Good Morning!  This Covid Quarantine is starting to wear thin on me and the family.  While I am so thankful for our health and safety, It's hard to keep 3 kids (11, 7, 5) from killing each other and not driving me crazy.  They can not agree on most things, however they can agree that cooking and baking is fun and delicious.  So to keep our sanity we've been spending a lot of time baking and cooking.

Today Emilie helped me bake coffee cake muffins form the "damn delicious blog"  this is a new blog that i came across and from what I saw today I think I will be checking it out in more depth as time goes on. this recipe calls for a sugar drizzle, personally i don't think it's necessary at all, but the link to the full recipe is below if you cant to take it to the next level. 



Recipe Source https://damndelicious.net/2014/03/24/coffee-cake-muffins/


WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
FOR THE MUFFIN DOUGH

• 1 1/2 cup of Flour 
• 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs

FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING

• 1/4 cup  Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
• 1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 3/4 cup flour 
• 1/2 stick of melted butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners or coat with nonstick spray; set aside.

Make the crumb topping, combine sugars, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in melted butter. Add flour and stir until mixture is moist. 

Spread out mixture in even layer on a cookie sheet and allow  dry until ready to use.

In bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

In a stand mixer, whisk together milk, canola oil and egg. Once well mixed, add dry ingredients until just combined. 

Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. 

Sprinkle with reserved crumb topping, using your fingertips to gently press the crumbs into the batter. 

Place into oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, (I use a stoneware, so it does take longer to bake about 20-23 minutes) or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Once baked remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing. 

Like always happy Cooking and Baking!

Pizza Dough

I have to admit Covid-19 has me cooking and baking a lot more.  Being home with the kids...who do NOT stopping eating is keeping me busy.

Yesterday was a gloomy day.  we had a lot of rain downpours and high winds so we were indoors all day.  We spent the day build a fort, and watching movies.  It was a really laid back day so dinner followed suit.  We ended up build your own pizza, one was cheese and pepperoni and the other was sausage, mushrooms, and ricotta cheese.  Both were amazing, not just due to the toppings, but also the crust.

The crust was on point.  it mixed well, it stretched out easily and when it finished baking it was crisp. This recipe is a true winner!


Recipe Inspired by Allrecipes;  https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20171/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/

 WHAT YOU'LL NEED;

1 Tablespoon of active dry yeast
1 Teaspoon of sugar
1 Cup of warm water (not hot water because it will kill the yeast and it will not activate)
1 Teaspoon of salt
2 1/2 Cups of Flour

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO;

Preheat oven to 450

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast, sugar in warm water.

set aside and allow tt to activate for 10 minutes, it will foam up.

After 10 minutes, in a stand mixer add flour, salt and yeast mixture.

with a hook attachment, beat dough until smooth.

Let dough rest for 20 mintues (you will notice that dough will double in size)

After 20 minutes take the dough and divide in half.  *if you like thinker crust then take all the dough and roll out.  My family likes thin crust so we are able to make two full size pizzas using this one recipe. (I'll attache pictures of baked pizza below for reference)

Take dough and place it on a lightly floured surface to roll out.

once desired thickness is achieved, transfer crust to lightly greased pizza pan.  I will to bake it on a pizza stone.

Add your favorite toppings and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown around the crust edges.

Once removed from oven let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as my family does.  Like always happy cooking and baking.  Until next time.

Cheddar Cheese Beer Bread

When it comes to minimum input and maximum output in the kitchen, beer bread is about as good as it gets. Five minutes of work rewards you with a heavenly aroma through the house and a warm, crusty loaf in just an hour.

This bread is delicious warm or at room temperature. You can serve it with a side of chilli or even a big bowl of soup, you can even use it to make sandwiches. Another thing you can do, which I've done over the holidays is after it's cooled, you can hollow it out and put a dip in the center and cut up the part that you cut out and us that bread for dipping.  And if that wasn't enough, it even  freezes beautifully.

There are endless flavor variations of beer bread possible; simply add whatever you desire to the basic dry mix. I did not add any herbs this week because Jonathan is on a "I will not eat anything that it green" kick right now. But just because I didn't add anything doesnt mean that you can't try experimenting with different herbs and beers. A darker beer will give you a deeper flavor.

I have to say that this is easy to make and the flavor profile is amazing.  I's still shocked by how few ingredients there are in a basic beer bread. Why pay $10 for a boxed mixed when you can make fresh at home for 1-2 dollars.  

Like always happy Baking and i hope you enoy this as much as we do.   

 

 

 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Nonstick spray
8 ounces all-purpose flour
4 ounces whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 1/2 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated
12 ounces cold beer,
.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the inside of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with the nonstick spray and set aside
• Whisk together the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
• Add in the cheese and stir in the beer just to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
• Bake on the middle rack of the oven until the bread is golden brown and cooked thru.  This will take about 50 to 60 minutes.
• Best if served hot. 

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Cinnamon Crumble Scones

This month's What’s Baking Challenge was Scones. I have to be honest I've been putting off making scones because it’s just one of those things that doesn't always come out looking like a true scone, but

this month I had no choice but to get it done, no excuses, no putting it off. I just had to roll up my sleeves and get it done.

I think the main thing holding me back was the fear that they wouldn't look like a scone. We all know that we eat with our eyes Frist. So if it didn't look like a scone then it wouldn't taste like one either.

The best way that I came up with to ensure that it looked like a scone was to bake them in a around dish. Which I'm happy to say was the best idea I had.

What I did was bake it until it was half way done then I took it out of the oven cut it triangles and then baked it on a cookie sheet unit they were completely baked.



Reicpe adpated from http://coffeetea.about.com/od/foodmeetsdrinks/r/Cinnamon-Scones-Recipe.htm

 

 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED FOR THE SCONES:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup oatmeal, quick or old- fashioned, uncooked
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick chilled salted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup 2% milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (like always use the real stuff, you'll thank me later)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
 
WHAT YOU''LL NEED FOR THE GLAZE:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 to 4 teaspoons nonfat milk

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

 Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray 12x 18-inch round pan with nonstick spray.

 In a large bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt; mix well. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, combine milk, egg and vanilla; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir with fork or rubber spatula just until dry ingredients are moistened.

In another small bowl, combine remaining 2 Tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon; mix well.

Drop dough and spread in round dish.  Sprinkle cinnamon crumble mixture evenly over dough.

Bake half way and then cut into even triangels, then place on a cookie sheet and bake until golden brown.

Remove to wire rack; cool 5 minutes.

To make glaze: In small bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk for desired consistency; mix until smooth.

Drizzle over tops of warm scones. Serve warm.

Twix Bars

Guess what time it is....It's my turn to host the What's Baking Project! I was super excited to have the opportunity to host once more. I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to do, and decided that since it was September and it's back to school, it would be neat if we baked a childhood treat with a modern twist. So I decided that I would make me some Twix bars. I remember as a kid getting a Twix bar every Sunday after church. It's just one of those childhood memories that I will never forget =)
 

I remember a while back I had come across this recipe for homemade Twix bars about, and I knew that I had to try them. With that said, I did make them , however I never had a chance to create a blog post for them. Time kept passing me by, and I just needed the right time to make them again. Lucky for me the right time just happened to be when I needed something for my What's Baking submission this month
 

This recipe does take a while from start to finish, but it was so worth it! I even ended up make a second batch because they were just that good. My family and I loved them so much that they disappeared within a matter of a few days.
 

 

Stay put my recap on all the submissions for this month's whats baking.  Like always happy baking.

Recipe source: King Arthur Flour

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Shortbread layer

1 cup salted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Caramel layer

2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Chocolate layer

3 cups chopped milk chocolate or dark chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (optional)

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat your oven to 300°F. Spray a 9" x 13" pan lightly with cooking spray, and line with parchment paper, and set aside.
FOR THE COOKIE LAYER:

In a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla.

Add the flour.

The mixture may seem dry, but will come together as you continue to beat at medium speed.

Once combined take the dough and press it evenly into the pan.

Prick the crust all over with a fork. The holes will allow steam to escape and the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.

Bake the crust until it's lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust.

Set it aside to cool completely.

FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER:

Melt the caramel and cream over low heat in a small saucepan.

Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and put it in your freezer while you prep the chocolate layer as it makes it easier to cut the into bars once it's harden up.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER:

Melt the milk chocolate slowly in a double boiler.

If it seems very thick, add a tablespoon of shortening to thin it.

Once melted take off the heat and set aside while you cut the cookie/carmel layer.

After the caramel layer has chilled firm, cut down the length of the pan, splitting the bars into two long, narrow bars.

Then cut each long strip into "fingers".

Dip the chilled bars into melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to set for several hours.

Pour yourself a tall glass of milk and enjoy!

Blueberry Lemon Greek Yogurt Bread

Introducing: Blueberry Lemon Greek Yogurt Bread!  Yes, it's true three of my favorite things all in one bread.  Blueberries, lemon, and Greek Yogurt, what more could a girl ask for?

This summer,  I took Jonathan blueberry picking, and of course we ended up with a lot more  than a family of three could eat before they went bad.  So while surfing pinterest, I came a across a recipe for a Greek yogurt and banana bread, and my first thought was I could do that!  All I have to do is switch out the bananas (which I hate) for blueberries (which I love).

Hence the Blueberry Lemon Greek Yogurt bread was created.  Did I mention that it's healthy?  I have to say that having this loaf in the frig on a morning when I'm trying to get out the door, has been a lifesaver. 

FYI, You're going to want to store this in the frig as it will go bad if left out too long. 

This was inspired by the original recipe posted here, I hope you all enjoy this as much as we did.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cane sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla (please use the real stuff!)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Start by combining flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl
• In a separate bowl, Add eggs, sugars, Lemon zest, and vanilla.  Once combined add the Greek Yogurt.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Your batter will be a little lumpy.
• Next fold in the blueberries.
• Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and distribute evenly.
• Pop into the oven and bake for one hour, the top is golden brown and a toothpick should come out clean.

Strawberry Muffins

This month's Jaida wanted the what's baking challange to be baking with Summer Fruits. So what did I pick....that's right Strawberry Muffins. Two of my favorite things combined to make the best morning breakfast. I was so tired of the usual coffeecake, and blueberry muffin that I wanted to try something new and luckily enough I still have a some berries that really needed to get used up.

Needless to say this was an amazing recipe and can't wait to try it wimake it again.


WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 1/2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries (frozen one work well too)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar (use in second part of recipe)
1/4 cup butter, softened (either unsalted or salted)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

In a small bowl, combine the strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar. Set aside for 1 hour.

After an hour Drain, reserving liquid and berries separately.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the juice from the berries.

Gently stir in the berries. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information for each muffin...Calories 168, Fat 4.9g, Cholesterol 46mg

Homemade Cranberry Apple Granola

So for this month's What's Baking Challenge Ammie from my adventuresinmykitchen wanted everyone to bake with Spring Produce. Unfortunately, my visit over the past few weeks to my local farmer's market have been few and very far in between.

Besides the fact that I am now 22 weeks pregnant, I've also taken on a promotion with work, which has has me doing a lot of traveling over the past few weeks. So of course I wanted to make sure I had a few healthy treats at home while I'm away.

One thing that I know everyone in our home likes is granola. So I baked up another batch before I hit the road yet again this week. Good news is after this week I'll be home for at least the 3-4 weeks!

I Know that cranberries, and apples aren't spring time goods, but at least I could say that I got my apples at the farmer's market that Opened up again this month. =)I'm sure that Ammie will allow me to get away with it...this time.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I do. Like always happy cooking and baking!

Recipe source: Giada De Laurentis

WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Nonstick cooking spray
1/3 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cranberry juice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup dehydrated cranberries
1 cup dehydrated apples

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly toasted.

Set aside to cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, cranberry juice, and cinnamon over medium heat.

Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and salt.

Pour the maple mixture over the oat mixture and stir until combined.

Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven.

Stir in the cranberries and apples, and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the mixture begins to brown.

Cool completely and break apart any large lumps.

Store airtight in a plastic container for up to 1 week.

Sourdough Bread (What's Baking)

I have to apologize for the fact that I've been MIA. Between being pregnant, and then having a sick child, then a sick husband, and then a sick child again. life seems to have gotten away for my. But just because I didn't post during that time frame doesn't mean I haven't been cooking and baking up a storm. Stay tone for a bunch of blog updates over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, let me start with this month's what baking challenge. This month Lindsay from http://peaceloveandfrenchfries.com/ is our host. Lindsay challenged everyone to bake with YEAST. Yes, yeast I'll admit I've baked with yeast before, but it still intimidates me at times, I don't know why, but it just does.

Lucky for me this time around I had another success! Please make sure to check out Lindsay's blog at the end of the month for a full roundup of what everyone submitted this time around.

Like always...Happy baking!

Recipe source: Allrecipes.com

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F), divided
7 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:
In a 4-qt. non-metallic bowl, dissolve yeast in 2 cups warm water and let stand for 5 minutes.

