Almond-Quinoa Muffins

There are certain recipes that deserve repeating. I wanted to try these Almond-Quinoa Muffins again, but this time with a few changes. They are from a great cookbook- Veganomicon- and I wanted to make them using low-fat buttermilk instead of soy milk.

I made few other small changes and the muffins turned out just as delicious as they did the first couple of times that I made them. I've mentioned before that one of the reasons that I love to make muffins is that they aren't supposed to be super sweet and they can be a really healthy snack or breakfast option.

These are a really great way to use leftover cooked quinoa. I love to use red quinoa when I make these because it makes them look interesting. The addition of cardamom in this muffin adds a really great depth to the flavor. I made a double batch and still have some in the freezer, so we can pop them in the microwave for a quick snack!

Almond-Quinoa Muffins from Veganomicon

• 1 cup vanilla soy milk (I used low-fat buttermilk)
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 1/4 cup canola oil (I used 1 Tbls canola oil and 3 Tbls unsweetened applesauce)
  
• 1/4 cup agave nectar or pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour (I used white whole wheat)
  
• 1/4 cup almond meal almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1 1/4 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots or currants

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a non-stick 12-cup muffin tin.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the soy milk (buttermilk) and ground flaxseed. Allow to sit for 1 minute, then whisk in oil, agave nectar and vanilla.
In a separate large bowl, sift together flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just incorporated. Gently fold in the cooked quinoa and the apricots and mix until only the large lumps are gone.
Pour into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Ginger Sugar Cookies, Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, Chocolate Peppermint Bars, and Chewy, Chunky Blondies w/ holiday add-ins

These are the cookies that I made and sent in the mail to some family members. When I am making a bunch of treats at the same time, I always try to choose a variety of flavors and textures. Since it is Christmas time, I made sure to choose some cookies that had appropriate flavors for this time of year. Ginger, pumpkin, peppermint, cranberries, etc.

I recently received a copy of The Gourmet Cookie Book, a cookbook in which the best cookie from the pages of Gourmet magazine was chosen for each year, from 1941-2009.
I thumbed through this book and chose a couple of recipes to try. The ginger sugar cookies stuck out to me because my family loves ginger and they looked like a chewy, delicious cookie.
They smelled yummy and my kids each sampled one. My 4 year old thought they were too spicy, but my other kids loved them.
These pumpkin oatmeal cookies look ordinary enough, but boy are they tasty. I was curious about their flavor, so I ate one. These were sooo good. Usually it seems like oatmeal cookies have all sorts of add-ins, like raisins, or nuts or chocolate chips, but these were so yummy because the stars of the show were just the pumpkin/spices and oatmeal. I will definitely make these again and again.
These chocolate peppermint bars were described by my son as "brownies with candy cane flavor". I didn't try one, but my son really didn't want me to send these in the mail. The batter was hard to spread, but it evened out in the oven. Not very pretty, but good to eat.

The last cookie I made is a classic bar cookie that always gets great reviews- Dorie's Chewy, Chunky Blondies. I have made these multiple times before and they are always a crowd pleaser. Usually they are chock full of nuts, chocolate, toffee bits, coconut-basically whatever you want to add.
This time I decided to add in some holiday flavors, so I went with dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, chopped macadamia nuts and toasted coconut.
These bars are perfect for sharing.

Ginger Sugar Cookies from The Gourmet Cookie Book
March 1965
Cream 3/4 cup softened butter and gradually beat in 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed.
Stir in 1 egg and 1/4 cup molasses and blend thoroughly.
Sift 2 1/4 cups flour with 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp each of cinnamon and ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Gradually blend the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and chill the dough for 1 hour.
Drop by heaping teaspoons into 1-inch balls and dip the tops in sugar.
Arrange the balls at least 3 inches apart on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle each cookie with 2 or 3 drops or water.
Bake the cookies at 375 degrees for about 7 or 8 minutes, or until they are firm.

Chewy, Chunky Blondies adapted from Dorie Greenspan's “Baking: From My Home to Yours” p.109

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup toasted coconut

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and put it on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, cranberries, nuts, and coconut. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best you can.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean.(I usually have to keep adding 5 minutes at a time, until they are done- don't be afraid to let them cook a little longer). The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up.

Cut into 32 bars, each roughly 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies as seen on The Way the Cookie Crumbles

2½ cups (12 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (7 ounces) white sugar
1 cup (7 ounces) packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two baking pans with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and both sugars until fluffy, about one minute. Add the egg, beating until incorporated, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.

3. Drop heaping teaspoons of dough onto the prepared baking pans. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Let the cookies cool slightly on the pans before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe for Chocolate Peppermint Bar Cookies from The Gourmet Cookie Book-
December 2006

Wheat Berries and Roasted Squash Pilaf

Isn't this a beautiful dish?
I thought it was and that is why I tore this recipe out of a recent issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray and wanted to make it ASAP.

I used wheat berries instead of Farro, which added more time to the preparation, but it is completely possible to cook the berries ahead of time and then, you don't have to wait for an hour while they are cooking.

This is a fairly simple dish. Roasted butternut squash, wheat berries, fresh thyme, lemon juice, olive oil, green onions and dried cranberries.
Not too fancy, but you get a little bit of everything-chewy, sweet, salty, tart.

I really liked it. The only thing I would change about it if I made it again would be to take out the dried cranberries (I felt they added too much sweetness, since butternut squash tends to be a little sweet anyway) and add some beans, (maybe garbanzos).

My family was not so kind about this dish. My husband didn't like the squash, my son didn't like the dried cranberries, etc. So, there were a few people around the table who weren't really very pleased with the flavor combinations in this one.

I think it would be a great side dish to a holiday meal (it was intended to be featured at Thanksgiving) and I plan to make it again with a few changes.


Recipe for Farro and Roasted Squash Pilaf
* I used wheat berries instead of Farro

-Homemade Granola Bars

At the end of last school year, my son was always begging me to buy granola bars. All the other kids got granola bars packed in their lunches, some even got chocolate covered granola bars filled with caramel, pb, and chocolate chips.

Well, I am that mother who doesn't buy prepackaged things. I decided that if he wanted granola bars, I would make them.

I was able to taste The Barefoot Contessa's granola bars earlier this year, when Leslie
sent them to me as part of Secret Baker. I knew they were really good, so I decided to use that recipe with the dried fruit and nuts that I happened to have on hand.

These were perfect- chewy, sweet, crunchy and delicious. My son was happy and that made me happy.

Recipe for Homemade Granola Bars from the Barefoot Contessa

*I used dried blueberries, golden raisins, and peanuts instead of dates, apricots and cranberries

*I also added milk chocolate chips, but they melted into the hot granola mixture- (duh!), so these kinda turned out to be chocolate coated granola bars!

A Variety of Mini Scones

On Mother's Day, we had a brunch and program for all the women at church. When we were discussing the menu, we decided to keep it simple. I suggested scones and volunteered to make a few varieties.
I apologize for the bad photos, but they were taken in a rush, on my way out the door to church.

I made a few recipes that I have made before- like these rhubarb and cranberry ones (Yes, I had one last bag of cranberries in the freezer that I used). And I tried a couple new recipes, like the Cherry Chocolate Scones and the Ginger Scones- both were very popular.

I also made a gluten-free scone, but used a gluten free mix and just had to add butter, buttermilk, dried blueberries and lime zest.
I used the Pioneer Womans' directions found in this post, to cut all my scones into minis, making them all much more figure friendly. Each recipe yielded about 30 or so mini-scones.
I also shaped and froze most of the scones ahead of time and just baked them straight from the freezer (just add a few minutes to the baking time)- a tip that Bridget shared on one of her posts about scones.

Recipe for Cherry Chocolate Scones
* I used milk chocolate chips
* I made a glaze with half&half and powdered sugar for these scones

Recipe for Ginger Scones
* I used milk, powdered sugar and ground ginger for the glaze

Recipe for Rhubarb Scones
* I used fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar for the glaze

Recipe for the Cranberry Scones
* this time I left out the egg yolk and used 3/4 cup buttermilk instead of heavy cream
the scones were much easier to shape because the dough wasn't as wet
* I used fresh orange juice, zest and powdered sugar for the glaze

Chewy Oatmeal Cookie/Granola Bars

This month for Secret Baker, we had a healthy theme. We were encouraged to bake something a little bit healthier than usual to send in the mail.
I went to my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook to find a recipe.

I decided to turn the Chewy Oatmeal Cookie recipe into bar cookies and made some changes with the add-ins so the finished product would be kind of like a granola bar.
This recipe contains whole wheat flour and old-fashioned oats for the whole grains.
I decided to use dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, chopped pecans, and chocolate chips as my add-ins.
I also subbed in honey, instead of using dark corn syrup, simply because I didn't have any dark corn syrup.

I put the batter in a 9x13-inch baking pan and estimated the baking time. I went with 25 minutes and when I pulled them out of the oven, they looked done.

I let them cool, and then cut them into bars. I sent 1/2 to my Secret Baker recipient and half to my teenage brother, who adores oats more than almost anything.

I didn't try a single bite of these! ( Part of my goal for 10in10 is to eat less sugar and I am doing really well at not sampling baked goods! Yay!)
I just hoped for the best.

My brother LOVED these. And the SB person I sent them to, said they were really good.

I also recieved some goodies from Leslie, who blogs over at Lethally Delicious.
She sent me The Barefoot Contessa's (Ina Garten) Granola Bars and Fruit and Nut Squares from Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies. Here is a similar recipe.
Both of these treats were really delicious!
Thanks Leslie!


Chewy Oatmeal Cookie/Granola Bars adapted from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking

3/4th cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
3 Tbls dark corn syrup (I used honey)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbls cider vinegar
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cups traditional whole wheat flour
2 cups dried fruit: diced dried apples, chopped dates, dried cranberries, raisins, chopped dried apricots, or dried fruit of your choice (I used 1 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used 3/4 cup chopped pecans and 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

Cream the butter, sugar, corn syrup, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat in the egg. Add the oats, flour, dried fruit and nuts, and stir to combine.
Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies, reversing the pans midway through, (top to bottom, bottom to top), until they're beginning to brown around the edges but are still soft in the center, 14 minutes. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

* I spread the batter in a 9*13 inch baking pan and baked them for 25 minutes.

twd-Cran-Apple Crisps

Cran-Apple Crisps were chosen in November for Tuesdays with Dorie by Em, The Repressed Pastry Chef. This pick was for last week, but since we can post out of order this month I am posting these today. You can find the recipe by going to this post on Em's blog.
I love cranberries and apples, but crisps and/or cobblers are one of my least favorite desserts to make and eat. They are so easy and simple, so that is good but, I don't love warm, sugary fruit.
In this case that turned out to be a good thing, because I could take a small bite and walk away without any desire to have another bite.
Another good thing about this recipe was that my 5 yr old and almost 3 yr old (b-day next week) made the crisps with almost no help from me.
I let them mix the topping with their fingers, stir together the filling ingredients and layer them in the dishes.
I made 1/4 of the recipe in 2 small baking dishes. My girls were super excited to eat these, probably because they had made them. They loved them. I tried a bite and thought it was good. I like how the cranberries added tartness, as usually crisps are overly sweet, imo.
I made a couple of changes to the recipe. I used sliced, toasted almonds in the topping instead of coconut+ all whole wheat flour, and let my girls cut the butter into the topping with their fingers, so the topping was nice and oaty/nutty since it didn't get pulverized in the food processor. I also reduced the sugar in the filling, so it wouldn't be as sweet.

My girls loved these. I thought they were good, so if you are a HUGE crisp fan or love apple pie/warm apple desserts & cranberries, you would probably love them.
This recipe would be a good one to serve at Thanksgiving since it is definitely a fall recipe.

Go to the TWD Blogroll to see what everyone else made this week!

Pan-Seared Oatmeal with Warm Fruit Compote and Cider Syrup

Here is a great breakfast recipe that can be made the night before and then rewarmed and thrown together in the morning. The star of the show is steel-cut oats.
You make a big batch of oatmeal and then put it in a dish and let it set overnight in the fridge. The next morning it is firm enough to cut into triangles and you pan-fry them in a tiny bit of butter and then add a wonderful syrup and a fruit compote.
I used a dried cranberry and apple mix for the dried fruit and that was my 2-year olds favorite part of this breakfast.
I made this on a weekend morning and it was a really great way to start the day.
It is also a nice twist on the normal bowl of oatmeal. My family really, really liked it and were fighting over the last plate.

Pan-Seared Oatmeal with Warm Fruit Compote and Cider Syrup adapted from Cooking Light

Syrup:

2 cups apple cider

Compote:

2 cups water

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 (7-ounce) package dried mixed fruit bits (I used a dried cranberry and apple pieces mix)

Oatmeal:

3 cups water

1 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups steel-cut (Irish) oats

Cooking spray

1/4 cup butter, divided

To prepare syrup, bring cider to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 20 minutes); set aside.

To prepare compote, combine 2 cups water, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and dried fruit in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until thick.

To prepare oatmeal, combine 3 cups water, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; stir in oats. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Spoon oatmeal into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; cool to room temperature.

Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until set. (I let my set overnight)

Using a sharp knife, cut oatmeal into 8 equal rectangles; cut each rectangle in half diagonally to form 16 triangles.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 8 oatmeal triangles; cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Repeat procedure with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and oatmeal triangles.

Place 2 oatmeal triangles on each of 8 plates, and top each serving with 3 1/2 tablespoons fruit compote and about 2 teaspoons syrup.

Coming Tomorrow- Pork Strips with Peanut Sauce and Rice Noodles