With the holidays approaching, one of my favorite things to bake are classic desserts. I have only made bread pudding once before and it turned out to be a huge success, so today I decided to try a different version. I’m excited to say that it also turned extremely well! I consider this Dark Chocolate Orange Bread Pudding the perfect dessert for the holidays ahead.

Bread pudding consists of cubed bread, soaked in a custard mixture made of eggs, sweetener and milk and/or heavy cream. I use stale or toasted bread, since it will hold its shape better when soaking up the custard mixture. Otherwise, fresh bread will tend to fall apart and become mushy.

I have seen many recipes that call for different types of bread, but I believe challah bread is one of the best options to obtain a hearty bread pudding recipe. Challah bread is slightly sweet with a unique flavor, perfect for bread pudding.  

I love the orange flavor that comes through from the Florida’s Natural orange juice in this recipe, and with the dark chocolate, the mixture is just superb. I used 100% dark chocolate bars rather than chocolate chips because I didn’t want the overpowering sweetness of milk chocolate. Also, the big chocolate chunk effect is what I was looking for, which is obtained using chocolate bars rather than chocolate chips. 

For the orange flavor, I used Florida’s Natural orange juice. As I’ve talked about in past recipes, I love this juice because it’s made from one simple ingredient—Florida oranges. I like to keep my ingredient list to a minimum, so this alone has made Florida’s Natural a favorite of mine. So, what gives the juice its fresh-from-the-grove flavor? It’s made from seven different varieties of Florida oranges.with a fresh, citrusy taste I love in my recipes.

For the holidays this year, this dark chocolate orange bread pudding will be the perfect pairing for my other recipes that call for Florida’s Natural orange juice. Altogether, this makes for an awesome, unique and well-balanced menu. The full menu consists of:

1. baked orange rosemary chicken as the main dish
2. avocado orange salad with orange honey vinaigrette. for a side
3. Dark chocolate orange bread pudding.

If you haven’t yet decided your holiday menu, I highly recommend this dark chocolate orange bread pudding with the baked orange rosemary chicken and orange avocado salad.

I know this menu was a hit at my house – especially the bread pudding! My husband is not a fan of bread pudding and he thoroughly enjoyed this version.

Enjoy!

Dark chocolate orange bread pudding

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40-60 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 loaf challah bread, cubed (or brioche)
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup Florida’s Natural^® Orange Juice
• 4 oz 100% dark chocolate bar, chopped

Directions:

The bread you use should be a little dry. If the bread you are using is fresh, after you cube it, spread it out on a sheet pan and put it in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes rotating the pan halfway through. Alternatively, you can leave cubed challah bread out overnight to dry out.

In a mixing bowl, add the eggs, heavy cream, whole milk, orange juice and maple syrup. Combine with a wire whisk.

In a previously greased baking dish, add the toasted challah bread. Pour the custard mixture over the challah bread. Sprinkle the chopped dark chocolate and let it sit for 30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the bread pudding for 40-60 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Let it rest to cool and serve as desired.

Keep bread pudding refrigerated. Before serving, you may warm it slightly in your microwave. Serve it topped with ice cream, if you prefer.

The post Dark chocolate orange bread pudding appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Baking is one of my favorite ways to spend time in the kitchen. Baking helps me decompress and is a form of therapy for me. Breads are a special choice for me to make whenever I feel like I want to spend more time in the kitchen. This time in the kitchen, I chose to make a batch of quick orange sweet rolls that don’t require multiple dough rises.

Coincidentally, tomorrow is National Orange Juice Day! What better day for these orange-flavored treats?

Roll recipes can take quite a long time to prepare given that most recipes call for multiple dough rising times. However, with this recipe you don’t have to waste much time with the rising step.

The only rising time you need is after rolling and placing them in the pan prior to baking. They rise for one hour, then you can start baking. Once you place the rolls in the oven, they will keep rising and you will obtain the desired fluffiness and rise of conventional cinnamon rolls.

I was quite pleased with how these quick orange sweet rolls turned out. My family enjoyed them thoroughly and on top of that, the rolls weren’t too sweet!

It was also my first time using cream cheese for the frosting. It is definitely my favorite way to frost rolls now and going forward, this is what I will be using.

For the perfect orange flavor, I chose Florida’s Natural^® Brand Orange Juice. Whenever possible, I choose top notch, quality ingredients to make sure my recipes turn out when it comes to flavor, and Florida’s Natural delivers.

Florida’s Natural is made from one simple ingredient — Florida oranges. And only Florida oranges. No water, sugar or preservatives are added. The orange juice comes from pure Florida oranges. There are no artificial flavors or ingredients. I choose Florida’s Natural because the oranges are simply squeezed, flash-pasteurized and poured into cartons that ensure a fresh straight-from-the-grove taste.

Finally, I prefer this recipe because the rolls aren’t too sugary or sweet.  If you prefer your rolls on the sweeter side, you can add more frosting. For my family, a teaspoon on each roll is good.

If you have any leftover frosting, you can also freeze it for the next time you make these quick orange sweet rolls. I intend to use it next time I make these rolls…which will be very soon!

