Cranberry-Almond Muffins

I am still on a cranberry kick. I just cannot let go of the season even though it is over. Sadly the fresh cranberries have left the grocery store. I have been unable to locate frozen cranberries. Anyone know where I can find some? I suppose I should make a visit to Whole Foods to see what is in their freezers.. My cranberry obsession has been fueled by some of the blogs I follow and then left to my own devices I search the Internet. Not to mention I purchased a Cranberry Orange muffin at the Ingles bakery (Red Velvet is good too) and shared it with my mom. Yes, I'm an only child and wanted muffins of my very own.

 

I spotted this recipe on Whole Living. It was simple. The hardest part was zesting and juicing the orange. If you are not one of these New Year's resolution people who signed up for a gym membership, then this recipe will help build you upper body strength. Just kidding. Can you tell I am ready to get my gym back? Big class sizes make it difficult to workout. Anyway, back to the recipe. I substituted dried cranberries since fresh and frozen were not an option. I would imagine it would be better with fresh or frozen but dried cranberries did the trick too. The almond flour is lovely in this recipe and the extra almonds on top provide a nice crunch. I baked these on the night before the coldest day we have had in thirty years in the ATL. It was a great way to heat up my home and the smell was fabulous too!

Cranberry-Almond Muffins

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Yield Makes 16

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Coarse salt
• 2/3 cup nonfat milk
• 2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 16 cups of
   two 12-cup muffin tins with baking cups,
   and lightly coat each with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together sugar, flours, baking soda,
   and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk
   together milk, yogurt, eggs, and orange zest
   and juice in a medium bowl. Fold milk
   mixture into flour mixture, then gently fold
   in cranberries until combined.
3. Spoon batter into baking cups until each
   is three-quarters full. Sprinkle with almonds.
   Bake until a toothpick inserted into the
   center of each comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
   Transfer pans to wire racks, and let
   cool for 10 minutes. Turn out muffins onto
   racks, and let cool completely.

Pumpkin Nutella Cupcakes

Well I just had to share one more pumpkin recipe with you all before we can say pumpkin season is  over. How can it be? In my opinion pumpkin season is too short. Anyway sometimes I want a simple recipe and I love that the Nutella in this recipe is like frosting. Could it be any easier? To me pumpkin and Nutella are a wonderful combination. My coworkers tried to act like these were acceptable for breakfast and not just dessert. You be the judge.

 

 

Pumpkin Nutella Cupcakes

Makes 12-15 cupcakes

• 1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Nutella for topping

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with foil or paper liners.

Place the pumpkin, oil, eggs, vanilla and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat to combine.

In a separate large bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Add to wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

Fill muffin cups around 3/4 full. Place a couple of teaspoons of Nutella on top of each cupcake. Use a toothpick to swirl the Nutella around the top of the batter.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Crustless Cranberry Pie

My mom and I love cranberries so for her birthday this year (yes it took me over a month to post this) I searched for a new dessert. I found a recipe for crustless pie. Never really heard of crustless pie but I decided to go for it. And I'm so glad that I did. It was such an easy recipe and the taste is amazing. A little tart and sweet. Of course it turns out to be a beautiful explosion of red.

 

Crustless Cranberry Pie

Ingredients

 

Original recipe makes 1 (9-inch) pie

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

• 1 cupall-purpose flour
• 1 cupwhite sugar
• 1/4 teaspoonsalt
• 2 cupscranberries
• 1/2 cupchopped walnuts
• 1/2 cupbutter, melted
• 2eggs
• 1 teaspoonalmond extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 inch pie pan.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Stir in the cranberries and the walnuts, and toss to coat. Stir in the butter, beaten eggs, and almond extract. If you are using frozen cranberries, the mixture will be very thick. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

 

White Bean Pumpkin Chili

I know this is primarily a dessert blog but I had to share these recipes. Fall is my favorite season and this chili with cornbread made for an awesome fall lunch. I adjusted the chili recipe by cooking it over the stove instead of in a crock pot. It is chili so I let it simmer for about two hours after bringing all the ingredients to a boil. I was concerned the white northern beans may get too soft in the crock pot. I'm sure it is not an issue and is just my anxiety...I'm a baker and not the best with cooking.

Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin ChiliGina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 272.5 • Fat: 2.5 g • Protein: 32 g • Carb: 31 g • Fiber: 12 g • Sugar: 2.4
Sodium: 499 (without salt)

Ingredients:

• cooking spray (I used my Misto)
• 2 lb 99% lean ground turkey
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp chili powder, to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 (15 oz cans) white northern or navy beans (I prefer Goya) rinsed and drained
• 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 4.5 oz canned chopped green chile
• 2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
• chopped cilantro and chives for topping
• salt and pepper to taste
• low fat sour cream for topping (optional)

Directions:

Heat a large heavy saute pan over high heat and lightly spray with oil. Add meat and cook, breaking it up until white, about 5 minutes. Add to crock pot.

Add oil to the saute pan, then onions, garlic, sauté about 3 - 4 minutes; add cumin and sauté another minute.

