Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread

Isn't it funny how social media can take a fairly simple recipe and shoot it into stardom. I'm sure pinterest has launched more than one person into food blog success from such a posting. It was there that I ran across this little gem of a recipe.

I have made a few varieties of banana bread, some that have included chocolate chips, but I've never done dark chocolate or raspberries. It turned out to be very tasty and moist. My center had some trouble baking all the way through (the same as a few others) but it wasn't enough to distract from the deliciousness of the bread. My loaf probably doesn't look quite as beautiful as the original because I didn't add extra chocolate and raspberries to the top, but it still was a hit while we were on vacation to the happiest place on earth. Enjoy!


Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread
Source: Recipe Boy

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated white sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)

1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup halved raspberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture; just until moist. Don't over-mix. Stir in the chocolate chunks and then gently stir in the raspberries. If you want, you can sprinkle a few additional chocolate chunks and raspberries on the top.


Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

Makes one 9x5 inch loaf

Lemon Loaf

As I stated in my Daring Bakers post on this Lemon Loaf I really had wanted to make it a Meyer Lemon Loaf but I can never seem to find Meyer lemons. I can tell you that when I come across some I am definitely going to buy them and use them immediately.

This loaf was pretty easy to make, the only real hassle was having to scrape off all the lemon zest. Oh, and don't forget to get your simple syrup ready while the bread is baking. I completely forget because I got distracted with doing other things and realized it as the bread was coming out of the oven. Nothing like having to scramble. Enjoy!

Lemon Loaf

Loaf:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

zest of 3 Meyer lemons (regular lemons can be used)

2 cups white granulated sugar

6 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature 

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice (regular lemons can be used)

pinch of salt

9 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Simple Syrup:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

juice from 1 medium Meyer Lemon (or regular lemon)

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F. Butter and flour two 8” x 5” loaf pans.

2. Sift together flour and baking powder; set aside.

3. Place sugar, lemon zest, and eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat with a whisk until the mixture is a light lemon color and thickened a bit. This can also be done with a mixer. Whisk in sour cream, then salt, and lemon juice.

4. Gently whisk in the flour in four parts, then whisk in the butter in three parts. You’ll have a thick, pourable batter flecked with lemon zest.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

6. While the loaves are baking, prepare simple syrup. Boil together sugar and water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice.

7. Turn the loaves out of their pans onto a cooling rack and brush liberally with the lemon syrup, repeat brushing as you feel necessary. Let cool.

Makes two 8x5 loaves

Chocolate Marble Bread (aka Zebra Cake)

Doesn't marbling in baked goods intrigue you? I don't know why I am so drawn to pictures of breads and cakes that have marbling and layers. Maybe it is the fact that it looks like you did something complicated when it was really just the act of swirling an extra large toothpick through your batter. Or maybe it's because there is always a surprise in every slice you cut. Who knows.

I do need to admit right up front that this is really cake masquerading as bread. Really, it is. Even in the description on the original post the author explains that it is a basic vanilla cake batter to which you add chocolate. This goes back to the discussion during our Daring Bakers challenge of what a quick bread really is, cake or bread. Most people agreed that many quick "bread" recipes were just cakes in loaf form. Hence, the Chocolate Marble Bread otherwise known as Zebra Cake by my son.

While I certainly won't feed this to my family for breakfast (as maybe I would with a banana bread), it is a very tasty loaf of bread/cake. Definitely more in the realm of dessert though. Enjoy!


Chocolate Marble Bread
Source: Joy of Baking

4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup milk, divided
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.

Melt the chocolate along with 1/4 cup of milk over the lowest heat setting on the stove top. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a small bowl whisk the sour cream with the remaining milk, and the vanilla extract.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and sour cream/milk mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

Spoon half of the batter into a separate bowl. Add the chocolate mixture to one half of the batter and fold in.

With two spoons, place spoonfuls of the two mixtures into the prepared loaf pan alternately (chocolate, vanilla, chocolate, etc). Run a wooden skewer or knife through the two batter to achieve the marble affect.

Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely.

Makes one 9x5 loaf

Cinnamon Quick Bread

While searching for quick bread recipes to try out for my Daring Bakers challenge I came across this one.The picture was very enticing. Who doesn't like a loaf of what looks like pound cake with ribbons of cinnamon cutting through it? It was irresistible, hence why you see a post for it now.

I did change the recipe up a bit and would recommend you make those changes as well. Not too many tweaks, but a few. I ended up using orange zest as I didn't have any lemons at the time. Really you just need a citrus zest to give it a bit of flavor kick so orange or lemon zest will work.

I also would reduce the amount of cinnamon topping left for the top layer by adding more to the other two layers. I found that just like some of the other quick breads I have baked all that lovely topping falls off as soon as you try to remove it from the loaf pan. Notice the mountain sized pile of cinnamon topping. Okay, maybe mountain sized is an exaggeration, but still. All that yummy flavor should be on the bread not in the garbage.

I would definitely recommend trying this bread. It smells heavenly while baking in the oven and it tastes scrumptious. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Quick Bread
Source: Slightly adapted from Closet Cooking

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon or orange zest
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, vanilla, and citrus zest.

Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, scraping bowl as necessary. Mix in 1/2 of the buttermilk. Mix in another 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Add the remaining buttermilk. Add the remaining dry ingredients and  mix until combined.

Whisk the brown sugar and cinnamon together.

Pour 1/3 of the batter in the greased loaf pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture on top. Pour 1/3 of batter on top. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture on top. Pour the remaining batter on top. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon on top.

Bake for about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes one 9x5 loaf

Seasoned Dinner Rolls

I found this recipe in a food magazine and decided to make them for Thanksgiving. I thought about passing it off and buying store bought or refrigerated rolls since there are so many other things to make, but I have this thing for fresh yeast dinner rolls for big holiday meals. When I came across the article the title caught me eye. It said "Best Dinner Rolls", so I figured that since those are some pretty big shoes to fill it might be worth the effort.

What's great about this recipe is that you make a basic dinner roll and then you add whatever toppings you want to make it fit your taste. For Thanksgiving, I made plain, Parmesan-Garlic, and Almond-Herb. I made in the traditional style where you just set the dough balls in the 9x13 pan to double. My favorite were the Parmesan-garlic, followed by the almond-herb. I would have to say that the plain dinner rolls really didn't do anything for me.

Since I wasn't happy with this original batch I decided to make them again for our Christmas dinner. This time I made about 2/3 Parmesan-Garlic and about 1/3 with coarse sea salt. I also experimented with the shapes and made three different varieties: rosettes, cloverleafs, and twists. I really liked how the rosettes turned out with the twists coming in second. The cloverleafs really really didn't work for me because it seemed like they burned easily. That was most likely because you use muffin tins instead of flat sheets, but still, I wasn't as pleased with them.

I would have to say that the Parmesan-garlic are still my favorite, but I think I like the coarse sea salt over the almond-herb. It was difficult for the almond-herb mixture to stay on the roll and once that falls off you just have a very plain roll to eat. I will definitely be making these again. Enjoy! 

Seasoned Dinner Rolls
Makes 2 dozen rolls

4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons butter
2 eggs
1 egg, slightly beaten
toppings (see below)

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water, and butter to 115 degrees F. Add to dry ingredients; beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add 2 eggs; beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 24 portions. Shape into balls (or other shapes). Divide the balls between two greased 13x9 inch baking pans (or 11x17 pans if doing other shapes).

Cover with a clean, lightweight towel and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush with lightly beaten egg. Sprinkle rolls with toppings of your choice.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

Toppings
Parmesan-Garlic: 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and 1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic
Almond-Herb: 2 tablespoons chopped sliced almonds and 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt, dried basil and dried oregano

Monkey Bread

I made a batch of monkey bread (or pull apart bread as some call it) many years ago, but since I used refrigerated dough I decided that I couldn't count it on my top 100 list. I have been itching for a chance to make monkey bread from scratch for quite a while and I decided that Christmas Eve was the perfect time. Cream cheese cinnamon rolls Christmas morning, monkey bread Christmas Eve; pretty perfect for a holiday weekend if you ask me. And yes, I did run two days in a row just to make up for the calories obtained making these items! Yep, you read that right, making them not even eating them.