If you are looking to bake in the upcoming days, give these quick orange sweet rolls a try. These are one of the best roll recipes I have made to date.

Enjoy!

.    .   

Orange sweet rolls

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 cup Florida's Natural orange juice
• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk, any kind will work
• 3 tsp active dried yeast
• 1/2 cup unrefined sugar
• 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 1 cup unrefined sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamon
• 2 egg whites

Cream cheese frosting:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2-3 tps orange juice
• ¾ cup powdered sugar replacement
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a bowl of an electric mixer, add warm milk, yeast, sugar, butter and orange juice. Mix until combined.

Place dough hook-on mixer, add the flour, 1 cup at at time, and knead dough on medium speed for 5-6 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. (The consistency of the dough should be slightly sticky)

Transfer dough over a large flat piece of plastic wrap and roll out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, cinnamon, cardamon and egg whites. Spread filling over dough leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.

Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9 inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. Cut into 2-3 inch sections with a serrated knife.

Place cinnamon rolls in a greased baking pan. Cover with a clean warm towel and let rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove towel and bake orange rolls for 25-30 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges.

While the rolls are baking, in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, orange juice, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over orange rolls and serve immediately. (Allow rolls to cool for a 15 minutes before frosting)

NOTE: If you don't have a stand mixer you can use a wooden spatula to mix ingredients and use your hands for kneading the dough. 

The post Quick orange sweet rolls appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

The holidays are just around the corner. For me, it is a tradition every year to prepare a Christmas menu in advance. For the 2018 menu, I am choosing this baked orange rosemary chicken as the main dish for the holiday dinner. To be honest, I can’t wait to prepare this recipe for my family gathering.

The perfect thing about this baked orange rosemary chicken recipe is that not only it is easy to make but it is the perfect protein dish to pair with any type of grain or vegetable.

For me, I have decided to serve this with quinoa as well as baked potatoes and green beans. The gravy that comes out from this recipe after baking is just out of this world so I think the quinoa, potatoes and green beans will be perfect.

For the delicious taste of orange in this recipe, I used Florida’s Natural^® Brand Orange Juice which is simply the best orange juice you can use for the this dish.

Florida’s Natural^® Brand Orange Juice is made from one simple ingredient — Florida oranges. And only Florida oranges. No water, sugar or preservatives are added. This orange juice comes from pure Florida oranges. There are no artificial flavors or ingredients. Florida’s Natural^® Brand Orange Juice is made entirely in Florida, using the citrus that their growers produce.

Cooking at home allows you to be able to choose the best quality ingredients when making recipes. I think this is also very important when wanting to obtain an exceptional dish. It is something that I take very seriously because I always want to end up with the best possible version to whatever it is that I am cooking or baking at home.

In my experience, chicken turns out with a much better flavor when marinated. It is always juicer and more tender. I don’t know what it is about marinating chicken but my family and I prefer how it turns out, especially when baking it.

I think this recipe is going to be a total success with my family members. The orange, rosemary and garlic flavors go really well together so I was extremely pleased with the end result.

Anyways, I hope you get to try this amazing baked orange rosemary chicken. It is the perfect main recipe dish to serve family and friends over the holidays.

Enjoy!

Baked orange rosemary chicken

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 whole chicken breasts, bone-in
• 4-6 chicken thighs
• 4-6 drum sticks

Sauce

• 1 cup Florida's Natural^® Brand Orange Juice (I used the No Pulp variety)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 oz fresh dried rosemary
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped, more if you like
• 2 tbsp unrefined sugar
• 1 tsp arrowroot powder, or cornstarch

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl add the sauce ingredients and combine. Set aside.

Place the chicken in a large dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken and cover the dish. Refrigerate overnight or at least 6-8 hrs. Rotating the chicken partway through marinating ensures an even marinade.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the chicken in one layer, skin side up on a baking dish or large cast iron pan. Roast the chicken for 40 minutes, basting the chicken with leftover marinade while it cooks. The chicken is done when it reaches 165 degrees in the thickest part or when the chicken is lightly browned. Baking times will vary depending on how thick the breasts and chicken pieces are.

Remove chicken from the oven and serve immediately with roasted vegetables, rice, quinoa or with whatever you like.

The post Baked orange rosemary chicken appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Around Christmas I normally make one of my most popular chocolate recipes, Baileys pistachio white chocolate fudge but this year I wanted to change things up and do something else.

These white chocolate gingerbread truffles turned out brilliantly! I think next time I might actually turn it into a truffle pie it was so good. This way I will be able to add more heavy cream and make the mixture not as sweet.

These white chocolate gingerbread truffles go a long way. One or two and you are good to go. They are extremely sweet so they will satisfy your sweet craving for sure.

I have already gotten around gifting homemade treats for Christmas and these are the ones that I have used to start with. I don’t have much gingerbread stuff in the blog so I also wanted to make sure that I get a few more recipes.

I might try to make a healthier version of gingerbread truffles along the road but for now these are the ones I ended up with.

If you are looking for something to make this holiday season or gift to your love ones these white chocolate gingerbread truffles are the perfect treat. I hope you get to make them.

Enjoy!

white chocolate gingerbread truffles

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 20 truffles

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 oz white chocolate chips, I used Ghirardelli brand
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz ginger snaps, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

 

In a medium sauce pan heat the heavy cream over medium to low heat.  Don't boil just heat it to the point before boiling. Whisk until chocolate is melted. (If you find that the chocolate doesn't melt place bowl over a double boiler until it does or microwave it for 1 minute to 30 seconds)

Stir in the finely chopped ginger snaps and spices and combine. Store it in the fridge until harden enough to roll. About 1 hour.

With a spoon take small pieces of the chocolate mixture and roll them to form a ball. Deep the truffles in some additional pulverized ginger snaps and store in the fridge until time to serve.

Before serving let the truffles sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

The post white chocolate gingerbread truffles appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I think my friends are quite lucky, these no bake lime coconut cookies  will be included in their goodie bags. I am making several recipe for them this season so I think they will very pleased. They will all be gluten free and vegan since some of my friends follow especial diets.

Anyways, these no bake coconut lime cookies are quite unique. I made the batter with a mixture of gluten free oats, coconut and almond flour as well as hulled hemp seeds. It is my first time using coconut flour without baking it first. I have seen many recipes using coconut flour for no baked goods so I actually wanted to try at least once. I am glad I did. Not only the texture is unique but it also adds some fiber to the cookies.

I actually love making no bake sweets. My friends thought I would be in the kitchen for days on end but because I decided to make all my goodies no bake this season I was done in one day. More convenient and easier than baked ones. I think my food processor almost burnt down this time around I was using it so much. Oh well, I am glad it didn’t because I don’t think I could afford getting a new one right now.

When making sweet treats I almost always use Bob’s Red Mill flours. I love their flaxseed meal, hulled hemp seeds and many of their healthy baking products.  To make these cookies today I used their coconut, and almond flour as well as their unsweetened shredded coconut and hull hemp seeds. Make sure you visit their website. They have anything you will need for your healthy baking and cooking. Their products are truly top notch.

Anyways, I am sure many of you are busy baking away this season. I have quite a few no bake desserts in the blog so if you like to take a look. I am sure you will find some that you like. For now, I leave you with these no bake coconut lime cookies that I am sure will satisfy many of you.

Enjoy!

No bake coconut lime cookies

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 40 cookies

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups gluten free oats
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3 limes, juice
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips, vegan if need be

Directions:

Add the hemp seeds, coconut, almond flour, shredded coconut to your food processor and pulse until they are almost pulverized. Add the remainder of the ingredients except the chocolate chips and pulse until the mixture comes together. If it doesn't just add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until it does.

Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper. With your hands make little balls and flatten them out and place in the prepared baking sheet.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave save bowl at 45 seconds intervals until completely melted.

Dip each cookie half way and place back in the tray. Repeat with all the cookies and place in the freezer for a few minutes until the chocolate solidifies.

The post No bake coconut lime cookies appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I love making gluten free goodies so this one is perfect. Once in a while I like to switch between gluten free baking and regular baking. Either way, they are both great.

Around the holidays there is always a bit of excess eating. I always try to keep the cooking and baking extra healthier around this time. This gluten free pumpkin coffee cake doesn’t have any refined sweeteners and the quantity I used to sweetened it is much less than conventional cakes. As a matter of fact the cake is not even that sweet at all. Also by using the type of flours I used the cake contains more fiber than usual, which we all know how much it is lacking in the american diet.

I used Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk for the milk of choice. I always use unsweetened varieties so that I can control the sweetness plus I really don’t like tasting any sweetness when having a plane glass of it. They have great products and a variety of flavors as well as different nut milks. Make sure to check their unique products.

You can also sign up to receive the Silk newsletters for coupons. If you use their products you should take advantage of the many coupons they offer. They have a wide variety of new products so I am sure you will put them to good use.

I am going to at least make one more dessert using pumpkin very soon. Perhaps in the next couple of days. I will also try to make it gluten free. Will see!

If you don’t want to make this gluten free pumpkin coffee cake gluten free or you don’t have gluten free flours on hand you can use whole wheat flour. Just make sure you use a bit more than what the recipe calls for. I would say at least 2 cups.

Anyways, I hope you get to make this gluten free pumpkin coffee cake soon. I am sure you will love the taste as well as the fragrance it will leave in your kitchen as you bake it.

Enjoy!

Gluten free pumpkin coffee cake

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 12 slices

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp aluminum free baking soda
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping 

• 1 cup brown rice flour 
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a square 9x9x2 baking pan. Set aside.

Add eggs, milk, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree in a stand mixer and combine. Add the vanilla extract, coconut and brown rice flour, baking powder and baking soda and combine.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan. In a small mixing bowl mix the topping ingredients until they come together. Arrange the topping over the cake and bake for 1 hour.

Let the cake cool in the pan in a wire rack for a few minutes before serving.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Gluten free pumpkin coffee cake appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.