It’s a happy day in our house when mom bakes (mom being me). It’s not a secret that I don’t bake very often. I have guilt about it sometimes but honestly, I don’t feel the need to handle all that sugar and butter very often. And the flour gets messy. And I have to measure perfectly or the recipe gets all messed up. That’s the one that gets me big time. I’m not great at perfectly measuring and I’ve learned that’s pretty important when it comes to baking. It is what it is. We are all good at what we are good at, right? What I do love about when I bake something is that it makes everyone in my house truly happy. It makes me happy because I know they are happy – plus I know exactly what went into the baked goods they are eating. That’s a big bonus. Quick breads are actually one of my favorite things to bake. Quick breads and muffins. They are easy enough to put together and usually are full of fruit and good stuff like oats or whole grain flour. I wanted to play around with this recipe for Pumpkin Raspberry Bread I found on my friend Sandy’s blog and turn it into an oatmeal type pumpkin bread but I didn’t quite have all the ingredients I needed. I instead adapted from it slightly adding apples and cinnamon, some of my favorite fall ingredients. I think I have a good excuse to experiment some more and bake another one. That’s a good thing because this Apple Pumpkin Bread lasted about 24 hours in our house. It was delicious and put smiles on everyone’s face. And that my friends is always a good thing. Have a great weekend! Bake some pumpkin bread! (more…)

The post Apple Pumpkin Bread appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

This wasn’t the exact photo obviously, but it was of this recipe for a simple shortbread cookie that morphs the flavors of coffee and whiskey…and lots of butter.

I never realized making shortbread was so easy. I am one who usually is in awe of beautiful desserts featured in magazines and blogs, but that’s pretty much as far as it goes. Awe. I don’t bake. I mean, I bake, but it’s a huge effort for me because I really really don’t like working with flour, and measuring, and tons of butter and sugar. It’s just not my thing. But yesterday, while making this unbelievably simple recipe that included only a few ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, coffee, more butter, Irish whiskey) I couldn’t help but think maybe I actually do like to bake, I just have to change my attitude about it. I baked these up in no time, and it actually brought me a little joy too. I’m starting to get it. I cut them up, packaged them up and sent them off with my husband to work this morning. We sampled a couple of cookies last night (these are grown up cookies I should tell you..unless you want your children to sleep really really well, kidding kidding) and they were so good…crumbly, buttery and with a distinct flavor of coffee and subtle taste of whiskey.

So if you have a few minutes to spare and need a quick dessert to share with friends, try these out.

Happy baking and Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Espresso Shortbread Cookies with Irish Whiskey Glaze

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted Irish butter, room temperature (I used non-Irish Land O Lakes, its all I had)
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon course salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon ground espresso or coffee

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Irish whiskey (I used Jameson, if you don't want to buy a big bottle, look for a nip at your liquor store)
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Stir together butter, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Mix in about half the flour; stir in the ground coffee. Stir in remaining flour; combine thoroughly. Using damp fingers, press into two buttered 8 inch round cake pans.
2. Bake in center of the oven until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven. Immediately cut each pan into 8 wedges but leave in pan. Cool completely.
3. For glaze, pour sugar and half of whiskey into a small saucepan. Heat to a boil over high heat; boil rapidly 1 minute. Remove from heat, whisk in butter. Whisk in remaining whiskey. Let set to thicken slightly, about 1 minute. Spoon over shortbread, using the back of your spoon to cover evenly. When glaze is set, carefully remove cookies from pan.
4. Would be delicious served with small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Recipe from Orlando Sentinel, adapted from a recipe by cooking teacher Janine MacLachlan

PS…I added a Fitness tab to my menu bar above. In addition to food, I have a passion for keeping fit and feeling good. I really try to do some form of exercise everyday, not only to keep my weight in check but really because it helps keep my whole world in check. Happy Mom Happy Life, right?

I am a huge follower of many healthy living blogs (Carrots ‘N Cake, Kath Eats Real Food, Healthy Tipping Point, Healthy Ashley & Meals and Miles) and over the last few years reading these blogs and keeping up with how active these girls are has really motivated me. I’m spending a lot of time running these days so here I will share with you running programs I’m using, as well as races I’m participating in or have done in the past. I also love to swim and practice yoga so I plan to update include links on them as well…the page is still a work in progress and if there is something you’d like to see on there, please send me a note!

