Muffins - Blueberry

Thaw blueberries fi using frozen.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners. 

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.  

• 2 cups all-purpose flour ~ can substitute w/ some or all whole wheat flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• ½ teaspoon salt 

Can reserve ¼ of the flour to coat the blueberries so as to avoid them popping during cooking. 

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  

• ½ cup butter ~ can substitute ¼ of the butter w/ unsweetened applesauce 
• 1 cup white sugar ~ can even get by with 3/4 c

Add eggs and beat well.  

• 2 eggs 
• 1 tsp vanilla 

Add milk and flour mixture. Beat until combined.  

• ½ cup milk ~ can substitute w/ some or all buttermilk or kefir 

Stir in blueberries.  

• 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries (or cherries) ~ if using frozen, allow to thaw 

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. 

 Bake at 350 degrees 

• 18 muffins for 25 minutes 
• 12 muffins for 30 minutes

Bread - Pumpkin

RECIPE 1

Makes one 9x5 loaf 

Freezes Well!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees !!!
Optional: As oven is melting, toast the nuts. And – let the butter soften in the loaf pan. 



Mix dry ingredients well & set aside. 

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

--->  Gluten Free:  Replace dry ingredients with 2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix!


Cream shortening, bananas, & sugar. 

• 1 stick butter (or 1/2 cup veg shortening)
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 cup sugar

Beat in egg.

• 1 egg 

Add dry ingredients & vanilla. 

• 1 tsp vanilla

Stir in nuts. 

• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cook for 50 minutes. Oven must be preheated for this time to be correct! Don’t open oven while cooking! Test with toothpick to be sure it’s not too gooey in the middle! In my stoneware 9x5 loaf pan, it was perfect at 50 minutes. 

 If making muffins -

• 18 muffins for 25 minutes
• 12 muffins for 30 minutes

RECIPE 2

Preheat oven to 325.

Mix wet ingredients together. 

• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 sm can pumpkin 

Add all dry ingredients and mix.

• 3 1/3 cup Pamela’s Gluten Free flour 

OP

• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp nutmeg

Stir in nuts and raisins. 

• 1 cup nuts
• 1½ cup raisins

Pour into greased & floured pans.   If doing muffins, use a measuring cup to fill.  This is faster than using a dipper/scooper. 

Bake. 

• two loaf pans - 65 minutes
• three loaf pans – 50 minutes
• four small loaf pans – ?
• 18-24 muffins – 32 minutes  – This is what I do most often!

You can freeze extras!

NOTES:

• The original recipe called for 3 cups of sugar, but that’s way too much. 
• If you use regular flour, add 2 tsp soda and 1 tsp salt.
• Be careful when measuring the flour - if you use too much, the bread will be dry.

Bread - Spelt Rolls

Easy and Delish!

Dough - WET Layer

• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 1 TBSP maple syrup  - or -  2 Tbsp date sugar
  * Probably best to use maple syrup for a little added moistness.
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened nut or oat milk
• 1/4 cup water

Dough - Top Layers

• 2 cups spelt flour - sprouted is even better
• 1 packet rapid-rise yeast (1 packet yields 2 1/4 tsp // if subbing regular yeast, double rise time)

Roll Toppings

• olive oil 
• 3 Tbsp rolled oats

MAKE DOUGH

1. Warm wet ingredients - In a separate mixing bowl, microwave the almond milk, water, and olive oil until warm - about 110 - 120 degrees (~55 seconds). It should be the temperature of bath water. If it’s too hot, it can kill the yeast.
2. Place wet ingredients in bread machine pan.
3. Add flour over the wet ingredients.
4. Make an indentation on top and add yeast.
5. Run the bread machine on the DOUGH cycle for 5 minutes.
6. Unplug and let rest 10 minutes.

LET RISE

1. >>> IMPORTANT!  Line an 8x8-inch baking dish or round cake pan with parchment paper or grease well.  This is important.  If you don't do it, the bottom layer of every roll will stick like glue!!!
2. Divide the dough into 10-11 equal pieces, carefully shape into balls (handling as little as possible), and place in .
3. Cover and let rise in a warm place (such as on top of the oven or in a sunny spot) until doubled in size - about 1 hour. Then sprinkle with oats.

BAKE

1. Preheat oven and bake. 30 minutes at 350 degrees or 18-20 minutes at 375 degrees, until fluffy and light golden brown.
2. Carefully brush with olive oil for a shiny appearance (optional).
3. Let cool a few minutes, then serve as is or with vegan butter and jam of choice. Store leftovers covered at room temperature up to 3 days. 

>>> IMPORTANT!  Do not just cover the pan with a towel.  The rolls will dry out completely.  UGH.    Put them in a sealed container.

To freeze, prepare the recipe up to the point of rolling into balls and then place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze, and then store in a freezer safe container up to 1 month. When ready to make, place in a greased baking dish to thaw and let rise (loosely covered) until doubled in size on top of your preheated oven. Bake as instructed. Frozen rolls may mot rise as much as their fresh counterparts, but this is a good way to make bread ahead of time and bake it fresh as needed.

Muffins - Pumpkin - Carrot

Recipe Inspiration Source:  One Green Planet

Mmmmm!  These were so good - especially right out of the oven!

My Notes:

• I used less sugar than was called for and it was fine.  The fruit and carrots provided plenty of sweetness.   

• This recipe would be easy to modify by adding various fruits, nuts and seeds.   

• This recipe looks like it would be a hassle to make with such a long list of ingredients but it really wasn't bad at all.  

Dry Ingredients:

• 3 cups oats (rolled or quick), ground
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 cup (about 1/2 can) pure pumpkin, canned (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cup grated carrots (about 2 medium sized carrots)
• 1 cup dairy free milk, unsweetened - I used oat milk
• 3/4 cup brown sugar - I used 1/2 cup regular sugar
• 1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pumpkin seeds for topping
• I added walnuts!  Yum!

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Grease and/or line a 12 cavity muffin tin and set aside - I ended up making 17 muffins.  I didn't overfill.  They were the perfect size.
3. Using a food processor or blender, process oats until they are ground into flour.  Hmmmm - next time, if I use the food processor, I can also use it to grate the carrots instead of doing them by hand.  
4. In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients (oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg and ground cloves) and whisk to combine.
5. In a large bowl, combine all wet ingredients (pumpkin, carrots, dairy free milk, sugar, applesauce and vanilla extract) and stir together until thoroughly combined.
6. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, and gently stir until incorporated.  ADD NUTS, too!!!
7. Spoon the muffin batter into your muffin tins.
8. Top the muffins with pumpkin seeds.  
9. Bake in preheated oven for 18-23 minutes or until the tops are firm and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the muffins comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove muffins and allow to finish cooling on a wire cooling rack.  Enjoy!

Pancakes - Baked with Blueberries

I'm hoping to find a go-to pancake recipe that is Vegan, no oil, and as healthy as possible.  There are actually plenty out there.  I'll have to try a few and see which I like best.

Note: I often use a gluten free flour mix to replace the flour mixes in many of these recipes.

In the past, I have made the pancakes the standard way - stovetop in a skillet.  That requires oil or a non-stick skillet.  It also requires me to stay put in the kitchen, watching and flipping.  Now that I have discovered oven baking I don't think I'll be able to go back to stovetop.  What a timesaver and it's just as delicious! 

This photo is from  a Martha Stewart oven baked pancake recipe, which of course is not vegan.  The photo is all I need for inspiration. It shows one way to cook oven baked pancakes.  Others cook the batter sheet cake style and cut "pancakes" into squares or dollop ladles of batter onto a cookie sheet for a more traditional look.

My Current Fav - Lazy Baked Sheet Cake Style:

This sheet cake method be the "lazy" way, but it's also my favorite. A different batter could be used. I'd like to experiment with batters to make banana, pumpkin and other flavors.  I do like that using Pamela's give me a gluten free version, but boy, is that stuff pricey.

• 1-1/2 cups nut milk - maybe more of less to get the right consistency
• 2 cups Pamela's Gluten Free Baking Mix
• 2 TBSP each of flax, hemp and chia seeds
• blueberries 
• walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix first ingredients together. Stir in blueberries last.   Put batter in a 9x12 casserole dish - I like using my white oval one.  I did not grease the pan and it was just fine.  Bake for 35.  If you use a smaller pan, you may need to cook it longer.

Optional Add-Ins:

• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar, raw sugar or 2 medjool dates, pitted (If the bananas are very ripe, no extra sweetness is needed)
• 1/2–1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• pumpkin pie spice
• nutmeg
• ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or extract
• 1/2 cup of: chocolate chips/ cacao nibs, fruit or crushed nuts, etc (or a combination of each) – stir in at end or use as a topping

If you prefer a pancake shape, you can still bake them -

This tip is from Chocolate Covered Katie.
The Secret To Pancakes That Will Never Stick To The Pan:

Simply cook the pancakes inside the oven instead of on the stovetop – they need no flipping, will never stick, and can be easily removed with a spatula when they’re done.  This trick has worked with every pancake recipe I’ve tried so far.

Don’t skip the step of letting the pancake batter sit at least 15 minutes – I made that mistake once, so you don’t have to!

• Whisk together all ingredients, and let sit at least 15 minutes.  
• Preheat the oven to 350 F.  
• Drop ladles of batter onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, place on the oven center rack, and immediately turn the heat down to 280 F. 
• Bake 8-12 minutes, or until tops of the pancakes are no longer wet and pancakes can be easily removed with a spatula. There is no need to flip them! 

More Recipes to Try ---

From Ceara's Kitchen:

• 1 cup nut milk
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp coconut or cane sugar

Flour Mix:

• 1 cup all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

From Running On Real Food:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (substitute water or other plant-based milk of choice)
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup (sub coconut sugar or to make sugar-free, use stevia)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional, adds flavour)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional, adds flavour)

Flour Mix:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

From Sweet Simple Vegan:

• 3 cups oat flour OR make the flour with rolled oats  - Place oats into a high speed blender and process until a flour is reached.
• 2 cup almond milk
• 2 medium spotty bananas*  

Center for Nutrition Studies - similar recipe

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup hemp milk (or other plant-based milk)
• 3 ripe bananas

From Detoxinista:

Buckwheat consumption has been linked to lower blood sugar levels in diabetics (source), as well as lowering blood pressure and improving cholesterol levels. (source) I love working with buckwheat flour, particularly freshly ground buckwheat groats, because you don’t have to mix it with other flours or starches, as you have to do with many other gluten-free flours. You can buy buckwheat flour at many grocery stores now, but I prefer to grind my own buckwheat groats because the flavor isn’t as bitter and the color is a little more appealing.

One more thing to note, is that I really love baking these pancakes instead of pan-frying them. Baking them means you can cook all 6 pancakes at once– which is a huge time-saver– and it also means you don’t need to add extra oil to the recipe, because there’s no pan to grease. Simply use a silicone baking mat, or parchment paper, to prevent sticking. If you prefer to fry these in a pan, feel free to do so, but I love having the whole batch ready to go in just 15 minutes of baking time. I hope you’ll enjoy them, too.

• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour (store-bought or ground groats)
• 2 very ripe bananas , about 3/4 cup mashed
• 2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

To bake the pancakes, scoop the batter using a scant 1/4 cup measure, creating about 6 evenly sized mounds on a large lined baking sheet. Use the back of a spoon to spread the pancakes out, creating pancakes that are roughly 5- or 6-inches in diameter, and about 1/4-inch thick. Bake until the centers are firm, about 15 minutes at 350ºF.

PANCAKE TOPPING IDEAS, besides maple syrup

• fruit - berries, mango
• fresh or caramelized bananas: sauté sliced bananas in coconut oil until they caramelize
• apples and cinnamon: sauté sliced apples with cinnamon in a little coconut oil until soft and tender
• toasted coconut flakes
• homemade chocolate sauce: mix together a small amount of coconut oil, cocoa powder and sweetener of choice such as pure maple syrup
• date caramel sauce: soak dates in hot water for 15 minutes then drain and blend with some light 
• melted peanut butter
• coconut milk, vanilla and sea salt
• chopped nuts
• sweet tahini sauce: mix tahini with some pure maple syrup
• dairy-free chocolate chips – or bake these right into the pancakes!

Maple Berry Syrup From Sweet Simple Vegan

Blend in a high speed blender until smooth. Pour over pancakes.

• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup blackberries
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

More Recipes to Check Out - 

• Forks Over Knives - Banana Pancakes
• The Lazy Vegan Baker - Oven Baked Blueberry Pancakes
• 
  

Muffins - Blueberry

Recipe Inspiration Source:  The Simple Veganista

This recipe is vegan - no eggs, no butter - Yay!  It is not oil free, but it can be by substituting applesauce.  You'd think that with all the omissions, these would taste like poor substitutes for the less healthy versions.  Not so.  These are seriously good!!!  

Even though they are vegan, these are not health food - hello!... sugar and wheat.  BUT, if you *need* a yummy treat, it certainly won't kill you to have something like this now and then.  Tip: Freeze some so you aren't tempted to consume them all too quickly.   

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners. (Makes 12)

Mix dry ingredients: 

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. 

Optional: reserve ¼ of the flour to coat the blueberries so as to avoid them popping during cooking.

• 2 cups flour (all-purpose, spelt, white whole wheat or combo)
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon mineral salt

Mix wet ingredients: 

In a 2 cup measuring cup, add the milk, sugar, oil and vanilla, stir to combine a few times to help soften the large grains of sugar.

• ¾ cup organic pure cane or turbinado sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup oil  

Oil Options: 

Can use fruit infused oil: lemon or orange

Can substitute ¼ of the butter w/ unsweetened applesauce

Combine wet & dry: 

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix, overmixing the batter tends to make the muffins less tender.

Stir in blueberries and optional nuts. 

Gently fold blueberries into the batter.

• 1 ½  cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (or cherries)  ~ if using frozen, allow to thaw
• If you love nuts, add some!  

Scoop: 

Fill muffin cups.  Add a few strategic blueberries on top if any of the muffins look sparse.

Topping: 

Sprinkle the top with a little pure cane sugar or raw sugar. The sugar will add a nice crunch to the tops! 

Bake: 

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool a few minutes and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Muffins - Vegan Pumpkin Bread (with Icings and Glazes)

Recipe Inspiration Source:  The Hidden Veggies

I love pumpkin bread and used to make it often, especially in the fall.  I had two cans of pumpkin that were about to expire.  The recipe I'd used for years called for 4 eggs.  I could have just swapped the eggs for an egg substitute, but I decided to check out vegan recipes to see what was out there.  This is the one I landed on and it's every bit as good as the non-vegan one.  

Preheat oven to 350°F


Mix together flax meal and water and set aside for a few minutes to thicken. 

• 2 tablespoons flax meal
• 1/3 cup water (to mix with the flax meal to make a flax egg)

Add wet ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir well.

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup coconut oil melted (or vegan margarine)
• 1/4 cup soy milk or any plant-based milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• flax mixture

Sprinkle the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients then stir it just enough to get the wet and dry ingredients mixed together.

• 2 cups flour (gluten-free, regular wheat or whole wheat flour will all work)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.

Add 

• 1/3 cup nuts, raisins or dried cranberries and mix again. (optional)

Pour into lined muffin tins or a parchment-lined loaf pan. If using the raw sugar topping or a nut topping, sprinkle it on before baking.


Muffins - Bake for about 25 minutes.  This is the method I prefer.  Makes about 16 muffins.

Loaf - Bake for about 50 minutes. Allow it to cool in the loaf pan for about 15 minutes before taking it out, and then an additional 25-30 minutes before slicing.  (This allows it to slice perfectly)

Bars - Bake in a jelly roll pan for 35 to 40 minutes.  Let cool.  Top with glaze or frosting.

Optional Toppings 

The muffins can be topped with a number of options - 

• 1 cup vegan cream cheese frosting, 
• sprinkle of raw sugar, 
• sprinkle of nuts or 
• a powdered sugar glaze

Glaze - 

This glaze could be used on so many desserts.  It's fast, easy, and really good!

• 4 TBSP butter, at room temp
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 Tablespoons hot water (until desired consistency)

Stir together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk in the hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches your desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the slightly warm cinnamon rolls and serve immediately.

Glaze 2 - from Better Homes and Gardens

• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon milk or orange juice

Glaze 3 - from Southern Living

• 2 cups (about 8 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 tsp. McCormick® Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. McCormick® Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, softened
• 1 tsp. McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
• 4 tsp. water

Bread - Banana Bread

Recipe Inspiration Source:  Connoisseurus Veg

First - This recipe is NOT WFPB.   Not a bit.  It is vegan, but it has sugar and oil and flour and all sorts of evil ingredients.  However, we're in the middle of a pandemic.  I'm old enough to be in a high risk group.  If I end up in an ICU ward with a shortage of supplies, they will yank that ventilator right out of my throat in order to save some  ungrateful young person who likely got the virus while partying with friends. If I'm going down, I will have some comfort food first!

I  love banana bread. The other day, I saw I had 3 overly ripe bananas. Too ripe to eat, but perfect for banana bread. Unfortunately, I was missing ingredients for my basic recipe and others I found on the internet. Vegans don't have eggs or milk in the house. I searched for "vegan banana bread" and came across this one.

OMG! It is wonderful.  I like it better than my previous recipe. It's not exactly healthy and nowhere close to whole-food plant-based, but mmmmmmm, it's good! 

Also, I often search through loads of similar recipes and use bits and pieces of them all.  This time, I will not change a thing.  The recipe here is just like the source.  Please do go to her page.  She has tons of great photos and a great write-up with more details and tips.  I plan to explore her blog and look for other recipe gems.

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Arrange a strip of parchment paper width-wise along the center, with just a bit hanging out over each side.

Peel the bananas and place them into a large mixing bowl. Mash them well with a fork or potato masher.

• 3 medium overripe bananas

Add sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla to the bowl. Stir until well-mixed.

• 2/3 cup organic granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil (or your favorite baking oil)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Add the flour to the bowl, then sprinkle the baking soda, cinnamon and salt on top of the flour. Stir everything together just until mixed. Don't over mix. The batter will be thick.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt

Fold in the walnuts.

• 1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon.  Sprinkle the top with sugar.  Bake for 50 minutes.

The parchment paper idea is good, not only for cleanup, 
but it also seemed to help in the final results of the bread.
I almost skipped it.  Glad I didn't.

Here's another banana bread recipe -

Oh dear.  This looks really good.  It hits my weak points - bread and sweet, but a tiny bit healthier.  I haven't made this one yet because I'm so happy with the one above.

Inspiration Source:  Shane And Simple
I plan to browse his blog.  I love his photos!

"You’re not going to find any dairy, oil, or sugar in this recipe and that’s good because banana bread shouldn’t have CHOLESTEROL in it! Just replace all those bad things with a little flax, applesauce, and maple syrup."

• 3 very ripe bananas (the browner, the better)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put bananas into a mixing bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher until fairly smooth.

Add the maple syrup, apple sauce, and vanilla extract to the bananas and mix well.

Add the flour, ground flax seed, baking soda, and salt. Stir well until all ingredients are thoroughly combined and make the batter.

Pour ingredients into a silicone or nonstick standard sized loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes. Depending on your oven, it could take a few minutes longer. Use a tester or butter knife to insert into middle to check if bread is done. You want it to come out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for just a minute then remove from pan and let completely cool.

Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Christmas Tree Spinach Dip Breadsticks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, beat together the spinach and cream cheese.

• 12 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 6 oz cream cheese,  softened

Add garlic, salt, onion powder, chili powder, pepper, and Italian seasoning and beat to combine.

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Add parmesan cheese and 1/2 of the cheddar or mozz. and beat to combine. (The other half of the cheese will be sprinkled over the filling when you shape the Christmas tree.)

• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup grated cheddar OR mozzarella cheese

Shape into Christmas tree - 

Unroll the pizza crust on a piece of parchment paper. Using a pizza slicer, cut the crust as shown below. This gives you one large triangle and two smaller ones. 

Transfer the smaller triangles to a second piece of parchment paper, placing the long side edges together, to make another large triangle. The dough will stretch out a little as you move it around – no biggie, just gently tug it into the shape you want, pressing the two halves together in the middle. This will be the base of the breadsticks. Use bits of extra dough to create a short little trunk at the base of the tree.

• 1 tube refrigerated thin crust pizza crust

Spread the spinach dip over the base. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese.

Then, top with the first triangle of dough. You’ll likely have to tug at the dough a little bit to make sure it completely covers the base triangle.  

Make cuts on either side as shown.  Don't go all the way across.  Leave a bit uncut in the center.

Grab each “slice” and twist it to form a tree shape, as shown below. For the top slice that’s very short you’ll just give it a half twist; as you go further down the tree and hit longer slices you’ll give them two or three full twists.

Bake for about 22 minutes until quite golden brown on top and cooked through on the bottom. The top is going to get nice and browned, but make sure to check that the bottom is cooked through. If you are cooking on a heavy cookie sheet, you may want to cook this on the lower rack in your oven.

