Category Archives: Dessert

Buckwheat Brownies

08 Friday Mar 2013

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Buckwheat brownies

This is maybe hard to admit…whatever the right words are…but these brownies are better than my “brownies from childhood”! I think it’s the buckwheat!

Words cannot describe the fudgey, rich chocolate-y, chewy goodness of these brownies! The buckwheat flour adds to the chewy factor. It makes me wonder why all brownies aren’t made with buckwheat flour?

What is buckwheat? It’s not a grain like you would think. It’s a fruit seed in the rhubarb family. They are high in magnesium…which is good for you for many reasons…hey, I’m not a nutritionist but I’m trying to learn!

Here are the buckwheat brownies before they were baked. I didn’t have the walnuts that the recipe called for so I decided to use dots of the homemade chocolate hazelnut butter that I made.

Buckwheat brownies (before baking)

Buckwheat brownies

Buckwheat Brownies

  • 1 stick organic, unsalted butter
  • 1 cup organic raw cane sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup (heaping) buckwheat flour
  • 2/3 cup organic walnuts (or 1/4 cup chocolate hazelnut spread, divided)

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  • Prepare an 8×8 square baking dish by rubbing coconut oil around the bottom and sides.
  • In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat. Add the sugar and cocoa powder, stirring until combined. Pour into a medium bowl and allow to cool slightly.
  • Add vanilla and eggs and stir well to combine.
  • Add buckwheat flour, salt and baking powder and stir well for about 2 minutes, making sure to incorporate anything that may have stuck to the side of the bowl.
  • This is the point where you can fold in walnuts if using. I decided to use 9 dallops of my chocolate hazelnut spread.
  • Pour batter into the baking dish and spread evenly.  Bake for 28 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. When done, remove immediately from the baking dish and allow to cool completely before cutting/serving.

Recipe adapated from CA Organic Foodie

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

07 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by in Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert

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AKA super-healthy homemade Nutella.

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Some of the many interesting facts about hazelnuts (found here):

  • A specific B vitamin found in hazelnuts called thiamin works to help regulate your nervous system and aid healthy muscle and cardiovascular health. This valuable vitamin and antioxidant eliminates free radicals within your body that have connections with causing cancer.
  • Hazelnuts lack both sodium and cholesterol, making them a healthy choice for those watching weight and looking to improve heart health.
  • The small nuts contain viable amounts of magnesium and calcium, both of which greatly improve bone and teeth formation and density. Each also helps regulate metabolic functions.
  • The copper within hazelnuts plays a vital role in protecting against and improving some forms of arthritis, slowing down the overall aging process, and even stimulating brain cells. Copper also works to increase immunity, protecting you against common sicknesses.

Hazelnuts and coconut oil

Some benefits of Coconut Oil (found here):

  • Coconut oil increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy… Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight.
  • Coconut oil also helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.
  • You should read the whole section under “Other”!

For this recipe after the hazelnuts have been roasted you have to try to remove most of the skins…they won’t all come off…

Hazelnuts having a skin removal party

Layer the ingredients in the blender:

chocolate hazelnut butter

Look at that goodness!

Chocolate hazelnut butter

Doesn’t it look great in this jar? Give me a spoon!

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon organic pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups organic raw hazelnuts

Method

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes. Take them out and shake them around about halfway through. Once roasted place them on a clean kitchen towel and try to remove as much of the skins as possible. Discard skins.
  • I used my Vitamix and placed all ingredients in the order listed. Start at level 1 and move dial very slowly to level 8. Run for 20 seconds and turn off.
  • Place in an air tight container and refrigerate.
  • Makes 2 1/4 cups of chocolate hazelnut butter.
  • Enjoy on toast, apples and slathered on crepes etc.

Mini Brownie Bites

03 Sunday Feb 2013

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Mini Brownie Bites

For the record I am not making these for the Superbowl but I did use the Superbowl as an excuse to bake!

Mini Brownie Bites

Intensely good and perfect for a party…but we aren’t going to one…we’re staying home!

Mini Brownie Bites

  • Basic recipe for Brownies From Childhood, then also add:
  • 1 heaping tablespoon instant coffee
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Satiny Chocolate Glaze

  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Method

  • Cook brownies in a mini muffin pan lined with baking liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (you might want to check after 12 minutes).
  • To prepare glaze: Add all ingredients to a double broiler and stir until just melted and turn the burner off. Once brownies are cooled use the back of the spoon to glaze the tops. I used a 1/4 cup chopped walnuts and various sprinkles to decorate. I got the recipe for the glaze here.
  • Makes 60 mini brownies.

Spiced Pumpkin Seed Granola

19 Friday Oct 2012

Posted by in Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert

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Apparently there was a pumpkin theft in my neighborhood yesterday which I was unaware of until I woke up this morning to an amusing string of emails from people in the neighborhood:

Jason (condo owner across the street from the town houses): A girl got out of a black car and took two pumpkins from the corner town house front stoop yesterday. What is this neighborhood coming to?

Erica (sent to a couple of the town house owners who could possibly have missing pumpkins): Did one of you have two pumpkins stolen? Just checking. I’m hoping that a lady was supposed to pick them up or something and did not just take them.

Terri (a town house owner): They were stolen from my front steps!

Laura (another town house owner): I wasn’t home last night. I’m not sure if mine are still there.  Elissa had a couple of pumpkins on her steps too.

Elissa (that’s me…also a town house owner): Laura your pumpkins and our pumpkins are thankfully safe and sound!

Funny!!? Well…I thought it was! My bedroom is on the 3rd floor and the first thing I did this morning after reading this email was to walk down to the first floor to check on the pumpkins and send my email reply.

This whole pumpkin situation was also great inspiration for this granola. I plan to enjoy this for myself and share it my sister Angela (who is going to have a baby ANY DAY NOW).

I did some granola research today and then adapted my own unique recipe. It smelled deliciously of spice and coconut while it was baking. It’s crispy and slightly sweet and really good! I can’t wait to try it with some frozen yogurt :)

Pumpkin Seed Granola

  • 6 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking or instant)
  • 2 cups sliced almonds
  • 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/3 cup local honey
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger
  • 2 big pinches kosher salt
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup white raisins

Method

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In the largest mixing bowl you have add oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds and all the spices. Mix together well. In a separate small bowl mix together the coconut oil, honey and maple syrup. Add the wet ingredients to the oats mixture and using a rubber spatula fold it around and around the bowl until combined. (It think it’s better to fold the mixture instead of stirring it so that the almonds won’t break up too much)
  • Spread out mixture on a large baking sheet. Stir every 20 minutes so that it bakes evenly. Bake for about an hour.
  • Add the mixture back into a large mixing bowl and fold in dried cranberries and raisins. Divide into airtight containers for storage.

Mini Honey Almond Apple Crisps

12 Friday Oct 2012

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These apples are supposed to be my afternoon snacks but instead all but one of them wanted to be made into yummy little apple crisps!

Today, while reading one of the blogs I follow, called A Couple Cooks, I ran across a recipe for Honey Almond Apple Crisps in Jars. The recipe had no sugar (honey instead), very little butter (compared to a lot of recipes for crisps) and an interesting addition…grated ginger.

I didn’t have any little jars but I had everything else. My plan was to bake it together in a small baking dish…but then I ended up in Target this afternoon and found these cute ramekins that were available in fall colors like red, orange and green and they were only $2.50 for 2! Score!

The recipe fit exactly into my new green ramekins!

I dug in with a glass of cold skim milk on the side. I couldn’t eat it all and I think the rest will be really good for breakfast in the morning :)

Randolph wants some too!

Mini Honey Almond Apple Crisps

From A Couple Cooks

  • 4 apples (about 4½ cups)
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ cup oats
  • ¼ cup slivered almonds
  • ⅓ cup whole wheat flour
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted or very soft
  • 4 small canning jars (or ramekins!)

Method

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, core, and slice the apples into small pieces. Peel the ginger; mince or grate 1 tablespoon. In a large saute pan, mix together apples, ginger, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of kosher salt. Stir in ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar and ⅓ cup honey. Saute until softened, about 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine ¾ cup oats, ¼ cup slivered almonds, ⅓ cup whole wheat flour, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ cup honey, 2 tablespoons softened butter.
  • Divide the fruit mixture into 4 half-pint wide mouth canning jars or ramekins. Spread the crumble over each jar, pressing down on the crumbs to ensure that none are above the mouth of the jar.
  • Place the jars/ramekins on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes until top is brown. Cool for 10 minutes and enjoy.

Brownies from Childhood

07 Friday Sep 2012

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These are the brownies that my sisters and I made when we were growing up. I’m not sure why but for years when I made brownies for a work potluck or to take to Devin’s school or just to gobble up at home I bought a prepared mix. It has taken me making this recipe twice in the last month to turn me around…they are easy to make, I know what’s in them versus a boxed mix and they are less expensive (especially when you look at prices for organic mixes).

These brownies have a great thin, slightly crunchy layer on top and a chewy, fudgy inside:

Homemade Brownies

  • 1 1/3 cups organic all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 cups organic cane sugar
  • 2/3 cup melted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 pan with non-stick baking spray. In a medium bowl stir together sugar and melted butter. Add eggs and vanilla and stir to combine.
  • In a 2 cup glass measuring cup measure flour then add baking powder, salt and cocoa powder and use a fork to gentle combine. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir to combine well. At this point you can add 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans or chocolate chips. We had some leftover mini Reese cups that we added in this time :)
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Lime and Raspberry Squares

17 Sunday Jun 2012

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There weren’t any actual “father’s” in my house on Father’s Day this past weekend but we celebrated none the less. Devin had a friend from school stay over Saturday night and we took them out to eat Hibachi. Sunday we played at the pool and made chicken wings and deviled eggs for lunch. I decided that having an extra mouth to feed in the house was a good excuse to make dessert!

You can see the little specks of pistachio in the crust. YUMMMM!!!

How good does this look?

Travis got a bite while I went to get my camera :)

These bars are tangy from the lime juice and sweet from the raspberry jam. The crust is to die for! I can’t wait to try the crust with a cheesecake-like topping. Surely these would be a hit at any party, event or just an ordinary afternoon.

Lime and Raspberry Squares with Pistachio-Graham Cracker Crust

From Fearless Homemaker

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup shelled, unsalted pistachios
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lime zest
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk (I used light)
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 cup raspberry preserves

Method

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 8×8 inch pan. Line with parchment paper (I skipped this because I used the rest of my parchment paper for baking the wings).
  • For the crust, in a food processor, grind pistachios, graham crackers and sugar together. Add lime zest and cold butter cubed and process until it’s a sandy/clumpy texture. Dump into the bottom on the greased pan and press down into the bottom of the pan (since I used a slightly bigger pan than the recipe called for I only covered the bottom of the pan and not the sides). Bake for 8-12 minutes until lightly browned. Let cook for 30 minutes.
  • When crust has cooled cover with raspberry preserves (I added the whole 12 ounce jar). Put in the freezer for about 10 minutes or until set.
  • Meanwhile, combine lime juice, condensed milk and egg yolks and wisk together until smooth. Remove dish from freezer, pour filling on top.
  • Bake for about 15 minutes or until set. Cool in the dish on a rack and then chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Cut into squares, wipe knife with damp kitchen towel or paper towel between slices to clean (resist urge to lick the knife). Serve and enjoy!

Honeyed Ricotta Mousse with Drunken Strawberries

25 Friday May 2012

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My beautiful, gorgeous sister Zandria is visiting for the weekend with her boyfriend Paul!! I’m SO, SO excited. Roommates for the weekend! Our pool opens! Good food! Good wine! We are all off on Monday! It doesn’t get any better right??!

I’m not making dinner tonight (we’ll probably go out for Thai food) but I’m making dessert! I found Ask Chef Dennis‘ blog when he did a guest post for A Little Bit of Everything. The only change I made is to double the recipe. I can’t wait to share it with my company. I think it’s going to be cool, refreshing, light and delicious! I will update the bottom of this post with pictures later on. Right now the mousse is chillin’ in the fridge!

Honeyed Ricotta Mousse with Drunken Strawberries

From Ask Chef Dennis

Ingredients

  • 2 cups whole milk ricotta
  • 1/2 cup mascarpone
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 cups slices strawberries
  • 1/3 cup wine (I used dry Reisling)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons artisanal raw honey

Method

  • In large bowl mix together the ricotta, mascarpone and confectioners sugar.
  • In a separate medium sized bowl, pour in the heavy cream and vanilla. Start whipping it slowly using an electric mixer and then bring the speed up to med-high. Whip until it’s the consistency of whipped cream (be careful not to over whip).
  • Gently fold whipped cream into ricotta mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  • Slice strawberries and mix with sugar and wine and allow to marinate for at least an hour.
  • To serve, place a scoop of ricotta in a cup, top with marinated strawberries and drizzle with honey on top. Serve immediately.

UPDATE (4 hours later):

We got back from eating out around 9:30 tonight. The thai place we ate dinner at tempted us with their homemade ice cream offerings but I reminded everyone that we had ricotta mousse waiting for us at home. When we got home, I sat out the dessert glasses…

And put it all together…

I was even happy to realize that it looks very, very close to the picture from the blog where I got the recipe! I must have done something right!

The dessert is creamy but also has a nice bite to it due to the texture of the ricotta cheese. The strawberries were perfect and the honey topped it all off. At first I thought the honey wouldn’t be needed but it adds a wonderful bite of sweetness. Easy to make, fun to eat. My description is not doing this dessert justice I’m sure! Everyone loved it and commented on how they can’t wait to have more!

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