Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

The Cookbook Giveaway is closed! I used a random number generator and Genevieve of Vanilla & Spice won Appetite for Reduction!

I don't like cookies that are too soft and cakey, but you know what the best thing about these cookies is? They're soft. How do they get away with this being the best thing about them? They're also thick and dense. Soft, thick and dense. Is that a contradiction? Maybe, but it works. I can't say these are my favourite oatmeal cookies, as I do prefer ones that have crisp edges and spread out more, but there is room for these ones too. Other people who tried them really enjoyed them.

Abby loooooves her cube. She has two and I have another one in the closet when those ones have to be thrown out. She likes hiding inside and doing sneak attacks, diving through them, sleeping inside, and "pumping iron". (I should post a video of Abby pumping iron, which is basically her sitting next to the cube, with one paw on it, and pressing down repeatedly while staring randomly around the room.)

If these sound good, you might also like:
Detox Blonde Macaroons
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Ginger Molasses Cookies
Vegan Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Makes 2 dozen cookies

1/3 cup nondairy milk (I used unsweetened plain soy)
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup oil (I used safflower)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.

2. In a large bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together the soy milk and flax seeds. Add in the sugar and oil and mix until it resembles caramel, about 2 minutes. Mix in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, and salt. Mix in the flour mixture with the wet mixture. Fold in the oatmeal and cranberries.

3. Drop dough in generous tablespoons, about 2 inches apart, onto the baking sheets. Flatten the tops a bit, since they don't spread much. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Spice Market Sweet Potato and Lentil Packets

I was so skeptical of this lentil dish. While lentils are my favourite legume, this dish seemed too simple to be good. Just some veggies, raisins, garlic, curry powder. But it's actually really good. Really really good. In a kitchen where I don't often repeat recipes, this one has already been made several times. It's easy to make, healthy, and super tasty (this appears to be the holy trinity for me). The addition of raisins might be my favourite part. I like eating it with some brown rice, but any other grain would be good too.

Abby time!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pumpkin Lentil Curry
Curried Sweet Potato, Carrot & Red Lentil Soup with Ginger
Sunflower-Lentil Pie
Spiced Squash, Lentil and Goat Cheese Salad

Spice Market Sweet Potato and Lentil Packets
Adapted from Vegetarian Times May/June 2010

Serves 4

3/4 cup dry green or brown lentils
2 cups finely diced sweet potato (about 1/2 lb)
1 large red bell pepper, diced (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp curry powder
Salt & pepper
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

1. Cook the lentils in at least 2 cups of water for about 25-30 minutes, until soft but still firm.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. Place 4 16-inch lengths of foil on work surface. Fold foil in half from short side. Unfold. Shape corners and edges of one half into semicircular "bowl" with 1/2-inch sides.

3. Combine sweet potato, bell pepper, peas, raisins, oil, ginger, garlic and curry powder in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Divide sweet potato mixture among packets; top with 1/3 cup lentils. Pour 1/4 cup broth over lentils. Fold other half of foil over ingredients, and crimp edges in overlapping folds until packets are sealed. Transfer packets to baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes.

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake

As I'm sure many of you know, I cannot say enough good things about Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours. A recent favourite of mine from her cookbook is the all-in-one holiday bundt cake - spices, pumpkin, apple, cranberry and pecans. I wasn't sure how they would all work together, but trusted Dorie and of course it was delicious. The cake is so yummy, moist, and flavourful. I've made it a couple of times and would say that adults love it, but kids/teenagers might not feel the same - maybe it's the spice and/or the lack of chocolate? I know I'll be making this cake many more times, and I want to try modifying it a bit to make it healthier so I can eat it more often.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake
Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake
Maple-Walnut Cake
Plum Sour Cream Kuchen

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/4 sticks (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9 to 10 inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. Don't place the pan on a baking sheet - you want the oven's heat to circulate freely through the Bundt's inner tube.

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and ground ginger.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition. Beat int he vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin and chopped apple - don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Still on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. With a rubber spatula, stir in the cranberries and pecans. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes (mine took 50 minutes), or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool to room temperature on the rack.

Christopsomos - Greek Celebration Bread

Seeing all the gorgeous delicious breads people have been making from The Bread Baker's Apprentice, I knew I had to steal the book from my mom! Well not steal, just borrow for an indefinite amount of time. The first loaf I wanted to try was the Christopsomos Greek celebration bread. I love the shape! It's so fun. Mine didn't turn out quite as defined though.

Looking back at the photos, it looks like such a huge monster of a bread! And it was. Not that there's anything wrong with that because it was fun to make and really delicious and soft. I love all the spices and flavours - cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves (my favourite!), orange extract and almond extract. There are also some raisins, dried cranberries and walnuts thrown in there too. The flavours are similar to the pecan fruit rye bread I made before and loved.

I think I let my final shaped dough rise too long so it became a bit too big. And I'm wondering if that's what also caused what looks like tearing in the dough? Hmm. The only other bread I've tried out of this book so far are the bagels. I feel like I'm really developing a love for bread making! (As long as I have my Kitchenaid and don't have to knead by hand - I haven't learned to love that yet.) Anyone have recommendations for good bread books?

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Golden Cinnamon Loaf
Focaccia
Oatmeal Knots
Garlic Rolls

Christopsomos - Greek Celebration Bread
Adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice

1 cup (7 oz) poolish (Recipe follows)
3 1/2 cups (16 oz) unbleached bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 large (3.3 oz) eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup (2.67 oz) honey
1/4 cup (2 oz) olive oil
3/4 cup (6 oz) 1% milk, lukewarm (90F-100F)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze:
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp sesame seeds

1. Remove the measured amount of poolish from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. (The poolish should be made the day before.)

