Triple Coconut Scones with Coconut Glaze

Well, if it says coconut in the recipe title, I'm making it. Scones are one thing I do like in the morning...a close second to croissants. I'm not into major sweet anything for breakfast....but I made an exception for these; you'll find the glaze makes them plenty sweet enough for everyone's taste. Besides, you've got three kinds of coconut in the batter plus the coconut glaze. Wowza! Coconut heaven!

Triple Coconut Scones with Coconut Glaze
From Pastry Affair

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour 
1/2 cup whole wheat flour 
1/4 cup granulated sugar 
2 tablespoons baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/3 cup coconut oil (solid state, not liquid) 
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes 
3/4 cup coconut milk

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the solid coconut oil with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Stir in the coconut flakes and coconut milk until the mixture comes together. (I needed to add a tad more flour)
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a disk roughly 1-inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 pie shaped wedges and move to a baking sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the edges barely take on color. Allow scones to cool completely before glazing.


Coconut Glaze 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup  powdered sugar 
1 tablespoon coconut milk

Method:
In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and coconut milk. Using a spoon, drizzle glaze over cooled scones. Allow a few minutes for the glaze to set before serving.
Makes 8.

Brioche Loaf

Unfortunately, this loaf takes two days to make. Fortunately, it doesn't take much time the first day and the second day is mainly the rise. I love the Huckleberry Cookbook by Zoe Nathan and had seen a recipe there for a delicious Christmas breakfast...cranberry syrup over brioche French toast. No doubt you saw it on my blog before the holidays and I promised I'd post the recipe for the brioche loaf. I've made individual brioche, but never a loaf. It's not the prettiest loaf you've ever seen...but divine tasting. My rise went quickly because I have a proofing setting on my oven and after two hours, it was practically overflowing my loaf pan. I have a feeling Ms. Nathan uses a loaf pan made especially for brioche which would get the height I didn't get without the overflow. Doesn't matter, it was an awesome loaf...from the Christmas French toast, to our traditional Christmas brunch souffle, to sandwiches, to bread pudding, to just plain toast. We loved it. Worth the effort, I assure you.

Brioche Loaf

From Huckleberry by Zoe Nathan

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons whole milk

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 ¾ cups bread flour

¼ cup + 1 teaspoon sugar

1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt

5 eggs, beaten

1 cup unsalted butter, very soft

1 batch Egg Wash

For Egg Wash:

 2 egg yolks

2 tbsp heavy cream

Pinch of kosher salt

Method: 

Day 1

Slightly warm the milk and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast and whisk by hand to combine. Add the all-purpose flour, bread flour, sugar, salt, and eggs. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together, 1 to 2 minutes.

Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and work the dough for 6 minutes. Pause about every minute to push the dough back down into the bowl and off the hook.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the butter, a little at a time, over the course of 2 minutes. Pause halfway through to scrape down the bowl and hook. When the butter begins to blend in, increase the mixer speed to medium-high to fully incorporate the butter and bring the dough back together, 4 to 6 minutes longer.

Transfer the dough to a greased sheet pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Divide the dough into two equal balls, about 11 oz/315 g each. Transfer to a greased sheet pan, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

Grease a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan. Work with one dough ball at a time. First flatten into a disc, then left an edge and press it into the center. Work your way around the circumference, pressing every edge to the center until you have a ball. Flip the ball over so the pleated side is down and the smooth side is up. Cup the dough in your palm and massage the seam side of the dough firmly against the work surface in a circular motion, allowing the friction to seal the seams. Set aside and cover with plastic wrap or a slightly damp kitchen towel while you shape the next ball.

Place the balls into the loaf pan, cover loosely with plastic, and allow to rise in a warm place until more than doubled in size, about 3.5 hours.

As the dough nears readiness, preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C. Carefully brush the dough with the egg wash, making sure the egg doesn’t pool around the edges. Bake until golden, about 35 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack.

For the Egg Wash:

Combine the egg yolks, heavy cream, and salt and whisk until homogenous. Refrigerate until needed.

Thomas Keller's Ciabatta and Sausage Stuffing

We all have our favorite stuffings for turkey, but it's fun to try out different recipes. My dad never wanted me to vary from my chestnut stuffing, but he's been gone for nearly 15 years, so I have tried some new ones the past few years. I always picture him carving the turkey at the end of the table and saving that slice above the breast near the neck just for me. Crisp skin and stuffing was all it amounted to, but I loved that. I prefer to stuff my turkeys rather than make the dressing separately, but it's not set in stone. 
Keller's recipe is made in a casserole and I think you'll love it.

