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.

Peach Ginger Crumbles in a Jar

Two of my favorite things are featured in this post: peaches and jars.

It's recipe redux time yet again, and I was super excited about this months theme, so I can't wait to share my recipe with you guys.

First things first, let me tell you about the theme.  It was, and I quite, "raising the bar on food in a jar".  How fun and catchy is that? Basically, the idea was to take anything people put in jars to the next level.  Jams, sauces, portion controlled desserts, you know what I mean.  Like I said, I loved the idea and was determined to make a great recipe for y'all.

It's mid August (where has summer gone??), so peaches are in full swing, at least where I live.  Everywhere I go, it seems we pick up more.  I'm not complaining though, I adore peaches and love how abundant they become this time of year.  If only it could be like that year round.

With peaches coming out of our ears, it seemed perfect you make a peach dish for this months Recipe ReDux.  I decided to go with a simple peach crumble, but I made it extra special by lightening it up and adding ginger to the peach filling.

Baked into small jars and bursting with juicy peach, this is one recipe that is sure to please.  It's cute, tasty, and perfect for summer!

Peach Ginger Crumbles in a Jar

Filling:

• 3 large, ripe peaches, pitted and chopped
• 2 tbsp oat flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger (if you want a less strong ginger flavor, use only 1/2 tsp)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp honey

Crumble:

• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp applesauc

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease the insides of 6 small mason jars.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for filling.  Divide evenly between prepared jars.  In another bowl, mix together oat flour, rolled oats, salt, and cinnamon,  Add honey and applesauce and mix until completely incorporated.  Again, divide mixture evenly between jars, creating a layer above peach filling in each jar.  The jarss should be full, or almost full.  Bake in preheated oven for 16-20 minutes, or until oat mixture is firm and baked through.  Serve warm or cold, with whipped cream if desired.  Makes 6 individual sized servings.  Store leftovers in fridge.

Honey Banana Ginger Almond Butter

I like butter.

Nut butter, that is.

Lately I've been experimenting with all types of  unique flavored nut butters, from chocolate to lemon and everything in between.  Not all of them have been tasty, but this one, well it's just plain awesome.

Though the title may be a bit of a mouthful , I hope it clues you in a bit about all that's going on in this unique spread.

It's got the sweetness of honey and banana, as well as the zingy taste of ginger.  All that comes together for one delicious snack.

This almond butter would be great to brighten up your average peanut butter sandwich, but if you prefer a sweet option, it's great on apple slices as well.  Or, you know, directly off a spoon, which, as you may know, is my preferred method of consumption.

Honey Banana Ginger Almond Butter

• 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 banana
• 3 tbsp almond milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• small slice fresh ginger root
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 2 pieces candied ginger

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.  Transfer to a jar or container and place in fridge.

View Nutrition Facts Here

As you can see, in this recipe I used pre-made almond butter.  This was the kind made from only almonds.  If you'd like to, you can use homemade almond butter (an equal amount) as well, just try to make it as creamy as possible so that you get a nice and smooth nut butter as a result.

Some other fun flavored almond butters:

• Almond Joy Spread from Minimalist Baker
• Roasted Almond Pecan Pumpkin Butter from Running to the Kitchen
• Cinnamon Roll Flax Almond Butter from Healthful Pursuit
• Almond Joy Chocolate Spread from The Healthy Foodie

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Butter

Flourless Oatmeal Cookies

These are strange cookies... strange but good that is.

You see, it was one of those recipes where I was literally just throwing things together in the bowl of my food processor.  Totally and completely winging it.

The whole time I was making these, a little voice in my head was saying "they won't taste good, they'll be a huge failure".  Honestly, that was actually a pretty logical thing to think given the fact  that I was combining cottage cheese, cauliflower, and prunes.  Really, where on Earth could that be heading?

As it turns out, it was headed towards oatmeal cookies, though I didn't know that until mere minutes before they entered the oven.

The whole cookie baking process went a little bit like this:  Throw some cauliflower into a food processor.  Add in a couple scoops of cottage cheese.  Blend.  Add in cinnamon, ginger, and maple syrup.  Blend.  Taste.  Add in a couple prunes and some honey.  Try to ignore the voice in your head telling you that whatever you're attempting to make won't turn out.  Blend.  Realize that the random assortment of foods in your food processor is going nowhere fast.  Decide that you need to add oats (duh).  Mix some oats with some other stuff in a bowl and pour the liquid from the food processor on top.  Taste.  Have the genuis idea that you should turn the random mish-mash into cookies.  Bake the cookies.

Phew.  As you can see, these cookies provided quite the adventure.  And that adventure didn't exactly seem like it would end well, did it?  I agree.

In fact, I was holding my breath as they came out of the oven, and hesistated to try one fearing that  the result would be, well, disgusting.  It wasn't until a family member wandered into the room, took a bite of one of the cookies, and commented "good!" that I dared to try a little as well.

And guess what?  They were good.  Really good.  Who knew?

Flourless Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup frozen cauliflower, thawed
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese (I used 1%)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 prunes, soaked in water for a couple minutes (the longer they soak, the better)
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine cauliflower, cottage cheese, cinnamon, ginger, milk, maple syrup, honey, and prunes in food processor.  Process until smooth.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.  Pour the mixture from the food processor into the bowl with oats.  Mix to combine.  Fold in cranberries and raisins.  Form dough into cookies and place on greased baking sheet.  Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes.  Let cool before removing from baking sheet and serving.

Well, now you know how to make one strange cookie.  I promise that if you give the recipe a try, the result will be much better than you'd think!  Enjoy!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Strawberry Oatmeal Cookies

Ginger Oatmeal Cookie Sanwiches with Creamy Yogurt Filling

'Tis the season for cookies.  Lots and lots of them!

I love how during the holiday season you can walk into almost any party and see plates and plates of wonderfully unique cookies.

I may not sample every kind at each party I visit, but I sure do love looking at the huge spreads.  They provide so much inspiration for future recipe creations.  For example, there's this salted chocolate cookie that my friend makes and I've been meaning to create a "clean" version for, like, forever.  I just keep forgetting to ask for the recipe so I know what the salt to chocolate ratio is.

Today, however, I have a different clean Christmas cookie to share.  And it comes in the form of a cookie sandwich.  And you know what that means... you get TWO cookies, but get to count it as only one.  Therefore, you get double the cookies for the same amount of guilt.  And because these cookies are relatively good for you, that amount of guilt it almost nothing.

How awesome is that?

You know what's even more awesome?  The flavor of the cookie itself.

It's like a gingersnap, crossed with an oatmeal cookie, crossed with a whoopie pie.

Ummmm... hello.  Incredible, right?  Give 'em a try!

Ginger Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with Creamy Yogurt Filling

For Cookies:

• 2 tbsp flaxseeds, ground
• 1 egg white
• 1 banana
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 tbsp molasses
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp applesauce

For Filling:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• about 1 tsp water

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl, mix together flax and egg white.  Set aside.  Microwave banana for about 45 seconds, then mash in a large bowl.  Add in remaining cookie ingredients.  Mix well until a thick dough is formed.
3. Drop dough by rounded tsp onto 1 or 2 greased baking sheets.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove cookies for oven and press down so that they form cookie shapes instead of balls.  Bake for another 3 minutes.  Take out of oven and let cool.
4. In a cereal bowl, stir together yogurt, cream cheese, and vanilla extract (ingredients from filling section).  In a ramekin (or other small dish), combine the brown sugar and water.  Let it sit for a couple minutes.  After that time, add it to the yogurt mixture and mix again to combine. 
5. Take 1 cookie, and spread it with a thin layer of the yogurt filling.  Top with another cookie. Repeat until no cookies remain, or there is only 1 left over.  Store cookies in fridge.  They also freeze well.

Enjoy!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Pumpkin Raisin Baked Oatmeal Bars

Healthy Gingerbread Cake

Christmas is the time for gingerbread, is it not?

It's also the time that most people find themselves overindulging.  After all, it's hard no to.  What with the endless tables of unhealthy foods found at most holiday parties.

While gingerbread sounds great as the weather gets cooler, the overindulgence does not.  So, in an attempt to get into the healthy holiday spirit, I've created a much healthier Gingerbread Cake... and it tastes just like the real thing!

Surprise surprise, it also has a secret ingredient.

Cauliflower! 

It keeps the cake super moist and you can't taste it at all.  Not one bit, I tell you.  Not.  One.  Bit.

Instead, all you do taste is a gigantic blast of delicious gingerbread flavor.  Goodness, it's so good.  Like, exceeding my expectations good.  Want to eat the whole cake good.  Can't believe it's not full of fat good.  So good the cauliflower will be forgotten, and the only thought crossing your mind will be "I want more".

Yes, that good.

Healthy Gingerbread Cake
(makes 8 slices)

• 1 tsp date paste
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen cauliflower, thawed
• 3 tbsp molasses
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (6 tbsp) flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp ground flax

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine first 7 ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  In another bowl combine remaining ingredients, and miz well.  Pour wet into dry and mix again until all incorporated.  Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 14 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool before slicing and serving.

If you need a healthy dessert for the holidays look no further.  This cake is moist, spicy, delicious, and has a secret vegetable hidden in it!

Overindulgence?  Forget it!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Coconut Ginger Cookies

Molasses Granola

Oh boy, just a day past Thanksgiving and I'm already all geared up for December flavors.  But can you blame me when gingerbread, pepperment, and egg nog taste so darn delcious?

Lately, I've been throwing either mollasses, pepperment extract, or a whole bunch of cozy spices into just about every dessert/snack/breakfast I make.  There have been a lot of yummy dishes coming out of my kitchen, and I'm so excited to share them all with you.

I've decided to kick off the party with a breakfast recipe, 'cause, you know, breakfast is the first meal of the day.  Also, it feels like it's been foreeeever since my last breakfast post (and that definitely needs to change)

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Molasses (a.k.a. Gingerbread) Granola!

In all honesty, I've never been a huge fan of granola.  This is mostly because pretty much every brand sold in stores has some sort of nut in it.  I don't like nuts in my granola.  In my mind, that meant that granola wasn't something I would ever buy, and therefore I would never eat it.  And that was that.  It was settled.

But then, one day while clicking through recipes online, I stumbled upon a recipe for nut-free granola and decided to give it a try.  This Molasses Granola is just a modified version of that first granola recipe.  I upped the spice level, adding in molasses to sweeten, and BAM, yummy holiday breakfast in under 5 steps.

The great thing about this granola is that it's super customizable.  The recipe below is very basic, and you can add in whatever you like to make it your own.  Nuts, seeds, dried fruit.  The choice is yours.  Just be sure to have it match with the gingerbread theme.  I think dried cranberries could potentially be very tasty.

Another nice thing about this breakfast, especially for those of us watching our weight, is that it's fat free and uses a pretty small amount of sweetener compared to many other granola recipes.  In other words, the granola you see above and below is actually healthy as supposed to many other brands that just pretend to be.

And, if you can believe it, on top of all that other awesome stuff, this granola also manages to taste really, really good.  It's like a spicy hug first thing in the morning :)

Super Easy Molasses Granola

• 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbsp mollasses
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp water
• 3 cups rolled oats
• optional: any add-ins you like: dried fruit, nuts, seeds*

Preheat oven to 350F.  Place oats in a large bowl.  Combine applesauce, mollasses, cinnamon, ginger, and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Remove from heat and stir until well combined.  Pour wet ingredients over oats and mix.  It may seem a bit dry at first, but just keep mixing and try to coat everything as best you can.  Scoop combined mixture onto a baking sheet and spread into an even layer.  Bake for 20 minutes, flipping pan halfway through.  Then turn oven off, but leave granola inside, with the oven door cracked open slighty.  Let granola cool completely in oven, then transfer to an airtight container.

