Granola Breakfast Bread

This is the time of year when I want to make bread the most. Any type of bread will do, as long as I am making it. I found this recipe in Dorie's book BFMHTY and it is originally called Oatmeal Breakfast Bread, but I have some left over granola from Bear Naked, btw, if you haven't tried their granola, you should, it is fantastic! But, as I was saying, I had this leftover granola that is vanilla flavored with some almonds and thought it would work just fine...it did! I also left out the dried fruit, just because I didn't have any, but the next time this is made, I am going to add it. I know it will make it even better! I made 4 mini loaves from this one batch, which means that I can get 4 neighbor gifts out of it. That is if I can keep the hubby and kids out of it...or myself!!



Oatmeal Breakfast Bread
By: BFMHTY

For the topping:
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans
1/4 tsp cinnamon

For the bread:
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup flavorless oil, such as canola or safflower
1/4 cup buttermilk or whole milk
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1/2 cup diced dried figs, apples or apricots or moist, plump raisins
1 cup old-fashioned oats

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan, or a mini loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the topping: In a small bowl, using your fingers, toss together the sugar, nuts and cinnamon until evenly mixed, set aside.

To make the bread: Whisk together the eggs, applesauce, oil and buttermilk until well blended.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves. Remove 1/2 tsp of the mix and toss it with the fruit, just to coat; set aside. Stir the oats into the bowl. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and, using a large rubber spatula, stir just until everything is evenly moistened-this is a case where less is more, so don't overdo the mixing. Scatter the dried fruit over the batter and stir to blend. Scrape the batter into the pan and sprinkle over the topping, tamping it down very lightly with your fingers so it sticks.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the bread is beautifully browned and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the bread to a rack to cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pan and unmold. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

**Since I made my loaves in a mini loaf pan, it baked in about 30-35 minutes.

Mississippi Mud Cake

This cake is what I will normally turn to when I need a quick dessert to take somewhere. This cake is really rich, so only a little piece is all you will need to satisfy that craving. I made this recipe before, but in cupcake form and it turned out just as good! I really don't think that you can go wrong with chocolate, pecans and marshmallows. Don't have time to make your marshmallows? no worries, store bought will do just as good here!

Mississippi Mud Cake:

1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped pecan
4 cups miniature marshmallows

Chocolate Frosting:
1 (16oz.) package powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

Combine butter and coca in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter melts.

Remove from heat; transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and eggs; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add flour, salt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes for the cake. Remove from oven and sprinkle marshmallows over hot cake. If making the cake, immediately spread frosting over marshmallows.

To make the chocolate frosting:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; beat at medium speed until smooth, adding an additional tablespoon of milk if frosting is too stiff.

Nut Pies for Blake!

These are little Pecan Tassies, or in my house knows as nut pies. Blake has always called pecan pie this, I am not really sure why though. He loves this pie and every Thanksgiving and Christmas my parents always buy 2 frozen pecan pies and gives 1 to him. So, it really was no surprise that this week when I asked him what he would like to bake, it was nut pie. Then he asked if he could make mini nut pies so that he could take them in his lunch to school.

These little tassies are really easy to make and quick to throw together. They are perfect if you need a finger food to take somewhere.

Pecan Tassies:

Tart Shells:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup all purpose flour

Filling:
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pecan halves, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For tart shells, beat butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add flour, mix until a soft dough forms. (Blake did this in the KA with the paddle attachment.)

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place into ungreased cups of mini muffin pan. Press dough into the bottom and up the sides of the muffin cups.

For filling, mix melted butter with the brown sugar, egg and vanilla until combined. Add the pecans and mix.

Fill each tart shell with filling, do not overfill. Bake 20-25 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Remove from oven, cool in pan for 3 minutes. Transfer tassies from muffin tin to cooling rack. Cool completely.

Makes 2 dozen.

Chocolate Pecan Biscotti

This months Cookie Carnival recipe was supposed to be Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti. However, I can't find hazelnuts here, so I used what I had on hand, pecans. This was a first for me for making biscotti, and if I am being honest, I really didn't like this recipe. I really like biscotti with my coffee, but for some reason, this one wasn't my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't turn it down if it was offered to me, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it either. I am glad that I tried it, so now I know that have tried this recipe. Thanks Kate for choosing a recipe to broaden my baking skills!

Chocolate Hazelnut (Pecan) Biscotti

1 1/2 cups hazelnut, toasted (pecans)

3 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Grind 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts in processor. Set aside. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Beat butter and sugar in another large bowl to blend. Add eggs and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until well blended. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in 1 cup whole toasted hazelnuts, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts.

Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece on baking sheet into 2 1/2 inch wide by 14 inch log. Place logs on prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart (logs will spread during baking). Bake until logs feel firm when tops are gently pressed, about 35 minutes. cool logs on baking sheet 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Using long wide spatula, transfer baked logs to cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut warm logs crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Arrange slices, cut side down, on 2 baking sheets. Bake biscotti until firm, about 15 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely. (Biscotti can be prepared ahead. Store in airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.)

TWD-Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Madam Chow of Madam Chow's Kitchen. I was really nervous when this was chosen, because I have never made brioche dough before. Honestly, I have never eaten brioche bread before, so this was a first for me all the way around. Back in March Peabody had chose Brioche Raisin Snails as her recipe for the week, and I wasn't able to participate that week, so I was excited and nervous at the same time, about this week. Let me just say that I am no longer afraid of brioche! I can't wait to make it again and again. It is not hard at all to mix together...other than the fact that you really have to watch your KA mixer, or it might just jump off of the counter! A few "slaps" to deflate the dough and watch it rise again, and again, this made me smile and giggle every time I went to deflate it and it had risen again. A chill overnight and there you go. Now, I waited 2 nights, and the brioche was really stiff when I took it out of the fridge to roll it out, but a few minutes out on the counter and it was ready to be rolled out. Once rolled out, spread on the filling, roll, cut and put in the baking dish to rise a final time for about 1 1/2 hours and bake for 30 minutes. The rolls came out light and fluffy, and sweet! Very sweet and sticky, of course.

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
Makes 15 buns
For the Glaze:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup honey

1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)

For the Filling:
1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the Buns:
1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche loaves (see below), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating it overnight)

Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan (a Pyrex pan is perfect for this).

To make the glaze: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out as best you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinkle over the pecans.

To make the filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft, smooth and spreadable.

To shape the buns: On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months . . . . Or, if you want to make just part of the recipe now, you can use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder. Reduce the glaze recipe accordingly).
With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. (Because you trim the ragged ends of the dough, and you may have lost a little length in the rolling, you will get 15 buns, not 16.) Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them.
Lightly cover the pan with a piece of wax paper and set the pan in a warm place until the buns have doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The buns are properly risen when they are puffy, soft, doubled and, in all likelihood, touching one another.
Getting ready to bake: When the buns have almost fully risen , center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the sheet of wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the oven.
The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have a rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super-hot and super-sticky.

What You'll Need for the Golden Brioche Dough (this recipe makes enough for two brioche loaves. If you divide the dough in half, you would use half for the sticky buns, and you can freeze the other half for a later date, or make a brioche loaf out of it!):

2 packets active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)

1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water

1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

What You'll Need for the Glaze (you would brush this on brioche loaves, but not on the sticky buns):
1 large egg

1 tablespoon water

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (After this, you can proceed with the recipe to make the brioche loaves, or make the sticky buns instead, or freeze all or part of the dough for later use.)
The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.

Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)
Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.

Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

TWD-Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Ashley from Eat me, delicious. This recipe had only a few different ingredients and came together quickly. I really didn't know what to expect with these biscuits, since they had chopped pecans and used brown sugar in the mix, but they are really good. I ate 2 as soon as they came out of the oven with a pad of honey butter.

Our TWD chicks have now made it to 50 members, go and check out their take on the biscuits as well.

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits (Makes about 12 biscuits)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces

1/2 cup cold sour cream

1/4 cold whole milk

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, preferably toasted

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Get out a sharp 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bow. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between-- and that's just right.

Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you've got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading-- 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together.Toss in the pecans and knead 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, pat the dough out with your hands or toll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely even-- a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy. Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working with them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. (The biscuits can be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting-- just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)Bake the biscuits for 14-18 minutes, or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a serving basket.

Creamy Pecan Pralines

Over the summer my family went to Myrtle Beach, SC for vacation. While we were there shopping we came across one of the candy shops and sampled a piece of pralines there and they were so good...but very experience. This recipe is out of Jill O'connor's book "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey". They are very simple to make, but make sure that it is a warm, dry day or the humidity can turn into little puddles of yummy goo..

Creamy Pecan Pralines

1 1/2 Cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 Cups packed dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp light corn syrup

1 Cup heavy cream

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp and cut into bits

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Cups pecan halves, toasted and cooled

2 Tbsp bourbon or TN whiskey (optional)

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

-Spray the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan with nonstick cooking spray. combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt, corn syrup, and cream in the pan. Heat slowly over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugars are melted and the mixture is smooth. Increase the heat to medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil gently until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage (about 236 F on a candy thermometer), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool until it reaches 220F, about 10 minutes.

-Using a wooden spoon, beat in butter and vanilla until the mixture turns creamy and opaque. Stir in the pecans and whiskey, if using. Drop in 1/4-cup portions on the prepared baking sheets. Let the pralines cool completely until firm. When cool, serve immediately, or wrap each praline individually in plastic wrap or waxed paper and store in a tightly covered container for up to 1 week.