Cinnamon Muffins

Topping

• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3 tablespoons soft butter (Brummel and Brown spread)

Filling

•  3 tablespoons butter (Brummel and Brown) 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Batter

• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil 
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 4 egg whites
• 1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake papers, or grease it lightly.

Prepare the topping by mixing the ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside. 

Prepare the filling by mixing all ingredients to make filling with a soft, pudding-like consistency. Set it aside. 

To make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, milk, and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the liquid, stirring just until combined. 

Divide half the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Dollop 2 teaspoons cinnamon filling onto each muffin, then top with the remaining batter. Sprinkle with topping, pressing it in lightly.

Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and wait 5 minutes before transferring them from the pan to a rack to cool. Yield: 12 muffins.

Golden Sweet Cornbread

I know I posted a cornbread recipe just a couple months ago, and that recipe is a true winner, but this one is also delicious, AND it's been adjusted to be healthier! My friend has her suggested alterations to make it healthier--I use her oil + applesauce adjustment and use 2 egg whites instead of 1 egg, so it's cholesterol free and lower fat. This cornbread feels like it should be a dessert. Maybe that's weird to say, but it's SO GOOD! I love it with honey. Mmm! =) So try it for a healthier twist on cornbread, and I promise you'll love it!

Golden Sweet Cornbread

By my friend Meg

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup white sugar (1/4 cup sugar + 1/4 cup stevia)
• 1 teaspoon + 1 pinch salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk (skim milk)
• 1/2 cup canola oil (3 Tbs. oil + 5 Tbs. unsweetened applesauce)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan or muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and canola oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes for pan, 15 minutes for muffins, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Honey-Bran Waffles

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
2 tablespoons fine-ground cornmeal (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, separared
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup)
1-3/4 cups buttermilk
Pinch of cream of tartar

1. Heat waffle iron
2. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda and wheat bran.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, melted butter, honey, and buttermilk.
4. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer until stiff peaks form (medium-high speed for about 2 minutes) 
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; pour in buttermilk mixture and whisk gently until just incorporated (a few lumps should remain). Toward the end of mixing, fold in whipped egg whites. 
6. Cook in waffle iron according to your waffle iron's manufacturer's directions for about 3 minutes each, until golden brown. 
7. Serve immediately or hold in 200 degree oven on a baking sheet topped with a wire cooling rack, covering waffles with a towel. 

Heart-Healthy Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup low-fat strawberry yogurt
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour or ground oatmeal flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1/4 cup flax seed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, egg whites, and, if using, lemon extract. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, oat bran, flax seeds, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just blended. Spoon batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool muffins in the tin on a wire rack.

Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread

http://allrecipes.com/Cook/13858828/Profile.aspx

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Lemon-Blueberry-Bread

This is one of our favorite quick breads ever! It's super yummy, easy, and calls for ingredients we usually have on hand. Sometimes we'll bake it in an 8 or 9 inch square pan, or as muffins. Yum!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional--we usually skip these)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

GLAZE: (optional)

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and lemon juice.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk; beating well after each addition. Fold in lemon peel, nuts and blueberries.
3. Pour into a greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.
4. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf.

Note: If using frozen blueberries, use without thawing to avoid discoloring the batter.


Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Lemon-Blueberry-Bread

Pioneer Woman's Pizza Crust (make ahead)

Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST (MAKES TWO CRUSTS):
1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
⅓ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions
TO MAKE THE CRUST:
Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

TO MAKE THE PIZZA:
Preheat oven broiler.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Drizzle olive oil on a large baking sheet and use fingers to coat thoroughly. Remove HALF the pizza dough from the bowl. Stretch pizza dough into a large rectangle, pressing with fingers to finish forming. Dough will be very thin.
Lightly drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and use fingers to spread. Top as desired.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove from pan and slice with a pizza cutter. Serve immediately!

Recipe from here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/02/my-favorite-pizza/

Sweet Potato Sandwich Rolls

This recipe is from my mom, Lorinda, and she says they're delicious and fun. Shaping was a little time-consuming but she said it got easier with practice. She said:

This morning I baked these wonderful sweet potato kaiser rolls. Healthy and colorful! Great for hoagie sandwiches or a simple turkey sandwich. I used one to make a turkey, cheese, lettuce sandwich and spread on a plum jam and a bit of honey mustard sauce. It tasted good to me! Try it! You'll like it!

Some notes:  I kept back 1 1/2 cups of flour.... just in case it was too dry. Also, I think you could use real potatoes. I'm going to try that soon, but the the sweet potato was awesome. No extra sugar and the color is wonderful!

