Emily's French Bread

I don't cook or bake many things, but when I do it's almost always a hit because I just use the same tried and true recipes over and over and over. Can't go wrong because I've been using some of these same recipes for over a decade. These beloved recipes are my french bread, my cinnamon rolls, my molasses cookies, my quiche and my granola.  Whatever it is we ate, our guests usually ask for my recipe. So, I'm sharing them all here on my blog, for all my readers!

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of warm water

1 tbsp yeast

1 tbsp sugar

3.5 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Whisk together the warm water, yeast and sugar in a bowl and let sit for about 5 minutes. It should bubble up. Add in the flour and salt. Mix all ingredients and let your electric mixer knead the dough for a minute or so. Put the dough on an oiled cast iron pan, cover with a dishcloth and let sit for 20 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400, use a sharp knife to cut slits into the top of the risen dough, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with course sea salt. Bake for 35 minutes or until top of bread is golden brown. 

Enjoy!

Emily’s Molasses Cookies

Not trying to brag, but people love my molasses cookies. They are my go-to dessert when company is coming over and Nick’s favorite for me to whip up when he’s craving a warm, gooey treat.

They never fail. Are always yummy. Even when I don’t follow the recipe exactly, they turn out great. So, don’t be nervous to change the spice measurements and feel free to throw in your Young Living Essential Oils when you have them on hand.

I’ve used YLEO Cinnamon Bark, Ginger, Cardamom, Clove and Nutmeg many times and just a couple drops of each really gives these cookies that extra zing that’s amazing in a molasses cookie. Don’t have the essential oils? Click HERE to order from me!

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cardamom

(Optional: instead of using cinnamon, ginger and cardamom, you can use 1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened (use vegan butter to make this recipe vegan)

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 tsp vanilla

Sugar for rolling

Directions:

If you have an electric mixer, start by putting in the butter. Turn on the mixer and while it’s stirring, slowly add each ingredient. I like to do it in this order: butter, then brown sugar, then molasses, then vanilla, then all the spices, then slowly add the 2 cups of flour with the baking soda. Let the mixer continue stirring until ingredients are fully mixed, stopping to clean the sides of bowl if needed.

If you don’t have an electric mixer and plan to hand mix, combine all the dry ingredients and wet ingredients in two separate bowls and then mix them together into one bowl. 

Once all ingredients are fully mixed, place the ball of dough in the refrigerator for a 30 minutes or so. It’s not required, but the cold dough is easier to form into balls.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven at 350, form the dough into cookie sized balls, roll them in a bowl of sugar and press down with fork. Bake for 9-11 mins.

Enjoy!