Happy St. Patrick's Day and Dairy Free Sugar Cookies!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous St. Patrick's Day! I made Savanna sugar cookies with earth balance butter :)  Don't you just love the hat my Aunt sent her!

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies 

Yield 12-14 medium size cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

4 ounces (1 stick) butter (I used Earth Balance Dairy and Soy Free)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar 

1 egg (seperated)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Sanding Sugar or Sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. In the bowl of your electric mixer cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. 

5. Add dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined.

6. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

7. Roll out dough (¼ of inch thickness) and cut desired shape (4 leaf clovers).

8. Gather up the reserved dough scraps and gently press them into a disk.  Repeat the cutting and rolling process with the scraps.

9. Place cut cookies about 1 inch apart on baking sheet (for a medium size cutter should fit about 12 cookies per sheet).

10. Brush cookies with egg white and sprinkle on desired decorations.

11. Bake 12-15 minutes until lightly golden brown at the edges.

12. Let cool for 3 minutes on the sheets and then transfer to a rack or parchment paper.

Happy Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you enjoyed the nice weather yesterday as much as we did.  It felt amazing.  The one park that was not covered in snow was over flowing with kids in the afternoon.

Savanna still loves her toy stroller and loves just pushing it around outside.  If you are looking for some healthy mid-week cookies, we made these last week and they were sooo good!  Savanna does not seem to love chocolate so I made half the batch without chips and added in some more spices. They are soy and dairy free so were perfect to have around as snacks for all!

I also wanted to share these "G" (for Garnets) cupcakes I did for an event in Rye.  The school colors and logo are red, white and black so I did Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing and a black G on top.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

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.

 

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".  

Fresh Apple Cookies - Soy and Dairy Free

Savanna absolutely HATES the car. We have been trying to work on explaining short trips to her, but I believe she thinks that every time we get in the car she will be strapped in there for at least an hour.  So for 5 minute trips around town we just hope that she doesn't cry or we give her a little snack. For anything further we allow her to watch the IPad, it makes the car ride more enjoyable for everyone :)  We have 3 episodes of Sesame Street downloaded that she watches on repeat.  One episode in particular is about the letter A and Apples, which she has watched so many times now.  Well her first real word (besides mama and dada) was Apple and she is obsessed with eating whole apples.  The episode also rubbed off on me (from listening to it so much).  Maria and Luis make fresh apple cookies from the apple tree.  I was intrigued because I have never had a cookie with fresh apples. I found a recipe in a box of my grandmother's clippings for apple cookies but it used dried apples.  I decided to try and use it as a base.  I adjusted a few other parts to make them so Savanna could enjoy them as well.  Additionally, the adjustments made them healthier so they could be a snack vs. a dessert cookie.  

Fresh Apple Oatmeal Cookies

 Ingredients:

1 ½ cups White Whole Wheat Flour

1 ½ cups rolled oats

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp all spice

¼ tsp salt

¾ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp baking powder

1/3 cup apple sauce

1/3 cup “butter” melted

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup diced apple  (about ¾ of an apple)

¾ cup raisins

 Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Whisk together all dry ingredients (make sure to get all the brown sugar lumps).
3. Peel and dice your apple into ¼ inch pieces.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, butter, apple sauce and vanilla.
5. Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
6. Fold in apples and raisins. 
7. Scoop cookies (I used medium cookie scoop) 3 across and 4 down on a half sheet pan.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes total, first half on the bottom and then rotate pan and do 2^nd half on top. 
9. Cool for 2 minutes and then transfer to rack to cool.

Yield: 30-35 cookies

I made half one day and cooked the rest 2 days later.  Save any extra cookies in the fridge (they will go bad on the counter because of the fresh fruit).

Soy and Dairy Free Mini Banana Muffins

Hope everyone stayed warm during this frigid week! We had to get creative with indoor activities.  I decided to take out my 0-3 month bin to see if we had anything neutral. Savanna really enjoyed "sorting" the clothes, putting them in and out of the bin :) She found her bunny ear hat from last year that actually still fit.

Before filling and putting the bin back in storage, I used it to make a "water table".  I filled it with water and put it in the the kitchen with some towels and her bath toys to play (if I do again I may use her infant bath tub because this was really deep and a lot to fill).  My only mistake was letting her play without clothes on, she was saturated by the end!

