Whole Wheat Blueberry (Almond) Bread

Summertime brings lots of fresh fruit to my apartment - or rather, it brings me to berry patches which results in me bringing home lots of fresh fruit. While I use some of the fruit quickly - eaten fresh with yogurt, stirring into scones, mixing into lemonade, or making preserves for future peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - I also store a lot in the freezer to pull out for later. A few weeks back, I was craving some blueberry bread, but wanted something healthier than the muffin-type breads I've made in the past. This loaf fits the bill - whole wheat flour, rolled oats, reduced oil content - and, of course, lots of juicy blueberries. I made the recipe twice over, once in a large loaf with only blueberries, and once in mini loaf pans with both blueberries and almonds. Both came out delicious!

Whole Wheat Blueberry (Almond) Bread (1 large loaf or 3 mini loaves)

2/3 c. packed brown sugar

3/4 c. skim or 1% milk (or try with almond milk, if you are lactose unfriendly or just want a different flavor)

1/4 c. applesauce

1/4 c. canola oil

2 eggs

2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. rolled oats

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, allow to thaw for 15-30 minutes)

1/2 c. almonds (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease either 1 8-9" loaf pan or 3 mini-loaf pans.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, milk, applesauce, and eggs.

3. In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir until just combined.

5. Fold in blueberries (and almonds, if desired). Pour into prepared pan(s).

6. Bake at 350F for 45-55 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. (I found that the smaller breads took about 45 minutes and the larger bread took about 55-60 minutes). Remove bread from the oven and allow to cool for ~10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn out onto a wire rack to continue cooling.

7. Slice and serve with a bit of butter, homemade preserves, or just on its own.

Cranberry-Orange-White Chocolate Chip Cookies

A couple of years ago I found a recipe for pumpkin raisin ginger cookies on the side of my Pillsbury Quick Bread mix and quickly added them to the rotation of my fall and winter cookies. Using pumpkin quick bread mix means that these cookies can be whipped up in a jiffy for parties, snacks, and gifts. Inspired by my success with the pumpkin raisin ginger cookies, I branched out to the cranberry quick bread mix and came up with...

Cranberry - Orange - White Chocolate Chip Cookies (approx. 18-24 cookies)
1 box cranberry quick bread mix
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Mix all ingredients together (may be slightly crumbly). Form into balls (about 1.5 inch diameter) and place on an ungreased or foil-lined cookie sheet. Use a fork to lightly flatten balls.

3. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then remove cookies to wire racks to finish cooling.

Banana - Chocolate Chip Muffins

I've posted a few times previously about ways to spruce up out-of-the-box quick bread mixes (here and here) - today I'm adding the recipe for a batch of banana-chocolate chip muffins that can be made using banana quick bread mix as the base. Eat these plain or serve with peanut butter (or another topping of your choice).

Banana - Chocolate Chip Muffins (approx. 18 muffins)
1 box Pillsbury Quick Bread mix, banana flavor
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400F and grease (or line with baking cups) approximately 18 muffin cups.

2. Stir together quick bread mix, milk, eggs, applesauce, mashed banana, and chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into muffin cups, about 1/4 cup batter per muffin cup. If any muffin cups are not filled with batter, fill about halfway with water (this will even out baking).

4. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Remove muffin tins from oven and cool for about 30 minutes, then remove muffins to wire rack to finish cooling.

Zucchini - Apple Bread (and tips for sprucing up some out-of-the-box quick breads)

With Thanksgiving houseguests soon making their appearances, the time is right for preparing a few quick breads to have on hand for snacks and breakfast treats. Preparing this zucchini - apple bread takes a little time (mostly because of the time needed to grate the zucchini), but isn't something that you'll find in the ready-made quick bread mixes available at the store. If you are a bit pressed for time and are looking for ideas on how to spruce up some of the prepared mixes, scroll down to the bottom of this post for some ideas using pumpkin and cranberry breads.

Zucchini - Apple Bread
1.5 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely grated zucchini (do not peel before grating)
1/4 cup applesauce

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan [or 3 3 x 5 inch mini loaf pans] with non-stick spray.

2. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

3. In another bowl, combine egg, sugar, zucchini, and applesauce. Pour zucchini mixture into flour mixture and stir until batter is just moistened, then pour into prepared loaf pan.

4. Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes [for mini loaves, 35-45 min] or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and continue cooling on wire rack until completely cooled. Wrap tightly in plastic or aluminum foil to store.

Easy spruce-ups for quick breads
When I called down to my uncle's house to ask what he'd like me to contribute for the big meal on Thursday, the first thing that he asked for was some of my "magic breads." While these quick bread might be magic, they aren't too difficult to make - in fact, they only require choosing your favorite mix-ins and adding them to a ready-made box mix (like Pillsbury) before baking!

Pumpkin Quick Bread
- 1/2 cup butterscotch or chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts
- 1 T. fresh chopped ginger (or ginger paste)
- use apple cider instead of water in the mix (1-for-1 substitution)
- use applesauce instead of oil in the mix (1-for-1 substitution)

Cranberry Quick Bread
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- use orange juice instead of water in the mix (1-for-1 substitution)
- use applesauce instead of oil in the mix (1-for-1 substitution)

Pumpkin Raisin Pecan Muffins

One of my favorite "bases" to begin baking with is Pillsbury's Quick Bread mixes. They come in a variety of flavors, each of which offers many possibilities beyond just quick bread. The mix that I use most often is pumpkin, and that's what I used today in making muffins to take into the office tomorrow. This recipe uses plain (unsweetened) applesauce instead of oil, so it cuts out some of the fat while keeping the muffins moist - and adds a nice apple undertone to this fall treat.

Pumpkin Raisin Pecan Muffins (12 muffins)
1 box (14 oz) Pillsbury Quick Bread mix, pumpkin flavor
1 cup milk
1/3 cup applesauce
1 tsp. fresh chopped ginger (or ginger paste)
2 eggs
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 400F and grease or line 12 cupcake cups.

2. In a large bowl, stir together quick bread mix, milk, applesauce, ginger, and eggs. Stir in raisins and pecans.

3. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.

4. Bake 20 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Cool in pan 2 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.