CHRISTMAS MORNING CARAMEL PECAN STICKY BUNS

1 Package Pillsbury bread sticks (8 sticks; remove from refrigerator 10 monutes prior to baking)
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon freeze-dried instant coffee granules
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup very coarsely chopped, toasted pecan halves

Serves 8

Preheat oven to 375 F. Inna medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add coffee, and working quickly with the back of a spoon, crush it to help incorporate it throughout the butter. Add sugar and stir until it is completely blended. Continue to stir and add the remaining ingredients on at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Pour into an 8-inch glass pie plate.

Separating the bread sticks from the column they are packed in, one at a time place all but one still rolled up bread stick on top of the caramel-pecan mixture. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and let rest 1-2 minutes before inverting onto a 10-inch plate, applying slight pressure to the dish and pan on your invert so no hot caramel escapes. Serve immediately.

LIME FRENCH TOAST

This lightened baked French Toast is always a favorite at the Inn, and anytime for brunch at home. Sometimes we vary it with lemonade, orange or toasted pecans- all equally scrumptious, even more so with fresh berries atop!

1. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with non-stick spray. In a medium saucepan, over low heat, place the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, zest and limeade and cook until butter and sugar have melted, 3-5 minutes. Pour into the baking dish.

2. In a small bowl, mix the eggs, milk and vanilla and blend well. Arrange the bread slices in one layer over the syrup mixture and pour the egg mixture over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. 1/2 hour before baking, remove the French toast from the refrigerator and allow to return to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350º and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately.

LEMON BERRY TART

At times, wonderful recipes happen because you've made a mistake and that's how this recipe was developed. We all loved the taste of a tart, but it just wasn't working, yet with every re-test the tart kept disappearing. Along the way, I tried several variations and in the end discovered an easy way to make a delicious lemon tart without having to make a creme patisserie, custard or curd first. This seemed a major miracle, and one you can make often.

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Prebake, a plain pie crust for 15 minutes.

2. Zest the lemons (white pith will make it better)

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cream and sour cream. Pour into the crust and dot with butter. Scatter the zest over the cream and place on baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before topping with berries in concentric circles. Place one mintleaf in the center.

* I like the Wick's Pie Crusts from Sysco (no relationship) for their homemade flavour.

RHUBARB BREAD

This wonderfully moist bread with a crisp sugar topping forced us to freeze chunks of rhubarb so that when we crave it - we can indulge our guests. Its a wonderful taste of spring anytime.

Serves 8

1. Preheat oven to 325º. In a large mixing bowl, place the ingredients in the order given and combine well. Pour evenly into 2 well buttered and floured loaf pans.

2. Cut and sprinkle over the top 1/2 cup sugar and tablespoon unsalted butter.

3. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour removing it from the oven as soon as a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes before serving warm, or at room temperature.

THE CRISPIEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER

When I was young and my grandmother was the chocolate chip cookie maker, sometimes she'd make them verry thin and crispy, and others thicker and softer, yet she always used the same recipe. I loved them crispy best of all. Finally, we've solved the mystery, and they're crispy all the time. They are hard to stop eating once you start.

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together onto waxed paper and set aside.

3. In a medium sized bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, cream together the butter, brown and white sugar and vanilla, until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down as needed. Add the eggs, combining well. Add the flour mixture, mixing well and then the chocolate chips.

4. Drop scant teaspoons of dough two inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake seven to nine minutes until they are golden. Allow to cool one minute on the baking sheets, before removing with a spatula to a plate to cool completely.

5. Store cookies in an airtight container to retain the crispiness, if they last anytime at all.

Wickwood Country Inn
510 Butler Street, PO Box 1019 • Saugatuck, Michigan 49453-1019
Telephone: (269) 857-1465 or 1-800 385-1174 • Fax: (269) 857-1552
www.wickwoodinn.com