Sweet Potato Bread with Pineapple Butter

 

I am a planner by nature. After all, failing to plan is planning to fail, right? However, regardless of all the planning in the world, sometimes plans change. Life still happens, and things sometimes work out differently than you thought.

For about two years now, my plans have gone wonky. Without going into too many details, I have been trying to get through the days, much less worry about planning for the future, until recently.

We do not survive without bumps and bruises; I’ve had my share. I’ve kept most of the “stuff” out of my articles and off my blog. Life has been challenging, but I have learned that I can be more than a planner. I can be resilient, which I may be most proud of.

Life has started to feel normal again, though. I’m feeling more like myself. I laugh more, smile more, and plan more! And the cooler weather and Hobby Lobby being fully decorated for Christmas have me in holiday overdrive for the first time in a while.

I do not buy that many gifts these days, but with the help of Prime Day, I have almost finished my Christmas shopping. I even made two sweet potato casseroles and have them in the freezer for holiday meals. This sweet potato bread is something I plan to make ahead of time, too.

This bread makes a great treat to give neighbors and friends. It is moist and sweet with the perfect amount of warm cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s even better a day or so after you bake it. The butter is the ideal spread for this bread, with bits of sweet pineapple. It is an excellent breakfast or afternoon pick-me-up with a coffee or hot tea!

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5 from 1 vote

Sweet Potato Bread with Pineapple Butter

Course Breads
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Bread

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk

Pineapple Butter

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple drained well

Instructions

Sweet Potato Bread

  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
  • With an electric mixer beat sugar and canola oil until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sweet potatoes and buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix by hand just until blended.
  • Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until when tested with a toothpick the toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool on a wire rack until completely cool. Store in an airtight container.
  • Serve with pineapple butter, if desired.

Pineapple Butter

  • Add butter, powdered sugar and pineapple to a bowl. Whip together using a hand mixer until combined. Store in refrigerator.

Chili Cheese Dog Bake

This Braves season sure makes a girl miss living closer to the game. I grew up north of Atlanta and was raised by a Braves baseball-loving father. We only made it to a few games each season but never missed televised games.

These Braves were so much fun to watch this regular season. I compare my excitement for this season to the magical season of 1991. That was the worst-to-first season. That was the year Deion first played for the Braves and the Atlanta Falcons. The year your daily water cooler conversations were always about John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Greg Olson, Mark Lemke, and so many more from that 1991 Atlanta Braves team.

Savannah is now our family representative. She lives near Atlanta and even enjoys season tickets.

However, no matter where we watch from, our family will all cheer our Atlanta Braves on this postseason!

Here’s a great dinner for those nights you want to get out of the kitchen and in front of the TV. This recipe works with canned chili or any tomato-based chili that you prefer. I use my favorite hot dog chili recipe. I typically make it in bulk and freeze some in 1 or 2-cup size portions.

I look forward to October baseball and hope to be “chopping” all month! GO BRAVES!

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Chili Cheese Dog Bake

Course Main Course
Servings 4
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups your favorite chili heated
  • 1 Pillsbury refrigerated classic pizza crust
  • 4 cheddar cheese sticks
  • 4 all-beef hot dogs
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375℉. Spray a 9-inch square pan or dish or a 11 x 7-inch pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.
  • Pour hot chili in pan/dish and spread evenly.
  • Unroll dough; cut into 4 strips. Cut 1 cheese stick in half lengthwise; place one half on each side of a hot dog. Wrap one strip os pizza dough around cheese and hot dog, overlapping slightly in center. Repeat with remaining dough, hot dogs and cheese.
  • Place wrapped hot dogs on top of chili. (Chili must be hot.)
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Meanwhile, melt butter and add garlic powder and parsley; stir.
  • Remove hot dogs from oven. Brush butter mixture over the top of each cheese dog. Serve immediately with the chili underneath each hot dog.

Cane Syrup Skillet Cake with Buttermilk Whipped Cream

I am a big music fan! I love different genres, mostly rock, blues, and contemporary Christian. As of late, I am listening to The Wheels On The Bus, Baby Shark, and E-I-E-I-O on repeat! (I’m having fun with that, though!)
I also enjoy learning about the artists. I often watch some of my favorite bands’ old concerts on television, and if there is a documentary, I am sure to have it recorded.

