Baking the weekend away

So maybe you live somewhere like I do. Somewhere that seems to think it's February, not May.. nearly June. We're enjoying our Memorial Day weekend inside. What do I do during a three day weekend when I'm stuck inside? Bake.
I've got a scrumptious loaf of streusel topped banana bread in the oven as we speak (type, read?).

Photo from Allrecipes.com

In case banana bread isn't your thing, I've taken the liberty to dig up some other tasty treats. Let the drooling commence!

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti recipe courtesy of joyofbaking.com

Strawberry Shortcake recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson

Honey Wheat Loaf recipe courtesy of thefreshloaf.com

Now go bake up something tasty!

The Perfect Breakfast Cookie

These are the best breakfast cookies. They're hearty and full of yummy AND healthy ingredients. I baked up a batch a few days ago and they're already gone. Definitely not just a breakfast 'breakfast' cookie! 


Recipe adapted from Simple Nourished Living.

Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen


Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter ( substitute sunbutter if you can't do nuts!)
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup dried fruit ( I used cranberries and they were uber tasty!)
Sprinkles of raw sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.
In a large bowl beat together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs and water.
In a medium bowl stir together flours, oats, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Mix flour mixture into peanut butter mixture. Stir in dried fruit.
Drop by ice cream scoopfuls (or 1/4 cup measuring cupfuls )2 1/2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly. Sprinkle raw sugar on top.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until golden but still soft.
Remove from the oven and cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely

Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake- A Guest Post from Sweet Butter Bliss

Today we have a guest post from the lovely Anastasia of Sweet Butter Bliss (I mean, just the name of her blog... how could she be anything but lovely!)

Jen asked me to do a guest post and since I think she's fantastic I readily agreed. Too bad life wouldn't play along, the kids were sick, I got sick, then the hubs got sick. My father in law was in the hospital! Friend drama and kid drama. Basically life transpiring against me.  Jen had originally asked me to do some sort of healthy recipe. But after all that I was ready for some chocolate cake. So I am making some mental health food. Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake. Oh so good!

The recipe:

FOR THE CAKE:
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
2 sticks Butter
1 cup Boiling Water
½ cups Buttermilk
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla


FOR FROSTING:
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
6 Tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

The How to:
Your first step is to ignore my dirty kitchen. I don't clean before chocolate cake. Only after. Sometimes.

Enjoy today and get back on the wagon tomorrow.  Maybe.

Please visit me at Sweetbutterbliss, where I'm always hungry, especially for chocolate cake. 

-Anastasia @ Sweet Butter Bliss

Citrus Salt Scrub

Hey guys! It's been WAY too long. I'm sorry for leaving you all hanging in the wind. Life's been busy-- however, I've not stopped creating, just stopped sharing. So-- it's time. Here I am, sharing my latest little creation.
A lovely salt scrub. Winter's on it's way out, and Spring is blooming ( Hopefully for you too! )Which only means, we need to ready our pasty skin for that sun! Time to get the dry flaky skin off, paint those toenails and get ready for flip-flips. I'm more than ready for the change in the season-- So, I decided this morning, I need a new scrub ( I LOVE them! ) So, here we are. This recipe is SO easy, and you likely have all the ingredients to make it happen already. It took me about 10 minutes tops.
Here's the digs on this super scrub:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sea salt
1/2 cup sweet almond oil
(can substitute light olive oil or vegetable oil)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Directions

In a medium dry bowl, combine all ingredients making sure to not let any water touch them as it will dissolve the salt. Pour mixture into an airtight container and store in a cool dry place.

To use: Just before showering, swirl ingredients together with your fingertips to mix. Clean body completely and just before exiting shower, apply Citrus Salt Body Scrub to body in a firm circular scrubbing motion with hands or a soft washcloth. Rinse off the mixture and pat body dry with a clean towel.

I used a small mason jar, tied a little ribbon around it, and viola-- a perfect gift! (Although, this one is ALL mine!) How's that for easy-peasy? I thought so. 

Welcome Spring with your soft skin, get ready to wiggle those piggies!

Big love,

Vanilla Almond Pancakes with Vanilla Yogurt Sauce

Oh boy, once you taste these babies, you'll be in love. They are fab-u-lous.
I have this pancake recipe that I use way too much, usually once a week. This morning I awoke with a hankering for pancakes... but not just any ol' pancakes. I wanted something a little different. Something with a bit more flavor. I searched through the freezer for some frozen berries, but I couldn't find any (and what did I find this evening, but those berries), so I headed for the spice cabinet and chose vanilla (a frequent addition to my pancakes) and my pancake newbie- almond extract. While I was whipping up the batter, I realized it'd be a shame to drizzle boring maple syrup on these breakfast delights. Whipped cream would have been awfully tasty, but I'm trying to lose weight. I threw together a suuuuper vanilla yogurt sauce to top them off and WOW was that a good choice! 

Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 1/8 cups buttermilk (Don't have buttermilk? No problem! Use regular milk, for every cup of milk, add a tablespoon of white vinegar. Let it sit for 5 min. You can also use plain milk or your fave milk substitue- I've used soy and almond milk)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1. Preheat and lightly grease a large skillet or electric griddle.
2. Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl. Add the egg, buttermilk, both extracts, and butter; stir together lightly, but keep it lumpy. The batter should look thick, spongy, and puffy.
3. Drop 1/3 cup of the batter onto the cooking surface, spreading lightly with the bottom of the cup. 
4. Cook until lightly-browned on each side, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Vanilla Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Mix together yogurt and vanilla extract.
2. Slowly stir in powdered sugar. Add more sugar if it's still too tangy for your taste buds.

And just in case you want to drool over these yummy treats a bit more, I'll leave you with a few more shots. 

The official taste tester. Hers had PB too and were a total hit!