Healthier Strawberry Banana Bread

In an effort to save some over-ripened strawberries and bananas, I decided to whip up a loaf of strawberry banana bread. I took my recipe for Healthier Banana Bread and added in about 1&1/2 cups of strawberries. This recipe is a first for me and one I will definitely add to the breakfast rotation! You can also use blueberries in place of the strawberries.

Ingredients:
2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. salt

2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce (you can use 1/2c butter if you prefer)
3/4 cup sugar (you can use 1c sugar if you want it even sweeter)

2-3 medium ripe bananas
1&1/2 cups of strawberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Then mix or beat together eggs, applesauce and sugar. Add mashed bananas to the wet ingredients and mix well (I just throw the whole bananas into my kitchen aid mixer with the rest of the wet ingredients and beat, leaving it still a little lumpy). Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Fold in strawberries.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for about 65 minutes.

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Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Usually I prefer blueberry muffins without any sugary topping. Some of the muffins I've had from the bakery are waaay too sweet for me! Not sure why, because I LOVE sweets! Well I decided to try a blueberry muffin recipe I found at allrecipes.com. Oh my! These were amazing! The perfect amount of sweetness for me. The topping was incredible! The kids loved them too. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

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Homemade Granola Bars

 I'm really trying to make more everyday items from scratch. My family loves granola bars, so I decided to try these homemade granola bars from Allrecipes.com. We all loved them! Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour(I used whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.  

recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

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Good Old Fashioned Pancake Recipe

I love pancakes and I could eat them every day for breakfast! I rarely make them anymore though because I eat way too many of them! My daughter just had a sleep over so I decided to make everyone pancakes. I didn't have enough pancake mix on hand so I used this incredibly yummy recipe from All Recipes. If you love pancakes, you have to try these!

Ingredients:  

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted 

Directions:

	In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
	Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

 

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Baked Banana Blueberry Oatmeal

I love oatmeal! You know, like the kind from the little packs covered in sugar....However, I know they are not the healthiest choice for breakfast, so I tried a baked oatmeal recipe that I found over on Kath Eats Real Food. Great blog by the way to find some yummy, healthy recipes. I did add a couple of ingredients, but it was such a delicious recipe and definitely healthier than some of the instant choices(which I still love and will indulge in from time to time).

Ingredients:

2 cups oats(rolled or quick cook)
1 teas. baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg
1 mashed banana
1.5 cups skim milk (I used 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup water)
1/4 cup splenda (this was my addition)
1 teaspoon of vanilla

1-2 sliced bananas
1/2 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (my addition)

Directions:

Mix oats, baking powder and salt together. In a separate bowl mix egg, milk, vanilla, mashed banana and splenda together. Mix wet and dry together. Stir in blueberries. Layer 1 sliced banana on the bottom of an 8X8 casserole dish(sprayed with non-stick spray). Pour oatmeal over the first layer of bananas then add the other sliced banana to the top. Bake uncovered at 375 for about 25 minutes. I skipped this next part(although it sounds amazing!), but Kath increases the oven to broil, covers the  top with a tablespoon of brown sugar and broils the oatmeal for about 3 minutes.

Enjoy! Pin It

Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I can't remember if I've ever made raisin bread before, but this recipe from Betty Crocker's website was really good and extremely easy. It uses the bread machine, so basically you just dump everything in and push a button(you add the raisins at the warning beep though). I love that! My kids loved this bread!
Ingredients:

1

cup water

2

tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

3

cups Gold Medal® Better for Bread™ flour(I used half white, half whole wheat flour)

3

tablespoons sugar

1 1/2

teaspoons salt

1

teaspoon ground cinnamon(I used 2 teaspoons)

2 1/2

teaspoons bread machine yeast

3/4

cup raisins 

Directions:

1. Measure carefully, placing all ingredients except raisins in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Add raisins at the Raisin/Nut signal or 5 to 10 minutes before last kneading cycle ends.
2. Select Sweet or Basic/White cycle. Use Medium or Light crust color. Remove baked bread from pan and cool on wire rack.

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Just like a Cinnabon...

By far, this is my husband's favorite recipe out of everything I make. I found this recipe out of the book "More Top Secret Recipes" (you can also find it here). These really do taste just like a Cinnabon cinnamon roll to me. And, you can make 12 rolls for almost the cost of one at the mall!

I use butter in place of the margarine. 

Ingredients

• 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flour

FILLING

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/3 cup margarine, softened

ICING

• 8 tablespoons margarine
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.
2. Add sugar, margarine salt, eggs, and flour, mix well.
3. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.
4. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide.
6. It should be approx 1/4 thick.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
8. To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
9. Spread the softened margarine over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface.
10. Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
11. Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan.
12. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
13. While the rolls are baking combine the icing ingredients.
14. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
15. When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.

