Raspberry Mango Muffins

These muffins make me smile.  They are moist, fruity, healthy and delicious.  The greek yogurt base adds a protein punch that will keep you fuller, longer.  They are a spin off of my strawberry lemon poppyseed muffins, and dare I say it, I might like them even better!  It might be the white chocolate chips that get all melty.  The raspberry greek yogurt gives just a hint of raspberry flavor without being overpowering.  Pretty much a perfect little breakfast.

Raspberry Mango Muffins
servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 c all purpose flour
• 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 t baking powder
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 6 t canola oil
• 1 6 oz container raspberry greek yogurt
• 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 c white chocolate chips

Directions

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees

-Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl

-Mix sugar, egg, canola oil, vanilla and yogurt in a bowl

-Add wet to dry, stirring until just combined

-Stir in mango and white chocolate chips

-Scoop into muffin pan that's been sprayed with cooking spray (I used an ice cream scoop to do this)

-Bake 20 minutes, until top is golden brown

-Enjoy!!!

peanut butter oatmeal double chip cookies

Did you know that yesterday was National Oatmeal Cookie Day?  No?  Neither did I.  I'm not sure where people find out when all of these food holidays are, but I would love to know when they are!  I mean, is there a national pickle day?  Because I love pickles, and I for sure want to celebrate that.

Lucky for me, I'm a psychic.  I made oatmeal cookies without even knowing that it was a holiday.  And they were to die for.  Peanut butter, oatmeal, white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips...  Literally, I was celebrating this holiday unknowingly with the grand finale of all oatmeal cookies.  OMG.  Check out those chips!

I made these cookies to send to a friend who I miss very dearly.  I feel like all of my old friends are so far away from me and I need to ship them all things so I can still bake for them.  It's really an unfortunate situation.  I'm not sure if cookies still taste as good after going through the post office.

I followed Jessica's recipe for these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Double Chip Cookies.  The only thing I changed was using dark chocolate chips instead of peanut butter chips, only because I didn't have any.  If you happened to have all 3 types of chips, you could make triple chip cookies.  And then send some to me.  Please and thank you.

Now all you need is a glass of (almond) milk for dunking.

In other news, what's the big to-do about this "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe" thing?  I have something blue; I'm thinking about the others.  And a sixpence?  Do they even make those any more???  Any advice, or clever ways to incorporate these items (without having to carry a large fanny pack down the aisle full of stuff) would be appreciated.   It just seems like an awful lot of stuff to me!

No Yeast Banana Cinnamon Rolls

This morning when I woke up I knew that I wanted cinnamon rolls.  I'm often pretty indecisive when it comes to meals, but not today.  Unfortunately for me, I did not have time to knead the dough, wait for it to rise, punch it down, wait again, roll it out, bake it...  We would be having cinnamon rolls for dinner at that rate.

Lucky for me, I found this recipe last week and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to give the technique a try.  I didn't want to follow the recipe exactly because I also had a craving for bananas (side note - running makes me crave bananas, extra potassium...)  So I adapted the recipe to include bananas, crossed my fingers, and it worked!

They turned out perfect.  Doughy, full of cinnamon and brown sugar, with just a little hint of banana.  I may never bake them with yeast again!

No Yeast Banana Cinnamon Rolls
(adapted from Krissy's Creations) makes 8 cinnamon rolls

Ingredients - 

• 2 2/3 c all purpose flour
• 2 T sugar
• 1 1/4 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 4 T melted butter
• 1 1/2 mashed bananas (a little over a cup)
• 1 c milk
• 3 T brown sugar
• 1 T cinnamon
• 2 T melted butter

(for the glaze)

• 1 1/4 c powdered sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 3 T softened butter
• 1 1/2 T milk
• 1 t vanilla

Directions - 

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees

-Mix together dry ingredients (through salt) in bowl of stand mixer

-Switch to dough hook attachment, add bananas, milk and 4 T melted butter

-Mix on low for 2-3 minutes until a ball of dough has formed and it is clearing the sides of the mixer

-If it is too wet, add additional flour 1 T at a time until you get the right consistency 

it should look something like this

-Sprinkle flour on a clean counter and roll your dough out into a rectangle, 1/4" thick

-Spread 2 T melted butter over dough

-Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar

-Starting on one of the short ends, roll the dough up tightly

-Use a sharp knife to slice the log into 8 rolls, you want to use a sawing motion and cut gently so you don't smoosh it down

-Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet

-Bake 10-12 minutes until they just start to get golden on the outside

-While you're waiting you can either a. clean up your mess

or b. make some coffee  (B wins, duh!)

-After rolls are done, take them out from the oven 

-Combine all glaze ingredients in a bowl using a fork or knife - nothing fancy here

-Drizzle over cinnamon rolls when they are almost all the way cooled (otherwise it will just melt right off)

Breakfast is served.  Perfect cinnamon rolls in under an hour.  And nobody will be able to tell the difference!!!!

And if you're anything like me, you save your middle for last.  It's the best part!

cookies and clutches

I did it!  I finally did it!!!!  I made chocolate chip cookies that are delicious and don't flatten out like pancakes.  For the longest time I've been making the recipe from the back of the Tollhouse bag.  It's a classic recipe that always made the softest, chewiest cookies.  I always loved the taste of them so I never realized until a few years ago that they really aren't supposed to flatten out until they're almost see through.  Ever since then I've been looking for a recipe that recreated the taste of my beloved cookies, but didn't fall flat.  This is it folks.

I followed this recipe to a tee so I'm just going to post the link and you can check it out for yourself.  I'm not sure exactly what the magic is in this recipe.  Maybe it's the 360 degree oven (random), maybe it's the parchment paper trick at the end.  Whatever it is, it works.

from this

to this - in 12 minutes flat!!!!

On a completely different note - I've been looking all over the internet for the past month to find the perfect wedding clutch.  I want something that is pretty, vintage, and small to hold things like lipstick, gum, and kleenexes for the my big day.  I've narrowed it down to the following three clutches that I found on Etsy.  As my friends, I'd like your input on the subject.  Let me know which one you like best, or if you have any other recommendations of things you seen that you think I might also like.  If you don't know what Etsy is, it's a wonderful free online community that people can go on and sell their handmade goods.  I've gotten a few things from different vendors and had great success.  I love the idea of something handmade that nobody else has.  Something that has a story behind it...  Here are my favorite clutches.  Which one do you like best?

choice 1 

choice 2

choice 3

If It Isn't Broke...

Happy Saturday morning!  It's a little gloomy here today, but it's the weekend so I'll take it.  Last night in true grandma fashion, I stayed in and deep cleaned the house from head to toe.  What a thrilling Friday night, let me tell you.  We forewent our usual date night because we have big plans with some friends tonight to check out some local dive taco joints.  Ole!

Anyhow, after I had my kitchen cleaned, I decided to make it dirty again by baking some banana bread.  My mom always made the best banana bread growing up.  It was moist and delicious, and perfect warmed up with a little pat of butter in the middle.  It always got better the second day too.  Since I've been out on my own I've searched high and low for a recipe that could recreate my mom's banana bread magic, only to always come up short.

My problem (I think) is that I was always going to super healthy or exotic recipes.  Almond flax banana bread is wonderful, but it's not mom's.  There is a time and a place for those things too, but some days you just need a little comfort.  So I decided recently I would try to find a good "base" recipe that I loved, and then I could adjust a few things myself down the road to make it healthier if I wanted to.

Well last night as I was organizing my closet I came upon this gem circa 1994.

it's the 11th edition - fyi

In it, is a classic banana bread recipe that looked too simple not to try.  Lo and behold, it came out perfect!!!  It's moist and banana-y, and super easy to throw together.  I'm pretty sure you have everything you need in your pantry already too.  Score!  

reminds me of home Banana Bread

from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t ground cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 3 mashed bananas
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1/4 c canola oil
• 1/2 c choc chips (my addition)

Directions -

-spray bread pan with cooking spray

-preheat oven to 350 degrees

-combine dry ingredients (through cinnamon) in a medium sized mixing bowl

-mash bananas in another mixing bowl, add egg, sugar, and oil - stir to combine

-add wet to dry and stir until just moistened

-stir in choc chips

-spread in bread pan - bake 50-55 minutes until top is golden brown

As Mary Poppins would say - this is practically perfect in every way.  It's so wonderful that I am tempted to never mess with the recipe, but knowing me, I will.  And you will see lots more crazy variations of this bread.  Enjoy!

Question of the day -


What's your favorite thing to make that reminds you of home?

Chocolate Peanut Marshmallow Blondies

I hope you're all not sick of sweets from Easter.  These bars were thrown together on a whim yesterday when I wanted something sweet but not sickeningly sweet.  I love the dense cakey texture of these, and the chocolate, peanut, marshmallow combination.  The peanut butter swirl was a last minute touch, because peanut butter makes everything better.  

Chocolate Peanut Marshmallow Blondies


Ingredients - 

• 1 c AP flour
• 2/3 c rolled oats
• 1/2 c butter, room temp
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 1/3 c dark chocolate chips
• 1/3 c peanuts
• 1/2 c mini marshmallows
• 3 T peanut butter

Directions - 

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter with sugar 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy
-Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition
-Add vanilla, stir to combine
-Add flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt

-Stir until just combined
-Stir in choc chips, peanuts and marshmallows
-Spread in 8 x 8 inch pan, sprayed with cooking spray

-Melt peanut butter in microwave safe bowl (45 seconds on high)
-Spoon over bars, swirl in with a knife

-Bake 30 minutes (or until tester comes out clean)

I cut these and wrapped them up in foil right away so they are easy to grab and put in our lunch bags.  Enjoy!

strawberry lemon poppyseed muffins

Sorry for the muffin tease before friends.  I couldn't wait to share these with you.  These muffins are so good I couldn't resist biting into a piping hot one from the oven and burning my mouth.  It was totally worth it.  Then Josh decided that they smelled so good that he grabbed the burning muffin from my hand and ate the rest of it before I even had a chance to blink.  Muffin stealer! 

Every time I type the word "muffin" I think of this youtube video. 

I promise you there is no blood in these muffins.  Though there is a secret ingredient - greek yogurt.  Shhhhh - don't tell!  It makes the muffins super moist and also gives a normal carb-filled breakfast some extra nutrition. 

These muffins will be the perfect addition to your easter brunch this weekend. 

Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 c all purpose flour
• 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 t baking powder
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 T lemon zest
• 1 egg
• 2 T lemon juice
• 6 t melted butter, or canola oil
• 1 cup lemon greek yogurt
• 1 T poppyseeds
• 6 ripe strawberries

Directions

-Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl
-Mix sugar, egg, lemon juice, melted butter and yogurt in a bowl

-Add wet to dry and mix until just combined, this will be a dryer consistency, like cookie dough almost, it's okay
-Mash strawberries with a fork, add the berries and poppyseeds to the muffin batter and stir to combine

-Bake at 375 degrees 20-22 minutes, until tester comes out clean

either spray your muffin tin, or use liners, either will work

Enjoy your weekends!!!!

Mango 'nana white chocolate breakfast bars

Breakfast is an ongoing issue in my house.  It's not that I don't like breakfast foods, I just don't generally have time to prepare and sit down to eat a meal.  It's usually consumed as I'm straightening my hair, applying mascara, or while driving to school (I'm a good driver, don't worry).  The fact is, there just aren't enough hours in the day to be a grad student, get a good night's sleep, and sit down for 3 meals.  Multi tasking people.  That's where it's at.

To remedy this issue (and prevent myself from eating cold pizza in the car) I've started making things in the beginning of the week that I can grab and go for the next few days.  Usually it's something like granola bars, muffins, quick bread, or scrambled egg "muffins".  I live for the weekends when I can make a pot of steel cut oats, or pancakes. 

Last night as I pulled out my ingredients to make granola bars I decided to try something new.  I'm all about my usual peanut butter, pumpkin, cinnamon or chocolate, but buried in my fruit drawer I saw a mango.  Could I put mango in granola bars?  You bet your bottom I could!  These granola bars are absolutely divine.  The whole grains, protein and healthy fats will keep you full for at least a few hours - which is key for me!  They also make a great snack.

Mango 'nana white chocolate breakfast bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c rolled oats
• 1/2 c spelt flour (or any flour of your choice - but spelt is great!)
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1 scoop (1/8 c) vanilla protein powder
• 1 banana (mashed)
• 1/2  vanilla extract
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 mango, cut into small bite size pieces
• 1/3 c white chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix dry ingredients (oats through protein powder) in a large bowl
• Mix wet ingredients (banana through milk) in a small bowl
• Add wet to dry and mix well.  I used a wooden spoon.  It takes a little muscle to get everything incorporated, but you want a very thick batter to make the granola bars. 
• Stir in mango chunks and white chocolate
• Spread into 8x8 inch pan that's been sprayed with non stick cooking spray
• Bake 20 minutes
• Cool, and cut into 9 squares

This spur of the moment baking adventure turned into the best "run out the door" breakfast I've had in a long time.  If you like coconut (I don't, sorry) that would probably be a good addition to these bars.  If you don't they are perfect as is.  Enjoy with your very large thermos of coffee!

Question of the day -


What's your favorite breakfast on the go?

Perfect chocolate cake part 2

I suppose it's about time I told how to frost that cake we baked yesterday.

I was trying to decide between a combination of chocolate with peanut butter, or chocolate with coffee.  Now don't get me wrong, I love me some Reese's, that's for sure.  But I baked this on Sunday as I was drinking a homemade latte, so I was feeling the coffee buzz.  Coffee has a way of bringing out the chocolate flavor (as if it was subtle and needed to be brought out more).  It ended up being ah-mazing.  Like so good I just wanted to keep it home and eat it myself with my hands...  Yeah, it's that good.  Enough teasing.  Here's the recipe so you can go make it for yourself.

Mocha filling

Ingredients

• 1/2 c good chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli)
• 1/2 c 2% milk
• 1 T instant coffee granules
• 3/4 c powdered sugar
• 6 T unsalted butter (room temp)
• 1 t vanilla extract

Directions

• Heat choc chips, milk and coffee granules in saucepan over medium heat until chocolate is melted
• Remove from heat and put in the fridge 20 minutes 

• Cream softened butter in mixer until light and fluffy, add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.
• Add in cooled chocolate mixture
• Beat on high until smooth and creamy

Now for the frosting.  

Chocolate buttercream

Ingredients

• 1/4 c butter (room temp)
• 1/4 c non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
• 3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 1/4 c powdered sugar
• 6 T milk
• 1 t vanilla extract

Directions

• Beat butter and shortening in mixer until light and fluffy
• Add cocoa powder, mix 2-3 more minutes until smooth 

• Add powdered sugar 1/3 c at a time, adding 1/2 T milk after every addition.
• After all of the powdered sugar is added, mix in vanilla extract
• Beat on high 3-4 more minutes until frosting is whipped

Now for the cake assembly - 

First, you want to level off your cakes with a large serrated knife if they are not flat.

Then I take 4 2-inch strips of wax paper and place them around the edges of the cake stand.  This will keep any mess off of the stand, and when you're all done you just remove the paper and have clean edges.

Next, I take a small dab of frosting and put in the middle of the stand to prevent the cake from slipping.

wax paper edges, and frosting center

Now put one layer of your cake down.  The wax paper should be under the edges of the cake.

Fill a piping bag with your mocha filling.

Never fill the bag more that 2/3 of the way.  If you do, things will get messy quick!  Now snip the end of the bag, about 1/2 inch up.  Pipe a ring around the edge of the cake.  This is making a "dam" for the filling so it doesn't ooze over the edges.  Fill in the dam with the rest of your filling.

Use a butter knife to smooth the filling.

Place your next cake layer on top carefully.

Now take a small amount of your chocolate buttercream and spread it over the top of the cake.  This is your "crumb coat".  Put the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes so the crumb coat hardens.  This will prevent any crumbs from getting through your final layer of frosting.

it doesn't have to be pretty

After it is chilled, take the frosting and spread it around the edges with an offset spatula (a butter knife will probably work too)

Then spread the rest of the frosting on the top and smooth it with a spatula.

Now that your cake is covered, take a buttered knife or offset spatula and drag it through the frosting lightly to create a "painted" rustic texture.

Do this all over the top and sides.  Remove the wax paper strips carefully and marvel at your beautiful work.  

You don't have to tell anyone how easy it was.  I l-o-v-e the rustic texture.  It looks homemade, yet professional all at the same time.  

So this is the third wedding cake I made in my trials.  The second cake can be seen here.  The verdict?  The first cake was much more complex in ingredients and technique.  It was good.  This cake looks hard, but it's so easy to make.  The cake is moist and chocolatey.  Honestly, I'd make AND eat this cake over the second one any day.  I will definitely make the second one again, with a few modifications.  The thing is, I don't really want to be super stressed about this a few days before my wedding.  I don't really see the need in making something more complicated, when this one comes out perfect every time.  As far as the first cake goes, that one was also phenomenal.  I'm not sure if I'll pick the chocolate or vanilla-almond with raspberry.  You'll have to wait and see what I decide to do.  I'll be sure to recap in 2 short months!

Question of the day -

What do you think about non-traditional wedding cakes?