Mixed Berry Cake

I've been on a fresh strawberry kick.  Also, a cake kick.  It was only logical to combine them together, right?

I give you…

Mixed Berry Cake.  

It's a dense cake filled with yogurt, honey, and frozen fruit.  (No, I didn't use my beloved fresh strawberries in the cake.  I'd much rather eat those!).  Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack!

Mixed Berry Cake

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup yogurt, plain or vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup frozen mixed berries

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8in round pan.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.  In another bowl, combine honey, egg, vanilla, yogurt, and milk.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until a smooth batter forms.  Add frozen fruit and mix to incorporate.  Pour batter into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.  Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely before slicing.  Recipe makes 8 servings.

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

Fact: Snack time is the best time of the day.  If you disagree, you’re probably eating the wrong snacks.

But fear not, my friends, because I’m about to introduce you to one of the best snacks ever.  And it comes in the form of a foolproof recipe with melty cheese.  You hungry yet?

I made these last Saturday.  Then I made them again Sunday.  And upon noticing the empty plate on Monday morning, I contemplated making them again (unfortunately, I had to attend this really annoying this called School on Monday, so I couldn’t make a third batch)

The point is, however, that these little quinoa bites are straight up addicting.  They are highly snack-able, pop-able and nibble-able.  When they’re freshly baked, they taste good.  When they’re room temperature, they taste good.  When they’re cold, they taste good.

Bottom Line:  These Cheesy Quinoa Bites taste really good.

 Remember how I sad this is a foolproof recipe?  What I meant is, everything about it is easy.  It’s easy to remember, easy to make, and easy to eat.  A triple threat, perhaps?

Well, one thing’s for certain; Snack time just got waaaay better.

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

·      2 cups cooked quinoa

·      2 stalks celery, chopped

·      ½ red bell pepper, chopped

·      2 cloves garlic, minced

·      2 mozzarella cheese sticks, sliced into small pieces

·      2 eggs

·      2 tbsp flour

·      ½ tsp salt

·      ½ tsp chili powder

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease two mini muffin tins with cookie spray.
2. Measure quinoa into a large bowl. 
3. Add celery, pepper, garlic, and chopped cheese sticks.  Mix to combine.
4. Add eggs to bowl and mix until completely incorporated.  Mixture will be wet and may not hold together very well.  That’s okay.
5. Add flour, salt, and chili pepper and mix together again.  This should help to make the mixture slightly less sticky.
6. Scoop into prepared pans, filling each muffin hole to the top.  Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until quinoa bites are firm and cheese has melted. 
7. Let cool before removing from pan.  To serve, you can heat up Quinoa Bites or leave them at room temperature.  Recipe makes 2 dozen small bites.

   

On another note, has anyone been watching the olympics? Go team USA!  (Or whatever other country you're rooting for)

Cookie Dough Spread (or Dip)

Think of cookie dough.  Think of peanut butter or your favorite nut butter.  Now mash the two together into one.

The result is the recipe.

So hopefully that image you came up with sounded pretty good.  If it didn't.... you imagined it wrong ;)

Becuase this Cookie dough Spread is absolutely delicious.  It's cookie dough minus the raw eggs and rock-in-your-stomach feeling.  And you can put it on things!

Things like...

1. Pretzels
2. Fruit
3. Cookies
4. Toast
5. Spoons
6. Fingers

Morale of the story?  You want this on your plate right now.  Like, right now.

(Right now.)

Cookie Dough Spread

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.  Blend until completely combined, with no oat or chickpea lumps.  Add chocolate chips and blend quickly to combine.  Transfer mixture to jar or other serving container and store in fridge until you're ready to eat it.  Makes about 1 cup of dip.

You know, I've heard cookie dough is a wonderful Valentine's Day dessert….

Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

Growing up, I skipped the peanut butter and jelly faze.  I went through a pasta faze and a chicken nugget faze and I even went through a frozen corn faze, but a PB&J faze?  Not once.

I was never the kid with a smushed sandwich in their lunch everyday, or the kid who survived solely on the jar of peanut butter and grape jelly in the fridge.  In fact, to this day, I've never had a typical Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.

I can't really say I mind, though.  Sure, I may get some weird looks when I tell people, but it's not like I missed out by not eating that stereotypical sandwich.  White bread, Jiff peanut butter, and grape jelly?  Eh, I think I'll pass.

But take the classic flavors of a PB&J and turn them into a healthy, natural, and delicious cookie and you've got me drooling.

These cookies disappeared in under 24 hours.  I ate three in a row without even stopping for air.  I would make them again in a heartbeat.

