Crepes

Crepes
What a fun, easy and fancy dessert to eat in minutes. I love having extras in the frig for a quick treat! Pam

1 1/2 c hard white wheat flour
1/8 t. salt
5 eggs (we use 2 whole eggs and 4 egg whites)
2 c milk (soy works well)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c butter melted (Smart Balance is good)
1 t. vanilla

Combine all ingredients and mix well with a blender or whisk.
Heat a large skillet to medium (I use a 12" for large crepes), lightly grease, pour about 1/4 cup in the middle, depending on size of pan and spread thinly with a spatula or a crepe stick. Do this quickly as it will begin to cook immediately and can be hard to spread otherwise. The crepes can be very thin as the egg mixture is very strong. Cook about 1 min. on each side.
Filling: endless ideas! We enjoy plain Greek yoghurt with strawberries and on the top, light whipped cream drizzled with Hershey's chocolate syrup. YUM!
These crepes are also yummy all by themselves. Cook a little longer until crisp and they're similar to some European cookies.

Brazilian Limonade

Brazilian Limonade
(This is such a refreshing & healthy drink I'm going to keep a pitcher of it in the frig all summer!)

2 limes
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
5 cups water

Wash limes, cut ends off, quarter and cut out the white stuff in the middle. Do not take the skin off! Put the limes, milk and 5 cups of water in blender. Blend but don't blend too much or it'll get a tart taste. Strain the juice into a jar. You may add sugar to your liking, although I like it without any extra sugar.

Optional: put 1 cup juice back in the blender with 5 ice cubes for a more cool, refreshing and slushy drink.

Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint Cookies

(Makes 3 dozen)

These are so tasty. The dough isn't very sweet so the jam is a nice compliment. We had fun with lingonberry jam, strawberry preserves and cinnamon chips! Pam

Ingredients

1 cup Smart Balance or butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cup hard white wheat flour OR 2 cups wheat & 1 cup ground oatmeal

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

fruit jam

3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

Separate egg, reserving egg white. Cream butter or margarine, sugar, and egg yolk.

Add vanilla, flour and salt, mixing well. Set dough in freezer for 10 mins.

Shape dough into balls. Roll in egg white, then walnuts. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes.

Remove cookies from oven. With thumb, dent each cookie. Put jelly or preserves in each thumbprint. Bake for another 9-10 minutes. YUM!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Baked Doughnuts

From: Rochelle

A while back, Austin's mom gave us a doughnut pan. I have seen baked doughnut recipes floating all over Pintrest and foodgawker and I wanted to give one a try. You should know me by now. . .anything pumpkin is ALWAYS good in my book! We actually made these for our family for Christmas and think they are SUPER tasty! They are moist, flavorful, and they are baked! Great healthy version for when that doughnut craving hits!  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Baked Doughnuts

Batter:

1 C	Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 tsp	Baking Powder
1/4 tsp	Baking Soda
1 tsp	Cinnamon
1/2 tsp	Ginger
Pinch	Allspice
Pinch	Cloves
1/4 tsp	Salt
1/4 C	Brown Sugar
1	Egg
1/4 C	Pumpkin Puree
2 Tbsp	Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp	Milk
2 Tbsp	Butter- room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your doughnut pan.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt, and brown sugar together.
3. Add the egg,  pumpkin, maple syrup, milk, and butter. Mix well and spoon into a quart sized zip-lock bag. Cut off a tip of the bag. Fill each "doughnut" mold with the batter. You should get about 6 large doughnuts.
4. Bake about 7-8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. As soon as the doughnuts are cool, use a knife to cut carefully loosen each doughnut and place on a cooling rack.

Optional Glaze:

1/4 C	Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp	Milk
2 Tbsp	Butter
1/2 C	Powdered Sugar

1. Melt the butter and brown sugar in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Allow it to come to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Careful not to let it burn!
2. Add the milk and bring to a boil again. Add the powdered sugar. If you want it thicker, add more powdered sugar. If you want it thinner, add more milk.
3. Turn the heat on low and carefully dip the top halves of the doughnuts. If you keep it over low heat, the glaze won't harden on you. Let the doughnuts cool.

Dig in and enjoy!!

Yield: 6 large doughnuts. 

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

From: Rochelle

I LOVE fall because that means pumpkin is everywhere! I LOVE pumpkin probably as much as I love chocolate. . . . no joke. Pumpkin shakes, pumpkin frozen yogurt, pumpkin anything! When I saw this post on pintrest I KNEW I HAD to make it! Oh baby was it worth it! If you are craving some pumpkin. . . THIS is what you need to make!

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting


Cake:
4 Eggs
1 2/3 C Sugar
1 C Canola Oil
1 (15 oz) can Pumpkin
2 C All-Purpose Flour, Sifted
2 t Baking Powder
2 t Ground Cinnamon
1 t Salt
1 t Baking Soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8oz) pkg Fat-Free Cream Cheese, Softened
1/2 C Butter (or Smart Balance)
2 C Sifted Powdered Sugar
1 t Vanilla Extract
2 t Ground Cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, and oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flower, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix at a low speed until throughly combined and the batter is smooth.
5. Spread the batter into a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

From: Rochelle

This has been a family favorite for YEARS! We got this recipe from my Aunt Shirl and her girls. If you have zucchini growing in your garden and are trying to figure out what to do with it, here is an option! My mom would add chocolate chips to this bread to make it even more chocolaty. : ) This so SUPER yummy with cream-cheese spread on top.

Shirl's Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Makes 2 loaves. 

3	Eggs
1 C	Brown Sugar
1 C	Sugar
1 C	Oil
7 T	Cocoa
2 T	Butter
1 t	Vanilla
2 C	Zucchini-Grated
3 C	Flour
1 t	Salt
1 t	Soda
1 t	Baking Powder
1/4 t	Cinnamon
1 C	Almonds (Optional)

Mix together ingredients with an electric hand-held mixer. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr (Mine we actually done at 40 mins.. . . so you might need to adjust the time according to your oven). 

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe was created one night when a craving for chocolate hit. Had to be a bit healthy though, so here ya' go! Enjoy! Pam

1 cup whole wheat flour

4 T. cocoa

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/2 cup butter or white bean puree

1/3 - 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 - 1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1 1/4 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup chopped craisins (sub for choc. chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In small bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside

In large bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Add dry ingredients.

Drop by tablespoons onto greased or lined cookie sheets and bake 8-10 mins.

Cool on baking sheet 5 mins. and then onto a cooling rack.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

From: Rochelle

I brought these to a church BBQ and we left empty handed. Two of my favorite treats smashed into a double-layer brownie that is HEAVEN! Don't worry, the cookie dough layer has no raw eggs, so you can eat as much as you want with no worries! I will be making this one again!

Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Brownies
Adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker

Brownie Layer:
Not going to lie, I just used my favorite store-bought Brownie mix. Allison's Pantry Fudgy Brownie Mix is my favorite! Someone gave the mix to us for our wedding and I am in LOVE!

Cookie Dough:
3/4 C   Smart Balance Butter
1/2 C   Light Brown Sugar
1/2 C   Granulated Sugar (Might need to add more to taste)
3 T    Milk (We used Soy Milk)
1 1/2 t Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 C Mini Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Prepare and bake the brownies as directed on the container. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan lined with foil and greased. Let cool completely. (If you don't let them cool, the brownies get crushed by the cookie dough.)

2. While the brownies are cooling, make the cookie dough! In an electric mixer cream the butter and sugars. Add the milk and vanilla. Add just enough flour until it is all combined. Then, using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips. 

3. Spread the cookie dough over the cooled brownies. Optional: drizzle chocolate sauce on top of the cookie dough. Refrigerate until the dough is firm (about an hour). Use a sharp knife and cut the brownies. Store them in an airtight container and keep cool. Eat and escape to heaven! 

Home-Made Graham Crackers

From: Rochelle

We went camping last week. No camping trip is complete without SMORES! I had the time, so I wanted to try and make home-made graham crackers. First off, do you know why it is called a Graham cracker? Because it is made from coarsely ground whole-wheat flour that a man produced. His last name? Graham. Minus the sugar, Graham crackers do have whole-wheat, making them a healthy treat for any camping trip! Be forewarned . . the process does take awhile because the freezing steps are SO important for a good product. BUT, the good news, that means you can sit down and enjoy a book while they freeze! ; )

Home-Made Graham Crackers
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen. 


Recipe made about 30 2x2 inch squares (I did squares for smores, but you could make rectangles.)

1 1/2 C All Purpose Flour
1 C Whole-Wheat Flour
1/2 C  Brown Sugar
1/2 C White Sugar
2 T Molasses (If you don't have this, just do 1 C Brown sugar instead of the 1/2 brown, 1/2 white)
1 t    Baking Soda
3/4 t Sea Salt
7 T Butter, cut into cubes and frozen
1/3 C Honey
5 T Milk (I used Soy milk)
2 T Vanilla

Topping:
3 T Raw Sugar (it is a coarser sugar)
1 t Ground Cinnamon

1. To make the dough, mix the flours, sugars, molasses, baking soda, salt and butter in a mixer of food processor. Mix until it is the consistency of a course meal. (Can blend with your hands if you want).

2. In a bowl, combine honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and gradually blend together until the dough barley starts sticking together. The dough is VERY soft and sticky. Don't worry!

3. Lightly dust a piece of plastic wrap with flour, and make the dough into a square about 1 inch thick. Wrap it and freeze it until it is firm. That takes about 2 hours. You could do all of this the day before and freeze overnight if you want.

4. You can prepare the topping and have it ready to go. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl until it is well blended. Set Aside.

5. Get the dough out of the freezer, divide in half, and return one half to the freezer. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Flour as needed. Trim the rectangle so you have 2" x length strips. Then cut those strips into 2 " x 2" squares. Place the squares on parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping, pressing it down lightly. Chill until it is firm, about 15-20 mins. in the freezer. Do the same thing with the 2nd block of dough. Gather scraps as you go, put into a ball, and re-freeze until firm.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I made little dents in my crackers with the round bottom of a kitchen utensil, but you can decorate as you wish. Bake crackers for 15-25 mins. until they are turning brown around the edges and are slightly firm. After 15 mins. check them often for doneness.

Enjoy! They are fab! Future Project: Home-Made Marshmallows . . . I think I have got to try it!

Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter Brownies

From: Rochelle

I found these brownies on ourbestbites.com and I fell in love! Warning--this are not very healthy . . BUT. . . and occasional indulgence is not TOO bad IF it really is occasional. If you use fat-free sweetened condensed milk, smart balance for butter, non-fat milk, and just the egg-white, you've already cut out a LOT of fat. . SO . . try that and you don't have to feel guilty eating these! They are rich, gooey, and are actually best if you let the cool and set-up a little bit.

Ooey-Gooey Peanut-Butter Brownies

Recipe from Cooking Light, Sept. 2010

3/4 C sweetened condensed milk, divided (fat-free is fine)

1/4 C Smart Balance, melted and cooled (1/2 stick)

1/4 C non-fat milk

1  box devil’s food cake mix (18.25 oz)

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

cooking spray

1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme (about 1 3/4 C)

1/2 C peanut butter morsels (A very “heaping” 1/2 cup :)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, combine 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, milk, butter, cake mix, and egg white.  Mixture will be very thick.  Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray.  Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Use either floured hands, or spray your hands with cooking spray in order to press it down without having it stick to your fingers.  The layer will be thin.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk and marshmallow creme in a bowl and combine until smooth.  Stir in PB morsels.  No one will tell if you stir in some extras.  Spread marshmallow layer over brownie layer in pan.  Carefully drop remaining brownie batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool before cutting into squares.

Fruit Pizza OR Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies w/ Healthy(ish) Frosting

From: Rochelle

Last week, Austin and I bought some strawberries from Costco. What's a better way to eat them than on a fruit pizza! You can use these recipes to make a fruit pizza OR just a healthier sugar cookie. Your choice! I LOVE the frosting recipe because seriously, using these healthy ingredients almost gives it the texture of marshmallow creme, SO good!

Healthy Fruit Pizza OR Sugar Cookies

Whole-Wheat Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

·         2 cups whole wheat flour (If you aren't use to the taste of Whole Wheat, you might want to 1 C Whole-Wheat and 1 C White)

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1 cup sugar (You can use honey, I will be honest,  it needs the sugar. It's a cookie!) 

·          (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened (Or ¼ C Oil, ¼ C Butter)

·         1 egg (Or 2 egg whites or ¼ C egg substitute)

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1.        In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the flour with the baking powder and salt.   In another bowl, cream the sugar with the butter until light lemon-yellow, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla and milk, then add the  flour mixture ½ cup at a time and mix until blended.

2.        Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour, or until firm. This step is really important! 

               

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out until thin, about 1/8 inch. Cut into desired shapes, or make the size you want your pizza.  sprinkle with sugar and place on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Makes about 4 dozen 2-inch cutout cookies.

Healthy(ish) Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 C Smart Balance Butter

1 (8 oz) Block of FAT-FREE Cream Cheese

2 C Powered Sugar (or to taste)

2 T Milk

1 tsp Vanilla

Blend with an electric blender until very smooth and fluffy. I recommend starting with the cream cheese, milk, and vanilla. Then gradually add the powdered sugar to taste. 

To assemble your fruit pizza:

1. Bake your sugar cookie crust. Let cool.

2. Spread frosting.

3. Put on desired fruit. We used strawberries & Pineapple, but blueberries and mango would be good too. 

4. Cut and eat!! 

Deceptively Delicious Doughnuts

by Pam

These are sooo tasty, light and moist. Baked with healthy ingredients to please everyone!

(I split the dough and do half spice and half chocolate doughnuts)

Makes 12 large doughnuts

1 cup light or dark brown sugar

1 cup of pumpkin puree

1 cup sweet potato puree (or 2 cups of either one)

1 cup milk

2 large eggs (or just whites)

2 T. Smart Balance (or other type of butter)

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour (I sprouted, dried then ground the flour resulting in a light and sweet flour, but not necessary to do)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice mix

3 T. cocoa powder for chocolate doughnuts

confectioners' sugar, chocolate, etc. for toppings

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a doughnut mold or muffin tins with cooking spray. (if using dark teflon tins, no need to oil)

2. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, pumpkin & sweet potato purees, milk, eggs, butter and vanilla.

3. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder & mix well.

4. Now divide the dough into two portions if doing spice and chocolate and add the flavorings to each batch.

5. Pour batter into 2 separate quart size bags, cut the bottom corner off and squeeze the batter through into the doughnut mold.

6. Bake 15-20 mins. until tops are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Scoop them out with a soft thin spatula onto a rack to cool.

7. Dust with sugar or chocolate, etc.

8. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding

by Pam

Why don't we make this comfort food more often?! We love it for breakfast or dessert, and warm with soymilk is heaven!

10 slices whole wheat bread, cut into cubes

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

6 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups hot milk (160 degrees F/71 degrees C)

1 pinch ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter one 2 quart baking dish.

Combine bread cubes, butter, cinnamon and raisins; mix well and place in baking dish.

Beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add milk, mix well and pour over bread cubes. Press the bread into the liquids and let it set for 15 mins. before baking.

Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake for 25 minutes.

Lemon Blackberry Trifle

From: Rochelle

Austin LOVES Trifle. For Valentine's day dinner, I made this for dessert. It was light, yummy, and delicious! And it was SUPER easy. It is also fairly healthy for a dessert because it uses angel food cake vs. pound cake, and uses yogurt instead of pudding.

Lemon Blackberry Trifle
 1 (14 oz)  Can    Fat-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 (8 oz)   carton Non-Fat Reduced Sugar Yogurt (Lemon, match to use whatever fruit you use, we actually used Vanilla Banana)
1/3 C Lemon Juice
2 t   Grated Lemon Peel
1 (8 oz) Container Reduced-fat Whipped Topping (thawed and divided)
1 (16 oz) package angel food cake (buy or make)
1 Flat of Blackberries*
1-2 Bananas*

*Substitute with any fruit you would like: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. Can also top with toasted slivered almonds.

