Cinnamon Chip-Banana Swirly Bread

Having a cold and being stuck at home is terribly boring.

Now that I'm starting to feel better and am awake for more than 5 hours a day,
I've been spending time thinking about baking.
Okay...I've been thinking, reading, and dreaming about baking.
I miss it when I don't feel well.
Is that weird?
Maybe for others, but it seems totally normal for me.

While scrolling through Pinterest,
I found a recipe for banana cinnamon bread...
AND I remembered that I had a bag of Hershey's Cinnamon Chips.
It seemed like a match made in cinnamon Heaven.









Cinnamon Chip-Banana Swirly Bread

Recipe and directions 

slightly adapted from Lovin' From The Oven

Ingredients

For the bread:
• 2-3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour 
• 1/2 cup cinnamon chips
For the swirl:
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbs cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of the banana mixture. Then gently stir in flour and add in the cinnamon chips. Remember not to over-mix.

3. In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon.

4. Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half, or a little more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar on top.

5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, but start checking the oven at 50 minutes since ovens vary.

Apple Pie Bread-Vegan

In my family, there is nothing better than my Mom's apple pie.

She has this magical way of transforming simple ingredients

 into the most delicious thing you've ever tasted.

It's a beautiful mix of tart apples, cinnamon, and sugar,

that makes even those that don't like apple pie, 

re-think everything that they've ever though about pie.

Yes, it's that good.

It's so certifiably good,

that people (me) 

dream about the beautiful thing that is a classic apple pie.

I knew that if I was to ever call myself a baker, 

I too would have to master the gorgeous, simple beauty of my mom's pie.

It's taken a few years, 

but I feel that I can now say that I have it down...well, almost.

Somehow, her pie still tastes like Heaven on Earth to me. 

So I thought...

and I had a little time to think while sick this past week...

What if I made a bread that tasted like a little slice of pie?

Wouldn't that be fun and delicious?

Well, heck yeah it'd be fun!

But you be the judge,

does this taste like apple pie to you?

Apple Pie Bread (Vegan)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 egg equivalent with Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer
1 cup sugar
2 tbls vegan butter or shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup oil
2 granny smith apples, sliced
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Icing Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
water to dissolve and make glaze

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Slice apples and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp cinnamon
2. Sift to combine flour, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. Use a mixer to blend together the egg-replacer, sugar, vegan butter, vanilla, and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
4. Pour wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.
5. Add oil and mix well.
6. Layer 2/3 of the sliced apples in the parchment paper lined 9x5-inch loaf pan.

7. Pour batter on top of the apples.
8. Place the remaining apple slices on top of the batter. Optional: Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (Not really optional in my world)

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into center of the bread comes out clean.
10. Let the bread cool completely before adding the glaze. Or opt out of adding a glaze...I did. It smelled too good to wait to glaze it.

Let the glaze set up before slicing. Or not.  :)
Either way, enjoy!

Get more potassium.

That was what my doctor said.

I've been low in potassium for a few years now. 

I know.

Eat a banana. 

Believe me, I try, but I don't like them.

A banana is the best, most convenient way to get the right amount daily potassium.  

But, it's a banana.

Sigh.

I love most fruit, but really don't like the texture of a banana.

Most of the time I find it either underripe or too ripe...either way it's gross.

But my doctor said that I have to, so I only have one solution...

Banana bread.

I love banana bread, so this could be an excellent solution to my deficiency. 

Banana Bread

Origin: unknown

(I've been using it for as long as I can remember.)

Servings: makes two 9x5 loaf pans

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

2 eggs or 2 egg equivalent of Bob's Red Mill egg replacer

4-5 ripe bananas mashed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon (or more)

2 cups flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Prepare two loaf pans by lining them with parchment paper and then set aside.

3. Blend sugar, eggs, and bananas together.

4. Add oil and vanilla- blend well.

5. Add soda, baking powder, salt and flour, then blend until smooth.

6. Pour into prepared pans.

7. Bake for 50 minutes or until you insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean.

Enjoy your boost of potassium! 

This is definitely way better than eating a banana 

and my doctor will be proud of me too.

Lemon Poppyseed Bread- Vegan Style

Lemon Poppyseed...I'm not sure what I really love most about it.
Is it the lemon?
Is it the crunchy seed?
Is it both?
Or is it that it always reminds me of people that I love?
Yeah...that's it.

One of my favorite places to go on the Oregon Coast is Cannon Beach.
I head there with my favorite girls to hangout and catch-up.
Before we head back to our real lives,
we stop by the local bakery to purchase treats to take home.
Some loaves of haystack bread and lemon poppyseed muffins are always in my bag as I head home.
Both are delicious, but the muffins have a crunchy lemon icing that make it my favorite.

Since I miss my friends, I have decided that I need to make something to help me
Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Bread
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 egg equivalent with Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer
1 cup sugar
2 tbls vegan butter or vegetable shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract

1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup oil

Lemon Icing Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp lemon extract
water to dissolve and make glaze

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Sift to combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. Use a mixer to blend together the egg replacer, sugar, vegan butter or vegetable shortening, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
3. Pour wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.
4. Add oil and mix well.
5. Pour batter into a well greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Let the bread cool completely before adding the lemon icing.
8.Let the icing set up before slicing.
Enjoy!

Vegan Orange-Cranberry Bread

Sometimes I look around my kitchen and realize that I need to go shopping.
There's not much left.
But I don't have time and I really don't want go out again when I've just gotten home.
But there's nothing.
No chocolate chips.
No chips of any kind...
So I guess cookies are out, at least chocolate chip or any kind of chip are out of question.
So what am I going to make for the fence build?

Hunting through my kitchen,
I was thinking about sweet breads...
What, or what could I make?
Then, I saw the answer...CRANBERRIES!
Thank goodness I always keep dried fruits on hand.
Once I saw the cranberries, I knew exactly what to make..
Orange-Cranberry Bread.
Delicious!

If you're like me and keep a variety of fruit on hand,
then sweet breads are a easy solution to a baking dilemma.
And to make every tummy happy,
I make it vegan.

Vegan Orange-Cranberry Bread
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 egg equivalent with Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer
1 cup sugar
2 tbls vegan butter or shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange extract
1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup oil

Orange Icing Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp orange extract
water to dissolve and make glaze

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Sift to combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. Use a mixer to blend together the egg replacer, sugar, butter, vanilla, orange extract and orange juice in a medium bowl.
3. Pour wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.
4. Add oil and mix well.
5. Pour batter into a well greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Let the bread cool completely before adding the orange icing.
8.Let the icing set up before slicing.
Enjoy!

This recipe is a little slice of heaven on a cold Fall morning.
That's a promise. :)
Now enjoy a glimpse of joy and a tutu or two on a Keizer Fence Build for Fences For Fido.

Meet Diesel the Houdini, but a Houdini no more!

 Happy tummies and a happy unchained dog = Very happy Lori :)

Oh Starbucks...what have you done?

I don't get it.
Why change a good thing?
So, I understand change if it makes something better,
but this is definitely not better.
Nothing is better without a pumpkin scone or pumpkin bread.
I judge the beginning of fall by the amount of
pumpkin items I can find, and consume.
But when I arrived at Starbucks for my first dose of pumpkin overload,
I was extremely disappointed.
Yes, they had my beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte.
But a pumpkin scone? No.
Pumpkin bread?
No, not a crumb.
So what is a girl to do?!
Well, after the tears dried,
I stepped into my kitchen and worked out my feelings by baking.
I think the bread that came out of the oven was as close to perfection as possible.
But I guess you'll have to make it and try it yourself.

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

This bread is just like Starbucks used to make it, 

but actually it's way better than that. 

It's perfectly vegan too!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• Egg replacer for 2 eggs (I use Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• water to mix sugar into a glaze

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Prepare a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan by spraying with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients; flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, salt, and spices. Sift the dry ingredients together. 
4. In your stand mixer, blend together the egg replacer, the oil, and the vanilla. 
5. Once the liquid ingredients are mixed well, begin to add the flour mixture in.  Make sure that you mix in gradually.  Stir until the lumps are out. 
6. Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan. 
7. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of bread. 
8. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center of the loaf. 
9. Cool for approximately 5 minutes in the pan, and then turn the pumpkin bread onto a cooling rack. Allow bread to completely cool before you glaze and slice.

**Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer is a great substitute for vegans and vegetarians, but be aware that it does contain gluten so it's not good for all substitutions.

Monkey Bread for One

Monkey Bread.

A little bite of heaven.

The only problem that I have with making Monday Bread,

 is that it creates a lot of it!

I know, like that's a problem.

But really it is a problem

unless you have a large group of people to share it with.

Otherwise you're standing in your kitchen peeling off pieces

while losing a debate with yourself about having another chunk. 

Yes.  I have lost frequently. 

I'm not a very good debater.

Plus, it's sooo delicious.

What isn't good about bite-sized pieces of cinnamon roll?

Seriously...it's delicious.

To help myself not be defeated in the kitchen,

I found a recipe for Monkey Bread that makes it in servings for one!

Or two...three...you get the idea. 

Easy to portion and easy to share...if sharing is your thing. 

I get selfish with Monkey Bread. 

 

Monkey Bread

Recipe from Get Off Your Butt and Bake

Head over there to get the step-by-step instructions.

Until then enjoy a little tummy temptation...

 

Let the dough rise and rise until it is doubled in size.

 Grease the muffin tins.  I use the larger ones, because I need a little more Monkey Bread.

 Mix up a little cinnamon and sugar.

I didn't add anything to the butter,
because I can't think of anything better than just melted butter.

This is where the fun really begins...
Cut chunks of dough, drop it in the butter, and then toss it in cinnamon & sugar.

 Yumma! Yumma!

 Hot out of the oven, it's difficult not to grab one and chow down. But I resisted, barely.

Add a simple icing...and tada!

A little perfection to share with those you love.

Enjoy my dear friends, and I won't judge you if you don't share.

Promise.

Sometimes I don't either.

Now go make some and make your weekend a bit sweeter.