Whole Wheat | Eat Your Heart Out

Treats for Santa: Secret Weapon Gingerbread

December 10, 2012 by Stephie 7 Comments

Do you like the “Be a Good Cookie” spatula that I used in these photos? Right now, OXO is partnering with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, and 50% of the proceeds from each Good Cookie spatula will go towards pediatric cancer research! Hop on over to OXO’s site to pick up one for you and maybe one or two to add to your Christmas gifts this year.

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I don’t think it’s any secret how Santa maintains his belly that jiggles like a bowl full of jelly.

I mean, I don’t know what the missus is feeding him the rest of the year, but just one night of eating as many cookies as he does cannot be good for one’s metabolism.

That’s the problem with Christmas cookies: they’re around for the entire month of December, and yet just one or two nights of eating cookies for dinner (or, um, breakfast…) can entirely ruin your diet for the year.

Crap.

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t indulge this holiday season. Not at all! I’m just saying that after your 6th holiday party, you might start feeling a little sluggish if you don’t take a step back to occasionally think about what you are putting into your body.

That’s why these gingerbread cookies are going to be your new secret weapon. I took a traditional gingerbread cookie recipe and I cut out half of the fat (and thus a significant number of calories) and replaced it with applesauce. I also slightly reduced the molasses and replaced some of the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat flour.

And guess what? You would never know.

Seriously! You could take these slightly spicy cookies to any party this season and they would get demolished right alongside their counterparts – no one would be any the wiser.

You know what else is great about these cookies? They are made on the stove top, which means that you don’t have to wait for the dough to chill. Which means that you can go from dreaming about gingerbread to eating gingerbread in under an hour.

That’s my kind of cookie.

{Don’t forget to vote for me in the TopDog photo competition! Just click here and hit “boost” – that’s it! Voting ends a 11:59 pm (EST) on December 12.}

Adapted from Eat, Live, Run.

Secret Weapon Gingerbread

Yield: Approximately 40 smaller cookies, or 20 large cookies

Ingredients

⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup molasses
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg, slightly beaten
½ teaspoon salt
1¾ cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, combine the brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and white pepper. Bring to a full boil over medium-high heat; remove from heat and immediately add the baking soda and stir well. (The mixture will foam up…just keep stirring!)
Add the butter a couple of chunks at a time, stirring to combine between each addition. Once all of the better has been added and has melted, stir in the applesauce.
At the point, the mixture should still be warm but not hot. Add the egg and stir. Finally, add the salt, then the flour. Stir until the dough comes together – the dough should be very soft and still slightly warm.
Roll out on a well-floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters or use a large glass to make round cookies. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

Filed Under: Cookies Tagged With: Baked goods, Cookies, Dessert, Healthier, Holidays, Whole wheat, winter

Almond Applesauce Pear Bread

September 11, 2012 by Stephie 10 Comments

You ever have one of those Mondays where your week gets away from you before it even gets started? One of those Mondays that is just simply nothing but…well, a Monday?

That was yesterday for me. Monday simply got the better of me.

But then I got a much needed reminder from Mama Pea and remembered that this week does not have to get the better of me. It doesn’t matter what is going on at work or in my personal life or anything else…God is good. He’s got this. That is all.

Although, we all know that when I’m most stressed, baking is one of the things that helps the most. It calms me. It centers me. And this bread helped to calm and center me over the weekend.

And boy was it a good way to get calm and centered. Full of crunchy almonds, nutty almond flour, soft, fruity pears, spicy cinnamon…this bread is so perfect for fall it isn’t even funny. And with very little butter and only one egg, you can even justify this lovely little snack…or breakfast.

I recently found a mini-loaf pan on clearance and of course I had to have it (um…duh). And of course I had to use it to make these wonderful mini loaves of this bread. They’re the perfect path toward portion control, or you could package them up and give them away to a friend.

Happy fall! Have some bread.

Who wouldn’t like that?

Almond Applesauce Pear Bread

Yield: 1 standard loaf or 3 mini loaves

Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients

½ cup almond flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup peeled and diced pear
1 egg, beaten
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease one standard sized loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans.
Whisk together the flours, sugar, salt, baking power, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the sliced almonds to the dry ingredients, reserving about three tablespoons. Add the diced pear.
In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg and applesauce. Add to dry ingredients and mix just until batter comes together, being careful not to overmix.
Smooth batter into loaf pan/s and top with reserved sliced almonds. Bake for 1 hour for a standard loaf or 30 minutes for mini loaves, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from the pan and slicing.

Filed Under: Breads Tagged With: Almonds, Baked goods, Bread, Breakfast, Fall, Fruit, Healthier, Pears, Quick bread, Whole wheat

Whole Wheat English Muffins

August 29, 2012 by Stephie 18 Comments

I’m obsessed.

I have a new love.

It’s this fig butter.

I know, I live a big, exciting life. You don’t have to tell me.

I want to put it on everything. The other night’s dinner consisted of a grilled cheese sandwich made with some leftover brie cheese, and you know I put some fig butter on that beauty.

So what did I do recently? I made whole wheat English muffins, so that I can toast them up and eat them with fig butter for breakfast.

I wasn’t kidding when I said I was obsessed.

Now, I had to do some research before I undertook this English muffin-making task. My research ultimately yielded the following information:

There are quite a few different English muffin recipes out there, though primarily they can fall into one of two categories: dough that you roll out, cut into rounds and then cook on the griddle; or a shaggy, wet dough (almost like thick pancake batter) that is spooned onto the griddle.

Now, from what I read, you get the best “nooks and crannies” (the ones so characteristic of and necessary to a true English muffin – according to self-proclaimed English muffin snobs) from the second kind of dough. So, of course, that is what I went with.

Now, I was going for more of a “rustic” look with my English muffins…ok. That’s not quite true. I just don’t currently own any English muffin rings, so I poured the batter directly onto the griddle instead of shaping it in rings. You could do either here. If you are interested in using the rings, Alton Brown has good English muffin recipe (I will likely try this one once I get some rings, just to see how it does) that walks you through how to use them.

The results of this particular English muffin experiment were quite good, though. Nice and golden on the outside, super soft on the inside, with a decent amount of little nooks and crannies (although, admittedly, there could probably be more). Downright awesome when toasted up and served with some fig butter…or any jam that you happen to be obsessed with at the moment.

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Yield: 12-14 muffins

Adapted from Michael Ruhlman

Ingredients

2 cups milk
2¼ teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
2 scant cups all-purpose flour
2 scant cups whole wheat flour
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
Cornmeal

Instructions

In a microwave-proof bowl or measuring cup, microwave the milk on high for about two minutes, or until the milk is warm, but not hot. Warm milk will activate your yeast, hot milk will kill it.
Sprinkle the sugar and the yeast into the milk. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, until the yeast foams. Once the yeast is foamy, whisk in the egg and melted butter.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flours and the salt. Pour in the milk and yeast mixture, stirring until combined. Dough will be wet and somewhat shaggy. Cover lightly with a clean towel and set in a warm place to rise for 1 to 1½ hours, or until dough is doubled in size. (Alternately, place in the refrigerator overnight, and remove from the fridge 1 hour before cooking.)
Once dough has risen, heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. If using an electric griddle, shoot for about 300 degrees. If you are using rings, you will need to butter them. Stir the dissolved baking powder into the batter until well combined. Dust the cooking surface with corn meal. Using a measuring cup, spoon ¼-cup portions of batter onto the griddle (either free-form or in the rings). Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until deeply golden. Flip, and cook for another 7 to 10 minutes.
Remove from the griddle onto a cooling rack. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before prying in half with a fork. Toast and serve with butter, honey or jam, or use for Eggs Benedict.
Store for up to 3 days at room temperature in a zip-top bag, or freeze for a couple of months.

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast Tagged With: Baked goods, Bread, Breakfast, Muffins, Whole wheat

Kathleen’s Banana Oatmeal Muffins

June 13, 2012 by Stephie 5 Comments

Ok, ok, I know banana muffins aren’t a very summery thing to be posting right now. They’re one of those things that you generally think about making in the fall after the farmer’s markets close down, or early in the spring before the strawberries make their first appearance.

But the other day I was really, really craving banana muffins. And guess what? I had 3 bananas hanging out in my freezer, which was the exact amount I needed to make my friend Kathleen’s favorite banana bread recipe.

Guys, these muffins came out of the oven and, before I knew what was happening, I had ~~eaten~~ inhaled three. It was at that moment that I realized I absolutely must pack up the rest to take to work, or else we would have a banana muffin binge situation on our hands. Not pretty.

