Chapter 15
Quick Breads, Cookies, and Snacks
The recipes that follow are informal fun foods, snack-type treats. And each is made with a twist—a dried food or several dried foods. Zucchini bread, for example, is made from dried zucchini powder; banana bread, from dried banana slices; and corn bread from corn that I urge you to grind yourself in order to discover the exquisite flavor of home-dried, home-ground cornmeal. You no longer need fresh fruits or vegetables to make a specific recipe. With a food dehydrator, a little preplanning, and a surprisingly limited amount of shelf space for storing your home-dried ingredients, you can proceed to bake and cook with remarkably pleasing results.
Of the ten recipes in this section, campers and outdoor enthusiasts will undoubtedly relate quickest to the two gorps—one of which is made with five different dried vegetables and two dried fruits—a high-energy snack if there ever was one. Lastly, there is a granola recipe, which my family and friends have loved for years, as well as a combination for cookies made with that granola.
Banana Bread
How many times have you longed for a piece of home-baked banana bread when there are either no bananas in the house or the ones you do have are not soft enough for mashing? With dried banana slices on hand, a homebaked loaf is only about an hour or so away—a very reassuring thought in our household! Serve this for breakfast, spread with a little butter, or for dessert with fruit salad on a hot summer day. It also makes a very nice gift, and it freezes beautifully. If you think that only fresh bananas are suitable for making this favorite quick bread, this will change your mind.
1 cup dried banana slices
1 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
In the container of a blender, combine the dried banana pieces and the milk. Let sit for 15 minutes to rehydrate. Blend the banana pieces until smooth, then let the mixture sit again for at least 10 minutes to allow the puree to thicken.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease two 8 × 3½-inch loaf pans.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, the baking soda, and the salt. In a large bowl, cream together the brown and the granulated sugars. Add the eggs and the vanilla, and combine the mixture well. Stir in the banana puree. Add the flour mixture and the chopped nuts, and combine thoroughly. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans, dividing it equally, and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before baking.
Bake the breads for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Remove the loaves and let them cool on racks.
Makes 2 loaves
Corn Bread
Until you dry your own corn and grind it for meal, you have no idea how fragrant homemade cornmeal can be. It is a striking golden yellow color, and the meal actually smells like corn. Gone is the smell of a cardboard carton, the “aroma” of commercially prepared cornmeals.
This bread is especially good with a bean or root vegetable soup. Should you have any left over, reheat it in the microwave for best results.
1 cup dried corn
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
½ cup canola or sunflower oil
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12 × 7-inch baking pan.
In a blender, grind the dried corn into cornmeal. You will need ¾ cup meal. In a bowl, combine the cornmeal with the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt.
In another bowl, combine the eggs, the milk, and the oil. Add the egg mixture to the cornmeal mixture, stirring only enough to mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the bread for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool slightly, then serve warm with butter and honey.
Makes 16 pieces
Zucchini Bread
This recipe demonstrates another way to use food that has been dried for cooking. Whereas in Banana Bread I used dried banana slices, rehydrated them in milk, then blended them for the batter, here zucchini powder—dried zucchini pulverized in a blender—is rehydrated in water. In similar fashion, you could use dried apricot powder to make apricot bread.
Next time you have a late-summer bumper crop of zucchini, give some of it away then dry what remains and pulverize some of it. A zucchini two feet long and about eight inches wide, when dried and pulverized, can be stored in a pint jar!
¾ cup dried zucchini powder
1½ cups water
3 eggs
¾ cup canola or sunflower oil
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped black walnuts, if available, or pecans
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease two 7 × 3-inch loaf pans.
In a small bowl, stir together the dried zucchini powder and the 1½ cups water. Let sit for 15 minutes to rehydrate.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, stir in the oil, the sugar, and the vanilla. Add the rehydrated zucchini mixture with the cinnamon, the ginger, and the cloves.
In another bowl, stir together the flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and combine the batter well. Stir in the nuts. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and let them sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes.
Bake the breads for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Remove the loaves from the pans and let them cool on wire racks.
Makes 2 loaves
Fruit Muffins
With home-dried blueberries or raspberries on hand, you won’t have to wait for berry season to make delicious muffins. To rehydrate the fruit, I like to use freshly squeezed orange juice, but apple juice, cranberry juice, grape juice, or even apricot nectar are all delicious. As for nuts, I am partial to chopped almonds, but let your preference prevail. These muffins, filled with grains that are good for you, make nice treats—good for picnic baskets or lunch boxes or to enjoy with a cup of tea any time.
¾ cup dried fruit pieces (½-inch size), such as blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, or pineapple
1 cup fruit juice of choice
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup chopped nuts of choice
½ cup bran
½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
cup liquid shortening
1 egg, beaten
In a bowl, combine the dried fruit and the fruit juice. Let sit for 30 minutes to rehydrate. Remove the softened fruit from the liquid with a slotted spoon and discard the soaking liquid.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, the nuts, the bran, the rolled oats, the wheat germ, the baking soda, and the salt. Add the rehydrated fruit and stir to coat the pieces with the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, stir together the milk, the brown sugar, the liquid shortening, and the egg until the sugar is dissolved. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir only to combine. Do not overmix. (The batter should remain a little lumpy.) Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling each cup three-quarters full.
Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 12 muffins
Cakey Granola Bars
These bars are more cakelike than cookie in texture. However, if you like granola as much as I do, you will be having them for breakfast. And don’t forget to take them along when traveling: They make a healthy snack. Should you be feeling fancy, you can frost the cooled bars with Cream Cheese Frosting or rehydrate a sheet of your favorite fruit leather and use that as a type of glazed frosting. Here, the bars are drizzled with honey, a simpler way of sweetening them.
¾ cup dried pear pieces, (¼- to ½-inch size)
cup water
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
l½ cups Granola with Dried Fruit
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup honey, heated until warm
In a small bowl, combine the dried pear pieces and the cup water. Let sit for 15 minutes to rehydrate. Drain the pears and discard the water.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Stir in the sugar. Add the flour, the baking powder, and the salt, and stir to combine. Add the granola and the walnuts, and combine the batter well. Stir in the rehydrated pears gently. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and let sit for 10 minutes.
Bake the cookie batter for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on a rack, drizzle the top with the honey, and cut into 2-inch squares.
Makes 16 bars
Date Nut Bars
It may be almost impossible to find fresh dates in the market to home-dry. Know that a 1-pound package of pitted dried dates, available at virtually any supermarket, equals 3 cups when chopped into ½-inch pieces. Use a sharp, wet knife to chop them—they are very sticky.
3 cups dried date pieces (½-inch size)
l½ cups water
cup sugar
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
½ cup finely chopped walnuts
In a saucepan, combine the date pieces, the water, and the sugar, and bring the water to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook the dates over medium heat, stirring frequently, until all the water evaporates, about 5 minutes. Let the date filling cool slightly while you make the dough.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 17 × 11-inch jelly-roll pan.
In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, the flour, the rolled oats, and the baking soda. Add the melted butter and stir until it is incorporated. Divide the oatmeal dough into 2 equal pieces.
Press 1 of the pieces of oatmeal dough in an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. With a spatula, cover it evenly with the date filling. Sprinkle the remaining oatmeal dough and the walnuts over the filling.
Bake the cookies for 30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into 2½ × 1½-inch pieces.
Makes 32 bars
Aunt Grace’s Apple Raisin Cookies
In collecting the recipes for this book, I was fortunate to have many people contribute their energy, thoughts, and time. One day, a special friend, Pam Eyden, brought her aunt Grace’s cookies over to share. Aunt Grace’s recipe puts to use both home-dried apples and grapes. (If you have neither, use commercially available dried apple chips and raisins—either dark or golden.) You can keep a jar of these cookies in your pantry for 3 or 4 days; after that, store them in the refrigerator.
1 cup dried apple pieces (¼- to ½-inch size)
1 cup dried grapes (raisins)
1 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chopped nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, or peanuts
In a bowl, place the dried apple pieces, the raisins, the apple juice, and the baking soda, and stir to combine. Let sit for at least 15 minutes to rehydrate.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, cream the butter with the brown and granulated sugars until smooth. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, then add them to the butter mixture, stirring well.
In another bowl, combine the flour, the spices, and the salt. Add the rehydrated fruit mixture, including the liquid, and stir to coat all the fruit pieces thoroughly. Stir in the rolled oats. Add the fruit-oat mixture to the butter-egg mixture and combine the dough thoroughly. Stir in the nuts. Let the dough stand, loosely covered at room temperature, for 15 minutes.
While the dough rests, preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a cookie sheet.
Drop the dough by the tablespoon on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between to allow the cookies to expand. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are firm to the touch and just starting to brown. Let cool on a rack.
Makes 6 dozen cookies
Granola with Dried Fruit
Friends and family agree that this is a great recipe. Of course, feel free to vary it. There is one point, though, that I will not negotiate, and that is taking the time to stir the granola every 20 minutes or so while it bakes. Frequent stirring promotes even heating and toasting, prevents sticking and burning, and guarantees a granola free of big clumps.
Many of the ingredients called for here you will already have in your cupboard if you’ve been drying fruits as they come into season—the easiest and certainly the most economic way of doing it. I recommend purchasing the remaining ingredients at a reliable health-food store.
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup wheat germ
½ cup bran
½ cup sesame seeds
½ cup dried shredded coconut
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup cashew pieces
½ cup slivered almonds
cup canola or sunflower oil
cup honey
2 cups dried fruit pieces, such as apples, pears, grapes (raisins), cherries, cranberries, figs, or dates
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
In a 13 × 9-inch baking pan, combine the first 8 ingredients. In a cup, combine the oil and the honey, pour it over the dry ingredients, a little at a time, and with a fork stir it into the dry ingredients.
Bake the granola for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and stir the mixture thoroughly. Bake another 20 minutes, remove, and stir again. Repeat this baking and stirring process once more, for a total baking time of 1 hour. When done, the granola should be light golden in color.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the granola cool. Stir in the dried fruits of choice. Store granola in an airtight container at room temperature.
Makes 10 cups
Fruit Gorp
Once only a simple raisin-and-peanut combination, this high-energy snack now can also include dried apples, peaches, pears, apricots, papaya, or pineapple. To vary the nuts, don’t forget filberts, which I advocate buying (and this includes all nuts) in bulk. And for something really sweet, you can always add chocolate, butterscotch, or carob chips, or M&Ms, or Reese’s Pieces. While not light in calories, this is delicious as a “take-along” anywhere, including your backpack.
2 cups sunflower seeds
1 cup roasted soybeans (available at health-food stores)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raw cashews, toasted, if desired
1 cup chopped Brazil nuts
1 cup chopped pitted dried dates
1 cup dried banana slices
½ cup dried grapes (raisins)
½ cup dried shredded coconut
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container.
Makes 9 cups
Vegetable Gorp
I was given this recipe idea by a couple I met one day when giving a talk on food dehydrating for a health-food store in a suburb of Minneapolis. They came up with this recipe when they decided they wanted something healthful to snack on during work breaks. This fits the bill just fine and can be varied in any number of ways. Try adding nuts or seeds or more dried vegetables, such as dried broccoli or mushrooms or bell peppers. If you want to take it along on a backpacking or camping trip, it will keep for several weeks; for longer storage, keep it in the refrigerator or freezer to prevent the oil, in which some of the vegetables are fried, from turning rancid.
½ cup thin soy-dipped carrot slices
½ cup soy-dipped zucchini chips
½ cup thin fried carrot chips
½ cup thin fried parsnip chips
½ cup thin fried turnip chips
½ cup dried apricot pieces
½ cup dried pear slices
½ cup dry-roasted, toasted, or raw peanuts
¼ cup dried tomato chips
¼ cup large-flake dried coconut
1 tablespoon dried dill pickle pieces
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Transfer to a plastic bag and/or airtight container.
Makes 4½ cups