Whole Wheat Vegan Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is one of the best desserts I've made in a while, healthy, vegan, or not. It's perfect for those nights when you have a sweet tooth and your husband is more than willing to share.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Minicakes with Cream Cheese Glaze and Candied Ginger

Whew! That's a long title, isn't it? I couldn't think of a better way to represent my little Christmas treats, so I thought I'd pack as many words into the title as I could. Why the name "minicakes"? Well, it's a lot cuter sounding than cupcakes (boring!) and I find it hard calling them cupcakes when: they're not that sweet, they're healthy, and you won't get cavities from eating one. I made these a week or so ago, but life has been a bit busy, so I hadn't had time to post pictures. They're little bites of joy, little flavor filled treats. I personally love eating big chunks of candied ginger solo, but I understand the flavor can be strong for some. I used only one giant bowl for these (washing before the glaze!). While the finesse may not be there, the flavor certainly is!

Mmmmm, don't they just look Christmas-y? I've been drinking a lot of hot cocoa recently, and I can tell you that these babycakes are divine with a steaming cup.

Ingredients:

Minicakes-

4 oz. dark chocolate (70% or more cacao) or half a bag of dark or semi sweet chocolate baking chips
3 tbsp. coconut oil
3 tbsp. agave nectar
1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 eggs
1 tbsp. powdered ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of cinnamon

Glaze-

1/2 c. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 tbsp. powdered sugar
2 tsp. milk

Topping-

candied ginger, found near the dried fruit in your grocery store

Method:

Preheat oven to 375. In a large saucepan, melt the coconut oil and chocolate over medium-low heat. When mixture is almost completely melted, remove from heat and stir until completely combined. Pour chocolate/coconut oil mixture into a large mixing bowl and add your remaining ingredients, reserving the flour last. If mixture is too dry, add a tsp. or so of soy, almond, or non-fat milk.

Now, grab your muffin tin, grease with some butter or oil, and then fill each about 3/4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, keeping your eye on those minicakes. Let cool for about an hour, then mix up your glaze. My cream cheese was soft enough that I could just whisk it, rather than breaking out the Kitchenaid. I like the idea of a light glaze on these, because I want to taste the combination of chocolate and ginger and not be overpowered by a frosting. I drizzled my glaze lightly just on top. Finish with two or three small pieces of candied ginger and take a big bite!

Only NINE more days 'til Christmas! I already found my Christmas Dessert that I'll be making... and the appetizer, too!

Christmas Cranberry Bread Pudding

Mmmmm, bread pudding. I recently fell in love with the stuff when we frequented one of our favorite pubs after a long day of moving, and I rewarded myself with some apple bourbon bread pudding. Divine. Little did I know, that there is also savory bread pudding, which I happened to get at the Kingfish Cafe when friends were in town. Bread pudding: so many possibilities, so little time.

Even though we are working on limiting our carbohydrate intake, along with red meat, sodium, blah blah, I think this is worth taking a little time off from your regimen. Plus, the weather has been 'decent' here recently, so I've been running it off, I hope! This recipe came straight from the depths of my brain. I had some leftover cranberry walnut bread from Trader Joe's that we had at Thanksgiving, as well as some crusty whole grain stuff, so I thought why not. The result is pure happiness. I hope you agree.

Ingredients:

About 3 cups of crusty, roughly chopped, preferably day old bread, (whole grain or sweeter bread is good with the tart cranberries)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. heavy cream, 1/2 c. Pumpkin Spice Silk Soy Milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. fresh cranberries
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then, butter a pie pan lightly, making sure to include the edges. Dust flour over surface of pie pan. In a separate bowl, mix cream, soy milk, and spices together. In the pie pan, spread around the chopped bread pieces, making sure all surfaces are filled. Then, evenly sprinkle granulated sugar and cranberries over the bread. Pour your cream/soy milk/spice mixture and cover the bread and berries evenly. Let soak for about an hour in the refrigerator. Then place in the oven for about 35-40 minutes, checking at 30 minutes, and removing from heat when edges are golden brown. Just to be sure, jostle the pan a bit and make sure that the pudding is one mass, rather than the liquid separating from the bread- if the bread has been soaked properly this should not occur. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes and enjoy with a scoop of ice cream or some tea! It's perfect for a Christmas Morning breakfast.

In other news, this is my SIXTIETH blog post! I can hardly believe it. This blog has been super fun to have and I feel very creative with it. Photography and cooking is such a good outlet for me, and I love sharing my thoughts on it. Hope you are all getting in the holiday spirit! We put our Christmas tree up yesterday and it brings such cheery warmth to my heart. Just like this bread pudding does!

Pesto Kale Pasta

Just a quick post before Turkey Day! I made my Nigella Lawson's Rosemary Cake today, and can't wait to share it with you! Tonight I've been thinking about how thankful I am for everything I have. A simple phrase, but I feel it from the bottom of my little heart. Let us think about our gifts and blessings on Thanksgiving, as in every day!

The other night I whipped up a quick pasta dish with some kale we picked up. I also wanted to try and make a sauce from some whole tomatoes I picked up at Trader Joe's. Once they were seasoned with some garlic and Italian herbs, and the kale cooked down a bit, it was a lovely dish for a chilly, rainy, night.

Ingredients:

4 cups of fresh kale
2 cups of fresh spinach
4 whole cooked tomatoes, skin removed
1 lb. whole wheat pasta, any type
1/2 c. pesto
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. Italian seasoning: basil, oregano, parsley
1 tsp. garlic salt
Pecorino Romano grated cheese, to taste

Method:

In a large sauce pan, combine olive oil, tomatoes, spinach, and kale. Allow to saute for about 5 minutes, then add seasonings and continue to saute.  

Add tomatoes and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until kale and spinach cook down. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions.

Once pasta and vegetables are completely cooked, combine in large saucepan with pesto and mix well. Add grating cheese, if desired, and dish it up! A quick, nutritious, and filling dinner, all less in thirty minutes! Who can argue with that, my friends?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Are you noticing a theme here?

Pumpkin, perhaps? Yes, it's an addiction. Just make this and you'll be even more of an addict. That's right, no cure for you!

Pumpkin Apple Harvest Bars

   I'll warn you: this recipe is entirely my own creation. They are done in a traditional Kathleen fashion, by stuffing as many healthy ingredients into a creation, hoping it will taste good at the same time!

   So, here we go! Feel free to include any type of protein source you'd like, or to change the toppings around. I personally love these combinations because it gives me a taste of autumn, which I am very much looking forward to. Fortunately, these are full of goodies, such as protein, fiber, and Omega 3 fatty acids from the flaxseed. I ate a Harvest Bar for breakfast, but they were also scrumptious right out of the oven with a scoop of natural frozen yogurt. 

Ingredients:

for the bars

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. clover honey

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 can (about 12 oz.) of a 15 oz. Libby's Pumpkin Filling

1/3 c. soy protein powder

1/3 c. flax seed

1 large apple, diced

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 tbsp. nutmeg

pinch of salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

for the topping

1/2 c. oats
2 tbsp. butter

1/2 c. walnut pieces

1 c. crushed or sliced almonds

1 tbsp. soy milk

1/2 c. dried cranberries

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. 

Combine the first four ingredients and whisk or mix with a stand or hand mixer. Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing on medium speed until they are well combined. 

Next, spread in a 9 x 13 pan or cookie sheet. I used a cookie sheet and luckily remembered to wipe it down with a little butter first.

Mix up the topping ingredients and spread all over the bars.

Bake for 20 minutes, until edges are golden brown.

Enjoy!

-k