It’s the mad dash to Christmas Eve for us, and it is nothing but crazy at our house. In the middle of wrapping gifts and dropping off cookie plates to neighbors, I am now in the planning phase for the actual holiday itself. One of our traditions is that we like to have yummy baked breakfast goodies Christmas Eve morning while my daughter gets to look through her stocking and open one special present. Then we get ready and head to my parents’ house for the traditional Italian “Feast of the Seven Fishes”-and it truly is a FEAST. So I don’t want to make something too heavy for Christmas Eve breakfast, but it’s nice to enjoy something tasty and with a holiday flair-and if it’s a healthier option even better.
One way to bake a little healthier is to use yogurt, and also to cut the white flour with some whole wheat flour. Yogurt can help to add richness without fat. In fact you can cut the oils or sour cream that sweet, quick breads usually are filled with. Chobani® has some really fun flavors to bake with, and their yogurts have a really nice, thick, creamy consistency for a healthy, sour cream replacement.
In fact, if you want to really dig in and see how baking with Chobani can be really inventive yet healthy, check out their website:
https://www.chobani.com/culture/recipes
And their Pinterest page for some serious yummies.
https://www.pinterest.com/chobani/baked-with-chobani/
But back to the matter at hand- holiday morning breakfasts!
SO in prepping for a few holiday mornings, I baked up this holiday themed quick bread using the Chobani Blood Orange flavored yogurt. I complimented the orange favor with festive, tart, dried cranberries. And to balance the tartness of the cranberries, I chopped up some white chocolate and added it to the batter. The white chocolate chips are optional-if you want to keep things healthier you can skip it.
I froze the loaves today, and I’ll take it out the night before serving it. The morning of, I’ll lightly warm the breads in the oven a bit before serving. Then drizzle them with the orange sugar glaze and serve them up with some hot cocoa or coffee. Your guests will love it! It will make for an easy treat that has great flavor and healthier to boot!
Get baking now, and then you can take it easier during your holiday morning. Just have your freezer help you out!
Chobani® Blood Orange Yogurt Bread with Cranberries and White Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
1 cup regular flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. orange zest or 1 tsp. orange peel granules
2 packages Chobani® blood orange flavored yogurt
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 5 oz. pkg dried cranberries
3 oz. white chocolate squares, chopped
Drizzle
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 Tbsp. (more or less) of orange juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚.
Spray 2 bread pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix the flours with the salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
With a mixer, whip the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and whip until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the vanilla and the orange granules and mix well.
In a small bowl, mix the yogurt from both packages together until well blended. Turn the mixer on low, and alternate adding the flour mixture with the yogurt until all just combined.
Add the orange juice last, to loosen and lighten the batter. Add the cranberries and white chocolate chunks by hand until well combined. Pour the batter evenly in the two bread pans. Bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes, then move the bread to the top rack for another 5-10 minutes.
Cool pans on wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer breads out of the pans and onto the rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, mix the sugar with the orange juice and vanilla with a fork until the glaze is of drizzling consistency. You may need to adjust the juice amount or the sugar amount to get this consistency.
Drizzle the bread loaves with the orange glaze with a fork. Let the glaze set up a little and then serve.
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