinnamon popcorn! Everyone has their own little spin on it. This recipe is a healthier version! NO GUILT ladies and gentlemen! This is the perfect snack to have for any gathering of friends and family or when you watch your favorite Halloween movie, or dare I say Christmas movie. Hallmark is already advertising it’s upcoming movies… good grief. But in our house, the rule is that Halloween has to be over before Christmas movies are played (unless it’s Nightmare Before Christmas).
Michigan Ingredients: Cinnamon, Sugar, Eggs
Let’s get this thing started! If you don’t have a hot air poppper, I suggest getting one. It is something that can save you money and “calories.” I have one because it makes me think of my childhood. Nothing like the smell of freshly popped popcorn and hearing the sound of it pop.
We eat a lot of popcorn at our house in a variety of different ways, so we always buy a white kernel bag and a yellow kernel bag and mix. You don’t have to do this, this is just our preference.
But look at this below, it’s great to see the contrast. I can’t really tell you the difference in flavor… but I am sure there is someone out there who can.
Obviously though, if you want to use microwave popcorn, you are able to. I would suggest using the light butter flavored popcorn. Either way, you will need 14-16 cups of popped popcorn. I used 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels.
You will need to go through and try to get all of the un-popped kernels (caution, kernels will be hot). That way you can prevent your guests and yourself from chipping/breaking off a tooth. Trust me, that would bring a happy Halloween party to an ultimate halt.
Add 3 teaspoons of cinnamon and a cup of sugar to bowl and mix.
Be sure to have an adorable creature (i.e. your child) help you mix. It’s more fun that way.
Take your two eggs and separate the yolk from the egg white. I usually do this in a separate bowl in case I fail horribly accidentally get some of the yolk in there. Sometimes you can get the yolk out with a spoon, sometimes you have to start over completely.
Add the egg whites to the cinnamon and sugar mixture. You will want to mix in the egg whites thoroughly with a fork. This is the mixture that will be the yummy, delicious coating of the popcorn.
Be sure to use a large bowl when mixing the popcorn (i.e. a bowl that has some room to mix comfortably). I have made that mistake one too many times where my bowl is not big enough to mix the popcorn. Therefore I always use a large, clear Tupperware container. ANYWHO…. pour your cinnamon mixture over the popcorn and use a rubber spatula to combine. It takes a bit of time to evenly coat (well as much as possible) the popcorn with the cinnamon mixture because you want to be ever so gentle. What fun is popcorn if it is in pieces?
Once the popcorn is evenly coated, spread the popcorn out evenly onto a large cake pan (18×26). If you need to use a cookie sheet, you will need more than one because it is very important to make sure there is an even layer as it makes it so there are no “soggy” spots because it didn’t cook properly. You could always turn the popcorn more than the once time if you would like to help prevent the soggy and to avoid using more propane than needed. I think after you make this, you will probably go out and buy a large cake pan because this stuff is addicting.
Bake at 300 for 30 minutes, turning the popcorn once halfway through.
Look at that delicious coating. The look may make you think of the cinnamon almonds; however, it does not taste exactly like that.
- ½ cups un-popped kernels or 14-16 cups of popped)
- 3 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 Egg Whites
- Heavy pinch of salt (1/4 teaspoon)
- If you are using a hot air popper, place the un-popped kernels in the machine and plug in. Be sure to use a LARGE bowl.
- After all the popcorn is popped, remove any kernels that did not pop.
- Take the sugar and the cinnamon and mix.
- In a separate bowl, separate your egg whites and then add to the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
- Use a fork to thoroughly combine.
- Pour over the mixture over the popcorn and mix using a rubber spatula gently.
- Pour popcorn on a tin foil lined pan. Spread evenly into a single layer.*
- Preheat oven to 300 and bake for 30 minutes, turning once.
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The weather in Michigan has just been crazy. One day, it’s hot and feels like summer; the next day, it’s winter (except rainy) and the temperature will chill you to the bone. This is what I live for! I love the days where you can cuddle on the couch, watch scary movies, and truly get into the Halloween spirit.
Granted, this is not a “Halloween” recipe, but this is a perfect Fall recipe to use all those wonderful apples.
My family went on a little apple picking/wagon ride at one of our favorite orchards recently and let me tell you – ain’t nothing like picking your own apples. My sweet little doll had a blast and now wants to apple pick on a daily basis. This is why I tell my husband we need to have lots of apple trees So to keep track, I need to have tart cherry trees, peach trees, and apple trees. They are beautiful in the spring and produce in the late Summer/Fall. We would save so much money (ha ha ha).
