I have been very fortunate in that so far, neither of my girls have any food allergies (nor do hubby or I!). My young niece, on the other hand, has not been so lucky, and cannot eat nuts or eggs. Because she is often placed in the unfair position of not being able to share foods being enjoyed by others, we try to make family get-togethers as seamless as possible so that at the very least, any unsafe foods are easy to avoid and not something she'd really want to eat anyway.
While nut allergies are certainly scary, we have found that with some careful ingredient checks, they are fairly easy to avoid when cooking at home. Eggs, on the other hand, are in everything, especially dessert! The good news is with the rise of both egg allergies and veganism, it's getting easier and easier to find ideas for egg free recipes. I've had success so far with cookies and cupcakes (recipes to come!), but one of the most elusive desserts has been brownies, since eggs are really integral to the texture. I love rich chocolate desserts, though, and after a few holidays with some version of chocolate mousse/pudding made without eggs, I was really antsy for a true brownie that we could all share.
So off to the internet I went, and found a recipe on a vegan website promising the "ultimate" brownie, which got some strong reviews. I gave it a try mostly as written (only eliminating the walnuts and subbing real buter for the vegan "butter") and found the texture to be great, but the flavor severely lacking. They looked like brownies, but barely tasted like chocolate! So even though baking chemistry is not my specialty and I am especially inexperienced with vegan-style baking, I decided to take a chance on some modifications. Miraculously, the second batch was delicious! I still think I prefer my one bowl brownies, which are incredibly rich and smooth, but these are certainly a great alternative if you have any need for an egg-free version - they are dense, with a fudgy texture and rich chocolate flavor. Plus, they even have a great crust on top.
And as an added bonus, since I made this recipe 4 times in 1 week, I came up with some ways to streamline the process from the original, which was pretty fussy, so now they're not even complicated to make. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
Brownies (Egg-free!)
adapted from Vegan Baking
7 tablespoons water (this is 1 tablespoon short of 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons golden flax meal
2 ounces good quality dark chocolate (I used 70%), chopped into ½ inch pieces
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or more chopped chocolate pieces)
1 1/2 (rounded) cups all purpose or white whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together water and flax meal, and let it sit (and gel) while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on 2 sides so that you can easily remove the brownies when they're done (or just grease your baking pan!). Preheat the oven to 350.
Melt the butter and chocolate together over a double boiler* or in the microwave, stirring occasionally, until just melted. Remove from heat and mix in sugar until thoroughly combined. Then add cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and water/flax mixture and mix well (I used a silicone spatula, but you could use an electric mixer at this point if you prefer). Check to make sure your mixture isn't warmer than room temperature, and then gently stir in chocolate chips (if your mixture is too warm and your chocolate chips melt, no biggie, you'll just have extra fudgy brownies without chocolate chips!).
Next, add the flour and baking soda to the chocolate mixture. Use a spatula or a spoon (or even your hands if needed) to incorporate all of the flour. The batter will be VERY thick, more like a dough.
Dump batter into your prepared pan, using a spatula or your hands to spread it out evenly. Bake for 28 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack, leaving the brownies in the pan for at least an hour, and then remove brownies to the rack to cool the rest of the way.
Makes 16-20 smallish brownies
To double recipe, use a 9x13 pan and bake for an extra 3-4 minutes.
*Not sure what a double boiler is? Find a heat-proof bowl, either metal or tempered glass, that fits securely on top of one of your pots. Put 1-2 inches of water in the pot, heat until barely simmering, and then place your bowl on top with the butter and chocolate. The indirect heat of the steam on the bottom of the bowl will melt them gently without burning the chocolate. If you use a big enough bowl, you can continue with the rest of the recipe right in the same bowl!
Showing posts with label Dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dessert. Show all posts
Friday, September 21, 2012
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Passover is often filled with yucky foods made with matzo meal that do a terrible job of imitating real food. I have found that dessert are especially tough, as many people try to modify regular recipes to be kosher for Passover, but the result is never going to be quite the same. My opinion is that there are plenty of sweets out there that don't require flour to begin with, and these should be the food we focus on during the holiday. For example, I have a recipe for coconut macaroons that I happily make all year round (fyi, I like these better without the chocolate coating). Another obvious choice for Passover is flourless chocolate cake - the name says it all!
Well, as it turns out, Deb at Smitten Kitchen has the same issue with Passover desserts as I do, and a couple of years ago published 17 ideas for things to make that actually taste good! She recommended a flourless chocolate cake recipe by David Lebovitz which is called "Chocolate Idiot Cake", because it's apparently so easy only an idiot could screw it up. I took on the challenge and prayed that I didn't turn out to be that idiot! The ingredient list is as easy as it gets - chocolate, butter, sugar, and eggs. I figured there wasn't much risk because no matter what you do, how could that combination possibly taste bad?
As it turns out, I might not be as smart as I thought! I first tried this recipe last year (and in fact am updating the post I intended to share at that time) with so-so results. The cake was delicious - it really can't be anything else, but I couldn't quite get it to set up as promised in the instructions. David Lebovitz says that when the cake is done, your finger will come away clean when you gently touch the center. No such luck. I thought I just didn't bake it long enough and ran out of time to experiment by keeping it in the oven, but when I reread the recipe in preparation for posting I realized I made a big mistake - the recipe calls for 7 ounces of butter, and I used 7 tablespoons, which is half that amount! Ok, so maybe I'm an idiot after all, but who writes recipes in ounces of butter??
This year, determined to correct the mistake, I dug up the recipe and tried again, this time following every detail to the letter. And guess what - my finger still had a blob of chocolate on it when I touched it after 1 hour 15 minutes! I left it in for another 15 minutes and still had some yummy chocolate to lick off my finger, so under the assumption that the eggs had to be cooked after 90 minutes in the oven, I took it out.
The next day when we cut into the cake after being refrigerated overnight, it was definitely cooked through and delicious! It is the true chocolate lover's dream - unbelievably rich, moist and smooth, with that super-intense dark chocolate taste that almost has a hint of coffee or a burned undertone (anyone know what I'm talking about here?). It's the kind of dessert that benefits from a hot beverage to help wash it down, and you can't eat more than a small piece in a sitting. Ok, well I can, but if I do I tend to regret it afterwards!
In hindsight, I'm thinking it was probably done in an hour 15 minutes, but the extra 15 minutes didn't hurt it, so I've put 90 minutes in the recipe below. Feel free to take it out early and let me know how it goes! I've also eliminated that silly part about the clean finger and next time will just trust the clock to avoid fingerprints on my beautiful cake :)
Flourless Chocolate Cake
adapted from DavidLebovitz.com
10 ounces good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used E. Guittard 72%)
7 ounces (14 tablespoons or 1 3/4 sticks) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. Wrap the outside tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil to make sure no water will seep in during baking.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (take any heat-proof bowl and set it on top of a pot with about 2 inches of barely simmering water), stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat. (You can also do this step in the microwave but I find the double boiler method easier!)
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan, such as a roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The cake will still be jiggly in the center but should set up nicely once cool. Lift the cake pan from the water bath and remove the foil. Let cake cool completely on a cooling rack.
Store, covered, in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream, ice cream, or just a cup of tea.
Serves at least 16.
Well, as it turns out, Deb at Smitten Kitchen has the same issue with Passover desserts as I do, and a couple of years ago published 17 ideas for things to make that actually taste good! She recommended a flourless chocolate cake recipe by David Lebovitz which is called "Chocolate Idiot Cake", because it's apparently so easy only an idiot could screw it up. I took on the challenge and prayed that I didn't turn out to be that idiot! The ingredient list is as easy as it gets - chocolate, butter, sugar, and eggs. I figured there wasn't much risk because no matter what you do, how could that combination possibly taste bad?
As it turns out, I might not be as smart as I thought! I first tried this recipe last year (and in fact am updating the post I intended to share at that time) with so-so results. The cake was delicious - it really can't be anything else, but I couldn't quite get it to set up as promised in the instructions. David Lebovitz says that when the cake is done, your finger will come away clean when you gently touch the center. No such luck. I thought I just didn't bake it long enough and ran out of time to experiment by keeping it in the oven, but when I reread the recipe in preparation for posting I realized I made a big mistake - the recipe calls for 7 ounces of butter, and I used 7 tablespoons, which is half that amount! Ok, so maybe I'm an idiot after all, but who writes recipes in ounces of butter??
This year, determined to correct the mistake, I dug up the recipe and tried again, this time following every detail to the letter. And guess what - my finger still had a blob of chocolate on it when I touched it after 1 hour 15 minutes! I left it in for another 15 minutes and still had some yummy chocolate to lick off my finger, so under the assumption that the eggs had to be cooked after 90 minutes in the oven, I took it out.
The next day when we cut into the cake after being refrigerated overnight, it was definitely cooked through and delicious! It is the true chocolate lover's dream - unbelievably rich, moist and smooth, with that super-intense dark chocolate taste that almost has a hint of coffee or a burned undertone (anyone know what I'm talking about here?). It's the kind of dessert that benefits from a hot beverage to help wash it down, and you can't eat more than a small piece in a sitting. Ok, well I can, but if I do I tend to regret it afterwards!
In hindsight, I'm thinking it was probably done in an hour 15 minutes, but the extra 15 minutes didn't hurt it, so I've put 90 minutes in the recipe below. Feel free to take it out early and let me know how it goes! I've also eliminated that silly part about the clean finger and next time will just trust the clock to avoid fingerprints on my beautiful cake :)
Flourless Chocolate Cake
adapted from DavidLebovitz.com
10 ounces good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used E. Guittard 72%)
7 ounces (14 tablespoons or 1 3/4 sticks) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. Wrap the outside tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil to make sure no water will seep in during baking.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (take any heat-proof bowl and set it on top of a pot with about 2 inches of barely simmering water), stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat. (You can also do this step in the microwave but I find the double boiler method easier!)
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan, such as a roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The cake will still be jiggly in the center but should set up nicely once cool. Lift the cake pan from the water bath and remove the foil. Let cake cool completely on a cooling rack.
Store, covered, in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream, ice cream, or just a cup of tea.
Serves at least 16.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Healthier Oatmeal Cookies
I have been trying to get away from dessert recipes...really, I have! But the little peanut in my belly seems to have quite the sweet tooth, and I have been wanting dessert all of the time lately. In an effort to get my sweet fix from something moderately healthy, I decided to try out a new recipe for healthier oatmeal cookies. I have tried a few others in the past (like these and these) but have not yet found anything to blow me away. But my latest experiment has a ton of potential! I made the first batch a few weeks ago following the recipe exactly...the result was a tasty cookie that was very cakey, not really what you'd expect from an oatmeal cookie. There just seemed to be too much liquid, and as a result I ended up with more of a batter than a dough. But the flavor was so good I decided it was worth trying again with some tweaks.
You may have noticed that many of my baked goods include liquid sweeteners (e.g., honey, agave, maple syrup), but this is not a requirement for me. Despite the insistance of some in the health food space that such sweeteners are more natural and contain more nutrients, my general perspective is that sugar is sugar, and we shouldn't be eating enough of it to get any benefit from the small amounts of nutrients anyway! Plus, brown and granulated sugar are cheaper and easier to work with than their liquid counterparts, so I thought a cookie recipe would be a great opportunity to make the substitution. Theoretically you need to add liquid to a recipe if using sugar instead of honey, but since this recipe was so liquidy in the first place, the only thing I did to compensate was to increase the baking temperature. Other tweaks include using whole wheat pastry flour, bumping up the vanilla, and using chocolate chips instead of the fruit and/or nuts (I just can't resist!). The resulting cookie is soft and chewy and delicious, but not too sweet - exactly what I was going for!
Another motivation I had for trying to make this recipe work is that I wanted an alternative to my Wholesome Monster Cookies. I think those cookies are great, and they get rave reviews, but when it comes down to it I really don't like peanut or other nut butters! I have tried so hard, but it's just less enjoyable to me so I wanted another cookie recipe that I would look forward to but was not too much of a guilty pleasure. Plus, with so many kids out there having nut allergies, I thought it would be helpful to have a nut-free option. Which means despite the success of the recipe below, my next stop will be to try to pack some more healthy ingredients in, like flax meal, wheat germ, or coconut, just to bump up the nutrient level. Stay tuned for the results of my experiments!
Healthier Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Whole Grain Gourmet
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional; I did not include when using chocolate chips)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional; I did not include when using chocolate chips)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2-1 cup add-ins of your choice (I used 2/3 cup dark chocolate chunks; could also use raisins/dried fruit and/or walnuts/other chopped nuts)
In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (flour through spices). In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients (sugar through vanilla). Pour the wet mixture into the dry, add the mix-ins, and mix with a spoon until combined.
Place dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop cookies by the tablespoon onto baking sheet and press down slightly to flatten (cookies will not spread while baking).
Bake for 10 minutes, until bottoms of cookies are light brown - you will just start to see some brown around the bottom edge. Do not overcook! Leave cookies on baking sheet for about 1 minute after removing from the oven and then move to a cooling rack.