Thomas Keller's Ciabatta and Sausage Stuffing
From Saveur, a recipe from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bistro

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
10 oz. bulk sweet or hot breakfast sausage, casing removed
1 carrot, cut into 1/4" dice
1 small yellow onion, cut into 1/4" dice
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4" dice
2 cups turkey or chicken stock
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. roughly chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
2 tbsp. roughly chopped rosemary
2 tbsp. roughly chopped sage
1 (12-oz.) loaf ciabatta bread, cut into 1" pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:
Heat oven to 375°. 
Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a 12" skillet over medium-high. Cook sausage, stirring and breaking up meat into medium pieces, until browned, 8–10 minutes. Transfer sausage to a large bowl; set aside. Add remaining butter to skillet; cook carrot, onion, and celery until soft, 5–7 minutes, and transfer to bowl with sausage. Add stock, oil, parsley, rosemary, sage, bread, salt, and pepper to bowl; toss to combine. Spread evenly in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Bake until golden brown and bread is slightly crisp on top, 30–35 minutes. Garnish with more parsley, if you like.

Quick Buttery Biscuits

Biscuit lovers unite! And you can believe it when the title  says "quick". These aren't your perfect round little biscuits....the kind you make for company....no, these are for  family and biscuit-lovers. You can throw them together (literally) in 20 minutes and you won't need a bit of butter when they're done, because they bake in a stick of butter! With a casserole or soup and served right out of the oven.....oh my.
Honestly, the devil must have made me do it.

Quick Buttery Biscuits
Recipe from The Country Cook

Ingredients:
1 stick salted butter
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Method:
Preheat your oven to 450.
Melt the butter in glass pan in microwave. Then, mix flour, sugar and baking powder, then add the buttermilk. Pour over the melted butter. Score with a knife into 9 pieces.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotate once.
Chow down!

Emeril's Mini Rosemary Biscuits

Have you made these yet? I saw Emeril serve them to the contestants on an old Top Chef episode and was intrigued. Went online and found them everywhere....usually served with soup or a  salad...but that time, Emeril served them with a barbecued shrimp recipe.
They are so simple to make (I just love mini anything.) and are the perfect addition to any dish you're serving. Besides, I don't know about you, but sometimes I absolutely crave biscuits. And I don't want the big ones. Sort of like mini muffins...you never think you're eating as many. LOL. 
These are so tiny and so very flaky. I think you can see how small they are next to the rosemary sprigs in the photo. Little gems!

Emeril Lagasse's Rosemary Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 cup bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and diced
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/3 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg for egg wash, optional

Method:
Preheat the oven to 450°F. 
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix the butter into the flour using your fingers or a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the rosemary. 
This next step will make all the difference in how flaky your biscuits are. Add the buttermilk a little at a time and work it in lightly, just until the milk is thoroughly incorporated and the dough holds together. You may not need all of it or you may need a bit extra. I did it with a fork until the dough barely held together, then used my hands. Don't overwork or the biscuits will be tough, rather than light and airy. 
On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll out the dough into a circle about 7 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter, press out twelve rounds. 

Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush with an egg wash and bake until golden on top and lightly brown on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes

Hot Cross Buns

 Happy Easter!

You'll find many Easter tables include a basketful of hot cross buns, with their symbolic crosses. Usually the cross is made with a confectioners sugar glaze, but this recipe uses pie pastry; unusual, but it's a clever idea and the buns are plenty sweet enough without the confectioners sugar cross because of the egg and sugar glaze. I've made quite a few hot cross buns, but this recipe beats them all. Sweet, buttery and chock full of currants and raisins. Your family will love them!

You can make these ahead and freeze. Just reheat. And the buns are delicious sliced and toasted in the morning. This recipe makes 24 buns.

Hot Cross Buns

From Epicurious

Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk (105°–115°F.)
two 1/4-ounce packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 sticks (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1/2 cup dried currants

1/3 cup golden raisins

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange zest

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest

3 tablespoons superfine granulated sugar

pastry dough (hopefully you have some left over in the freezer)

Method:

In a small bowl stir together warmed milk, yeast, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Let mixture stand 5 minutes, or until foamy.

