Paleo Pecan Raisin Bread!

And the best part is (1) it's like bread, (2) it is super easy to make and (3) NO AGAVE!!!

Seriously, try this today.

Pecan-Raisin Bread

3/4 c creamy roasted almond butter @ room temp
4 lg eggs
1/4 c blanched almond flour
1/4 c arrowroot powder
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c pecans, coarsely chopped **
1 c raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 7x3 loaf pan with grapeseed oil and dust with almond flour.

In a large bowl, mix the almond butter with a handheld mixer until smooth, and then blend in the eggs. IN a medium owl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Blend the almond flour mixture into the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined, then fold in the pecans and raisins. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake for 45-50 min on the bottom rack of the oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 1 hour, then serve.

To store: wrap the bread in a paper towel, place in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate. WIll keep for up to six days (as if it would last that long!).

Thanks Elana's Pantry for the recipe!

**the only change I would make would be to toast the pecans first.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

A friend made this bread and it is awesome! I had to get the recipe.

The best zucchini bread I've ever had!

* 3 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 1/4 cups white sugar
* 2 cups shredded zucchini
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
* 1 pint fresh blueberries


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
3. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Cupcakes

After eating all these great cupcakes in Chicago, I decided to try and make my own.. this recipe makes 4 cupcakes. Just enough for 2 people :)

Pretty good stuff..

2 T butter
1/2 c flour
1/4 c buttermilk
1/8 t baking soda
yolk of 1 large egg, room temp
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 c plus 2 T sugar
1/8 t salt

heat oven to 350 and place muffing cup liners in muffin pan.

combine buttermilk and baking soda in a small bowl, and stir to mix. Gently whisk in the egg yolk and vanilla.

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and whisk to blend well. Add half of the buttermilk mixture. Beat on a low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat until the mixture is lightened and has slightly increased in volume about 45 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Pour in remaining buttermilk mixture and beat on medium speed until well blended 20 seconds.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20-23 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 min. let cupcakes cool completely. Frost with your favorite frosting or:

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz cold cream cheese
2 T butter
3/4 c confectioners' sugar
1 t grated orange zest
1/2 t vanilla
1 T thawed frozen OJ concentrate (I used normal OJ and it tasted fine)

Mix cream chz and butter until blended. Add sugar, orange zest, and vanilla, beat to mix. Add OJ and beat until fluffy. Use right away or cover and let stand for up to 1 hr before using.

Fall Muffins

These muffins are so great! They are made of apples and bananas! A couple changes to the recipe I made was substituing applesauce (unsweetened) for the shortening and I added walnuts. I recommend baking them for 23-24 min; I found that less than that made them a lil gooey (from the bananas) in the middle.

ENJOY!!!

Apple Banana Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup shortening (I used applesauce instead)
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
2 apples - peeled, cored and shredded (to save time, chopping is also a good approach- I like the chunks of apples and walnuts)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 24 muffin cups, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and buttermilk. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and shredded apples. Fill each muffin cup half full.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

The Best Thanksgiving Dinner Rolls Ever!

I actually made these for Thanksgiving last year, but never posted the recipe. So, in time for Thanksgiving this year.. the recipe!

** Get started early on this recipe b/c it has to rise for a while all-total about 2 hrs and 15 m for the rising only.

If you want, you can make them up to a week ahead of time storing the baked rolls in a Ziploc plastic bag and freezing them. Defrost the rolls for 1 hour at room temperature before reheating. To reheat, wrap the rolls in aluminum foil, 6 rolls to a package. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until heated through 10-15 min.

1 - 1/4 oz package active dry yeast
1 & 1/2 c buttermilk
6 T unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for brushing the rolls
2 lg eggs
2 T sugar
5 c bread or unbleached flour
3/4 t baking soda
1 & 1/2 t salt
Approx. 2 & 1/2 t poppy seeds for sprinkling

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup warm (100 - 110 F) water and let stand until creamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve the yeast.

In a medium saucepan, heat the buttermilk, stirring constantly, just until warm (100-110F). or, place the buttermilk in a 1-quart glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 1 minute, or until warm. Transfer the buttermilk to a 1-quart measuring cup, if necessary, and stir in the dissolved yeast mixture, the melted butter, eggs, and sugar.

Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour in the liquid ingredients and mix to form shaggy dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough, adding more flour as needed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.

Place the dough in a large buttered bowl. Turn the dough to coat with the butter, and turn the dough smooth side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume (if you poke the dough with your finger, an impression will remain) about 1 & 1/4 hours.

Lightly butter 2 9-in round cake pans. Punch down the dough and knead briefly on an unfloured work surface. Cut the dough into 18 equal pieces. (Easiest way: cut the dough into thirds, then cut each third in half and each half into 3 pieces) Place a piece of dough on the work surface. Using the sides of your hands, tuck the dough underneath itself, turning the dough as you tuck, stretching the top surface, and eventually forming a taunt ball. Repeat with the remaining dough, transferring the rolls to the prepared pans as you form them, allowing nine balls per pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until almost doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F

Brush the tops of the rolls lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with the poppy seeds. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and serve warm.

Pretzels

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I want to very soon!

I do love soft pretzels! YUM!


1 & 1/4 c warm water
1 T plus 1/4 t yeast
3 & 3/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 c plus 2 T powdered sugar
1 & 1/2 t salt
2 t vegetable oil

Bath:
4 c warm water
1/2 c baking soda
1/4 c butter, melted

Salted:
kosher or pretzel salt

Cinnamon topping:

1/2 c granulated sugar
2 t cinnamon

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or cup. Let it sit for a few minutes.
2. Combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add water with yeast and vegetable oil. Stir with a spoon and then use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Knead the dough for 5 min. on a lightly floured surface. Dough will be nice and smooth when it's ready. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and store it in a warm place for about 45 min. or until the dough doubles in size.
3. when dough has risen, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Make a bath for the pretzels by combining the baking soda with the warm water and stir until baking soda is mostly dissolved.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 8 even portions. Roll each portion onto a flat non-floured surface until it is about 3 feet long. Pick up both ends of the dough and give it a little spin so the middle of the dough spins around once. Lay the dough down w/the loop nearest to you. Fold the ends down toward you and pinch to attach them to the bottom of the loop. The twist should be in the middle.
6. Holding the pinched ends dip each pretzel into the bath solution. Put each pretzel on a paper towel for a moment to blot the excess liquid. Arrange the pretzels on a baking sheet sprayed w/non-stick spray. If you want salt, sprinkle pretzels w/salt. Don't salt any pretzels if you plan to coat w/cinnamon sugar. You will likely have to use 2 baking sheets, and to be sure to bake them separately. Bake the pretzels for 4 min, the spin the pan halfway around and bake for another 4 to 5 min. or until the pretzels are golden brown.
7. Remove the pretzels from the oven, and let them cool for a couple of min. if you want to eat some now, brush 'em w/ melted butter first, if desired, before serving. If you want the cinnamon sugar coating, make it by combining the 1/2 c sugar and 2 t cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush the unsalted pretzels you plan to coat w/a generous amount of melted butter. Sprinkle a heaving coating of the cinnamon sugar onto the entire surface of the pretzels over a place!


ENJOY!

Amish Bread Recipe

So, you've done your starter and it's time to make the yummy bread! I just made this recipe for the first time and it was delicious!!

Pumpkin-Pecan Amish Friendship Bread:

3 c chopped pecans
1 can (16 oz) solid-pack pumpkin (not pumkin pie in a can)
1 c starter
4 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil2 t vanilla
3 c flour
1 c granulated sugar
1 c packed brown sugar
4 t ground cinnamon
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 9 & 1/2 x 4 " loaf pans

reserve 1 cup of pecans. spread remaining 2 c peacans in a single layer in a large baking pan. bake 8 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently.

combine pumpkin, starter, eggs, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. combine remaining ingredients in separate large bowl until well blended. stir into pumpkin mixture just until blended. stir in toasted pecans. spoon batter evenly into prepared pans. sprinkle reserve pecans evenly over batter.

bake 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. cool in pan on wire rack for 5 mintues. remove from pans. cool completly on wire rack. wrap in plastic wrap. store at room temp up to 1 week.

Makes 2 loaves.

Amish Friendship Bread Starter:

I know it has been an obscene amount of time since I haven't posted in such a long time, I'm going to post a great recipe:
This bread is amazing! It takes 10 days to make the starter and from the starter you make the bread! Very, very yummy stuff. The best part is that it makes enough to share 1 cup of starter with 3 friends and enough for you too!!

The Recipe:
3 c. sugar
3 c. flour
3 c. milk

DAY 1: In a GLASS/Plastic bowl, combine 1 c sugar, 1 c flour, and 1 c milk. Stir mixture with wooden or plastic spoon (don't use a metal spoon or electric mixer). Cover bowl loosely with paper towl, cloth, wax paper, or plastic wrap. Keep at room temperature (don't refridgerate.

DAY 2, 3, and 4: Using wooden or plastic spoon, stir mixture once each day.

DAY 5: Add 1 Cup Sugar, 1 c. flou, 1 c. milk; stir.

DAY 6, 7, 8, and 9: Using wooden or plastic spoon, stir mixture once each day.

DAY 10: Add 1 c. sugar, 1 c. flour, and 1 c. milk. Remove 3 cups of mixture and give 1 cup each to 3 friends. Save remaining starter for yourself!!

AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD:

*This is the recipe I've been using every time I make this bread. I am going to try a new recipe and I'll post that later!*

1 c. Amish friendship bread starter
2/3 c. oil
3 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 c. sugar

in mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. bake in 2 well greased and floured or sugared 9x5 bread pans. bake in 350 degree oven for 40 or 45 minutes.

NOTE: Raisins, chopped apples, drained crushed pineapple, candied fruit, coconut, mashed banana, dates, chopped nuts/chocolate chips (1/2 cup each) may be added to batter before baking!