Homemade Walnut Date Oatmeal Raisin Energy Bars

I've been looking for a homemade granola bar recipe for ages, but they always call for ingredients I don't keep on hand so I never got around to making them.

However last weekend, Sara fed me an energy bar that was pretty yummy and only had 5 ingredients, which is such a rare and beautiful thing. I decided I must buy dates and make my own.

I found a set of recipes that seemed too easy to screw up and boy was I right. The only problem was I couldn't figure out how to work my brand new food processor... Seriously, appliances confuse me. I tried everything to no avail and ended up using my magic bullet which worked mostly fine.

The dates and walnuts blended together tastes strangely (and deliciously) like cookie dough. I ate so much of the batter out of the bowl that I feared I wouldn't be able to make a full batch of granola bars, so I decided to add the raisins and oatmeal in to beef it up. This recipe was 100% off the cuff and still so delicious. Pretty sure you could put any kind of add ins in here and it would be tasty. Without further ado, here ya go:

Homemade Walnut Date Oatmeal Raisin Energy Bars (Original recipe here)

1 cup dates
2 cups warm water
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Put dates and raisins in a bowl and pour warm water over top. Let sit for 10 minutes until plump and then strain.
3. While the fruit is plumping, pulse the walnuts in a food processor, or magic bullet (if you don't have or don't know how to work your food processor like me) until they are finely chopped. If you want bigger chunks of nuts, add some extras in towards the end.
4. Then add the dates adn raisins to the nut mixture in the food processor and pulse until everythign starts to come together. Then mix in cinnamon and oatmeal.
5. Plop into the loaf pan and spread out with a spoon.
6. Refrigerate for 30 min, then cut them into 6 bars and individually wrap for snacks.

Bootcamp Avocado-But-Still-Chocolate Brownies

We are having a Bootcamp girls get together night tomorrow. It's a pot luck which is fun. It's also like this weird contest women do to see who can make the best dish. Or maybe that's just me. It's a known fact anything with melted cheese will be in the running for at least top three. Meatballs, devilled eggs, and things stuffed with other things are always big hits. Unfortunately my appetizer skills are pretty minimal. I usually bring out a veggie, pita and hummus tray to shut my hungry friends up. Once the wine starts flowing they usually forget all about food anyways!

So my conundrum for pot lucks is what to bring! And the answer I usually select is baked goods. If it's an all girls party I invariably go to brownies. Bit*hes love brownies. (Lol too much? Sorry!)

I have this bad habit of wanting to put healthy things in my baking. It's mostly me trying to make the world a better place and also to try to justify the eating of brownies on a more regular basis. Today it was avocados I needed to stuff in my brownies. Avocados are super creamy and full of healthy days and antioxidants. They aren't just for guacamole, people! Here's how I made my treats...

Bootcamp Avocado-but-still-Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
1 avocado, mashed
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp salt
1 cup Hershey's mini kisses or chocolate chips

1. Preheat Oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 dish.
2. Beat avocado, almond milk and vanilla together until smooth. 
3. Add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
4. Add in chocolate chips.
5. Spread batter evenly in pan and bake for 26-30 minutes.

Avocado peanut butter chocolate frosting

Ingredients

1 avocado mashed

1/2 cup all natural peanut butter

2 cups icing sugar

1 Tsp vanilla

1/3 Tsp salt

1. Mix mashed avocado and peanut butter until creamy.
2. Add in icing sugar a little at a time and mix until smooth.
3. Add in vanilla and salt.
4. Frost brownies while they are still warm.
5. Top with chopped Reese peanut butter cups if so desired (who wouldn't desire that?).

Orange Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins Recipe

These muffins were born of necessity. I accidentally bought a box of tangerines with seeds! I hate seeds in my oranges. I think everyone does. Not one to be wasteful I bought myself a hand juicer (that I don't know how to use properly) and juiced at least 20 tangerines. Before juicing I zested a few of them as well. Fresh squeezed orange juice is amazing. Nothing in the world like it. It's a mouthful of fresh deliciousness.

These muffins are super moist and delicious. I think they would be delicious with cranberries instead of blueberries as well. I also think the topping is not strictly necessary.

Orange Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins Recipe (original recipe here)
 Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked oats
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs beaten
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1 tbsp orange zest
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 2 muffin tins.
2. Mix orange juice and oats and set aside.
3. Combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add wet ingredients. Mix only until combined. Fold in blueberries and zest.
4. Divide evenly among 2 muffin tins. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar recipe. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I rotated my pans at 8 minutes to ensure even baking.

