Cinnamon Pecan Muffins

So my husband goes to an acupuncturist and comes back with a muffin recipe!  Hmmm....not sure what to think of that!  Apparently the acupuncturist specializes in nutrition and offered this recipe to Sam that includes almond four.  So why almond flour I wondered?  I did some research and found a great website called Elana's Pantry.  Elana shares her stories and recipes for a gluten-free diet that she makes for her family.  This is what she says:   "Almond flour is highly nutritious, easy to use and readily available. For those of us watching our glycemic index, almond flour is high in protein, low in carbohydrates and low in sugars."  To read more and find out more about Elana follow this link:  http://www.elanaspantry.com/why-almond-flour/

Almond Flour photo from Elana's Pantry

Here's the recipe the below.  I'm curious how these are going to taste because of the lack of butter and sugar!  If they are tasty these might become a weekly treat!  Sam hopes they're good too!  Muffins are easy to stuff in his bike jersey as a snack for his long rides.  Here we go..........

Cinnamon Pecan Muffins

2 1/2 c. almond flour

1 c. chopped pecans

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon (she recommends 2-3 tsp- that a lot of cinnamon!)

2 eggs

1/2 c. yogurt

1/2 c. honey

Optional topping:

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Heat oven to 325.

Combine dry ingredients.

Combine wet ingredients.

Add the dry to the wet and mix well.

Bake for 20- 25 minutes.

Drizzle topping over each muffin.

I'm going to make these over the weekend and update you with my review!

Fall Ginger Pumpkin Bread

I made this scrumptious Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart for Thanksgiving and used the left over pumpkin purée to make this Ginger Pumpkin Bread recipe I found on Martha Stewart's website.  I made the glaze for this but tried to make it lighter-not as thick.  Big mistake.  The bread turned out perfect but the glaze was no bueno!  Don't take short cuts on that one!

 

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (1 3/4 cups)
3 large eggs
Sugar Glaze, (optional)  1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
           In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons water until mixture is smooth but 
           thick. Place waxed paper under rack for a quick cleanup. For easy pouring, transfer glaze to a liquid-
           measuring cup, and drizzle over loaves. Let dry 15 minutes before serving.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Butter and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch (6-cup) loaf pans set aside.  I just sprayed with Canola oil.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, pumpkin, melted butter, and eggs; add flour mixture, and stir until just combined.


Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
Let cool 10 minutes; invert pans and transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool completely. Glaze, if desired.
 

Thanksgiving Rolls!

Sam and I received the beloved February Gourmet Magazine and just fell in love with all the roll recipes. We've made the Cracked Wheat Topknots before and they are to die for! We're going over our friends house for Thanksgiving this year and I wanted to bring rolls that would compliment that dinner. Looking over the roll options in this February issue, my eyes focused in on these adorable Buttermilk Fantails that you bake in muffin tins. They look super fancy and delicious. This recipe takes about 5 hours in total to prepare and bake. I don't think I have that kind of time to make them the morning of Thanksgiving so I wanted to experiment with making them the day before and then reheat them right before they go on the Thanksgiving table.

I made them yesterday and it was a surprisingly easy recipe to make, except for getting the yeast to activate! After 5 packages and no bubbles and foam, I said screw it and just went for it and they came out great! Now we'll reheat them tonight and see how they taste and compare them to the freshly baked ones. Stand by.....

Until then, here's the recipe: (and mine turned out just like the Gourmet photos! that rarely happens!)

Buttermilk Fantails

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)
1/4 cup warm water (105–115°F) - I used a turkey thermometer :)
1 tablespoon mild honey or sugar - I used sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Equipment: a muffin pan with 12 (1/3- to 1/2-cup) muffin cups

• Butter muffin cups with 1 Tbsp melted butter.
• Stir together yeast, warm water, and honey in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)
• Mix flour, salt, buttermilk, and 6 Tbsp melted butter into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.
• Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Form dough into a ball.
• Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve.
• Roll out half of dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch square (about 1/8 inch thick; keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap).
• Brush dough with 1/2 Tbsp butter and cut into 6 equal strips. Stack strips, buttered sides up, and cut crosswise into 6 equal pieces.
• Turn each piece on a side and put into a muffin cup.
• Make more rolls with remaining dough in same manner. Separate outer layers of each roll to fan outward.
• Cover rolls with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and dough fills cups, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Bake rolls until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Brush tops with remaining 2 Tbsp butter, then transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.

