Pumpkin Cream Cheese Recipe (Starbucks-a-like)

These Starbucks copies are so delicious, and make your house smell amazing! I make them every fall and bring them to holiday parties and family get-togethers.

Candied Pepitas:
3 tablespoons table sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pepitas (can sub sunflower seeds)

Cream Cheese Topping:
4 oz cream cheese softened
2 tablespoons table sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


Muffin Mixture:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 teaspoon allspice 

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
3/4 cup vegetable oil
12 cup muffin tin
Paper muffin cups

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Cream Cheese:  

combine cream cheese (by mixer or by hand), sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. 

Candied Pumpkin Seeds: 

Put 1/2 pepitas in pan with 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil. Stir constantly until lightly browned. Remove. Add sugar and cinnamon and mix.

Muffin Mixture: 

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add pumpkin and oil and continue to mix until thoroughly blended. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until batter is semi-smooth.

Bake: 

Spoon batter into muffin cups, making batter level with top of the muffin cup. Add 1 tablespoon of cream cheese to the top of each muffin and press cream cheese down into the middle of each muffin cup. Sprinkle muffins with candied pumpkin seeds. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

To test for doneness insert a toothpick into center of muffin

Baked Plantains with Avocado-Banana Dip

Easy, healthy snack for all ages!

Ingredients:

2 Green Plantains
3 Tablespoons Olive (or coconut) Oil (Organic)
Salt to taste
1 Ripe Avocado (Organic)
1 Ripe Banana (Organic)
2 Teaspoons Fresh Lemon Juice


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel plantains with a knife. Using a mandolin or a food processor, slice plantains into medium-thin slices. Put sliced plantains into a bowl, and coat with olive oil. Place in a single layer on non-stick baking sheet and add salt to taste (can add cinnamon in place of salt). Bake 8 minutes, turn over, bake 5 minutes. Total bake time 13-16 minutes.

Dip: Mash 1 ripe avocado and 1 ripe banana in a bowl. Add 2 Teaspoons fresh lemon juice. To add sweetness, add honey.

Lemony Snickerdoodle Cookies - HOLIDAY COOKIE TREAT (Healthier Alternative)

Makes 4 dozen

2 1/2 cups King Arthurs All wheat flour*
1/4 cup white flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp baking powder
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 Large Organic eggs
2 1/2 tbs Organic coconut oil
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup dark or light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. In a large bowl mix together the flours, salt, and baking powder and set aside.

2. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer (or hand mixer) and beat on medium for 2 minutes until well mixed.

3. Add the organic eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. 

4. Add the coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix well. Then add the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition until all incorporated and smooth.

5. Cover the dough or roll into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate two hours or overnight, if you can wait that long.

6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

7. Shape the dough into 1 inch round balls and place about 2 inches apart on the parchment paper lined sheets. Use your hand or the bottom of a glass to flatten the dough just a wee bit.

8. In a bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over each cookie. Bake the cookies for 8 – 10 minutes until they are light golden brown and firm around the edges. I prefer my cookies to be a bit chewy in the center. YUM. Place on cool counter with parchment or cooling rack until cool. If you can wait that long ;)

*I always use King Arthur Flours.

The base of this recipe follows most snickerdoodle recipes. In the spirit of healthy alternatives, we go organic, free range, sub organic coconut oil for vegetable or canola oil, and whole wheat flour over bleached white flour. While I wouldn't call these healthy exactly....they ARE a healthier alternative to your average Christmas cookie.

Collard Green Chips

Totally healthy snack coming your way! I can't believe how easy these are, and how nutritious they are, too!  Its so good for you. I just recently discovered collard greens within the last year, and I can't believe I've been missing out this whole time.

1 bunch of collard greens - cleaned and dried.
2 teaspoons olive oil
Seasoned salt

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Tear greens apart from its stem, creating a bunch of bite sized chunks (as shown)

Add two teaspoons olive oil and stir until greens are coated.

Place greens flat on baking sheet. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, sea salt, or garlic salt.
Bake for 10 minutes or until leaves are crisp and light brown on the edges. Remove from oven and place in serving bowl. Enjoy my friends!

Healthy Soft Pretzels (Healthy, I promise!)

After being pregnant and posting mostly 'treats' that weren't so healthy..I've got to go back to my original style of cooking and baking. This pretzel recipe is healthy in the way of sneaking nutrition for your family in a tasty snack.  

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon flaxseed meal
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces margarine, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. 

Add the flour, flaxseed meal and margarine and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. (Health hint:  Use half whole wheat flour for added benefits!)  Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. 

Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

My two boys, ages 11 and 9 loved these with a bit of mustard on the side. Totally heart healthy and great for the digestive system. Thats my kind of treat!

