Cherry Almond Bread, "Cowboy Cookies," & Black Pepper Cheddar Bread

I haven't been all that busy on here. I have a few planned posts, but I am very good at distracting myself. Between my January adventures, FAFSA & taxes, and the aforementioned procrastination, it has been ages since I have posted many recipes. That is, save for my lengthy aside to croissants. (Note: the croissants need slightly more butter than I have in that recipe, probably a half stick more, which helps them to flake properly.) So, before writing this or that on green cities, musing on my vision of work and home, discussing why I am so into reading Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, or a sideways gripe about last.fm becoming a paid service, I have these recipes to provide you.

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Cherry Almond Bread
*This is presently in the oven, was a bit rushed, and may not be what I want in the end. We shall see.

Starter
1 cup warm water
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp dry yeast

Blend together in a large mixing bowl. Allow to rest for 45 minutes.

Dough
1 cup water
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter, soft
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Stir in the water, then sprinkle some of the flour over the dough (about 1/2 cup), followed by butter and the brown sugar, and then the salt. Stir together. Add cherries and almonds (which I actually kneaded in later when I decided to add them), and mix up a little more. Gradually add flour and stir together until you make a soft dough. Sprinkle the counter generously with flour, turn out, and knead until even. Return to the bowl, pat with water, cover, and allow to rest until doubled in size--about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F and place baking sheets in the oven. Turn out the dough and knead slightly, noting the texture and stickiness so as to not add too much flour, and divide in two. Shape each loaf (I made baguettes), pull out the sheets, quickly grease the sheets and sprinkle with flour, then place the loaves onto the sheets and allow to proof until doubled--twenty to thirty minutes. Bake for 30-45 minutes, turning if necessary to bake evenly. I have been spraying my loaves as they bake with water to make a slightly sturdier crust, which also raises the baking time. Pull out and set on a cooling rack.

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Black Pepper Cheddar Bread

Starter
1 & 1/2 cup warm water
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp dry yeast

Blend together and allow to rest for 45 minutes.

Prepare
3/4 cup cheddar, cubed
1/2 Tbsp black pepper
~If you can use fresh ground black pepper, you can drop this to 1 tsp (1/3 Tbsp).
Mix a little so that pepper sticks to the cheddar.

Dough
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
~Keep the white for eggwash.

Drop the egg yolk into the starter, then generously sprinkle with flour, add salt, cover with more but not all of the flour, and stir. Add more flour as needed before stirring in the cheddar. Turn out onto floured counter and knead somewhat, but try to avoid crushing the cheese. Allow to rest until doubled in size--one hour. Turn out and divide into two pieces, shape the dough into boules/rounds and allow to proof for 30-45 minutes. When the loaves have doubled, use the egg white--optionally mixed with a little honey, oil, or water--to coat the loaves. You can brush on or use a paper towel to dab on. Bake at 400 F for 25-35 minutes.

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"Cowboy Cookies," or Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans & Coconut
This recipe was lifted out of a Southern Living or something of the sort, but it also showed up in The Best American Recipes for 2008 book--though that may not be the exact title. You can make these with pecans, but I am more likely to have walnuts around than pecans, which are much cheaper anyway so that is what I have used thus far to make them. I will post the original recipe here with small notes of my own modification.

Ingredients
Cooking Spray
2 cups white flour
~or 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
8 oz/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
~or drop the white sugar for 1 & 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cup thick oats
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
3 oz pecan halves
~or walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 F and spray baking sheets. You can line with parchment paper, but I haven't needed to. Blend together flour, soda, salt, and baking powder into a medium bowl.

In an electric mixer--though I have done this by hand if you soften the butter enough--beat the butter and sugar(s) together until creamy--about 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add eggs and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour, mixing until just incorporated. Add oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut; blending until just combined.

Spoon dough out onto the greased cookie sheets, spacing them by three inches.

Bake until edges are brown--11-13 minutes--and remove to allow to cool on a wire rack. (They're good for *at least* three days.)

Makes 5 dozen (though I make mine larger and get 3-4 dozen).

Enjoy!

PS. I may have posted this recipe once already.