Pull-Apart Herb Rolls

From: Rochelle

If you haven't noticed, we are kind of obsessed with whole-wheat bread items over here. I usually make a home-made bread item to accompany our Sunday dinners. This last Sunday was my Dad's Birthday Dinner so we had to make something EXTRA special. These look fancy, taste wonderful, and are SO fun to make! Plus I LOVE pulling apart each layer as you eat them.  

Pull-Apart Herb Rolls
Adapted from: Petite Kitchenesse


Rolls:

• 3 cups of flour (I used half whole-wheat and half all-purpose flour)
• 1 cup of warm water
• 1 packet of instant yeast (2¼ tsp.)
• ⅓ cup of sugar
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 1/2 T Kosher Salt
• 2 T Oregano
• 1-2 T Garlic Powder (to taste- I like mine STRONG!)
• 2 T Melted Butter

*Can also add different herbs, cheese, or use roasted garlic cloves instead

1. Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in an electric mixer with the dough hook. . Add butter and salt to the yeast mixture, then sift in flour 1 cup at a time, until dough forms.  Knead for 8–10 minutes, until dough is smooth. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with saran wrap or a damp towel, and set in a warm area for about an hour, or until doubled. (I place in a slightly warm oven.)

2. Punch down dough and turn out on a well-floured surface. Knead a few times, and then let it rest for 5 minutes. In the meantime, mix Oregano (or herb of your choice)  garlic powder, and salt and melt the butter. Roll dough out into a large rectangle, somewhere between ¼ and ⅛ of an inch thick. Brush butter over the entire surface of the dough, then cover evenly with the filling.

3. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, slice the dough into squares. Use your best judgment for size, depending on the type of pan you are using. Stack slices and place the stacks in a greased muffin tin. I made my stacks about 6-7 squares high.  Cover and let rise for another 40 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake for about 15-18 minutes. Take out from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 20-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 12 rolls. 

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!

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.