St. James Coffee Cake from Penzeys

I made this coffee cake Labor Day weekend to bring to my aunt's house, who was hosting a small get together at the Jersey shore.  It's from a Penzeys catalog, so you know it's going to be good.  :)

Here's what you'll need:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Penzeys Cinnamon (best cinnamon ever!)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup raisins (or currants)
• 1 cup chopped nuts, I believe I used hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and spices.  Cut or rub in the butter until the mixture resembles corn meal.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the mixture.  In a second bowl, combine buttermilk and baking soda.  Pour this into the remaining crumb mixture in halves, beating thoroughly after each addition.

Stir in the raisins and nuts.  Spread the batter into a greased and floured 9"x13" pan.  Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour until brown and springy when touched or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cookies (done the Babycakes way)

I've been on kind of a baking kick lately, and one afternoon I was craving cookies, so I baked some oatmeal raisin cookies.  This recipe comes from Babycakes Covers the Classics, so since it's Babycakes, it's going to be gluten free and vegan.  I didn't have gluten free oats, so I just used regular oats.  They turned out great, but once I put them into the cookie jar, they fell apart, so they are a little cakey. 

I also found out some news, a lot of my family might have a gluten intolerance.  My cousin found out her son has Celiac's and my mom has Crohn's, which is a close relative to Celiac's.  A good portion of my mom's side of the family has had stomach problems, and just passing it off as, "well, it runs in the family..."  So now that I have found out this not-so-surprising news, I'm going to try and go gluten free for a month to see how I feel.  I usually thought it was the milk in the cheese from pasta, so I would always avoid anything with too much cheese in it at Italian restaurants or big gatherings.  We shall see the results of this experiment.  Sorry for rambling, now onto the recipe.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour
• 1 cup vegan sugar
• 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Oats
• 1/4 cup ground flax meal
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, oats, flax meal, cinnamon, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt.

Add the coconut (or canola) oil, applesauce, and vanilla and stir with a rubber spatula until a thick dough forms.

Add the raisins and stir until evenly distributed.  Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto he prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 8 minutes, rotate the baking sheets, and bake for 7 minutes more, or until golden brown.

Let stand on the baking sheets for 15 minutes before serving.  Enjoy! 

Raisin Cinnamon Oatmeal

 This was my breakfast this morning.  I haven't eaten oatmeal since I was a little kid, and back then it was the junky instant stuff from a tiny package.  Today was the grown-up version of my favorite flavor from back then, raisin cinnamon.  I didn't take any pictures because I wasn't thinking of posting this, but since it turned out so well, I decided to.

What you'll need:
1/2 cup rolled oats (no added sugar and no added flavor)
dash of salt
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup raisins
1 package of flaxseed from Carrington Farms' Organic Flax Paks Milled Flax Seeds
1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon (I used Penzeys' because it is the best cinnamon out there, in my opinion.)

Bring the soy milk and tiny bit of salt to a boil.  Lower the heat and add oats.  Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in flaxseed meal and raisins.  Add the cinnamon and stir once more.  Eat and enjoy! 

Spice Cookie Bars (Penzeys')

Wow it's been so long since I blogged! I have been very busy at work.  I was in charge of the annual holiday event, which went great.  Also our after school program ended on the 21st;  and the holidays are always busy for us all.  My job ended today, so I start the new year off without a job, but that's alright because I'm going back to school full time to get a certificate at my local community college.

This recipe was made on Christmas morning and I got it from the Penzeys' store.  They are from a woman named Sally K. Field who just wanted to make a healthier snack for her kids when they came home from school, as opposed to brownies.  They turned out to be very yummy and were a hit with the family.

Here's what you'll need:
1 cup seedless raisins
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon (the recipe called for Penzeys' China Cinnamon, but I used their regular one)
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts, but pecans would work well too.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9"x13" pan and set aside.  Place the raisins and water in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat.  Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Pour into a roomy bowl and add the vegetable oil, sugar and egg.

Mix well with an electric mixer.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.  Add to the raisin mixture and mix well.  Stir in the nuts, if using.  Press into the pan and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Let cool before cutting, and enjoy!