Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze – vegan

hello, friends! Today I give you yummy nummy (now a word, btw) pumpkin cinnamon rolls with...drumroll please....maple glaze. I've been teasing you since last week, so it seems only fair to share the love. And love it really is.

I'm one of those people who feed people as an expression of love, as a welcome-to-my-home, as an are-you-ok, as an I-hope-you-feel-better-how-can-I-help, as a hello-nice-to-meet-you-I-hope-you-like-me kind of a thing. I hope other people see it as such, but even if they don't, a) I hope it makes them feel better, even if they don't know why and b) it makes me feel better. And in a weird kind of way, sometimes presenting a dish that's more complicated or time consuming than usual makes me feel like I'm giving them more and showing I care even more. Do you other cooks and bakers out there feel the same way, or is that a Kate Special?

Anyway, these pumpkin cinnamon rolls fall into that category. I'm not going to make these all the time, but when I do make them, know that you're special. or that I want to impress you. or both. Because they are impressive (ask my coworkers) and they are delicious (ask my mouth) and they aren't as hard as they look (yay). The perfect trifecta.

These buns are full of sweet, gooey, pumpkin, cinnamony goodness. As with my other go-to brunch recipe, you can prepare them at night, go get some sleep, and bake them fresh in the morning. Side note: the overnight route is really, really, really the way to go if you are hosting breakfast/brunch. It's a win-win- you don't have wake up stupid early, and you and your guests get fresh, out of the oven yummies. Also, a more relaxed host(ess) makes for a better party.

In an effort to help make clear possibly hard-to-understand directions, for the first time I enlisted Mr Official Taster's help in creating a short video for you. I wanted to give the time-lapse feature on my iPhone a try. There is no sound, and if you want to make it larger, click on the button on the bottom right that has the four arrows to make it full screen. Update: the video doesn't seem to be showing up on mobile devices, and I don't know why. Hopefully I can figure it out. Until then, here's a link to the video: https://flic.kr/p/pgN3GL

 

For the most part, I'm pretty happy with it. I know the lighting is not great, and next time he'll stand on a stool behind me for a better birds-eye perspective. But I'm really curious about your reaction. Is is helpful? Do you like it? Is it long enough? too long? Unnecessary? Speak your mind, please!

Also, please make these for someone you love. Neither of you will regret it!

Not into pumpkin? Try my regular cinnamon rolls- they're yummy too.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze – vegan

adapted from Chloe's Vegan Desserts

Though the written recipe is long, it is not particularly difficult, and the end results are well worth it. I chose to use coconut oil in place of vegan butter throughout this recipe, but either works, and I can imagine that Earth Balance vegan butter would impart a nice buttery flavor. Note that vegan butter is salted, so if you go that route, be sure to use the smaller salt measurement.

If you need this recipe to be corn free, powdered (AKA confectioners’) sugar is not your friend since it's sugar+cornstarch. I can think of three options here. A) Make the glaze, but don’t drizzle over the top. Allow everyone you’re serving to choose whether to add it to his or her portion. B) Skip the glaze and just top with maple syrup. C) Make your own corn-free powdered sugar by whirring an equal volume of regular or superfine white sugar in a food processor. Basically, you grind it down into finer grains. It’s not exactly the same as powdered sugar, but it’s a pretty good substitute.

Dough

1 C pumpkin puree, canned or fresh

1 C nondairy milk

½ C plus 1 Tbsp sugar, divided

½ C vegan butter or coconut oil

½ -1 tsp salt (see note)

1 tsp vanilla

¼ lukewarm water (about 110F)

2 ¼ tsp (or 1 packet) active dry yeast

5 C all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat), divided, plus more for rolling

Filling

¾ C brown sugar (I used Sucanat)

2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

4 Tbsp vegan butter or coconut oil, melted

1 C raisins (optional)

Glaze (see note)

½ C powdered sugar

3 Tbsp maple syrup

Up to a few tablespoons water, as needed

Make the dough

In a medium saucepan, whisk the pumpkin, nondairy milk, ½ cup sugar, coconut oil or butter, and salt over low heat until combined. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool until lukewarm, about 110 degrees F.

While the pumpkin mixture is cooling, place the warm water, remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, and yeast in a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Stir for a second or two and set aside for about 10 minutes. The yeast will become foamy, double in size, and reach the ¾-cup line. If it does not do so, then either your yeast was dead or the water was too hot (and killed the yeast); make another yeast mixture before proceeding.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the pumpkin mixture and the yeast mixture. Beat at a medium speed for about 1 minute. Add 2 ½ cups flour, and stir on low until incorporated. Add the remaining 2 ½ cups flour and repeat. The dough will be somewhat sticky. Exchange the paddle attachment for the dough hook and knead on a medium speed for about 2 minutes.

To save yourself from washing an extra bowl, gather the dough ball and balance on one hand. With the other, spray the mixing bowl with nonstick spray. Return the dough to the bowl, and then turn it over so the entire ball is coated with oil. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl as it rises. Cover with a kitchen towel or shower cap, place in a warm spot, and let sit until it has doubled in size (about 1 ½ hours, less if it’s a warm day).

Remove cover and punch down the dough so that it deflates. Take the dough out and put it on a lightly floured surface. Recover with the kitchen towel and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Make the filling & assemble the rolls

While the dough is resting, lightly grease a 9- x 13-inch baking pan. Combine brown sugar or Sucanat, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl and set aside.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Aim for a 20- x 13-inch rectangle (it doesn’t need to be exact). Brush or spread the melted oil over the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly across the surface. If you like raisins in your cinnamon rolls, sprinkle them evenly over the surface at this point.

With the long edge of the dough rectangle close to you, roll the dough up away from you, so you are creating an approximately 20-inch long log. (see video above) With the seam side down, use a sharp knife to cut the log in half. Then cut each roll into 6 equal pieces (observant readers will notice I ended up with 13 pieces. It is a-ok). Ideally, you will have 12 cinnamon rolls. Place the rolls, swirled side up, into the prepared pan, in 4 rows with 3 rolls in each row. You don’t need to smoosh them together – the next rise will take care of that.

If you’re baking them right away, cover pan with a dry kitchen towel, place in a warm spot, and allow to rise a second time for about an hour. If, however, you are assembling them at night and plan to bake them in the morning, cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and place the fridge overnight. Remove them in the morning at about the same time you start to preheat your oven.

All together now - once the cinnamon rolls have risen, preheat your oven to 375F. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes. When fully cooked, they will be lightly brown on top, and a toothpick or a knife inserted in the center will come out free of dough. (Do check. Don’t be as impatient as I was the first time). Let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes before glazing.

Make the glaze

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and maple syrup. If it’s too thick, add water, a little bit at a time, until smooth and drizzle-able.

Drizzle glaze over the rolls. Proceed to stuff the warm pumpkin cinnamon gooey goodness into your mouth. Alternatively, use a fork and a plate for maximum politeness.

Pumpkin Cornbread - vegan

A few weeks ago, I boldly promised to keep this a "pumpkin-spice-anything-free zone," and I'm proud to say that's still true. I will admit, however, that I noticed a loophole and decided to take advantage of it. You see, I didn't outlaw actual pumpkin. Sneaky, you accuse? Yep. But, in my defense, loopholes are a proud American tradition, and it is technically fall now, so pumpkin is actually appropriate.

I came across a recipe for a honey pumpkin cornbread, started making it, realized my cornmeal was not-so-good, ran and got a new bag, finished the recipe, and after all of that, was supremely disappointed. It was dry. It was boring. It tasted like pumpkin but not at all like cornbread. Or honey, particularly, come to think of it. I knew I liked the idea in general, so I basically tore the recipe up (well, virtually tore it up. and by "tore it up" I mean I no longer have it Pinned) and started all over.

I switched from honey to maple syrup and reduced the volume. I got rid of an egg and some pumpkin-y spices. I introduced creamed corn to the ingredient list and reduced the milk. A few other tweaks, and I was ready to try again.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. This pumpkin cornbread blends and balances both flavors so that you can really tell each is there. It's moist (even the next day) and not too sweet. In short, it's all the good things that cornbread should be.


Pumpkin Cornbread - vegan
a Short & Sweets original

If you make this when there is still fresh corn available, I think a handful of fresh kernels would be a tasty addition. I see no reason why you couldn't make either mini or jumbo muffins and adjust the bake time accordingly. Also, I haven't tried myself, but they should freeze just fine if well-wrapped.

If you are looking for a breakfast treat, drizzle some maple syrup over a warm muffin. It's fabulous on a fall morning. Otherwise, I recommend pairing these with black bean sweet potato chili or red bean chili. Or, if you want to go pumpkin-crazy, pumpkin chili. 

3/4 C non-dairy milk

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 C yellow cornmeal
1 C whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil or vegan butter)
3/4 C canned pumpkin
3/4 C creamed corn
1/4 C maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)


In a medium-sized non-reactive bowl or large glass measuring cup, combine non-dairy milk and vinegar. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a standard, 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper liners. 

In a large bowl, stir flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together. Whisk oil, pumpkin, creamed corn, and maple syrup into the milk+vinegar mixture. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Divide batter evenly among muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.

Cool for 5 or 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and serve immediately or allow to cool completely on a wire rack. In an airtight container, muffins stay moist for 3-4 days. 

Build a Better PB&J - free of everything you want

 

I can't take any credit for this one. My friend S nearly always packs her lunch, and it always looks super yummy and super healthy. I first noticed these sandwiches a while back; it took me a long time to give it a try. I'm SO GLAD I did. 

Here's the thing: I've never liked PB&Js. I like bread. I like peanut butter. I like jam. I like bread with peanut butter. I like bread with jam. But I don't like all three all together. I know. I'm kind of a weirdo. Even my mom thinks so. 

But it turns out that I do like peanut butter and fruit. A lot. And just about any fruit will work here. While visiting, my mom made a peanut butter and nectarine sandwich she was quite happy with. Fresh blackberries are excellent. Sliced strawberries, sliced apples, and sliced bananas are all good. 

Besides the obvious benefit of no added sugar, you can make this breakfast/snack/lunch-if-you-add-another-piece-of-bread-and-pack-it-safely free of whatever allergen you need to. Regular or gluten free bread, any nut butter or sun butter, fruit of choice. It's that easy. 

 

For those of you who like instruction to come with your food photos, here goes:

1. Spread nut or non-nut butter of your choice on a favorite slice of bread.
2. Arrange fruit or slices of fruit (if large, like strawberries, bananas, apples, peaches, etc) on top in rows, or however the fruit is telling you to do so. 
3. If you're extra hungry, spread another piece of bread with nut/non-nut butter and place, sticky side down, on top of fruit. 
4. Eat. Enjoy. nom nom nom

I especially like this in the morning with a hot cup of tea. 

Have you tried this before? What are your favorite combinations?

Whole Wheat Maple Oatmeal Bread - vegan

Be not afraid, ye who enter here.

Seriously, guys? I'd really like to somehow free the American population from their fear of bread. (Yes, I know this sounds rather grandiose.) I can't speak first-hand about other countries, but I suspect they have less fear. (Yes? No? Anyone?) I get that this is a multi-level fear, so let's first get this out of the way: carbs are not the devil. Sure, if all you ate was bread, you'd probably contract scurvy. And sure, if all you ate was bread, avoided scurvy, but never got up from the table, you'd probably gain some weight. But I'm pretty sure some fruit and maybe a walk around the block would solve those problems. So, let's agree to agree here. Good Bread is wonderful.

Side rant: bad bread is not worth your time, caloric intake, or money. However, Good Bread with capital letters is wonderful.

OK, onto to the next fear: yeast. Also, that bread is a magical, mystical being that has its own unpredictable mind. That there's no use even trying to make yeast bread because the yeast will act all puckish and just do what it wants. All of these fears? Unfounded, I say.

A well-written, tested (i.e. not just made up) recipe and good ingredients should be all you need. For this specific bread you need flour (all-purpose is just fine, but for more flavor and healthy stuff, white whole wheat and whole wheat are lovely), yeast, oatmeal, salt, oil, maple syrup (or sugar), and water. That's it. Nothing exotic or scary. As long as you remember that yeast is a living organism, and will perform it's best if treated well (no boiling alive here, please), you will be just fine. Follow the directions, use your sense and your senses, and your home will smell amazing and your carb-loving self will thank you.

Still nervous? Try the even easier Oatmeal Bread, No Knead Whole Wheat Bread, or English Muffin Bread.


Whole Wheat Maple Oatmeal Bread - vegan

adapted from King Arthur Flour

The boiling water in this recipe serves the dual purpose of softening the oatmeal and helping the sugar/syrup dissolve. I cannot emphasize this enough: do not add your yeast too soon or you will kill it and your bread will not rise. Lukewarm is all that yeast can handle. In place of the maple syrup/brown sugar, you could be fancy and use maple sugar instead (as the original recipe calls for). I suspect (though I haven't tried it) that you could add a tiny bit of maple syrup a little bit at a time to regular sugar, mix thoroughly, and create your own maple sugar. 

This recipe yields two loaves of bread, but you could certainly halve the recipe and only make one. But for pretty much the same amount of time and effort, make two, and then share or freeze your second loaf (assuming you don't eat the first one within a day or two). I slathered on some of my Raspberry Peach Jam, but there are no bad choices. 

2 C boiling water
1 C rolled oats, traditional or quick (not instant)
1/2 C maple syrup or brown sugar (I use half maple syrup & half sucanat)
1/4 C vegetable oil (I use olive)
1 Tbsp kosher salt or 2 1/2 tsp table salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional, but delicious)
1 Tbsp instant or active dry yeast
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
4 C all-purpose or white whole wheat flour plus more (possibly. see below)


In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the water, oats, maple syrup or brown sugar, oil, salt, and cinnamon. Let cool to lukewarm, about 10 to 15 minutes. If you get as antsy as I do, stir a few times, but DO NOT add yeast until it's lukewarm. Too hot, and you'll kill your yeast.

Add the yeast and flours, stirring to form a rough dough. Knead (about 10 minutes by hand, 5 to 7 minutes by machine) until the dough is smooth and satiny. If you used maple syrup (or if it's a dry day), you will need to add extra flour a little bit at a time to achieve a nice texture and help the dough form a ball. When fully combined and you're kneading, the dough shouldn't be very sticky. You should be able to handle it without it sticking to your hands. I used half sugar and half maple syrup and added an additional 1/2 - 3/4 cup of flour.

Remove the dough from the bowl, scrape any remaining dough from sides, mush into dough, and form into a ball. Place dough in the bowl upside down (seam side up), and then flip it over so the seams are on the bottom. This way, you've easily coated the surface with the oil. Cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap (or a shower cap. That's my favorite method), and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour. Since the dough is warm to begin with (from the boiling water), it should become quite puffy.

Gently punch down the ball, divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a loaf. Place the loaves in two greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" bread pans.

Cover the pans with lightly greased plastic wrap (again, or a shower cap) and allow the loaves to rise until they've crowned about 1" over the rim of the pan, about 60 to 90 minutes.

Bake the loaves in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting them lightly with aluminum foil after 25 minutes to prevent over-browning. Remove them from the oven when they're golden brown and the interior registers 190°F on a digital thermometer. A more traditional (if less scientific) way is to tap on the loaf on the bottom - it should sound hollow. The sides should also be pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Turn the loaves out onto a rack to cool. Store at room temperature, well-wrapped, for several days; freeze for longer storage.

Cranberry Hazelnut Quick Bread - vegan

Mom, this bread is for you.

