Yesterday, May 1st was a good day in the USA.  I will never forget where I was when the news came out that the horrible person who caused such pain for all of us in USA was dead.  Or the feeling I had inside.  Just like I will never forget where I was almost 10 years ago when the planes hit the twin towers, and the feelings I had then.  Historic events likes these will forever be implanted in our minds.  At the same time I’m so thankful for the men and women who protect us.  They are a special group of people and we owe a lot to them for all they do every day.  They are away from their families and away from what they consider home, only to fight for us back in the USA.  Thank you!  And thank you to those Navy Seals that found Bin Laden.  Our world is much better place without him.

Now for something sweet….and sweet in so many ways too!  The moment I saw this bread on Joy’s blog and Annie’s blog, I knew I had to try it myself.  Today was Teacher’s Appreciation breakfast at the girls school and I knew it was the perfect thing to bring.  Don’t worry I made two if these because I knew my family would not let me walk out of the house with this bread without one also being left behind for them.  There are many things to love about this bread.  Yeasted dough – check.  Browned butter – check.  Cinnamon sugar – double check.  An entire loaf that is reminiscent of the center of a perfect cinnamon roll – which you all know my deep love for a cinnamon roll. 

As you all know I also have a deep fear of yeast bread.  And those of you who are new here…I have a deep fear of yeast bread.  Something out it makes me freak out.  I know weird, but I guess I will have to make this several more times for my fear to go away?  Hmmmmm…sounds like a good idea.  If you have a fear too I promise you can conquer this bread and I promise you will be rewarded with slices of pure yummy cinnamon-bread heaven.  I dare you to just eat one slice too.  When this is warm and gooey….really you must try it to experience it yourself.  It would be perfect to make for mom for Mother’s Day this weekend too.  She will love you more than she already does. 

Note: I made one loaf using all-purpose flour and one with white whole wheat.  Of course, the white whole wheat was for home and it turned out just as good.  I leave it up to you in which flour you prefer to bake with.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Print Recipe

For dough:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour (or white whole wheat), plus more as needed

1/4 cup organic cane sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast (or one packet)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

For filling:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions:

To make dough, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Combine the butter and milk in a small saucepan and heat just until the butter is melted.  Set aside and let cool briefly, until mixture registers 115-125 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.  Add the milk mixture, water, vanilla and eggs to the mixer bowl.  Mix on low speed until a cohesive dough forms.  Continue to knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky.  Knead about 3-5 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and cover.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.  (After the dough had doubled, it can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight.  Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before proceeding.)

While the dough rises, add the butter to a small saucepan and melt until browned.  Set aside.  Combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl and mix well.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate.  Roll into a ball, cover with a clean towel and let rise for 5 minutes.  Roll the dough out into an approximately 12 x 20 -inch rectangle.  Brush the dough with the browned butter.  Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough in an even layer.  (Yes, use all of it.)

Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.  Slice the dough vertically into 6 even strips.  Stack strips on top of each other and again cut again into 6 equal slices.  Stack all the squares on top of each other and set into the prepared loaf pan.  Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place, 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.  Transfer the loaf to the oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden.  If the top seems to be browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil at the end of baking.  (Make sure you have foil at the bottom of the oven or place pan on a cookie sheet as the cinnamon-butter mix will bubble over.)  Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan 20-30 minutes.  Run a knife around edges of the pan to loosen and carefully turn the loaf out. transfer to a serving plate.  Serve warm.  Yummy!!

Enjoy!!

Source: Annie Eat’s and Joy the Baker, adapted from Hungry Girl por vida

I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to write in my post all night.  I cooked dinner, still at a loss.  I even decided to workout and afterwards, still at a loss.  Do you ever have those moments where you draw a blank?  You have tons on your mind ranging from the laundry that still needs to be folded to the spreadsheet at work that I still needs to finish but when they are all mixed together you are still at a loss of what to share.  Maybe I can share that tonight while watching Enchanted with my munchkins that all I could do was smile when one of them turned to me and said “mom, I like that chipmunk he’s so funny, can we get one?”  I then had to proceed to tell her why that wouldn’t be the best idea which then went into the #1 question a 3-year old toddler has these days “why?”  Which was then proceeded in a million more why’s.  Why is it that no matter how you explain something to a toddler they always ask why?  “Why mommy?”  That is the common question around my house these days.  After the millionth why I finally find myself saying the same thing my parents said to me, “because I said so”.  Yes, I did it…I said the same thing my parents said to me!  I once told myself I wouldn’t sound like my parents, but I find myself sounding more like my parents every day.  I guess we all do right?  Please say right, please tell me you are experience the same thing.  As I’m writing this I know I will be getting a phone call from my mom (who reads my blog) and she will bring up this post and laugh at me for saying these words.  Ha!  And I hope one day in the future I will be laughing at my daughters because they find themselves sounding like me.

Ok, enough with my babble.  Again, too much on my mind.  Now let’s talk banana’s.  I had lot’s of them.  That’s what happens when you go to the store buy a bunch and then your husband decides to stop at the store forgetting you had some at home and buys a bunch.  Lot’s of bananas which meant it was bound to happen…ripe banana’s.  Which only meant I had to use them in something.  I got a bunch of zucchini this weekend at the store.  For some reason I’m all about zucchini these days.  So as I was flipping through cookbooks and I came across Carrie’s Banana Zucchini Bread from her fabulous cookbook, Deliciously Organic.  Sounded perfect and just what we all needed in my house.  Perfect for the little ones because I get a little veggies in their diet hidden into one of their favorites, banana bread.  I changed some things from Carrie’s original recipe.  I have tried to stay away from dairy and soy so I adjusted the recipe to remove those ingredients.  Of course, you don’t have to do that.  Below I have both versions so you can make the way is best for you and your family.  My husband pleaded with me not to go gluten-free so instead I went with white whole wheat bread.  And I had to add one of my favorites to the recipe, cinnamon.  In the end it was a great little treat not only for breakfast but for a after-school snack…and even in the lunch box.  It also made the house smell fabulous which is always an extra bonus.

Sorry for my random thoughts in today’s post.  Hopefully next time my mind will be free and clear….hmmmm…I doubt it.  I don’t remember the last time my mind was not going a 100-miles an hour. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!!  See you back soon!

Banana Zucchini Bread

Print Recipe

3 tablespoons coconut oil

3 tablespoons dairy-free, soy-free butter (or unsalted butter)

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup grated zucchini

1/4 cup almond milk (or 1/4 cup buttermilk and minus the lemon juice)

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons warm water (or 2 eggs)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 and adjust rack to middle the middle position.  Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine almond milk and lemon juice. Set aside. 

Melt coconut oil and butter in a small saucepan.  Cool slightly.  Whisk flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.  Stir together mashed bananas, zucchini, almond milk mixture, maple syrup, egg mix, melted oils, and vanilla in a medium bowl.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and gently stir until just blended.

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick pressed into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.  Cool for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the outside to loosen the edges.  Turn loaf out onto a cooling rack and cool before serving.

Recipe Adapted from Deliciously Organic Cookbook

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Superbowl weekend!  Did your team win?  Did you have any yummy Superbowl dishes?  If so please share, would love to hear.  It was a pretty good game last night.  I missed the half-time show which is usually my favorite thing to watch but I was busy giving the girls a bath and taking our dog Parker for a walk.  Don’t worry not all at once but first it was bath time and then dog time.  Yesterday happen to be my husbands birthday so I let him sit back and enjoy the game while I handled the “kids”.  He was in heaven having the big game fall on his birthday.  I just wish I would have remembered to tell him to record the half-time show.  Thank goodness for youtube!  Well, I hope everyone had a great Superbowl weekend.  Now let’s talk cookies.  As you all know I was doing a 21-day cleanse and just finished it up late last week.  I’m still trying to stay down the same healthy path I was on while on the cleanse by eliminating certain foods from my diet.  Just because I felt great and I now realize my body was reacting to certain foods and was causing me to feel a little yucky.  While on the cleanse I ran across a fabulous blog called Gluten-Free Goddess and I instantly fell in love!  Beautiful blog, wonderful recipes, and fabulous writing.  While browsing Karina’s recipes, I came across this recipe for Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookieswhich are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and soy-free.  I know your probably thinking taste free…well my friends you are so wrong.  These cookies are absolutely heavenly.  Even my husband who questions my crazy thinking of eating the way I do took one bite and proceeded to eat three more and the whole time amazed that they were “free” of all these things that usually make up a cookie.  My friends, trust me when I say this…they are simply delicious!  I even took one of these cookies into my co-worker who gave a thumbs up too.    These are now my favorite cookie and since I’m no longer on the cleanse it’s nice to be able to have a sweet treat that taste fabulous.  These cookies have a golden caramel flavor with a chewy quinoa center and then accented with the chocolate chips.  Yum!  Now with all this talk I’m going to run and grab another.  Enjoy!!

