Whole grain bread rolls

It has been quite a few days since my last post. Between thanksgiving, updating the recipe index list, studying and thinking of all of the Christmas gifts I have to get this year....well, time has been running out!!

I have been wanting to cook and bake more than usual but it seems that I can't never get this wish. Oh well....I guess I will have to take it one step at a time, after all I think I have been doing quite a lot so far :-)

I hope everyone has had a wonderful thanksgiving, I sure did with the family!

These are actually the bread rolls I made for thanksgiving. It kind of became a last minute thing. One of my blogger friends at texanerin baking gave me the idea, and so glad she did.

The only thing I found with these rolls is that I thought they were a bit dense for my taste. I don't know if it was the fact that they didn't have enough liquid, but I am gathering that it was because I added some extra flour that I shouldn't have had :-(

I have deducted this amount of flour from the original recipe so that you don't encounter the same problem.

I think I will be making these again and hopefully they will get better for me in consistency. Just remember that the dough needs to be wet and sort of sticky, mine wasn't..... hence my dense bread........edible anyhow.

Well I hope you make these rolls and if you do let me know how they worked out for you. They are really not that difficult to make, you just need some time for the rising stages, that's all really :-)

Enjoy!!

Left pictures depicts the dough before proofing. Right picture is the dough after proofing for about 1 1/2 hours.

After proofing the dough I formed the rolls and proof them once again for another 30 minutes.

Here I slightly glazed the rolls with the egg yolk and sprinkle them with a bit of coarse salt and some oatmeal before baking.

.....and the end result :-)

Ingredients

Yields 8 rolls

1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup warm milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons honey
1 large eggs
1 teaspoon gluten
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cups all-purpose flour, next time I am doing all whole wheat flour but adding more gluten and yeast
1 tablespoon celtic salt
Oil, for greasing the bowl

For the topping

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
2 tbsp. oats
Coarse salt, for sprinkling


Combine the oat bran and flax seeds in a small bowl.  Pour the hot water into the bowl and mix to moisten.  Let sit until the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. 

Add the milk, yeast, honey and combine.  Mix in the egg, oats, wheat flour, and salt. Slowly add enough all-purpose flour to make a soft, slightly sticky and wet dough. Continue to knead.

Form the dough into a ball.  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. ( I did in the oven that was still a bit warm from baking previously)

Brush a baking dish lightly with oil, I used an 8 inch pampered chef round baking pan but a 9 inch regular round baking pan should be fine. On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and divide into 8 equal pieces.

Form each portion into a ball and place the dough balls in the baking dish, spaced slightly apart so they have room to grow together. Cover and let rise until puffy and nearly doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolk and water. Brush lightly over the proofed rolls.  Sprinkle the unbaked rolls with oats and coarse salt.  Bake until the tops are golden, about 30-35 minutes.  Let cool 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan.

Adapted from here

Toffee

I made these toffee pieces a couple of days ago and it literally flew out of the tray :-) between my brother and my husband it was practically almost gone.

These toffee it is definitely going to make it to the Christmas goodies bag give away this year. It is so so good :-)

It is very easy and you can add any nuts of your choice. If you don't have a candy thermometer bring the mixture to an almond color. It will probably take about 8 minutes or so. Mine got a bit darker because I bought the temperature up to 290, next time I will do bring it to just 280. That would perfect.

I hope you make these. Not to healthy but a little bit goes a long way. Like a said, my food philosophy is a little bit of anything you want it is always ok as long as the ingredients are real!! Nothing of the fake stuff......

Enjoy!

Bring the mixture up to 280 degree F. I did a bit more and I found it to be a bit on the burnt side. Spread the chopped nuts on the tray.

Place caramel over the chopped pecans followed by the chocolate chips. They will melt within minutes.

After spreading the chocolate sprinkle more pecans. Rest assure you can add which ever nuts off your choice. Next time I will try it with walnuts.

Ingredients

1 cup unrefined sugar
1 cup butter, 2 sticks
1 cup dark chocolate chips, any other will also be good
2 cups nuts, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons honey, or maple syrup
3 tablespoons water

Line a baking sheet up the sides with tin foil and sprinkle half of the chopped nuts over the foil.

In a heavy saucepan, add butter, sugar, vanilla, honey and water. Cook over medium heat until mixtures reaches an almond color, or if you have a candy thermometer, until it reaches 270 degrees Fahrenheit (hard ball to soft crack)

Pour the mixture over the nuts. Let stand for a couple of minutes and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee. Let stand for a minute or two.