1. In a large bowl, combine the milk, yogurt, lemon juice, and peel. Fold in 2 cups whipped topping.
2. In a 3 qt. Trifle bowl or deep salad bow, layer a third of the cake cubes, a third of the lemon mixture, and a layer of fruit. Repeat cake and lemon mixture layers. Top with more fruit, remaining cake cubes, and lemon mixture. Sprinkle with remaining fruit.
3. Spread remaining whipped topping over fruit. Sprinkle with almonds if desired.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. (We actually didn't do this. . . we just made it and ate it. It was just fine!)

Double-Layer Pumpkin Pie

From: Rochelle

We made this over the Christmas break and oh, man was it good! I throughly enjoyed it! It isn't really a pie, it is more of a pudding or a custard, or even like a cheesecake and is served cold. You actually don't even bake this. This is probably one of my favorite pumpkin desserts because it is creamy and smooth. Here is my ALL-TIME-FAVORITE Pumpkin Pie:

Home-made Pumpkin Puree
First, we made our own pumpkin puree. Right before Halloween, the Farmer's Market had their Sugar Pumpkins for $1. Steal! So I grabbed 2 of them. One we used for Thanksgiving and other we saved for Christmas. We just cut the pumpkin up, cooked it in a glass dish with about 1 inch of water, covered with plastic wrap. We cooked it for about 10-20 minutes until the flesh was tender and peeled away from the skin. We then scooped out the pumpkin flesh and threw it in the blender until it was smooth. Then we let it sit for an hour or two to get the extra moisture out. You can even set it in the fridge and let is drain overnight in a sieve lined with strong paper towels or cheese cloth. If you don't want to make your own pumpkin puree, you can just buy it but $1 versus $4-5 for a can . . . you decide.

Home-made Pumpkin Puree

Then we did the recipe:

Rochelle's Double-Layer Pumpkin Pie

10 servings

4 oz	Cream Cheese-Softened
1 C	Milk
1 T	Sugar
1 T	Milk
1 (8 oz) Tub	Cool Whip (Thawed & Divided)
1	Graham Cracker Curst
1 (15 oz) Can	Pumpkin
2 pkg	Jell-o Vanilla instant pudding
1 t	Ground Cinnamon
1/2 t	Ground Ginger
1/2 t	Ground Cloves

Mix cream cheese, 1 tablespoon milk, and sugar. Stir in half of whipped topping and spread in crust.

Pour 1 cup milk in bowl and add pumpkin, pudding, and spices. Beat with a wire whisk 2 minutes until blended. It will be thick. Spread over pumpkin layer.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with whip cream and refrigerate leftover. 

*We tried making it a few days ahead and then froze it, but we decided we liked it better thawed. I wouldn't freeze it until you REALLY had to. 

Swedish Taffy Creams

From: Rochelle

So for Christmas, I made cookies to give to our neighbors. I remember making these Swedish Taffy Creams with my mom and LOVING them. I really like them because they are such a unique cookie and hardly anyone has heard of. They just aren't made that often. Just a warning, other than the oats, there isn't much that is healthy about these cookies, but they are good!

Swedish Taffy Creams
Cookies:
1 C   Butter
1/3 C   Sugar
1/3 C   Milk
1/3 C   Dark Corn Syrup
1 1/3 C  Oats
1 1/2 C  Whole-Wheat Flour
1 t    Baking Powder
1 t   Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt Butter, add remaining ingredients and mix. Drop by teaspoons (I made mine bigger, but these are good as LITTLE cookies too), at least 2 inches apart on a well greased cookie sheets.

Bake 10-12 minutes, then let cool for 2 mins. Put two cookies together with filling or cool whip.

Filling:
1 T Flour
1 T + 1/4 C Sugar
2/3 C Milk
2   Egg Yolks or 1 Egg
1/2 C Butter

Combine flour and 1 tablespoon sugar in saucepan. Gradually add milk and egg, mix well. Cook over low head, stirring constantly till boils and thick. Cool. Cream butter with remaining sugar. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition.

