Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits

Every once in a while I post a recipe that includes buttermilk and invariably someone tells me that they don’t want to buy it just for this one recipe. But really, I promise! — once you have buttermilk in the house, you’re going to use it again. Because it is SO SO wonderful for so many things like cold soups and cole slaw and most especially for baked goods.

Like these biscuits, baked especially because today is National Buttermilk Biscuit Day. In case you hadn’t heard.

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup cake flour (or 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch)

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon zest, optional

• 8 tablespoons cold butter

• 2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. Sift the flour, cake flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a bowl. Stir in the lemon zest, if used. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the bowl. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (or use the pulse in a food processor). Pour in the buttermilk and mix until you can form a soft ball of dough. Try not to pound or overwork the dough (this makes the biscuits tough). Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times. Roll or press the dough gently to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter or the bottom of a drinking glass. Place the circles one inch apart (for darker biscuits) or close together (for fluffier biscuits) on the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they have risen and are lightly browned. Makes about 10 #biscuits #buttermilkbiscuits #buttermilkbiscuitsfromscratch #buttermilk #nationalbuttermilkbiscuitday

Chocolate Yogurt Bread

A few days ago @DanaLShrager (@JewishCooking Facebook group) asked for ideas — other than hamantashen — about what might make good mishloach manot for Purim. My suggestions included muffins, quickbreads and other homemade food goodies.

Like this chocolate bread. It’s rich and tender because it’s made with yogurt. It’s also easy to prepare and can be wrapped nicely to give away as a gift. You can add raisins or chopped nuts, or even leave out the chips. For sure, it’s a winner for Purim or any time.

Chocolate Yogurt Bread

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1-1/4 cups sugar

• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening

• 2 large eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1-1/2 cups plain yogurt

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5” loaf pan. Melt the chocolate and set it aside to cool. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together and set it aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium, cream the sugar and shortening together. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat the mixture until it is smooth and creamy. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the yogurt. Stir in the chocolate and mix until ingredients are well blended. Stir in the chips, if used. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely. Makes one bread

Fruit Streusel Mini-cakes

Fruit Streusel Mini-cakes

As anyone who knows me or reads my posts knows, I do not like to waste food. So recently, when I overcooked some rhubarb, I wasn’t about to trash it. Because —anyone who bakes knows — fruit sauce (applesauce, peach sauce, even mashed avocado, etc.) is very useful for making muffins, quickbreads and cake.

I decided to make muffins, but rather than use a basic muffin recipe, I tinkered with an old recipe for applesauce cake and decided to go with that. Even though they look like muffins and they’re baked in muffin tins, I call them mini-cakes because the texture is more cake-like than muffiny.

I guess that means you can eat them for breakfast but also serve them for dessert (an ice cream accompaniment would be good).

If you prefer cake, use a 9” cake tin.

Fruit Streusel Mini-cakes

Streusel:

• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 3 tablespoons butter cut into chunks

Mini-cakes:

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1/2 cup stewed fruit puree

• 1/3 cup plain Greek style yogurt (or use sour cream)

• 1 large egg, beaten

• 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 6 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the streusel: Combine the oats, flour and sugar in a bowl and mix the ingredients together. Add the butter. Using fingers or a pastry blender (or a food processor on pulse), work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Set it aside.

The mini-cakes: Lightly grease 9 muffin tin cups. Beat the sugar and butter together with a hand mixer or electric mixer set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the stewed fruit puree, yogurt, egg and orange zest and beat the ingredients for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until well blended. Add half the juice and beat until well blended. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Pour equal amounts of the batter into the muffin tins. Sprinkle equal amounts of the streusel on top of the muffins. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Makes 9

Squash Streusel Muffins

Last Thanksgiving I had some cooked pumpkin left over after making some pies, so in an effort not to waste any food, I mashed some of the pieces and used a cupful to make muffins. They were so good that I made them again a few times but used cooked winter squash.

Even better!

Those muffins came in really handy for breakfast when I had sleepover guests for New Year’s weekend.

These are delicious with the streusel top — a nice nosh with afternoon tea or coffee — but they’re good plain too (just make them without the streusel).

Squash Streusel Muffins

 Streusel:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup quick cooking or rolled oats

• 2 tablespoons white sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening or solid coconut oil, cut into chunks (butter if desired)

Place the flour, oats, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the shortening and work it into the dry ingredients with fingertips or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Set aside.

Batter:

• 1 cup mashed, cooked squash (canned pumpkin is fine)

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1/3 cup oat milk (or other dairy or nondairy milk)

• 2 large eggs

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin pan wells. Combine the mashed squash, white sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, oat milk and eggs in a large bowl and whisk the ingredients for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly blended. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and add the mixture to the squash mixture. Whisk or mix the ingredients for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into the prepared wells. Sprinkle equal amounts of the streusel on top of each muffin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Makes 10

Persimmon/Peach/Nectarine Muffins

Unlike so many other fruits and vegetables, persimmons have a real “season” and you can only get them for a couple of months — like now!

They’re a real treat, with tender flesh and, depending on the variety, somewhat apricoty or with a sort of sweet-pear-like flavor.

We don’t get a lot of persimmons where I live, so I grab some when I can. I eat them out of hand, like an apple, enjoying the moment I can feast on a real, rare seasonal treat.

But I also use them for cooking and baking: salsa, coffee cake, for example.

And these muffins, made with basic vanilla batter but covered with chunks of persimmon and then topped with crispy streusel.

I’ve made these muffins using peaches and nectarines, but if you can find a persimmon, I recommend chopping one for this seasonal wonder.

Persimmon Muffins with Streusel Top

Streusel:

• 1/4 cup quick cooking oats

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 2 tablespoons butter cut into chunks

Batter:

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 persimmon, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the streusel: Combine the oats, flour and sugar in a bowl and whisk the ingredients to mix them thoroughly. Add the butter. Using fingers or a pastry blender (or a food processor on pulse), work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Set it aside.

Lightly grease 12 muffin tin cups. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and whisk the ingredients until thoroughly mixed. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and mix on low speed with a hand or standing mixer (or use a whisk) for 1-2 minutes, or until smooth and thoroughly blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan. Top each muffin with equal amounts of the persimmon pieces. Sprinkle with the streusel. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.

Makes 12

Banana Applesauce Muffins with Dried Cranberries

When life gives you leftover bananas, you make banana bread.

Except — if you don’t have enough bananas, you can make muffins.

I have an “all-purpose” banana muffin recipe that I tinker with every time I make it. Applesauce is always part of the base but I change the seasonings and sometimes the type of sugar.

Because it’s cranberry-orange season, this most recent version includes both those ingredients. But, you know — you can skip the dried cranberries and substitute raisins or chopped nuts or chopped fresh fruit, and so on. And you can switch to cinnamon or nutmeg or lemon peel instead of the orange peel.

Such a versatile recipe! And freezable too.

BANANA APPLESAUCE MUFFINS

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

• 6 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

• 6 tablespoons sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 bananas, mashed

• 1/2 cup applesauce

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (or raisins, chopped nuts, diced apple, etc.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups (or use cupcake papers). Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and orange peel together in a bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a hand mixer) beat the coconut oil and sugar together on medium speed for about 2 minutes or until well combined. Add the egg and beat it in until thoroughly combined. Add the mashed bananas, applesauce and vanilla extract and beat for another minute or until the ingredients are well blended. Fold in the solid ingredients. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

Makes 10

Plain Old Banana Bread

This is the time of year - just past Purim - when people who observe Passover clean out their cabinets (a good spring clean!), throw out stuff they’re never going to use or that’s past a “sell-by” date, give ingredients away and use up prohibited ingredients such as flour, cookies, bread and such.

I’m also always looking for ways to use up uneaten bananas. So, for me, one of the most delicious ways to use up the flour AND the bananas is: Banana Bread!

Like this very simple one to which you could add: chocolate chips, raisins, chopped nuts, crystallized ginger, candied orange peel (about 1/2 to 3/4 cups of any extra).

plain old BANANA BREAD

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 3 ripe medium bananas, mashed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. Mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. Mix the sugar and vegetable oil together in the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla extract and eggs and beat them in until well combined. Add the buttermilk and bananas and blend them in thoroughly. Add the flour mixture and blend it in. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for about one hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes one loaf

Banana Bread with Nuts and Raisins

My cousins are coming for our usual new year’s weekend.

What a grand way to end a terrible year.

We are all triple vaxxed and tested (negative).

This, to me, is thrilling enough.

We will watch Britbox murder mysteries — we all love them and there are some new goodies available.

We will eat and drink!

Last week I posted one of the desserts — M’hencha — that we will have (on New Year’s Eve when my sister-in-law and brother also come).

For dinner one night we will have Azerbaijani Plov, a fabulous melange of rice, dried fruit and meat (I am making it with lamb).

New year’s Eve is always an hors d’oeuvre fest. We space it out during the day, so we eat a few hors d’oeuvre at a time and wait for the next round.

So, I will serve Hot Dog en Croute and Almond Chicken Nuggets (plus olives, pickled beets and such).

Later, I will serve gougeres, Romanian Cheese Turnovers, cheese with Pepper Jam and a few other things.

During the weekend there’s breakfast of course, which consists of smoked fish and bagels for a couple of days.

During the day we also might find ourselves a bit peckish because I don’t serve lunch. We just “pick.”

This year, one of the pickings is going to be this Banana Bread. Which is terrific with tea or coffee. Ir’s good plain or spread with cream cheese. It’s even a good choice for dessert along with some ice cream. It’s a good nibble while watching the new series of Dalgliesh or rewatching Shetland.

We intend to have a good time.

Happy, healthy 2022 to all!

Banana Bread with Nuts and Raisins

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1/4 cup coconut oil

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed

• 1/3 cup yogurt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

• 1/2 cup chopped toasted nuts

• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. Melt the butter and coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat, set aside. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a bowl and set it aside. Beat the sugar and melted butter/coconut oil mixture with a handheld or electric mixer set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the bananas and beat the mixture to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Add the flour mixture, stirring only enough to blend in the dry ingredients. Add the yogurt, vanilla extract, nuts and raisins and stir them in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for one hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan 15 minutes, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Makes one loaf. 

Pumpkin Bread with Raisins

With all these pumpkins, where’s the bread?

Fact is, I always buy a medium size “show pumpkin” and a couple of small sugar pumpkins before Hallowe’en, just as tokens to the season. I no longer carve the pumpkins (nor do I have Hallowe’en hot chocolate for after trick-or-treating) — my kids are grown up and in homes of their own. I just like having the pumpkins until it’s time to use them.

I do use those pumpkins.

I cut them, bake the pieces and use the flesh for all sorts of pumpkin items.

Muffins. Pie. Soup. Cake. Coffee Cake. Even Ice Cream.

This coming week will be pumpkin bread time. I have lots of recipes for pumpkin bread. The one here is just the latest version.

Pumpkin Bread with Raisins 

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 1 cup mashed or pureed pumpkin

• 1/3 cup milk, dairy or nondairy

• 2 large eggs

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/2 cup raisins (or use dried cranberries or cherries)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3”loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the white and brown sugars, vegetable oil, pumpkin and milk until thoroughly blended. whisk in the eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and whisk until evenly blended. Stir in the pumpkin mixture until the batter is smooth and uniform. Fold in the raisins. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about one hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Makes one loaf

Banana Almond Streusel Bread

You think I’d learn! I always buy too many bananas when my kids and grandkids come, but when my cousins came for a sleepover, I thought for sure I wouldn’t have any leftovers. Senior citizens are supposed to eat bananas!

I bought 3 bananas and all 3 were uneaten.

So I made this, which is awesome.

This would be a good choice to end Rosh Hashanah dinner or for Break-the-fast.

Banana Almond Streusel Bread

Streusel:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup chopped almonds

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

 Bread:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)

• 2 large eggs

• 3 medium very ripe bananas

• 1/2 cup almond (or other non-dairy) milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”´5”´3” loaf pan. Make the streusel by mixing the flour, almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the coconut oil and work it into the dry ingredients with fingers or a knife until mixture is crumbly. Set aside. 

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set it aside. Beat the sugar and vegetable oil with a handheld or electric mixer set at medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is well mixed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Mash the bananas and add them to the mixture. Beat thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended. Add the flour mixture and beat for 1-2 minutes to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Beat in the almond milk and vanilla extract. Fold in the almonds. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter the streusel on top. Bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on a cake rack.

Makes 10-12 servings