Health Food Raisin Bread

Health Food Raisin Bread (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 264).

I love to have a sweet bread or cake with my morning coffee but I have been trying to limit my sugar intake. That is hard to do with Maida Heatter's recipes but this one recently caught my eye. There is no sugar in it and it is sweetened with honey and molasses. I really like it, especially with cream cheese. She has some similar recipes of this nature that I plan to try soon. 

I do not normally use that much whole wheat flour so I store it in our old refrigerator in the garage. I used Bob's Red Mill stone ground wheat flour for this. Wheat germ is another item I store in the refrigerator. I did not toast this for the recipe but the next time I will try doing that. For the molasses, I happened to have some Brer Rabbit molasses in the cabinet that I used earlier in the year for another recipe.

A 6-cup capacity loaf pan is needed for the recipe. I had a long, narrow pan (measuring about 12" x 4.5") stored away that I just started using and I love it. It bakes faster than wider pans so keep in mind that pan size can affect baking times. This recipes specifies 50 minutes but mine was done in 40.

This is a fast and easy to make! I did not even use a mixer for this.

2 cups unsifted all-purpose whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsifted all-purpose white flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 cups (6 oz.) raisins (dark or light)
1/4 cup wheat germ, untoasted or toasted
1/2 cup milk
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dark or light molasses

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 6-cup capacity loaf pan and dust it with wheat germ (you can use toasted wheat germ as well).

Place both whole wheat and all-purpose flour in a mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the baking powder through a fine strainer.

Stir in the raisins, being sure to separate them and make sure they are all floured.

Stir in the wheat germ.

Mix together the milk, buttermilk, honey and molasses.

Add the milk mixture to the batter and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Place the batter into the pan, smooth the top and form a slight trench down the middle of the top with a spoon. 

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes until the top feels semi-firm and a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before turning out and allowing to cool completely on a wire rack.

After cooling, wrap the bread well. It dries out quickly.

Chocolate Fondant Cookies

Chocolate Fondant Cookies

Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 138.

Maida describes these cookies as "plain" and that they are but in my opinion, the addition of chocolate brings anything up to another level! Especially milk chocolate (I used Hershey bars). The batter was sinfully delicious and I could have stood there and ate the entire bowl. The cookies are good, nothing extraordinary, but you find yourself going back for more...


7 TBS. unsalted butter
3/4 cup sifted unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
7 oz. milk chocolate
2 large eggs
Optional: Confectioners sugar (to sprinkle on top of cookies)

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.

Cut the butter into small pieces and set aside.

In a food processor, add the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa and sugar and pulse a few times to mix. Break the chocolate into small pieces and mix for about 20 seconds. Add the butter and process for 15-20 seconds until the mixture holds together. With the processor running, add the eggs through the feed tube and mix well. Transfer mixture to a small bowl.

Form the dough into tablespoon sized balls. Place them on a piece of foil a few inches apart. You will have to wet your hands throughout the process so it is good to do this next to the sink. 

Place the formed balls on the prepared cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes. The dough will barely spring back when pressed when they are ready. Do not overbake.

The cookies will expand a bit during baking. Transfer them to a wire rack with a wide spatula. Let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container.