When I was in college, I had major problems with insomnia.  Not an occasional night of being unable to sleep, but weeks on end where I would be studying or reading, and suddenly it was 4 o’clock in the morning and I wasn’t even tired.  Or I would get into bed at an oh-so-reasonable hour for a 19- or 20-year old, and lie there, awake, for hours.  My Type-A, hyperproductive friends would smile knowingly when I’d explain that I literally did not sleep, but it wasn’t about bragging rights — it was frustrating, exhausting, and I would have done almost anything to fix it.

Recently, and I’m not sure why, these problems have resurfaced.  After an easy year of falling asleep easily the moment I hit the bed, I find myself wandering out into our kitchen at 2 or 3 am, looking for that midnight snack or snippet of television that will signal to my body that the day is over.

And that’s partially how I conceived of this recipe.  It started out as scones, which are a breakfast food, but to me, this recipe is a bedtime snack.  Savory and rich without being too heavy, a little wedge of this is enough to compel the most reluctant sleeper.  Which is not to say that it shouldn’t be used for breakfast — or, frankly, as an appetizer at dinner.  But after a long day when you want nothing more than to close your eyes, this is comfort food at it’s best.

Night, everyone.

Cheddar Biscuit Bread

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter, diced
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, grated, plus an additional 1/2 cup grated cheese for topping

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Combine the flour with the baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, fork or two knives, until the butter bits are pea sized.

Lightly beat two of the eggs and mix them with the buttermilk, then add the mixture to the rest of the ingredients above. Using a wooden spoon, mix until the dough begins to come together. Add the grated cheddar and mix until everything is incorporated.

Place the dough in a cake pan, and sprinkle additional cheddar cheese on top.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown, and serve.

Oh, baby.

And –

Are you ready for this?

This recipe is low fat, low sugar, and really, really good for you.

I’ll give you a moment to gather yourself.  Are you still with me?  Are you ready to make it?  Are you chomping at the bit, screaming into your monitor, “What are the ingredients already?!?”

Apples, bananas, flour, sugar, honey, eggs, flour, spices, salt and baking powder.  That’s it.  No butter, no oil, no kidding.  And you wind up with a dense, delicious flavor-filled cake, and you don’t even have to feel guilty about going back for seconds.

So the next time you’re about to melt a stick of butter to make banana bread, put it back in the fridge, and pull out this recipe.  You’ll be glad you did.

Apple Banana Cake

INGREDIENTS

2 large, very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Pinch of salt
2 large golden apples, sliced
Additional honey, for drizzling

DIRECTIONS

Arrange the sliced apples on a baking sheet and drizzle honey over them.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until apples are moist and tender.  Remove the apples from the oven and lower its heat to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mash bananas and sugar until combined and creamy.  Add the honey and eggs and continue to beat until well combined.  Add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and mix until combined.

Grease an 8″ round cake pan, and arrange one layer of apple slices on the bottom of the pan (use a little less than half the apples).  Pour the banana batter into the pan, and arrange a second layer of apples on the top, in an overlapping pattern.  Bake the cake in a preheated 350°F oven for one hour and ten minutes.

I love, love, love, love, love homemade bread.

More specifically, I love this bread.  It shocks me sometimes how simple, how easy, it is to create gorgeous loaves of bread at home.  How moist, delicious and insanely addictive they are fresh out of the oven, and how quickly they disappear when I leave them on the countertops.

And I love how easy it is to create yummy new variations, just by changing a few ingredients.  Lately, as I’ve said before, I’ve been partial to the half bread flour, half whole wheat flour combination.  But I’ve also usually added butter, eggs, or some other ingredient to the bread to make it moist and richer.  This time, though, I tried something different.  This one was simple — flour, water, salt, sugar.

Who would believe that it would turn out just as moist and delicious as any more calorie-dense recipe I’ve made?  Well, it did.  This bread is really, truly great, and would make an awesome snack on the way to work in the morning, after school for the kids, or before dinner on a special night — it’s that versatile, and that good.

Finally, the winner of the Stonyfield Farm giveaway, is Comment #38, Steven!  I’ll be emailing today for your address, congratulations!

Oatmeal Wheat Bread

INGREDIENTS

1 packet yeast
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup instant oats, plus additional oatmeal for sprinkling on the loaf
1/2 cup water
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

Proof the yeast in 1/4 cup of water with 1 tsp of sugar.  At the same time, microwave the oatmeal grains and 1/2 cup of water until oatmeal has absorbed the water, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.  When the yeast and water turns milky/creamy, mix it with the flour, the oatmeal, the additional 1 3/4 cups of water, and the salt and knead for about 10 minutes.  If dough is too sticky, add a little bit of flour to make it easier to knead.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow it to rise for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.  Punch down the dough, knead it again briefly, and place it in a greased pan for baking. 

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and allow the dough to rise for an additional 45 minutes, or until it rises to the size you want.  Sprinkle some additional oats on the top of the loaf.  Bake for 25 minutes, allow to cool, and slice.