Spread the chocolate over the top of the toffee and sprinkle with remaining nuts. Chill until it hardens completely, it could take up to and hour or two :-)

Cranberry and oatmeal breakfast muffins

I have been sick for a few days with the flu so that meant no gym, no baking and no cooking.....but today that I have been feeling a bit better so I felt like making this banana and oatmeal muffins. I made these muffins a while back, when I first started the blog, although today I felt like making them slightly different so I made a few changes to the original recipe.

Since it is cranberry season I added fresh cranberries to the batter rather than the apples and dried cranberries. What a success. My husband loves them and my kids are eating them by the minute, thank goodness they are pretty healthy....... I don't think they will last more than one day :-)

You can make these muffins with which ever fruit you prefer. They are very versatile, which is one of the things I like the most, plus they also take no time to put together, MAX 10-15 minutes total.....no joke!

Anyhow I will leave you with these amazing and awesome cranberry muffins so until my next entry.

Enjoy!!

Before and after baking. These cranberry muffins were so good!! Excellent for breakfast.

 You can use any fruit you like in these muffins. They are very versatile :-)

These are a fabulous alternative for breakfast on the go, they are pretty healthy. Good on soluble fiber to low in cholesterol :-) My husband takes 3-4 each morning.

Ingredients

Makes 16-18 regular size muffins or 6-7 jumbo ones

2 ripe bananas, mashed
1  egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup low fat organic milk
1/3 cup unrefined sugar
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, you can substitute 1/4 cup flax seed meal for the flour to increase soluble fiber
1  3/4 cup oats
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1- 1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
Pinch of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line muffin pan with muffin paper cups.

In a bowl combine bananas, milk, oil, sugar and egg. Add dry ingredients, flour, oats, cinnamon and baking powder and whisk until well incorporated. Fold in cranberries and walnuts.

Spoon one to two tablespoons of the mixture evenly into each muffin cup. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Make sure you remove muffins immediately after they are done. Let them cool on a wire rack.

 
Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 16 servings. 1 muffin = 1 serving

Unconventional cranberry pie

This is not your conventional cranberry pie. This pie it is simply amazing and much easier to make. I think this is my favorite pie EVER!!

I have only experimented with it a couple of times and made it with cranberries both times as well. I like it so much I made it two times in a row. I just LOVE this pie!!

On another note, I have been thinking for a while about what menu to have for thanksgiving and for sure this cranberry pie will be added it to the dessert menu.

Since no one in my family cares for turkey much I am thinking of making some chicken cacciatore with some Parmesan mashed potatoes and a salad. I just want to keep it simple. There will be just 6 adults and the kids so that should be plenty :-)

Anyhow, this cranberry pie is to die for. I know I say this often about many of the recipes I post in my blog but this one is really up there. I can't believe it is so easy and yet so so GOOD!!

Enjoy!!

Here you can see the mixture and how I pad it down onto the pie plate. Not perfect. No need to be perfect :-)

Here you can see the fruit one the crust and the finish product right before placing the pie in the oven.

And the finish product...... Just superb!!

Ingredients

Yields 8 servings

Crust and topping

1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour, you can use two cups w.w. pastry flour if you don't have oat flour
1 cup oat flour
3/4 cups unrefined sugar, You can still use a bit less if you want, I though the pie was sweet
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup coconut oil or 1 stick butter, melted
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Filling

12 oz fresh cranberries
4 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 cup unrefined sugar, next time I will do just 1/4 cup
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a bowl mix the crust and topping ingredients. Reserve one to 1 and 1/2 cups of the mixture and press the remainder on a 9 inch pie plate.

Mix filling ingredients in a bowl and pour over the crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool down and serve.

I keep leftover pie refrigerated and heat individual pieces 15-30 seconds before eating.

Inspired by taste of home

Nutrition facts calculated based on the pie giving 8 servings.

Pumpkin pie with honey and caramel whip cream topping

Let's just say I don't like pumpkin much. I know is holiday pumpkin time and with that comes making some pumpkin desserts.

I made Cream cheese pumpkin muffins about a couple of weeks ago but since you can't really tell the pumpkin flavor in them I was ok with it, they were pretty sensational actually :-)

Anyhow, so my husband bought some organic pumpkin puree and asked me to make pumpkin pie the other day. I decline because I really couldn't see myself eating it. I thought, why make something if I can't eat it? plus I had other baking things in mind......

Well he actually turned around and said he would make it!! I thought to myself....I really want to see this one happen because he hardly gets in the kitchen and if he does for sure it is not to bake pie!

He wanted me to make the crust but I also decline, I told him " if you are going to make a pie you are going to make it from scratch including the crust". I got him the recipe but that was it!

He used my recipe for the crust from the whole wheat apple pie slab I made a while back and goggled the filling. He actually half the crust recipe and as far as the filling is concern we just made it up since we found that recipes called for cream cheese, a bunch of eggs, sugar, evaporated milk etc...... things I did not like!