I am no expert, but just like the rest of this blog, my goal is to inspire.

The post Espresso Shortbread Cookies with Irish Whiskey Glaze appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

(this giveaway is now closed)

I’ve been seeing posts about Tate’s Bake Shop all over the web lately.  Lots of great baking going on out there!  Tate’s might be a new name to you, but they are not new by any means…they opened their doors in the Hamptons, NY in 1980 and sold some of their baked goods at Ina Garten’s own shop Barefoot Contessa. After I was recently contacted by them to try their cookies and check out their cookbook I quickly realized I was introduced to them a couple of years ago by my sister in law Jamie.  Jamie raved about this cookbook and has actually posted these yummy blueberry muffins and blueberry buckle from it too.

I absolutely loved their cookies…they are made just how I like them, crisp on the edges, slightly chewy in the middle.  And they are buttery…in a very good way. I was mailed a nice sample of their chocolate chip, macadamia nut and oatmeal raisin cookies.  I’m hoarding a package of the oatmeal raisin ones in the pantry…

You want to try some of these cookies? (I know you do…)

Tate’s Bake Shop is offering one of my readers this same cookie package along with their awesome cookbook.  Ina Garten actually wrote the foreward in the book, and I will assure you, you will find some wonderful recipes in there.  I have my eye on a few already, and have already baked these Carrot Muffins up twice this past weekend.

Giveaway: Tate’s Bake Shop Gift Pack and Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook

Ends Thursday, midnight (EST)

To enter into the giveaway:

Leave a comment on this post telling me your most favorite kind of cookie.  Mine is definitely oatmeal raisin.

Sorry, giveaway open to US readers only.

Additional Entries can be earned by:

1.  Become a fan of Tate’s Bake Shop on Facebook.  “Like” them and then come back and leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

2. Become a fan of Aggie’s Kitchen on Facebook.  “Like” Aggie’s Kitchen then come back to this page and leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

3. Follow @AggiesKitchen on Twitter, then come back to this page and leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

4.  Share about giveaway and link back to this post on Facebook, Twitter or your own blog and leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

Bonus: Tate’s Bake Shop is offering a discount code “cookie” to Aggie’s Kitchen readers for 15% off on any tatesbakeshop.com purchase from now through December 31st.

Now as far as these muffins go…they were delicious.  If you are a carrot cake fan, then you will love these.  They were dense and full of goodness, I even added a little coconut to the second batch.  I bet these would actually make a great cupcake with some cream cheese frosting…um, yea….now we’re talking.

Tate’s Bake Shop Carrot Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup, pecans
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 apple, peeled and cored, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin pan cups.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil and eggs. Mix until they are well combined. Stir in the carrots, pecans, vanilla, and apple. Fold in the flour mixture.
4. Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared muffin cups. The muffin cups should be filled to the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Recipe from Tate's Bake Shop cookbook

(Note: Original recipe says it makes 10 muffins, I was able to get 12 muffins in each batch)

The post Tate’s Bake Shop Carrot Muffins and a cookie & cookbook giveaway appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Right?

Actually, it’s always the season for sweet potatoes…but it seems more people like to enjoy them around this time of year.  I am a huge lover of sweet potatoes, in mostly any form.  I tend to eat them pretty often…whether roasted as wedges or rounds, grilled in a salad, tucked inside a burrito or even in latkes. Yea, I like my sweet potatoes.

Now, I will say, these biscotti were a first for me as far as ways to enjoy sweet potatoes.  The nice people at the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission recently sent me a batch of Sweet Potato Biscotti and I will tell you, two dozen of these cookies lasted just a little over 2 days in this house.  I got the package just as I was leaving to pick up the kids from school so I opened it in the car to try them out.  The kids (my two and their friend) ate half a dozen just on the way home.  More for dessert that night and snack again the next day.  Daddy, a neighbor, and I even got to try some.