I grew up listening to country music. There was even a music park in my hometown. As a child, my aunt and uncle were partners in the operation, so I saw several legends in concerts. Of course, I was too young to appreciate most of them! I vaguely remember a few, like Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, and George Jones. I even remember Jerry Lee Lewis not showing up one night. But one of the most memorable concerts I ever went to at the Lanierland Country Music Park was Jimmy Buffett!

I was a teenager by then, but that is a concert I will never forget! I felt cool in that little country music park for the first time! Some of the genre lines are blurred these days. What was once rock is now country, and so on. I’m unsure where Jimmy’s music fits on the spectrum these days. But he was not considered a country singer back then! I knew a few of his songs that night but discovered most of his music later. I had never been allowed to go to pop or rock concerts, so my love for music genres other than country began that night! I watched in awe as parrot heads danced and sang with their hands in the air. For the first time, I realized how music made people feel.

I have played my JB playlist more over the past few weeks. His recent passing saddened me, and I have reflected on what that concert meant.

Today’s recipe has nothing to do with Jimmy Buffett. I wanted to share my story to honor Jimmy Buffett in my way. Today’s recipe is for a Cane Syrup Skillet Cake with Buttermilk Whipped Cream. If the cake doesn’t grab your attention, the buttermilk whipped cream should!

I grew up eating cane syrup. I do not have it often as an adult, but when I do, it tastes just as good as it ever did! My grandmother’s syrup-sweet bread was legendary in our family. By the time I came along, she no longer made it, but family members who had it still talk about it, and the recipe is included in the new family cookbook that we are working on. The buttermilk whipped cream that tops this cake piqued my curiosity.

Cane syrup screams autumn, just like apples and pumpkins. I have seen it made a couple of times. Once at Cades Cove, just outside of Gatlinburg, and at a festival at a nearby state park.

This recipe comes together fast and makes an easy weeknight treat! We keep cane syrup on hand, so all of these items were pantry items for me. I’m not fond of straight buttermilk but I love its tanginess in different foods. The cake was delicious and moist, and the whipped cream tasted sweet and tangy.

This cake makes a delicious dessert and would be a great recipe to remember for the holidays. This cake would also make a great for breakfast or brunch.

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Cane Syrup Skillet Cake with Buttermilk Whipped Cream

Course Dessert
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

CAKE

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 3/4 cups cane syrup divided
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

BUTTERMILK WHIPPED CREAM

  • 3/4 cup cold heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup cold whole buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Instructions

CAKE

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Lightly spray a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with baking spray with flour.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves and nutmeg.
  • In another large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups cane syrup, oil and egg until well combined.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup boiling water and baking soda.
  • Gradually add flour mixture to cane syrup mixture alternately with baking soda mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, stirring until just combined after each addition. Pour batter into prepared skillet.
  • Bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.
  • Using a wooden pick, poke holes all over warm cake. Slowly pour 2 tablespoons cane syrup over cake. Let cool completely. Top slice of cake with Buttermilk Whipped Cream and drizzle with cane syrup. Serve.

BUTTERMILK WHIPPED CREAM

  • In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat cold cream, cold buttermilk, vanilla and salt at medium-high speed until frothy. Reduce mixer speed to medium, and add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until soft peaks form. Use immediately.

Apple Bran Muffins

My parents’ newfound freedom after we kids moved out led them on a culinary adventure. My mom cooked delicious home-cooked meals for most of my childhood. But, with no kids, they started going out to eat…a lot! They had their favorites and knew the specials on any given day. The kids and I would visit them often during the fall while Greg was hunting. So, we ate with them at these favorite establishments, too.

One of their favorite breakfast spots had a wonderful apple muffin for breakfast. I have not been there in years. My dad passed away 20 years ago, and I’m not sure my mom and I ever returned.

I’m no a scientist, but I believe food and scents are linked to our memories and emotions. When I smell the sweet scent of gardenias, I immediately think of my grandmother. When I eat homemade ice cream, I remember the many ice cream gatherings at my grandparent’s house when my cousins and I would run around catching lightning bugs. And for some reason, I needed to find this muffin recipe, if only to feel close to my mom and dad again for a while.

After buying apples a few weeks ago, I aimed to figure out how to make the muffins. I researched to see what the ratio should be for muffins and came up with a recipe. I used my apple butter, and the muffins were okay, not great, though.