Into a large bowl sift together flour, allspice, cinnamon, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Cut butter into bits and blend into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. (I used my fingers.)

Beat 1 whole egg with an egg yolk. Make a well in center of flour mixture and pour in yeast and egg mixtures, currants, raisins, and zests. Stir mixture until a dough is formed. Transfer dough to a floured surface and with floured hands knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (I  put the dough in my mixer with a dough hook.) Transfer dough to an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Let dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Butter 2 large baking sheets. (I used parchment paper.)

On a floured surface with floured hands form into two 12-inch-long logs. Cut each log crosswise into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and arrange about 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Let buns rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

While buns are rising, lightly beat remaining egg with superfine sugar to make an egg glaze. 

For the pastry crosses: On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out pastry dough into a 20- by 6-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick). With a sharp knife cut rectangle crosswise into 1/8-inch- wide strips.

Brush buns with egg glaze and arrange 2 pastry strips over center of each bun to form a cross. Trim ends of pastry strips flush with bottoms of buns. Bake buns in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer buns to a rack to cool slightly. Buns may be made 1 week ahead and frozen, wrapped in foil and put in a plastic bag. Thaw buns and reheat before serving. 

Lemon Bread

This is one of those breads you just can't resist slicing into for your afternoon tea. Light, lemony perfection all wrapped up in one loaf. The glaze is a final touch and nothing more is needed. Another plus: I make this in small loaves, wrap them up and take them as gifts for holidays, hostesses or under-the-weather friends. It always brings raves. 

Lemon Bread
From An Italian In My Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel (zest from 1 lemon)
4½ teaspoons lemon juice (I used 1 medium lemon)
2¼ cups flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons sugar
¾ cup butter softened
3 eggs
¾ cup milk 

Method:

Preheat oven to 350° and butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with dry bread crumbs and knock out the excess.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and 1¼ cups sugar, add the softened butter and with a pastry blender blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the lemon peel.
In a small bowl beat the eggs lightly with a fork add milk and mix until combined, then pour this mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until flour is moistened.
Add the batter to your loaf pan and bake for 1 - 1¼ hours (or until tooth pick comes out clean). Cool then move to a wire rack.

For the glaze:
In a small pan add 4½ teaspoons of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar, over medium heat stirring constantly bring to a boil until thickened. With a pastry brush, brush syrup over the top of the bread. 

Rosemary and Cheese Dinner Rolls

Everyone loves dinner rolls with holiday meals...my mother always made them and when I was in charge of the big family dinners, I always made them too. Usually I made cloverleaf rolls because they freeze a dream and I made them ahead.

I ran across this recipe a few months ago and while they appear to have been made for an Easter dinner, I thought they'd be perfect with either a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Who wouldn't love a roll with some cheese built right in and topped with rosemary, Kosher salt and fresh black pepper? These are totally amazing; you can easily taste (and see) the manchego cheese throughout and I clipped some fresh rosemary right out of the pots on my front porch for the topping. When done, I stuck them in the freezer, but later thawed and warmed one to double check that they held up perfectly. They did.

Notes: I used the quick rising yeast, so began making them in the morning and baked them at lunchtime. The directions below are from the original recipe, using active dry yeast and the dough is refrigerated overnight, then shaped the next day. It all depends on which yeast you prefer to use.

Rosemary and Cheese Dinner Rolls
By Gerry Speirs at Foodness Gracious

Ingredients:
2 envelopes of Red Star Active Dry Yeast
1 tablespoons sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
1 pound all purpose flour (4 cups)
½ tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups grated manchego (or cheddar)
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary
Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Cornmeal for the baking tray (I used parchment paper)

Method:
Mix the yeast, sugar and warm water (meaning 125 degrees) until it has dissolved.
In a large bowl add 3 cups of the flour and salt; make a well in the center.
Add the yeast mixture to the center and mix with a wooden spoon until it makes a soft dough. (I found I didn't need the full 4 cups of flour, so if your dough is too wet, add until the mixture comes together and forms a soft ball. Flours are different as are locations...I live in South Florida so it may be somewhat different for those who live in cooler climes.)

