Cream Cheese Nut Bread

 

It seems that, lately, I have had no time for baking or cooking. Today I had a hankering (I tend to hanker a lot) for a comforting quick bread for tomorrow’s breakfast.  I pulled out a recipe for an old favorite, warming and deliciously scenting the kitchen in the going. This is an easy recipe to make, and you probably have all of the ingredients on hand.  It does take up a number of bowls, but the end result is well worth it.

This moist, dense, nutty loaf is made all the better with an almond-flavored ribbon of cream cheese running right through the center. This cream cheese filling can be used with almost any of your favorite quick bread recipes, by the way, but do give this one a try, and then experiment by adding it to other favorites.  It makes an already delicious quick loaf all the better.  As an added note, this bread gets better every day. Cream Cheese Nutbread

 To make filling:

 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 c. sugar

½ t. almond extract

1 large egg, room temperature

 Beat the above ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl on high speed until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

To make bread:

 2 large eggs, room temperature

½ c. canola oil

½ c. whole milk

1 t. freshly grated lemon peel

2¼ c. flour

1/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

1 t. baking soda

1 t. kosher salt

1 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray a 9” x 5” loaf pan with PAM and dust thoroughly with granulated sugar (or, a cinnamon-sugar mixture, if you prefer).  Set aside.

Beat eggs until frothy and lemon colored.  Slowly add oil, milk, and lemon rind, mixing until well blended.

 In separate bowl, stir together flour, sugars, soda, salt, and nuts.  Add this dry mixture, all at once, to the wet mixture and mix until just moistened.  Do not over mix.  Spoon half of bread batter into loaf pan, smoothing as you go.  Top with all of the cream cheese mixture, then spoon the remaining half of the dough on top, spreading to cover as well as you can.  Bake for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

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Rainier Cherry Turnovers

  

I love cherries. I particularly love Rainier cherries. Truth be told, I could eat my weight in them. Besides, just eating them as is, this season I decided that I was going to do something different. I decided that I was going to cook them down and turn them into a filling for a cherry turnover. This worked spectacularly. I made enough filling to make eight turnovers (two sheets of puff pastry), but instead just decided to make four and save the rest of the filling to warm and pour over vanilla ice cream. I am in cherry heaven!

Rainier Cherry Turnovers

Turnovers:

1 lb. Melissa’s Rainier cherries, rinsed and pitted

¼ c. sugar

1 T. cornstarch

1 T. unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

1 pkg. puff pastry (2 sheets)

  Egg Wash:

 1 large egg

1 T. water

Glaze:

¾ c. powdered sugar

1-2 T. milk

 Place cherries, sugar, and salt into a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes, mashing down cherries as they begin to soften. (I used an avocado masher.) Stir in cornstarch, and cook over medium heat until thick. Remove from heat and stir in butter; set aside.

Place a Silpat or parchment paper onto a large baking sheet. Lay the puff pastry sheet(s) on top of the Silpat or parchment paper and, using a pizza cutter, cut each sheet pastry into 4 squares.  Place approximately 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of each square (I used a cookie scoop for this).

Whisk together egg and water to make egg wash, and brush each edge so that it will form a nice seal. Fold the pastries over, corner to corner, to form a triangle, and use a fork to press the edges closed.

 Brush the remaining egg wash on top of the turnovers.

Bake 375°F for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden. Leave on the baking sheet for about five minutes, and then remove to a wire rack to cool.

 Make glaze by combining powdered sugar and milk, whisking until smooth. Drizzle glaze over turnovers. Serve immediately.

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Peach Coffee Cake

 

I’ve tried to convince myself over the years that I am not a baker, but occasionally I just get the urge to bake, ergo, at least according to number two son, I am indeed a baker. Today he was coming over to hang out with his old mom. I love that my adult son still likes to come hang out with me. As a consequence, I decided that today would be the perfect day to experiment with a peach coffee cake, because I knew that he would enjoy being my taste tester, and give me an honest opinion.

