LUCY BURDETTE: I had planned to design a fancy post today with several recipes and all my favorite home videos, but I ran out of steam! Instead, I'm sharing this Irish soda bread recipe that I plan to tweak with cranberries and grated orange peel for Christmas.
For some reason I had decided I was not a fan of Irish soda bread. Maybe I had a bad loaf somewhere, sort of like a bad clam? I can't exactly remember. However, a few months ago I went into my favorite Connecticut bakery’s pop-up event and noticed that their soda bread looked delicious. I bought a loaf and we gobbled the whole thing. This is my attempt to recreate it, using the website Sally's Baking Addiction as a starting point.
Ingredients
1 and 3/4 cups buttermilk or milk with added 1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 large egg
4 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for your hands and the counter
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
I've gotten in the habit of not buying buttermilk, because I usually end up throwing half of it out. And it is higher in sodium than regular milk. If you want to use buttermilk, have at it. If you would like a substitute, squeeze half a lemon into a two-cup measuring cup and fill to the one and 3/4 cup mark with whole milk. Set that aside to come to room temperature. Whisk it together along with one egg.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a big bowl, the flour, the sugar, the baking soda, the salt, and the caraway seeds. Stir in the raisins.
Cut 5 tablespoons of very cold butter into the dry ingredients. The colder the butter, the lighter the batter.
When the butter is pea sized, carefully fold in the egg and milk mixture.
Move the batter to a floured surface (I used parchment paper with a little flour sprinkled on it.) Flour your hands and knead the dough briefly into a round. Again, shorter is better, even 30 seconds.
Move the batter to a prepared greased pan. (This can be a pie plate, a cake pan, or cast iron skillet.) Those round pans help the bread keep its shape. Once in the pan, make a cross in the batter with a sharp knife.
Bake in a 400-degree oven for about 25 minutes. You can check the bread halfway through to see if the top is getting too brown. If so, cover with foil for the second half of the baking.
Let the loaf cool for ten minutes or more before you slice it. Serve warm with more butter and possibly raspberry jam, or for breakfast, maybe with peanut butter?
I am certain that the Scone Sisters will be making this in A DISH TO DIE FOR! What baking plans do you have for this week?
And by the way, I did take my new OXO cookie press out for a test drive. Here's what the almond cookies look like:
That soda bread is definitely on my “must try” list, Lucy . . . it looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteDon’t cookie presses make great cookies?!
Today I made cookies . . . and cookies . . . and . . . . [Red Velvet with White Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Orange with White Chocolate Chips, Double Chocolate Fudge with Chocolate Chunks, and Chocolate Espresso.] Eggnog Cookies are still on my "need to make" list . . . .
I still have cakes on my baking list, too . . . both for gifts [Ridiculous Chocolate, Pumpkin Spice, and Eggnog] and a Frosted Cranberry Bundt Cake for Christmas dessert . . . .
Oh Joan, are you willing to share your Frosted Cranberry Bundt Cake recipe? I might make that as my cake if you do.
DeleteI'm dying to hear more about the red velvet cookies!
DeleteRed velvet! Eggnog! Joan which is YOUR favorite?
DeleteIt is the first I hear about Eggnog cookies or cake.
DeleteJOAN: I will pass on the eggnog cookies & cake but your other holiday baking sounds delish!
DeleteKathy: Here's the recipe . . . .
DeleteFROSTED CRANBERRY BUNDT CAKE
Sugared Cranberries:
Simmer 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup granulated sugar for three minutes
Stir in 3 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and dried
Stir to fully coat the cranberries with the syrup; remove pan from heat and stir cranberries for 1 minute
[do not leave in the syrup long enough for the cranberries to pop]
Using a slotted spoon, remove cranberries from syrup; place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicon mat; let dry for about an hour
Roll cranberries in one cup of sugar to coat
Cranberry Bundt Cake:
Grease and flour Bundt pan; preheat oven to 375 degrees
Sift together; then set aside
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream until light and fluffy
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup softened butter
Add; beat until just incorporated
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract [or, if you want cranberry orange, 2 teaspoons orange extract and 2
tablespoons orange zest or 2 tablespoons grated orange peel]
3/4 cup milk
Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/eggs mixture; beat until just mixed
Fold in 3 cups fresh cranberries
Bake for one hour or until cake tester comes out clean
Remove from oven; set pan on wire cooling rack; cool for thirty minutes, then remove cake from pan and cool completely
Frosting:
Whisk together 2 cups confectioner’s sugar and 2 tablespoons milk
Finishing the cake:
Pour frosting over cooled cake; just before serving, garnish the cake with sugared cranberries
LUCY: The Red Velvet cookies are really, really easy because they start with a box of red velvet cake mix. To the mix, add 2 eggs, 1/3 cup vegetable oil; 1/4 cup water. Mix well [the dough will be thick]; stir in 1 cup white chocolate chips.