Subtly sweet, hearty, and 100% healthy, these cookies are a triple threat.  PB&ampJ lover or not, you will adore them.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
Cookies:

• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Filling (can also be replaced with your favorite jam or jelly):

• 1 1/2 cups wild blueberries, frozen (feel free to try another frozen fruit, but I can't guarantee the results)
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

For Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat, or grease a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Mix together.  Add peanut butter, applesauce, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla and mix well until completely incorporated.  Dough will be sticky.
3. Take about 11/2 tbsp of dough and form into a ball.  Place on baking sheet.  Continue until all dough has been used.  You should have 10-12 large dough balls.  There's no need to place them far apart on the baking sheet because these cookies will not spread in the oven.
4. Using your thumb or the back of a spoon, press down in the middle of the cookies to create an indent for the jam to go in.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.  Cookies will look under baked at first, but that's OK.  They continue to cook as they cool, so by the time the cookies have cooled down they will be fully baked.

For Filling:

1. Combine blueberries, chia seeds, and maple syrup in a cereal bowl and give them a quick stir to incorporate.
2. Microwave the bowl for about two minutes, or until the blueberries have melted and the mixture is juicy.  Microwaving times may vary depending on your microwave. (You can also do this on the stovetop, although cooking times will change)
3. Remove from microwave and place in fridge to firm up for about 30 minutes.  You will know the filling is ready when it has a jelly-like consistency and is no longer juicy.
4. Use about 1 tsp of filling to fill each cookie.  Once cookies are done, store in fridge until serving time.  Recipe makes 10-12 large cookies.

Enjoy your Wednesday everyone!

Chocolate Pretzel Tarts with Caramel

Here's the full title for this recipe: Chocolate Brownie Tarts with Peanut Butter Pretzel Crust and Peanut Butter Caramel On Top.

A bit of a mouthful, huh?  But tell me it doesn't sound delicious.

This recipe was born when my mom accidentally bought too many pretzels.  I'm not quite sure what she was thinking, but she came home from the grocery store with two huge bags.  I don't want or need that many pretzels, so recipe ideas immediately began flying through my head.

What goes well with pretzels?  Peanut butter, chocolate, peanut butter and chocolate, yogurt, more chocolate... the list goes on and on.  In the end, I decided to combine a whole bunch of delicious pretzel combinations into one amazing recipe.  And hence, these tarts were born.

Please don't be intimidated by this recipe.  Please, please, please.  I promise you, it's really not that hard.  In fact, despite the three different parts to it, there are only ten different ingredients.  That's really not too much.  Aaannd, none of the ingredients are really outlandish or anything.  The weirdest it's gonna get is  special dark cocoa power, and even that can be subbed in for another high quality cocoa of your choice.

So really, no chickening out and convincing yourself this recipe is too much work.  It's not!  It'll all be worth it once you take the first bite....

Chocolate Pretzel Tarts with Caramel
Crust:

• 60 g (about three cups, un-crushed) pretzels
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (or another but butter of your choice)

Brownie Filling:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup special dark cocoa powder (or another good quality cocoa powder)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla

Caramel:

• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/3 cup milk

To make crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a muffin tin or line with 12 silicone cupcake liners.
2. Place pretzels in the bowl of a food processor.  Process until the pretzels have turned into fine crumbs.  
3. Add milk and nut butter and blend again until completely mixed.
4. Take crust mixture and press into prepared pan.  You should have enough to make 12 "cupcakes"
5. Set aside.

To make filling:

1. Quickly rinse and dry bowl of food processor.
2. Add all ingredients of filling to the bowl of food processor.  Process until completely combined, with the oats completely broken down and the batter smooth.
3. Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter into each prepared crust so that the crust is full.
4. Place pan in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until filling is firm and crust has browned.
5. Remove from oven and let cool.

To make caramel:

1. While tarts cook, make caramel.  In a small saucepan, whisk together honey and peanut butter.  Cook in high until mixture has reduced by about half.
2. Once reduced, remove from heat and add milk.  
3. Turn heat to low and continue to mix until mixture has thickened into a caramel.  Remove from heat and let cool.
4. Once cool, spread onto cooked starts.
5. Store in fridge until serving time.  Recipe makes 1 dozen tarts.

Make.  These.  Now!!

Easy Chocolate Banana Muffins

Easy food is good food.

That's why I try to make the bulk of the recipes of this site pretty simple.

But let me tell you, when you want some dessert, and you want it fast, sometimes even the easy recipes on this blog take too long to prepare.  But fear not, my fellow dessert lovers, for I have solved the problem.  This recipe for Chocolate Banana Muffins has six ingredients, comes together in less than 10 minutes, uses only one bowl, and tastes delicious to boot.