2. Stir together the flour, salt, yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the poolish, the extracts, eggs, honey, oil and milk. Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until the dough forms a ball.

3. Mix on medium speed with the dough hook. Add more milk or flour as needed to form the dough into a soft, but not sticky, ball. It should be tacky and very supple. Mix for approximately 10 minutes. In the last 2 minutes of mixing, add the raisins, dried cranberries and walnuts. The dough should pass the windowpane test.

4. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment the dough at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until it doubles in size.

5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 2 pieces, one piece twice as big as the other. Shape the larger piece into a boule. Transfer it to a sheet pan that has been lined with baking parchment or a Silpat mat. Mist the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Place the smaller piece of dough into a plastic bag and chill in the refrigerator.

6. Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough nearly doubles in size.

6a. When the boule is ready to bake, remove the smaller piece from the refrigerator, divide it in half, and roll each half into a 10 inch long strand. Cross the 2 strands of dough over the top of the boule. Using a pastry scraper, split the ends of each strand and coil them to form a decorative cross.

7. Preheat the oven to 350F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

8. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and registers 190F. (If you're like me and don't have a thermometer, take it out when it is golden brown.) It should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Glaze the loaf a soon as it comes out of the oven.

9. To make the glaze, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the honey and extract and turn off the heat. Reheat the glaze, if necessary, before applying it to the bread. Brush the loaves with the glaze and immediately sprinkle the loaves with sesame seeds.

10. Transfer the bread to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Poolish

Note: This makes about 11.5 oz and you only need 7 oz for the recipe.

1 1/4 cups (11.13 oz) unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) water, at room temperature
1/4 tsp instant yeast

Stir together the flour, water and yeast in a mixing bowl until all of the flour is hydrated. The dough should be soft and sticky and look like very thick pancake batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours, or until the sponge becomes bubbly and foamy. Immediately refrigerate it. It will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Broccoli Slaw

This broccoli slaw is a new favourite of mine, with sunflower seeds, cranberries, onion and a buttermilk dressing. What I wrote on the recipe was "SO addictive amazing delicious. make every week. LOVE IT. crunchy mm". That pretty much sums it up. In the summer I ate giant bowls of it with savoury muffins for lunch and dinner. But I will definitely carry this slaw into the fall, winter and spring. You might need to adjust the amount of dressing to your broccoli. Sometimes I had just the right amount, and sometimes not quite enough.

One of my brother's coworker apparently only reads my blog for photos of Abby (hi coworker!) which is awesome. (Who doesn't love when other people think ther kids/pets are cute?) And she had the excellent suggestion that I make an Abby tag for all posts with photos of her, so I did.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Mediterranean Pepper Salad
Tabbouleh
French Barley Salad
Portobello Salad with Mustard Dressing

Broccoli Slaw
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about six cups of slaw

2 heads of broccoli (including stems) or 3 broccoli crowns
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 small red onion, finely chopped

Buttermilk Dressing
1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Trim broccoli and cut it into large chunks. From here, you can either feed it through your food processor’s slicing blade, use a mandoline to cut it into thin slices, or simply had chop it into smaller pieces. (Ashley note: I hand chopped mine which was not as bad as I thought it would be. I just chopped it up like I was mincing an onion or something.)

Toss the sliced broccoli with the sunflower seeds, cranberries and red onion in a large bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in a smaller one, with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the broccoli and toss it well. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

Should keep up to a week in the fridge.

Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Tomorrow is my first day back at school, and my first day of a new 2 year program that I'm taking (environmental health, which leads to being a public health inspector). I'm not ready to go back! I hope all the students out there have great first days and weeks!

Too bad I don't have any of these cookies left to help me get ready for school. I'm not sure exactly how they'd help me prepare but they are delicious! These double chocolate cherry cookies are so good, so soft, and I think this is the best chocolate cookie dough I've ever had. The dough is rolled into logs, sliced and baked and I love how they're sliced into nice 1 inch thick rounds. Mmmm. Don't slice them any thinner otherwise I don't think you'll get the perfect softness. The only bad thing about these cookies is that they don't freeze very well. An easily forgiveable flaw.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Cherry Shortbread
Chocolate Chunk Malt Cookies
Intense Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Adapted from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

1 cup all purpose flour (142 g)
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, mixing well. Stir in the vanilla.

3. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three batches, mixing just until incorporated after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips/chunks and cherries. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide it in half. Roll out into 2 uniform logs, about 12 inches long. Wrap the logs in parchment paper or saran wrap. Refrigerate until firm enough to slice - a few hours. (You can freeze the logs tightly wrapped for up to 1 month.)

5. Position a rack in the top and bottom thirds of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking mats.

6. Cut the logs into 1 inch slices and place 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the dough looks just baked. These cookies should be tender, so do not overbake.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 weeks. Do not uncover before defrosting.

Pecan Fruit Rye Bread

First off, holy crap is it hot. All I want to do is lie on the couch. While it's a little under 90F (31C), it feels about 10 degrees hotter because of the humidity. I'm so happy it's not like this all summer. I'm finding it hard to just get through a few days of it. I know many of you have to deal with this all summer... Oh and I should mention that I baked this a while ago, when it wasn't nearly as hot. I love baking so it has to be pretty hot for me to not want to run on the oven but there's no way I'm turning it on this week.

A while back I saw that Hélène had found a recipe for Raincoast Crisps and made Cranberry Hazelnut Crisps. She discovered this recipe from Dinner With Julie who made Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps. And this lead to me being reminded of the Pecan + Fruit crisps from Terra Breads, a local bakery. So what does this have to do with my loaf here?? Well. I wanted to make a bread that was like the pecan + fruit crisps from Terra Breads. And soon I will also try making the Raincoast Crisps.