Once out of the oven you can move the breadsticks onto a pretty wood cutting board or charcuterie board for serving. Melt butter and stir in garlic salt and seasoning, then brush over breadsticks.

• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon garlic salt

Serve warm.

Recipe Inspiration Source:  It's Always Autumn - The instruction video is below the printable recipe.
I am attempting to make this for the holidays exactly as her recipe.  It looks wonderful.  I take zero credit for this recipe.  Go to the link and watch the short video to make the whole thing a cinch!  I'm adding the recipe to my collection because hoping it will be a keeper.  Also note - this can be made in other shapes as well.  

Cat Head Biscuits

Biscuits 4

Source:  Battle of the Biscuits by King Arthur Flour

This is a super simple one I plan to try.  It uses 2 ingredients - self rising flour and heavy cream.

Biscuits 3

Source The Science of Biscuits by Instructables

This guy experimented with biscuit variations item by item and taste tested on friends and family.  Milk or buttermilk, how much baking powder, shortening or butter, cooking temp and more...  You really need to go to the link to get a good understanding of the difference each ingredient can make!

So how do you make the best, flakiest, most optimal biscuit ever?

Stir the dry ingredients together.

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt

But maybe you just like your biscuits to be as big as possible. If so, up the baking powder, decrease the liquid and butter content, and knead them a bit more.

Cut in the fat.

• 1/2 cup of fat (butter, stick margarine, or shortening)

Or maybe you just want the richest, crumbliest taste and texture possible. If so, use more fat.

Stir in the liquid.

• 1 cup of liquid (milk, buttermilk, or water)

Knead ~10x.

Dough kneaded only 5x didn't rise quite as much as the other biscuits. It kind of rose and collapsed. The dough that was kneaded 15x and 45x was more "structurally sound" (like the biscuits we've seen before with less butter or milk).

Kneading more makes the dough more homogenous - less crumbly, more spongy... like Pillsbury biscuits from a can.

Kneading more makes the texture slightly tougher. Emphasis on slightly... like, almost unnoticeably.

Kneading somewhere around 10x is probably ideal, but I seriously doubt anyone would complain if you kneaded 5x or 45x. You're not going to absolutely ruin the biscuits by "overworking" them.

Roll ~1 inch thick.

Bake ~15 minutes at 425 F.

Biscuits 2

Source The Southern Lady Cooks

2 cups self-rising flour

1 to 2 tablespoons shortening at room temperature, (Mama used lard and about the size of a walnut)

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon salt, Optional


Work the shortening into the flour until it’s like coarse crumbs. (I use a spoon to do this).

Add the buttermilk and stir until makes a ball in the bowl.

You can either pinch off the dough or cut it with a biscuit cutter. I use a tin can because I like to make these biscuits good size like my mama’s biscuits.

Grease or spray pan.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until brown on top.

This recipe only makes 8 biscuits if you make them like I do. These biscuits are wonderful with a big old piece of country ham on one. They got the name “cathead biscuits” because they are supposed to be as big as a cat’s head!   Enjoy!

Note:  You can also make them using all-purpose flour but you will need to add 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. You can brush melted butter on the tops once cooked or even before cooking if you like.

Biscuits 1

Source: AllRecipes

4 cups self-rising flour (or regular flour with 4 feel teaspoons of baking powder)

1 pinch salt

3 tablespoons room-temperature vegetable shortening (such as Crisco®), or as needed

1 ¾ cups buttermilk, or as needed (or regular milk with 2 teaspoons vinegar)
 - Some commenters said 1-1/2 cups is better.  

¼ cup melted butter for brushing, or to taste


Step 1
Preheat an oven to 475 degrees.  Grease an 8-inch cake pan.

 Step 2
Sift flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Make a dent in flour by pushing flour from center toward sides of bowl. Add 2 walnut-size lumps of shortening and a splash of buttermilk to the flour where you made the dent. Work the shortening into the flour using fingers in a twisting motion (rub thumb against pointer and middle finger motion) until the shortening is fully incorporated into the flour.

 Step 3
Pour buttermilk into the flour about 1/4 cup at a time, continuing to work it in with your fingers until the buttermilk is completely incorporated into a sticky dough.  CAREFUL! - Truly add a little at a time because it's not likely you'll need all of this and if too much is used, it'll be a big mess.

 Step 4
Roll dough into 8 large balls and drop into prepared cake pan, working around the outside and putting the last one in middle to fill the pan. Press dough balls with back of fingers to flatten until they touch and are about 3/4- to 1-inch thick.

 Step 5
Bake in preheated oven until the tops are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter.

Onion and Sunflower Seed Bread Crackers

Recipe Inspiration Source:  One Green Planet
One Green Planet is a recent discovery for me and I plan to explore it a lot more in the future.

I used to have a recipe for onion crackers that were made something like this, except they were "cooked" in a dehydrator at about 190 degrees.  That allows it to be considered raw.  They were quite tasty.  I'm not concerned at all keeping to a raw regimen, but I'd like to find a recipe that is easy and tasty.  I'm starting with this one and plan to keep experimenting til I find a favorite.  It will be great to have something savory and crunchy to have along with a salad.

Update:  JC was not a fan.  If making them just for me, I'd have to freeze them.  It's probably not worth it. 

"This recipe allows you to be quite adventurous, by adding herbs, chilli flakes for a bit of heat, and really creating flavors that you personally tickle your fancy. It’s so versatile, meaning you can leave out the garlic and onion flavor and add your own. Freshly ground herbs would be a wonderful addition to this recipe. Think rosemary and sea salt. Yum!"

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Sunflower Seeds
• 1/4 Cup Flax Seeds
• 1 teaspoon Chia Seeds
• 1 teaspoon Phsylium Husks
• 1 teaspoon Nutritional Yeast Flakes
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan Rock Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1/2 Cup Water

The One Green Planet recipe did not call for these, but the recipe I loved used them and they really made the cracker yummy and unique.

• Onions - short slices - easy to add to any cracker recipe
• ¼ cup Braggs Liquid Aminos - maybe I'll use some of this in place of some of the water.

Note - If adding the onions, the cooking time needs to be increased to compensate for the added moisture!!!

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 360°F
2. Add all dry ingredients into a food processor and blend until broken down and combined.
3. Add the water and blend further to mix through
4. Stir in the onion slices by hand.
5. On a lined baking tray, spread out the mixture using a silicone spatula or back of a table spoon
6. Spread out evenly and thinly - It might be helpful to use a pizza cutter or spatula to push groves into spots you want to break the crackers once they are done.
7. WITH ONIONS - Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes until golden brown - - - At 30 minutes remove from oven and turn whole cracker over - use a 2nd piece of parchment to make that easier.  *See Note
8. WITHOUT ONIONS - Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown - - - At 20 minutes remove from oven and turn whole cracker over - use a 2nd piece of parchment to make that easier.
9. Remove and allow to cool before breaking into desired shapes and sizes
10. Store in a glass jar for up to 5 days

*Note: 60 was too long.  Edges were a tiny bit burned.  Yet the crackers were still moist.  Try 50-55 minutes or  MAYBE - lower temp for longer.  I need to experiment a little more.

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The Recipe in my Notes

Recipe Inspiration Source:  book - RAWvolution by Matt Amsden

Ingredients

• 3 yellow onions, large – that may be too much – start with just one and see
• 1 cup flax seeds (golden, brown or a combo), ground 
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds, ground in a food processor 
• ¼ cup Braggs or Nama Shoyu --- or just add salt
• ¼ water 
• ¼ cup cold pressed olive oil - I prefer to avoid oil, so maybe this is no longer the best recipe for me

Preparation

Peel and half the onions. Slice in a food processor (with slicing disc). 

Place onions in large bowl and mix with rest of ingredients until thoroughly combined. 

Spread mix over a Teflex sheet and repeat until all of mixture is used (I usually end up using 2 sheets). 

Dehydrate at 100°F for 24 hours. Flip and return to dehydrator for 12 hours. 

Cut into 9 equal pieces (2 cuts horizontally, 2 cuts vertically). Usually makes 18 pieces.

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Similar Recipes

Our Vegan Life - wow.  This sounds like the one I used to make.

• 4 yellow onions (sliced thin)
• 3/4 cup flax seeds ground
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds ground
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4-1/3 cup coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 1-2 tsp salt to TASTE

Nest and Glow - 2 Ingredient Flax Onion Bread - includes a few variations using chia seeds and more