Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns

One a penny, two a penny! Hot Cross Buns! That’s right…it’s time for the Hot Cross Buns to make an appearance. I’m sure you’ve been seeing them everywhere, but I must say, look no further! The best Hot Cross Bun recipe can be found right here. This year I made buns with a bit of a twist from the old traditional ones I usually do and baked Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns. Let me just say, they are dee-lish! They are incredibly moist and bursting with apple and cinnamon flavour, most likely due to a fresh homemade apple cinnamon compote which is added to the dough along with golden raisins, and  bits of dried apple. And if that doesn’t tempt you, as soon as these little buns emerge from the oven, they are drenched in a syrupy apple cinnamon glaze. Do I have your attention now? Yum, yum, YUM!

On Good Friday I always make Hot Cross Buns. I just have to do it. It’s like I have no choice. I find all of the lore surrounding them fascinating! Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday and the cross that adorns them is said to be a symbol of the Crucifixion. However, these little buns may even pre-date Christianity. The cross could possibly have been made in honour of the Saxon Goddess Eostre and in that case would have symbolized the four quarters of the moon. The Buns that are actually baked on Good Friday are said to have quite an array of powers besides their delicious taste. For one thing, these pastrys will never get moldy. I actually have been putting a Good Friday baked bun aside for several years now and I can attest, they do not mold!

Preserved Buns from Easters past!

Furthermore, if you hang one in your kitchen, it will not only protect your household from fires but will also work as a charm to ensure all of your bread baking endeavours will be successful. Indeed, a dried bun from the previous year, also has medicinal properties. You can grate a bit of it into the liquid of your choice to make a restorative elixir that will help sick folks regain their health. This powder can also be applied directly to wounds with the same curative results. Amazing!

Now I must stress that only Hot Cross Buns baked on Good Friday itself have these powers. So most likely you’re going to have to bake them yourself on the actual day to ensure your buns are filled with these magical properties. Hot Cross Buns are made with yeast, so just keep in mind, there are going to be a couple of rise times involved. You need to plan for it and unless you plan on getting up at o’dark thirty to start working on them, you probably won’t have them available for breakfast that morning. But you could have them ready by elevenses! They are a bit of work, but believe me, these buns are so worth it! And I had the most pleasant surprise. When I finished glazing the Hot Cross Buns I actually had some of the Apple Cinnamon Syrup left over. I set it aside and was quite happy to find that it had actually set up upon cooling, leaving me with a scrumptious jelly! Yup….Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns with Apple Cinnamon Jelly. It just keeps getting better! You’ve gotta make these delicious buns today!

Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns

recipe from: Technicolor Kitchen

yield: 20 Buns

Ingredients:

Apple and lemon compote:

• 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (375 ml) water
• 1 lemon
• 2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored, diced
• 1 cinnamon quill

Dough:

• 5 cups (700 g) all-purpose flour (I had to add 1 extra cup flour) + 1/3 cup (46 g) extra for the piping mixture
• 1 cup (155 g) golden raisins
• 80 g dried apple, diced
• 14 g (2 sachets/4 ½ teaspoons) dried yeast
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• finely grated zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
• 5 ½ tablespoons (65 g) granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (375 ml) whole milk
• 100 g unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
• 1 egg

Directions:

Start with the compote: combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan, then squeeze in juice of half the lemon and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Meanwhile, cut remaining lemon half into 3mm-thick slices, add to saucepan with Granny Smith apples and cinnamon quill. Bring to the simmer, reduce heat to medium and cook until lemon and apple are translucent (20-25 minutes). Strain, reserving fruit and syrup separately. When cool enough to handle, dice lemon, combine with apple. Remove the cinnamon quill, add it to the syrup and set aside.

Combine flour, raisins, dried apple, yeast, ground cinnamon, allspice, zests, sugar, apple compote and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.

Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan, warm over low heat until butter melts and mixture is lukewarm. Whisk in egg, then add milk mixture to flour, stirring to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes) – I used my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook to knead the dough; gradually added 1 cup flour because the mixture was too wet. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the bowl, so just slowly add flour as you are kneading until you see this.
Place in a lightly buttered bowl, cover and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (30-40 minutes). Meanwhile, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Knock back dough, divide into 20 even pieces, then knead each piece into a smooth ball. Arrange dough in a large rectangle or concentric circles, placing balls side by side onto prepared sheet, leaving 1cm between each for dough to expand. Cover with a tea towel and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (30-40 minutes).
Preheat oven to 220°C/428°F. Combine the 1/3 cup extra flour and ¼ cup (60 ml) cold water in a bowl and stir to a smooth paste. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle and pipe a cross shape onto each bun.

Bake for 10 minutes, reduce oven to 200°C/400°F and bake until golden and buns sound hollow when tapped (10-12 minutes).
Meanwhile, combine reserved syrup and cinnamon quill in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until syrupy. Brush thickly over hot buns, then transfer buns to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Oat & Potato Bread

Oats and Potatoes. Two ingredients which can evoke visions of the Emerald Isle all on their own and go together so well in this Oat & Potato Bread. I baked a loaf of this bread the other day and loved it so much I just knew I had to share it with you for St. Patrick’s Day. This bread is quite soft and moist. It is wonderful as a sandwich loaf but also toasts beautifully to serve with your Traditional Irish fry for breakfast. Now, I love Irish Brown Bread. I can’t get enough of the stuff. But I do have a good number of friends who seem to be a bit challenged by that rough, whole wheat texture. This Oat & Potato Bread is a great soft bread alternative to have on hand for those folks.

This recipe uses freshly cooked potatoes, but you can use left over mashed potatoes to make this bread if you happen to have any on hand. I’m pretty certain I never will because my husband and I both LOVE Potato Farls. I know that any leftover mashed potatoes are automatically earmarked as “farl potatoes”. We are so obsessed with Potato Farls that I will even make up a batch of mashed potatoes, not so much because I want to serve them with dinner, but just becaue I’ve noticed that we don’t have anymore of our farls in the freezer. Oh yes folks….farls freeze wonderfully. You just take them out of the freezer and pop them directly into the hot oil-preferably bacon grease-and they fry up wonderfully golden and crispy. And then there is Boxty in the Pan, another great Irish bread that is made with left over mashed potatoes. It is baked in a pan, then fried up on a griddle and drizzled with honey. Yum! But I digress….we are talking about Oat & Potato Bread now, which is so delicious that you won’t hesitate to cook some potatoes up fresh if there aren’t any leftovers around!

Unlike Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread, which use baking soda as leavener, or my Cheddar & Chive Guinness Bread which uses Guinness as a leavener, this bread does require yeast. Now don’t freak out…I can tell, you’re freaking out. I used to freak out at the mere mention of yeast. But really, there is no need. You can do this. Just make sure you plan ahead, because as with all yeast breads, there are a couple rising times involved here. It is a bit of work, but believe me, you will be thrilled with your finished loaf. Not to mention, your house will smell phenomenal!  This bread will go perfectly with all of your St. Patrick’s Day dishes, especially when it is slathered with Kerrygold Irish Butter!

Oat & Potato Bread

recipe adapted from: The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook

Yield: One 5X9″ loaf

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil, for oiling
• 2 starchy potatoes, such as russets or Yukon gold, cut into even chunks
• 3 2/3 cup white bread flour, plus extra for dusting ( I prefer King Arthur Bread Flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 Tablespoons salted Irish butter, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3 Tablespoons rolled oats
• 2 Tablespoons dry skim milk
• 1 cup lukewarm water (98 -105° F or 36.5 -40.5° C)

Topping

• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 Tablespoon rolled oats

Directions:

Oil a 5X9″ loaf pan. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan, add water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until tender. Drain, then mash until smooth. Let cool.

Sift the flour and salt into a warm bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips. Stir in the yeast, sugar, oats, and dry milk. Mix in the mashed potatoes, then add the water and mix to a soft dough. (Or you can follow this “High Tech. Version” -if you have a food processor and stand mixer: Place flour and salt in bowl of processor. Pulse a couple times to combine. Add butter and pulse until flour mixture resembles coarse sand. Put flour/butter mixture into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add yeast, sugar oats and dry milk. Mix on low to combine. Add the mashed potatoes and mix on low until incorporated. Add the water and mix until you have a soft dough.)

*Note* I had to add an extra half cup of flour to get the dough to reach soft dough stage. The dough should be sticky to tacky to the touch. Sticky means if you touch the dough with a dry finger, it will stick to it. Tacky is more like a post it note where it feels like it will stick at first but you are able to peel it off easily. You can also judge the state of the dough by how it looks in the mixing bowl. If it has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and only a bit remains stuck to the bowl at the bottom, it is likely ready to be kneaded.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. (High Tech. Version: Attach the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic).

Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Invert the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead lgihtly. Shape into a loaf and transfer to the prepared pan.

*Note* To shape dough into a loaf, flatten it into a 5X8″ rectangle. Roll into a log starting from the 5″ end. Pinch the seam closed and gently roll the loaf back and forth on the counter to smooth it out. Place the loaf in the prepared pan with the seam side down.

Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F.

Brush the surface of the loaf with the water and carefully sprinkle oats over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool slightly. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Irish Coffee Scones with Whiskey Butter

Here it is, Day 9 of my St. Patrick’s Day countdown and I think it’s time for another yummy breakfast treat. We haven’t had one since back on Day 1 when I posted about those irresistible Chocolate & Raspberry Buttermilk Doughnuts. Not that I’m opposed to the occasional slice of cold pizza, or even better, cold, left over french fries for breakfast. But I’m talking about a recipe for “official”  or ” classic” breakfast food. How about some lovely Irish Coffee Scones? Yeah, scones are perfect for breakfast. And these are for St. Patrick’s Day, so let’s do this thing up right. It’s a special occasion. Not an everyday thing. These scones have coffee, which is an essential for breakfast. And they have Baileys, I think we have established how I feel about the Baileys Irish Cream. It has been in high rotation in my recent culinary creations. So all that is missing for these to be a well-rounded St. Patrick’s Day breakfast would be a nice shot of Jameson. Oh…I’ve got it! We’ll stick it in the butter! Whiskey Butter….that’s what I’m talking about! How fantastic, Irish Coffee Scones with Whiskey Butter!

These Irish Coffee Scones are very moist, quite tender and definitely have a pronounced coffee-y/Baileys flavour. They are very light, almost more cake-like than biscuit/scone like, perhaps due to the addition of the cake flour. They are pretty easy to make, though I will say the dough is quite sticky, so just make sure your hands and prep surface are well floured. As long as you’ve got that covered, you’ll be fine. As with all scones, make sure your butter is very cold when you cut it into the flour and once you’ve added liquid to your dry ingredients, handle the dough as little and as gingerly as possible, otherwise your scones will be tough. Make sure that you don’t forget to sprinkle sugar-in-the-raw over the top of your scones, as it gives them a really lovely crunchy texture. And oh….when serving these delectable little morsels, the Whiskey Butter is not optional. It is a requirement! Start St. Patrick’s Day off right and bake up a batch!

Irish Coffee Scones with Whiskey Butter

recipe from: Buttercream Blondie

yield: 8 scones

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold & cubed
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup strong coffee
• 1/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream

Directions:

Brew coffee & set aside to cool.

Combine dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Cut in cold, cubed butter.

Whisk eggs with cool coffee and Baileys.

Add to dry ingredients and mix till it comes together. This is a wet dough at first & kind of sticky.   It will come together.

Turn dough out onto a well floured surface.

Pat dough out into a circle.  You can use a rolling pin if you want, I use my hands to shape it. ( I divided the dough in half and patted each dough half into a circle, for a more petite scone. This dough is quite sticky, so make sure your surface, as well as your hands are well floured.)

Slice dough into 8 wedges (or if you have divided the dough into two halves, cut it into 4 wedges) & refrigerate until ready to bake.  Make sure the dough is cold when it goes into the oven.

Brush with heavy cream & sprinkle with sugar in the raw.

Bake at 400° F  for 15-20 minutes, rotating once halfway through.

Whiskey Butter

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon Irish whiskey  (I used Jameson)
• pinch of salt

Whip butter with whiskey and salt.

Enjoy!

Cheddar & Chive Guinness Bread

Everyone knows that “Guinness is Good for You”. And I’m sure ya’ll knew that its appearance as a featured ingredient in several of my St. Patrick’s Day recipes was inevitable. So here we go with a great beer bread that is just chock full of quality Irish ingredients, Guinness Irish Stout, Kerrygold Irish Butter, and Kerrygold Dubliner Cheddar cheese. You should be able to find all of these ingredients at a larger grocery store. I certainly know that Guinness is widely available. If you can’t get ahold of any brand of Irish Cheddar or Butter, you can of course substitute in other quality brands. Do whatever you need to do, but definitely make up a loaf of this bread for St. Patrick’s Day.

