Quick Breads – The Salted Table

Morning Cake with Pumpkin, & Pistachio Streusel

Vegan Pumpkin Cake w/ Pistachio Streusel

Tell me all the things you enjoy about Autumn. And don’t worry, its okay if Autumn isn’t your season. No judgement here. But maybe there’s a characteristic about it that you appreciate. The golden evening light, the leaves changing colours, cooler weather, or maybe your a pluviophile like myself and love the rainy days. Either way you feel about it, it is indeed the season I prefer over the other three.

I feel rejuvenated in Autumn. Theres a feeling of newness in the air and I breathe it in deeply. Its so much more than changing of the harvest and what makes it to your dinner table. Its a season that exudes the joy of gathering together. Gathering together around fire pits, along porch verandas and the holding of hands down neighborhood streets. Its mornings met with slow sunrises that you’ll actually get to catch if you’re a late riser.

It doesn’t have to be Autumn for me to be in the baking mood. I know some refuse to turn on their ovens during the warmer months, but I’ve never been one to say no to my cravings. Especially when that craving is for cake. A baked good who’s presence I enjoy at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Which makes this Morning Pumpkin Cake with Pistachio Streusel the perfect cake to get your Autumn baking off to a good start. And I have every intention of trying this with butternut squash, and sweet potato puree. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Vegan Pumpkin Cake w/ Pistachio Streusel

Morning Cake with Pumpkin, & Pistachio Streusel (Egg-Less)

Prep: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 40-50 minutes

3-½ cups White Lily AP Flour
2-¼ cups White Granulated Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 tablespoons Pumpkin Spice
1 teaspoon Vietnamese or Saigon Cinnamon
2-¼ cups Canned Pumpkin
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract
1 cup Coconut Oil
⅔ cups Lactaid Milk
1 teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar

Pistachio Streusel
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, chunked
1 1/2 cups White Lily AP Flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Heavy smidge kosher salt
1/4 cup chopped pistachios

METHOD:
1. Streusel: combine all the ingredients together in a bowl. Coat the butter with the dry mix. Smush the butter between the side of your index finger and thumb while mixing it into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly mix. Be careful not to over mix. Place back in the fridge while you make the cake.

2. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan or two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. If you use the 9-inch pan, there will be extra batter left. Make muffins with it, or refrigerate it up to 3 days.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. Add pumpkin, oil, extracts, milk and vinegar to flour mix. Fold gently until just moistened. Be careful not to over-mix.

4. Spoon batter into the pan/s, cover the top evenly with the streusel. And bake for 45–50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean.

5. Allow bread to cool in the pan/s on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing.

Vegan Pumpkin Cake w/ Pistachio Streusel
NOTES:

I’ve only tried this recipe with the ingredients listed, so I can not promise you that substitutes will yield the same product that I was happy with. If you do try substitutes, and you’re happy with the results, please return to leave a comment and let others know.

Pecan Pumpkin Butter Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

Williams-Sonoma Pecan Pumpkin Butter, Williams-Sonoma Recipes, Cinnamon Rolls, Dessert The lack of cold weather this season put a little damper on what I perceived to be the idea Christmas. The warmth and sunshine just didn’t feel like the Christmas mornings I was familiar with in years past. But I guess holidays can’t always be picture perfect. The Christmas decor in our neighborhood is slowly finding its way back in to the attics and basements where it will nest for the next three-hundred and forty-nine days or something like that.

Pecan Pumpkin Butter Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

Pecan Pumpkin Butter Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls
Breakfast in our home took shape in many different formats. One of your first options was to choose from the three or more different types of cereals in the cabinet, we could send dad out to grab breakfast sandwiches from the nearest drive-through, or mom had just enough energy after long hospital shifts to cook grits, sausage patties, and hard scrambled eggs…and Pillsbury biscuits, but don’t judge her, we loved it. But as I got older and my palate began to mature and I became so much more aware of all the things other people were eating for their morning meal. The fact that I discovered lox, bagels and the schmear so late in life often makes me sad but I’m sure that has been remedied by my glutinous consumption of it since the discovery.