By the time he arrived, the house was scented with cinnamon and toasted pecans. We could hardly wait to dig in, but I knew, considering the moist filling, that the cake was going to have to cool thoroughly before I could cut into it. I think that was the longest hour of our lives.

  We both absolutely loved it! This is a coffee cake, so the cake itself isn’t as sweet as a dessert cake, making it perfect for breakfast. The peach filling is absolute heaven, as is the streusel topping. This is a must try.Peach Coffee Cake

For cake:

2 c. flour

2 t. aluminum free baking powder

½ t. aluminum free baking soda

1/8 t. salt

½ c. butter, room temperature

1 c. sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 c. sour cream

1 t. vanilla extract

1 21-oz. can peach pie filling

Streusel Topping:

1 c. flour

½ c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

½ c. pecans

6 T. butter, cut into pieces and softened

1 t. cinnamon

¼ t. freshly grated nutmeg

 Make streusel: In a food processor pulse together streusel ingredients until combined well and crumbly; set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan with Baker’s Joy; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

 In the work bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and beat in eggs one at a time just until incorporated. With the mixer still on low, add sour cream and vanilla, then add flour mixture in 2-3 intervals, beating just to combine.

 Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Top with peach pie filling, spreading to within a half a spreading to within a half inch of the side of the pan. Dollop the rest of the batter over the peaches, spreading to cover.

 Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 15-20 minutes on a wire rack before removing the springform pan sides.

 Because of the fruit filling, this does not keep. What you don’t eat the first day, slice up and freeze. It freezes beautifully.

 *Be sure to spread the dough to the edges. I dampened my hands in order to do so.

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Lemon Blueberry Loaf

 

I was craving blueberries, so when I found them on sale at the local market, I had to pick up a pint. I wasn’t paying very close attention at the time, so just grabbed one at random. When I got them home I found that they were the smallest blueberries that I think I have ever seen. In addition, they were pretty tart. Suffice to say that everything I had planned on doing with the blueberries suddenly screeched to a halt and I had to come up with a contingency plan. Because I had been craving lemon as well as blueberries, this Lemon Blueberry Loaf was like the answer to a prayer.Lemon Blueberry Loaf

 Loaf:

1½ c. flour, plus 1 tablespoon extra

1 t. baking powder

½ t. kosher salt

⅓ c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

2 large eggs

2 t. fresh lemon zest

2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ c. whole milk

1 c. fresh blueberries

Lemon glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar

3 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

 Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with Baker’s Joy.

 In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

 In a separate large bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the lemon zest and lemon juice until well combined.

 Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk. Begin and ending with the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.

 Reserve about a dozen blueberries and toss the remaining in 1 tablespoon of flour thereby preventing them from dropping to the bottom of loaf during baking step. Gently fold in the coated blueberries.

 Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and scatter the reserved blueberries over the top, pressing down lightly.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until cake tests done.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack.

 Lemon glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice until smooth and glossy.

 Drizzle the glaze over the cooled Lemon Blueberry Loaf, allowing it to drip down the sides.

 Let the glaze set for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

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Shortbread Cookie Bites

 

It all started because I wanted a cup of tea. We had snow today -- the only real snow of this winter -- receiving about 4 inches. I got a fire going first thing in the morning, and by afternoon I was ready for tea. The trouble is, I didn’t have any cookies. In this house, you can’t have tea unless you have cookies. I had been curious about a Christmas shortbread cookie recipe, so decided to change it up for winter by swapping out the Christmas colored sprinkles for chocolate jimmies, and changing the method to make them simpler. They are quite tasty, alarmingly so. They can beckon you from across the room. Be strong!

 

Shortbread Cookie Bites

 1 c. cold unsalted butter

¾ c. powdered sugar

1 t. pure vanilla

1¾ c. flour

3-4 T. chocolate jimmies

 In the work bowl of an electric mixer beat together, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the mixer, set on low, add the flour, ¼ cup at a time, mixing until it forms a dough. Add the chocolate jimmies, and beat to combine. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or a Silpat; set aside.

