Per serving: Calories 192, Protein 5g, Fat 7g

So delicious. Best ever. So tender and dense, just a little sweet, with delicate cornmeal flavor. Great on its own but performs perfectly as a side, was nice dipping in the glaze of the Honey-Pineapple Yams. Nice in the morning too with a spot of honey. I must experiment with adding different stuff to the batter. And it was super easy too.

“Take this basic recipe even farther by stirring in other ingredients, such as sliced scallions, fresh herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, or even by using blue cornmeal. To make muffins, simply spoon the batter into sprayed muffin cups, then bake about 15 minutes. The mini-sized muffins are especially nice for a brunch, and children love them.”

serves 9
You might need to buy:
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • yellow cornmeal
  • unbleached all-purpose flour
  • sugar
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • skim milk
  • vegetable oil

Moist, black, and tender. I made this for Father’s Day and it was an impressive success. I got a little bit carried away with the frosting and piped edges and curly letters and big hearts and then dotted it all over with whole rasberries and individual seeds. A little tacky a lot beyootiful. I used extra dark cocoa, but the rasberries made a world of difference in keeping it flavorful vs. dull. Oh, and I loved the frosting.

You might need to buy:
  • For the cake:
  • Guinness
  • unsalted butter
  • unsweetened cocoa
  • sour cream
  • eggs
  • pure vanilla extract
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking soda
  • For the cake:
  • Guinness
  • unsalted butter
  • unsweetened cocoa
  • sour cream
  • eggs
  • pure vanilla extract
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking soda
  • For the topping:
  • Philadelphia cream cheese
  • confectioners' sugar
  • heavy cream
  • Philadelphia cream cheese
  • confectioners' sugar
  • heavy cream

When these come out right, they are airy, tender, and wholesome. When they come out wrong (rising is a tricky business), they are still very enjoyable, especially with preserves. The dough is very sticky and hard to handle, so it requires a stint in the fridge. Makes 12 biscuits, 128 cal each

You might need to buy:
  • whole wheat flour
  • unbleached all-purpose flour
  • sugar
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • vegetable shortening
  • skim milk

Chewy and nourishing. Yum. Approx. 168 cal. each.

serves 12
You might need to buy:
  • yogurt
  • wheat bran
  • whole wheat pastry flour
  • wheat germ
  • oat bran
  • rolled oats
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • cinnamon
  • grated orange rind
  • oil
  • molasses
  • sunflower seeds
  • walnuts or pecans as garnish

These bars made a nice snack for the trip down to L.A.. The recipe came without directions on the oven temperature setting, so I estimated 375F. The bars were moist, sweet, chewy and enjoyed by all, but I would go with a shallower pan next time- 9 by 13 inches as directed rather than my 8×11, or up the temperature by 25F, or lengthen the baking time 5-10 minutes, etc., etc..

serves 24
You might need to buy:
  • pitted dates
  • water
  • dark molasses
  • water
  • safflower or canola oil
  • whole wheat flour
  • baking soda
  • ground cinnamon
  • ground ginger
  • ground cloves
  • black raisins

Very moist, buttery, walnut crunch, and subtle maple flavor. A little too subtle? I’d up it a bit, maybe with maple extract. Mama liked them, and they are a nice treat to have with morning tea.

serves 9
You might need to buy:
  • eggs
  • maple syrup
  • milk
  • whole wheat pastry flour
  • wheat germ
  • oat bran
  • baking powder
  • baking soda

Easy to make, nice to nosh on, good cinnamoniness, and it’s pretty amazing that it’s sweetened only with fruit juice. Otherwise, not much to say about this decent but not dreamy treat. I wish it were a bit more tender and rich.

You might need to buy:
  • frozen and thawed apple juice concentrate
  • safflower or canola oil
  • mashed bananas
  • vanilla extract
  • whole wheat pastry flour
  • baking soda
  • baking powder
  • ground cinnamon
  • ground coriander
  • chopped walnuts
  • ground cinnamon
  • chopped walnuts
  • sprinkle of ground cinnamon

Delicious, satisfying, and so easy. Yes yes. Although the recipe calls for sharp Cheddar, I used mild with a little extra to very good result. And though the dill is optional, it is such a nice addition to the flavor that I would be reluctant to omit it in the future. The cookbook says: "Practically a cheese sandwich with the cheese built right in, this bread makes for a great brown-bag or picnic lunch with a salad and fresh fruit. It’s also a perfect protein complement to hearty bean soups, such as Black Bean Soup. Note: This bread freezes beautifully, so you might like to double the recipe and make one loaf to use fresh and one to freeze for later use.

You might need to buy:
  • whole wheat flour
  • unbleached white flour
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • firmly packed grated sharp Cheddar cheese
  • low-fat milk
  • honey

These make some bigundo, tasty, tender scones that are super quick and fun to experiment with. They are very cakey, almost like large cookies, so a cup of tea is definitely in order. I made 1/4 of the recipe with chopped Granny Smith apples, 1/4 with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top, and 1/2 with chopped almonds and a tablespoon of amaretto. I liked the varieties in that order. In the future I would shape them smaller by half and try more different ingredient combinations, as suggested by allrecipes.com bakers and by my available ingredients.

Ideas: more apple bits crammed in there, as much as the dough can take; different fruits: peaches, dates, pear, apricot, berries; orange and lemon juice and zest; poppy seeds; chocolate chips; pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice; currants, cranberries; desserted up with glaze or as a base for shortcake

serves 12
You might need to buy:
  • sour cream
  • baking soda
  • all-purpose flour
  • white sugar
  • baking powder
  • cream of tartar
  • salt
  • butter
  • egg

Makes a very moist, yummy loaf (I cut the recipe in half for a nice snack on our Half Moon Bay camping trip). Not the perfect pumpkin bread I am questing for (dates compete for flavor?), but very nice. Allegedly good with cream cheese or cranberrry sauce and thinly sliced poultry.

You might need to buy:
  • make 2 loaves:
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking soda
  • ground cinnamon
  • freshly grated nutmeg
  • salt
  • ground allspice
  • granulated sugar
  • packed light brown sugar
  • corn oil
  • chopped walnuts
  • coarsely chopped dates