Whole Wheat Baked Banana Donuts

Between all the weekend traveling to visit friends, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, and weddings, it's nice to just have a weekend home with the hunny.

Mountain Man prepared dinner Friday night as I finished up my latest cake creation for pick up the next morning and we spent the rest of the evening curled up on the couch watching episodes of CSI. 

We look forward to these kind of weekends, because we don't get them very often... the ones where we can just hang out and relax.

We were in bed by 1030.. does that make us lame? maybe....or just people who take their rest seriously.

You know what else we take seriously? Breakfast.

It really is the most important meal of the day, and rightfully so.

The weekends are the perfect time for delicious meals.. no deadlines or time constraints, just waking up when you want and getting in the kitchen- breakfast heaven.

This weeks star: the donut pan.

Whole Wheat Baked Banana Donuts

adpated from Jessica @ How Sweet It Is

Bake time: 20 minutes Oven: 375

Makes about 12 donuts

2 cups white whole wheat flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 TBS vanilla

3 large bananas, mashed

2 TBS butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 and spray donut pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk until blended.

Add buttermilk and vanilla extract, mixing until incorporated.

Add smashed bananas and mix until batter is somewhat smooth.

Finally add melted tablespoons of butter and mix until combined.

Fill donut molds about 2/3 the way full with batter.

*For easy transfer, fill a large ziplock bag or frosting bag with batter. Cut tip of bag and use bag to fill donut mold. 

Bake for about 20 minutes or until donuts are lightly browned.

                              

Maple Glaze

1/2 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a shallow bowl. 

When donuts are cooled, dip into glaze for complete coat. 

Happy Baking!

Apple & Cranberry Muffins with Granola Topping

What's worse than being sick all weekend? Being sick on your birthday weekend.

That's right.. as soon as we got done with a lovely Italian birthday dinner Friday night, I could feel my body starting to shut down and was in bed by 9... lame.

So while I should have been out celebrating all weekend, I was instead curled up on the couch surrounded by tissues, cups of hot tea and way too much medicine.

Come Sunday morning I was ready to do something; still not feeling particularly keen, I was determined to get in the kitchen and bake something anyways.

Not being able to sleep the past few nights turned out to be a great time to brainstorm some new recipe ideas.

Mountain Man said he could taste the healthy in these muffins (but in a good way he insisted) and I need all the health I can get right now, so I was by no means offended.

So if you're needing a little healthy in your life or just looking for something delicious for breakfast, these are the muffins for you.

Apple & Cranberry Muffins
swEEts original
Oven: 375 Bake time: 20 minutes
Makes 12 muffins

1 cup AP flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flax seed meal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup fat free vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup pear sauce* or apple sauce
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Granola Topping *optional
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 cup bran flakes, crushed
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 TBS brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 cup honey
To make granola topping, mix all ingredients in a small bowl- adding just enough honey to coat ingredients.

Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, add flours, sugar, flax seed meal, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In a small bowl, mix egg, yogurt and pear(or apple) sauce.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well with wooden spoon.
Fold in diced apples and cranberries.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill muffins 2/3 way full.
Generously sprinkle granola topping on top of each muffin.
Transfer to oven and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Because I was out of apple sauce I got a little creative and made my own pear sauce.. it was very easy to make and turned out to be quite delicious- easily substituted for apple sauce.


Pear Sauce (Just enough for the muffin batter)
2 pears, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
1/4 cup water
2 TBS sugar

In a small sauce pan, cook water and pears over medium heat.
Bring to boil and allow pears to soften- about 5 minutes.
Transfer pears to food processor, add sugar and pulse to puree.

What do you do when you're sick?

Happy Baking!

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Until this past weekend, I had been out of my kitchen for 2 weeks due to a business trip! 14 days people..

Do you know what that means to an avid kitchen goer??

Torture.

Luckily I had some recipes in the arsenal so the blog wasn't out of commission while I was gone, but the entire two weeks I was locked up in my hotel room all I could think about was what I was going to make when I got home.

I arrived home Saturday night, greeted by my adoring boyfriend and spent the early evening feasting on some good ole Texas BBQ with some friends.. delish.

Sunday morning the kitchen was going to be mine.

Eating the same stale bagels, raisin bran and yogurt (not all at the same time, I had a rotation going) for 14 days does a toll on ya..so healthy(ish) and delicious were two prereqs for my Sunday morning bake sesh.

Bananas in the freezer + peanut butter in the cabniet + mini chocolate chips= perfect muffin combo.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
A swEEts original
Oven: 375 Bake Time: 15 minutes
Makes 8 muffins

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup crushed bran flakes (crushing 1 cup of bran flakes=1/2 cup crushed)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 ripe banana, mooshed
1 egg
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
2 TBS oil
1/4 cup fat free vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips * optional

Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine flour, flax seed meal, bran flakes, baking powder and soda.
In a small bowl, whisk egg, oil and vanilla yogurt. Add smooshed banana, peanut butter, honey and continue to whisk until blended.
Add banana mixture to dry ingredients and mix with wooden spoon until well combined.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop, place one heaping scoop in each muffin cup.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until muffins bounce back to touch and are lightly browned on top.

Mountain Man said: "You can taste the healthy in these...but in a good way"

Happy Baking!

Healthier Whole Wheat Bread & Honey Apple Butter

I don't think I ask much of Mountain Man.. well, ok.. I don't think ask too much of Mountain Man. But one thing I will ask of him is bread- sandwich bread to be specific.

Bread making scares me. I feel like there is so much involved: the yeast, the rising, the waiting, the kneading, the waiting...I get overwhelmed just thinking about it! I'll make up a mean quick bread any day, but throwing yeast in the mix totally intimidates me. I guess I should try it out some time though...

In the mean time, I think MM does a pretty good job in the bread department and I'm going to let him keep doing a good job. :)

For this edition of "In the Kitchen with Mountain Man" the recipes are completely his, but the narration is completely mine- with a lot of help.

Healthier Whole Wheat Bread
1st rise: 1 hour
2nd rise: 40 minutes
Oven: 425-350
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Makes 1 large loaf

2 cups warm water
3 TBS active dry yeast
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar

1 cup bread flour
1 cup oat flour
1/4 cup quick oats (coarsely ground)
1/4 cup flax seeds
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/8 cup flax seeds

In a large bowl, whisk together water, yeast, honey and sugar. Let proof/stand about 5 minutes. (For those of you as unfamiliar with bread terms as I am, "proofing" basically means letting the yeast become active and the mixture begins to foam)
Mix bread, oat, and 1 cup of whole wheat flour, flax seeds and oats.

Add flour mixture to wet mixture, adding the rest of whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, as you go until dough needs to be turned out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead dough for about 8-10 minutes, dough should be elastic-y.

Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with saran wrap (spray with Pam first).
Let the dough rest for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Prepare lightly floured surface with a sprinkling of sesame and flax seeds.
After the dough has napped an hour, turn dough back out on lightly floured surface and lightly deflate. Roll the dough in the seeds until covered.
Transfer seed covered dough into loaf pan and cover again with saran wrap, this time letting it rest for about 40 minutes.

While resting, preheat oven to 425.
After the dough is well rested, remove saran wrap and immediately turn oven temperature down to 350.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Transfer loaf to cooling rack until ready to eat.

Honey Apple Butter
1 whole apple
2 cups water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves
1 cup butter, 2 sticks
1/4 cup honey

Quarter apple- removing seeds and stem (but not the core-it will dissolve).
Bring water and vinegar to a boil. Add apple pieces and sprinkle about 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, dash of nutmeg and dash of cloves into pot.
Boil for 20-30 minutes or until apples are extremely soft.

Remove apples and puree in food processor.
In a medium sized bowl, melt butter, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 cup honey in microwave.
Mix in pureed apples.
Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg (or less depending on taste preferences).
Refrigerate until mixture becomes solid again.

Slather on some Healthier Whole Wheat Bread and you're ready to start your day!

Happy Baking!

Homemade Bagels

So I gave him a few weeks, but now that Mountain Man has gotten settled in he's going to be spending more time in the kitchen... and this is most definitely not a bad thing because he is a phenomenal cook and an awesome baker- especially when it comes to breads. Instead of writing about what I think he was doing in the kitchen this morning I decided to give him the honors and write up his own post :) Let me know how you think he did!

In the Kitchen with Mountain Man: Cinnamon-Raisin and Everything Bagels

Evan decided that she wanted a VERY tasty breakfast so she turned the reigns over to me because bagels were next up on the tick list.  She had been eyeing a bagel recipe found in Healthy Breads in 5 Minutes a Day which had highlighted the Cinnamon-Raisin variety so I decided to tackle the project which started the night before.

The thing about Artisan Breads is that you can take a "master dough" recipe and make a large quantity which you can keep in the refrigerator, and from that master dough many different breads can be made.  So the night before I threw together the master dough which only took about 10 minutes.  

Master Recipe

Recipe found in Mother Earth News Magazine (Dec2009/Jan2010) featuring: Healthy Breads in 5 Minutes a Day by Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg

5 1/2 Cups of Whole Wheat flour

2 Cups  AP flour

1 1/2 tbsp Granulated yeast

1 tbsp salt

1/4 cup of vital wheat gluten

4 cups water (100 degrees F)

All the dry ingredients go in together, get a little mix up, then add the water one cup at a time.  Once it is all evenly moist its time to rest....Set the dough aside and let it rest for 2 hours or until it begins to collapse. 

*I left it in the fridge overnight, which made the dough easier to work with in the morning.  The only thing I miss about this recipe is that there is no kneading involved, which is one of my favorite things about baking breads and other yeast based baked goods.

The entire bagel process was suprisingly really easy.  Since the dough was prepared the night before I simply pulled off about a grapefruit sized piece and rolled it out to about 1/4 inch thickness.  All of the sudden I had a flashback to last weekend when I was making cinnamon rolls as I sprinkled some cinnamon, sugar, and raisins onto the dough.  Main difference is that it was a lot less than what goes into cinnamon rolls.  So I sprinkled on the cinnamon, sugar, and raisins and the rolled it back up like a log.  Using my favorite kitchen tool, a dough knife, I cut the log into six equal pieces approximately 3oz each and reshaped it into a ball.  After all of these were cut and shaped they were set aside to rest again for 20 minutes.  While the dough was resting the boiling pot was prepped with: 

8 qts water

1/4 cup of sugar

1 tsp baking soda

After letting the dough rest it is time to shape the bagels and begin the boiling process.  Once the water has reached a boil, take each ball and poke a  hole into it and stretch it out.  As you stretch it, you have to keep working around the dough similar to stretching pizza dough so that one part is not thinner than another.  When you achieve the shape you want, drop them into the boiling water for two minutes then flip with a slotted spoon for another two minutes.  To avoid sticking to each other, I found it easy to stagger them into two separate boiling pots so that they would begin cooking before the next was put in next to it.  After boiling, I placed them onto a clean dish towel to pat them dry.

While the bagels were boiling, the oven was getting nice and hot with a baking stone already in there as well as a cast iron skillet in the bottom.  With a little corn meal sprinkled on the stone, on the bagels go for the last step of the process.  Right before closing the oven, pour a cup+ of hot water into the cast iron skillet to create some steam and shut the door.  20 Minutes later and a little cooling time, breakfast is ready!

All in all I think he did pretty good :) The bagels were delicious.. we have a few things we're going to try for round 2 -getting close to the perfect bagel, but for a Sunday morning after a great weekend they were pretty darn good.

Breakfast was served- Happy Baking!!

Banana Avocado Bread

You heard it right everybody, banana and avocado meet again...this time in bread form! If you haven't had the opportunity to try this delicious duo I suggest you do so as soon as your taste buds can get you there. I don't know what it is about these two fruits, but I think they just work together wonderfully.


The first time I saw a recipe for avocado bread I was intrigued. I absolutely love avocados, but I just wasn't sure how they would hold up when baking. A few months ago I saw some delicious looking avocado bread on one of the many food sites I visit and immediately bookmarked the idea in my mind. It wasn't until I saw the ripe avocados staring at me in the fridge this week that the idea came back to me. After conducting a good search I found a recipe that looked worth trying and the rest is history :)

With the addition of the ripe banana in my freezer just begging to be used, the baking Banana Avocado Bread wafted through my kitchen as I tried to get my stuff together for my little vacay. After spending a week at the beach with my family, Mountain Man and I will be making our way back to Texas and he'll be staying for good!! 18 hours in a truck pulling a UHAUL... if that's not quality time, than I don't know what is.


Although the addition of the banana was definitely a good choice, the flavor was a bit overpowering. I kind of wish the bread was a little more avocado-y... next time I'm going to let the avocado fly solo. SO I'll totally understand if you want to substitute the banana with another small avocado.


Banana Avocado Bread
Oven: 350 Bake time: 45 minutes
Yields 1 loaf
Adapted from a recipe found at allsands.com


1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup turbinado sugar (or regular sugar)
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 small ripe avocado, mashed
1 ripe banana, mashed


Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl.
Mash avocado and banana in a food processor or by hand if you don't have a food processor.
In a medium bowl mix egg, oil, buttermilk and sugar until combined. Add avocado/banana and mix until incorporated.
Add avocado mixture to flour mixture and mix until blended.
Pour into prepared loaf pan.
Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes or when top is browned and firm to touch. Test for doneness with a toothpick and bake longer if necessary.
Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

The next time you hear from me I'll be a whole lot tanner and a whole lot happier with my MM by my side :)

Happy Baking! 

Blackberry Scones

All week I've been thinking about scones...I really think the Brits got it right with these guys. Just a couple weeks ago as MM and I sat outside of Starbucks and munched on a blueberry scone, I found myself judging it the whole time. Now don't get me wrong, they have pretty good scones, but we both agreed that a very fresh, homemade scone, is soo much better! Especially baked by me ;)

The blackberries in the grocery store have been looking fantastic lately. As I was adding the deliciously plump berries to my yogurt the other afternoon, I knew then that they would be the latest addition to my weekend breakfast baked goods. I can honestly say I spend a good part of the week conjuring up what I'm going to bake over the weekend.. you may think it sad, but I bet you wouldn't if you were getting to eat them too!

I really love the book this recipe originated. I did however, make a few modifications to the recipe this time- I really like trying to use whole wheat or white whole wheat flour when I can so that made it in the mix and I am also starting to experiment with the different sugars out there so I went with Turbinado this time. I'm also adding some scone knowledge in Tips & Tricks so check it out!

Blackberry Scones
Adapted from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox
Oven: 375 Prep Time: 30 Bake Time: 20 min
Makes 8 scones

1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour- plus a little for rolling
1 TBS plus 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar (granulated or other..this is where I used Turbinado)
1/2 tsp salt
6 TBS chilled unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1/2 cup blackberries, patted dry and tossed with a TBS of flour
1 TBS lemon zest *optional
1 cup buttermilk- plus some for brushing
1 TBS sugar

In a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
Add pieces of butter and place in freezer for 5 minutes.
Beat on medium speed until butter is broken into pebble sized pieces.

Add blackberries and mix until incorporated and distributed.

Add buttermilk, mixing until dough starts to come together. Use your hands to complete this process and turn out dough on lightly floured surface *if your dough doesn't seem stable enough add a little more flour.
Roll dough into circle about 3/4 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into wedges like you would a pie.

Transfer the wedges to your baking sheet, cover with saran wrap and place in freezer for about 15 minutes or chill in the fridge for about an hour.
While scones are chilling preheat oven to 375.
Brush scones with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar before placing in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
When scones are browned along sides and firm to the touch, remove from oven and place on rack to cool.

Happy Baking!

Muffins for a Week: Whole Wheat Blueberry Cereal Muffins

I have a sick love affair with almost anything that has to do with morning eats- scones, cinnamon rolls, muffins, pancakes, waffles, french toast, cereal- if it's somewhat sweet and can be ate in the morning you've got me.. hook line and sinker. A couple weeks ago I was checking out what Joy the Baker was up to and came across some bran muffins she had recently made that used cereal and could be kept in the fridge for a week.

Fresh muffins all week long?? Done and done.

I actually had some Blueberry Almond Cereal that I was trying to find something to do with because it was just a litttle too sweet for me in the morning. I was going to use it in cookies until I came across her recipe. A few tweaks later and I had delicious muffins every morning for a week :)

Little ramekins come in handy for single muffins!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Cereal Muffins
Inspired and Adapted from Joy the Baker
Oven: 375  Bake Time: 25 minutes
Yields 20-24 muffins

1/2 box cereal (bran or other flakes, like I said before I used Blueberry&Almond)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey*
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen blueberries

Whisk flours, cereal, baking soda and salt.
In different bowl mix oil, applesauce, sweetener, milk and vanilla. Gently beat eggs before adding to wet mixture.
Using a wooden spoon, mix wet ingredients and flour mixture. Fold in blueberries.
Let batter sit for at least 45 minutes so cereal can get soft, or keep in airtight/covered container in fridge for up to a week.
When ready, pour batter into prepared muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes.

When I left for work last week while my girlfriends got to sleep in they were totally impressed when they woke up to fresh muffins. I was almost bummed when I had to let them in on my little secret...

Happy Baking!!

*I am trying to use less agave nectar because it is unfortunately not the healthy alternative that it says it is. MM brought this to my attention a couple of weeks ago and I then made it my mission to research it as much as possible. They are finding that it is not actually healthier than regular sugar. In addition, the body actually processes it very differently than other sugars, which is something that my dietician friend explained to me may not be good large quantities. That being said, I used a very small amount in this recipes mostly because I was trying to finish the bottle I had. From now on I am going to be trying recipes using natural raw sugars and/or honey when I can.