I am really enjoying all this baking for #Choctoberfest 2018! Today I’m sharing an absolutely delicious recipe for Easy Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Buns!! Thanks to our Gold Host, Imperial Sugar, this sweet treat is easy and so tasty! Crescent dough, brown sugar, cinnamon & chocolate finished with a cream cheese frosting- how perfect!
*Disclosure: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
My kiddos were the inspiration for this easy dessert. They absolutely love cinnamon buns and I thought how fun would it be to add in mini chocolate chips?! I don’t know about all of you but we are a busy family so when I can through together an amazing dessert this quickly, I call that a big winner!! Our Gold Host, Imperial Sugar provided up with an incredibly generous amount of brown sugar and powdered sugar so I had to give both a try of course! I use the brown sugar for the bun filling and the powdered sugar to sweeten the cream cheese frosting.
Imperial Sugar is celebrating their 175th anniversary this year! They started in 1843 in Texas and is one of the states longest continuously operating companies. What an incredible accomplishment isn’t it? I am absolutely honored to share about this company and their products! The Imperial Sugar family of products includes granulated sugar, light and dark brown sugar, free-flowing sugar, powdered sugar, sugar shakers and Steviacane® (Stevia + sugar blend). Their products are 100% pure cane sugar and non-GMO making it so easy to get great results!
Be sure to head over to their site and check out a fantastic collection on Halloween recipes!!
You’ll be amazed at how simple it is to make these Easy Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Buns! Roll out a couple crescent dough sheets and sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and Imperial Light Brown Sugar. Add some mini chocolate chips and roll it up. Slice into your desired bun size and place on a lined baking sheet or in a buttered baking dish. Bake until golden and ooey gooey.
These soft and perfectly sweet Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Buns are surely going to quickly be a favorite! In my opinion, the perfect way to finish these off was with a lightly sweetened vanilla cream cheese frosting and some more mini chocolate chips! The frosting is to easy too! Stir together Imperial Powdered Sugar, cream cheese, vanilla and a little heavy cream. Smear all over the fresh out of the oven buns and done!
How cute are these Mini Halloween Chocolate Cakes?! Topped with cream cheese frosting and the most adorable sprinkles from one of our Sponsors, Sprinkle Pop!! Don’t forget to scroll down to enter our GIVEAWAY!!!
*Disclosure: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Halloween is just around the corner and I love baking up special treats for the holidays! This one is super easy to make, really delicious and so cool thanks to these Halloween sprinkles from Sprinkle Pop!! Great vibrant colors, fun shapes and so tasty! These sprinkles add the perfect “spooky” touch to these Mini Halloween Chocolate Cakes! A little trick- I use a donut pan to make these individual sized cakes! You simply fill the batter to the top of each form and they bake up into perfect mini cakes!
I never heard of Sprinkle Pop before #Choctoberfest but wow am I glad I know now! They have such an incredible varieties of sprinkle mixes. From the Halloween, Fall leaves and the red hearts I sampled… there is a great monster mash mix, gorgeous metallic mixes, holiday mixes or you can get a custom mix made up! How awesome! When my package arrived my boys saw the Halloween mix and said “ohhhhh what are you making?”. Let me tell ya, these mini cakes were a big hit!
So I used a boxed chocolate cake mix but to give it a really great homemade feel I substitute butter for the oil and milk for the water. These mini cakes are moist and delicious. I absolutely love cream cheese frosting because the flavor is not only great but its so easy to make too! Simply whip up cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar and heavy cream until smooth. What better way to finish off these Halloween treats then with this great All Hallows mix from Sprinkle Pop!
I use an ice cream scoop to quickly and evenly add the frosting onto each mini cake. This recipe makes about 18-20 mini cakes. We shared this batch with friends that all gave it a big thumbs up and I can’t wait to make them again for school parties! I know the kids are going to love this Halloween treat!
In a bowl mix together the cake mix, butter, milk and eggs until smooth. Butter a donut pan and pour the batter most of the way up. Bake for about 16 minutes.
Allow to cool a bit before popping them out and then allow them to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Repeat until all the batter is used.
In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar and heavy cream. Mix with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
Once all the donuts are cooled completely, frost and sprinkle.
The chocolate goodie baking continues!! Have you checked out all the delicious recipes from this week?! Its been fantastic! Today I’m sharing an incredibly easy and tasty recipe for Dark Chocolate Orange Sugar Cookies! That are AMAZING! Thanks to one of our sponsors for #Choctoberfest 2018, Forte Chocolates, these cookies are packed with chunks of their Orange Jazz bar- dark chocolate with a hint of orange.
*Disclosure: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I really love baking sugar cookies. I came up with a great base recipe years back and I’ve used it in so many varieties since. I used that same base recipe here but tailored it to make these absolutely delicious Dark Chocolate Orange Sugar Cookies. Just the right amount of sweetness. This cookie is packed with big pieces of the Orange Jazz Forte Chocolate bar, fresh orange zest, fresh orange juice and then finished with a simple orange glaze. Forte Chocolates motto is “Celebrate Life Through Chocolate” and come on, who could argue with that?
Oh! Don’t forget to enter the giveaway- keep scrolling down to find it! Prize package valued at over $400!!
Aztec Soul, Lemon & Pepper and Orange Jazz are just a few of their amazing bars. I really enjoy the flavor combination of dark chocolate and orange so I chose the Orange Jazz to bake with. I will say- I have saved so many savory recipes from fellow #Choctoberfest bloggers using the Aztec Soul and Lemon & Pepper bars! The line of Gusto bars was designed for this reason- creative savory cooking with chocolate. I had so many different ideas for ways to use the Orange Jazz bar like in a fritter or a scone but decided to do a cookie and the results were great!
Forte Chocolate is offering our #Choctoberfest readers a very special deal…. buy 3 get 1 free on their bars CODE: CHOCTOBERFEST2018
Sugar cookies are a favorite of mine because everything gets mixed in one bowl and I simply scoop and bake! The Orange Jazz bar from Forte Chocolates is already so good on its own but I wanted to elevate those flavors even more so. I did this simply by using fresh orange zest and orange juice. The results are a wonderfully balanced flavored cookie.
So what goes into these Dark Chocolate Orange Sugar Cookies? You start by mixing the dry ingredients in a small bowl. In a large bowl you’ll cream the butter with the sugar then add in the egg, orange zest and orange juice. Mix the dry into the wet then stir in the chopped chocolate bars. Scoop and bake!
Its that simple! To add just one more layer of flavor- a 2 ingredient glaze of powdered sugar and fresh squeezed orange juice.
Dark Chocolate Orange Sugar Cookies #Choctoberfest
Author: Angela LeMoine
Ingredients
2 Forte Chocolate Orange Jazz bars, rough chopped
2½ cups flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1½ sticks butter, room temp
1 egg
¾ cup sugar
zest of 1 orange
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
For the glaze:
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
6 Tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions
In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add in the sugar and mix until well combined. Next add in the egg, orange zest & orange juice and mix until light and fluffy.
Add in half the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients. Be sure not to over mix. You want the dough just combined.
Stir in the chopped chocolate bars.
Using a cookie or ice cream scoop, place the cookie dough out onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 14 minutes minutes or until the very outer edge is lightly golden.
Cool on a cooling rack. In a small bowl whisk together the orange juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Dunk the tops of the cookies into the glaze and finish cooling on the rack.
Optional: finish with more orange zest and powdered sugar.
Are you all as excited as I am for holiday baking? I’ve always enjoyed helping in the kitchen and grew up baking alongside my mom and grandparents and now I get to pass along the tradition with my boys. These White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies are super simple to make and the flavor and texture is spot on! A perfect addition to your cookie tray.
Today is a really fun day… its our Freaky Friday Virtual Holiday Cookie Exchange recipe swap! A bunch of my fabulously talented blogger friends and I get assigned a blog to choose a recipe from then create and share with our readers. We don’t find out who we’ve been assigned until today! I was lucky enough to be assigned the incredible Lisa from Lisas Dinnertime Dish! Her recipes are always delicious and these White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies were calling my name- easy, festive, delicious!
Lisa is an absolute sweetheart and I’ve been following her blogging journey for a long time! She’s a family gal- husband and 3 kiddos. Her passion for good food is clear when browsing her site. I had so many great recipes to choose from like her Glazed Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies, Red Velvet Cookies and her Chocolate Caramel Crunch Cookie Bars! While I have no doubt these are all AMAZING, I really loved the sound of the white chocolate peppermint flavor combo. They are FANTASTIC my friends!
The base of this cookie is very much like that of a regular chocolate chip cookie but this is no ordinary chocolate chip cookie because the white chocolate chips and candy cane bits make these a perfect holiday cookie! I LOVE the flavor and texture of these cookies and so did everyone that I shared them with.
What are your favorites? My mom is famous for her Italian rainbow cookies which my husband looks forward to ever year. Another favorite around here are basic sugar cookies, pecan tassies, pignoli cookies and now these White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies from Lisa! I cannot wait to see what everyone else has baked up for our virtual swap!
As the holiday season approaches I really find myself wanting to bake up scones, cookies and pie! I decided to do a test run on a Cranberry Apple Pie for Thanksgiving the other day and YUM, it came out just delicious so I of course have to share the recipe with you.
I find it super relaxing to turn on some music, get in my kitchen and cook or bake. It’s time to myself to create something delicious that I can share with my family and friends. I am a total believer in the power of sharing a meal or in this case a sweet treat with the people you care about. This Cranberry Apple Pie is amazing with the easy homemade pie crust and just slightly sweet and slightly tart filling. Such a treat!
I love a traditional apple pie but I thought how great would it be to serve something just a little different adding tart cranberries into the mix. Cranberry sauce is a big part of Thanksgiving so I wanted to incorporate it into dessert as well. I used Gala apples for this one being that they are a nice a crisp sweet apple which pairs well with the tartness of the cranberry.
My pie crust is actually really easy and comes together right in a food processor! Get your food processor set with a dough blade. In goes flour, sugar and salt with a few pulses to mix that. In goes butter and cold water, pulse until it mostly comes together then I just gently finish on a lightly floured surface. Wrap it up and refrigerate.
The filling is really simple as well. sliced apples, fresh cranberries, flour, sugar, brown sugar, a touch of lemon juice, butter and cinnamon get mixed in a bowl and thats it. You’ll halve the dough and roll each piece into rounds. Do not stress over perfection- this is a homemade rustic DELICIOUS pie! Place on round in the bottom of a pie dish with crust hanging over the edges. Trim off any excess.
Get the filling in then place the second round on top. To seal the pie up I simply tuck the edges of the top crust under the bottom crust edges then go around with a fork pressing the two pieces together. Egg wash is a MUST for finishing our pie. Its just 1 egg mixed with a splash of water, lightly beaten then brushed on the pie. Sprinkle some sugar over top for a perfect golden sparkling crust. A few slits in the top to allow steam to release and its ready for the oven.
This pie baked for about an hour and a half at 350 degrees for me. Every oven will vary slightly so just keep an eye on it. Once you’ve got this rich golden color- you are set! Oh and when it comes to baking pies I like to start the pie on the lower rack in the oven to give the bottom crust time to get going. Halfway through I move the pie to the center oven rack.
Start with the crust. Fit a food processor with the dough blade. Add in the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine. Add in the butter ands water. Pulse until mostly together.
Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and just work until all together. Form a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and pop into the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl mix together the apples, cranberries, flour, sugar, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and lemon juice.
Take out your dough, cut in half and roll each half into a round. Place one round in the bottom of a deep pie dish. Allow the crust to hang over the edges slightly. You can always remove the excess.
Pour the filling into the pie dish. Place the second piece of dough on top. Remove any excess then simply tuck in the top layer edges under the bottom edges. Press a fork along the edges to really seal it.
Lightly beat an egg with a splash of water. Brush the egg wash on the top of the pie. Sprinkle with some sugar. Cut a few slits into the crust to allow steam to release.
Place the pie on a baking sheet - it makes it easier to move and just in case of juice spilling over. Place the pie on the lower rack of the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes then rotate the pie and place on the middle rack. Bake for another 35-45 minutes until perfectly golden.
These Lemon Cream Cheese & Blueberry Kolaches are by far one of the most delicious things I’ve made lately. A breakfast/dessert with its origins in the Czech Republic that have gained massive popularity in Texas! The dough is so lovely, soft and pillowy. A simple cream cheese filling with a perfect hint of lemon and topped with some NJ blueberries and a little crumble.
Happy Friday friends! Today is a special day-our Freaky Friday Summer Edition Recipe Swap and I am so excited to share this recipe with you! A bunch of my fabulously talented blogger friends and I get assigned a blog to choose a recipe from then create and share with our readers. We don’t find out who we’ve been assigned until today! I feel SO honored to have been assigned the incredibly talented Kathy from Lemon Blossoms.
Michaela from An Affair From The Heart is so amazing for organizing this whole event and I am so appreciative to be a part of it. When she told me I was assigned Kathy of Lemon BlossomsI was beyond thrilled! Kathy is so incredibly talented and I have so many of recipes saved! Fun facts about Kathy- the girl knows her food! Having worked with the Food Network and just to name a couple celebrity chefs- Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck! WOW right?!? I knew every recipe she has shared on her blog would be amazing but here Homemade Kolaches recipe grabbed me!
The base of these Kolaches is a light, fluffy and just slightly sweet yeast dough. Traditionally Kolaches are a sweet treat but in Texas where these pastries have really a massive following, are also served with savory fillings. Kathy gives you several different filling options on her site so check them out. I knew for me it would be Lemon Cream Cheese & Blueberry Kolaches. I followed her recipe for the cream cheese filling that has a lovely hint of lemon from lemon zest. Being that here in NJ its blueberry season I figured it would be a perfect pairing with the cream cheese filling.
I have to say, in my kitchen I cook up savory eats way more than I do bake up sweet treats which makes it even more special when I do make a recipe like this one. The family went absolutely wild for these Lemon Cream Cheese & Blueberry Kolaches! It starts with activating dry yeast with sugar and warm milk. After sitting for 5-10 minutes you’ll see it come to life. From here you’ll add a cup of flour and let it rise for 20 minutes.
In another bowl, you will whisk together melted butter, salt and eggs until smooth. Be careful not to scramble those eggs. You’ll then combine the egg mixture to the flour mixture and add in the remaining 2 cups of flour. Once gently mixed in a bowl go ahead and place onto a lightly floured surface. You’ll need to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes- adding a little flour as needed to make it a slightly sticky but workable dough. I found it helpful to use my dough scrapper to work with it.
Once it has all come together go ahead and pop it into a lightly greased bowl to allow it to rise. Here is where all the air really gets into the dough. It will sit for an hour or until it has doubled in size.
As you are waiting for the dough to rise you can go ahead and make the lemon cream cheese filling. Super simple here- softened cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg yolk and lemon zest all mixed up with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Once the dough has doubled you will remove it from the bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Punch it down a bit then cut into 12 even pieces. Roll into a ball and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten each into about a 3 inch round. Cover once again and allow to rise for 30 minutes. You can make the simple crumble while you wait- just flour, cinnamon, butter and sugar.
After they have risen you will gently make a depression in the center and add the cream cheese filling to each, top with a few blueberries and some of the crumble. They will bake at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden and risen. You will brush some melted butter on them when they come out of the oven. Allow to cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!
Absolutely AMAZING!! We will be making these often! I can’t wait to try different sweet fillings and some savory as well! You all have got to try these kolaches! You’ll understand why they have become so popular!
Combine the yeast, warm milk and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let the mixture stand for 5 to 10 minutes to activate. Add 1 cup of flour and mix well. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 20 minutes or until doubled in size.
In another bowl, melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of the butter. Let the melted butter cool very briefly then whisk in the eggs and salt. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and blend. Slowly add the remaining 2 cups of the flour. The dough will be moist and soft.
Turn the dough on a floured surface and knead for about 8 to 10 minutes. Add extra flour as needed to make a soft workable dough. Grease a bowl with some butter or oil. Place the dough in the bowl, cover and let it rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Go ahead and work on the filling. Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add the flour, egg yolk and lemon zest. Mix to blend and set aside.
For the crumble: in a small bowl combine the flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon. Using your fingers, crumble the mixture until it resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
After the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Punch it down and divide it evenly into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet leaving several inches in between each dough ball. Flatten each ball slightly so it is about 3 inches in diameter. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
With your finger, gently make a depression in the center of each dough ball. Fill each one with 1 tablespoon of filling and sprinkle it with the topping. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or until risen and pale gold.
While the kolaches are baking, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Remove the kolaches from the oven and brush them with melted butter. Transfer them to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Take a look at all of our 2020 Freaky Friday Summer Edition Recipes:
Its cookie baking season and these Nutella Thumbprint cookies are perfection. A simple cookie rolled in crushed hazelnuts, baked then topped with creamy Nutella. SO good, friends and family will love them! Happy Holidays!
Happy Friday all! Today is a special day, one of my favorite events of the year actually, our Freaky Friday Holiday Virtual Cookie Exchange. I am so excited to share this incredible recipe for Nutella Thumbprint Cookies with you! A bunch of my fabulously talented blogger friends and I get assigned a blog to choose a recipe from then create and share with our readers. We don’t find out who we’ve been assigned until today! I was thrilled to find out I had been assigned Julie from Hostess at Heart!
Michaela from An Affair From The Heart is so amazing for organizing this whole event and I am so appreciative to be a part of it. She works tirelessly to make these fun recipe swaps happen and is such a talent in the kitchen! You all must check out some of her recipes. Here are just a few of my favorites… Grinch Shortbread Cookies, Sausage Pretzel Bombs with Mustard Cheese Sauce and her Black Forest Cake. I was so excited when I found out I was assigned Julie -another amazing talent.
Julies recipes are not only delicious but they are recipes anyone can make with ingredients that are readily available. She will make you look like a total rockstar in the kitchen and before you know it you’ll be impressing friends and family with some amazing dishes! She was onto sourdough before it became a bit of a craze. I kind love that she named her starter like I did. Hers is named Phoenix! Check out her Overnight Sourdough Bread– its amazing! Her Honey Roasted Beets with Pistachios would be a perfect holiday side dish. Oh my goodness, her Chili recipe is a MUST try!
As I browsed through Julies site I came across her Nutella Thumbprint Cookies and knew I found my winner!! I love how easy they are and we are kinda obsessed with Nutella in this house. The cookie itself is really simple- you cream together butter {yes, I know I know I forgot to show the butter in the picture heehee}, brown sugar, granulated sugar and egg yolks. From there simply add in vanilla extract, flour and salt.
Once it all comes together you’ll roll the dough into small balls. I use a small cookie scoop to keep them relatively consistent. Now the trick that I learned making these cookies- an egg white dunk to get the hazelnuts to stick to the dough. You simply whisk a couple egg whites in a bowl until light and frothy. Roll each ball of dough in the egg whites than into crushed hazelnuts.
Roll each ball of dough in the egg whites than into crushed hazelnuts. I LOVE hazelnuts. We grew up having a nut and fruit course before dessert at the holidays and hazelnuts was always my favorite though always the trickiest to crack open as they’d end up rolling across the table. Always good for a laugh!
From there place the dough onto a lined baking sheet and press gently down and use your finger to form a small indentation in the center. These cookies don’t grow much so you don’t need too much room between them.
No worries if the indent bakes out of the cookie. If that happens simply use the end of a wooden spoon to gently push the center down a bit while the cookie is still hot. The cookies take about 14-16 minutes to bake depending on your oven.
Once the cookies are cooled completely you can top with Nutella. Do not stress if you don’t have a piping bag. I used a plastic zip bag with a star tip. Heck, even if you don’t have that just add a dollop on there with a spoon. It will be perfect either way!
1 cup hazelnuts chopped, (I used dry-roasted, unsalted hazelnuts)
Nutella
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
In the bowl of a standing mixer (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), add the butter, egg yolks, brown sugar, and white sugar. Using the paddle attachment beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
Add milk, vanilla extract, flour, and salt. Mix until combined.
Chop nuts and put them on a plate large enough to roll your cookies.
Beat egg whites with a fork in a small bowl until airy (2 minutes).
Scoop the dough and roll it into a ball. Coat the ball in egg whites and then roll in chopped hazelnuts. Gently press your thumb into the center of the cookie until indented. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges. If indentation has disappeared, press gently with the end or a wooden spoon while hot. Cool completely.
Pipe or spoon Nutella into the center. Store in a covered container in a cool place.
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Take a look at all of our 2020 Freaky Friday Holiday Cookie Exchange Recipes:
I love baking and enjoying biscotti with an afternoon espresso. These Orange, Cranberry & Pistachio Biscotti are so full of flavor and last for a good while in a cookie jar as they are twice baked and a drier cookie! Happy holiday baking!
Biscotti are easily one of my favorite cookies to bake. I love playing with the flavor combinations too. I’ve posted recipes for Orange Pecan and Pecan Cornmeal Biscotti but I’ve also done a cranberry and white chocolate chip (yum!). In these Orange, Cranberry & Pistachio Biscotti I love that slight brightness from the orange, the sweetness and chew of the dried cranberries and the crunch of the pistachio.
With biscotti I use the same core recipe and just switch out the add ins. They really are so simple. All the dry ingredients get mixed in a bowl, the add ins get evenly distributed by mixing them in as well. You then add in the wet ingredients to the bowl and just stir until mostly combined. Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead just a couple times to make sure its all together.
I then go ahead and split the dough in half and form each half into a flattened oval on a baking sheet. Try to get the length and thickness as close to even as possible so that it bakes consistently. The biscotti dough will get baked for about 25 to 27 minutes. The edges will be lightly golden. You’ll remove the pan from the oven, lower the temperature and let the cookie to rest for about 10 minutes.
After the cookie has rested and cooled slightly you will then slice the dough on a slight angle with a nice sharp knife. Again you’ll want to try to keep the pieces a relatively even size. You’ll go ahead and place the biscotti back on the baking sheet, on one side and bake for another 15 minutes, flip them onto the other side and bake another 15 minutes.
Allow the biscotti to cool on a cooling rack. Once completely cool you can add them to your cookie jar and they’ll last for several weeks.
In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, pistachio, dried cranberries and orange zest.
In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, butter {not too hot or you'll scramble the eggs} and orange extract.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until mostly combined.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until the dough all comes together.
Cut the dough in half and on a lined baking sheet form the two halves into a flattened rectangular log about 1" in thickness, 4" wide & 8" long. {see photo above for a better of the shape & size}.
Bake for about 25-27 minutes. Remove the pan, allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Lower oven temp to 300 degrees.
Once cool enough to handle slice the dough on an angle about 1" thick. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet with one of the cut sides down.
Bake for 15 minutes, remove the pan, flip the biscotti onto the other cut side and bake another 15 mines or so.
Oh boy do I have a treat for you today! This Lemon Blueberry Bread is such an easy recipe and just a perfect Springtime dessert and it all comes together right in one bowl. It is a wonderful balance of sweet and tart. Whether for Mothers Day this weekend, a backyard BBQ or just because- this Lemon Blueberry Bread will be a huge hit.
Happy Friday! Today is a special day because its our Freaky Friday Blog Hop- Spring Edition! So what the heck does that mean? Well, several times a year a bunch of us food bloggers get together for a recipe swap. We are each assigned a blog to then chose a recipe from to recreate and share. This round I was assigned the incredibly talented Nicole from Or Whatever You Do.
My food blogger pal Michaela from An Affair From The Heartputs so much time and work into organizing these recipe swaps throughout the year and her efforts are so incredibly appreciated. Her blog is packed with some of the most tasty recipes you’ll find! Her Chicken Piccata is such a delicious Italian classic! You have to check out her Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Pork, mouthwatering good! Oh my goodness and her Traditional Reuben Sandwich is piled high and just layer upon layer of amazing flavor. Everything on her blog is mouth watering and sure to be a family or crowd pleasing dish!
You al have to head over to check out all the AMAZING recipes on Or Whatever You Do. While the range of recipes on Nicoles blog is huge, her specialty is definitely all things smoked, grilled or cooked on a flat top. There is even an Or Whatever You Do Everything Rub you can purchase! I know, I totally picked something different from those but I am a sucker for lemon and was looking for a Mothers Day dessert so this Lemon Blueberry Bread just jumped out to me. There are so many recipes I will be trying soon, like her Smoked St. Louis Ribs, Skirt Steak Street Tacos and Blackened Shrimp Caesar Wrap.
Back to this FABULOUS Lemon Blueberry Bread, shall we… Nicole uses meyer lemons in her recipe which I absolutely love! Meyer lemons are less acidic then a regular lemon and just perfect for baking. Of course, I can only find them occasionally and had no luck so you will see that I use regular lemons. Trust me- either way, you are going to LOVE this bread!! It starts out with creaming together sugar, butter and a good amount of lemon zest until creamy.
You’ll then add in one egg at a time being sure to incorporate each into the batter. Next up is the vanilla and milk. Lastly you’ll add the baking powder and flour. Mix until incorporated then stir in a lovely amount of blueberries. You’ll split the batter between two buttered loaf pans and bake for about 55-60 minutes at 350 degrees.
Now you may be wondering… there has to be more lemon than just that lemon zest right? Oh yes, this is where Nicole really turns it up. As the bread bakes you’ll make a lemon syrup which is equal parts lemon juice and sugar that is cooked until slightly thickened. Once your bread is out of the oven and cooled a bit you’ll poke some holes into the top of the bread with a skewer and brush the syrup over top letting it soak right up.
Hang tight… one more layer of lemon deliciousness!! Once the breads have cooled completely they get a generous drizzle of lemon glaze which is simply lemon juice and powdered sugar. Oh me heavens, right?!?! This Lemon Blueberry Bread is just so pretty and would make for a great gift or addition to your brunch or dessert table.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep two 10 inch loaf pans by buttering and flouring them well.
Cream the sugar, butter, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, or about 4-5 minutes with a hand mixer.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg until combined. Add in vanilla and milk and mix until it is combined.
Sift flour and baking powder together and slowly add to wet ingredients. Beat just until the flour is incorporated into the batter. Gently fold in blueberries by hand.
Divide batter between the two loaf pans and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
While the loaves are baking, make the lemon syrup by combining the lemon juice and sugar in a small sauce pan and simmering over medium heat until slightly reduced and thickened, or about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Let loaves cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack. Cool another 10 minutes and then poke holes all over the loaf, being careful not to go all the way through, using a long skewer.
Brush the cooled syrup over the loaves. Let the loaves cool the rest of the way, at least an hour.
Whisk together sifted powdered sugar and remaining lemon juice to form a glaze. Pour over cooled loaves.
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Take a look at all of our 2021 Freaky Friday Spring Edition Recipes:
