Cranberry Buttermilk Muffins

 I didn’t realize until a couple of years ago just how much I loved fresh cranberries (vs. dried). I shared a few recipes last year that used whole cranberries: cranberry-lemon squares and cranberry-orange scones.  I also intended to share a recipe for cranberry-orange muffins but time got away from me. As soon as I came across this recipe I knew that it would be great! Jake devoured 2 1/2 muffins in one sitting and Russell and I really enjoyed them as well.

The flavor combination of cranberries and citrus is undeniably wonderful. The buttermilk in these muffins makes them tender, and they are also bursting with what I can only describe as cranberry goodness! Below, the recipe calls for orange zest and orange juice but substituting lemon would work as well. If you are looking for a great breakfast to start your Thanksgiving day--look no further. These muffins are easy to put together and will be sure to power you through all of your Thanksgiving cooking. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Cranberry Buttermilk Muffins

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cranberries, chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon orange zest
• 2 Tablespoons orange juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 24 muffin cups with muffin liners.

In a small bowl combine chopped cranberries and 1/4 cup sugar, set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor pulse flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add cubed butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs and transfer to a large bowl. Alternately, you can use a pastry cutter to cut butter into flour mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, orange zest, and orange juice.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the sugared cranberries.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Cool on wire rack. 

Slightly adapted from: Good Thymes and Good Food, originally adapted from Food.com

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Giveaway and Review of Breakfast for Dinner-- Banana Bread Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze

**Giveaway closed** The winner is Coleen--Congratulations! :) Thank you to everyone who entered!

Lindsay Landis and her husband Taylor Hackbarth author the blog Love and Olive Oil. I have been following their site for quite sometime and love it. Last year, Lindsay published The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook and now her and Taylor are back with Breakfast for Dinner. The concept is great: Everyone loves breakfast but rarely has time in the mornings to enjoy it--so why not have it for dinner? Breakfast for Dinner has a wonderful variety of breakfast items turned into dinner items and dinner items that are given a breakfast twist. Each recipe is accompanied with a photo--which makes me love this cookbook even more!

I thought I would share a few different photos of a few recipes included in the cookbook (the next 4 photos are pictures that I took of the photos in the cookbook):

Andouille Shrimp and Grits

Blood Orange Mimosa Sorbet

Espresso Baked Beans

White Chocolate and Blueberry Tart

After receiving my copy I couldn’t stop bookmarking recipes! I had a difficult time deciding which recipe to make first as I went back and forth between making the strawberry and basil shortcakes, breakfast sausage ravioli, or banana bread bundt cake. I finally decided on the the banana bread bundt cake but decided to half the recipe since only Russell and I would be eating it (and goodness knows we don’t need a whole cake to ourselves). I also baked the cake in a loaf pan. It was wonderful!  

Lindsay and Taylor took their favorite banana bread recipe and turned it into a decadent cake. They add chocolate chips to the banana bread and then top it with a chocolate and peanut butter glaze--it doesn’t get much better than that!

***Giveaway***--I am also giving away a copy of Breakfast for Dinner! To enter, leave a comment below telling me what your favorite breakfast food is or why you would like to win a copy of Breakfast for Dinner. 

One entry per person, U.S. residents and APO addresses only (will ship via USPS flat rate box or envelop). Commenting will close at 12 midnight central time on Sunday, February 17th, 2013. One winner will be selected at random using Random.org. Please be sure to include your e-mail address when asked to (it will not be published) so that I can contact you if you are the winner! 

Banana Bread Bundt Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze

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Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 3 very ripe banana, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups mashed)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Glaze:

• 3 ounces (1/2 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or butter a 12-cup bundt pan and dust with flour. Shake out any excess flour.

In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping the bowl between each one. Stir in the mashed banana and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture in 3 different additions, alternating with 2 additions of milk. Mix until incorporated and fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool. Once pan is cool enough to handle, invert pan over wire rack.

To make the glaze, heat the chocolate and cream in a small sauce pan over low heat. Add peanut butter and stir until well combined. Let cool until glaze has thickened slightly. Pour over cake.

Source: Breakfast for Dinner by Lindsay Landis and Taylor Hackbarth

Disclosure: I was given two copies of Breakfast for Dinner by Quirk Books publishing to review. All opinions are my own. Of the two books I was given, I am giving one of them away to one lucky reader!

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Sorry for the absence in December and this month. Russell, Jake, and I drove down to Alabama in early December to enjoy the holidays with our families. I planned several things to share with you while we were on vacation, but once we got there I decided to take a short break and enjoy the time with our families instead. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years. We certainly did! 

I know that I have posted several recipes in the last couple of months using cranberries but they are so wonderful I just can’t help it. I have been using them in everything. They are technically out of season, although you might be able to find them at a few places. If you are like me you probably have a few bags hanging out in the freezer to hold you over until you can find them again.

I have followed Bridget’s blog, The Way the Cookie Crumbles, for as long as I can remember. I bookmark just about everything she posts, but the scone recipes that she shares are always a favorite of mine. Scones are pretty simple to make and can be made ahead of time and frozen for later. That way when I want something for breakfast, but don’t feel like cooking, I can just bake a few!

The combination of cranberries with orange or lemon is one of my favorite. I used tangerines in this recipe because that is what I had on hand. While the orange flavor was there, I think it would be more apparent had I used oranges instead of tangerines. Either way, these were wonderful. This recipe makes 8 fairly large scones. If you are baking these straight from the freezer, just be sure to add a few minutes to the baking time. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did! 

Also, if you are looking for other scone recipes, these grapefruit honey yogurt scones are also a crowd pleaser!

Cranberry-Orange Scones

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup + 3 Tablespoons white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
• 6 Tablespoons, very cold butter, cubed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. 

In a small bowl, toss cranberries with 3 tablespoons sugar, set aside.

In a small bowl, beat together egg and egg yolk. Stir in cream.

In the bowl of a food processor, add 1/2 sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Pulse to combine. Add cold butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl. Gently stir cranberries into the flour mixture. Using a spatula, fold the cream mixture into the flour until just combined. 

On a well-floured surface, shape the dough into an 8-inch circle, about 1-inch in thickness. Using a pastry cutter, cut the dough into 8 wedges. Place each wedge on the prepared baking sheet and bake for approximately 15-20  minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles

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Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls {Guest post by Christy from My Invisible Crown}

Last week I guest posted homemade peppermint patties over at My Invisible Crown and today Christy is guest posting over here. As I said last week, Christy and I quickly became friends bonding  over many things, one of which was Alabama football :). Today she is sharing cranberry orange sweet rolls that look absolutely fantastic. If you remember my cranberry-lemon squares, you’ll remember my love of all things cranberry--so these are right up my alley! These would be wonderful to have for breakfast on Christmas morning. Like Christy, I was somewhat nervous to use yeast for the first time but I promise it is not as intimidating as it seems!

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Hi!  I'm Christy from My Invisible Crown and I'm guest posting today for my sweet friend Heather.  I'm semi-new to the blogging world and Heather was one of the first people I met when I started...I couldn't be happier.  We haven't met yet in person, but I know we'll be life long friends.  And we do actually have plans to meet soon when she comes to Alabama next!  

I'm also from Alabama (I guess that was obvious?).  I live here with my husband who's from New Orleans and three kids.  My blog is mostly about food...I love it so!  But you'll occasionally find the random fashion piece or decorating post. Pop over when you get a chance and visit with me a bit?

I'm sharing today Yeasted Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls for a  couple of reasons.  On My Invisible Crown I'm almost obsessed with festive, holiday foods and also because what's better than cranberry and orange together?  I made these cranberry orange almond cookies and knew they'd be perfect in a warm, sweet, yeasty roll.  Yum!

Cranberries start showing up in the grocery stores in early November and go away after the holiday season.  For that reason I stock up.  Every time I go to the store, I buy 2 or 3 bags and stick them in my freezer and I have them all year long.  I even use them in my holiday decorating.  You can see some examples here.  They freeze better than any other fruit and I never know the difference.  I grab a bag from the freezer, throw them in my food processor and beat them up a little before putting them in this recipe so there are some whole pieces and then some bits, too.

This is a double recipe so you can make these cranberry orange rolls and then another variety of your choice.  They're wonderful as blueberry lemon or cinnamon or even a dinner roll since the base dough isn't sweet yet.  Take your pick.

I was always intimidated by yeasted breads for some reason.  If you're like me, don't worry.  This is really an easy recipe.  You mix a few ingredients together, cover the bowl and let it rise for an hour, add flour and combine and divide.  Putting half in your fridge for another use and rolling out the other half to make your rolls.  Top with lots of butter, this fun orange perfumed sugar and the cranberries and roll them up!  Slice and bake!  One thing though.  You're supposed to let them sit on the counter for about 20 minutes once they're in the pan so they rise a little more.  I forgot with these so they aren't as sky high as I like.  They taste amazing but don't forget that last step!  Also another tip, if you don't already use aluminum free baking powder, you should get some.  The aluminum can contribute to a "tinny" taste and it also will throw off the color in things with red or especially blue fruits and we can't have that!

When halving your dough you get about a 9x13 size pan plus about another small 9 inch cake pan full.  You can use any size dimensions you like.  This is just what I had. The printable version is below.

Yeasted Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls

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FOR THE DOUGH

• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 cup oil
• 2 (.25 ounces) active dry yeast
• 9 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 heaping tablespoon salt
• 1 scant teaspoon baking soda
• 1 heaping tablespoon aluminum free baking powder

FOR TOPPING

• 1 stick butter 
• 1 cup sugar
• zest from 2 oranges
• 4 cups fresh cranberries

FOR THE GLAZE

• juice from 2 oranges
• zest from 1 orange
• 5 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 ounces cream cheese, warmed in the microwave
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 2-3 cups confectioners sugar
• dash of salt

Directions:

Turn on your oven on a warming cycle or as low as it will go for about 5-10 minutes.  You want it just slightly warm inside.  Turn off heat.

In a heavy pot mix whole milk, 1 cup of sugar and oil over medium heat until bubbles begin to form on the edges.  

Turn off the heat and allow to cool down until it reaches 100-110 degrees.  That's slightly above warm to the touch.  (It's important, in my opinion, to use a thermometer.  I used a meat thermometer and it worked just fine.  You could use either candy or meat but you have to get it to the correct temp or the yeast won't activate properly.)

Sprinkle yeast over the top and let it sit for two minutes.

Add in 8 cups of flour and gently stir until combined. Cover with a dish towel and put inside your barely warm oven for 1 hour allowing your very sticky dough to rise.

Add additional cup of flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and stir to combine.

Half the dough, cover and refrigerate both portions.

Preheat your oven to 375 and butter your baking dishes.

Place half your whole cranberries in a food processor and pulse several times until they are broken into pieces but not minced.  You want large chunks.

Melt 1 stick of butter and set aside.

Take 1 cup of sugar and zest from one orange and rub together with your fingers.  This perfumes the sugar and distributes the oils.  (I use this technique any time I make anything with zest and sugar.)

On a flour surface, turn dough out and roll with a rolling pin into a long rectangle.  Approximately 30 inches long by 10 inches deep and fairly thin.  (I like mine fat and thick and high so I roll them thin but not as thin as I can get them.)

Pour the melted butter on top and rub to the edges with your fingers. Follow with the orange scented sugar, making sure all areas are covered well. Top with cranberries.  Make sure they're distributed evenly.

Beginning at the side furthest away from you and making sure there's a line of cranberries along that edge (this becomes the inside so you want cranberries all the way in the middle) begin rolling.  Starting at one end and going to the other and back rolling towards yourself until the whole thing is rolled into a long, tight log in front of you.  

Pinch the edges to make a seal and any holes that might have opened. Starting at one end, slice 1/2 inch thick sections and lay the slices, cut side down in your buttered baking dish. Allow to sit and rise for 20 minutes.

Place in your 375 degree oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.  It's important to make sure they're a good golden brown to insure the insides and bottom are cooked through.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  They should be slightly warm when you begin to glaze so that the glaze reaches all the nooks and crannies but that they're not so hot that the glaze melts.

Add your orange juice, remaining zest from 1 orange, half and half, cream cheese, powdered sugar and dash of salt and whisk together well.  Taste and adjust if needed.  You want it to be sweet and fairly thick.  

Serve warm.

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s Blueberry Lemon Sweet Rolls

What's your favorite flavor combination?  Any good suggestions?  If you get a chance to make them, please stop by and let us know!  

Thank you so much Heather for letting me guest post for your readers and thanks to all of you for spending a little part of your day with us!  Have a happy holiday!

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Thank you Christy for guest posting! Be sure to check out Christy’s blog if you haven’t already! :)

Pumpkin Pie Biscotti

I have mentioned it before, but upon finding out we were moving to Kansas we were less than enthused.  However, in the year that we have been here I have really grown fond of the area. If we were not so in love with Alabama, I could definitely see myself living here long term--especially around the Kansas City area. Driving down I-70 you can see miles of rolling hills and fields of corn and wheat. It really is a peaceful place and the Fall scenery is beautiful! In early-mid September the sunflowers began springing up all around the interstates and fields and I have to say they are truly beautiful. The leaves on the trees turn a beautiful yellow and red color. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time and have it be Fall all year.

With fall, my cravings for pumpkin alway surge. I’ve never actually made biscotti before trying this recipe, but this biscotti was wonderful and easy to make. Like a lot of baked pumpkin items, this biscotti comes out softer than typical biscotti. If you would like yours to be more crispy, you can bake the pieces a little bit longer than the recommended time. The drizzle on top is made with melted white chocolate chips and coconut oil and then drizzled on top.  I believe traditional biscotti has a smooth finish on top (as explained in the directions below), but I don’t think it is necessary. I made two “loafs”:  the first I smoothed the top out and the second I did not--I preferred the appearance of the un-smoothed top.

Pumpkin Pie Biscotti

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted (I omitted)
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract on medium speed until well combined and thickened--about 2 or 3 minutes.

Using a spatula or your stand mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Mixture will be crumbly. 

Working with half the dough on a lightly floured surface, shape dough into a log about 3 x 10 inches. Set the dough on the lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.

If you would like your biscotti to have a smooth top, dampen your hands and smooth the tops of each log. Bake for 25-30 minutes. 

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Allow biscotti to cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet. 

After 15 minutes, transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs into slices about 1/2 inch thick. 

Place the sliced biscotti back on the baking sheet and bake for another 10 minutes on each side or until the biscotti are firm. Let them cool completely. 

Drizzle with white chocolate, if desired.

Source: Originally adapted from Cooking in an Apron and Gimme Some Oven, as seen on 

Sweet Pea’s Kitchen

Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with Maple-Cinnamon Glaze

Fall is here! Well, at least that’s what I’ve been telling myself! I took advantage of all the fresh produce that goes along with the summertime, but now I am ready to begin enjoying some fall flavors--one of which is pumpkin. These pumpkin doughnuts are the first thing of the season that I used pumpkin in, but I can guarantee they won’t be the last. These baked doughnuts are so simple to make. I reduced the original recipe to only make 6 doughnuts which is reflected below. The glaze on these doughnuts is wonderful. I decided to drizzle the icing, keeping in mind that Russell does not like too much. I also didn’t have any maple extract on hand so I used maple syrup. The maple flavor was present but I think I will use maple extract next time. 

Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with Maple-Cinnamon Glaze

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Ingredients:

Doughnuts:

• 2/3 cup cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, packed*
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons white sugar*
• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/3 cup pure canned pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoons maple extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons milk 

*Half of a tablespoon is 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 6-well doughnut pan with non-stick pan. 

In a small bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, brown sugar and white sugar.

In a medium sized bowl, melt butter. Stir in pumpkin puree. Add milk, egg, and vanilla extract, stir until combined. 

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Evenly distribute the batter in the doughnut pan. Bake 6-7 minutes. Let cool 1-2 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.

For the glaze: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, maple extract, ground cinnamon, and milk. Stir until combined. If you would like your glaze to be thinner, add a little more milk until you reach the desired consistency.

Drizzle glaze over doughnuts.

Adapted from: Taste and Tell

Apple Cinnamon Baked Cake Doughnuts

When my sister and I were younger, we would stay with my Nanny during the summer. My Nanny was raised in Alabama on a farm, and when I say she can cook--I mean she can really cook. I can still taste her perfectly cooked rutabagas, cabbage, and her cornbread; just to name a few of my favorites. She would take us to the farmer’s market and we would pick out fresh fruits and vegetables. We also always had a home cooked meal for lunch at her house. 

Breakfast was a different story. A lot of times my sister and I would get to my Nanny’s house before she was even awake. You can call my Nanny at 10:00p.m. and she is probably still up, but don’t call her before 8:30 or 9:00a.m because she is probably still snoozing! For breakfast we would have cinnamon sugar toast, peanut butter toast or instant oatmeal. My favorite instant oatmeal was apple cinnamon and my sister always loved the peaches and cream. I guess you could say my love for all things apple cinnamon started early because I still love the flavor combination. 

This apple bread is one of my favorites, but I don’t always want to wait 45 minutes to have a slice. These baked donuts are the perfect solution! I have made these no less than 3 times in the last week. They are that good. Make them and you won’t be disappointed.

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Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 apple, peeled and finely diced or shredded*

*I have made this both ways and prefer the texture the finely diced apple gives the doughnuts.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a 6-well doughnut pan.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

In another small bowl combine buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Using a spatula, fold diced or shredded apple into batter.

Evenly distribute the batter in the doughnut pan. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Let cool in pan for 1-2 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.

Top with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar or drizzle with icing.

Adapted from: Baked Cake Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze

Blueberry-Lemon Yogurt Loaf

The last few weeks have been quite busy around here. Two weekends in a row we were out of town and as soon as we got back I got sick. Unfortunately, this resulted in little time in the kitchen but I am happy to say (and I’m sure Russell is as well) that I am finally feeling better.  I am also getting back into a normal routine when it comes to cooking. One of the weekends we spent out of town, we went to Kansas City. After asking a few friends for suggestions on places to go, one suggested the T-Rex Cafe. It is a dinosaur themed restaurant that is a ton of fun.

As soon as you walk in, there is a very large T-Rex that is basically staring you in the face--it moves and roars. Jake really didn’t have a reaction other than staring at it. But Russell and I thought it was pretty awesome. No matter where you are seated, there are dinosaurs all around. The atmosphere was great. Every so often the lights would flicker and the dinosaur’s heads would move and they would make a lot of noise. Every time Jake would just turn around and look at them. :) Our table was next to the Apatosaurus dinosaurs.

On the other side of the restaurant they had an ice age type exhibit, a wooly mammoth, and a very large fish tank. Jake enjoyed looking as all of these. I had been told by a few people before we went that we definitely needed to go for the experience and not for the food. They were right. We had a great time checking out all of the dinosaurs...the food was not anything memorable. I told Russell I wouldn’t mind going back though since Jake had a great time. Inside the restaurant they had a Build-a-Dino (Build-a-Bear) station where you could pick out a dinosaur to build. We choose to get Jake a wooly mammoth and named him Wooly.

Now back to the blueberry-lemon yogurt loaf. I have had this recipe saved for awhile but just got around to making it. I love banana bread and apple bread but I wanted something a little different. This blueberry-lemon loaf definitely hit the spot. I changed a few things in an attempt to make it a somewhat healthier. I substituted part of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour and some of the oil for unsweetened applesauce. Also, since Russell doesn’t like things too sweet, I left off the glaze. I’m sure it would have been great with it, but since we were enjoying it as a mid-morning breakfast we really didn’t miss it. Overall I really enjoyed the blueberry and lemon combination.

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (can substitute all-purpose flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole-milk yogurt (I used Fage 2% Greek yogurt)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 large lemon, zested
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

For the lemon glaze (optional):

• 2 to 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla extract, oil, and applesauce. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out with minimal moist crumbs.

Remove loaf pan from oven and place on a wire rack. Allow loaf to cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, carefully remove the loaf from the pan and place on wire rack. Let cool completely.

For Lemon Glaze: Place powdered sugar in a small bowl, add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and stir. If icing is too thick add more lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled loaf.


Slightly adapted from: Sweet Pea’s Kitchen