I combined dried cranberries, dried apples, pecans and orange zest into a bread made with rye flour and bread flour. And it was delicious. Really delicious. Exactly what I'd hoped for. The only problem was that the dried apple pieces that were sticking out on the outside of the loaf burned, so I would try to stick them in the middle somehow or push them into the dough. Or maybe freshly chopped apple would be better? I'm not sure why the recipe instructs you to roll the dough out into a rectangle then roll it up into a log. There's nothing to be put in the center (though it would be a good place for the dried apple). So I'd say either do it this way, or just try shaping it into a loaf without rolling it out.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Roast Banana Pumpkin Breakfast Bread
Milk Chocolate Cherry Twist
Golden Cinnamon Loaf
Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins

Pecan Fruit Rye Bread
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Makes one delicious 18 inch loaf.

1 1/4 cups warm water (about 110F), plus more if needed
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
10 ounces (about 2 cups) bread flour
5 1/2 ounces (about 1 cup) rye flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
zest of 1 orange
3/4 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup dried apple, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir yeast into the warm water to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flours, salt, sugar and orange zest, and mix on medium-low speed until dough just comes together. If the dough is too dry, add more warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue beating. Switch to the dough hook, and beat on medium speed until dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky, 4 to 5 minutes. With mixer on low speed, mix in cranberries, pecans and apples. The dough will feel stiff; push in any loose cranberries, apples and pecans with your fingers. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out dough to a rectangle, about 13 by 10 inches and 1/2 inch thick, with a short side facing you. (Ashley note: Instead of adding in the chopped apple with the cranberries and pecans, you could add them here. This way they will all stay on the inside of the loaf and won't get burned. This is what I'll do next time.) Fold 1/2 inch flaps inward on the shorter sides of the rectangle: Starting at the top, roll the dough toward you, gently pressing as you go to form a tight log. Gently roll the log back and forth to seal the seam. (If the seam doesn't stay sealed, brush it with some water, and press down again to seal.) Transfer loaf to the prepared baking sheet, seam side down; cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until dough is puffed and holds an impression from your fingertip, about 45 minutes.

Bake at 350F, rotating sheet halfway through, until the crust is deep golden brown, and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the bread registers 190F, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer bread to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Bread can be kept, in a sealed container, at room temperature for up to three days. It also freezes well.

Energy Cookies

I love cookies so I was happy to discover this healthier version of a cookie. One that's yummy, and that I can eat frequently and still feel like I'm nourishing my body! As the name implies, I think these are great to have on hand for an energy boost. Which is exactly how I used them while studying for my finals (yes I made these a while ago)! I love that they pack so much good stuff in them (sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax, raisins, spelt flour). I thought they would be cakey but they were more soft and dense. And tasted kind of peanut butter-y, even though there's no peanut butter. Maybe from the hemp seeds? And they freeze well.

I looooooooove this picture of Abby. I put the wok under our bed (because our kitchen and pantry are already stuffed!) and Abby discovered it. I found her curled up in there, so then I dragged the wok out to the living room (with her in it) so I could take pictures of her adorableness.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Sunny Jungle Bars
Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins
Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins
Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins

Energy Cookies
Adapted from Vive le Vegan!

Makes 10-12 cookies.

3/4 cup + 1 tbsp light spelt flour (90 g)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup hemp seed nuts
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp flax meal
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp non-dairy milk
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients except the flax meal, mixing well. In another bowl, combine the flax meal with the maple syrup and milk, and stir through. Add the molasses, vanilla, and canola oil and stir through. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir through until well combined. Drop spoonfuls of the batter (about 2 tbsp each) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten a little and bake for 13-14 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 1 minute on sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Croissant Pockets with Apricots and Brie

I'm so very tired right now. We just got back from my cousin's wedding (yaey congratulations!) and we were taking care of my brother's dog this weekend (who I tried to get a good picture of but she wouldn't sit still for the camera), which resulted in us not getting much sleep. So it's a good thing I wrote this post yesterday because there's no way I could get anything too coherent out right now.

I made croissants for the first time a few months ago. I baked up half the dough into croissants, and saved the other half for future delicious adventures, like this one! I'm really glad I saved some of this dough as these croissant pockets, filled with apricots, brandy, brown sugar, walnuts and Brie cheese were extremely yummy. It's a good thing that I halved this recipe because I could've easily sat there eating one after another of these. My only complaint was that the apricot pieces were too big (when quartered) so I'd recommend dicing them. And I ended up with extra apricot/nut mixture, but maybe that's just me. If you're looking for motivation to try making croissants for the first time, these are it! And if you have some extra croissant dough, you really must try this out. I have a bit of extra croissant dough in the freezer which I should use up soon. I'm thinking of making cinnamon twists with it.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Caramelized Apple Danish Braid
Mushroom Crescents
Caramelized Onion, Sage and Cheddar Muffins
Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits

Croissant Pockets with Apricots and Brie
Adapted from Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More

My adaptations were to not dust the pockets with powdered sugar after cooling, and to chop the apricots more finely.

9 ounces dried apricots, diced (1 full cup)
1 cup water
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 to 2 tbsp brandy
1/2 cup toasted broken walnuts
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
6 tbsp light brown sugar

1/2 recipe dough for Flaky Croissants
8 ounces ripe Brie cheese, cold, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices, 3 inches long
1 large egg lightly beaten with 1 tsp water, for egg wash
1/4 cup milk, for brushing pockets

Make the filling:
1. In a small saucepan, combine the apricots and water. Bring to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a little liquid remains.

