Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free Banana Nut Muffins

I tried this recipe for 5 minute muffins and they're really good! A perfect pre-workout snack. I wanted to repost so I won't lose it.

1 cup nut butter (almond, cashew, peanut, etc)
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Topping ideas: unsweetened dehydrated coconut, raisins, dried cranberries, dark chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend until well mixed.

Pour batter into a greased muffin tin.

Add additional toppings to each muffin (they need a little something extra, so don't skip this step).

Cook time: 15 minutes for full size muffins and 10 minutes for mini muffins.

Yields 12 muffins or 24 mini muffins. This recipe doubles and freezes well!

Homemade Pretzels - Similar to Auntie Anne's from the Mall!

I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest and just had to try it.  It was surprisingly easy and the kids loved them!  Mike thought they tasted more like bagels than pretzels...probably because I didn't roll the dough thin enough before shaping.  These were a fun weekend treat and they disappeared before I could share them with friends.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 ounces butter, melted
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Cooking spray
• 3 quarts water
• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
• Coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes for the yeast to begin activating.
2. Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. (picture below)
3. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
4. Oil a bowl with cooking spray, add the dough and turn to coat with the spray.
5. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. (pictures below)
6. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
7. Bring the water to a boil in a large roasting pan over high heat and SLOOOOOOOOLY add the baking soda. (Important: If you dump it in all at once, you will get an overflowing chemical reaction that results in an hour of clean up and a stove that still doesn't work properly. Don't ask me how I know this.)
8. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface.
9. Divide the dough into 8 pieces.  Equal pieces will cook more evenly, but mine were all different sizes and turned out just fine. (picture below)
10. Roll each piece into a long rope and form into the shapes that you want*.
11. Boil the pretzels in the water solution in batches. Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon.
12. Place pretzels on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching.  
13. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt.
14. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.
15. Add additional toppings immediately after they come out of the oven.

* Next time I make these, I will shape the dough into thinner sticks instead of into pretzels. My whole family seemed to like the crispy outer edges more than the soft inside...including me, which was a shock!

Visual references:

This is as the dough pulls away from the edges of the mixing bowl.

BEFORE the rise

AFTER the rise

Notice the scraping tool that I use to cut through the dough easily...LOVE that thing.

On their way into the oven.

DONE!

Zucchini Bread

I love Zucchini Bread and always found mine to be a little dry. Until a few years ago when I got fed up and googled, "best moist zucchini bread recipe" and came up with this gem. Sorry I can't credit whoever posted it, but whoever you are, THANK YOU!
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3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups grated, unpeeled zucchini
1 T. vanilla extract
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1.5 t. cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips
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Beat eggs, sugar and oil in a large bowl. Stir in the grated zucchini and vanilla. Finally, gradually incorporate the rest of the (dry) ingredients to the creamy mixture, a little at a time, blending well. Slowly stir in the chopped nuts or chocolate chips.
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Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack 10-15 minutes before slicing. This bread freezes well!
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Yields: 2 loaves.

Homemade Whole Wheat Bread (Bread Maker to Oven)

#40 on my list of 101 Goals in 1001 Days was to learn how to start homemade bread in the bread maker, then finish it in the oven. I accomplished that back in April, but tried a new recipe today that was delish. I found it originally on Money Saving Mom, then stumbled upon what was likely the original recipe on Tammy's Recipes when I was trying to find some instructions for those of you who don't have a bread maker.
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I tweeked it a little and adjusted the baking time so it was soft, soft, soft out of the oven. I should have taken a picture, but it's too late now...it's all gone. Maybe next time! This recipe fed us for one meal because everyone had 2...3...4 pieces each. There's just something about fresh baked bread out of the oven...
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Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110-120° F)
1 T. milk
2 T. oil (I used canola, vegetable would also work)
1 T. honey
2 T. brown sugar
1 t. salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 t. dry yeast
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If you have a bread maker:
- Place the above ingredients in the bread machine IN THE ORDER LISTED.
- Set the "dough" cycle on the bread machine.
- When the dough cycle is complete, take the dough out and shape it into a loaf in a greased bread pan.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
- Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until the top of the loaf is firm when you tap on it and it's golden brown.
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If you don't have a bread maker:
- Combine water, milk, oil, honey, brown sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir until combined. (if you have a large Kitchen Aide mixer, use the dough paddle to combine)
- Gradually add flour and yeast until a dough ball forms.
- Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 10-15 minutes.
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl and allow to rise in a warm, moist place until it doubles in size, about 40-45 minutes.
- Punch down dough, knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic, then shape it into a loaf in a greased bread pan.
- Cover with a lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until almost double in size, about 20-30 minutes.
- Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until the top of the loaf is firm when you tap on it and it's golden brown.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Topping:

½ cup white sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup butter, cubed

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Muffin Ingredients:
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup brown sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk or 1/3 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Place oil in a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this into the flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups to the top

- Crumb Topping: Mix all ingredients with a fork and sprinkle on top of each muffin.

- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Olive Oil Bread

This recipe is from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and tastes a LOT like the foccasia bread at Macaroni Grill. It's delicious dipped in a little olive oil, but just as good plain. The salt content is perfect...I once tried to brush the top with olive oil and dust with kosher salt, like Macaroni Grill does, but it was way too salty. Then when I made it most recently, I accidentally left out the salt and it was very, very bland. So don't forget to add that in the middle of the process!

The recipe calls for making it with a Kitchen Aide mixer, but I'm sure you could make this if you didn't have one, too. Just adjust the instructions, if needed. Also, if you've never made a Martha Stewart recipe before, pay attention to the details! If she says, "mix for 3 minutes" or "let rise 20 minutes" - just do it. You'll be surprised how her over-controlling instructions change the result of the end product.

Olive Oil Bread

2 cups water, room temperature

1 1/2 pounds (about 4 cups) bread flour (actually buying bread flour makes a huge difference!)

1 ounce fresh yeast

3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon course salt

cornmeal for dusting, if desired

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water, flour, yeast and olive oil; stir with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. (It's so dry here in Phoenix, that I usually turn my oven on to about 200 degrees, then I turn the oven OFF, place a cup of warm/hot water in the oven with the dough, and let it rise that way...it creates some moisture and warmth and it rises nicely. FYI: in this picture I forgot to put the dough in the mixer bowl, but it easily transferred.)

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the salt and mix at low speed to combine. Raise the speed to medium and mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl but is still sticky, about 3 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the bottom third up, the top third down and the right and left sides over, tapping off the excess flour after each fold and pressing down the seal. Flip the dough on the work surface, with the seam side down, and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Dust a baking stone with cornmeal (you could use a cookie sheet) and set aside. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface (if the dough is overly sticky, lightly flour the surface). Shape the dough into a tight round, rolling it in a circular motion with your hands. Transfer the dough to the stone (or cookie sheet) and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let the dough rest until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes.

* I usually make this into 2 loaves and freeze one after baking OR I use a bench scraper to divide the dough out and make rolls. If you make one loaf, it's BIG...plenty for company.

With a sharp knife, make four slashes on top of the loaf to make a square, so the dough can expand evenly in the oven. Bake at 450 degrees for 45-50 minutes (or 20 minutes for 16 rolls). Allow bread to cool slightly before serving.

Guilt-Free Bran Flax Muffins

These taste great are really good for you: so high in fiber and protein and notice that there's NO butter or oil! Because they are somewhat of a process with all the shredding (I use my food processor), it's worth it to make extra to freeze them. You can find flaxseed meal and the 5 grain cereal in the health food section of your grocery store, the breakfast aisle or the baking aisle, depending on how your store is organized.

Guilt-Free Bran Flax Muffins

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

¾ cup flaxseed meal (or grind flax seeds in a coffee grinder)

¾ cup 5 grain cereal (old fashioned oats also work well)

¾ cup brown sugar (or Sucanat for a more natural sugar)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 ½ cups shredded carrots

2 shredded apples

½ cup raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts

¾ cup milk

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp vanilla

* Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together flour, flaxseed meal, cereal, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

* Stir in carrots, apples, raisins and nuts.

* Combine milk and beaten eggs with vanilla and pour into bowl. Stir until moistened.

* Fill greased muffin cups. (or line with paper muffin liners if you're out of spray like I was!) Bake for 15 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

#27 - Attept to make homemade cinnamon rolls

Do you ever feel so intimidated by something that you have a mental block against doing it? That's how I felt about homemade cinnamon rolls.

And now I feel like an idiot.

I've wanted to bake cinnamon rolls from scratch for over 2 years and was convinced I'd screw them up. Notice I subconsciously put "attempt to make..." in the title of #27 on my list! I just noticed this detail. We're talking a serious mental block.

This recipe for no-rise cinnamon rolls took 45 minutes from the time I pulled out the ingredients to the rolls hitting my children's lips. Incredibly easy. I put it on my meal plan for this week to force myself to finally try them. If you try these, two quick tips: I didn't add quite enough milk...they were a little dry. I think they would have been more moist, too, if I would have put them closer together in the pan. I just wasn't sure how much they would expand and the outsides were too crunchy as a result.

Next time, I'll plan ahead and make my friend's "Cinnabon"-like recipe that requires about 100 pounds of butter, some time to rise (I'll make them the night before) and taste like a little bit of heaven. When I do, I'll post the recipe with pictures to share.

Ryan ate his cinnamon roll just like he eats cupcakes...just the frosting on top, leaving hunks of crumbs on the plate. Kaylin ate every last bite and loved it. And I felt a little sick from eating sugar so early in the morning. So I made us all some eggs. (Ryan said, "Mommy, these eggs are good for me. I think I should have an egg every morning!" Fine by me, my little health-conscious boy!)