Total success!

Next time you're in need of a quick chocolate fix, look no further than these delicious muffins!

Easy Chocolate Banana Muffins

• 2 banana
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup special dark cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease 12 cups in a cupcake pan, or line a muffins pan with cupcake liners.  In a large bowl, mash bananas until smooth.  Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, honey, and milk and mix until a smooth batter forms.  If you have trouble mixing it together, add some more milk by the tbsp. Mix in chocolate chips.  Scoop batter into prepared pan or liners until about 3/4 full.  Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until firm.  Recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

Enjoy y'all!

Asian Sweet Potato Wedges

This is gonna be a short and sweet post; just like the recipe!

I've made these Sweet Potato Wedges three times in the past week.  They are incredible, and super duper easy.

Basically, you cover sweet potatoes in soy sauce, maple syrup, and sesame oil and then bake 'em to perfection.  I'm telling you, something magical happens in the oven.

These wedges are delicious on their own, there's not doubt about that, but if you want them to taste like absolute heaven, I have two words for you: Peanut Sauce.  I've said it before and I'll say it again; Peanut Sauce makes everything better.  These are no exception.

Make them and you just might eat the entire batch in one sitting.

Asian Sweet Potato Wedges

• 4 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
• 3 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Preheat oven to 350F.  Place cut sweet potatoes in a large bowl.  A soy sauce, maple syrup, and sesame oil, and toss to coat all sweet potato pieces.  Spread wedges into as even a layer as possible on a baking sheet.  Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until soft.  Serve warm and with peanut sauce, if desired.  Store any leftovers in fridge for up to one week.  They probably won't last that long though.

"Good Luck" Golden Donuts {The Recipe ReDux}

This months Recipe ReDux theme was good luck food.  I was so out of my element.

At my house, we're not really one for superstitions or traditions (Fun Fact: We had ribs on Thanksgiving).  Because of that, I wasn't really sure what to make that would inspire good luck.  Fortune cookies...?

Luckily, this thing called the internet exists to help educate uneducated souls on the mysteries of the world.  To google I went!

After some research, I decided to make these "Golden" Donuts.  Here's why they're lucky:

• The round shape.  It signififies the year coming to a full circle and new year beginning.
• The golden color.  The color is supposed to be a sign of wealth and riches in the new year

I bet you never knew you could eat a donut for good luck, did ya?  Well, now you do.  Grab 2!

"Good Luck" Golden Donuts

• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (maple syrup makes them taste like pancakes!  Always a good thing)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg or egg replacement
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.  In another bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.  Add wet to dry and mix until a smooth batter forms.  Scoop batter into a donut pan (any size is fine) and bake in preheated oven for about 7 minutes.  Time will vary depending on size of pan.  Remove from pan while still hot and store in an airtight container.  For a lucky year, eat on New Years ;)

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

'Tis the season of cookies, so it's only right that I post a new cookie recipe, right?

These cookies are super simple, yet delicious all the same.  Hearty oats, a subtle sweetness and tons of cranberries and melty chocolate in every bite.

Mmmmmm....

When I first made these, I deemed them breakfast cookies.  However, as soon as my mom tasted one, she informed me, with great seriousnesss, that these cookies are not breakfast cookies.  They are most definitely 'anytime' cookies.  To withhold these cookies at all times other than breakfast would be a crime, they're so good.

I have to say, once I ate a cookie myself I had to agree.  And so did the rest of my family as we finished the batch off for dessert, snack, and yes, breakfast.

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1 1/2 cups quick oats
• 1/2 cup dry sweetener of choice (that measures like sugar)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried and sweetened cranberries
• 1 egg or egg substitute (i.e. 1 flax "egg")
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• If necessary, up to 1/3 cup milk/water

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat.  In a large bowl, mix together first seven ingredients (flour through salt).  Add chocolate chips and cranberries and mix to incorporate.  In another bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.  Add wet to dry and mix until a dough forms.  If necessary, add milk/water 1 tbsp at a time until dough is wet enough to shape into balls.  Take about 1 1/2 tbsp of dough, form into a ball and place on baking sheet.  These cookies will not spread while they bake, you can put them close together.  If you want flatter cookies and not balls, flatten dough before baking.  Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, until golden and firm.  Let cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.  Makes about 20 small cookies.

Happy eating everyone!

Blueberry Muffins with a Hint of Ginger and Lemon {Monk Fruit in the Raw}

{I received free samples from Cumberland Packing Corp., maker of Monk Fruit In The Raw. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Cumberland Packing Corp. and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.}

Stories from blueberry muffin baking:

1. Lemons have decided to hate me.  I don't really understand, honestly, we've always had such a great relationship, but the day of these muffins?  Yeah, not so much.  I got squirted in the eye with juice at least 4 times while I was zesting them.  Like, there wasn't even any juice exposed and it still managed to somehow hit me in the eye.  I repeat, they hate me.

2. For some reason, the folks down at Trader Joe's thought it would be a good idea to make curry powder and cinnamon look really similar, so much that I almost put freaking curry powder in these muffins!  The spices in our house are pretty jumbled up and so as I dug through the chaotic plastic bin that is our spice rack I spotted something that looked like cinnamon and grabbed it.  Upon (somewhat) closer inspection I saw that the label had some word that started with a 'C' on it, further confirming that this bottle held cinnamon.  Thank god I caught a whiff of it's very not cinnamon-y smell or these muffins would have been a lot worse and also quite spicy.

3. I hereby proclaim myself a blueberry fanatic.  That's right, it's official now.  After adding 1 1/3 cups of blueberries to this batter (which, admittedly, was probably too much), I came to the realization that I put more blueberries on my oatmeal in the mornings.  Yes, more.  No wonder my family goes through frozen fruit so fast.  I eat almost 2 cups per meal.

4. MONK FRUIT IN THE RAW.  I like this stuff, I really do.  It gives me pleasure to use only a couple tablespoons of "real" sugar per recipe and than still have the result taste perfectly sweet.  I don't know if you realize this, but that's really cool.  Low calorie is cool too because it means I can eat more (!!). Also, when you pour the Mink Fruit in the Raw it looks like little tiny snowflakes (actually, more like fake snow, but whatever) and that makes me happy.

5. Blueberry muffins are good, but blueberry muffins with a hint of lemon and ginger are really really really good.  Really.  (P.S. they smell perfect while they cook.  Don't blame me if you decide to camp out in front of your oven while they're baking)

Blueberry Muffins with a Hint of Lemon and Ginger

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1/3 cup Monk Fruit in the Raw
• 3 tbsp turbinado sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp powedered ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 - 11/3 cup frozen blueberries (I used 1 1/3 and it was probably too much, but I love blueberries so I didn't mind.  Use whatever you see fit)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a muffin pan.  In a large bowl, mixtogether all dry ingredients until completely incorporated.  In another bowl, whisk together milk, oil, lemon juice, vinegar, lemon zest and vanilla.  Let sit a couple minutes to let the vinegar mix into the milk.  After a couple minutes, add wet ingredient to dry and mix just until incorporated. Don't overmix.  Gently add in blueberries.  Scoop about 1/4 cup batter into each muffin hole.  Bake in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, until firm.  Let cool before remiving from pan and storing in an airtight container.  Makes 12 large muffins.

Chocolate Caramel Cake Bites

I've always loved caramel.

Twix bars, caramel apples, caramel dip, caramel sauce.  Pretty much everything containing caramel is guaranteed to be gobbled up in seconds.

Since I made my diet a bit healthier, my caramel consumption has reduced significantly.  There's still the occasional treat, of course, but caramel is far from a staple in my house.

That is, it wasn't until I stumbled into this recipe for Crazy Caramel Sauce.  It's from the blog The Fit Foodies, and guys, it really is crazy.  The recipe replaces butter with nut butter, sugar with maple syrup, and cream with milk for a resulting caramel that tastes, dare I say it, even better than an original caramel sauce!

Click that link and try it!

Anyway, after finally discovering a healthy caramel sauce (that's not made with dates!), I immediatly started brainstorming recipes to use it with.  I had some leftover Chocolate Avocado Frosting in the fridge and both recipes together spurred the creation of these bad boys:

Chocolate Caramel Cake Bites!  They taste even better than they sound.

Chocolate Caramel Cake Bites
Caramel (recipe slightly modified from this recipe):

• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/3 cup milk

Cake:

• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

• One batch Chocolate Avocado Frosting

To Make Caramel:

In a small saucepan (non-stick if possible), whisk together peanut butter and maple syrup until combined. Heat on high, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened and reduced to about half it's original volume. Lower to low heat and add milk.  Stir constantly until mixture has thickened to a caramel like consistency. Let cool and then transfer to a small container.  Set aside for now.

To Make Cake:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a loaf pan.  Mix together dry ingredients in a medium to large bowl.  Add milk and vanilla and mix until a smooth batter forms.  Pour into loaf pan and spread into an even layer.  Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, until firm and a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool.  Once cooled, spread the caramel you just made into a layer on top.  Spread the pre-made Chocolate Avocado Frosting on top of that.  Chill in fridge for at least an hour before slicing into small squares.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Date Caramel + Chocolate Caramel Cookies