Coconut Banana Oatmeal Bars

I was feeling adventurous today... I took a simple bar recipe and made it into a delicious combination of natural sweetness with a butterscotch surprise.

So if you leave out the peanut butter and the butterscotch chips this recipe is crazy healthy- no added sugar, no gluten, no animal products. It's vegan, gluten-free, and sugar conscious. You can definitely add nuts, chocolate chips, any kind of seed or other fruit you want, a tbsp of molasses would make it darker and richer, I think the possibilities are endless. Next time I want to try baking it in a smaller pan so they come out thicker, because they don't rise they stay short and dense. It might be nice to have them thicker and crustier on the outside with a soft inside. Some sort of crusty top might be nice too, like coconut or oats on the top that will get toasted and brown. Hmmm...

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/3 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

2 large, ripe bananas
2 apples, peeled and grated
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peanut butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 350
Line a 9x9 pan with tin foil and brush foil lightly with canola oil
In one bowl combine all dry ingredients- 1st paragraph
In another bowl combine all wet ingredients- 2nd paragraph
Combine wet and dry and pour into pan
With a fork press the mixture flat into the pan
Bake for about 35 mins or until the bars are brown and toasted on the edges
Let sit for a few minutes- they do taste really good warm so you can eat them right away
Keep in tupperware in fridge because of the fruit

Double Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Double chocolate cookies are a fun change. You can find the original recipe here. I like this recipe because you don't have to melt chocolate into the dough which is messy and I always burn it in the microwave. These came out very delicate and crumbly. After portioning the cookies on the sheet I pressed them down with my hand. They didn't spread too much so I crowded them a little and it worked out fine.

Also, my very sweet friend Carolyn from class gave me some vanilla bean pods to experiment with. I've never used the pods before, only extract. So I was very excited to try them out. I scraped out the contents with the back of a knife and tapped it into my mixer. It made for some great cookies. Thanks Carolyn!!

Ingredients:

½ Cup/1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
1 tsp Vanilla or the contents of 1 vanilla bean pod
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour, sifted
½ tsp Baking Soda
¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
Pinch of Sea Salt
½ Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/3 Cup Walnut Pieces

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line two baking sheets with tin foil.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts, and stir to combine.



In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla. Add the egg yolk and beat again. Add the dry ingredients and mix well to form a soft dough. Spoon out the dough onto baking sheets. Use the palm of your hand to press the dough down lightly and bake for about 11 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, then remove from the oven and set the baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes to cool. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies on the rack to cool completely.

Garlic Rolls with Red Pepper Flakes

I was looking for a basic bread to make and I found this recipe for a garlicky salty bread with a hot kick. The spice isn't overwhelming, the flakes disperse pretty well through the bread and the garlic is a nice touch, I added extra garlic powder too. Also, the original recipe just makes one boule but I made several knotted rolls instead.

The original recipe bakes the boule in a dutch oven at 400, but I opted for making the knots and baking at 375.

Ingredients:

1C warm water
1pkg active dry yeast
pinch of sugar

1 stick butter
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes, plus additional for sprinkling on top
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 C bread flour
2 tsp salt
olive oil- for making the knotted rolls and for brushing on top
course sea salt for tops

Method:

Combine warm water, yeast and a pinch of sugar in a medium measuring glass. Cover with a towel and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
In a small saucepan, melt butter and add herbs and garlic. Stir and set aside.
Add flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with doug hook. Add salt. With mixer on low, pour in yeast and butter mixtures. Mix for approximately 10 minutes or until dough pulls away from the sides of your bowl completely. The dough should not be stuck to the bowl at all. If it is, add a touch more flour and continue to mix.

Form into a smooth ball, cover and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size or roughly 1 hour.
Kneed dough for a minute then cut into about 6 pieces and roll each piece into a dough-snake. Rub a little olive oil on your hands and tie the snake into a knot. Place each knot on a parchment lined baking sheet and let them rise for another 30 mins. Preheat your oven to 375. Brush the tops of the rolls with a little olive oil, salt, red pepper flake, garlic powder mixture and put them in the oven for 25 or so minutes until they are hollow sounding when you hit the bottom and have a little color on the top.

Whole Wheat Rubarb Raisin Muffins with Nutmeg

So I figured out a way to use up all of the rhubarb... I took this Armenian Nutmeg Cake and made it into a muffin of sorts. I added rhubarb, raisins, orange zest, made it half whole wheat and half white flour, and accidentally added some cardamom. I backed off on the sugar and changed the cooking time and temp.

Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk or you can sub applesauce
2 tbs hot water

1 cup ap flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup polenta (to add crispness)
Just under 1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cardamom
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbs ground chia or flax
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup raisins
rhubarb- as much or as little as you like- I used more than 2 cups
zest of one orange

Method:

Preheat oven to 400.
Mix all wet ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Mix all dry ingredients in a separate small bowl.
Pour dry into wet and mix just until dough comes together.
Stop mixer and add rhubarb, raisins, and zest.
Turn on mixer for like 5 seconds just to incorporate.
Pour muffin mix into paper- lined muffin tin.
Bake about 20 ish minutes until muffins bounce back to the touch and have a little color on top.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Coconut Oat Cookies

I knew I was going to see my friend Maya tonight so I searched gluten-free cookie recipes on food gawker (basically just like taste spotting) and came up with a few interesting returns. I liked the looks of this recipe because it uses generic gluten-free flour (which I buy in bulk from the Co-op) and oat flour which I can make in the food processor. However it calls for Xantham Gum and Gwar Gum but I read that you can just sub ground flax seed so I did. I added the chocolate chips to make this the best gluten-free cookie that I have made to date.

1 cup all purpose gluten free flour (like Bob’s Red Mill Brand)
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3/4 tsp ground flax seed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup oats
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Measure out the flours, coconut, flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices into a bowl and whisk to incorporate.
2. In a separate bowl cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
3. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, then stir in the oats and chocolate.
4. Scoop 2 tbsp-sized balls using a spoon, form into balls, flatten slightly and place on a cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes. You may need to slightly flatten out the cookies before baking to avoid weird shapes because the oat flour is so dense that it doesn't melt into a perfectly shaped cookie like regular AP flour.

The cookies are done when they have a nice brown color and are set to the touch, they will bake more on the sheet once you pull them out of the oven so don't overdo it in the oven.

Muffin Thursday: Strawberry Rhubarb Whole Wheat Corn Muffins

I picked up a huge bag of rhubarb this week at Produce Junction!! What to do with it? Obviously strawberries have to be involved, and I think it was Marie who suggested the corn muffin part. We have been trying to think of ways to use up the huge bag of masa corn flour that has been sitting on the shelf forever.

I used this recipe for the muffins but added about 1 1/2 cups of strawberries and 1 1/2 cups of chopped rhubarb. I made a few other changes to include the masa flour and balanced it out with whole wheat. I changed the butter to oil and instead of using all milk I threw in some buttermilk that I found in the fridge and a little skim too. I cut back on the sugar and used a giant muffin tin to bake them. I also doubled the ingredients from the original recipe because I wanted to use as much rhubarb up as I could and I still have some left sitting in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup masa corn flour
2 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup canola oil
scant 1/4 cup sugar
2 egg
1 1/4 cup butter milk
3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 pint strawberries, chopped
4 stalks or so rhubarb, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS
Stir the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Stir the sugar into the oil.
Add the eggs and milks.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir, just to combine.
Pour in strawberries and rhubarb and stir just until dispersed.
Divide into 6 greased giant muffin cups.
Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are crusty and the muffins bounce back to the touch.
Let the muffins cool for a while in the pan- the masa flour makes them very brittle, if they look like they're going to stick heat the bottom of the pan and use a knife to loosen around the edges. They taste great even when the tops fall off!

Home-made Tortillas

So I've been looking at this bag of Masa flour that my mom bought for a while now. She got it to use a tablespoon for a chili recipe forever ago and we haven't really used it since. One thing you can do is add water and make tortillas with it.

So I started experimenting last night. It's really easy, the dough feels like play-dough. This recipe doesn't add anything flavor-wise to the dough but I would definitely add some salt and black pepper next time. Some people add lime juice. I was thinking it might be fun to add a little cayenne pepper or something. There are a lot of possible flavor combinations.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups masa harina
1 1/8 cups water

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together masa harina and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add more masa harina; if it begins to dry out, sprinkle with water. I followed the above proportions exactly and had to add a bit more water because the mixture was too dry.

Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-high.

Divide dough into 15 equal-size balls. I divided into 16 because it is an even number, when I rolled the individual balls they rolled out very thin and brittle, when I combined 2 balls and rolled it out it made a thicker and bigger tortilla. Using a rolling pin, press each ball of dough flat between two sheets of parchment paper. Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until browned and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for approximately 30 seconds more, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve.

These guys are best eaten immediately, they get dry and more brittle as they sit. You can make them bigger or smaller, thicker or thinner, careful as thinner ones will rip easier.

My mom just happened to be making a white bean and grilled kale salad so she turned that into a taco sort of dish by wrapping it in a tortilla!! These things are so versatile, she ended up taking one for lunch the next day too.

Nan Khatai (Indian Semolina Cookies)

I wanted to make something using semolina flour so I did a search on taste spotting and found this recipe on Spice Foodie. It's really basic and easy to do. The cardamom smells really nice and the semolina flour is fun to experiment with. I think I made about 10 cookies with this recipe- it has a small yield so if you want more cookies double it. I also used vanilla extract but the original recipe calls for almond extract.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup fine semolina
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
crushed almonds

1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp. whole milk (you can also try soy or almond milk)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Method:

1. Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Chop the almonds for the dough into coarse chunks, set aside. In a large bowl sift together the a.p. flour, semolina, cardamom, baking soda, and sugar. Add the coarse almond pieces and stir until well combined.

2. Pour the milk and almond extract into the cool melted butter, stir until well combined. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, stir until well combined and a firm dough is achieved. If you find the mixture is not sticking together add a couple more drops of milk- but only a little bit at a time. Form a ball with the dough, cover and allow to sit 10 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350F/180C and prepare a cookie sheet. Divide the dough into even sized balls. Evenly space the balls on the cookie sheet, use the palm of your hand to flatten the cookies. Place on whole almond in the center of each cookie. Bake in center of oven for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Quick Cinnamon Buns

This Cini-bun, recipe from Sweet and Sugar Bean, is really simple and easy. They took 20 mins to make and under 20 mins to bake. And there's something about rolling cinnamon in dough that makes me happy. Plus the smell takes over the whole house and makes everyone else happy.

The only thing I changed from the original recipe is I used all butter instead of part butter, part shortening, and I put a tablespoon of cocoa in the filling.

Ingredients:

DOUGH:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
i 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FILLING:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Method:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Grease a 8x8-inch square baking pan with butter and set aside.

In a small bowl, make the filling by mixing together sugars, spices, cocoa, salt, and melted butter. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. (Add butter and beat until butter is cut into tiny bits and incorporates with the flour some. About 1 minute or so). In another bowl, combine egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat lightly with a fork. Add the liquid to flour mixture all at once, let the mixer go until the dough has just come together, just a few seconds.

Turn out onto a floured board and pull the dough together and flatten into a disk for rolling. If the butter has warmed too much in the making of the dough, shape the batter into a dish, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. If the butter is still cool, shape the dough into a disk and, on a well floured surface, roll dough to a little less than 1/2-inch thickness. My dough was about 12-inches long and 10-inches tall. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar filling. At this point I sprinkled it liberally with extra cinnamon. Begin to carefully roll one vertical side into a fairly tight roll. Continue rolling until you have a biscuit cylinder. Using a sharp, floured knife, slice into log, about 1-inch thick. Place rolls, in prepared pan. Brush the tops with a little extra melted butter and bake for 13-15 minutes, until golden brown on top.

Muffin Thursday: Whole Wheat Rhubarb Muffins

It's that time again. Time to be late for Muffin Thursday and time for rhubarb. Marie loves rhubarb, and apparently Lauren does too because she yelled at me for not bringing her one.

I adapted a recipe from Smitten Kitchen that has a streusel topping. I wasn't feeling very streusely so I left that part off. I also changed out the butter for apple sauce and olive oil. This recipe didn't have a lot of sugar in it to begin with so I didn't have to back off on it. I made these in my giant muffin tins so they are almost like little cakes. The tartness of the rhubarb and the earthiness of the whole wheat is really nice. They are just subtly sweet. I really like that Smitten Kitchen didn't over-do the sugar here.

Ingredients:

1 egg
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup diced rhubarb, in 1/2-inch pieces (I used 2 huge stalks)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400

Whisk egg in the bottom of a large bowl with both sugars. Whisk in apple sauce and oil, then sour cream. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, baking powder and baking soda and stir them into the sour cream mixture, mixing until just combined and still a bit lumpy. Fold in rhubarb.

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until muffins bounce back to the touch and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean. Rest muffins in pan on cooling rack for two minutes, then remove muffins from tin to cool them completely.

Whole Wheat Raisin Challah

I came across this Challah recipe on Naturally Emma. My mom used to make Challah bread at the bakery and since I'm on a bread kick and the recipe looked similar to the other breads I've been making I decided to try it. I made the dough and worked on a poster for school while it rose. Then I braided the dough and let it rise again, finished my poster and put it in the oven for 30 mins. When I cut it I decided maybe it should have stayed in for another 5 minutes, it was a tiiiiiiiny bit undercooked. I cut off a piece and went for a run with Lauren in Flourtown.

For my first official loaf of bread it came out well. Not as light and buttery as the white flour Challah I'm used to but the whole wheat has it's own rustic charm. The only changes I made were to add raisins to the dough and the sesame seeds to the top after brushing it with the egg wash. Next time I'm going to try a traditional white flour recipe and get it really light and fluffy inside.

Dough Ingredients:

* 1 cup water (luke warm)
* 1 package yeast
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 whole egg
* 2 cup whole wheat (or white wheat) flour
* 1 cup flour
* 1 cup raisins

Egg Wash Ingredients:

* 1 egg yolk
* 2 tablespoons water

Sprinkle On Top:

* Any seeds you want- sesame, poppy, sea salt, herbs etc.

Instructions:

1. Combine water, yeast, and 2 tablespoons of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for five minutes until yeast begins to bubble.

2. Add the rest of the sugar, salt, egg, and 1 cup of the flour. Mix until combine with dough hook. Continue to add flour until dough begins to pull away from the sides of the mixer and dough begins to form one big ball. Continue to mix until dough becomes smooth and elastic (around 8-10 minutes longer).

3. Remove bowl from mixer and place in a warm place covered with a towl. Let rise until doubled- around an hour.

4. After first rise, remove dough from bowl and divide into three pieces. Roll each piece into a snake-like strand and squeeze together one end of all three strands. (We are going to braid them together). After you squeeze the ends together to start the braid, tuck under the joining spot so you can't see where all of the strands come together. Then oil your hands with olive oil so the dough is easy to handle and start your braid. Make it nice and tight. When you finish the braid squeeze all three ends together so the braid doesn't come undone and tuck the end under again letting the weight of the loaf hold the end together underneath. Quickly and carefully- so you don't mess up the form- transfer the bread from your counter to a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Place loaf in warm spot and let rise again until doubled- half hour to forty-five minutes.

5. Towards the end of the second rise, preheat oven to 375˚. In a bowl, mix one egg yolk with two tablespoons of water- brush loaf (making sure entire surface is covered). Now you can sprinkle on your seeds if you want to- I used black sesame. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown.

Garlic Knots

Yes I said Garlic Knots!!! I used to eat these with my family when we went to Rockaway Beach, NY to see my aunt Nancy. We always went to this pizza shop and as I was making the garlic oil for these knots the smell took me back to that skinny shop where we would eat basket after basket...

This recipe was pretty easy, I used the same basic method of making the bread as I did with the Povitica Cinnamon Swirl Bread. So again I made the dough and went for a stroll with Lauren. We tried on some clothes, drank iced coffee, and wandered around Chestnut Hill in the sun. When we got back it was time to form the rolls and throw them in the oven.

I love the smell of yeast. I found this recipe on a blog called White On Rice Couple. It makes a pretty sturdy little knot, the ones I remember were a little more flakey and light and oily, mine are more crusty on the outside. I didn't have parsley- because I didn't know that Jenn has tons of it growing in her yard, so I used chives in the garlic oil instead. I also threw a little parmesan cheese in there too just for fun.

Ingredients:

DOUGH
1 3/4 c Warm Water
1/4 c Olive Oil
1 t Sea Salt
1 T Sugar
1 1/2 T Active Dry Yeast
approx. 5 1/2 c all-pupose, unbleached Flour

GARLIC OIL COATING
1/8 c Olive Oil
2 T unsalted Butter
4 cloves Garlic, finely crushed
1/4 c finely chopped fresh Chives
Sea Salt to taste

plus extra Olive Oil and Flour for making the knots

Directions:

Combine water, 1/4c olive oil, sea salt, sugar, and active dry yeast in a large resealable container or bowl. Mix to dissolve yeast.

Add flour. Mix to incorporate flour, cover, and set in a warm spot to proof until doubled in volume (usually 1-3 hrs depending on initial water temp and warmth of proofing area). (A sunny table outside on a warm summer day is perfect for proofing!)

Chill the dough for a bit (will keep fine in fridge for several days if you want to make the dough ahead of time) to make it easier to handle (this can be skipped if you don't have the time) then set up your knotting station. Put out a large wooden cutting board and oil liberally. Grab a rolling dowel or pin and oil. Grab a pizza cutter or something similar to slice dough in strips. Put container of flour within easy reach. Line several sheet pans with parchment paper or silpats and place within easy reach.

Oil your hands to help keep dough from sticking to them. Divide the dough in two parts to make it easier to handle. Take the first half, slap it onto the oiled board several times to flatten. Using the dowel, spread into an even rectangle approx. 5"x16" and 1/2" thick. Slice the rectangle into 1/2"x5" strips.

Rotate the board 90° and sprinkle dough strips and board with flour. Taking the strip nearest to you, roll it back and forth to create an even rope. Tie into a knot (over, under, and through) and place on lined sheet pan. Place knots about an 1 1/2" apart. At first it may seem awkward making the knots but with a little practice it will become easy. Flour is your friend to help keep the dough from sticking to itself while forming the knots.

Continue making the rest of the knots with the second half of the dough. After each sheet pan fills up, cover with a dry sack towel, and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise.

Preheat oven to 400° F

After knots have doubled in size (or about the time it takes the oven to preheat), take off dry sack towel and place sheet pans in the oven. Bake for approx. 12-15 min. or until golden.

While knots are baking, make garlic coating. Gently warm olive oil, butter, and garlic in a small saucepan (if you like your garlic with less of a bite, cook it for a few minutes in oil/butter mix until soft & slightly golden). Re move from the heat and once the mixture has cooled a little transfer to a large bowl. Once mix has cooled a few minutes add a little parm and the chives.

After removing knots from oven, while still warm, place knots in the large bowl and toss with garlic coating. Season with sea salt to taste.
Best served warm, but still good when at room temp.

Whole Wheat Brownies

Holy fudgey brownie Martha Stewart!!

There are a lot of different kinds of brownies out there. There are really moist oil brownies, buttery flakey brownies, there are dryer cakier brownies, there are low-fat applesauce brownies, hell there are Katherine Hepburn brownies!!! Well these brownies are totally dense, totally dark, totally ridiculous. Redic!!

I wanted to make them because of the whole wheat flour thing but I got to my mom's house to bake and realized I had no chocolate chips! But I did have plenty of unsweetened bakers chocolate, so I started thinking... What if I substituted bakers chocolate and sugar for semisweet chocolate chips? Well I did it and it was awesome!!

Original recipe can be found at Martha's Website. I made a few changes, and I think it paid off. Besides the chocolate switch, I used half special dark cocoa powder and half regular cocoa powder, totaling 1/3 cup. I also left out the chocolate chips that Martha puts in at the end- you really don't need them.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used half regular cocoa powder and half special dark cocoa powder)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
8 ounces unsweetened bakers chocolate plus 10 tbsp white sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish; line with parchment, then spray the parchment too, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

In a double boiler melt the 8 oz bakers chocolate and add the 10 tbsp white sugar and stir until combined and melted together- it's ok if the sugar is still sandy and unmelted in there- mine was.

In a large bowl, stir together brown sugar, applesauce, and egg.

Add butter to melted chocolate and stir until melted over the double boiler.

Stir chocolate mixture into applesauce mixture.

Stir in flour mixture.

Pour into pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 minutes.

Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Use parchment to lift cake from pan and cut into 16 squares.

Photo Credit: Martha Stewart

Cinnamon Swirl Povitica Bread

Remember those cinnamon swirl pinwheel snack cakes that your mom used to put in your lunch when you were little? I used to unroll them before I ate them. Well this bread is exactly like that.

I made the dough, went to the coffee shop for an hour to do some work, walked over to the new Green Street Consignment and got a pair of AG Jeans for $24.00, then went home and made my bread. The dough needed 90 mins to rise so I had plenty of time to do some shopping, and since I had to leave my mom at the consignment shop because she was taking so long to try on dresses, I ended up rolling the dough out all by myself- my first adventure with yeast was a huge success!!

I found this recipe on Brownie Bite's Blog. I added raisins to the filling and I'm thinking next time apples or chunky applesauce in there too. Or some kind of a coffee cake crumble filling. There are a lot of possibilities. I also added some extra cinnamon, right before I rolled up the dough in a spiral. Ooooh I should have sprinkled some on top before I put it in the oven too!! Next time...

Ingredients:

ACTIVATING THE YEAST:
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast

FOR THE DOUGH:
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour, measured then sifted

FOR THE FILLING:
1 1/2 cups walnuts, ground or chopped
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

FOR THE TOPPING:
1 egg, beaten (to brush onto the dough)
Mixture of demerara (or any raw sugar), cinnamon, and cardamom


Method:

ACTIVATE THE YEAST:
In a small bowl, stir 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp flour and yeast into 2 TBS warm water. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to stand for 5 minutes until bubbly.

MAKE THE DOUGH:
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to just below boiling , stirring constantly. Allow to cool slightly.

In bowl of mixer, add the scalded milk to 3 TBS sugar and 3/4 tsp salt until combined. Add the beaten egg, 1 TBS melted butter, and the yeast mixture. Add 1/4 cup of the sifted flour. Stir until combined. Slowly add small amounts of the remaining flour (1 3/4 cups) until the dough begins to clean the bowl. (I had to add a couple more tbsp of flour to really get the dough to pull together).

Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, continuing to add small amounts of flour until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Place dough ball into a greased mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Go shopping

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
In a bowl, mix together the walnuts with sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.

In a saucepan, heat the milk and butter to boiling, and then pour over the nut mixture.

Allow to cool slightly and then add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Allow mixture to come to room temperature.

ASSEMBLING THE DOUGH:
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and with a floured rolling pin roll out dough to a rectangle approximately 10×12 inches. Continue rolling until dough is very, very thin. Occasionally lift the dough and sprinkle extra flour on your surface as needed to prevent sticking and tearing.

Spread nut filling over the top of dough, leaving a little room around the edges. Spread raisins on dough as well. Shake some extra cinnamon on there while you're at it.

Carefully and slowly roll the dough up like a jelly roll. Starting at the center, gently pull the log toward the edges to make it slightly longer.

Using a 9×5 loaf pan as a guide, create an S-shape with your dough that will fit inside of the pan.
Thoroughly grease your pan and lay the dough inside. Then brush with a beaten egg and top with raw sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.

Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes. Turn down oven temperature to 300F and bake an additional 45 minutes. Add an aluminum foil tent to dough if it starts to brown too quickly or too much. Bread is done when it is a deep golden brown, begins to pull away at the edges, and has a hollow sound when you thunk on it.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing from pan. Slice with a serrated knife. Sometimes it’s easiest to turn the loaf upside down before cutting.

Summer Garden

My uncle Bruce sent me a picture this morning. That's my grandparent's old collie-german shepherd mix Shannah, my cousin Audrey, me, my sister Nora, and cousin Arthur up at my grandparent's farm in Tioga PA. They had a pretty impressive veggie garden every summer. Lots of squash and wax beans if I remember correctly. They had really rocky soil so a lot of our time was spend de-rocking the garden and then covering the weeds in black plastic to keep them down.

I have a nice garden space at my Dad's house that is just waiting to be planted, not that I have the time to do it right now- I'm having enough trouble keeping up with the laundry as it is. After school is done I'll get in there and get my hands dirty.

Today's baking plan includes that cinnamon Povitica Bread, possibly some whole wheat brownies that Martha Stewart emailed me today, and in between a little studying.

Thanks for the memories Brucey!!

Photo credit: Uncle Bruce

Bread Lessons

I've been trying to find time to get my mom to teach me how to make bread for a while now. Since I just had a big test on Thursday I am prepared for a less stresses-out weekend- I usually ease up on the studying the weekend after a test and then dive in again on Monday. Cumulative final May 2nd- only a few weeks to study everything I learned this semester!!

But back to baking... This is how I relieve stress- pounding dough, chopping chocolate, beating butter. Baking is the most amazing creative outlet I know. Sometimes I clean stuff, getting totally dirty in the garden is nice when it's really sunny out, or painting and drawing are also fun things that I do to de-stress and tire myself out. (I drink a lot of coffee) I have mastered cookies and muffins and a few weeks ago I made my first pie, but anything involving yeast- I have avoided. That's probably why I made yeast-free cinnamon rolls the other day.

There's no more avoiding it!! I have wanted to make "Monkey Bread" forever now. The smell of cinnamon sugar in the air... Conquer your fears and open that packet of yeast!

I have a recipe for "Povitica Bread" from Brownie Bites that I'm going to attempt, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Photo Credit: Apple Pie, Patis, & Pate

Stressed Out Baking: Compost Cookies

Oh my god I am so stressed ouuuuuuuuuut!! So much stuff to do for school and so little time and patience. I wanted to make these cookies- I sort of got the recipe from The Yum Yum Factory but changed a lot of the ingredients in the end.

I've been downloading compost cookie recipes and "kitchen sink cookie" recipes for a while now so the ideas have been piling up in my head. The idea behind this cookie is sweet and salty combined in a pretty basic cookie dough. The Yum Yum Factory recipe calls for pretzels, some people used salted peanuts, potato chips, you name it. I used blue corn chips because that's what I had and I've seen them used before with good results. For the sweet you can use your typical chocolate chips, other chocolate candy like heath bar pieces, butterscotch or toffee bits, coconut, raisins, whatever you want. You can't really go wrong with this recipe. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

1 stick Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup tbsp Brown sugar
1/2 tbsp Corn syrup
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 large Egg
3/4 & 2 tbsp cups All purpose flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 cup Dark chocolate (some easter eggs and the head of a dark chocolate bunny coarsely chopped)
1/4 cup Old fashioned oats
several handfuls of crumbled Blue corn chips
1/2 cup Sweetened coconut
1/2 cup Raisins
1 1/2 tbsp Coffee grounds (yes- freshly ground coffee beans)

Method:

First cream the butter, sugars, and the corn syrup in your stand mixer on medium high for 2 or 3 minutes, until it's nice and fluffy.

Next, throw in the egg and vanilla and mix for another 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add the flour mix to the butter mixture with the mixer on low speed. Mix just until combined.

Now you add in the sweet and salty ingredients that you chose.

Use a big spoon to form your cookies - it should be about 3 tbls in each cookie. Put them on a tin foil lined cookie sheet, making sure that there is at least 3" between each cookie so they can spread. Put the sheets in the fridge for at least one hour.

Preheat to 375F

Bake for 14-18 minutes depending on the size of the cookies and your oven. They are done when they start to brown around the edges but we left ours in longer because they're good when they're extra brown.

Muffin Thursday: Pear Almond Chocolate Spice Muffins

Christmas has come early!! Muffin Thursday has arrived a whole day early this week. Instead of studying for a huge test that I have tomorrow- I can't look at my notes anymore I'm going insane- I decided to make cookies and these delish muffins. From Pastry Affair, these muffins have the perfect balance of spice and cocoa powder.

Unfortunately I was halfway done the recipe when I realized my mom didn't have any cardamom, so I changed the recipe to ginger and nutmeg. And I threw in some allspice and extra cinnamon. I'll try to remember all of the changes I made. I also halved the sugar. Remember- muffin not cupcake. I think this same basic recipe would be really good with cranberries and walnuts or chocolate chips and hazelnuts instead of the pear and nuts. The basic batter recipe is really easy and lends itself to a lot of different flavor possibilities. It's easy to take cake recipes and make them into muffins by backing off on the sugar and changing the bake temp from 350 to 400 and the bake time from an hour to around 25 mins.

Ingredients:

1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-3 pears, diced (I used Red Pears)
1/2 cup chopped almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put muffin papers in a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together boiling water and cocoa powder until cocoa is dissolved.

In another small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix brown sugar, granulated sugar, and oil together. Add the eggs one at a time and continue mixing until smooth. Mix in vanilla extract. Alternatively add the flour and cocoa mixtures, mixing gently between additions. Don't mix too much. Using a spatula, fold in the diced pears and chopped almonds.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

And now back to pretending to study.