It is absolutely delicious and easy! Yes, that’s right, I said easy. This is a “quick bread”. That means there is no yeast involved, so there is no bothering with rise times. Well, that is a bit of a lie. The bit about the yeast not being there. In beer breads, which this is, the beer provides the yeast for you and that is what acts as the leavening agent. And this bread does have a wee bit of baking powder thrown in as well. You’ll have this loaf mixed up and in your oven in no time flat! Your house will smell heavenly with the aroma of that fresh baking bread. And oh…when that mouth-watering Cheddar & Chive Guinness Bread is ready…hold on to your hat!

The moist, tender, savoury center of the bread is surrounded by a buttery, crunchy, chewy crust. The cheddar flavour is quite evident and woven throughout the loaf. So many cheese breads only taste distinctly of the cheese when you are biting into a big chunk of it. Serve it slathered with more butter or with a nice hearty bowl of soup. It will definitely be love at first bite!

Cheddar & Chive Guinness Bread

recipe from: The Kitchn

yield: one 8 1/2 ” loaf

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle Irish stout beer
• 1 cup grated Irish cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 1/4 cup Irish butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° F. Line 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, or coat with butter.

In a mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pour in the beer and mix until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Fold in 3/4 cup of the cheese and the chives.

Transfer the batter to prepared pan. Pour the melted butter evenly over top of the dough. Bake about 30 minutes then scatter the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over the top. Return the loaf to the oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

Turn out and serve warm, sliced.

Enjoy!

Caramelized Leek, Basil & Black Pepper Biscuits

I’m so excited today! For a couple of reasons actually. The first of which is that I’m able to give you the recipe for these Caramelized Leek, Basil & Black Pepper Biscuits. These delicious little morsels have been in heavy rotation in my house this winter. They are amazing with soups and stews, are a superb savoury breakfast biscuit when stuffed full of scrambled egg, cheese and bacon. Not to mention, they hold up fine all on their own with or without a pat of butter. I’ve wanted to share this winner of a recipe with you for some time, but have never been able to snap a quick picture of them. Nope. We literally gobble them up that fast. But this last time, I did manage to click a shot or two before nothing more than a crumb or two remained to indicate they had ever been there at all. These biscuits have it all going on! Their buttery, flaky layers rise oh so high. The savoury flavours of the caramelized leeks, basil and black pepper combine to really grab your attention. You know you’re not dealing with just any run of the mill biscuit. (not that I’ve really ever met a biscuit I didn’t like…), these fellows are special. My husband is quite partial to them because of the leeks. He LOVES leeks. And I’ve actually got quite a few recipes headed your way in which leeks feature prominently.

Which brings me to the next reason for my somewhat excited state today. Tomorrow is March 1st and every year on March 1st I endeavour to post one Irish influenced recipe a day up to March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day! This undertaking is quite a feat for me, I’m not a once a day blogger type person. I consider myself very accomplished if I manage to get two blogs in per week. (I know all you daily bloggers are rolling your eyes about now. I give you props. Can’t imagine how you do it.)Soooo…..wish me the luck of the Irish as I psyche myself up for this blog-a-thon once again! Here are a few of my favourite recipes from last year’s St. Patrick’s Day extravaganza:

Bailey’s Irish Creme & Pistachio Fudge

Irish Whiskey Cake with a Butter Whiskey Glaze

Guinness Chocolate Chip Cookies

Guinness Beef Stew

Irish Beer & Cheese Chicken Pot Pies

And that was just a few of the St. Patrick’s Day food gems I whipped up. If you’d like to see all seventeen from last year, click on “Runcible Eats/ Recipes” in my top navigation bar and scroll down to St. Patrick’s Day. There you’ll find all sorts of Irish-y dishes from the past two years. And don’t forget to check in with me every day starting tomorrow through March 17th for this year’s additions. I’ve got a lot of mouth-watering recipes all queued up for the show. As I mentioned, leeks will be putting in an appearance, as will meat pies, sweet pies, various treats with Guinness and Bailey’s and Jameson...Oh My! Keep tuned and you will be totally set for making your own delicious St. Patrick’s Day feast! Not to mention, it will be interesting to see if I can actually pull off seventeen days of dishes in a row. That excitement I mentioned  before is perhaps more of the nervous, nail bite-y type that the happy, dance-y type. Though I will be dancing a jig on St. Patrick’s Day, regardless of the outcome, you can be sure. So raise a glass with me to “challenges”. It all starts tomorrow. In the meantime, make up a batch of these lovely Caramelized Leek, Basil & Black Pepper biscuits!

Caramelized Leek, Basil & Black Pepper Biscuits

recipe from: Pastry Affair

yield: 10-12 biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 medium leek, finely sliced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons or 57 grams) cold butter
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (78 ml) milk

Directions:

In a small frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the finely sliced leeks, sauteing until the leeks are golden in color and caramelized. Remove from pan and allow leeks to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 425°F (220° C).

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles a coarse sand. Mix in the fresh minced basil and cooled leeks. Gradually pour in the heavy cream and milk, mixing until just combined.

Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and bring together until it forms a ball. If you need to knead the dough to bring it together, do so but no more than 10-12 times. Flatten the dough ball into roughly a 1-inch thick square (or rectangle) and, using a knife dipped in flour, cut the dough into evenly sized squares. Place biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until tops of biscuits are lightly browned.

Serve warm, with a pat of butter if desired.

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread

I know, I know. We’re getting close to the Christmas season and this Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread does have more of a Fall vibe to it, what with the apples and all. At least that is what you might think until you taste it. Then you will come to the realization that I did. This bread is so addictively delicious that it is appropriate, no…perhaps even required, any season of the year! Pull just one of the gooey, cinnamony, caramely, appley slices off  while it’s still warm from the oven and take a bite. You’ll see. It’s like one of those decadent cinnamon rolls, ‘cept better! And believe me, you won’t be able to stop with just one of the slices. No sir-ee. Before you know it, you’ll look down and find the loaf half gone and notice your britches seem to have suddenly shrunk as the top button pops off and shoots across the room. (I hear that fabric does tend to shrink when it gets colder.)

It looks as though this recipe might be hard to make, what with all the steps, but it really comes together very easily. You don’t even have to worry about how you throw the cut dough pieces into the pan either. The bread is supposed to have that jumbled, rustic appearance. Not to mention, the basic Pull-Apart Bread of this recipe can be customized as well. Theresa at Craving Chronicles made a Peach Cinnamon & Brown Butter version. While Tracey at Tracey’s Culinary Adventures baked up a Cinnamon Sugar loaf. Get creative and come up with your own version. But you’ve gotta make this bread. And soon! You won’t be sorry!

Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread

recipe from: Alaska from Scratch

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1/4 cup or more, if needed)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

For the Apple Filling:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 large tart apple, peeled, cored and diced

For the Caramel Glaze:

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons milk

Directions:

To the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine warm water and yeast. Let sit for 5-8 minutes until foamy.

In a microwave-safe dish, heat milk and butter together until butter is just melted. Add vanilla to the mixture and set aside.

Add flour, sugar and salt on top of the yeast mixture in mixing bowl. Turn mixer on low and add eggs, one at a time, until combined. Slowly stream the milk/butter/vanilla mixture into the bowl until a soft dough forms. Add extra flour by the tablespoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball. Turn mixer up to medium and knead the dough for 3 minutes. Remove dough from mixer bowl and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let dough rise in a warm place for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. Peel, core and dice the apple. Melt butter just before the dough has completed its rise. Grease a standard 9×5″ loaf pan.

Once risen, punch down dough, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll dough out into a large rectangle (roughly 12×24 inches). Dough will be fairly thin. Brush melted butter over top of dough. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 6 equal strips. Sprinkle about 1/6 of diced apples over one strip of dough, then stack another strip of dough on top. Repeat adding the apple mixture and stacking dough strips with remaining dough. Cut stacked strips into 6 equal stacks of squares. Stuff stacked squares vertically into prepared 9×5 loaf pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise 30-45 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat over to 350ºF. Bake about 35-45 minutes, or until no longer doughy in the center (bread should register 190ºF on an instant thermometer in the center when done). If bread starts to get too brown before it’s ready, cover loosely with foil and continue baking.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by adding the butter, brown sugar and milk to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.

Turn loaf out onto a rack with parchment paper under it. Drizzle load with the warm caramel glaze.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Banana Oat Bread

Yay! It is officially Autumn, my favourite time of the year. But last week, while it was still technically Summer, I bought some gorgeous Driscoll’s Blueberries. These berries were huge! Quite possibly approaching plum size, I kid you not! (well, perhaps I am exaggerating just a bit…). Anyway, I snatched them up right away and brought them home to make some as yet to be determined treat! I took the berries out of their little plastic carton, literally holding my breath, hoping that the outer berries hadn’t artfully arranged themselves as to obscur all of the moldy, yucky berries in the center of the package. Thankfully all of the berries in the carton were pristine, but I’m sure you’ve all experienced the disappointment of getting what you think is a great bunch of berries home to find that they are really a petri dish of various scary molds. I’ve always had great luck with Driscoll’s Berries, I usually buy their organic ones. They are always fresh and sweet. So that has become my brand of choice. And the folks at Driscoll’s have a great website which not only describes their business, but also provides some great berry recipes. It was there that I found this recipe for Blueberry Banana Oat Bread.

I’m always trying out different banana bread recipes and this was definitely a winner. The banana bread was very moist and had a great texture from the addition of the rolled oats. And those monster blueberries didn’t just look good, they were sweet and bursting with flavour!

A slice of this bread was great for breakfast as well as a welcome snack later in the day. And with all of those oats and berries, I’m sure it’s health benefits negate the calories! At least that’s what I’m telling myself…

Blueberry Banana Oat Bread

recipe from: Driscolls

yield: 1 loaf bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana, about 2 medium
• 2/3 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cups canola oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups Driscoll’s Blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and dust lightly with flour.

Whisk buttermilk, eggs, banana, sugar and oil in a large bowl until well blended. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, mixing just until combined.Gently fold in blueberries. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake about 1 hour, or until browned and a pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Enjoy!

Jalapeño Cheddar Rolls

So Tracey, from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures, has inspired me yet again! About one month ago I saw a recipe she posted for Jalapeño Cheddar Rolls and couldn’t wait to make them. A spicy, cheesy, homemade yeast roll sounded delicious to me. And as usual, Tracey did not let me down. (If you haven’t taken a peek at the site, you are missing out!) These rolls were not only easy to make (you do need to allow for rising time though, so they are not super quick), but were also a huge hit! Light and airy with the perfect amount of kick thanks to those jalapeño peppers.

Some burgers that my husband took care to grill to perfection were made even better (if that is possible…) once nestled within these rolls and topped with all the fixins. A plain old ham and swiss sandwich was truly jazzed up as well when served on this bread. Yet somehow all of that goodness paled in comparison to what I next served up on these rolls. Once again, I followed Tracey’s example and cooked-up a simply mouthwatering creation. Sorry to keep you hanging, but I’ll give you the full report on all of the yumminess in a couple of days. Make sure you check back, you won’t want to miss this one! In the meantime, get your Jalapeño Cheddar Rolls baked and ready to go!

Jalapeño Cheddar Rolls

Recipe From Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

Yield: 8 – 10 Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 3 large jalapeños (seeds and ribs removed), finely chopped
• 1 cup water (100-110° F)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions:

Add the yeast, flour, sugar, salt, cheese and jalapeños to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Beat briefly on low-speed to combine. In a measuring cup, whisk the water, oil and 1 of the eggs together until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add the wet ingredients and continue mixing until the dough comes together (you may need to scrape down the bowl once or twice). The dough should clear the sides of the bowl and cling to the bottom – you may need to add a little flour or water to achieve the right consistency (I added 4 tablespoons of flour). Knead the dough on low-speed for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.

Spray a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Shape the dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 75-90 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to your work surface and divide in half. Divide each of the two pieces into 4 or 5 equal pieces, depending on whether you want oversized or more traditional rolls. (I used a kitchen scale to weigh the dough to ensure size consistency) Shape each piece of dough into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet, then flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Space the rolls about 1/2 to 1-inch apart – you want the edges to bake together in the oven.

Cover the pan with a damp towel, and allow the rolls to rise for 35 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water to make egg wash. Brush the rolls with the egg wash. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the tops of the rolls are deep golden brown.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the rolls cool for at least 15 minutes. Store in a resealable plastic bag at room temperature, or wrap tightly and freeze.

Enjoy!

