I seem to be the queen of finding random ingredients, and this week is no different. Have you ever heard of Banana JAM? I had no idea that you could make jam out of bananas, but you can and it’s pretty darn good. I had to buy a jar when I saw it in the shops and decided to make these here Monkey Pie Bars — Banana Coconut Crumble Bars. Amazingly rich banana flavor and toasted coconut. Perfect “tropical” flavors to warm up this cold March morning.
Hand pies, pasties, whatever you want to call them are a great alternative to making a sandwich when you’re headed out on a mini-picnic (in March!), so I made these Potato Leek and Cheddar ones before heading out. Bacon would have been a lovely addition but I didn’t have any in the fridge. So yummy. So easy too — just remember to take the puff pastry out of the fridge the night before. And I am off on my mini-adventure!
While we’re wrapping up “Bread Week” here at CSPS, here is another bread-like recipe — Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits. OMG are these good. Absolutely phenomenal. I think the the trick to making them so flaky is to freeze the butter ahead of grating and then adding to the dough. It’s a little crumbly when you go to roll it out, but trust me, it will work. These are, hands down, the best biscuits that I have ever had. Here they are pictures as my breakfast,but they would also go great with soup or salad or as a dinner roll. Trust me, you’ll want to make them. Besides: Bacon. Cheddar. What could go wrong there!
This Honey Oatmeal Breakfast Bread is a little lighter than some of my other breads which are quite hearty. This one uses a lower protein wheat flour, plus oat flour. It’s sweeter and “livelier” and in addition to being super-yummy with just butter (or butter and honey, to stay on the profile. Or honey and jam!), this would likely make a decent French Toast. I’ll have to test that theory at the weekend.
This here is perhaps my absolute favorite bread to make. It seems to be fail-proof and it is always delicious. If you are adverse to the onion-y flavor the “Everything Bagel” mixes provide, King Arthur Baking sells an Artisan Bread topping that is similar, minus the onion flakes, or you could make some yourself by combining pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and salt. This boule is quite big, so I cut it half and then cut half-loaf slices. You can also freeze it, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Makes a super-yummy sandwich bread too.