Then Kaylin said, "Mommy, I have frosting on my lip, just like Frosting the Snowman!" I love kids' interpretations of words.

#27 on my 101 goals list is officially crossed off - fear conquered!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Just in time for fall (um, yeah, it will be 100 degrees well into October around here...) these are my favorite pumpkin muffins. I got them from Becky Higgins' blog - I've tried many recipes, and these are the best. They're a light, fluffy muffin with a mild pumpkin flavor, not thick or heavy like some recipes. I always double the batch, so I can use a whole can of pumpkin, but also because these don't last long in my house. (Somehow I justify that they are healthy because they contain a vegetable...eating 3 muffins is the same as a stalk of celery, right? Anyone???)

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. ground pumpkin (canned)
1/2 c. cooking oil
1/3 c. chocolate chips

Mix together. Fill muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Yields 24 muffins.

Healthy Blueberry Coffee Cake

I was a baking fool this morning. For breakfast, I celebrated the kids being at their grandparents' house with a huge, beautiful fruit salad, eggs and this blueberry coffee cake that I saw on "Healthy Appetite" the other day. There's only 2 T. of butter and the moisture comes from yogurt instead of sour cream...so good for you! While the oven was on and I had spotting bananas, I made banana bread, too. I posted that recipe because it's a must-have.

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup fresh blueberries, or frozen and thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square cake pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, butter and oil until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until fully combined. Beat in the vanilla and yogurt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, the baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, in 2 batches, stirring until just combined. (do not overmix or your coffee cake will be tough)

In a separate small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, cinnamon and walnuts.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture over the batter and top with the blueberries, gently pressing them into the batter. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the remaining nut mixture over the cake, pressing gently. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly and cut the cake into 2-inch squares.

Per Serving: (serving size, 1 piece) Calories 210; Total Fat 8.5 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 2.5 g, Poly Fat 3 g) ; Protein 5 g; Carb 30 g; Fiber 2 g; Cholesterol 41 mg; Sodium 230 mg

THE BEST Banana Bread Recipe EVER

I alternate between about 4 banana bread recipes and EVERY time I make this one, I ask myself why I keep the other recipes. This is the moistest, most amazing banana bread you'll ever eat. I think it's because there's about twice as many bananas as the standard recipe. And there's hardly any sugar, yet they're perfectly sweet. Give it a try and you be the judge!

Combine:
4 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 c. melted, salted butter (cooled)
1 egg
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda

Gradually add: 1.5 cup flour

Optional: Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and/or 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Pour batter into lightly greased loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees (F) for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

Easy Homemade Granola Bars

For all of you health-crazies out there (like me!), this is a simple granola bar recipe that you can feel good about eating.

I found a similar recipe on another blog and adapted it a little to better fit my taste. I have to say that I tried making it with evaporated milk instead of condensed milk and it didn't turn out very well. I also used an 11x7 pan, which made them too thick and too crumbly because the evaporated milk was really thin and settled at the bottom, leaving the top too crumbly to eat like a granola bar. And it didn't occur to me that the milk is the only binder in the recipe...duh! I also have to say that I don't like coconut at all, but it softened plenty during baking and didn't bother me.

1 14-fluid oz can condensed milk
2 1/2 cups "Old Fashioned" rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 cup mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup shredded coconut (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and oil a 9x13 inch baking pan or just use a disposable aluminum foil one.
2. Warm the condensed milk in a small pan on the stove or in a microwave safe dish for 90 seconds.
3. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients together and add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber spatula to fold and distribute.
4. Spread the mixture into the oiled or foil pan and press down with an oiled spatula or, better still, your hands to make the surface even.
5. Bake for 1 hour, remove, and after about 15 minutes, cut into four across and four down, to make 16 chunky bars. Let cool completely.

Makes 16

Morning Glory Muffins

Oh yum. Ryan's teacher made these in his class one time and they were a little too sweet for my taste, but I wanted to give them another chance. I left out the dehydrated pineapple pieces rolled in an inch of sugar. Plus, when nine 3-year olds are mixing the batter, frankly, things don't turn out the way they should.

This recipe will likely require a trip to the store to get a few ingredients, but seriously...yum. Moist, crunchy and fairly healthy, full of whole grains, fruits and nuts. What could be better? There's NO butter or oil, so you can (guilt-free) schmear a pat of butter on your warm muffin, fresh from the oven.

Morning Glory Muffins

1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. flour
1 c. regular oats
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. wheat bran
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 c. plain yogurt
1 c. mashed banana (about 2)
1 egg
1 c. chopped pitted dates
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. chopped dried pineapple
3 T. ground flax seed

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the first 7 (dry) ingredients in a large bowl; whisk. Make a well in the center. Combine yogurt, banana and egg. Add to flour mixture stirring until moist. Fold in remaining ingredients. Spoon into muffin cups and bake 20 minutes.