whole wheat

Apple Oat Scones

By in Breakfast, Fall 3 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Ok. So it”s pretty obvious that I”ve been on a no-processed-sugar kick lately. It”s true. I”ve also been on a whole wheat flour kick, although a bit more quietly. Does this mean I won”t be sharing sugar laden sweets on the blog anymore? Absolutely not. There”s no way I”m going to be trying to healthify a cupcake. Cupcakes are not meant to be made with whole wheat flour and maple syrup. You”d just end up with a weird muffin that was trying too hard. No, I will enjoy them for what they are – a very special treat. And when I do, I will most definitely be sharing them with you.

But, it is true that my family is cutting way back on our consumption of white flour and granulated sugar, so you”ll be seeing a lot more of these sugar-free/whole wheat recipes popping up on the blog. But only if they”re truly delicious. Because who can keep up with eating healthy if it”s a chore? Not me.

These Apple Oat Scones make a delicious and satisfying breakfast. A crisp exterior gives way to a soft and slightly chewy interior with bites of apple and cinnamon, all lightly sweetened with maple syrup. They”re hearty yet light. And, served with a cup of tea or coffee they make a for perfect fall breakfast.

Apple Oat Scones

  • 1/3 cup greek yogurt (plain yogurt or sour cream will also work)

  • 1/3 cup milk

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

  • 1 1/3 cups rolled oats

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 12 tablespoons (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut up

  • 2 medium-sized apples (not too tart), diced

  • additional maple syrup, oats and cinnamon for topping

Whisk together yogurt, milk, vanilla and syrup in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

Combine flour, oats, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Toss in butter, quickly breaking it up with your fingers until the butter is approximately pea sized (or use a pastry cutter). Rub the mixture between your palms to flatten the butter into sheets.

Stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Stir in apples. Dump mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet that has been lightly floured (mixture will be quite sticky). Pat into a 6×8 inch rectangle (wetting your fingers with water will help with this). Cut into 12, 2 inch squares. Separate the squares, spacing them out on the baking sheet. Brush scones with a bit of maple syrup, sprinkle on some oats and cinnamon to garnish. Bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes: 12

Highly adapted from Martha Stewart.

Chai Spiced Banana Bread

By in Breads, Breakfast, Fall 14 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Remember how I wanted to hold onto summer? Well summer didn”t want to hold on to me. Around the same time I was professing my love of summer and how I was going to hold onto it and my garden forever, it decided to frost and kill half my garden. And, it was just about to start bearing all sorts of deliciousness. Boo. Ever since then there”s been a chill in the air and its never quite warmed up again. Ha ha. Serves me right for thinking I had control of the seasons. :)

I decided I better start embracing fall in all it”s glory because winter lasts about 8 months out of the year here in Alberta and I just needed to buckle down and face the facts. I usually love all the seasons when they come but I haven”t lived in Canada for almost 4 years and I”m not conditioned to these cold, long winters anymore. I”ve become a winter wimp and once fall hits here you know that winter is really only a month away. Despite my anxiety over what”s coming, right now it”s fall, so here I am embracing it with some warm fall spices.

After making this recipe I don”t know that I”ll ever be able to go back to my regular banana bread. I took my go-to recipe, made it a little healthier by adding whole wheat and added some chai spices for a fall spin. The result was one of the most delicious banana breads I have eaten, and I”ve made my share of banana bread. Even my not-so-banana-bread-loving husband was raving about how good it was. I think it has to do in part with the fact that the spices are strong enough to overpower that distinctive banana bread flavour and the whole wheat keeps it from becoming too sticky, as a lot of banana breads seem to be. The crumb is tender and soft, hearty yet light, and the spices are the perfect combination to ring in the new season.

To fall!

Chai Spiced Banana Bread

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

  • 1 1/3 cups sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1.5 teaspoons ground cardamom

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1 cup sour cream (full fat)

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla. Sit together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Add to banana mixture in three additions, alternately with sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture, until evenly combined. Pour into 2, greased, 9×5 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before removing from loaf pans and transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes: 2 loaves

Homemade Baking Mix – Healthified

By in Breads, Homemade 24 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

I love my regular homemade baking mix, it makes some of our favourite pancakes (and according to the comments I”ve received, many others favourite too). I like the quick and filling breakfast it makes during the week, but I”ve never felt like it had enough nutritional value for an everyday type of thing. If my kids are going to enjoy pancakes once or twice a week I want them to be healthier and have more fibre. I got asked quite often how to make it with whole wheat flour or how to make it the equivalent of the Bisquick Heart-Smart mix, so I thought it was about time to make the move.

I”ve taken the original recipe, subbed a portion or the white flour for whole wheat flour and wheat germ, and upped the baking powder a bit to make up for the heaviness of the whole wheat. My family loves whole wheat bread so I don”t really know why it took me so long to try this. So far I”ve used the mix for pancakes and biscuits – they were both delicious. Although I haven”t tried it in my other baking mix recipes, I”m fairly confident this will work, as the original, and be able to be substituted in any recipe that calls for bisquick or other baking mixes.

To get more tips on making it healthier and links to recipes, you should definitely scour the original post and comments. I love when readers chime in with their adaptations and recipes and there are plenty of good ideas to be found. I received an email from a reader, Elizabeth, who said “I am on a reduced salt diet and pancakes, waffles and biscuits are loaded with sodium. I changed your recipe just a little and got a great tasting alternative. I used unsalted butter, sodium free baking powder and half the salt. It is wonderful!” So, feel free to tweak these recipes to your liking and make them suitable for your family. Many people have also used the original recipe and subbed all of the white flour with white whole wheat flour and it sounds like it was a great success.

I”ve made the mixing process a bit easier by doing what has become the norm for me – grating in the cold butter rather than cutting it in with a pastry blender. This works great for me but feel free to go the normal route if you prefer.

For more recipes to use this mix in, head over to the original Homemade Baking Mix post.

Whole Wheat Baking Mix

  • 2.5 cups whole wheat flour

  • 2 cups white flour

  • 1/2 cup wheat germ (or additional whole wheat flour)

  • 6 tablespoons baking powder

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup butter (salted or unsalted), cold

Mix together flours, wheat germ, baking powder, sugar and salt. Quickly grate in butter (using a cheese grater), in a couple additions, tossing with flour to coat the butter so it doesn”t stick together. Store in the fridge (for as long as the butter stays good for), or in the freezer for longer storage.

Drop Biscuits

Mix together 1/3 cup of milk for every 1 cup of mix. Drop onto un-greased cookie sheets and bake @ 450ºF for 10-12 min.

*Add any additional ingredients you wish such as cheese or herbs before adding the milk.

* 1 cup of mix will yield about 6 biscuits.

Pancakes

Mix 2 cups of mix with 1 cup milk and 2 eggs. Cook on hot griddle.

*As with the biscuits you can add any flavouring or other ingredient you would like, such as chocolate chips or blueberries.