2. Return the liquid to the pan and add the granulated sugar and 1 to 2 tablespoons of brandy. Over medium-low heat, cook the liquid until the sugar is melted and the alcohol is evaporated. Remove from the heat and add the apricots to the pan. Stir gently to coat the fruit with the syrup. Set aside to cool. Combine the walnuts with the cooled apricot mixture.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the soft butter and brown sugar with a wooden spoon, stirring until a smooth paste is formed. Set aside.

Shape the dough:
4. On a lightly floured, cold work surface, using a dough scraper, cut the dough in half. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough into a 10 x 12 inch rectangle, keeping the 12 inch side parallel to the edge of the work surface. Pierce the surface of the dough several times with a fork to prevent shrinkage. Using a pastry cutter or a pizza wheel, cut the dough into eight pieces.

5. Working with one piece of dough at a time, gently reshape the dough into a 3 x 5 inch rectangle. Spread a generous teaspoon of the brown sugar/butter mixture in a strip down the center of the 3 inch side of the rectangle. Place a slightly full tablespoon of the apricot/nut mixture over the brown sugar/butter strip. Place a slice of cheese over the apricot mixture. Do not overfill.

6. Brush the far edge of the dough with egg wash. Bring the opposite edge over the filling to enclose it, then overlap it with the egg-washed edge. Gently pinch the seam, leaving the sides open, and place the pocket seam side down on a parchment lined baking pan. Repeat with the remaining dough. Brush the tops and sides of the croissants lightly with milk and place in a warmish spot to rise until almost doubled, 45 to 60 minutes. Brush the croissants again with the milk 2 or 3 times during rising time.

Bake the pockets:
7. Fifteen minutes before baking, position the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 400F. Gently brush the tops of the pastries with the egg wash, working from the bottom of the pocket upward. Do not drip the egg wash onto the baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350F and continue to bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. To ensure even browning, toward the end of baking time, rotate the pans top to bottom and front to back.

8. Remove from the oven and place on racks to cool. Loosen the pastries on the pan and cool for 20 minutes. Note: If any of the filling has run out of the ends of the pockets, take a small spatula and slide it back into the pockets.

Storage: Store in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 3 days. Reheat before serving. These pastries may be frozen.

Roast Banana-Pumpkin Breakfast Bread

I discovered this recipe for roast banana-pumpkin breakfast bread a few years ago on 101 Cookbooks, a while before I had a blog. And over the years I've thought about making it - roasted bananas, rum soaked raisins, coconut milk, pumpkin seeds. It sounded like such a unique and delicious combination of flavours but I was always missing an ingredient. The cookbook the recipe comes from also really interests me but it doesn't seem to be in print anymore - Southwestern Vegetarian. Anyone have this cookbook? I'm just curious if it's as good as it sounds. Regardless I think it's time that I try and track it down!

Well how did this magical banana bread that I'd built up in my head turn out? It was good, but not as good as I had hoped. I thought roasting the bananas would impart something special but it just tasted like regular banana bread. You can taste the rum in the raisins which was a nice touch. If you love banana bread a lot I think it's one worth trying out, just for something a little different.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Banana Crunch Muffins
Mom's Banana Apple Bread
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins

Roast Banana-Pumpkin Breakfast Bread
Adapted from Southwestern Vegetarian (found on 101 Cookbooks)

Makes 1 loaf

3/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dark rum
2 ripe bananas, unpeeled
2 cups cake flour (I used 250 grams.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 325F.

In a small pot, combine the raisins and rum. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then take off the heat and let stand for 1 hour. Strain the plumped raisins and set aside, discarding any remaining liquid.

Place the bananas on a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, or until the skins are black and they have started to seep. Remove from the oven, set aside, and let cool.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Turn the machine to low and add 1 egg. Mix until completely incorporated and then add the second egg. Mixing again until completely incorporated.

Meanwhile, squeeze the flesh of the bananas out of the skins and into a small mixing bowl. Add the coconut milk and vanilla and mash together. Add half of the banana mixture to the electric mixer bowl and blend thoroughly on low speed. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the remaining banana mixture, blend thoroughly, and add the remaining flour mixture; mix just enough to thoroughly blend the ingredients. Fold the pumpkin seeds and reserved raisins into the batter and pour it into a lightly greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.

Bake in the oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

Milk Chocolate Cherry Twist

I am absolutely madly in love with the way this bread looks. As soon as I saw it in Canadian Living Baking I knew I had to make it, and I was thrilled with how it turned out. The dough itself was not my favourite, but then I've been spoiled by cinnamon rolls made with brioche and there's no turning back! So I would highly recommend you try out this recipe, and while this dough is easy to work with and fairly easy to make (and tastes like good white bread), I'd go for a brioche dough instead.

The recipe suggested using either cranberries, sour cherries or raisins and I went for cherries. Though I really love fresh cherries, dried cherries taste weird to me. In combination with the dried cherries were milk chocolate chips and pecans. I loved the pecans but the milk chocolate chips I used were the Ghiradelli ones, which I think taste awful and not completely like milk chocolate. What do you guys think of them? I love the bittersweet Ghiradelli chips though, and the semisweet ones are okay. Next time I'm thinking I'll try some kind of peanut butter/toffee filling. But regardless of what kind of filling you choose, or if you just want to use the regular cinnamon/sugar filling like for cinnamon rolls, preparing the dough the way this recipe suggests will give you a unique and irresistible presentation! Well any form of cinnamon roll is irresistible, but you know, more irresistible.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
Golden Cinnamon Loaf
Soft Pretzels
Chocolate Dipped Cherry Shortbread

Milk Chocolate Cherry Twist
Adapted from The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book

I omitted the glaze and the icing. It's strange that the recipe is different in the cookbook than it is on the Canadian Living website. This is the cookbook version, using the stand mixer method for the dough.

