Nutella Crunch Braid ~ #BreadBakers

 Braiding bread is a lot like braiding hair, except the bread doesn't yell ouch when you pull too hard. 

Baklava Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

Did you know that Baklava is the ancestor of strudel? It also shines when

turned into a bundt cake.

Hartford Election Cake ~ #BreadBakers

Honestly, these days I think there should be cake at every election.  

At least there would be something to look forward to.

Honey Mixed Nut Bars - #CreativeCookieExchange

Nuts in Cookies! is the theme for #CreativeCookieExchange this month.  I had trouble picking just one type, so I used all the nuts - well almost.

Mocha Hazelnut Marble Bundt - #BundtBakers

This is a kind of good news/bad news kind of post.  First the bad news - unfortunately the Bundtamonth group is no longer together due to the time constraints on the administrators.  We had a great time as a group, and I wanted to send my thanks to Lora and Anuradha for all of the hard work they did for the us.  Now the good news - many of us did not want to let go of our love for bundts, so a new group has been formed called #BundtBakers.

Our first theme together as a group, since we are all nuts for bundts is Nuts!  This is the perfect theme since I think a lot of people would still have leftover nuts - pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios - from the holiday season, and are just looking for ways to use them up. So, why not make a bundt or two? The members in this group are sure to inspire you in some way to get baking.

Fantastic Fruit and Nut Bars

I don't know about everyone else but I have bookmarked over 50 recipes that I want to try since the beginning of the year.  There are so many talented cooks and bakers out there that make everything they make look so good.  One recipe that caught my eye was by Kate at Diethood.com for Fruit and Nut Bars.  As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what I was going to make for my husbands triathlon training group this weekend.  His group really pushes their bike rides on Saturdays and they need to refuel when they get back, so the least I can do is to have something tasty waiting for them to enjoy.

These bars had exactly the mix I was looking for - great taste and relatively healthy.  Since I am trying to use up ingredients I already had I did make a few substitutions to the recipe.  I used pecans rather than walnuts, and I added dried blueberries to the other dried fruits already listed, while reducing the amount of dates to compensate for this addition.  I think it would be great with all kinds of dried fruits.  My mix also seemed a little wet after I added the egg so I added more flour.

Make sure that you watch them towards the end of their baking time.  Some ovens run a little hot so they may not need the full 40 minutes, and can easily burn if you don't keep an eye on them.  I was conscious of this because I baked them in a 11 inch x 7 inch pan.  I think next time I might double the recipe so that I get bigger bars, mine seemed a little flat but I am sure this is because of the pan size.



Considering that the container that they were in came back empty, except for a few crumbs, I would say these were a resounding success. I think next time I might try the substitution of a banana for the egg.

Fantastic Fruit and Nut Bars

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cups dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg OR substitute with 1 (one) mashed banana
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line an entire 8 x 8 inch baking pan with aluminum foil.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Stir in the brown sugar, pecans, and dried fruit. Use your fingers to make sure that all the fruit and nuts have been coated with the flour mixture.
5. If you are using the banana substitute, mash the banana with a fork real well then add in the vanilla extract. Blend it all together and mix it into the fruit and nut mixture, OR in a separate bowl, with a wire whisk beat the egg and vanilla until light colored and thick, add the egg mixture to the fruit and nut mixture and mix until all the fruit and nut pieces are coated with the batter.
6. Spread into the prepared pan, pressing to even it out.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the batter has pulled away from the sides of the pan.
8. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
9. When cooled, lift the bars from the pan by the edges of the aluminum foil.

 Makes 16, 2-inch squares.