Make about 12 large cookies or 25 smaller cookies.

Carrot Souffle

From: Haley

I found this recipe over the summer and fell in love with it. I made it again today for a Christmas party that I'm going to and thought I'd take some pictures and share the goodness! It is wonderful as a side dish, a not-so-sweet dessert, or a midnight snack :)

Carrot Souffle

2 pounds carrots, chopped

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup white sugar

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a blender combine the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon and eggs. Blenderize for a minute or two until smooth.

Once carrots are cooked, drain them and gradually add the cooked carrots to

the mixture in the blender. Blenderize until you have added all the carrots and it is smooth.

Pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan and bake for 30 minutes.

This dish is best after it has cooled completely, and then can be reheated and served warm or cold.

Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

From: Rochelle


A week or so ago I taught a "Healthy Holiday Cooking" class for my club fundraiser. I did lots of research and found lots of excellent recipes and tips to help cut calories during the holiday season. One of the recipes I found was for these whole wheat sugar cookies. I thought this might be a good one to share since people usually decorate sugar cookies over the holidays. I will tell you, you can taste the whole-wheat in these cookies, but I actually like it and plus with frosting on it, you can't tell anyways.


P.S. Austin gobbled these up in a day!


Healthy Frosting Tips: 
Pillsbury has just come out with sugar-free frosting. This might be a good option to decorate your cookies with.
Also, another good tip is to take all of the frosting out of the tub, and put it in a bowl. Then, using electric beaters, beat the frosting to incorporate more air into the frosting. I add just about 2-3 teaspoons of water as well.  Not only does this make your frosting last longer, but you are using & eating a little bit less frosting. They use this trick with ice cream. They incorporate more air into your ice cream to make it softer and fluffier.

Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies
2 C   Whole Wheat Flour
2 t      Baking Powder
1/2 t   Salt
1 C    Sugar
1/2 C  Unsalted Butter (I used 1/4 C Butter and 1/4 C White Bean Puree)
1        Egg (or 1/4 C Egg Substitute
1 t     Vanilla Extract
2 T    Milk


Directions

1. In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the flour with the baking powder and salt. 
2. In another bowl, cream the sugar with the butter until a light lemon-yellow, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla and milk, then add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time and mix until blended. 
3. Form dough into disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour, or until firm. 
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out until thin, about 1/8 inch. Cut into desired shapes, sprinkle with sugar and place on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool. 

Makes about 4 dozen 2-inch cookies.

Gingerbread Cake

From: Rochelle

Today for a Christmas work party we were in charge of bring a dessert. I wanted to make something that tasted like Christmas. I found this recipe in my William-Sonma New American Cooking Cookbook and decided that this was it! I tweaked it a little, the original called for pears, I left those out, but it turned out delicious! It defiantly needed some kind of cream-cheese frosting, yogurt dollop, or infused whip-cream, but it was good! Smelled even better!

Gingerbread Cake

1 1/2 C      All-Purpose Flour

3/4 C         Whole-Wheat Flour

1 1/2 t        Baking Soda

1 t              Ground Ginger

1 t              Ground Cinnamon

1/2 t           Salt

1/4 t           Ground Nutmeg

1 1/4 C       Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

3/4 C          Unsulfured Molasses

2                 Eggs

2 t              Freshly Grated Ginger

1 C            Buttermilk

2 C            Plain Yogurt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 dish with butter and coat with flour.

2. Sift together all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer set on med. speed (I just used my Kitchen Aid), beat together 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup Brown Sugar, until light and fluffy. Gradually add Molasses. Add eggs, one at a time, then beat in the fresh ginger.

4. At low speed, alternate adding the spiced flour mixer with the butter milk to the sugar and egg mixture. Beat just until mixed. Pour into the prepared pan.

5. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Take out and let cool

6. For topping, mix together the yogurt and remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar. Cut the cake into squares and serve warm with a dollop of the yogurt or topping of your choice.