Dessert
Guilt-Free Puppy Chow
The holidays are fast approaching and the weather is cooling down. Cooking soups and stews and baking goodies is such a fun past time in the fall. One of our family’s fun fall favorite treats is Puppy Chow. We make it around Halloween/Thanksgiving and add some fall colored M & Ms or candy corn and during the Christmas holidays you can add green and red M & Ms or Christmas green and red chocolate chips. Here is a new recipe for Guilt Free Puppy Chow that was shared with us. We tweaked it a bit and the result is a delicious and much healthier option.
Ingredients
4 1/2 Cups of Rice Chex
1/2 Cup of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup of Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup of Honey
1 1/2 TBS of Coconut Oil
1 tsp of Vanilla
2 Packets Dairy Free Chocolate IsaLean Shake (or 1 [heaping] Cup of Your Favorite Protein Powder) ^^ This is our favorite!! You can also try with Vanilla or Pumpkin Protein Powder.
Measure out the Rice Chex into a large bowl. Mix together the chocolate chips, peanut butter, honey and coconut oil in a 2 cup glass pyrex measuring cup. Melt in microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring well after each interval until smooth. Pour over Rice Chex and stir carefully until coated. Pour 1 packet (or ½ cup) protein powder into a large gallon ziplock bag, add chocolate covered Chex mixture and pour the other packet of protein powder over Chex. Close bag securely and shake until pieces are covered with protein powder coating. Lay on wax paper covered cookie sheet and allow to cool. Be careful when you taste this Guilt Free Puppy Chow because you could easily eat the whole batch-it is really DELICIOUS!!!!
Optional add ins: Orange/Fall Color M & …
Read MoreSkinny Oatmeal Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies
I love to bake. This pregnancy my nursery nesting has been shifted into baking. Minus the dishes after, baking is what relaxes me and I love being able to share what I bake with others. So, when I found this new cookie recipe with NO white flour and NO sugar and just 2 TBS of butter, I had to try it. I adjusted it to make it just a little more delicious with some of my favorite baking go-to ingredients. As you move forward into this new school year and holiday season, don’t be afraid to try new things in the kitchen! Something might surprise you 🙂
Ingredients:
1 Cup Oats
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 TBS Cinnamon
Scant 1/2 tsp Salt
2 TBS Butter, melted
1 Egg
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Honey
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips
Adapted from The Food Charlatan
The How To…
- Add all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, melt the butter. Add egg and beat together. Add the vanilla and honey and mix well.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients in the large bowl.
- Add chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Shape the dough into large balls, place on prepared cookie sheet and slightly press down.
- Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes or until they start to brown on the edges.
- As soon as you pull them out of the oven, press 3-5 chocolate chips into the tops of each cookie.
Makes 12-18 cookies
Share some of your new favorite healthy baking recipes!
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Pumpkin Cake (Healthy Style-Gluten Free)
The feeling of Fall is in the air and with our first rain today….I must concede the fact that summer is over. School is back in session and all my volunteer commitments have begun. We are gearing up for a great year in women’s bible study and we are studying the book of Psalms, a perfect way to share in the songs of worship and praise that men and women have used for centuries. Psalms were used by Jesus as His songs and prayers. We had our first luncheon with the new ladies in our discussion group last week and this is the dessert cake I made to share with the gals. It was a hit, so I wanted to share it with them and all of you.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
1 ½ cups your favorite gluten free flour blend or almond meal flour
1 ½ cups organic oats pulsed in blender or vitamix to make grainy oat flour
3 Tablespoons flax meal
1 Tablespoon hemp seed
1 Tablespoon chia seed
¼ cup whey based protein powder (vanilla or pumpkin flavored)
¼ cup brown sugar or honey (optional if you are using chocolate chips)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons almond milk
4 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
⅓ cup raisins
⅓ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips or pumpkin flavored white chocolate chips
Frosting
¼ cup softened butter
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2-3 Tablespoons almond milk
Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together all wet ingredients in a small bowl. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until moistened throughout. Add nuts and raisins and chocolate chips …
Read MoreBerry Cobbler-Best Red, White and Blue Fourth of July Dessert
This is my absolute FAVORITE summer dessert is this berry cobbler that I make each summer with berries that I have picked in Brentwood. this summer, I missed the berry picking days because we had a wonderful family gathering for a wedding. So this summer I will use the organic berry blend from Costco. So take my word for it……..For a delicious and nutritious summer dessert try making an olalliebery/blueberry cobbler. We will be having a wonderful afternoon barbecue with family and friends to celebrate the 4th of July. I enjoy these times of fellowship, the beautiful weather and some competitive corn hole games. We will eat delicious bbq turkey burgers, chicken apple sausages, orzo salad, and a green salad with watermelon and feta cheese and I will make this cobbler recipe for our dessert. I baked it in a 9 x 13 pan and when it was cool, I will decorate it like an American flag with blueberries for the stars and sliced strawberries for the stripes. 