Homemade Baby Foodie

Hi again! It feels like its been sooo long since I last blogged a recipe. Being a new mommy is a full-time job (no kidding, right?) and I've had my hands full. I have a few recipes stowed away that I will post when I get more time, but I thought that in the spirit of mommydom, I would post how I steam and make my baby's puree food. Its a super easy 'recipe', and every mom can do it. So, lets get to it!!

Firstly, I'd like to share that I get my produce delivered to my door from local farmers www.farmfreshtoyou.com so I can be assured that my food is locally grown, is organic and is pesticide free.

Step 1:  Cut up fruits and/or vegetable. Here I didn't remove the skin first. You can remove skin before or after you steam your food. Place food in accu-steamer or any steamer. You can also steam in a pot if you don't have a steamer handy.

Step 2:  Add water. My steamer calls for 1/2 cup.

Step 3: Cover steamer basket with lid and steam. My accu-steamer automatically shuts off when food is properly steamed (how? I don't know) but check your food after 10 minutes and go from there.

Step 4:  Puree. You can use any food processor for this step. I have a Kitchenaid obsession, so thats what you see here. But I have other mommy friends who swear by the Baby Bullet and the Baby Brezza.  The step you didn't see here is that I added formula to the food before blending. I do this to ease the transistion from formula to 'solids', and to ensure that my baby gets enough nutrition. You can also do this with stored breastmilk ;)

Step 5: Move puree to sealable, freezer safe container.

Step 6:  Hug your baby for letting you do all of this without interruption! (shout out to the Baby Einstein Jumper!)

Step 7:  Done! Mark your food/date on the container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or the freezer for up to 2 months!!!!

  

My baby has a happy, heathy belly!!! Hope you enjoy the 'recipe', time to picnic with my boy!

Glazed Doughnuts

**Warning** These treats are not exactly healthy, but they do make bellies happy. I blame my pregnancy for all the junk food that ends up on here. I normally cook healthy foods for my family.

Glazed Doughnuts

• 1 1/8 cup milk
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoon active yeast
• Two whole eggs
• 1 1/2 cup butter
• Four cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Cooking oil

Measure out 1 1/8 cup milk in measuring cup. Warm shortly in microwave to make milk warm, but not hot. Add brown sugar and stir briefly. Next, add yeast and stir briefly again. Yeast does not need to be dissolved. Let sit for a few minutes.

In a separate microwavable bowl, melt butter for 30 seconds. Butter will not be completely melted-which is good-since we'll be mixing in egg yolks and we don't want those yolks to cook...stir heated butter in  its bowl until mostly consistent.

Crack two whole eggs into another bowl, and whisk the heck out of them. Combine eggs with butter (make sure again that its not hot!) Add the milk, sugar and yeast to the mixture.

Measure out 4 cups of flour into large bowl. Mix in salt.  Using 1/2 cup at a time, incorporate flour into liquid mixture mixing or kneading as you go. Once all mixed, knead on floured surface for additional minute. Ta-da! The creating of the dough is complete! Lightly grease another bowl, and put dough in. Cover with plastic wrap and put into refrigerator for at least two hours.

After 2 hours should look like this:

Plop out dough on floured surface. Flour rolling pin and roll dough to 1/2" thickness. With no more than a 3" round cookie cutter (or a doughnut cutter), cut out numerous circles in the dough. Using a smaller cutter, cut out smaller circles from the big circles. Cut out as many circles as you can an place on floured cookie sheet. Cover with towel and let rise in warm area for an hour.

Pour cooking oil into large pot, allowing oil to heat to around 300 degrees. Oil should NOT be smoking, nor should it be bubbling. You can test this temp by dropping one of the doughnut holes in and watching it cook for about 10 seconds on each side. Color should be light brown and dough should expand to a round shape. Once this is achieved (and the hour is up) layer a bunch of paper towels on counter to reduce oil from cooked doughnuts.  Place your first doughnut in the oil. (CAREFULLY. On the very first doughnut, the oil splashed up and burned the heck out of my thumb. Very unfun.) Let doughnut cook for 10 seconds, flip with a slotted spoon, and let cook another 10 seconds. Remove and set on layer of paper towels to absorb oil. Flip doughnut over a few times to get as much oil removed as possible. Repeat with all doughnuts and holes.

Glaze

• Four cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir all ingredients together to form a glaze. Dip each doughnut and hole in glaze, flipping to coat each side. Set on wire rack to dry/cool.  Once all are glazed, repeat to create a thicker coat. *Special thanks to my son, Sebastian for helping glaze the doughnuts (and sneaking one!)

Yum. All done. Just let sit a few minutes and enjoy. =)