Christmas Tree Bread

I look forward to baking with the ladies from #Twelve Loaves every Month.  Though I've missed the last few I was determined to join them this month since December and Christmas time are a favorite at my house and the theme was Holiday Breads!!! This recipe was given to me by my Mother-in-Law which I modified slightly and my boys devour this rapidly.  This would be a great base for a Danish or other sweet bread too, it's amazing!  I hope you enjoy it :)

Here are what the other #Twelve Loaves ladies are making!

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Coffee Cake by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Cranberry Apple Cinnamon Rolls by Dionne at Try Anything Once Culinary

Cranberry Orange Scones by Renee at Kudos Kitchen by Renee

Crunchy Almond Holiday Bread by Paula at Vintage Kitchen Notes

Holiday Breakfast Wreath by Lora at Cake Duchess

Mini Toffee Banana Bread with Caramel Sauce by Holly at A Baker's House

Nut Brittle Topped Holiday Bread by Deepti at Baking Yummies

Pandoro by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories

Stollen by Renee at Magnolia Days

Print Recipe

Christmas Tree Bread

4 cups flour
1 Tbsp yeast
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a Kitchen Aid mixing bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the yeast.

In a saucepan heat the milk, shortening, sugar, and salt just until the shortening is almost completely melted, stirring constantly.

Add to the flour and yeast and mix well.

Add the eggs slowly while the mixer runs at a slow speed.

Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and then mix for 3 minutes at medium high speed.

Stir in as much of the remaining flour on low as needed to make a moderately stiff dough.

Place in a greased bowl turning once to coat.

Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour.  Punch down, recover and let rest for 10 minutes.

On a floured surface roll out the dough to approximately a 15x10" rectangle.

Cut the dough into 1" strips with a pizza cutter.  To shape lay a 10" strip of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for the tree trunk.  Take another strip fold in half and twist for the bottom branch.  Repeat using a 8, 6, 5, and 3" strips.

To make a different shape cut a long strip in half and simply cut long strips to desired length to form the branches.

Let the dough rise until double.  About an hour and 25 minutes.

Meanwhile heat oven to 400 F.  Bake for 12-15 minutes and cool completely.

Mix the powdered sugar, milk, an vanilla to make a good drizzling consistency.  Add food coloring if desired.  Transfer the glaze into thick (freezer) zip top bags or piping bags.  Snip the corner with a pair of scissors.

Drizzle the glaze over the trees.

With a spatula transfer the trees to a serving plate! Rip it apart and enjoy :)

For the #TwelveLoaves group this month we are baking Holiday Breads perfect for the season! In November we made amazing spice breads. Here you can share your  December Holiday Bread (yeast or quick bread). 

Let's get baking!

If you’d like to add your bread to the collection with the Linky Tool this month, here’s what you need to do!

1. When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post; this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone's posts. Please make sure that your bread is inspired by the theme!

2. Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be a bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.

3. Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this December, 2013, and posted on your blog byDecember  31, 2013.

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess. #TwelveLoaves runs so smoothly thanks to the help of the lovely Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes and Renee from Magnolia Days.

Persimmon Gingerbread Muffins with Caramel Drizzle

My neighbor has a beautiful Persimmon tree that is full of cute little "pumpkin" fruits this time of year.  I had never actually eaten a persimmon before but I was intrigued.  So when the fruits were ripe Miss Jen generously brought over a few for us to try.  I was excited to eat one of these beauties and since it is time again to bake with my #Twelve Loaves ladies, I thought that this would be the perfect Fall Treat! (I mean bread...) I don't know if this recipe truly qualifies as a muffin, really it is probably more like a cupcake, but I'm going to go with muffin since it does have "bread" in it's name after all!

This recipe was adapted from the Gingerbread recipe in one of my favorite cookbook's, Lion House Recipes.  Seriously this book is awesome, I use it all the time...

For November the #Twelve Loaves group is baking with Spices! Every month is a new theme and we make yeast or quick breads.  Look for the Linky below to share your November Spice Bread! The temperatures are dropping and it is my favorite time of year to bake especially with different spices! Here is what the #Twelve Loaves ladies are baking!

• Cinnamon-Cardamom Buns by Heather at girlichef
• Cinnamon Crusted Pumpkin Bread by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins by Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
• Cinnamon, Orange and Chocolate Chip Bread by Deepti at Bakingyummies
• Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Rolls by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cocoa Clove Pumpkin Bread by Renee at Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Ginger Pull-Apart Bread by Lora at Cake Duchess
• Honey Spice Bread by Holly at A Baker's House
• Persimmon Gingerbread Muffins with Caramel Drizzle by Krista at A Handful of Everything
• Pumpkin Cardamom Bread by Dionne at Try Anything Once Culinary
• Spiced Buns by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Sumac Spicy Crackers by Rossella at Ma chetiseimangiato
• Sweet Potato Spice Swirl Bread by Paula at Vintage Kitchen Notes

Print Recipe

Persimmon Gingerbread Muffins with Caramel Drizzle

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup molasses
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 persimmon
1 cup water, divided
1 bag caramels, or your favorite caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 350˚ F.  Peel and core the persimmon.  

Finely dice or pulse in a food processor.  

The persimmon should yield a generous 1/2 cup.

In a small saucepan combine the diced persimmon (generous 1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup of water.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer about 15 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid cream the butter and sugar.

Add the beaten egg and molasses and beat well.

In a separate bowl sift together the salt, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of water to a boil.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in two additions.

Add the persimmon from the saucepan and the hot 1/2 cup of water and beat until smooth.

Line 2 muffin pans with paper liners and spray each with non-stick cooking spray.  Using a large scoop transfer the batter to each of the cup.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 5 minutes.  Then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Drizzle with melted caramels or your favorite caramel sauce.

(To melt the caramels unwrap the caramels and melt with 1-2 Tbsp of water over medium heat until melted and stirs easily.  Drizzle over the muffins with a spoon.)

If you’d like to add your bread to the collection with the Linky Tool this month, 

here’s what you need to do!

1. When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post; this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone's posts. Please make sure that your bread is inspired by the theme!

2. Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be a bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.

3. Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this November, 2013, and posted on your blog by November 30, 2013.

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess. #TwelveLoaves runs so smoothly thanks to the help of the lovely Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes and Renee from Magnolia Days.

Nectarine Raspberry Bread

I'm baking again with my ladies from #Twelve Loaves! The theme for this month is Stonefruit.  The peaches and apricots and nectarines at the market have looked fabulous lately and I was so excited to make my bread! This bread was fabulous right out of the oven and though I was skeptical at first it even tasted great cold.  Double score! Wohoo :) I loved the pairing of the nectarines with the raspberries.  I might just need to make another loaf...

See what the other ladies are making: Apricot Bread from Cake Duchess
Peach & Apricot Honey Bread from Try Anything Once Culinary
Peach Muffins from Ma Che Ti Sei Mangiato
Peach Challah from Vintage Kitchen Notes
Cherry Muffins from Magnolia Days
Apricot Braided Loaf from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Cinnamon Peach Monkey Bread from Hip Foodie Mom
Peach Oat Quick Bread from A Baker’s House
Nectarine Cinnamon Rolls from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Nectarine Raspberry Bread from A Handful of Everything
Nectarine and Ginger Muffins from Baking in Pyjamas

Print Recipe

Nectarine Raspberry Bread

1 1/2 cups flour, divided
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 medium nectarines, peeled pitted and coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)
1 tsp Turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)
1/2 cup raspberries

Topping
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup candied almonds, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Wash and prepare the fruit.  

 

Lightly sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the nectarines and stir to coat.  

Add in the raspberries.  Set aside.

Add the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a mixing bowl.  

Stir to combine.  

In the bowl of a kitchen aid add the coconut oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice and beat until smooth.  

 Add the sugar mixture to the coconut oil and beat for 2 minutes.  

Add the eggs, beat well until combined.  Mix in 1 cup of the flour.  Sprinkle the fruit with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and add.  

 Using a large wooden spoon or a rubber spatula fold the fruit into the quick bread batter.

Pour the bread batter into a well greased (and floured if desired) loaf pan. 

In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Then stir in the chopped almonds.  

 Sprinkle evenly over the top of the loaf.  Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the pan to a cooling rack.  

Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan before removing the bread from the pan to slice or to cool completely.

#TwelveLoaves July:

Stone Fruit hosted by Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes. Summer is when we get to enjoy an abundance of fresh stone fruits at our markets. Let’s create some breads with their juicy deliciousness! Share your favorite stone fruit bread recipe(yeast or quick bread). Let's get baking!

Want to join the #TwelveLoaves group? It's easy!

1. When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post; this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone's posts. Please make sure that your bread is inspired by the theme!

2. Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be a bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.

3. Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this July, 2013, and posted on your blog by July 31, 2013.

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess.