Sweet Honey Cornbread

It's been officially fall now for about a week. This is always a bittersweet time for me. I love summer, and I'm sad to see it go, but I do also love watching the changing seasons. My least favorite part of this time of year is the cooler weather because I am pretty much cold all the time, so it only gets worse as winter comes. However, one of my favorite parts of fall is the warm, comforting foods, the soups, stews and braises, the pumpkin bars and other tasty fall treats. These can help warm me up on a cold fall or winter night.

One of my favorite cooler weather dishes is chili, and what goes better with chili than some delicious corn bread. Corn bread is one of my favorite quick breads, I really need to make it more often! I'm partial to a sweeter and richer cornbread. For anyone who likes a coarser, Southern style cornbread this probably won't be what you're looking for, but for me it is perfect. Nice and moist due to a good amount of butter as well as some buttermilk, and sweetened with a little honey mixed with some brown sugar. It's the perfect combination in my opinion, perfect for the cooler fall weather, or anytime really!

This is a nice, simple recipe that is easy to whip together, and freezes well. I just cut it into squares and throw them in the freezer. When I need a little cornbread to complete my meal, I just pull out a square or two and let them thaw for a few minutes on the counter. Or, if you're in a hurry, pop them in the microwave for a few seconds on the defrost setting. Voila! A slice of perfectly delicious cornbread!

Sweet Honey Cornbread
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Ingredients

• 1 cup (120g) cornmeal
• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (115g) butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/4 cup (50g) packed light brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons (42 grams) honey
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup (about 8 ounces) buttermilk

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Grease and lightly flour an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan. Set aside.

Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the cooled melted butter, brown sugar, and honey together until completely smooth and thick. There should be no brown sugar lumps. Then, whisk in the egg until combined. Finally, whisk in the buttermilk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Avoid over-mixing.

Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and the center is cooked through. Use a toothpick to test. Edges should be crispy at this point! Allow to slightly cool before slicing and serving. Serve cornbread with butter, honey, jam, whatever you like. Wrap leftovers up tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Cinnamon Sugar Whole Wheat Banana Bread

I don't know about you, but in my opinion there is no such thing as too many banana bread recipes. I've made so many different recipes over the past few years (banana oat bread anyone? How about buttermilk banana bread, or Greek yogurt banana bread? And don't forget about sour cream banana bread or banana chocolate chip breakfast cake!) and I haven't ever been disappointed. There are a few key points to keep in mind however. First is don't over bake!! This is key. There is almost nothing as disappointing as a dry slice of banana bread. And second, don't start with a poor recipe. This one may not be as easy figure out, but if your new recipe is fat free, gluten free, dairy free or in some other way flavor free there is probably no way to salvage it. I'm not saying you can't find a good gluten free (or whatever free) banana bread recipe, but you have to be a little more careful when picking a recipe. 

This cinnamon sugar banana bread recipe is the newest addition to my banana bread recipe collection and it certainly does not disappoint! It's full of oat-y goodness from some ground up oats that combine with whole wheat flour to produce a wonderfully chewy and hearty loaf. Some brown sugar adds a nice hint of molasses and a little butter adds richness. I decided to spice it up a little by adding a sweet cinnamon sugar swirl to the center of this loaf. It added a sweet and delicious surprise that really elevates this recipe to the next level. Another winner to add to your banana bread repertoire! 

Now, I decided to go with the cinnamon sugar swirl this time, but the original recipe called for walnuts and chocolate chips (1/2 cup and 1 cup respectively) so that is another option if your feeling the need for some chocolate. Both are delicious so you really can't go wrong either way!

Cinnamon Sugar Whole Wheat Banana Bread
Adapted from Naturally Ella
Ingredients

• 1/3 cup (2.5 ounces) sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup (60 grams) old fashioned oats
• 1 cup (4.5 ounces) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup (3.5 ounces) brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (9 ounces) banana puree, about 2 bananas
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• Old fashioned oats, for topping

Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚and generously butter/oil a 8 or 9" loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and the 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, set aside. 

In a food processor, pulse oats until almost flour, not too fine, you want a few pieces of oats left. Pour into a large bowl and add wheat flour, baking soda, and brown sugar. Stir to combine

In a separate bowl, whisk together banana puree, butter, and eggs. Pour into dry ingredients. Stir until just combined (don't over stir!)

Pour half of the batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with about half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour the other half of the batter on top and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Finally, top with a handful more of oats.  

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Top should spring back lightly and when a toothpick is entered, it should come out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool and slice!

Greek Yogurt Banana Bread

I don't think I really know anybody who doesn't like a good slice of banana bread. I'm sure there are plenty of those people out there, but I have yet to meet one! For the rest of you who love banana bread as I do, I have a winner of a recipe to share. This banana bread recipe was just what I was looking for the other week. It's the classic with a few updates that make it a little healthier, but no less tasty. Full of great banana flavor, lightly sweetened with just enough sugar to keep it super tasty, but not so much that it tastes like cake, and lightened up with a little Greek yogurt to keep it nice and moist and a few tablespoons of butter to maintain that delicious flavor. This is one of the best banana bread recipes I've tried. It reminded me of one of those slices of bread or cake you can pick up at Starbucks or other coffee shops, but so much better, healthier, and cheaper! You really can't loose with this recipe, I highly recommend you give it a try soon!

With 3 bananas in just the one loaf, you really don't need a ton more sugar, so I found that 1/2 cup was just perfect. Vanilla and cinnamon add a delicious aroma and amp up the flavor just a touch, without being overpowering. The texture of the finished bread is very moist, and a little spongy as a lot of breads are that use yogurt; this is not a bad thing, I like this in my breads. Just be sure to not overbake. Nothing kills a good banana bread like overbaking, resulting in a dry and flavorless loaf. often set my timer for a few minutes less than what the recipe calls for just to be sure. Watch it carefully and you should be good to go!

Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
Adapted from The Recipe Rebel
Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas (~15 ounces total)
• 3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) butter, softened 
• 1/3 cup plain (unsweetened) Greek yogurt 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups flour (I used 6 ounces whole wheat, and 3 ounces all purpose)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mash bananas with a whisk. Add butter, yogurt and sugar and whisk until combined and somewhat smooth. If it's still a little chunky, don't worry. 

Add vanilla and eggs and stir until combined.

Add salt, baking soda, cinnamon and flour and stir just until combined (don’t overmix – it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth).

Spread in loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs. 

Pumpkin Cornbread

I think every good meal should have a starch of some kind, whether that's some kind of bread, pasta, rice, potato, you know what I mean. When I had my brother and sister-in-law over for lunch a few weeks ago I decided to make chicken fajitas and even though I had already made some soft flour tortillas, that was more of the main dish and I decided that we needed something else on the side, some kind of starch. I have had this pumpkin cornbread pinned for a while now, and since it is fall and I'm in the pumpkin spirit it sounded like the perfect thing. 

It was the perfect thing. I thought this cornbread was absolutely delicious. I'm a big cornbread fan in general so it wasn't too big of a jump for me to love this recipe too. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it is fairly healthy as cornbread goes. I like my cornbread sweet and moist, I am not a big fan of the leaner, dry and crumbly cornbread that some people like. A lot of recipes (my favorite Cornbread Muffins included) are nice and rich, full of butter, milk and sugar. All good things but sometimes I want something a little leaner and this recipe fit the bill. 1/4 cup oil is the main fat, and I think next time I'll see what happens if I replace some of the oil with yogurt. Some sugar and a few eggs round out the main ingredients, and the pumpkin too of course, a nice amount of it for a good amount of moisture. They all come together to create this perfectly delicious, and beautifully golden cornbread, good as a simple side dish with any meal all year long. 

If you are worried about adding pumpkin to cornbread, don't be. I couldn't at all tell that it was there. The only thing I noticed was the beautiful golden color that it added to the bread, the flavor wasn't affected in the least bit. A good way to sneak a little vegetable into your meal without even trying. Like most cornbread, this recipe is a synch. Mix together the dry ingredients, then mix together the wet ingredients. Combine the two and throw the whole thing into the oven. Couldn't be simpler, and really couldn't be more delicious. If you like cornbread at all I highly recommend you give this recipe a try, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

The perfect side to a wonderful lunch of chicken fajitas

Pumpkin Cornbread

Adapted from 

Deliciously Yum

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, and cornmeal.

In another bowl, beat 2 eggs and add pumpkin purée, oil and honey. Mix until well combined and slowly stir into the dry cornmeal mixture. Stir until well incorporated and pour into baking dish. Even out the surface of the cornbread mixture and put into oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.

Apple Bread with Oatmeal Streusel

I love having apples in the fridge, they are a perfect snack and easy to throw into a lunch. They seem to last forever in the fridge, although I usually end up eating them so fast that it doesn't matter any way. But as much as I love apples, not just any apple will do. I am very picky about which kind of apples I will buy. In the fall, when they are super fresh and straight from the orchard I love almost all of them, but golden delicious in particular are so good. But as the winter moves on, I usually end up buying just a few varieties from the grocery store, Fuji, Pink Lady, and once in a while Honeycrisp (but I don't generally feel like I should be spending $4 a pound on Honeycrisp when all the other apples cost half as much). 

A few weeks ago I accidentally picked up the wrong bag of apples. I ended up with 3 pounds of Paula Reds which I just couldn't make myself eat out of hand. They have good flavor, but are just too soft and mushy for me. Making applesauce is always an option, but this time I also decided to use some of the apples to do a little baking. While this recipe may seem like a fall recipe, I see no reason to wait until fall to bake something with apples. So grab a couple apples and head to the kitchen to throw this lovely loaf of cinnamon apple bread together. It's good regardless of the season!

This recipe starts with a wonderfully chunky streusel, and plenty of it, just how I like it. Then you just have to throw together a simple cinnamon bread, chop up an apple and mix it all together. Into the pan, streusel on top and into the oven. The bread turned out beautifully, soft and moist, studded with small pieces of apple and perfumed with cinnamon. The original recipe called for cinnamon chips which I didn't have, but I think they would have been great in this. I also ended up using almonds in the topping instead of the walnuts because that's what I had, and it was great. But walnuts would have been wonderful too, I even think it might be nice to put some walnuts directly into the bread. So as you can see, this recipe is very versatile, so give it a shot, you won't regret it. 

Apple Bread with Oatmeal Streusel
Adapted from Cookie Monster Cooking
Ingredients
For the streusel:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour 
• ¼ cup rolled oats 
• ¼ packed light brown sugar 
• ¼ cup walnuts or whatever nut you have, finely chopped 
• pinch of cinnamon 
• pinch of salt 
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 

For the bread:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I did half whole wheat, 1/2 all purpose) 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar 
• ¼ cup granulated sugar 
• 1 large egg 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• ⅓ cup melted butter 
• ⅔ cup whole milk 
• 1 medium apple (or a couple smaller apples), chopped into small pieces, or grated

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

To make the streusel - in a small bowl, mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon and salt until well combined. Add in the melted butter and mix until combined and evenly moistened. Set aside.

To make the bread - in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar and egg until well combined (it will clump together at first but just keep whisking and it will smooth out). Add in the vanilla, butter and milk and whisk again to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chopped apple. 

Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to smooth the top. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top.

Bake for about 50 to 55 minutes, until a tester inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. If the top starts to brown too quickly, tent loosely with aluminum foil. Once the bread is cool enough to handle, gently run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Cherry Almond Buttermilk Bread

I seem to be posting a lot of buttermilk recipes lately. Too much buttermilk, what a happy problem to have. I found this recipe for basic buttermilk quick bread with variations on The Kitchn and wanted to give it a try. Since I had a couple of jars of canned cherries in the basement I decided to throw those in along with a little almond extract. I would have added some chopped almonds too but I didn't have any. Add a simple glaze to the top and you're done, quick and easy. This bread is nice for a quick snack, or along with your breakfast. It's not rich or super sweet, but sometimes that's okay. 

Like I said, this bread is definitely bread, it is not cake masquerading under the title of bread. It's heartier less sweet than cake and a lot of quick breads. Sometimes this is perfect, just what I need. I liked the addition of cherries and a glaze to add some sweetness, but you can also make the bread savory too and add in herbs and cheeses, peppers or onions, just about whatever you can think of. Check out the link for some ideas. It's a nice, versatile recipe to have on hand in case you need it.

Cherry Almond Buttermilk Bread

Adapted from 

The Kitchn

Ingredients

For the Bread

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 jar of canned cherries, drained, mixed with a tablespoon or two of flour

For the Glaze

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• a couple teaspoons cherry juice (or water)

Directions

Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease or spray with nonstick cooking spray a standard 9x5 loaf pan.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together buttermilk, egg and vegetable oil.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. Gently stir and fold the ingredients until all the flour has been incorporated and a shaggy, wet batter is formed, adding in the cherries towards the end of mixing. Be careful not to over-mix.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and pat it into the corners. Bake for 45-50 minutes. When finished, the loaf should be domed and golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and slicing.

Wrap baked loaves tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Baked loaves can also be wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil and frozen for up to three months.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

One of my biggest pet peeves is throwing leftover ingredients away because I don't know what to do with them. This happens to me every once in a while, and it really bugs me. There are a few repeat offenders that I deal with more often than others. Two come to mind right away, cream cheese and buttermilk. Both are ingredients that I absolutely love, but often recipes call for only a small amount of them, so then I'm left with the rest. Since both cream cheese and buttermilk can be used in so many different ways, throwing them away is a shame. A couple weeks ago I made a red velvet cake for a potluck and was left with a half used container of buttermilk that I vowed would not go to waste. I searched through my recipes to find some way to use it. This recipe popped out at me and sounded perfect. I love banana bread, but had never it with buttermilk, it sounded like a winner to me. This recipe turned out very nicely, it was buttery and tender with a slight tang from the buttermilk, a wonderful combination. Never again should I throw away a half used container of buttermilk!

 Creaming the butter and sugar

 Bananas, the star of the show

 Mash up the bananas

 Add the eggs, bananas and buttermilk

Mix!

Golden brown and beautiful

Perfect for breakfast with some butter or peanut butter

Buttermilk Banana Bread
From: Two Peas and Their Pod
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium sized bananas)
• 4 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Directions
Grease and flour 1 large loaf pan. Set pans aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla until the batter is well mixed.

Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Mix until well combined. Divide batter into greased and floured pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let bread cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the bread with a knife and carefully remove from pan. Finish cooling on rack. Slice and serve once cooled.

Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cake

Banana bread is an amazing invention. Whoever discovered that over ripe bananas could be mashed up and added to a quick bread batter is my hero. I am a huge banana fan, and go through at least half a dozen bananas a week. They are cheap, healthy and delicious. However, it can be a guessing game at the grocery store when confronted with a mountain of bananas at varying stages of ripeness; how quickly will the green bananas ripen, will I want a banana tomorrow, or in two days or tonight? I've become quite good at picking out the right number of bananas at the correct ripeness in order to have a good supply for at least a couple days. But there are still the times when I don't quite calculate correctly. The wonderful thing about bananas is that this is okay. In fact, sometimes it is preferable.

Banana bread is one of the most wonderful things to bake. It's quick, easy and delicious, and it can also be healthy at times. My personal favorite banana bread recipe is for Banana Oat Bread. However, a few months ago I was looking for something a little different. I wanted to bake something that reminded me of going out for breakfast at a coffee shop (one of my favorite things to do). They always seem to have some type of breakfast cake or bread that is easy to pick up and eat out of hand, something not too heavy and not overly sweet. I wanted to make something like that. So when I found this recipe online I knew I had to try it. I'm glad I did because it fit the bill perfectly.

This cake is super moist and light. It has that kind of spongy texture that always seems to accompany bread that is made with yogurt. The bananas add their characteristic subtle flavor and moisture which is enhanced by the addition of mini chocolate chips. The whole thing just works together so well. Now I can just brew up some coffee, close my eyes and take a bite, fooling myself into thinking that I'm at the coffee shop when I haven't even left my own kitchen.

My banana puree, an immersion blender does

a wonderful job

You need an egg and an egg white, save the

beautiful yolk for some scrambled eggs 

All the wet ingredients ready 

to be mixed

The wet, the dry and the chocolate

Mmmm, the best part

Stir it all together until just combined, 

be sure to not over mix

Pour into your greased pan

Baked

Chocolate and banana goodness!

Cut it up and enjoy for breakfast with a cup 

of coffee or hot chocolate

Banana Breakfast Cake
From David Lebovitz
Ingredients

• 1½ cups (210 g) flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• ½ teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
• ¾ cup (150 g) sugar 
• 2 tablespoons (55 g) melted butter 
• 1 large egg white 
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup banana puree, made from about 2 very ripe medium-sized bananas 
• ½ cup sour cream (I used Greek yogurt, 130 g)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/3 cup (60 g) mini chocolate chips 

Directions
Sift together in a medium bowl the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and espresso powder, if using. Mix in the sugar.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter, egg white, egg, banana puree, sour cream, and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in the wet ingredients with a spatula until almost mixed. Add in the chocolate chips or cocoa nibs and stir until just combined, but don’t overstir: stop when any traces of flour disappear.

Scrape the mixture into a prepared 9-inch square pan and bake for 35-38 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the center feels lightly-springy and just done. Cool on a baking rack.