[1] The recipe for this cinnamon raisin bread is below (photos #1, #2 and #3 © King Arthur Baking).

[2] A different take on raisin bread has a cinnamon swirl running through the loaf.

[3] Raisin bread makes truly delicious toast.

[4] This raisin cheese bread is an Easter special at St. Pierre Bakery. Here’s an old recipe, made with Muenster cheese (photo © St. Pierre Bakery).

[5] Raisin bread is different with different sandwich fillings. Here, turkey and cheddar (photo © A Beautiful Mess).

[6] A sundae set atop toasted raisin bread (photo © St. Pierre Bakery | Facebook).

[7] Don’t want to bake? Brands like Pepperidge Farm sell raisin bread year-round (photo © Harris Teeter).

[6] Beyond raisin bread: raisin danish, raisin bagels and so much more (photo of pain au raisins © Le Marais Bakery | San Francisco).

We grew up on raisin bread: raisin bread toast at breakfast with melting butter, raisin bread French toast with maple syrup on the weekends. For lunch, cream cheese raisin bread sandwiches, chicken salad with apples and cashews on raisin bread, or peanut butter or Nutella on raisin bread, grilled cheese or ham and cheese with Brie or Gruyère. Raisin bread pudding for dessert.

Often Mom added chopped walnuts to the cream cheese. And then there was bread pudding. November is National Raisin Bread Month, and we’re waxing nostalgic.

Cheese. As an adult, we’ve expanded our repertoire. We serve quartered slices toasted, with a cheese plate. We make raisin bread panini with goat cheese, cream cheese or mascarpone, and raspberry jam.

Dessert. If you bake a loaf, you can cut thick slices and toast them, and serve them like toasted pound cake, topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and toasted pecans (photo #6). You can also serve those toast points with chocolate fondue.

Salad. You can cut and butter thick-sliced raisin bread, cut them into crouton cubes, and bake them in the oven (about 20 to 25 minutes at 375°F). Then, add them to a green salad with goat cheese, apples, beets, and toasted pecans—that is, if you haven’t already munched them all before they’ve even cooled.

Panzanella. You can make raisin bread panzanella (bread salad), although we’d suggest using half raisin bread and half rustic loaf.

It’s easy to head to the market and purchase a loaf of raisin bread

Want to bake your own? A recipe for cinnamon raisin bread, courtesy of King Arthur Baking, is below.

> September 15th is National Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day.

> November 17th is National Homemade Bread Day.
 
 
TYPES OF RAISIN BREAD

There are different types of raisin bread. They all include raisins and most have cinnamon, but after that, anything goes.

 
 
RAISIN BREAD HISTORY

Raisin breads have been made in Europe since at least the 15th century. Some oldies: Danish kringle, Greek stafidopsomo, and Slovakian vianocka, for example.

Raisins were important in holiday breads: Christmas breads such as German stollen and Italian panettone and pandoro; Easter breads like Russian kulich. Some bakers also added raisins to the Jewish Sabbath bread, challah.

Raisins made their way into smaller sweet breads, like hot cross buns; and into raisin danish and French pain aux raisins. And in the U.S.: raisin bagels!

The earliest citation for “raisin bread” in the U.K. is in the Oxford English Dictionary, which cites an 1845 article in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. Raisin bread became a common element of afternoon tea in the second half of the 19th century [source].

In the U.S., the first mention of raisin bread may have been regarding Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), of Walden Pond, Concord, Massachuseetts. He baked his own bread, always experimenting with the recipe. When he added raisins to his dough, “Concord housewives were reportedly shocked at the innovation[s].” [source]

Subsequent sources named him, incorrectly, as the inventor of raisin bread.

Searching through different sources, the earliest citation we could find, which implies that raisin bread was well known by then, is:

Raisin Cinnamon Toast. Cut slices of raisin bread half an inch thick; beat two tablespoons of butter to a cream and gradually beat into it half a cup of sugar mixed with half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and beat until creamy; spread on the slices of raisin bread: place the bread slices on a baking pan and set in a hot oven until lightly browned. Serve hot. Los Angeles Times, March 5, 1924 [source]
 
 
RECIPE: CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD

This recipe mixes the cinnamon into the main batter (photo #1), instead of swirling the cinnamon and raisins (photo #2). If you’d rather have a swirl recipe, here’s one.

Prep time is 15 minutes, total rising time is 3-1/2 to 4 hours, bake time is 40 to 45 minutes.
 
Ingredients For 1 Loaf

 
Preparation

1. WEIGH the flour, or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle — to make a smooth, soft dough.

2. ROUND the dough into a ball, and place it in a greased bowl (or let it remain in the bread machine). Let it rise for about 2 hours, or until it’s noticeably puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk.

3. GENTLY DEFLATE the risen dough, shape it into a log, and place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan. Tent the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until it has crowned 1″ to 1 -1/2″ over the rim of the pan, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

4. UNCOVER the risen loaf, brush it with milk or water, and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar for extra flavor.

5. BAKE the bread for 40 to 45 minutes, until it’s a deep golden brown and a digital thermometer inserted into the center registers at least 190°F. If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil about 10 to 15 minutes before it’s done baking.

6. REMOVE the bread from the oven. After 5 minutes, turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Once it’s completely cool, wrap well, and store at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze for longer storage.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF BREAD

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BREAD
 
 
________________

*Use the smaller amount in summer, or under humid conditions; use the larger amount in winter, or when it’s dry outside.

[1] Stroopwafel cookies, made to top a cup of coffee but yummy with another beverage—or alone (all photos © 3 Bros Cookies).

[2] There’s a selection of gift boxes, including a holiday gift box with chocolate-dipped, decorated cookies.

[3] Prefer milk? It’s a delicious combination.

[4] The holiday gift tin.

[5] Try your hand at latte art.

[6] Serve stroopwafels with ice cream, or turn them into an ice cream sandwich.

Some people consider that the holiday season begins pre-Halloween—Hallothanksmas is a word first printed in The Baltimore Sun on Halloween of 1963. While our local Home Depot has had Christmas trees on display since August, to us holiday season begins the day after Halloween. To us, the holiday season is Thanksmas.

Each year The Nibble presents food-related holiday gift suggestions. Most of them can double as gifts for Thanksgiving hosts. Or if you are the host and like to give party favors, there are recommendations that can do double duty.
 
 
WHAT ARE STROOPWAFELS

Stroopwafels are Dutch waffle sandwich cookies with a caramel filling. They’re so enjoyable, we’ve been wondering why they haven’t become a “thing” in the coffee-loving U.S. They’re much more versatile, sturdy, and affordable than French macarons. Let’s start the trend!

Stroopwafels are a centuries-old Dutch sweet from the town of Gouda in South Holland*. They’re the second-most-famous food from Dutch cuisine, after the Gouda cheese.

The pronunciation is just as it appears, with a roll of the “r” to sound authentically Dutch. “Stroop” means syrup in Dutch, and the waffle cookies were originally made with crumbs held together with syrup.

The traditional way to eat these cookies is with a cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa. Just before it is eaten, the stroopwafel is placed like a lid, on top of the hot cup, in order to warm up the syrup. The filling melts a bit, and scents of caramel perfume the air.

A glass of cold milk or iced coffee works just as well, since a good stroopwafel doesn’t need any extra softening to be enjoyed (analogy: warm chocolate chip cookies vs. cooled chocolate chip cookies).

Or, there’s the microwave.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF STROOPWAFELS

Stroopwafel cookies were invented in the city of Gouda in 1784. Different sources cite different dates, and the identity of the inventor is lost to history.

It’s a reasonable guess that it was a poor housewife trying to scrimp together something to eat, who “glued” crumbs together with syrup.

This poor man’s food evolved into waffle cookie sandwiches: two crisp waffle-textured rounds with a caramel or syrup filling.

Stroopwafels are ubiquitous in Holland: from street carts to cafés, from mass-market supermarket brands to artisan-baked cookies.

In the summer, the caramel doesn’t get drippy: just nicely creamy.

Fillings have evolved beyond the original syrup. Different companies flavor the syrup or caramel with cinnamon, chocolate, honey or vanilla. Sometimes, chopped nuts are added to the filling.

The cookie is known in the U.K. as a caramel cookie, and by its English translation, syrup waffle.
 
 
3 BROS STROOPWAFELS

The eponymous three brothers were born and raised in Georgia by a Dutch father and a Georgia mother.

Dad wanted his family to experience the joys of stroopwafels, but there were none to be found in stores. Online he found imported Dutch stroopwafels. But after trying them, he realized that they were not made to optimize taste, but to have a long shelf life.

The family wanted fresh stroopwafels, and set out to make their own from scratch, with homemade caramel filling.

They were so happy with the result that they started to sell the cookies at their community market. Everyone loved them, and now they are available to all of us.

The cookies are made with natural ingredients: no artificial preservatives, colors, flavorings, fatty fillers or high fructose corn syrup.

Everything is made from scratch, and the cookies are indeed fresh! The “enjoy-by” dates are just 26 weeks from baking.

Videos on the website show the cookies being made—all my hand, just as the brothers’ Dutch grandma made them.
 
 
GET YOUR STROOPWAFELS!

Head to 3BrosCookies.com.

You can order:

 
There are all-year and holiday gift sets (photo #2), and gift tins (photo #4) for Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

There are cookie subscriptions.

For wedding favors or Valentine gifts, the heart-shaped cookies are packaged in gold boxes.
 
 
BEYOND COFFEE: MORE USES FOR STROOPWAFELS

 
Want to make your own stroopwafels? Here’s a recipe.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COOKIES

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WAFFLES

> THE HISTORY OF COOKIES

> THE HISTORY OF WAFFLES

*The difference between Holland and The Netherlands: The Netherlands, officially the Kingdom of The Netherlands, consists of 12 provinces, of which Holland refers to two: Noord-Holland North Holland) and Zuid-Holland (South Holland). Amsterdam is in North Holland, Rotterdam is in South Holland, as is The Hague (Den Haag). Utrecht, the fourth-largest city, is not in Holland but is located in the province of Utrecht [source].
 
 

Pizza is no longer a lunch and dinner mainstay; it’s also for breakfast dinner dessert. This sweet pizza celebrates National Caramel Apple Day: It’s topped with both caramel and sliced apples. Instead of ricotta, there’s creamy mascarpone, and a garnish of toasted with crispy pecans. There are more recipes below, for both caramel apples and dessert pizza.

The apples on this pizza are not baked. They are added to the pre-baked crust, so they’ll be just as crisp as a regular caramel apple.

October 31st is both National Caramel Apple Day and National Candy Apple Day.
 
 
RECIPE: CARAMEL APPLE PIZZA

We toasted the pecans before chopping them. It’s an extra step, but easy to do. Toasting intensifies the richness of the nuts, and making them crunchier. Here’s how to toast nuts and seeds.
 
Ingredients

 
For The Caramel Sauce

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the flour mix and yeast packet in a large mixing bowl with 1-1/4 cups lukewarm water. Stir with a fork until the dough begins to form. Knead by hand for 3 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth.

2. TRANSFER to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. (After this step, you can refrigerate the dough for use within 1-3 days.) While dough rises…

3. MAKE the caramel sauce. Combine the brown sugar, butter, and cream in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously until the butter melts completely. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. REMOVE the caramel from the heat and add the vanilla and salt, stirring until smooth. Pour the caramel sauce into a glass jar to cool to room temperature.

5. PREHEAT the oven to 450°F. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Form the pizza by hand into 8-inch rounds on two lightly oiled baking pans. Bake for 14 minutes, until cooked through and golden. Remove the pizzas from the oven.

6. PULSE the mascarpone and maple syrup in a food processor until smooth. Spread the mixture over each pizza. Combine the sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle them over the mascarpone.

7. LAYER the apple slices over the pizzas. Drizzle them with caramel sauce and top with pecans. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

 
 
MORE CARAMEL APPLE & CANDY APPLE RECIPES

 
 
MORE DESSERT PIZZA RECIPES

 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CANDY APPLES & CARAMEL APPLES

[1] Caramel apple dessert pizza (photo and recipe © DeLallo).

[2] Mascarpone tops this pizza crust, but is a delicious dessert topping in general (photo © The Nibble).

[3] Maple syrup adds nuance to the mascarpone (photo © Nadine Primeau | Unsplash).

[4] Honeycrisp apples (photo © Shar Faith | Pexels).

[5] Homemade caramel sauce (photo © Yulia Khlebnikova | Unsplash).

Staying in for Halloween? Want a quick and easy Halloween dinner? Here’s an idea from our colleague Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog. She made her own black pasta, and used canned pumpkin as the base for the sauce underneath. Her recipe is vegan, but we took an easier approach:

We purchased the squid-ink pasta.

Then, we created a sauce from canned pumpkin purée. The sauce can be used on pasta as well as with chicken, eggs, and grains, vegetables…even in a baked potato!
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN SAUCE
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COOK the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water; then drain the pasta and set aside.

2. HEAT the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the rosemary and fry, stirring, until the rosemary starts to brown (1 to 2 minutes). With a slotted spoon, drain the rosemary, leaving the oil in the pot; and drain the rosemary on paper towels. It will be used as a garnish, and it also imparts rosemary flavor to the oil. You can use this technique whenever you are making an oil-based recipe with fresh herbs.

3. ADD the pumpkin purée, garlic, half-and-half, Parmesan cheese, vinegar, optional red pepper flakes, and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pot. Take care because the oil is hot and can spatter. Stir the sauce until heated through (2 to 3 minutes).

4. ADD the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water. Season generously with salt. Serve the pasta sprinkled with fried rosemary and, if desired, more red-pepper flakes.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF PUMPKINS
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF PASTA
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

[1] Black (squid ink) pasta atop a bright orange pumpkin sauce (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[2] Another creepy presentation: squid ink linguine with baby octopus (photo © Jultchik).

[3] Another option: orange-and-black pasta. This one is available on Amazon (photo © Antica Madia).

[1] A limited fall edition version of Weybridge from Vermont (photo © Jasper Hill Farm).

[2] Mimolette, perhaps the spookiest-looking cheese (photo © Tout 1 Fromage).

[3] Mimolette sliced. The rind is technically edible, though it’s quite tough and doesn’t have a particularly appealing taste (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[4] Saxonshire is a layered cheese with all the colors of the moon (photos #4 and #5 © iGourmet).

[5] Huntsman combines the blue moon (Stilton cheese) with the harvest moon (Double Gloucester cheese).

[6] Some of the creepiest cheeses are goat cheeses, like Coupole from Vermont Creamery. It looks like brains (photos #6 and #7 © Vermont Creamery).

[7] Bonne Bouche is not far behind, with both ashes and “brains.”

Yesterday we presented Halloween Cheeses Part 1, beautiful Goudas and Cheddars with just the right colors to bring eye appeal and enchantment to cheese boards and other cheese presentations. Today, in Part 2, we present more favorites. Beyond a Halloween cheese plate, they also double as “harvest moon” cheeses for Thanksgiving. And they’ll keep things bright and interesting through the dreary winter ahead.
 
Remember that in addition to a Halloween or Thanksgiving cheese plate, these semi-hard cheeses lend themselves well to sandwiches, burgers, and dishes that call grated cheese: gratins, pastas, salads, and soups, for example.

They also make a visual splash when you bring a wedge to the table to grate over food.

Serve them with fall fruits: apples, grapes, and pears, plus dried fruits, and nuts.
 
 
ORANGE CHEESES

Weybridge Limited Edition

This “surprise!” cheese from the Scholten Family Farm in Vermont has a ghostly white bloomy rind, that reveals a tangy orange paste (the industry term for the interior of a cheese—photo #1).

An organic cheese, this limited edition version, a fall version of the regular Weybridge, has a dusting of vegetable ash on the rind for some extra spookiness.

Mimolette

Perhaps the creepiest of the cow’s milk cheeses, Mimolette is a round ball of cheese with a rind that looks like the cratered surface of the moon (photos #2 and #3).

Cut it open and there’s a blazing orange interior that also looks scary, but is made with the addition of annatto*, a natural food coloring. Depending on the amount used, the cheese can be light to deep orange.

The balls of Mimolette are aged in a damp environment, where thousands of microscopic cheese mites feed on the rind, making the “craters” on the rind.

This natural process gives the cheese its unique appearance, and also its unique flavor. The younger varieties are comparable in taste and aroma to Parmesan and can be used in the same way. As the cheese ages, it takes on a chewier and harder texture and hints of butter and hazelnuts.

The longer the cheese ages, the more we like it.

This semi-sharp cow’s milk cheese is produced in the area around Lille in Alsace, France. Try it with an Alsatian Riesling, or any other Alsatian white wine: Gewürtztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and the less-well-known Auxerrois and Sylvaner.
 
 
LAYERED CHEESES

Great Britain has two exciting cheeses with bright orange layers: easy on the eyes, and luscious on the palate.

Saxonshire Cheese

Saxonshire is also called “five counties cheese” because (you guessed it!) the five cheese layers are from different counties: Caerphilly, Cheshire, Double Gloucester, Leicester, and Cheddar (photo #4).

The appearance of Saxonshire is dramatic and the combination of flavors is delightful. This eye-catching cheese is popular at holiday gatherings, served with simple crackers, tart apples, and walnuts.

Pair it with a light red wine or a crisp white wine.

Huntsman Cheese

Combine a blue moon with an autumn moon and you’ve got Huntsman cheese (photo #5). It’s a modern marriage of mellow, satiny Double Gloucester cheese and creamy blue Stilton, brought together through a complex layering process.

The result is a flavor combination that is as delicious as the cheese is handsome. Serve Huntsman with unsalted crackers—as Stilton contributes a bit of saltiness—sliced apples and walnuts.

You can also serve it shredded on top of chili, soup, or stew; and with a piece of apple pie. Both Saxonshire and Huntsman cheeses are made from pasteurized cow’s milk and vegetarian rennet.

For a wine pairing, try a dessert wine like Moscato, sweet Riesling, port, or sherry.
 
 
SPOOKY GOAT CHEESES

Goat cheeses can be the spookiest Halloween cheeses. We have a special article about them here.

See two of our favorites in photos #6 and #7.
 
 
FALL CHEESE CONDIMENTS

Along with bread, crackers, fruits, and nuts, serve a choice of condiments. Use ramekins for neatness. No ramekins? See what you do have, such as espresso cups and espresso spoons.

 
We love fruit breads and nut breads, and of course, breads that have both fruit and nuts. If you can’t find them, look for an artisan semolina loaf.

Enjoy these wonderful cheeses and condiments. Create a memorable cheese board. And have a Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving.
 
 
________________

*It’s annatto, a natural dye derived from achiote seeds. It’s the same natural color that differentiates yellow cheddar from white cheddar. In large amounts, annatto provides a slightly spicy flavor, but here in smaller touches, it delivers only the color.