The apple spice bread I made two days ago is already gone… I did give my neighbor an entire loaf, so I’m not that much of a glutton 😉 As expected, the bread tasted much better the day after I made it, especially when I topped it with Kerrygold butter and popped it in the microwave! So good and none of the guilt or bloat.
I used the exact recipe, but exchanged the apple sauce for pumpkin puree – easy swap and an even tastier product! Thanks for reading, enjoy! 🙂
Yum! This was my first attempt at grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free baking… that’s a lot of “free”! 😉 I am so used to baking with flour that I was slightly apprehensive about how this recipe might turn out. I was relieved when this baked up beautifully light and soft. The kids and I, (well, mostly I), ate a whole loaf today. Instead of making one large loaf, I made three minis, cooled them completely, then wrapped them and stored them in the refrigerator. I know I’ll make this again and I’ll have fun trying out new coconut flour recipes soon. My next experiment will be testing this same recipe, but swapping the apple sauce for pumpkin puree. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Ingredients, minus the vanilla extract.
These popped out of the pan nicely after cooling for 15 minutes. I love my USA Pans! 🙂
Applesauce Spice Bread – adapted from Au Naturale Nutrition
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry and blend until evenly combined. Grease pan(s). Pour batter into 3 mini loaf pans or 1 large glass loaf pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes in mini pans. Bake 65-70 minutes for 1 large loaf. Allow to cool completely.  Store in fridge.
My kids love waffles – what’s not to love? I get to make a weeks worth of school breakfasts in less than an hour, and the kids get another maple syrup delivery system 😉 I I like to use wheat pastry flour because it’s mild enough that the kids don’t mind, and I like that I can sneak a little fiber into breakfast. This batch makes about 10 waffles, most of which get cooled, divided, bagged and frozen. Warm them up in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or mere seconds in your microwave. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Whole Wheat Waffles – adapted from Cookie and Kate
Quick Post: I know I’m late to the game here, but this was our first year to “celebrate” Pi Day. This chocolate cream pie was amazing, and the flavor was even better with age. The first day, it was all mocha; but the next day it became the most perfect chocolate flavor – swoon worthy, amazingly rich, velvety and thick! Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Chocolate Cream Pie – adapted from King Arthur Flour
Crust – *recipe link*
Filling –
Stabilized Whipped Cream – *recipe link*
Directions –
For the Crust –Â
In a medium-sized bowl or a food processor, add the Oreo cookies and blend until the texture of coarse meal or crumbs. Add the melted butter and blend until well combine. Place the ground crumb mixture into a 9- or 10-inch deep-dish pie pan and press onto the bottom and up the sides evenly. Try to make the crust about 1/8 inch (1/3 cm) evenly all around. Refrigerate the crust for at least an hour before you add the filling of your choice.
For the Filling –Â
1)Place the chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract in a 2-quart mixing bowl; set aside.
2) In a medium saucepan away from heat, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, espresso powder, and salt. Whisk in 1/4 cup of cold heavy cream until the mixture is smooth, with no lumps. Repeat with another 1/4 cup of the cream. Whisk in the egg yolks.
3) Place the saucepan over medium heat, and gradually whisk in the remaining cream and milk.
4) Bring to a boil, whisking constantly as the mixture thickens; boil for 1 minute.
5) Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture over the reserved chocolate and butter.
6) Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
7) Pass the filling through a strainer into a bowl to remove any lumps.
8. Place plastic wrap or buttered parchment paper on the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and chill thoroughly.
9. Pour the chilled pudding into the chilled Oreo crust and top with whipped cream and chocolate curls.
For the topping – In bowl sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Scald 2 tablespoons of whipping cream and pour over gelatin. Stir until dissolved. Refrigerate about 15 minutes. Then whisk until smooth. Mix remaining cream, sugar and salt. Mix in smooth gelatin mixture stopping to scrape bowl twice.
School  just started up again and breakfast time can be a bit of a hassle, and I love having waffles in my freezer for easy, no-brainer breakfasts. I doubled this batch and it made 14 – 1/2 cup waffles that I “healthified” slightly by using whole wheat pastry flour and some grapeseed oil instead of all butter. These are lightly crispy, fluffy with just a touch of sweetness; and they don’t even need syrup. Once the waffles cool, I pull them apart, stack them, bag them and freeze them. Depending on how much time I have in the mornings, I’ll reheat them in my oven at 35o for 7-10 minutes – or if we’re running late, the microwave works just fine. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Buttermilk Waffles – slightly adapted from Completely Delicious
**Click the link for the unmodified recipe**
Directions –
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Preheat a waffle maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Grease with non-stick spray if necessary. Pour scant 1 cup batter into the hot waffle maker (1/2 cup for smaller waffle irons). Cook until golden brown, and serve.
I had just enough leftover chicken to make this, plus everything else on hand to make this recipe – I love that! This was perfect for a Sunday lunch and we all enjoyed it with our favorite crescent rolls. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Creamy Chicken + Lemon Rice Soup – adapted from Simply Scratch
Directions –
Heat your Dutch oven over medium heat and add one tablespoon of olive oil.
Sauté the diced carrots and celery until they’re just starting to soften. Pour in the low sodium chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Pour in the 3/4 cup of long grain rice. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and reduce the heat to medium high. Cook the rice for 20 minutes; stand nearby just in case there’s a boil-over.
In a bowl, beat the two eggs and add in the lemon juice. Once the twenty minutes are up, remove the lid to the soup and gather some of the broth into a ladle. While stirring, slowly pour in the hot broth into the egg mixture. Then pour the warmed egg/broth mixture into the Dutch oven and stir.
Add in the shredded chicken and minced parsley. Taste the soup and check the seasonings, season with salt and pepper to your liking.
My kids loved these, but what’s not to love? I like that the whole pan is finished at one time, so no standing by the stove waiting to flip each piece of bread. I used four thick slices of this egg bread, and there was just enough custard for them. Next time I will have to double the recipe so we have quick, no-effort school breakfasts perfect for those mornings when I just need five more minutes of sleep! 😉 Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Baked French Toast Sticks – adapted from Iowa Girl Eats
Directions:Â
He is seriously spoiled…I don’t even like key lime pie, but he has been asking for it recently; and lucky for him I stumbled upon two pound bags of these cuties at my fave store.
Peruvian lime meets baby key lime 😉
Just when I thought they couldn’t possibly be any cuter, I cut them in half to juice them – I was wrong!
But those fuzzy feelings quickly disappeared when I proceeded to squeeze 1 3/4 pounds of these to produce the required 3/4 cup…owee. Other than squeezing all those limes, this is a super easy pie to make.
Verdict: This pie is smooth, creamy and the most tart dessert I have ever had. I loved decorating the pie the whipped cream rosettes, key lime slices and zest. I don’t usually break out the piping bag, but any proper key lime pie seems to have them so I went with it.
Key Lime Pie – adapted from I Wash You Dry
Graham Cracker Crust – adapted from Martha Stewart
Directions –
For the Pie
I had a hankerin’ for some rich, fluffy French toast, but there is a shortage of bread in my house. I failed miserably (twice) trying to braid the dough, so I baked off two 8×4 loaves instead. The dough held up well to being manipulated more than I intended 😉 With its medium density, and tight crumb it soaks up custard like a sponge without falling apart; and the resulting French toast is creamy and not too sweet. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Challah –Â adapted from Williams-Sonoma
Directions –
To make the dough with a stand mixer, in the 5-quart bowl of a mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar, 3 eggs, 4 1/2 cups of the flour, the salt and butter. Place the bowl on the mixer, attach the dough hook and knead on low speed, working in the remaining flour as necessary to keep the dough from being too sticky, until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not be tempted to add too much flour. The dough should stay soft and will become less sticky with kneading. Remove the dough from the bowl.
Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 2 hours.
Line a half-sheet pan or rimless baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down the dough. Using a plastic pastry scraper, scrape the dough out onto a clean work surface. To make a 4-strand braid, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces with a sharp knife or a bench scraper. Using your palms, and starting in the center and working outward, elongate 1 piece by rolling it gently against the work surface with even pressure until you have formed a rope as long as the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces.
Line up the 4 strands in front of you horizontally. Cross the strand farthest from you across the other 3 strands so that it is nearest you. Cross the strand that is now next to it across the other 2 strands away from you. Position the outside strands so that they are away from the center ones, and position the center 2 strands perfectly horizontal. Bring the strand nearest you down between the 2 horizontal strands. Bring the strand farthest from you up and across to the opposite side. Again, bring the strand farthest from you down between the 2 straight strands. Bring the strand nearest you up and across to the opposite side. Starting from the strand nearest you, repeat the braiding until you reach the ends of the ropes. Pinch them together at the top and at the bottom, and tuck the strands under at the ends.
Place the braided loaf on the prepared pan, cover with a dry kitchen towel, and let rise again in a warm, draft-free spot until the loaf doubles in size and is spongy to the touch, 45 to 60 minutes.
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 350°F.
Brush the braid gently with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the seeds. Bake the braid until it is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Makes 1 large braided loaf.
This is my first time making brown butter, but it seems like a very popular flavor among food bloggers. The browned butter smells nutty and caramely, so it’s pretty safe to assume it will add that to the flavor of these cookies. Plan accordingly if you are going to make these…I read through the instructions after I finished the butter, only to learn that the batter needs to sit in the fridge overnight. Upon discovery of this “minor” detail, I coyly sent a text to the husband who already anticipated cookies for dessert tonight – “you’re not going to like me”. He’s pretty bummed, and honestly I’m not crazy about having to wait longer for these, but in the interest of all things yummy – I will wait! 😉
In case you’ve never browned butter before, here are some helpful tips and instructions. If you have one, it’s best to brown the butter in a stainless pot or pan so you can be sure of the color. Also, it’s fairly easy to go from perfectly brown to burnt, so start slow so you don’t waste your butter. Mine took nearly 20 minutes to get to the color I was comfortable with. Now that I’m pretty confident with this new skill I’ll be sure to search for recipes or I might even try brown butter for dishes we love already.
Verdict: These cookies are slightly chewy, with nice, crispy edges; and flavor of these is buttery, nutty and caramely! I know that last description isn’t a real word, but you know what I mean 😉 Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – adapted from The Curvy Carrot
Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until it is frothy and browned, about 15-20 minutes or so (the browning process goes quickly once it starts so watch it carefully.)
2. Â Transfer the butter to a small bowl and let cool to room temperature.
3. Â In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
4. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the browned butter and both types of sugar, until smooth and light, about 7 minutes.
5. Add in the whole egg, the egg yolk, milk, and the vanilla.
6. Decrease the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients.
7. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
8. Cover the cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
9. The next day, let the dough come to room temperature. Â Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
10. Using a small cookie dough scoop, place the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
11. Bake each cookie sheet (one at a time) until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom, about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheets set on wire racks for 3 to 5 minutes or until set. Transfer the cookies to the wire rack to cool. Makes about 36 small cookies.
Mom-Makes... 