Knead on a floured board for 4 or 5 minutes and then shape into a round ball. (I used the dough hook on my mixer.) Grease a bowl with olive oil, dump in the dough, slide it around and then turn it upside down so both sides are slightly greased.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight. (I didn't do this step because I used the quick rising yeast. I just covered the bowl with a tea towel and let it rise for an hour or so...then continued on to the next step.)

Take the bowl from the fridge the next day and place on floured board. Roll it flat until it's about an inch thick. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and begin to knead and fold again. Once the cheese is incorporated, cut it in half and roll out to a rectangle. Cut the dough in strips (you should get about 8 with each half) and roll each strip into a rope shape about 6 inches long. Tie a knot and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with both halves of dough.
With a pastry brush, glaze each roll and then sprinkle with a mixture of chopped fresh rosemary, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for about another 45 minutes or so.
In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Place the rolls in the oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden. Mine took a tad less than 20 minutes. All ovens are different.
Makes about 16.

Marion Cunningham's Boston Brown Bread Muffins

When I was first married, we frequented a restaurant with my in-laws that always served a plate of delicious Boston brown bread in place of rolls. I came to love that bread and every time we went there, I looked forward to a slice (or two) with a slather of cream cheese on it. It was almost like having dessert before dinner! I made it once, years ago, in a can and it had to steam for a couple hours....very tasty, but I never made it again.
While sorting recently through my files, I noticed I had saved a muffin version of this bread, made by Luisa from The Wednesday Chef....and she used Marion Cunningham's recipe. I looked it up in The Breakfast Book and there it was. Don't know how I missed it, you know how much I love that book! Lightly sweetened with a mix of flours, these are unusual and delightful muffins. The molasses lends a nice deep flavor, the cornmeal a very slight crunch and those golden raisins give you a bite of sweetness. We ate them right out of the oven with butter and they sure brought back some fond memories!


Marion Cunningham's Boston Brown Bread Muffins
From The Breakfast Book

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses 
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup golden raisins

Method:
Heat oven to 400 F. Grease your muffin pan. Mix together the flours, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, molasses, sugar, oil, and buttermilk. Blend well. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well. The batter will be very fluid, that's OK.


Fill the prepared muffin tins 3/4 of the way and bake for 15 minutes, until your tester comes out clean. Serve hot with butter or cream cheese.

Swedish Cinnamon Buns

I haven't any idea why these are called Swedish, but I thought they were fun because they are a yeast bread made in muffin tins with paper muffin liners...never have done that before. There aren't any raisins in these cinnamon buns either, so if you want to add them, sprinkle them over the brown sugar before you roll up the dough. Making any kind of bread from scratch always looks like such an effort, but it isn't, really. Just takes a bit more wait time in the kitchen. Your dough hook on a stand mixer does all the work. 

These aren't as decadent as Ina's sticky buns (which have the advantage of being quicker to make, albeit hideously fattening), but more like breakfast rolls without all the gooey topping. They sure were fabulous hot from the oven. Just add a bit of butter. Yum. 
Is there anything better than the fragrance of fresh rolls or bread in the oven?

Swedish Cinnamon Buns
From Cakelets and Doilies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
50 g (about 3.5 tablespoons) butter, roughly chopped
3 1/2 cups flour
1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 egg, beaten lightly

Filling
75 g (about 5.25 tablespoons) butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping
1 egg, beaten lightly
Pearl sugar to sprinkle Or use silvered almonds 


Method:
Put the milk and ground cardamon in a small saucepan and bring to just below the boil. Take off the heat, stir in the butter and leave to infuse until the milk mixture is just warm (about 100 degrees F).
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with hook attachment. Add warm milk mixture and egg to flour mixture. Knead on low speed until you get a smooth pliable tacky dough, about 10 minutes. The dough is ready when it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Resist adding more flour to the mixture. The dough is very sticky.

Lightly grease your hands, and shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl, and cover with a tea towel. Let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled in size. Depending on the temperature of your room, it can take anything between 30 mins to 1 hour. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for the next step.

Meanwhile, make filling:
Melt butter and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine dark brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
When the dough is ready, deflate the dough, cover with cling wrap and let rest for 5 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle roughly 24 by 10 inches. Generously brush melted butter over the dough. Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the dough, from the longer side, tightly. Place it on its seam. Cut and discard the ends. Cut roll into 12 equal slices.
Line standard cupcake/muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. Place rolls in paper liners. Cover loosely with a tea towel. Let the dough proof for the second time until double in size, about 30 mins to 1 hour. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for baking.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. While waiting for the oven to heat up, brush top of each roll lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle over silvered almonds. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes a dozen.

