Bready or Not: Maple Raisin Bars
If you like chewy maple goodness, then these Maple Raisin Bars are for you!
So you ever look at a recipe and think, “Hey, that looks good, but I want to change half the ingredients around?” That’s how this recipe came about. I look at another recipe and decided to give it an overhaul. Golden raisins instead of apricots. Honey instead of molasses. And so on.
The result? Chewy, cakey bars with delightful gems of golden raisins sprinkled throughout. The turbinado sugar on top adds a special sparkle.
They taste kind of like gingerbread just, well, without any ginger. That’s the closest comparison I can make.
Even better, these keep well for days at room temperature, and they can also be frozen for later enjoyment.
Yep, these will be greatly enjoyed. Now or later.
Bready or Not: Maple Raisin Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup bread flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 3/4 cup maple sugar
- 1/2 cup avocado oil or canola oil
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/2 cup milk or almond milk
- 3 teaspoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Stir in the raisins. Set bowl aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together maple sugar, oil, honey, and milk. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry until fully combined. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan, making sure the raisins are well distributed. Sprinkle turbinado sugar all over the top.
- Bake for 24 to 28 minutes, until the dough has puffed and it passes the toothpick test in the middle.
- Let it cool completely. Lift out of pan with the foil and cut into squares. Store in a sealed container with waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers. Will keep well at room temperature for days, or can be frozen for weeks.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Yeasted Waffles
If you’re in need of a quick-fix breakfast, whip up a batch of these yeasted waffles! Chill the batter for at least 4 hours and you can start using it; the batter can stay in the fridge up to 3 days.
I was really impressed with how this batter kept, too. I noticed no difference in the taste for day to day, and I kept it chilled for the 3 day max stated in the original Eating Well recipe.
That said, these do taste different than normal waffles. There’s yeast in there! I found them to have a slightly sourdough flavor, which was not off-putting in the slightest.
Like any homemade waffles, the cooked waffles also keep very well frozen between layers of waxed paper. You stick the frozen waffles straight into the toaster like you would the store-bought version.
No matter how quickly these waffles are cooked up, they make for a convenient and delicious breakfast!
Modified from the original from the March/April 2016 Eating Well Magazine.
Bready or Not: Yeasted Waffles
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups almond milk or other milk
- 6 Tablespoons butter cut into pieces
- 3 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour, or mix
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast 1 packet
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium until the butter is melted. Set aside to let cool until it's just warm, about 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add in the milk mixture followed by the eggs and vanilla extract. Stir together until just combined.
- Refrigerate the batter for at least 4 hours, or up to 3 days.
- Preheat waffle iron. Gently stir the batter to reconstitute. Use about scant 1/2 cup of batter for each waffle; the waffles will expand as they cook, and the iron might overflow on the first attempts you get a feel for the right amount to pour in.
- Return any unused batter to the fridge for later enjoyment. Cooked waffles can also be frozen.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Maple Cranberry Pecan Granola
Let’s start off 2017 with something delicious and healthy: Maple Cranberry Pecan Granola.
It’s super easy to make granola at home, and wow, is it cheaper than buying the stuff at the store. If you have a nearby store that sells oats in bins, that’s the way to go–my Sprouts often puts their oats on sale, too.
It’s easy to customize this to your preferences. Switch out the pecans for walnuts. Use raisins or dried blueberries for the cranberries. Whatever. Make it your own.
If you need gluten-free food, that’s easy, too–just use gluten-free oats! Ta-da.
Eat this granola by itself, or with milk or almond milk as cereal, or as a topping for yogurt or ice cream. Heck, you could even use it in cookie or granola bar recipes.
However you eat it, know that it’s delicious–and good for you, too!
Bready or Not: Maple Cranberry Pecan Granola
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/4 cup pecans chopped
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 Tb avocado oil or olive oil
- sprinkle salt
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a large, rimmed cookie sheet with foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together all of the ingredients EXCEPT the cranberries. Spread the mixture on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, gently stir the granola, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until it's crisp and golden. Let set out on stove top to cool; it will continue to crisp up.
- Once it is room temperature, gently stir in the cranberries. Store in a sealed container up to 1 month.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Coffee Marshmallows
Let’s end the year on an obnoxiously sweet note with homemade Coffee Marshmallows. If you want to send someone a late gift or sabotage a New Year’s resolution, here you go.
This recipe involves lots of beating. No, not with a stick. You’ll want a good stand mixer, or be ready for your hand to vibrate to numbness if you use a hand mixer. I don’t recommend doing this with a whisk in hand. Your hand might fall off.
Not recommended, unless your last name is Skywalker and you have access to cool prostheses.
Once I started the recipe, I had the bulk of it done in about an hour. My stove is reeeeaaally slow to heat up. I did the mixing in my valiant Kitchen Aid.
The results were fantastic: soft yet dense blocks of sugary goodness, coated in more sugary goodness.
This makes a 9×13 pan. That’s a lot of mallows. They’re supposed to stay fresh up to a week if they are well-sealed. Bag these things up! Eat them by themselves, or plunked in coffee or hot chocolate.
Originally posted at the Holy Taco Church.
Bready or Not: Coffee Marshmallows
Ingredients
Powder coating
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
Marshmallows
- 3/4 cup warm water divided
- 1 Tablespoon espresso powder
- 3 envelopes Knox gelatin
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Later mixing stage additions
- 2 Tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pam or oil for pan
Instructions
- Whisk together 1/2 cup warm water and the instant espresso. Let this cool in the fridge for a bit.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the powdered sugar, corn starch and cocoa powder.
- Grease a large casserole dish (like 9x13 or 10x8) with Pam or vegetable oil. Sift a small bit of the powdered sugar/cocoa mix over the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the cooled coffee into the large bowl you will use for the mixing phase. Sprinkle the gelatin onto the coffee and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Have a whisk attachment ready on your mixer.
- In a medium sauce pan with an attached candy thermometer, combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining 1/4 cup of water. Start heating this on medium until the sugar is dissolved and then crank it to high heat. Bring the mixture to a hard boil and cook for 1 minute, until the candy thermometer reaches 240 degrees. The color will start to change.
- With the mixer on low, VERY CAREFULLY pour the boiling liquid into the gelatin/coffee mix. Once it's all in there, turn it to high and beat for 10-15 minutes, until it has doubled in volume and holds stiff peaks. Note that the color will change dramatically in stages.
- Add in the remaining cocoa powder and vanilla extract and beat for another minute or so, until they are mixed in.
- Pour the very sticky goop into the ready casserole dish. Use a well-greased spatula to even it out. Add a few tablespoons of the cocoa/sugar mix and use your fingers to dust that over the top. Cover the dish with foil or plastic wrap and let it firm up. Give it at least four hours, or overnight.
- Run a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen the marshmallows. You can try inverting the whole block onto a large cutting board, or use a knife or pizza cutter to do basic rectangles and then remove portions at a time. Cut the marshmallows into 1-inch cubes and toss them in the cocoa/sugar mix.
- Store the coffee marshmallows in an airtight container for up to one week. Enjoy them straight-up, or in coffee or hot cocoa.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Maple Pecan Pie Bars
These Maple Pecan Pie Bars offer all the goodness of pecan pie in a form that is 1) more readily portable, 2) keeps well for up to a week, 3) freezable.
Oh, and did I mention these are DELICIOUS? They seriously are. My dad is a native Alabaman and he knows pecan pie and pecan in all forms. He LOVED these bars.
The base is shortbread, and atop that is a just-right thickness of pecans in syrup. This avoids the usual butt-ton of corn syrup that other recipes use and relies on a combo of maple syrup and brown sugar. Which is… maybe healthier? Kinda?
What matters to me, though, is that it tastes good. The maple syrup adds the right sweetness here to complement the nuts.
You don’t have to use pecans here, either. You could certainly try walnuts, cashews, or a combination. Do go for “softer” nuts, though, to make it easier to cut the bars.
I froze a bunch of pecan bars between layers of waxed paper in a freezer container. They thawed again with no difference in taste. They also keep well for at least a week, making these a good candidate for shipping.
As my dad can attest, these bars are perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert. While you could eat them along with vanilla ice cream, they are good eaten out of hand. Heck, you can even zap them in the microwave if you want them warmed.
However or whenever you eat them, these Maple Pecan Bars will be delicious.
Modified from Bake or Break.
Bready or Not: Maple Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, cold, cut into pieces
Filling
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/2 stick, melted and cooled for a few minutes
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups pecans or mixed soft nuts like walnuts or cashews
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a 13x9-inch pan with parchment paper and lightly apply butter or nonstick spray along the bottom and sides.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and use a pastry blender or a fork to mash it down into small crumbles. The overall mix will feel sandy, but it'll hold together after baking.
- Pour the crust mixture into the prepared pan. Use some wax paper and a heavy glass to compress the crumbs.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Set aside as you make the filling.
- Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the maple syrup, melted-and-cooled butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and salt, stirring until combined. Stir in the pecans to coat.
- Pour filling over the partially baked crust. Bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until filling is set.
- Cool bars to room temperature and then use the overhanging parchment to lift the contents out to cut into bars. Store in a sealed container for up to a week, or freeze bars for later enjoyment.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Muffins
Some foods are delicious but not particularly photogenic. These Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Muffins, however, have it all going on.
Chocolate and pumpkin are a fantastic pairing. Nutella works so well here, creating a shiny chocolatey cap to these bright orange muffins.
The texture of these is magnificent: cakey and fresh, with a light pumpkin taste. Plus Nutella. We can’t forget the Nutella.
Speaking of which… if your Nutella is older or you’re near the bottom of the jar, it can be lumpy and hard to spread. To fix that, put the Nutella in a microwave-safe dish and give it a zap in the microwave.
Trust me, that lumpy Nutella may still be delicious, but you want it to be soft enough to create a beautiful swirl on these muffins!
Modified from The Novice Chef.
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons milk or almond milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Nutella or other hazelnut cocoa spread
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line muffin pan with liners and apply nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the egg, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Slowly mix in the dry mixture until it is just blended.
- Add the batter to the muffin pan, filling each about 3/4 full. Top each muffin with about a teaspoon of Nutella and use a butter knife to swirl it into the batter.
- Bake muffins for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a center muffin comes out clean.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in a sealed container.
- OM NOM NOM!
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