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
Fruit filling
8 cups olallieberries fresh or frozen (mine were fresh picked out in Brentwood and then frozen)
2 cups Maine blueberries (I used frozen)
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
2-3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ cup butter (¼ of a cube) cut into small pieces
Topping
2 cups oats
1 cup flour
½ cup wheat germ
¾ cups brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup (1 stick) cold butter
½ cup coconut oil
In a large bowl, combine the thawed berries with ¼ cup each brown sugar and white sugar. Add the 3 Tablespoons flour, fresh lemon juice and nutmeg. stir gently until combined. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with …
Read MoreGluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
For some of our friends and loved ones, the days of delicious chocolate chip cookies like grandma used to make seem to be a long ago luxury, never to be enjoyed again. During this “Clean Eating” month I have been searching for an option for those who need to be gluten free for whatever reason when it comes to their clean eating desserts. I started by researching recipes for homemade gluten free flours and found two that sounded quite reasonable. I will share both of them with you and the sites where I found them so you can do your own evaluation. In the end I happened to have one bag of “Bob’s Red Mill” Gluten Free All Purpose Flour on hand so I used it today in my recipe for the sake of time and convenience.
I adapted a recipe I found online from Michelle@MyGluten-freekitchen.com
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups gluten free flour blend
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if Gluten Free flour blend you are using already has xanthan in the recipe)
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter melted
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperate
1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, whisk together gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt. In your mixer bowl, put cream cheese and melted butter and begin to mix. Add brown and white sugar and blend on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add the flour mixture and blend on low until just mixed. Add the chocolate chips and mix in by hand. Cover the cookie dough with saran wrap and …
Read MoreValentine’s Day Chex Mix
Valentine’s Day is such a fun holiday for crafts and recipes! I have definitely been in a baking/want to be creative in the kitchen mood (I think I am officially nesting) so this was really fun to create! This mix would be so cute bagged up for a little gift and is a fun way to give a sweet treat that is different than candy!
Valentine’s Day Chex Mix Ingredients:
2 Cups Cheerios
2 Cups Rice Chex
3 Cups Pretzel Thins (break into pieces)
One Package (Approx 9) Honey Graham Crackers (break into pieces)
1 Cup Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Valentine’s M&M’s
Red & Pink Sprinkles
Directions:
- Place the Cheerios, Chex, Pretzels, and Graham Crackers in a large bowl. You want the bowl to be large enough to mix.
- Put the 1 cup of chocolate chips into a glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Microwave for 15 seconds and stir. Microwave another 15 seconds and stir. You want the chocolate completely melted, but you need to be careful not to burn the white chocolate.
- Pour the melted chocolate onto the chex mix and begin stirring right away. While the chocolate is still hot, pour the sprinkles and M&M’s into the bowl and continuing mixing.
- Spread the coated chex mix onto a lined baking sheet and allow to cool. Place the chex mix into cute Valentine’s bags to gift or in a Ziploc to keep fresh.