Buttermilk Pan Rolls

Red Star Yeast has so many tempting bread recipes, sometimes I just can't resist. And this from someone who doesn't make a lot of bread anymore.
Here's a perfect example. These rolls are almost like a quick bread as you can make them from start to finish in less than 2 hours. I must admit, however, I found their directions a tad confusing, probably because there were too many variations of them! Bread machines, mixers, by hand and in a processor. I kind of pieced the directions together for my convenience and all turned out well. If you want to use something other than your stand mixer, click on the Red Star link below the recipe title for additional directions on other methods.

Buttermilk Pan Rolls
From Red Star Yeast

Ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup water
¼ cup oil
3 cup bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons sugar
½ tsp baking soda
2¼ tsp Red Star Active Dry Yeast

Method:

Combine yeast, 1 cup flour, and other dry ingredients in your stand mixer bowl using the paddle attachment.
Combine water, buttermilk and oil in a small pan and heat to 120º to 130º F.
Add the liquid ingredients to the flour and mix, adding the remaining two cups of flour to make a dough.
Change to the dough hook and beat for several minutes. In the meantime,  turn your oven on to its lowest setting for 1 minute, then turn it off.
Place your dough in a greased bowl, flip the dough over so both sides are greased. Cover lightly and place dough in the oven to rise for 15 minutes. 
Remove from oven and press your dough evenly into greased 9-inch square cake pan. Sprinkle top of dough lightly with flour. With sharp knife, cut dough into 12 rolls, cutting almost to bottom of pan. Cover; let rise in warm place until indentation remains after touching. 
Bake in preheated 400º oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan. Break apart into rolls; serve warm.

Marion Cunningham's Buttermilk Barley Biscuits

I hope you never tire of my posting gems from The Breakfast Book. I sure love making them! Honestly, they are spot on every time, never a miss.
Here we have a biscuit made with barley flour, which has a rich nutty taste and is a powerhouse of nutrition. Serve these biscuits warm with some cream cheese and your favorite homemade jam. For breakfast, for a snack, for tea....any time. You can freeze them too. They're flatter than most biscuits (you don't need to slice them open, just slather cream cheese and jam on top), but are amazingly flavorful and so good for you. No wonder all of Marion Cunningham's recipes are treasures!

Buttermilk Barley Biscuits
From The Breakfast Book

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups barley flour
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter

Method:
Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in the buttermilk and beat until smooth. Then add the melted butter. Blend well.

Dust a board with flour and roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with a 2 or 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter and place on the parchment paper. They don't rise much, so you can place them close together. Prick each with a fork three times. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Serve warm with cream cheese and your favorite jam.

Buckwheat Banana Bread with Poached Cherries and Mascarpone

Bananas are not something I buy frequently, which pretty much means I rarely make banana bread, but when I do, I use an old recipe from the Palo Alto Junior League cookbook called Private Collection (real gems....there are two). For some odd reason I've never posted the recipe, but Lori from Recipe Girl did, if you want to try it. It's my go-to recipe if I'm going to make banana bread. Or was.
Not any longer.
Recently, I ran across this Buckwheat Banana Bread recipe and because I love buckwheat flour and had some rare over ripe bananas on the counter, I tried it. We're not a gluten-free house but this recipe is indeed gluten free. And honestly, totally awesome with the buckwheat flour and coconut palm sugar. This particular recipe is gussied up for company with some poached cherries and a mascarpone topping, but you don't need to do that if you'd rather not....it's fabulous all on its own.
The original recipe used poached quinces if you'd prefer (I didn't have any, but had cherries in the fridge so poached those per a recipe from :pastry studio) and pistachios (I used almonds) as a garnish. Use whatever you have handy. In addition, I used vanilla bean paste (which is also gluten-free) instead of powdered vanilla.