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Zucchini Bread

Fall is in the air and that means more baking!! I love to bake, but just don't get around to it that much in the summer(besides baking cookies for my husband's lunches).Zucchini bread is a great fall bread and it's also a great way to use up all of that zucchini from your garden. I found this incredibly yummy and moist recipe posted on All Recipes. I did make a few minor changes.  I  substituted half of the oil for the same amount of applesauce. I used half whole wheat flour and half white flour. I also used 2 cups of sugar instead of 2 & 1/4. It was still plenty sweet and very delicious!

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour(I used half white, half whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil(I used 1/2 cup oil, half cup natural applesauce)
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar(I used 2 cups)
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts(I used pecans)

Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool. 

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Breakfast Cookies

I love finding new recipes for healthy baked items to make for my kids for breakfast. I found a really yummy recipe for Breakfast cookies. They were easy to make and loaded with things that are good for you. I made the cookies without wheat flour since I didn't have any on hand, but next time I'll remember to buy some. I also didn't use any walnuts. I was going to add pecans....but forgot. They were still great without them. I did not make them as big as recommended. I just used my tablespoon cookies scoop.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped

Directions

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger at Food Network Pin It

Coconut Lime Banana Bread

A few weeks ago I saw a recipe on MyRecipes.com for coconut banana bread. The thought of coconut in my banana bread was quite intriguing. I decided to go ahead and give the recipe a try. I went ahead and used my "go to" banana bread recipe that I always use. I also added some coconut and vanilla to the bread batter. Then I used the coconut, lime glaze from the inspiration recipe. The result was quite tasty. I loved the addition of coconut! The lime flavor was nice also, but pretty tart. If you don't like lime, you can substitute lime juice with water.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour(or use 1 cup wheat, 1 cup white)
1/2 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
3 medium ripe bananas
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 & 1/2 tablespoons 1ime juice(add more if needed)
1 tablespoon coconut

Preheat oven to 325

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Then mix or beat together eggs, applesauce, butter, vanilla and sugar. Add mashed bananas to the wet ingredients and mix well (I just throw the whole bananas into my kitchen aid mixer with the rest of the wet ingredients and beat, leaving it still a little lumpy). Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Fold in coconut.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 for about 70-75 minutes. Mix glaze ingredients together and add to the top of warm bread.

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Whole Wheat Flax and Apple Muffins

 

I few weeks ago a tried a new recipe for these whole wheat and apple muffins. They were very yummy and good for you too. My kids loved them! They make the perfect breakfast muffin.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup white flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

(I added 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)

1 egg, beaten

1 & 1/2 cups finely chopped apples

3 tablespoons oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup chopped nuts(I used pecans)

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix egg, oil, milk and sugar. Blend dry and wet ingredients together. Fold in apples and nuts. Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 17-20 minutes.

Recipe courtesy, Barb Gertz, originally posted on Recipe Zaar.

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Sweet Potato Bread

 

I'm so glad I found this recipe for sweet potato bread. It was really good and it's packed with vitamins from the sweet potatoes. I also like the addition of flax seed. This would make a perfect fall time bread, but is delicious anytime of year. I made a couple of small changes to the recipe and I also decided to add a glaze to the top of it which added the perfect amount of sweetness. 

I found flax seed in the bulk grain section of my store.

Ingredients

• 1/3  cup  flaxseed
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• (I added 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)
• 1/4  cup  (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened(I used full fat cream cheese)
• 3  tablespoons  butter, softened
• 1/2  cup  packed brown sugar(I used 3/4 cup brown sugar and no honey)
• 1/4  cup  honey(I decided not to use honey)
• 1  large egg
• 1  large egg white
• 1  cup  mashed cooked sweet potato
• Cooking spray

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon water(after mixing glaze you can add more water a tiny bit at a time, if you want a thinner consistency)
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together glaze ingredients and drizzle on top of bread, once it is cooled.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place flaxseed in a clean coffee grinder or blender; process until coarsely ground. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flaxseed, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Beat cream cheese and the next 5 ingredients (cream cheese through egg white); stir in sweet potato. Add to the flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
Spoon batter into an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

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Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

 

My kids LOVE muffins for breakfast(I do to)! I had the urge to make some blueberry muffins today. I don't have a go to blueberry muffin recipe. A blueberry muffin with oats in them sounded yummy so I grabbed my Taste of Home Quick Cooking cookbook and sure enough, there was on in there. We all loved these little muffins. I must add a disclaimer though...I don't really care for overly sweet blueberry muffins, you know, like the ones you find in the bakery section at the store, covered in 1lb of sugar each? My husband on the other hand loves those kinds of muffins. I like more of a simple and sweet muffin packed with blueberries. These, to me, are the perfect breakfast muffin for that reason. You could make these healthier by adding some whole wheat flour in place of some or all of the white flour. You could also use half oil and half applesauce. I, for the most part, stuck to the original recipe.

Ingredients:

1 & 1/4 cups white flour

1 cup quick oats

1 teas. baking powder

1/2 teas. baking soda

1/4 teas. salt (I used 1/2 teas)

(I added 1/2 teas. cinnamon in the dry mix)

1/2 cup sugar

2 egg whites ( I used 1 whole egg)

1/2 cup water ( I used 1/2 cup milk)

1/3 cup oil

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries(I used frozen and I mixed them in a little flour first to help keep them from bleeding into the batter)(I also used a little more than 1 cup)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teas. cinnamon

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt together. Mix sugar, eggs, water and oil together. Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add oats and mix. Fold in blueberries. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with cinnamon and set aside. Scoop into a greased muffin pan. Fill about 2/3 full. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture(I left this part out, but I'm sure it would be delicious)Bake at 400 for 18-22 minutes. Makes about 12 muffins.

 

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Blackberry Corn Muffins

I will admit that I usually make corn muffins from the Jiffy box. I know it is a cop-out but they are so easy, so tasty and so inexpensive. I was at the grocery store and they had cornmeal on sale. Now I don't look all that often for cornmeal so perhaps it is always on sale but I thought, for the sake of this blog, why not try to make the real thing. They turned out delicious. I was actually surprised, and I still have a ton of cornmeal left so in the long run I think it might just be cheaper to go with the real thing, plus they make the cornmeal with whole grains now (which Jiffy does not). I had some blackberries at home and thought I would try more of a breakfast style corn muffin instead of a dinner one. Try any berry, I think they would all work. I am not sure about frozen but I know the fresh are great. You would never know by looking at the outside that there was a great little surprise inside.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup brown sugar.
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup milk (whole preferred)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup fresh blackberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Sift flour, cornmeal, white sugar, brown sugar, salt and baking powder together into a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the milk, butter and egg. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture just
3. until moistened. Gently fold in the fresh blackberries. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove.
5. 

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Buttery Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Oh my!!! This is one of those recipes that when you make it, part of you is super excited to have found a new incredibly delicious recipe and the other part of you is thinking... you've just doomed yourself to having to try and keep yourself from eating multiple pieces of this delicious cake throughout your day. That being said, I'm so glad I found and tried this. It is soooo good and my husband loves it too. I made it for him to have for breakfast, but it is just as good served as a dessert.

Ingredients

CAKE

• 1 cup butter (no substitutes)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

FILLING

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  
• 1 egg yolk(I just used a whole egg)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

TOPPING

• 1/4 cup sugar(I used brown sugar)
• 1/2 cup flour (I used a little more than this, to help make it a little more crumbly)
• 1/4 cup butter (semi-soft)

Directions:

Set oven to 350 degrees (oven rack set to second-lowest position). Grease a 13 x 9-inch (or an 11 x 7-inch, baking time will need to be increased slightly). Cream butter with sugar (about 3-4 minutes), add in eggs and sour cream; beat well (about another 3 minutes). In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture; beat well until combined (batter will be thick). Spread more than half of the batter in the prepared baking pan.In another bowl, cream together all filling ingredients, then carefully spread over the cake batter. Spoon the remaining cake batter over the top of the cheese mixture (it doesn't have to cover the cake batter completely, I just dot tablespoonfuls over the batter). For the topping (I most always double the ingredients) mix all ingredients, and sprinkle over cake. Bake for about 50-55 minutes or until middle feels set and not jiggly.

Recipe courtesy of kittencal from the recipe zaar website. 

*I did not double the topping ingredients and I thought it was a good amount as is. I made the 11X7 size.

 

I must say that the coffee cake in the coffee cup was my daughter's idea. I thought it was a cute idea.:) 

 

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Empire State Muffins

For this week's ROTW(recipe of the week) on our facebook page, I picked a recipe from Taste of Home. It was for Empire State Muffins. They sounded like the perfect breakfast muffin. They are loaded with things that are good for you. Recipes like this are pretty much the only way I can get  my son to eat a vegetable(frustrating). They turned out great! I only made a couple little changes.

  If you ever want to try our ROTWs you can get to it by clicking on the link on the right side of the blog. We  love hearing feedback and seeing photos of your finished product!Kimberly and I take turns picking a new recipe every Friday(untried by either of us). We try it and give you our review also.The ones we really like make it over here to the blog. They can't all be winners, right...? 

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded tart apples
• 1-1/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries(I used craisins)
  
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour(I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1&1/2 cups white)
  
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil(If you want to lighten up the recipe use 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup applesauce)
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine apples and sugar. Gently fold in cranberries, carrots and nuts. Combine dry ingredients; add to bowl. Mix well to moisten dry ingredients. Combine eggs and oil; stir into apple mixture.
• Fill 18 greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing from tins. Yield: 18 muffins.

Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home Pin It

Apricot Coffee Cake

I like making my  kids some sort of baked breakfast item when possible. Usually I'll make muffins, or a quick bread, but I also like to make coffee cakes from time to time. I wanted to find a coffee cake that was somewhat light and also included some fruit in it. I found this recipe for an apricot coffee cake on myrecipes.com. It was an easy recipe to make and my kids love it. Like most coffee cakes with fruit on top, the fruit will start to moisten the streusel, but you should be able to crisp it up again by putting a piece in the toaster over for a couple of minutes. I cut this recipe in half and baked it in a 9'' round pan.

Ingredients

• Streusel:
• 1/2  cup  slivered almonds
• 2/3  cup  all-purpose flour
• 2/3  cup  light brown sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 4  tablespoons  unsalted butter, melted
• 
  Cake:
• 3  (15 oz.) cans apricot halves in juice, drained
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1  stick (1/4 lb.) unsalted
• butter, softened
• 1  cup  sugar
• 3  large eggs
• 2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 1  cup  sour cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-by-13- inch baking pan; set aside.
Make streusel: Toast almonds until golden, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let cool. Combine almonds with remaining streusel ingredients; mix until crumbly.
Make cake: Pat apricots dry and set aside. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Beat in half of flour mixture, mix in sour cream and stir in remaining flour mixture, scraping bowl.
Spread batter in pan. Top with a single layer of apricots. Sprinkle with streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a rack.

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Lemony-Glazed Orange Bread

I made this bread a few times last summer, it is a Weight Watcher favorite of mine (with a few changes for a little more kick) because I love sweets but I need them to be lighter. This bread is made with fresh oranges and fresh lemons and is perfect for this time of year in California when the citrus is heavy on the trees. Fairly low in calories (183c) and fat (1g) this loaf is sweet, moist, and has that yummy tartness you would expect from citrus. Enjoy.

2 cups AP flour

2 1/2 tsp grated orange zest

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 tsp orange extract

1/3 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

2 TBL lemon juice

1/4 tsp lemon extract (if you don't have and don't want to purchase then leave it out)

Preheat oven to 350〫Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour, tap out any extra.

To make the batter, whisk together the flour, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Whisk together the granulated sugar, orange juice, orange extract, oil, eggs, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add the orange juice mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until well combined. Pour into the pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, 40-45 minutes (check a little early as this cake will dry out if overcooked). Let cook on a rack for about 10 minutes then remove from pan and cook completely on rack.

To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon zest, juice and extract until smooth. Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the loaf. Let sit for about 10 minutes to let the glaze set.

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Well I know the holidays are over and "pumpkin season" has passed, but my pantry still has a nice supply of canned pumpkin, so I decided to make some pumpkin muffins for my kids. While looking for a pumpkin muffin recipe, I found these delicious little muffins topped with a cream cheese and streusel topping. I love cream cheese.... The recipe isn't difficult, but it is a recipe with quite a few steps and uses about 100 bowls. It's worth it though. They are delicious!

Cream Cheese topping:                                                                                                           
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Streusel topping:

4 1/2 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped pecans (toasted these briefly first on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees, for about 10 minutes. Just)

Muffin ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour (I used 1&1/2 cups white, 1 cup whole wheat)
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice(original recipe calls for 2 teas. cinnamon, no  pumpkin pie spice)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil(original recipe calls for olive oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups.  

FILLING: 

Beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth. Set aside.

STREUSEL TOPPING: 

Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans.Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

MUFFIN BATTER: 

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and gradually incorporate eggs, pumpkin, olive oil and vanilla.(I used my mixer for this)Beat together until smooth.

Fill cups with pumpkin mixture until they're about 1/2 full. Carefully add one tbsp of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. If you're using paper cups, try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

 

 

Recipe courtesy of recipezaar.com

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Healthier Banana Blueberry Muffins

In the effort to try and share some "lighter" recipes this week, here is my healthier version of banana blueberry muffins. My kids can't eat these fast enough. Each of them had 3 for breakfast this morning, even my 3 year old! It's a nice way to get them to eat something healthy.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. baking powder

1 cup sugar (I have decreased this to 3/4 cups before and still tastes sweet enough)
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, soft
1/4 unsweetened applesauce

3 ripe bananas (If they are big I would just use 2)
1 cup of frozen or fresh blueberries (Or a little extra if you really love blueberries!)

You can also add chopped nuts, like walnuts or pecans(I never do since my daughter prefers them without)Fold them in at the end.

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together(first 5 listed). Next mix sugar, eggs, butter and applesauce. Now add your mashed bananas or throw them in whole if you are using something like a kitchen aid mixer and mix until pretty smooth. Mix dry and wet ingredients together and then fold in blueberries. Pour into greased muffin pans. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes, until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

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