Graham Crackers - Soy and Dairy Free

I am 28 weeks today:)  I have officially entered my 3rd trimester! I have a scheduled c-section so I have 11 more weeks to go.  Part of me feels as if that is just around the corner, part of me feels like 11 MORE weeks..... Starting to get very excited and nervous around here.  Anyhow enough about me now on to yummy graham crackers.

A lot of the common toddler snacks have either dairy or soy in them; graham crackers, goldfish, animal crackers, and even many of the Gerber foods. Pretzels (almost all are made with canola oil) and Alphabet Cookies from Trader Joes have been our life-savers!  I recently found that Annie's Bunnies and Graham Crackers actually do not have soy or milk in them and Savanna loves them.  Before I found them I had wanted to see if I could make some graham crackers on my own and I finally had some time to do so.  I love home-made graham crackers, but they do taste a little different than commercial ones.  I had some trouble getting them to be light and crispy and not just hard.  They key in the end was adding some baking powder and refrigerating the dough after rolling. This allows the butter to rest and then create flaky air pockets while baking which resulted in a nice crispy cracker not a rock solid one :)

Soy and Dairy Free Graham Crackers

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup whole-wheat flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ tsp cream of tarter

½ teaspoon cinnamon

8oz soy and dairy free butter(Earth Balance)

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup honey

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoons non-dairy milk (I used vanilla rice)

 Instructions:

1. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tarter and cinnamon in a medium size bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and brown sugar together.
3. Add the honey, molasses and milk and continue to mix on medium speed until well combined.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, 1-2 hours.
6. Unwrap the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to about ⅛ inch thickness.
7. Use a ruler and a knife to cut the dough into rectangles or squares, or use cookie cutters (I used mini animals).
8. Repeat rolling and cutting until all of the dough has been formed into crackers.
9. Place the cut dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets (if making squares pierce each cracker with a fork two to three times).  It is also optional to sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar which I like to do if I am making crackers.
10. Refrigerate for 30-40 minutes until firm.   
11. Bake at 350 degrees, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

 

Gymnastics Cookies

Savanna and I were both super excited about the weather yesterday!  I know the 40's are still not warm, but it is crazy how warm it feels when you are used to the 20's.  Not only was it warmer, it was sunny so we could actually get out for a good walk :)  We have made the switch over to one nap which has been working good as long as we have a morning activity.  

I also wanted to share these gymnastics cookies I made for my niece, Monica's 5th birthday.  I wanted to work on them since I was not going to make her party AND my royal icing skills need some practice.  I was happy with the way they turned out, but I think I could still use some practice for more detailed designs.

Happy Weekend!

Red Wine Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Cherry Compote

Red Wine, chocolate and cherries are Chris's favorite sweets. I made him a red wine chocolate cake 2 years ago for his birthday and we both LOVED it.  The red wine gives the cake such a distinct taste that we had to have again. I decided to make it last weekend for his birthday this year, but I wanted to put a different spin on it. Instead of a layer cake, I made a bundt cake topped with ample chocolate ganache.  To finish it off I served it with fresh whip cream and a cherry compote. The cherry brings out the wine in the cake. I thought it tasted perfect with all of the components together, but if you are a pure chocolate freak you may want to leave out the cherry and whip cream.  

 

Red Wine Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups Red Wine

Chocolate Ganache - recipe below

Sprinkles/Decorations

Cherry Compote - recipe below

Fresh Whip Cream

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

4. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the red wine in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.

5. Coat the Bundt with baking spray and fill the bundt pan with the batter.  

6. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes.

7. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes then invert it on a cool baking sheet and let it continue to cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

10 oz bittersweet chocolate - chopped

6.5 oz heavy cream

Directions:

1. Pour the chocolate in a heat proof bowl.

2. Heat the cream in a small sauce-pan on medium heat until the cream just comes to a boil.

3. Pour the hot cream over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.

4. Stir chocolate until melted and smooth.

5. Pour immediatly over the cooled bundt cake.

6. Add sprinkles or any decorations you would like before the ganache sets.

Cherry Compote

Ingredients:

2/3 cups water

6 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 bags (20oz frozen cherries)

Directions:

1. Combine water, sugar and lemon juice in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat.  

2.  Heat until the sugar dissolves and then add the cherries and reduce the heat.

3.  Simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring every other minute until the cherries are slightly broken down.

4.  Let the cherries cool and then cover and chill until ready to serve. 

Homemade Muesli

I fell in love with muesli on our honeymoon in South Africa. I was reminded of it and inspired the other day when I saw this recipe decided to make some of my own.  I love cereal and oatmeal but I do not always want a hot breakfast and commercial cereals often have a ton of extra sugar and I have a big enough sweet tooth that I do not need my breakfast filled with sugar as well.  The great thing about making your own is that you can add in all the things you love and constantly change it to add variety.  I did not add any dried fruit to mine, I prefer fresh (to control the sugar), but you can certaintly include it!  

Homemade Muesli 

1/4 cup pistachios

1/2 cup walnuts

2 TBS ground flax

2 TBS hemp hearts

2 TBS chia seeds

(instead of the above you can add wheat germ or oat bran)

1 cup oats (I used irish old fashioned because that is what I had)

2 TBS brown sugar (you can eliminate this completly but I need a little sweetness)

1 tsp cinnamon (feel free to add any spices you like)

Dried or fresh fruit or coconut shavings

Yogurt

Milk (regular, soy, almond, rice....)

Yield - 2 1/3 cups without the fruit (almost 12 ounces)

1. Chop the nuts (you can toast them as well to intensify their flavor)

2. Add the oats, hemp hearts, chia seeds, sugar, flax seed, cinnamon and brown sugar to the bowl with the nuts.

3. Stir well to combine.

4. At this point, you can store the muesli in a sealed container for a week or two.

5. To eat, (what I like) mix 1/3 cup muesli with 1/2 plain 0% greek yogurt and 1/2 cup almond milk and let it sit a few hours or overnight before eating.  Top with fresh fruit. You can soak with just milk or just yogurt.  You can also sprinkle a few tablespoons on your yogurt and eat immediately as a "raw granola".  

Catching Up

As we are stuck inside on this gross day for the 2nd time this week, I am dreaming of where we were the last 2 weeks.  We headed out to visit our cousins in Chicago over Martin Luther King Weekend and I stayed the week. Savanna had so much fun watching and engaging with her cousins.  She was constantly entertained by them and all of their toys! It didn't matter that it was freezing and we were stuck inside there.  Every time she would wake up she would wave to them and by the end of the week she was running and giving them hugs it was soooo cute!  

We were then very lucky to be able to go to Aruba with Chris's parents.  Unfortunately, Chris had to work so Savanna and I met them for Monday - Friday.  We missed Daddy, but boy did Savanna have fun in the water. She was hesitant on the sand the first day, but then got used to it and had fun digging and putting sand in and out of a pail.  

She was obssessed with the birds on the beach and would follow them everywhere. 

She didn't like the ocean, but loved the kiddie pool.  It was the perfect depth for her. She enjoyed splashing and kicking and doing "squats" in the water :)

She also loved the zero entry pools and running along the edges. If you go away this winter, I highly recommend making sure the hotel at least has the zero entry pool.  Savanna would run back and forth between the pools.

Hope you are staying warm and safe today!