Cooks’ note: Rolls are best the day they’re made but can be frozen (cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Recipe by Ruth Cousineau
Photograph by Romulo Yanes

 

Did you know.......

....buttermilk is lower in fat and calories than regular milk?!  You wouldn't think that by the looks of it!

Here's what Wikipedia says:

Benefits

Cultured buttermilk is lower in fat and calories than regular milk because the fat from buttermilk has already been removed to make butter. It is high in potassium, vitamin B12 and calcium. Buttermilk is more easily digestible than whole milk and it also contains more lactic acid than skim milk. Due to being more easily digestible (a result of the bacteria added to the milk), protein and calcium can be taken up more easily by the body. There are 99 kilocalories and 2.2 grams of fat in one cup of buttermilk (fat content may be different with some buttermilk brands, as some brands are made with skim milk while others are made with reduced fat milk), as opposed to whole milk that has 157 kilocalories and 8.9 grams of fat.

I'm going to use buttermilk in everything!  Well, not everything, but you know what I mean :)
I'm going to make buttermilk biscuits  soon.....mmmmmm
 

The Ultimate Banana Bread

I just became a follower of Two Cooks One Kitchen blog after I made their family recipe of Banana Bread!

I absolutely love Banana Bread and I am a firm believer that you must add nuts!  Walnuts, of course!

I've made a few loaves already and everyone is in agreement that this is the best Banana Bread!  That makes me very happy and I'm happy I found the recipe!  Thanks Tara and Dan!

Here is is straight from their blog to mine:

Mom's Banana Bread

3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature  (I used 1/2 cup butter)
1 1/2 cup sugar  (I used only 1 cup sugar)
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas, approximately 3
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup four and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk you can also use milk soured with vinegar)
1/2 cup walnuts, optional  (NOT OPTIONAL :) !! )

Cream the butter and sugar. Blend in the bananas, eggs, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Stir the dry ingredients in with the banana mixture. Slowly mix in the buttermilk. Fold in the walnuts if you like.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees.

Muffins: Bake in greased tins for 20 minutes
Bread: Bake in 2 greased loaf tins for 1 hour
Mini-Loaf Bread: Bake in 4 greased mini-loaf tins for 30 minutes

Optional: Cinnamon Crunch Topping:
2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Stir together and sprinkle over the top of the batter before baking.

I thought maybe the optional cinamon crunch topping could be a little too much.  I love sweets, don't get me wrong, but I hate when a treat is over done.  But please, I really believe that this "optional" topping isn't an option.  It's a must!

Oatmeal Muffins

This is a recipe that my friend Laurie shared with me from Epicurious from the Gourmet February 2005 issue.
She's the director at Lite for Life in Los Gatos.  If you need help with achieving weight loss talk to her!  And visit her blog to see the results her clients are getting.  Great job Laurie!
She makes these all the time and now that I've made them, I can see why! They taste like buttery biscuits with a hint of sweetness. Yum, Yum, Yum!
It's a very easy recipe and quite healthy...minus the butter...you simply can't live without it, no matter how hard you try and if Laurie says its OK, then you're good to go :)

Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup dried currants

In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk and let stand 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F. and butter twelve 1/2-cup muffin tins.
Add egg, sugar and butter to oat mixture, stirring until just combined.
Into another large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and add to oat mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in currants.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin tins. Bake muffins in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

It took exactly 20 minutes for these to rise to perfection!  I used raisens instead of currants and loved it.  I'm sure you could just substitute a dried fruit of your choice.  This is the first time I've used buttermilk for anything!  What else can I use buttermilk for?  Any suggestions?


These muffins have already disappeared, so if I make 2 dozen I think that would do it with the milk!

DRIED CHERRY BANANA BREAD

DRIED CHERRY BANANA BREAD

Makes 1 loaf, about 20 slices.

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups unsifted, all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup mashed banana (about 3 medium)
• 1 cup dried tart cherries

Directions:
Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed 3 to 4 minutes, or until well mixed.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; add flour mixture and bananas alternately to butter mixture, beating just until ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix.
Fold in dried cherries.
Pour batter into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven 50 to 60 minutes, or until done. Let cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes, then remove from pan. Let cool completely.
Wrap in plastic wrap to store. This bread is best served the day after baking.

