Bready or Not Original: Mini Fruitcake Loaves
Welcome to MACADAMIA NUT MONTH! Why is this Macadamia Nut Month? Because next month on the 23rd, the final book in my Blood of Earth trilogy comes out! Macadamia nuts are a big product of Hawaii, and Hawaii is a major setting in Roar of Sky. Plus, macadamia nuts are awesome.
If you love these nuts, get ready to bliss out. This month includes recipes for:
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Lemony Macadamia Nut Bars
Mini Fruit Cake Loaves to make now for the holidays (macadamia nuts optional) (today)
Fruitcake is one of the most maligned holiday foods out there, but people do love it. My dad sure does. I wanted to make him a fruitcake that proved how awesome they could be.
The recipe you see today is one I’ve been experimenting with for a few years now. One problem that I had with a lot of existing recipes is that they make a ton of fruitcakes. Therefore, I wanted to find the right recipe to cut in half for easier fridge storage and eventual transportation to California.
I used a highly-rated King Arthur Flour recipe and tweaked it a ton. I printed out guides of fruitcake-making advice and incorporated that information, too.
My dad doesn’t like fruitcakes that are heavy on nuts. Therefore, I place more emphasis on the fruit. Customize the kinds of fruits and nuts to your preference. I often use a combination of pre-made “fruitcake mixes” from the grocery store along with dried golden raisins, chopped apricots and dates, etc. Whatever I have in my cupboard or can grab on sale.
The same with the nuts. If you hate walnuts, don’t use walnuts. Include just one nut or use a wide variety, just make sure they are chopped up. You don’t want huge pieces.
The use of cocoa powder seems odd, but it’s there to add color. That’s a holdover from the original King Arthur Flour recipe. I was afraid that it would add a chocolate flavor, but it doesn’t at all. There are so many other complex flavors going on, it doesn’t stand out.
The liquid to macerate the fruit can be alcohol or standard fruit juice. My preference is to get some help from good old Captain Morgan. In the simple syrup, you can also omit the rum, if you so choose.
If you have any questions about this fruitcake recipe, feel free to comment on this page or reach out via social media. Just don’t wait too long–if you want these loaves ready for the holidays, you’ll need to bake them soon!
Bready or Not Original: Mini Fruitcake Loaves
Ingredients
Fruit:
- 1 lb + 4 ounces fruit 20 ounces total, dried and/or candied, including fruitcake mixes, raisins, chopped dates, cherries, apricots, crystallized ginger, etc
- 6 Tablespoons rum or brandy, apple juice, or cranberry juice
Batter:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa optional, for color
- 2 Tablespoons corn syrup
- 1/4 cup apple juice or water
- 1 cup nuts chopped, one kind or a variety: almonds, pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, etc
Simple Syrup Glaze:
- 1 cup white sugar or caster; or for deeper flavor, turbinado
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 Tablespoon rum optional
Instructions
Prepare the fruit:
- Combine the fruit with the liquid of choice in a non-reactive bowl; cover and let rest overnight, at minimum.
Prepare simple syrup:
- Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the liquor, if using. Cool completely. Keep stored in jar in fridge to brush the loaves over the coming weeks.
Make loaves:
- Preheat oven at 300-degrees. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together, followed by the salt, spices, and baking powder.
- Beat in the eggs, scraping the bowl after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa.
- Add the flour mixture and the corn syrup to the butter mix. Scrape bowl well, then add the juice, the fruit with its liquid, and the nuts.
- Apply nonstick spray to the mini loaf pans; pan measurements vary, but this recipe should use 3 to 4 pans. Spoon batter into the pans, filling them about 3/4 full.
- Bake for about 1 hour to an 15 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. If desired, poke the cakes throughout with a skewer to allow more liquid to seep in. Brush tops with simple syrup for the first time.
- Allow loaves to completely cool, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge or in a cool, dark location.
After baking:
- Once a week for the next six weeks, unwrap loaves to brush with more simple syrup (making more in needed).
