Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Raisins

This is another recipe I followed exactly, and it so pays off.  Of course, I am one of those people who is so excited to try something, I don't really read all of the instructions!  Haha, not good.  Anyway, this yeast bread rises twice, each time for an hour and a half.  A good way to get a nice crust is to fill a pan with boiling hot water next to the baking bread in the oven.  Once the bread was cooled, I was SO happy and excited at how beautiful the swirl in the middle of the bread looked!  Oh, and yes, the bread was very delicious, warm and toasted with a smear of butter on this is definitely cinnamon raisin heaven!

This recipe if from "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook" <--Very reliable and good recipes!

1 cup whole milk (make sure it's warm to activate the yeast)

1/3 cup warm water

4 tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 tbs honey

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup sugar +1tbs cinnamon

3 3/4 cups bread flour + extra for counter

1 envelope of rapid rise yeast

2 tsp salt

Whisk milk, water 3 tbs butter and honey in large measuring cup.  Mix 3 1/2 cups of flour, yeast, and salt in bowl, add milk mixture and mix until comes together.  Knead on counter about 10 minutes.  Place in oiled bowl, cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours in warm place.  When doubled in size, press dough into a 9in square on counter top.  Brush 1 tbs melted butter onto dough, sprinkle raisins, sugar and cinnamon onto the melted butter.  Roll up the dough and put into a buttered bread pan.  Let that rise for 1 1/2 hours in a warm place.  When doubled again, brush 1 tsp melted butter onto top and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.  Place in a pre heated 350 degrees oven, and place the unbaked bread on the middle rack.  Place another pan next to the bread and fill it half way with boiling water.  Bake until golden brown, about 40-50 minutes.  Flip the bread out and let cool 2 hours. 

Well worth the wait people! ;)

Pumpkin Scones

So I made these last year, and later realized that it's probably a good idea to fully read the instructions first before making something from a recipe.  I failed to cut them before baking, and they just weren't the same.  This year, I made them from the recipe to the T, and oh yeah, it makes a difference!  They were ready in about 19 minutes, and I let them cool.  Crunchy around the corners, but soft and not too sweet on the inside.  The raisins really add to this recipe, don't forget to add them!  A smash of butter this would just be the perfect breakfast or snack, I'm sure of it!

http://joyofbaking.com/PumpkinScones.html

Sweet and Salty Pumpkin Seeds

I've never made pumpkin seeds before, because I just didn't know if I liked them or not.  So, this time around when it's pumpkin carving time, I decided to give it a try.  I pre-heated the oven to 275 and spread the seeds from my scary pumpkin glowing away in the background.  With the seeds in a thin layer on the baking sheet, I took salt and generously sprinkled every seed.  Then I took about 3 tablespoons of sugar and about 1 tablespoon on pumpkin pie spice and showered that on the salty seeds.  I baked them for about 20 minutes, took them out and stirred them a bit.  After that, I turned the oven up to 325 and baked them until moderately crunchy.  I let them cool and tasted them (just to make sure I like them ;).  Well, turns out, these are pretty good, I think every year I'm going to end up roasting some pumpkin seeds from my goofy little pumpkins!

Black and Orange Pumpkin Tart

This tart looks like a pumpkin pie, but its just as good, if not better than one.  I bought a pre-made chocolate crust, if I would have made it from scratch, I'm sure it would have been darker.  No biggie, still looked and tasted very good.  The filling was creamy, flavorful and not too sweet, but just enough "pumpkin" flavor.  The chocolate crust actually tasted really good with the pumpkin filling.  I would definitely make this again!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chocolate-pumpkin-tart

Organic Pistachio, Dried Cranberry and Chocolate Granola

Oh My Goodness!  I have to stop making this stuff so much, It's too freakin' good!  Ha ha, this granola is a good source of energy for working out, or even a nature walk.  It mostly has unsaturated fat from extra virgin olive oil and the nuts, but there is some saturated fat from the chocolate.  It will give instant energy from the cranberries and chocolate, but long lasting energy from the nuts and whole wheat oats.  I used some local honey and a bit of extra virgin olive oil to create little "crunchies" as I like to call them.  Bake for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees then let it cool for about half an hour.  Believe me, try to restrain yourself, it's so worth the wait.  Your going to want to make this recipe over and over and over! 

2 cups organic instant oats

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 heaping tsp kosher sea salt

1/4 cup local organic honey

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp organic pure vanilla

1/3 cup organic applesauce

2 organic egg whites

1 cup any organic nut/chocolate/dried fruit mixture

Mix all together, bake 425 for 15 mins.  After cooled a bit, add nut/fruit mixture; ENJOY!



Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made this cake for Jordan's Birthday.  It's the pretty typical cake method, so it wasn't too hard.  For the frosting, I added some milk instead of the maple syrup.  This cake turned out great, after it baked for about 28 minutes.  I let it cool for about an hour, while I made the frosting.  I only used about 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and it was more than enough frosting for the entire cake and filling.  We lit candles and sang Happy Birthday to Jordan and cut pieces of cake.  The cake itself was moist and the frosting wasn't too sweet.  Over all, I'd give it 4.5 stars, it tasted like a lighter version of a pumpkin roll.  Very tasty, I'm definetly making this cake again!
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PumpkinSpiceCake.html