Buttermilk Granola Muffins

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
• 1 cup prepared granola
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease the cups of a standard muffin pan; or line with paper baking cups, and grease the paper cups.

Whisk together all of the dry ingredients, including the granola.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, vegetable oil, and buttermilk or whey.  Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring just to combine.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them nearly full. A slightly heaped muffin scoop of batter is the right amount.

Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with additional granola, if desired.

Bake the muffins for 16 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes (or when they're cool enough to handle) transfer them to a rack to cool. Serve warm, or at room temperature. Store leftovers loosely wrapped at room temperature.

Yield: 12 muffins.

VERDICT:  These were use-it-up muffins--buttermilk, granola, the last little bit of whole wheat flour in the bag.  Not necessarily a keeper, but I consider them a success, nonetheless (even though the granola on top burned up).  

Gingerbread

• 2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour, or 2 cups unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup diced crystallized ginger (optional)

Grease and flour a 9" square pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  Melt the butter in a heatproof measuring cup. Add the molasses to the cup, and pour into the dry ingredients in the bowl, mixing to moisten.  Add the water, stirring until everything is moistened.  Whisk together the egg and buttermilk. Stir into the batter until it's evenly combined. Stir in the crystallized ginger. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake just begins to pull away from the edge of the pan. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes before slicing; gingerbread is best served warm with whipped cream or ice cream. 

Serves 16; 170 calories.

VERDICT:  Easy (no creaming butter!) and pretty decent.  I only have an 8x8 pan, so I ended up cooking it a bit longer than indicated, but it seems to have turned out OK.  I'd be inclined to leave out the ginger in future--I like ginger as much as the next person, but it seemed a little much.  Keep.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

• 2/3 cup (10 2/3 tablespoons) butter
• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon butterscotch flavor or vanilla-butternut flavor, optional
• 3 large eggs
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
• 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chocolate chips; or a combination of different flavored chips, or chips and nuts

*Use 1 teaspoon salt if you use unsalted butter.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

Melt the butter, and stir in the brown sugar. Add the salt, vanilla, and flavor, stirring until well combined.

Allow the mixture to cool slightly (if it's very hot to the touch), then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl midway through this process.

Add the baking powder, espresso powder, and flour, stirring to combine.

Stir in the chips or other additions of your choice.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it to the edges with a wet spatula (or your wet fingers). Smooth the top as best you can.

Bake the bars for 30 to 32 minutes, until they've risen, and their top is shiny and golden. A cake tester inserted into the center won't come out clean; in fact, the center of the very middle of the pan may look quite molten when you dig into it. But so long as no wet batter is showing farther out towards the edges, the bars are done. As they cool, the center will solidify.

Remove the bars from the oven, and use a heatproof spatula to press down the risen edges; this will make bars with flat, rather than humped tops. Let the bars cool completely before cutting; overnight is best. Once bars are cool, wrap airtight. Store wrapped bars at room temperature for a couple of days.

Yield: 2 dozen bars.

VERDICT:  I'm not so sure about these.  They taste good and were easy enough to put together (no mixer!), but they really were molten in the center.  Even after cooling completely, they still seem a little raw in the middle.  Toss.

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

• 1 to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup
• 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Premium 100% Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast, or 1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoons of the water in the recipe
• 1/4 cup nonfat dried milk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

*Use the greater amount in winter or in a dry climate; the lesser amount in summer or a humid climate.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine programmed for "dough" or "manual.") Note: This dough should be soft, yet still firm enough to knead. Adjust its consistency with additional water or flour, if necessary.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup, cover it, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8" log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 to 2 hours, or till the center has crowned about 1" above the rim of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. The finished loaf will register 190°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center.

Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. If desired, rub the crust with a stick of butter; this will yield a soft, flavorful crust. Cool completely before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

Serves 16 (1 slice); 150 calories.

VERDICT:  My loaf turned out kind of squatty, but it tastes good, and I like the relatively simple ingredient list and directions.  Keep.

Doughnut Muffins

 Batter:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup milk

Topping:

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.

Add the eggs, beating to combine.

Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.

Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.

Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

Remove them from the oven, and let them cool for a couple of minutes, or until you can handle them. While they're cooling, melt the butter for the topping (this is easily done in the microwave).

Use a pastry brush to paint the top of each muffin with the butter, then sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar. Or simply dip the tops of muffins into the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar.

Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Store for a day or so at room temperature.

Yield: 12 muffins.

VERDICT:  We mixed all the dry ingredients together, rather than stirring in the baking powder, etc., into the wet ingredients, and added the vanilla with the milk.  We also rolled the whole muffin in butter and cinnamon sugar (which requires about twice as much of both), which I think made it more donut-y.  They were not bad at all, though not as good as actual donuts.  Still, since I rarely make muffins for anything but breakfast, when I really want them to be healthier, toss.

English Muffin Toasting Bread

• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
• cornmeal, to sprinkle in pan

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl.

Combine the milk, water, and oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl, and heat to between 120°F and 130°F. Be sure to stir the liquid well before measuring its temperature; you want an accurate reading. If you don't have a thermometer, the liquid will feel quite hot (hotter than lukewarm), but not so hot that it would be uncomfortable as bath water.

Pour the hot liquid over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.

Beat at high speed for 1 minute. The dough will be very soft.

Lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, and sprinkle the bottom and sides with cornmeal.

Scoop the soft dough into the pan, leveling it in the pan as much as possible.

Cover the pan, and let the dough rise till it's just barely crowned over the rim of the pan. When you look at the rim of the pan from eye level, you should see the dough, but it shouldn't be more than, say, 1/4" over the rim. This will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour, if you heated the liquid to the correct temperature and your kitchen isn't very cold. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.

Remove the cover, and bake the bread for 22 to 27 minutes, till it's golden brown and its interior temperature is 190°F.

Remove the bread from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

Yield: 1 loaf.

VERDICT: Easiest bread recipe ever, and good. It's not a good sandwich bread, but toasted with butter, makes a nice breakfast or side. Keep.