- After 6 weeks of ripening, the cakes can be eaten, stored in fridge longer, or frozen.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Lemony Macadamia Nut Blondies
Welcome to MACADAMIA NUT MONTH! Why is this Macadamia Nut Month? Because next month on the 23rd, the final book in my Blood of Earth trilogy comes out! Macadamia nuts are a big product of Hawaii, and Hawaii is a major setting in Roar of Sky. Plus, macadamia nuts are awesome.
If you love these nuts, get ready to bliss out. This month includes recipes for:
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Lemony Macadamia Nut Bars (today)
Mini Fruit Cake Loaves to make now for the holidays (macadamia nuts optional)
Sweet, tart, crunchy, fresh: these Lemony Macadamia Nut Blondies have it all going on.
My husband loves good lemon treats, and these met his whole-hearted approval–and his co-workers apparently went bonkers for them, too.
I’m honestly surprised there aren’t more goodies out there that combine lemon and macadamia nuts. It’s such an awesome combination.
Here, the chewiness of the blondies is amped up by a very thin glaze that soaks into the bars while they are still hot. I was afraid the glaze might make them too sweet, but it turned out perfect.
If you have leftover macadamia nuts around, do remember to store them in the fridge! Their high fat content can cause them to spoil at room temperature, whereas they will keep for ages in the fridge.
Trust me, no one wants to eat rancid nuts.
Modified from Epicuricloud.
Come back next week for a recipe with optional macadamia nuts: mini fruit cake loaves, quite customizable with the dried fruit and nuts! And please preorder Roar of Sky!
Bready or Not: Lemony Macadamia Nut Blondies
Ingredients
Bars
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 3 lemons zested, setting aside a pinch for the glaze
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- lemon zest
- 1/4 cup macadamia nuts finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar. Add eggs one at a time followed by the lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract. Stir in the flour and salt. When those are just incorporated, add the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
- Pour the batter into the ready pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test in the middle.
- Immediately after that is done baking, make the glaze by stirring together the confectioners' sugar and reserved lemon juice and zest. Use a chopstick or similar tool to poke small holes across the top of the blondies. Pour the glaze over the top and use a spoon to distribute it evenly. Sprinkle the remaining nuts on top.
- Let pan cool completely. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container with wax paper or parchment between the layers.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Guest: DETOX IN LETTERS Sugar Cookies with Avocado Frosting by Cheryl Low
I’m happy to welcome Cheryl Low with a Bready or Not guest post today! The second book in her Crowns & Ash series, Detox in Letters, is out TODAY. Her unique take on cookies here includes a frosting that mixes powdered sugar and avocado. That sounds like my kind of alchemy! Read on to find out more about her cookies and her series from World Weaver Press.
SUGAR COOKIES WITH AVOCADO FROSTING & PIXIE DUST
&
DETOX IN LETTERS
Sweet, unexpected, and addictive. One is never enough.
The Crowns & Ash series takes place in a fantasy world where magic is a drug steeping in every cup of tea and baked into the cakes eaten at every meal. The characters are indulgent, born in a city with few rules and too much time filled with parties and duels. But they quickly realize that their comfort is orchestrated by the Queen, their magic stolen and fed back to them in drugs to keep them sedate.
The fine veneer of their posh city is cracking and soon not even Vaun, Prince of the Realm, can turn a blind eye to the mounting dangers in their midst. Flesh-eating pixies, poisoned dust, soul-snatching wolves and so much more.
The first book in the series, Vanity in Dust, introduces the Realm, the prince, and a deadly ploy to undermine the Queen’s monopoly on the city’s dust.
And the second, Detox in Letters, is available now! The Realm finds out exactly where their magic comes from, Prince Vaun tries to survive his mother’s terrible demands, a rebel group threatens the High, and Princess Fay eyes the Queen’s throne.
All while eating cake and sipping tea, because some things just never change.
Detox in Letters – About the book:
Welcome to the Realm, where magic is your drug, your poison, and your only hope.
An illness is spreading through the city, marking the sick in mysterious letters scrawled across their skin. What is first thought to be madness reveals itself to be an awakening as residents rediscover themselves, their pasts, and their long-forgotten magic… things the Queen wants to remain buried. Things she will sacrifice her own children to suppress.
Mercy has never been a staple of the Realm. Treachery, blood, and magic steeps the city as the rebel leader, Red, seeks to topple the Tower, Princess Fay eyes her mother’s throne, and Prince Vaun must decide whether to submit to his mother’s terrible demand.
Where to buy Detox in Letters:
Amazon
Amazon UK
Goodreads
World Weaver Press
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
iBooks
Bready or Not Guest Recipe: DETOX IN LETTERS Sugar Cookies with Avocado Frosting by Cheryl Low
Ingredients
Cookie Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 avocado
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- Cake dust
Instructions
- Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture and then chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll out dough onto a floured surface and cut into cookie shapes.
- Bake 8-10 minutes. I take them out before the edges brown so they’ll be super soft. Let cool.
- Mash avocado and mix with powdered sugar into a frosting.
- Frost cookies. Let the frosting harden and then dust with glittery cake dust so you can pretend their coated in magic pixie dust.
About the Author:
Cheryl Low might be a dragon with a habit of destroying heroes, lounging in piles of shiny treasure, and abducting royals—a job she fell into after a short, failed attempt at being a mermaid. She can’t swim and eventually the other mermaids figured it out. She can, though, breathe fire and crush bones, so being a dragon suited her just fine.
…Or she might be a woman with a very active imagination, no desire to be outdoors, and more notebooks than she’ll ever know what to do with.
Find out by following her on social media @cherylwlow or check her webpage, CherylLow.com. The answer might surprise you! But it probably won’t.
Bready or Not: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Welcome to MACADAMIA NUT MONTH! Why is this Macadamia Nut Month? Because next month on the 23rd, the final book in my Blood of Earth trilogy comes out! Hawaii–with its groves of delicious macadamia nuts–is a major setting in Roar of Sky.
If you love macadamia nuts, get ready to bliss out. This month you’ll get recipes for:
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (today)
Lemony Macadamia Nut Bars
Mini Fruit Cake Loaves to make now for the holidays (macadamia nuts optional)
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. One of the best cookies in existence. There are a lot of recipes out there and I’ve tried many, but I say with no doubt that this is the best.
The melted white chocolate in the dough makes all the difference by adding slight sweetness and a smooth texture.
Be cautious when you melt the chips, though. It can burn quickly in the microwave. Zap it on low power for short stints of time, and stay close.
Did you know that macadamia nuts should always be stored in the fridge? They have a high fat content, and can go rancid at room temperature! Trust me, you’ll know by the smell when you open the bag. Voice of experience.
So don’t let good nuts go bad. Keep them chilled, and use them up in yummy recipes like this one! If you love this kind of cookie, this recipe will be a keeper for you.
Come back next week for a lemony bar recipe with macadamia nuts, and please preorder Roar of Sky!
Original recipe from Betty Crocker Magazine #172 April 2001, page 8.
Bready or Not: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- 10 oz white chocolate chips divided
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 11 Tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup macadamia nuts coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Place 1 cup of white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power in short increments, 20-25 seconds, and stop to stir between passes until the chips blend smoothly. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, vanilla, and eggs until they're creamy. Mix in the melted chips. Stir in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Add the remaining chips and nuts.
- Use a tablespoon cookie scoop or spoon to place dough in rounded lumps on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops just begin to turn light golden brown. Cool on the sheet for several minutes, then move to a rack to cool.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Welcome to MACADAMIA NUT MONTH! Why is this Macadamia Nut Month? Because next month on the 23rd, the final book in my Blood of Earth trilogy comes out! Hawaii is a major setting in Roar of Sky, and I did a research trip to Oahu and the Big Island last year. That included a stay at a lovely bed & breakfast on a macadamia nut farm near Kona. I’ve loved macadamia nuts my entire life, but there’s nothing like cracking through those double layers of shell to eat a macadamia nut fresh off the tree.
If you love macadamia nuts as well, get ready to bliss out. This month you’ll get recipes for:
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie (today)
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Lemony Macadamia Nut Bars
Mini Fruit Cake Loaves to make now for the holidays (macadamia nuts optional)
Macadamia Nut Pie. This pie is unquestionably decadent, but it is so very worth it.
I looked at about five recipes to formulate my own original take on this recipe. I confess, I was pretty nervous about this experiment.
After all, I didn’t want to waste these delicious nuts, even if I did buy two big bags at a good price from the Kona Costco during my novel research trip. Not like I can fly back there to stockpile nuts again soon (alas).
For years now, I’ve loved white chocolate macadamia nut cookies–hence I am featuring that recipe again next week. To me, that pairing of chocolate and nuts is sheer perfection. I just wasn’t sure how it would translate to pie.
The results genuinely surprised me.
That’s because the white chocolate melded with the corn syrup and brown sugar during the baking process, creating a kind of smooth caramel sauce.
Caramel and macadamia nuts is an awfully good pairing, too. But a very sweet one. This pie necessitated the purchase of a tub of vanilla ice cream.
I then served the pie to my husband with ice cream on the side, and I spooned caramel from the pie plate over both. Oh yeah.
You won’t need big slices of this pie. It’s just too rich. The good news is, it keeps well in the fridge for up to a week.
Come back next week for one of my favorite cookie recipes, and please preorder Roar of Sky!
Bready or Not Original: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Ingredients
- 1 deep dish pie crust 9-inch unbaked, homemade or store-bought
Filling:
- 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
- 2 cups macadamia nuts raw, coarsely chopped
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Place a cookie sheet in the oven to heat up as well; this will help prevent a soggy bottom on the crust.
- Place white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts in the unbaked pie crust, and place it in the fridge to chill.
- In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, then add the corn syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Pour the filling over the white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Cover the pie crust edges with foil.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 400-degrees. Remove the foil.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350-degrees and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is lightly brown and the filling is set. Cool to room temperature before cutting.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Homemade Twix Bars
If you’re craving candy bars–a lot of candy bars–this recipe will result in a casserole dish of Twix-like yumminess.
These are a bit softer than Twix, but the similarities are there. The crust is like cakey shortbread topped with caramel-sweet dulce de leche. Chocolate finishes off the top.
As the pictures show, there are some crumbs. Very delicious crumbs. I found the chocolate layer on top stayed soft, even after chilling.
This is the perfect recipe for feeding a large crowd. If you cut them into long rectangles, like Twix, you’ll have a lot!
But if you have leftovers, no worries–these keep well for days in the fridge, and you can also freeze them between waxed paper layers. Just thaw them in the fridge when your craving strikes again.
Modified from Twixy Shortbread Bars in Better Homes & Gardens.
Bready or Not: Homemade Twix Bars
Ingredients
Cookie base:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 3 sticks, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Middle:
- 13.4 oz dulce de leche can
Chocolate top:
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips 1 bag
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 13x9-inch pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl beat the 1 1/2 cups butter until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla. Beat in the flour. Press the dough into the prepared pan and set in fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Bake the pan with dough for 20 to 25 minutes, until set and turning light brown. Cool on rack.
- Spread contents of dulce de leche can evenly over the crust.
- In a saucepan on medium heat, warm up the whipping cream, 6 tablespoons of butter, and corn syrup until they are just boiling. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate and vanilla but don't stir! Let it sit for 5 minutes. Stir until nice and smooth. Cool another 10 minutes, then pour chocolate over the dulce de leche. Spread it evenly over the top. Cover and chill for an hour or two.
- Use the foil to lift contents of pan onto a large cutting board. Slice into bars.
- These homemade candy bars keep best in the fridge, and can also be frozen (and later thawed in fridge). If at room temperature for a prolonged period, the bottom crust may get soggy.
- OM NOM NOM!