Makes 27 cookies (using 1 tablespoon scoop)
You may have noticed that many of my baked goods include liquid sweeteners (e.g., honey, agave, maple syrup), but this is not a requirement for me. Despite the insistance of some in the health food space that such sweeteners are more natural and contain more nutrients, my general perspective is that sugar is sugar, and we shouldn't be eating enough of it to get any benefit from the small amounts of nutrients anyway! Plus, brown and granulated sugar are cheaper and easier to work with than their liquid counterparts, so I thought a cookie recipe would be a great opportunity to make the substitution. Theoretically you need to add liquid to a recipe if using sugar instead of honey, but since this recipe was so liquidy in the first place, the only thing I did to compensate was to increase the baking temperature. Other tweaks include using whole wheat pastry flour, bumping up the vanilla, and using chocolate chips instead of the fruit and/or nuts (I just can't resist!). The resulting cookie is soft and chewy and delicious, but not too sweet - exactly what I was going for!
Another motivation I had for trying to make this recipe work is that I wanted an alternative to my Wholesome Monster Cookies. I think those cookies are great, and they get rave reviews, but when it comes down to it I really don't like peanut or other nut butters! I have tried so hard, but it's just less enjoyable to me so I wanted another cookie recipe that I would look forward to but was not too much of a guilty pleasure. Plus, with so many kids out there having nut allergies, I thought it would be helpful to have a nut-free option. Which means despite the success of the recipe below, my next stop will be to try to pack some more healthy ingredients in, like flax meal, wheat germ, or coconut, just to bump up the nutrient level. Stay tuned for the results of my experiments!
Healthier Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Whole Grain Gourmet
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional; I did not include when using chocolate chips)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional; I did not include when using chocolate chips)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2-1 cup add-ins of your choice (I used 2/3 cup dark chocolate chunks; could also use raisins/dried fruit and/or walnuts/other chopped nuts)
In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (flour through spices). In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients (sugar through vanilla). Pour the wet mixture into the dry, add the mix-ins, and mix with a spoon until combined.
Place dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop cookies by the tablespoon onto baking sheet and press down slightly to flatten (cookies will not spread while baking).
Bake for 10 minutes, until bottoms of cookies are light brown - you will just start to see some brown around the bottom edge. Do not overcook! Leave cookies on baking sheet for about 1 minute after removing from the oven and then move to a cooling rack.
Makes 27 cookies (using 1 tablespoon scoop)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Hi everyone! I started the story of the munchkin's birthday cupcakes in this post, but decided the chocolate cupcakes needed a post of their own!
Whereas I was happy with a modified muffin for the vanilla version, I needed to try 2 chocolate recipes to find a winner. The first one was from Weelicious (with whole wheat pastry flour subbed for the all-purpose). They looked great when they came out, but were a little dry (definitely could be the result of my whole wheat substitution) and didn't have quite the chocolatey taste I was hoping for. The second recipe from Sweet + Natural, however, was delicious, even without frosting! They came out moist, light, and really chocolatey - almost like a souffle consistency, which makes sense given that the recipe has 3 eggs in it! As an added bonus for some of you out there, this recipe is also gluten-free. I am not concerned about gluten, but I did like that these muffins used high protein and high fiber coconut flour instead of whole wheat for a change.
I used the coordinating chocolate frosting recipe from the same site, but with a few modifications (see my rant on frosting here for more details!). First, I eliminated the peppermint since I was going for a more traditional flavor. I also decided to lighten it a bit by reducing the sugar and using neufchatel cheese (already in my fridge from the vanilla version!) in place of half of the buter. I don't generally harp on nutrition calculations, but I think it's noteworthy that neufchatel cheese has less than half the calories and 1/4 the fat of butter, so this makes a big difference with what I would consider no compromise in taste or texture! Let me tell you, this frosting is delicious, and so easy. I generally don't like chocolate frosting altogether, but I could not get enough of this one, and the feedback from others was just as positive! As some final inspiration for the skeptics out there, I'll share a conversation between two of the mommies at the party, which was overheard by hubby:
Mommy 1: Did Alissa make these cupcakes?
Mommy 2: Yeah, which probably means they're all organic and healthy...
Mommy 1: I don't care what's in them, they're delicious!
Which is exactly the reaction I was going for :)
Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
adapted from Sweet + Natural
Cupcakes:
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375. Spray mini cupcake pan with cooking spray or line with mini-cupcake papers and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, oil, agave and vanilla extract until well-combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour or scoop 1 tablespoon batter into each muffin cup and bake for about 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (note: the first time I made these 10 minutes was perfect, the second time I needed 15 - no idea why, so be sure to test for doneness!).
Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 stick)
2 oz neufchatel cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk (any kind, dairy or non-dairy, should work)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
dash of salt
While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting by blending together all ingredients with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
Once cupcakes cool, spread frosting on top.
Do ahead: I made the cupcakes a couple of days in advance and froze them in a plastic bag until the day of the party. I also made the frosting the day before, covered it tightly with plastic wrap, and left it in the refrigerator. Right before the party, I frosted the cupcakes straight from the freezer - they were defrosted by the time I got through the batch and everything tasted perfect!
Makes 22 teeny tiny cupcakes with extra frosting forsnacking after the party another use :)
Whereas I was happy with a modified muffin for the vanilla version, I needed to try 2 chocolate recipes to find a winner. The first one was from Weelicious (with whole wheat pastry flour subbed for the all-purpose). They looked great when they came out, but were a little dry (definitely could be the result of my whole wheat substitution) and didn't have quite the chocolatey taste I was hoping for. The second recipe from Sweet + Natural, however, was delicious, even without frosting! They came out moist, light, and really chocolatey - almost like a souffle consistency, which makes sense given that the recipe has 3 eggs in it! As an added bonus for some of you out there, this recipe is also gluten-free. I am not concerned about gluten, but I did like that these muffins used high protein and high fiber coconut flour instead of whole wheat for a change.
I used the coordinating chocolate frosting recipe from the same site, but with a few modifications (see my rant on frosting here for more details!). First, I eliminated the peppermint since I was going for a more traditional flavor. I also decided to lighten it a bit by reducing the sugar and using neufchatel cheese (already in my fridge from the vanilla version!) in place of half of the buter. I don't generally harp on nutrition calculations, but I think it's noteworthy that neufchatel cheese has less than half the calories and 1/4 the fat of butter, so this makes a big difference with what I would consider no compromise in taste or texture! Let me tell you, this frosting is delicious, and so easy. I generally don't like chocolate frosting altogether, but I could not get enough of this one, and the feedback from others was just as positive! As some final inspiration for the skeptics out there, I'll share a conversation between two of the mommies at the party, which was overheard by hubby:
Mommy 1: Did Alissa make these cupcakes?
Mommy 2: Yeah, which probably means they're all organic and healthy...
Mommy 1: I don't care what's in them, they're delicious!
Which is exactly the reaction I was going for :)
Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
adapted from Sweet + Natural
Cupcakes:
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375. Spray mini cupcake pan with cooking spray or line with mini-cupcake papers and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, oil, agave and vanilla extract until well-combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour or scoop 1 tablespoon batter into each muffin cup and bake for about 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (note: the first time I made these 10 minutes was perfect, the second time I needed 15 - no idea why, so be sure to test for doneness!).
Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 stick)
2 oz neufchatel cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk (any kind, dairy or non-dairy, should work)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
dash of salt
While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting by blending together all ingredients with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
Once cupcakes cool, spread frosting on top.
Do ahead: I made the cupcakes a couple of days in advance and froze them in a plastic bag until the day of the party. I also made the frosting the day before, covered it tightly with plastic wrap, and left it in the refrigerator. Right before the party, I frosted the cupcakes straight from the freezer - they were defrosted by the time I got through the batch and everything tasted perfect!
Makes 22 teeny tiny cupcakes with extra frosting for
Birthday Cupcakes
I'd like to start this post by wishing my little munchkin a very happy birthday! I cannot believe it's been 2 years already, and at the same time I can't believe how grown up she is - talking and singing, jumping and climbing, and even knowing enough to get excited about her own birthday party :)
In honor of the munchkin's birthday, we hosted a small party with some of her friends at a local play space. Rather than have the party during a meal time, I decided to just serve a snack - cupcakes, pretzels, animal crackers, and water. The party place would provide all the food if we wanted, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to make some cupcakes that were a little more wholesome than what's typically served. You may recall that I also decided to make cupcakes for the muchkin's first birthday last year, but fortunately I've learned a lot about healthier baking in the past year, and was able to spare my guests hidden blueberries and spinach hidden this time ;). After a lot of internet searching and thinking, I decided to make 2 kinds - vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, and chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
But before I get to the recipes, I wanted to share some thoughts on frosting - did you all know that frosting is actually really easy to make?? I didn't! For most of my life, I was convinced by Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker that frosting only comes in a round container with scary ingredients. If you don't believe me, see for yourself - here is the ingredient list for some "home-style" vanilla frosting:
Sugar, Vegetable Oil Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean And Cottonseed Oils, Mon-And Diglycerides, Polysorbate 60), Water, Corn Syrup. Contains 2% Or Less Of: Corn Starch, Salt, Colored With (Titanium Dioxide, Yellow 5, Red 40), Natural And Artificial Flavors, Rum, Caramel Color, Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate), Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate.
Ack! How many of you have those ingredients in your home?? Impressively, this includes every ingredient category I try to avoid...trans fats (a.k.a. partially hydrogenated oils), artificial flavors, artificial colors, and preservatives. But I believed that you have to be an expert baker to actually make frosting at home, and that it required a lot of effort. I was SO wrong and will never go back...even without efforts to lower the fat and sugar, home-made frosting is way more wholesome in that it will include real ingredients like butter, sugar, and pure vanilla extract, and can be made in minutes by anyone who owns a mixing bowl and a hand mixer. Plus, I have also discovered that a few tweaks can help the fat and sugar content quite a bit without sacrificing taste.
The first trick is to use cream cheese! Cream cheese is not exactly a low fat food, but tablespoon for tablespoon, even the full fat variety has half the fat and calories as butter, which is the traditional base for frosting. Sub a low-fat variety (like Neufchatel) and you're now at less than half the calories and one quarter the fat of butter. As you'll see in the cupcake recipes, I actually used a combination of cream cheese and butter so that the frosting would taste a little more traditional, but would have some of the benefit of the substitution. The second trick is to add sugar slowly. I found I was able to reduce the sugar in both recipes I found and still have a frosting that was plenty sweet by starting with about 1/2 to 2/3 the recommended amount and increasing only as needed.
In honor of the munchkin's birthday, we hosted a small party with some of her friends at a local play space. Rather than have the party during a meal time, I decided to just serve a snack - cupcakes, pretzels, animal crackers, and water. The party place would provide all the food if we wanted, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to make some cupcakes that were a little more wholesome than what's typically served. You may recall that I also decided to make cupcakes for the muchkin's first birthday last year, but fortunately I've learned a lot about healthier baking in the past year, and was able to spare my guests hidden blueberries and spinach hidden this time ;). After a lot of internet searching and thinking, I decided to make 2 kinds - vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, and chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
But before I get to the recipes, I wanted to share some thoughts on frosting - did you all know that frosting is actually really easy to make?? I didn't! For most of my life, I was convinced by Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker that frosting only comes in a round container with scary ingredients. If you don't believe me, see for yourself - here is the ingredient list for some "home-style" vanilla frosting:
Sugar, Vegetable Oil Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean And Cottonseed Oils, Mon-And Diglycerides, Polysorbate 60), Water, Corn Syrup. Contains 2% Or Less Of: Corn Starch, Salt, Colored With (Titanium Dioxide, Yellow 5, Red 40), Natural And Artificial Flavors, Rum, Caramel Color, Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate), Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate.
Ack! How many of you have those ingredients in your home?? Impressively, this includes every ingredient category I try to avoid...trans fats (a.k.a. partially hydrogenated oils), artificial flavors, artificial colors, and preservatives. But I believed that you have to be an expert baker to actually make frosting at home, and that it required a lot of effort. I was SO wrong and will never go back...even without efforts to lower the fat and sugar, home-made frosting is way more wholesome in that it will include real ingredients like butter, sugar, and pure vanilla extract, and can be made in minutes by anyone who owns a mixing bowl and a hand mixer. Plus, I have also discovered that a few tweaks can help the fat and sugar content quite a bit without sacrificing taste.
The first trick is to use cream cheese! Cream cheese is not exactly a low fat food, but tablespoon for tablespoon, even the full fat variety has half the fat and calories as butter, which is the traditional base for frosting. Sub a low-fat variety (like Neufchatel) and you're now at less than half the calories and one quarter the fat of butter. As you'll see in the cupcake recipes, I actually used a combination of cream cheese and butter so that the frosting would taste a little more traditional, but would have some of the benefit of the substitution. The second trick is to add sugar slowly. I found I was able to reduce the sugar in both recipes I found and still have a frosting that was plenty sweet by starting with about 1/2 to 2/3 the recommended amount and increasing only as needed.
For the vanilla cupcakes I actually just adapted 2 recipes I already have - for the base, I made my Whole Wheat Apple Muffins, eliminating the apples and cinnamon, upping the sugar to about 3/4 cup, and adding 2 teaspoons of vanilla. And for the frosting, I used the Cream Cheese Frosting from my Pumpkin Cake, but replaced 4 ounces of the neufchatel cheese with 1/2 cup of softened butter to tone down the cream cheese flavor for the little ones. Both parts of the cupcake were delicious and went over really well, but next time I will probably look for a different recipe for the base - I loved the buttery vanilla flavor, but the texture is dense and, well, muffin-y! Until they were frosted, I didn't realize how much lighter cupcakes generally are.
The chocolate cupcakes required a little more research and testing, but were a huge success! Check this post for the complete story and recipe :)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
---This post is part of my Canadian Thanksgiving series---
I have to apologize, I failed as a food blogger and didn't manage to get my pumpkin cake recipe posted before Thanksgiving! But even if you didn't have the opportunity to make this for Thanksgiving, it is still a great all-purpose recipe. I originally got this recipe after freaking out that my frozen apple crisp was going to be inedible when I reheated it, and therefore I wouldn't have enough dessert (both of which, in hindsight, are ridiculous thoughts - how bad could apple crisp be, really, and even without it we would have had MORE than enough dessert on the table).
In any case, I was complaining to my friend who offered up this pumpkin cake recipe which could not possibly be easier to make. It requires one mixing bowl, a 1 cup and a 1 tsp measure, and a mixing instrument. You seriously can't mess it up, and, while not the most healthy recipe out there, it is simple and tasty. In the future I'd like to try lightening it up with less sugar, some whole wheat flour, and possibly some applesauce in place of some of the oil - I will let you know how it goes when I do! But for Thanksgiving, of course, I decided to make it even more decadent by adding some cream cheese frosting, which was absolutely delicious, but not at all necessary to make the cake enjoyable. As a side note, this frosting is incredibly easy, too. I will have more info on frosting in a future post (my little munchkin is turning 2 and it's cupcake time!), but in the mean time, please know that it is not difficult to make frosting that is tastier and way more wholesome than anything you can buy in a tub :)
Pumpkin Cake
adapted from a friend
2 cups all purpose flour
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 14 oz can pumpkin
4 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350. Butter or spray a bundt pan or 9x13 baking dish.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for approximately 35 minutes until lightly brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely before frosting (optional; see recipe below).
Do ahead: This cake was perfect made a few days in advance and frozen, wrapped tightly with foil. Just defrost at room temperature, frost (if you want), and serve!
Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Sweet + Natural
12 ounces Neufchatel cheese
2-2 1/2 cups unrefined powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Blend ingredients with an electric hand mixer until smooth, starting with 2 cups of sugar and adding more as needed to get to your desired sweetness level. Note that you do NOT have to soften the cheese, it works just fine straight from the fridge.
Do ahead: The frosting holds up perfectly made 1-2 days in advance and refrigerated with a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the frosting. If you have a sturdy bowl with a lid, even better - just mix it up in that bowl, throw some plastic wrap on before putting on the lid, and refrigerate until you're ready to use!
I have to apologize, I failed as a food blogger and didn't manage to get my pumpkin cake recipe posted before Thanksgiving! But even if you didn't have the opportunity to make this for Thanksgiving, it is still a great all-purpose recipe. I originally got this recipe after freaking out that my frozen apple crisp was going to be inedible when I reheated it, and therefore I wouldn't have enough dessert (both of which, in hindsight, are ridiculous thoughts - how bad could apple crisp be, really, and even without it we would have had MORE than enough dessert on the table).
In any case, I was complaining to my friend who offered up this pumpkin cake recipe which could not possibly be easier to make. It requires one mixing bowl, a 1 cup and a 1 tsp measure, and a mixing instrument. You seriously can't mess it up, and, while not the most healthy recipe out there, it is simple and tasty. In the future I'd like to try lightening it up with less sugar, some whole wheat flour, and possibly some applesauce in place of some of the oil - I will let you know how it goes when I do! But for Thanksgiving, of course, I decided to make it even more decadent by adding some cream cheese frosting, which was absolutely delicious, but not at all necessary to make the cake enjoyable. As a side note, this frosting is incredibly easy, too. I will have more info on frosting in a future post (my little munchkin is turning 2 and it's cupcake time!), but in the mean time, please know that it is not difficult to make frosting that is tastier and way more wholesome than anything you can buy in a tub :)
Pumpkin Cake
adapted from a friend
2 cups all purpose flour
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 14 oz can pumpkin
4 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350. Butter or spray a bundt pan or 9x13 baking dish.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for approximately 35 minutes until lightly brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely before frosting (optional; see recipe below).
Do ahead: This cake was perfect made a few days in advance and frozen, wrapped tightly with foil. Just defrost at room temperature, frost (if you want), and serve!
Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Sweet + Natural
12 ounces Neufchatel cheese
2-2 1/2 cups unrefined powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Blend ingredients with an electric hand mixer until smooth, starting with 2 cups of sugar and adding more as needed to get to your desired sweetness level. Note that you do NOT have to soften the cheese, it works just fine straight from the fridge.
Do ahead: The frosting holds up perfectly made 1-2 days in advance and refrigerated with a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the frosting. If you have a sturdy bowl with a lid, even better - just mix it up in that bowl, throw some plastic wrap on before putting on the lid, and refrigerate until you're ready to use!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Apple Crisp
---This post is part of my Canadian Thanksgiving series---
Well friends, we have finally made it to dessert in my Canadian Thanksgiving feast! Sorry for cutting this so close to our American Thanksgiving; it's become harder and harder to carve out time to get through my blog backlog. But even if this doesn't make it into your holiday menu, it is a great, all purpose recipe to file away. Back when I was in college, one of my roommates made a delicious apple crisp. I can't remember anymore whether my mom actually tasted it or I just told her about it, but somewhere along the line the recipe was passed on. My mom has since made this tons of times and when I asked my friend about it recently, she could barely remember making it! So I think it's safe to say my mom now gets the credit for the current version, as who knows how many changes have been made in the last decade.
I love apple crisp as a dessert option, especially when trying to come up with a non-chocolate addition to the table. In my opinion, pie crust is a bit of a waste of calories - I certainly don't mind it, but I don't love it either. If it were healthy that would be great, but generally it's not worth eating something so unhealthy if I'm not getting a lot of enjoyment out of it. Crumb topping, on the other hand, gives me LOTS of enjoyment! And it even has some redeeming qualities with the oats :). I'm not trying to say this is healthfood, but all things considered, fruit is good for you, oats are good for you, and there is not a crazy amount of sugar or butter in this recipe, making it quite a wholesome choice as far as desserts go.
It is also fairly simple to make, although I will warn that peeling and chopping apples always takes longer than I think it should, which is why I wanted to make this dessert ahead. I knew I had bought a frozen apple crumb pie once that came with directions on how to bake in the oven at home, but when asking around and searching the internet, everyone seemed to have a different opinion on the best way, if at all, to make a crisp ahead of time. Should I refrigerate or freeze? Cook it completely or freeze the apples raw and then cook that day? Thaw before heating up or put in the oven frozen? In the end, I decided to go against much of the advice and just cook it through, freeze, and reheat in the oven after letting it thaw a bit (mainly because I was scared my baking dish would crack if I put it right from the freezer into a hot oven). And guess what - it worked perfectly! So in case you were wondering, YES, you can make apple crisp ahead and freeze it! I include some more detail below on how to do this.
One caveat before I go on - some of my measurements are estimates or missing. Please bear with me and rest assured that there is a LOT of leeway in this recipe and I think your judgment will be just fine :)
Apple Crisp
from my mom!
8-10 medium granny smith apples (or your favorite baking apple)
Cinnamon
Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
Cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9x13 (or equivalent) baking pan.
Peel, core, and slice apples into 8 wedges each. Mound in baking pan and toss with cinnamon - they should be piled pretty high as they will cook down a lot.
Mix all topping ingredients together. There should be enough butter so that mixture is all "wet". Sprinkle over apples and shove into crevices between apples as well.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until apples are soft to your liking (I like my crisp to resemble applesauce with crumb topping, so check sooner if you prefer crunchier apples). Don't worry if the crisp is still piled up high when you take it out; it will "deflate" as it cools.
Serve warm, either right after baking, by refrigerating for 1-2 days and reheating in oven, or freezing and reheating in oven after letting it thaw for a couple of hours.
Well friends, we have finally made it to dessert in my Canadian Thanksgiving feast! Sorry for cutting this so close to our American Thanksgiving; it's become harder and harder to carve out time to get through my blog backlog. But even if this doesn't make it into your holiday menu, it is a great, all purpose recipe to file away. Back when I was in college, one of my roommates made a delicious apple crisp. I can't remember anymore whether my mom actually tasted it or I just told her about it, but somewhere along the line the recipe was passed on. My mom has since made this tons of times and when I asked my friend about it recently, she could barely remember making it! So I think it's safe to say my mom now gets the credit for the current version, as who knows how many changes have been made in the last decade.
I love apple crisp as a dessert option, especially when trying to come up with a non-chocolate addition to the table. In my opinion, pie crust is a bit of a waste of calories - I certainly don't mind it, but I don't love it either. If it were healthy that would be great, but generally it's not worth eating something so unhealthy if I'm not getting a lot of enjoyment out of it. Crumb topping, on the other hand, gives me LOTS of enjoyment! And it even has some redeeming qualities with the oats :). I'm not trying to say this is healthfood, but all things considered, fruit is good for you, oats are good for you, and there is not a crazy amount of sugar or butter in this recipe, making it quite a wholesome choice as far as desserts go.
It is also fairly simple to make, although I will warn that peeling and chopping apples always takes longer than I think it should, which is why I wanted to make this dessert ahead. I knew I had bought a frozen apple crumb pie once that came with directions on how to bake in the oven at home, but when asking around and searching the internet, everyone seemed to have a different opinion on the best way, if at all, to make a crisp ahead of time. Should I refrigerate or freeze? Cook it completely or freeze the apples raw and then cook that day? Thaw before heating up or put in the oven frozen? In the end, I decided to go against much of the advice and just cook it through, freeze, and reheat in the oven after letting it thaw a bit (mainly because I was scared my baking dish would crack if I put it right from the freezer into a hot oven). And guess what - it worked perfectly! So in case you were wondering, YES, you can make apple crisp ahead and freeze it! I include some more detail below on how to do this.
One caveat before I go on - some of my measurements are estimates or missing. Please bear with me and rest assured that there is a LOT of leeway in this recipe and I think your judgment will be just fine :)
Apple Crisp
from my mom!
8-10 medium granny smith apples (or your favorite baking apple)
Cinnamon
Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
Cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9x13 (or equivalent) baking pan.
Peel, core, and slice apples into 8 wedges each. Mound in baking pan and toss with cinnamon - they should be piled pretty high as they will cook down a lot.
Mix all topping ingredients together. There should be enough butter so that mixture is all "wet". Sprinkle over apples and shove into crevices between apples as well.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until apples are soft to your liking (I like my crisp to resemble applesauce with crumb topping, so check sooner if you prefer crunchier apples). Don't worry if the crisp is still piled up high when you take it out; it will "deflate" as it cools.
Serve warm, either right after baking, by refrigerating for 1-2 days and reheating in oven, or freezing and reheating in oven after letting it thaw for a couple of hours.
Monday, September 20, 2010
One Bowl Brownies
There is a debate in my family about brownies. My mom thinks that Duncan Hines makes the best brownies, and I used to agree. But once I started reading labels I just couldn't bring myself to make anything that includes ingredients like partially hydrogenated oil and artificial flavors. Brownies shouldn't need factory processed chemicals to be delicious! And to be honest, once I started thinking about what's in them, they stopped tasting as good to me...I don't know if my taste changed or my mind got in the way of my enjoyment, but I decided there has to be a better alternative.
So I set out on the somewhat bizarre quest to make brownies that taste as "good" as the ones that come from the box! I've tried out a few recipes that were promising, but none really blew me away, and my mother still won't let me make brownies for any family function based on my previous experiments. So when I saw a recipe on Smitten Kitchen that Deb specifically said would appeal to those who love the boxed variety, I was intrigued! I wanted to make brownies for my brother's family for the Yom Kippur break fast, which presented the perfect opportunity to test the new recipe out on my 5-year-old nephew who also loves brownies from a box.
I thought these brownies were absolutely delicious - dense, fudgy, and such a rich chocolate taste. My nephew (and everyone else at the table) seemed to agree! And the best part of this recipe is that it is made in just one bowl (plus a pot that just gets wet, not dirty), with one mixing utensil, and with ingredients that you may very well have in your kitchen already - I didn't have to buy a thing!
So while the holidays have not been the best opportunity to showcase healthy cooking, I feel good that through my experiments with spinach leek dip and brownies, I've proven to myself that we don't need chemicals in neat little packages to have tasty special occasion indulgences - good old wholesome ingredients still do the trick, and the effort involved does not need to be monumental. Take that food manufacturers! :)
One Bowl Brownies
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder (this seems like an awfully fussy measurement to me...it simply means 2 tablespoons short of a cup, which I'd call a scant cup - I just didn't fill my cup all the way and it worked fine!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl on top of a pot of barely simmering water. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the pot and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added.
Stir in the vanilla, and then add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes. Stir in the nuts, if using (I didn't). Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, approximately 30 minutes.
Let cool completely on a rack. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares.
Makes 16 smallish brownies
So I set out on the somewhat bizarre quest to make brownies that taste as "good" as the ones that come from the box! I've tried out a few recipes that were promising, but none really blew me away, and my mother still won't let me make brownies for any family function based on my previous experiments. So when I saw a recipe on Smitten Kitchen that Deb specifically said would appeal to those who love the boxed variety, I was intrigued! I wanted to make brownies for my brother's family for the Yom Kippur break fast, which presented the perfect opportunity to test the new recipe out on my 5-year-old nephew who also loves brownies from a box.
I thought these brownies were absolutely delicious - dense, fudgy, and such a rich chocolate taste. My nephew (and everyone else at the table) seemed to agree! And the best part of this recipe is that it is made in just one bowl (plus a pot that just gets wet, not dirty), with one mixing utensil, and with ingredients that you may very well have in your kitchen already - I didn't have to buy a thing!
So while the holidays have not been the best opportunity to showcase healthy cooking, I feel good that through my experiments with spinach leek dip and brownies, I've proven to myself that we don't need chemicals in neat little packages to have tasty special occasion indulgences - good old wholesome ingredients still do the trick, and the effort involved does not need to be monumental. Take that food manufacturers! :)
Btw, how cool is this picture? Thanks hubby!
One Bowl Brownies
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder (this seems like an awfully fussy measurement to me...it simply means 2 tablespoons short of a cup, which I'd call a scant cup - I just didn't fill my cup all the way and it worked fine!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl on top of a pot of barely simmering water. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the pot and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added.
Stir in the vanilla, and then add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes. Stir in the nuts, if using (I didn't). Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, approximately 30 minutes.
Let cool completely on a rack. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares.
Makes 16 smallish brownies
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Double Chocolate Cookies
Last weekend, hubby requested a family dinner out for Father's Day. With the munchkin's 6:30pm bedtime, we don't often go out for dinner as a family because really, who wants to eat at 5pm?? But for Father's Day, hubby gets whatever we want, so at 4:45pm we packed up and headed out to try an Italian restaurant in our neighborhood that had outdoor seating, a perfect way to enjoy this beautiful almost-summer evening. As a side note to this post, I have to say that the munchkin was outrageously cute on this outing! She had the entire waitstaff who was, shockingly, not too busy while we were there lined up as an audience to watch her perform - she learned how to dip bread in olive oil, she attempted to eat her pasta with a fork, and she even demanded a napkin for her lap so that she could wipe her face after every bite - priceless! I have no idea how she got to be such a little lady at only 18 months, but we could not have been more proud :)
Getting back to the point, the reason this early dinner outing is relevant is because we realized that we would be done with dinner by 6:30, which left an entire evening for a yummy dessert creation! I contemplated a chocolate mousse recipe I tried ages ago and have been meaning to make again, but the mousse needed to be refrigerated for at least an hour, which sounded annoying for this occasion. Instead, I decided that cookies would be perfect - I'd have plenty of time to make the dough and it would be great to have them fresh out of the oven.
Ellie Krieger has a recipe for Triple Chocolate Cookies that gets amazing reviews. I've come across this recipe a few times but have never had a good reason to try it out. Bingo. But of course, I couldn't resist making a few changes - some for taste preference (avoiding milk chocolate - hence the Double instead of Triple chocolate in my version!), some for health (more whole wheat flour and less sugar), and some for convenience (all brown sugar instead of some granulated since I was out). I had to make several batches to get the baking time right, but the end result is a really yummy and rich (they really needed a glass of milk!) chocolate cookie. I do have a few complaints, though - first, they spread a little more than I would have expected (I even refrigerated the dough - any suggestions???), you can definitely detect the whole wheat flour if you're paying attention, and they get cakey (instead of crisp on the outside) after day 1.
But overall I really enjoyed them and found them to be 100% capable of satisfying a cookie craving. I think these have a lot of potential for personalizing, too - add coconut, use dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet, add a dash of espresso powder, maybe even throw in some white chocolate or butterscotch chips? The possibilities are endless, and with less butter and sugar and the addition of whole wheat flour as compared to traditional cookies, these are a dessert I feel good about indulging in.
Double Chocolate Cookies
adapted from Food Network
1/4 cup butter, softened (this is half a stick)
1/2 cup (rounded) firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (I wouldn't recommend subbing regular whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chocolate chips/chopped chocolate (I used all semi-sweet chips; use whatever kind or combination you want!)
2/3 cup chopped nuts (e.g., pecans, walnuts - totally optional!)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mash together the butter and sugars with a fork until well combined. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy (you could use a hand mixer here, but I just whisked vigorously and it seemed to get creamy enough!). Mix in the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and mix well.
Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool for a few minutes and eat while still warm.
Makes 24 small cookies
Getting back to the point, the reason this early dinner outing is relevant is because we realized that we would be done with dinner by 6:30, which left an entire evening for a yummy dessert creation! I contemplated a chocolate mousse recipe I tried ages ago and have been meaning to make again, but the mousse needed to be refrigerated for at least an hour, which sounded annoying for this occasion. Instead, I decided that cookies would be perfect - I'd have plenty of time to make the dough and it would be great to have them fresh out of the oven.
Ellie Krieger has a recipe for Triple Chocolate Cookies that gets amazing reviews. I've come across this recipe a few times but have never had a good reason to try it out. Bingo. But of course, I couldn't resist making a few changes - some for taste preference (avoiding milk chocolate - hence the Double instead of Triple chocolate in my version!), some for health (more whole wheat flour and less sugar), and some for convenience (all brown sugar instead of some granulated since I was out). I had to make several batches to get the baking time right, but the end result is a really yummy and rich (they really needed a glass of milk!) chocolate cookie. I do have a few complaints, though - first, they spread a little more than I would have expected (I even refrigerated the dough - any suggestions???), you can definitely detect the whole wheat flour if you're paying attention, and they get cakey (instead of crisp on the outside) after day 1.
But overall I really enjoyed them and found them to be 100% capable of satisfying a cookie craving. I think these have a lot of potential for personalizing, too - add coconut, use dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet, add a dash of espresso powder, maybe even throw in some white chocolate or butterscotch chips? The possibilities are endless, and with less butter and sugar and the addition of whole wheat flour as compared to traditional cookies, these are a dessert I feel good about indulging in.
Double Chocolate Cookies
adapted from Food Network
1/4 cup butter, softened (this is half a stick)
1/2 cup (rounded) firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (I wouldn't recommend subbing regular whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chocolate chips/chopped chocolate (I used all semi-sweet chips; use whatever kind or combination you want!)
2/3 cup chopped nuts (e.g., pecans, walnuts - totally optional!)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mash together the butter and sugars with a fork until well combined. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy (you could use a hand mixer here, but I just whisked vigorously and it seemed to get creamy enough!). Mix in the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and mix well.
Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool for a few minutes and eat while still warm.
