The Best Irish Soda Bread Recipe!

I've never been much of a fan of Irish Soda Bread, I always felt it was much too dry. A few years ago, I made this recipe with a friend and I was floored! This Irish Soda Bread is awesome! It is very moist and it tastes amazing! I made this yesterday for my St. Patrick's Day play date and it was a hit. You have to try it out for yourself!
 

Look at the top of the loaf!
It looks (and tastes) amazing with the sugar sprinkled on top.

 

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

4 Cups Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Sugar
4 Tablespoons of butter, softened
2 Cups of Buttermilk
1 Egg, beaten
1 Cup Raisins
1-2 Tablespoons Sugar, to top if desired

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add butter. If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer, mix it using the bread/dough hook, if not, knead it with your hands for a few minutes until combined. Add the egg and buttermilk and knead again until combined. Mix in the raisins. Place in a greased loaf/bread pan and sprinkle the top with sugar if desired. Bake at 325 degrees for about 80 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature with or without butter. Enjoy!

Yummy Sweet Potato Bread!

 

 

We decided to make Sweet Potato Bread to go along with our Native American Indian studies and the Indian Lore Merit Badge.  The boys enjoyed making it and loved eating it the following day while they did the written portion of the Indian Lore Merit Badge.

Sweet Potato Bread Ingredients: 3 cups white sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs 3-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2/3 cup water 2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (I used 1- 40oz can) 1& 1/2 cups chopped pecans   Directions: 1. Combine sugar and oil; beat well. Add eggs and beat. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with water. Stir in sweet potatoes and chopped nuts.     2. Pour batter into 2 greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 70 minutes. **This recipe makes 2 loaves of bread, you can easily cut it in half to make 1 loaf.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread-- YUM!

 

My goal this summer was to teach my 12 year old son how to cook and bake. He is a Boy Scout and will soon be working on his cooking merit badge. He also goes camping once a month and is sometimes required to cook with his patrol (a small group of boys). I figured the best way to help him to excel with all of this, is to teach him at home. My kids have been helping me with dinner at least one night a week and I have been trying to bake with them at least once a week as well. My friend gave us some zucchini the other day, so I figured we would make some zucchini bread. I recently saw a recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread, which intrigued me. Every year, we make zucchini bread, so I figured it was time to shake things up a bit. I am so glad we did! The Chocolate Zucchini Bread came out awesome and is absolutely delicious! The bread is very moist and chocolaty! For those of you that have a garden full of zucchini, this is a definite must try! This recipe makes 2 loaves.

 

 

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder                                                    

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon                                                   

1 teaspoon baking soda                                                    

1/2 teaspoon baking powder                                                                     

1 teaspoon salt                                                    

2 cups white sugar                                                    

3 eggs                                                    

1 cup vegetable oil                                                                     

2 teaspoons vanilla extract                                                    

2 cups shredded zucchini                                                    

3/4 cup chopped walnuts                                                    

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips                                                    

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.

 

In large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mix well. 

 

In separate bowl, combine sugar and eggs, beat until well blended. Add oil and vanilla; beat until combined. Stir in zucchini. Add flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

 

Spoon evenly into loaf pans.

 

Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pans; cool completely on wire rack.