Chai Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

It's time for the second installment of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies. True to form, I bring you another spice cookie.


I used the chai spices once again, but this time in an oatmeal raisin cookie. The recipe comes from Amandeleine and it is awesome. The wonderful blend of spiciness shines through these cookies and the golden raisins I used melded really nicely with it. Plus, with all those oats in them, these cookies are super healthy which makes them the perfect treat for balancing out all the yummy indulging that goes on during the holidays.



Chai Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (adapted from Amandeleine)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c. dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
1/3 c. white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda (I forgot to put this in)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cardamom
1 tsp. cinnamon (I increased this to 1 1/2 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. ginger powder (I increased this to 3/4 tsp.)
1 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (I'd increase this next time)
1/4 tsp. white pepper
3 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1 c. golden raisins

Cream together butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture in two additions, beating until just combined. Stir in oats and raisins.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop dough in rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 min.

Notes:
1. I completely forgot to add in the baking soda. The cookies still turned out deliciously chewy and yummy.

2. Amandeleine says that you can chill the dough before baking it. I omitted this step and they still baked up perfectly.

Chocolate Cardamom Zucchini Bread

Would you believe that I've never eaten zucchini bread before in my life? For some reason or other, we just never made it at our house. Pumpkin bread, banana bread, and even mango bread appeared on our kitchen table, but not a single zucchini bread. Well, I simply had to remedy that especially since I keep seeing one tempting blog picture after another and hearing everyone shout its praises. Plus, it didn't hurt that I had a couple bags of zucchini that I wanted to use up.

So, I got out my ingredients and went to work. Since I wasn't sure if I would like the taste of zucchini bread, I decided that I would go with a chocolate version of it. After all, you can't go wrong with chocolate. The recipe I chose also had cardamom in it, which I absolutely love. I couldn't wait to see how it would turn out.



I halved the recipe and it made enough for one mini loaf, just perfect for me. It baked up into one beautifully dark chocolaty bread that was so fudgy and so rich that you'd never even guess it was also chock full of healthy, nutritious zucchini. So go ahead and indulge and call this your serving of veggies for the day.

Chocolate Cardamom Zucchini Bread (adapted from Vanilla Basil)

2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cardamom (this amount is appropriate if you freshly grind the cardamom - if not, go ahead and use 1 full teaspoon)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. grated zucchini

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease one large loaf pan or two mini loaf pans. Beat the eggs. Add the oil, sugars, and vanilla and mix well. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Toss in zucchini and stir to combine.

Pour into the pan(s) and bake 55-60 min. (large) or 40-45 min. (minis), or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 min. then run a knife around the edges and invert to remove. Let cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Note: You can also add chocolate chunks, macadamia nuts, and espresso powder to this like Vanilla Basil did, but I opted to leave them out.

Finnish Coffee Braid

This Sunday, I decided that I wanted to make some sweet bread and this Finnish Coffee Braid has been on my radar for some time. It's made special by the additions of orange and cardamom as well as the fact that it's formed into a pretty braided ring and bakes up all golden and shiny. Who wouldn't like to wake up to this in the morning?

To save time, I always start the dough the night before and leave it in the fridge to cold rise until the next morning. Yup, extra sleep on a Sunday morning is always a welcome thing. That way, the only thing left to do is set it up for a second rise and then bake it.


Lately, the mornings have been getting colder making it more difficult to get bread to rise in the house. So, I've come up with a couple of tricks. One way is to preheat your oven on the lowest temperature and then put the dough in there. You can choose to either turn the oven off or keep it on. Either way will be alright. The other method I use is to put it into my car. I kid you not. Since the car is parked outside, the sun heats up the inside and makes a perfect place for the dough to rise.


Once it gets all nice and puffy, simply glaze it with some egg yolk and milk and pop it into your oven. Yeah, about that glazing step . . . after it had already been baking in the oven for 10 min., I suddenly remembered that I hadn't glazed it. So, I quickly rushed to the oven and pulled it out. Memo to me: panicking while holding a 350F metal cookie sheet is NOT a good idea. Without thinking, my unprotected hand touched the sheet resulting in a small burn. That'll teach me to calm down next time.

Glaze - check. Back into the oven where it turned a lovely shiny golden brown and this incredible orange-y smell began to permeate the kitchen. The finished bread was wonderful. My braid didn't exactly come out perfect (it kinda became misshapen as it baked), but that didn't affect the taste one bit. All that yummy orange flavor in every bite of soft, sweet bread was simply delicious. This bread is a feast for the eyes and for the palate.



Finnish Coffee Braid (Sweet Jumbles)

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
3 Tbsp. warm water
1 c. milk
6 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. sugar (I increased this to 2/3 cup)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cardamom (I doubled this to 1 tsp.)
grated peel of one orange (I doubled the amount of zest)
5 c. all-purpose flour

Glaze: 1 egg yolk + 1 Tbsp. milk (or water)

Combine yeast and warm water with a pinch of sugar and let sit 5 min. until foamy.

Place milk and butter in a saucepan (or microwave safe bowl) and heat until butter is melted and milk is hot but does not boil. Cool to lukewarm.

Add eggs and milk/butter mixture to the yeast. Add sugar, salt, cardamom, and orange zest, stirring to combine. Gradually add the flour to make a stiff dough (I probably used 4-4 1/2 cups).

Turn dough out to a well-floured surface and knead until smooth.

Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1-2 hours.

Punch down and divide into two portions, then divide each portion into three pieces. Form each third into a rope about 18-24 inches long. Braid the ropes, pinching the ends to form them into rings.

Place each ring onto a greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Brush each loaf with the glaze and bake 35 min. or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Notes:

1. I didn't have any milk so I used 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt mixed with 1/4 c. water to make it into a liquid.
2. I increased the sugar and doubled the cardamom and orange zest in the recipe. I highly recommend doing so as it made for a very flavorful bread.

This recipe is linked to:

My Meatless Monday
A Little Birdie Told Me
This Chick Cooks
Recipes I Can't Wait to Try
Cast Party Wednesday
Whisking Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday
Friday's Potluck