- 2 Cups Cheerios
- 2 Cups Rice Chex
- 3 Cups Pretzel Thins (break into pieces)
- One Package (Approx 9) Honey Graham Crackers (break into pieces)
- 1 Cup Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips
- 1 Cup Valentine's M&M's
- Red & Pink Sprinkles
- Place
Graham Cracker Christmas Crunch and Christmas Reflections
The stockings are hung by the chimney with care………the tree is up and the lights are twinkling on the tree and Christmas cookies and sweet breads are baked and wrapped for taking to the neighbors and our Christmas cards have been mailed. Only a few days until all the fun begins. This is technically an “off year” Christmas for our family. All the girls decided together that they would prefer coming home for Christmas all at the same time so every other year we ALL gather here in Alamo and on the “off years” the girls spend Christmas day with their in-laws. We are very fortunate this year that Bethany and Mike are able join us, so we are counting down the days until they arrive!!!!
Bekah was here two weeks ago to help me with the holiday preparations and my sweet hubby has been right by my side helping with cards and food prep for the big day. Spending time with family and friends and gift making and gift giving make Christmas so special. It is one of my favorite times of year.
The greatest gift of all is that Jesus came into this world to show man the way to connect intimately with God. Jesus is the promised Messiah spoken of by the prophets in the Old Testament. Jesus is our hope, He is our savior. the book of Hebrews talks about Jesus….”So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced the same testing we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and …
Read MoreOreo Peppermint Bark
The month of December is like someone handing you a box of chocolates and telling you to eat the whole box at once. I love December and I love Christmas with all the decorating, cookie baking and celebrating. The difficulty comes when all the holiday preparations and traditions take time away from the friends and family you want to spend time with. So how do we balance the “to do” list with all the fun opportunities throughout the holiday season. My typical modus operandi is to sacrifice sleep in order to accomplish all I need to do to be prepared for the holidays and not have to miss out on any holiday gatherings. The problem with that is I usually get run down. I do not say “no” very well and tend to over-commit in December. What I am learning is how to ask for help. It is fun to do all things Christmas with a buddy. Even errands are more fun with a friend!!! Thrown into the mix this holiday season has been a few baby showers and a couple of extra trips to So Cal for kindergarten Christmas programs and Christmas dance recitals. But at the end of the day…I would not change a thing!!!!! I LOVE EVERYTHING CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Molasses Crisps
Every year I host a Christmas Cookie Exchange with my friends. It is a great way to connect over hot chocolate and goodies and I look forward to it all year long.
This year I decided to use a classic Baby Bear Stew recipe from our cookbook and it was a hit!
- ¾ cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar (plus extra for rolling)
- 1 egg
- 4 tsp molasses
- 1¾ cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cloves
- 1½ tsp ginger
- Cream shortening and sugar.
- Add egg and molasses.
- Sift dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.
- Roll into 1 inch balls or use a small cookie scoop and roll in sugar to coat balls.
- Place far apart and bake for 12-15 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
What is your favorite holiday cookie?
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Frappaccino Twist
Who doesn’t love an icy coffee drink with some flavor? I am pretty sure that most people actually like frappaccinos, it is just the fact that it is so much, or so unhealthy, that turns many away. What if we could make that coffee milkshake goodness healthy? Would you try it?
Well, it is possible. And not only are they healthy, they actually taste great! And you can do so many options!!!! So here’s the pictures for some curb appeal, with the recipe below. But let’s make it have a fun catchy name… A Frappaccino Twist!
Ingredients
- Cold brewed coffee, frozen coffee cubes, or coffee grounds (if you are okay with that texture)
- 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup or 2 scoops undenatured whey protein powder (chocolate, vanilla, or pumpkin)
- 2 cups of ice
- Optional Add ins: almond extract, vanilla extract, mint extract
- Whip cream, chocolate shavings, or sprinkles, or cinnamon
- Directions
1. To prepare the coffee, brew a pot of your favorite coffee, let it get cold. Or if you know how to cold brew coffee overnight you can do that. You can have coffee that has been frozen into ice cube trays for easy accessible coffee. If you do this, then use a cup of water with the coffee ice cubes. Last resort, you can use a scoop of coffee grounds if you don’t mind the texture.
2. Choose the flavor of coffee shake you would like. You can make a mocha, vanilla, or pumpkin spice. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup or 2 scoops undenatured whey protein powder (chocolate, vanilla, or pumpkin)
3. Add 2 cups of ice
4. If you need a little extra touch and a slight bit of unhealthiness, add whip cream, chocolate shavings, or sprinkles, or cinnamon on top.