Lemon Raspberry Muffins

April 25, 2013 by Mackenzie

What says “spring” better than lemon and raspberry? These muffins are moist and light – a perfect treat on a sunny spring morning!

This recipe easily halves (which we did so we wouldn’t be eating muffins for days!) or multiplies so it would be great for a Mother’s Day breakfast!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins
Makes 18 muffins
Recipe from lovegrowswild

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/4 cups raspberries
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, mix the beaten eggs, buttermilk, oil, and lemon zest. Fold in the raspberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
2. When the muffins are cool, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze, adding more lemon juice if needed. Drizzle over the muffins and use a pastry brush to make sure all the edges are coated. Let harden for 5 minutes.

Zucchini Sunflower Bread

April 14, 2013 by Mackenzie

I told you I was on a bread-making kick… This is the last one for now 🙂

I love the Zucchini Sunflower bread from Kayak’s coffee shop and have been determined to recreate it. I had several different recipes, all of which differed just a bit! Before we left on the golf spring break trip, I had a couple of days with no roomies – so I created my own “America’s Test Kitchen.” I made a small loaf of each of the three recipes and one came out far superior!

I remade a full-size loaf last weekend and it was just as good as I remembered it! So here you go – the best Zucchini Sunflower bread!

Zucchini Sunflower Bread
Recipe from a cut out of an unknown cookbook (c/o Gramma Mary)
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar (weird I know but trust me!)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup grated zucchini
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and dust with flour.

2. Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Take out two tablespoons of beaten egg and discard (because the original recipe made two loaves and its a little hard to divide three eggs!). Add sugar and beat well. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini and orange.

3. Stir together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon). Stir into egg mixture and add the walnuts and sunflower seeds.

4. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 20 minutes before taking out of pan.

“Once-a-week” Sweet Potato Bread

April 10, 2013 by Mackenzie

So you probably know I have an obsession with sweet potatoes. Every time I go to the store I buy 3-4 and would gladly eat them for my next three meals! I made this bread for the first time about six weeks ago and LOVED it – and now my suite requests it every week! I’ve been tinkering with the recipe to bring down the amount of butter and finally found the right balance! The best part about this bread is how moist it it – oh my gosh I want a slice right now.

Sweet Potato Bread
Makes 1-2 loaves (it depends on the size of your sweet potato. The first couple times I made it, it all fits in one loaf pan – the last time it made two loaves. You can always freeze the second loaf!)
Recipe adapted from Three Clever Sisters

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not use regular whole wheat flour – it totally changes the taste. If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, all AP flour is fine)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Flesh from 1 med-large sweet potato
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup skim milk

Directions:

1. Roast the sweet potato. Preheat oven to 425F, wash sweet potato, pierce it several times with a fork and place on a foil covered baking sheet in the oven for forty five minutes to one hour, or until a knife runs through it easily. Allow to cool. (You should do this step a couple hours in advance)
2. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and dust with flour to prevent the bread from sticking.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the sweet potato flesh, sugar, and brown sugar with a mixer until well combined. Mix in butter and applesauce then add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each one. Beat in the vanilla.
5. On low speed, add half the flour mixture, beat it then add half the milk and beat again. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Do not overbeat.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean, about an hour. Let bread cool in pan for 20 minutes then allow to cool on a rack.

Steelcut Oats – Cardamom, Vanilla and Bananas

February 10, 2013 by Mackenzie

When we were at the store last week I bought some plain, quick-cooking steelcut oats to make for breakfast. I’ve been experimenting with different combinations of toppings and here is my favorite so far!

Steel-Cut Oats with Cardamom, Vanilla and Bananas
Serves 1

1/4 cup steel-cut oats, uncooked
3/4 cups water
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Banana

Boil 3/4 cups water in a small saucepan. Add oats and cook, covered for 5-7 minutes. Let sit 1 minute. Add cardamom, vanilla and sliced banana – mix it up and eat with a hot cup of coffee!
(The cardamom and vanilla amounts are just approximations of what I do – I just add however much I feel is necessary to give it a good flavor, but start there)

Other good toppings to mix and match:
Blueberries, Bananas, Raspberries
Cinnamon, Cardamom, Vanilla Extract, Almond Extract, Maple Syrup, Honey
Slivered Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Chocolate Chips

Cinnamon Quinoa Bake

November 30, 2012 by Mackenzie

This is perfect for breakfast or a midmorning snack. It’s even better with jam spread over the top and a cup of coffee!

Photo from Gabby’s Gluten-Free blog

Cinnamon Quinoa Bake

Recipe from

Gabby’s Gluten-Free

Makes 9-12 bars

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled (1 cup dry)
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vanilla soy milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and place the cooked quinoa in a large mixing bowl. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with lightly greased parchment.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, soy milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon until thoroughly combined. Add maple syrup and whisk.

3. Add egg mixture to cooked and cooled quinoa. Stir with a large spoon to combine. Pour into the parchment-lined baking dish and spread it around to ensure that it’s even.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until set and golden.

5. Using parchment, remove bake from pan as soon as possible so that it doesn’t steam.

6. Cool completely and cut into squares. Delicious when warmed in the microwave and jam spread on top.