Buckwheat Banana Bread with Poached Cherries and Mascarpone
From Gather and Feast

Instructions:
4 large ripe bananas, mashed
4 eggs
¼ cup honey
1/3 cup coconut sugar 
1 tsp vanilla powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
½ cup coconut oil
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
2 cups almond meal
¼ cup buckwheat flour
Pinch of sea salt 

Ingredients for the vanilla bean mascarpone*
250g mascarpone
4 tbs coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla powder (I used vanilla bean paste)
Pistachios for sprinkling (I used sliced and toasted almonds)

Ingredients for the cherry compote
(recipe from :pastry studio)
3 cups fresh cherries (about 1 lb, 2 oz)
1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) sugar, to taste
zest of 1 orange
1 - 2 tablespoons balsamic, to taste                                          
few grains of salt

Method for the banana bread:
(I cut the above recipe in half and used one 8 by 4 inch loaf pan)
Preheat your oven to 340 degrees. Line your loaf pan with parchment paper.
Combine mashed bananas, eggs, honey, coconut sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and coconut oil.
Fold the baking powder, almond meal, buckwheat flour and sea salt into the mixture.
Pour the batter into your loaf tin and place into the oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack briefly, then remove from the pan and cool completely.

Method for the cherry compote:

For the cherry compote, pit the cherries and place them in a saucepan with the sugar and the orange zest.  Cook over low heat until the juices begin to flow. Add the balsamic vinegar and a few grains of salt and cook just until the cherries are tender.  Take off the heat and let cool while you prepare the cake batter.

Method for the vanilla bean mascarpone:
Mix all the ingredients together.
*(Yours won't be as runny as mine in the photo above....I made a small amount and left it on the counter so it wasn't as firm as I would have liked. Still delish though.)

Slice the bread, top with cherries and mascarpone sauce and serve.

Marion Cunningham's Cornbread Muffins

These are lovely tender-textured muffins, which should come as no surprise considering they're from Marion Cunningham's Breakfast Book. I absolutely love this cookbook! Someone referred to it as "an encyclopedia for breakfasts"...perfect description. I keep finding recipes I haven't tried, although I've had the book for years. I've never been disappointed with one of her recipes and you obviously love them too as Marion's recipes are always the most viewed on my blog.

You won't be disappointed with this recipe either. Because it's cornbread, don't be surprised when they don't rise as high as you'd expect with a muffin, but when you break one open, they're light as air. No butter needed here, but honey is a must.

Marion Cunningham's Cornbread Muffins

From The Breakfast Book

Ingredients:
1 egg, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk, warmed
1 cup cake flour
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Method:

Preheat oven too 400. Grease a muffin pan.

Whisk the egg, melted butter and vegetable oil until well mixed. Stir in the milk. 

Combine the cake flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt in another bowl. Mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well blended. The batter will be light and medium thick.

Spoon into muffin cups so each cup is 3/4 full. Bake 15-20 minutes until the edges are brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Serve hot from the oven. Makes 1 dozen.

Apricot Yogurt Muffins

Fresh apricots made a brief appearance in my market a couple weeks ago. I snagged some and made these muffins and an apricot upside down cake. So glad I did as apricots have since disappeared and, according to the produce manager, will not be making another appearance this year as they were not very good. Well, I thought they were delicious! Either his supplier didn't have more good quality apricots available or this was his way of excusing the incredibly short apricot season. So keep your eyes open and grab some when and if you see them.
These lovely tender muffins are loaded with apricots, have a crunchy crumble and the yogurt flavor stands out in the body of the muffin. Such a treat for breakfast!

Apricot Yogurt Muffins
From Sugar Apron

Ingredients:
For the muffins:
 1/2 cup granulated sugar
 2 tsp vanilla sugar
 2 large eggs
 1/2 cup  yogurt
 1/2 stick butter, room temperature
 pinch salt
 1 cup flour
 2 tsp baking powder
 about 10 fresh apricots, peeled, pitted, and diced

For streusel topping:
 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
 1/4 cup granulated sugar
 1/4 stick salted butter-melted
 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin (or 2 six cup tins), or line the tin with papers, and grease the papers.
For the crumb topping
Whisk together flour, sugar and cinnamon, add melted butter and stir with a fork until crumbly and set aside.
For the batter:
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt, Gently fold about 2/3 of apricots, and toss them until all are coated with thin layer of flour.
 Mix sugar and butter until the mixture becomes fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one and mix well. Add the yogurt, vanilla sugar and mix until combined.
Mix the yogurt and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins, using an ice cream scoop, filling about 2/3 of each cup. Cover the batter with the remaining apricots and then cover the apricots generously with streusel topping.
Place them in the oven and bake about 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes in the pan then remove muffins and cool on a wire rack.