Recipe is from the Food Reference

Classic Cranberry Nut Bread

CLASSIC CRANBERRY NUT BREAD
Yum, Yum, Yum! I searched and searched for the perfect cranberry bread recipe and Ocean Spray delivered!  This is a simple yet scrumptious bread recipe. Good every time! I used canola oil instead of shortening and I used walnuts but didn't chop them up. Recipes usually call for chopped walnuts, but I actually like them unchopped maybe just broken up a bit.



INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 tablespoons shortening
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped nuts

DIRECTIONS:Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in orange juice, orange peel, shortening and egg. Mix until well blended. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread evenly in loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely. Wrap and store overnight. Makes 1 loaf (16 slices).

PER SERVING (1 slice): Cal. 211, Fat Cal. 54, Protein 3grams, Carb. 37grams, Fat 6grams, Chol. 18mg., Sodium 313mg.

This past winter, I probably made this recipe the most!  Everyone kept asking for more...and that's a good sign!

Recipe and photo from Ocean Spray

Banana Chocolate Walnut Cake

This one looks to die for! When I'm in the mood for something with a little bit of pizazz I'm coming back to this recipe! I don't think this recipe will go into the "very healthy" file but we can't always deprive ourselves!!! :)


Serves8
Active Time:30 min
Start to Finish:2 1/2 hr
February 2008 Gourmet Magazine

A great way to use very ripe bananas, this easy-to-make cake incorporates everything you love about banana bread and adds a few more favorites—chocolate, walnuts, and cinnamon—for good measure. (It's also much more tender, with a light, moist crumb.)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
2/3 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (3 1/2- to 4-oz) bar 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup walnuts (3 oz), toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch square cake pan.
Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Beat together softened butter (1 stick) and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in eggs 1 at a time until blended. Beat in bananas, yogurt, and vanilla (mixture will look curdled).
With mixer at low speed, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
Toss together chocolate, nuts, cinnamon, melted butter, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Spread half of banana batter in cake pan and sprinkle with half of chocolate mixture. Spread remaining batter evenly over filling and sprinkle remaining chocolate mixture on top.
Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, right side up.

Cooks' notes: Cake can be made 2 days ahead and kept in a airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe By Ruth Cousineau
Photograph by Romulo Yanes from Gourmet Magazine

Whole-Wheat Bread with Walnuts and Cranberries

You really can't go wrong with any Gourmet magazine recipe. Here's my first recipe that's not a "cake" bread that requires kneading and yeast! I'm going to make 2 loaves and keep one in the freezer....it's got to be tasty!

Makes2 loaves
Active time:30 min
Start to finish:3 hrs (includes cooling)
October 2008 - Gourmet Magazine

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 (1/4-oz) package fast-acting yeast such as Fleischmann's Rapid Rise yeast
1 cup warm water (120° to 130°F)
1/2 cup warm milk (120° to 130°F)
1/4 cup molasses (not robust or blackstrap)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups walnuts (8 oz), lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (7 oz)

Whisk together flours, salt, and yeast in a bowl. Whisk together water, milk, molasses, and butter in another bowl until combined well, then stir into flour mixture until a wet dough forms. Stir in walnuts and cranberries. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, working in just enough additional flour to prevent dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled bowl, turning to coat, then let rest in bowl, uncovered, in a draft-free place at warm room temperature 10 minutes.
Divide dough in half and form into 2 balls. Arrange about 4 inches apart on a large baking sheet. Loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lowest position.
Lightly sprinkle dough with some flour and bake until golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Cooks’ note: Bread keeps, wrapped well, at room temperature 2 days or frozen 1 month.

Recipe and photo from October 2008 - Gourmet Magazine

Carrot Bread

Amy Frank (now Amy Walsh....married this past May!) has shared her Carrot Bread Recipe with me. Looks good!!! Here it is:

2 cups grated carrots
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two medium loaf pans by greasing and dusting with flour or lining with parchment paper.
1. Grate and measure the carrots and set aside.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Whip the eggs together in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar in and then add the oil, extract, and milk.
4. Make a depression in the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture along with the carrots and nuts. Mix with a spatula until combined.
5. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the loaves test done when a toothpick is inserted in the middle of the loaves. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on wire racks.

As simple as 1 - 2 - 3 - 4......5!  This recipe is fantastic. I made two loaves and they came out brilliantly. This is a keeper! The walnuts go perfectly with the recipe. Big hit!

Where did you get this recipe Amy?  Family recipe?

Orange Yogurt Bread

I am very excited about making this one! I have organic plain yogurt in the fridge that I used for the last batch of breads so I wanted to find a recipe that I could incorporate it in and bingo! Orange YOGURT bread:)
It came with rave reviews but you know how that can be.....stay tuned.......

Ingredients
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Glaze:1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar2 to 3 teaspoons orange juice

****They recommend grating an extra teaspoon of orange zest and add it to the glaze. Also they recommend poking holes in the top of the bread with a toothpick before spreading it with glaze.

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add yogurt, orange juice and peel. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.
3. Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly). Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely.
4. For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and enough orange juice to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled bread.

Recipe source: The Taste of Home Baking Book

OK- so this is pretty tasty. I actually didn't do a glaze for this. It didn't seem necessary to add all that extra sugar on top. It was the right decision! The crust is delicious on top-no glaze needed.
This did take about 10 minutes longer than anticipated. About an hour and 10 minutes.

Also, I didn't realize how much sugar was needed for this plus the sugar from the orange juice. I think I might avoid this recipe for next time. The light n' luscious banana bread only had about 1/2 cup! That recipe is looking better and better every day.

Banana Bread Recipe

Delicious! This, is your classic banana bread recipe. Very moist with great flavor!
This took about 1 hour 15 min in my oven.
This recipe calls makes two loaves so I'm thinking of cutting the ingredients in half and if it turns out that I love this recipe I think it's a great idea to make 2 loaves to have one now and freeze the other for the following week.

Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup butter softened
2 cups sugar
7 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions:
Makes two loaves.
1. Cream the butter and sugar. Blend in the bananas, vanilla and eggs.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. Add to the banana mixture and mix until just combined. Pour into two greased 9x5 inch loaf pans.
4. Bake at 350F. Check on the bread after 35 minutes (it may take up to 60 minutes). Banana bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the banana bread in the pan for 10 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe and photo from Moms Who Think.com

Light-n-Luscious Banana Bread

I made this bread last week and I have to say that is was OK. Keep in mind that I have high standards for breads. Given the nutritional value of this recipe- it's pretty damn good. I think I'll give this recipe another try however I will modify it a bit. It was a little bit too "Light, " I prefer it to have a little bit more sweetness that I hope to achieve by adding another banana and maybe add walnuts to increase the fat content. Everyone loves nuts! Even though they do add more fat to the recipe it's the good fat that we need in our diet. Also, I read that you really need to find or let your bananas ripe enough so their skins are black. This will provide the best banana flavor in your breads. I'll try this and let you know what I think!

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground flax meal
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup fat free or low fat plain yogurt
3 very ripe bananas, smashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch x 4-inch metal loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside. Whisk together both flours, baking soda, flax meal, 2 teaspoons of the ground cinnamon and salt; set aside. Cream together butter with sugar using a mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in yogurt, bananas and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Spoon batter into loaf pan. Stir together turbinado sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the banana bread. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, then remove from baking pan. Chef’s Tip: If using a glass baking pan, decrease cooking time by 5 to 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Per serving (about 3oz/71g-wt.): 170 calories (40 from fat), 4.5g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 40mg cholesterol, 190mg sodium, 29g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 13g sugar), 4g protein

Recipe from Whole Foods Market

Apricot Bread

Best one so far! This was an instant hit and was instantly gone! I highly recommend this one if you're a fan of apricots.


Ingredients

3/4 cup dried apricots
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan and set aside. Soak apricots for 20 minutes in hot water to cover. Drain and chop apricots into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside. Beat sugar, oil and egg together in a mixing bowl. Stir in water and orange juice. Add white flour, pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mixing until thoroughly combined. Stir in walnuts and apricots. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Nutrition
Per serving (About 1 Slice/76g-wt.): 250 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 5g protein, 40g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 18g sugar), 25mg cholesterol, 380mg sodium

Recipe and photo from Whole Foods Market.