These cookies are just sweet enough thanks to the natural sweetness of the spuds.  What I love is that the recipe for Sweet Potato Biscotti only calls for 2/3 cup of sugar for 4 dozen biscotti!  Crazy huh?  That’s a treat I don’t feel terrible about giving my kids (or myself).  Now if you are looking for something ooey-gooey sweet then this is probably not your cookie.  These are light and perfect with a cup of tea…and they won’t kill your “diet”.

Not only do sweet potatoes taste good, they are super good for you.  They are diabetic friendly due to their low glycemic index (really, good for everyone) and are full of fiber, beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium….all good stuff!  Try these out next time you are in the mood to bake.  Thank you to NCSPC for sending them my way!  We enjoyed them and I will definitely be sharing them again soon with my fam.

Sweet Potato Biscotti

Recipe from NC Sweet Potato Commission

(printable recipe)

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups unpeeled coarsely grated North Carolina sweet potatoes (about 8 ounces)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease large baking sheet. In medium bowl, beat together sugar and butter; add eggs; beat well. Add flour, baking powder, orange zest and salt; beat on low speed until combined. Fold in sweet potato, walnuts and coconut. Divide dough into two equal pieces; with oiled hands, shape each piece into a log about 2 inches by 11 inches; place on baking sheet. Bake until firm and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack; cool 15 minutes. Trim thin slice from ends of logs; cut logs into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place slices on 2 ungreased baking sheets with cut side down. Bake 12 minutes; turn and bake until crisp and golden, 10-12 minutes longer. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container.

Yield: about 4 dozen biscotti

Per 2 biscotti: 116 calories, 1 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 5 g total fat

Disclaimer:  Although I was treated to these delicious cookies by the NC Sweet Potato Commission, all thoughts and opinions about them are my own.  Thank you.

The post ‘Tis the Season… appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

When my trip began all I remember was being scared to death. I was going so far away from home all myself not knowing anyone or what to expect. Talk about nervous. All the bloggers that attended the event were so nice and Aggie and I hit it off right from the start. We even got to cook together in the Culinary Institute of America Kitchen and it was so awesome. Aggie is such a great person but if you’re a reader of Aggie’s Kitchen then I am sure you already know that.

While we were in Napa we learned so many things about the power of beans. We learned how to incorporate them into different dishes and just how nutritious beans are. All that bean talk really got me excited about trying new recipes at home. I knew this was going to be a big challenge for me, because my youngest son Carson is the pickiest eater. Especially when it comes to eating beans and vegetables, so I knew had my work cut out for me. I was going to have to find a way to try and disguise them as best as I could if I wanted him to eat them.

My little guy loves muffins and quick breads so I thought maybe I could add beans to some baked goods and he just might eat them. Well I am happy to say it worked!!! So today I want to share with you two recipes that are a huge hit in our house. The first one is Homemade Black Bean Brownies made with pureed black beans

and the second is a recipe for Mini White Bean Banana Nut Breads

made with pureed White Cannellini Beans.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do. If you like family favorite recipes and old fashioned classics then I hope you can pop over and visit Mommy’s Kitchen, because I would sure love to have you.

Gratefully, Tina

The post Sneaking it in… appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I’ve mentioned before that my little guy is a.k.a. “the muffin man” around our house.  I made these for him (and me) the other day after looking at some pitiful leftover zucchini that was screaming “use me!!” in the veggie drawer.  I adapted a zucchini bread recipe that I found in my beloved Magnolia Bakery cookbook into muffins and they turned out perfectly.  I cut down the amount of sugar and oil in the recipe by substituting natural unsweetened applesauce.  My rule of thumb (which is not backed up by any scientific baking data) is to substitute half the oil for the same amount of applesauce, and cut the sugar in just about half when doing so.  If you like more of a sweeter muffin then stick to the original amount of sugar in the recipe, but I like to cut back on the sugar whenever possible.

Don’t forget to enter your favorite Chili recipe into my Chili Cookoff Contest for a chance to win an awesome gift basket from Bush’s Beans!  Winner will be chosen randomly, contest ends Saturday, April 3 at midnight.

Zucchini Nut Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (preferably canola)
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup sugar (original recipe calls for 3/4 cup sugar)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini, plus a little extra for optional topping (about 1 medium zucchini, with skin)
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin with non stick spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, n the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and thick, about 3 minutes. Stir in zucchini.
4. Add dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined. Stir in the chopped nuts.
5. Pour the batter into muffin tins, filling each tin about 3/4 full. Sprinkle some shredded zucchini on top of each uncooked muffin. Place in preheated oven and bake for about 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean. Let cool slightly before taking out of muffin pan. Makes a dozen muffins.