Michigan Ingredient (part 1): Variety of Michigan Apples!!
I like to use tart apples such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady, etc. They hold their same and the taste is just amazing. If you use a softer apple, such as Golden Delicious, keep in mind that the apple will not hold it’s shape as well.
Michigan Ingredients (part 2): Apple Cider, Cinnamon, and Meijer Brown Sugar
If you have an apple peeler and corer, please use it as it will make your job sooooo much easier. I have one, but it all depends on the size of the apple, and if the apple is on the “softer” side, etc.
Peel your apples.
Core the apples and chop. Seriously, this is the easiest recipe. It’s borderline embarrassing.
My family likes applesauce on the chunky side. So if you want your applesauce to be chunky, it is even easier as the chunks need to be larger as the apples will break down.
Look at how pretty. This is only half of the apples. I did not have a bowl big enough. I have a 5/6 quart slow cooker and it was filled to the top.
Sprinkle the apples heavily with cinnamon. If you are not a fan of cinnamon (which I don’t know anyone who is not a fan….), you do not have to have cinnamon to make this recipe. You can make it au naturel.
Give it a stir (take a fuzzy picture….). This was kind of hard to do in the slow cooker… but you can do it in the bowl if you want. I just didn’t have a bowl big enough…
Since it is quite a bit of apples, I decided to use 1 cup of apple cider. Pour over the apples and cook on low for 6 hours.
If you cut the recipe in half, just cut the amount of liquid in half. It all depends on how much liquid you want in your applesauce. It’s something that you can adjust to your own individual taste/preference as the apples (when they break down) will produce their own juice. AANNNNDDD of course, if you do not have apple cider, you can use water.
This is only have of the scraps of the apples. Why I took a picture, I don’t know… but it’s there. Let’s get real people!
Now I started this applesauce a little later in the day than I wanted; so I didn’t get to take a picture of taking the potato masher and mashing the apples in the slow cooker. It was about 9:30 in the evening and I was starting to get tired… yada yada yada..
When I add sugar, I usually sprinkle some in, give a little stir, and taste. Sometimes I add more, sometimes it’s just perfect. The amount of sweetness is a personal preference and a lot can depend on what apples you use.
Look at that. Chunky, homemade applesauce. So worth it.
When my daughter was a baby, I would make applesauce and puree it. I also didn’t add as much cinnamon. I eased her into my crazy world of cinnamon. This recipe makes quite a bit of apple sauce.
This applesauce is great to add to pancakes (inside the batter or even on top of the pancakes), oatmeal, warmed up and over ice cream, or just by itself.
- 1 peck of Michigan Apples (20 large)
- 1 cup Apple Cider
- Cinnamon
- Brown Sugar
- Peel and core your apples.
- Chop your apples into large chunks. This will help assure you to have chunky applesauce.
- Place chopped apples into your slow cooker and sprinkle with cinnamon. Use as much or as little of cinnamon for your family's taste. Stir to evenly coat the apples.
- Pour 1 cup of apple cider over the apples. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
- When your applesauce is done, you can either mash your apples with a potato masher or puree it. Sprinkle with brown sugar to taste. Store in glass jars.
Peaches are the perfect end of summer fruit that helps glide you into pears and apples. I learned at a young age that peaches from a farm stand are always better than peaches from the grocery store (as the farm stand is usually Michigan peaches). One of the many beauties of living in Michigan: there are usually farm stands everywhere you go.
As I have aged, I’ve learned the value of eating veggies and fruit when they are in season so that you can buy local and the flavor is soooooooooooooo much better.
When it comes to peaches, I prefer to have the fresh ones if I am eating them straight (…. as a snack….). One of my favorite ways to use peaches is by making a baked good or dessert.
When I first made this cobbler, it was more of an experiment
I love the Slow Cooker Bible, as I frequently use my crock-pot at least once a week.
Michigan Ingredient: Peaches
Further proof…. I just love.. love love love.. seeing the sticker say Michigan. It’s on a sticker, it’s gotta be true.
Michigan Ingredients 2.0: Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Sugar
If I had Meijer Butter and Meijer Flour, this would be a completely Michigan recipe…. in due time this will occur
First things first, slice those peaches in half so that you can get the stone out. Yes, I call it a stone, others may call it the pit. I call it a stone because peaches are a… stone fruit. Please note that I did not take the skin off because everyone also says that the peel has so many nutrients… yada yada yada… so I kept the peel on. You can take the peel off if you prefer.
