Double Chocolate Berry Nut Muffins
Posted: January 6, 2013 Filed under: Breads, Breakfast Foods, Desserts, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tags: berries, black berries, blueberries, chocolate chips, cocoa, coconut oil, double chocolate muffins, Greek yogurt, nuts, pecans, raspberries, strawberries, yogurt Leave a comment
(Becky, the Mama.)
Food memoirist Alyssa Shelasky described her mother as being a strict health-nut (who’d never eat anything that would “tick off Michael Pollan”), before being green and organic was cool. Alyssa’s school lunches were healthy leftovers like chicken salad and fruit, with notes of hand-written inspiration tucked into the brown bag. Nary a Dorito or Slim Jim in site. And yet, even this Whole Foods Mama had a daily vice. Every morning alongside with her cup of milky white tea, she ate a chocolate packaged snack cake filled with goopy marshmallow cream. Yes, she ate a Devil Dog.
In her defense she ate one and only one. Every single day. For sixty years. Without guilt.
Later in the day, Alyssa’s mom would walk to the Farmer’s Market, loaded down with fresh veggies, enjoying every antioxidant-filled bite.
Now that Hostess has gone out of business, a box of Devil Dogs can be found on the internet for about $35.00 a box. “Freshness guaranteed.” (Presumably because they are so rich in chemicals, they are guaranteed to last forever.)
Though I draw the line at Twinkies and Devil Dogs for breakfast (even if I could afford such luxuries), I’m all in favor of making Chocolate a breakfast food.
To that end, I offer you this recipe for Double Chocolate Berry Nut Muffins. If I’d had blueberries or dark cherries on hand, I would have used those in this muffin. What I did have on hand was strawberries and kiwis, so improviser that I am… into the bowl they went. I’ve never let lack of correct ingredients stop me from whipping up a recipe. I once made a carrot cake without any carrots, subbing zucchini and crushed pineapple. It was delicious.
The result of my experiment was a just-right sweet muffin made moist from the coconut oil, Greek yogurt and fruit, chocolaty from cocoa and chocolate chips, with a nice crunch from chopped pecans. I used white whole wheat flour (which has the same nutritional value as whole wheat flour, but is made from white instead of red wheat); and organic unprocessed sugar to ease my conscience even more.
So, okay, I’m not ready to declare these chocolate muffins a “health food.” But hey, they are no Devil Dogs.
Double Chocolate Berry Muffins
Makes 2 dozen regular muffins, and one pan of miniature muffins
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Ingredients
2 ¼ c whole wheat white flour ( I used King Arthur brand)
1 ¼ c. organic sugar
½ c. unsweetened cocoa powder (if you like extra dark chocolate use dark chocolate cocoa)
2 t. baking power
1 t. baking soda
¾ t. salt
1 cup Greek Yogurt, plain
½ cup milk or almond milk
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted if it is solidified
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla or almond extract
1 cup berries (blueberries don’t need chopped, but strawberries, cherries, raspberries or blackberries will need to be diced into about ¼ inch pieces.)
1 cup chocolate chips
½ c. to 1 c. chopped nuts
Directions
Sift and stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate large bowl, and make a well in the center; set aside.
Whisk together the yogurt, milk, coconut oil, eggs, and almond or vanilla extract in a bowl until evenly blended. Pour the yogurt mixture into the well, then stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the berries, nuts, and chocolate chips. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling half full. (I used cupcake liners.)
Bake until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Try with a little smear of Nutella; or a slice of banana and peanut butter, or a spoon of cherry or strawberry preserves. Heaven….
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The Title:Double Chocolate Berry Muffins
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Oat Nut Fruit Gems
Posted: December 4, 2012 Filed under: Breads, Breakfast Foods, Desserts, Fruit Dishes, Gluten Free, Kids Cooking, Snacks, Uncategorized, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tags: bananas, cherries, coconut, cookies, cranberries, dates, dried fruit, energy bars, granola bars, healthy breakfasts, healthy lunch box treats, muffins, nuts, oatmeal gems, oats, seeds, trail mix 2 Comments
(Becky, the Mama)
My mother, Ruthie, went from loving her sugary desserts (a la last week’s Honey Slice cookie recipe) to a diet almost completely without sugar a couple of decades ago. A health crisis with her blood pressure and heart, meant major changes in her daily diet – all for the better. Out went everything white: sugar, white flour and white rice… and in came the brown and fiber-filled replacements. But, we are not the sort of women to suffer deprivation in our family. Being the creative and resourceful cook, Mother found several ways to satisfy her sweet tooth while also getting healthier, sporting an adorably slim figure, and having more energy than women decades younger than she!
This is one of my all-time favorite sweet, healthy, satisfying treats that she baked. She served them in a pretty cloth-lined basket at a family supper and they disappeared in what seemed like minutes. Everyone from kids to adults raved about them.
The basic ingredients are so simple: oats, mashed bananas and grated apples. From there you can throw in the kitchen sink: any nuts, seeds, flavorings or dried fruit that you like. Another bonus is that you can serve this recipe to most of the people in your family (or friends) on special diets. The recipe is naturally vegan, and if you use gluten-free oats, it is gluten-free and can easily be adapted to use less sugar or made sugar-free. Kids not only love them, but as you can see from my little helper below, they also love to help make them.
My grandson Georgie, furiously mashing the bananas with a potato masher.
If you want to create warm memories of baking with little ones this Christmas, but prefer not to send them into a Sugar Orbit in the process: this is the perfect mom and child, or grandma and grandchild project, to whip up together.
The texture is somewhere between a muffin, an oatmeal cookie, trail mix, and baked oatmeal. Made with sugar they get a nice crunch on the outside but are moist and slighty chewy on the inside. Perfect for quick breakfasts-to-go, they also make great snacks for school lunch boxes and any outdoor enthusiasts in your family. Wrapped in foil they are wonderful sources of energy when hiking, camping or snow-boarding.
This recipe makes 2 dozen. Best stored in fridge and then heated for a few seconds in microwave.
Oat Nut Fruit Gems
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
Ingredients
2 large bananas, mashed (use 3 if bananas are small)
2 large peeled apples, grated (use 3 if apples are small)
3 cups oats (I like Old Fashioned Oats for the chewier texture)
½ t. sea salt
1/3 c. raw organic sugar (or use other sweeteners such as brown sugar or coconut sugar or even Stevia, according to taste )
½ c. dried chopped fruit (I used dates and dried cranberries. Coconut also works well in this recipe.)
1/2 nuts and/or seeds (I used walnuts and pecans)
2 t. vanilla
Directions
Mix all of the above together in a large mixing bowl. Spray or oil muffin pans. Fill them about 2/3 full and gently press down with back of spoon. if you want them to look more muffin-like you can mound them a bit in the middle, as they won’t rise. (No leavening or eggs.)
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until just golden brown around edges and top.
When cool to touch, gently remove from pan. If not eaten in a day, store in fridge in a sealed bag or plasticware and zap for a few seconds in microwave to warm.
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The Title: Oat Nut Fruit Gems
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This was printed from: We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook
Quick Buttery Coffee Cake (made with Pancake Mix)
Posted: November 8, 2012 Filed under: Breads, Breakfast Foods, Desserts, Uncategorized, Vegan, Vegan Options, Vegetarian | Tags: almond milk, almonds, breakfast cake, butter, buttery, cinnamon, cinnamon roll cake, coffee cake, crumbly, eggs, nuts, oatmeal, pancake mix, pancakes, pecans, streusel, walnuts 19 Comments
(Becky, the Mama.)
This is our second week of condo living in regions of the U.S. where the sun is shining, the grass is green, the birds are singing and this week, in Oceanside, California, the ocean is waving.
The sentence (and scene) above is brought to you by our much younger selves, when we each bought Time Share, never dreaming that someday we’d end up married to each another, with four vacation weeks to use up, per year, between us. (And it is a use it or lose it proposition. So what can we do but go play?)
Neither of us would say that Time Shares are great financial investments; but man oh man, they have been AWESOME investments in terms of fun, extended get-aways for our marriage. We’re both blessed with jobs we can do anywhere, as long as we have laptops and cell phones.
Some ways that we save money and also get business done while we’re away:
1) We drive instead of flying whenever possible, getting crazy good deals on hotels using Hotwire.com or Priceline.com. I stock up on books on tape from the library (Greg listens with earphones while driving), and we have wifi – via his cell phone– and a plug for my lap top (goes in the cigarette lighter) in the car, creating a roving office-on-wheels. I get some of my best writing done on the road, my feet up on the dash, computer on lap, pillow behind my head. Greg also sees clients everywhere we go.
2) We always look for places to stay that have a full kitchen, bringing along a couple of boxes of kitchen essentials so that I can cook “on location” rather than eating out.
For whatever reason, cooking is an enormous treat for me, and especially when on vacation. I like the challenge of creating good meals from whatever supplies I bring, plus fresh local meats and produce.
It has been a long time since I’ve baked something sweet, at home or “abroad,” but today after a nice long walk through an artsy Farmer’s Market with Greg, I began thinking that a warm coffee cake with a crunchy, buttery, cinnamon topping sure sounded good.
Coffee cakes are one of my favorite treats to make because they typically aren’t overly sweet, they whip up and cook quickly, and it makes its own topping while baking. If you have a good basic recipe, you can swing it a dozen ways! Add blueberries or chopped apples, a variety of nuts, a little citrus zest, or even chocolate chips and you can dress up a basic cake anyway you want to go. The added bonus: you get to eat cake for breakfast. What’s not to love?
I didn’t bring baking powder or soda with me, however (a HA!) I brought some pancake mix. Sure enough, I sleuthed up a recipe online for coffee cake made with pancake mix that got some lovely reviews. I used it as a starting point, played with it a bit, and within 30 minutes… from stir to cut and serve…I was eating a fluffy, moist, perfectly balanced coffee cake. So good, this will be my Go-To Coffee Cake Recipe from now on. This recipe makes a small cake (perfect for a couple), so I plan to double the recipe when I get home and make this for our big family next week, arriving for what we call “Thanksgiving Camp.”
Quick Buttery Coffee Cake (with Pancake Mix)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1 c. pancake mix, any kind (I want to try Trader Joe’s pumpkin pancake mix! Vegans use an egg & dairy-free mix)
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg (vegans can use fave egg substitute)
1/3 c. almond milk (or any kind of milk you like)
¼ c. butter, melted (I used ½ olive oil, ½ butter, Or use your favorite vegan butter.)
Topping:
2 T. softened butter (or vegan butter)
¼ c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
2 T. pancake mix (or flour)
2 T. oatmeal (or mixture of oatmeal, hemp seeds, chia seeds)
1/3 c. chopped pecans (almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts)
Instructions:
In a medium sized bowl whisk pancake mix and sugar together. Add egg, milk, butter and stir until smooth.
Butter a small pan, such as a round cake pan. (I found a small broiler pan in the condo that worked well. It’s smaller than it looks in the pictures, only about 8 by 10 inches. )
Mix topping in another small bowl and crumble on top of batter.
Bake for 20 minutes. It will look a bit like the surface of a crater, but with each “dent” there’s the yumminess of melted butter and cinnamon going through the cake. Sooo delicious. Serve warm and crumbly!! (Or if I serve it later, I’ll zap a piece for just a few seconds in microwave.)
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The title: Quick Buttery Coffee Cake
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This was printed from: We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook
Blueberry Raspberry Oat Nut Bars
Posted: March 19, 2012 Filed under: Breakfast Foods, Desserts | Tags: bar cookies, blueberries, blueberry bars, blueberry desserts, blueberry oat nut bars, breakfast, breakfast food, dessert, nuts, oats, snacks, treats, vegan, vegetarian 15 Comments
(Becky, the Mama.) This week I had a run of crazy mistakes that defy even my questionable logic. One day began by sending my husband’s business blog post, unedited, to hundreds of subscribers on the wrong day. From there it seemed every hour was punctuated by a wrong move, a major mess or spill in the kitchen, an embarrassing misspelling on social media, or a relational faux pas.
I was determined to make the next day mistake-free, and sailed through until about 3:00 pm, when I darted into a store and ran into a friend. Her face was full of compassion as she hugged me. “I read about all your latest mishaps on Facebook, bless your heart.”
I smiled and said, “Yes, but I’m having a much better day. No mistakes yet!”
She pointed to my abdomen and said, “So that big white sticker that says, ‘Citrus juicer, $5.00’ on your stomach, is that on purpose?”
Oh well, there’s “always tomorrow.”
This morning I woke feeling chipper, and posted a status on Facebook that described my excitement about going to my friend Sue’s house to celebrate her birthday with some of her good home cooking. I decided to whip up my favorite quick and easy berry bars to bring for dessert. They are a “just right” treat; not too sweet. Perfect under ice cream after dinner, but wonderful with a glass of milk for breakfast as well.
As we were enjoying our meal around their table (fabulous tenderloin steak, fresh corn on cob, and pesto pasta), Sue’s husband Jason grinned and asked, “Should we tell her now?”
“Tell me what?” I asked.
“Oh, Jason,” Sue said. “I wasn’t going to say anything. Becky had a hard week.”
“What?” I repeated.
Jason laughed. “Sue’s birthday is next week. We’d actually invited you to come for dinner next Sunday! But when Sue saw your status update, we thought, ‘Let’s just go with it. We’re free tonight, anyway.’”
I left half a pan of these blueberry raspberry bars with Jason and Sue, and hope it will remind them of how much I love them for being so patient and kind to their absentminded friend.
P.S. My daughter Rachel just wrote, “When my mom came to stay with me after Jackson was born, she made me these blueberry raspberry bars. I was a ravenous new nursing mom and let me just say, these did not last very long! They are especially delicious in the middle of the night with a glass of almond milk. Sigh…I miss those early nursing days when I could eat constantly and still lose weight!”
Blueberry Raspberry Bars
Becky’s Blueberry Raspberry Oat Nut Bars
Ingredients
Serves 12-15, depending on how big you cut the bars.
1 c. butter (vegans can substitute coconut oil or Earth Balance butter or a mixture of both)
1 c. brown sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, whatever nut you like)
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dump the first four ingredients into the food processor and pulse until crumbly. Add the oatmeal and nuts, process just until blended. (You can also do this with a mixer or use clean hands for the job.) Press half of the mixture into a greased 9×13 inch pan: spread blueberries over the mixture and sprinkle with the remaining oatmeal mixture. (Like a crumb topping.) Bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before cutting into bars.
If you have any leftover (and this is a big IF), I have found they stay freshest when wrapped well and refrigerated, then nuke the portion you want to eat for few seconds in microwave.
Try these with other fruits (raspberries, strawberries, cherries, pineapple, apples, rhubarb… or combos thereof).
Also works well with other flours (gluten free) and grains. Can sub wheat germ or other flakey grains for some of the oats to upsize or vary the nutritional value. You can use date sugar instead of brown sugar for sweetening, and keep it sugar free.
I love for people to find a basic recipe-method that works, then get creative with it, to make it their own. This is a great recipe to “play with,” because it is hard to mess up! (Even for me.)
This was printed from: We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook
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The Title: Blueberry Oat Nut Bars
The URL: https://welaughwecrywecook.com/2012/03/19/blueberry-oat-nut-bars/
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Becky Johnson
Rachel Randolph
We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook 