Banana Bread - Take 4,359

But by golly, I think I'm getting there. This is an adaptation of about 700 recipes I've tried over the last 5 years plus my own little tweaks.

-2 tbsp sugar
-1 tsp cinnamon
**
-1 1/2 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-4 very ripe bananas, mashed
-1 cup vanilla-flavored greek yogurt
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tsp baking soda
-2 1/4 cups flour

Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray for baking. Mix 2 tbsp sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon and dust the pans. Beat together butter and sugar until crumbly; add eggs 1 at a time. Add bananas, yogurt, vanilla & cinnamon and beat together. Mix flour, salt & baking soda together in a seperate bowl; add in batches to banana mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Add to loaf pans. Bake at 325 for about 1 hour.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread

I doctored up a recipe I found using instant apple cinnamon oatmeal. I didn't have any, and threw in a couple of extras. My version turned out really good. I used my mom's homemade applesauce I had in the freezer. She makes the best... just chunky enough and very sweet and cinnamony.

Bread

-1/4 cup butter, softened

-1 cup sugar

-1 1/2 cups applesauce

-2 eggs

-1 tsp vanilla

-3/4 cup quick cooking oats

-1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

-1 tsp baking soda

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1/4 tsp salt

Topping

-1 tbsp quick cooking oats

-1 tsp sugar

-1 tsp cinnamon

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, applesauce and vanilla and mix well. Add oatmeal, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. Pour in a loaf pan and top with more oats, sugar and cinnamon. Bake in loaf pan at 350 for 60-65 minutes.

Gertrude's Cinnamon Rolls

Oh my, oh my! A sweet old lady at my mom and dad's church makes these for almost every church function. The first time I had them, I demanded the recipe. It makes A LOT of cinnamon rolls, but I just use the full recipe and freeze the ones we don't eat.

1 1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cup instant potatoes (yep)

1 1/2 cup scalded milk
3-4 packages dry yeast
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 cup vegetable oil
8 cups flour
cinnamon
softened butter

Whisk together the water and potato flakes.

Mix in the dry yeast and flour. Mix all the other ingredients together and add in. This requires a strong mixer!

Dust table with flour. Roll out dough. Spread butter on dough. Add sugar. Add cinnamon. Roll this sucker up and pop into the freezer to chill for about 10-15 minutes. I place mine on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 375.

Remove dough from freezer and cut into slices. Make them as thick or thin as you want. Bake 15-20 minutes on the parchment-lined cookie sheet.

* you could also add in raisins or walnuts

Pepperoni Bread

I grew up in West Virginia, home of the pepperoni roll. Coalminers took them in their lunches. I took them in my school lunches. And as an adult, I still love them. There is a great bakery near my parents that makes pepperoni rolls and my parents ship them to us by the dozen. Since I'll never get that recipe, I've tried my own variations. I refuse to make my own dough (that is probably the secret!) so these are fairly simple.

1 can refrigerated French bread dough
1 package sliced provolone cheese
sliced pepperoni
1 clove mashed garlic
4 tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheet.

Unroll dough and flatten slightly. Spread on half the butter with a pastry brush. Spread mashed garlic. Add cheese slices. Add pepperoni. Roll up the dough like you would a pumpkin roll. Cut a few slits on top of the roll. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Add the rest of the melted butter on top (makes it glisten). Let it stand for about 10 minutes before trying to slice it.

SECOND VERSION

1 can biscuits (I use Pillsbury butter flavored - DO NOT USE THE LAYERED KIND)
1 bag shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
pepperoni
* marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 400. Spray 8x8 glass dish and set aside.

Flatten each biscuit with your hands. Top with cheese and then add a few slices of pepperoni. Pull the dough around the filling and pinch the edges to form a ball. Place the balls in the dish ... they'll be a little snug.

Bake about 10 minutes until light golden brown. Then cover with foil and bake another 5-10 minutes.

* You can serve these warm and with marinara if you like. You could also add sauce into the dough, but that's not how we "roll" in West Virginia!!