Ginger Carrot Cranberry Cookies

I can’t even describe the yummy goodness of these cookies. Let’s just say my friends and neighbors LOVED them. LOVED them! And YES, I had to give them all away as I was about to eat the entire batch! OFF THE CHARTS Great!!!! Perfect for that kayaking trip or that summer hike! Or just to sit in the back yard and stare at the stars. You don’t need a reason!

Here’s all you do:

Ingredients

1. Heat oven to 350F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. In second bowl, stir together oats, Flaxseed, cranberries, ginger and carrots.

3. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with paddle attachment until no sugar lumps remain. Add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated. Then add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. With mixer still running on low, gradually add oat/carrot mixture, and mix until just incorporated. Give dough final stir to ensure that no flour pockets remain.

4. Using a tbsp. scoop, shape dough into 1-2inch balls, spacing them about 2  inches apart. Or heck, just make as big as you want!!

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cookies are medium brown and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft. Makes 22 fabulous cookies.

Don’t you just love a healthy sweet cookie? These are good. These are really, really good!!

Bon Appétit!

Waffles

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done……….bup ba da…….There’s nothing you know that isn’t known…..There’s nothing you can see that isn’t shown……bup ba da…..Nowhere you can be that isn’t where your meant to be…..It’s Easy……….bup ba da…….

You get the idea. Nothing like a beautiful Sunday morning to shower those you love with more love. Especially after a night of funky dreams in the time warp…..(puh-lease make those stop!???) Continuing on…..a good cup of coffee, some easy breezy waffles and fresh picked fruit make this Sunday brunch so memorable. So why not give it a try. If nothing else I promise you it will put you in a very good mood. Bup ba dada DA!

Here’s all you do:

Waffles of Insane Greatness

Brought to you by The “buddingbaketress.blogspot.com” a very big Thank you!

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg, slightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Whisk together to blend. In another mixing bowl, beat together the milk, buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk just until incorporated and few lumps remain. Set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat a waffle iron. Fill waffle wells and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Cook until crisp and golden. Serve immediately with fresh picked black berries, or strawberries, or blueberries….or even sliced banana. Or just some warmed maple syrup. You can’t go wrong as they are light airy and not too sweet. And A big shout out thank you to my friend Vicki for picking these heavenly berries.

Does it get any simpler than that? Promise me you will give these a try. And don’t you just love the heart shaped waffles? Bup ba dada daaaa…….all you need is love, love…..love is all you need!

Bon Appétit!

Morning Hiking Muffings....aka Sweet Potato Coconut!

I found this wonderful sounding muffin recipe from Marcus Samuelson and had to give it a try. First off, sweet potatoes are so under rated imho! 🙂 But who ever thought of combining them with coconut? Thank goodness for this surprisingly light, airy and healthy recipe. Other than the fact that it feels like you need a major league baseball pitcher to stir this batter, (it was uncharacteristic and thick…..super thick… so thick I could not imagine these were going to be good!) But I assure you they puffed up so light and fluffy and warm out of the oven. Just delightful! No wonder Marcus suggested these before a workout!

They say that breakfast before working out will give you cramps. Or is that me that says that? 🙂  But I believe some hungry sleeper is always benefitted by working out first. This recipe just may change things!

Here’s all you do:

WHOLE-WHEAT SWEET POTATO COCONUT MUFFINS

½ cup melted unsalted butter, more for greasing tins
2½ cups whole-wheat flour, preferably pastry flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mashed or pureed sweet potato
½ cup dried, unsweetened coconut
1 egg, beaten
½ cup non-fat Greek yogurt (I sub’d buttermilk)

Preheat oven to 350˚ and grease a 12-cup muffin tin. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sweet potato, coconut, egg, and greek yogurt. Fold wet mixture into dry mixture until just combined.

Fill muffin tins; bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until muffins are puffed and turning golden brown on top. Serve warm.

Muffins will keep in a covered container for up to 2 days.

Thank you  to Marcus. These were the lightest, loveliest little muffin! Not too much, not heavy tasting or overly filling. Like Marcus said, great before a workout. Starbucks….look out. 😉  http://marcussamuelsson.com

I loaded up the boys and headed for some new trails!

Bon Appétit!

Nectarine Almond Tart

Summertime fruit is truly a beautiful thing. Strawberries, cherries, peaches, apricots and the stunning nectarine! Combine nectarines with some marzipan and I have just about died and gone to heaven. While this recipe calls for a non glutenous flour, I used regular flour instead and thought it just delightful. Again, we are talking marzipan here, like there could be something wrong??? I kid you not, the 1/2 cup packed marzipan is almost an entire tube, so …….I took a healthy delicious bite of the remaining and threw the rest back into the pie….um…tart (a tablespoon at most). Raw marzipan and coffee! Breakfast of champions for sure. 😉

Here’s all you do:

Crust
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 Tbsp water
1 cup + 2 Tbsp GF Flour Mix*
2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into 6 pieces

Filling
1/2 cup packed almond paste
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup GF Flour Mix*
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 ripe nectarines, thinly sliced (I only needed two)

Preheat oven to 375° (I cooked at 350˚ as my oven tends to run high and it did perfectly well). Spray a 10-inch tart pan with cooking spray and generously dust with rice flour. I had an 11-inch tart pan and as you can see it filled it, but it was pretty slim in terms of shallow waters!

For Crust:
Whisk together egg yolks, water, and almond extract in a small bowl. Using a stand mixer, combine flours, sugar, xanthan gum (which I didn’t have so I left out) and salt. Add chilled butter and mix until a crumbly, coarse meal forms. Add in egg yolk mixture and continue mixing until dough comes together in a ball.

Gather dough and place between two large pieces of plastic wrap lightly coated in sweet rice flour. Flatten dough into a 1-inch-thick disc and roll out between plastic wrap until big enough to fit a 10-inch tart pan. Remove top piece of plastic wrap and invert dough into prepared pan. Trim and patch crust as necessary, then gently prick bottom of crust 5 to 6 times with fork. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove crust from oven while you prepare the filling.

For Filling:
Process almond paste and sugar in food processor until paste is finely-ground. Add flour and butter, processing until fully incorporated. Add eggs and vanilla extract and process until smooth (filling will be fairly liquid-like). Pour filling over prebaked crust.

Arrange nectarine slices on top of filling (avoid manipulating the slices too much, as they will sink in the filling). Bake tart until filling is puffed and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool 30 minutes, then remove tart from pan.

In case you have some gluten intolerance, I have included the Gluten Free Flour Mix from Cakes N Bakes blog! Do visit as she has some really fabulous recipes.

Gluten Free Flour Mix

Shes’s not kidding. This is a truly delicious tart. Not too difficult and certainly a way to impress someone you love or your guests! Oh that marzipan…...heavenly. Simply heavenly!

Bon Appétit!

Lemon cake

What’s not to love about lemons? Don’t think I could live without them. And this recipe is one to add to my favorites. This is the most lemon zest I think I have ever added to a cake and it must be what makes this cake stand out. But you be the judge and let me know~

Here’s all you do:

LEMON CAKE

Adapted from ”Barefoot Contessa Parties!” by Ina Garten, and smittenkitchen.com and http://pamspantry.blogspot.com

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Syrup:1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup lemon juice

Glaze:2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted plus 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Heat oven to 350˚. Grease and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pans or one bundt pan, and line the bottoms with parchment paper (no parchment paper if you’re using a bundt pan).

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Mixing at medium speed, add eggs, one at a time, and lemon zest.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Add flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to butter and sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Divide batter evenly between loaf pans or one bundt pan, smooth tops, and bake for ~45 minutes, until a cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves.

When cake is done, carefully invert them onto a rack set over a tray, and spoon lemon syrup over cakes. Let cakes cool completely.

For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar (I only used 1 1/2 cup confectioners) and remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cakes, and allow glaze to drizzle down the sides.

This cake is much better the day after, which seems to be the thing with bundt cakes this year. So you can make ahead and serve with sliced oranges and strawberries.

Bon Appétit!

I love entertaining my friends. I love anything with almonds, well practically. So, when my dear friend, whom I have missed for months, recently came for a visit I knew exactly what I wanted to make. This flew around the web awhile back, but I didn’t have the right opportunity to make it until now. So glad I did too. It was delicious, EASY…..(love that word) and a make ahead dessert.

Here’s all you do:

Almond Shortbread Tart

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

8 ounces almond paste

½ cup sliced almonds

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 325º.  Butter a 9″inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Then add the flour and salt and mix until just combined. Divide the dough into two even pieces and wrap each in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for one hour. (I might leave this in overnight next time) Then take out and let cool. (As you can see by my photos below – this was taken right out of the fridge and it will fall apart like dry play dough!)

After dough has cooled, remove it from the fridge and place half the dough into the bottom of the tart pan. Press it down until it covers the bottom of the pan evenly and comes up the sides a little bit.

Roll out the almond paste with a rolling pin into a flat disk about 8″ round and place it on top of the bottom half of the dough. (OK as you can see below this didn’t exactly cut the mustard and I ended up piecing them down-no biggy as you know it will all melt together when baked. So don’t spend the time trying to roll it out into a perfect disk. Not worth the time. imho)

Then, place the remaining dough on top of the almond paste and pat it down until it covers all of the almond paste and crimp the sides together to seal. Brush the egg wash lightly (I didn’t do this lightly and loved the result 😉 on top and scatter sliced almonds over it.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until top is lightly golden and the edges are crispy and pulled away from the sides a little.  Allow to cool to room temperature and remove tart from the pan. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

This has been a very big hit with my friends!! VERY big. I loved it, but I kept getting a salty taste with the first bite, and it seemed like I could cut this back to maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. You let me know, will you?

Bon Appétit!

Cold Dough

Puzzle Piece Marzipan

Top Layer

Chopped Almonds