Slice the peaches into quarters/eighths depending on how large the peach is.
Place the peaches into a bowl and add 3/4 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg. I know that you could combine the peaches, sugar, and spices in the slow cooker and save yourself some dishes (and believe me, I love saving myself some dishes); but I have noticed that when I do that, the insert of the slow cooker is harder to clean.
Give it a stir and try not to devour the peaches at this point. It is amazing. This is one of the things I love about making any type of pie.. cobbler… etc.. the “filling” always tastes amazing.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Add diced cold butter.
Use your pastry cutter or the two fork method and “cut” the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles pea sized crumbs.
Pour over peaches and cover and cook on high for 2 hours.
It can’t get any better than this. …oh wait… yes it can…
Serve warm with ice cream or cool whip.
This is a perfect dessert to whip up if you need a dessert in a rush (i.e. people stop by… you want to be fancy… or have a mega sweet tooth). I have made this recipe with canned peaches before, of which it tastes just as amazing. This recipe can easily feed a family of 4; but if you know you are going to have left overs, you might want to take the peels off. I reheated the cobbler like I have done in the past with canned peaches and it’s amazing; not so much with the peels on. If the peels weren’t on, the fresh would taste just as amazing.
- 32 oz (2 pounds) of Fresh Peaches or 2 cans of sliced peaches
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 1½ teaspoons Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¾ cup Flour
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons cold butter, diced
- Start by slicing your peaches in half to remove the "stone" (pit). Then slice each peach in quarters (or eighths) depending on the size of the peach.
- Place your peaches in a bowl and add 1½ teaspoons of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¾ cups of sugar. Stir to combine. Pour your peaches into your slow cooker.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Use your pastry cutter or the two fork method and "cut" the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles pea sized crumbs.
- Sprinkle evenly over peaches in the crock pot.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours. Serve warm with cool whip or ice cream.
Recipe adapted from Slow Cooker Bible
One of the things that I love about summer is that Zucchini is in a mass abundance this time of year. Everywhere you look, Zucchini is on sale at the grocery store, is at EVERY farmer’s market, and everyone is talking about Zucchini on the grill, Zucchini bread, cake… etc. There is so much that you can make with Zucchini. Trust me… I am only getting started (foreshadow….). My family is really big into Zucchini; so trust me when I say that I have a HUGE supply of Zucchini recipes.
This particular recipe comes from my awesome mother-in-law (Hi!!). This is one of my husband’s favorite cookies and it is one that I could honestly make all. the. time. It has veggies in it, so it must be a health food right? Right. Glad we are on the same page.
Michigan Ingredients: Sugar, Zucchini, Cinnamon, and a farm fresh egg.
Seriously how delish are farm fresh eggs? My little family loves them and to us they just taste so much better. Maybe it’s mental… [maybe it’s Maybelline].
There is a fresh produce stand that I pass everyday on my way home from work and we stopped there this weekend to get some delicious veggies. I would have taken a picture… but a big storm was rolling in and it was starting to rain. I will be stopping there more often, so believe you me; you’ll get to catch a glimpse.
Shred (grate) your Zucchini. You will need about a cup after the juice has been squeezed out.
Cream your butter, sugar, and egg until fluffy-ish.
Add Zucchini…
Mix until well combined.
Add your dry ingredients…
Mix until well combined. I promise that these cookies are not pink. For some reason, the lighting must have changed a bit… like…. the sun came back out for a second. It was storming when I was making these cookies.
Chop your walnuts and raisins. You don’t have to chop the raisins if you don’t want to, but I did this time so that my sweet Doll-Face (daughter) could eat a cookie (or 2).
Fold in the chopped walnuts and raisins until evenly distributed. Now would be time if you want to chill your cookie dough for a couple hours.
I decided to forgo that this time and bake right away. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and drop (by large spoonfuls… because c’mon… we’re making cookies people!) by spoonfuls. The size of your cookies will determine how many this recipe will yield. My size cookies yield roughly 18 cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Seriously, these are the best cookies. They have a cake-like texture, which is fluffy and omg so good. I am so appreciative of my mother-in-law for introducing me to these a while (and I mean a while) back. You could…. not I’m not saying that I do… all the time eat these for a quick breakfast – just saying!
- 1 cup Sugar (white)
- 1 stick Butter (1/2 cup), softened
- 1 Egg
- 1 cup grated Zucchini
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Chopped Walnuts
- 1 cup Raisins
- Beat your sugar, butter, and beaten egg together in a large bowl.
