Banana Bread Lara Bar

Last week the local "health food" store had a sale on Larabars, which I love, but I can't eat most of them because of the nuts they use and they are usually very expensive.  I looked at the ingredients and did some searching online and found out that they whole process of making these wouldn't be very hard and I could customize them with non-allergy causing ingredients.

I hope you try these; they are especially good for breakfast and will keep you full for a long time.  Although I highly recommend trying the real thing, this is a great recipe and ends up being a lot cheaper.

Banana Bread Lara Bars

• 3 cups dates (make sure you pit them, I initially forgot this step!)
• 1/2 cup banana chips
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Chop up the dates in a food processor (a blender may work, but you might burn out the engine, not sure).
2. Remove the dates from the food processor and put in the banana chips and walnuts.  Pulse the nuts and fruit a few times until chopped into little pieces.
3. Place the dates, walnuts, and bananas into a bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Mix with your hands until fully combined.
4. On parchment or wax paper, spread the mixture out into a rectangle.  It should be about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into eight pieces.  They should look like granola bars, or similar to that.  If you have ever had a Lara Bar, it should look pretty similar.  If you haven't had one, well, I probably should have taken a picture!!!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

I have been trying to eat healthy and make a general lifestyle change lately.  I think I mentioned that in the last post.  It has been going pretty well, but I haven't been baking as much because it is so hard to find light baked goods that taste goods and use good ingredients.

Since I went strawbery picking a few weeks ago, I had an abundance.  I found this recipe from Cooks Illustrated and figured it must be good since it was on their list of best light recipes.  I was right!!  I used rhubarb, but you don't have to.  I forgot to add the cinnamon and sugar to the top of the biscuits, but it was still delish!  Also, I found that I need about double the cornstarch that the recipe called for because the fruit was extremely juicy; you can adjust this after it cooks for a bit in the oven.  I hope you enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
from: Swim Bake Run

Filling

• 1 quart fresh strawberries , rinsed and hulled
• 10 ounces rhubarb , cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Biscuit Topping

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar plus 2 teaspoons
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the fruit filling ingredients together in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Place the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the fruit releases its liquid and is hot and bubbling around the edges, 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, butter, and vanilla together; set aside. In a third small bowl, mix the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar with the cinnamon; set aside.
3. When the filling is ready, stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined and no pockets of flour remain. Remove the cobbler filling from the oven and stir. Pinch off 8 equal pieces of the biscuit dough and arrange them on top of the hot filling, spaced 1/2 inch apart. Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with the cinnamon sugar.
4. Continue to bake the cobbler until the biscuits are golden brown on top and cooked through and the filling is again hot and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the cobbler on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

[Channeling Michael from the Office] "There has been....a MURDER!!!"

This weekend Max and I went to a murder mystery.  It was set in the 1920s, so me and Max got to dress up fancy and make some Prohibition era cocktails.  I was Torchy, the lounge singer, and Max was Ernie G. Ambler.

We wanted to stay true to the times, so I searched foods that were popular in the '20s.  Apparently jello molds were a big hit, but I was not really interested in making one of those.  Another popular dessert choice was Pineapple Upside Down Cake.  That sounded much more interesting.  Deviled eggs were also a big hit in the '20s, so Max whipped up a batch of those and everyone loved them.

Since I thought individual sizes would be much more manageable for a party, I found this recipe for mini pineapple upside down cakes.  Enjoy!!

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
from: AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 (20 ounce) cans sliced pineapple (save the juice)
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 24 maraschino cherries

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter; mix well. Spoon into 24 greased muffin cups. Drain pineapple, reserving the juice. Trim pineapple to fit the muffin cups; place one ring in each cup.  Place one cherry in the center of the pineapple ring.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, oils and 1-1/4 cups of the reserved pineapple juice; mix well. Spoon over pineapple, filling each cup two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
3. Wait 3-5 minutes.  Run a knife around the cake to loosen it.  Place a cooling rack on top of the muffin pan and then invert to free the cakes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

So after my long hiatus, I'm going to update already!  Its nice to be baking and creating again.  I've been cooking dinners for my family almost every night and I've been experimenting with healthy desserts.  


I've been trying to create less of me, but I can't stop baking!  So far, I've made low-fat banana muffins and this delicious strawberry-rhubarb crisp.  


I've never made anything with rhubarb before and, I hate to admit this, but I'm pretty sure I've never even eaten rhubarb before.  I'm glad to report that I loved it!  It was tart and soft, not what I expected at all.  Rhubarb is pretty seasonal, so make this while its still around!


Sorry for the lack of pics lately, I keep eating the dessert before I get a chance to take a picture.  I'm not crazy about pictures of half eaten desserts...


Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
From: Cooking Light

• Ingredients

Filling:

• 6 cups (1/2-inch) slices rhubarb (about 2 pounds)
• 2 1/2 cups halved strawberries
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Cooking spray

Topping:

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup regular oats
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Dash of salt
• 6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

• Preparation
• 1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. To prepare filling, combine the first 6 ingredients. Spoon into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
  3. To prepare topping, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (including salt) in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle topping over filling. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

Lemon Iced Cookies

I had the urge to bake again yesterday (but really, when do I not have this urge?) and I had bought way too many lemons for lemon bars that I made last Friday.  Feeling like I should probably share whatever I made with the lovely people I work with, I searched tastespotting and found some quick, easy cookies that called for lemon.  These cookies are cake-y and light and remind me of spring.  Even though citrus is a winter fruit, it still always reminds me of warm weather.  These were gone the same night I made them; I brought most of them to work and Max finished off the rest, so you know they must be good!

Lemon Iced Cookies
from: Do Better

for the cookies:

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• juice from half a lemon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg

for the icing:

• 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 T light corn syrup
• juice of half a lemon
• zest of a whole lemon
• 1 T water

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a measuring cup, combine milk, lemon juice and vanilla.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Mix in flour mixture, alternating with milk on low speed. Mix until smooth.
3. Scoop out batter onto a silpat lined baking sheet, about 6 to a sheet as they do spread. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 11-13 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool two minutes on a tray and then transfer to a cooling rack.
4. While the cookies are baking, mix the confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest and water. Once the cookies have cooled slightly, spread the icing over the cookies.

Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting

This semester has been so much better for baking and blogging.  I'm glad that I get to share all of my delicious creations with you and I'm glad that I get to eat them all.

The other night I was bored and really wanted to bake.  I didn't have too many ingredients on my counter, but I did have three very, very ripe bananas.  I'm talkin' almost no yellow left on them.  If I didn't use them soon, then they would definitely start to turn into something inedible.  Since I just made those banana espresso chocolate chip muffins, I wanted to do something a little different.  I searched banana cupcakes and, voila!, Martha Stewart provided this delicious sounding banana delight.

The frosting has a pinkish hue in this picture, but is really a lovely tan color from the honey and cinnamon.

Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

from: Martha Stewart

Cupcake Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish (optional)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well in center of flour mixture
3. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into flour well.  Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. (Check at about 20 minutes, mine finished quickly) Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting. Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake, if desired.

Frosting Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (don't microwave, but make sure it is very soft)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I added more, just taste and see if you would like more or not)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners’ sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes (your frosting may look chunky at first, but give it time).
2. Frost cupcakes.  
3. Don't refrigerate frosting until after you frost, but I would recommend putting the frosted cupcakes in the fridge, since the frosting is pure butter.

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

Wow that is a mouthful!  A mouthful of deliciousness!  Okay, corny, I know.  Anyway, after my sixth snow day this year, I had to bake more delicious things.  This whole snow thing is really killing my diet, but it is leading to some delicious desserts.

I had no motivation to make dinner last night, but really wanted to bake something.  So we ended up with Hamburger Helper and these muffins.  I had about four bananas in the freezer (they turned brown, so I peeled them and froze them) and  I also got some amazing silicone muffin holders (usually I would call them tins, but doesn't that require them to be, well, tin?) that are the size of a muffin you would buy at the store.  Sure that means more calories, but it always means that this muffin is more of a meal.  The recipe I'm putting below is for 12 muffins, but I only made six giant muffins.  You'll need to bake them longer if you want a meal-sized muffin.  Make these please, you will not regret it.

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
from: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

1-1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 4)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (*not the same as ground espresso that you would brew and optional but recommended*)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, sugars, butter, milk, and egg. 
2. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, instant espresso powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. 
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Fill each cup about 3/4 full. Bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. 
5. Move the muffin pan to a cooling rack, and let cool  for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the muffins from the pan and let them finish cooling on the cooling rack. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

*Note: you will see that there are large sugar crystals on top of my muffins.  I added a sprinkle of muffin sugar (for lack of a more accurate name) like you would find in a store to add that muffin-top crunch.

Yield: 12 muffins

Why yes, that is an OU snuggie in the background!

Apple Crisp

I made two trays of this apple crisp for my class the other day and it was almost all gone!  I had a few people ask for the recipe, so I thought I would share.  Apples are in season right now and taste so good, this is a great fall dessert for that reason.  I hope you try this, its so very easy!  I'm even including the recipe for the whipped cream I made to go with it.

Apple Crisp
by: Betty Crocker

4

medium tart cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)*I used a combo of Macintosh and another tart cooking apple

3/4

cup packed brown sugar

1/2

cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1/2

cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1/3

cup butter or margarine, softened

3/4

teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4

teaspoon ground nutmeg  **I also added about 1/2 tsp of cloves

Cream or Ice cream, if desired

	Print these coupons...
	About Concordance™

1. Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.
2. Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with cream (or warm with the whipped cream below).

Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
by: me :)

• 8 oz heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (or more if you think its not sweet enough)
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste 

1. Put a metal bowl in the freezer for about ten minutes so it is nice and cold.  This helps that whipped cream whip faster (it really does work!).
2. You can use a hand mixer or electric mixer for this (or a whisk if you are really brave).  
3. Pour all the ingredients into the cold bowl.
4. Turn your mixer on high and whip until stiff peaks form.  Don't whip too long, or you'll end up with butter.
5. Put in the fridge until you are ready to use it and resist the urge to eat all of it with a spoon.

Berry Crumble

Its been so hot in Oklahoma lately that I haven't been baking too much.  Our little apartment gets so hot once the oven is turned on and our air conditioner barely works.  So, I'm going to post this recipe for berry crumble that I made for some friends in June and for Max's family in July.  It was a real hit with everyone and there were no leftovers either time I made it.  This recipe is very easy and the only thing you will probably have to buy are berries.  I hope you enjoy!

Berry Crumble
adapted from Playing House

•  6 cups of berries of your choice (I like to use half frozen, mixed berries and half fresh berries such as strawberries or blueberries)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or apple pie spice
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar (light or dark)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits, plus some for the pan
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for juicy fruit
• Dash salt

1. Heat the oven to 400 F. Toss the fruit with half the cinnamon or apple pie spice, the lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar (and a tablespoon of flour if your fruit is juicy) and spread it in a lightly buttered 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan.

2. Combine all the other ingredients, including the remaining cinnamon or apple pie spice and brown sugar, in a food processor and pulse a few times, then process a few seconds more, until everything is well incorporated but not uniform. To mix the ingredients by hand, soften the butter slightly, toss together the dry ingredients, then work in the butter with your fingertips, a pastry blender, or a fork).

3. Crumble the topping over the fruit and bake until the topping is browned and the fruit is tender and bubbling, 30-40 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. (I really like to serve this with vanilla ice cream when the crumble is hot, yum!)

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Me and Brittani have been baking a lot together and I don't mind because her kitchen is much bigger than mine :)
We made these on Saturday to go along with the alligator burgers and butternut squash fries that she and her husband made, yum.  I had never had alligator before and I was quite surprised!  It was very tasty, especially with the barbecue sauce and bacon from the butcher we put on them!

On to the recipe: these Strawberry Lemonade bars were really tasty and a nice, light dessert for a hot summer night.  These were a bit tart, so if you want a sweeter bar, I would recommend using 1 1/2 cups of sugar instead of the called for 1 1/4.  Also, the crust is a little thin on these, so if you like a nice, thick shortbread crust you may want to consider multiplying the crust ingredients by 1.5.

Strawberry Lemonade Bars
from: Playing House
Crust

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Filling

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (Amy's note: I used an entire 3 lb. bag of small lemons to get a cup of juice)
• 2-3 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 3/4 cup berries)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Powdered sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

2. Begin by making the crust. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until smooth and fluffy. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. Pour into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for about 17 minutes, until set at the edges.

3. While the crust bakes, prepare the filling. In the bowl of a food processor (or blender!!), combine lemon juice, lemon zest, strawberry puree, sugar and eggs and process until smooth. Add in flour, baking powder and salt, then pulse until smooth. Gently pour the filling over the hot crust when it has finished baking. Return pan to oven and bake for 23-26 minutes, until the filling is set (There will be a light colored “crust” on top from the sugar in the custard - nothing to worry about).

4. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Cool completely before slicing and use a damp knife to ensure clean slices. Store bars in the refrigerator, especially on a hot day.

Makes 24 bars.

Grapefruit Lemon Bars

I went to the farmer's market a couple of weeks ago and bought two grapefruits.  I ate one and didn't feel like eating the other one.  So what do you do with one grapefruit and one lemon? Make Grapefruit Lemon Bars!  I've been on a huge citrus kick lately.  This is the third tray of lemon bars I have made in the past two weeks.  They are addictive and I'm sad that citrus and quickly going out of season :(  I am happy, however, that lots of other fruits will be coming into season soon!

About these bars: they have a wonderful shortbread crust with a creamy, yellow grapefruit and lemon curd.  Making the curd is a little time consuming (you have to whisk for a while)  but the results are SO worth it.  I had to grab a spoon and scrape the bowl when I had poured all of the curd onto the crust.  I even bought more lemons today so I can make a big batch of this stuff to put on toast, cookies, a spoon....

By the way, Max and our friend Luke gave these a big thumbs up!

Grapefruit Lemon Bars
From: OB Cookie 

Shortbread Crust
Adopted from Joy of Cooking

• ¾ cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks) softened
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 
2. In large bowl beat all ingredients minus flour.  Stir in flour.  Light knead until blended. 
3. In 8x8 baking pan with fingers press dough into bottom and up around the edges about ¾ in. 
4. Bake for about 35 minutes or until lightly browned and darker at the edges. 
5. While baking, make the curd filling.  
6. Allow to cool slightly for about 5 minutes and add the curd.  Refrigerate for 4-5 hours or until cool and set.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Grapefruit Curd
Adopted from James Peterson’s Baking

• Juice and zest from one ruby red grapefruit (about 1 cup juice)
• Juice and zest from one lemon
• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter cut into tablespoon pieces

1. Set a saucepan of water over medium heat and bring to a simmer.  
2. In a heatproof bowl that will fit over pan, whisk together eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes until pale.  
3. Then whisk zests and juice.  
4. Set the bowl over the saucepan.  Stir constantly with a whisk for about 8 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken (this took me about 12 minutes, be patient!).  
5. Add the sliced butter, one piece at a time and stir constantly.  
6. Cook for about 2 minutes longed.  Remove from heat. 

Birthday Post!

I haven't posted in a while! I have been so busy with the fourth grade class and so tired when I come home that not much has gotten baked the past two weeks.  During spring break I made pretzels, those were super yummy and I might post that recipe soon.  Yesterday I made cupcakes for the class today, but I used the recipe for chocolate cake and vanilla frosting that I posted a little bit ago.  So, today I am going to share a recipe I got from the Pioneer Woman (if you have never visited her site, you should and you may just fall in love) for Lemon Squares.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares
from: Pioneer Woman

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1-⅓ cup All-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 stick (1/2 Cup) Butter, Slightly Softened
• 1 cup Brown Sugar (lightly Packed)
• 1 cup Oats
• 1 can (14 Ounce) Sweetened Condensed Milk (you can use fat free!)
• ½ cups Lemon Juice
• Zest Of 1 Lemon

Preparation Instructions

1. PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.
2. Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.
3. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
4. Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.
5. Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan.
6. Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. Top with the other half of the crumb mixture, but don’t press.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.
9. Serve cool. They really taste better cold, the lemon shines!

Orange Cranberry Bread

Sorry about the slight lull in recipes and pictures, when you are out of essentials like milk and eggs, baking becomes difficult.  I bought 2 dozen eggs this week, though we are already out of milk again!  Max drinks so much milk, I bought two gallons on Friday and we are already out.  We should probably just go ahead and buy a cow.

Our math class had a little bit of a tiff with the teacher last week, so to make amends we decided to bring a breakfast feast to class.  Everyone pitched in and I ended up eating what probably amounted to 3 days worth of carbs.  I don't even know when the last time I ate 2 donuts was...  Anyways, I made Orange Cranberry Bread for class because I had just bought a huge bag of oranges and it is delicious.  I have made this recipe at least three times and it has become one of my favorites.  I stocked up on fresh cranberries during Thanksgiving when they were 99 cents a bag.  Max thought I was a little insane, but they are coming in useful now, especially when frozen cranberries are like $4 a bag now.

Last year my mom got me a citrus juicer which makes getting the orange juice for this recipe really easy.  If you don't have one of these, try to get one.  They are really helpful, especially if you use a lot of lemons and limes in recipes.

Orange Cranberry Bread
from: Baking Bites

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 375F and lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add in in orange juice, orange zest, oil and egg and mix until just combined. Stir in whole and dried cranberries. Spread evenly in loaf pan.
3. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.
4. Makes 1 loaf.

*And I didn't burn it this time!!!!!!!

Also, here is a picture of the valentine brownies I made a few weeks ago.  I finally uploaded them onto my computer!