Tried and Liked: Honey Oat Quick Bread

Cook’s notes: This recipe is from EatingWell, and I’ll be baking another loaf of this bread for our upcoming “Happy and Healthy Holidays” potluck at work. It’s very easy to make, and the bread contains whole-wheat flour, oats, and yogurt. One slice is very filling (and has 3 g of fiber). It’s wonderful toasted with a little light butter and strawberry jam. Or have a slice of this bread, toasted, with fresh blackberries for breakfast.

Hearty oat bread

Modifications: I mistakenly added 2-1/4 tsp of both baking powder and baking soda. However, the bread still turned out well. I used non-fat plain Greek yogurt and 1% milk, as directed. I used my stand mixer to beat the yogurt mixture, instead of beating it by hand with a fork.

EatingWell says, “This honey-oat bread has a pleasant flavor and divinely moist, tender crumb. It requires minimal mixing and cleanup, calls for ingredients usually stocked in the pantry, and is tasty yet healthful.” The recipe makes 1 loaf with 12 slices. Follow the recipe as written on the EatingWell website.

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1.75 hours (including cooling time)
Low calorie | Low cholesterol | Low saturated fat | Heart healthy | Healthy weight | High fiber |

Make Ahead Tip: Store cooled bread, tightly wrapped, for up to 1 day at room temperature. If desired, warm (wrapped in foil) at 375F before serving.

Basic Sweet Bread

Cook’s notes: Adapted from a free class I took from the King Arthur Flour Company on bread-making. Their education program is outstanding, and all their recipes work well. Search for free home baking classes in your area on their site.

About this recipe, King Arthur staff says, “This soft and pliable dough is suitable for all sorts of shapes, from braids to cinnamon rolls to monkey bread. Soft dough is the secret to soft, tender bread.” Yields two loaves.

3/4 cup (6 oz) warm water
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp. Red Star active dry yeast
1/2 cup (2 oz) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup (6 oz) plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (3.5 oz) sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla or other flavoring, or 2 tsp citrus zest
4.5 to 5.5 cups (19 to 23.25 oz) King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
1 egg + 1 Tbsp. water (for egg wash)

In a small bowl, combine the warm water and 2 tsp sugar. Stir to dissolve. Stir in the yeast and 1/2 cup flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until bubbly and active, about 10 to 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and yeast mixture. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing until the dough comes away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, adding only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface, knead the dough about 5 minutes, until soft and pliable but not sticky. Let the dough rest while you clean and grease the bowl. Finish kneading the dough until it’s smooth, supple, and springy.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat all surfaces, cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel, and let sit in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.

Gently deflate the dough and divide it in half. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest on a lightly floured surface for 15 minutes. Form the dough into desired shapes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush loaves with egg wash and bake until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes, to an internal temperature of 190 degrees. Remove the bread from the oven, and let it cool on a rack.

Quick Pumpkin Bread

Cook’s notes: Makes two loaves or one Bundt cake or about 24 muffins.

3.5 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp double-acting baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
15 oz can cooked pumpkin
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or nut of your choice
1-1/3 cup raisins or chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350∞ F. Coat two 9×5-inch bread pans or one Bundt pan with cooking spray.

Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices together.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, and eggs until light and fluffy. Beat in the pumpkin and 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat in the milk and another 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat in remaining 1/3 flour mixture. Add the vanilla and nuts and beat just until thoroughly mixed.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for about 1 hour, until the loaf has separated from the sides of the pan. Serve plain or with whipped cream. Store in the fridge for one week or freeze up to 6 months.

Variation: Pumpkin Muffins
Heat oven to 400F. Lightly grease muffin tin. Mix batter as directed above. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Adapted from Susan Lowell’s book Clouds for Dessert

Best Recipe: Double Corn Muffins

Cook’s notes: I didn’t have a good cornbread recipe or a well-seasoned, 10-inch cast iron skillet. What I did have was a very comprehensive book (seriously, it’s almost 400 pages)  and the inspiration to make corn muffins.

These muffins are the best — no skillet required, and they can be made gluten-free. A double batch made 5 dozen mini muffins and 1 dozen regular-size muffins (the recipe’s stated yield is 12 regular size muffins, but I think you’ll get more with the corn added. Studded with real corn, these muffins are tasty hot with butter or plain at room temperature. I brought these to a potluck at work, and everyone agreed that the mini muffins were the ones they liked best.

Corn muffin gems

1 cup (half of a 12 oz bag) frozen whole corn kernels, thawed (such as PictSweet brand Steam’ables)
1 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour blend)
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1-1/4 cups buttermilk (or regular milk)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (only if you use buttermilk)
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar (you can reduce to 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup mild vegetable oil

Heat the oven to 400F, and lightly coat muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Cook the corn according to package directions (or use 1 cup canned corn, drained).

DRY: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

WET: In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and baking soda until the baking soda is dissolved. Whisk in the eggs, sugar, and oil.

Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl over the dry ingredients. Add the corn kernels. Stir lightly only until the mixture is just barely combined. There should be no dry spots in the batter.

Use a cookie scoop to place batter in the prepared muffin tins.

Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes for regular-sized muffins or 8 to 10 minutes for the mini muffins.

Gluten-Free Version: Use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend instead of regular flour. I used the “Gluten-Free Pantry All-Purpose Flour” mix with great results. The other ingredients in the cornbread should already be gluten-free. However, some commercial buttermilks are thickened with food starch — read the labels of all your products to be sure. Instead of the buttermilk, use regular milk and omit the baking soda.

Source: Adapted from the book Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon.

Best Recipes: Big Buttermilk Biscuits

This recipe is very flexible, and the biscuits are amazing. You can also use 1 cup of plain, nonfat yogurt or 1 cup buttermilk instead of the vinegar and milk mixture.
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine the vinegar and milk and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. Heat oven to 450°F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Drizzle the oil over the mixture and blend it in with your fingers. Add the buttermilk, and stir to form a stiff dough. Use a little additional flour if needed to prevent the dough from sticking. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into an 8×16-inch rectangle. Cut the dough into 8 biscuits, 4-inches on each side (cut dough into 2 rows x 4 columns).

Place the biscuits slightly apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake 12 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 8 large biscuits.

Cheese Garlic Biscuits. Add:
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1 tsp minced garlic
Sweet Potato Biscuits. Add:
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 to 1.5 cup mashed sweet potato (canned okay)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
Sources: Adapted from several sources: Lisa Cowden, Ladle, Leaf, & Loaf; Faith Ford, Cooking with Faith; and Joy of Cooking, 1975 edition. Cheese Garlic Biscuits adapted from Mills and Ross, Desperation Dinners. Sweet Potato Biscuits adapted from  Diana Rattray and allrecipes.com.

Quick Corn Muffins (small batch)

These muffins use scratch ingredients instead of a typical 8.5 oz box of corn muffin mix, which contains lard. By making your own, you can eliminate the lard and control your sugar. The original recipes called for 3 Tablespoons of sugar, which is a bit much for just 6 muffins. While the muffins bake, you can make a batch of black bean soup on the stovetop, such as Bart’s Black Bean Soup for Two (link). The muffins and soup make a nice dinner on a cool Autumn evening.

2/3 cup buttermilk baking mix (or 2/3 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 Tbsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup milk or buttermilk
2 Tbsp olive oil

Combine baking mix, cornmeal, and sugar. Add egg, milk, and olive oil. Stir; batter will be slightly lumpy. Fill standard muffin cups 1/2 full. Bake 15-20 minutes at 400F. Makes 6 corn muffins.

Deluxe Muffins: Add 1/3 cup shredded cheese and 1 cup creamed corn to the mix. Makes about 12 muffins.

Source: Adapted from recipes on Cook’s Illustrated Bulletin Board (link), The Secret Recipe Blog (link), and Sandra Lee (link).

Best Recipe: Quick Blueberry Scones

Cook’s Notes: This is an update to the original post from 2007, Quick Scones for Two. I’ve refined the technique for making these lovely scones with frozen blueberries. Makes 8 – 12 scones, depending on how you cut them.

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
4 Tbsp butter (1/4 c), melted (you can also use 3 Tbsp melted butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil); 2 oz total
2/3 cup 2% milk (or any kind, including heavy cream); about 5 oz
2 cups frozen blueberries, not thawed

Heat oven to 425°F.

Put the flour, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl and whisk them together.

Put the butter in a glass measuring cup, and heat in the microwave until melted. Add the milk (or cream). (Note: The total volume of butter and milk is about 7 oz or 220 ml on the meniscus line of the measuring line.) Beat the milk mixture with a fork until blended.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mix and stir only until combined. The dough will be soft. Add the frozen blueberries to the bowl and knead them in.

Place dough on a floured surface, knead for a few moments, and then divide in half. Pat each half into a six-inch circle. Cut each circle into 4 to 6 wedges. Place the scones slightly apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Source: Adapted from recipes by Jane Doerfer, Going Solo in the Kitchen; and Tyler Florence.

Mini Corn Muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes. Cook Time: 10 minutes. This recipe yields about 18 mini muffins.

1 T white vinegar or lemon juice
Almost 1 cup (7.5 oz) 2% milk
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
1/8 cup canola oil

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat two mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the vinegar and enough milk to make 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine milk mixture, egg and oil.

In a large bowl, whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add wet ingredients to cornmeal and flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fill mini muffins pans 3/4 full. You will fill only half of the second muffin pan. Fill any empty cups with water so the muffins brown evenly. Bake for 10 minutes.

Source: Adapted from a recipe on the about.com low fat cooking site

Banana-Yogurt Muffins

Cook’s Notes: Fat-free, eggless muffins served without butter might sound boring. But wait. These dense muffins are loaded with chocolate and walnuts. Have one or two of these muffins served warm with a cold glass of milk, and you won’t feel deprived at all.

Mmm, healthful

Wet ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup (4 oz) non-fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsweetened applesauce
1 cup white sugar
4 T water
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Add-ins:
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 375F degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin (regular size) with cooking spray.

Using a stand mixer, mash the bananas. Add the  yogurt, applesauce, sugar, water, and vanilla. Mix until fairly smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

Add dry ingredients to the wet batter, mixing gently until just blended. Then add chocolate chips and nuts, beating just until combined.

Spoon batter into greased muffin tin and bake 25 minutes, until top is golden brown. Test for doneness with a toothpick.

Adapted from Cookbook Catchall

Stollen (Christmas Danish)

Cook’s notes: This recipe is from my maternal grandmother. Makes 3 Danish. The frosting recipe is from http://www.easy-kids-recipes.com/homemade-icing.html. I like it with almond extract instead of just vanilla. Grammie’s original recipe just said “Make confectioner’s sugar frosting.”

3.5 to 6.5 cups unsifted flour
1/2 cup sugar
1.25 tsp salt
2 pkgs Fleishman’s active dry yeast  (Note: One package = 2-1/4 teaspoons = 1/4 ounce dry yeast)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup margarine
3 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup Planters blanched almonds
3/4 cup mixed candied fruits
1/3 cup golden seedless raisins

Confectioner’s sugar frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and undissolved Fleishman’s active dry yeast.

Combine milk, water, and margarine in a pan. Heat over low heat until liquids are warm. The margarine does not need to melt. Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add eggs and 1/2 cup flour or enough to make a stiff batter. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover. Let rise in a warm place, free from draft, until double in bulk, about 1.5 hours.

Combine blanched almonds, candied fruits, and raisins. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured board. Knead in nuts and fruit mixture. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces.

Roll each piece of dough into a 12 x 7-inch oval. Fold in half lengthwise. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise in a warm place, free from draft, until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a moderate oven (350F) for about 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

Make the frosting: Mix the powdered sugar with the vanilla and milk. Then add more milk a bit at a time until it is thin enough to drizzle over the Danish. Frost with confectioner’s sugar frosting while warm. If desired, decorate with additional Planters Blanched Almonds and candied cherries.