Pistachio Poppy Seed Orange Yogurt Bread

Recipe from https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes one 8 X 4-inch loaf (12 slices)

Perhaps it’s time for a treat at your house.  If so, this delicious quick bread with do the trick with a nice cup of tea or coffee. When I made this, it turned out to be a really pretty, perfect for a tea party.  I will make this again, but will leave off the glaze since the yummy sweet glaze takes it into major dessert territory.  You can put the batter into muffin tins and make muffins for the lunch boxes.  If you freeze the bread, do not top it with glaze until after it has been thawed and ready to serve.  I love that the recipe uses whole-wheat pastry flour, honey and yogurt.  If pistachios are not available, you can make this bread with pecans or walnuts.

Wet Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup honey (increase to ½ cup honey if not using the glaze…this is optional)

1 ½ Tablespoons orange zest

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

½ cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

½ cup chopped roasted pistachios (or pecans or walnuts)

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (or 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoons poppy seeds

Optional Glaze:

½ cup powdered sugar

1-2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon orange zest

Optional Garnish:

2 Tablespoons chopped pistachios (or pecans or walnuts)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line an 8 X 4 inch bread pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, honey, and orange zest until smooth.  Whisk in the orange juice and Greek yogurt.  Whisk in the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts.

In separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds.  Gently stir in the chopped pistachios.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Spread out evenly.  Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack before topping with the glaze.

For the glaze:  Mix together the powdered sugar and the orange zest.  Using your fingers, rub the zest into the powdered sugar so that it is evenly distributed.  Add 1 Tablespoon of the orange juice and stir.  If needed, add a bit more orange juice so that it is thick but still pourable.

Pour or drizzle over the top of the cooled loaf and spread over towards the sides.  Garnish with the chopped pistachios.

To make muffins:  Divide the batter between 12 greased muffins liners.  Bake for 12-24 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Nutritional Information:  According to my calculations, 1 of 12 slices of bread equals 229 calories; 3.7 grams of fiber; 31.5 grams carbohydrates; 5.4 grams protein; 13.8 grams sugars; 9.6 grams fats (4 grams saturated fat)

(Without the glaze & garnish, 1 or 12 slices of bread equals 195 calories and 3.5 grams fiber.

Energy Bars

Recipe from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Husband-Tested in Marimar’s Kitchen (Alice’s daughter-in-law)

Makes 24 bars

Back when our son first got married, I was delighted to find that he had chosen an excellent cook for his lifetime mate.  She and I enjoy cooking and baking very much and have shared recipes over the years.  This recipe came from a cookbook that I had given her (I own a copy too).  She made these bars for us to snack on during a recent visit to their home in Mexico.  I love that they are not too sweet.  They are chewy and slightly crunchy and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea and a piece of whole fruit for a mid-day pick-me-up. 

Cooking spray

1 cup quick-cooking oats

½ cup shelled unsalted raw sunflower seeds

½ cup toasted wheat germ

¼ cup whole-grain pastry flour or whole-wheat flour

½ cup dried apricots

½ cup raw almonds

½ cup raisins

½ cup pitted dried dates

½ cup nonfat dry milk

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup)

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Coat a 9” X 13” baking pan with cooking spray.  Place the ingredients, except the maple syrup and the eggs, in a food processor and pulse until everything is finely chopped.  Add the syrup and the eggs and pulse until the mixture is well combined.  It will resemble a coarse paste.  Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly to cover the bottom.  Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then cut into 24 bars (each about 3” x 1½”.)  Store in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days or wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutritional Info: (per bar) 133 calories; fat 5 grams (1.8 g mono; 2 g poly; 0.6 g sat.); protein 5 grams; carbs 20 grams; fiber 2.5 grams; cholesterol 21 mg; sodium 19 mg.  Each bar is an excellent source of manganese and a good source of fiber, phosphorus, protein, and thiamin.

Orange-Pineapple Muffin Cake

Makes 12 servings

Recipe from Nancy Labrie via Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

This cake was a big hit with the husband and the fellas in the band.  I served it at rehearsal along with hot coffee.  It’s perfectly moist with just a hint of orange and pineapple.  If you don’t wish to bother with making a glaze, you could dust the cake with a bit of powdered sugar.  I will definitely make this delicious cake again.  I like the fact that it’s made with some whole-wheat flour and not so much sugar.

Cake

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour (I used whole-wheat pastry flour.)

1/3 cup tightly packed brown sugar (I used Sucanat.)

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 (8 ½ oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained

½ cup fresh orange juice

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

1 large egg, slightly beaten

Glaze

½ cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

1-2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice

Heat oven to 400F.  Grease bottom only of a 9-inch springform pan or 9-inch round cake pan.  (I used a parchment round at the bottom of a springform pan and then sprayed it with cooking spray.)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, whole-wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well.  In a medium bowl, combine all remaining cake ingredients; blend well.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once; stir just enough until the dry ingredients are moistened.  Spread dough (It will be quite thick.) in the prepared pan. 

Bake at 400F for 22-27 minutes or until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 1 minute; remove from pan. 

In a small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients, adding just enough orange juice for the desired drizzling consistency.  Drizzle over warm cake. 

Nutritional Information for 1 of 12 Servings: 200 calories; 4 g protein; 34 g carbs; 6 g fat; 230 mg sodium