Dough
1/2 cup (4 ounces) water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) soft butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato (1 medium)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
1 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur whole wheat flour, Traditional or White Whole Wheat
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups (9 5/8 to 10 5/8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (possibly less some)

Topping
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) sesame seeds (optional)

To make the dough: Place all of the ingredients (holding back 1 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour) into the bowl of your mixer or the bucket of your bread machine, set up for the dough cycle. Mix until you've form a soft, but not sticky dough. Add more flour from your reserved amount if needed to achieve the correct consistency. Knead the dough for 6 minutes, then place it in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour; it will almost double in size and look puffy.

To shape and finish the rolls: After the first rise, deflate the dough and divide it into 6 pieces. You can roll each piece into a ball, then flatten it to make it 3/4-inch thick (this give it a large enough diameter to fit your sandwich on after baking). Or you can roll each piece into a 12- to 14-inch rope, and form into a Kaiser roll shape. Place the rolls either in a hamburger bun pan or on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rise for 25 to 30 minutes, until almost doubled. Brush the tops of the rolls with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 17 to 19 minutes, until the tops are a rich golden brown color, and the centers read above 190°F when measured with an instant-read thermometer. Remove the rolls from the oven and cool on a rack for 5 minutes, before removing from the pan and returning to the rack to cool completely. Yield: 6 large sandwich rolls.

Nutrition information per serving (1 roll, 241g): 20g whole grains, 328 cal, 6g fat, 12g protein, 57g carbohydrates, 5g dietary fiber, 45mg cholesterol, 430mg sodium, 257mg potassium, 6612RE vitamin A, 9mg vitamin C, 3mg iron, 92mg calcium, 89mg phosphorus.

SOURCE

Applesauce Bars

Photo by:
http://allrecipes.com/Cook/FitHealthyMom/Profile.aspx

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (or a combination of wheat or oat flour with white)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
•  
• Confectioners' sugar (For dusting)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch square baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in applesauce. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice; stir into the applesauce mixture until well blended. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for about 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden and toothpick comes out dry. Cool in the pan over a wire rack.
4. Dust confectioners' sugar over cooled bars before cutting into squares, or frost with cream cheese frosting. You can mix in raisins or walnuts into the batter. Another yummy, less healthy alteration is spreading carmel onto the hot bars and then frosting atop that.

Cinnamon Bread

This recipe is so SO yummy. My mom has made it for years, and she got the recipe from our family friend Helen Graham. Try it. I promise you will LOVE it!

2 cups warm water
1 TBSP yeast
1/4 Cup powdered milk (instant)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4)
1/2 cup oil (or 14)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
5-6 (or so) cups of flour

Dissolve the water and yeast. Add milk, sugar, salt, oil, egg, vanilla and 2 cups of flour. Beat well for a couple minutes. Replace beater bar with dough hook. Add flour (one cup at a time) until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for at least five minutes.

Allow dough to rest until doubled. Divide in half. Take half and roll out to 8" x 12". Sprinkle water on dough and smooth it over the dough evenly. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture (probably about 1/2 cup per loaf). Choose the widest end to roll last to help enclose the mixture. Avoid getting sugar and cinnamon close to the edge especially on that end. If it squeezes out it's tasty, but messy and unattractive.

Place in a well greased bread pan. Allow to raise until double. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Makes 2 loaves.

If you want to turn them into braids, make the cream cheese mixture and place it down the center of the rolled out dough.  Cut strips on the outer edges and with those strips, braid the dough.

Cream Cheese Filling for Braid
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
3 TBSP flour
1 egg yolk
1 tsp lemon peel (or dried)
1 tsp almond extract

Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Photo from http://thepioneerwoman.com/

We had this on Christmas morning and it was DIVINE! We used crusty cinnamon-swirl bread that my mom made (we let it dry out a bit to get "crusty"), and prepared it Christmas Eve night and baked it in the morning. Mmmm! This recipe is from one of my favorite sites--The Pioneer Woman--and she has step-by-step instructions on making this here.

Ingredients

• 1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread
• 8 whole Eggs
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• ½ cups Whipping (heavy) Cream
• ¾ cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• Topping
• ½ cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
• Fresh Fruit (optional)

Preparation Instructions

• Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.
• Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.
• In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.
• When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you’re using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.
• Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup. 

Italian Bread Bowls

http://allrecipes.com/Cook/Pam-3BoysMama/Profile.aspx

Ingredients

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
•  
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings 

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture; beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at medium speed after each addition.
3. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
4. Punch dough down, and divide into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into a round loaf. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, beat together egg white, Italian seasonings, and 1 tablespoon water; lightly brush the loaves with half of this egg wash.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.
7. To make bowls: Cut a 1/2 inch thick slice from top of each loaf; scoop out centers, leaving 3/4-inch-thick shells. Fill bread bowls with hot soup and serve immediately.

We also tried these with 2 tbsp Garlic Powder added to the recipe and when putting egg wash on, sprinkled garlic over top. Some people on allrecipes thought they were bland without these adjustments. I thought they were great plain, but it depends on what you're going for!