Cranberry Walnut Bread

The "Wine and Cheese Party" has long been a staple of Bonaccorsi family meals. These "parties" are the dinners where we cut up bread, apples, and all our favorite cheeses and sit around the kitchen counter, snacking up a storm. If we're feeling really fancy, we'll occasionally bust out the shrimp cocktail. No matter how fancy or casual we're feeling, though, there's always a loaf of cranberry walnut bread from Whole Foods. Actually, there are two loaves, because this dream bread heats up like a dream for the next day's breakfast.

I have strong feelings about this bread and wanted desperately to make it myself while I was still in my bread making craze. When I looked up the recipe online, though, I found that the recipe for the exact Whole Foods bread isn't the greatest thing for your health (which is probably why it's so delicious) I decided to spruce it up a little.
This version uses whole wheat flour, a lot less sugar, and apple sauce instead of the fats that the traditional recipe.

I am seriously considering making this bread again and bringing it to Thanksgiving dinner with me, but that might be a little much as I am already responsible for the cranberry sauce (recipe to come). If you're hosting the meal this year, I strongly encourage you to make this bread--the smell alone is totally worth it!
I hope you love this bread as much as we do, whether you serve it at a feast or a wine and cheese party.

Cranberry Walnut Bread
Makes 2 round loaves

3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs honey
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tbs unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup milk (I used almond milk)
5 tbs butter
1 Tbs dry active yeast

In a small pot or microwave safe bowl, heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted. Cool the milk Add the sugar and honey, and mix until dissolved.
All ow the mixture to cool until it is warm (105-110ºF), then mix in the yeast. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes, or until the milk bubbles through the butter layer on top.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, nuts, and cranberries.
When the yeast has proofed, add to the flour mixture, along with the apple sauce. Mix with a fork until thoroughly combined.
Turn out on a floured surface and knead the dough well for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Form the dough into a ball and cover with flour. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and allow to sit until doubled in size, about an hour and a half. *If you need to move a little more quickly, you can let it rise for an hour, but the longer it sits, the more the flavors will develop.*
Preheat the oven to 400ºF
When the dough is risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute.
Divide the dough into 2 balls and allow them to rise, covered, for 30 minutes.
Bake the 2 balls on a pizza stone or parchment lined sheet for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350ºF and continue baking for another 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool to nearly room temperature before slicing.
Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Sometimes I get stuck in a rut. A less flattering term might be obsessive. I am currently going through a yeast phase, a bread obsession. I working with yeasted dough is just about the most fun a girl could have (my weekends sound crazy, I know.)

So, after making a lot of yeasted loafs and rounds, I decided it was time to mix it up and make a flatbread, specifically pita bread to go with the crazy hoarder-like stock of hummus in the refrigerator.
These were really fun to make and the dough is so minimal, you probably have all the ingredients sitting around already--you can even use all purpose flour and it will work just fine.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Makes 10 medium pitas

4 cups white whole wheat flour, plus more for rolling and shaping
1 1/4 cups warm water (105ºF)
2 Tbs olive oil, plus extra for rising
1 Tbs dry yeast
1/2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the ven to 500ºF and place a pizza stone or baking pan in the oven to heat on the bottom rack.
In a small bowl, mix the water, honey and yeast and allow it to proof until it foams. If the mixture does not foam, try again with new yeast.
In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Add the proofed yeast and water, and olive oil.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
Roll the dough into a ball, cover with the olive oil and place back in the bowl. Cover with kitchen towels and rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Split the dough into 10 balls and roll them flat, about 1/4 inch thick. Place on the heated stone and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 30 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through.
Serve with hummus, baba ganoush, or your favorite fresh veggies!

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

I know, it's strange how much bread I've been baking in August.
Bread is my de-stresser, my therapy, my physical outlet (I firmly believe of the throwing of dough on the counter)

I made 2 different types of bread this morning-to-afternoon.
Whole wheat pita, and cranberry walnut bread, both are to be gifted away.
There's something very grandmotherly about giving somebody a loaf (or stack) of bread for a gift. Unlike brownies or cookies, nobody can assume it was made from a mix or prepackaged dough, it has a certain heft that makes me feel like it actually counts as a gift.

Now that I'm finished singing the praises of loaves of bread, let's sing about flatbread, specifically the pita.
Boy, oh, boy, the pita! Firm, bubbled, pocketed vessel of hummus.
Baked into chips, used to clean out the bowl of spicy soups, simple to make, and so fun to shape from little balls into rounds.

These hold flavors beautifully, garlic, herbs, even a little parmesan cheese can be added to the top or middle of the rounds for a more flavorful bread, but that'll be another post. For now, we'll focus on plain pita, hummus' favorite friend.

Whole Wheat Pita
Makes 16 (2 oz) pitas

3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup warm water (105-110ºF)
1 tbs dry active yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil, divided

In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix the water, sugar, and yeast. Let the mixture proof for 5 minutes, or until foamy. If the mixture does not foam, repeat this step with new yeast.
In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and 1 Tbs of olive oil to the flour.
Mix with a fork until thoroughly combines (about 3 minutes)
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and continue kneading for about 6 more minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Form the dough into a ball and coat with the remaining oil. Place back in the mixing bowl, and allow to sit, covered with a warm kitchen towel, for about an hour and a half, or until doubled in size.

Once risen, preheat the oven to 500ºF and turn the dough out onto a clean work surface.
Divide the dough into quarters, careful not to press the air out of the dough.
Flatten each quarter into a square, about 1 inch thick, and cut the square into quarters.
Roll the 16 pieces of dough into balls. Cover the balls with a kitchen towel and allow to rise again until slightly risen, about 20 minutes.
After the second rising, roll the dough into 6 inch rounds on a floured surface and place on a heated pizza stone or bottom of an overturned baking sheet.
Cook the pitas for about 2 minutes, or until puffed.
Eat with hummus, bake into chips, use to soak up soup; enjoy them in whatever way you please!

Some Clarifications

I think my last blog may have caused a little bit of confusion and I need to clear some things up.

I do not need to diet because I eat unhealthy food.

I am not going to be doing anything fad-ish

The recipes I am going to be posting for the next couple weeks are not different from the way I like to cook.

My diet is simply this: No sweets for 30 days. It’s the way some people live their lives every day. It’s just a little break because I’ve been a little over excited by honey recently.

 

Now onto using whole, natural foods:

I think eating whole and natural foods is hugely important. In every recipe on this blog, I use white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry. I use turbinado or another form of raw sugar unless I specify white or powdered.

 

I will be updating the posts this week to specify these details (even though any recipe calling for just flour will work very well with plain unbleached all-purpose flour)

I am very sorry that I did not go into these details earlier on (2 months’ notice may have been nice, I know)but I think this is all part of the balanced approach to life that Sunday Sweeties promoted. Occasional indulgence, making pastries and gooey treats is healthy. It prevents you from feeling deprived and going crazy, it’s creative and artistic, and fun. You can make it healthier if you use whole grains, more natural sweeteners, and fats whose origins are easy to understand (where the heck does shortening come from?)

I hope everything’s been clarified for you, I hope you’re not too confused about recipe formulation, and will revisit the edited recipes.

Have a fun, healthy weekend, and I will see you on Sunday!

Healthy Things? and Andrea's Banana Quinoa Muffins

Today is August 1, 2012.
Today, I am beginning a diet.
Today I decided to lose 10 pounds in a month--challenge.
Today I looked up how many calories I have to burn each day to do this--scary.
Yesterday, I went all out at a friend's birthday party because I knew today was Diet Day 1. (A ton of tiramisu tastes good. A ton of tiramisu feels sick)
Yesterday I realized that I could not leave you all stranded without any baked goods for a month.
Today I made healthy muffins that taste fantastic.
Tomorrow I will have one for breakfast.

This whole diet deal is forcing me to create good recipes that are conservative. I love messing around and making rules for myself. I have to say, I've pieced together some good vegan, dairy free, gluten free, nut free concoctions, but for the first healthy recipe, I decided an old stand by would be best. While it's a very rare thing for me to make a carb/fat/calorie-loaded savory dish (I just don't eat that way) I tend to get a little excited when exposed to butter, sugar, and an oven. I've been working with different fats and sweeteners recently, and started replacing most of my flour with whole grain varieties, but fat really does seem to be fat and sugar really does seem to be sugar. Oh, and I can't do carob. I refuse. Don't even talk to me about it.
They're not great for you.
That makes me exceptionally sad.

But, these muffins are not carob. They're the twin's favorite, super easy, protein filled, and adaptable beyond belief. I added sunflower seeds to these ones just because I had a bunch lying around for scones I never really got around to makeing, but you can throw in whatever you want or nothing at all. Plain happens to be my favorite with these.
The nuttiness of the quinoa blends really well with the coconut oil, so you get a nutty bite without actually biting into any chunks, or having to grind almond meal. There's not much more I can say, other than Bananas, quinoa, honey, and coconut is a great combination, and these make a great, filling breakfast that leaves you satisfied, even if you're a habitual lunch-skipper, like me.

If you're feeling reckless, feel free to add an extra 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and use browned butter instead of coconut oil. Because when formerly white foods turn brown, everything is right with the world. Am I right?

Oh, and don't get me wrong, I'm still going to be baking treats for you (every day for the next 20 days, actually) but they're going to be kicked out of the house as quickly as possible. Grandma, coworkers, friends, and anybody else who crosses my path in the next 3 weeks will be presented with food.

Banana Quinoa Muffins
Makes 18 Muffins
Some of my muffins look a little wonky. They're just free form. I had enough batter for 6 more muffins but didn't feel like taking out another muffin tin, so they were just dumped into the liners and arranged on a baking sheet. They cook in the same time and are even more fun to eat.
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup raw sugar
2 large eggs
2 large, ripe mashed bananas
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (AP works too)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1/2 cup sunflower seeds or your favorite add-ins
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk mixed with 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
(or 1 cup of buttermilk)

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, oil and honey until smooth. Add your mashed bananas and vanilla, stirring well.
In a larger bowl, combine the flour, seeds, salt, spices, baking powder and quinoa with a whisk.
Make a well in the center and add your wet ingredients, mix until they are about half way combined.
Add your yogurt-milk and whisk until combined but still slightly. A slightly lumpy batter makes puffier muffins.
Fill your muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden on top and  a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
Enjoy!

I want more S'more Cookies!

My second favorite food, after the cannoli, has to be the S'more. I swear, it's one of about 184678415 reasons why I love summer. Fire, caramelized sugar, grainy crunchy crackers, and melty chocolate all together in a dessert that almost always means you're with people you love and having a great time? Yes please!
When we recently had a party, I had my own cookie extravaganza and baked up a batch of these beauties so all the family and friends could relive the glories of a camp fire S'more with out the fire hazard of small children and an over eager dog.

S'more Cookie Bites
(makes about 32 cookies)

1 1/2 cups roughly ground graham cracker crumbs (plus 1/2 a cup more for later)
1 cup of AP flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 c softened butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar (medium pack)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

10 oz chopped chocolate (I prefer milk for a real S'more taste)
16 marshmallows, cut in half

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 to 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the egg and mix in until incorporated.
In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cracker crumbs, cinnamon and salt. Mix into the butter and sugar slowly, about 1/3 at a time.
Your dough will be thick, sticky, and little lumpy from any larger cracker crumbs, don't worry, that's normal.
Scoop 1 Tbs sized balls onto the baking sheets and bake for 9-12 minuts, or until golden.
Cool on a rack until luke warm.

While the cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate. When they are just slightly warm to the touch, top each cookie with a small dollop of chocolate and a marshmallow half. Toast the top of each cookie with a blow torch or under the broiler (only 30 seconds at a time if using a broiler!) Add another small dollop of chocolate to the top of the toasted marshmallow and sprinkle with the remaining cracker crumbs.
Cookies can be served warm for a classic messy S'more experience, of cooled for a more sophisticated crowd
(My group was all for the mess, though!)
ENJOY!

FlufferNutter Cookies

My parents make me a grand total of 2 FlufferNutter sandwiches when I was a kid. Both of these 2 sandwiches were for my birthday, and both of them were absolutely amazing. I did not grow up surrounded by sweets, by any stretch of the imagination, which is probably why I am so crazy about them now. Because neither of my parents were really fans of the sweet stuff, both of these sandwiches were adulterated with slices of banana. I'm sure that this was my parent's attempt to make the sandwich resemble an actual meal instead of a dessert, and instill in me a habit of healthy eating, but it sort of had the opposite effect. Instead, it instilled in me a deep love of the combination of peanut butter, marshmallows, and bananas. They have been combined with graham crackers and chocolate in many s'mores, and even found their way into a cookie. A really really good cookie, by the way.

These cookies are made with browned butter and whole wheat pastry flour to really bring out the toffee flavor, and impart a warm flavor that tastes a little like graham crackers. You could totally add a healthy helping of dark chocolate to the mix, something I seriously wish I'd done. Instead, I used chocolate marshmallows, because they were the only ones I had on hand. I found out the hard way that they taste no different from the regular white kind, so I don't recommend spending the extra couple bucks for the brown sort.
The marshmallows will also melt out of the cookies and caramelize on the pan, so make sure you use parchment or a Silpat, and DO NOT overcook these guys, because the caramel surrounding the cookies is one of the best parts.

Mmmmm... Gooey caramelized marshmallow

FlufferNutter Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup gently packed light brown sugar
1 egg, 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 tsp flaked sea salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF, line 2 large (3 normal sized) baking sheets with parchment paper.
Brown the butter by heating, with salt, over medium-low heat until golden flecks start to sink on the bottom. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and add the peanut butter, mix until smooth, and cool completely.
In a medium bowl, cream together the eggs and sugar. Mix in the vanilla and mashed bananas. The mixture will be not quite smooth.
Whisk in cooled butter mixture. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. When the wet and dry ingredients are well combined, gently fold in the marshmallows.
Try adding them in 4 batches. Marshmallows seem to have a weird magnet effect and don't want to spread out from each other if you add them all at once.
Scoop the dough into 1" balls, tucking in any marshmallow pieces that seem to be coming out of the ball, to make sure they don't spread around the pan too much, press down to flatten slightly. Bake on the middle racks for 9-11 minutes, until golden, but still soft. They will start to smell like the marshmallows that kids used to burn at camp after they're cooked about half way. Don't freak out, they're not burning, they're just oozing caramel. But this also means that you'll have to be super careful about the timing. Remember, when in doubt, take them out. Underdone is always, always, always better than overdone.

Just thought I'd throw in another picture, as if you weren't tempted enough already