*If you add a large amount of add-ins you may have to adjust the liquid level slightly.  Just add more water.

So what will you do with your Molasses Granola (providing you make a batch, but c'mon it takes like 5 minutes of hands-on time so how could you not)

Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• Add a couple handfuls of your favorite nuts to the recipe above and have your granola with milk for breakfast
• Layer the basic granola recipe with greek yogurt and pomegranite seeds to make a beautiful and delicious fall themed parfait
• Sprinkle the granola (with any add-ins you like) over your morning bowl of oatmeal because you can never have too many oats
• Add dried cranberries to the mix and keep it in a bowl on your counter so you can grab a handful whenever you need a quick sweet and tart snack

Now you come up with some of your own ideas.  Believe me, there are so many more!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Carrot Cake Cookie Bites

Pumpkin Molasses Fudge Bars

It's time for a math problem.

Ginger Molasses Blondies + Pumpkin Pie Fudge = What?

There are actually two correct answers.

1. Insanely Delicious, and

2. This recipe for Pumpkin Molasses Fudge Bars

If you guessed either of the above give yourself a nice pat on the back.  If you didn't... then, well, what did you think of?

In all honesty now, these bars really do taste like a cross between the two desserts listed above.  Not intentionally, though.  These actually have a sort of funny story that goes with them.

They were meant to be similar in texture to cake.  I was even loosely following a cake recipe.  But, then, I had this sudden thought that maybe adding some pureed tofu to the wet ingredients would help to add creaminess to the final product.  Unfortunately, when this thought hit me, I didn't stop to consider what would happen when it baked, instead I just went for it.

Guess what?  It did add creaminess.  I could tell that much just from tasting the batter (which was delicious).  However, tofu also added a fudgey-ness to the final product that was not completely expected.  This may not seem like a bad thing to you, but when I first opened the oven door and saw that the so-called "cake" I had attempted to make had not risen at all, well, I was pretty disappointed

I considered just throwing away these bars right then and there.  I don't like wasting though, and thought that I might as well just give them a taste.  Thank god I did!  At just one tiny bite I was sold.  Who cares if they didn't turn out as planned?  These Pumpkin Molasses Fudge Bars were creamy, flavor packed, and just the right amount of fudgy.

Yay for tofu!  It's becoming one of my new favorite ingredients.

Pumpkin Molasses Fudge Bars*
(makes 8 bars, sized as in the pictures)

• 1/2 cup flour of choice (I used all purpose)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 3 tbsp mori-nu silken firm tofu (refrigerated tofu may work too, but I haven't tried it)
• 1/4 cup pumpkin
• 1 tbsp ground flax
• 1 tbsp oil (I used coconut)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp molasses
• 1 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix well.  Blend together remaining ingredients in a blender.  Once smooth, pour wet into dry and stir until well combined.  Scoop batter into loaf pan and smooth on top.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Then remove pan from oven and let cool for at least an hour before serving.  (Note: These bars taste even better if allowed to sit overnight)

After my first bite of these, I quickly set up a photoshoot, and took lot's of pretty pictures of my delicious creation.  Then I set the bars on a plate like I always do after I've photographed a recipe, and left them on the counter.

When I glanced back at them about an hour later there was one left.  Apparently, my family had eaten all the rest just in that short amount of time.  I was thrilled!  Not only was this recipe loved by me, but my family members also loved their unique fudgey-ness.

That was like the last trial.  It was then that I realized that these bars definitely belong on the blog.  So if you're skeptical, I understand that, but, really, just think about the information I just gave you.

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Fudgy Pumpkin Crownies

*By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by The Soyfoods Council and am
eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.