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits

So it has been one heck of a week! I know I haven’t published in a bit, but goood Lordy we’ve had some problems around here! It all started last Friday evening with a huge, and rather unexpected storm. It has been very hot and humid around here recently, we’re talking around 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). But that is par for the course in Virginia, in the summer time, much to my dismay. With those sultry temperatures, we will often get thunderstorms springing up in the evening hours. Usually our good weather folks give us a heads up that one may be brewing. Well last Friday night, Mother Nature had quite a surprize in store for us. An incredibly powerful and stealthy storm snuck right up on us and….KAPOW! I’m talking 80 mile per hour winds and a wall of water which just descended instantly on us unsuspecting folks who were simply minding our own business around 11 pm in the evening. Well, Falls Church was devastated, trees down everywhere, trees which took the power wires down along with them. It was bad timing, as if there were ever a good time for mass power outages, but this power outage happened in the midst of a heat wave when the mercury was expected to stay hovering around that 100 degree mark for oh, a week or so. Our power was out from Friday evening through Monday. And we are the lucky ones, as many of my less fortunate neighbours still don’t have power today. Whenever you step outside, which isn’t often if you can help it – remember, 100 degrees of scorching heat envelopes you the moment you cross the door frame – instead of  hearing the peaceful chirping hum of the crickets, you are greeted by the rattling buzz of hundreds of generators, like some sort of  swarm of angry hornets is about to descend. (Hey, after that storm, anything could happen…)

Tree (and wires) down!

Now I had cooked up some delicious, mouth-watering food last friday that I couldn’t wait to share with ya’ll. Specifically  I made crunchy on the outside but moist on the inside Buttermilk Brined Southern Fried Chicken, flaky and fluffy Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits and oh so decadent home-made Bourbon ice cream. It was really yummy. Little did we know at the time, but it turned out to be a last meal of sorts before the onslaught. I was going to get pictures of everything the next day as the light wasn’t so good when I actually finished cooking the meal. Well, you know what they say about those best laid plans of mice and men…The next day, this little mouse found herself sweltering in an electricity, cell phone, internet free zone watching all that lovely bourbon ice cream melt and pool in the bottom of her ever warming “freezer”. I saved my hard-earned southern fried chicken though, icing it down in coolers which I hid away in our basement. You see, the basement temperature was much cooler. It only got up to about 86 degrees F down there… (I have mentioned that thing about how I hate to live in Virginia in the summer…right?) Now mind you getting the ice for the cooler was no easy tasks. Every store, gas station, etc. had not had electricity all night. What with our lovely Virginia temperatures which don’t really dip significantly in the overnight hours, that ice was looong gone. So we drove about 30 miles to our friend’s neighbourhood which did not lose their power because they have under ground power lines. Nothing for the trees to pull along with them on their descent. However, all the other folks without power had this same bright idea. We managed to nab the last six bags of ice at one grocery store and thought we were going to have to fight our way out of the parking lot when the other hot, tired and angry ice seeking folks realized the last ice had left the building.

Whew! I hope you can see I’ve had my hands full! I just didn’t have the energy to fry up another mess of chicken again after this ordeal, but it was so yummy I promise I will do so again soon and share with everyone. I did manage to recreate the Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits post power outage and got some pics as well. These are truly phenomenal biscuits and were so easy to make. I have made buttermilk biscuits before, but they were always the kind you rolled out and cut. These are drop biscuits. Much simpler. And they rose up like champs! Mile High is a good description. Light, fluffy, buttery goodness! They were definitely a comfort to us during our recent tribulations. Give them a try today, while you have power. If there is one thing I have learned, you should always be prepared. You never know when Mother Nature will throw her next hissy!

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits

recipe from: Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

yield: 12 biscuits

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

• 2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cups cold low-fat buttermilk

For Finishing:

• 1 cup (5 oz) all-purpose flour, distributed on a rimmed baking sheet
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500° F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Also, spray the inside and outside of a 1/4-cup measure with nonstick cooking spray. * I used an ice cream scoop*

To make the dough: Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter evenly over the dry ingredients then pulse 8-10 times, or until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Dump the contents of the food processor into a large bowl and add the buttermilk. Stir with a rubber spatula just until everything is incorporated (the dough will be quite wet and sticky and somewhat lumpy).

To form the biscuits: Using the 1/4 cup measure you sprayed earlier and working quickly, scoop level 1/4 cup mounds of dough and drop them into the flour on the baking sheet. Continue until you’ve scooped all of the dough – you should have 12 mounds of dough. Use some of the flour from the baking sheet to dust the top of each mound. Flour your hands, then, one at a time, pick up each piece of dough (coating with extra flour if necessary so you can work with it) and gently shape it into a rough ball. Shake off the excess flour and place in the prepared cake pan. Repeat with the remaining mounds of dough, fitting 9 biscuits around the outer edge of the pan and 3 in the middle.

Gently brush the top of each biscuit with some of the melted butter (don’t press down and flatten them). Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 450° F and continue baking for another 13-15 minutes, or until the biscuits are deep golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and let the biscuits cool for 2 minutes, then invert them onto a clean kitchen towel. Flip the biscuits over and break them apart. Allow to cool 5 minutes longer before serving.

(Note: Store leftovers in a resealable plastic bag and reheat at 475° F for 5-7 minutes.)

Enjoy!

Spicy Pork & Chorizo Breakfast Biscuits

These Spicy Pork & Chorizo Breakfast Biscuits have got it going on! All of the makings of a fantastic breakfast; spicy sausage meat, fluffy scrambled eggs and salty hash browns, cradled right there between a flaky, buttery biscuit. Perfect when lazing about on a slow weekend morning, but also portable for those of you whose weekends are a bit more action packed!

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a great recipe for Spicy Pork & Chorizo Sliders. They were really great! We just couldn’t stop thinking about eating more of them. That’s when I decided I could serve them for breakfast with just a few tiny changes. I whipped up a batch of Buttermilk Biscuits (fantastic recipe listed below), prepared some frozen hash browns, scrambled up some eggs and grilled up a fresh batch of Pork & Chorizo sliders. I put them all together and Voilá! – A most delicious breakfast biscuit was born! These aren’t big, honking biscuits, like those Pillsbury Grands for instance. They are rather petite, ( 2 1/2″) so they fit the slider sized burgers perfectly. I suppose you could make larger biscuits and correspondingly larger Pork & Chorizo patties, but there is something fun about the smaller appetizer like size. But to each his own. Feel free to do whatever makes you happy! (and these Breakfast Biscuits will definitely put a bit of spring in your step!) We were already in love with these spicy little sliders, and just jonesing for more, so making them work for another meal was just the perfect idea. Not to mention, who doesn’t love flaky, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside Buttermilk Biscuits?!!  Including the hash browns put this creation over the top!  Get your weekend off to a great start with these Spicy Pork & Chorizo Breakfast Biscuits.

Spicy Pork & Chorizo Breakfast Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1/2 batch of Spicy Pork & Chorizo Sliders
• 16 frozen potato hash brown rounds – (I used McCain’s Homestyle Baby Cakes frozen hash browns – you could also certainly prepare home made potato hash browns if you’re feeling industrious)
• Scrambled eggs ( about 8-9 eggs for 16 biscuits)
• 1 batch Buttermilk Biscuits (recipe below – or store-bought if you’re feeling less industrious)

I’m sure ya’ll don’t really need directions on how to construct these Breakfast Biscuits, but here goes…

Directions:

Prepare half of the recipe for Spicy Pork & Chorizo Sliders (or double the biscuit recipe – depends on how many you’re serving ) Preheat your grill.

Prepare the hash browns according to the package directions. Set aside and keep warm.

While the hash browns are cooking, prepare the buttermilk biscuits according to the recipe listed below.

While the biscuits are on the cooling rack, grill the Pork & Chorizo Sliders. Set aside and keep warm.

Scramble the eggs.

Assemble your biscuits.

Enjoy!

Buttermilk Biscuits

Yield: Sixteen 2 1/2″ Biscuits

Recipe from: The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups ( 7 1/2 oz/235 gram) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups (6 oz./185 grams) cake flour or white pastry flour
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup ( 4 oz./ 125 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 Cup (8 fl. oz./ 250 ml) well-chilled buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Process briefly to mix. Add the butter and using short pulses, mix the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk all at once, and pulse just to moisten all the ingredients. The dough will stiffen during mixing. It should be slightly shaggy, but not overly sticky or wet. Do not overmix the dough.

Sprinkle a work surface with cake flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of the work bowl and turn out the dough; it will be very soft. Sprinkle the top with cake flour. With floured hands, gently knead the dough just a few times. Pat the dough into a loose rectangle about 1 1/2 ” thick. With a plastic dough scraper or large silicone spatula, fold the rectangle like a letter, overlapping the short sides in the middle to make 3 layers. Roll or pat out the dough as needed to prevent sticking. Using a 2 1/2″ inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour cut out the biscuits by pushing the cutter straight down and lifting up without twisting. Cut as close together as possible for a minimum of scraps. Pack together and reroll the scraps to cut out additional biscuits.

Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake the biscuits until firm to the touch and the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 15 – 18 minutes. Place on rack to cool.