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Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Apple Caramel Sauce Recipe

Have you been waiting for that one Thanksgiving recipe that is going to knock your socks off? The one for which you would change your menu? That makes you say, “that’s it!” Here it is. This has been my absolute favorite Thanksgiving dessert of all time. I don’t make it every year because I also make three kinds of pie, but I do dream about it.

This is not a bread pudding with regular bread and pumpkin puree in the egg mixture. This bread pudding is made with pumpkin bread, so perhaps it should be called “Pumpkin Bread Bread Pudding?” What do you think? I’m not even a huge bread pudding fan, but this is to die for. I do love pumpkin bread though. And this is basically cubes of pumpkin bread enveloped in a lightly sweetened custard. I take my standard pumpkin bread recipe and use currants instead of nuts, cut it up and dry it out slightly, and soak it in a mixture of eggs, half and half, maple syrup, bourbon and vanilla. Dust it all with cinnamon and bake it. I mean…..it’s so delicious. Tender pumpkin bread soaking up all that goodness with little pockets of soft custard here and there. SO. DELICIOUS.

Sound too boring?

Right. Then serve it with this apple caramel sauce which is probably one of the most delicious things I’ve ever drizzled on anything. I am not going to lie and say this is good for you or sugar-free or anything like that. But it’s Thanksgiving, and who wants to eat healthy caramel sauce on Thanksgiving? Not me!

Even if you don’t make the bread pudding, which you should, you should make this caramel because a drizzle of this on on anything will make it better, especially ice cream or a simple apple galette or a spoon.

Here’s your game plan:

Make the pumpkin bread now and freeze it. Defrost the day before you want to make the cubes. (Or buy prepared pumpkin bread and skip that step altogether.)

Make the pumpkin bread cubes the day before you make the pudding. Allow to sit at room temperature.

Make the salted caramel sauce up to 2 days in advance. Warm before serving.

Make the bread pudding up to the point of baking up to 12 hours in advance and refrigerate.

Bake as early as the morning of Thanksgiving or when the turkey comes out of the oven. Keep in mind you need to place the baking dish inside of a roasting pan with a water bath. If you only have one roasting pan, make this in the morning so you’re roasting pan will be available for the turkey. If you make it early, it can be rewarmed, if desired.

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Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Apple Caramel Sauce

Author: Pamela

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

For the pumpkin bread*:
1½ cups whole wheat pastry or white whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¾ cup pure maple syrup
1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) or half a 15-ounce can
⅓ cup melted butter or coconut oil
2 large eggs
¼ cup milk or water or almond milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup currants (or diced dates or raisins)
For the custard:
3 ½ cups half-and-half
¾ cup pure maple syrup
5 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons bourbon (or dark rum)
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the apple caramel sauce: (adapted from Bobby Flay)
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup unsweetened apple juice
1 star anise
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ½ cups granulated sugar, preferably organic
½ cup water
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Calvados (apple brandy) or apple schnapps

Instructions

To make the pumpkin bread, preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9X5 loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Whisk all the dry ingredients (except currants) in a large mixing bowl. Blend all of the wet ingredients in a blender. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (do not overmix). Stir in currants. Pour into loaf pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, approximately 1 hour. Allow to cool completely.
Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and dry out a little on a baking sheet overnight or toast in a 325 degree oven, turning once, for 30 minutes. Let cool before proceeding. (You can do this the day before.)
In a medium saucepan, mix the half-and-half and maple syrup and bring to just a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.
Whisk together the eggs, vanilla and bourbon until foamy. Slowly whisk in half-and-half mixture until thoroughly blended.
To assemble the bread pudding, place the dried out pumpkin bread cubes in the bottom of a 9X13 inch baking dish. Pour the custard mixture into the dish evenly. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes so that the bread can soak up the custard. Or allow to soak overnight in the refrigerator, covered.
Sprinkle the cinnamon over the top of the bread pudding. Place the baking dish in a large roasting pan and fill the pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake in the center of a 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custard is set around the edges yet still slightly soft toward the center. Remove the baking dish from the water as soon as it’s taken from the oven. I usually do this by placing two metal spatulas underneath the baking dish to lift it out of the water bath and ask someone to help me transfer it to a trivet to cool.
To make the apple-caramel sauce:
Combine the cream, apple juice, star anise, ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Cover and remove from the heat and let steep for at least 20 minutes. Strain the mixture into a clean, small saucepan and place back over low heat while you make the caramel.
Combine the sugar, water and vinegar in a medium saucepan over high heat and cook WITHOUT STIRRING, until it’s a deep amber color, about 8 minutes. Slowly whisk in the warm cream mixture a little at a time, and continue whisking until smooth. Add the Calvados and cook for 30 seconds longer. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm. This sauce can be made 2 days in advance and refrigerated. Reheat over low heat before serving.
Serve bread pudding warm or at room temperature with apple-caramel sauce.

Notes

*Or use 1 9 x 5 already prepared pumpkin bread.

eggs pumpkin. cinnamon

California Nicoise Salad Recipe

I just arrived in New York for my annual summer vacay with my parents, my sisters and their families. We’ve descended upon my parents’ house in Long Island for a week of old fashioned backyard fun with a few trips to the beach and the ice cream parlor. It also involves some serious menu planning for 12-16 people at any given meal. If such persons were all adults, this task would be less challenging than if half of them were children ages 1-19. But I love a challenge!

Sometimes for lunch we’ll make a giant composed salad where each component has its own space and I serve the dressing in a small pitcher on the side. I notice the kids (and picky adults, in general) eat much more of a composed salad than a tossed one. My son, Mr. Picky, can always find something to choose from a composed salad versus one that is tossed, especially if there’s one ingredient that’s offensive and touching everything else. Touching ingredients is a deal breaker!! This version of a classic Nicoise salad is always a winner, plus it’s one of my favorite salads of all time.

The classic typically contains oil-packed tuna, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, green beans (usually the small haricot verts), Nicoise olives, and boiled potatoes. It’s a perfect salad for summer because it can all be prepped ahead and served cold or at room temp. And it’s a meal unto itself.

But I have made so many versions of this salad subbing chicken or slow-roasted salmon for the tuna or even white beans for the tuna for a vegetarian version. Regular string beans for the haricot verts. Even cucumbers have worked nicely. But in this version, which I call a “California Nicoise,” I sub in the very Cali avocado for the potato, because everyone seems to be watching his or her carbs lately! Because of the versatility of this salad, it was a hugely popular in my classes last summer with everyone — Paleo-types, vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free peeps and so on.

Visually, I think this salad is so beautiful and quite healthful, too. It is well balanced with high quality protein, fat and lots of veggies. I love using the very best tuna for this salad. I featured this Tonnino oil packed wild tuna in a recent Five Friday Favorites and it is perfect here. If you want to use standard canned tuna, just drizzle a little olive oil on top for added flavor.

Green beans can be blanched, radishes sliced and eggs boiled the day before and refrigerated. But again, feel free to sub other ingredients if that would make you happy. And if you notice more takers than usual for this salad, perhaps employ the composed method for other salads too!

5.0 from 1 reviews

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California Nicoise Salad

Author: Pamela

Ingredients

For the dressing:
½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons champagne or white wine vinegar
⅓ cup unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces haricot verts (thin French green beans) or string beans, trimmed
2 Tablespoons kosher salt
4-6 hard-boiled large eggs,**peeled and halved lengthwise
1-2 cans high-quality tuna, preferably packed in olive oil, drained and broken into pieces
1 large avocado, cubed***
½ cup olives, preferably Niçoise
¾ pound cherry tomatoes, halved
4 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
Bibb lettuce leaves to line platter, if desired, or shredded as a bed for the lettuce

Instructions

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl or shake in a screw-top jar.
Prepare a bowl of ice water for the green beans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add kosher salt. Add the beans and set a timer for 3 minutes. After beans have cooked for 3 minutes, test for tenderness. They should be crisp-tender, but not taste raw. Drain and immediately submerge in the ice water bath. Drain after 5 minutes or so and pat dry. Can be done the day before and refrigerated.
Assemble the salad by arranging ingredients in separate groups. I like to line the platter with lettuce either just under the tuna or the entire platter. Drizzle everything with dressing or leave on the side for each person to dress his/her own salad.

Notes

*Ingredient amounts can vary based on preferences.
**Place uncooked eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off heat and time for 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water or transfer to a bowl of cold water. Can be done a day ahead and peeled before serving.
***the avocado is in place of the traditional boiled, small new potatoes. But use 1 pound of potatoes if you prefer.

Baked zucchini fries recipe

My kids can’t get enough of these zucchini fries and I can’t get enough of hearing them beg me for vegetables! After I returned home from New York last week, my son, the one and only Mr. Picky, said, “I don’t know what you’re making for dinner this week, but please include zucchini fries!” Pinch me.

I know the recipe is posted on the Today Show website, but I didn’t actually demo the recipe during my segment and I do have some tips to share. Keep in mind, if you love zucchini fries when you go to a restaurant, these are similar, but not exactly the same. Those are deep-fried, and we all know deep-fried food, EVEN A VEGETABLE, is really, really bad for you. Sorry to remind you, but restaurants use the lowest quality oil to fry foods and they use it over and over and over again. It is like a big vat of inflammation and free-radicals and transfats and likely GMO’s — everything you want to avoid. So we’re going to bake these, ok?

They’re still going to be crispy and tasty, they’re just not going to be greasy. Perfect reason to dip these fries into something. I eat them as is, but my husband (just a grown-up kid really) likes these dipped in tomato sauce (homemade recipe here) or Ranch dressing (homemade recipe here) and my son will also eat them with mustard. I find two things to be true with kids and vegetables — they love dips and they like things that resemble French fries. That makes this recipe a double winner!

But I’m not going to lie — even though this is an easy recipe, requiring no special skills or culinary training, they’re kind of a pain to make because you’re dipping a lot of zucchini sticks into egg and then breadcrumbs and arranging them just so on a baking sheet. My advice is to get your kids or someone to help you and then this becomes no big deal. You can also cut the zucchini in the morning to save on prep time before dinner.

I know so many of you have zucchini coming out of your ears right now. Try not to let them grow too big. For this recipe especially, you want to select small to medium zucchini which contain fewer seeds and aren’t bitter like some big ones. And the trick is to cut them into the size no bigger than a normal adult finger. If you cut them too big, they won’t get tender enough and if you cut them too small, they can get dried out.

The only problem with this recipe is that it never makes enough. It says “serves 6,” but that’s hardly true. I actually never got to eat 1 fry during the entire month I taught this recipe because there were never any left. Once you start, you can’t stop. So for the first time, I can’t answer the question “how long do leftovers last in the fridge?” No matter how many you make, there won’t be any!

5.0 from 1 reviews

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Baked Zucchini Fries

Author: Pamela

Serves: serves 6

Ingredients

Unrefined, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
4 medium zucchini
1 cup dry bread crumbs (use GF breadcrumbs to make these GF)*
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (omit to make these dairy-free)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground paprika
⅛ teaspoon dried oregano
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs**
Unrefined, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil spray

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and brush parchment with olive oil.
To cut your zucchini into fries, cut each zucchini in half crosswise. Cut each half lengthwise into halves or in thirds, and each one of those pieces into 4 sticks or into ½-inch wide sticks.
In a shallow dish, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, garlic powder, paprika, oregano, red pepper and salt. In a separate shallow dish beat eggs very well.
One by one, dip each zucchini stick into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Shake to remove any excess and place on the baking sheet.
Once all are coated with breadcrumb mixture and on the prepared baking sheet, spray with olive oil.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, flipping over halfway to ensure browning on both sides. Serve plain or with marinara sauce or Ranch dressing.

Notes

*Do not use panko bread crumbs instead of the standard bread crumbs. They do not stick as well.
**You can also dip the zucchini in olive oil instead of eggs for an egg-free version.

For more great zucchini recipes, check these out:

Grain-free Chocolate Zucchini Cake (seriously the bomb!)

Zucchini-Gruyere Tart

Zucchini-Blueberry Bread

Zucchini Bread Pancakes

Corn and Zucchini Frittata

Summer Garden Frittata

Zucchini “Pasta”

Summer Minestrone

eggs garlic powder parmesan cheese zucchini

Whole grain and almond pulp pancakes recipe

I am kicking myself for all the almond pulp I have thrown away in my lifetime. It honestly makes me crazy to think of how much perfectly good raw, soaked, organic almond pulp I wasted because I didn’t know it would be amazing in banana bread or pancakes, among other things. I make so much almond milk and the only things I used to be able to think to do with the leftover pulp was to add it to smoothies and stir it into oatmeal. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it just got boring after a bit.

Then a light bulb went off in my head and I tried using the pulp (which is different from store-bought almond meal because it is wet) in banana bread and it was amazing! Have you seen this recipe yet? It’s was so delicious and after my first attempt baking with almond pulp, I assumed every cookie and cake recipe would turn out great. Not the case. I actually had a few failures using almond pulp.Continue reading

almond pulp butter buttermilk eggs maple syrup vanilla whole wheat pastry flour

Whole grain banana bread with almond pulp recipe

Something I really hate to do is to waste food. One of the reasons I plan out a week of meals is that I can shop accordingly and only buy what I know I will use. But what about that leftover almond pulp? Despite my best efforts to use up the almond byproduct that results every time I make almond milk, it just doesn’t always happen. And raw almonds are so expensive that it actually pains me to throw the pulp in the trash. It’s perfectly good food, especially since the almonds were previously soaked, making them much more digestible and nutritious!

So what do I do with it? Of course, there’s the obvious — add it to anyone’s smoothie or stir it into a warm porridge or muesli. And almond pulp freezes well, so I can save it for another time. But I am just way too lazy to get out my dehydrator and dry out the pulp to use as almond meal. And then I thought to myself, what if I just tried the almond pulp in a quick bread in place of some of the wheat flour? Well, guess what? It worked! Although apparently, a million other people already knew this and I am extremely late to the almond pulp party!

I decided to take one of my banana bread recipes and tweak it a bit with almond pulp that was leftover from 1 cup of whole, soaked raw almonds. Remember, almonds have a lot more fat than grain flours, so we can cut back on some of the added fat. But almonds have no gluten, so I was reluctant to make an all-almond pulp bread this first time. I know this will be neither Paleo nor gluten-free (although I am confident you can swap the gluten flour for a good GF all purpose mix + a little xanthan gum), but I think we can fix that with a few more tweaks. Using half whole wheat flour and half almond pulp, this bread came out to be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! Moist but hearty, not crumbly, and not too sweet. It’s perfect banana bread, in my book. My life changed instantly!! Let’s all imagine the possibilities of subbing some almond pulp for flour in different recipes! Is this exciting or what??

Most of the recipes on my site have been made in my cooking classes and at home about 20 times, but this one I just did once so I haven’t tested all the permutations, e.g. all almond pulp, no bananas, butter for coconut oil, and so on. But you can bet I will! I am planning on making my Millet Blondies today with almond pulp. Check my Instagram for updates! And please share your experiences with subbing in almond pulp in any recipes — I’ll try anything!

One last favor — I love Saveur Magazine and they’re conducting their annual food blog awards right now. If you like my blog, would you kindly take 15 seconds out of your busy day and nominate me for a Saveur Food Blog Award? I think the category of Best Special Interest Blog (healthy cooking) would be great. Thank you so much! Here’s the link (and I promise it takes 15 seconds!) http://www.saveur.com/article/contests/blog-awards-2015-nominate

5.0 from 18 reviews

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Whole Grain Banana Bread with Almond Pulp

Author: Pamela

Serves: makes one 8½ x 4½ -inch loaf

Ingredients

1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour, whole spelt or sprouted spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup packed almond pulp (leftover from 1 cup of almonds to make almond milk)
½ cup pure maple syrup
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter or unrefined coconut oil, melted
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed (2 large or 3 small-medium)
½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan with butter or coconut oil and line with unbleached parchment paper, if desired.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Place the almond pulp, maple syrup, melted butter or coconut oil, eggs and vanilla in a blender and process until combined. Or whisk well in a medium bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine until just blended. Fold in the mashed bananas and nuts.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes and then remove the bread and transfer to a rack.

almonds banana coconut oil eggs maple syrup pecans vanilla whole wheat pastry flour

Whole grain buttermilk waffles recipe (refined sugar-free, gluten-free adaptable)

I never posted my waffle recipe on my site because I really didn’t know if most people owned a waffle maker. Plus, I don’t want to nudge anyone to buy an expensive appliance that s/he may not get much use out of. Annnnnd, I had never found a good waffle iron that wasn’t lined with Teflon. But if you saw in my Friday Favorites back in October, I found the waffle maker of my dreams and it’s under $40. No Teflon, easy to use, no PFTE’s or PFOA’s. Go check out my link if you are interested in more of the specifics. Sooooo, since so many of you have asked me for the recipe on Instagram, I am finally happy to oblige.

This waffle recipe isn’t that much different from my Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancake recipe, but it’s designed to have more heft. These waffles are still light but hearty and subtly sweet. My kids are so used to whole wheat pastry flour and whole spelt flour that whole grain pancakes and waffles taste “normal” to them. But if you haven’t used whole grain flours yet or your family doesn’t like the nuttiness, try going half and half or even using 1/2 cup whole flour and 1 1/2 white flour to start. I personally enjoy whole grain flours because they actually have some flavor, as well as the fact they don’t leave me feeling like I ate a candy bar for breakfast. I like to see what bits of random flours (e.g., oat, buckwheat, cornmeal) I have in the fridge that I can use up for a truly multigrain waffle.

These waffles are the perfect backdrop for tons of different seasonal fruit combos with or without maple syrup or a dollop of yogurt. Sometimes I let Mr. Picky add some mini chocolate chips for fun. He doesn’t use maple syrup, so I’m ok with the small amount of extra sugar. I usually like to finish the batter and make all the waffles even if it’s too much for all of us, and either save them for the next day or freeze them for another time. They go right into the toaster oven for a re-crisping. You might even try using homemade waffles out as sandwich bread for a quick PB&J.

I wish I had posted this yesterday or last week for you all you snow bunnies who have been cooped up with schools closed again. Waffles are a great breakfast if you’re not in a super big rush since you can only make one at a time. Although my kids are staggered out the door in the morning and I taught them how to use the waffle iron, so it works out pretty well for me on a weekday. There are a few occasions coming up when it might be a nice treat to make waffles. February 14th is obviously Valentine’s Day and it’s on a Saturday this year, so that’s a perfect day to make these. Or if everyone’s off from work and school on Monday, February 16th for President’s Day, that would also be a good time to try this recipe out. And since we’re celebrating something, why not go all out with some organic whipped cream piled high? I approve!

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Whole Grain Buttermilk Waffles

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour or whole spelt flour or a blend of these and other whole grain flours*
1 ½ teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups buttermilk**
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Melted, unrefined coconut oil for brushing the waffle iron

Instructions

Preheat waffle iron to desired heat level.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
In a medium bowl or 4-6 cup measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup and melted butter until well blended. (A blender can do this easily, too.)
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Brush the inside of the waffle iron with coconut oil and spoon about a scant ½ cup of batter onto the middle. Add blueberries, chocolate chips or diced banana to the surface, if desired. Close the waffle iron and follow the manufacturer’s directions for cooking the waffles.

Notes

*Or you can use GF flour blend, such as ⅔ cup oat flour, ⅔ cup buckwheat flour and ⅔ cup brown rice flour. Millet flour can also be use.

**No buttermilk? Sub half unsweetened yogurt and half whole milk.

buttermilk eggs spelt flour vanilla whole wheat pastry flour

Dutch baby pancake recipe

When I think back to my childhood, I don’t think “deprivation” or “missing out.” But the fact that I didn’t know about and had never had a Dutch Baby until I was an adult makes me a little sad, like my family was out of the loop. So many people recall fond memories of leisurely Sunday family breakfasts with Mom pulling a puff of sweet heaven out of the oven. Wow. My mom did not get that memo. My husband came home when we were first married with a small pizza box from a restaurant called Dinah’s by Los Angeles International Airport. Inside was a very buttery, cinnamon and sugar-covered disc of sliced apples held together with a minimum of batter. “It’s a German apple pancake. Have you never had one of these before?” Wow. No, I had not. A Dutch Baby pancake, similar to the German apple pancake, is a puffed, kind of ugly pancake that is more egg-y than flour-y. It’s not quite like a pancake that you make on the stove in that it’s a little denser, but very delicious it its own way and so much easier because you make the batter in a blender and then bake the whole thing in the oven.

The best part of a Dutch Baby oven pancake is when you first pull it out of the oven. It goes in as a thin batter in a skillet, and comes out as an irregularly puffed, golden, warm pancake with a sweet aroma of vanilla. The. Best.

The Dutch Baby pancake recipes I have seen involve the regular suspects: white flour, white sugar, milk, eggs and butter. Those suspects are easily changed to whole grain or even gluten-free flour, maple syrup, almond milk, but I still keep the eggs and butter. You can change the butter to Earth Balance if you need to. But I’m not quite sure how to make a Dutch Baby without eggs. Plus that’s where the protein comes into play if you are wanting to serve this for breakfast on its own.

What you put on a Dutch Baby can vary from lemon juice and butter (very popular actually,) to fresh or cooked fruit to powdered sugar or maple syrup. We keep it simple in our house with seasonal fruit, like sautéed apples and pears in the fall/winter and berries in the summer. It is incredibly good with fresh blueberry sauce. Recipe here and you can make it with frozen blueberries!

I always take two weeks off around Christmas and New Years to spend with my family. Maybe you have a little time off too, or perhaps you are having friends for brunch on New Years Day. These are the days that I like to make breakfasts that are a little more special, that we can sit a savor for a bit longer. Hoping you can find some time to do just that this week. And if you do, this Dutch baby recipe is the perfect one to try.

Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, peaceful and joyous 2015!

5.0 from 3 reviews

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Dutch Baby Pancake

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4 (but I swear I could eat the entire thing myself)

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup whole milk or almond milk, at room temperature
⅔ cup whole grain flour, such as spelt or whole wheat pastry or ¾ cup all-purpose flour or your favorite GF flour blend
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup or sweetener of choice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Accompaniments: fresh fruit, preserves, butter, powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the butter in a 9-inch skillet or pie plate and transfer the skillet to the oven until the butter is melted. Brush the sides of the skillet with the melted butter.
Add eggs, milk, flour, salt, syrup and vanilla to a blender and process for 1 minute.
Pour batter into the skillet with the melted butter and bake until puffed and set, about 20 minutes.
Serve immediately with desired accompaniments.

Notes

Room temperature ingredients, as well as whole milk and all-purpose flour make the pancake rise the best. But it will still turn out well with whole spelt flour and almond milk.

eggs milk vanilla whole wheat pastry flour

The best pecan pie recipe (no corn syrup added)

I’m taking a quick break from Friday Favorites so that I can focus on sharing Thanksgiving recipes until the big day arrives!

Want to know my favorite moment of Thanksgiving day? When I get to relax with a cup of tea and sink my teeth into a slice or two (OMG, am I serious?) of homemade pie. It’s my reward for the cooking marathon that leads up to that point and I enjoy every bite. I make three different pies on Thanksgiving, including apple, pumpkin and pecan, all of which I absolutely love, and this pecan pie is absolutely perfection.

I taught this pecan pie in my classes last year and everyone went bonkers for it. It has been a staple on my personal Thanksgiving menu for 20 years, but I have changed the recipe a bit every few years. Admittedly, the first 12 years of pecan pie baking, I did use the dreaded, over-processed, GMO corn syrup. It’s one of the two traditional sweeteners in pecan pie. But in my defense, did I know in 1998 that brown rice syrup existed? No, I did not. Since I discovered brown rice syrup I have used it in my granola, granola bars and rice crispy treats. It’s a terrific sticky, caramel-y, minimally-processed sweetener that works really well in place of corn syrup. Itp is made by breaking down the starch in cooked rice, turning it into easily digestible sugars. The good news is that there is no fructose in rice syrup, so it shouldn’t have the same negative effects on liver function and metabolic health as regular sugar. The bad news is that rice syrup is still a concentrated sweetener with few nutrients, so I don’t consider it health food, just a higher quality sweetener. The other bummer is that arsenic has been found in rice syrups and products sweetened with them. For this reason, I would use rice syrup in moderation and not start adding it to your daily tea.

From the original recipe, I have also swapped coconut sugar for brown sugar and added a little bourbon for boozy depth. This pecan pie is still rich and sweet, but not cloyingly so, and I don’t feel ill after eating a piece on Thanksgiving. Just don’t look at the calorie count for a piece of nut pie — you’ll just pass out. I only eat pecan pie on Thanksgiving, so I don’t worry about the calories too much. Eating it for breakfast the next day, that’s a different story. And that is why I have take-out boxes for my guests. Because I am weak and cowardly in the presence of this pecan pie.

I know many of you can’t deal with making pie crust, and that is fine. There are plenty of perfectly good pre-made crusts that you can find in the freezer section of the grocery store. However, if you are interested in making the crust from scratch, yay! Come with me over to this post where I show you the step-by-step on how to do it. I will also be posting a pie crust video any day now. By the way, you can actually make your Thanksgiving pie crusts today and freeze them. Just a thought. I make pecan pie the day before Thanksgiving and leave it in the dining room until the next day. Leftovers should be store in the fridge.

Since pecan pie is rich enough, I eat it plain. But whipped cream and ice cream would not be a terrible accompaniment, believe me. I mean, if you’re going to go for it, just go big. I cannot wait for Thanksgiving!

5.0 from 4 reviews

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Pecan Pie

Author: Pamela

Serves: makes 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients

1 recipe for single pie crust (see below)
all purpose flour for dusting the counter
3 large eggs
¾ cup coconut palm sugar or brown sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup brown rice syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon bourbon or dark rum (I prefer bourbon)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans*
1 cup pecan halves**

Instructions

Roll disk of pie dough on a lightly floured countertop, regularly checking to make sure disk is not sticking to counter. Roll into a 12-inch round. Fit pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Tuck the overhanging pastry under itself and crimp the edges or use a fork to make a decorative border. Refrigerate pie shell until ready to fill pie.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the eggs, sugar, salt, brown rice syrup, vanilla, bourbon and butter in a bowl and mix to combine. Stir in the chopped pecans.
Pour the filling into your pie plate (it will only look half full) and arrange pecan halves in decorative pattern on top. Bake for 45 minutes or until filling is just set. If you use a frozen pie crust, it will take an extra 10-15 minutes to bake.
Allow the pie to cool completely before serving.

Notes

*For a richer flavor, toast pecans in a 350 degree oven for about 8 minutes or until fragrant, then chop coarsely.

**Or use all chopped pecans and skip the decorative top.

Single Pie Crust

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour or white spelt flour

½ teaspoon cane sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2-4 Tablespoons ice water

Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse a couple times until blended.
Add the butter to the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles small peas.
Pour 2 Tablespoons of ice water on top of the flour mixture and pulse about 10 times. Avoiding the blade, carefully grab a small handful of dough and squeeze together. If the dough holds together without crumbling, it’s ready to be formed into a disc. If it’s too dry, pulse in another few teaspoons of ice water until dough holds together.
Transfer dough to a piece of parchment and bring dough together to form a ball. Wrap in parchment and refrigerate at least 30 minutes at which point it will be ready to roll out. Or you can keep the dough refrigerated for 2-3 days, or in the freezer, well wrapped for 2-3 months.

bourbon brown rice syrup eggs pecans