Pumpkin Spice Bagels with Cinnamon Crunch

 The humble bagel is a deeply satisfying bread, in my opinion.  I love the chewiness.  I love pumpkin, too, so when I saw a recipe in Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking, I had to try it.  Even though it's not exactly pumpkin season.  I happen to keep a stash on hand at all times because one never knows when a sudden urge for pumpkin chocolate chip waffles will strike, and waiting for 6 months to satisfy that craving just ain't gonna happen.

This was my first crack at making bagels, and I was pleased with how they came out.  The cinnamon crunch topping was my own addition, and I modified it to be kneaded by hand rather than a bread machine.  Otherwise the recipe is as published by Taste of Home.  Don't be alarmed by the boiling in water part - that seemed intimidating and scary to me, but it was quite simple and that's how you get the chewy outer crust.

Pumpkin Spice Bagels with Cinnamon Crunch

• 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 cups bread or unbleached all purpose flour
• cornmeal
• 
  
• 
  
• Topping
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 white sugar
• 2 T. all purpose flour
• 1 T. cinnamon

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the warm water and active dry yeast.  Stir to combine and let rest for about 5 minutes until dissolved and beginning to bubble.  Stir in the pumpkin, brown sugar, salt and spices, then stir in as much of the flour as you can with a spatula.  Sprinkle the remaining flour into the bowl bit by bit as you knead the dough for 5-7 minutes until it forms a smooth and elastic ball.  Drizzle a small amount of canola oil into the bowl, turn the dough ball to coat and set it aside to rise for about an hour, or until doubled.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into 9 balls.  Form each into a roll, and allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes.  This allows the dough to relax and makes forming the bagel hole easier.  Poke your thumb through the middle of each dough ball and stretch to form a 1" opening.  Allow to rest 10 more minutes, then flatten slightly

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and fill a dutch oven or other wide pot at least 4" deep at least half full of water.  Bring to a boil.  (I've seen other bagel recipes that recommend adding a dash of baking soda or a teaspoon of sugar to the water bath.  I did it just with plain water, but will try other methods in the future and see how it effects the final crust consistency).  Drop the bagels two at a time into the boiling water.  Cook for 45 seconds, flip over and cook for another 45 seconds.  Pull them out with a slotted spoon or spatula and let drain, then place on a baking sheet that has been prepared by misting with cooking spray and sprinkling with cornmeal.

In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 each brown sugar, white sugar, 2 T. flour and cinnamon.  Whisk the egg white in another small bowl and brush over each bagel.  Sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture liberally over the top of each one.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove to a rack to cool, or if you lack self control like I do, scarf them down immediately.  These were divine with cream cheese.  I toasted a leftover one the following day and the flavors had improved even more.

Overnight Fruit and Cream Cheese Danishes

 I have a raging sweet tooth - that should be no secret based on the recipes I've been posting lately - and a particularly soft spot for a well made breakfast pastry.  Bored of my usual fare, I grabbed a stack of old issues of Taste of Home magazine, and was pleased to spot a recipe for Overnight Cherry Danishes in the December/January 2010 issue (page 22).  I had a little birthday breakfast party scheduled for Friday morning and I just knew these would be perfect.

In evaluating the recipe, I saw immediately that it had a lot more yeast than I'd like, so I cut the amount in a little more than half and allowed for a bit more rise time at the end.  I find that I've become sensitive to large amounts of yeast and I prefer the texture and flavor of doughs that rise more slowly.  The dough is enriched with cream, butter and egg yolks, so the crumb is very soft.  It was an interesting dough to work with in that it does not require kneading, and in fact the kneading would encourage the formation of gluten strands and make the dough chewier, which is obviously not the desired result.  I was a little skeptical when I stirred it all together and had a shaggy sticky glob in my bowl, but by the morning, it had risen nicely.  Because of how moist it is, you have to work with it straight out of the refrigerator.  I took the big chunk of now firm and chilled dough, cut it into four equal pieces, and rolled each piece lightly in flour to make it easier to handle.  It was a nice texture to work with, and I could tell as I got to the last piece that as it starts to warm up it gets a bit sticky again.  Definitely don't let it sit around!

I added the cream cheese layer to the filling.  Definitely a must.  I also used homemade cherry preserves and a hastily thrown together homemade fresh blueberry filling rather than canned stuff.  If you haven't been around here very long, you may not know my hatred of high fructose corn syrup.  Nasty stuff.

Last of all, I had some leftover almond struesel topping from a batch of these delicious muffins, and I sprinkled it on about half of the pastries.  I loved it and thought it was a great addition.

The one thing I will do differently next time is to add a bit more fruit filling.  I put these together, then headed out on a nice 8 mile run, so by the time they went into the oven, they'd risen quite a bit more and the filling to pastry ratio shifted to a point of the filling looking skimpy.  We can't have that!  They tasted lovely, still, but I'd be even happier with a bit more fruit.

Plan on about 15 minutes of prep time the night before, and 30 minutes of prep + 60 minutes of rise time + 15ish minutes for baking the day of.  These remained very soft throughout the whole day.  I would even recommend this as a beginner recipe because the dough is so easy to handle.  Don't be put off by the length of the recipe, because it really was simple to put together and the results were so worth it.

Overnight Fruit and Cream Cheese Danishes
(adapted from Taste of Home magazine)

Dough:
2 t. active dry yeast
1/2 cup cream
1 1/2 cups milk
6 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 t. kosher salt
1 cup cold butter
6 egg yolks, beaten

Heat the cream and milk until warm, about 110 degrees.  Stir the yeast in and let it dissolve while you prepare the other dough ingredients.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt, then cut the butter in with a pastry blender until crumbly.  Stir in the egg yolks and cream/milk/yeast mixture until it forms a soft sticky ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, prepare two baking sheets by misting lightly with cooking spray.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into four equal sections.  Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll each dough chunk around until evenly lightly coated with flour.  Roll each chunk into a 12" x 4" rectangle, then cut into 1"x4" strips.  Pinch two strips together at one end, twist in opposite directions and pinch the other ends together.  Then bend the strip around to form a wreath and pinch to close.  Pinch together the center and press down to make a divot for filling.  Space 12 pastries evenly on each baking sheet for a total yield of 24.

Allow to rise for 45 - 60 minutes while you prepare the fillings below.

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 ounce package cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the remaining ingredients until well combined.   Make a little well in the middle of each pastry, pinching the middle of it together if necessary to close any gaps, and spoon a dollop of cream cheese filling into each.

Fruit Filling:


1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 T. cornstarch

In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch until well combined.  Stir in the water and berries, then bring to a low boil over medium low heat, stirring frequently.  Smash a few of the berries with the back of your spoon to release the juices, and simmer for a few minutes until thickened.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before using as pastry topping.  (I find that frozen berries actually work better for this than fresh berries.)

Alternatively, you may use prepared fruit preserves or any fruity pie filling of your choice.

Press the divot in the center of each pastry down again now that they have risen, and spoon a generous spoon full of fruit topping on to each pastry, on top of the cream cheese filling.

Optional Almond Struesel


1/3 cup flour
2 T. sugar
2 T. cold butter
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 t. cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a small food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs form.  Sprinkle on top of the fruit filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Allow to cool slightly, then drizzle with one of the glazes below.

Basic Glaze


2 T. melted butter
1 T. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-3 T. milk, added in small amounts to reach drizzling consistency

OR

Lemon Cream Glaze (excellent on top of blueberry filling)

2 T. melted butter
2 T. cream
2 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.

Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

Last year for Christmas morning, I made my first batch of overnight cinnamon rolls.  Super duper good, by the way, and one recipe that I get frequent comments about from people who have had good success with it.  After making several batches this month for various events, though, I was looking for something different for the big morning.  I loved the idea of making them the night before and expending basically no prep effort in the morning - what could be better than simply pulling a pan of formed rolls out of the fridge when the kids get up, and popping them into the oven a bit later to have them come out warm and wonderful just when everyone is starting to get hungry?

So, I totally winged a dough creation last night with an orange twist to it, and made up a decadent gooey cream cheese glaze.  Messy.  Sticky.  But darn delicious.  These are loosely based on an orange bowknot recipe that I have made in the past from Better Homes and Gardens, as well as the overnight cinnamon roll dough recipe.  But really, I didn't consult either recipe - I just kinda dumped stuff in the bowl like I have a tendency of doing.

Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

1/2 cup warm water
2 t. active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 t. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 t. nutmeg
zest of one orange
5-6 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Glaze
1/4 cup butter
4 ounces cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
juice of one orange

In a large bowl, stir the yeast and sugar into the water and let rest for a few minutes while you heat up the buttermilk and butter either on the stovetop or in the microwave until the butter is melted and the milk is 105-110 degrees F.  Pour the butter/buttermilk mixture into the yeast mixture along with the egg, orange zest, salt and nutmeg and stir to combine.  Stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until a shaggy dough begins to form.  Add a bit more flour and knead by hand, adding flour as necessary, until the dough forms a ball that is smooth and elastic.  (You may certainly do this by machine, but I don't have a mixer, and therefore figure out how much flour to add entirely by the feel of the dough.)

Lightly oil a large bowl, plop the dough ball into it and turn it over to coat.  Cover with a towel and let rest in a warm place until doubled, about one hour.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 18 equal pieces.  Roll each piece out into a 7-8" long "snake" and tie a simple knot, tucking the ends in.  Place on a cookie sheet misted with cooking spray, spaced out 2 inches between each roll.

Lightly mist the tops of the rolls with cooking spray and cover with saran wrap.  Refrigerate overnight.  In the morning, remove the trays of rolls from the fridge about one hour before you want to eat them.  Allow them to rest at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.  Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by microwaving the butter and cream cheese for 30 second intervals until soft enought to stir together easily.  Squeeze the orange juice in, and whisk in the powdered sugar until a smooth consistency is achieved.  Immediately after removing the rolls from the oven, drizzle glaze generously over the tops. 

This glaze will not set up as much as a normal powdered sugar glaze, so be prepared for messy fingers, but the cream cheese adds a decadent dimension that makes the mess worth it :).

Monkey Bread and variations

I spied this recipe in the February/March 2010 edition of Taste of Home and knew I had to try it.  I've made it twice this week and it's been declared a new favorite by my kids.  The second time, I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour in place of all purpose flour, as well as adding cinnamon to the sugar the balls are dipped in, and I also diced up an apple and sprinkled it in with the nuts.  I liked the cinnamon and apple additions, but decided that the whole wheat was pretty noticeable.  I subscribe to the theory that if you're going to eat a treat, make it a serious treat.  I don't know that I'll do the whole wheat next time.

I served it at a party warm on a platter with tongs for people to grab chunks of the bread, and it was a big hit.  I suspect it would be good sliced and made in to french toast the second day (that is, if there's any left).  I did modify the recipe a little bit from the original, so I will post it how I made it.  The dough is pleasant to work with because of the butter - nice and rich and easy to knead.  It's kid friendly to make.  Mine enjoyed rolling the dough balls and dipping them in butter and sugar.  It's definitely not diet bread, so save this for a rainy day when you need a pick-me-up and don't mind a few extra calories.

Monkey Bread

Dough:
2 t. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups warm 2% milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 t. salt
5 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Caramel:
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 t. vanilla

Assembly:
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 medium apple, peeled and diced (optional)
2/3 cup sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water.  Add the milk, butter, sugar, egg and salt and stir until well combined.  Stir in the flour one cup at a time until a dough ball starts to form, then generously dust with more flour and knead for 5-7 minutes, until smooth and elastic.  (I do not have a stand mixer, and therefore knead all of my dough by hand.  I sprinkle on 2-3 T. of flour at a time, work it in until the dough starts sticking to my hand, sprinkle some more, knead and repeat.)  Mist with cooking spray, flip over and mist the other side, then cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour.

As the dough is nearing double size, prepare your assembly ingredients.  Combine the caramel ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil.  Boil for three minutes then remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mist a 10 cup bundt pan with cooking spray and pour half of the caramel into the bottom.  Sprinkle with half of the nuts and apples.  Divide the dough into chunks the size of a golf ball and roll into balls.  Dip each ball in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar.  Place evenly around the bottom of the bundt pan.  Once you have laid down half the dough balls, drizzle with remaining caramel, sprinkle on remaining nuts and apples, then layer the rest of the dough balls.

Allow to rest for about 10-15 minutes, then bake for 35-40 minutes.  The top will be very golden.  I noticed that one of the batches I made I skimped a little on the baking time, and while the top was golden, the bottom was just barely cooked.  Err on the side of well done.  You may tent foil loosely over the top if it's browning too quickly.

Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate.  Serve warm.

Zucchini Overload

I have been the recipient of an abundance of zucchini.  Turns out that you don't even have to have a garden to wind up with a good stash - I have some very generous neighbors.  I have experimented with a number of ways to use it, including these zucchini brownies.  They were very tasty and very moist.  The dough was a little weird as I mixed it - so dry and crumbly that I couldn't fathom how it was going to possibly come together - so I added an egg, then stirred in the grated veggies and voila!  It worked.  I would make them again.

I also experimented with pan frying 1/4" slices.  I first sliced the rounds and sprinkled them with kosher salt while I put together the rest of the ingredients.  I beat an egg with a teaspoon of water for egg wash, then mixed together a half cup each of panko bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, and a half teaspoon each of salt, garlic powder and dried basil.  I patted each slice dry, dipped it into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, then fried it in a thin layer of olive oil for about 4 minutes on each side until the coating was nice and crispy.  They came out tasty and would be excellent served with marinara for dipping.

Probably the favorite baked good variation of all, though, was the Chocolate Zucchini Bread from Our Best Bites.  I was in a big hurry when I was putting it together and forgot the cinnamon sugar topping, but it was still devoured quickly by my coworkers and family.  I baked the batter in mini loaf pans rather than the two larger ones originally called for, and they came out great.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2 cups flour
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking soda
6 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c. canola oil
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. sour cream
3 c. grated zucchini
3/4 c. mini chocolate chips

Topping:
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. white sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease either 2 large loaf pans or 6 minis.  Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, soda, salt and cocoa powder in small bowl and set aside.  In a medium bowl, beat together oil, sugars and eggs, then add in vanilla and sour cream and mix until combined.  Gently stir in the zucchini, then fold in the flour mixture.  Last of all, stir in the chocolate chips. 

Divide the batter evenly between pans and sprinkle topping over each.  Bake large loaf pans for 50-60 minutes, small pans for 35-40, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let loaves cool for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

Stephanie's Cracked Wheat Raisin Bread

The kitchen project is coming along at a reasonable clip and will hopefully be wrapped up in the next three weeks.  In the mean time, I have 2 square feet of countertop space, half of which is covered by the microwave, a range that is intermittently plugged in and lots and lots of dirtied paper plates to my credit.  I have baked a few batches of cookies because a girl can only survive so long without homemade goodies, but I haven't so much as cracked open my yeast jar since the beginning of May.  And that's really saying something.  I usually bake a yeast based dough at least a couple times per week.

Enter my friend Stephanie, who sensed my need for something warm, homemade and delicious.  She brought over a loaf of cracked wheat raisin bread on Friday and we savored every single crumb of it.  It's lovely slathered in butter.  It's delicious when turned into french toast with a generous splash of orange juice and loads of cinnamon in the egg batter.  The dough is enriched with brown sugar and butter, so it has a very nice feel to it.  I full intend on making a batch of it as soon as my kitchen is functional again.

The recipe was originally published in the Pillsbury Complete Book of Baking several years ago.

Cracked Wheat Raisin Bread

1 1/2 cups cracked wheat


1 cup rasins

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons margarine or butter

2 cups boiling water

2 pkg. active dry yeast (4 1/2 t.)

2/3 cup warm water

5-6 cups all purpose flour

beaten egg


In large bowl, combine cracked wheat, raisins, brown sugar, salt, margarine and 2 cups boiling water. Mix well and allow to cool to 105-115 degrees F. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add to cooled cracked wheat mixture. Add 2 cups flour to cracked wheat mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 2 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in an additional 2 1/2-3 cups flour until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl.


On floured surface, knead in 1/2-1 cup flour until dough is smooth and elastic; about 10 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl; cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place until light and double in size, about 45-60 minutes.


Grease large cookie sheet. Punch down dough several times to remove all air bubbles. Divide dough into 2 parts; shape into balls (or loaves). Place on greased cookie sheet. Cover; let rise in warm place until light and double in size, about 45-60 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the dough. With sharp knife, slash 1/2 inch deep lattice design on top of each loaf. Brush with beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; cool on wire racks.

Semolina Sweetheart Rolls

These lovelies are simply a variation of the Semolina Bread I posted last. I added a splash of molasses for an extra flavor boost and formed them in muffin tins. My kids were delighted to discover that they look like hearts.

I have a new absolute favorite jam - Bonne Maman Cherry Preserves. My local grocery store carries it, and it is a slice of heaven! No nasty corn syrup to sully the flavor of the marvelous concoction of ripe cherries and sugar. It's totally amazing on these rolls and we've also found it to be delicious inside crepes with a dollop of whip cream and a few slivered almonds.

~~~

Semolina Sweetheart Rolls

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1 1/3 cups warm water

2 t. active dry yeast

3 T. butter

3 T. molasses

4 T. honey

3/4 t. kosher salt

1 1/2 cups semolina flour

1 1/2-2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

~~~

In a medium bowl dissolve the yeast in the water until softened. Stir in the butter, molasses, honey, salt and semolina flour and let this mixture rest for 10-15 minutes until it begins to rise and bubble.

~~~

Stir in enough all purpose flour until it forms a nice glob, then sprinkle a generous amount over the top and knead it in, adding more flour as needed until it forms a smooth and elastic ball, about 5-6 minutes.

~~~

Drizzle a small amount of oil over the dough and turn to coat until the bowl and the dough ball are evenly and lightly oiled. Cover bowl with a towel and set aside to rise until it is doubled, about 70 minutes.

~~~

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 24 equal chunks. Form each into a ball and place two balls into each well of a regular sized muffin pan that has been misted with cooking spray. Let rise until nearly doubled, about 20-30 minutes, then bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until golden.

~~~

Immediately after removing them from the oven, rub a pat of butter over the tops, then remove to a wire rack. Serve immediately or store in a ziplock bag once completely cooled and reheat before serving.

~~~

Makes 12 rolls

Golden Semolina Bread

My mill is still not back from the repair shop, and I am beginning to get twitchy from a lack of whole grains. I used the last few scraps of wheat flour up a week ago. I was hankering for some homemade bread, though, and decided to experiment with using a higher proportion of semolina than I have before. Semolina is coarsely ground durum wheat, so it is a whole grain. It has a fine sandy texture to it, so it'd be difficult to make something with that as the sole flour, but it adds such a nice sunshiney flavor and color that I often add a 1/4 or 1/2 cup to pizza and roll doughs. I buy mine in bulk from Kitchen Kneads in West Jordan where it is far more economical than purchasing a one pound bag at the grocery store. If you don't live in Utah, you may be able to find it at places like Whole Foods or any store that carries bulk grains.

Anyway, I completely made this recipe up from scratch. I went easy on the yeast because I like the texture of breads that rise a little more slowly. The dough was very easy to handle during kneading (I do all my doughs by hand by choice and necessity - I don't have a mixer, but I also love to feel it come together) and much less sticky than other doughs I usually work with. The kids totally raved about this bread. The crumb is soft, the texture wonderful. I have to confess that it took longer to rise than I was prepared for, so I actually formed it into three mini loaves so I could knock 10 minutes off the cook time. It worked out nicely. For the quantities listed here, you can either make one regular sized loaf or three minis, and it should be able to be doubled without any problems.

Golden Semolina Bread

1 1/3 c. warm water
2 t. active dry yeast
3 T. butter, melted
4 T. honey
3/4 t. kosher salt
1 1/2 c. semolina flour
1 1/2 - 2 c. unbleached all purpose flour

In a medium mixing bowl combine the water and yeast and let sit for a few minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir together the butter, honey and kosher salt and add to the water and yeast. Stir in the semolina flour, then let this mixture sit for about 10-15 minutes or until it begins to rise and bubble.

Stir in enough all purpose flour until the dough begins to form a glob, then sprinkle a generous amount on top and knead it in, adding more flour as necessary until the dough turns into a smooth and elastic ball, about 5-6 minutes.

Drizzle a small amount of oil over the dough, then turn to coat the dough ball and the bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, 70-90 minutes. Dump out onto a very lightly oiled work surface and gently stretch out into a square. Fold it into fourths, then press it into a rectangle as wide as your loaf pan and three times as long. Roll up jelly roll style and pinch to seal. Place in the pan and let rise until nearly doubled again, about 20 minutes.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until nicely golden brown. If doing mini loaves, bake for 20-22 minutes. Immediately remove to a wire rack to cool. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Truly Excellent Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I went in search of a good overnight cinnamon roll recipe. One friend directed me toward a recipe on Allrecipes that looked promising until I realized that the overnight part was the first rise and it wanted me to allow 2 1/2 hours in the morning to fiddle around with the dough. Not what I want on Christmas morning. I have tried other overnight recipes that yielded a tough roll or ones that rose nearly out of the pan before I even managed to get them in the oven. These ones came out perfect. The dough was soft and supple, very easy to work with, and the flavor was just the classic sort of fluffy cinnamony sticky goodness that you want on Christmas morning. All sweet roll recipes are a blank canvas, ready for you to do what suits your taste, so feel free to tinker with the filling.

Notice the Ov-Glove. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am the proud owner of a pair. My kids spotted them at the store while out doing last minute shopping with daddy and insisted that I needed them. So far so good!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

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1 1/2 T. active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, diced

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups scalded milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

5-6 cups all purpose flour

~~~

Filling:

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. vanilla

~~~

Glaze:

4 T. butter, melted

1 t. vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

1 t. cinnamon

2 T. real maple syrup (optional)

2-4 T. milk, depending on desired consistency

~~~

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water and let stand about 10 minutes. Heat the milk on the stovetop or in the microwave until just boiling, then remove from heat and stir in the butter, salt and sugar. Allow to stand until the mixture has cooled to lukewarm, then stir in the egg and yeast. In a large mixing bowl, combine the liquid mixture and 4 cups of the flour. Stir in more flour little by little until it gets too difficult to mix by hand, then knead in enough additional flour until the dough forms a ball that is soft and only lightly tacky. Knead for 4-5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Lightly oil the dough ball and turn to coat, then set aside to rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled.

~~~

Make the filling by beating the butter, sugar and cinnamon together until fluffy and creamy. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface and spread/roll into a large rectangle (24"x 12", roughly). Spread the filling over all of it in a thin, even layer, leaving one long edge with a 2 inch margin. Roll up, pinching the margin end shut, and cut into 2 inch thick slices with dental floss. Place in a large (I used the next size up from a 9x13 - not exactly sure of the size, but I'm guessing 10x15) greased baking pan, and cover with saran wrap that has been lightly misted with cooking spray. Place in the fridge overnight.  ***Please read the notes at the bottom of this post in regards to rising and pan choices.***

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The next morning, pull the pan out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Meanwhile, mix the glaze ingredients together and drizzle over the tops of the rolls right after they come out of the oven.

~~~

Yields 12 very generously sized rolls

*****
Notes from making this several more times:

-I have made the dough in the evening and refrigerated the whole glob overnight.  3 hours before serving time, I removed it from the fridge, let it rest at room temperature for an hour and a half, formed the rolls, let them rise for 40 minutes, then baked as indicated above and the results were very good.  In some ways, I actually preferred the texture this way.
-I have been able to get more consistently even baking by making thinner slices - more like 1 1/4" slices, smaller rolls (the rectangle rolled out to 8"x24"), and baking them on a jelly roll sheet pan with just a little more space in between.
-Adding vanilla to the filling and cinnamon and maple syrup to the glaze is a very, very good thing.  I just edited the post to reflect those changes.  You can leave them out, but you'll be sorry.
-I made a quickie orange roll version by beating 1/2 a stick of butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup orange marmalade until well combined and spreading that over the dough.  For glaze, I simply stirred orange juice into powdered sugar until it reached drizzling consistency.

Cherry Christmas Scones

I made these last Christmas, sans the cherries and buttermilk. Alan has been hankering for them ever since and this was his special request for Christmas Even brunch. Like a lot of scones, they're a little shaggy and homely, but very tasty, especially right out of the oven. I did one batch with an egg wash to hold the lovely large sugar crystals on top (shown in picture) and another batch with buttermilk on top. Same taste, just obviously yellower with the egg. They're tasty plain, but marvelous with fruit jams and lemon curd.

Cherry Christmas Scones

Blend together:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
zest of one orange

Cut in:
1 stick of cold butter

Stir in:
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries (preferably ones not processed with sulfur)
1+ cups buttermilk (you may need a tablespoon or two more than one cup in order to adequately moisten the dough)

Knead lightly about 10 times until the dough forms a ball. Pat into a round about 12 inches in diameter. Cut into 12 even wedges and separate them out at least a 1/2 inch. Brush the tops with either a little more buttermilk or else a beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Pleasing pitas

No photos today. I was very frazzled by the time dinner rolled around last night. We all have those nights, right? I made the awesome greek food that I posted here previously to rave reviews from the peanut gallery. I was going to be a slacker and just buy pita breads, but the lonesome package on the shelf at the grocery store displaying an expiration date a day past didn't boost my confidence much. I've made my mom's recipe before, but hers tend to be chewier than I like, so I hit the internet and found an excellent tutorial. I made a couple modifications, and I baked them in the oven the way I'm accustomed to it rather than trying the griddle way that she mentions. I am posting this the way I made it and had an 8 1/2 out of 10 success rate with getting them to poof up all the way through.

Pita Bread

3 cups all purpose flour + additional for dusting
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 T. honey
2 t. kosher salt
2 t. yeast
2 T. olive oil
1 1/4 cups warm water

Mix the flour, salt and yeast together in a bowl, then stir in the olive oil and warm water until a shaggy dough forms. Let rest for 10 minutes. Knead for 5-10 minutes and knead in additional flour as necessary, but go easy on this. The dough will be a sticky and moist dough, which is ok. The moisture is what makes it puff up. Lightly oil a bowl, pop the dough in and flip it over until evenly coated. Leave in a warm place and let rise until doubled.

Place a baking stone or heavy duty cookie sheet in the oven with the rack in the lowest position. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Split the dough into 8 equal pieces on a work surface that is lightly dusted with flour and let them rest for a few minutes covered with a damp towel (this allows the dough to relax and makes it easier to roll into a round). Working with a couple pieces at a time, roll them into a 6-8 inch round, 1/4" thick. Mist each lightly with water then place carefully on the preheated stone or baking sheet. Bake for 3-4 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden on the bottom side.

Immediately remove to a wire rack and cover with another damp towel until ready to serve.
~~~
I ate leftover breads today and they were perfectly soft and pliable. I like the hint of sweetness the honey gives, plus the blend of flours - 100% whole wheat is much chewier and less flexible, and 100% white flour doesn't have as much flavor. You also may allow this bread dough to slow rise in the refrigerator for hours, removing 60 minutes or so before you want to use it so that it can come up to room temperature. Also, if you have a couple of unruly pitas that don't puff up like I did, toast them with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt for some excellent pita chips - fabulous for hummus!

Super-de-duper Pumpkin Bread

Snow outside = baked goods cravings. I was hankering for pumpkin bread this morning and pulled out several of my favorite cook books. I discovered that three of them had the exact same recipe. That's a pretty good indication that a recipe is reasonably fool proof, in my opinion. But I also wanted a crispy sugary topping, so I started tinkering with it. I switched 1/3 of the sugar to brown for a more deep flavor, added some more spices (because plain cinnamon is boooooring), and improvised a topping. The results are delicious! A lovely sugary crust with a perfect, soft, moist interior. I say are, because there is still a little bit of the last loaf up in the kitchen, calling to me...I don't want to confess how much I've already eaten. I made these in mini-loaf form for easy sharing.

Pumpkin Bread of the best sort

2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
1 15 ounce can pumpkin (2 cups)
4 eggs
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom
1/2 t. cloves
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 t. cinnamon
3 T. butter, softened

Combine the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the baking soda, salt, spices and flour and stir until well combined, then stir in the semisweet chips. Mist 6 mini loaf pans with cooking spray and divide the batter equally between them. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon, then work in the softened butter until small clumps form. Sprinkle the clumps evenly over the pans full of batter, then bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before attemping to remove them from the pan.

Petite Pumpkin Carrot Spice Muffins

I'm a long time subscriber to Taste of Home, and I keep the old issues around for inspiration when I get tired of whatever current cooking streak I'm on. A recipe from last fall's edition caught my eye - Pumpkin and Spice and Everything Nice Muffins. These are touted as being better for you because they are sweetened with real maple syrup, and have carrots, whole grain and pumpkin in them. That probably just about counterbalances the butter. I baked them in mini muffin cups because they cook so much faster, and on a busy school morning, those extra 10 minutes are a big deal. The finished product was delightful and greedily scarfed up by my kids. The texture is perfect - nice soft crumb, melt in your mouth, no rubberiness or chewiness (often a problem with reduced fat recipes), only lightly sweet. Just right. I made a slight modification from the original recipe, which called for 1/2 cup of wheat bran, and I didn't have it on hand. I simply used whole wheat flour with good results.

Pumpkin Carrot Spice Muffins

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or wheat bran)
2 t. pumpkin pie spice (or 1 1/2 t. cinnamon + 1/4 t. each ginger, nutmeg and cloves)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plain, lowfat yogurt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 cup finely grated carrots
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray two 24 cup mini muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients except chocolate chips and nuts and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients and fold in until just moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts, then divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and top springs back. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 48 mini muffins

**These may be baked in full size muffin cups as well, and the recipe states the yield is 12. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

Rosemary Focaccia

This recipe is the sole reason I decided I needed the 75th anniversary version of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Well, maybe not the sole, but it contributed strongly. My sister Amy made it for me and then showed me the cookbook, and it was enough different from the standard version I got for our wedding that I was delighted to receive it as a Christmas present a couple months later.

I've made it many times since and have learned a few things in the process. First, it really is important to start the starter the night before. You miss out on a lot of flavor and texture if you don't allow enough time for fermentation. Second, form it on parchment paper (really, there isn't much to forming - I just flip it out of the bowl gently, and cover it with a bigger bowl to rise, and it tends to nicely spread out to just the right size and thickness). That way you can preheat the pizza stone, which really helps the crust crisp up nicely. Third, be generous with the olive oil. Just like with the grilled pizza recipe, skimping on oil = way less flavor. Fourth, fresh rosemary really is worth it. Any of you in the neighborhood are welcome to come help trim back my rapidly growing enormous rosemary bush. It's in the front yard, so snip away whether I'm home or not.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread
4 – 4 ½ cups all purpose flour (you may substitute 1/2 cup semolina flour for 1/2 cup of AP flour for a little more depth of flavor)
½ cup warm water
1 t. dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 t. salt
2 t. snipped fresh rosemary or 1 t. dried rosemary
1 T. olive oil, plus additional for drizzling
Kosher salt

The night before: combine ½ cup flour, ½ cup warm water and the yeast in a medium size bowl. Beat with a spoon until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sponge stand overnight to ferment.

About 2 1/2 hours before you want to eat it, gradually stir in the 1 cup of warm water, the 2 t. salt, rosemary, and enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl greased with a tablespoon of olive oil, turning once. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Carefully slide the dough out onto a large piece of parchment paper, then place a large bowl over the dough round and let it rest for an additional 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven and breadstone (or cookie sheet if you don’t have one) to 475 degrees. Carefully shape the dough into a circle about 11 inches in diameter by pulling and stretching with your fingers, being careful not to deflate the dough. Make ½ inch deep indentations every 2 inches in the dough. Brush dough with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Carefully slide the dough round (still on the parchment paper) on to the breadstone or cookie sheet. (For this, I slide it off the countertop onto the back side of a cookiesheet, then slide it onto the preheated stone.) Bake for 15-20 minutes or until uniformly golden. I find that it works best to cook for 13 minutes, then rotate it to get it uniformly golden. Avoid overcooking it. Cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before slicing and serve warm. It is fabulous dipped in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

For sandwiches, it is best to allow the bread to be a day old. Slice the loaf in half, then carefully slice sideways through the loaf. Open the loaf so that the cut sides are exposed and lightly toast under the broiler. Layer your favorite toppings – meats, cheeses, pesto, vegetables, etc. and serve immediately. The salt tends to dissolve into the crust of the bread and it looks a little weird the second day, but it truly makes amazing sandwiches once toasted.

Emily's Super Easy Skillet Bread

I often look to my friend Emily for bread recipes in particular. She told us about this one at book club the other day, and yesterday was the perfect day to try it. It takes roughly 60 seconds to stir up, and cooks up in another 15-20 minutes. It pairs nicely with soup, and Ethan declared that I "must make a double batch every time we have soup". I think I was a little too stingy with the butter in the skillet - I only put 2 T. in, and it stuck just a little bit. Next time I'll not be so bashful and go for the golden crust :). It's soft and moist in the middle with a perfect chewy/buttery crust on the bottom.

2 cups flour

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 1/2 cups milk

2-4 T. butter

optional mix ins: cheese, bacon bits, green chilis, cornmeal, taco seasoning...use your imagination

Stir together the dry ingredients, then stir in the milk until a smooth batter forms. Place an oven proof skillet in the oven while it's heating up and put the butter in. Once the butter is nicely melted and bubbly, pour the batter into the skillet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown. You may either slice it into wedges to serve, or simply tear off hunks...mmmm. I put a generous handful of cheddar cheese in the loaf yesterday and it was perfect.

Petite Sticky Buns

I'm a long time subscriber to Taste of Home, and this recipe jumped out at me in my most recent issue as a must-try. It was simple to make and a big hit with the peanut gallery. The very best part is scrounging the bits of caramel left behind in the muffin tins...ooooh la la. I made one very minor modification to the original recipe, which I'll note. I will be making these again this weekend for a family gathering, and may even get all crazy and experiment with adding a bit of toasted coconut.

Rolls:

3-3 1/4 cups flour (I used 3 1/4, and think I should have been content to leave it a little stickier and softer)
1/4 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/2 t.)
1 t. salt
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 egg

Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, cubed
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 T. honey
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. maple flavoring (I used 1 t. vanilla instead)

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter to 120-130 degrees. Add to the dry ingredients and beat just until moistened. Add egg, beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough (dough will be sticky). Do not knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

In a small saucepan over low heat, cook topping ingredients until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into 24 well greased muffin cups.

Stir dough down. Fill greased muffin cups half full. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. (This was the point where I was wishing for a less stiff dough, because it was a little tricky to divide out. I wound up with buns of many different sizes, which I'll just choose to believe is good because we had appetites of many different sizes.)

Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes before inverting onto baking sheets. Let it rest for 30 seconds or so before lifting the muffin pan up to allow all the caramel to drip down. Transfer to serving platters and serve immediately.

Whole grain sandwich bread

Remember my whole wheat bread recipe? Well, my friend Emily, master of bread and the one that I always bug when I have questions, messed around with it a bit and lightened it up to make good sandwich bread. I love whole wheat bread as much as anyone, but sometimes it's a little overly hearty for a sandwich. I made her version last week and was really happy with how it came out. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

2 ¾ cup warm water
4 t. dry active yeast (I use Fleischmann’s Instant yeast)
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
¼ cup molasses
1 ½ t. salt
2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
6-6 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the oil, honey, molasses, salt and 5 cups of the flour until well combined. Allow to rest 10 -15 minutes. Then, knead in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is just barely not sticky, and knead for about 4 minutes. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with a towel to let it rise until double (30-60 minutes). Turn on the oven to 375, punch down and form into two loaves and place into greased bread pans. Allow to rise for ONLY 9-10 minutes, then bake for 32-35 minutes. These loaves have even more oven spring than my original recipe, so don't fret if they haven't risen very high before you bake them.

A word about flour – I like to use freshly ground hard white wheat flour. Wheat from Montana has a higher gluten content and makes better bread. Wheat flour doesn't keep as well once ground as processed white flour, so if you grind a bunch at once and aren't going to use it right away, store it in your fridge. If you use purchased flour, it will have settled and packed down, and it may require less. To help keep the measurements more consistent, stir the flour around to fluff it up before you measure it.

Easy Peasy No-Knead Rustic Bread

Leigh Anne posted this recipe a few days ago and I was salivating by the time I got to the bottom of the post. The original recipe was published in the New York Times, and I am quite indebted to Jim Lahey from the Sullivan Street Bakery for publishing this little gem. I've already made it twice with excellent results. Ethan declared me the best mom ever for this one and I had a taste test panel of a few friends and family that gave it two thumbs up. The crust is pretty hearty, but does soften as it cools and especially by the next day once it's been wrapped in plastic over night.

This is a great yeast bread for beginners because the hands on time is literally less than 5 minutes. You just have to plan ahead and start it the night before you want it. You simply stir the four basic ingredients together, cover it with plastic wrap and walk away for 12-18 hours. I started the first batch at 5 in the afternoon before heading to work and didn't touch it again until I woke up at noon. I got some large bubbles on the outside, so I think that was pushing the envelope of rise time, but it still tasted wonderful. The picture above is how it'll look after it's been rising and is ready to be shaped.

Be pretty generous with the flour on your work surface, because this is a really sticky, well hydrated dough. I scraped it out of the bowl and onto my well floured Roul Pat, fold it in half twice and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Next, shape it into a nice little ball. Here's a You Tube video clip for those of you that don't know how to do this well. It's really pretty simple. I tug the dough in all directions from the bottom and pinch it together on top, repeating a few times until the ball of dough is nice and smooth and has a good amount of surface tension to retain shape. Generously flour a tea towel or similar cloth, then dust the ball of dough with a bit more flour before covering with another tea towel. The first time I made this, I didn't get quite enough flour on the cloth and it stuck in a couple of places when I was trying to remove it. The second time I went a bit over the top and had flour all over the oven...third time will be the charm, I'm sure.

Walk away for 2 hours again. Turn your oven on and stick your large covered oven safe pot in it while it heats up. I found that my 12 inch dutch oven was absolutely perfect for this task. Once the oven is heated up, carefully pick the dough ball up from underneath the towel, then flip it over into the pot. Put the lid on. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 10-15 more minutes until it's golden and delicious.

The aroma when you pull this out of the oven is amazing. The crust crackles as it cools, which is just music to my ears. This is one bread that you should not cut right out of the oven - best to let it sit for an hour or so to let the insides set up.

Here's the full recipe:

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting

¼ teaspoon instant yeast

1¼ teaspoons salt

Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

**A word about flour. I've been experimenting a lot with rustic breads in the past few weeks, and I find that switching to unbleached flour has really improved the flavor of my bread. I also like to add a small percentage of whole grain flour to round out the flavor. The first batch I made, I used 1/2 cup white wheat flour and it was very good. The second batch I made, I used 1/4 cup each semolina and rye flour and it was even better. Too much whole grain flour will make a heavy loaf and it won't react the same way, but a little bit is definitely a worthwhile addition.

Muffin madness

I made a couple of different kinds of muffins for a post workout chat with my Wasatch Back teammates. They were both easy to whip up and quite tasty. I made the pumpkin ones early that morning in the dark, and didn't notice the little lump of not quite mixed in flour until after I downloaded the picture. Eh, oh well. I think they were both better the second day as the moisture improved and the flavors settled, making them ideal for a make ahead sort of a treat to bring to the office or a quick breakfast.

Both recipes are from Taste of Home, but I modified them a bit to make them a little healthier. I just can't justify 15+ grams of fat per muffin. I am posting them the way I made them.

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 t. each baking soda and powder
1/2 t. each cinnamon and cloves
1 t. salt
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
2 T. ground flaxseed (optional)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin, oil and applesauce until smooth. Combine the dry ingredients and stir into the pumpkin mixture until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes, or until muffins test done with a toothpick. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield - 12 muffins.

Spiced Pear Raisin Nut Muffins

2 cups flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. cloves
1 egg
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 T. molasses
1 1/2 cups finley chopped peeled pears
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 T. ground flaxseed (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In another bowl, beat the wet ingredients until smooth. Fold into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pears, raisins and walnuts. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes, or until muffins test done.

This recipe yielded 15 muffins, which was a little annoying. As you can see from the picture, they came out smaller than the pumpkin ones so I think I could have added a bit more batter to all of the cups and had 12 biggerish muffins instead of having two pans. If you do have a second pan with just a few muffins, fill the cups next to them with a half inch or so of water and they'll bake more evenly. The three odd muffins actually came out the most rounded and evenly baked of the whole batch because of that.

The flaxseed addition is a great way to boost your nutrition. It doesn't effect the texture at all, and I like sneaking it in to my kids' food when they aren't looking. Be sure to store it in the freezer for maximum freshness.