Banana Bread for Kids!

Good Morning! This morning I made some Banana Bread Muffins just for Greta. They are the healthiest muffins ever! And delicious, too! Give them a try sometime.

Ingredients:

3/4 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 c oats, ground

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Whisk together above ingredients in large bowl & set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together:

2 eggs

1/4 c brown sugar

1/3 c applesauce

2 TB canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

3 ripe bananas, mashed

Then add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently until just combined. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and fill 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 12

Strawberry Cupcakes for Greta Mae's 1st Birthday

Our sweet Greta Mae turned one on December 19th & we had a strawberry themed sledding party for her. A lot of her little friends came over & we had a great time sledding & eating Strawberry Cupcakes! The original ("Strawberry Tea Cakes") recipe came from "125 cookies to bake, nibble & savor" by Elinor Klivuns. But I changed it, of course :) here is what I did:

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) package of fresh strawberries, diced & tossed with 2 Tb of sugar

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 large egg whites

1 c sugar

1/2 c canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 c sour cream

preheat oven to 350. line baking muffin tins with cupcake papers & spray with a non-stick spray. In a food processor, process the strawberry-sugar mixture until coarsely chopped.

set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

Put the egg whites & sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer, mix on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Decrease speed to low & mix in the oil, vanilla and almond extract until the oil is incorporated. Rub any lumps out of the baking soda & gently mix the baking soda into the sour cream. Alternately stir (into the wet mixture in mixing bowl) the flour mixture & the sour cream mixture, starting and ending with the flour. just until incorporated. Gently fold in the strawberries.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for about 17 minutes

(turning once, halfway through baking time)

For frosting, I used the cream cheese frosting from the "lemon wedding cake" recipe on this blog. I filled a piping bag and piped stars on top of each cupcake. Then sprinkled with jimmies. I ordered a Do-It-Yourself "Strawberry Picnic" digital file from Dimpleprints on Etsy. The strawberry cupcake toppers are from there.

I think it was a"berry" cute strawberry cupcake party for a "berry" sweet one year old gal.

Lemon Wedding Cake

On December 14th we heard the great news that 2 of our friends, Joe & Anika, were getting married the following day! That's right, the very next day! On December 15th they tied the knot & I just had to present them with a wedding cake. Afterall, you can't have a surprise wedding without a surprise cake!

I used a recipe from Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, with a few changes, of course.

It turned out to be delicious and I will definitely be making it again!

the original recipe can be found here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-cake-recipe/index.html

As I stated, I made a few changes to the recipe. Here is what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• zest of 3 lemons
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
• 3/4 cup whole milk + juice of 1 lemon (to substitute for buttermilk)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

  Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the milk (with juice of 1 lemon) and vanilla. Add the flour and milk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour.

  Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake at 350.

  Cakes are done when tops bounce back when pushed & no jiggling when wiggled. I am sorry I do not remember how long the baking took ;) check the cakes after 20 minutes and rotate. check again periodically until done.

  Frosting:

  16 oz cream cheese

  1 stick of salted butter, room temp

  1 tsp vanilla

  6-8 cups of powdered sugar

  combine cream cheese & butter in mixer. Add vanilla and mix until combined.

  Slowly add powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency.

  To make this layer cake I made the recipe twice. I baked two 8 inch round pans and two 6 inch round pans. I line the pans with parchment and spray with a non-stick spray. After baking, I let the cakes cool and then cut the rounded tops off of the cakes to make them flat on top. I spread a bit of cream cheese frosting on the serving platter and placed the first 8 inch round cake upside down on the platter. The frosting underneath the cake helps the cake stay in place. I then frosted the top of the first layer & placed the second 8 inch round cake on top of it. I frosted the top of that cake and placed gently the first 6 inch cake upside down in the center of the cakes. Frosted the top & placed the 4th and final cake on top. I then frosted the top of that cake and worked my way down the sides. I then used a piping bag with no tip, just the round opening to pipe dots around the edges of the cake. I had cut a beautiful bloom from a hydrangea and placed it on top of the cake, and also placed a leaf from the same plant along the bottom edge for decoration.

  A simple, but beautiful & quick "surprise" wedding cake!

Low-Fat Marble Cupcake

(original recipe is from Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Desserts.

I made a few changes**)

2 cups cake flour (8 ounces)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp instant espresso powder **(I omitted this)

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 1/3 cups sugar, divided

1/4 cup water, room temperature

6 tbsp unsalted butter, very soft

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 cup (nonfat) plain yogurt **(I used vanilla yogurt)

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (divided)

Preheat oven to 350F.I have changed the directions a bit from the original **Use cupcake papers (foil cups are the best) and a muffin tin.

Spray cupcake papers lightly.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Place yogurt into a small bowl and set aside.

In another medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water until well combined.

Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until light, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg, followed by egg white, making sure that the egg is thoroughly incorporated before adding the white.

Beat in 2 tsp vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the yogurt in three additions

(flour, yogurt, flour, yogurt, flour) and mixing at low speed until just combined.

Measure out 1 cup of the yogurt batter and stir into the cocoa mixture.

Spread 3/4 of the vanilla batter into the bottom of the prepared cupcake paper. Top with dollops of chocolate batter and top that with the last few dollops of vanilla batter. Use a clean bread knife to gently swirl the batter (make an “S” curve throughout) once.

Bake about 20 minutes, rotating once mid-way through baking time. The cupcakes are done when pressing a finger gently on top of cupcake does not leave an imprint. Cupcake top bounces back up when done.

Frosting: 1 package vanilla pudding mix (3 oz, small box) + Strawberries, pureed and strained to 1/2 c. liquid strawberry juice + 1/2 c. milk. whisk all together until well combined. Then fold in 1 tub of cool whip. Cool in refrigerator for at least an hour. Then put in piping bag and pipe out onto cupcake top and sprinkle!

The cupcakes were made for our friend Reese's 5th birthday party! Here they are on display at her party!

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. peanut butter

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. white sugar

1/2 c. applesauce

beat together until light and fluffy

then add

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

beat all together until combined

In a separate bowl, combine

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

whisk until combined and then add to the wet ingredients.

Beat until just combined.

then add

2 c. old fashioned oats

1 c. mini chocolate chips

Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet.

Bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.

Leave on cookie sheet for at least a minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These are delicious and lower in sugar than

most pumpkin bread recipes.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a very large bowl:

2 c. whole wheat flour

3 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

and whisk together wet ingredients in a medium sized bowl:

1 can pumpkin (1 pound 13 oz can)

3 eggs

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. applesauce

1 c. canola oil

1 c. cold water

2 tsp. vanilla

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold until just combined.

Add 2 cups chocolate chips & fold in gently. Do not overmix.

This recipe makes a lot! 36+ muffins or 3 large loaves

Spray your pans and preheat oven to 350*

muffins bake for about 20 minutes. loaves will need longer. It is ready when a finger pressed gently on top bounces back instead of staying indented.

yum! i love pumpkin & chocolate! delicious!

Zucchini Muffins

Wow! These turned out so great that I had to share the recipe with you!

2 c. bread flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

combine above dry ingredients in large bowl & set aside

in medium bowl combine:

3 large eggs

1/2 c. canola oil

1/2 c. applesauce

1 c. white sugar

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 c. grated zucchini

whisk together until well combined

add wet ingredients to dry ingredients & fold gently until just combined

Spoon batter into a greased muffin tin.

Bake @ 350 for 18-20 minutes. check muffins & turn halfway through baking time.

(They are done when you press a finger gently on top of muffin

and it bounces back instead of staying indented.)

Delicious!