As I mentioned on Sunday, this week I'm on vacation from work, but entertaining full time at home. We had a great dinner last night with our friend (pumpkin chili recipe coming soon to a Short & Sweets near you), followed by a slice of this bread (it was fresh! we had to try!) and maybe a brownie or two. oh, and some raspberries. It was a feast.

Now that I've recovered from our group gluttony dinner party, I can fully appreciate this easy bread. I pinned the inspiration for this quick bread recipe, oh, a year ago. And I'm just now getting to it. What was I thinking? It's easy, comes together in a snap, and I bet you have all the ingredients on hand. If you're like me and have a seasonal food hoarding problem, you might even have a bag of cranberries from last fall stashed in your freezer that you should really finish off before you buy this year's cranberries to stash in your freezer. ahem.

Snickerdoodle Muffins - vegan

Oh, these muffins.

I've had this idea floating around in my head for a couple of weeks for snickerdoodle muffins. It seemed like a delicious and not overly complicated idea. Unfortunately, my first attempt over the weekend didn't turn out so well. I adapted a plain muffin recipe from a food writer I trust (I'm looking at you, Bittman), but it, well, sucked. Most of the batch went into the compost bin, which is something I almost never do.

So I went back to the beginning, thought what I didn't like about the batter (tough, dry, blegh), tried to fix it (more liquids), put the muffin tin in the oven, and crossed my fingers.

Bourbon Pumpkin Muffins - vegan

I hope you're not over pumpkins yet.

I know, I know, this is the third pumpkiny recipe in a row here, and for that, I sort of apologize. If you need some balance in your life, I did recently give you a salad, and before that, granola, both of which are quite healthy and a good antidote to overindulgence. (by the way, have you tried the granola yet? as part of my plan to convert everyone I know to homemade-granola-makers, you really should)

But I don't apologize all of the way, because when, if not in October, are you going to overindulge in pumpkin anyway? September's not the season quite yet, and November is Thanksgiving focused, so that leaves (pun intended) October as The Time of Pumpkin. I'm keeping you trendy. You're welcome.

Raspberry Coconut Bread, or is it Cake? - vegan, or not

Friends, I have a problem. I can't decide what to call this sweet, delicate, summery thing I'm eating. On the one hand, it's a quick bread, totally appropriate for toast and a pat of butter (or perhaps this new coconut spread? I sampled it, and it was delicious. And, no, not sponsored, just my own two cents). On the other hand, I'm sitting here, feeding myself with a fork between sentences. Who eats bread with a fork? Not me. sigh #firstworldproblems

Coconut Bread - vegan

I have had this recipe pinned since March. And while that's not as egregious a lapse as some, it was still too long. First off all, it comes together in a snap. Two bowls and a spoon are really all you need. Plus, obviously, a loaf pan, though you could make muffins instead. There's no rise time, yeast, or kneading, so it's not intimidating to those of you still scared of bread. (b-t-dubs, please don't be. it's not scary. Maybe start with some no-knead? or a super forgiving loaf?) Also, it doubles as a cake. I mean, it's not a fancy cake, but if you have a mid-week hankering for dessert, this fits the bill (and then, breakfast the next morning).

Cranberry Almond Muffins - vegan

My husband tells me I am a food werewolf, and, while I agree (I'm convinced it's an inherited trait, like brown eyes and freckles), it doesn't paint the most flattering picture of myself. I'd like to somehow convince him that I'm more of a squirrel-like hoarder. Wait, that's not better. sigh

Bourbon Banana Bread - vegan

I have been ogling this recipe for a while now. But given normal life events and the predictable procrastination that goes along with them, and the fact that bananas rarely come home from the grocery store with me (yech), "a while" stretched to "too long." Seriously people, when you want bananas to brown, it takes forever, but when you buy them with the intention of eating them like a responsible adult they brown while your back is turned.

Cinnamon (optional raisin) English Muffin Bread - vegan

It's January, which means it's cold, cloudy, hibernating weather pretty much everywhere in the country. (I like this visual) Perhaps you've hunkered down with some hearty chili or savory paella? Well, I think you should add this loaf to your winter repertoire, especially if you are new to bread baking. This is a yeast bread, which I know scares some people, but it's super easy and you don't even need to knead it.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Quick Bread in a Jar

Remember this yummy bread? Well, what I didn't tell you then was that I was really testing an "in a jar" gift recipe. I found the idea originally (via Pinterest, of course) on Sunset magazine's site. The recipe sounded promising, and the idea was a cute one for presents, so I gave it a whirl. I was pleasantly surprised with the resulting loaf, so now I want to show you how you can share this bread without overwhelming your friends and neighbors with perishable sweet stuff.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins - vegan

Whew. It turns out that a busy bakery turns into chaos during Thanksgiving week. We sold hundreds! thousands! millions! of pies. I couldn't actually believe we would sell all of the ones we had ready, but we did, and we actually sold out of some flavors. 

By the end of my shift on Thursday, I was done in. So much so that, for the first time in my life, I brought a cake to dinner that I bought. I was mildly outraged at myself, but so tired that I couldn't sustain it. Also, I justified it by telling myself that it was a cake we make in the bakery, so it's almost kinda-sorta like homemade. Right? 

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Quick Bread - dairy free, or not

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you. I will be working both days at the bakery, and I'm sure Mr Official Taster will sleep in until I get home and give him a poke in the shoulder, but I have high hopes of enjoying the beautiful autumn weather anyway.

I spent some time stalking Pinterest researching yesterday, and I'm so glad I came upon this bread idea. It turns out, it's kind of the cousin of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread - dairy free

Hi friends. I've missed you. But I'm hoping this delicious, delicious banana bread will bring us close once again.

Peach Streusel Muffins - vegan

When I was mixing these muffins yesterday, I was positive I wouldn't be sharing the results here with you fine people. The batter was not as wet as I was expecting, and the buckwheat I used gave it an unusual coloring. I double and triple checked the recipe I was using, but when I went down the list of ingredients, I could put a mental check next to each one. I pressed on, popped my tray in the oven, and crossed my fingers that the diced peaches would ooze while they baked and give the muffins the moisture they needed.

Banana Hazelnut Breakfast Muffins - vegan

I've been on a bit of a kick lately- not a cleaning kick, exactly, but there has been some. Not a purging kick, either, though there has also been some of that. I think it's more of a use-things-up-or-put-them-away-out-of-sight-let's-see-some-order-around-here kind of kick. To clarify, I don't think our place is a mess or is super cluttered. I would just like it to be less so, some days. And some days I'm able to do something about it.

I forget why I bought the bag of hazelnuts in the first place, but it has been waiting, taunting me, and taking up space in my tiny kitchen for months. I think it may have actually made the move with us, so maybe I bought it with the intention of making nutella? or something Christmasy? Whatever the original intention was, I'm sure it was tasty, but time marches on and I want these nuts gone. Pronto.

Mango Quick Bread - dairy free

A quick Facebook-related note: as happens every so often all the time, Facebook has changed things again. If you'd like to see Short and Sweets in your feed again, go to my Facebook page, and hover your mouse over the "Like" button. Make sure the box next to "show in news feed" is checked, and if it's not, just check it, and Short and Sweets posts will show up in your feed again. Sorry FB is silly.

And back to originally scheduled programing:

As part of my diversify-our-carbs mission, I picked up some coconut flour with no real plan for it. I was originally on the hunt for barley flour to make this, but, alas, I haven't found any. Then, I got mangos with the express purpose of making this bread, and I had my epiphany. Mango+coconut oil+coconut flour = tropical delight. If I'd had some rum, perhaps it would have been even more of a delight.

In any case, I'm pretty happy with the result. Well, except for the part where I didn't wait long enough to take it out of the pan. That made a mess. It's tasty and not too sweet, and I don't even mind the raisins. It made for a tasty breakfast, and I think the suggestion from the original recipe that you schmear on some cream cheese sounds pretty delightful. Extra points: Mimosas.

Mango Quick Bread - dairy free
adapted, very liberally, from Bon Appetit. I changed the original so much that I almost didn't link to it here, but you may find it useful if you want a simpler version. The reviews also hold some useful tips, like using peach schnapps to soak the raisins.

1 C golden raisins
1/4 C juice or liquor*
2 large mangos, peeled, pitted and diced
1 1/2 C flour
1/3 C coconut flour**
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C coconut oil (or 1/2 C butter or vegan butter)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously grease and flour a 9-x5-inch loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix raisins and juice or liquor and let stand 15 minutes while you mix everything else together.

Puree mangos in a food processor until smooth. Measure total amount (see note below).

Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream coconut oil and sugar together. If using butter, beat until light and fluffy. If using coconut oil, it won't get fluffy, but it will smooth out. Beat it a few minutes to aerate it. Beat in eggs one at time, then vanilla and mango puree. Add dry ingredients in two or three batches and beat after each addition until just combined. Fold in raisins+juice. Pour batter into a prepared pan.

Bake bread until tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60 to 75 minutes. Cool 20 minutes in pan on rack (don't be like me and try and get it out after 10 minutes). Turn bread out; cool completely.

~~~

*I used Mango Peach Orange juice from Trader Joe's, which worked well. The original recipe called for brandy, which we don't have any of sitting around. I took advantage of the natural sweetness of the juice to cut back the sugar from 1 1/4 C. So depending what liquid you choose, adjust sugar as needed.

**This amount is one you can play with a bit. The total amount of flour should be approximately 1 3/4 cups, and the original recipe called for 1 cup of mango puree.  Coconut flour is super absorbent, so when you use it in recipes, you need to increase the amount of liquid. I chose to increase the amount of mango puree rather than adding juice or milk. My two mangos yielded 1 1/3 cups of puree. Thus, I was able to use 1/3 cup of coconut flour. I used 1 1/2 cups of regular flour and trusted that 1 1/2 C+ 1/3 C was close enough to the original 1 3/4 cups to work, and it was. So, basically, measure your puree first, before you decide on your flour amounts. Or just go with 1 C mango and 1 3/4 C flour and forget the coconut flour altogether. Questions?

Beer Bread - vegan

Happy Monday! I had a great weekend. How about you?

I took a quick trip up to Seattle to visit. They sure know how to treat a girl! Our weekend activities pretty much centered around food (you may have seen the evidence), which made the whole trip feel that much more indulgent.

It seems, however, that I brought some classic Seattle weather home with me, and today's rain plus my weekend read equal bread baking. This loaf is nothing fancy. In fact, it's like the opposite of fancy. But it's 5 minutes of work, an hour to accomplish other items on your to-do list, and a no-fuss-no-muss loaf of bread for dinner. Or anytime you want to add carbs to your carbs. or if you're the type who needs a vehicle for butter. or jam. It's also a bread that's good for those of you scared of yeast breads (ahem, E.) because the beer carbonation and baking powder do all the work for you.

It's dense and chewy and slightly sweet and it reminds be of my long-lost source of Irish soda bread. I might not bring it to dinner, but I'll certainly make it for mine.


Beer Bread - vegan
adapted from USA Weekend Magazine

This time I used Fat Tire, but any variety should work. Every beer will give your loaf a slightly different flavor, so experiment ad nauseum! 

3 C (16 oz/450g) flour
3 Tbsp (1 oz/25 g) sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
12 oz (1 bottle) beer
1 egg, beaten or 1-2 Tbsp non-dairy milk (optional)

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 375F.

In a medium large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add beer and stir with a fork until just combined. Turn out onto a floured surface, knead a few times, and form into a ball. During your few kneads, add in a little flour if you think it's too wet. Place the ball onto a floured baking pan and use a sharp knife to (decisively!) slash an X on the top. If you'd like, brush the top with some milk or a beaten egg.

Bake until golden brown, 45-50 minutes. If you tap the bottom, it should sound hollow. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.