Pecan Pumpkin Butter Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

All this talk of breakfast and I almost forgot why we’re here and that’s to discuss these pumpkin butter biscuit cinnamon rolls (go ahead, take a moment to drool). There was a period last year when I became consumed with the variety of things I was able to do with biscuit dough. One just has to be imaginative and be willing to screw up a few batches to find out what works and doesn’t work. My counter tops have seen the demise of many-a-biscuit from pimento-cheddar, cinnamon streusel with Nutella and roasted turnip and thyme. This recipe creation randomly occurred one morning when I was trying to think of ways in which to use my pumpkin butter from Williams-Sonoma, every time I teach a cooking class there I’m always grabbing something, I blame my mom for that impulse gene. And might I remind you that it was right before Thanksgiving so pumpkin anything for breakfast just felt right.

Pecan Pumpkin Butter Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

While this is a very simple recipe, keep in mind that you do not want to overwork your biscuit dough or your rolls will be tough. I learned that while doing the first batch but I also wanted a tight roll, but clearly I kneaded and rolled one too many times while trying to achieve this so word to the wise – take it easy. They should still be on the moist side, and keep flour near to keep from sticking too much to your work surface and hands, best of luck and tweet me questions – @thesaltedtable!

Pecan Pumpkin Butter Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls
Pecan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

4 cups unbleached, AP flour (White Lily, preferably)
2 1/2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 stick of chilled unsalted butter, diced
2 cups cold full-fat buttermilk plus more

Filling:
You can use 1 jar of the Williams-Sonoma Pecan Pumpkin Butter for your filling or make your own. A can of Libby PURE Pumpkin Puree will work just fine.

You’ll need:
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 dark brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Topping:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 Tablespoons whole milk

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Rub one tablespoon of butter inside of a large cast-iron skillet or a 9×13 metal pan. set aside.

2. whisk your flour, salt, baking powder together, cut the butter into the flour mixture using your fingers until the mixture is crumbly and the nothing is larger than a kernel of corn. Make a well in the middle of the bowl and add your buttermilk. You will have to determine how much liquid you need which is why I say “plus more’ in the ingredient list. Biscuits aren’t the easiest thing to interpret because you just have to get in there and be confident, it’s an art and a little science (wink). So you need to determine if your dough is still dry, add a few splashes of buttermilk at a time so that you don’t overdo it but there should no dry ingredients left.

3. Dust your work surface with a little flour and pull the dough on to the table. Dust the top of your dough ball with a little more flour. Gently pat it down until it’s about an inch thick, fold it in half towards you and fold it again from the left over to the right. dust your hands with flour and gently massage the outside of the dough just getting it to take shape of a square, it won’t be perfect but close enough is perfect. Using your rolling-pin, gently begin to roll out your dough using a bounce-like motion as to not be to tough on the dough. Alternate rolling the dough out side-to-side until it is about 1/2 inch thick.

4. Spread an even layer starting from the center of the dough and working your way out until you’re about 1/2 inch from all sides of the dough. Now, this is where it gets sticky and fun. Make sure you have sharp knife, preferably serrated, handy to cut your rolls. Also have an offset spatula near you to help lift any dough that may have stuck while you were rolling.

You are going to begin rolling your dough in to a cylinder away from you but be careful not to move to fast or you will lose all your filling.So you want to run your offset spatula down the bottom side of the dough with every new turn. Do this until you have a complete roll that is ready to be cut.

5. Cut the rolls about an inch thick and begin placing them in your skillet starting from the outside in. If you’re using a 9×13 pan, you will single-file line them until the pan is full. And your rolls should be snug so they can push on each other and this helps them to rise and the filling to stay inside.

6. Cook for about 20-35 minutes or until you puncture the dough layer and it comes out clean. Let rest and for 10-15 minutes before drizzling your icing on top. Mix you powdered sugar, lemon juice, milk until combined and is thick but pourable, you may need just a splash more of milk to reach the right consistency. Enjoy!

Pecan Pumpkin Butter Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

Jalapeno & Cheddar Cornbread

When I think of cornbread, I can vividly see the image of worn hands draped in cornmeal dust, kissed by sticky bits of egg and butter. I smell the thickness of buttermilk’s tang waft beneath my nostrils. There’s natural sunlight piercing through the grease stained windows where laundry drapes from the twine in the distance. There was a little shed out back that was attached to a chicken coop where my sister and I once collected eggs from the rustic piles of hay, leaves and cotton, that were sewn into works of art where the eggs lay.

It almost seems like a lost cause to bake something attached to so many warm thoughts. My grandmother never made jalapeno cheddar cornbread. It’s a treat that I’ve developed a fondness for over time. The hint of spicy warmth on that sweet corn backdrop and the kiss of that nutty cheese to bring it all together is something enchanting if you let it be. When I reminisce with friends about simple southern staples like cornbread as pertaining to my childhood. It entails that of a Lodge cast-iron skillet, a chipped coffee mug, hot cornbread, buttermilk and a spoon. You talk about heaven’s dessert. I’m not sure if it was dessert? Or maybe it was breakfast, or a snack? Either way, it seduced the soul and calmed the spirit far more than any prescription drug nowadays. You should give it a try.

This recipe is simple in nature and lends itself to interpretation depending upon how creative you want to be. No mind what the ‘traditional southern purists’ may say.

I’m contemplating adding pimento cheese to appease the masses, because who doesn’t love pimento cheese?

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups buttermilk
3 extra-large eggs, beaten
½ pound room temperature(2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted (leave some to grease pan)
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers (2 to 3 peppers)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with a couple tablespoons of butter, set aside.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl(dry ingredients always want to runaway). In a separate bowl mix the minced jalapeno, eggs, milk and butter. add your dry mixture by the cupful one at a time into the wet mixture and combine using a wooden spoon until all ingredients are combined. Be careful not to over mix and its ok if little specks of butter are still present. Then, fold in the grated cheese using a rubber spatula until fully combined.
3. Pour batter into your greased cast-iron skillet and bake for 25-35 minutes depending upon your oven. I recommend allowing it to cool for a few moments but not all the way, its best when warm.

Pumpkin Cranberry & Apple Biscuits

The introduction to fall has been an interesting one. I mean typically, I don’t even pay attention to the change of the seasons until I become annoyed by the reaction of my allergies to the first pollen breeze, chill of wind upon my face or warmth of sun upon my car seats. All of these things an indication that the season has changed and we are walking into a new cycle of life. One where our blankets fall from the attics and our heaters blow the dusts of summers neglect away.

I have to admit there is a soft spot in my heart for the fall. I adore the quilt of colors brought to us by the leaves aging. The rustling and crunch of your feet in the grass conjuring yesteryear’s thoughts of s’mores and diving into mountains of raked leaves.

I was sitting in the waiting room while my wife was in surgery when I thought of these biscuits. Her parents and I fretting on the inside but doing our best not to let it show. I was holding on tight to a cup of hot chocolate mixed with coffee that I swear never left the cup no matter how much I drank. Oh, hospitals and those small styrofoam cups that remind you so coldly of where you are. When will they ever learn?

Jenna’s been having an ovarian cyst issue that required moving along with some other abdomen problems due to a botched surgery from our past. We were told post-surgery that they found scar tissue from that surgery and a couple of fibroid that needed to be removed. If that wasn’t enough the doctor with this look of discontent said, ” if we were thinking of having children we would need to do so sooner than later.” (Well, good morning to you too.) was the initial thought that jumped into my head, but this wasn’t the doctors fault and we were already aware that the road to having children would not be that of an easy one. And this is OK with us. God has his own divine timing and though we are often impatient in waiting for things to unfold. We’re good with just enjoying each others company until then.

Don’t ask me what the correlation between scary waiting rooms and biscuits have to do with each other because I honestly don’t know. But I knew I had no idea of what to take to Nashville Food Bloggers CSA Potluck the following Sunday. And maybe this is what my brain does when in uneasy situations. It goes directly to the chamber of comfort foods I have stored away in my mind. These biscuits were practically an experiment of sorts.

I found the recipe on a farmgirl’s dabbles for Pumpkin Biscuits with Candied Ginger. And I’m not good at simply making a recipe without a few minor changes, not always for the better, but you gotta try. So any-who, once I put my spin on them, they were no longer the same. If you make these biscuits you’ll get a heartier biscuit that’s somewhere between sweet and savory. Which I believe will make them the perfect appetizer, bread with dinner or even dessert with a little bit of your favorite flavor of cream cheese. Also recommended by the original recipe, a little honey butter, I concur.

What are some of your favorite fall baking recipes and how do you keep them interesting? I’d love to hear from you.

Pumpkin Cranberry & Apple Biscuits
adaptation via A farmgirl’s dabbles

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. Kosher salt
6 T. chilled butter (cubed)
1/2 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. canned pumpkin puree (not pre-spiced)
3 T. Honey
2 T. chopped candied ginger
1/2 c. chopped apples
1/2 c. dried cranberries

Method

1.Preheat oven to 375 and spray or butter cookie sheet. set aside.
2.Add flour, baking powder, salt, and spices and whisk together. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Place in the refrigerator to chill about 15-20 min.
3. Combine apples, cranberries, pumpkin, buttermilk,and ginger in a bowl and combine. Add this mixture by the heaping spoonfuls until you have a tacky dough that forms a ball.

Side Note: it is essential that you do not move too fast. Slowly work the dry and wet ingredients together without over-mixing the batter. This is the key to happy, fluffy biscuits.

4. There is no kneading or rolling unless you want the perfectly shaped round biscuits. I went with the drop biscuit method. I used a 3/4 fluid oz scoop which will roughly be about an ounce of dough per biscuit.
5. Leave a 1/2 an inch of space between the biscuits. Bake for about 6-8 minutes. Due to their size they won’t take long to cook, but like I always say. “No two ovens are the same.” so you be the judge. I hope you enjoy.

Side Note: In the photos you’ll see that I sprinkled brown sugar on a few and some kosher salt on others. Just for a bit of added flavor.

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Gluten Free Biscuits

You might remember me telling you about my wife being gluten-free due to post-transplant wackiness. As we continue to explore the gluten-free world I intend on sharing some of our favorite recipes along the way.

When you can find substitutions for southern classics that are still delicious, it’s a plus in my book. I don’t desire to live without biscuits and nor should anyone because of celiac disease or a lifestyle change.

Biscuits are a southern dinner table staple that I don’t believe will go away anytime soon and why would you want them to? The crispy, flaky skin encasing that fluffy pillowy center can do all but solve world hunger. But then, again, it might be worth a try so bake away friends. Lets show the world what they’ve been missing.

I recollect biscuits being a regular fixture at our dinner table as kids growing up and they all differed depending upon whose house you visited. At my grandmothers you would be greeted by the lard and butter combo biscuits that just barely met the top of the cast-iron skillet. You know the ones holding on to so much grease that they have a light sheen on the top. If you ventured to our home you could easily be met with a sheet pan of Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits. Which I was okay with. But if my mom wasn’t putting in twelve-hour days at the hospital then you might be lucky enough to find grandma’s recipe on the range.

Ingredients

2 cups Gluten Free Pantry All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup chilled butter cubed
1 medium egg
3/4 cup almond milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Place the first five ingredients in to a bowl. One large enough so that you don’t lose the ingredients. I like to lightly whisk all of my dry ingredients together.
2. Create a well in the center of the mixture and add cubed butter. Using both hands, pinch your butter and flour together until get grainy pea size balls forming.
3. Slowly add in your almond milk until dough begins to form. You should be able to use most of the milk. The mixture should be able to hold together.
4. Pull mixture onto floured surface. Roll your dough out into 1/2 an inch thick and cut your circles. if you don not have a biscuit cutter a mason jar or both ends of a canned food item will work fine. Just be sure to sprinkle some flour on it.
5.Let your biscuits bake for 15-20 minutes. They only took about 16 minutes my oven which runs higher. So gauge for yourself, no two ovens are alike.

Side Note: The wife and I enjoyed these biscuits with pepper gravy and they were delicious. But because this recipe is slightly sweetened, but not overwhelmingly so. These biscuits will also be great for dessert with some macerated fruit and Chantilly cream.