I needed to find a new recipe fast to use my North Georgia apples. This time, I searched all of my cookbooks, and I have a lot, and the internet. I finally ran across a recipe that sounded like the old muffins I remembered, and they are delicious! So moist, flavorful, and delicious with my homemade apple butter and cream cheese. At first taste, the memories of having breakfast with my parents flooded my mind, and they were right there with me for a few minutes, even if it was just in my memories.

They have shredded apples and raisins that I plumped before adding to the batter. Chopped pecans would also work great in this recipe. Wheat bran is an ingredient in one of my favorite bran muffins, so I knew I wanted it in these muffins. It adds a slightly nutty taste and is an excellent source of fiber. You will most likely not find wheat bran on the cereal aisle in most stores. I ordered a big bag from Amazon, but you can also find it in many whole food stores.

 

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Apple Bran Muffins

Course Breads
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 6 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 1/2 cup wheat bran
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shredded apple
  • 3/4 cup raisins plumped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with silicone or paper liners; set aside.
  • Heat some water in the microwave. Add raisins to a bowl and pour water over. Let stand while you prepare other ingredients.
  • In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, egg, buttermilk, melted butter, molasses and honey; set aside.
  • In another bowl, add wheat bran, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; give it a stir.
  • Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Drain the raisins well. Stir apple and raisins into bran mixture.
  • Scoop batter into liners, almost filling. Bake for 17 to 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overtake!

Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars

I love painted furniture. I know it’s not for everyone, but our house would be filled with painted pieces if not for self-control. They fit into our little country house well.

I have painted several pieces over the years. Most of which is in our house today. One of my all-time favorites is our old entertainment center. At one time, everybody that was anybody had an entertainment center. But like everything else, their day in the sun ended.

We ended up removing the center section that held our television. Greg pulled the backing from the other two pieces and added barn wood from the farm instead. Then he connected the pieces, making one long piece, and I painted it a beautiful Annie Sloan Old White. It served as a coffee bar in the kitchen for a while but has finally found a home in the dining room as a beautiful display for all my blue and white treasures, some of which I inherited from my mom.

The furniture pieces I love the most are those I painted in neutral colors. In fact, everything I painted in other colors has either been painted over, or I no longer own them, which leads to my dilemma.

I have been trying to get my mom’s dark cherry China cabinet moved to my house for over a year. Her favorite color was blue, and I planned to paint the cabinet a beautiful blue with white or cream on the inside. This would be a great way to honor my mom with a piece she loved. But now that I have it here and am ready to work on it, I’m starting to doubt my choice.

I’m afraid it will be too much. I’ll get it painted, and it will simply be more than I want. I don’t know why I am second-guessing myself. Stay tuned for future developments. I will share pictures of the pieces I have painted and get your opinions.

One thing I am not second-guessing is these incredible peanut butter bars from www.houseofnasheats.com. I loved these and am not even a huge peanut butter lover. I recently took two trays of these bars to a church luncheon, bringing both platters home empty! That’s a good sign!

These delicious bars are called Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars, and they taste like the tasty treats I remember having at school. Back when school lunches were actually good.

This recipe makes a large 13 x 18-inch pan and bakes quickly. In fact, because the first dessert I made was not good, I started these at 11 PM, and by placing the pan in the freezer to cool, I was in bed at a decent time.

The peanut butter bars are soft, chewy, and incredibly addictive!

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Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars

Course Dessert
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

BARS

  • 1 cup salted butter softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter divided
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour scooped and leveled
  • 2 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

FROSTING

  • 1/2 cup salted butter softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray a half-sheet baking pan (13 x 18-inch) pan with a rim, with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and 1 cup peanut butter in a mixer until creamy and light.
  • Add eggs and vanilla extract, then beat again, scraping the bottom and sides of bowl.
  • Add the flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Mix just until combined. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan with spatula.
  • Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and barely set in the center. DO NOT OVERBAKE!
  • Remove from oven. While bars are still hot, melt the remaining 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Drizzle over the top of bars and spread into an even layer. Cool completely. (The freezer helps!)
  • Make the chocolate frosting by beating the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla with an electric mixer, until smooth. Spread in an even layer over cooled bars. Cut into squares.