Stir in 2 cups of flour until smooth, once combined cover loosely with a clean towel.

Let stand in a warm place (80 degrees F-90 degrees F) to ferment for 48 hours during this period stir several times daily.

The mixture will become bubbly and rise, have a "yeasty" sour aroma and a transparent yellow liquid will form on the top.

Stir in milk powder, butter, sugar, salt, remaining water and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.

Turn onto a floured surface; punch dough down.

Divide in half. Shape each into a round loaf.

Heavily grease a two loaf pans, and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Place dough on prepared pans, cover and allow it rise until doubled. This should take about 30 minutes.

With a sharp knife, make slashes down the middle of each loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Brush loaves with cold water; bake 35-40 minutes longer or until golden brown.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting

I am so excited...why you might ask, well it's because I'm the host of this month's "what's baking challenge! And seeing that it's Valentine's time again, I wanted to try a new cupcake recipe so I figured why not make a red velvet cupcake to stay with the holiday color theme.

Since Valentine's day lands on a night that I have to work later, I decided that we would celebrate the weekend before. This year I asked my three year old what he wanted to dessert and his response was "I want cupcakes!" Seeing that it was Jonathan's Valentine's Day Dinner as well, how could I say no.

I couldn't have been happier with the way the cupcakes turned out and I can not wait to make them again. Please make sure to come back and check out my what's baking round up and I've already gotten some amazing submission.

Like always happy baking!

Source for Cupcake Paula Deen
Source for Vanilla Bean Frosting http://www.browneyedbaker.com

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

WHAT YOU'LL NEED FOR THE FROSTING:

2½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar (10 ounces)
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons heavy cream

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.

In another bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in stand mixer.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled.

Bake in oven for about 20 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through.

Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness.

Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

While the cupcakes cool start making your vanilla bean frosting.

In your stand mixer whisk butter at medium-high speed until smooth.

With the edge of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into butter and beat mixture at medium-high speed to combine, about 15 seconds.

Once incorporated, add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moiste.

Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully incorporated, continue scraping the bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed.

Once everything has come together, increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Once cupcakes are completely cooled, frost cupcakes and Garnish with raspberry, strawberries or even red candies.

Like always, Happy Baking!

Mini Carrot Cakes

One of my husband's favorite cakes is carrot cake. So when I bake him any type of sweet, I tend to find myself going to a carrot cake or his second favorite, apple cake. He would much rather have a piece of cake over something as sweet as a brownie or ice cream.

Seeing as my husband was on call this during Chinese New Years my in-laws came up and did all the cooking. Since wanted to do all the cooking I decided that I would bake something for dessert. The down side was because they were doing all the cooking, I was in a time crunch and couldn't spend an hour to baking the cake so I decided that I would use this recipe and just bake mini cakes. I have to say that the mini carrot cakes were a huge hit. Not only were the cute, but they also were the perfect size.


WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

6oz Unsalted butter
1 egg at room temperature
1 Tablespoon of water
2 Cups of grated carrots http://tipnut.com/recipes-canning/
1/2 Cup of flour
1 Teaspoon of baking soda
1 Teaspoon of Baking powder
2 Tablespoon of cinnamon
1 Teaspoon of pumpkin spice
1/2 Teaspoon of salt
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease muffin tin and set aside

In stand mixed, cream the butter, vanilla, and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in the egg and water.

Add in carrots, once combined, add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and salt.

Once combined, spoon in the mixture to prepared muffin tin.

Fill to top....as the carrot cakes do not lift a lot.

Bake until the tops spring back when touched lightly for about 35 minutes.

Let stand for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Once cool frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting.

Skinny Mini Oreo Cheesecakes!

It's that time of the month again, and that means that it's time to get our What's Baking entries in! This month Jessica from http://www.thejeyofcooking.com decided that this month's challenge would be "Something Savory" and to be honest, I really had a hard time with this one. Not because it couldn't come up with something, but more so because when I went to buy the ingredients either I couldn't find what I was looking for, or the product seemed to be below par.

The fact that I've been consumed with work and the holidays didn't help matters either. My mind was going a million miles an hour that I couldn't tell you how many things I baked/cooked that I could have used for this What's Baking Challenge. The sad thing is when I did realize it, we were almost done with our meals or I had already cut into the baked goods without taking a picture.

Lucky for me, my husband and I were hosting Thanksgiving, and in his opinion, not having cheesecake at a holiday party is like having Thanksgiving without turkey!
This year I took my skinny mini cheesecakes and changed them up a little, just to do something a little different while still trying to keep things lighter. The great thing about this recipe is that you get that wonderful cheesecake flavor and each cheesecake and each is just under 90 calories. How can you go wrong with that! Do you know how many calories are in a piece of cheesecake at the cheesecake factory?

All I am going to say is even if you had all 12 mini cheesecakes you would still have consumed less calories then you would in one slice from the cheesecake factory! I have always been big on finding ways of eating everything without the guilt. It's so true, you really don't have to give up all foods to maintain weight, you just have to use the right ingredients, and of course have everything in moderation.

Recipe adapted from The most decadent diet cookbook

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Butter flavored cooking spray
12 reduced fat chocolate wafers cookies
8-10 Oreos finely crumbled in the food processor to mix into your batter
12oz of fat free cream cheese at room temp
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons fat free vanilla yogurt
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon unbleached all purpose flour
2 large egg whites


WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 300

line 10 cups of a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Lightly mist them with cooking spray

Place one wafer in the bottom center of each cup, flat side down.

In food processor added or Oreos and grind until fine.

Now in your mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium until well combined. Add yogurt, vanilla, and flour and mix on low until just combined.

Fold in Oreo and set aside.

In another bowl whisk together egg whites until soft peeks form.

Use spatula and gently fold the eggs into the cream cheese until mixture is just combined. (You don't want to over mix)

Divide the mixture among the muffin tins.

they will puff up and the tops will crack once the are baked.

Transfer cheesecakes to cooling rack and cool at room temp. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours.


I hope you enjoy this as much as my family does.

1 Cheesecake has 90 calories, 6g protein, 17g carbohydrates, 1g fat.

Creme Brulee

The past few months I feel like all I've been doing is working, working, working. Which means that dinner in our home has been very basic. Not that basic meals are a bad thing, it's just that I found myself making the same things each week.

This weekend I was thinking about it, and I really feel like my husband and son haven't had anything special in a long time. So I decided to hold off on my original recipe for the What's Baking Challenge, and I was determined to make them something new. The plan was to make something healthy and that was a little more time consuming, and was a recipe that I knew I could not make on a weekend after working a 10hr day.

Therefore, Saturday night I made a beautiful piece of grilled salmon, with a side broccoli risotto, and for dessert you guessed it I made CREME BRULEE for the first time.

And if you haven't guessed it....it was delicious!!! The Brulees had a perfect smooth creamy texture and a nice crisp sugar topping. Both my son and Husband were very pleased and since my husband has asked when I was going to make it again. Therefore I plan on making it for Thanksgiving this year.

I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did and like always...Happy Baking!

Recipe source: Allrecipes.com

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

6 egg yolks
6 tablespoons white sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

Beat egg yolks, 4 tablespoons sugar and vanilla in a mixer until thick and creamy.

In a saucepan heat cream over low heat until it almost comes to boil.

Remove the cream from heat immediately.

Take a cup of the cram and stir into the egg yolk mixture; to make sure that it tempered before adding it to the reminder of the cream, stir until combined.

Pour cream mixture into the top of a double boiler.

Stir over simmering water until mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon; this will take about 3 minutes.

Remove mixture from heat immediately and pour into a shallow heat-proof dish.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Before serving Preheat oven to broil.

In a small bowl combine remaining 2 tablespoons white sugar and brown sugar.

Sift this mixture evenly over custard. Place dish under broiler until sugar melts, about 2 minutes, make sure to keep a watchful eye so doesn't burn.

Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until custard is set again.

Tapioca Pudding

This month's what's baking challenge had me super excited. I planned on baking one of my family's favorite desserts, however I had to pick our second favorite due to the it being so humid lately. The humidity doesn't help for the Portuguese cookies I had in mind, so my second thought was to make a nice tapioca pudding, this month and then bake the cookies next month.

A little secret about this recipe is it's so easy and so basic, that anyone could make this. Over the years my mother has adapted this recipe so that the pudding is extra creamy. One of the things she has done is use half whole milk, and half skim milk. By doing this she was able to cut back on the fat and calories. Something else she did was add more milk to achieve a creamier texture which has been a great hit in our house. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as my brother and I have when we were growing up. Like always Happy Baking!

Recipe Source my mom

***TIP*** Some small pearl tapioca requires a few hours to an overnight soaking in water. Make sure that when you buy your tapioca pearls that you read the package to see if it's an instant tapioca, or what the soaking requirements are.


WHAT YOU'LL
1 cup of small pearl tapioca (Make sure that they have soaked)
4 cups whole milk
3 cups skim milk (you could use all whole milk if you like, we use skim to cut back on the fat and calories)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs beaten
3/4 cup of sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of cinnamon

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

After soaking the tapioca, combine tapioca, milk, and salt in 1 1/2 quart pan on medium high heat.

Stir until boiling and then let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Uncovered and allow it to cook at the lowest possible heat, adding sugar gradually.

Beat eggs in a separate bowl.

Mix in some of the hot tapioca into the eggs very slowly to equalize the temperature of the two mixtures by doing this you will avoid curdling.

Mix eggs mixture in pan with the rest of tapioca.

Slowly bring mixture barely to a boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat and stir several minutes at a low simmer, stirring constantly until you get a nice thick pudding consistency.

Once thick add vanilla and cinnamon and continue to stir until well combined.

Pour into serving dish and serve either warm or chilled.

Mocha Fudge Brownies with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

IF you ask me, this recipe has all the important food groups...mocha, coffee, fudge, and dark chocolate. What more could a girl ask for? Ok, maybe it doesn't cover all the major food groups, but it's now become my new all time favorite brownie recipe. I made two batches for a get together and they gone in a matter of a few hours. Everyone was raving on how great they were, they are a must try recipe. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Happy baking!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons coffee
Chocolate syrup, for drizzling

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl cream together butter, sugar and eggs.

In another bowl combine flour and baking powder.

Melt chocolate in microwave.

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir to combine.

Add chocolate, milk and coffee and mix well.

Pour into a buttered 8'baking pan and drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

Since we had so many zucchini this year, I had t o find new ways to use them, before they went to waste. Of course having a child that is the "I wouldn't eat that because it's green" stage, I had to find new ways to get certain veggies into his diet. Adding shredded zucchini into the bread makes it easy for me to achieve that goal.

The cool thing about this bread is that the spices in it, make it taste more like a coffee cake bread then an actual zucchini bread. The bread comes out with a nice smooth, moist texture. Something else that I love about this bread is the fact that it freezes well, so you can eat one now and then freeze the second bread for another day. I hope you, and your family all enjoy this as much as we have.

Recipe inspired by Paula's Home Cooking

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

3 1/4 cups of whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon of allspice
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice


WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg,all spice baking soda, cinnamon and sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine apple sauce, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice.

Mix wet ingredients into dry.

Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray.

Bake for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean.

Healthy Zucchini Muffins

This month's JADE from http://www.themesspot.com decided that the What's Baking challenge would be Celebrate Summer. This month I decided that I would use up the abundance of Zucchini I have, and try to make something that was tasty and healthy.

Jonathan is in the phases where we wouldn't eat any green veggies. So, as his mother it's my job to find a way to get him to eat them. And I ask you, what better way than to bake them into his favorite things.

This recipe is so good that even myself who hated Zucchini love this recipe. With the applesauce and spices you really can tell that they have anything healthy in them. I hope you enjoy them as much and my 3 year old who eat 2 in one sitting!

Happy Baking!

RECIPE SOURCE: KidsHealth.org

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

2 cups of shredded zucchini
2 cups of whole grain pancake mix
1 Tsp of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of allspice
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
2 Tsp of lemon juice

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Wash,peel, and shred zucchini

Wrap grated zucchini in a couple of paper towels and squeeze to remove water.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Line a 12 cup muffin tin

In a large bowl, and mix pancake mix,along with all the dry spices

In another bowl whisk together eggs, applesauce, and lemon juice

Fold egg mixture into shredded zucchini and dry ingredients.

Fill each muffin cup with 2/3 full with batter.

Bake for 15 minutes (until golden brown)

Cool on baking rack for 5-10 minutes.

Tyler Florance's Ultimate Crab Cakes (Baked)

I'm just going to get to the point...I love Tyler Florance, and I know that If he was my husband my ASS would be ten times bigger than it already is. I have never made a Tyler Florance recipe that I did not love. Each time I make something I tell myself..."it can't get any better than this" and each time I prove myself wrong.