Peanut Butter Blossoms Cookie Recipe

I love peanut butter. I love it with chocolate, I love it with banana, I even love it with bacon. I normally have a huge container of PB on hand, but apparently I'd gotten down to the bottom of it and only had PB scraps left in the jar. I didn't realize this until after I'd started getting ready to bake these. Rookie mistake, i know i know. Luckily I had a few nutella samples laying around, which added up to almost the amount of nutty butter I needed! Lucky for me, but unlucky for my cousin Laura who is severely allergic to hazelnuts and whom I tried to feed these to. These cookies are super yummy. Mine spread out a bit, I could've put the dough in the fridge to harden up, but this was my third batch of cookies and I was pooped.

Peanut Butter Blossoms (original recipe here)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup lard
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup nutella
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 tsps vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar (for rolling)
1/2 bag of mini Hershey kisses

1. Cream butters and sugar. Then add in wet ingredients a little at a time until smooth.
2. Add in dry ingredients until just combined. Don't over mix.
3. Roll into 3/4 inch balls, then roll in white sugar. If the dough is a bit too soft, throw in the fridge for a bit.
4. Bake in 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
5. When the cookies come out, press a chocolate kiss in the middle of each one.

 

Cranberry Banana Oat Muffins

A freezer full of bananas and a bag of frozen cranberries lead me to this delicious recipe. They are super moist and packed with flavor. I ate them as a snack at work and didn't feel bad because there isn't really much sugar or fat in them. This recipe made about 24 small muffins. Give 'em a try, why don't ya?

Cranberry Banana Oat Muffins (Recipe adapted from food.com)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oats

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (5-6 bananas)
1/3 cup butter or 1/3 cup margarine, melted

Zest of one orange or lemon
1 cup cranberries

Combine the first seven ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Beat together egg, mashed bananas and melted butter or margarine until smooth. Add to dry ingredients. Stir to blend. Stir in cranberries just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, filling almost to the top. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.

Pumpkin Choclate Chip Cookies

In the spirit of Thanksgiving weekend, I'd like to thank chocolate and pumpkin for existing and being such a great team.

Last night I made a double batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Chumpkin Cookies as I like to call them (as of three seconds ago). It's a super easy recipe that produces more of a cake like cookie. I love the spiciness of it with the sweetness of the chocoalte chips. This cookie is a huge winner and is rivalled by none other than my pumpkin swirl brownies (which I'll be making on Sunday).

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Here's the recipe:
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 table spoon vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix the pumpkin, sugar, oil, egg, spices and vanilla together by hand.Dissolve bakign soda into milk and add to bowl. Mix in dry ingredients. Add choclate chips. Put on cookie sheet by spoolful. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10+ minutes. I always test my cookies by poking them, if they bounce back then they are done.

Adapted from an Allrecipes.com recipe.

Marbled Vanilla & Chocolate Cupcakes

A couple of birthdays crept up on me this week, of which I hadn't planned any baked goods for. I wasn't sure if the birthday girls were chocolate lovers or vanilla. My struggle with vanilla cake persists, but I refuse to give up so I decided to mask my vanilla cake shortcomings with a swirl of chocolate.

Following Easter holidays, I had quite a bit of chocolate lying around, including a giant Kinder Surprise and a solid milk chocolate Easter bunny. I decided to re-purpose a bit of both, becuase I'm clever like that. I melted the bunny down and added a bit of butter and icing sugar, which resulted in a delicious ganache-like frosting. However, within two minutes it had hardened back into a solid. Lucky for my cupcakes, I'm not that easily detered!

I put a dollop of rock hard chocolate frosting on each cupcake when they came out of the oven and let the cupcake melt the frosting into a glaze. Then I plopped a piece of broken Kinder Surprise on top. They look darling.

Marbled Cupcakes with Easter Bunny Glaze

3/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsps cocoa powder

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put liners in muffin tin.

Cream softened butter with sugar until light and fully. Add eggs one at a time (it's best if they are room temperature) and beat until smooth. Add milk and vanilla a little at a time, until the batter is fully incorporated. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt - one third at a time. Do not over mix.

In a separate bowl, take a cup of the batter and mix with cocoa powder.

