Sweet Corn Bread

I haven't found a great recipe for sweet corn bread yet, until now! I use a different recipe to make corn dog muffins for the kids, but this one is really when I want to indulge. It's delicious, the perfect hint of sweetness and a big chunk of light, airy bread. It's the perfect accompaniment to a big bowl of chili! The top and sides form a crispy, sweet crust...my favorite part!

4 eggs, whites and yolks separated

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup cornmeal

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8" square pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, milk, vanilla and melted butter. Mix in the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine but take care not to over mix. 

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The top will be golden brown.

Source: High Heels and Grills 

Biscoff Banana Bread

A couple weeks ago I won a case of Biscoff to share with friends and family...though I haven't been that good about sharing yet. Needless to say, I've been looking for different recipes using this amazing spread. Somehow I also ended up with a bunch of over-ripe bananas, again; so the next couple recipes with feature bananas.

This bread was really moist and delicous. I liked it warmed up with a dollop of Biscoff on top, just for some extra goodness. The original recipe had a cookie streusel on top. I didn't have Biscoff cookies, so I made it without and it was delicious just like this! I don't think you could go wrong either way.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup Biscoff spread
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, Biscoff, oil, egg, vanilla and sugars. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir to combine. The batter will be lumpy.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan and spread batter to smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack and let cool for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from pan and place on the cooling rack to completely cool. Slice and spread with more Biscoff.

Source: Two Peas & Their Pod

Greek Yogurt Banana Nut Bread

You know you can never have enough banana bread recipes! Here's another one that I'm adding to my list. This bread was so moist and delicious. It made 2 loaves and I was able to bring a loaf into daycare with me when I dropped off the kids. There's no way I want to have 2 loaves of bread laying around the house, especially since I work at home now! Pretty much defeats all the working out and healthy eating I've been doing since August.

If you don't want two loaves of bread, you could easily cut this recipe in half. I did the two since I had yogurt to use up this week and had some frozen bananas taking up space in my freezer.

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup applesauce
3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1 cup nonfat vanilla greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla (can be omitted but I liked the vanilla flavor the bread had)
2 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cut the butter into small chunks and add both sugars. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add the eggs and applesauce and mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the mashed bananas, yogurt and vanilla and stir to combine.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and spices. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. The batter will be thick. Fold in the chopped walnuts. Take care not to overmix the batter.

Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the loaves halfway through baking.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pans. Remove from pans and place on a wire cooling rack to completely cool. Serve warm with a dollop of butter.

To keep moist, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator if you'll be keeping it longer than a few days.

Source: The Shiska in the Kitchen

Lemon Zucchini Bread

It's that time again....abundance of zucchini. I never liked zucchini as a kid but now as an adult I love it. Bread, sauteed, baked...it doesn't matter, I'm a fan! This was another recipe I found on Pinterest and it's a winner. We all loved the subtle hint of lemon and it was so moist. It's definitely a keeper recipe and I'll be baking more of this bread throughout the summer and early fall. It would be delicious with blueberries....hmmm...maybe next time :)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup of grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, flaxseed, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs then add the oil and sugar. Mix until all ingredients are combined. Add in the buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest. Fold in the zucchini and stir until it's mixed throughout the batter. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Take care not to overmix.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan and then remove and place bread on a wire rack to cool completely.

Slightly adapted: NancyCreative

Need some other recipes to use up your zucchini bounty - try these:

Zucchini Muffins - Madeline loves these are requested them for her birthday treat at daycare!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Baked Zucchini Squares

Harvest Pumpkin Ale Bread

Now that it's October and feeling like fall here, I'm ready to start making breads, chili and anything with pumpkin. Fall is my most favorite time of the year! I love the crispness in the air, the leaves changing colors and wearing warm, cozy sweaters.

My first fall creation is a harvest pumpkin ale bread. I've done a little baking with bread before but after trying a chocolate guinness cupcake at our town's Oktoberfest last month, I knew I could make a cupcake way better that. Don't worry, I'll be blogging about the cupcakes later this week, but back to the bread. I came home one evening to a cold 6 pack of Sam Adams Octoberfest beer in my fridge. PERFECT!

I made this recipe twice, tweaking as I went and the second time it was just right. My coworkers were definitely happy this week trying both varieties. The first one was too moist, but a few changes and it worked out great.

Pumpkin Puree

15 oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie)

2/3 cup sugar

1 bottle beer

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Slowly stir to combine all the ingredients. Divide puree into two containers. You'll use one now and the other should be refrigerated in an air-tight container to make a second loaf.

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1/2 (approx. 2 cups) pumpkin puree

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

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

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Slowly add in the eggs, one at a time. Once combined, stop the mixer and add the reserved pumpkin puree. Turn the mixer to medium-low and run for 5 minutes to fully combine the wet ingredients.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix slowly on low until well combined.

Pour the mixture in the prepared pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and completely cool in the pan.

Adapted: Samuel Adams Brewing The American Dream

Recipe swapped on: The Grocery Cart Challenge

Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread

I have been trying to make muffins or bread with poppy seeds for months now and I had the hardest time finding poppy seeds. None of the grocery stores I went to carried them...so weird. Anyways, I finally found them at a little store during a visit to my hometown for their community day.

This recipe is perfect to make as a gift, whether it's a housewarming, new baby or just because. My baking usually ends up in the "just because" category and my coworkers are the ones who usually enjoy the deliciousness. The poppy seeds added a nice texture and the lemon was subtle and not overpowering.

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 Tbsp finely shredded lemon peel
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp poppy seed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a loaf pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the egg, milk, oil, lemon peel and juice and poppy seeds. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Sitr until just moistened, the batter will be lumpy. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove frome the pan to completely cool on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

Source: Mixingbowl.com

Recipe swapped on: The Grocery Cart Challenge

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I had a couple more zucchini from our CSA basket last week and wanted to make a chocolate zucchini bread. I was looking for something a little healthier than the other version I make and this definitely fit the bill.

This recipe is a makeover recipe. The original recipe called for 1 cup of oil and 2 cups of sugar. While that's great every once in awhile, we've been bad over in our house and need to get back into the swing of eating healthy.

1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour (I subsituted 2 Tbsp cornstarch in a 1 cup measuring cup and then filled with AP flour)
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 cups shredded zucchini

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8x4x2 loaf pans or one larger pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla until well blended. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, cocoa, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and combine until well blended.

Stir in the zucchini. Transfer the mixture to your prepared loaf pan(s). Bake for 40-45 minutes (2 small pans) or 75-80 minutes (1 large pan) depending on the size of your pan until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pans before removing to completely cool on wire racks.

Source: Healthy Cooking Magazine

Cinnamon-Sugar Banana Bread

I had some over-ripe bananas on the counter from last week and I've been dying to bake something. I've had another insane and crazy busy week (one more to go!) so I didn't do much cooking or baking. Lots of cleaning out the freezer and pantry and leftovers. I have a few things planned for this week, but I know it's going to be just as busy, if not busier than last week. I can't even remember the last time I worked out, needless to say, it's been weeks! I need to get back into my routine and the first thing that always helps is baking!

I had recruited Madeline to help me, but she decided playing games with Daddy was more important. Fine by me! Sometimes it's easier to bake without her, plus it's always good for her and Daddy to spend quality time together...since they've been fighting like cats and dogs lately.

Now, on the to bread. It was delicious and the brown sugar crust was the perfect sweetness!

3 over-ripe bananas
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 - 2 Tbsp brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add all the other ingredients except the brown sugar. Mix well until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Sprinkle the brown sugar on top in an even layer. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Recipe slightly adapted from: La Casa de Sweets

Pumpkin Scones

I made these almost a week ago, but with my little one being sick, I haven't had a chance to get much done around the house. This was my first time I made scones and it was really easy. I'm looking forward to making more since I enjoy eating them for breakfast. The scones were a great pumpkin flavor and more savory without the icing. The icing would have made them sweet, but I just ate them warm with a little butter.

2 cups flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
6 Tbsp butter, cold
3/4 cup pureed pumpkin
3 Tbsp milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange zest

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large bowl. Cut butter into the dry mixture until crumbly with a pastry knife or 2 knives in a scissor form.

In another bowl, mix the pumpkin, milk, egg, vanilla and orange zest.

Lightly dust another piece of parchment paper and set aside. Slowing add wet ingredients into the dry mixture and form into a ball. Put the dough on the floured parchment paper and form into a rectangle about one inch thick.

Cut the dough into 4 squares, cut each square diagonally in half to end up with 8 scones. Place on the baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake 11 to 14 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool.

If you'd like icing, here's a recipe:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp milk

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Add additional milk if mixture is too thick until its the desired consistency to drizzle over the scones.

Recipe slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Makeover Apple Bread

I am so ready for this summer to be over just because of the heat and humidity we’ve had to deal with. It’s been extremely hot in PA this year and everything and everyone is over summer! I’m ready for fall and to kick things off, I decided to make apple bread. I still want to tweak this recipe to make it a little cleaner and use different flours, but for now it’s really good. I’m expecting to get home from work this week and the entire top of my bread is going to be cut off and eaten by my husband. It really good and I wouldn’t blame him for doing it, but he’d still be in the doghouse!


3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups diced, peeled Granny Smith apples


Topping:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1/3 cup cold butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 x 4 in loaf pans.


In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the apples. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans.

For the topping, combine the flour, sugar and walnuts. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.


Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 30 minutes before removing bread from pans to finish cooling on wire racks.


Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Magazine

Jalapeno Cheese Beer Bread

My garden is in full force right (just impatiently waiting for my tomatoes to ripen) and I had an abundance of jalapenos to use. I decided to make jalapeno cheese beer bread. The recipe is from Tasty Kitchen. My husband tried it last night and told me it wasn't good. Umm...thanks dear. I interrupted him before he could tell me it was AWESOME!!!! Whew, so much better to hear! I tried a piece today and it's really, really good. It's definitely going to be made many more times around here.

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 whole jalapenos, finely chopped

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

12 oz bottle/can beer

3 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the chopped jalapenos and cheddar cheese. Pour in the beer into the mixing bowl and mix until blended.

Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan. Pour the melted butter over the bread. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove the bread from the pan and cool for another 10 minutes.


Recipe made by: Fake Ginger

Lemon Burst Bread

I made this bread for a bake sale that benefits my friend's organization, Erin's Dream. Erin and Jeff lost two of their children to infant leukemia and are raising money to restore a farmhouse to make a resource home for other families who have lost a child - so it's definitely a worthy cause! Make sure to check out the Erin's Dream site, ducks on are sale for the 1st Annual Ducky Dash!

1 1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 egg, beaten

1 cup lemon yogurt (I couldn't find lemon yogurt, so I used vanilla and added a tsp of dried lemon zest)

1/3 cup canola oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Icing:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan or a 12 muffin tin. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add egg, yogurt, oil and lemon juice. Slowly combine all ingredients together until just moist.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes for bread and 15-18 minutes for muffins or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow bread or muffins to cool completely before glazing.

For the lemon glaze, in a small bowl combine sifted confectioner's sugar with the lemon juice. Add more lemon juice or sugar if needed until ideal glaze consistency is reached. Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. For muffins, dip the top of each muffin into the glaze. Allow excess glaze to drip off the muffin before turning it over. Place on a rack to allow icing to set up.

Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Simply Delicious Cranberry Bread

I bought a bag of fresh cranberries a week ago and hadn't used them yet. I had made cranberry bread before, but wanted to try a new recipe and see how they compared.

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbsp lemon zest (I used 2 Tbsp dried lemon zest from Watkins)

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with cooking spray (or 4 mini loaf pans).

In a large bowl, add sugars and oil and mix until very well combined. Mixing while incorporating, add milk, zest, egg, and vanilla. Mix to combine well.

Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt over wet ingredients.Fold dry ingredients in until half way combined, about 5 full strokes. Add cranberries and walnuts and fold in. (Batter should be just barely combined)

Spoon batter into loaf pan(s) and tap to release air pockets. Place pan(s) into oven and bake until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes for regular loaf and 25-30 minutes for mini loaves.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn loaf out onto wire rack and let cool completely before slicing.

Adapted from Good Things Catered

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I have more zucchini to use and was tired of the usual bread recipes so I went searching and stumbled on this recipe. Seriously, who doesn't love chocolate!?!? It's so good! I made 2 loaves and planned to take one into work, well....that didn't work out and we've already eaten one and are making a dent in the other one. I see this recipe becoming one of my favorites to make using zucchini.

2 - 1 oz squares unsweetened chocolate

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups grated zucchini

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave unsweetened chocolate until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini, vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat well. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Fold in the chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Swirl Bread

I'm not sure where I found this recipe from, but it was really good and reminded me of pumpkin roll.

Filling:

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

Batter:

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend cream cheese, sugar and egg in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium sized bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, butter, egg and water. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just moistened. Reserve 2 cups of the batter.

Pour the remaining batter into a greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over the pumpkin batter and top with the reserved batter. Cut through the batter several times with a knife for a swirl effect.

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove from pan to cool completely.

Cranberry Bread

Quick breads are another favorite of mine. Here's a perfect bread for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Recipe is from Everyday Food.

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for pan
2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled) plus more for pan
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk
1 bag (12 oz) cranberries
1 Tbsp turbinado sugar for topping (I left this off since I didn't have any)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine butter, egg and milk. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and whisk to combine; fold in cranberries.

Pour batter into prepare pan; sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired. Bake until toothpick inserted in center come out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Mine baked in closer to 1 hour.

Transfer pan to wire rack; let bread cool for 30 minutes. Invert onto rack; then immediately turn right side up to let cool completely.