These are seriously some of the the best banana muffins I have ever eaten. They are incredibly soft and (please don’t hate me) moist, and the combination of whole wheat flour and oatmeal makes them so nutty and perfect…these muffins are what I imagine would happen if an oatmeal cookie and a loaf of banana bread fell in love and made a baby.

Was that too weird? Sorry.

Furthermore, Banana-hating Boyfriend willingly ate more than one of these muffins. BAM.

A quick note about amounts here: I ended up making this into muffins instead of loaves, mostly because I knew I would never stop eating a loaf of bread but I might stand a chance at leaving muffins alone. At any rate, after nearly over-filling my muffin tin, I had more batter than I needed to make 12 standard-size muffins, so I ended up putting the rest in a little 4×4-inch casserole dish and cutting it into little bars. (Ps, you know what would be bonkers out-of-control amazing? Baking up the whole recipe in a cake or sheet pan and topping it off with some cream cheese frosting…just ponder on that for a while.) I’m guessing that you could get about 18 standard-size muffins if you don’t overfill your tins. If you would rather go the loaf route, I would opt for two 8×4-inch loaf pans, but, again, I haven’t done this myself yet, so if someone gives it a whirl, let me know how it goes.

Thanks for the recipe, Kathleen! It is definitely going to become one of my new regular recipes. =)

Kathleen’s Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Yield: Approximately 18 standard-size muffins, or two 8×4-inch loaves

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
Optional (but strongly encouraged) add-ins: ½ cup each of raisins, roughly chopped pecans, chocolate chips or any combination of the above (I used raisins and pecans)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour loaf pans or muffin tins, or use muffin liners; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together butter and sugar. Add in buttermilk, eggs, and baking soda, whisking until light yellow and thoroughly combined. Follow by whisking in the mashed bananas. Stir in flour and oatmeal until just combined and fold in any add-ins.
Pour batter into prepared baking vessel and bake for 1 hour for a loaf, or 25-30 minutes for muffins. Bread/muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool slightly before removing muffins from tin; allow a loaf to cool completely before removing from the pan (unless you want a big ol’ mess on your hands…).

Filed Under: Breads Tagged With: Baked goods, Bananas, Bread, Breakfast, Muffins, Oats, Whole wheat

Tahini-Lime Muffins

April 16, 2012 by Stephie 6 Comments

I have got to stop baking.

Well, maybe not stop. Ok, let me amend that statement: I have got to slow down this baking spree I am on.

My slightly-snug jeans told me so this morning.

It probably wouldn’t hurt if I would stop getting so bored every time I go to the gym. Seriously, I get 5 minutes in to my workout and find myself itching to be doing something, anything else. And I don’t mean in a “let’s do a cardio circuit” kind of way, I mean in a “let me go home and put on my sweatpants and cook” kind of way.

Oops.

Guys, this is real life. As much as I try for balance in my life, there are times when I mentally reject everything green and instead just want nothing more than to spend some quality time with butter, flour and sugar. Sometimes I feel like a run. More often I feel like reading a book in bed.

Last week I felt like baking. But I figured that if I absolutely had to bake (and I did), I might as well throw a few good-for-you things in there. A little whole wheat flour. Some flax seeds. A wee bit of wheat germ. Coconut oil.

Folks, these muffins are weird. I’m not even going to pretend that they aren’t. But, weird as they are, they’re pretty good, too. The more I eat them (hello, snug jeans), the more they grow on me. The lime juice and zest give them a nice tangy bite. The tahini gives them a buttery richness. The coconut flavors here are subtle, just enough to balance out the other two players. Oh hey, they’re vegan, too. Bam.

For the record, I think these are best when they are slightly warm. Hello, microwave.

For the (other) record, they also freeze marvelously. Which means, if you weren’t aware, that you can avoid eating them all in one sitting. Hello, breakfast-for-days.

Tahini-Lime Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Inspired by examiner.com

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
2 tablespoons wheat germ
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup almond milk
¼ cup tahini
zest of 1 lime
¼ cup lime juice
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
⅓ cup flaked/shredded coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the first 9 ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine milk, tahini, lime zest and juice, and coconut oil. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients; stir until just combined. Fold in shredded coconut.
Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Store, in an airtight container, at room temperature for 3 days or in the freezer for up to two months.