Add to crock pot. Add beans, pumpkin puree, green chilis, broth, chili powder, oregano, and bay leaves. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning to taste before serving. Enjoy!

 

 

Polenta Cornbread

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup polenta

2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

About 1/4 cup cooled melted butter or margarine

Preparation

1. 1. In a bowl, mix flour, polenta, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs to blend with buttermilk and 1/4 cup butter; pour into flour mixture. Stir batter until evenly moistened.
2. 2. Scrape batter into a buttered 8-inch square pan and spread level.
3. 3. Bake in a 400° oven until cornbread is browned, springs back when lightly pressed in the center, and begins to pull from pan sides, 20 to 25 minutes. Use hot or cool.

                       Happy Fall!!!

Raspberry and Cream Swirled Pumpkin Muffins

I love raspberries and pumpkins. For the past few weeks raspberries have been on sale at Publix which is strange because it is November and I'm in full on pumpkin mode. So when I saw this recipe on the Picky Palate blog I knew I had to give it a try.

It seems like an odd pairing but it actually tastes delicious. Just trust me on this one. I love raspberries so much that I used a whole pint instead of following the recipe and using a half of a cup.

Raspberry and Cream Swirled Pumpkin Muffins

Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 30 min | Total time: 45 min

Ingredients

3/4 cup plain Greek 2% yogurt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Raspberry Cream Cheese

• 4 ounces softened cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup Driscoll’s raspberries, rinsed and dried

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line 18 cupcake cups with liners (foil liners recommended). If using paper liners, spray liners lightly with cooking spray before filling with batter.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat yogurt, eggs and vanilla until well combined. Stir in pumpkin and cinnamon. Slowly add flour, sugar, baking soda and salt, stirring until well combined. Fill liners 1/2 full with batter.
3. To prepare raspberry cream cheese, beat softened cream cheese with sugar until well combined. Stir and smash raspberries into cream until combined and berries broken down. Place 1 teaspoon raspberry cream on top of filled cups. Take a toothpick or skewer and swirl cream throughout batter. Bake for 28-33 minutes, or until baked though. Remove and let cool. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Makes 18 Servings

UGA cupcakes

                                  

I am a huge University of Georgia fan and an alumna. Some of you know we played our biggest rival over the weekend, the University of Florida. For a while now I have wanted to make super Gs from candy molds and I located a mold on Amazon. It is called a fan pan!!! Some what challenging to get chocolate in the small spaces but it was worth it.

               

I baked chocolate cupcakes and iced them with cream cheese frosting. The red and black frosting is glitter gel by Wilton.

They tasted amazing and the best part is Georgia beat Florida, 23-20. That is three years in a row now and we knocked Florida out of their chance of going to the SEC Championship game.

                                 

 

You can't have a football party without chicken wings. The wings at American Deli are amazing. The right is lemon pepper and honey BBQ is on the left. Of course they look fabulous in the chip and dip I painted myself!

 

 

                             

 

                      GO DAWGS!!!

Blueberry Pizza

Blueberry pizza is my 50th blog post! I can't believe I have blogged about 50 recipes. Wow! I found this recipe on the How Sweet It Is blog and new I had to try it. I felt so bad for Jessica that after two failed attempts she was not able to sample this pizza at Cafe Sante. I am glad she created a recipe without ever eating the pizza. That is some skills! Or determination, however you look at it.

 

I cheated and did not make my own dough but I included her recipe below. I'm a fan of the Italian dough that Publix sells. Just follow the directions on the bag of dough for proofing and cooking. A bag of dough does not sound appetizing but trust me it is good stuff.

 

Ready for the oven!

                                 

My mom and I made this pizza over Labor Day weekend. We were not sure how we would like it. It is seriously heaven! We love it! At first my mom was hesitant with all the steps but after she tasted the blueberry awesomeness she said it is a keeper. (Of course my dad was not a fan.)  Not too sure how well the shallots go with the other flavors. Next time we may leave the shallots off and add lemon juice to the ricotta spread.

 

Blueberry Pizza with Whipped Ricotta + Caramelized Shallots

Yield: 1 pizza
Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

dough
1 1/8 cups warm water
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 shallots, sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 lemons, zested
8 ounces mozzrella cheese, freshly grated
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 cups flour and salt, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work in the additional 2/3 cup flour, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours.

While the dough is rising, heat a large skillet over low heat and add olive oil and butter. Add in the shallots and the salt and cover, cooking for 30 minutes and stirring occasionally and reducing the heat more if they begin to brown too much. Stir in the brown sugar and the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes. Set aside.

Add the ricotta to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add in the lemon zest and puree until combined. After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, form it into your desired shape (sometimes I use baking sheets and do rectangles or free form pizzas - this specific dough will yield one pizza large enough to feed about 3-4 people) and place on a baking sheet or pizza peel. Place the towel back over the dough and let sit in the warm place for 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees (or if you're using a pizza stone or the skillet method, follow those directions). Spread the ricotta on the dough and cover it with half of the mozzarella. Add the shallots and the thyme, then cover it in the blueberries. Add the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly. Remove and serve with parmesan on top.

 

 

Good bye sweet summer time!!!