Dairy-Free Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

I've been wanting to make some dairy-free sugar cookies all month and finally had the chance to make some with my son yesterday.  He loves to cook with me, especially when we get to bake or make some of his favorite things.  I found a recipe online awhile back - but I don't know where I found it... I only saved the text.  It was for soft sugar cookies, which are my favorite kind of sugar cookies.  I'm not really a fan of crispy sugar cookies.  So I used that recipe as a base and subbed out ingredients a bit to bring them up to our standards.  These aren't super soft, but they're still really good.  You'd never guess they were whole wheat or dairy-free.  They have a crisp crust and a soft interior.  I want to try them again with some whole wheat pastry flour to see if that lends a softer cookie, but I didn't have any on hand yesterday.  We had planned to roll the dough and do Christmas cut-outs, but my infant daugther wasn't allowing for that yesterday morning.  :)  So we just used a cookie scoop and then flattened them a little with a glass.  They still taste just as good as they would as cut-outs... and they're way less work!  :)

Dairy-Free Sugar Cookies

1 cup palm shortening
1 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup almond milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat palm shortening, sugar, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla together in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add baking soda and salt.  Slowly beat flour mixture in to make a smooth dough.

Now you may either use a cookie scoop like we did, and flatten slightly with a flat-bottomed glass.  Or roll dough out 1/4-inch thick on a floured work surface and cut into shapes.  Arrange cookies on baking sheets.  Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are firm, about 8-10 minutes.  Let cool.  Frost and decorate once fully cooled.


Frosting

1/4 cup palm shortening
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or more to taste
4 tablespoons almond milk, or as neededBeat palm shortening, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and almond milk in a bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until frosting is spreadable and slightly fluffy.  Frost cooled cookies.  Add sprinkles or colored sugars if desired. 

Meatza

I found this on The Primalist a while back and knew I wanted to try it. So I made it for dinner a few weeks ago. This was really tasty! We all thought it actually did serve as a good substitute for pizza. It's a versatile recipe, too. You can pretty much use whatever you like or have on hand. And its very easy and quick to throw together. If you don't mind your child touching raw meat (I don't... that's what hand-washing is for), its a lot of fun for the kids to help press out the meat layer. Carson loved helping with that, at least.

I made some subtle changes to the original recipe. Mostly, I just scaled it back for our small family of three (and still had plenty leftover for lunches). I'll post the recipe below as I made it.

Meatza

Beef mixture:
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Toppings:
Use whatever you like. Here's what we used:
homemade pizza sauce
fresh basil leaves
sauteed mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper
shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 450°F. Prepare a baking dish or pan. I used a 12" x 9" jelly roll pan. You may wish to line the pan with parchment paper... I usually would, but didn't because I realized I was completely out of paper.

Combine all ingredients for beef mixture by hand. Mix well. Transfer the beef mixture to the pan and flatten out all the way to sides and corners of the pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Pour out juices that have accumulated in the pan. The meat will shrink away from the sides some, but this is normal.

Set oven to broil. Place toppings on meatza. You can use whatever toppings you like. I had mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper on hand, so I sauteed those up in some olive oil and used those with some homemade pizza sauce, fresh basil leaves from the garden, and some shredded co-jack cheese. You can use whatever pizza toppings you normally like, though.

Place meatza in oven, broil for about 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and just starting to brown.


This post is linked to:
Traditional Tuesdays at Real Food Whole Health

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Here's another recipe that I've made quite a few times now.  I've made them as written below.  I've also substituted the blueberries with strawberries a couple of times, too.  Both are excellent!!  These are very quick and easy to throw together - perfect for making them with a child.  Carson loves to help make them!  He also loves to eat them and requests these often.  We all love them. 

This recipe comes from Nourished and Nurtured.  Be sure to check out her site for lots of GAPS-friendly recipes.  While we're not doing GAPS at our house, many GAPS recipes are also paleo and/or primal friendly, as well. 

Blueberry Banana Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
1/2 cup butter or unrefined coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
3/4 tsp celtic sea salt
6 eggs, preferably pasture-raised
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 heaping cup frozen blueberries
Melt butter or coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine the eggs, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large bowl. If using an immersion blender, pulse a few times to combine. Otherwise, mix to combine with a whisk or mixer.

Add the honey to the butter (or coconut oil) and stir slightly. Pour this mixture into the wet ingredients and blend well with immersion blender or mixer.

Pour the coconut flour into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Use an immersion blender or mixer to thoroughly combine all ingredients, making sure there are no lumps.
Add mashed banana and mix to combine.

Line a muffin tin with paper cups. Scoop the muffin batter into the paper cups.
Add about 8-10 blueberries to the top of each muffin. Push them down slightly into the batter. If you try to fold the blueberries into the batter, they tend to sink to the bottom of the muffins during baking, making everything a bit soggy.

Bake muffins in 325 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes, until muffins are set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If you are in a time-crunch, you could bake them at 350 degrees initially, but you'll need to reduce the heat after a bit so they won't burn before being set in the middle.

Remove from oven and cool.

Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

I saw these grain-free brownies on Health Bent and knew at once that I had to try them. I looooove fudgy brownies and these looked and sounded amazing. So Carson and I mixed some up a couple of weeks ago.  We used homemade almond butter, substituted half of the cocoa powder with carob powder, only added half of the optional sweetener, and did not add the nuts (for Kevin's sake). They were very quick and easy to mix together.  The raw batter was awesome (Carson and I both enjoyed cleaning out the bowl and spoons after we had the brownies in the oven :), so I knew the brownies would be, too.  And were they ever!  Yum!  These things are soooo good!  Very addicting!  They don't look done in the middle when you take them out of the oven - they're still quite jiggly - but they set up as they cool.  They are very fudgy and soft, which we all loved, but I can see how it wouldn't be ideal for some people.  But like I said, we thought they were pretty amazing.  :)

Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used half cocoa powder and half carob powder)
1/4 cup sucanat (optional... I added about 1/8 cup)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (use the highest % cocoa you can find)
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I left these off)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish.

In a bowl whisk together the almond butter, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla extract and salt. Then add the cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and top with chopped nuts.

Bake for approximately 18 minutes.  The brownies will still be jiggly in the center, but they will set up as they cool down.  Wait until they have cooled completely before serving.  Store in the refrigerator.

This post is linked to:

Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet

Foodies Follow Fridays at Hella Delicious

Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade

Marbled Brownies

We visited some friends for dinner last night.  I was responsible for dessert.  I debated about what to bring, from fancy, complicated desserts to very simple, yet tasty.  I decided to go for the latter since I knew we'd end up being a little pressed for time yesterday.  I decided to just make some marbled brownies.  I used the chocolate chip brownie recipe from Heavenly Homemakers as my base and then just added some cream cheese batter to swirl through.  I haven't made marbled brownies in a long time, but I used to make them quite regularly, so I just went off memory for the cream cheese mixture... and I used my own homemade soft cheese in place of the store-bought cream cheese brick.  I did modify Laura's recipe slightly by adding in about 1/2 cup of milk and an extra egg since the mixture just seemed too thick for brownies (I like fudgy brownies :).  I also doubled the recipe for a larger pan.  I've posted the recipe adjusted for the larger pan and with the extra egg and milk below. 

I think they turned out pretty well and they seemed to go over quite well with everyone.  My parents had one today and even they liked them (they normally aren't too crazy about made-from-scratch goodies that use whole wheat flour).  They were quite thick and dense, not necessarily fudgy, but definitely not dry like I feel like they would have been without the extra egg and milk.

These were also super easy to throw together.  They were just as easy as throwing together a boxed brownie mix... only these are much better for you, made with good, quality ingredients.  And I almost always have all the ingredients on hand.  I'll definitely make these again sometime. 

Marbled Brownies

Chocolate brownie mixture:
2 sticks butter, melted
2 cups rapadura/sucanat
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream cheese mixture:
1 cup/8 oz cream cheese, softened (either use a brick from the store, or homemade)
1 egg
1/4 cup sucanat/rapadura
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, stir together butter, rapadura/sucanat, and cocoa. Mix in eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir in flour and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together softened cream cheese, egg, sucanat/rapadura, and vanilla.  Stir until combined.  Set aside. 

Grease a 9x13 baking pan with coconut oil.  Spread about 3/4 of the chocolate mixture on the bottom of the pan.  Spoon the cream cheese mixture on top of the chocolate batter in dollups.  Then spoon the remaining chocolate batter in dollups between the cream cheese dollups.  Cut through the mixtures with a knife to create the marble design. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


This post is linked to Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist and Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Fruit Rolls

I have been on a fruit roll making spree this summer. Making fruit rolls is seriously so easy and they're quite good for you (unlike the store-bought fruit roll-ups). All you need is a blender or food processor, your fruit of choice, some optional sweetener or applesauce, a dehydrator or your oven, and fruit roll sheets or parchment paper. This makes a healthy snack for kids and adults alike. I've made several kinds so far this year... strawberry, strawberry-banana, strawberry yogurt (yes, you can dehydrate yogurt, too, and its delicious!), watermelon-apple, blueberry, blueberry-cherry. All of them have been delicious! They also store very well. Just cut them into adequate pieces and roll up. Then store in a glass jar or freeze them. And if you over-dry them, they make great fruit "chips." This happened to one of my trays of strawberry fruit rolls - it was a thinner layer than the other trays. I was pretty bummed at first, but then just broke them up into chips and tried them. Yum! Carson absolutely loves them as chips, too! Probably equally as much as he likes them as the soft, chewy fruit rolls.

Fruit Rolls

- fruit of your choice in a quantity of your choice
- optional sweetener if your fruit isn't already sweet enough... sugar will make them crisp, so you may want to avoid it... honey makes them sticky and pliable
- optional applesauce... if your fruit puree is really thin

Puree your fruit in a blender or food processor. Add sweetener to taste if you need it. I haven't added it to any of mine yet this year because I've been using fruit in peak season and its been plenty sweet already. Add applesauce if your puree is really thin/watery... especially if you're using fruit that has been frozen.

Pour the puree on fruit roll sheets (or dehydrator trays lined with parchment paper, or a cookie sheet if you're using the oven). Place in dehydrator and dehydrate at about 135 degrees until done. Depending on the fruits I used and the thickness, mine have taken anywhere from 6 to 9 hours. You could also dry them in the oven on your lowest heat setting.

Strawberry Bread

I made a batch of strawberry bread this morning. The recipe comes from Heavenly Homemakers and my SIL also made a variation of this bread recipe with peaches. This was simple and fairly fast to mix together. I made 3 mini loaves and two small loaves from this. We'll keep one out for breakfasts and snacks this week and I'll freeze the rest. I love having sweet bread in the freezer. It makes for a fast and easy breakfast and its great to have on hand if you head over to a party or something and have no time to make something. We couldn't resist and had to try the bread after just cooling a bit. It is so moist and delicious! Yum!

Strawberry Bread

2 cups fresh (or frozen) strawberries
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups rapadura or sucanat or cane sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup melted butter
3 eggs

First, you can do one of two things with your strawberries. If they're fresh, you can slice them and stir them into your dry ingredients. Or, if you don't think your family will like chunks of strawberries in their bread. Blend them all up in the blender, then mix in. If you're using frozen strawberries, thaw, then blend in blender. Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in butter, eggs and strawberries. Pour into two buttered loaf pans. Bake in a 350° oven for 45-50 minutes.

Crunchy Granola Bars

Carson and I were on a granola kick this week, I think. We also made some crunchy granola bars. My SIL had posted this recipe from Ina Garten a couple of months ago and I've wanted to make them ever since. Another quick and easy recipe! And they taste so good, too! I think I like these better than the chewy granola bars, just because they're not so sweet. And I like the crunch. These will definitely be a regular thing for us now, for sure! We'll take some of these camping, too.

Granola Bar

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ (I used ground flax so they'd be GF for camping)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (I used raisins)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (I substituted with chocolate chips :) )

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

Granola

I needed to make a new batch of granola to take some on our camping trip. I had planned to just use my normal granola recipe, but Kevin asked that I try a plain and simple one... without nuts, fruit, etc. So he found a recipe on RecipeZaar that sounded good to him. I figured I'd give it a try since he rarely makes requests and has never went out to find a recipe! So I made it. Very quick and easy to throw together and it does taste good. I just prefer lots of other stuff in my granola. We'll use this granola in yogurt parfaits for camping and Kevin and Carson will eat it. I'll be making another batch of granola with more add-ins for me. :)

Quick and Crunchy Granola

3 1/2 cups oats
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in microwave. Heat honey in microwave for 45 seconds. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour onto a baking sheet and spread evenly. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, stirring after the first 10 minutes. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container for 1 week, or freeze.

Chewy Granola Bars

Carson and I started some food prep for our camping trip that is coming up next weekend. We made some chewy granola bars earlier this week. I had originally seen this recipe on Heavenly Homemakers and then my SIL made them. They sounded too easy and delicious not to make them... plus I've wanted to try making some chewy granola bars for about a year. I can't believe it took me this long to try a recipe for them! They are so easy to make - probably about 8-10 minutes of prep (and that is with a 2-year old helping), then spread in a pan and chill in the fridge. So simple! I'll definitely be making these regularly so I don't have to buy the super pricey ones at the health food store anymore. Carson absolutely loves granola bars (we all do) and these are no exception. He declared them "SO delicious!".

I made a double batch so we'd have plenty to eat for snacks this week and next, take camping, and still have some in the freezer. I also made this batch gluten free. Next time, I'll add some wheat germ or bran. I came so close to adding it to this batch before I remembered these needed to be gluten free for camping. I'll also add another cup of oats next time to make them more like the granola bars we're used to and probably a little less honey since they are so sweet. I calculated the cost of the way I made them this time. They ended up being about 25 cents per 1" x 3" granola bar. This was using all organic/sustainable or homemade (dried cherries/blueberries) ingredients.

Chewy Granola Bars

1/2 cup peanut butter or sunbutter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup oats (I used a little more than 1 cup)
1 cup total of any combination of: sesame seeds, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips (I used sunflower seeds, unsweetened coconut, raisins, dried cherries, dried blueberries, chocolate chips)

In a medium sized saucepan, melt together peanut butter, honey and coconut oil.

Remove from heat and add one cup of oats. Choose your favorite combination of coconut flakes, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit and mini chocolate chips, to equal a total of ONE CUP. (I just got out my one cup measuring cup and poured in the ingredients until the cup was full.) Pour in and stir well.

Spread mixture into a 8×8 or 9×4 pan.

Chill for two hours, then cut into bars.

Wrap in plastic wrap for a quick grab and go snack! Keep in refrigerator or freezer.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

We all love pizza at our house, but we're trying to cut back on ordering it. For two main reasons - to cut out some junk since we don't know what the stuff from our local pizza joint really contains... and to save money. I saw this in one of my Rachael Ray magazines and thought it might be something we'd like and would satisfy the cravings that Kevin and Carson have for pizza. Don't get me wrong, I love pizza, too, but I don't get hungry for it like the boys in my house do. So anyway, these were very quick and simple to make and they taste pretty good, too. And they're better for you than the local pizza joint, though still not the best for you.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1 red bell pepper, sliced

Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs and red pepper slices with the pizza sauce for dipping.

You can also freeze the baked puffs (I did) in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. To reheat, bake the frozen puffs on a baking sheet in a 350° oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Butterscotch Bars

Today is Administrative Professional's Day. Our office always brings in treats on special days like today and we present the treats, a card, and a gift to the administrative professional in our office in thanks for everything she does for us throughout the year. I ended up getting home late after my Zumba class because I stayed late with a couple of old friends to catch up after class, so I needed to think of something quick and easy to make. I thought of these butterscotch bars which I had originally seen posted on Heavenly Homemakers and my SIL, Mary, had made a couple of weeks ago. These were so fast and easy to throw together. It literally took Carson and I less than 5 minutes to mix everything together and pop them in the oven to bake. These are very tasty and will definitely be a great recipe to have on hand for another night that I'm pressed for time and need to make something quick. And they were a total hit with everyone in my office!

Butterscotch Bars

1 cup melted butter
1 3/4 cups sucanat
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Stir melted butter and sucanat together. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Stir in flour and mix until well combined. Pour batter into a 9×13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Scones

Another catch-up post. I've made these twice now - the first time a few weeks ago and most recently on Saturday morning. This recipe is another delicious sampling of the recipes found on Two Peas and Their Pod. These scones are absolutely delicious -super moist and flavorful with just the perfect extra sweetness from the white chocolate chips! They are very easy to make, too, and come together very quickly. Carson and I love them. Kevin would if he'd try them (and get over his dislike for pumpkin). I have never made the glaze to go with them since I think they're just perfect without it, but I'm sure they get even better when you add the glaze. For me, though, I'd rather save the extra calories and sugar, I think.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Scones

Scone Dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup) light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cream
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling the tops of the scones

Spice Glaze:
1c. powdered sugar
1/2t. cinnamon
1/8t. cloves
Sprinkle of nutmeg
Milk

Add as much milk until desired consistency. Drizzle or spread over scones.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. I use my hands! The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the white chocolate.

In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin puree and vanilla and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 3 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the cream and sprinkle a little Turbinado sugar on top.

Place the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to prevent the bottoms of the scones from over browning. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and drizzle scones with the glaze.

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

I have some buttermilk to use up, so I decided to make a batch of buttermilk drop biscuits during my baking spree on Saturday morning. (I got up early and made lemon bluberry cookies, blueberry buckle, pumpkin white chocolate scones, and buttermilk drop biscuits all before 9:00 on Saturday morning. :)) I got this recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. Kevin and I aren't normally biscuit fans - we normally find them (the store bought kind or the kind in the tubes that you bake) to be too dry/crumbly for our liking. But we both really like homemade biscuits. So I thought we'd probably like these. And we did! The three of us each had one for breakfast yesterday morning and I froze the remaining biscuits for later. These were super easy to make and came together so fast! Definitely a good keeper biscuit recipe! I'd like to make them again and experiment with adding cheese, chives, veggies, etc. Yum!

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup cold buttermilk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (about 5 minutes), plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing biscuits

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475°F. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Combine buttermilk and 8 tablespoons melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps.

Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl. Using greased 1/4-cup dry measure, scoop level amount of batter and drop onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (biscuits should measure about 2 1/4 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches high). Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes.

Brush biscuit tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter (I skipped this). Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Banana Bread

This recipe is from my mother-in-law. Its the best banana bread ever! Super easy and quick to make, super moist and yummy to eat! It turns out every time! I have made this so many times, I can't believe I haven't posted the recipe yet. I made this batch this morning and will do another batch or two this afternoon with Carson. I made two medium-sized loaves this morning. Carson and I will probably do a bunch of mini loaves this afternoon. This bread freezes and thaws really well, so they're great to have on hand. I'll also be taking one of the larger loaves along to my friend and her family this Friday.

Banana Bread

3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
5 Tablespoons sour milk (4 T milk + 1 T vinegar)
1 cup mashed bananas
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Salt

Cream together sugar, butter, and eggs. Add baking powder, soda, flour, sour milk, bananas, and salt. Mix. Put in two greased 9-inch bread pans. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

Carson and I made these cookies last week. He had been asking to do some baking all week, but since he was sick early in the week, I didn't want to do any and get his germs into them. I finally gave in on Friday, after he'd been asking every day all week. He was so excited we finally got to do some "bakin'." This recipe is from my Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook. These are so good! Carson just loves them with the bananas in them especially, though its a very faint taste. Even Kevin has been enjoying them - I don't think they'll make it to Christmas!

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed bananas
1 cup old-fashioned oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together both flours, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.

Put butter and both sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate, and walnuts.

Drop cookies onto baking sheets and bake until golden brown and just set, 12-13 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen cookies (I made mine smaller and got 4 1/2 dozen).

Pumpkin Bars

Carson and I did lots of baking on Wednesday. We both loved it. Carson especially liked helping with these pumpkin bars... namely the frosting since he got to lick the paddle. :) I got this recipe from my friend, Michelle M., at work. These bars are super yummy, super moist, super easy to make, and they make a lot of them! They're great for family parties, potlucks, etc. when you need dessert to go a long way. Every ingredient I used was organic, so even though they're not the healthiest in terms of fat content, at least the ingredients I used were better for your body and health. :)

Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 16oz can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts (optional - I did not use)

Combine eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Blend well. Add dry ingredients; then stir in nuts if using. Pour mixture into a 15 1/2" x 10 1/2" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting when cool.

Cream cheese frosting

1 box confectioner's sugar (about 3- 3 1/2 cups)
1 stick butter
1 8oz package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream all ingredients together and spread over bars.

Pumpkin Bread

Carson and I made some pumpkin bread on Monday night. This is a recipe that I've been using for a few years now. It was shared with me by my friend, Kathy, from work. This is such an awesome pumpkin bread - very tasty, very moist, and it turns out perfectly every time! I changed it up a bit this time and substituted in 1 cup of whole wheat flour. It makes the bread a little more dense, but its still very, very good! We made a medium-sized loaf and three mini loaves. I've been forgetting to take a picture - maybe I'll remember to take one still this week. I'll update if I do.

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 cups pumpkin
2/3 cup water
1 cup nuts (optional)

Cream sugar, shortening and eggs. Add dry ingredients, pumpkin and water. Mix thoroughly. Bake at 350o for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Makes 4 small or 3 large loaves.

Raw Macaroons

Last night, Carson and I made some raw chocolate macaroons. My friend, Lina, had brought these in to work a while back and I thought they were so yummy, so I asked her for the recipe. The recipe comes from the book Raw Food, Real World. Lina let me borrow her cookbook and I copied down several recipes that I hope to try. These cookies are super easy to throw together and then the dehydrator does all the work while you sleep. We woke up to a house smelling like cocoa. :) These really taste great, too. They're very rich. Carson loves them... he kept sneaking tastes of the batter last night while we were making them and I let him have a bite of one as a treat after he ate his eggs and toast this morning. He immediately wanted more, but we'll have to wait till later in the day to indulge again.

Raw Chocolate Macaroons

3 cups dried, unsweetened coconut flakes (organic)
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder (organic, free trade certified)
1 cup pure maple syrup (local, organic)
1/3 cup coconut butter (extra virgin, organic)
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (organic)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir well. You can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.

Using a small cookie scoop, your hands, or a big tablespoon, spoon rounds of the dough onto dehydrator screens. If you are using your hands, you may want to chill the dough a bit first.

Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 12-24 hours, or until crisp on the outside and nice and chewy on the inside.

For blonde macaroons, replace the cocoa powder with an equal amount of almond flour.