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I played field hockey in college and our head trainer, Wendy, would bring her chocolate chip pumpkin bread for our away game bus trips. Wendy is the best – for all that she did for us (including the bread) but also because she is hilarious.This bread has haunted me for years now, as I’ve tried several recipes and haven’t yet captured that elusive, sumptuous flavor. I would hoard the bread, saving several pieces for later before passing the bag behind me. It was difficult to rationalize the extra calories when I rode the bench as a freshman, but by senior year I swear it was the chocolate pumpkin bread that got me through those tough games!
Easy cinnamon bread that contains YEAST! Yes, this is a hybrid of a quick bread (a bread leavened with chemical agents such as baking powder or baking soda) and a yeast bread (leavened with yeast, obvi). Yeast can sometimes seem scary, but yeast breads have become my absolute favorite thing to bake! Once you “get it”, it’s permanently “gotten” and you get to create results that make people say, wait, you MADE this bread? This particular bread makes your house smell AMAZING and if my family’s consumption of said bread can speak for anything, we ate the whole loaf in two days.
Have been wanting to try this bread for months now – the original torn out recipe from Cooking Light was totally crumpled. SO glad I held on to it, though, as it was scrumptious and perfect for the miserably cold Sunday that it was yesterday. Technically it was dangerous more than it was “perfect” as I kept hacking at it with a fork every time I had to pass through the kitchen. Switch the laundry? Hack hack. Look at the squirrels in the backyard? Hack, hack, hack. My husband has an iron-clad self control so he had a piece or two and was content – my hacking added up to at least 4 slices.
Cornbread is easy, universally pleasing, and goes with everything: chili, salads, stews, soups, thanksgiving-y foods, or anything southern. If you preheat your oven and get started on the batter, you’re oven will ding by the time you’re ready to put it in – it’s that quick. Also, I’ve never met someone who doesn’t like cornbread. I made this as part of a “bring a meal to your friend who just had a baby” meal, as I felt sure they’d love it. This cornbread isn’t sweet, it’s savory from the cheese and as a result, would be a great addition to most meals.
Ahh chocolate bread. I make this often and always to great reviews. I take no credit for recipe creation, it is almost straight out of a cookbook called Baked Explorations (Poliafito and Lewis). It’s pretty much can’t miss. It was already on this site but the pictures were horrible and I hadn’t yet made the cream cheese spread. Made the cream cheese spread this past week – ate cream cheese spread with bread. Died. Came back to life to write this post so that you, too, could experience the extraordinary culinary death provided by cream cheese spread.
I’m not done with pumpkin. Maybe you are, and that’s fine, but I’m not. Pumpkin. Is. The best.
I figure January is the last month for pumpkin. February is chocolate month, and then it’s spring. Let’s make some pumpkin bread!
I’ve never actually had Irish soda bread. Come to think of it, though I’m half Irish I’ve never had any Irish food. There’s a reason for this; it’s not very good. If you are Irish and an adept cook, then please know I’m speaking BIG TIME in general. I mean, do you know that many restaurants that specialize in Irish fare?
The cranberry would be like the really mean cranky great aunt in the berry family. Super sour, pretty much inedible when eaten alone. Add a bottom-load of sugar, though, and good things happen. Cue the cranberry sauce. Cranberries pair famously with oranges, cue this delicious bread. As easy to make as banana bread, but MUCH more festive.
Okay kids, easiest recipe ever! This is nearly impossible to screw up. If you are just learning to cook and want to make something that will SURELY turn out like it should, cornbread is for you.
Obviously I like chocolate and banana together! Apparently “nesting” for me just means prolific baking. I also washed the couch.
I had the 3 wonderfully overripe bananas that are always on my counter, and I was in the mood to try something other than my standard muffins.