Monte Cristo Strata

Monte Cristo Strata

Ingredients

6 oz Swiss cheese, shredded and divided (4 cups)
1 lb Day-old Italian bread, cut into 24 slices (1/2-inch each)
½ cup Golden Ale Mustard
1 lb Thinly sliced deli or fully cooked ham
½ cup Michigan Cherry Spread
8 Large eggs
3 cups Milk
½ tsp Garlic powder
½ tsp Each, salt and pepper

Directions

Set aside 1 cup Swiss cheese for the top. Spread 12 bread slices with mustard. Layer each with ham and 1/4 cup Swiss. Spread Cherry Spread on remaining bread. Place on Swiss-topped bread slices to make a sandwich. Cut each sandwich diagonally into four triangles. Arrange sandwiches crusts up in a greased 3-quart or 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

Whisk the eggs, milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Pour egg mixture over sandwiches. Sprinkle with reserved Swiss. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove strata from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Heat oven to 350°F.

Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake for 15 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and thermometer inserted in egg mixture reads 160°F. Let stand for 10 minutes

Chocolate Cherry Babka

Chocolate Cherry Babka

Ingredients

Dough
4 cups all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 ½ tsp instant yeast
1 tsp kosher salt
3 eggs (room temperature)
1 egg yolk (room temperature)
½ cup whole milk (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)
Filling
½ cup butter (room temperature)
½ cup sugar
⅓ cup cocoa
¼ tsp cinnamon
6 oz bitter-sweet chocolate, chopped medium-fine
1 jar Brownwood Farms Cherry Spread
Chocolate Streusel
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 ½ tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp kosher salt
4 ½ tbsp unsalted butter, melted
⅓ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Syrup
⅔ cup sugar
⅔ cup water

Directions

Dough

Stir flour, sugar, yeast and salt together in a bowl of electric mixer. Add eggs, yolk, milk and vanilla using dough hook. Mix on low speed until mixture comes together, scraping down the bowl and hook as needed.

On low speed, add butter 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Increase speed to medium and knead with dough hook for about 10 minutes. The dough should be pulled away from sides of bowl.

Place dough in oiled bowl, turning the dough, so it is evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove dough from refrigerator while preparing for the filling and baking. Butter 2 8 ½ to 9 inch loaf pans. Line with parchment paper, cutting to fit with some overhang on both the long and short sides.

Butter the bottom piece of parchment so that the top piece sticks. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.

Filling

Place butter sugar, cocoa and cinnamon in a mixing bowl and beat until combined.

Streusel

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt butter and chocolate chips together.

Syrup

Bring water and sugar to boil. Let cool.

Assembly

Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, roll one dough half into a rectangle about 10 x 12-14 inches. The 10 inch side should be closest to you.

Spread half the filling over the rolled dough. Spread half a jar of BWF cherry spread on top of the chocolate filling. Sprinkle with half of the chopped chocolate.

Starting with the end closest to you, roll the dough fairly tightly. Place seam side down on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and fillings.

Place cookie sheet with the 2 rolls in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove from freezer, Slice one of the dough coils in half lengthwise to expose the filling. Twist the halves together as if you were braiding them, then fold the braid in half so it’s about 7 inches long.

Place into a prepared pan, letting it curl around itself if it’s a little too long for the pan. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy (it won’t quite double). Alternatively, you can cover the pans with plastic wrap and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight; bring them back to room temperature for an hour before baking.

Baking

When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Use your fingers to clump streusel together and scatter all over the tops of the cakes. Transfer to oven and bake until a tester goes into the cakes without any rubbery resistance and comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.

As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, use a skewer or paring knife to pierce them all over going all the way to the bottom of the cakes, and then pour the syrup on top of the cakes, making sure to use half the syrup for each cake.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Cherry Thumbprint Cookie with Coconut

Cherry Thumbprint Cookie with Coconut

Ingredients

3 sticks Softened unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup Sugar
3 ½ cups All-purpose flour
¼ tsp Sea salt
1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
8 oz Sweetened flaked coconut
1 jar Brownwood Farms Cherry Spread
1 small egg for the wash (once cookies are formed and filled with jam-but before baked)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Sift the flour and salt together and set aside.

Cream your room temperature butter and cup of sugar together and add vanilla.

Once combined start to slowly add the flour and salt mixture. You’ll want your mixer on low and to do this slowly to keep the flour from flying and from over mixing.

You may now add the coconut flakes.

When together, transfer to a clean, dry surface sprinkled with flour.

Roll or pat the dough into a large flat piece, cover and place in the refrigerator for about a half hour (a few hours is also fine).

While the dough is chilling, whisk the egg and add in a dash of water together. You’ll want the bowl to be big enough that you can coat each cookie before it goes on the baking sheet.

Create small balls that are between 1 and 2 inches, the larger the cookie the longer they’ll take to bake, if you make them on the smaller side you’ll have more cookies in the end-the choice is yours!

Once rolled run each cookie through the egg and water mixture then place on the sheet.

Use 2 thumb prints to create a heart shape gently press into the center of the ball, you may also use a tool, such as a honeycomb or teaspoon for more uniform wells.

When pressed, add your cherry spread to the centers.

Bake 15-28 minutes (The wide range depends on size… so watch your first tray closely to see how long it takes. You’ll want them to be golden brown on the tops.