Tag Archives: Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

I’ve been so lucky this week my sister, and nephew have been keeping me company down in North Carolina. Today, I was able to take off from work to spend the entire day with them. I prepared them these bars for breakfast. These banana bars are a spin off of your traditional banana bread or muffins.

I enjoy this recipe because it is super easy to prepare and clean up! Not mention another great way to use up ripe or frozen bananas.

This recipe was adapted from TOH Banana Squares. 

Prep time: 10 minutes 

Bake time: 35 minutes

This recipe yields: 12-15 bars

Ingredients:
2 eggs, separate whites and yolks

1/3 canola oil

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup mashed bananas; about 3 medium  (I used frozen)

1/4 cup low fat buttermilk

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Pre-directions:

  • Line 9 by 13 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees


Directions:

1. In a stand mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; pour into small bowl and set aside. In same stand mixer bowl cream peanut butter, canola oil, and sugar. Beat in egg yolks; mix to combind. Add the bananas and mix well.

2. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed banana batter alternate the flour with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Fold in egg whites. Lastly, fold in chocolate chips.

2. Pour the batter into a prepared 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. I did use a dark metal pan, which does effect the bake time. Cool pan on wire rack before cutting into bars.

3. After the bars have cooled completely store the bars in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Apple Spice Mini Loaves

My grandpa gave me apples the other day! I do eat one a day religiously as the saying goes. In addition, I could not wait to use them in recipes and make homemade apple butter.  We did end up placing a batch of apples in the slowcooker for homemade apple butter to give out at the holiday this past weekend.

 I personally feel like there is nothing better than homemade thoughtful gifts to give out during the holidays to our friends and family. 

This recipe yields: 4 mini loaves

Ingredients:

3 cups of whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

2 Tablespoon ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon ground  apple pie spice

1 2/3 cup granulated sugar or raw sugar 

1/2 cup egg white substitute 

1 whole egg

1 Tablespoon of pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 

1/2 cup plain or vanilla Greek nonfat yogurt 

3 cups of apples (peeled, cored, and diced)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cooking spray mini loaf stoneware. Set aside. 

2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

3. In another large bowl mix together the liquid ingredients (egg substitute, egg, vanilla, oil, applesauce, yogurt). 

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet using a silicone spatula. Incorporate until all the ingredients are wet with no dry residue. Caution not to over mix. Lastly fold in the apples. 

5. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared  mini vessels ( each one takes about 1.5 cups).

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out without wet residue. 

7. Allow the breads to cool in pan for 5 minutes then invert onto wire rack for remainder of cooling process. 

Enjoy! 








Sea Salt Caramel Peanut Butter Brownies



I recently asked my husband, what dessert he would like for his sweet treat for his lunches? I enjoy packing his work lunches. I always like to include a few proteins, whole grains, veggies, fruit, salty snack, and sweet goodie. 

Also, I love packing lunches for my husband and I because brown bagging is a resourceful way to use leftovers. Packing a lunch daily can really help save money & reduce waste. So many people dine out or order in for meals for lunch breaks. This habit can be easily $10-20 a day downtown in a city; not to mention high in  unnecessary & unwanted calories. 

His response to my question for his sweet treat was brownies. I asked what kind and he mentioned a traditional style (last week I had made Blondies).  I couldn’t bare making Plain Jane Brownies; therefore, I spiced them up a tad. This led me to the mix up of a beautiful marriage salted caramel,peanuts, and chocolate. 

Prework:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Foil line a glass 9 by 13 baking pan and spray generously with canola oil cooking spray

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil

4 oz of extra dark chocolate (63% cacao), plus more for drizzle 1-2 tablespoon melted 

4 Tablespoons of natural peanut butter

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 scant cup of dry roasted unsalted peanuts

1 1/2 cups of pretzels (wheel or mini pretzel shape)

6 ounce jar of sea salt caramel sauce or homemade prepared caramel sauce, plus 1-2 tablespoon for final drizzle

A few pinches of Sea Salt for final sprinkle (optional)

This recipe yields 16 large brownies or 32 mini
Directions:

  1. Take over a double broiler and melt the chocolate, coconut oil, and peanut butter. Once the mixture is melted add in the applesauce, & sugar. Remove the double broiler and add in the eggs one at a time with a whisk and lastly add in the vanilla. Set aside.
  2. In the meantime, whisk together the flour, kosher salt, and baking powder. Add the liquid chocolate mixture to the flour. Mix until combined.
  3. Pour 1/3 of the batter on the bottom of the prepared 9 by 13 pan. Layer the pretzels evenly on top of the batter (it is roughly 47 pretzel wheels), than sprinkle with the peanuts. Drizzle with half of caramel sauce. Place the remaining 2/3 of batter on top of the nut, caramel, pretzel layer. I find using a plastic spatula sprayed with cooking spray makes for easier spreading.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 33 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center of the brownies clean. Place the brownies on a wire rack to cool. Allow the brownies to completely cool before removing from the pan.
  5. Using the foil sides, lift the brownies from pan and place on parchment paper.
  6. On a diagonal drizzle with caramel and chocolate. Lastly sprinkle with sea salt. Store in a sealable container. Cut to your desired serving size.
  • Make sure to store in an airtight container 

Zesty Banana Orange Bread


I was lucky enough to receive a special delivery of produce from my grandfather yesterday. My mom and dad drove down to my husband and I’s house for a home cooked dinner. I was pleasantly blown away by the two large boxes of goodies from his garden and orchard.

One of the treasures my grandpa gave me was his very last batch of rhubarb for the season, which inspired me to pick my last batch. As pictured below. 


Needless to say with all this beautiful Rhubard I am also making our most requested  jam. Today I am trialing it in the slow cooker. 
This recipe yields 4 mini loaves 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon of ground pie spice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cup of very ripe mashed bananas (approximately 3 large)

1 teaspoon of fresh orange zest (1 medium orange)

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup honey

2 eggs

1 cup chopped rhubarb

Prework & Tools for the job

  • Stoneware Mini bread loaf pan
  • Cooking spray the pan with canola oil spray
  • Preheat oven 350 degrees

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, pie spice, and baking powder. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl hand whisk together mashed bananas, orange zest, vanilla,& honey. Add one egg at a time and caution not to over mix. Lastly fold in the rhubard. 

3. Place scant 1 cup into each bread vessel. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes. Test the bread using toothpick method. 

4. Allow the bread to cool for 5 minutes in pan and then gently remove loaves from pan and allow to cool on wire rack. 

This bread is super moist you will not believe there is no oil or butter. 



Double Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies

Fall is pumpkin madness as far as I am concerned so I am going to take advantage of the season and the bountiful harvest of the pie pumpkins! This is a spin off my hubbies favorite chocolate chip cookie. 

This recipe yields: 74 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/4 cup puréed pumpkin 

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs (room temperature)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups Whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher  salt

1 small box pumpkin pie instant pudding ( you can use sugar free)

1 (10 ounce) bag pumpkin spice baking chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Parchment paper line 2 half sheet pans & set aside.

3. In a small bowl thoroughly mix together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. 

4. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment beat butter until light and fluffy. Add in both sugars, vanilla, pudding mix, and pumpkin continue to beat with paddle attachment. Slowly add in eggs one at a time. 

5. Add in flour blend to the liquid batter. Slowly incorporate. Be cautious not to over mix. Fold in pumpkin chips. 

6. Portion out cookies using a # 60 scoop and place 15 to a pan. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes on pan and then move to a wire rack to cool. 

Kick’n Chive Ham & Cheddar Scones

 

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My husband and I were lucky enough to travel to Hawaii this past May. One of the things we enjoyed most was drinking coffee on Kona, the Island of coffee. We drank so much coffee on Kona one night, I could not even fall asleep. There were so many coffee shops and coffee farms on Kona, I think at one point I got “coffeed out” if that is even such a thing. Ask my family they will vouch for me on that. This sign in this picture below somes it up.


 IMG_7748 There was one special spot we liked to go in Kona called Daylight Mind. It was a hidden gem the locals loved. Our tour guide, Katie, from Hawaiian Outdoor Guides for the National Volcano Park told us that you can almost guarantee to see Dolphins in the morning while you are enjoying your coffee. And of course we did :)

IMG_7750This restaurant/coffee shop is a true coffee cafe! We adored this place! The location is perfect! Right on the water with beautiful views of the ocean (picture below). I love the top deck seating area. 
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The coffee is so good and the service is stellar. Honestly we wish we could have went there every day. They even offer yoga in the mornings which I wish I would have had time to attend class.

They offer coffee classes and also have beautiful baked goods from mango macadamia nut sourdough bread to sweet blueberry scones and savory cheddar and chive scones.

IMG_7745This place made me want to go home and open a coffee shop. I love the vibes of this place and it truly is the perfect place to start your day! Especially when you are on vacation. 

These scones pictured above inspired me to make these scones in the recipe below. It was one of the bucket list of recipes I wanted to make after our trip to Hawaii. I must say posting this recipe makes me want to plan another trip to Hawaii.

Yields: 16 mini scones    Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1 Tablespoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 Tablespoon of honey

1/2 teaspoon of roasted garlic powder (from Penzey’s one of my new favorite spices)

1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, cubed

3/4 cup of Non Fat Buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce

1/3 heaping cup of diced finely lean ham

1 cup shredded 2% mild cheddar cheese

1/4 cup of fresh chives, chopped

Essential tools for the job & prework:

  • Mini Scone Pan; sprayed with cooking spray
  • Oven preheated to 425 degrees

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine flour,  baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Add cold butter, using your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles wet sand appearance.
  2. Stir in hot sauce, buttermilk, cheese, ham and chives until all ingredients appear wet.
  3. Evenly divide the batter into the prepared mini scone pan. Place the scone dish into the center rack of oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and lightly browned.
  4. Allow the pan to cool on wire rack for 5 minutes and remove the scones on the pan and allow to cool on wire rack or serve right way.
  5. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Whole Grain Oat and Raisin Cookies

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I was getting ready for our Topsail Trip this summer and made a batch of these cookies for our road trip down. The journey usually takes 12 hours on average for us. I always look forward to the road trip. My mom always says it is not always the destination but the journey it takes to reach the destination. I love this piece of advice,  and I learn the older I get the more I find truth to the quote.

We make a lot of memories on our drive down and back to Topsail. We put on various xm stations (90 on 9, The Blend, Highway, Y2K Country) and hit the cruise control. We usually get lost along the way but we always find new markets, cars for sale, or antique stores along the way. We laugh about getting lost later.

To fuel our journey,  we pack our car with a lot of snacks so we don’t have to stop as much.  Plus it saves us some money to spend later ….. on another vacation (hehe). My husband always says more than half of what I pack is food. Which is true and I guess because that is the dietitian in me.

I did make one healthy swap on these cookies and it was to incorporate more whole grain by using whole wheat flour. Next time I will try and decrease the saturated fat and sugar content by using unsweetened applesauce.

This recipe yields: 36 rather large cookies (when you use a number 40 cookie scoop)

Ingredients:

2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

2 egg

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp (soften)

3 cups Old fashioned Oats

1 1/2 cups of raisins or your favorite dried fruit

Tools for the job: 

2 half sheet cookie sheets: Line with Parchment paper

#40 cookie scoop

Oven : Preheat to 350 degrees.

Directions:

  1. In a large glass bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a bowl attached to a stand mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy, add the sugar and cream the two together. Add in the eggs one at a time and lastly add in the vanilla.
  3. Gently add in the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix on low until incorporated. Caution not to over mix.
  4. Lastly fold in the oats and raisins.
  5. Use a number 40 cookie scoop to portion out the goodies on the parchment lined pan.
  6. Make sure to keep the cookies about 2 inches apart from one another.
  7. Bake for 11-12 minutes on 350 degrees.
  8. Remove from pan right away and allow to cool on wire rack.

Ultimate Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Last Tuesday was my husband and I’s 9 year wedding anniversary. Every year as a tradition I make him one of his favorite dinners. The dish is usually chicken parm and fettuccini alfredo, but this year we did things a little differently. We made dinner together, I love cooking and baking with him in the kitchen. I find it gives us the time to talk about the day and plans for the weekend.


One dinner item I wanted to make sure was done before he got home was dessert. We were talking the other day about cookies and he mentioned to me he liked double chocolate chip cookies growing up. I couldn’t believe after 9 years of marriage that he just now mentioned he loves double chocolate chip cookies. Every time I telI him I am in the mood to make cookies his answer is always chocolate chip so I guess that is how these double chocolate cookies never came up in conversation.  He explained to me, he used to love going to the Oringal Cookie place in the mall and he would order these as a treat. From that point on I made it my mission to find the ultimate double chocolate chip cookie recipe. These cookies are rich in chocolate and will definitely satisfy your chocolate craving.

This recipes yields 56 cookies, using a size 60 cookie scoop

Ingredients:

2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (I love Rob’s Red Mill)

3/4 cup of Dutch Processed, High Quality Cocoa Powder ( I prefer Penzey’s)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp finely grounded espresso

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 cup of brown sugar (not packed)

2 sticks of butter (unsalted), softened to room temp

2 eggs

 

2 tsp high quality vanilla extract

1 bag of Extra Dark Chocolate Chips 63% Cacao 11.5 oz bag ( I used Guittard)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Parchment paper line 2 half sheet baking pans. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl sift the flour, salt, soda, cocoa, and espresso then whisk the dry ingredients together thoroughly.  Set aside
  3. In a stand mixer bowl, cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy (approximately 1-2 minutes). On low speed add one egg at a time and then the vanilla. Continue to mix on low until the ingredients are incorporated; however, be careful not to over mix.
  4. While keeping the mixer speed on low, gradually add in the dry sifted ingredients into the wet batter. Once there are no signs of dry residue fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
  5. Using a cookie scoop (size # 60) portion out the cookies evenly on the half sheet parchment paper lined pan. I placed 3 cookies a cross and 12 to a pan.
  6. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minute, remove the cookies from oven and allow the cookies to rest on the pan for 1 minute than remove to a wire rack for the remainder of the cooling process.

Classic Coffeecake Remake

 

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My mom growing up always made coffeecake on the weekends. I love the smell of the cake baking in the oven. I find it ironic years later to learn there is no coffee in the actual cake (how disappointing!!). The baked good just pairs so nicely with a strong cup of coffee, is where I am sure the name stemmed from.

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Today is an eventful day,  we are finally planting our garden.  My grandfather provided us with a lot of starter plants this past week. We just recently came back from vacation and have not had time to put in a garden.  He is visiting us for a father’s day picnic next week. I want to make sure we get everything planted before he reviews our garden. My husband tried to start the rototiller Friday and  it would not budge. Luckily our neighbors are going to let us borrow their tracker rototiller attachment. As a jester of gratitude, I baked this breakfast treat for them.

This cake is fairly large and I baked the coffeecake in my pampered chef stoneware bunt pan. I love, love stoneware for baking. Stoneware makes all baked goods cook so much more evenly. I also cut the sugar down significantly and swapped out the sour cream for nonfat greek yogurt. I did decrease the butter by half as well and used unsweetened applesauce in it’s place, which adds moisture and sweetness but also helps cut down on the saturated fat.

This recipe yields 16 to 20 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 cups AP flour

1 3/4 cup of sugar, push 1/4 cup later for cinnamon and sugar swirl

2 TB of ground Vietnamese Cinnamon

4 Eggs

2 cups of plain greek non fat yogurt

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup); softened to room temperature

1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp of high quality pure vanilla extract

Directions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously cooking spray a large bunt pan and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl mix together thoroughly the flours, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
  3. Place in a stand mixer bowl the butter, & 1 & 3/4 of the sugar, using paddle attachment cream the two together. Add in applesauce and vanilla and continue to mix to incorporate the ingredients together. On low speed, add in the egg one at a time. Allow for each egg to incorporate into the batter before adding another egg.
  4. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the egg batter, continue the mixer speed on low. Once incorporated add 1/3 of the greek yogurt, repeat until flour and yogurt are gone.
  5. In a small bowl take the cinnamon and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and mix together, set aside.
  6. Take 1/3 of the batter and spread with rubber spatula on the bottom of the greased bunt pan. Sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar blend. Repeat the steps two more times, until no batter and cinnamon blend remain. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 60 -65 minutes or until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Place the bunt pan on a wire rack, allow the cake to remain in the hot pan for 15 minutes to cool slightly. After the 15 minutes have elapsed, remove the cake from the pan and allow to cool on wire rack until you are ready to serve the cake.

Enjoy!

 

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Bacon & Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

 

I made these this morning since it was something we could gab and go and be on our way to the strip district! In my opinion it’s the best way to spend a Saturday morning in the Burgh. 

These packed cookies have a little bit of everything to get you going in the morning.

12 large cookies 

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 tsp baking soda 

1/2 cup raisins

2 cups cornflakes

2/3 cup sugar

5 slices of cooked bacon, chopped

1 egg

1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup crunchy natural peanut butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 1/2 sheet baking pans with parchment paper. Set aside. 

2. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment cream butter and peanut butter with sugar, until light and fluffy.  Add egg and and incorporate.

3. Reduce speed & add in flour and baking soda. Slowly increase speed to low medium to incorpate ingredients together. 

4. Add in raisins, bacon and cornflakes. Mix on low to blend ingredients together.

5. Use size 16 scoop to form large cookies placing 6 to a pan. Flatten the cookie slightly with glass cup. Place one sheet at a time in the center of the oven. Bake for 18 minutes. 

6. Remove pan from oven and immediately place cookies on wire rack to cool.