Oh…and don’t forget you have until Tuesday, February 8th 11:59pm EST to enter the giveaway for 24 chocolate dipped heart madeleine cookies. 

Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies

Print Recipe

3/4 cup Quinoa Flakes

1/2 cup organic Quinoa Flour

1 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup potato starch (not potato flour)

1 1/4 cup organic light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cup light olive oil

3 tablespoons real maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer

4 tablespoons warm water

3/4 cup dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together quinoa all dry ingredients (through cinnamon).

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Combine with dry ingredients and stir until you get a thick and sticky batter.

In a small bowl, whip the egg replacer ingredients with the water until foamy and frothy.  If you don’t have egg replacers and have no allergies to eggs, beat two eggs and omit egg replacer.  Add egg replacer to the batter and combine well.  The dough should be thick and rather sticky.  If dough does not stick together when pinched add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.  Stir in chocolate chips with wooden spoon to combine.  Cover and chill the dough 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Roll spoonfuls of the dough between palms and form dough into 24 balls (slightly larger than a golf ball).  Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet and press down slightly to flatten – but not too much.  Place the pan into the center of a pre-heated oven and bake until golden and set – about 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown and the center is almost firm.  The cookies will still have a little give to them while hot; as they cool they will crisp up. 

Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes; then carefully remove cookies and place on a wire rack to continue to cool.  Best when still a little warm.  Store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days or freeze.  Makes 24 cookies.

Source: Gluten-Free Goddess

Who is ready for Valentine’s?  I guess I am because this weekend while at Target I fell in love with all their Valentine plates and napkins.  It didn’t help that two little girls liked them too and would sneak things into the cart when I wasn’t looking.  They get it honestly because I think I did that when I was a little girl too.  With a cart of cute Valentine plates I wanted to make a recipe that was Valentine inspired.  I know we have a few weeks to go but just in case your planning ahead here are some yummy scones that would be a perfect morning treat on Valentine’s morning.  And since I will be out of town for work on Valentine’s Day this year I actually put some of these in the freezer so on Valentine’s morning the hubby can take one out and enjoy them even though I won’t be here to give it to him myself.

These scones can be enjoyed as dessert or breakfast.  Packed with whole grains and antioxidants from the dark chocolate and raspberries.  I have to say the house smells delicious when they are baking too.  And I had two little test tasters that gave these a thumbs up.  Or their choice words of approval…”mmmm, yummy mommy!”  They didn’t fit into the “cleanse” I am currently on, but mine is also tucked in the freezer so I can taste when my 21 days is up.  Already looking forward to it.

Enjoy Everyone!! 

Oh, and a update to the Deliciously Organic Cookbook giveaway.  Lisa won the book!  Congratulations Lisa!  Check your email and let me know where I can send your new fabulous cookbook.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Heart Scones

Print Recipe

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/3 cup organic cane sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (70%), cut into small pieces

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3/4 cup coconut milk (or milk of choice)

2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/3 cup frozen or fresh raspberries

For Finishing:

1 tablespoon coconut milk

1 tablespoon organic cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a alrge bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Add chopped chocolate, tossing until pieces are evenly distributed and coated with flour.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. 

In a small bowl, stir the coconut milk and egg yolks just to blend.  Add mixture to the flour and stir with a fork to combine the wet and dry ingredients together.  If dough is too dry add 1 tablespoon coconut milk.  The dough should be sticky.  Don’t overknead.

