Easter Wrap-Up

This photo caused a few family members to have flashbacks to Gourmet Magazine. I'm afraid the reference was somewhat lost on me, but I definitely get the vintagey feel part!

If you read my last post, you know that I was a bit apprehensive about the honey oatmeal bread that I brought for Easter with Brady's relatives yesterday. I had never made it with 100% whole wheat flour before, and I was a little afraid it would come out dry and heavy. Well, I was gloriously wrong!

The muffins that I had thrown together also came out much better than expected. I combined a very general online banana nut muffin recipe with the tried-and-truly fantastic Jacked-up Banana Bread from Smitten Kitchen. The resulting recipe:

1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. soda
3/4 c. rolled oats
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp. oil
1/2 c. milk

2 heaping tbsp. honey
1 c. mashed ripe bananas - about two bananas
1/3 c. chopped walnuts

1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, spices, soda and oats. Add egg, oil, milk, honey, vanilla, bananas and nuts. Stir only until dry ingredients are moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until done. Makes 12-18 muffins.

I used my little silicone muffin cups on a jelly roll pan, which yielded 14 muffins. One became sadly decapitated (and immediately eaten) in the cooling process, making a perfect baker's dozen. 

These came out moist and tasty, and somehow much more delicious than I was expecting. We had some for breakfast, and a few even made it to the bread basket at Easter dinner.

If the bread looks lumpy, that's because it's braided.

Perhaps more importantly, they received high praise from Brady's grandmother, who could not have been sweeter. Come to think of it, everybody was very complimentary about both the muffin and the bread.

My first feeding-other-people-things-I baked experience was a big success! I have to admit, it felt pretty grown-up.

Everything was even more delicious than it looks. But the best part was the goodie bag that Brady's Aunt Kathy packed up for us!