I also use my recipe for the cinnamon caramel sauce since I had some stored in the fridge. You could omit this if you like.

The pumpkin pie turned out pretty good and as a gesture I agreed to decorated it. The pie is on the unsweetened side so if you like a bit more sweetness I suggest adding a 1/4 cup extra unrefined sugar to the filling.

It is pumpkin season after all so.....

Enjoy!

Left pictures is the pumpkin pie right after coming out of the oven and the right picture just after decorating with the whip cream and caramel :-)

Ingredients

Filling

2 eggs
1 15oz can pumpkin puree, I used organic
1 14oz condensed milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 cup unrefined sugar, optional, that is if you like the pie on the sweet side. I didn't use it!

Crust

2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup low fat milk
2 teaspoons of salt

Whip topping:

1/3 heavy cream
1-2 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Mix crust ingredients together in a bowl and pat down on a 9 inch round pie plate. Set aside.

In another bowl, with a wire whisk, combine the filling ingredients. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate.

Bake at 425F for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 35-40 minutes or just until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool pie down before decorating.

To decorated the pie add topping ingredients in a bowl. Whip until firm. Transfer mixture to a pipping bag and used any decorating tip of your choice. Pipe a small amount over the edges of the pie and drizzle with caramel sauce.

Healthier cranberry crumble bars

I am back after not having my computer for a few days.......a bit of a frustrating time........none the less I still was able to bake away :-)

I made these cranberry crumble bars and let me tell you, they were sensational. I actually had not used fresh cranberries before. My husband brought a bag from the store the other day and told me to bake something with them, so I did......and so glad I did.

I was so glad I baked these cranberry crumb bars that I sent him back to the store to get 3 more bags. I really loved the tart taste with the sweetness of the crumble.....

I am already planing on making a cranberry pie with the remainder of the cranberries...I am so excited. Until then....

Enjoy!!

Pictures of the cranberry filling and the crumble dough. The pictures are a bit off since I took them at night...need to get a more powerful flash :-)

You can make these bars with any fruit filling you desire really. With cranberries it worked beautifully :-)

These cranberry crumb bars are awesome. I hope you try them :-)

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, you can use a total of 2 1/2 cups if you don't have oat and barley flour
3/4 cup oat flour
3/4 cup barley flour
1/2 cup oats
1 stick butter, soften
1/3 cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup unrefined sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon, more if you like
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling

3-4 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 sugar, unrefined, I actually do 1/4 cup but you may want to stick with the 1/2 cup
3 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon corn starch


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a 8.5×8.5 inch square pan (this is what I used but you can use any other larger size you may have). In a bowl mix the filling ingredients and set aside.

In another bowl mix together sugar, oats, flours, cinnamon and baking powder. Add the butter, vanilla and oil and mix until the texture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Dough will come together just like in the picture.

Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Place reserved half aside. Sprinkle the cranberry mixture evenly over the dough in the pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until top is a light golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack then transfer to the refrigerator to chill before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Inspired by: Good life eats

Nutella brownie bites three ways

The only thing I can say about these brownies is WOW...... These are really moist and the nutella flavor is very apparent.......exactly what I was looking for!

I actually used my old recipe for best ever healthier chocolate brownies and made a few alterations. I added it the nutella and hazelnuts in place of the chocolate chips and left everything else pretty much the same.

This recipe is 3 ways because you can leave the brownie bites as is, decorate them with chocolate ganache and chopped hazelnuts or with chocolate heavy cream as I did.

I only had a one mini muffin pan so for the leftover batter I used a regular size muffin pan, hence the bigger muffins in the pictures :-)

These were really good. If you try you won't be disappointed!

Enjoy!

These were sensational. They were really moist and tasted like nutella a lot. With the 1 cup of it you would think they would :-)

Here you  can see the three different ways I finished the brownie bites. All of them were good, it is just your own preference.

  
Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup nutella
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, I don't roasted them in the oven, I use raw hazelnuts

Ganache

1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dark chocolate chip
1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped, you can use any other nuts of your choice

Chocolate mousse cream

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a mini muffin pan. Like the one in the pictures.

In a bowl whisk first 6 ingredients. Add flour, baking powder and nuts and incorporate well.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into each mini muffin cup, this may be a bit messy but it is ok!.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove brownies from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache, heat the whipping cream over medium heat just until it simmers. Add the chocolate chips to the cream and let it stand for 30 seconds, then whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is well blended.

Gently dip the top of each brownie in the ganache and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

To make the chocolate mousse cream, in a bowl add all of the ingredients and whipped until firm. Transfer mixture to a pipping bag and used any decorating tip of your choice. Pipe a small amount over each brownie.