- Squeeze the excess juice out of your zucchini and mix into your sugar and butter mixture.
- Combine your flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a separate bowl. Add to the zucchini mixture and mix well.
- Fold in your chopped walnuts and raisins.
- Chill for two hours (if desired) or set oven for 375 degrees.
- Drop dough on a cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
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I know this is more like a autumn/fall recipe; however, when it starts to get warmer out, sometimes people lose their appetite and/or are more rushed in the morning due to trying to work out in the morning before work. Trust me when I say I know what that is like. Now that it is getting warmer and the sunrise is getting earlier and earlier, I find myself doing more in the morning and not leaving myself enough time to create a “gourmet meal.” I mean come on, who creates a delicious breakfast every. single. morning? I’m lucky when I even get cereal.
THIS is the answer to your toast prayers. It seems that the new fad for toast is avocado toast, which if that is your thing, that’s awesome; but for me, avocado is not something I crave first thing in the morning. This Cinnamon Honey Walnut Butter will give you a hint of sweet with the added bonus of protein power and Omega-3s.
Walnuts are delicious in their own right, but making them into a nut butter is even better. You can use it on toast, use it in place of boring peanut butter for your apples, take spoonfuls, etc. I could not leave this stuff alone, and everyone who came in contact with me this last weekend, had to deal with me asking them to try it.
Michigan Ingredients: Honey and Cinnamon (not pictured as I am an airhead)
It seems that I have been using honey more and more lately.
To make this wonderful recipe, you do need to have a food processor. I can’t imagine not having one because I have used it to make ice cream, nut butters, baby food, etc. It is truly an appliance I don’t think I can live without (but don’t tell my KitchenAid this).
Three simple ingredients, Walnuts, Cinnamon, and Honey. The honey adds a bit of sweetness and the cinnamon is just because I am madly in love with cinnamon (ask any of my family and they can tell you that).
First, you put your walnuts in the food processor and turn it on “high.”
Once it looks like above….. Keep going. Depending on the strength of your food processor, it will take will take roughly 5-7 minutes.
When it looks like this, it is safe to add your cinnamon and honey. Once you add them, it will look/seem like it is not going to work, but it will. It just takes time; you can’t rush perfection.
The natural oils in the walnuts will release (and the honey helps as well) and it will look like the picture above when it is done. I would say for my food processor (which is almost 10 years old), from start to finish, it took roughly 15 minutes. Your food processor will be a bit warm; but it will be just fine.
***Update: Please note that after sitting for a while (i.e. the next day) the oils will separate, so just give the nut butter a stir and you are good to go!
- 2 cups of Walnut Halves
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of Honey
- Place your walnuts in your food processor and set on high. You can scrape the sides if need be every now and then.
- Once the walnuts look kind of like a dough, add your cinnamon and honey. Turn food processor on high again until the nut butter looks like an applesauce/natural peanut butter. Makes 1 cup.
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This is the type of cookie that you can eat all year round. Snickerdoodles are actually known as the poor man’s cookie, as there are minimal ingredients and you don’t have to have any form of chips to add. Usually that is the most expensive part of the cookie, the chip; as they are somewhere close to $3.50+ for the name brand and a little under $3.00 for the generic brand.
Every household (at least where I’m from) has their own version of the Snickerdoodle. This is the version my parents would make all the time because it is that good of a cookie. It’s light, fluffy, and puffy. One of the tricks to making the cookie so puffy is to chill the dough when your oven is preheating before baking.
Michigan Ingredients: Big Chief Sugar, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg.
For some reason, whenever I buy sugar, I am always looking to see if it is sugar from Michigan. Big Chief and Pioneer are typically my go to brands when it comes to sugar since they are Michigan based. The Cinnamon and Nutmeg were an added bonus (because when I gathered my ingredients, I noticed that this company is a Michigan company :). Not only do I love buying my spices in “bulk;” I will now be trying to use this brand more often).
First things first, grab your softened butter (which, if you are like me and not think ahead to soften your butter, please feel free to use the microwave… BUUUUUTTTTT…. don’t over do it because you do not want to have melted butter and the cookie to fail. Use 10 second bursts) and cream the butter with either your stand-up mixer or hand mixer. Creaming the butter ahead of time helps aid in the fluffiness of the cookie.
Add your sugar and cream together until there is no graininess. I know it might be hard to wait that long; but trust me, it is worth it.