Recipe adapted from Zucchini Walnut Bread, The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

The post Zucchini Nut Muffins appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

My little guy was definitely born with a sweet tooth.  I can tell you, he didn’t get it from me.  I, on the other hand, am more of a salty crunchy snack kind of person…I have no problems getting through a bag of sea salted pita chips dunked in spicy hummus…okay, let’s not talk about it (I have recently discovered I have a bit of an addiction…).

Since my son enjoys his sweets so much, I really try to keep some “better for you” sweet snacks for him in the house…granola bars, cocoa almonds (Emerald makes them – awesome!), and of course lots of fruit.  But what really makes my boy happy is a muffin.  He is over the moon when I tell him I’m going to bake up some muffins.

To keep my cookbook buying addiction under control lately, I’ve started to check out cookbooks from the library.  The last time I was there I saw my friend Liz’s kid friendly cookbook on the shelf and I was excited to bring it home.  I immediately looked to the baked goods section, knowing I had some very ripe bananas on the counter needing to be used up immediately.  I was very happy to find this Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe…and so was the little Muffin Man.

I made half the batch as written, and the other half I sprinkled shredded coconut over the tops before baking to make them a little more fun (for me!).  Sammy enjoyed both, but said he would save the coconut ones for me since they were my favorite.  🙂

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Recipe from Meal Makeover Moms

(printable recipe)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ or ground flaxseed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used regular sugar because I was out of brown sugar)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup 1% lowfat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
shredded coconut, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray
and set aside.
2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and
salt in a large bowl.
3. Combine the bananas, eggs, sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla in a medium bowl and stir until
well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just
moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Top with each muffin with shredded coconut if using.  Bake about 20 minutes, or until the   muffins are light golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and cool an
additional 5 minutes before serving. To make 24 mini muffins, bake about 14 minutes.

The post An afterschool snack… appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I love discovering new food blogs.  I must come across a dozen some days (especially since I started “channel surfing” with Stumble)…but it’s only once in a while that a new one really catches your interest and sucks you in.  You don’t realize it until you have clicked on numerous recipes or are reading each post in entirety.  And it’s usually at least 25 minutes later.  Are you following me?

I came across a new blog just the other day from reading the comments that were left on my cookbook giveaway post (which by the way is still going on until Thursday at 10pm!).  I like to visit any new reader who is nice enough to leave a comment…but I also admit, her name drew me in too.  Wonder Woman.  I have always loved Wonder Woman.

So happy I visited “Wonder Woman” because I instantly fell in love with this cookie.  For one, it’s a drop cookie and that is a HUGE plus.  But also, the combination of everything in it was just perfect.  Dried cranberries, white chocolate, oatmeal AND pecans.  Um, yea, my kind of cookie for sure.  AND she mentioned it was her newest favorite cookie.  I was sold.  Lucky for me I had everything I needed in my pantry, so I baked a batch of these babies this afternoon.  The kids loved them and so did I.  And with my new found spirit of baking and getting the sweets out of the house as soon as possible, I packed up a few cookies and will be leaving them with some friends tomorrow.

And don’t worry…I stashed a few aside for my cookie lovin’ kids..

Cranberry White Chocolate Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine butter and brown sugar in a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, beating until just barely combined. Then stir in the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and chopped pecans.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle the tops with a few leftover cranberries or white chocolate chips if you want.
3. Bake for exactly 10 minutes. Remove from the oven - cookies will be slightly golden brown around the edges and the middles will look underdone. But trust me on this one - it will give you soft, chewy cookies once they cool. Or just slightly gooey cookies if you can't wait. Like me. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Recipe from Confessions of a Wannabe Wonder Woman

The post Cranberry White Chocolate Pecan Oatmeal Cookies appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I think I’ve been bit by the baking bug.  I’m not really sure how it happened…it kinda came out of nowhere.  I’ve always avoided baking for some reason, partly because I’ve never been good of it (not a big fan of measuring!) and because honestly, I just don’t like the temptation of having sweets in the house.  Lately though I’ve just wanted to bake bake bake.  And luckily I have had reasons for the baking…so after a nice taste or two, off the sweets go to a good home.  I think I may have finally found a healthy balance…

Now this basket of sweet little muffins were actually not meant for sharing.  These muffins were baked with love on Saturday morning for my little guy who just beams with excitement anytime I ask him to help me in the kitchen lately.  He’s a big fan of stirring and likes to sample everything from the flour to the sugar to the chopped apples that were added into this batter.  His enthusiasm is pretty cute if I do say so myself.  🙂

I made these muffins from a recipe I found in a new cookbook I picked up for myself the other day at Home Goods…The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.  There are so many recipes I want to try in this book.  There is a good variety of different treats…from cookies to bars to cheesecakes (uh hello Mocha Rum Cheescake!) to pies.  I started with the muffins since I had everything I needed on hand and because my kids absolutely go crazy for muffins.  I love that there is oatmeal in them, and the addition of finely chopped apple gave them that little extra something.  They weren’t overly sweet and turned out very moist. These muffins are a perfect mid morning or afternoon snack for the kids…or with a cup of hot tea for yourself.

Oatmeal-Apple Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats)
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used non fat)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 TB baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup finely chopped apple, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grease well a 12 cup muffin tin.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the oats and the milk and set aside for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center. Stir in the liquid ingredients and the oatmeal mixture until just combined, being careful not to over mix. Batter may be lumpy. Fold in chopped apple.
5. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes until lightly golden or a cake tester inserted into center of muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not over bake.

Recipe adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

So in the spirit of the holidays and because I loved this cute little cookbook so much… I ended up picking up an extra copy to share with one of you!  All you need to do is leave a comment on this post answering this question:

What is your most favorite thing to bake?

Earn additional opportunities to win by sharing this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter and/or on your own blog, just leave an additional comment or comments telling me you did so.

Giveaway ends Thursday night 10pm Eastern time.  (Sorry, US residents only) I will draw a comment number using Random.org and announce the winner on Friday!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Healthy Breakfasts on Pinterest.

The post Oatmeal-Apple Muffins …and a gift for you! appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I know I’ve mentioned my addiction to Facebook on this blog several times.  I almost think I can dedicate a whole category to “Facebook Inspired” recipes and creations…this one being one of them.

I saw this recipe posted on Facebook last week on Food Network’s fan page and I immediately bookmarked it.  I thought a festive sweet bread like this would make a nice addition to our Thanksgiving meal, and I was right.  The flavor combination of orange and cranberry is just perfect…and it couldn’t have been easier to bake up at almost the last minute – which is why I’m a huge fan of quickbreads.

When I first saw the recipe I didn’t realize that I would need a food processor to make this bread.  It wasn’t until after I got all my ingredients in order that I hit a road block.  I don’t have a food processor!  Actually, I have a mini one (that I purchased a couple of years ago when I was really into making purees)…but the mini one just doesn’t do the job for most recipes that call for a food processor.  So it’s official.  I am asking Santa for a food processor this year.  What kind should I get?  Help!

So how did I get past the “crap, I don’t have a food processor moment”?  Well, I improvised by using my hands.  Isn’t that what they probably did back in the day?  I basically used my fingers to cut up the cold butter and blend it with the flour.  Ann Burrell mentions in the recipe that the mixture should resemble “grated cheese”…and that’s the result I got as I was mixing with my hands so I went with it.  And it worked!

But I still want my food processor.

Cranberry Orange Quickbread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for loaf pan
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into pea size pieces, plus extra for loaf pan
• 1 orange, zested
• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 orange, peeled, sections removed and diced
• 1 egg
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a food processor combine the flour, sugars, salt, baking soda and butter. Pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture resembles finely grated cheese. Add the orange zest, juice and the egg. Pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture is just combined. Remove to a bowl and stir in the diced orange and cranberries.
3. Grease and flour the loaf pan and add the batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time to insure even cooking.
4. When done let cool for about 20 minutes and remove from loaf pan. Let cool completely before cutting.

Recipe from Anne Burrell, Food Network

The post Cranberry Orange Quickbread appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.