Savanna also helped me make mini banana muffins that are perfect as a snack or breakfast.  Her job was to smoosh and mix the banana.

Mini Banana Bread Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light butter, melted (I used earth balance soy free)

1 2/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large bananas or 4 small bananas)

6 oz yogurt (I used dairy free coconut cultured)

2 large egg whites

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; whisk until well-blended. 

3. Add banana, yogurt, and egg whites; whisk until all incorporated and set aside.

4. Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; stir well. 

5. Fold in dry ingredients to wet mixture, until all incorporated.

6. Spoon batter (I used a small scoop) into the lined (or sprayed) pan for mini muffins. 

7. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through.

8. Let cool 5 minutes in pan and then at least 10 minutes outside of pan.  If you take them out too quick they will stick to liners. 

Yield: 60

Baking Class and Marshmallow Snowmen

I did a baking class on Tuesday night that was a holiday/entertaining theme.  I really enjoyed doing it and I think all of the guests enjoyed it too.  I was very nervous, since I have only done one before.  I have another next week, where I am teaching cake pops and mini pies and I am now excited for it :)

I did a 40 minute demonstration and then everyone could break into groups and work on the following activities:

1. Decorating Cupcakes - Gingerbread with mini gingerbread men on top and chocolate with peppermint icing and mini candy canes.  
2. Rolling, Decorating and Filling Cookies - I have a cookie recipe that can be used for 4 different cookies.  I demonstrated the dough and brought two of the cookies and the group worked on the remaining 2. 
3. Chocolate covered pretzels - I demonstrated how to melt the chocolate and dip the pretzels and then people could dip pretzels on their own.
4. Making marshmallow snowmen - good to go with hot chocolate or on cupcakes.

Everyone went home with a packet of recipes and a box of goodies :)  

Unforunately I do not have a lot of pictures from the event, but I did want to show you these cute Marshmallow snowmen.  I found the idea in my Martha Stewart Cupcake book and I wanted to share them with you!  They are perfect for regular cupcakes or I think they would be super fun at a kids party with hot cocoa.

Marshmallow Snowmen

Ingredients:

Regular Marshmallows

Chocolate Sprinkles or Black Edible Pen

Orange Gummy

Junior Mints

Royal Icing or Buttercream

Toothpick

Directions:

1. Using a toothpick poke two holes in one marshmallow for eyes and then insert sprinkles.  If using pen as eyes – see last step.
2. Using a toothpick poke 1 hole for nose.  Cut a slice of the gummy as thin as the toothpick and about ¼ of an inch long and insert in hole.  
3. Using icing “glue” top marshmallow to bottom one.  
4. Spread a dab of icing onto junior mint and place on the top marshmallow.
5. Let dry overnight.
6. If using pens, draw eyes and buttons after they have dried overnight.

Baby Boy Gift Basket

Happy Monday and Happy Thanksgiving Week! I wanted to share a project with you today that I worked on last week.  One of my good friends just had a baby boy so I made a basket of treats for her. It is so hard to find time to do anything when you are a new mom so I made some healthy treats to keep her energy up! It was filled with Almond Granola with dates, raisins and walnuts, Almond Butter Whole Wheat cookies (based off this recipe) and some pumpkin butter that is great in yogurt and on toast.

I found a great basket at Home Goods to put everything in and found this adorable personalized train at Monograms off Madison.

To complete the basket, I added one of my favorite board books, Wherever You Are, and tied it up with cellophane and some blue baby feet ribbon that I had from a previous project.

This Saturday is Small Business Saturday, do not forget to support all of your local and online small businesses (especially during the entire holiday season).  I am going to try and share my favorite small businesses later this week!

Weekend Recap and Carrot Cake Roll-Out Cookies

Sorry, I was never able to post last week, I had a ton of baking and prepping to do for our first of two parties for Savanna's first birthday!  We had a super busy Saturday this past weekend.  In the afternoon we had her party. We decided to split up friends and family since we cannot fit everyone inside if the weather was not nice.  We did our friends first so we could hopefully have it outside.  Luckily the weather cooperated for us:)  I will share the details of the party with you after I get pictures uploaded later this week. Before the party Chris took Savanna to the Rye vs. Harrison football game which is a long time rival.  There were 5000 people at a high school football game!  From what I heard Savanna loved the crowd and really enjoyed the action.  I made this cake pop tower (sorry not a great picture) for the boys tailgate on Friday night.  

