baking Archives | Page 2 of 2

Mango Pecan Scones

April 23, 2012

I love Ataulfo mangos. The next best thing to eating them fresh is using them for baking. Try them in these mango pecan scones!

The best thing about April to October in Kentucky is the constant availability of in-season foods. Whether they are local, or specialty imports, once April comes the growing season starts moving along.

Each food has its time to shine, but it fades quickly. It is difficult to be too sad to see one go, though, as the next one is right around the corner.

For me this year it started with Ataulfo mangos. I took full advantage of their short season by purchasing a full case, something I rarely do. After some coconut sticky rice and fruit salad snacks, I froze a few to enjoy later this summer.

I decided to reserve the last one for some baking which resulted in Mango Pecan Scones! These whole grain scones were a great way to celebrate the short season for this fruit. I’m sad to see those mangos go, but strawberries are right around the corner!

Mango Pecan Scones

Makes: 8 scones

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

2 ¼ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp raw sugar (I use Demerara)
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup raw pecans, chopped
¼ cup cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup mango, puree (about 1 Ataulfo mango)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
2 tbsp raw sugar, for topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and salt. Add the pecans, and stir to coat them with the flour.

Cut the butter into the flour, and use two knives or a pastry blender to mix until the butter is in pea-size pieces and distributed throughout the flour.

Stir in the mango, vanilla and buttermilk. Combine until a dough is formed. Turn the dough ball onto a floured surface and shape into a circle, about ½ inch in thickness.

Cut like a pie into 8 wedges. Place the scones on a lightly greased baking sheet, or on a baking sheet covered in a silicone mat. Sprinkle with the scones with the remaining raw sugar. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.

Salted Dark Chocolate Coconut Brownies

February 10, 2012

I love experimenting with coconut oil in my baking and it is especially delicious with brownies! This is a recipe I made a little while back using coconut oil sent to me by Kelapo.

You’ve heard me sing the praises of coconut oil before. I can be considered a diehard fan. In fact, just the other day I was thinking that it has been at least 2 years since I’ve had anything in our kitchen except olive oil, butter, and coconut oil for cooking.

These are my big three – my real food ammunition for day to day cooking.

Considering that virgin coconut oil makes up a third of the party, I was excited when Jen of Kelapo Coconut Oil asked if I’d like to give their product a try. Why yes, I would. One can never have too many options for good coconut oil, and I’ve learned that Kelapo is very good indeed.

Kelapo’s coconut oil is extra virgin, cold-pressed, unrefined and fair trade organic. I also happen to be a sucker for elephants, one of which they have on their logo, but that is beside the point.

Kelapo had everything I would expect in a good coconut oil – a nice fresh flavor and a smooth consistency. From a health educators standpoint I really enjoyed the informational card that came with my jar because it explained simple ways you could start your day with the coconut oil. Most people don’t try healthy foods that are unfamiliar to them because they don’t know how to use them.

Problem solved.

The tips included adding it to your oatmeal, or to your tea and coffee; or frying eggs in it and adding it to smoothies. I took a different route with the coconut oil and used it in my baking (as I’m sure you are familiar with if you read the blog regularly).

This time I went with brownies, and saying I went a different route isn’t to say I wouldn’t have these brownies for breakfast.

Salted Dark Chocolate Coconut Brownies

Makes: 9 brownies

Ingredients

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp Pink Himalayan sea salt (or sea salt of your choice)

¼ cup cocoa powder

½ cup extra virgin coconut oil

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 eggs

1 cup raw sugar

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

½ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut plus extra for topping

Prep

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8 x 8 inch brownie pan with a little coconut oil.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sea salt and cocoa powder. In a double boiler or in the microwave, melt the unsweetened chocolate and the coconut oil together. Set aside to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the eggs and sugar. Continue to whisk until slightly frothy, about 1 minute. Ensure the coconut oil and chocolate are cool to touch and gently stir this into the eggs and sugar. Stir in the dry ingredients a little at time, just until all the ingredients are combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips and the coconut. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle with extra coconut. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the brownies are set in the center. Remove from the oven, place on a cooling rack. Slice and serve.

Salted Dark Chocolate Coconut Brownies | Fake Food Free | Rich chocolate brownies made with coconut oil.

More coconut oil recipes:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Strawberry Cinnamon Toast

Coconut Lime Granola

Pumpkin Black Sesame Seed Muffins

Pin It

Disclosure: Kelapo Coconut Oil was sent to me free of charge. I was not required to post about it and received no compensation for doing so.

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

May 21, 2011

One of the best gifts anyone can give me is an ingredient. While others may want a ready-made food – a cookie, a bread, etc. I’d much rather have the berries, the chocolate or the oil, which I will then turn into the final product.

Yeah, I’m that person on your gift list that doesn’t take much work at all.

So I was thrilled earlier this week when a friend gave me some rhubarb. As I mentioned last spring with my rhubarb experiments I was never a fan of it growing up, but as I’ve learned of more things to do with it, I actually kind of like the stuff.

Another source of my rhubarb inspiration has been Two Peas and Their Pod. Maria shares her love of rhubarb in her recipes such as the Rhubarb Apple Bread which got me thinking about how to use my rhubarb.

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread Recipe | Fake Food Free

Since we have so many strawberries, I just had to go with the classic combination. So I played around with a few ingredients and came up with a bread of my own.

There is something about a slice of seasonal quick bread and a cup of coffee on a beautiful Saturday morning that makes the entire weekend complete!

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread
Adapted from Rhubarb Apple Bread from Two Peas and Their Pod

Makes: 1 loaf

Ingredients

1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (I use 2% or full-fat)
3 tablespoon butter, melted
¼ cup mascavo sugar
¼ cup Demerara sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole or 2% milk
¾ cup rhubarb, finely chopped
1 cup strawberries, finely chopped

Topping
1 tablespoon Demerara sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Prep

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan. (I used coconut oil.) (I also used one mini loaf pan and one 8×4 so I could give a small loaf away. My larger loaf was just a little smaller than yours will be. )

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and ground allspice. Set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the egg and yogurt. Blend well on medium speed. Be sure your butter has cooled and slowly add that to the yogurt and egg.

Add ¼ cup of Demerara sugar and the mascavo sugar, mix on medium-high for about 2 minutes. Mix in the vanilla and milk.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Mix on low just until the flour is incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the rhubarb and strawberries, being careful not the break up the berries too much.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Mix the remaining Demerara sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Sprinkle it evenly over the loaf. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (My mini loaf took 20 minutes and the less full 8×4 took 30 min.)

Baking Bread and Handmade Pottery

January 3, 2011

I’ve mentioned before that I lack skills for baking bread. I can come up with creative ideas and I can knead and shape dough like nobody’s business, but when it comes to pulling a light, fluffy, crusty loaf out of the oven I fail just about every time.

However, something is telling me that my luck may improve this year.

Way back in August, I went to the Woodland Art Festival. A fantastic event, by the way, if you happen to be in the area when it is hosted. There were booths full of handmade pottery and I’m quickly learning that this may be my new thing. I find pottery so interesting – both how it is made and the gorgeous end products.

Baking Bread and Handmade Pottery | Fake Food Free

About halfway through my browsing I found these bread baking bowls from Neal Pottery out of Lebanon, OH. I simply could not pass them up so I bought one for myself and one for my mom which we just gave to her for Christmas.

There are two reasons that this piece of functional art is so outstanding. It is super easy to use when making bread and it makes a small amount. Just about right for 2 to 3 people.

Mine has been sitting in the cabinet all autumn, but my mom was on the ball as soon as she received hers. She also happens to be an expert baker, if I haven’t mentioned it before, so it was no surprise that her loaf turned out great.

I wasn’t convinced that I would have success, but I thought it was about time I attempted. Since we had pasta for NYE, I decided to bake a loaf to serve with our olive oil and herb dipping sauce.

The baking bowl came with 8 recipes, some more complicated than others. I decided to take the recipe that was originally for Greek olive bread and omit the added ingredients. So basically, I wanted to make a loaf of unbleached white bread. I also added a little bit of sugar, because I have a hard time grasping bread recipes without sugar to feed the yeast and have little success with them.

The steps are so simple. Mix the bread dough, knead the dough by hand for a few minutes, place it back in an oiled mixing bowl, rise for an hour. Punch down, knead again for a few minutes, place in the oiled bread baking bowl, let rise to double.

Bake for 45 minutes and viola! It turned out perfectly! It was a really unexpected surprise given my history with bread.

If you need bread for two, this is a great option. You could easily substitute a small loaf pan or a casserole dish or large ramekin for the bread bowl. However, if you come across one of these bowls, it is a great buy. It bakes some great bread and looks darn cute sitting out in the kitchen.

Basic White Bread in a Bread Baking Bowl

Makes: 1 small loaf, about 2 to 3 servings

Ingredients

1/2 pkg dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp mascavo sugar
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour, plus extra for kneading
1 1/2 tsp olive oil, plus extra for the bowl
1/2 tsp salt

1 small bread baker pottery bowl, about 6.5 inches in diameter and 3.5 inches deep

Prep

In a small bowl combine the yeast, water and sugar. Let sit a 5 to 7 minutes, until it blooms.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, olive oil and salt. Add the liquid ingredients and mix until a dough is formed. Add a more water by the teaspoon if it is too dry to form into a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 2 or 3 minutes. From the dough into a ball. Coat the inside of the mixing bowl with olive oil. Place the dough back in the bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Place the dough on a floured surface, punch down and knead for about 2 to 3 more minutes. Roll into a ball. Lightly oil the pottery bowl and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a dish towel and let rise until doubled in size again.

Place the bread and baking bowl in a cold oven, set the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 45 minutes. Mine was perfect right when the timer went off.

I checked out the Neal Pottery website and they have started selling some of their products (bread baking bowls included) on their Etsy site. You can check them out there if you are interested, or check out their art show appearance listing to purchase one in person.

Cherry Nut Cookies: The Last of the Holiday Cookie Tray

December 30, 2010

I really like fruitcake, but I know that not everyone is a fan. These Cherry Nut Cookies take all the best parts of a fruitcake and put them into a dessert that everyone will love! They are modified from one of my favorite cooke recipes by Ina Garten.

I’m not one to complain about food often, but I have to admit, I am so tired of cookies. Give me a couple weeks and I’m sure I will welcome them once again, but right now, I don’t want another bite.

Do you get that way with holiday cookies?

Even though they have worn out their welcome with me, I still wanted to share a recipe with you since I did not get to before Christmas. No worries though. These cookies are perfect for New Years and Valentine’s Day too.

I’ve made this recipe before; the original is called Dried Fruit Cookies by Ina Garten. They are delicious unaltered, but this year I put a little twist on them using less fruit and substituting my favorite lesser refined sugars and whole grain flours.

The result was just as tasty, but was changed just enough to create a whole new cookie. They have a festive holiday flavor because of the cloves, but they really are perfect for any time of year. Add some dried blue berries for a patriotic holiday, or keep them all red for Valentine’s day.

I tried like crazy to find candied cherries without HFCS this year. I ordered from a company online which did not have HFCS on the ingredient label posted. Got my order and HFCS was the 2nd ingredient. They refunded my money, but what a disappointment. If you have a resource, please pass it on!

Be sure to start these cookies ahead of time. The fruit and nuts need to soak and the dough needs to be stored in the refrigerator for at least an hour before baking.

Cherry Nut Cookies
Adapted from Dried Fruit & Cookies by Ina Garten

Makes: 2 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

½ pound candied cherries, halved
1 tbsp local honey
2 tbsp spiced rum
1 tbsp orange juice
½ cup pecans, chopped
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ tsp ground cloves
½ cup Demerara sugar
1/3 cup muscavo sugar
1 egg
¼ tsp salt
2 2/3 cup white whole wheat flour

Prep

Combine the cherries, honey, rum, orange juice and pecans in a small bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature several hours or overnight.

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, cloves and sugars. Cream until smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix in the egg.

Add the salt and gradually add the flour, mixing just until combined. Mix in the fruit and nuts along with any liquid. Separate the dough into two portions.

Place each piece of dough on a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape into a log and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the cookies with a serrated knife, about ½ inch thick. Place cut side down on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until edges are slightly browned and cookies are firm. Cool on a wire baking rack.

Newer Posts

baking

Mango Pecan Scones

Salted Dark Chocolate Coconut Brownies

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread
Adapted from Rhubarb Apple Bread from Two Peas and Their Pod

Baking Bread and Handmade Pottery

Cherry Nut Cookies: The Last of the Holiday Cookie Tray

Thanks so much for reading!

My New Cookbook published in 2020!

Looking for a post? Search here.

baking

Mango Pecan Scones

Salted Dark Chocolate Coconut Brownies

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread Adapted from Rhubarb Apple Bread from Two Peas and Their Pod

Baking Bread and Handmade Pottery

Cherry Nut Cookies: The Last of the Holiday Cookie Tray

Thanks so much for reading!

My New Cookbook published in 2020!

Looking for a post? Search here.

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread
Adapted from Rhubarb Apple Bread from Two Peas and Their Pod