Cinnamon Bread

Worry not! I haven't been kidnapped by muffin-obsessed aliens! :D Dave and I went to Reno over the weekend for a bowling tournament that he was in, thus no baking this past Friday.

But I was in the mood last night for something for breakfast, and wound up finding this recipe on Allrecipes. I altered it slightly (cutting down on the oil, and upping the applesauce. I put what I did in the recipe posted). If I make it again, I'll definitely add more spices to it. It's moist and yummy as it is, but I'd like just a little bit more kick. After all, mornings can be rough, and sometimes we all need a kick to get started. ;)

Oh, and at first, I kinda questioned the whole vanilla pudding powder in there, but once mixed - even when still just dry ingredients - it smells so good. It adds almost a smoothness to the flavor, which was a very pleasant surprise.




Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 5.1-oz. package of instant vanilla pudding
½ tsp. baking soda
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1½ cups milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease two 5x9-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, stir together milk, vegetable oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture, mixing until well blended. Divide batter (relatively) evenly between the two loaf pans.

Bake at 325F for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack.

Cocoa Ginger-Spice Muffins

Yes, in my never-ending quest of a breakfast that keeps me full until lunchtime... muffins again. I found these on the Hershey's website, but I altered them a bit, since I'm not a big fan of chocolate chips in my muffins. They don't seem quite so... muffiny then. Also, less molasses, too, since I didn't have a whole cup. Oops.

In the last third of putting these together, I discovered that I only had one egg left. Which meant a walk over to Whole Foods (because, come on, cage-free organic eggs for $1.99? You can't go wrong!), while hoping what was in the bowl wouldn't go all crazy while I was gone. The recipe is different, I thought, what with the order in which ingredients go into the bowl. Tried 'em last night, shortly out of the oven, and was disappointed. Tried again this morning, for breakfast, and they improved. Thankfully. :)



Ingredients:
2½ cups flour
¼ cup cocoa
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup hot water
½ cup molasses
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.

Stir together hot water, molasses, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack.