I like surprises. Well, nice ones.
Like, getting a box of chocolates or flowers without an occasion? That sounds like it would be nice. Note to Kenny: do that more. Hear me, love of my life?
Another pleasant surprise? Finding a layer of pumpkin cheesecake in the middle of a delicious loaf of pumpkin bread. It’s double the fun!
Do you ever get into a breakfast rut? Because I can relate.
Over the years, I’ve cycled through so many breakfast options with the goal of keeping my first meal of the day quick to prepare and filling. Oh, and sweet. I like that shot of sweetness in the morning!
Since forever, I’ve loved cereal. And while it’s hard to beat a bowl of cereal with milk, sometimes you want a little something different. As a quick bread lover, this breakfast bread fits the bill. It’s topped with a crumbly, crunchy topping made with Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, and the recipe is easy enough to make with the kiddos!
I know y’all dig chocolate-covered strawberries. Now we’re going to a whole new level!
Lately, I’ve been trying to bake with conventional flour a little bit less. After all, I’ve got a GF spouse, so it’s the least I can do. The good news is, this bread is still amazing, gluten or no. And it’s filled with strawberries and chocolate chips (and covered in chocolate)!
Can we say thank you? Someone. Please. I’m hungry for praise and dessert.
Nothing beats fresh bread. Well, maybe some things do. But not much.
Like, I’ve heard that winning the lottery is pretty awesome. But if that happens to you, you’re not supposed to tell anyone or they’ll be trying to bum your winnings. I guess you’re supposed to pretend that the new mansion (complete with pool, personal trainer and stylist) came from a modest amount that a rich uncle left you upon his passing.
Fresh bread is nothing to keep secret. Oh, no. You have to share it liberally, announcing to one and all that you have a fresh loaf to be eaten. Especially a loaf like this one. It’s got a delicious almond chocolate filling, so it bridges the gap between actual food and dessert. I had it for breakfast!
If you like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, this bread is for you. Or loaf cake. Whatever you wanna call it is fine by me!
Lately, I’ve been all about the recipes you throw into a bowl and mix together. No mixer, no butter to cream. Not only is that absence of butter healthier, but the actual baking process is just a teeny bit simpler. So why not?
This particular bread is filling and hearty, but full of chocolate chips just to brighten your Friday morning breakfast. Anyone wanna argue with that? I didn’t think so.
Happy New Year! It’s my first post of 2016, and I’m so excited to see what this year will bring!
If there’s one food I want to see lots of in the coming year, it’s homemade bread. We’re all familiar with the yeasty goodness of bread that doesn’t come in plastic bags from the grocery store, and it’s so easy to get a perfect loaf with just a little help from my best friend, a.k.a. the bread machine. Life was so cold and dark before we met!
Luckily, fresh bread is always possible, and this one is special. It’s made with mostly whole wheat flour, which will help you stick to your healthy eating resolutions. It’s also full of walnuts for an extra protein punch, not to mention sweet Craisins® Dried Cranberries. It’s a loaf worth making!
The other day, I posted an easy Mother’s Day recipe. This one is not quite that easy, but it’s still pretty doable. So if you know what a spatula is, dig in!
For some reason, people associate Mother’s Day with brunch. Okay, I know that it’s traditional to take mothers out for brunch on the big day, but why? Don’t we rate a fancy dinner?
Listen, I’m not trying to knock brunch. The food is delicious and decadent, and it’s totally fine to feature chocolate in your pancakes, or waffles, or French toast. How could I possibly object to that? But I really, really love going out for dinner. Dinner out means one night of not having to cook for greedy little mouths.
I’ve heard that climbing Mount Everest is pretty hard. For most people, anyway.
We all have our version of that, the near-impossible summit that we can’t reach, no matter how hard we try. For years, that was my grandmother’s mocha bread.
When I was little, I didn’t like apple pie. Chalk it up to youthful foolishness. So when my grandmother made the pie, she’d also make this bread. And I loved it. It was so special that I’d eat it slowly, sliver by sliver, to make it last. Usually, I gobble up my dessert. But this was too special
And when I grew up, I tried to make it. Over and over again I followed the recipe, calling my grandmother each time I failed. It was too light in color, or too heavy in weight. What was I doing wrong? It got to the point where I suspected her of recipe sabotage.
Finally, about a year ago, and shortly after my grandmother’s death, I got the mocha bread right. I’m still not sure exactly what I did to make it correctly other than acquire more knowledge and skill, but I feel like the torch has been passed. She was a phenomenal baker who used scant resources in harder times to make amazing food. Later in life, she still had the knack for producing recipes that nobody else seemed to have.
Ahhhh…TGIF. Almost. Before I breeze through the last day of the week, it’s time to make some serious bread.
Challah, that is.
Challah is too awesome to fly so much under the radar. It’s traditionally an egg bread made with white flour and sugar, kind of like brioche. It makes amazing French toast. There are also water versions, calling for no egg, as well as challahs filled with anything from raisins to chocolate chips.
And lately, whole wheat challah has begun to pop up in bakeries with more frequency, though it’s often put down by challah traditionalists, and who can blame them? Challah is an indulgence, a bread so good that spreading butter or jam on a slice can actually take away from the yeasty, fresh-out-of-the-oven perfection of the bread itself.
I was pretty hestitant to give the whole wheat thing a try. Why fix what ain’t broke? But in a world where whole grains are healthier and white bread is just an occasional indulgence, I wanted to have my challah and eat it too.
