Category: Baking

Thanksgiving Recap

Sadie3 Comments

Well, another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and this one was pretty successful.  The menu looked something like this:

Appetizers:

  • Veggies and dip
  • Crackers with Blue Cheese Spread*
  • Soft Pretzel Bites and mustard (recipe to come)*

Dinner:

  • Turkey
  • Gravy
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Stuffing
  • Spicy Sweet Potatoes Au Gratin
  • Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Almonds*
  • Steamed Broccoli*
  • Roasted Brussel Sprouts
  • Mixed Greens Salad
  • Cranberry Sauce*
  • Sweet Potato Biscuits
  • Squash rolls
  • Crescent Rolls (as in Pillsbury)

Dessert (all home made):

  • Pecan Pie
  • Pumpkin Pie
  • Apple Pie
  • Maple Walnut Ice Cream
  • Miso Ice Cream

* This means I made it by myself.  My mom made the rest with assistance from me, and my brothers.

My Favorite Part:

 

What was your favorite dish at the Thanksgiving feast?

Mine were the squash rolls (doughy and fabulous), and the pecan pie which was a new addition for us this year!

Pumpkin + Protein = Perfect

Sadie1 Comment

Are you tired of pumpkin yet?  I’m not.  I found a great pumpkin granola bar recipe, and I needed to try it.  It was one of those recipes that I searched for on a couple sites, and they pretty much all brought me back to same recipe.  I took that as a sign that this recipe is a good one.  I like the recipe because it doesn’t have flour, eggs, or butter.  Instead, just applesauce.  The only thing I thought could make the recipe better would be protein powder.  So I added some.

I added a “scoop” which is about 25g, so it only really added a few grams of protein to each bar.  I was surprised, however, that the protein powder had a negligible affect on the taste and texture of the final product.  Score!

Pumpkin Protein Granola Bars

Yields about 9 bars (one 8 x 8 square pan) adapted from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350. Cover an 8 x 8 square pan with parchment and/or nonstick spray.
  2. Combine oats, spices, protein powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside while you combine the brown sugar, applesauce, honey, pumpkin, and vanilla in different bowl.
  3. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir well to combine.  Add the cranberries, chocolate chips, and pecans.  Make sure the ingredients are well distributed.
  4. Pour batter into the prepared pan.  Bake 30-35 minutes.  Allow to cool and enjoy!
    Packed up and ready for an adventure!


Chewy Oatmeal Cookies Round 2

Sadie1 Comment

A couple weeks ago I posted a recipe for chewy oatmeal cookies.  Well as we know, I am an oatmeal cookie addict, so I decided to try yet another chewy oatmeal cookie.  This one is from the blog How Sweet It Is, which is a fabulously beautiful food blog, which a great combination of interesting yet do-able recipes.

Her original recipe only calls for chocolate chips, but I decided to add a little more je ne sais quoi.  Which means, instead of chocolate chips, I went with butterscotch chips, M&M’s (autumn colors of course), and chopped pecans.  Basically I look for any excuse to make monster cookies with as many add-ins as possible.

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies with M&M’s, butterscotch, and pecans

Yields about 30-40 cookies, adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 Tbs cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
  • 1 1/2 cups M&M’s
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Method

  1. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
  2. Mix together dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt), set aside.
  3. Beat eggs and vanilla into butter and sugar mixture.
  4. Add dry to wet and beat to combine.  Add oats and other add-ins.  Mix to combine, do not over mix.
  5. Allow dough to chill for 30 minutes and preheat oven to 375.
  6. Bake cookies 9-11 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool completely and enjoy!