Makes 24 small cookies
Monday, April 26, 2010
Blueberry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know about my quest for the perfect oatmeal cookie (see here and here if you're just catching up!). Well, a couple of months ago I discovered Sweet + Natural, a great blog for desserts made with wholesome ingredients. I've already had great success with Carrot Cupcakes and Banana Pumpkin Oat Muffins from the site, so I thought I'd give her Blueberry Coconut "Oaties" a try, too! The idea of throwing dried blueberries into a cookie was intriguing, and the recipe was pleasantly healthy for a cookie - if eaten in moderation (not easy!), they are moderate in sugar, have oil instead of butter, and get lots of good nutrition from oats, whole wheat flour, and blueberries.
After a couple of taste testers, the concensus seems to be that the blueberries could easily pass for raisins if they didn't know better, so feel free to use whichever you have/prefer. But the cookies themselves came out great. Not the most moist I've ever had, but I didn't miss the butter or extra sugar in a traditional recipe. I think the quest may have to continue, though, for a more decadent version when I'm in need!
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened dried blueberries
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and oats. In a separate larger bowl, mix together oil, sugar, egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until blended. Stir in blueberries and coconut.
Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes to make it easier to work with (it will be sticky if used right away). Preheat oven to 350 when you put them into the fridge or whenever you are ready to bake.
Roll tablespoons into balls (I used my 1 tablespoon cookie scoop), flatten slightly and place on cookie sheet (note that these cookies do not spread at all, so make them into whatever shape you want your final cookie to be). Bake approximately 8 minutes until edges are just barely starting to brown.
Makes 24 small cookies
After a couple of taste testers, the concensus seems to be that the blueberries could easily pass for raisins if they didn't know better, so feel free to use whichever you have/prefer. But the cookies themselves came out great. Not the most moist I've ever had, but I didn't miss the butter or extra sugar in a traditional recipe. I think the quest may have to continue, though, for a more decadent version when I'm in need!
Blueberry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Sweet + Natural
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened dried blueberries
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and oats. In a separate larger bowl, mix together oil, sugar, egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until blended. Stir in blueberries and coconut.
Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes to make it easier to work with (it will be sticky if used right away). Preheat oven to 350 when you put them into the fridge or whenever you are ready to bake.
Roll tablespoons into balls (I used my 1 tablespoon cookie scoop), flatten slightly and place on cookie sheet (note that these cookies do not spread at all, so make them into whatever shape you want your final cookie to be). Bake approximately 8 minutes until edges are just barely starting to brown.
Makes 24 small cookies
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Carrot Cupcakes with Yogurt Glaze
Today we had plans to go visit some friends who just bought a beautiful house out in the 'burbs, and I volunteered to bring dessert. Obviously I decided this was the perfect opportunity to try baking something new, and I immediately started scouring some classic sources - Smitten Kitchen (this recipe in particular) and my Baked cookbook (fabulous birthday present with my favorite brownies!), both of which are full of truly decadent choices. I figured this visit was a special occasion, worthy of indulgence.
And then hubby had to go and remind me of my commitment to finding healthier choices. He asked if there wasn't something I could make that would be both delicious AND worthy of calling wholesome? I had to take on the challenge, and I am so glad I did...because after some internet searching I came across a food blog that I am so excited about - Sweet + Natural. This blog contains tons of recipes for the most delicious sounding baked goods which contain all wholesome ingredients - no refined flour or sweeteners, and substitutions for healthier fat sources and levels. I was so overwhelmed by the choices that I e-mailed my friend to help narrow things down for today, but I have a list of new recipes to try!
The winner for today's dessert was carrot cake with yogurt glaze. The only modifications I made were to convert to cupcakes (shorter cooking time and half the glaze because I only needed to coat 1 layer) and to use 3 whole eggs instead of 2 whole + 2 whites because I hate throwing away an extra egg. Plus, the recipe was already low-fat so I didn't mind a little extra in the 3rd yoke. Overall these were a huge success! The cake was incredibly moist and flavorful, and the yogurt glaze added just enough tang and sweetness without being overpowering. Plus, the cupcakes have the same low amount of added sugar (1/2 cup for 12 muffin equivalent) as most of my healthy muffin recipes and are packed with vegetables and whole grains, so I felt totally comfortable giving them to the munchkin without the glaze and was excited when she gobbled one up!
The only issue I had was that the cupcakes stuck to their papers more than I would have expected, but my friend in Brooklyn just sent me an article that suggests it may just be due to the agave in the recipe. And the good news was that they stuck less the next day after fully cooling than right after I made them.
Overall, I cannot wait to try more of the recipes on Sweet + Natural - I'll keep you posted on how they turn out!
And then hubby had to go and remind me of my commitment to finding healthier choices. He asked if there wasn't something I could make that would be both delicious AND worthy of calling wholesome? I had to take on the challenge, and I am so glad I did...because after some internet searching I came across a food blog that I am so excited about - Sweet + Natural. This blog contains tons of recipes for the most delicious sounding baked goods which contain all wholesome ingredients - no refined flour or sweeteners, and substitutions for healthier fat sources and levels. I was so overwhelmed by the choices that I e-mailed my friend to help narrow things down for today, but I have a list of new recipes to try!
The winner for today's dessert was carrot cake with yogurt glaze. The only modifications I made were to convert to cupcakes (shorter cooking time and half the glaze because I only needed to coat 1 layer) and to use 3 whole eggs instead of 2 whole + 2 whites because I hate throwing away an extra egg. Plus, the recipe was already low-fat so I didn't mind a little extra in the 3rd yoke. Overall these were a huge success! The cake was incredibly moist and flavorful, and the yogurt glaze added just enough tang and sweetness without being overpowering. Plus, the cupcakes have the same low amount of added sugar (1/2 cup for 12 muffin equivalent) as most of my healthy muffin recipes and are packed with vegetables and whole grains, so I felt totally comfortable giving them to the munchkin without the glaze and was excited when she gobbled one up!
The only issue I had was that the cupcakes stuck to their papers more than I would have expected, but my friend in Brooklyn just sent me an article that suggests it may just be due to the agave in the recipe. And the good news was that they stuck less the next day after fully cooling than right after I made them.
Overall, I cannot wait to try more of the recipes on Sweet + Natural - I'll keep you posted on how they turn out!
Carrot Cupcakes with Yogurt Glaze
adapted from Sweet + Natural
Cake:
3 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup agave nectar
3 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
Yogurt Glaze:
3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350. Line 1 1/2 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners (recipe makes 18 standard cupcakes).
In a large bowl, mix together carrots, coconut, agave, eggs, applesauce and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until well blended. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make yogurt glaze by whisking together all ingredients except the walnuts.
Once the cupcakes are cool, poke holes in them using a fork (this allows the glaze to seep in) and remove from pans. Place on a piece of parchment or wax paper and pour a thin coating of yogurt glaze on each cupcake. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Makes 18 cupcakes.
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