cherry almond coffee cake.

My sister invited me to participate in this month's mystery dish!

We had to make a recipe that included at least 3 of the following: coffee, sour cream,

farro, almonds, cherries, watermelon, cantaloupe, jicama, cucumber, tomatoes, infused or flavored olive oil, fresh herbs, cornmeal, and hot peppers. 

With all the fruit included on the list, I knew I wanted to make something sweet. And of course I immediately thought of combining cherries and almonds! 

I found several recipes using dried or maraschino cherries but I wanted to use fresh ones. I was super excited to find this coffee cake recipe because it combines fresh cherries and raw almonds, and also includes sour cream to keep it super soft and moist. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did. It can be part of a balanced breakfast ;) ;), snack, or dessert!

~

fresh cherry almond coffee cake from noble pig

Ingredients

for coffee cake:

2 cups fresh, pitted, chopped cherries

6 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup white granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

6 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup slivered or chopped almonds

for glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 Tablespoon milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine chopped cherries and brown sugar, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, sour cream, butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Batter will be thick.
3. Grease a 10 inch bundt pan (or 2- 8" round pans). Spoon half the batter into pan. Make sure to completely cover the bottom of pan.  Spread it around evenly with a spatula or something similar. Top with cherry-brown sugar mixture. By spoonfuls, put the remaining batter over cherries. Just swirl it around gently, you don't have to completely cover the cherries. Sprinkle with almonds.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-45 minutes (depending on which pan you use) or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  I checked at 25 minutes and kept checking every 10 minutes until done. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan. During the cooling time, carefully run a sharp knife around the edges.
5. In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over the cooled coffee cake and serve.

Check out the links below for other yummy recipes!

1. Watermelon Salsa - The Pajama Chef
2. Farro Salad - Chez CateyLou
3. Cherry Almond Coffee Cake - Two Happy Bellies
4. Watermelon Fruit Salad with Mint Lime Dressing - Yummy Healthy Easy
5. Toasted Almond Caramel Mocha Gelato - Culinary Couture Blog
6. Cherry Galettes with Almond Sour Cream Crust - The Well Floured Kitchen
7. Cherry Watermelon Granita - Joyful Healthy Eats
8. Cherry Almond Mocha Smoothie - Baking a Moment
9. Pepperoni Pasta Salad - I Want Crazy
10. Almond Cherry Bars - I Dig Pinterest
11. Cucumber Salsa - Weary Chef
12. Cherry Almond Popsicles - Blahnik Baker

no yeast cinnamon rolls.

Sometimes I think I should have called my blog "The Lazy Baker". Why you ask? Because let's just face it, I am so lazy sometimes!

Example A: I stopped making pizza crust that has to rise because I hated waiting for it to rise and I felt like I screwed it up half the time.

Example B: I wanted to make cinnamon rolls for Mother's Day today but I didn't want to wait for the yeast to rise and to possibly find that maybe it didn't even work! 

Catch my drift? Well anyway, I come with good news! I found this awesome no rise, no yeast cinnamon roll recipe. You're welcome.

These were a serious hit. They were everything a cinnamon roll should be: warm,  gooey, and bursting with cinnamon goodness. They also drip with cream cheese frosting goodness. I already ate one today and my mouth still waters thinking about it. Go make these now or the next time you need a good brunch accompaniment! 

~

no yeast cinnamon rolls from  Back for Seconds Blog

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cups buttermilk*
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Filling**

• 1/4 cup butter, soft or melted
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Icing

• 4 tablespoons butter (softened)
• 4 tablespoons cream cheese (softened)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Put all dough ingredients in a stand mixer.  Mix together until dough forms. I used my dough hook attachment.
3. Sprinkle flour onto your rolling surface. Roll out dough into a rectangle. Make sure dough is about 1/8" thick.
4. Spread 1/4 cup butter evenly onto rolled out dough. Mix sugars and cinnamon together in a separate bowl. Evenly distribute cinnamon-sugar mixture onto rolled out dough.
5. Roll up the dough and slice (with floss or a knife) into 12-14 rolls. Place into greased baking pan, allowing enough room for rolls to expand.***
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until rolls are brown and puffy. 
7. While rolls are baking, make the icing. Start by beating the 4 Tbsp butter and 4 Tbsp cream cheese together. 
8. Next, add vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk until creamy, or until it is at your desired consistency.
9. Once the rolls are out of the oven, pour icing over them.
10. Enjoy!!

*I put ~3/4 T lemon juice in measuring cup and filled the rest of the way with milk.

**The original recipe uses 1/3 c sugar, 1/3 c brown sugar, and 1/2 cup butter.

*** I stopped at this point, covered the rolls in plastic wrap and waited until the next day to bake them.

taco pasta.

[adapted from http://www.plainchicken.com/2010/09/taco-pasta.html]

This is a super easy, delicious meal. This is the second time I've made this recipe since I found it in January. Grant loooves  Mexican and I love pasta so it's a perfect combo! It literally tastes like a taco.  We ate some of the less pasta-y bites with tortilla chips and that was also reallll good.  Enjoy, my friends!

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef 
8 ounce small dry pasta shapes 
1 small onion, chopped (or 1 Tbsp minced onion flakes) 
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup salsa
1 packet taco seasoning (if you don't have this on hand, you can make your own! http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/)
3 ounce cream cheese 
1/2 cup sour cream 
Salt and pepper
Shredded Cheese for topping

Note: I used less onion than this recipe calls for (probably just a few slices from a large onion).  I used 2 cloves of garlic because I looove garlic. Also, I used reduced fat sour cream and neufchâtel cream cheese (aka 1/3 less fat cream cheese).  

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, cook ground beef and onion until no longer pink. Drain fat and mix in garlic.  Cook until fragnant, about 30 seconds.
3.  Mix in salsa and taco seasoning. Let simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.
4.  Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream, and reserved pasta water. Continue to stir until cream cheese is melted. 
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I skipped this step).
6.  Top with shredded cheese and more sour cream and salsa, if desired.  Serve and enjoy!