September 2022 · Jess in the Kitchen

Spiced Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

Last Updated on October 9, 2022 by Jess

“Mama! Will you make more chocolate zucchini bread?” That’s what I heard a few weekends back, and while I really love my chocolate zucchini bread recipe (Find it here!) I wanted to skip the chocolate and go for a new recipe; A spiced zucchini oatmeal bread.

The goal? Make a zucchini bread my kids would gobble up while making some healthy swaps. If you’ve been here a while, you know my MO is maple syrup (or honey!) instead of sugar, whole wheat flour rather than white, and oatmeal is so heart-healthy I have to throw it in there!

And while lots of my recipes are gluten-free (because darn it, I care about you, gluten-free friends!), this recipe uses some Sunrise Flour Mill Heritage Wheat Flour. If you are gluten-free, I highly recommend checking out their flour. They are well known in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area for creating heritage wheat that is more digestible. Freaking dang cool, right?

This recipe was a great breakfast for my mini me and mid morning snack for myself. I eat breakfast at 6 am and lunch at 12:20 pm. I don’t know about you, but this girl can not last that long. There is definitely a second breakfast around 9:30 with some form of granola, graham cracker, or bread and a piece of fruit. It’s how this active teacher rolls. But enough about my eating habits, let’s get baking!

Your Ingredients for Spiced Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

¾ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs
⅓ cup oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup chopped nuts
2 ½ – 3 cups shredded zucchini

Your Steps

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9×5 inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. Mix maple syrup, vanilla, eggs, and oil in a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined. Add whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and shredded zucchini.

Divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, without raw batter.

Spiced Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

Cinnamon, maple syrup, and some oatmeal make this heart healthy zucchini bread a delight while still being kid friendly!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings slices

Ingredients

¾ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs
⅓ cup oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup chopped nuts
2 ½ – 3 cups shredded zucchini

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9×5 inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine maple syrup, vanilla, eggs, and oil. Whisk until well combined.
Add whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix until just combined.
Fold in chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and shredded zucchini.
Divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans.
Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, without raw batter.

Keyword Breakfast Bread, chocolate zucchini bread, oatmeal, Quick Bread, whole wheat flour, zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini recipe

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for more zucchini recipes?

Check out any of the ideas below!

September 18, 2022October 9, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Coconut and Raisin Spiced Muffins

Last Updated on September 11, 2022 by Jess

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may know that I have a couple of fun foodie groups that I get to be a part of: Around the World in 80 Dishes where we pick a different country every month to cook from and One Book, Three Recipes where we pick a different cookbook off our shelves each month and we cook three recipes from it. This fun coconut and raisin spiced muffins recipe was a child that came from the later challenge.

I had been debating on a few different recipes from one particular book and then turned to a page that had a recipe for coconut bread. I set out to make the recipe, and I found myself saying, “huh…there’s none of this ingredient? Or that one? And yet another? This seems strange.” What I had was some sand-textured ingredients in a bowl. There was no way it was going to create a loaf of bread. A few typos that missed the editor’s desk, I presume.

And so I played with it and was instantly in love with the results. Now, if you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I usually sub maple syrup for sugar and try to give a healthy twist. These coconut and raisin spiced muffins are not that. They are dense, warming, and delicious; totally different from my average fruit muffin. Give them a try!

Your Ingredients

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup milk
2 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, etc)
½ cup chopped nuts

Your Steps to Coconut and Raisin Spiced Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 18 muffin vessels with liners or by greasing them. Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Add to wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in coconut, dried fruit, and nuts. Place the mixture into the prepared tin, filling ¾ of the full.

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Coconut and Raisin Spiced Muffins

These coconut and raisin spiced muffins are full of texture and flavor, creating a delicious and dense muffin full of warming spices.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings muffins

Equipment

Muffin tin

Ingredients

½ cup butter softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup milk
2 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit cranberries, cherries, etc
½ cup chopped nuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 18 muffin vessels with liners or by greasing them.
Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. Stir until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
Add to wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in coconut, dried fruit, and nuts.
Place the mixture into the prepared tin, filling ¾ of the full.
Bake for 20-24 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Keyword Breakfast, coconut, coconut muffins, muffins, Quick Bread, raisins, spiced bread

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for more breakfast Inspiration?

Check out any of the recipes below or just head to my breakfast page for more ideas!

September 10, 2022September 11, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Wild Plum Jam

This season, I have become obsessed with searching for wild plums. I don’t know if it has been a good season for them (Apparently they don’t like rain at all in June and July? Ha!) or if I just hadn’t noticed them before, but I have suddenly become aware of an abundance of wild plum trees throughout the area in Wisconsin. And if you know me, when I see wild edibles, I harvest (free food!) And if it is fruit, I will be making jam out of it. In this case, wild plum jam.

I keep asking the Mr. why people don’t eat them, and he said that they likely don’t know to identify them. From afar, he thinks that many assume they are crab apples and think crab apples aren’t good (not true, by the way!). Boy, if that’s the case, they sure are wrong. They are sweet and delicious and plentiful! You can learn more about identifying wild plums (American Plums) here.

I had to start making jam quick. And I hope you do too, but I do want to share that I did not grow up in a canning household. I learned about ten years ago, as soon as we bought our home and started our first garden. And while I had some support of my mother in law (thank you so much!), I learned SO MUCH from reading. If you are a first generation canner like I was, let me share some of my favorite resources.

My Favorite Resources

Ball Complete Book of Home Canning: This book gives you a good idea of all the basics from the people who know canning forwards and backwards. I love that I can dig in and get just what I need.

Not Your Mama’s Canning Book: Modern Canned Goods and What to Make with Them: This book is SO FUN. It has some out of the ordinary recipes. We especially love the tomato soup and seasoned black bean recipes.

Can It and Ferment It: More Than 75 Small Batch Canning and Fermentation Recipes for the Whole Year: I dig the simplicity of this book. It is also by what I would consider to be a local author, which is doubly cool. Small batch is great for anyone just giving canning a try!

And finally, the National Center for Home Food Preservation has all the information you need for all sorts of food preservation, not just canning. I reference it often!

But enough about resources, you want to can right? (But seriously, I am going to give you the basics. If you are a newbie (Yay!), head to any of those resources for more detailed information)

Your Wild Plum Jam Ingredients

For approximately a half pint, you’ll need

1 cup rinsed and pitted plums, halved or quartered
½ cup sugar
½ tablespoon lemon juice

I say approximately because let’s be honest, it isn’t perfect. You might get one 1/2 pint for every cup of fruit, but it might be a little less. I always prepare as many jars as I have cups of fruit and go from there.

Yes, that’s it! No, you can’t change out the sugar for a different sweetener using this recipe. Canning is finicky like that. I like to do at least 5 cups of plums but have done up to 8 cups.

The Prep Work

Fill the canning kettle with enough water that the jars will be covered by at least 2 inches of water. More is better in this case so overestimate. Begin to heat over high heat. Place the canning rack so that it is hooked over the side of the canner and put clean jars on it to keep them warm.

Set the clean rings aside. I like to simmer my lids on low low heat in a small saucepan. Not necessary, but I like to think it helps them seal better.

If you have not already done so, measure out the sugar and the plums.

The Wild Plum Jam Making

In a large, preferably shallow kettle, smash the plums with a potato masher. I actually love to use my fermentation packer to crush fruit in jams. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice. Begin to heat over medium-high heat, stirring often. I like to smash more as they are cooking down. After they haven’t softened (about 10 minutes), puree the plums using an immersion/stick blender. What’s cool about this step is you can decide how much or how little you want to break down the plums. Then keep cooking and stirring.

Your end goal is to reach the gelling point. There are lots of tests for this, but I prefer the temperature test. If you are at sea level, the gelling point is 220 degrees. For every 1000 feet of elevation, you subtract 2 degrees. For me, the gelling point is 218 degrees. Don’t have a decent food thermometer? Check out the National Center for Home Preservation website for other ways of testing for the gelling point.

It takes longer to reach the gelling point than I think it should. It also goes from needing 3 degrees to reaching the gelling point fast. You can get complacent while you are waiting and suddenly hit the temperature, so I am trying to warn you 🙂

Halve and pit. Get a helper to make time fly by!

Time to Can it!

Once the wild plum jam has reached the gelling point, remove it from the heat. Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp, clean cloth, add lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight. Place in the canner, increasing the heat to high. Once the canner reaches a boil, process for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow jars to cool in the canner over 5 minutes. Remove from canner, placing on the counter. Listen for the ping of the lids over the next 12 hours. Sealed jars are self stable. If any jar doesn’t seal, simply place it right in the refrigerator. It is recommended that you store jars with the rings off or very loose. I very between the two.

Note: You can skip the processing step all together if you feel more comfortable. If you do so, the jam will need to be stored in the refrigerator. The process of water bath canning creates a self-stable jam. That is, a jam that can be stored on the shelf.

Cooked down wild plums — Blended and beautiful!

Canning process — Blended and beautiful!

Wild Plum Jam

American Plums are abundant and can be foraged to make this beautiful three ingredient plum jam!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Canning

Servings per jar

Equipment

Ingredients

Per 1/2 pint jar (approximately), you will need:

1 cup halved and pitted wild plums
½ cup sugar
½ tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

If you have not done so, clean and measure out the wild plums. For each cup of plums, measure out 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice. Set aside.
Wash and sanitize the same amount of pint jars as cups of cleaned plums. Wash and clean rings and lids. Keep warm. Fill the canner with enough water to cover the jars by at least 2 inches of water. Cover and heat on high. Watch the temperature, you want a simmer but not a boil when you place the jars in the water.
In a large, shallow kettle, smash plums with a potato masher. Stir in sugar. Begin to heat over medium-high heat, stirring often. Smash more as they are cooking down.
After approximately 10 minutes, blend jam mixture with an immersion blend to desired texture.
Heat to 8 degrees above the boiling point of water. If you are at sea level, the gelling point is at 220 degrees. For every 1000 feet of elevation, you subtract 2 degrees.
Once the jam has reached the gelling point, remove from heat. Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp cloth, add lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight. Place in the canner, increasing the heat to high. Once the canner reaches a boil, process for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow jars to cool in the canner over 5 minutes. Remove from canner and allow to rest for 12 hours before storing.

Notes

You can skip the processing step all together if you feel more comfortable. If you do so, the jam will need to be stored in the refrigerator. The process of water bath canning creates a self-stable jam. That is, a jam that can be stored on the shelf.

If you do not have a digital food thermometer, there are other ways to test the gelling point. Check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation for more information!

Keyword Canning, Foraging, Jam, Jam Recipes, Jellies and Jams, plum jam, preserving, wild plums

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!