Cornbread

            Cornbread is sweet and easy to whip up for a dinner side dish.  We really enjoy having bread with our family dinners.  But, yeast bread take a long time to make and require more planning during your day.  Many commercially baked breads have cross-contamination issues with nuts.  Originally, I shied away from making it for a while, because as a kid we usually had cornbread from a box mix.  But cornmeal is really easy to use and works well when blended with flour.   This will become a new mealtime favorite.         

Ingredients

1 c cornmeal

1 c flour

1/3 c sugar

½ tsp salt

¼ c silken tofu

¼ c canola oil

1 c soymilk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease and 8 x 8 pan with shortening.  Add the dry ingredient to a medium sized bowl and stir together with a spoon.  Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry mixture and mix with an electric mixer until just moistened.  Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.  Let it cool for 10 minutes, then cut it into squares and serve with soy butter.

This recipe can also be made into muffins.  Grease muffins cups and bake for 20 to 2 minutes.  

A and J Bakery, a Nut Free Bakery

We recently visited my home state of Rhode Island and took a visit to A and J Bakery, a Nut Free Bakery. It was my daughter's first visit to a NUT FREE bakery where she could pick out whatever treats that she wanted!  Well, almost any treat, since she is also allergic to dairy.  But, she still had plenty of choices.  We may have overindulged a bit, but we let the kids each pick out 4 treats, plus the cake that we ordered.

I also snuck in some shopping by picking up some Easter treats for the kiddos too.  This will be their first year with full size chocolate bunnies.  I made some chocolate lollipops a few years ago, but they were so sad looking.  The kids loved them, but I wanted them to have pretty, wrapped bunnies like other children get.  A and J Bakery to the rescue!!

I'm sure that we will be making many trips to A and J in the future.  The staff was helpful and polite, and they also ship some of their products as well.  I always miss the boat on ordering nut free holiday candy for the kids before everything is sold out of the stores.  Shop early!!  

Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Lemon Poppy-seed Scones

If you are looking for the perfect addition to a Sunday brunch, these lemon-poppy seed scones are it.  (Hint, hint, Easter is coming up too!)  I have never been a big scone fan until recently.  They are great with coffee in the morning and a little fancier than muffins!  

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups flour

3 tbs sugar

1 tbs wheat germ

1 tbs poppy-seeds

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1/3 cup cold soy butter

¼ c soy yogurt (lemon flavored works well, but you can use vanilla also)

5 - 6 tbs vanilla soy milk

zest of 1 lemon

2 tbs fresh lemon juice (1 to 2 lemons juiced)

1 tsp vanilla (if not using vanilla flavored soymilk)

canola oil 

1/2 tsp sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Measure the dry ingredients and pour into a medium sized bowl.  Stir to combine.  Add the cold soy butter and cut in with a pastry blender or 2 butter knives until the mixture forms fine crumbs.  Next, add the remaining ingredients and stir with a large spoon until just blended.  Kneed on a floured board 10 – 12 times.  The dough will be slightly sticky.  Place the dough onto an ungreased baking sheet and shape the dough into a circle about 8 inches in diameter.  Cut the dough into 8 equal slices with a greased knife.  Brush with canola oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp sugar.  Bake for 16 – 18 minutes or until scones turn golden brown.  Serve warm and store in an airtight container.  

Chewy Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These are really rich and chocolatey cookies that should satisfy any chocolate lover's sweet tooth.  We made a few batches to get these right and the kids didn't mind eating all of them a bit.  Many of our non-allergic friends love them too!  They are so rich that no one know the difference.  The melted chocolate keeps them moist and chewy.

Ingredients

2 c flour

1/3 c cocoa                                                                

2 ½ tsp b powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 c soy butter  

2 c dairy and nut free chocolate chunks (I use Baker’s Chocolate Chunks.  I spoke to their customer service on the phone and they were very nice and assured me they check with all of their suppliers for cross-contamination on the top 8 allergens.)

1 tbs  canola oil

¾  c packed brown sugar

¾ c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

¼ c soy vanilla yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Measure and add the dry ingredients of flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt to a medium sized bowl. 

Measure ¾ c chocolate chunks in a small bowl and add the canola oil to keep the chocolate smooth as it melts.   Microwave the chocolate on high for 30 seconds and stir.  If it hasn’t melted completely yet, do another 30 seconds.   I have an old microwave, so you may need to use less time.  Let it cool for a few minutes.

Beat the soy butter and sugars until creamy.  Add in the vanilla and the soy yogurt and beat again.  Add the melted chocolate and mix.  Sift in the flour mixture in 3 batches.  Beat until the batter is just combined then stir in the remaining chocolate chips.

Scoop by rounded tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet and cook for 9-11 minutes.  Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container.   

Dairy , Egg, and Nut Free Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake

I love breakfast cakes, it is a great excuse to eat cake in the morning with a hot cup of coffee.  This one is sweet and satisfying without being too sugary for the first meal of the day.  I also have a beautiful 8 cup bundt pan that I got for my bridal shower that I needed a recipe for.  This was a hit with the whole family, and did not last long.  It packs well in lunch boxes and makes a healthy afternoon snack.

Ingredients

Cake

1 ½  c flour

¾  c wheat flour

¾ c plus 1 tbs granulated sugar

1 ½ tsp b powder

1 tsp b soda

1 tbs cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg                                                                                           

¼ tsp salt

½ c soy vanilla yogurt

½ c applesauce

½ c soymilk

¼ c canola oil

1 tbs vanilla

2 c chopped and peeled apple (I use Granny Smith)

shortening to grease pan (I like to use Spectrum- it is non-hydrogenated)

Glaze

1/2 c plus 1 tbs confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp vanilla soymilk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the flour, sugar, b powder and soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center.  Add the wet ingredients and mix with an electric mixer.  Add the apples and stir with a spoon until just moistened.  Coat an 8 c bundt pan with shortening and flour lightly.  


Pour the batter into the pan and b

ake for 45 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes on a rack and remove from pan.  Transfer to a serving plate and mix powdered sugar soymilk, vanilla and drizzle over the top.  If you do not want to use the glaze, you can just dust the cake with powdered sugar.  Serve warm.  Cover and store at room temperature.    

Dairy Egg & Nut Free Cinnamon Oat Chocolate Chip Scones

Before being dairy, egg and nut free I was not a big fan of scones.  When ever I ate them when I was at a coffee shop or cafe, they were dry and hard.  But since there are not many coffee shops and cafes where I live or go to with my children, I thought that I would try them out at home.  We have had many muffins, breads, and pancakes and I was in the mood for something different.  I researched scones recipes on-line a bit and came up with this after a few tries.  It was a big hit with the family that is for sure and they barely lasted until the next morning's breakfast!   

Ingredients

1 1/2 c flour

½ c oats

4 tbs sugar

1 tbs wheat germ

2 tsp b powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp b soda

¼ tsp salt

½ c cold soy butter cut into pieces

½  c plus 1 tbs vanilla soy milk plus 1 tbs vinegar

¼ c soy vanilla yogurt (I like Stonyfield Farms from my neighboring NH)

1 tsp vanilla

¾ c dairy and nut free miniature chocolate chips (You can use more or less depending on your taste or mood.)

1/2 tsp sugar and 1/8 tsp cinnamon stirred together for the topping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Measure the dry ingredients and pour into a medium sized bowl.  Stir to combine.  Add the cold soy butter and cut in with a pastry blender or 2 butter knives until the mixture forms fine crumbs.  I would definitely invest in a pastry cutter to make blending the butter easier.  Until I had one I shied away from recipes that called for one since I think that it is a pain to use 2 knives.  Next, add the remaining ingredients and stir with a large spoon until just blended.  

Kneed on a floured board 10 – 12 times.  The dough will be slightly sticky.  Place the dough onto an ungreased baking sheet and shape the dough into a circle 8 inches in diameter.  Cut the dough into 8 equal slices with a greased knife.  Brush with canola oil and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Bake for 18 – 20 minutes.  Store in an airtight container when the scones have cooled completely.

Dairy, Egg, and Nut Free Lemon Poppy-seed Muffins

My daughter love, love, love, loves these muffins and asks for them all of the time.  My son thinks the poppy-seeds are yucky, so I scoop out some batter and make him a plain muffin before I add the poppy-seeds when baking these.  It is so worth buying the $6.49 jar of poppy-seeds to make these muffins.  I cringe when looking at the price, but I figure that they will last a year or so.  Store them in the refrigerator for 3 to 6 months or in the freezer for up to one year.

I can't help thinking about that Seinfeld episode where Elaine ate too many poppy-seed bagels and failed the drug test for George's exam... That was when I had time to watch tv! Ha ha!      

Ingredients

2 c flour

½ c sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

4 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

2 tbs lemon zest (2 lemons)

½ c lemon flavored soy yogurt

½ c canola oil

½ c soy milk

2 tsp poppy-seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Measure the dry ingredients and put them in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Next, grate the lemons over a board.  Pack the gratings into the measuring spoons to measure accurately.  Slice the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a separate bowl.  Strain out the seeds and measure the juice before pouring it into the mixing bowl.  If you have extra store it in a container in the refrigerator to use later.  Add the soy yogurt, canola oil, and soy milk.  Stir to combine until just blended.  Measure the poppy-seeds and stir gently.

Spoon batter by the tablespoonful into greased muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 22 minutes.  Let them cool for 10 minutes fore serving and store any leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days.  Makes 12 muffins.