Dough
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
2 eggs
3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour (Ashley note: I used 3.5 cups, 510 grams.)

Filling
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup dried cherries
2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp cinnamon

Make the dough:
In small saucepan, heat together milk, all abut 2 tsp of the sugar, the butter and salt until butter is melted; let cool to lukewarm.

In mixer bowl, dissolve remaining sugar in warm water then sprinkle in the yeast; let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. With paddle attachment, stir in milk mixture, eggs and 3 1/2 cups of the flour to make soft, sticky dough. With dough hook, mix on low speed for 8 minutes, scraping down bowl halfway through and adding enough of the remaining flour to make dough smooth and elastic.

Place in large greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Grease 10 inch spring form pan; set aside. (Ashley note: I used a 9 inch spring form pan.)

Make the milk chocolate cherry twist:
In bowl, mix corn syrup with brown sugar; stir in cherries, chocolate chips and pecans. Punch down sweet yeast dough; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Roll into 18x11 inch (45x28 cm) rectangle. Spread filling over dough, pressing into surface; sprinkle with cinnamon.

Starting at long edge, tightly roll up; pinch seam to seal. Place, seam side down, on work surface; cut in half lengthwise. Keeping cut sides up, twist halves together; place in prepared pan, shaping into ring. Pinch ends together to seal. Cover with clean tea towel; let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Bake in center of oven until golden, about 35 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan; transfer to rack. Let cool.

Chocolate Dipped Cherry Shortbread

These chocolate dipped cherry shortbread were created as part of a cookie package I sent to my friend in Japan. I wanted one of the shortbreads I sent to somehow involve chocolate, and what better way to incorporate it than in a nice thick layer on one side of the cookie. These turned out way better than I could've imagined.

I don't love dried cherries (I love fresh ones but the dried ones taste a bit weird to me) but they were really perfect in this cookie. The shortbread was "slightly chewier than classic shortbread" (as the recipe promised) - so not your crisp type of shortbread. Just a truly awesome dense slightly chewy buttery shortbread. Deliciously delicious. I will make these again for sure.

Anyone know why the chocolate developed little spots on it? You can see the spots in the second picture.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Banana Nut Shortbread
Strawberry Shortbread Cookie Bark
Earl Grey Tea Shortbread
Any Way You Want It Biscotti

Chocolate Dipped Cherry Shortbread
Adapted from The Good Cookie

Makes 12.

The original recipe was for vanilla scented shortbread cookies. I omitted the orange zest and added cherries, then dipped them in chocolate after cooling. I'm not sure how much chocolate I used - maybe 2 oz, maybe less. I also halved the recipe and used two 4.5" tart pans (this is how I've written the recipe below). If you want you can double the recipe and use two 7.5" tart pans or two 9-inch glass pie pans instead.

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 oz cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped

2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 300F. Have two 4.5" fluted tart pans with removable bottoms at hand.

2. Place the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until blended. Scatter the butter cubes over the flour mixture and pulse 6 or 7 times, then process for 6 seconds, or until the crumbs are fine and powdery. Add vanilla and cherries. Process for another 5 to 7 seconds, until the crumbs are clumpier and the dough holds together easily when pressed, and the cherries are a bit more chopped.

3. Press the dough evenly and firmly into the tart pans, pressing into evenly into the bottom (not up the sides). Bake the shortbread for 40 to 45 minutes, until it is just barely colored a creamy beige; don't let it brown. Place the pans on a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.

4. Remove the rims of the pans if you are using the tart pans, and cut each round into 6 wedges while it is still very warm. Transfer the triangles to the wire rack and cool completely.

5. When the shortbread is cool, melt the chocolate. Dip one side of each wedge in the chocolate, invert and let cool until hardened.

Low-Fat Winter Fruit Granola

I really love the sweet crunchy style granola but when I make granola at home it feels counterproductive to add so much oil and sugar (to something that to me is supposed to be healthy) so I opt for granola recipes like this one. And this one was good - though I wouldn't add the crystallized ginger next time. I like ginger but don't love it in sweet things. I mistakenly added the dried fruit too early (instead of stirring it in at the very end) but it wasn't all bad because it made the dried apples wonderfully crunchy. I saw this chocolate chocolate chunk granola at Whole Foods not too long ago... I really must make an exception to my "healthy granola" rule and try making that one!

Some people have asked where I got the cup from - it was a gift many years ago and I have no idea where my friend got it from! It has Totoro on the other side though.

Other healthy snacks:
Sunny Jungle Bars
Cocoa Nibbles
No Fail Granola
Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins

Low-Fat Winter Fruit Granola
Adapted from The Best Life Diet Cookbook found on Ezra Pound Cake

You can easily replace the almonds with another nut, the dried fruit with whatever other dried fruit you want, and omit the ginger. I didn't use almond extract - just vanilla.

Makes 24 1/4-cup servings

4 cups regular rolled oats
1/4 cup unprocessed wheat bran
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped dried pears or apples
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dates
2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Combine the oats and bran in a large bowl.

In a small pan over medium heat, stir in the canola oil, maple syrup, and vanilla and almond extracts. When the mixture begins to bubble, pour it over the oat mixture and mix well.

Pour it onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Add the almonds and stir the mixture thoroughly. Continue to bake until the oats and almonds are lightly toasted, about 10 minutes more, stirring again halfway through.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Bake until the oats are crisp, about 5 minutes longer.

Remove the pan from the oven and stir the mixture. Let the granola cool for 5 minutes, the stir again.

When completely cool, store the granola in an air-tight container for up to 4 weeks.

