Roasted Garlic Bread and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

It was about a 5 hour drive up north to Ohio for Christmas. Let me go ahead and say right now that my husband does not care for my driving style and prefers to do all the driving himself. In fact, whenever we go anywhere he always drives. So, what was I to do while he drove us to Ohio and back? Well, the kids were busy watching cartoons in the backseat, my husband was listening to a book on headphones, so I took the time to read cookbooks in the passenger seat. My feelings were not hurt in the least. I much prefer reading cookbooks to driving cars.

I spent the majority of time reading a baking cookbook and found many bread recipes that I wanted to try. I found this recipe for Roasted Garlic Bread and decided that it would be the first one I would start on when we returned home.

Roasted Garlic Bread - adapted from Taste of Home Fall Baking Cookbook/Magazine
*Makes 2 loaves (10 slices each)
2 medium whole garlic bulbs
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 to 115)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 to 3 cups a/p flour (I used 2-1/2 and it was almost too much)
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage or 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
2 teaspoons minced fresh marjoram or 3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I used Romano because that's what I had)
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Remove papery outer skin from garlic (do not peel or separate cloves). Cut top off garlic bulbs; brush with oil. Wrap each bulb in heavy-duty foil. Bake at 425 for 30-35 minutes or until softened. Cool for 10-15 minutes. Squeeze softened garlic into a small bowl; set aside.

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt and 1 cup flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, add the sage, marjoram and rosemary to the reserved roasted garlic.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 10-in x 8-in. rectangle. Spread garlic mixture to within 1/2 in of edges. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam and ends to seal.

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place loaves seam side down on pan; tuck ends under. With a sharp knife, make several slashes across the top of each loaf. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks; brush with butter. (I topped mine with more Romano cheese)

Notes/Results: This bread was easy to make and my husband really liked it. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it. I think I was a little burnt out on garlic when I ate it. (did I really just say that?) Maybe I wasn't in the mood for it that day. I didn't have all the fresh herbs, so I substituted an equal amount of dried Italian seasoning and it worked out great. I did like how it made two baguette sized loaves. Makes it nice if you want to eat one and give one away.

I saw these peanut butter chocolate chip muffins over on Donna's site, My Tasty Treasures. It was love at first sight! I had just enough peanut butter and half a bag of milk chocolate chips leftover from holiday baking. The recipe (found by clicking on the purple link above) makes 12 delicious and filling muffins that everyone gave a super big thumbs up! My daughter, my husband, my mom and me tore through them in just a couple of hours. They are very delicious and are probably my favorite muffin. They have already been requested again and are a keeper of a recipe. Thanks Donna!!