I know that I have said that his Prime Rib recipe is my favorite, but this crab cake has changed me. For now this is my new all time favorite recipe. I highly recommend trying it at least once, you wouldn't be disappointed!

Recipe source: Tyler Florance Ultimate (cooking channel)

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely minced
1/2 green pepper
1 celery stock
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds jumbo lump crab meat
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fat free mayonnaise, (more if needed)
1 large egg white
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves, (I used less because I don't care for it)
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of butter melted

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

In a medium frying pan, add just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of pan and heat.

Add the onion, peppers, celery, and garlic and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion gets kind of caramelized.

Dump that into a bowl and fold in the crab meat, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, egg white, lime juice, and cilantro, mixing just until well blended.

Season with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into 6 fat crab cakes. Put them on a plate, cover, and stick them in the refrigerator to chill. (about and hour)

Heat oven to about 400 degrees.

Take crab cakes out of frig and brush the tops with melted butter.

Bake for about 20 minutes flipping crab cakes once.

After fully cooked turn oven onto broil and allow crab cakes tops to crisp, this will take 3-4 minutes.

Serve one a bed or salad, or with fresh lemon wedges

Mud Pie Brownies

I've come to the conclusion that when I'm stressed I tend to cook and bake a lot more than usual. But today I'm baking up a storm because I'm actually trying to clear out my pantry of all the not so healthy items. You know the old saying...out of sight out of mind. =) Besides I own some people some treats.

I have to admit that I've been working my staff hard, and the month of June isn't going to be much different. So the game plan is to make sure that I keep everyone happy with a few home baked treats. The people that I work with are major goodies...even if the guys don't want to admit it. =) Monday is going to be one of those days where we are all running around, therefore I think it call for brownies.

Not just any brownies...it called for Tyler Florence's rocky road bars! This is by far one of the best brownie recipes I've found. I hope you all enjoy them as much as my staff will. Happy Baking!

Recipe Source: Tyler Florence

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

6 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup walnut pieces (I omitted this because because of a nut allergy)
1 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup Carmel sauce (store bought works well)

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a glass bowl, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave on high for until the butter is just melted.

Mix it up to melt the chocolate completely.

Stir the sugar into the melted chocolate until dissolved.

Add vanilla and eggs.

Mix in the flour and salt just until combined.

Mix in chocolate chips and then spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Sprinkle the marshmallows and nuts evenly over the brownies. Stick it under the broiler for 2 minutes,until the marshmallows are light golden brown.

Allow to cool to room temperature. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the cooled brownies before cutting.

Everything Bagels

OMG! I never thought I would ever, ever try to make bagels. Every time I looked for a bagel recipe, I would get intimidated and run in the other way. I am happy to report that this is no longer the case.

A few months ago I post on one of the broads that I frequent and I asked the ladies how hard it really was to make bagels. Foodie lover Cate from http://catesworldkitchen.com assure me that it wasn't as hard I was making it out to be in fact she shared with me her own recipe for raisin bagels. http://catesworldkitchen.com/2010/09/cinnamon-raisin-bagels/ if it weren't for the simple fact that my husband hates raisins, I would be all over this recipe. =)

HAPPY BAKING!

Recipe source: Emeril Lagasse 2002

What YOU'LL NEED:

2 cups warm water, about 110 degrees F
2 (1/4-ounce) packets active dry yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup lightly toasted chopped onions
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 doughnut cutter

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Combine the water, yeast, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook.

Stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and the salt, and mix until the mixture comes together.

Add 1 cup OF additional flour at a time to make a stiff dough. This is were you will have to work the dough with your hands.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky.

You might not require the whole 6 cups of flour, just add as much flour as needed so that dough is heavier and stiffer than regular yeast bread.

Grease a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the oil.

Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled.

Remove dough from bowl and punch down the dough.

Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 2 to 3 ounces each, it should measuring about 4 inches.

Form each piece of dough into a ball and then either roll each ball into a 4 to 6-inch log or you could do it the cheater way like I did and use a doughnut cutter.

Place on a lightly greased surface, cover with a clean cloth, and let rest until risen but not doubled in a draft-free spot, 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease a baking sheet with the remaining teaspoon of oil.

In a large pot, bring 12 cups of water and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to a boil.

In small batches (to avoid over crowding), add bagels to the water and boil, turning, for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Flip bagels onto the prepared sheet pan.

Bake for 5 minutes, turn over Top each bagel with toasted onions, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and salt and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.