Baking for Neighbors
December 7th, 2012 | 
Author: What do you like to give and/or receive as baked gifts from neighbors?
I’m in a time crunch this year so not even thinking about cookies.
I made quick breads last year but am thinking about cinnamon rolls. I make the dough in the bread machine then roll it out, etc. from there. Would that be a good neighbor gift?
Any other ideas that would require a very minimal amount of time on my feet in the kitchen?
Posted in * Recipe Requests
I have a great recipe for Eggless Milkless Butterless cake that I used to make quite a bit.
Eggless-Milkless-Butterless Cake
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
1 cup raisins
2 level tablespoons bacon drippings (vegetable shortening or oil can be substituted) Note
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A few years ago several of you folks helped me tweak this old family favourite to be a Christmas treat We added the following:
Part 2:
1/2 cup finely chopped citron (I also put in walnuts, same amount not so finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
Preheat oven to 350° F and grease a loaf pan.( For the Christmas version I used a 10 inch round springform pan) In a pot large enough to hold the total recipe cook water, sugar, raisins, walnuts, drippings(or shortening) and salt together until fats are melted and sugar and salt are dissolved. Dutch oven works great for this. Let cool.
Sift dry ingredients together, add them to the cooled cooked mixture blending thoroughly. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake in a 350° oven 1 hour or until tester comes out clean. (This depends on the oven and where you are, here at sea level in damp cold Halifax it was perfect after 45 minutes.)
Note If you use oil make sure the sugar ans salt a totally dissolved before adding anything else.
Oh, I forgot to say this cake can be made into mini loaves just adjust the baking time to work for the smaller sized pans. When I first did this I made a test loaf so I could check the “donemess” at fifteen minute intervals. After half an hour it was almost done so I waited five more minute and viola great cake, but as I said before ovens and local can come into the mix.
Homemade cinnamon rolls are the best! Can you tell that I’m a cinnamon roll addict?! I try to stay away from them…ugh. The glazed walnuts that I posted in the cookie a day thread are easy, good and pretty in the tins. They are, however, pricey to fill a tin. What kinds of quick breads did you make? Roy had posted some quick bread recipes. I think it was his strawberry bread that was delicious with the cream cheese filling. I’ll still take the cinnamon rolls
, but here are his recipes that I have saved!:
posted by ROY 06-24-110 11:53 AM
Roy’s Strawberry Cheese Bread
1 1/2 c flour
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2/3 c vegie. oil
1/2 c chopped, pecans
1- 10oz pkg. frozen strawberries, Thawed
Cream Cheese Filling
6 oz cream cheese
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. In a small bowl beat eggs and veggie oil. Add pecans & strawberries. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix until just well blended. In a separate bowl mix remaining ingredients until smooth. Grease and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Pour 2/3 of bread mixture batter into pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over top. Spoon remaining bread batter on top of cream cheese mixture. Bake 1 hour & 10 min. Cool & remove from pan. When cool, Wrap in foil & refrigerate.
Roy’s Orange Cheese Bread
posted by ROY 06-25-110 12:51 PM
6 oz cream cheese
2 Tbsp. Vegie.oil
1 1/3 c orange juice
1 1/2 tsp. orange extract
1 egg
3/4 c sugar
2 c flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. orange zest
In a mixing bowl beat cream cheese & oil until fluffy. Add orange juice, orange extract, egg & sugar. Beat with electric mixer on med. speed for 2 min.In a large bowl sift together, flour, salt, baking powder & orange zest With a wooden spoon fold in orange juice mixture. Mix until just blended. Pour into a greased & floured 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool on wire rack in pan 15 min. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Dust with confec. sugar
Roy’s Lemon Cream Bread
posted byROY06-25-110 7:01 AM
1/2 c butter
1 1/4 c sugar
2 Lg. Eggs
2 1/4 c flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
5 1/2 oz evaporated milk
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 c water
1/2 c chopped, pecans
2 Tbsp. Lemon rind
Glaze
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c lemon juice
Cream butter, sugar & cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating thoroughly after each one. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk and water. Blend well. Fold in nuts and lemon rind. Pour into a greased & floured 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until golden brown. In a small bowl stir sugar with lemon juice until sugar is dissolved. Drizzle over hot loaf. Let stand in pan for 30 min. turn out on to cake rack to cool.
( I use 2 smaller loaf pans and get 2 loaves)
I would take anything you bake. I would go with quick breads if you are pressed for time as the cinnamon rolls will probably take more time to put together, and you will not get as many gifts from each recipe (just my 2 cents worth). Also, quick breads freeze well so you can easily spread out the effort and still give them all at the same time if that is of importance.
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I agree with Fruffy totally, but I still love those cinnamon rolls!!
Thank you all! I will have to see how the next week works out. If time works, I’ll make and freeze quick breads – or make that cake. Freezing ahead of time is a GREAT idea! I’ve printed every recipe so I’ll be ready. Thanks so much!
Mimi’s members are the best!!
Hi Becky, I hope I’m not too late. I have a really quick brownie recipe for an 8 x 8″ pan. You can try to bake them in a foil pan and give the whole thing away or cut them and put on a paper platter to give away. I have never made these in a foil pan, so I don’t know how they would turn out. This is a great recipe for wheat free/or gluten free people, by need or by choice as it is originally made with Quinoa flour; but you could use all-purpose flour as well.
GLUTEN FREE QUINOA BROWNIES
1/2 butter
2/3 cup good quality, semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa flour
1 cup pecan pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8×8″ pan.
In a medium bowl (1.5 quart) melt butter and chocolate chips over medium heat; stirring until chocoloate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl (3 quart), using electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thinck and pale; beat in the chocolate mixture at bit at a time along with the vanilla and salt.
Add the flour and beat on low speed or stir by hand just until blended. Stir in nuts.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, until just set and the edges are starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
These brownies are really tasty and are not that super sweet like some recipes that make your teeth ache from too much sugar.
Hey Becky,
I found another one. This is for that really special neighbour, or you can take along for a pot-luck.
DEBBIE REID’S CHOCOLATE CAKE – no eggs, no milk, no butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil (not olive)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups cold water
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Butter and flour a 9×13″ glass dish.
NOTE: If using a metal pan, oven should be preheated to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, stir together the first 4 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and stir until smooth.
Pour into prepared dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tests done.
If you want to add a frosting, this one is pretty awsome or use your favourite one. I love peanut butter and chocolate!
KATHLEEN’S PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING (from Ina Garten)
1 cup icing sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
Place the icing sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in a medium sized bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
This will cover the 9 x 13″ cake very well.
Enjoy!
Marian, You aren’t too late. I’ve printed out your recipes too.
My sister is gluten intolerant so I’ll be sharing the brownie recipe with her.
My neighbors may get a card with a promise of goodies in the new year. On top of everything else, now I’m sick!
Becky, I think the cinnamon rolls are a great idea. Nice for a Christmas brunch.
I bought a Wilton’s 4-loaf mini-pan at Wal-Mart and I’m making the neighbors banana bread, pumpkin bread, sweet/spicy nuts and cinnamon pretzels this year. Lemon cookies, too, if I still have time. Wilton’s also had gift bags for the bread with ribbon for bows and a card to write what the item is. They also had pretzel bags, which will work for the pretzels and the nuts. Guess the cookies will have to go in a zip-lock with a stick-on bow
I only do for three neighbors, though. Now I need trays!
How many familes are you making for?
Oh Patti, your neighbors will be thrilled!!!
We bake for 5 and maybe a 6th this year (empty house just sold). One neighbor always does a great tray of cookies, another does a mixture of cookies and candy so I try to do something different than their trays.