Drop a spoonful of vanilla batter into each tin and top with a bit of chocoalte. Use a toothpick or knife to swirl the two batters together.

Bake for 20 minutes. Top with chocolate glaze as soon as the cupcakes come out of the oven. Use a knife to spread the frosting evenly as it melts. Top with a chunk of kinder surprise, or other Easter treat.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Glaze

I've been having a rough week and have been working on shaking it off. I knew that baking something would make me feel better, and boy was I right. These little lemon poppy seed squares are moist, tender, tart and delicious. I ate one fresh out of the oven and almost decided to keep them all for myself. ALMOST. I then talked some sense into my self and divied them up between Work, Neighbours and Boyfriend. Behold:

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Glaze

Mix your dry together:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup poppy seeds

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

zest of two lemons

dash of cinnamon

Mix your wet together:

2 eggs

3/4 cup greek yogurt

1/3 cup apple sauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon extract

Then mix the wet and dry together until combined. Don't over mix or you will ruin everything.

Preheat oven to 375. Grease muffin tins. Bake muffins for 12 minutes or until they are lightly browned and spring back when you touch one. Use a toothpick to prick holes in the top of each mufin for the glaze to soak into.

Lemony Glaze

Juice of two lemons

1 cup of icing sugar

Mix the lemon juice and icing sugar together until smooth. Drizzle over the muffins when they have cooled. Or do it when they come hot out of the oven like i did and watch as your glaze runs right off the muffins and onto the counter.

that is all. easy peasy lemon squeezy! Behold:

Orange Pekoe Cupcakes with Apple Cinnamon Buttercream

Who doesn't love tea? It's a hot, caffeinated and delicious. Ok ok, I guess it can be decaf as well, but rarely do I choose that option. My favorite tea is probably Earl Grey. You wouldn't know that from visiting where my house, where I seem to be mysteriously void of such tea *straight face*.

Last week I came across a recipe called Black Tea Cake With Honey Buttercream that immediately stole my heart. Tea in cake? Brilliant! Before reading the recipe, I assumed she used brewed tea in the recipe, but I was wrong. To make this cake, you actually expel the tea from the tea bags. I thought it might result in a bitter and grainy cupcake, but again I was wrong. I baked a batch last night with some modifications and was gobsmacked. They are amazing; super moist and the frosting, well, lets just say I had to stop myself from eating it by the spoonful. I ate three before dinner.

I can't wait to make another round of these, using earl gray tea and perhaps a honey vanilla frosting. drool. First the pictures, then the recipe...

   

Orange Pekoe Cupcakes with Apple Cinnamon Buttercream (adapted from Pastry Affair)
Yields 9-inch cake, 18 regular cupcakes, or 24 mini cupcakes

For the Orange Pekoe Cupcake:
1 cup skim milk
The contents of 4 tea bags
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup melted coconut butter (or vegetable oil)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your cupcake tins and set aside.
• Warm the milk until near boiling on the stove or in the microwave (keep an eye on it, it's really easy to scorch the milk). Cut open the tea bags and add the tea directly into the milk. Allow to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the coconut oil and vanilla extract. Gradually add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the tea brewed milk, mixing until batter is uniform and smooth.
• Spoon batter into mini cupcake liners and bake for 11-12 minutes (for a full cake bake for 30-40 minutes  or 18-22 minutes for regular cupcakes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool before frosting or serving.

For the Apple Cinnamon Buttercream:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons apple cinnamon butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and apple cinnamon butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and continue mixing until the frosting comes together. 
• If the frosting is too runny, add more powdered sugar until it reaches the right consistency. Likewise, if the frosting is too stiff, add more honey (or a splash of milk) to thin it out. If the frosting is too sweet, add a pinch more salt until the desired sweetness is achieved.
• Spread or pipe the honey buttercream onto the cooled cake and serve.

Cobbles & Cream

Valentine's day dessert, of course, was up to me. A million chocolaty recipes ran through my mind, along with guilty thoughts that I was being selfish because i know Nick likes vanilla more. I also learned this week that he thinks pie trumps cake. I don't think I've ever been so surprised...and horrified. PIE!? hrmph. So i mulled over maybe making an apple pie, but then all of the sudden it was Friday and I had no time and no pie making ingredients.. and by that I'm referring to Lard. I Also think peeling, coring and slicing apples is the most painful thing ever. My mommy dearest has a contraption that does it all for you, so I prefer to fulfil my apple pie needs at her house.