Set the dough onto a floured surface and pat out to a 1-inch thick and 7-inch in diameter circle. Using a 2 to 3″ heart shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts out and place onto a prepared cookie sheet.  You can also cut out in triangles or rounds.

Brush the scones with coconut milk and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Bake scones until they are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a heart comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes.  Allow the scones to cool on a wired rack for 5 minutes and then serve.

Makes 8 large scones.

Today I am really excited to be sharing with you this recipe because it’s from the wonderful cookbook Deliciously Organic by Carrie Vitt.  Carrie is a fellow food bloggerthat I had the honor of meeting at BlogHer food back in October.  She actually was the person that made it possible for me to be there by selling me her ticket.  I was also lucky to eat breakfast with her on that first day.  Carrie is a lovely person and is truely passionate about eating whole organic foods.  Carrie’s journey towards organic whole foods was a long one.  After the birth of her second child and her husband off being a fighter pilot flying over the war in Iraq Carrie started to experience migraines.  Her migranies quickly started to increase and her doctor prescribed her medication after medication.  Two years passed and she was still having migraines and then one day as she was looking through her mail she spotted a newsletter about the benefits of organic foods.  She was at the end of the rope and was willing to try anything so that’s what she did.  She started to make small changes to her foods, like replacing her lettuce for organic and then it quickly became more and more changes as she learned more.  Within a week she noticed a significant difference.  Her migraines decreased and it was easier for her to care for her two children.  Her story of how she started her journey to whole organic foods is really wonderful as is her new cookbook. 

Each recipe in her cookbook features only organic, unprocessed and whole ingredients that everyone will love (including kids) – and for all occasions (even for hard-to-please special guests).  

Here’s a sampling of what’s inside …

Breakfast/Brunch: Lemon Sour Cream Pancakes with Blueberry Puree; Strawberry Coconut Smoothie; Tomato Basil Quiche

Salads: Carrie’s award-winning Roasted Red Onion and Pear Salad; Thai Steak Salad; Cherry Tomato Caper Salad

Sides: Spinach Madeline; Mexican Rice Casserole; Grilled Potatoes with Lemon Aioli

Entrees: Tuscan Lemon Chicken; Tuna Steaks with Avocado and Tomato Salsa; Cottage Pie; Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Desserts (when you want to splurge in moderation!): Chocolate Chip Cookies; Strawberry and Cream Tart; Creamy Lemon Ice Cream

Not only are there fabulous recipes inside but beautiful photography by the very talented Helene from Tartelette.  Carrie’s new cookbook is on sale now.  But I am excited to announce that I will also be giving away a personal autographed cookbook to one of you out there so you can try all the fabulous recipes above. 

Rules:

1.) Contest is open to the US only (sorry) 

2.) Contest ends January 23, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST

3.) Winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 3 days to respond before a new winner is chosen.

How to enter:

1.) Head over to Carrie’s fabulous blog and leave a comment letting me know what recipe you would like to try.  Or let me know the ways you’ve made changes to your families meals by using organic whole foods.

Additional entries can be earned by doing any of the following, giving you a total of 4 entries. Leave a separate comment for each of your entries

1.) Follow Carrie from Deliciously Organic on Twitter

2.) Become a fan of Deliciously Organic on Deliciously Organic on Facebook.

3.) Follow Multiply Delicious on Twitter.

4.) Become a fan of Multiply Delicious on Multiply Delicious on Facebook

It was hard to choose one recipe to try first from Carrie’s cookbook but my little ones love muffins so I knew this would be the perfect one to try.  I ended up halving the batter and mixing one with raspberries and one with blueberries.  I have one little one who loves raspberries and one that likes blueberries.  Even though they are twins they are totally different.  We loved these and I’m sure your family will too.  Enjoy and good luck!!

Raspberry Almond Muffins

Print Recipe

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons coconut oil

3/4 cup whole organic cane sugar or Sucanat

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 cups whole buttermilk

1 1/2 cups frozen, organic raspberries (or half the batter and do half blueberry)

1/2 cup slice almonds, diced (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 and adjust rack to the middle position.  Line 2 muffin pans with liners or spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl then set aside.

Cream butter, coconut oil, and whole organic cane sugar for 2 minutes on medium-high speed in the bowl of a standing mixer.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the extracts.  On medium-low speed, beat in half of dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk until just combined.  Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in berries (and almonds if using).  Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, spoon muffin batter into prepared pan filling 3/4 full.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden.  Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 24 muffins.

Note: I mixed half the batter in half and made half with raspberry and half with blueberry.  If you do this just mix about 3/4 cup of frozen berries into the halved batter.  I halved the batter because I have one little one that likes raspberries and one that likes blueberries.

Source: Deliciously Organic Cookbook by Carrie Vitt (from Deliciously Organic)

UPDATE: The winner of Carrie’s new cookbook is Lisa!  I’ll be contacting you soon Lisa.  Congratulations!

These little muffins are my take on monkey bread muffins.  This recipe came about in my attempt to make a quick and easy breakfast on Christmas morning after spending most the morning watching two little girls unwrap gifts.  And the reason why it took most the morning because after each unwrapped toy they wanted that toy out of the box so they could inspect and play.  Of course there was the occasional stealing of the toy too which we were hoping wouldn’t happen.  We thought getting different toys would be good…you know the whole thought of sharing.  Ha!  Good thought but now we are questioning that idea.  Of course the one thing I did get the same they both aren’t interested at all.  That’s how it goes, right?  We had a great time of Christmas morning and it was fun to see them.  They were actually downstairs inspecting the unwrapped toys before we even woke up.  Usually when they wake up their first stop is our room to wake us up.  Not Christmas morning!  Very funny!  Ok, as always I’m getting sidetracked…muffins.  Again, after a busy morning I had two very hungry little girls so these muffins came about.  They were easy and super quick and were gone in minutes.  They were gone so fast that I had to make them again this morning so I could take pictures of them.  And even then I had to stop my husband from eating them.  I asked him to please save me some and he proceeded to ask how many do I have to save?  Then at lunch time he proceeded to ask me again, ”did you take pictures of them yet?”  I take it he liked them?  I also take it the little ones liked them because they kept asking for more.  These are a keeper or as my husband likes to categorize as ”his favorites”.  I also snuck in some whole grains in these little muffins by picking up Pillsbury’s Honey Wheat Reduce Fat biscuits.  I usually skip right by them in the grocery store but for some reason I stopped this time and spotted these.  They have been sitting in my refrigerator and I’m so glad I had them come Christmas morning.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and Santa was good to you all.  Did you get anything super special?  Santa brought me a new refrigerator.  Well, it’s actually being delivered on Thursday…Santa’s sleigh was too packed to hold the refrigerator.  I’m looking forward to it’s arrival.  Again, I hope everyone had a great holiday.  Enjoy the muffins!

Cinnamon Money Bread Muffins

Print Recipe

1 can Pillsbury Honey Wheat Reduce Fat Grand Biscuits

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Icing:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a standard size muffin tin with non-stick spray, set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and ground cinnamon.

Take the biscuits out of container and cut each biscuit into quarters.  Then take the quarters and roll into a ball.

Dip ball into the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture coating the ball.  Place ball into one of the muffin tin cups.  Continue with the remaining balls.  You should fit 3 balls in each cup to make a muffin. 

Bake muffins for 12-15 minutes or until golden.  Let muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.  Allow muffins cool an additional 10 minutes before drizzling icing on muffin tops.

To make icing: Add milk a teaspoon at a time to the confectioners’ sugar until it comes to a drizzling consistancy.

Makes 11 muffins

Brrrrr….it’s cold!  A cold front has finally hit South Florida and boy is it cold.  My body isn’t used to cold temperatures after living in sunny Florida for 8 years.  First of all it’s scary to think I’ve lived in South Florida for 8 years and another scary thing is a high of 60 and a low of 38 is cold to me.  Especially when I look at the weather in Atlanta, which is where I’m originally from, and it’s 28 tonight…yikes!  I have to say the cold weather is kind of nice and actually makes you feel like it’s Christmas time.  Christmas is a very short 24 days away.  Can you believe it?   When this time of the year comes around all I want to do is get in my kitchen and bake.  And I owe that urge to my mom.  Every Christmas she spent most of her time in the kitchen baking cookie after cookie.  We would have bags and bags around the house and in the freezer.  She would make them for her friends and co-workers as gifts.  All I can remember is the house smelling of fresh baked cookies.  A great smell by the way.  So feeling a little homesick, I decided to make cookies this weekend but I decided to go with a healthy cookie.  My husband has told me lately that I have been making too many sweets so telling him I was making “good for you” cookies he decided those would be ok.  After all these cookies are packed with whole grains and the high antioxidant cranberries and dark chocolate.  These cookies are one of my favorites and I often bake these if I have a sweet tooth but I’m trying to watch the waistline.  You can change them up too by adding other goodies instead of the cranberries and dark chocolate.  Like raisins and cinnamon chips?  Or just raisins…or just chocolate chips.  Ok, you get the idea.  Have fun with these cookies and the best part you won’t feel too guilty eating one.

Ok, I’m off to curl up under a blanket and have some hot tea….and have a cookie.  I hope you are staying warm where ever you are.

Oatmeal Cranberry Dark Chocolate Cookies

Print Recipe

2 1/2 cups old fashion oats

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons canola oil

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg white

1/3 cup apple butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a small bowl, stir together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and canola oil until blended.  The mixture will be oily.  Add the brown sugar and beat until mixture is fluffy and clings together.  Mix in the egg white, apple butter, and vanilla.  The mixture may look slightly curdled.  Add the dry ingredients and stir.  Then add dark chocolate chunks and cranberries and mix until a sticky dough forms.

Using a 2 tablespoons, drop walnut-size balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.  With wet fingers slightly press down on cookies.  Do not flatten all the way, just slightly.

Bake the cookies 7 minutes, then switch the pans position and continue to bake 8 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.  Then using a spatula carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack.  Let cool completely.  Store cookies in a airtight container.

Makes about 20 cookies

After Halloween and all that candy I was in need for something a little more healthy.  I especially knew the little ones needed something good for them and these muffins were the perfect fit.  They are packed with whole grains, fruit, veggies, and nuts and best of all they are delicious.  Even my husband who was very hesitant after I told him all the healthy ingredients that were packed inside.  But he proceeded to stand over the muffins popping them in his mouth like they were the candy. 

Now let’s talk about the Flaxseed Meal inside these muffins.  If you aren’t familiar with flaxseed it’s the new wonder food.  Well, that’s what I like to call it.  Although flaxseed contains all sorts of healthy components, it owes its healthy reputation primarily to three ingredients:

• Omega-3 essential fatty acids, “good” fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.
• Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flaxseed contains 75- 800 times more lignans than other plant foods
• Fiber. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.

Pretty “wonder”ful right?  And all the more reasons why these muffins are delicious.  I hope you enjoy them and hopefully they won’t make you feel too guilty for all that candy you ate over Halloween.

Note: If you don’t have oat bran on hand just place regular old-fashion oats in your food processor and pulse for a couple times until the oats are coarse. 

Fruit Filled Bran Muffins

Print Recipe

1 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 cup Flaxseed Meal

3/4 cup Oat Bran

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup finely shredded carrots

1 apple peeled and shredded

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

3/4 cup almond milk (or regular milk)

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Oat Streusel

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup light packed light brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two 12-cup standard muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, flaxseed meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.

In a small bowl, combine carrots, apple, pumpkin, cranberries, nuts, milk, beaten eggs and vanilla.  Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.  Stir until ingredients are moistened.  Do not over mix.  Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

For Streusel: In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oats, salt and cinnamon.  Stir in melted butter until the all is mixed together.  Sprinkle on the tops of the muffins.

Bake muffins 15 to 20 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Then carefully remove from pan and enjoy!

Best served warm.  Can be stored in a airtight container and best kept in the refrigerator.  Makes about 20 muffins.