This monkey bread is AMAZING! It smells so good while baking, and it looks absolutely perfect as soon as you plate it. I think it looks beautiful without the glaze, but I went ahead and drizzled a half of a batch over the top. It sure doesn't need the sweetness as it already has plenty of that, but I thought it would add some contrast. I was also torn because I wanted to make the monkey bread with the traditional cinnamon and sugar, but I also wanted to add finely chopped apples. I decided to get the best of both worlds and make half of the loaf traditional and half with apples. Both halves are tasty and I couldn't recommend one over the other! Enjoy!

**I've submitted this to Sweet As Sugar Cookies Sweet Treat Link**

Monkey Bread
Source: Slightly modified from Brown Eyed Baker

Dough:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, 2 tablespoons softened and 2 tablespoons melted
1 cup milk, warm (about 110 degrees F)
1/3 cup water, warm (about 110 degrees F)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package instant yeast
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
2 teaspoons salt

Brown Sugar Coating: 1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 slices of apple, finely chopped (optional)

Glaze:1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon milk

In a large measuring cup, mix together milk, water, melted butter, sugar and yeast. Mix flour and salt in standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn machine to low and slowly add milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until dough is shiny and smooth, 6 to 7 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and knead briefly to form smooth, round ball. Coat large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and coat surface of dough with cooking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a draft-free area until dough doubles in size, 50 to 60 minutes.

For the sugar coating: While the dough is rising, mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Place melted butter in second bowl. Set aside.

Use 2 tablespoons softened butter to thoroughly coat Bundt pan. Set aside.

Gently remove the dough from the bowl, and pat into a rough 8-inch square. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut dough into 64 pieces.

Roll each dough piece into a ball. Working one at a time, dip the balls into the melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into the bowl. Roll in the brown sugar mixture, then layer balls in the Bundt pan, staggering seams where dough balls meet as you build layers. Sprinkle chopped apple on alternating layers if using.

Cover the Bundt pan tightly with plastic wrap and place in draft-free area until dough balls are puffy and have risen 1 to 2 inches from top of pan, 50 to 70 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap the pan and bake until the top is deep brown and caramel begins to bubble around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a platter and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

For the glaze: While the bread cools, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and milk in a small bowl until the lumps are gone. Using a whisk, drizzle the glaze over the monkey bread, letting it run over top and down the sides of the bread. Serve warm.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Almond Joy Banana Bread

Highlights magazine  . . . who would have thought that a kids magazine could lead to a batch of banana bread. My son was reading his magazine with dad and they came across a story of some kids baking up a batch of banana bread. He, of course, immediately wanted to bake up a batch but instead of it being a traditional banana bread he wanted it to have almonds. We ended up making one loaf with just almonds and the other loaf with coconut, almonds, and chocolate chips. Yummy! Enjoy!  

Almond Joy Banana Bread
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Place oven rack in lowest position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of loaf pans.

Mix sugar and margarine in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until moistened. Stir in coconut, almonds, and chocolate chips.

Pour into pans. Bake about 60 to 75 minutes (about 25 minutes for mini loaves) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans. Cool completely before slicing.


Makes 2 loaves

Apple Pie Bread

Another recipe I found while flipping through a magazine at the pediatrician's office. I think I saw 4 or 5 recipes in that particular magazine that interested me enough to come home and look their recipes up online. As I said before, I must have been hungry because it seemed like I wanted to make just about every food item I saw!

This bread comes together pretty easily and is super moist. There are two downfalls however; one is that the streusel-nut topping doesn't get baked in. It just sits on top of the bread so that when you take it out of the loaf pan half of the topping falls off the bread and onto the counter. You can still eat it with a spoon and it is yummy but the point is to have it on the bread. The other downfall is that it falls apart super easy when you cut it. Again, you can use a fork or spoon to eat it but it is frustrating to have it fall into a bunch of little pieces when slicing it. I thought maybe after sitting in the fridge it would slice easier, but not so much. It was tasty, but good luck with getting it to not fall apart on you. Enjoy!


Apple Pie Bread
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled apple, shredded (about 4 medium)
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1/2 cup raisins

Streusel-Nut Topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in sugar until combined. Add buttermilk and baking powder; beat until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour and salt; beat until combined. Stir in apple, nuts, and raisins.

Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Make Streusel-Nut Topping; sprinkle over batter. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf

Pineapple Zucchini Muffins

My neighbor gave me this recipe a few years ago when we had an overabundance of zucchini from our garden. I tried many different zucchini recipes but for some reason I never got around to this one. Well . . . I guess I can't say "for some reason" because I know the reason. She titled her recipe Spicy Pineapple Zucchini Muffins and when I think of spicy I think of chilis and jalapenos and spicy things like that which just don't go with zucchini bread in my mind. Once I actually looked at the ingredients and realized that the spicy was just cinnamon and nutmeg I realized that it wasn't much different from any other zucchini bread recipe. You might be saying, why didn't you just look at the ingredients two years ago when you got the recipe to see that there weren't jalapenos or anything like that in it. That's because my neighbor wrote the ingredients and amounts within the recipe and I guess I was in too big of a hurry to decipher her cursive handwriting.

What's funny is that when I mentioned to her a few weeks ago that I finally used the recipe to make some zucchini pineapple muffins she couldn't even remember having the recipe at all. She had no idea what I was talking about. Go figure. Enjoy!

Pineapple Zucchini Muffins
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
8 oz. can of crushed pineapple, drained
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans.

Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla until thick and foamy. Stir in zucchini and pineapple.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir into mixture. Stir in walnuts and raisins.

Divide batter evenly between 2 loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; turn onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

Makes 2 loaves

Zucchini Bread Galore

Doesn't this picture look great! This is one day's worth of baking, minus a dozen muffins that were eaten before this photo was taken. Not only that but all of those delectable baked goods came from one squash and one zucchini (similar in size to the two in the picture). I love monster squash and zucchini from my garden!

I used my basic zucchini bread recipe and just added different extras to the mix. Some of the batches have just raisins, some just nuts, some raisins and nuts. All but the dozen muffins went into the freezer so we are ready to go with zucchini bread for the next few months! So much easier to freeze the baked bread than to freeze the shredded zucchini.

Zucchini Bread 3 cups shredded zucchini (about 3 medium)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of loaf pans. Mix zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into pans. Bake 50-60 minutes (25-30 minutes for mini loaves, 20-25 minutes for muffins) or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves; remove from pans. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Makes 2 loaves

Cinnamon-Pecan Bread

I really didn't intend to make another loaf of swirl bread. In fact, until I started making it I didn't even realize that it would be a swirl bread. For some reason I thought when I saw this recipe in a magazine (without the picture, I guess) I was thinking it was going to be a quick bread. Never mind that yeast is listed as an ingredient. I guess I just wasn't paying close attention.

I made three different batches of swirl bread within a pretty short timeframe and this was the one that we liked least. It ended up being pretty dry. The powdered sugar glaze added to the bread but it still couldn't make up for the dryness and lack of flavor. I will pick one of the other two recipes when I make swirl bread again, but if you decide to try it, enjoy!

Cinnamon-Pecan Bread
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cut up
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
-----
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons milk

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour and the yeast. In a saucepan, heat and stir milk, the 1/4 cup butter, the 2 tablespoons sugar and the salt until warm (120 degree F to 130 degree F) and butter almost melts. Add to flour mixture. Then, add the egg. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that's smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape into a smooth ball.


Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (1 to 1-1/4 hours). Punch dough down.

On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough to form a 12-inch square. Brush the dough with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Combine the 3 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over the butter. Sprinkle with pecans.

Roll up, jelly-roll style. Pinch the seams and the ends to seal. Place, seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled (about 30 to 45 minutes).

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Remove to wire rack to cool. Prepare Powdered Sugar Glaze in a bowl to drizzling consistency. Drizzle over bread. Makes 1 loaf.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Don't these swirls look incredible? The smell and taste are just as incredible as the neat swirlies throughout the dough! This recipe was chosen on the same day that I chose the recipe for the Cinnamon Raisin Nut Bread. I wanted to compare two cinnamon swirl breads to see if a slight change to ingredients and method would make a big difference in the outcome. I was actually surprised at how different they tasted.

Both recipes have yummy qualities to them. I like the fact that with the other swirl bread I added the raisins and nuts to give it a bit more texture. But while you could smell the cinnamon in the dough while kneading it the finished product didn't have an overly cinnamony (is that even a word?) taste. However this cinnamon swirl bread definitely has a sweeter, cinnamon taste. It is delicious all on it's own merits. It also makes a monster loaf of bread! This thing definitely doubled in size while it was rising at both rise times. I wasn't sure if it was going to take over the oven like the blob but it managed to bake up just fine. The top was a bit lopsided (not sure if you can see it in the picture) and looked a bit like an alien head from the back once you started cutting down the loaf.

Between the two recipes I would say that this is definitely the tastier of the two. I think the extra cinnamon and sweeter flavor make it just a bit more delicious. Not sure if in the future I will try adding raisins and nuts to this recipe or not but that definitely would make it a straight across comparison. We'll just have to wait and see what the next baking kick brings along. Enjoy! 


Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Source: Pioneer Woman

6 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
2-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 whole eggs

2 tablespoons butter, softened + some for greasing pan
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
egg wash (1 egg + splash of milk beaten together)

Melt 6 tablespoons butter with milk. Heat until very warm, but don't boil. Allow to cool until temperature reaches between 105-115 degrees F. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Combine flour and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.

Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and knead again for 5 minutes.

Grease a large bowl. Throw dough in and toss to coat. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm, hospitable place for at least 2 hours.

Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you are going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons softened butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal.

Smear loaf pan with softened butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix egg with a splash of milk for egg wash and brush over the top. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle/lower rack in the oven. Remove from the pan and allow bread to cool.

Makes one loaf

Popovers

Ahhh, breakfast pastries, muffins, rolls . . . what fun to dig through recipes looking for something fun to bake on a lazy, rainy Saturday morning. And I was definitely in a baking mood today. I wanted to bake every bread recipe I looked at. After two loaves of bread and a batch of popovers I called it good otherwise I could have gone on and on with no end in sight.

I think technically these should be called popunders instead of popovers. I'm betting that they didn't "pop" up as much as they should have because I used custard cups instead of popover cups. I just can't see spending that much money on a pan for one purpose, especially a purpose that I don't have very often. They still tasted good, a bit more dense than they were supposed to be, but yummy none the less. You can see in the photo above that one ended up sinking in the middle and the other is upside down so that you can see the popped portion. Slather it with jam and no one will know any better. Oh, and don't mention they are supposed to be popovers either. Enjoy!

Popovers
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat over to 450 degrees. Grease 6-cup popover pan or six 6-ounce custard cups generously. Beat eggs slightly in medium bowl. Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth (do not overbeat). Fill cups about one-half full. Bake 20 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake 20 minutes longer or until deep golden brown. Immediately remove from cups and serve hot.

Makes 6 popovers

Cinnamon Raisin Nut Bread

Cinnamon Raisin Nut Bread courtesy of another baking kick! I managed to go over a month without baking up a sweet bread of any kind so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the day that I get into a baking mood I end up making a few different varieties of sweet breads (the others will be coming at a later date).

