Dessert
Cranberry Orange Torte
Today at my ladies Bible Study luncheon I served this cake. It is a traditional torte that I make during the holidays. Every time I make it people ask for the recipe, so here it is. Originally I learned this recipe from a dear friend who was my original hiking buddy years ago.I have made a few modifications, reducing the sugar and adding a few more dates and cranberries. You can substitute applesauce for the oil or do half coconut oil and half applesauce. Have fun making this delicious cake. It just might become one of your family traditions for the holidays.
Cranberry Orange Torte
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups flour
1 cup sugar (you can use ¾ if desired)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts
1-1 ½ cups chopped dates
2 cups whole fresh cranberries
2 large oranges (grate rind off both oranges and squeeze juice and save for glaze)
2 large well beaten eggs
1 cup buttermilk
¾ cups canola oil (you can use applesauce or coconut oil equivalent amounts or half and half with canola oil)
For glaze mix….
½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
⅛-¼ cup sugar
Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix in nuts, dates, cranberries and grated orange peel. In a separate smaller bowl combine well beaten eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Stir well and add to dry ingredients. Mix until thick dough forms. Pour into well greased Bundt pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Test with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean and cake is baked all the way through. Let cool until lukewarm. Turn out onto a serving platter and pour glaze over cake. Enjoy. This cake freezes very well …
Read MoreIce Cream-Trying a New Flavor at a New Ice Cream Parlor
One of my favorite desserts is ICE CREAM! So this BUCKET LIST item was so much fun to carry out. Trying a new flavor sounds easy, BUT we decided to carry out this BUCKET LIST item at a new Ice Cream Parlor in Folsom, called Handles. As you can see in the pictures….there were so many options of flavors I had never tried, it was really hard to decide what flavor to try. I sampled coffee chocolate chip, pumpkin cheesecake, graham central station, pumpkin ripple and chocoholic chunk. I went with a WINNER-Chocoholic Chunk and it was AMAZING!!! I can’t wait to go back to try another new flavor. Since a picture is worth 1,000 words, I will treat you to some of our fun pictures.
What fun tradition do you like to share with your family and friends? Mine is trying new ice cream parlors. Come along and join me next time, because ice cream shared with loved ones makes it taste SO MUCH BETTER!
…
Peach-Blueberry Cobbler
Hot summer nights are a perfect time to serve up some homemade cobbler. My favorite combinations of fruit for cobbler are peach-blueberry and strawberry-rhubarb. This week I was visiting my youngest daughter, Bekah, in Clovis and picked up a big box of fresh peaches-nothing like a peach cobbler made with fresh peaches from the Valley. We had taken the children blueberry picking a few days before so I decided to make a peach-blueberry cobbler tonight to serve at a gathering tomorrow evening. I will warm it up tomorrow and serve it with fresh vanilla ice cream. YUMMY!!!
Cobbler Ingredients
4-6 cups very ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup sugar
Topping
2 cups whole grain baking mix (you can use whole wheat flour and add 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder)
1 ½ cups oats
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup softened butter
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
Peel and slice peaches. Mix with rinsed fresh blueberries. Add lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar and stir well. Pour into a 9×13 glass pyrex pan. In a large bowl, mix together baking mix. oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and softened butter. Stir until butter is mixed in and then add yogurt and stir until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of fruit and if desired sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes until bubbly and topping is golden brown. You can use 6-8 cups of peaches to make a delicious peach cobbler if you do not have blueberries.
This is the baking mix I used and it turned out so delicious!
This is my new recipe stand where I can place any cookbook I am using right in front …
Read MoreHigh Protein Chewy Nut Butter Granola Bar
We love to eat healthy in our family and we are always looking for ways to sneak healthy ingredients into our snacks. We also sometimes need to have some easy on-the-go ideas to grab and go that everyone loves…but healthy ready to go snacks can be pricey. And like our family you might also be tired of paying high prices for protein bars that your kids won’t eat. So for those of you who are looking for options we have a recipe for you to try! This is easy and healthy and delicious!!!!!
Ingredients
2 cups oats
½ cup coconut
½ cup natural peanut butter (almond butter, cashew butter or sesame seed butter)
¼ cup honey
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tablespoon Cacao Bliss (or any brand organic Cacao powder)
2 Tablespoons whey protein powder
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
You can use quick oats or whole rolled oats. If you want to use the whole rolled oats you might want to blend just a bit in the vitamix or blender. Combine oats with remaining ingredients and mix until all ingredients are blended together evenly. If your mixture seems a bit too gooey you can add a bit more oats. Press into a lightly greased 9 inch square pan and refrigerate for an hour. Cut into bars or squares and serve. If you have any leftover….you can individually wrap them and refrigerate until ready to eat.
Our Picky Ricky Review on this recipe is missing because Picky Ricky claims to be allergic to peanut butter….HAHAHAHA! Next time I will make these granola bars with ALMOND BUTTER and I will get him to try them and will update this recipe with his review. POOR Picky Ricky!!!!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN…who doesn’t love pumpkin baked goods at this time of year. This one is a show stopper. I modified an old family favorite recipe to bring you this healthier version with just as much taste and a wonderful texture. It is hard to eat just one!
I made a batch of these for a women’s gathering tomorrow and I know they will be gone in a flash. They are so moist and delicious, you can not eat just one!!!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup oat flour
1/4 cup flax meal
1 cup whole wheat flour (or almond flour or coconut flour)
2 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup butter (you can use 1 cup total coconut oil instead of 1/2 coconut oil 1/2 butter)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup coconut sugar (can use brown sugar here as well)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup organic pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie filling that has spices in it already)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure first 9 ingredients (flour, dry ingredients and spices) in a medium sized bowl. Cream the butter, coconut oil and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and blend. Add the canned pumpkin alternately with the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips, walnuts and raisins and stir until blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 2 dozen large cookies or 3 dozen medium cookie. Enjoy!
Here are the ingredients for the original recipe, if …
Read MoreS’mores at the End of a Sunny Summer Day
Lots of sun and swimming and even a nice walk to the neighborhood park. all in a fun summer day. It seems like a perfect night to have S’mores for dessert. If you have the supplies on hand and an outdoor fire pit it is easy to roast some marshmallows and make a batch of s’mores. But what if you do not have a fire pit?…..Here is a fun and easy way to provide that campground dessert experience for you kids or grandkids by making pocket s’mores.
What you need:
aluminum foil
1 bag of large marshmallows
1 box of graham crackers
one milk chocolate bar for each 2 pouches of s’mores (Hershey’s works well because the bars are thin)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Or if you have a BBQ going for your dinner prep you can have your pouches ready and put the pouches directly on the BBQ.
For each pouch of s’mores you need a large piece of foil (about 12 x 16 inches). Give each person
1 large graham cracker and 2 marshmallows and ½ of a milk chocolate bar for each pouch of s’mores. Break up the graham crackers into medium pieces and place in the middle of your foil. Place the two marshmallows on top of the graham crackers. Break up the chocolate bar into small pieces and scatter over the graham cracker and marshmallow mixture. Wrap the foil around the ingredients you have placed on the middle and make a little pouch that looks like a Hersheys Kiss-twisting in the middle. Make sure there are no spaces where melted chocolate or marshmallows can drip out. Place pouches onto a cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until marshmallows and chocolate are melted. Open up the pouch and enjoy!!!
YUMMY in the TUMMY!!! WE had …
Oatmeal Cake-great for Easter brunch
Easter brunch is a fun family tradition and I love to have a few recipes on hand that can be made ahead of time. This Oatmeal Cake is easy to make and everyone just loves it. This cake is moist and has the hidden benefit of extra nutrition by adding in the oatmeal. The topping combines nuts and healthy coconut which adds a bit of sweetness to any brunch coffee cake. You can also serve the as a light dessert with fresh strawberries or raspberries. Another wonderful thing about this recipe is that it can be made ahead and frozen for a few days. Just take out of the freezer the night before and warm it up for a few minutes before serving. Hope your family likes it as much as ours and who knows it could become a new addition to your Easter brunch menu.
Oatmeal Cake
1 cup oats
1 ¼ boiling water
½ coconut oil
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup flour (I used whole wheat and white combined)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
6 Tablespoons melted butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
Combine oats and boiling water and let sit for 20 minutes. Cream coconut oil (slightly softened) and ¾ cup brown and ¾ cup white sugar. Add eggs and mix until combined. Add oatmeal mixture and mix until combined. Add flour, salt, soda and cinnamon and mix until smooth batter is formed. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. While baking the cake, make topping by mixing melted butter, coconut, nuts, vanilla and sweetened condensed milk and stir …
Read MoreCandy Cane Oreo Cookie Cheesecake
Bekah found this recipe and we decided to try it. Our cheesecake connoisseur, Ashkon, said he would prefer to have the candy canes only as decorations on the top rather than mixed into the cheesecake because it change the texture of the cheesecake to have crunchy candy inside. So do what you prefer candy canes can be mixed into the cheesecake or just used as topping. The flavor of the cheesecake and the consistency are absolutely perfect. Here is the original recipe. Change it as you like…..
Ingredients
30 oreo cookies or Trader Joe’s chocolate JO-JO’s
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
25 candy canes crushed and divided
4 (8oz) packages of Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
4 oz Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate
2 oz white chocolate
Heat oven to 325 degrees
Pulse 18 cookies until finely ground.
Pour into bowl and add melted butter and mix and press into 9 inch spring form pan.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Crush up 20 candy canes. Cut up 10 cookies. Mix cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl of kitchenmaid or mix master at medium speed until whipped thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly. Stir in crushed candy canes and cut up cookies and pour over crust.
Bake 55 minutes until center is almost set. cool and refrigerate 4 hours minimum.
Crush remaining 5 candy canes. Cut up 2 remaining cookies. Set aside. cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt chocolates separately according to package directions. (I melted in the microwave stirring after each 15 second interval until melted). Spread semi-sweet chocolate on parchment paper making a thin layer. Spoon white chocolate on top by spoonfuls and swirl to make a marble effect. Sprinkle candy canes and cookies on top and refrigerate until hardened.
When …
Mint Brownies
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without baking cookies and preparing delicious family traditional recipes. These mint brownies are one of our family favorites…..Rich and delicious dark chocolate with a creamy minty frosting and dark chocolate glaze…
Ingredients
6 squares bittersweet chocolate
1 ½ cups butter
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
3-5 teaspoons green food coloring
Melt 4 squares chocolate and 1 cup butter in the microwave. Start with 20 seconds and stir well them continue 15 second intervals stirring after each microwave until melted. Mix eggs, sugar, ½-1 teaspoon peppermint, flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Pour chocolate melted mixture into bowl and stir until blended. Add chopped nuts and stir. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan for thin brownies or a 9-inch square pan for thick brownies. Bake in a 350 degree oven , 25-30 minutes for thin brownies and 40-45 minutes for thick brownies. Test with a toothpick to make sure they are done in the middle. Cool and frost.
Frosting
Mix 4 Tablespoons soft butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, ½-1 teaspoons peppermint extract, milk and green food coloring. Stir until soft and spreadable. Spread on cooled brownies. Melt remaining 2 squares of bittersweet chocolate with 4 Tablespoons butter. Stir until pourable. Drizzle chocolate glaze over frosting.
Chill and cut into small squares.
- 6 squares bittersweet chocolate
- 1 ½ cups butter
- 4 eggs
- 2
Apple Cake-Wellness style
This apple cake is moist and full of flavor. You can make it gluten free and it is full of fiber, so as far as a healthy dessert recipe goes, this is a keeper. Since I chop all the apples in a food processor with the peel on and I also chopped the nuts and raisins together in the food processor, it is a quick and easy dessert to make and take to parties.
Ingredients
2 cups flour (you can use gluten free flour here without changing the taste or texture)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 ½ cups walnuts
1 cup raisins
5-6 large tart apples (4 cups when chopped)
½ cup oil (I use coconut oil)
1 cup sugar (you can use honey, coconut sugar or brown sugar)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sift dry ingredients and set aside. Chop walnuts and set aside. Peel, core and chop apples. You can chop the walnuts and apples in a food processor. (I actually do not peel the apples before I chop them in the food processor)
Cream the oil and sugar. add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the dry ingredients until well blended. Fold in the apples, nuts and raisins. The batter will be very stiff. Turn into a well greased 9×13 pan or a bunt pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven. Bake 45 minutes for the 9×13 pan and 50 minutes for the bunt pan. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
