04 Aug

Black-and-White Banana Loaf

Posted by Chelle as Quick Breads/Muffins/Scones | 19 Comments

Bananas and chocolate in a dense, moist bread. You really can’t go wrong with that combination, and this bread did not disappoint. My friend Amber and I were looking for something to bake together and since she is now the proud owner of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours, we picked this recipe from her book. I have such fun baking along with others, as it’s a great time to talk my way through a recipe as it’s developing with someone else. I was excited about this recipe, as it’s been quite some time since I’ve made a banana bread, and I was also on the hunt for a chocolate fix. This bread satisfied both of my cravings, and I couldn’t stop taking little pieces as I walked in and out of the kitchen.

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10 Jul

Barefoot Bloggers: Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Posted by Chelle as Barefoot Bloggers, Quick Breads/Muffins/Scones | 1 Comment

This installment of the Barefoot Bloggers comes courtesy of Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids, who have chose Ina’s Jalepeño Cheddar Cornbread, which is featured in the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. I was really excited to make this, as it came from a cookbook I already own, and cornbread sounded so good, even though it wasn’t fall and I wasn’t serving it with chili! This is only the second cornbread recipe I have made (the first was made last fall and came from Cook’s Illustrated), but I have to say, this was phenomenal. It produced a light and tender crumb, a slightly crisp crust, and the inclusion of the green onions gave it a nice zip, and really, you seriously can’t go wrong with adding cheddar to anything!

More talk about the cornbread, the recipe, and maybe another picture or two after the break.

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29 Jan

TWD: Orange Berry Muffins

Posted by Chelle as Quick Breads/Muffins/Scones, Tuesdays with Dorie | 34 Comments

I had the honor of choosing this week’s Dorie recipe, and I thought after a few weeks of decadent desserts we could use something a little lighter. These Orange Berry Muffins were just perfect! I have to say that as much as I love my KA mixer, I definitely don’t mind when a recipe comes along that’s simple and only requires a couple of mixing bowls. These muffins were quick and easy to throw together and have a perfectly light taste to them, which is a welcome change from my standard banana muffins, which are fairly heavy and sweet enough for dessert (although, they certainly have their place)! The orange flavor is nice and light and a perfect complement to the blueberries. These are going to be great for morning snacks, and it goes without saying that this was yet another Dorie recipe that hit the spot.

I believe that this recipe would adapt well to other fruit combinations. The first one that comes to mind is lemon/raspberry. I am not a huge fan of lemon, but I think that these flavors would complement each other very well in these muffins.

Our group of Dorie fanatics keeps growing! This week Nikki of Crazy Delicious and Ashley of eat me, delicious have joined us. Welcome girls! I have created a small blogroll on my right sidebar with everyone’s blog links… check out the muffins made by the rest of the gang!

Check back next Tuesday to see the Black and White Cake.

Last week: Perfection Pound Cake

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09 Jan

Banana Muffins

Posted by Chelle as Quick Breads/Muffins/Scones | 16 Comments

I have been making these banana muffins for quite a few years now and they are always a hit. They are very moist, extremely sweet, and have a wonderful banana flavor. The original recipe comes with a mascarpone cheese frosting, but I never use it because, well, #1 - that seems more cupcake-ish than muffin-ish, and #2 - I think they are definitely good enough without it. If any of you have some tips on how to convert this recipe to a cake, I’d love to hear it! I’m not very good at that sort of thing yet

I typically make a batch of these and wrap them individually and freeze them. When I want one we just pop it in the microwave. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do

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23 Sep

Cornbread

Posted by Chelle as Quick Breads/Muffins/Scones | 8 Comments

Nothing goes better with a big bowl of chili than cornbread! This was my first attempt at making cornbread from scratch, and the result was incredible. I wouldn’t change a thing from this recipe - it developed a perfect crust and was warm and crumbly inside.

All-Purpose Cornbread
(Source: Cook’s Illustrated, Fall 2007)

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8-inch square baking dish (glass is recommended) with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl until combined; set aside.

2. In food processor or blender, process sugar, thawed corn kernels, and buttermilk until combined, about 5 seconds. Add eggs and process until well combined (corn lumps will remain), about 5 seconds longer.

3. Using rubber spatula, make well in center of dry ingredients; pour wet ingredients into well. Begin folding dry ingredients into wet, giving mixture only a few turns to barely combine; add melted butter and continue folding until dry ingredients are just moistened. Pour batter into prepared baking dish; smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes; invert cornbread onto wire rack, then turn right side up and continue to cool until warm, about 10 minutes longer. Cut into pieces and serve.

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