Cinnamon Sugar Bread

Hello friends! Today I made cinnamon sugar bread. It took me oh, about 6.5 minutes to get it in the oven and then 45 tortured minutes waiting (actually I sat on my bum and watched Sex and the City). THEN I read the recipe again, and realized it said to let the bread sit, wrapped in aluminum foil, overnight.. um, ya, about that.... Didn't so much happen. BUT This bread was OUT of THIS world fabulous warm from the oven. Some of it made it overnight, and the next day I warmed it up and it was even fabulouser (okay not a word, but descriptive nonetheless). Warm swirls of cinnamon meet creamy crumbly quick bread. Probably the easiest thing I've made in a while. I didn't even dirty more than one bowl and I stirred it up with a tablespoon, no wooden spoon or mixer required. Seriously this stuff is good.

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Quick Bread

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1/3 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup sugar. Add egg, milk, and oil to flour mixture.

Stir until just moistened.

Pour half of the batter into pan.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar (you can mix together cinnamon and sugar before hand, I didn't though I just sprinkled away).

Cover with remaining batter.

Top with more cinnamon/sugar if desired.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Wrap in foil and let sit overnight before slicing (as mentioned, I sliced off two pieces then wrapped the rest of the loaf in foil).

Enjoy! Happy Easter Weekend!

Oatmeal Cookie Coffee Cake

Oatmeal Cookies make me happy. They are thick, chewy, and feel healthy enough to eat two. This coffee cake recipe takes the great aspects of an oatmeal cookie and makes them breakfast appropriate. The cake is moist and sweet, and just decadent enough to make it my new weekend breakfast favorite. Almonds, oats, raisins, brown sugar, delicious! I used almond milk to ratchet up the almondy flavor (cause I love it) and it turned out super. Hope you all enjoy!

Oatmeal Cookie Coffee Cake

from Baking Bites

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup oats (regular or quick cooking)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 cup almond milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling/Topping

1/4 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup toasted almonds, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, quick cooking oatmeal, baking powder and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half of the almond milk, lemon juice, and the vanilla.

Then, blend in add half of the remaining flour, the rest of the buttermilk, and finally the last of the flour. Set aside to prepare topping.

For the topping, combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl and stir well. Rub butter into the mixture with your fingertips (or use cold butter and grate into the mixture using a cheese grater) until mixture resembles coarse sand.

Pour half of the batter into a 9-inch springform pan. Top with half of the topping mixture.

Evenly sprinkle raisins and almonds in a single layer. Pour remaining batter on top and spread carefully to the sides of the pan.

Sprinkle all remaining topping over the batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool on a wire rack until it is room temperature before running a knife around the edge and removing the springform. Store in an airtight container.

Serves 10.

Recipe Swap!

Brown Sugar Streusel White Chocolate Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Cranberries were on sale for a dollar a bag at Safeway yesterday! I am not the proud owner of 5 pounds of cranberries.. good thing they freeze well! You can expect to see many cranberry recipes in the coming weeks. I am starting off with a brown sugar streusel white chocolate cranberry cream cheese coffee cake. Whew.... longest name ever, but it's so chock full of good stuff! I used a recipe borrowed from Alicia's Homemaking, a lovely blog with lots of good recipes and home making tips. To her recipe, I added fresh cranberries and white chocolate chips. I also decided to try it topped off with streusel. The streusel got a bit browner than I like. But the end result was a crisp, buttery brown sugar coating that goes great with the creamy cake. and OH MAN the cake is good! Super creamy thanks to the cream cheese and studded with juicy cranberries and sweet, milky white chocolate chips. Delicious overload and the perfect way to use up your left over cranberries, right??

White Chocolate Cranberry Coffee Cake (shortened title)

Recipe Adapted from Alicia's Homemaking

Makes 2 Loafs

1/2 cup butter

8 ounces cream cheese

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

1/2 to 1 cup white chocolate chips (depends how much extra sweetness you want)

1 cup cranberries

(I gave mine a quick chop, but you could use them whole too) tossed with 1 tablespoon flour and a sprinkle of sugar (so they don't sink to the bottom)

Streusel topping

1 stick butter (softened a bit)

1 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugar, butter, cream cheese and eggs together in a large bowl. Add vanilla, salt, and baking powder.

Gradually add in the flour, keeping the mixture smooth. Add milk.

Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips.

Pour into greased, floured or sugared (I sugar my pans) pans, dividing batter in half.

For the topping, mix together butter, flour, and brown sugar until they have the texture of wet sand.

Sprinkle over the batter covering completely.

Put cakes in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

*Note: The streusel turns very dark brown (I used dark brown sugar), but it caramelizes and gives a lovely crunch to the cake. If you are not a fan, by all means, make the cakes without the streusel and they will still be delicious :)

Happy New Years (I know I'm a little early),