Recipe Adpated from Bob’s Red Mill

I’m a day late with this recipe…yesterday was National Pumpkin Day.  I had the greatest intentions to post this last night but decided to get a workout instead.  After coming back from vacation I have I had an overwhelming feeling of stress.  Stress that I have so much to do and catch up on.  I completely removed myself from everything last week which of course was good for my mind and soul but coming back was a bit too much.  Especially when my work emails were about 300…yikes!  It took a good day to get through them all.  To relieve myself from thinking and worrying I thought a good workout would do the trick.  I’m happy to report it did.  It’s amazing what a little sweat can do not only for the body but the soul.  I turned up the music and off I went.  Once the hour was done I was back to normal.  Ok, kind of back to normal.  I still have a To Do List that has a lot of boxes left unchecked.  I know they will get done but there is still the feeling of oh no.  Know what I mean?  So I apologize this recipe didn’t reach you on the exact day as National Pumpkin Day but if you think about it isn’t Pumpkin Day everyday in the fall?  I know I have been a bit obsessed with pumpkin lately.  I love the orange stuff!  I’m sure in the coming weeks I’ll grow tired of it but until I do here is another great pumpkin recipe.  Oh and once again I used caramel.  I know two recipes in a row using caramel.  Sorry, but I had a bag in my cabinet that my husband said I better use in a recipe or he was going to eat the whole bag.  I decided to bake with them.  Here’s to caramel and pumpkin and Happy National Pumpkin Day one day late.  Enjoy!!

Caramel Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Print Recipe

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie spice)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup Old-Fashion Rolled Oats

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup caramel, cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

1/2 cup Baking White Chocolate, melted (optional)

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, butter, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed. 

In a small bowl, whisk together oats, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.  Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.  Add pecans and caramel pieces to batter and stir until combined. 

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.  An cookie/ice cream scoop works great here to insure all cookies are about the same size.  Bake cookies 12 to 16 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Remove to cooling rack and allow to cool.

Melt baking white chocolate as per instructions.  Tranfer to a squeeze bottle or a freezer plastic bag.  If using the freezer plastic bag cut one corner slightly.  Drizzle chocolate over cookies.  Let stand to set or place in the refrigerator to set faster.  Enjoy!!

I have to warn you I’m on a pumpkin kick.  I have a cabinet stocked full of pumpkin and so many ideas swarming in my head of how I’m going to use it.  A few weeks ago I noticed the shelves of my local whole foods was stocked with cans of pumpkin and I was like a little girls who saw that her favorite barbie or cabbage patch kid was on the shelf.  Ok, I may have dated myself there.  Yes, cabbage patch kids where the must have doll when I was little and my parents went store to store during the holidays to try to find “that” specific doll that I wanted.  I have such wonderful parents….thanks mom and dad!  I’m sure I will be doing that very soon.  Ok, now back to the pumpkin….whole foods…lots of pumpkin = me loading the cans in my cart.  With my cabinets stocked it only meant I had to open a can and bake something and that something was these scones.  I’m so happy I did because these scones are so yummy and have such a great combination of flavors.  They are the perfect way to start off a morning. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  See you back here soon.

Pumpkin Maple Spice Scones

Print Recipe

2 cups white whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

6 tablespoon cold butter, cut into cubes

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons milk

1 large egg

Maple Spice Icing:

1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 tablespoon maple syrup

2 to 3 tablespoon milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchments paper.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender until crumbly; set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, maple syrup, milk and egg.  Fold pumpkin mixture into flour and stir until combine.  Don’t overmix.

Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick circle.  Use a 2-inch round cutter and cut circles out.  If you have extra dough after cutting just pat out dough and continue to cut into rounds.  Place circles on prepared baking sheet.  Sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on tops of scones (optional).  Bake 10 to 15 minutes until lightly golden.

Place the scones on a wire rack to cool.  While scones are cooling mix icing together by combining confectioners sugar, pumpkin pie spice, maple syrup and 2 tablespoons of milk in a small bowl.  Mix together and add more milk until icing comes to a drizzling consistency.

Once scones have cooled slightly drizzle icing over scones. Enjoy!!

Makes 10 to 12 scones.

Note: Best served warm