Breakfast Goodies Archives | finding time for cooking

Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Skillet Banana Bread

August 24, 2019

This is a continuation of my long love affair with cake breads. Cakes masquerading as bread. I’m all about things being more awesome than they say they are, so I bring you this delicious skillet dark chocolate olive oil banana bread. It’s a mouthful in more ways than one…

But don’t be fooled into thinking this is truly dessert. It’s moist, dark, fudgy, but is a bittersweet flavor and not too sweet. I like to use white whole wheat flour to add a bit more health (and a nuttiness), and the quality of dark chocolate chips you use (and the cocoa powder) does make a difference.

I like to use my old school cast iron skillet, and it slides easily out of the pan. But I’ve used a simple non-stick cake pan and it cooked just as evenly. I’ve tried this recipe a few different times to get the amounts right, and I always take it to work…where it gets devoured almost immediately.

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Heavenly Dark Chocolate Orange Babka

July 21, 2019

Even though I made this at least a month ago, I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. And forcibly restraining myself from making it again. Because this chocolate orange babka is what dreams are made of.

As a flavor combo, chocolate and orange will always be a winner—particularly this kind of dark chocolate. One thing I really love about this recipe is that it uses a challah dough as the base, which makes the final result lighter and softer. I often find babkas a bit denser and drier than I like, so I was drawn to this particular recipe.

This is my happy place…

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Norwegian Skillingsboller (Cinnamon Bun Pastries)

March 31, 2019

I’ve been lucky enough to visit Norway a couple of times over the past year, and have quickly fallen in love with the country’s mind-blowing landscapes and delicious baked goods. Yes, scenery and pastries—that’s basically what I’m here for.

Most recently, I spent a few days in charming Bergen over the holidays, and made it a point to visit as many coffeeshops and try as many different pastries as possible (all in the name of research, of course). And as soon as I got home, I knew I had to try out some of the recipes myself. So behold, skillingsbolle!

Skillingsboller (skillingsbolle is plural) are basically Norway’s take on cinnamon buns, and technically these are really specific to Bergen. It translates to “penny bun” (kanelboller would be “cinnamon bun”, and you’ll see that all over Norway as well), and they are truly everywhere in Bergen.

Want to see all about my Norwegian adventures? Here you go!

I tweaked the original recipe a bit and added the cardamom, letting it steep in the milk and butter mixture to give extra flavor. That cardamom is a flavor I fully associate with Scandinavian pastries, so I felt it was necessary (but too much will overpower the buns). These are actually WAY easier than they look, and the end result is less sweet than regular American cinnamon rolls. It’s just lightly sweet and much more subtle (and also lower calorie, as a result), perfect for having as an afternoon snack with your coffee.

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Chai Spice Banana Bread

March 3, 2019

In a true signal of adulthood, I buy bananas about every other week solely to let them get overripe and bake with them. But here’s the thing—I don’t actually like banana bread. It doesn’t appeal to me at all. So what I’ve ended up doing as a non-banana bread lover is accidentally starting a tradition of finding souped-up banana bread recipes to bring you.

Chai spices have been a favorite flavor combination of mine since I was in college and discovered Starbucks’ chai lattes (grande nonfat no-water chai, please!). So when I saw this recipe I knew I had to give it a try…the fragrant combination of the traditional cinnamon and ginger, with the warmth of cardamom and kick of black pepper and cloves is just divine.

So here’s another amazing OTT (over the top) banana bread recipe for you, and it’s definitely going in my regular rotation. I’ve linked to a few of my favorite other banana bread recipes at the bottom of this post if you’d like to give them a try as well!

One thing I’ll tell you up front—don’t be intimidated by the number of ingredients in the recipe. The lazy person in me kept me from trying this recipe for quite a while after I’d bookmarked it, but everything comes together very quickly and simply.

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Feta & Sweet Potato Hash With Greens

February 10, 2019

It’s been over a month since I’ve posted something healthy, which feels like a pretty good indication of what my life choices have been like lately :p #allcarbsallthetime

Between work, travel, and this disgustingly cold polar vortex weather, I’ve been indulging a bit too much, and right now I feel the need to get my eating back on track. But it’s still gross cold and so these healthy options have to be delicious as well. Behold—soft, sweet, salty, healthy feta & sweet potato hash!

The flavors of the mellow sweet potato, the bitterness of the greens, and the saltiness of the feta play really well together, and the dried herbs add depth to the overall flavor profile. It’s a really comforting dish, something easy to throw together and really healthy, but feels like you’ve done something special. Here’s to good choices 🙂

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Swedish Vanilla Cardamom Bread

February 3, 2019

Ever since spending a few days in Sweden sailing the Gothenburg archipelago and devouring fresh smoked herring and cardamom-laced pastries the entire time, I’ve been meaning to try my hand at Swedish baking myself. This recipe initially came to me as a simple Swedish vanilla bread, but to me that was leaving out the most iconic flavor of Swedish baking, ground cardamom.

So I did us all a favor and made it Swedish vanilla cardamom bread 🙂

So I’ve been playing around with this recipe for a while, both in tweaking the flavors, but also in getting the texture to turn out correctly. The original recipe had way too much flour, which resulted in a much drier dough than I liked, and overall it’s taken some trial and error to perfect. But the time was worth it, and this recipe results in a lovely simple subtly-spiced bread. It’s not really sweet at all, just a nice snack at any point in the day.

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Peanut Butter Banana Bread

December 1, 2018

Elvis was onto something.

Not that it was news to me, but peanut butter and banana will always be a magic combo. This bread just emphasizes the point. That’s right, friends, we’re talking about peanut butter banana bread today!

I’ve gotten to the point where I now just buy bananas every couple weeks, knowing full well I have no intention of actually eating them while they’re good. So expect some more tasty banana treats coming your way!

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Cherry Almond Scones

October 14, 2018

This recipe is…there are no words for how good these scones are.

No. Words.

I’m a noted lover of scones (as seen here, here, and here), and there are very few flavor combinations I love more than cherry and almond. So as I was poring over various cherry recipes to use my plethora of fresh cherries (and awesome new cherry pitter), I came across this one and it immediately jumped to the top of the “must make” list.

I made a few small tweaks to the original recipe, most notably cutting way back on the glaze. I don’t think they need a ton, just enough to get a bit of extra sweet and a punch of almond flavor. I’m well known for adding almond extract to EVERYTHING.

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Orange Cinnamon-Sugar Twist Bread

September 20, 2018

Every time I go to Chicago for work lately, I’ve stayed at The Godfrey for convenience, and had a lovely run along the River Walk in the early morning. Then, as a reward, I’ve stopped at Beatrix and gotten the biggest latte they have a morning bun. Their morning buns are an inspiration, like a cinnamon roll’s way cooler cousin…dough that’s slightly sweet with some lamination and a hint of orange zest, a cinnamon-sugar filling that’s positively gooey inside, and some sugar on the outside. No frosting, nothing overly sickly. Perfection.

So I’ve been lingering on this particular recipe on Pinterest lately, since it ticks the same flavor boxes as my beloved morning buns. I finally decided to tackle it a couple weeks ago and was SO happy I did!

One of the biggest changes I made was adding orange zest into the dough itself, versus just in the glaze. That slight hint of orange in the dough with a subtle cinnamon-sugar filling is just sublime. Additionally, I adapted the glaze by eliminating the butter and decreasing the amount quite a bit. I think the changes work SUPER well and make it a little less sweet, which is more my style.

I’d also recommend not being daunted by the number of steps in the recipe. It’s not a difficult recipe, and other than braiding the split layered dough ropes (it’s a bit messy!), it’s totally doable as long as you have the time. Don’t rush it and it’ll be a breeze!

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Orange, Apricot, & Pistachio Biscotti

July 23, 2018

Now isn’t *that* a match made in heaven?!

I feel bad because it’s been challenging getting new posts up as regularly as I normally would. I could blame it on travel schedules, the new job, and the continual process of settling into the new house. And all of that is 100% true. But you know the real reason?? I’ve just had trouble finding recipes that taste as good as they should when I make them. It’s not that I haven’t been baking and cooking, but rather that the recipes I’ve tried in the last month have all been fairly underwhelming—and not something I want to share with you.

Until this, that is.

I don’t know why I’ve been slightly obsessed with the idea of biscotti lately. It’s off-season, to be honest…more of a fall and winter food in my mind. But for some strange reason every time I see a new biscotti flavor combo, I’m smitten. So I finally decided to try a new one out. There was an orange, apricot, and almond recipe I’d been wanting to try, but I swapped in pistachios (and toasted them for more flavor) since that’s what I had on hand.

I was pretty skeptical about the recipe not having any fats, or any liquid except the egg and orange juice. But the more I thought about it, it made sense…a fat would make it more moist and soft, and that’s the opposite of a good biscotti. The orange zest and juice bring a brightness here, while the apricots bring the sweet. I’m glad it’s only lightly sweet, since that lets the fruit flavors really linger on your tongue. This one’s a winner for sure.

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