Once your creamed mixture looks like the photo above, add your flour, baking powder, and nutmeg to the mixture. Beat until the cookie dough is fluffy and place the dough in the fridge to chill out while your oven preheats.
Now one would note that this recipe creates a dozen cookies. Trust me that this is a minimum amount as you can make your cookies however small or somewhat large you want. One thing that gets on my nerves is when you are making cookies and the recipes advises that you should “drop by tablespoonfuls.” Seriously? Adults will have self esteem issues as they will have to eat 3-4 cookie to satisfy that sweet tooth that encouraged them to even make the cookies to begin with. Keep in mind for future reference, that this site will make medium to large cookies so that one does not feel as guilty eating cookies. Now by all means, if you are dieting or making cookies for a crowd/your child’s class, then abide by the “tablespoonfuls” guideline to make your cookie dough stretch. OTHERWISE, realize that you are making an indulgent treat, and make it worth while (lol).
ANYWHO….While you are waiting for the oven to preheat, create your cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar mixture. This is where you can make the cookies taste more unique to your family’s taste by playing with the ratios. Some people like a balance, some like it to have a more cinnamon-y or nutmeg-y taste. Experiment!
Once the oven is preheated, grab your chilled cookie dough and drop the cookie dough onto a baking sheet by whatever sized cookies you are going to make (please see rant above) and then sprinkle the cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar mixture over your cookies and bake for 8-10 minutes until the tops are golden.
- 6 tablespoons of butter
- 1 cup of Michigan sugar (white)
- 1 Egg
- ½ cup of Milk
- 2 cups of flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- additional sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon for sprinkling
- Cream the butter until fluffy; gradually beat in the sugar. Beat in the egg and stir in the milk.
- Add your flour, baking powder, and nutmeg to the creamed butter mixture and beat until fluffy.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place your cookie dough in the fridge to chill. This will help create a fluffy/pillowy cookie.
- Meanwhile, create a cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg mixture for sprinkling. This is where you can experiment with family taste. I usually do ½ cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon of nutmeg.
- Drop cookie dough onto a pan and sprinkle the cookies with the cinnamon/sugar/nutmeg mixture.
- Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until cookies are slightly browned on top.
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Something about making bread just relaxes me. I don’t know if it is the punch the dough down, kneading it by hand, or just the entire process. It’s one of those things that one typically doesn’t want to rush because you want it to come out perfectly.
This is the type of bread that has multiple a few steps in which take no time at all to prep, it’s just the waiting for cooling and proofing (rise time).
One thing that makes this bread so great is the sweetness the honey gives the bread. Of course, it’s not an overwhelming sweet, as this is not a sweet bread (however, if you have a sweet tooth late at night and do not want complete guilt, toast up a piece and drizzle with honey). This is a bread that is amazing as toast, is great for sandwiches and is amazing to dip in soups. This is the type of bread that I probably could survive on by eating just bread and butter all day for each meal (#polishgirlatheart).
Michigan Ingredient: Honey
ANYWAYS… back to the honey. I use Michigan made honey as to me it tastes better, more fresh. It could just be the nostalgia of it, but I’ve bought honey that is not made in Michigan and it’s one of those things where you can taste the chemicals inhabiting your body. Not to over exaggerate or anything..
- 1 cup of Old Fashioned Oats
- 2 cups of Boiling Water
- 1 Package of Active Yeast
- ¼ cup of Warm Water
- ⅓ cup of Michigan Honey (or whatever honey you have on hand)
- 1 tablespoon of Butter (melted and cooled) or Oil
- 2 teaspoons of Salt
- 1 Egg Beaten (optional)
- 5½ cups of All-Purpose Flour
- Milk
- Additional Oats
- Place Old Fashioned Oats into a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over them. Let the Oats stand for 15 minutes or until luke warm. (Sometimes I will add cinnamon and a touch of sugar at this stage.)
- Sprinkle yeast over ¼ cup of warm water in a small bowl. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.
- Add honey, butter/oil, salt and yeast mixture to the oat mixture. For extra rich dough, add the beaten egg. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the flour (Make sure dough can be handled, but still a bit sticky).
- Knead for 2 minutes. Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Knead 12 to 15 strokes till dough is elastic, but still sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour. **
- Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface (Don't let flour take away the sticky).
- Divide dough in half and shape into 2 loaves.
- You can use either two loaf pans or a large baking sheet. Let the dough rise again for 30 minutes.
- Brush with milk and sprinkle with additional oats.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
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