Form into a ball with your hands, and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. With a rolling pin (or your hands), roll (or pat) it into a 10” x 12” rectangle that is 3/8” – 1/4” thick. Place in refrigerator and chill for one hour.

 After one hour, remove dough from refrigerator, and preheat oven to 325° F. As oven is preheating, cut the dough into bite-size squares and separate on the baking sheet leaving a half-inch space between each. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (or longer depending upon the size of your squares) until the bottoms just begin to brown. Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

 If desired, melt some chocolate chips in the microwave or over boiling water and drizzle on top of the cookies.

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Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

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I don’t particularly like following directions, people who know me will tell you that. So when an online friend posted a recipe for these cookies a couple of weeks ago, I took one look at it and thought no, that’s not the way I’m going to make these. There was no almond flavoring, first of all. Cherries and almond flavoring go hand-in-hand. So I cut the amount of vanilla in half, and added double the amount of almond. Second (here’s a little tip for you if you are ever making any type of slice and bake cookie that contains chocolate chips), use mini chocolate chips. It is so much easier to slice.

That said, this is a marvelous recipe! It's like biting into a chocolate and cherry-studded cloud. Why I had maraschino cherries in my fridge is anybody’s guess (and let me tell you, if you spill maraschino cherry juice on the floor, you will be wiping up stickiness for the rest of your life, don’t ask me how I know), but I’m thankful that I did because I found these easy to deal with and tasty to boot. And look how pretty they are; they should be wonderful for the holiday season. Yes, it’s early, but I start thinking about the holidays in September. How about you?

 Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

2 c. flour
½ t. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
½ c. powdered sugar
½ t. vanilla extract
1 t. almond extract
¾ c. chopped maraschino cherries, well drained*
2/3 c. mini chocolate chips

Whisk together flour and salt; set aside.

Cream together butter and powdered sugar, 1-2 minutes; mix in extracts.

Add flour and salt mixture and mix until it starts forming a dough. Mix in chocolate chips and maraschino cherries.

Form the dough into a log, about 2” thick, compacting as you go to keep it from crumbling when you slice the cookies. Wrap securely in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Cut the log into 1/4“ thick slices, and place them onto the baking sheet 1” apart. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until they just start to turn lightly golden brown on top. Allowed to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 24 cookies

* spread cherries on paper towel to drain well

Chocolate Espresso Pound Cake

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I have an addiction to decorative Nordic Ware loaf pans. I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is. I just can’t resist those fabulous designs, and now that I have discovered the wonders of Baker’s Joy baking release spray, there’s just no stopping me! Over the weekend I spent a good bit of time in the kitchen, and decided it was time to break that pan in. I did so with this recipe, a combination of a number of pound cake recipes I’ve made in the past. It is dense and chocolaty, and so delicious. Feel free to stir in a half cup of mini chocolate chips (tossed with a tablespoon of flour) if you want it to be extra chocolaty. You could also drizzle it with icing or ganache. I like it plain with a lovely dusting of powdered sugar.

Chocolate Espresso Pound Cake

2 t. espresso powder

 T. hot water

½ c. buttermilk

3 sticks of butter, room temperature

1¼ c. granulated sugar

3 large eggs

½ T. vanilla

½ t. kosher salt

½ t. baking powder

¼ c. + 2 T. cocoa powder

1 c. flour 

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325° F. Spray a 5” x 9” loaf pan (I used this gorgeous one) with Baker’s Joy; set aside.

In a small bowl dissolve espresso powder in hot water. Stir into buttermilk; set aside.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 5-6 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder, and mix until combined.

With mixer on low add flour and buttermilk mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool 20 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar if using a beautiful Nordic Ware decorative pan like I did, or drizzle with icing or ganache.

Zucchini Spice Bread

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I bought a zucchini in order to make a favorite recipe of my mom’s. Then one day, in a sleep-deprived haze, I mistook it for a cucumber, and bought another. Then, I lost my mom's recipe. I’ll find it, not to worry, but as time passed, those zucchinis were starting to lose their crispness. So, I rummaged through some recipes for zucchini bread, decided that I wanted to make one of my own with a bit more flavor, and here it is. I’ve been enjoying it, as is, for breakfast, but it’s also good when spread with a little cream cheese and served alongside a bowl of soup or a salad for lunch. My guess is that it would be equally good with a scoop of ice cream on top and drizzled with a little caramel sauce for dessert, but then what isn’t? 

Zucchini Spice Bread

3 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 T. ground cinnamon
½ t. allspice
¼ t. cloves
3 large eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
1¼ c. granulated sugar
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 T. vanilla extract
2 c. grated zucchini
1 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325° F. Spray two 8” x 4” loaf pans with Baker’s Joy.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves; set aside.

In a large bowl beat together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar until creamy. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, beating well. Fold in zucchini and nuts.

Divide batter between two prepared pans. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until loaves test done. Cool in pans for 20 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Meyer Lemon Sugar Cookies

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I generally never do two dessert posts in a row, but I had four egg yolks left over from that White Snack Cake that I made, and I needed to do something with them. I asked friends for ideas, and my aunt mentioned an old family favorite sugar cookie recipe that called for three of them. As I remembered those sugar cookies quite fondly, I decided that’s what I was going to do. But I also had a fresh lemon off of my Meyer lemon tree, so decided to turn our family favorite sugar cookies into Meyer Lemon Sugar Cookies, with quite pleasing results. Lemon lovers will enjoy these, sugar cookie purest will enjoy these, kids, of course, will enjoy these. They’re easy to put together -- don’t bother with rolling them into balls (don’t you just hate that?!) -- just use a cookie scoop, and plop that dough right into a bowl of granulated sugar. Roll it around a bit, and put it on a cookie sheet. Done! Crisp, refreshing, sugar cookie deliciousness.

Meyer Lemon Sugar Cookies

2 stick (1 c.) butter
1½ c. granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 t. vanilla
1 t. lemon oil
1 T. Meyer Lemon zest
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Cream butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon flavoring, and lemon zest, beat until combined. In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Slowly add the flour to the creamed mixture. Do not over beat. Using a cookie scoop, drop dough 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 13 - 15 minutes until edges just begin to brown. Allow to cool 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

White Almond Snack Cake

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I like cake. I like white cake. I like bakery cake. I like wedding cake. My mother found this exasperating, because she didn’t think any of those cakes had much taste. I thought the taste was subtle, but wonderful. I’m not going to give you the whys and wherefores as to how much I love cake; you can read about that in my post about the White Almond Cake. No, today I’m going to give you a mini version of that White Almond Cake in this White Almond Snack Cake. Now, I’m going to be honest with you, it is a bit of work, but then isn’t everything? The plus here is that it only makes a small cake, and you don’t have to deal with stacking layers. This cake also makes wonderful petit fours if you’re looking to do that for a shower, tea party, or children’s party. All you need to do is cut these into small squares. Then get yourself a can of white icing, put it in the microwave for a minute, stir it up, and pour it over all of those little cake cubes. Allow the icing time to dry, and you will have the most precious little cakes, and can decorate them as you see fit. I just used a star tip to decorate this one. I made it for myself, but just because I did, doesn’t mean it can’t be pretty.

White Almond Snack Cake

½ c. butter, softened

1 c. granulated sugar

½ c. whole milk, room temperature

1 t. clear vanilla flavoring

¼ t. pure almond extract

1½ c. cups cake flour

2 t. baking powder

4 egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8” x 8” pan with Baker’s Joy; set aside.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter at medium speed until creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes.

Stir together milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Sift together flour and baking powder. With mixer set on low, alternately add flour and milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just blended.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites at medium speed until stiff peaks form; gently fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350°F for 35-38 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Frost with Almond Butter Cream Frosting

Almond Butter Cream Frosting

3 c. confectioners’ sugar

1/3 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 t. clear vanilla flavoring

½ t. pure almond extract

1 to 2 T. whole milk

Beat together sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat at high-speed for five minutes, until light and fluffy, add more milk to thin, if necessary.