Wild Rice Almond Cherry Pilaf

I bought ExtraVeganZa a couple of months ago and so far have only made this one recipe. There are lots of interesting recipes in the book including some intriguing pie crust recipes - pumpkin seed rice flour crust, almond oat crust, barley coconut crust, buckwheat hazelnut crust, etc. Okay looking over these crust recipes reminds me that I must make crusts more often and must try out these healthier pie crusts. Anyway, the wild rice almond cherry pilaf was yummy. It could be a meal on its own though I usually ate it with something else as well. It makes a ton so either be ready to eat it for at least a few days or have people to share it with!

Now onto something a little (a lot) more unhealthy. MyRecipes has started their cookie countdown - go here to sign up for the newsletter. I've already found a few I want to make (mind you there aren't many cookies that I wouldn't want to make. So far - lemon coconut snowballs, chocolate chip cookie bars and death by caramel bars.)

Oh and some of you asked what our kitten's name is - her name is Abby. She was sick for a while but now seems to be doing better, and acting like a psychotic little kitten running around. She also chases her tail! Which I've only ever seen dogs do. Mind you she has a very enticing puffy tail.

Other healthy meals:
Lemon Miso Tofu and Eggplant
Artichoke Rotini Pasta
Walnut and Mushroom Nut Loaf
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Wild Rice Almond Cherry Pilaf
Adapted from ExtraVeganZa

My adaptations were to use less oil, more onion and more garlic.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup brown basmati rice
1 cup wild rice
1 tbsp sea salt
2 tsp dried savory
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup dried cherries, finely chopped
4 cups water
3/4 cups almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp tamari

Toast the almonds in a small frying pan for 5-10 minutes on medium heat, until they begin to lightly brown. Remove from heat and allow the nuts to cool. When cool, chop into coarse chunks and set aside.

In a large cooking pot, saute the onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. When the onions become translucent, stir in the basmati and wild rice. Add the salt, savory and sherry and allow the rice to simmer in the sherry for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the cherries and water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and allow the rice to simmer for about 45 minutes.

Check to make sure that all of the water is evaporated. You may need to cook the rice a few minutes longer to ensure that it is thoroughly done. When all of the water has evaporated, remove from heat and allow the rice to cool for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the toasted almonds, parsley and tamari. Transfer the rice to a serving dish and enjoy.

Banana-Date Scones

I've made a lot of healthy muffins in the last year and I think I'm finally getting a bit sick of them. So I went for this healthier scone recipe. At first I wasn't sure whether I liked them, and what I thought of the copious amount of dates but then I grew to really really love them. I don't know how to describe their texture (and how does one describe the texture difference between a muffin - a real muffin not a cupcake muffin - and a scone? I know there's a difference I just can't seem to get the words out.) They had a nice "bite" to them is all I can think to say. They weren't dry but also weren't cakey and soft. In any case, they were delicious and I will be making them again and again. Though next time not with dates as I do not enjoy chopping very sticky dates (yes I could add oil to the knife but I don't want to use extra oil though I guess it wouldn't be that much). So next time I'll use raisins and I'm sure it will be yummy.

I want to find a really healthy scone recipe with no fat but I don't have a lot of experience with scones. Maybe I can use yogurt as a fat replacer? I'm not sure which ingredients are absolutely necessary so they don't become a crumbly mess. With muffins I usually replace the oil/butter with applesauce but I'm not so sure that would work with scones.

Other healthy baked goods:
Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins
Chocolate Walnut Banana Bread
Mini Pear Loaves
Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins

Banana-Date Scones
Adapted from Veganomicon

My changes were to use all whole wheat flour, a bit less salt, soy milk instead of rice milk and honey instead of brown rice syrup since I didn't have any (so use brown rice syrup for a vegan version). Next time I'll use raisins instead of dates.

8 ounces dates
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 cup mashed, very ripe banana
2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
1/3 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare two baking sheets (with Silpats, parchment paper, or oil).

Finely chop the dates, place in a small bowl, and sprinkle with 1 tbsp flour. Toss the dates to thoroughly coat with the flour, breaking apart any clumps. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flaxseeds and milk. Whisk in the mashed banana, canola oil and honey. In a separate bowl, sift together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir into the banana mixture until the ingredients are just moistened; the dough will be thick yet sticky. Fold in the chopped dates and walnuts.

Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup or cookie scoop and scoop generous half-cupfuls of dough onto a baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between the scones. Gently pat down the tops of the scones. Bake for 32 to 34 minutes until browned and firm. Transfer from the baking sheets to a cooling rack to completely cooling.

Sunny Jungle Bars

I'm in my third week of classes now. Last week we were learning about salmon and had to gut and can them. Thankfully I didn't have to do the gutting. Now that I'm back in school I'm recalling the great lack of time for food blogging. I do love being part of the food blog world but if I only have a bit of free time I'd rather spend it baking (as I'm sure most/all of you would, well for some of you it's cooking). But hopefully I will still be around often enough and won't miss out on too many yummy things on people's blogs. I found some amazing looking easy cinnamon bun bread on Baking Bites this morning - must make that soon.

Alright onto the food! As with many other things, I've wanted to make granola bars for a long time. And I've also wanted the Nurture cookbook for a long time. These granola bars are more effort than others I'm sure, as they involve making a fruit pulp that you spread in the middle of two granola layers. But they are delicious, if a bit soft and crumbly. Mind you I reduced the oil so maybe that's why. I've been keeping them in the freezer and just eating them directly from there. This recipe can be played with a lot, using different combinations of fruit, nuts, seeds, nut butters and natural sweeteners. I wonder what it would be like if I just mixed it all together instead of making a separate fruit pulp layer hmm.