While they were at the game I had my good friend Katie's baby shower at the Larchmont Yacht Club (where her and her husband got married).  I did some cute favor boxes for which I want to share the details with you today.

I worked with her sister to make personalized boxes for Katie.  We decided to make a trail mix of all of her favorite items; almonds, dried mango, raisins, yogurt covered pretzels, gummies and m&ms.  She is having a boy so we did blue for the gummies and m&ms.  

I then made a baby onesie carrot cake cookie (since carrot cake is her favorite).  I also wanted to share the recipe for the cookie.

I had made a soft drop carrot cake cookie before but, I was afraid that wouldn't hold the icing and I would have a ton of waste from cutting the cookies out.  I searched for a roll-out cookie but failed to find one, so I decided to modify one of my own recipes.  My gingerbread cookies have a fairly wet dough which I thought I needed since the carrots would moisten the dough.  So I substituted the molasses with the carrots and altered the spices and it worked :)  The dough was super moist but it worked as long as you let the dough sit in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours (overnight is best) and used a decent amount of flour.  

Carrot Cake Roll-out Cookies

3 cups flour

3/4 cup brown sugar 

3/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

6 ounces butter

6.5 ounces shredded carrots 

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer mix dry ingredients

2. Add in butter in pieces

3.While machine is running add carrots

4. Refrigerate dough for at least 4 hours

5. Roll out on floured surface and floured pin to desired shape and size (will need a lot of flour) 

6. Bake 10 - 15 minutes depending on size

Leftover Baby Food Puree Ideas and Recipes

Once Savanna got a hold of finger foods, she said bye-bye to purees (if we are on the go she will eat some out of a pouch once in awhile).  I had made some of Savanna's food and bought some jars and pouches for when we were travelling.  Of course she gave up the purees as soon as I stocked up on jars.  I decided to make use them in baking and making other meals. Fruit purees are easy to make use of.  Here are some great ways to incorporate them:

• Stir into oatmeal
• Replace the butter or oil in pancakes or muffins (apple and pear are best for those)
• Make a smoothie

Some ideas for veggies: 

• Carrots and winter squash are great to add to mac and cheese
• Tomato and Carrot Purees are great for making pasta sauces 
• Winter Squash can be used for Giada's Butternut Squash Lasagna :) 
• Most veggies (maybe not broccoli or string beans) can be added to make a savory muffin
• Broccoli can be used for making soup (add some chopped pieces for texture) 

If you have any tomato carrot purees leftover, I made a yummy turkey meat sauce.  I didn't write down the exact recipe, but it was fairly simple. Saute a 1/4 of an onion, a few carrots and turkey chop meat (about 1/3 cup), add in 2 jars of puree and add little salt and pepper.  I tossed it with some small pasta and had dinner for Savanna for 3 nights! I altered my favorite pumpkin bread recipe to make it healthier and use some leftover apples and sweet potatoes (see recipe below). Savanna has almost always hated the purees with meat in them and I have no idea what to do with them so if you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!  Do you cook with your leftover purees?  If so please share your ideas as well!

Sweet Potato and Apple Muffins

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg white

1/4 cup oil

1/3 cup apple sauce 

3/4 cup sweet potato puree

1/3 c + 1 Tbs milk (we used coconut)

1/2 tsp vinegar

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 + 2 TBS oat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl whisk sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and apple sauce

2. Whisk in squash, milk and vinegar 

3. In another bowl sift flours, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves

4. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well combined

5. Pour into loaf pan

6. Bake for 55 minutes or until tooth pick clean

7. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan 

Happy 4th of July Parfaits!

We headed out to California for the week for Chris's friends wedding over the 4th of July.  We decided to bring Savanna with us and make a full week family vacation.  We are starting up north and visiting one of my friends who I sadly have not seen in 3 years in Carmel/Monteray! We are then going to drive south to San Diego and finish with the wedding in Carlsbad. I was REALLY nervous for the time change, but we arrived on Saturday evening and so far so good.  Savanna did not sleep a wink on the plane which made for a very long plane ride, although the only time she cried was when we tried to put her to sleep.  Do not ask us what we did for 5.5 hours :)  In the end I think this ended up helping because she did not go to sleep until 930 Cali time so it just forced her to be on Cali time and the adjustment has been easier than I thought.  We are really enjoying our time here and cannot wait to tell you about our adventures!

For today I wanted to share a yummy and healthy 4th of July breakfast with you.  Before we left I made a simple yogurt parfait.  I layered plain greek yogurt with strawberries, blueberries and granola mixed with chia and hemp seeds and topped it with some chopped walnuts.  

I also wanted to share these fun and fairly simple desserts that I saw in Better Homes and Gardens.

If we were going to be home for the 4th I would of definitely make at least one of them.  

Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!!! 

Cherry Berry Shortcake Stars

Sparkler Cupcakes

Friday Muffins!

Happy Friday!  I have two yummy and healthy muffins I wanted to share with you today. I was watching Giada the other day and I saw her make these carrot and zucchini mini muffins (original recipe is here) that were really cute and fairly healthy.  I thought it would be fun if I could make them so Savanna could have them.  I wanted to make them as a muffin for breakfast instead of a treat so I eliminated the frosting.  To alter them for Savanna I used oat and whole wheat flour instead of the the almond and rice flour and made them with oat milk instead of the oil so they were a little healthier.  If your child cannot have eggs you could probably substitute applesauce for the egg but the texture may be a little off.  Savanna absolutely loved these!  I highly recommend. After these turned out well I decided to try a different version for Chris and I.  I had frozen cherries and almond flour so I thought a cherry almond muffin would be delicious!  They are gluten free, dairy free and soy free and even with all of that the texture and taste were wonderful.  When I make them again I will chop up the cherries first since the cherry took up about half the mini muffin.  

Have a wonderful weekend!

Carrot and Zucchini Muffins (dairy and soy free)

3/4 cup oat flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (you can do all oat or use rice flour instead here if you want to make gluten free)

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup oat milk 

1 TBS sugar or maple syrup (safe for babies unlike honey)

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup grated carrots (from1 medium peeled carrot)

1/2 cup grated zucchini (from 1 medium unpeeled zucchini)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 mini-muffin cups with (1 1/2-inch) paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk, sugar or syrup, and egg. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the grated carrot and grated zucchini.

 4. Fill the muffin cups with a small scoop or tablespoon to 3/4 full with the batter and bake until light golden, about 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Cherry Almond Muffins (Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Soy Free)

3/4 cup Almond flour

1/2 cup oat flour (I do not love the taste of rice flour which is why I used oat here)

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup almond milk 

1 TBS sugar or maple syrup 

1 large egg, at room temperature (or 1/4 cup applesauce - may be more dense)                                            

1/4 tsp almond extract                                                                                                                                  

24 pitted cherries (whole or chopped)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 mini-muffin cups with (1 1/2-inch) paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk, sugar or syrup, egg or applesauce and extract. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the cherries.

4. Fill the muffin cups with a small scoop or tablespoon to 3/4 full with the batter and bake until light golden, about 15-20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Catching up and Two Ingredient Cookies

Sorry it has been busy over here!  We have been gone two out of the last three weekends and when we are go away now I always feel as if I am preparing to go and catching up for half the week.  Three weeks ago it was my Dad's 60th birthday so we all went to Vegas, my dad loves to play Blackjack and has never been.  It was an adults only trip so Savanna stayed with my in-laws.  I knew she was in excellent hands, but it was really hard to leave, I had serious mommy guilt.  As much as it was hard to leave, once we got there I was good and it was really nice for Chris and I to have some quality time :)

Two weeks ago we went down to Hopkins.  Chris is on a commitee and had a meeting and we went to the lacrosse game.  It is really nice bringing Savanna to Hopkins since it is where Chris and I met and both played. This was our 2nd trip down there this year.  It was cool to see how much she grew and how different she was in a month and half.  The first photo is from our first trip which was the first weekend of March and the second photo is from two weeks ago.

This past weekend we just stayed in the city which was really nice we since we have somewhere to be outside the city every weekend for the next month.  We have been really enjoying springtime in the city and going to the park a lot.  We first put Savanna on the swings two weeks ago and she was very unimpressed, but this past weekend she loved them!  We also came upon an impromptu mini concert last Friday afternoon which Savanna enjoyed.  

I have been fairly busy with orders as well, especially cake pops in the last week.  I have to organize my pictures, but I am hoping to get some of my favorite projects up later this week.  I have not been great about getting photos of everything :(  In the meantime I wanted to share these two ingredient cookies that I came across, just bananas and instant oats!  They are really easy, healthy and naturally, gluten, dairy and soy free.  I am not sure if they really qualify as a "cookie" but when I added a little dark chocolate they satisfied my a dessert craving (and Chris's :) ).  I made them two ways so far; one with dark chocolate and one with cinnamon, nutmeg and chopped walnuts which is more like a yummy breakfast cookie.  Next up I may try adding some peanut butter because I love peanut butter and banana.  

Two Ingredient Cookies and some add-ins.......

2 medium to large bananas (the first time I used defrosted frozen ones, the second time I used 1 old and 1 one just ripe banana and it didin't seem to make a difference

1 cup instant oats

Add-ins: 1/3 cup Chopped Dark Chocolate (for dairy free soy free use Enjoy Life Chips) or 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or whatever your heart desires

1. Mash your bananas.

2. Mix in oats until fully coated.

3. Combine your add-ins (make sure to not use too many add-ins because the cookies will not hold together well)

4. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  

5. Enjoy! I made 12-15 medium cookies

Irish Soda Bread and 4 Months!

I am an Italian girl who loves Irish Soda Bread!  I try and make it every year but I am never fully pleased.  I found an old newspaper cut out in one of my grandma's recipe books and I decided to try that one this year.  Oddly enough it is the same as the recipe on the Friendship Buttermilk carton, who knows why I never tried that one before :)  I am happy to report that I think I finally found a winner which is why I am sharing it with you.  

 

Savanna turned 4 months last Friday and we were very excited that she decided to sleep again.  I am slightly nervous that after I post this it will jinx it, but for now we have some sleep.  We are currently trying to transition her from taking naps in her stroller to her crib and it has not been going to well.  She definitely seems to have a different association with day and night sleep.  I should not complain since she is napping and part of me wants to just leave it..... 

Now for some fun Savanna updates! 

1. She rolled over on her own on Monday to go for one of her favorite toys but hasn't done it again and does not seem to have any desire to.

2. She is taking a swim class every Monday, it is for 30 minutes at Asphalt Green.  I am doing it with my friend Kate and her daughter Brennan.  Savanna loved it and she is really recognizing other babies now which is fun.  

3. I started giving her a little oats every afternoon, and it has been slow but she seems to like them a little more every day.

4. I ordered her a Bumbo chair and I was super excited she liked it right away because she hated every other chair we initially put her in.  It took her 2 months to like her bouncy seat! She likes to watch me prep dinner and watched me bake the soda bread- I am teaching her young :)

Have a Happy Saint Patrick's day and a wonderful weekend!

Irish Soda Bread

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter - softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Butter and line a 10 inch pan with parchment paper (I have done it free form before which I like just as much and almost better).

2. In the bowl of the mixer sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs and buttermilk with a wisk. 

4. Using a flat paddle or dough hook mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  The dough will be thick and sticky.  Add the raisins in.

5. Place the dough round in the pan and make for one hour. 

Sunbutter Cookies & Sleep Regression

We have a running joke around here that Savanna does not want Mommy to lose the rest of her baby weight. Before Savanna I used to get up and meet one of my best friends to run a couple of days a week.  I was very happy that I was able to do that until I was 26 weeks pregnant.  The belly actually didn't bother me that much it was just the extra weight started to bother my knees so I decided to just walk for the rest of my pregnancy.  Since I was in fairly good shape my entire pregnancy I thought I would get back into exercising fairly quickly and easily.  Boy was I wrong.  Postpartum was a lot more difficult than I thought, especially with a c-section and a few complications.  I wasn't even out walking until 8 weeks.  I never thought it would take me this long after to get back into running.  I finally started doing intervals on the treadmill at 12 weeks and then the last week or two I have been getting out when I have a helper.  When Savanna started sleeping through the night I wanted to get back my morning workout.  I love the early morning hours, it really starts your day and makes you feel great (if you are a morning person you know what I mean).  As soon as I made the decision to try and start getting up to workout, Savanna decided she didn't want to sleep through the night anymore.  Every time I set my alarm to get up and work out she decided to pull an all nighter.  Apparently there is a sleep regression right around 4 months.  We are hoping that is what it is and we just have to ride it out.  Every night is different now we had two solid nights so I set my alarm and last night she got up 3 times.  I decided though I just had to do it whether she got up or not so I finally went this morning and it felt amazing!  So I am hoping to do it a few days a week and hopefully Savanna will get back into solid sleeping eventually.  I am not sure what is worse never having solid sleep or having it and then having it taken away from you :) She is still young so I know I just have to have patience.  

