Savory Pear and Walnut Bread

I am in love! In love with what? The slightly sweet tang of pear and crunchiness of walnut that you taste when you take a bite out of this bread. Love. Love. Love. Try it out my friends. You won't regret it.

This recipe like many of my other bread recipes requires a cast iron pan (containing boiling water) to be used under the tray used for baking the bread. Following this technique is a good idea as you will get a soft and moist bread with a crunchy crust!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons yeast
1 and 1/2 cups water
3 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 peeled and diced pear
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Cinnamon for topping
Additional flour for dusting
4 cups of water for boiling (not to be used in bread)

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Combine water (about 110 degrees - the temperature of bath water) with yeast and let set for 5 minutes to get foamy. If your yeast does not get foamy, this means your water was too hot and/or that your yeast is no longer active.
2. In a large bowl, combine the all purpose flour, salt, and cinnamon. Mix the dry ingredients well.
3. Add in the foamy yeast water and knead the dough until thoroughly mixed.
4. Add in the diced pear and walnuts. Knead for another five minutes until thoroughly mixed. 
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
6. Once the dough has doubled in size, lightly sprinkle the dough with additional flour and transfer to a generously floured work surface. Knead the dough a few times and add flour or water as needed (such that the dough is slightly tacky, but I would not mess around with the proportions of the current recipe too much).
7. Roll your dough into a ball and place on a baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top to help keep the dough moist. Let the dough sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Preheat your oven to 450°F, fill a metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) with the 4 cups of water, and place on the lowest oven rack.
9. When the oven is ready, slash the bread 2 or 3 times with a knife or blade, making a cut about 1/2 inch deep. *If desired, sprinkle cinnamon in the slashes for the "look" seen in the pictures.
10. Place the bread tray on the middle rack, above the rack with the pan now containing boiling water. Close the oven door quickly.
11. Bake the bread for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and crusty.
12. Remove the bread from the oven and cool. Enjoy! Once fully cooled, store leftovers in a plastic bag at room temperature.

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Easy One-Bowl Apple Walnut Cake

This recipe is one of the quickest-prep one-bowl recipes you can make. Dump all the ingredients in (with a few minor steps) and bam! - you have deliciousness. Total prep time was about 15 minutes. This is a great fall dessert (or breakfast) where you can use up extra apples! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) of softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 peeled medium apples, peeled and
diced into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy. This takes about 2 minutes on medium speed. Beat in all of the ingredients (one at a time) except for the apples and walnuts.
2. Stir in the apples and walnuts.
3. Spoon the batter into a greased 8 x 8 square pan. Smooth the batter with a spatula so that the batter is spread evenly through the pan.
4. Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Cool the cake for about 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Cut into pieces and enjoy with ice cream (optional)!


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Pumpkin Spice Bars

Last week, I experimented with pumpkin and created a delicious pumpkin bar! These are like brownies, but with pumpkin instead of chocolate. Definitely worth making this Fall! I hope to eventually create a vegan version of this deliciousness. Will keep you updated!

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted margarine

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. Whisk so that there are no clumps.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, milk, and melted margarine (lightly warm, but not hot -as you don't want to curdle the eggs).
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and mix until combined.
4. Pour the batter into a greased 8x8 baking dish. Make sure to flatten the top with a spatula.
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
6. Let the bars completely cool before cutting into 16 pieces (or you risk breakage).
7. Enjoy!

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Halah Bakes Double Crust Apple Pie (Vegan)

This apple pie was awesome. The crust stayed crisp and there was no fear of a "soggy bottom." The apple filling is sweet, yet not too sweet. Try it out and let me know how it goes!

Ingredients:

For the double crust - for a 10 inch pie pan:

1 cup oil

2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

7 to 8 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons coconut oil

8 to 9 cups sliced and pared Golden Delicious apples (about 9 apples)

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Combine flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Mix well.
2. Pour the oil into the flour mixture and mix until you get small crumbs the size of peas.
3. Add in 1 tablespoon of water at a time. Mixing the dough between tablespoons with a fork. Stop when the dough begins to leave the sides of the bowl. For me, this only required 7 tablespoons of cold water.
4. With hands, gather the dough into a ball and split into two. Roll each half into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap until your filling is ready.
5. Prep your filling by mixing all filling ingredients together in a bowl.
6. Roll out 1 of the balls of dough to be about 2 to 3 inches larger than the base of the pie pan (this will ensure that the sides of the pan are covered with dough). I recommend flouring the surface you will be rolling on and the rolling pin lightly. Place the rolled out dough into your pie pan. Fill in any cracks (pressing excess dough into the cracks gently) using excess dough from the dough overhanging the sides of the pie pan.
7. Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Note: the flour added to the apple mixture will prevent the filling from getting too wet and making the bottom of the pie soggy.
8. Now roll out the 2nd ball of dough so that it completely covers the top of the pie. Cut off and discard any excess dough. Using a fork, press down the edges of the dough.
9. Cut slits on the top of the crust so that the apple mixture can thicken in the oven and to prevent a soggy pie bottom.
10. Bake the pie for 50 minutes at 450 degrees, but cover the edges of the pie with tin foil. After 40 minutes, remove the tin foil from the sides of the pie and allow the pie to bake for the last 10 minutes completely uncovered. This prevents the edges from getting too brown. When the pie is done, the crust will be a golden brown color and the apple filling will be bubbling through the slits.
11. Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

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Orange Zest Semolina Cookies with Cinnamon Honey Syrup (Finikia / Melomakarona)

I absolutely adore Greek Cookies. One of my favorite Greek Cookies are the Finikia / Melomakarona cookies that contain a combination of flavors you won't find in typical American cookies. This recipe combines orange with ground cloves and cinnamon for the shortbread cookie base and then douses the cookies in a cinnamon honey syrup with a hint of lemon. Oh my! Often times, these cookies are topped with chopped walnuts and more cinnamon too. Yum, yum, yum. Credit to Allrecipes and OMG Food for inspiration and tips.

Want more Greek cookie deliciousness? Try out my Pecan / Walnut Kourabiedes recipe!

Ingredients:

For the cookie:

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar
Grated orange zest from 1 full orange
1/2 cup oil
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 and a 1/2 cups semolina (you can find this in the bulk foods section at Winco)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup orange juice

For the syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick

Optional toppings: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and additional ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. With an electric hand mixer, cream the butter, powdered sugar, oil, and orange zest. Beat until light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes.
2. Add the baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
3. Mix in the semolina. Then, mix in the orange juice. Lastly, stir in the flour. The dough will be crumbly. Once thoroughly mixed, knead the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough will be very firm.
4. Roll a heaping tablespoon amount of dough into a ball (or oval if you so choose). Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheets.
5. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. The cookies should be golden in color. Cool on baking sheets until the cookies are room temperature.
6. While the cookies are cooling, make the syrup by combining the water, sugar, honey, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick in a saucepan over high heat. Let the solution boil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, keep syrup on low to medium heat.
7. Take a couple of cookies at a time and dunk in the still boiling syrup mixture. Let the bottom side soak for about 1 minute before flipping the top side into the syrup for another minute. Remove the cookie from the syrup with a fork or slotted spatula. Place the cookie on a platter covered with parchment paper or wax paper. Repeat until all cookies have been soaked in the syrup. Optional: sprinkle chopped walnuts and cinnamon on the tops of the cookies immediately after removing cookies from syrup.

8. Wait for the cookies to soak the syrup for at least an hour before serving. This allows the cookies to really soak in the flavor.

9. Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container. These cookies will stay fresh for a few weeks.

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Traditional Zucchini Bread with Walnuts, Raisins, and Coconut- 2 Loaves

My sisters and I would make zucchini bread every year growing up using this recipe. We would always vary the flavors by adding or omitting raisins, coconut, and walnuts. It was always a hit!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups shredded zucchini

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1.    Beat eggs in a large bowl.

2.    Add sugar, oil, and vanilla. Continue stirring with a spoon until the mixture is thick.

3.    Add in the shredded zucchini.

4.    In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, walnuts, raisins and coconut.

5.    Stir the flour mixture gently into the zucchini mixture just until blended.

6.    Bake in greased loaf pans at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes (To check if bread is fully cooked, use a thin skewer to poke the bread in its thickest part. The skewer should come out clean as you remove it from the bread).


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