Dessert

Peanut Butter Blondies

October 12, 2011 by Marci 3 Comments

My freezer of goodies was very bare and I needed something good to grab after dinner. Even Jeffrey was asking for a cookie! There was nothing sweet in our house, it was hard to believe.

I pulled a recipe in September’s Cooking Light for these brownies, and actually had all the ingredients at home. They were very simple to make, and turned out quite fluffy and peanut butter-y. The chocolate chips and pb chips were a tasty bonus. I also really liked that they cut nicely. I remember when I used to make box brownies as a kid, they were jagged and ugly. I guess if you put the time into making them from scratch, they cut nicer too!

Peanut Butter Blondies

Ingredients

1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
4 (0.75-ounce) peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped (I subbed Reece’s peanut butter chips)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Combine peanut butter and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring well. Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Scrape the batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray, and arrange the peanut butter cups over batter. Bake at 350° for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

I served these for our Yom Kippur dinner, but still had most of them leftover, so to the freezer they went! We’ll enjoy them for sure.

Peanut Butter Blondies

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Blondies
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
4 (0.75-ounce) peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped (I subbed Reece’s peanut butter chips)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Combine peanut butter and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring well. Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Scrape the batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray, and arrange the peanut butter cups over batter. Bake at 350° for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, chocolate, Recipes

Perfect for Fall Apple Cake

October 5, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

This is just a perfect Fall recipe. I didn’t realize before that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is perfectly aligned with apples for Fall. I made my first apple cake this year to take to a holiday lunch, and it sure was pretty. Compared to the two challahs I made the day before, this was easy as…cake. Just mix and cook. And spend some time peeling and slicing apples. If you’re looking for another great apple dish that takes a bit more time, try this apple pie.

I have mentioned before that I have a big recipe binder separated into categories like appetizers, vegetables, etc. This recipe is from the Everyday With Rachael Ray August/September 2006 issue. I can’t believe I have recipes over five years old that I haven’t tried yet!

Regardless, I am happy to have kept this recipe, and it was great. The inside of the cake was apple heavy on top, and soft and cinnamon-y like a pound cake or soft cake below. Sorry for no inside shots, I had to keep it whole to serve at someone else’s house. Kind of sad I didn’t get to take the leftovers home! It was a really delicious cake, and another great alternative to something chocolate.

Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake

INGREDIENTS

1 cup canola oil, plus more for greasing
2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 Granny Smith apples (about 1¼ pounds)—peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2¼ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt or tube pan. In a medium bowl, combine the 2-1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon. In a large bowl, toss the apples with 1/4 cup of the sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and set aside.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the 1 cup of oil with the eggs, orange juice, vanilla and the remaining 2 cups of sugar on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the flour in 3 batches, mixing until just combined. Add the apples and stir to combine. Transfer to the pan, leaving about an inch at the top, and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1½ hours. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before unmolding it onto a rack to cool completely.

While not considered healthy by any means, it sure was good. And perfect for Fall, now that Rosh Hashanah has passed. I recommend buying a bucket of apples (or six) and baking a cake for your friends. Apples are a perfect intro to Fall.

Perfect for Fall Apple Cake

Ingredients

Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake
1 cup canola oil, plus more for greasing
2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 Granny Smith apples (about 1¼ pounds)—peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2¼ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt or tube pan. In a medium bowl, combine the 2-1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon. In a large bowl, toss the apples with 1/4 cup of the sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and set aside.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the 1 cup of oil with the eggs, orange juice, vanilla and the remaining 2 cups of sugar on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the flour in 3 batches, mixing until just combined. Add the apples and stir to combine. Transfer to the pan, leaving about an inch at the top, and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1½ hours. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before unmolding it onto a rack to cool completely.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, Holidays, Recipes

Lemon Bar Squares

October 3, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

Welcome to October! This is the beginning of my favorite season, favorite three months, and busy times. I love the holidays, the cooler temperatures, and the return of Fall television. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

These lemon bar squares are for our Yom Kippur dinner on Friday night. I made them last weekend and froze them. Before I serve them, I’ll dust with powdered sugar.

These are simple to make, can be made ahead, and are a nice alternative to something chocolate. I like the tartness too. Start to finish (including clean up) is under an hour.

Lemon Bar Squares

Ingredients

Crust:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar

Filling:

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preheat over 350 degrees.
Combine crust ingredients. Mix on low speed until blended (1 min.). Put into ungreased 8″
Square pan. Pat down the crust in the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until brown on edges.
While crust is baking, mix ingredients for the filling until well blended.
Pour filling over partially baked crust. Return to oven for 18-20 minutes or until set.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool. Makes about 16 squares.

Enjoy, these are a family favorite too.

Lemon Bar Squares

Ingredients

Lemon Bar Squares
Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
Filling:
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preheat over 350 degrees.
Combine crust ingredients. Mix on low speed until blended (1 min.). Put into ungreased 8″
Square pan. Pat down the crust in the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until brown on edges.
While crust is baking, mix ingredients for the filling until well blended.
Pour filling over partially baked crust. Return to oven for 18-20 minutes or until set.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool. Makes about 16 squares.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, Dessert, Holidays

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

September 7, 2011 by Marci 3 Comments

After two months of a nearly closed kitchen, these scones were the first thing I made when I started having an appetite for something sweet again. During the whole first trimester, I kept up with my Google Reader and bookmarked recipes that in my previous life would sound good and I wanted to remember them later.

With a short ingredient list and something fun to try with the rolling pin, these sounded like a good idea. I also had all the ingredients at home on a random Tuesday afternoon.

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

From Weekly Bite

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tablespoons cold butter (cut into cubes)
7 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined.
Cut cold butter and add to dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly.
Slowly add in orange juice until dough can be formed into a ball.
Add in chocolate chips and mix with your hand until combined.
Place dough onto a floured surface. Roll dough out into a circle about 1/2″ thick. Cut sides to make them straight and reserve to re-roll.
Cut into 9 triangles (or squares and then diagonal to a triangle).
Place onto non-stick cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Here are the steps:

This is the dough rolled out on a floured surface. It wasn’t sticky with the flour and rolled easily. Also stuck together once the butter and OJ were added to the mixing bowl.

I trimmed the edges with a knife and reserved the scraps to roll again. I cut into squares, and then into triangles.

My batch made 10 triangles and two little rounds of leftovers. Like a cookie.

Place on baking sheet. I use a Silpat on the sheet.

They bake up quickly, let cool.

Mmmm chocolate. These were very sweet if you ate them for breakfast. They were fluffier than a cookie with a nice chewy consistency too.

I thought they were more a dessert scone. Jeffrey requested an Ina Garten inspired Cheddar Dill scone next.

We really enjoyed the subtle orange juice taste and the texture of added chocolate. A blueberry might be a better choice for breakfast.

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

Total time: 22 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tablespoons cold butter (cut into cubes)
7 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined.
Cut cold butter and add to dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly.
Slowly add in orange juice until dough can be formed into a ball.
Add in chocolate chips and mix with your hand until combined.
Place dough onto a floured surface. Roll dough out into a circle about 1/2″ thick. Cut sides to make them straight and reserve to re-roll.
Cut into 9 triangles (or squares and then diagonal to a triangle).
Place onto non-stick cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged With: Baked goods, chocolate

Triple Decadent Chocolate Cake

August 2, 2011 by Marci 4 Comments

This is not something you see often around here. A triple chocolate cake? With Baker’s chocolate, chocolate chips, and cocoa powder? Made from scratch? Definitely not a norm in our house. But for a special occasion, and one where leftovers aren’t hanging around, it was a fun baking project.

I got out the big guy, my KitchenAid stand mixer for this project. It has a short ingredient list, but is very dense with six eggs and 2.5 cups of sugar. Yes, this is why I was glad I was giving this whole thing away.

Easy to make, this bundt cake was completely from scratch. I have a favorite family recipe for almost the same thing that uses a box cake mix, a box pudding mix, and a container of sour cream. Although that one is soooo good and one of my favorite desserts ever, I wanted something homemade.

Triple Chocolate Cake

from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

1.5 sticks butter, melted
5 squares Baker’s chocolate, melted
2.5 C white sugar
6 eggs
2 C all purpose flour
1/4 C cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

On the stovetop or in the microwave, melt together the butter and chocolate squares.
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter/chocolate mixture with sugar and vanilla. Beat until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add in eggs one at a time.
Add flour and cocoa powder and stir to combine.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Grease a bundt pan with butter. Pour batter in and shake so it’s even.
Bake for about one hour at 350*, or until it is set. It should start to crack on top and be toothpick clean.
Let cool completely and then turn it over onto a plate.

For vanilla glaze:

Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1/4 C skim milk or cream and 1.5 tsp vanilla extract.

Mix until combined for a few minutes and drizzle over cake right before serving.

A hit even with a 6 year old boy, this cake was very chocolatey and dense, and extra sweet from the drippy glaze. A great treat for a special occasion, I was very glad it wasn’t sitting around my kitchen half eaten!

Double Decadent Chocolate Cake

4.5 from 2 reviews

Ingredients

Triple Chocolate Cake
from
How Sweet It Is
1.5 sticks butter, melted
5 squares Baker’s chocolate, melted
2.5 C white sugar
6 eggs
2 C all purpose flour
1/4 C cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

On the stovetop or in the microwave, melt together the butter and chocolate squares.
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter/chocolate mixture with sugar and vanilla. Beat until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add in eggs one at a time.
Add flour and cocoa powder and stir to combine.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Grease a bundt pan with butter. Pour batter in and shake so it’s even.
Bake for about one hour, or until it is set. It should start to crack on top and be toothpick clean.
Let cool completely and then turn it over onto a plate.
For vanilla glaze:
Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1/4 C skim milk or cream and 1.5 tsp vanilla extract.
Mix until combined for a few minutes and drizzle over cake right before serving.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, chocolate, Recipes

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

July 27, 2011 by Marci 2 Comments

What do you do with almost rotten bananas? Make cookies!

The lucky recipient of these cookies was our friend who just had a baby. If you’ve noticed, we have a lot of friends with babies! I like to bake for them. Especially cookies or bars or loaf breads that aren’t too bad for you. Comforting, filling, tasty, and easy to eat is what it’s about.

Bananas + chocolate chips + oats = the major parts of this cookie.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1.5 banana, mashed (could do one large or 2ish small), about 1 cup mashed
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 C old fashioned oats
1 C semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars, mix until smooth. Add in vanilla extract and egg. Next, add the banana. Beat well.
Slowly add in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or Silcone baking mats. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until golden. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Makes about 45 small cookies

These cookies were really cute and fluffy. Sometimes I don’t like banana flavor in a cookie or any desserts, but this was mild and helped keep it from drying out. It also kept it really soft, even after I froze them.

And bananas are healthy, right? But really, baking with bananas helps add sweetness and wetness without using sugar or oil.

For all my cookies, I use a little teaspoon cookie scooper that makes them a perfect size. About four little bites.

A nice, little, golden brown chocolate oatmeal cookie. Yum!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 45 cookies

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large banana, mashed
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars, mix until smooth. Add in vanilla extract and egg. Next, add the banana. Beat well.
Slowly add in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or Silcone baking mats. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until golden. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, Cookies

No guilt brownies

June 20, 2011 by Marci 6 Comments

Gear up for summer week on the blog! Everything this week is quick, easy, full of strong flavors, and perfect for a long, hot summer.

Every other week on Thursdays, I get together with a group of girls to play poker. We’ve been playing together for two years, and it has turned into less poker playing and more chatting and snacking. We rotate houses and play for $10 each week. It usually lasts under two hours, but we love our poker Thursdays.

I hosted last week’s game, we ended up not playing at all. After a busy day, I could have picked up something at the grocery store, but I wanted to bake something. On a weeknight, I really don’t enjoy baking something that takes a long time and makes a mess.

I went to my recipe book where I collect recipes I’ve printed over the past five years. I remembered this recipe I printed last summer as something I thought looked easy, healthy and still indulgent. Mama Pea is always to the rescue. (Pre-order her book here. I did! This is her first cookbook of all meatless family dishes. Her blog is so witty and fun, and her recipes are so creative. She transitioned her family to a meatless lifestyle and has blogged and written about it. I met her in November, and she is so kind and fun in real life too. I can’t wait for the book.)

No guilt brownies

(called Single Chin Double Chocolate Brownies by Peas and Thank You)

Ingredients

3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 C cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C unsweetened applesauce
1/2 C organic sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a smaller bowl, combine applesauce, sugar and vanilla.
Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into an 8×8 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake for 20 minutes or until brownies are set and edges are coming away from the pan.
Let cool before cutting and serving.

These brownies remind me of Snack Wells that I used to eat all the time, two a day. Those have a lot of processed ingredients, these do not. Those come in a box, these come out of your oven in 20 minutes. Those dry out quickly, these stay ooey and gooey. Did you notice they’re vegan?

My poker group thought they were delish. My husband even liked them too. I was just glad to use two bowls to make a treat and not have to buy anything at the grocery. The only problem is it only makes twelve squares!

A winning weeknight treat it was.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, chocolate, Recipes

Double Chocolate Cookies

May 31, 2011 by Marci 3 Comments

There once was a time when the only cookie I made at home was a Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie. When I was growing up, we baked those, oatmeal raisin cookies, coffee cake, or brownies from a box as our dessert of choice. There were deviations for holidays or parties, but the around-the-house cookies were usually chocolate chip.

When I got older, I discovered a whole world of cookies. Different kinds of chocolate, different shapes, new flours, changing out the nuts, vegan (?!) cookies too. These are not vegan, far from it. But they are different than what I would usually bake.

Onto the double chocolate cookie–this is a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa show made by the owner of Tate’s Bake Shop in Southampton, NY. When I was in New York in April, we went to Tate’s Bake Shop in Southampton, NY. What a cute store! I still have some purchases in our freezer. Anyhoo, Ina lives in the Hamptons, Tate’s is in the Hamptons, and the owner baked this cookie on her show. We swooned. And then immediately printed the recipe.

This cookie required the stand mixer (you know it’s a serious cookie when you have to pull out the big guy) and made over four dozen little cookies of the size in the pics. They are firm outside, pillowy inside. Crunchy with chopped walnuts, gooey from melted chocolate chips. I liked best that they weren’t a crunch cookie on the outside like crumbly. I like soft cookies best. What more do you want?

I know what more, you want good dough. I would happily become a raw foodie if uncooked cookie dough is included in the diet. This dough was realllyyy good. It has 2.5 sticks of butter for one, a cup of cocoa powder, chocolate chips, nuts, sugars, I could go on. Oh wait, I do go on below. Back to the dough–it’s interesting to me how batter/dough changes consistency based on the way you mix, the order you mix, and the ratios of flour to butter. I cringe when I see people write “dump all ingredients in a bowl and mix.” That’s just not correct. I read Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio to learn why. This dough was not a wet dough, just really chocolatey and good. I know that’s not a great adjective, but you can imagine how heavenly chocolate cookie dough is licked off your finger. There’s only one raw egg so forget about that part.

Oh you want the recipe? Ok I’ll share. The original recipe had white chocolate chips, which I omitted, and almonds. I subbed walnuts. I really think my cookie sounds better. I didn’t think it needed white chocolate and I prefer semi-sweet anyway. I did not increase the amount of chocolate chips, I just omitted. I also thought walnuts were better than almonds. Maybe almonds seemed too much like they belong in granola and not in a cookie.

Double Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients (makes ~55 small cookies)

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix together. Add the flour mixture and continue mixing until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix until combined. Using two tablespoons or a small ice cream scoop, drop the dough two inches apart on sheet pans lined with parchment. Bake for 15 minutes.
Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets. The cookies should be very soft when they are removed from the oven. They will firm up as they cool.

The recipe is a traditional cookie baking recipe, but the flavors are perfection. I really loved the decadent cocoa with chocolate chips and walnuts combo. You must try. I’m also sorry I’m sharing a chocolate cookie recipe with 2.5 sticks of butter during bathing suit season right after a long weekend of summer gluttony. I hear one-pieces are becoming more fashionable.

What’s your absolute favorite cookie variety?

P.S. I have a coupon to pass on for Calphalon products. They were a sponsor of Eat Write Retreat and are offering readers 10% off their products online. They have NEVER done a discount like this and are starting to try new outreach things. If you are interested, the promotional code for Calphalon.com is: C95926. Use this link: http://store.calphalon.com/?CCAID=SCSNBLPR19

Details for this code are: *Clearance Items and Gift Certificates do not qualify. Excludes John Boos & Co. Cannot be combined with other special offers or applied to previous purchases. Terms subject to change. Offer valid through June 6th, 2011.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, chocolate, Cookies, Recipes

Double Strawberry Walnut Quickbread

May 16, 2011 by Marci 3 Comments

Hello beautiful fluffy pieces of bread. Have some leftover strawberries? Like a soft and fresh homemade piece of quickbread for breakfast with subtle sweetness and a surprise inside? This bread is for you, ready in one hour.

The story of this bread is that I made a similar one over a year ago, pre-blog days, and have been thinking about recreating it for a while. You know I love breakfast breads, like muffins or loaf breads that I can freeze. I also love berries, and have a recent thing for walnuts. I also like the process of baking. It’s just as fun as the reward, if you ask me.

Quickbreads are things like muffins or loaf breads, anything without yeast. These are ready fast, no rise time. That’s what makes it quick.

Strawberry Walnut Quickbread

(makes 8 large slices or 16 squares)

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C whole wheat pastry flour (you could sub regular all-purpose)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
1/2 C walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 C strawberries, chopped
1/4 C strawberry jam

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350*.
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy and combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each egg goes in.
Beat in vanilla.
In a measuring cup or separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Add flour mixture and yogurt alternatively, starting and ending with flour. Mix until combined.
Fold in strawberries and walnuts by hand.
Spray cooking spray in a loaf pan and pour half in. Spread jam over the half evenly.
Pour other half on top and add a few strawberry pieces.
Bake for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool on wire rack before taking out of loaf pan. Let cool completely before slicing.
Freeze as a whole or in slices.

This isn’t the healthiest bread to come out of my kitchen, it does use a stick of butter. But it is seasonal with fresh strawberries and has healthy fats from the walnuts. It has an extra kick of protein from the yogurt (that makes it healthy, right?). There’s also a sneaky factor of hidden jam inside for extra mmmm.

It slices in thick, flowy pieces that just ask to be smothered with more butter or jam and eaten hot.

It is husband approved, although he just nibbled as a snack and didn’t eat for breakfast. He doesn’t have a sweet tooth like me. We really are sweet and salty.

The below picture is half of the batter with jam on top before baking. If you want a thicker layer of jam, use more than 1/4 cup.

Make sure you top it with fresh strawberries to make it look pretty on top when it comes out of the oven.

Slice it once cooled, place it outside and fan the slices over each other in the sunshine for best presentation.

Or enjoy your hard work pre-slicing as a loaf of bread. Wrap it in cellofane with a ribbon and present to your favorite school teacher or friend.

Who wouldn’t like this?

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, Breakfast, Dessert, Nuts

Tastes like childhood

May 12, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

Although cherry and pineapple may lead you to think this is a fruity and healthy dessert, it’s not exactly. This is not a typical “happy healthy me” feature, with the only “real” food being pecans. The rest of the ingredients come from a can.

However, this fruity treat is great for summertime and will leave you refreshed and saying “mmmm” in no time.

These cherry pineapple cups are no-bake, no mess, no fuss desserts. You can make them days or weeks ahead and keep them frozen. These were a childhood dessert for summertime that we loved. It is true that you could make these more nutritious, but that’s not the point of this one. This is just a good old kid-friendly treat.

Cherry Pineapple Cups

Ingredients:

8 oz cool whip
1 can Comstock brand cherry pie filling
1 can Eagle brand condensed milk
1 C chopped pecans
1 large can crushed pineapple, drained

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Spoon into muffin cups and freeze.

This is definitely the easiest dessert I’ve made. And it’s a crowd pleaser by the taste. What’s not to like? They do melt quickly, so serve them frozen and keep them in the freezer. They were a hit at two recent parties!

What summertime desserts remind you of childhood?

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged With: Dessert, muffins

Peanut Butter Blondies

Peanut Butter Blondies

Preparation

Perfect for Fall Apple Cake

Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS:

Lemon Bar Squares

Lemon Bar Squares

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Triple Decadent Chocolate Cake

Triple Chocolate Cake

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

No guilt brownies

No guilt brownies

Double Chocolate Cookies

Double Chocolate Cookies

Directions

Double Strawberry Walnut Quickbread

Strawberry Walnut Quickbread

Tastes like childhood

Cherry Pineapple Cups

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Peanut Butter Blondies

Preparation

Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS:

Lemon Bar Squares

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Triple Chocolate Cake

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

No guilt brownies

Double Chocolate Cookies

Directions

Strawberry Walnut Quickbread

Cherry Pineapple Cups

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