Raspberry Muffins

The secret to making great raspberry muffins is lemon zest!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. canola oil

1/2 c. milk

zest of one lemon

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. applesauce

Mix together until well combined.

Then add:

1 large egg (at room temperature)

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix until combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine:

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Whisk the dry ingredients (I whisk instead of sifting the flour)

Add wet ingredients to dry and fold gently until almost combined.

Then add:

1 1/2 c. frozen raspberries

(if using fresh berries, rinse them and let them dry, then toss with

1 Tb. of flour to soak up any liquid. then add raspberries to the mixture...) When adding raspberries, fold only a few times & as gently as possible. This will prevent the color from leaking into batter & will also prevent your batter from being overworked.

The lighter & fluffier the muffin, the better...

Spray a muffin tin or line with baking cups. Fill with batter almost to the very top. This recipe will make a baker's dozen muffins.

Bake @ 350* for 20-24 minutes, turning halfway through baking time. They are done if you gently press a finger on top and the muffin springs back up. If indentation stays or you see muffin fall a little bit when pressed, then bake a few more minutes. I spritzed the top of muffins with water & sprinkled sparkling sugar on top.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

Today I created a brand new healthy Zucchini Bread or Muffin Recipe. It turned out great!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. grated zucchini (1 medium zucchini)

1/4 c. grated apple (1 small apple)

3 eggs

1/4 c. plain yogurt

1/2 c. applesauce

1/2 c. canola oil

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 can crushed pineapple (8 oz, undrained)

Mix above ingredients until well combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk dry ingredients together:

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

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

This will make 1 large loaf of bread or about 20 muffins. Spray pan with cooking spray or use muffin cups. I filled muffin tins with batter almost to the very top. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes, turning 1/2 way through baking time. When they are done, Muffins will pop back up when pressed with a fingertip. or you could insert toothpick and if it comes out clean, it's done. Baking a bread loaf will take much longer. About 35-40 minutes.

Also turn loaf 1/2 way through baking time.

This is not a very sweet bread, so if you'd like, for some extra sweetness & crunch, you could top with sparkling sugar after baking: once cooled, spritz muffin or bread with water & top with the sparkling sugar.

Enjoy!

Key Lime Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs

8 Tb. butter, melted

Melt butter & add to crumbs. Mix until completely combined. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan. (I lined the outside of the pan with aluminum foil to prevent edges of cake from browning. Just wrap foil underneath the

entire pan & form to outside edge of pan.)

Place crust in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 300*

In mixer, combine just until smooth:

24 oz. cream cheese, chilled, but soft.

1 c. sugar

1 Tb. cornstarch

zest of 1 lime

Then add:

3 eggs

Add one egg at a time, only mixing until barely combined after each addition.

Then add:

1/2 c. key lime juice

Mix only until just combined. Do not over mix.

Pour key lime filling into spring form pan over the

graham cracker crust.

Place a cake pan 1/2 full of hot water on the bottom shelf of your oven. (this will keep moisture in the oven & prevent cracking) Bake key lime cheesecake @ 300* for 55-60 minutes. Do not open oven at all during the bake time. Once the 55-60 minutes have passed, open oven door slowly & check to see if the cake has set... i.e. it jiggles, but does not shift around. When done, turn oven off & open oven door 4-5 inches. let cake sit in oven for 30 more minutes. Then let cake cool on countertop, then cool in refrigerator at least 3 hours.

Cake should be slightly pulling away from edges of the pan. perfect! release the outer edge of the pan & cover with whip cream:

1 c. whipping cream & 2 Tb. sugar whipped for about 10 minutes

Delicious!!!

**I have made some additions & subtractions to it, but I found the original recipe for this cheesecake on one of my favorite sites

www.allrecipes.com (Key Lime Cheesecake I)

Homemade Pizza

One of our favorite meals around here is homemade pizza. I got home from work a little early last night so I had plenty of time to make the dough & let it rise. Simple to make, try it!

Ingredients, Crust:

(recipe from Cooking Light)

1 pkg. dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp.)

1/4 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 c. warm water (100*-110*)

Combine above ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes. Then add:

1 Tb. olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

Stir until it comes together, then turn out onto floured surface & knead 5-10 minutes, adding flour as necessary so that it doesn't stick to surface or hands. Drizzle some olive oil in a large bowl. Place dough in & turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a light kitchen towel & let rise in a warm place (85*) for 45 min or until doubled in size. Dough is ready when you gently press 2 fingers into dough & indentation remains. Punch down dough & let rest another 5 minutes.

This can make 2 large pizzas or many small ones. Cut off desired amount & roll on a floured surface. Sprinkle a cookie sheet with corn meal. Place dough on sheet. Poke several holes in dough, the more holes, the thinner the crust will be.

While dough is rising, prepare the sauce:

2 Tb olive oil

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 Tb. tomato paste

1 can crushed tomatoes (28oz)

1 tsp. basil

2 tsp. parsley

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. black pepper

salt to taste

In medium saucepan over medium heat, add oil. Once hot, add onion & cook 3 minutes. Add garlic & cook 2 more minutes. Add tomato paste and combine with onion & garlic. Add crushed tomatoes & spices. Once hot, turn heat to simmer & cover. Stir occasionally.

Top rolled out dough with sauce & desired toppings.

Bake @375* for 12-15 minutes. Top will brown slightly when done.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Here is my first ever Chocolate Cream Pie!

Ingredients:

1 (pre-baked) pie crust:

1/4 c. canola oil

2 1/2 Tb. milk

whisk oil and milk together. Then add:

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

dash of salt

Stir with fork until it starts to clump together. You may have to add a bit more flour. Turn onto floured surface or wax paper and knead a few times to form ball. In between 2 sheets of wax paper, roll out the crust. Uncover and flip the crust onto a pie pan. Place a piece of sprayed aluminum foil over pie crust,

fit to shape and fill with dry beans.

Bake @ 350* for 15 min. then remove foil and beans and bake another 10 min. Set aside to cool.

**Time saving tip, you could buy a pre-baked pie shell @ the store.

pie filling:

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 c. milk (I used 2%)

4 Tb. cornstarch

2 Tb. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. salt

4 egg yolks

1 Tb. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar & milk. Turn on stovetop to medium heat. Once sugar & milk are warm, add cornstarch, flour, cocoa & salt. Whisk after each addition. Add egg yolks, one at a time & whisk after each addition. Stir constantly with spatula until mixture comes to barely a boil. If there are any clumps in mixture, take off heat & use whisk to smooth. Once boiling, turn down heat to low & continue stirring constantly until very thick. Remove from heat & stir in butter & vanilla.

Continue stirring until mixture has cooled a bit.

Pour filling into cooled pre-baked pie shell. Cover pie with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will cling to top and prevent pie from forming a top crust on filling.

Place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours to cool.

whipped cream:

1 c. whipping cream

2 Tb. sugar

With a mixer, whip the whipping cream.

Slowly add sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.

It will take about 10-12 minutes.

Refrigerate whipped cream until pie is cooled, set & ready to serve.

**Time saving tip, you could use store-bought whipped cream.

Cover pie with whipped cream. I used a decorator's bag to pipe stars to cover. You could just spread whipped cream on with spatula. Store refrigerated. *another option...This pie would be a great summer frozen dessert. Once pie is prepared with filling and whipped cream, just pop in the freezer until you are ready to serve.

Warm a knife with hot water to cut.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls

Good Morning!

It is a cold & snowy spring day here in the Hoback Nation

and hubby requested cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

4 tsp. baking powder (I used 3 1/2 tsp. - high altitude adjustment)

1/2 tsp. salt

In medium bowl, whisk above ingredients together.

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. milk

Cut butter into flour mixture until it looks like crumbs. Add milk and fold until it comes together. Turn out onto floured surface and knead a few times with floured hands to keep from sticking. Flour surface again and roll out into rectangle 1/2 inch thick.

filling:

2 Tb. butter, melted

1/2 c. sugar

2 Tb. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Mix above filling ingredients together

and spread over rolled out dough.

Roll the dough up starting from long edge.

Cut rolled dough into sections 1 inch thick each.

Place 1/2 inch apart in a sprayed baking dish or pan.

Will make 12-16 rolls.

Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes. Turn halfway through baking.

Top will brown slightly when done.

Frosting:

2 c. powdered sugar

1 or 2 Tb milk or half & half

1/4 tsp. vanilla

dash of salt.

Mix together until smooth. if it's too runny,

add more powdered sugar,

if it's too thick, add a dash of milk.

Drizzle frosting over cinnamon rolls and serve.

Cowboy Cookies

Tomorrow we are hosting a "Bring in Spring" 5 mile run

with our running club,

Teton Trail Runners in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

I made some "cowboy cookies" for the group.

Ingredients:

2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

Whisk above ingredients in a medium bowl, set aside.

1/2 c. canola oil

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3 c. oats (quick or old-fashioned)

1 c. chocolate chips

In a large bowl combine oil, butter & sugars with mixer, until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time and mix. Add vanilla, mix. Slowly add flour mixture and stir in. Add oats and chocolate chips and fold in with spatula. Make into rounded cookies and drop onto cookie sheet.

Bake @ 325 for 10 minutes (or until golden and set),

rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time.