Glancing over my top 100 list gave me several ideas of things I could make during this baking marathon. I thought about baking monkey bread but decided to go an easier route with cinnamon swirl bread. After choosing two different cinnamon swirl bread recipes I decided to add raisins and nuts to this loaf to make it into Cinnamon Raisin Nut Bread.

It was really pretty easy to make. There is a bit of patience involved with the rising time of any yeast bread but since I was pretty much just hanging around the house all day it worked out fine. I was somewhat surprised that this recipe didn't use any eggs.  I was glad it didn't because my other recipe required two eggs which is the exact number I had in the fridge. One pleasant surprise was the sweet smell of cinnamon when I started kneading it. This cinnamon bread recipe adds cinnamon right into the dough so when you knead it both before and after rising the smell is heavenly. Enjoy! 


Cinnamon Raisin Nut Bread
Source: Adapted from Recipe Girl

Bread
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
3 cups all-purpose flour + more for surface work

Filling
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans


In a microwavable cup, heat butter and warm milk in short bursts; stir together until butter is melted. In a large bowl, stir sugar, salt and cinnamon until combined. Pour warm butter/milk mixture into the bowl; stir.

In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, mix yeast and warm water until yeast is dissolved; pour into the bowl and stir. Mix in 2 1/2 cups flour.

Turn out dough onto a floured board (dough will be sticky). Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of flour onto the dough and knead until the dough is soft and smooth (4 to 5 minutes). Add additional sprinkles of flour, if needed.

Put dough into a greased bowl; turn the dough over so the top of the dough is greased too. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place for about 60 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough in the bowl with your fist. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 1 minute. Roll dough out into a basic rectangular shape. Use a butter knife or your clean fingers to spread 2 tablespoons softened butter on the surface of the rolled out dough.

In a small bowl, mix white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the butter. Roll up dough and form into a loaf. Place into a buttered 5x9-inch bread pan, seam side down. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Score risen dough in the pan by cutting 3 slashes diagonally across the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake bread for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Fully baked bread should sound hollow when tapped. Turn out bread and let cool on a wire rack.

Makes one loaf

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas and Breakfast Burritos

Homemade tortillas have been on my to do list for a while. In fact, over the past month they have been on our menu 3 different times. Two of those I never took the time to make them and just ended up doing an egg dish for breakfast, but I finally decided to take the time and make them to pair with our breakfast burritos. I made these the same day that I made the homemade phyllo dough for baklava so I definitely got some practice with rolling out dough until it was thin.

While these were fun to make and tasted fine as a part of our burrito I don't know that I'll be rushing to make them again. I felt like the time spent on them wasn't necessarily worth the finished product. I know that it's better for you to not have pre-packaged foods but the few times we eat tortillas I can't see it being a problem by buying ones already prepared. They also didn't store well for me. We didn't end up using all of the 8 to 10 that I made and when I stuck them in a ziploc bag they weren't great as leftovers the next day. It still was a fun process though. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas
Source: Hallee the Homemaker

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup warm water

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture and thoroughly combine. Add the warm water and mix with a fork until the dough forms a ball. If you need more water, add it a tablespoon at a time.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead about 20 times. Put back into the bowl, cover with towel, and let rest for about 15 minutes.

For 8-inch tortillas, divide dough into 12 equal portions. For 10-inch tortillas, divide dough into 8 equal portions. Roll each piece of dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to flatten each ball into an 8-inch or 10-inch circle. The tortilla will be very thin. Stack between sheets of wax paper.

Place a tortilla on a medium-hot ungreased skillet or griddle. Cook about 30 seconds or until the dough starts to puff and bubble up. Turn and cook another 30 seconds. Remove from pan. Place in a tortilla heater, in foil, or use immediately.

For Breakfast Burritos:
Use the tortilla as a wrap around your favorite breakfast items. Suggestions include: eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, tomatoes, peppers, cheese, olives, salsa, sour cream, guacamole . . .

Irish Soda Bread

I know it's a bit past St. Patrick's Day, but it's never too late to post a yummy recipe, right? I actually made this a few days past March 17th since I couldn't seem to get my act together before then. I had this great plan to make corned beef and cabbage and found a stellar recipe, only to read it the morning of and find out that it was supposed to brine for 10 days. Ummm, I guess I didn't read far enough ahead when I found that one. I ended up using a substitution corned beef and cabbage recipe along with this soda bread recipe and we had a late Irish celebration. Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread
Source: Simply Recipes

4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup raisins
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups buttermilk 

Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.

Using a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the raisins and craisins.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead! Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf.

Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet. Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. (The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks.)

Transfer to oven and bake until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done. 

Soft Prezels

I think this is a bit of an "ugly duckling" as far as soft pretzels are concerned, but what it lacks in looks it totally makes up for in taste! Soft pretzels have been on my top 100 list since the beginning and I can't believe I finally just got around to making them. They are awesome and so easy! Really, the recipe may look complicated but it really isn't. Whip up a batch of dough, let it rise, while the oven is preheating and the water is warming to a boil get the dough rolled out into 8 pretzels shapes, dunk in the baking soda bath, lay on tray, brush on egg wash, bake, and eat. It's that simple.

The baking soda bath is a must by they way. It's what gives the pretzel its chewy, boiled outside while the inside is soft and doughy. Yum, just thinking about them makes me want to make more. Enjoy! 

Soft Pretzels
Source: FoodNetwork.com

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan (I used olive oil)
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
pretzel salt

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.


Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.


Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Coconut Macadamia Banana Bread

Yummy! Another version of the basic Bett.y Crocker banana bread recipe. Enjoy!

Coconut Macadamia Banana Bread
Makes 2 loaves or 4 mini loaves

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut (toasting it is optional)
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts (about 5 oz)

Place oven rack in lowest position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of loaf pans.

Mix sugar and margarine in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until moistened. Stir in coconut and chopped macadamia nuts.

Pour into pans. Bake about 60 to 75 minutes (about 25 minutes for mini loaves) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans. Cool completely before slicing.

Orange Honey Bread

 

You may have noticed a lack of sweet treat recipes posted lately, except for those super yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas day. I can't remember if in an earlier post I mentioned that I am fasting from sugar for a period of time. It was during this time of fasting that I went searching for a quick bread recipe where I could use a substitute for sugar. When I am fasting I typically just stay away from anything that even uses substitutes for sugar since it is kind of the principal of the thing that I am fasting for, but this time I gave in to my desires to bake a loaf of bread while my boys were out playing in the snow one afternoon.

This particular recipe makes a very tasty quick bread. It has a great combination of flavors with both the honey and the orange competing for the dominant flavor. I also like the walnuts spread throughout to give each slice a bit of crunch and texture. The only thing I didn't really like about this bread was that it dried out within a few days, even though it was wrapped in plastic. Enjoy!

Orange Honey Bread

Source: Diana's Kitchen

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup honey

1 egg, well beaten

1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange peel

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup orange juice

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Cream butter and honey together until smooth and creamy. Add beaten egg and grated orange peel. Sift flour with baking powder, soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with orange juice. Add the chopped nuts. 

Bake in a greased and floured 9x5x3-inch loaf pan at 325° for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve with butter or a mixture of cream cheese and orange marmalade, if desired.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Do you like chocolate? If so, you will love this recipe! Yes, it is zucchini bread, but after you take a bite it's pretty hard to convince yourself that it is healthy, because it certainly does not taste like it. And let's be honest, even though it has zucchini as an ingredient it's probably not the most healthy of breads out there! Cocoa powder, sugar, ooey gooey chocolate chips . . . and if you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to it (which I may or may not have done) it sends it over the top. Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Makes one 9x5x3 inch loaf

1 1/2 cups shredded raw zucchini
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup safflower or canola oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in the center of oven. Grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon and ground allspice. Set aside.

In the mixer, beat the oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until well blended (about 2 minutes). Fold in the grated zucchini. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the bread has risen and  a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely.