Whole Wheat cinnamon swirl raisin bread

From the outside this bread looks like ordinary boring wheat bread.  But there is a surprise inside....raisins and cinnamon!  This bread has a crunchy outside but is soft on the inside.  The cinnamon and raisins are so flavorful I just eat this bread toasted and plain, no butter or jam required.  Of course, like all yeast breads you have to have patience, but the wait is worth it and you will have enough bread to supply you for two weeks......unless you get really hungry and just can't help yourself and before you know it you sat down with a loaf and now it is all gone.  When I was baking this bread it made my whole house smell like cinnamon.  This bread is also very good for you:

115 Calories,  1.8 g fat, 23 g carbs, and 3.2 g of protein.

You will need:
2 cups of bread flour
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 large egg
2 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp honey
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast
cooking spray
2/3 cups raisins
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

To make the dough, warm up 1 1/4 cups water (about 120-125 degrees F).  Add the water to a large mixing bowl with the bread flour, whole wheat flour, nonfat dry milk, egg, canola oil, honey, salt, and yeast.  Fit your stand mixer with a dough hook and mix for about 3 minutes on the lowest setting.  Increase to the next highest speed and mix for about 5 minutes.  When the dough has come together, shape it into a ball and place in a bowl that has been covered lightly with canola oil.  Roll your ball around so that it is covered with oil as well then cover it and let it rise for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

When your dough is about 30 minutes away from being done, soak your raisins.  Place them in a bowl and pour boiling hot water over the top of them.  Let them soak for about 30 minutes.  If you skip this step, the raisins will take the moisture out of your bread.

When the dough is finished rising, cut it into two pieces.  Roll each one out to about an 8 inch square.  Mine were more like rectangles, I tried really hard to get a perfect square and it just wasn't happening.  Next time I think I will roll them a bit thinner so that there is even more of a swirl.  Maybe an 8 inch by 15 inch would be better.  Sprinkle cinnamon so that it covers the bread dough and then add some brown sugar.  You can add as little or as much as you like of the cinnamon and brown sugar.  To be healthier I didn't use all of my brown sugar.  Evenly distribute the raisins onto both breads.

Tightly roll up your bread.  I pushed down onto every roll to make sure the raisins were really snug in there dough blanket.  If a raisin escapes make sure you put it right back in....no raisin left behind!  When your done rolling press down on both ends with the heal of your hand and tuck it.

Place each loaf, seam side down into a lightly greased 9X5 inch pan.  Let this rise for another hour and 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Brush the loaves with canola oil and bake until golden brown....about 25-30 minutes.  Remove from the pan and transfer to a rack.

Cranberry Orange granola

 

This Granola is perfect to take with you on hikes or camping trips.  It has the same base recipe as my Mango Ginger granola and is just as easy to make.

4 cups rolled oats

pinch of salt

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup chopped pecans

1 tbsp zested orange peel (about 1 orange)

1/2 tsp orange extract

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

First put the oats, salt, cranberries, pecans, and orange zest in a large glass bowl.

In a large sauce pan add the brown sugar, vegetable oil, and honey.  cook on medium until the mixture is boiling and the oil is mixed with the brown sugar.  Remove from the heat and add the orange extract.  Be careful when you do this because the mixture can splash a little bit.  Hot syrup does not feel good on your hands....trust me.  Quickly stir the extract in and then add to your oat mixture.  Try to do this fast because the syrup will start to harden and make it hard to mix.

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Spread the granola evenly onto a cookie sheet  and cook for about 15 minutes.  Make sure you are stirring the granola every 5 minutes to make sure it is evenly cooked.  When the granola is done the oats will be browned and the mixture will still be soft.  Place it on the counter and let it cool.  When the granola cools it hardens, store it in an air tight container or zip lock bag.

This granola has a nice citrus after taste which goes well with plain yogurt and honey, or just something to snack on this summer while your working on the garden.

perfect chocolate chip cookies

 

Gooey on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside, hint of coconut and little melted chocolate morsels.  That sentence perfectly describes my experience as I chomp down on these.  When people first start baking they usually start with cookies or easy sheet cakes.  I was the cookie person.  I absolutely love great cookies and a real classic is the chocolate chip cookie.  This cookie goes great with coffee, hot chocolate, or black tea.  I believe because the chocolate chip cookie goes so great with all three of these drinks this makes it the ultimate comfort food for a cold, wet, night.  Like I stated before it was the cookie that I first started baking when I was new to the science of baking.  I have tried multiple variations and finally I have the recipe which is just perfect.  First you will notice there is no granulated sugar.....brown sugar just tastes better.  Other than that the recipe isn't that different.  A bit more vanilla, flour, and less chocolate chips.  The reason I have less chocolate chips is because I like to enjoy the flavor of the cookie itself with a hint of chocolate.  Some recipes put so much chocolate in there the true tase of the cookie is lost.  For this recipe you will need:

3 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 tsp baking soda (if you are at a high elevation make it a scant tsp)

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter (melted)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed

2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chops

1 cup coconut

1 cup walnuts (opt)

My butter is cubed in the photo, but I found out later that it works better melted. mix melted butter with brown sugar.  mix it until you can't see the butter anymore and the mixture is creamy.  Add the vanilla and the eggs.

Sift all of your dry ingredients into a bowl.  If you look at the bottom of the picture you can see where I dropped my small camera into the flour....oops!  Switch to a paddle mixer before adding the dry ingredients.  While the mixer is on low, slowly add the flour mixture.  If you go to fast you will have a flour mess.  After the flour is completely mixed in, add the coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts if you are using them.

Now this next instruction is very important.....don't eat all of the cookie dough!  I snagged a couple of bites but I was able to retrain myself so I would have enough room in my belly for the cooked cookies.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet and scoop onto the sheet leaving about an inch of space between them.  I use a cookie scoop, it makes everything so easy and all of my cookies are the same size so I don't have to worry about uneven baking.  Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes and allow to cool a bit before eating.

 

Serve with your hot drink of choice.  This is a picture of my coffee and all of my cookies.....just kidding I had help eating these.  These cookies store really well in the freezer, or the refrigerator depending on how long you want them to last.  I suggest storing them in the freezer cause they will taste fresh for a lot longer, just let them warm up on the counter for a couple of minutes before you eat them :)