DeleteDrop by teaspoonfuls into dish of powdered sugar and roll to coat dough; shake off excess and put on cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for 11-12 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown.
HALLIE: I don't have a favorite . . . they're both delicious!
DeleteJoan, thanks so much for the cake recipe. If I don't make it for Christmas, I'll be making it sometime later.
DeleteEggnog. YOu can have mine. oxoxo The rest sounds amazing!
DeleteJoan, I'd be very tempted to add some chopped nuts to the cake batter--if I can find a special occasion, I would love to make this. But see below, I'd be eating most of the cake if I made it just for us.
DeleteGood job with the cookie press! I have a very old one that was my Nany’s . Oddly I have never had Irish soda bread. Is is scone/biscuit-like?
ReplyDeleteYes a bit like that, but it slices nicely. freezes too!
DeleteThe soda bread with cranberries and orange peel sounds great to me. I just picked up my two loaves of cranberry orange tea bread I had ordered at Great Harvest. They only made a short run, so I had to put in my order for them. But, they didn't ice them like they always have, so I'll have to do that. I feel bad saying I bought my bread, but I probably will be baking a cake and a pie for Christmas. I'm making a key lime cheeseball, with the help of a mix. I actually found Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese at the grocery today. There's a nation-wide shortage of it.
ReplyDeleteI don't bake cookies, but your cookies look great, Lucy. My daughter and granddaughter made cookies at their house tonight and sent me a picture of them doing the decorating of them. I need to take a look at the cookie press for my daughter. I used to make fudge every Christmas, as it was what we put out for Santa/me, but I don't do that anymore.
Don't feel bad about anything Kathy! I didn't realize cream cheese was short--I have two packs left over from Thanksgiving...
DeleteYikes, a cream cheese shortage?! Fortunately we don't seem to have the same problem in Canada. How could I enjoy my Montreal-styled bagels this month without cc, let alone needing it for cheesecake recipes.
DeleteI hadn't heard about the cream cheese shortage, either, but there's an article about it in today's Washington Post!
DeleteA member of choir mentioned she had been to two different stores looking for low-fat cream cheese. She was going to a third on the next day.
DeleteThe article I saw about the scarcity of cream cheese showed a picture of a grocery shelf where it normally was, and it was empty. I was surprised to see the Kroger's I went to was fully stocked in it.
DeleteI really wonder about the cream cheese thing. What a good way to sell things! But they were offering money--or something--NOT to buy it. And is cheesecake really a holiday thing?
DeleteROBERTA: I love making quick breads and this Irish soda bread looks tasty (but I would personally skip the caraway seeds-not a fan). The addition of cranberries and orange zest for a holiday version sounds great. I would make that one.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing the REDS/readers' wishlist items yesterday, I did mention in a comment that our local high-end kitchenware store (Ma Cuisine) is closing on December 23 after 40 years in the Byward Market. Everything was 30-50% off.
I got a few wishlist items (digital scale, seasoned cast iron fry pan) as well as 2 new 9" round and 10" square cake pans to replace my well-used pans.
So I guess I will be baking cake(s) this week...any suggestions?
Also I have 2 frozen pre-made pie shells that need to be used so I will make a savoury and a fruit pie of some kind.
You did score Grace! Do you always measure your dry ingredients? I'm too impatient I guess...
DeleteROBERTA: Like you, I am too impatient so I do not weigh ingredients.
DeleteBut now I have my new digital scale, I will see over the next few months which recipe has ingredients where weighing them is important (instead of winging it, as I normally did).
Baking is chemistry! Always weigh and measure!
DeleteRICK: Yes, I agree that more precision is needed in baking but I still wing it (eyeball things) and most recipes turn out fine. But now that I have the digital scale, I will use it to weigh ingredients to make the sourdough starter and dough.
DeleteYesterday I made sausage rolls and then, completely unrelated, a curry stand chicken tikka masala, because I'd pulled a packed of chicken out of the freezer.
ReplyDeleteToday is mince pie day. And maybe fruitcake.
And on Tuesday I'll produce Julie's mother's date nut bread, our gift to the family. This has been a tradition for 15-16 years now. I like doing it and they all get teary at the sight of their mother's Christmas specialty. I used to make tons of cookies, but not this time. Savory has more appeal. On the other hand, I've eaten an entire Panettone in the past couple of weeks. Still I've lost ten pounds in the same time.
The interesting thing is that while I have an enormous urge to cook, I have no appetite for the fruits of my labors.
ANN: Yay, I finally found someone who likes fruitcake AND panettone!
DeleteStill have to buy the panettone from the La Bottega Italian market this week. I can also eat the whole damn thing by myself, ha ha. Leftover panettone makes the BEST FRENCH TOAST although I like Lynn's suggestion last week about making individual trifles with leftovers.
I have bought my Laura Secord fruitcake and have only eaten small 1 slice so far. Can you share your fruitcake recipe? I never thought to make my own - too laborious, I thought.
Do you also like stollen? I usually make my own almond stollen (with a marzipan centre) to give out as gifts but am not doing so this year due to pandemic restrictions.
Ann, The Panettone diet!
DeleteHa ha, I will eat the whole panettone myself but I guarantee you that I will NOT LOSE WEIGHT!
DeleteAnn, ten pounds in a week? Is everything okay?
DeleteI've looked everywhere this year and could not find the dried fruit I used to use for fruitcake. Nothing but cherries, and then they only had a handful of containers.
KAREN: I had the same problem finding dried citrus peel and other fruits last December in Ottawa. But Natural Food Pantry (our health food chain) is open this year. I was able to stock up with plenty of dried citrus peels, cherries and other fruits for this winter's baking.
Delete10 pounds in 2 weeks! I gain a pound per cookie…
DeleteYummy soda bread! Today I'll bake Mexican Bridecakes and red and green sugar cookies (both are the easiest of any I make). I hope to make gingerbread people this week and the English Butter cutout cookies, but my knee is giving me problems and I really should be staying off it, so we'll see.
ReplyDeletetake care of the knee Edith!
DeleteEDITH: Both cookies do sound easy (and tasty) to make.
DeleteHope your knee gets better soon.
Thanks, Lucy and Grace. It's already a replacement knee, my first, and I have no idea what's up. Will be calling the doc this week!
DeleteOh dear, that is weird, Edith...fingers crossed that the knee pain is a temporary problem.
DeleteAnd I searched and found your Mexican Bridecakes recipe in your Christmas novella (on my Kindle app).
Oh, keep us posted on the knee...you are such a a whirlwind, Edith...xx
DeleteI baked yesterday for maybe the first time in nine years. My kitchen is tiny and I don’t own a mixer at the moment, but yesterday I made date nut bars. My Lithuanian grandmother used to make these around Christmas every year. The recipe she used was one she got from The Settlement Cookbook, but that is packed away. I used a recipe I recently happened upon in The Washington Post that seemed much Ike my grandmother’s. The result was delicious.
ReplyDeleteI like turning the soda bread into a holiday version. I think I would use half cranberries and half currents, soaking the currents in a bit of brandy before adding them. There was orange zest in my date nut bars. I think it would be a good add to the soda bread.
How nice that you found a recipe like your grandmother's!
DeleteI'm afraid I'm still where Lucy was "before" - given a choice of quick breads, I'd pick biscuits over irish soda bread every time. Or something yeasted. But I'm not a baker so much as a cook. Though I AM making cookies-- yesterday biscotti (queresimale with almonds), tomorrow walnut crescents rolled in powdered sugar. For the first time, no chocolate coated orange peel but I did make a batch of dark chocolate and pecan turtles for which I actually made (as opposed to melting cubes) the caramel... I blame The Great British Baking Show for the caramel, which I haven't tasted yet and am hoping it's not tooth-breaking.
ReplyDeletethat sounds delicious Hallie!
DeleteHALLIE: Those cookies and treats sounds yummy. BTW, I still have not watched a single episode of GBBS or the Canadian version. Maybe if we are forced into a lockdown again in January due to Omicron...
DeleteThis season I miss a former Red Jan Brogan who had a recipe for some kind of brittle (anyone else remember?) that she made at this time every year.
ReplyDeleteRoberta, your almond cookies are very cute. I wouldn’t mind volunteering tasting some :)
ReplyDeleteI had to look on the net what was a cookie press. I’ve been brought up using cookie cutters and always have. I have to add that I never make as many cookies as others here. I prefer cooking squares.
This week I’ll bake date squares and maple syrup squares to give to friends and family who liked them.
I’ll only bake spoon cookies : molasses and oatmeal.
Grace, I love fruit cake but never prepared one. My stepmother makes one every year (but last one and probably not this one too ) and give me some.
Also, my friend makes what is called “ gateau de l’amitié “ and give me one every year. It is full of fruits and even better than a fruitcake, more mellow.
Danielle-momo, I just looked up the recipe for gateau de l'amitie, and it sounds delicious. Too late to start one this year for Christmas, though, since the "Hermann" dough takes ten days. But I've bookmarked a recipe for next year, thank you!
Deletewhat a lovely tradition Danielle!
DeleteDANIELLE: Thanks for the tip about le gateau de l'amitie. I looked it up online.
DeleteIf I can make my own sourdough starter, I think I can make the friendship paste over the 10 day period. Maybe I will try this in late December/early January when we are stuck indoors (lockdown).
The only holiday item I buy from a Quebec bakery is a mini buche de Noel (yule log).
Again, I leave that one to the pros to make.
I will bake but haven't decided what. When we get home tomorrow, we will be alone for the rest of the holidays. I have time to think about it and already have the ingredients for any type of cookie, cake or even an apple pie. It is so different now. (Sigh.)
ReplyDeleteFor cookie ideas, I strongly recommend Sally's Baking Addiction website. She has tutorials, techniques and substitutions right there. I cannot say enough about how terrific her site is!
Happy Baking!
Yes I love her site too Judy!
DeleteMy mother was known far and wide as a great cookie baker. She would make a different kind every day and freeze them. I'm trying to remember which were the special ones she made just for Christmas. One involved a lot of kind of nuts and the kind of fruit you'd find in fruit cake. They were truly wonderful. I have the recipe but haven't had the heart to make them myself.
ReplyDeleteLucy, the soda bread looks terrific, and I plan to make it soon. The recipe I normally use doesn't hold together well so I never get a nicely shaped loaf although it does taste delicious.
Hope it turns out well Judi!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThere is supposed to be a question mark after Judy's name.
DeleteThe soda bread sounds great, but I think I'll pass. I'm pretty sure it would all get eaten--by me. My hips need to be placed on Ann's Panettonne diet, I think. Or something.
ReplyDeleteThis week I'll be baking a recipe that purports to be the Ted Lasso biscuits of TV fame. It's a shortbread bar cookie and sounds divine. My oldest daughter is hosting us for Christmas, and they are huge Ted Lasso fans, and even though they always want us to bring cookies from the local European bakery (Servatti's), I feel sure these will be a hit. I'll let you know how they turn out.
Hallie, I'm tempted to make your chocolate-covered orange peel in your stead.
That's so funny Karen, do let us know how the Ted Lasso biscuits turn out!
DeleteLucy Roberta, the spritz cookies look great, by the way. Are they as tender as they look? Yum.
DeleteYes, Karen, do let us know!! I am so not a cookie baker, but I love shortbread and Ted Lasso, so might be tempted to try those!
DeleteIt sounds super easy, and the same site also has directions for the pink box he uses to give them to Rebecca on the show.
DeleteKaren, what a hoot! The Ted Lasso biscuits! Please post a pic on your FB page and let us know how they turned out.
Deleteyes the spritz cookies are nice and light (and small). I used Melissa Clark's recipe from the NYT with some almond flour
DeletePanettone diet, here I come! I swear I've gained 10 pounds just reading today's post! I love to bake. And here I am in a household with two young men who are not overly fond of sweets and a little guy who is much too busy to pay attention to a plate of cookies, a box of fudge, etc. The Christmas version of soda bread looks wonderful--but the only baking I'll be doing is soft ginger cookies with cream cheese frosting (oddly, no cream cheese shortage here--it's on sale!) and for Christmas dinner, a Key line cheesecake with gingersnap crust.
ReplyDeleteFlora: are the soft ginger cookies your recipe? Would you share it? I love gingerbread and ginger cookies but have been never a fan of the ginger crisp cookie.
DeleteDeana, the cookie I usually bake is actually a soft pumpkin-ginger version, although I do have a separate recipe for molasses-ginger drop cookies. If you aren't a fan of pumkin, you might try the recipe minus the pumpkin.
DeletePumpkin-ginger cookies
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses plus enough granulated sugar to make 1/3 cup
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 eggs
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (if desired. I never do).
1/2 teaspoon salt
Beat sugars, molasses, butter and vanilla until well-blended. Beat in pumpkin and eggs until well-mixed. Add dry ingredients.
Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet, bake in 375F oven 10-12 minutes, or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Remove to cooling rack, let cool completely before frosting.
Flora, I might be tempted to try these, too. I have a couple of cans of pumpkin I didn't use at Thanksgiving, and I love anything with ginger.
DeleteDebs, our dogs get a spoonful of pumpkin with every meal, vet’s orders. He says they need the fiber. Do you can use up the remainder I’d the can!
DeletePresume you are fluent in typo and autu
DeleteThe soda bread looks great. Babette mentioned using half cranberries, half currents, which is what I thought of doing but I'd use raisins. We used to make Paintbrush cookies as kids. And then we got to make them with the niece and nephew 30 years later. The cookies are a semi-soft sugar cookie, cut out and then painted with food coloring egg-yolk "paint" that is put on, before baking, with sprinkles or without. The paint gets shiny. Mom always added a touch of almond extract with the vanilla.
ReplyDeleteWe have never been a holiday cake family. It has always been pies. I like mincemeat and since I'm scheduled to go to my sister's next week, she will have someone to share one with this year. We are the only ones left who enjoy it. Definitely something from Dad's side of the family. Lately I've been adding cranberries to the jarred mincemeat, add little brandy or rum or, if you were Grandma Dale, both. I like to roll out puff pastry and make little turnovers. Which reminds me, I need to buy some raw sugar for the tops of the turnovers.
Thank you, Lucy! I love soda bread - it’s the Irish in me.
ReplyDeleteI cannot compare to any of the real bakers on here today, but I can offer that Mary Berry's Fruity Tea Loaf is a wonderful (in my opinion) substitute for a Christmas cake. It's super easy to make and delicious -- especially with butter and cheese as a hearty elevenses snack. I now cannot find her original recipe online, but many bakers have their version of it online. If I can make it, anyone can! I'll leave the soda bread and stollen to others (GRACE!).
ReplyDeleteAMANDA: Mary Berry is a judge on GBBO, right? I still have not watched a single episode but recognize her name.
DeleteAnd honestly, almond stollen is super easy to make. It is like a quick bread (using a mixture of almond flour/all-purpose flour) and does not need yeast. Libby Klein gave me a GF (gluten-free) stollen recipe last December and it was pretty good, too.
GRACE: Yes, Mary Berry is the Queen of Baking in the UK, and was the original judge with Paul Hollywood on GBBO.
DeleteAMANDA: Sadly, I can't try and make Mary's fruity tea loaf. My WORST food allergy is to all black teas. Have not been able to drink/use black tea since the 1990s.
DeleteLucy, thanks for reminding me about Irish soda bread. I used to make it--I think I used whole wheat pastry flour, but I'd kind of forgotten about it. It was delicious with split pea soup, which I was thinking of making this week. Now I wonder which cookbook had the recipe...
ReplyDeleteOh yes would be very good with split pea soup!
DeleteJust a note in response to your comment that buttermilk is higher in sodium than regular milk, as someone who has been hospitalized with sodium deficiency, sodium isn’t always a bad thing! Unless you have high blood pressure issues, salt can be a necessary part of daily eating.
ReplyDeleteYes true, but I have Meniere's disease which means cooking and baking with less salt...
DeleteThanks for the soda bread recipe. My tried-and-true one is in my personal recipe book which-- along with my address book and my checkbooks-- have not been seen since the RemodelFromHell. I'm spending this year's holidays unpacking (still), cleaning, and sleeping.
ReplyDeleteHope that all gets sorted out soon Ellen!
DeleteGrace and I are making fruitcake today stay tuned. Film at eleven
ReplyDeleteKeep us posted!
DeleteANN started 2 hours ahead of me since I had to go grocery shopping this afternoon to get the ingredients (mincemeat, sweetened evaporated milk). Mine was put in the oven at 4 pm EST and should be done by 6:30 pm.
DeleteHere is the photo link to my finished fruitcake.
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1601831133488357&set=pcb.1601830583488412
Oh, Lucy, I'd be visiting you often if I lived close. I used to bake a decent Snickerdoodle and candy cane cookies were fun to make. Right now I have cookies from a neighbor, "Magic" being the favorite I think. We are also making plans to visit Sucrose, a lovely German bakery, after the holidays. May all be bright.
ReplyDelete(Oh, and Penzey's Spices is having a super offer right now for a free SOUL box (code word SOUL).
thanks Mary, will take a look (though I don't need too much more on my shelves!)
DeleteI give away some . . .
DeleteThe Irish soda bread looks delicious! My husband baked soda bread for a few years after our trip to Ireland. I hate to admit it but I just don't have the Christmas spirit this year. Everything is a chore. I'm not baking anything. The tree is not going up this year unless it happens by magic. The outdoor lights are up only because the boys took care of it. My shopping is not done and may not be done in time because. . . my granddaughter has covid. We saw her off Wednesday healthy and she arrived home not feeling well. We got word yesterday she'd tested positive. We drove to a testing spot today and the line was around the block so we bailed. Tried to buy testing kits but everyone is out. Ordered some online but they won't arrive until after Christmas. So frustrating! None of us has symptoms but we don't want to chance spreading it if we have it. Oh well. This is so ridiculous it is almost funny. I think that means I don't have to worry about inviting anyone over for snacks on Christmas Day.
ReplyDeleteOH NOOOO.How is she feeling? Yeah, and I fear you will need to curtail your guesting. Keep us posted, okay? (Does she know how it happened?)
DeletePat D, here locally (northern Ohio), all of the public libraries have rapid tests, free of charge. They run out quickly, but supplies keep coming in. Are you in Houston? I don't know if Texas offers the same service :-(
DeleteYes, I'm here in Houston. There are quite a few free test sites but long lines as the omicron variant is running rife here. I'm patient (but not in line!) I'll wait for home test kits to arrive. As for where my granddaughter got it, it would be either school or from one of her friends she runs with in the evenings.
DeleteOh no, so sorry to hear this Pat. Fingers crossed!
DeleteSo sorry to hear this, Pat! Fingers crossed for you and for your granddaughter!
DeletePAT: Oh no, sorry to hear your granddaughter has COVID. Hope you are able to get the test kits and that the rest of the family has negative results.
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ReplyDeleteSO GREAT! I am doing a test bake. I have some cinnamon brioche bread that's not transporting. BUT I thought--If I cube it, and put it in a baking pan, then put melted butter. Then top with chopped cinnamon-sugared apples and craisins and maybe sliced bananas, and then more brioche cubes and butter and cinnamon and sugar on top and then bake--that has to be good, right? Any thoughts or suggestions? Would that work?
ReplyDeleteToday's Washington Post has a recipe for make-ahead overnight French toast. I wonder if that would give you some ideas.
DeleteHank, not sure about the bananas--haven't ever baked anything with sliced bananas. But chooped nuts with apples and craisins.... could be yummy!
ReplyDeleteOoh, nuts! Yes, can do. Thank you! Bananas--seems like if they are covered by the bread, they could work. Hmmm.
DeleteIt sounds like it should be a bread pudding to me Hank...eggs and milk
DeleteEggs and milk,yes! I is bread puddingy! But maybe I could leave those things out. You think it might be too crunchy? Or it would just fall apart? But falling apart would be okay. Like a crumble or a brown betty.
DeleteHANK: Yes, it sounds like you are making a bread pudding. And you want the top to be browned but not crunchy. And the milk and eggs should help bind it all together so it should not fall apart. Good luck! xoxo
DeleteOkay--doing it Monday! I will report!
DeleteThis post made me want to light a candle and eat everyone's yummy treats! On our farm in Maine, my mother would start saying on Dec. 22, the days are getting longer again--and repeated it on the coldest days to come.
ReplyDelete