Other healthy snacks:
Mini Pear Loaves
Pomegranate Smoothie
Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins
Chocolate Walnut Banana Bread

Sunny Jungle Bars
Adapted from Recipes to Nurture

1 cup pitted dates, finely chopped
1 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp apple juice
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup flaxseed, ground
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F and line a 9x9 (or 8x8) baking pan.

Place the dates, apricots and apple juice in a saucepan and bring a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover and mix well with a spoon to form a pulp.

Meanwhile, in a food processor combine walnuts and pumpkin seeds. Pulse into a "meal" (very finely chopped) but not so far it becomes a butter. Add rolled oats, sunflower seeds, ground flax seeds and sea salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Add this mixture to the oat mixture and stir to combine. Press half the oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the fruit pulp evenly over top, then finish with the remaining oat mixture. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool in the tin on a rack before slicing into squares.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

About a month ago I moved and so I obviously didn't have much time to bake for a few weeks. Well I definitely made up for that near the end of August - I went on a bit of a baking frenzy, and this cinnamon raisin loaf was what started it off. I made a couple of healthy things, obviously this loaf, way too many cookies, delicious brownies, and a cake. I wish I could bake that often all the time, though it would be really hard to resist eating all the fresh baked goods! Anyway, so I found this loaf when I was flipping through Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook which I haven't baked anything from in a while.

I've now made this loaf two times but that's because the first time I made it, the top browned too quickly (and I forgot to let it rise one of the three times) and I didn't have any aluminum foil to tent it with. With that loaf, I scooped out the uncooked middle and baked that by itself so I was left with something resembling monkey bread and the shell of the cinnamon raisin bread. It was delicious though! But I had to make it again and see it turn out right. I might actually prefer the first time I made it becaused it seemed more gooey.

This bread is actually more like a cinnamon roll loaf (so you can imagine how much I loved it). The second time I made it it rose like crazy, especially when it was baking, so I would highly recommend putting a baking sheet underneath it otherwise you'll end up with a nice big pool of caramelized sugar stuck on the bottom of your oven. And you MUST resist cutting a slice until it is completely cool unless you want a big oozy pile of cinnamon sugar (which might sound good but it means the rest of the loaf will lose it). And looking at the pictures now I see that I need to work on rolling things tightly so I can get a more even swirl throughout the bread. At least I figure that's what I need to do to make it better?

Aside from the delicious cinnamon sugar swirl in the loaf, the bread itself is just perfect. It's a dense slightly chewy loaf (similar to brioche but with less butter). So what's better - cinnamon rolls or this cinnamon loaf? Well as delicious as this loaf is, cinnamon rolls have to win. But really, what can beat cinnamon rolls?? On the plus side, with this loaf you can get that cinnamon roll vibe with a lot less effort. I know I'll be making this again. I think it'd be the perfect thing for a big family breakfast or lazy weekend brunch.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Candied Maple Walnut Pancake Loaf
Pumpkin Loaf
Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
bill's Coconut Bread

Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Whenever I see someone post a recipe and it says "modified/adapted from" I always am curious to see the original recipe so from now on I'm going to mention what I changed. In this recipe I added the cinnamon directly to the dough with the flour, rather than kneading it in with the raisins. And I didn't use an extra egg to brush the top of the dough or the inside of the dough before sprinkling with the filling. I also halved the recipe (and have written it out as such) but of course just double what I wrote to make 2 loaves.

Makes one 9x5 inch loaf.

For the dough:
1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk (about 110F)
1 lb 1 oz (about 3 1/4 cups) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

For the filling:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp water

Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk; whisk to combine. Add the flour, butter, sugar, cinnamon, egg and salt. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low speed until all the ingredients are well combined, about 3 minutes. Raise the speed to medium-low, and continue to mix until the dough is uniformly smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes more.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat out dough into a 9 inch round, about 1 1/4 inches thick. Sprinkle with raisins and knead unitl they are just incorporated. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with a tea towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and pat into a round. Fold in the following manner: Fold the bottom third of the dough up, the top third down, and the right and left sides over, tapping hte dough after each fold to release excess flour, and pressing down to seal. Return the dough to the bowl, seam side down, and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.

Make the filling: Combine sugar and cinnamon with water in a small bowl. Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to a 12 by 10 inch rectangle and sprinkle with the filling.

Generously butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan; set aside. With a short end of the rectangle facing you, fold in both long sides of the dough, about 1 inch. Then roll the dough toward you, gently pressing as you go to form a tight log. Gently roll the log back and forth to seal the seam. Place the loaf in a prepared pan, seam side down. Cover pan loosely with a tea towel, and let rest in a warm place until dough rises just above the rim of the pan, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F.

Transfer pan to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until loaf is golden brown, about 45 minutes. (If the tops begin to brown too qucikly, tent with aluminum foil.) Turn out the bread onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. The bread can be kept at room temperature up to 4 days, in a tightly sealed container.

Cocoa Nibbles

As soon as I saw these cocoa nibbles that the wonderfully talented Ricki (of Diet, Dessert and Dogs) posted, I knew I had to make them. And make them I did, a few days later - which is rare for me since I have a humongous (and insanely growing) list of recipes I've saved from food blogs to make one day. I guess I should explain what they are eh? Well they're designed after the Lara bars, so imagine a really moist perfectly chocolatey little treat (that you don't have to feel guilty about).

These cocoa nibbles were just as good as I'd hoped and while they did really test the power of my little food processor, they were easy to make. Not only are they a healthy snack, but they can really satisfy a chocolate craving (with the use of cocoa powder alone!) I was so very impressed by these and will make them again and again. Unfortunately I put this batch in a container that stank like onion so I only got to enjoy a few.

Other healthy snacks:
No Fail Granola
Mini Pear Loaves
Applesauce Oat Bran Muffins
Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffin

Cocoa Nibbles
Adapted from Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs

Ricki suggests adding mint, chili powder, lemon or cinnamon but this is the version I tried and fell in love with.

1/2 cup (80 g) raw almonds
1 1/4 cups (about 150 g) unsweetened dried dates, chopped
2 tbsp (20 g) cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla

In a food processor, process the almonds, dates, and cocoa until you have what looks like a fine meal. Sprinkle with vanilla and continue to process until the mixture comes together as a ball that rolls around the edge of the processor bowl (this may take a while–up to 5 minutes or so; occasionally stop and scrape sides of processor to push the mixture toward the blades).

The “dough” is ready when, if you pinch some and press it between your fingers, it sticks together readily and looks a bit shiny. (If this isn't happening, add a couple of teaspoons of water.) The mixture should NOT be as soft as a cookie dough, but more like clay.

Place a clean piece of plastic wrap on the counter and turn the mixture onto it. Using your hands, form the mixture into a log about 8 inches long. Try to compress the mixture as much as possible so you have a very dense log. Wrap with the plastic and roll the log one or two times, compressing it with your hands, to squeeze out any air spaces.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight. Take the dough from the fridge and slice it into little medallions about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.

Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins

I was really excited to see that my library had Veganomicon as I've seen many people posting recipes from it and have been curious. I've since bought the cookbook but have only tried out a few recipes from it so far. These delicious applesauce oat bran muffins are one of the recipes I've tried. I've made them many times, with modifications to make them healthier.

Which brings me to the Healthy Cooking event hosted by Fun and Food that I'm taking part in. The point behind this event is to gather vegetarian recipes (including baked goods) that are healthy, and I know I could definitely use some new healthy recipes! And a bonus is that a winner will be chosen and will receive a free healthy cookbook. What I did to make these muffins healthier is what I usually do with muffins - swap applesauce for oil (which works especially well in this recipe since it's an applesauce muffin!), omit the sugar, use whole grain flours, and add healthy nuts and dried fruit.

I changed the spices a bit (added more cinnamon and added some cloves) to simplify it rather than measuring out a tiny bit of a few different spices. So add whatever spice mixture you like to this (cloves, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice)! I've also tried making these muffins with combinations of flours with success, like a mix of whole wheat flour and amaranth flour. And of course switch out the raisins and pecans/walnuts for other favourite fruit and/or nut combinations. I haven't tried any yet because I'm really stuck on this version, but I bet chopped dried apples would be perfect. This is probably one of my favourite healthy muffin discoveries/creations!

Other muffins/loaves I've made:
Mini Pear Loaves
Chocolate Walnut Banana Bread
Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins
Snickerdoodle Muffins

Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins
Adapted from Veganomicon

Makes 12 muffins

3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup + 3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp sugar (optional)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or a combination of whole wheat flour and other flours, such as 1/2 cup amaranth flour and 1 cup whole wheat)
3/4 cup oat bran
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin.

In a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar; allow it to rest for 1 minute to curdle. Add the applesauce, and sugar (if using), and whisk to completely incorporate them.

In a separate smaller bowl, sift together the flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet; stir only to moisten and don't overmix. Fold in the raisins and pecans. Use an ice cream scoop or measuring cup to scoop the batter into muffin cups.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to complete cooling.

No Fail Granola

I've been wanting to make my own granola for quite some time now. So you can imagine that I was really excited when I came across this incredibly easy and versatile recipe at Everybody Likes Sandwiches. It does take longer than I'd like to make since I chop up all the fruit and nuts, but it's definitely worth it.

I use apple juice instead of oil so I assume that's why the granola doesn't turn out hard/crispy at all, which is how I would prefer it but I don't want to add oil. At first I tried eating just a bowl of this granola with milk (as I would cereal) but it was so soft and soggy. Then I started doing half box cereal (Vector or Special K usually) and half this granola, with an extra sprinkling of almonds, and I really love it. I also love knowing that without even trying, I'm eating lots of things that are good for me every morning!

I extremely adore this jar for keeping my granola in. Originally it was purchased for cookies but I think the granola has now staked its claim on the life of the jar. (It's from Ikea.)

On top of the oats, flax and wheat germ in the granola, I like to have a real mix of seeds, nuts and dried fruit so I've been doing:
1 cup of seeds (half sunflower, half pumpkin)
1 cup of nuts (half almonds, half walnuts)
1 cup of dried fruit (mix of raisins, apricots and apples, though I'd really like to add blueberries, pears and figs - if only the dried blueberries I've seen weren't packaged using some oil!)

No Fail Granola
slightly adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches

4 c rolled oats
3/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c flax seeds

Plus 3 cups of any of the following suited to your tastes:
Nuts* (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, etc)
Seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, etc)
Dried fruit* (raisins, apricots, apples, cherries, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, pears, peaches, coconut, figs, etc)

Mix all of your grains and nuts together and add some spice:
1 T cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground ginger
1/8 t nutmeg
1/8 t ground cardamom

In a large measuring cup, mix together the following:
1/3 c + 2 T apple or pear juice, ideally the cloudy kind
1/3 c sweetener (honey, brown sugar, molasses, or maple syrup)

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix well with a wooden spoon until everything is well coated.

Pour onto a cookie sheet or large rectangular pan and bake in a 300 degree oven. Stirring every 20 minutes or so for about 45 minutes until mostly dry. Remove and cool. Store in a tight lidded container.

*I always chop up the fruit and nuts into raisin size pieces. Obviously I do not cut up the raisins!
Note: Next time I might try baking everything without the dried fruit to make sure it gets all nice and toasty (and adding the fruit in after).