5PM on Friday, no desert in sight. I find a can of coconut milk, score! I have a can of sliced peaches in the fridge and blueberries in the freezer. A plan arises. Blueberry peach cobbler with coconut whipped cream!

I find some recipes and make some adjustments to suit my ingredients and need to not leave well enough alone. The cobbler comes together without a hitch and I throw it in the oven by 5:30, deciding I will warm it up after dinner.

The Coconut Whipped Cream (Oh She Glows has a great write up) did not go as planned. Every recipe called for a can of FULL FAT coconut milk, which is a problem as I never buy full fat anything. The second problem- I don't have time to let it chill as long as is called for. I throw it in the freezer and pull it out half an hour later, hoping for the best. Ideally, when you open the can of coconut milk the cream should have hardened so you can easily scoop it out and leave the rest of the coconut milk behind . Mine isn't even close. I carefully tried to skim the coconut cream off but of course, got some milk in the bowl in the process. Bad news. I chill my bowl and beaters and cream and cross my fingers and try to whip it. No luck. It will not get whippy. Hrmph. I recall a recipe for chocolate coconut milk ice cream that I had perused and dismissed earlier, and decide to go that route. I throw the rest of the coconut milk in the bowl and add some sugar and vanilla and whip it up, throw it in a container and into the freezer. I say a little prayer to the Dessert Gods that the ice cream will harden in time.

The re-warmed cobbler comes out of the oven and is bubbly and the crust is golden brown and it looks amazing. I check the ice cream and it has hardened- hallelujah! It is isn't very creamy but it IS cold and delicious I throw a couple of scoops on top of the cobbler and BOOM Valentine's Day is complete!

Here are my adapted recipes:

Winter Blueberry-Peach Cobbler (Adapted from Better Homes & Garden)

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup margarine, softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup canned peach syrup

3 cups canned peaches

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 tablespoon margarine

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoonground cinnamon

Directions

1. For topping, stir together flour, the 1/2 cup sugar, and baking powder. Add coconut milk and the 1/4 cup margarine all at once. Stir until smooth; set aside.

2. For filling, in a medium saucepan stir together brown sugar and cornstarch; stir in water. Add peaches and blueberries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Add the 1 tablespoon margarine and the lemon juice; stir until butter or margarine melts. Pour into an ungreased 9x9 glass dish. Spoon topping in mounds over hot filling. Sprinkle with a mixture of the 2 tablespoons coarse sugar and the nutmeg or cinnamon. Place on a shallow baking pan in oven, to catch any spill over.

3. Bake cobbler in a 350 degree F. oven about 35 minutes or until bubbly and a toothpick inserted into topper comes out clean.

Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream (Adapted from The Detoxinista)

Ingredients:
1 14 can coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and with a hand mixer beat until smooth and creamy. Throw in a container and freeze for a few hours. Take it out of the freezer and let it sit until it's scoopable.

Cinnamon Buns

Ever have a block of cream cheese burning a hole in your refrigerator? Wait a minute...I think "burning a hole" wasn't an apt phrase for the topic. Re-write.

Ever have a block of cream cheese screaming at you from the fridge USE ME! USE ME!? Last week I sure did! I pretty much only use cream cheese for one thing: frosting. It is the gravy of the baked goods realm. You can smother cream cheese frosting on anything and it will be delicious. Guarencheesed.

Cream cheese doesn't usually last long in my fridge before I scheme up an idea to use it. My latest baking adventure: cinnamon buns.

I really can't believe I've made it 25.5 years without attempting these. Its crossed my mind a million or so times, but I was always leery as I am super set against using yeast in baking. Too tricky for this girl.

But guess what! Cinnamon buns do not need to be made with yeast in order to be effectively delicious. A quick google search brought forth a great recipe off a foodie blog called IowaGirlEats. No yeast, basic ingredients and straight-forward, non fussy directions.

I doubled the batch with unusually great forethought and boy am I glad I did. The smell in my condo was unparalleled. They looked incredible. It took all my willpower to wait 2 whole days to eat one as they were made especially for our long weekend trip to Osoyoos. They were well received by the group.

Pretty sure these would give Cinnabon a run for their money. Also pretty sure I will get diabetes in short order if I keep making (and over eating) sugar laden treats like this.

Feast your eyes: