Butter Swim Biscuits

Ingredients
2½ cups (312.5g) all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups  buttermilk
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Add flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt to a medium bowl. Use a whisk to sift ingredients.
Pour in the buttermilk and stir until mostly combined, being careful not to overwork the batter.
Pour the melted butter into an 8x8-inch baking dish*. Place the dough on top of the butter and use a spatula (or your hands) to evenly spread the dough out to the edges of the pan.
Cut the unbaked dough into 9 squares (3x3 pattern). Bake for 28 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
Allow the butter to be absorbed into the biscuits before cutting and serving.
*Notes: You can place the baking dish on a baking sheet in case of spillover.

Recipe from iambaker.net

Homemade Vanilla Cake

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups (288g) cake flour, or all-purpose
1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola, vegetable, or safflower
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons (4 1/2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
1 batch Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Method
Preheat the oven and prepare the pan:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a 9x13-inch pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. If you plan to turn the cake out instead of serving it from the pan, lining it with parchment will ensure the cake releases from the pan easily.

Combine the dry ingredients:
In a large mixing bowl. whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.

Add the butter:
Mix the softened butter into the dry mixture with a hand mixer on low speed until the butter is completely combined and the mixture has a sandy texture.

Combine the wet ingredients:
In a medium-sized bowl or 4-cup measuring cup, whisk together the milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and homogeneous.

Add the wet into the dry ingredients:
Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and butter mixture and beat with the hand mixer until just a few streaks of flour remain. Finish mixing the batter with a silicone spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake and cool:
Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes until the top of the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and cool completely on a rack before turning out and/or frosting and decorating.

Vanilla Cake in Other Sizes
Sure, you can make this in a 9x13-inch pan or two 9-inch rounds. But the recipe works great for a cupcakes or even a Bundt cake. For cupcakes, bake for 15 to 18 minutes. For a Bundt cake, bake for 45 to 55 minutes. You should be able to get 24 cupcakes from this recipe.

Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups (460g) powdered sugar, divided
2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt

Method
Beat the butter:
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer), beat the butter until creamy.

Add the sugar and a little cream:
Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of the heavy cream. Mix on low until the powdered sugar is incorporated into the butter, scrape down the sides, then turn up the mixer to high and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar and another 1 tablespoon of the cream.

Add the extract and salt:
Add the vanilla and salt and beat to combine. If the buttercream seems too stiff, beat in an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of cream at a time. You want it to hold a peak but be soft enough to spread with little effort.

Recipes from simplyrecipes.com

Scallion Cornbread

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan

2 tbsp. oil

1/2 c. all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 c. yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp. sugar (more to taste)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt (or 1/2t table salt)
1 1/3 c. buttermilk**
2 large egg
2 oz. Cheddar cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup) (ColbyJack)
2 scallions, sliced (shallots, thin sliced and quartered)

1/4c green bell pepper diced small, almost minced (or pepper of choice)
 
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450°F. Butter 2 cast-iron cornstick skillets, one (8-inch) cast-iron skillet, or an 8x8 pan.
Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt in a bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, butter, oil, and egg in a separate bowl. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until combined. Fold in Cheddar cheese and scallions. 
Transfer batter to prepared pan(s), and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 10 to 13 minutes for cornstick skillets, 20-25 minutes for 8x8 pan, or 23 to 25 minutes for 8-inch skillet. Serve warm.

**To make 1 cup of buttermilk substitute: add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then add milk to the 1-cup line and stir. Let sit for about 5 minutes, stir, add to recipe.

Skillet

8x8 pan

Recipe based on a recipe from countryliving.com

Pineapple Quick Bread

Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
19 ounces crushed pineapple drained, *save the juices *
1/2-3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans**

Pineapple Glaze
6 teaspoons powdered sugar (1/2-3/4c)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or to taste)
2 Tablespoons reserved pineapple juice (add more by 1/2t to desired thickness)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 9×5 loaf pan. Note: Adding parchment paper with high sides will allow the loaf to come out easily as well.
In a medium bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda and sea salt.
In a stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter with the paddle attachment on low-medium for about 5 minutes.
Add in eggs and vanilla extract and mix for another minute on the lowest setting.
Slowly add in flour mixture; be sure to lift the bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula to incorporate all the ingredients evenly.
Add the drained crushed pineapple and run just to blend; you can do this by hand with a spatula.
Pour into greased pan and spread evenly.
Bake for about 55 minutes.
Cool loaf completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing.
Once cooled, remove the loaf from the pan and make your glaze by adding powdered sugar, vanilla, and pineapple juice into a small bowl and mix well. Drizzle over bread.
This recipe makes a light glaze, for a thicker glaze use this as a base and add a tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time until desired thickness. 
** After tasting the bread we decided a 1/2-3/4c of chopped walnuts or pecans would make this taste even better so I added it to the recipe to remind me.

Original recipe (in black) from amandascookin.com

Chocolate Bundt Cake

For the Cake:

1½ cups hot water 

1¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder 

3½ cups all-purpose flour 

2½ cups granulated sugar 

2½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter 

1 cup sour cream room temperature (or mayonnaise)

½ cup vegetable oil 

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan and dust with flour or cocoa powder.

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the hot water and cocoa powder until well combined. Let cool for 10 minutes

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

• To the cocoa mixture, add the melted butter sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. 

• Pour into the flour mixture and stir together just until no streaks of flour remain. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan.

• Bake for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. 

• Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Carefully invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.

For the Ganache Topping:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped bars 

7 tablespoons heavy cream 

1 tablespoon butter softened

• Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl

• Microwave the cream until boiling, about 30 seconds on high.

• Immediately pour over the chocolate. 

• Drop in the butter but do not stir. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

• Stir until the chocolate and butter are melted and the mixture is smooth and silky.

• Place the cake on a serving plate and pour the ganache over the top.

• Store the cake, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Notes

• Do not skip blooming the cocoa powder in hot water. Blooming the cocoa gives the chocolate bundt cake a richer chocolate flavor.

• As we are working with many eggs, I recommend cracking them into a bowl instead of directly into the batter. This way, you decrease the odds of accidentally getting eggshells in the batter.

• Even if you have a non-stick pan, I recommend still dusting the pan. Doing so helps the cake slide out smoothly and lowers the risk of the tops of the cake being stuck and ripping when turned out.

• Always check that the baking soda is fresh. Expired baking soda will cause the cake not to rise properly.

• Not sure what size bundt pan you have? Use a liquid measuring cup and pour water one cup at a time into the pan, keeping tally as you go, and see how many cups the pan fits.

• There’s no need to use a mixer to make the cake batter. You only want to mix the batter until everything is just combined. Overmixing the batter will make the cake dry and tough.

• If you are not using a scale to measure the flour, be sure to fluff the flour with a spoon and then sprinkle it into the measuring cups before leveling it off with a knife. While a scale is preferred, fluffing the flour is the best way to measure flour without overpacking the cup.

• Use a small spatula or spoon to force the batter into the crevices of the bundt pan. Lightly tap it on the counter after filling to remove air bubbles at the base, which could mar the surface of your cake.

Alternate Topping

Quick Cocoa Glaze

2 T butter or margarine

¼ cup cocoa powder

3 T water

½ tsp vanilla extract

1¼ cups powdered sugar

• Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. 

• Stir in cocoa and water. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. 

• Do not boil. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. 

• Gradually add powdered sugar, beating with whisk until smooth. 

• Add additional water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.

Original cake recipe and picture from preppykitchen.com

Original glaze recipe from hersheyland.com

Cake Mix Cookie Bars

Ingredients
1 (15 oz) box of yellow cake mix (flavor of choice, I used white cake mix)
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup olive oil (can substitute melted butter, vegetable oil, or canola oil also)
12 oz bag of chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Beat eggs in a small bowl
Add cake mix and olive oil to the beaten eggs and mix well
Beat in chocolate chips (batter will be very thick)
Grease a 9 X 13 (11x7) baking dish (see notes for thickness)  
Spread batter evenly in the dish (this will take several minutes to spread evenly)
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean
Once cooled, cover or store in an airtight container
Enjoy!

Notes
The batter will be thick and hard to spread (this is normal) I found that using a rubber spatula and a spoon made it easier to spread into the pan. It may take a couple minutes, but it's so worth it!
I used an 11x7 pan and it was the perfect size. A 9x13 would have made very thin cookie bars
The thickness of the cookie bars will depend on how large of a baking dish you use.

Original recipe (in black) from buildyourbite.com

Easy Cake Mix Cake with Pudding and Sour Cream

1 cup full-fat sour cream
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 box (15 – 16 ounces / 432 – 461 grams) yellow or vanilla cake mix, unprepared
1 box (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding mix, unprepared

First, preheat the oven to 325°F. 
Next, grease the bundt pan well with oil or butter. 
Then combine the sour cream, oil, and milk, beat in the eggs, then incorporate the cake mix and pudding mix. 
The batter will be oddly thick but that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40 – 45 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing. 
Lastly, after the cake has cooled significantly, top it with your favorite glaze or frosting.
Original recipe from beatbakeeat.com

Glaze
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

2-4 tablespoons milk, half and half, water, or flavored liquid of choice

1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In a bowl, whisk together sifted powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and enough liquid to thin the glaze to your desired consistency for dipping, drizzling, or pouring over your favorite baked goods and pastries. Glaze will be smooth.

See the FAQ section above for make ahead and storage instructions and the notes below for flavor variations.

Recipe from stripedspatula.com