Orange Cranberry & Oat Breakfast Muffins {vegan}

I must confess, I've always been a sucker for muffins. I'd choose a sweet, moist, crumbly muffin filled with bursting fruit over a cupcake any day. Don't even get me started on the the muffin top crumbles. I have a collection of muffin tin liners above the microwave with colors and designs for every season. But you see, I have this issue where once I eat one muffin, I eat ALL THE MUFFINS. Like zero self-control. They are just so small and delicious, I swear they call my name, and before I know it my desk is covered in dirty muffin tin liners and I feel super guilty. 

So in attempt to get inspired while scrolling through my favorite food blogs last week, I discovered these cranberry orange muffins. I've never been much of a cranberry fan, but I knew we had a big bag of them left-over from when I made Dark Chocolate Cranberry Crumble Cake last month so I figured I'd give them a try. Knowing my muffin obsession, I attempted to make these a little healthier so I tossed out the 3/4 cups of sugar the recipe called for and poured in a nice 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup (seriously, I put that shit in everything) instead. To make them more suitable for breakfast, I swapped out the all purpose flour and pulsed some oats into flour for added protein and fiber. While I was at it I trader butter for coconut oil and threw in some flax seed to replace the egg because why not make them vegan? How easy was that?! {cue Ina Garten} I added a touch of cinnamon for warmth and to combat the tangy citrus and topped things off with a sweet oat crumble. The results are so so good. 

They make the perfect breakfast muffins that won't leave you feeling guilty. They are bright and zesty (the fresh squeezed OJ does that!) which serves as the perfect pick-me-up for cold winter mornings. They are unbelievably moist and the oat crumble makes them feel like such a treat but somehow still healthy at the same time. Pop these guys in the toaster with a nice smear of butter/earth balance and you will thank me. 

Orange Cranberry & Oat Breakfast Muffins 
Adapted from Pastry Affair 
Makes 24 muffins 

For the muffins:
2 flax eggs (1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water + 2 tbsp flax seed meal + 1/4 tsp baking powder) or chicken eggs
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats 
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry 
zest of 2 oranges 
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 teaspoon salt 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1 cup pure maple syrup 
1 cup coconut oil, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.5 cups fresh squeezed orange juice (from about 4 oranges) 
2 heaping cups cranberries (fresh or frozen) 

For the crumble: 
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats 
2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour 
1 tablespoon coconut sugar (or cane sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt 
2 tablespoons coconut oil, cold 

Prepare the flax eggs. In a small prep bowl stir flaxseed meal, water, and baking soda together. Let sit for 15-20 minutes while preparing the other ingredients. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Blend oats in a food processor fitted with a blade until it becomes powdery, about 1 minute. Don't worry about getting it as fine as regular flour, it will have more body and chunkiness and that's okay. In a medium bowl, whisk the oat "flour", whole wheat pastry flour, orange zest, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside.

Make the crumble. Whisk the oats, flour, sugar and salt together until combined. Using a fork mix in the coconut oil until mixture becomes wet and crumbly. Refrigerate until right before use. Even 3 minutes in the fridge will help the coconut oil harden up. 

In a large bowl whisk together maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract and flax eggs. The oil will look like it won't incorporate, but just keep whisking, it will. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, one third at a time, whisking to combine. Once incorporated it will be super thick and hard to stir. Pour in the orange juice and whisk until completely incorporated. Stir in the cranberries. Pour into lined muffin tins, top with oat crumble, and cook for 30-35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. 




 

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Apple Challah Bread

I may not be Jewish, but when it comes to celebratory baked goods, I don't discriminate.  I started working at a Jewish preschool a couple hours a week and listening to them talk about the Challah, Shabbat dinner, the upcoming new year and all the traditions that surround it honestly makes me a little jealous. I can't help but want to be part of it all and learn more. That being said, I made my first ever Challah last year for Rosh Hashanah, it was so good, I waited patiently for the holiday to roll around again this year.

Homemade bread is such a treat, and in my option, well worth the effort. I sometimes feel my love for homemade breads and pastas and all-around "messy, hands-on baking endeavors" stem from some kind of childhood repression of having parents that never let me attempt wildly messy projects because they just wanted to keep the house clean. Why is it that the messiest projects also happen to be the most fun? Well guess what parents, I'm an adult now and I can make as much of a mess as I want! And I do. So I suppose I'm just making up for lost time because a kitchen floor covered in flour, and counters smeared with chocolate usually mean a good time has been had and something tasty is on the way. 

But back to Challah. It may be a little labor intensive, maybe even stressful at times if you're that perfectionist type. But it definitely makes for a fun project. Just make sure you have plenty of time to let the pesky dough rise (these loaves have 3 separate rise times, what divas). The kneading, braiding and stuffing with apples are my favorite parts. Rolling and squeezing the dough makes me feel like a child and I love it. 

I only made a handful of small tweaks to the original recipe. I measured out the amount of flour in grams to make it a little more exact than the "5-7 cups" the original recipe calls for. I also added half whole wheat pastry flour to give the dough a bit more heartiness and, who am I kidding, to make myself feel better about devouring an entire loaf. And I added a stick of cinnamon butter smear to each braid. Despite the honey, cinnamon, and sugar, the loaves come out only slightly sweet. It's perfection toasted with butter for breakfast. And I'd imagine it would make divine french toast. 

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Apple Challah Bread
Adapted from Tori Avey 
Makes two loaves 

For the dough:
1 1/2 cups warm water, divided 
1 packet active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 egg
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup honey
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp vanilla extract 
2 tsp salt
420 grams (3 cups) whole wheat pastry flour 
480 grams (3 1/4 cups) all purpose flour

For the cinnamon butter:  
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 
2 tbsp cinnamon 
1 tbsp sugar 

For the apples: 
3 medium granny smith apples 
Pinch of salt 
1 tsp lemon juice 
2 tsp sugar 

For the egg wash: 
1 egg
1 tbsp cold water
pinch of salt 
2 tbsp turbinado sugar 

Whisk together 1/4 cup warm water, active dry yeast, and 1 tsp sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit for 10 minutes until mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cup warm water, egg, egg yolks, honey, olive oil, vanilla, and salt, and whisk to combine. In a medium bowl whisk both flours together. 

Fit a stand mixture with a dough hook, and on low speed slowly add the flour to the wet ingredients about 1/2 cup at a time. If you don't have a stand mixer you can also do this by hand with a large wooden spoon, kneading by hand once the dough begins to come together. Continue until dough forms into a ball, adding more flour if necessary. Transfer dough to a floured work surface and knead by hand a couple of times. Pour about 1 tbsp olive oil into a large bowl. Add the dough and swirl your dough around in the bowl to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Place saucepan with boiling water at the bottom of your oven then cover the dough with a damp cloth and place it in oven on a rack directly above the saucepan. Close the oven and let the dough rise for 1 hour. Do not turn the oven on. 

After 1 hour, remove the dough and knead it once or twice to remove air pockets. Return to bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 more hour. 

Meanwhile, prep your filling. Peel and dice your apples into tiny 1/4 inch bits. As you dice, place the apples in a bowl of cold water with salt and lemon juice to keep them from browning. Using your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat together softened butter, cinnamon, and sugar until completely smooth. 

Once your dough has fully risen, divide the dough in half (I highly recommend a bench scraper for tasks like this, it also comes in handy for scooping up diced vegetables. I use mine almost daily). Keep 1/2 of the dough in bowl and cover. Transfer the other half to a floured counter and divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Using your hands and/or a floured rolling pin, shape the 4 pieces into 12" x 3.5" inch rectangles (I may be a dork, but I actually got out the ruler for this part, and I've seen the same thing done on America's test kitchen). Remember to keep flouring your work space as needed. Working with one piece of dough at a time, spread on 2 tbsp of cinnamon butter leaving about 1/2" border on all sides. Drain the water from your apples and toss with 2 tsp of sugar. Spoon 1/8 of your apples onto the cinnamon butter. Using your hands, pinch together the top and bottom edges of your rectangle until it becomes a solid rope with your apples hidden inside. Pinch the ends together to keep the apples from falling out and then roll your rope on a floured surface until it stretches to 16-18" long. Set aside, and repeat with remain 3 strands. 

Braid your challah. See photos. Also, Tori Avey takes wonderfully clear photos which you should totally reference if you get confused by mine. Once your challah is braided, tuck the end pieces under and using your bench scraper, without thinking too much about it, transfer your loaf to a sheet pan covered with parchment paper. Let the braided loaf sit for 30-45 minutes, to rise one final time. Meanwhile, braid your second Challah. 

Preheat your oven to 350. Just before adding your first loaf to the oven, make an egg wash by whisking together egg, water and salt. Using a pastry brush, liberally brush egg wash over your whole Challah and top with turbinado sugar. Bake for 20 minutes then remove from oven, apply another egg wash (being mindful to really get in the cracks) and return to oven for remaining 25 minutes. Bake loaves one at a time. 

Strawberry Banana Granola

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2014 was to "eat better breakfasts". I realized that I'd, for the most part, eliminated processed foods from my routine with the exception of good ol' cereal. Let me start by saying, I love cereal. It's delicious, it's comforting, it's easy, it tastes like childhood. But... it doesn't have protein, it doesn't keep you full for hours, and even the "healthy" cereal has a nice dose of sugar first thing in the morning. Basically, besides tasting fantastic, it's not really doing much for you. 

So for weeks I cooked over-easy eggs with toast, spinach, and tomatoes. I made warm oatmeal with apples and maple syrup on cold winter mornings. And then I discovered this homemade granola recipe and it was a game-changer. One bite of this stuff and you will forget store-bought cereal ever existed. It it that good. And the smell of it cooking the oven? Beyond words. The warmth of the cinnamon and banana are met perfectly with the tangy bite of strawberry. It makes the perfect snack on its own, but is divine over almond milk or with greek yogurt. 

I get the occasional eye-roll when I tell people I make my own granola, but honestly people, it takes about 15 minutes to mix up plus a little more in the oven and one batch lasts us about two weeks. Totally worth it. Oh, and it's packed full of protein and lots of other good-for-you things. 

Strawberry Banana Granola
Yields about 8 cups
Minimalist Baker

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2 tablespoons chia seeds (optional)
2 tablespoons hemp seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon flax seed meal
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon honey (or agave)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 medium ripe banana
1.2 oz freeze dried strawberries (I use trader joe's brand)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix oats, almonds, pecans, walnuts, chia & hemp seeds, flax seed meal, cinnamon, and sea salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Blend together (either with an immersion blender or stand blender) the coconut oil, maple syrup, honey, vanilla, and banana until smooth and creamy. Pour maple syrup mixture into oats mixture and stir until oats are completely moistened. 

Press the granola into a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool. Using a metal spatula (or your hands), break up the granola into desired chunks. It will continue to harden as it cools. Mix in strawberries and serve. Keeps for 2-3 weeks in an airtight container.