I think it’s time to come up with an official name for this weird time between winter and the start of spring.

In our house, it’s mostly known as the-weather-is-nice-but-I’m-stuck-inside-with-my-second-head-cold-in-two-weeks.

But this time of year is tricky for me when it comes to breakfast and snacks.

The sun is shining, the weather is nicer than it was in early January, but it’s still not exactly warm.

I wake up so excited to see the sun shining before 7 am or feel the sunrays coming in the windows in the middle of the afternoon, and all I can think of is a huge smoothie.

And then I make it and remember just how chilly it still is outside. And how most of our windows have tiny cracks in them since this house is old and no matter what our heat is set on in the house, I will always always always be freezing after the first sip of a smoothie.

I made my first smoothie of the year last week and loved every sip – even if I had to put on my sweatshirt and slippers to enjoy it.

At least I have one new smoothie to make again when spring officially hits.

Cherry Berry Smoothie

Makes: 1 smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup cherry juice
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 2 cups baby spinach

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth, adding ice and/or more liquid until it’s your perfect smoothie consistency.

My other favorite smoothies:

Blueberry Muffin Smoothie

Snickers Smoothie

PB Cup Blended Mocha

Thin Mint Mocha

It’s been months since I’ve done one of these posts.

I guess that means that I’ve been making more of my own recipes.

But I’ve also been busy with house projects (still happening) and lately, being sick.

I’m now on my second cold in 2 weeks. Not being able to breathe really isn’t fun, and it makes both eating and cooking seem pointless when you can’t smell or taste anything.

Although, maybe having a head cold would keep me from eating half of this pan of brownies by myself? That’s exactly what happened when I made them a few weeks ago.

When it comes to chocolate, I know who to turn to for recipes.

I first saw this flour free brownie recipe on David’s website a few months ago when he posted it, and I couldn’t get it out of my head.

These brownies are everything that brownies should be, and nothing more: full of butter and good quality chocolate, filled with walnuts and cocoa nibs, and no frosting.

I know we’ve talked about this before, but I’m a big believer in this: frosting does not belong on brownies.

Ever.

Thankfully, this recipe is perfect for us in terms of how we like our brownies.

If you’re looking for a great brownie recipe, David has you covered.

There are only two ways I will gladly eat raisins.

One is if they are covered in chocolate.

Two is if they’re rolled up in bread, sandwiched between fresh dough and cinnamon sugar.

But even so, raisins are not my favorite dried fruit.

So what can make cinnamon raisin bread even better? More fruit than just raisins!

Dried blueberries, dried cherries, and raisins thrown in for good measure.

Still sweet, chewy, and cinnamon-y.

But better because 1.  homemade bread is awesome and 2. raisins aren’t the only fruit rolled up in these loaves.

And please  – promise me this: if you make this bread, take your slice(s), place them on a baking sheet, spread on a little softened butter, add another sprinkle of cinnamon + sugar, and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the butter and sugar are melted into the top of your slice.

Best slice of morning toast you’ll ever have, right there.

Cinnamon Sugar Fruit Swirl Bread

Makes: 2 loaves, 12-16 slices each (based on my basic Farmhouse Bread recipe)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bread flour
• 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
• 1/4 cup canola or safflower oil
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (2 packages)
• 2 1/4 cups warm water
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 2/3 cup dried fruit

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or other large bowl, mix the bread flour, honey/agave, oil, salt, and yeast.
2. Add warm water to flour mixture and mix together until the water is incorporated.
3. Stir in the all purpose flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough is mixed together and is easy to handle.
4. Knead dough (with dough hook or by hand) until it is smooth and springs back when you touch it (about 5 minutes).
5. Place the dough in a large bowl that has been coated with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and sit in a warm place to rise for 40-60 minutes or until dough has doubled.
6. Punch dough down and divide into 2 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rectangle (the width of your loaf pans).
7. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over each piece of dough and top with the dried fruit. Roll up and place into your greased loaf pans.
8. Cover the loaf pans with plastic wrap or a towel and let the dough rise, again, in a warm place 40-60 minutes, or until doubled.
9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place rack in the middle of the oven.
10. Bake bread for 40-45 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped.
11. Remove from the oven and let them cool 5 minutes before removing from the pans.

No need to worry about breakfast this weekend.

I’ve got your Saturday morning covered.

Please tell me you’ve had a dutch baby pancake.

Yes?

No?

If not, we’re about to change that.

Dutch baby pancakes are one of my favorite easy weekend breakfasts.

If you want the flavor of pancakes without all the work and standing over the stove or griddle, this is for you.

These have a shorter list of ingredients than regular pancakes AND it’s all baked and puffed up in a cast iron skillet in the oven – easy!

You can definitely make this without the peaches, but why would you?

Heat it, blend it, pour it, bake it, eat it.

Happy weekend!

Peach Dutch Baby Pancake

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup peach slices (frozen, fresh, or canned)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp vanilla sugar (or regular sugar plus 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
• 1/2 cup whole milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Place the butter in a 10- or 11-inch cast iron skillet and put the skillet in the oven until the butter is melted.
3. Remove the pan from the oven and place the sliced peaches in a single layer in the skillet.
4. To make the batter, add the eggs, flour, sugar, and milk to a blender and blend until the batter is smooth.
5. Pour the batter into the skillet over the peaches.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until pancake is puffed and golden brown.
7. Remove the pancake from the oven. Cut into wedges and transfer to a plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with butter and maple syrup, if desired.

From elementary through high school, most of my lunches were packed, with love, by my mom.

The usual suspects:

sandwich, of some kind.

mini bag of chips.

fruit.

granola bar.

My two favorite sandwiches were always a turkey/cheese sandwich that I would load with chips before eating or a pb&j.

The best part of the midday pb&j was this – after sitting in my locker or lunchbox all morning, the fluffy bread had soaked up all the flavor of the peanut butter and jelly.

It was soft, tender, and maybe a little mushy. But still, perfect.

I always think of peanut  butter & jelly as a lunch option, but one of my favorite quick breakfasts is a toasted version of the classic sandwich.

Last month, I was asked to participate in a recipe contest with Stonyfield and Peanut Butter & Co to come up with a recipe using Stonyfield yogurt and PB&Co Peanut butter – two of my favorite companies!

I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

I love cinnamon rolls. I love orange rolls.

I had dreamed, literally, of peanut butter and jelly rolls and finally decided to make them happen.

These aren’t your normal breakfast roll. They’re stuffed with creamy peanut butter and sweet jam and slathered in a peanut butter and yogurt glaze. Sweet and salty, the perfect combination.

PB & J Rolls with Peanut Butter Yogurt Glaze

Makes: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 tsp yeast
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup Stonyfield plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• ½ cup PB&Co. White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter
• 1/3 cup jam

Glaze:

• ½ cup PB&Co. White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter
• ½ cup Stonyfield plain yogurt
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Combine 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour and yeast in a stand mixer or large bowl.
2. In a sauce pan with a heavy bottom, combine yogurt, water, butter, sugar, and salt. Heat over low heat just until it reaches 125°F or until small bubbles begin to form around the edges. Remove from heat
3. Add the warm yogurt mixture to the mixing bowl with the flour-yeast mixture and blend on low speed. Mix for about one minute.
4. Add the egg and mix the dough for another minute until the egg is incorporated.
5. Add 1 cup of all purpose flour slowly to get a dough ball to form. Turn the mixer to medium speed, adding more flour as needed. Once dough ball is formed, allow dough to mix for about 3 minutes or until you have a nice smooth dough ball.
6. Remove the dough and place into a greased pan and cover with a towel. Allow to rise for 45 minutes.
7. Once the dough has doubled, punch down and roll out into a rectangle on a floured surface.
8. Spread the peanut butter over the dough, then top with the jam, spreading out to cover almost all the dough, leaving a ½-1” edge.
9. Roll up the dough (starting with the side farthest away from you). Slice into 12 pieces and place in a greased baking dish.
10. Cover and let the rolls rise again for 30 minutes.
11. Turn oven on to 350 degrees.
12. Bake rolls 20-25 minutes and let the cool for 5-10 minutes before adding the glaze.
13. To make the glaze, whisk the peanut butter and yogurt together. Add in the powdered sugar and stir until the glaze is thick and smooth, adding more sugar or yogurt to get the texture you want.
14. Drizzle the rolls with glaze and serve.

I’ve been tagged.

And you know how these things work. If you don’t do them, you’ll have bad luck or your wishes won’t come true or the world will…end. Right?

I usually delete chain letters, but I think these questionnaires are fun. I was tagged by Emily and Heather, two of the nicest and funniest bloggers I know.

So now it’s my turn to tell you some random stuff about myself and let you see the dorkier side of me. I’m not kidding about this – I’m the kid that used to make up my own word searches and crossword puzzles…and then do them myself. For fun.

<— Nerd.

Anyway – the rules!

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post (I used a mix of Emily and Heather’s questions).
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about “you are tagged if you are reading this”. You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

Randomness:

- I daydream / have conversations with myself all day long. Every day. I realize this makes me sound a little crazy – it’s just what I do.

- My favorite show of all time is I Love Lucy. I also want her entire wardrobe from the show.

- I know every single line of the movie Tommy Boy and can finish any scene if someone quotes it.

- Same goes for Superstar. I love that movie so much that I dressed up as Mary Catherine Gallagher one year for Halloween. It was the best Halloween ever.

- I was in chorus from 6th grade through my first year college and miss it terribly.

- Every time we eat a can of our green beans from this summer, I am equally happy and sad because the shelves are slowly getting bare.

- I write and use utensils with my left hand, but throw, catch, and use scissors with my right.

- I have an extremely low resting blood pressure and fainted all the time when I was in middle and high school. Fun? I also fainted at a Jars of Clay concert and years later at a Jason Mraz show.

- My eyesight is horrible. Without contacts or glasses, I can’t see more than 15-20 feet away.

- When I was 16, I was mistaken for a runaway and was almost taken by the police down on the strip at Virginia Beach. They had to call my parents, on the sidewalk, to make sure I wasn’t lying.

- My first ever “boyfriend” sang “Everything I Do” by Bryan Adams to me over the phone.

11 Questions for me:

1.  How many states have you lived in?  How many have you visited?

I’ve lived in 2 states: Virginia and Arkansas (for 2.5 years when I was in school). I’ve visited Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Missouri, California, and Oregon – 16.

2. If you had to change careers tomorrow, what new job would you want to do?

Tie: Writer and baker and coffee drinker.

3. What physical attribute do you love most about yourself?

I love my eyes, even though I didn’t get my dad’s baby blues. And I have 3 little freckles on my cheek that look just like Orion’s belt to me.

4. If you could get paid to do anything in the world without worrying about being realistic, what would you do? I supposed normal people would refer to this as a dream job.

Reading. Not editing, not reporting on the books, not critiquing anything. Just….reading. Laying in my favorite chair, wrapped up in a blanket, and reading. Every day.

5. You can only live one place for the rest of your life and it can’t be anywhere you’ve lived before. Where would it be?

Greece.

6. If you were a celebrity, what would you be famous for?

Either writing (are writers considered celebrities?) or singing.

7. If you got to be on any game show you wanted, which one would it be?

Supermarket Sweep – no contest.

8. If you could name yourself, what name would you chose?

Growing up, I always wanted the name Alex. I don’t know why. I didn’t even know anyone named Alex.

9. What’s your biggest fear?

Not figuring out what it is I’m meant to do or be.

10. Roller blades or skates?

Skates!

11. You can fly anywhere in the world to eat one item of food.  Where do you go and what do you eat?

Considering that it was one of the best meals of my life, I would go back to Valencia, Spain for a midday feast of paella, bread, and wine. With espresso to finish. And then a siesta.

My 11 questions for You!

1. What movie can you watch over and over again, no matter how many times you’ve seen it?

2. What’s your favorite band right now?

3. If someone made a movie of your life, who would you want to play you?

4. One food you wouldn’t eat as a kid that you love now?

5. Last book you read?

6. What is your favorite memory from high school?

7. If you could have a dinner party and invite 5 people (famous or not), who would you invite and why?

8. Scariest movie you’ve ever seen?

9. What song is stuck in your head right now?

10. Quirkiest thing about you that most people don’t know – go!

11. What do you love about yourself?

And…I’m tagging:

Allison

Janetha

Katie

Jenn

Rose

Heather

Brittany

Erica

Katie

Farihah

Holly

Better get to answering before the bad luck hits!

PS: I am lame sometimes. I totally picked the winner of the Wasa prize last week and totally forgot to announce it! Then, I didn’t even turn on my computer this weekend (it was bliss) so I’m WAY behind on this.

The winner of the Wasa prize pack is…

Hope @ With A Side Of Hope

I love buffalo wings!

Congrats, Hope! Please email me (branappetit [at] gmail) and we’ll get your prize on its way!

Your turn!

Give me one random thing about you so I don’t feel so nerdy. Please?

Are you a fan of Jarlsberg cheese?

I am.

It’s one cheese I know I can always find in our local store. It’s always nutty and perfectly melty. Dependable and delicious.

And now they’re making a cheese dip!

I was invited by Kitchen Play and Jarlsberg to try out their new dip and come up with an idea or recipe to use it.

Over the course of this month, 29 bloggers are going to posting their serving suggestions, recipes, and fun ways to use the new Jarlsberg Cheese Dip.  There have already been some great suggestions (hello Jarlsberg Creamed Spinach and Preztel Dip).  And here’s another!

Besides all these cheesy recipes and ideas, you can also win your own tailgate tote stocked with these tasty goodies:

Jarlsberg Lite Cheese
new Jarlsberg Cheese Dip
Snofrisk (a Norwegian style cream cheese)
crispbreads
honey crèmes
honey vinegar

Just head over to Jarlsberg USA for the giveaway details and instructions on how to enter.

I’m a sucker for hummus and veggies and I love the combination even better if the hummus is baked and bubbly. I swirled some Jarlsberg Cheese Dip into some Roasted Garlic Hummus, baked it for 15 minutes at 350 degrees and had an insanely cheesy hot dip in no time!

What’s your favorite way to use Jarlsberg Cheese?

Disclosure:  I received monetary compensation to pay for the Jarlsberg dip and supplies for my recipe suggestion, but the opinions are 100% my own!

I’m sure I got my love of cinnamon from my mom.

She may not use a full teaspoon (or more) in her oatmeal like I do, but her favorite candies have always been red hots and fire balls.

I used to be a wuss when it came to fire balls. I would let them soak in a cup of water for a few minutes before eating them so the really hot layer would melt away.

Is that weird? Gross? Both? Probably.

She never did that. She loved them – burn and all.

And I grew to love them, too. Even though the burn made my nose run, they were so good that I didn’t mind.

A week or so ago, I ended up walking down the candy isle in Kroger and saw a bag of red hots. I have not had red hots in years and couldn’t help but pick them up. After a handful, I knew I wanted to make something cinnamon + pink for Valentine’s Day.

Lucky for my mom, I made them early and her and the rest of my family got to try these truffles when they were visiting a few weekends ago.

I always thought truffles would be hard to make.

Or, really, I just expected my kitchen to end up looking like the I Love Lucy chocolate episode with truffles flying everywhere and me, sick of chocolate at the end of the day.

Fact: Truffles are super easy to make.

And there is no way – ever, I think – that I could ever ever be sick of chocolate.

If you can melt, roll, and dip, you can make truffles.

I promise it’s no harder than that.

Melt your filling, let it chill.

Roll it into your truffle fillings.

Dip them in more chocolate.

Let them sit for a few minutes before attacking.

After polling you guys on Facebook about whether I should dip this filling in white or semi-sweet, I took your suggestions and did both.

That was the best idea for these truffles, for sure.

The filling is pink and has just a hint of cinnamon flavor, melted into sugary sweet white chocolate.

My family was split on which dip they liked better – my older sister loved the white chocolate shell; I was – and usually am – a sucker for the semi-sweet.

Dip it in whatever chocolate you love the best! The filling is the most important part, anyway.

Cinnamon Chocolate Truffles

Makes: 30-40 truffles

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cream
• 2 Tbsp red hot candies
• 8 0z. white chocolate (good quality – I used Ghirardelli chips)
• 4 oz. white chocolate or semi-sweet, for dipping (or a mix)
• sprinkles

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, heat the cream and red hot candies for a few minutes until the cream is warm and the candies are beginning to melt. Once the cream is a rich pink color, remove from heat and strain the candies from the cream.
2. Place the cream in a double boiler (bowl set over a pot of simmering water) and add 8 oz. of white chocolate, stirring slowly together until the chocolate is melted into the cream.
3. Once the chocolate mixture is smooth, place it in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes.
4. When the chocolate and cream filling mixture is chilled, remove from the fridge and roll into 1-inch rounds.
5. Melt the white or semi-sweet chocolate for dipping (either in the microwave or a double boiler) and set aside.
6. Drop the truffle center into the melted chocolate, roll it around to cover the filling completely, and shake off the excess chocolate before placing the truffle onto parchment paper or foil. Add sprinkles before the chocolate sets. Repeat with remaining truffles.

I am still smitten…

with dried cherries.

I just can’t help it.

They are perfectly tart and sweet at the same time. Never tough and dried out like crinkly raisins. Plump and chewy and delicious in just about everything.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to come up with a recipe for Bob’s Red Mill using their Chia seeds (first: dream come true – developing a recipe for one of my favorite companies?!? pinch me!).

I knew exactly what I wanted to make. Since I’ve been elbow deep in grain recipes the past few months, I decided to do a different spin on a recipe that will be in my book.

I’ll be honest.

Chia seeds weirded me out a little bit the first time I used them. They turn into chia seed jelly if they get wet. That’s not exactly normal. But, they are awesome to use to thicken up recipes, add some texture to oatmeal, and make your smoothies a little more luscious.

The best part about chia seeds is that you can add them to just about anything, just like my dried cherries.

And bonus! Chia seeds are super healthy. They’re full of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and protein.

When you toss them into your favorite granola recipe, they add a little crunch, some extra texture, and a punch of healthy benefits to your morning bowl or afternoon snack.

Want more chia seed recipes? Bob’s Red Mill is celebrating chia seeds all month long on their blog – they’ve got some great recipes and posts lined up, including my recipe for this granola!

Cherry Almond Chia Granola

Makes: About 4.5 cups granola

Ingredients:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup buckwheat groats
• ½ cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup neutral oil (safflower, coconut, or canola work well)
• 1 cup dried tart cherries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
2. Place the oats, buckwheat groats, quinoa, chia seeds, almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl
3. and toss together.
4. Pour the vanilla, maple syrup, and oil over the granola mixture and stir to combine, making sure
5. that the oil and maple syrup has coated everything.
6. Spread the granola onto a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and bake at 225 for 60-90 minutes
7. until the granola is toasted and crunchy.
8. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.
9. Break apart and toss together with the dried cherries before serving.

The first rule of making French pastry at home:

Get the most out of your dough and make 2 different recipes!

After hours of rolling and waiting, I knew I couldn’t only make croissants when I had this beautiful dough ready and waiting for me.

If you’ve spent your entire weekend working on one type of dough, you deserve 2 desserts.

So first, I made croissants. They were perfect. I already want more.

And then a day later, I used the other half of the pastry dough to make an insane raspberry cream cheese danish.

Cream cheese is mixed with sugar, egg, vanilla, and orange zest and layered with ruby red raspberry sauce.

The danish dough is full of butter and it puffs into golden, flaky layers around the filling.

Maybe this isn’t an every day or every weekend treat, but maybe it should be on your to-do this weekend.

Looking for something special to make for Valentine’s Day? This will definitely get you some hugs + kisses.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Danish

Makes: 10 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh or  frozen raspberries
• 1 Tbsp agave nectar
• 1 Tbsp water
• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp fresh orange zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
•  2 Tbsp milk, for brushing
• 1/2 batch pastry dough recipe (I used this dough recipe – half went to make croissants, half used in this danish)

Directions:

In a small pot over medium heat, mix the raspberries, agave nectar, and water together. Bring the berry mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes until the berries have broke down and the mixture is beginning to thicken. Remove from heat.

While the raspberries are simmering, mix the cream cheese with the sugar, egg, orange zest, vanilla, and salt. Set aside.

Once the raspberries have broken down and the mixture has thickened, pour the mixture through a strainer to remove the seeds.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out the pastry dough into a large rectangle, about 10×15, on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Spread the cream cheese mixture down the center of the dough and top with the strained raspberry sauce.

Using a sharp knife, make slits into each side of the dough (see picture above) about 1/2 inch apart. Once both sides of the dough are cut, fold the sides of the dough over the cream cheese and raspberry filling, alternating sides so your dough crosses over the fillings.

Once the dough is completely wrapped around the filling, seal up the ends as much as you can.

Brush the dough with the milk, and bake at 400 degrees for 15-25 minutes until the dough is golden brown.