Now on a totally different topic I wanted to share these Sunbutter Cookies with you.  I have been eating a lot of natural peanut butter and apples around here since it is a fast and fairly healthy snack / lunch some days. When I was at Trader Joes I decided to pick up their Sunbutter to try something different with my apples :)  I saw this peanut butter cookie recipe that was dairy free and soy free with out any adjustments so I decided to modify them and make sunbutter cookies.  They were delicious and a great treat, even Chris and one of his friends loved them!  I made half the batch with some chocolate chips which made them even yummier!  

Sunbutter Cookies - modified from 101 cookbooks peanut butter cookies.  I find that even though the sodium is about the same sunbutter is more salty than peanut butter.  I took out the salt and did not miss it at all, but you can adjust to your taste.  I also subsituted honey and brown sugar for the maple syrup since I did not think the maple flavor and sunbutter would go well together.  

2 Cups White Whole Wheat Flour (or regular all purpose flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup Sunbutter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips - optional (dairy free and soy free if you need)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  

2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt.

3. In another bowl whisk together the sugar, olive oil, sunbutter and vanilla

4. Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture and sit 5 minutes.

5. Fold one more time and fold in chocolate chips if using.  

6. Drop teapsoons (or use a medium cookie scoop) onto parchment lined cookie sheet and using a fork press down on each cookie

7. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool 5 minutes.

8. Enjoy - Makes - 2-3 dozen cookies

Dairy Free & Soy Free Brownies

We returned from Aruba to a big snow storm in the city and Chris's 30th Birthday!  Chris insisted that all he wanted was to spend the day with Savanna and me, so that is what we did.  

He loves the snow and was actually born in a blizzard so we were very excited for the storm.  We took Savanna to the park on Saturday to see all the snow and to show her the thousands of kids having fun in the snow (the baby bjorn was a lifesaver we would of never made it around the streets with the stroller).  

I had asked Chris if he wanted regular brownies or if he would mind if I experimented with some dairy free soy free brownies, and he was so kind to allow me to experiment for his birthday!  Last year I made him red wine chocolate cake so this year I decided to try port infused brownies (do you see a trend :) ).

I found a recipe for Vegan Brownies and adapted it slightly to make them completely dairy and soy free and added the port.  They were actually quite fabulous, but you did not taste the port like you tasted the red wine in the cake.  They are more of fudgy vs. cakey brownie, but that is the way we like them in our household.  It was a great family Saturday until out of the blue Savanna decided she wanted to get up every hour that night (we have been lucky with her sleeping through the night for a few weeks now).  I guess that is life with a newborn and we would not have it any other way : )

Dairy Free and Soy Free Brownies - (adapted from here)

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) unsweetened applesauce
• 2 ounces port or melted chocolate
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup Enjoy Free Dairy Free and Soy Free Chips 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8x8” pan with parchment and spray with cooking spray.
2. Stir together oil and sugar. Stir in vanilla, cocoa, and applesauce. Add port and salt, stir until smooth. Slowly stir in flour. Add chocolate chips.
3. Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-28 minutes. Cool before cutting.

A Pumpkin Weekend!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend (some a 3 day weekend :)).  We did some baby organizing; the nursery is just about done and my bags are packed!  With the chilly fall weather arriving I was craving pumpkin all weekend!  I made some yummy pumpkin oatmeal topped with dried cranberries and walnuts for breakfast. I shared my recipe below!  

In honor of Columbus day I made a large pot of sauce and meatballs on Sunday and we had some friends over to catch up.  I made these pumpkin cookies for dessert that were a huge hit!  They are fluffy and more cake like than cookie.  I made half the batch with chocolate chips and half without, guess which ones went first :)  

Note: I did not use a mixer and did everything in one bowl (mix all dry ingredients and add wet in and they came out great).   I also used half brown sugar and half white sugar and used almost a cup of chips for half the batch so I would advice using 1 1/2 - 2 cups of chocolate chips if you are a chocolate lover!

Pumpkin Oatmeal - Serves 2

1 cup Oats

1 3/4 cup of Water

2 tbs Wheat Germ

1/2 cup Pumpkin

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tbs dried cranberries and chopped walnuts to top (optional)

1. Measure all ingredients into a small saucepan

2. Make sure they are mixed well

3. Cook 5-6 minutes, occasionally stirring

4. Divide the portions and top with cranberries and walnuts

5. Enjoy!

The Northfork and Chocolate Chip Muesli Cookies

Hope everyone is enjoying the last few lazy days of summer before the craziness of the fall kicks in.  Although, as much as I love the beach I must say I do love when everyone returns to the city and not having to pack all the time!  This past weekend we had a lovely day in Southold, which is on the north fork of Long Island.  In the past we have spent a lot of time on the South Fork, but this summer we had two glorious days on the North Fork.  It is a lot quieter and less crowded on the North Fork which is a nice change of pace.  While out there this weekend we visited some of the wineries and farm stands, which I love to do!  For those of you who do not know I am 7 months pregnant so I did not get to enjoy too much of the wine, but I still love the atmosphere and to learn about wine.  I have been to a few wineries on the North Fork before, but this is the first time I visited Croteaux, which is a must if you make it out there, limos and buses are not allowed so it has different feel than the others.  They only sell Rose, which is not always my favorite, but my fellow companions told me it was delightful on a summer afternoon.  They have what they call their tasting Barn and it feels like you walked into the French countryside when you step in.  

Now on to the cookies, we stayed at a friends on Saturday night and for breakfast we had some Muesli.  While eating I noticed a recipe for Chocolate Chip Muesli Cookies.  I immediately wanted to try them, they were whole wheat, heart healthy and had no butter!  What made them even better is they only required one bowl and no mixer (I don't have a mixer at home).  I have been enjoying sweet treats while I am pregnant, but I try to make them healthy for around the house since I am surrounded by butter the rest of the day :)  I was very happy I tried them out, they tasted like a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and you really did not miss the butter.  I recommend them if you are looking for a sweet, but healthy treat :)

Chocolate Chip Muesli Cookies (from Bob's Red Mill Muesli)

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli

3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour

2/3 cup Applesauce

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

6 oz Chocolate Chips (I have the dark chunks from whole foods)

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Sift Flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt together.

3. Add in applesauce, vanilla and the egg.

4. Mix until well combined and all of flour is absorbed.

5. Fold in Muesli and Chocolate Chips.

6. Drop teaspoons full on a baking sheet (about 12 per sheet).

7. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Yield - 24 Cookies

Healthy Raisin Bran Cookies

My husband studied his butt off for the CFA for months and his head did not leave the books over memorial day weekend (the last weekend before the test).  I decided to make him some healthy cookies to munch on while he was studying.  I figured the fiber would keep him full and focused!  I saw the recipe on the back of a Post Raisin Bran box.  I changed it up just slightly.  The original recipe called for regular flour, I figured if we were being healthy we should go all the way so I used white whole wheat flour.  I did not have brown sugar at home so I just used regular granulated sugar and it worked great.  I added an extra teaspoon of cinnamon for flavor which I think they needed and dried cherries instead of apricots which is just personal preference :)  The dried fruit is optional, but I think the cookies need it!

Bran Fruit & Nut Cookies (adapted from Post Raisin Bran Box) 

1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

1/4 cup Oil

2 Tbsp Water

2 egg whites

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups Post Raisin Bran Cereal

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350

1. In a large bowl whisk the egg whites, sugar, oil, and water.

2. Mix in the cinnamon, baking soda, salt, flour and cereal and mix until well blended.

3. Add in the walnuts and dried fruit.

4. Drop tablespoons of the dough about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  

5. Bake 10-12 minutes and let cool.

Makes about 15-20 cookies