Sweets Archives · Page 4 of 4 · Jess in the Kitchen

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones

With the garden game slowing down as we move into October, my sourdough game is ready to step up to the plate. Over the weekend, I pulled out my starter and had a lot of excess. And you know what? I hadn’t baked a batch of scones in a while. I looked around my kitchen to see what I had and my eyes were drawn to the bag of dark chocolate chips. Then the bag of unsweetened coconut. Finally, almond extract. What’s not to like?! And so, my dark chocolate coconut sourdough scones were created.

While this recipe is specifically for dark chocolate coconut sourdough scones, it’s a flexible recipe with all sorts of variations. Maple pecan? You got it. Simple cinnamon and sugar? That’s great too! Look around your kitchen and play with the recipe, leaving the base alone. Who knows? You may just develop a perfect, one of a kind recipe that is to die for!

Let’s get cooking! You’re about 30 minutes away from fresh baked dark chocolate coconut scones!

Your ingredients

2 ½ cups of flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup unsweetened coconut
⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
½ teaspoon almond extract
⅓ cup butter
1 ½ cups sourdough starter

Glaze and Toppings Ingredients

¼ cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and unsweetened coconut. Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed together-ish. It will look somewhat like sand. To that mixture, add sourdough starter and almond extract. Mix by hand, adding starter as needed to fully incorporate all the dry ingredients but not be wet. Mix in chocolate chips. Once you have a soft dough, cut into four pieces and form them into four discs, approximately 6 inches in diameter. Cut these discs into 6-8 slices, your preference. Bake for 15 minutes, until firm to the touch and just beginning to brown.

Allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, put glaze chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave until just melted, about 30 seconds. Stir in extract. Place chocolate in a plastic baggy, cut the tip, and drizzle onto scones. (Hint: Recut the scones right after they come out of the oven.) Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Allow chocolate to cool prior to storing.

Hints and Tips for Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones

Love toasted coconut? You can toast all of the coconut (or just the topping) by spraying a small frying pan with cooking spray and heating over medium heat. Once hot, add coconut. Heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. It will go from perfection to burned quickly, so watch it.

Looking for other sourdough recipes or hoping to start your own starter? Check out my sourdough page by clicking the link below! Maybe you just want to bake. I have some awesome sweet treats on my baking page too!

Sourdough Adventures

Baking

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones: Extra sourdough starter? These scones use it up nicely, making a subtly sweet breakfast treat!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

2 ½ cups of flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup unsweetened coconut
⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
½ teaspoon almond extract
⅓ cup butter
1 ½ cups sourdough starter
Glaze and Toppings
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and unsweetened coconut.
Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.
Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed. It will look somewhat like sand.
To that mixture, add sourdough starter and almond extract.
Mix by hand, adding starter as needed to fully incorporate all the dry ingredients but not be wet.
Mix in chocolate chips.
Once you have a soft dough, cut into four pieces and form them into four discs, approximately 6 inches in diameter.
Cut these discs into 6-8 slices, your preference.
Bake for 15 minutes, until firm to the touch and just beginning to brown. Recut scones as soon as they come out of the oven.
Allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, put glaze chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small microwave safe bowl.
Microwave until just melted, about 30 seconds.
Stir in extract. Place chocolate in a plastic baggy, cut the tip, and drizzle onto scones.
Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Allow chocolate to cool prior to storing.

Notes

Keyword chocolate, coconut, Scones, sourdough, sourdough baking, sourdough scones

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

October 6, 2020March 24, 2021

Jess1 Comment

Strawberry and Peach Sorbet

The Scenario…

Over picking at the strawberry patch because you don’t realize just how many berries fit in your bucket until you weigh it.

Looking at the fruits at the farmer’s market and buying it all because the color is beyond appealing.

Planting countless raspberry plants and then not being able to keep up with the bounty they produce in July.

The delicious solution!

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? Let me tell you, I have experienced them all. One would think that I would learn from my mistakes, but I still continue to get sucked into ALLLLL the fruits and then need to find something to do with them. This week, it was strawberries and peaches. And thus, a homemade strawberry and peach sorbet was born.

Last year, I had a crazy red raspberry crop. Crazy, as in it took me over an hour to harvest during its peak time. This meant I needed to find new and fun ways to preserve them. I made all the jam. I froze bags of them. Then I stumbled across a fruit sorbet recipe while flipping through my Ball’s Guide to Preserving Book. It sounded amazing, but had SO much added sugar. I modified it some last year, and now have improved it again to not use raspberries but the strawberries from our garden and peaches from the store.

If you’ve been following me for a little time, you know that I like to use my son as my ultimate taste tester. He isn’t afraid to tell me something is too healthy tasting, too salty, lacking vegetables, etc. He’s a good egg, that kid. Anywho…I took a scoop of what couldn’t fit in the jars and had him try it. He closed his eyes, smiled, and kind of whispered, “What IS that?!” I don’t know about you, but that screams approval if you ask me 😉

Don’t have strawberries and/or peaches? I have such good news! This recipe is totally moldable to your favorite flavor combination. Ultimately, you will need 4 cups of chopped soft fruit. Think berries, peaches, nectarines, etc. (Ball says you can use melon, but I haven’t tested it).

Your Ingredients:

2 cups chopped strawberries
2 cups diced peaches, peeled first then cut up
½ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey

Your steps

Combine fruit. Use a blender or immersion blender to break fruit down. I use an immersion blender and blend right in the kettle I will be heating them in. Add remaining ingredients. From here, use the immersion blender to mix everything together once more. Once combined, heat over medium heat until the mixture is beginning to simmer, stirring often. Pour into a 9×13 pan, cover, and place in the freezer and allow to freeze solid.

Once fully frozen, remove and allow to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. This will make it easier to remove the sorbet. Working in small batches, puree frozen sorbet. There are lots of options for this. You can use a blender, a food processor, or an immersion blender. For me, I dig the immersion blender because clean up is so easy. Scoop the puree into freezer safe containers, leaving ½ inch headspace at the top. I like to use 4 ounce jelly jars for ½ cup servings ready to go! Finally, be sure to label and return to the freezer until you’re ready to enjoy them!

A few notes

When I initially found this recipe, I wanted to cut the second blending of the sorbet. It is critical to complete if you want fluffy sorbet that you remember from childhood. It’s worth the extra step. Don’t skip it!

Initially, I tried this recipe freshly picked raspberries so feel free to mix it up in terms of fruit. Ultimately, you need 4 cups of chopped/crushed fruit so let your taste buds to the work here.

Looking for an adult version? I found that adding ½ cup of lime twisted gin was a delight to the raspberry sorbet! Be mindful of how much alcohol you add as it will effect the ability of the sorbet to freeze.

Have a sweeter tooth? The recipe originally calls for 2 cups of sugar. If you’d like, add more to suit your own tastes.

Tools I use

Hoping to use some of the tools I love for creating these? Here’s the link for the 4 ounce jelly jars I used as well an immersion blender. Seriously, the immersion blender is an underrated tool in the kitchen and it hardly takes up any storage space! If you don’t have one yet, I highly recommend investing. You’ll thank me!

As for the jelly jars, I am usually a Ball or Kerr jar lover, but a friend gifted me these Verone jars and I loved that they came with two piece lids for canning as well as one piece lids for storage. Double duty in one pack of jars. Super cool 🙂

Looking for other ways to preserve your summer bounty? Check out my canning and preserving page!

Strawberry and Peach Sorbet

A fruit sorbet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Freeze Time 4

Course Dessert

Cuisine Canning

Servings 1/2 cup servings

Equipment

Food Processor or Immersion Blender

Ingredients

2 cups chopped strawberries
2 cups diced peaches peeled first then cut up
½ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey more to taste

Instructions

Combine fruit.
Use a blender or immersion blender to break fruit down into a puree.
Add remaining ingredients. Blend once more to fully break down the fruit and incorporate added ingredients.
Once combined, heat over medium heat until the mixture is beginning to simmer, stirring often.
Pour into a 9×13 pan, cover, and place in the freezer and allow to freeze solid.
Once fully frozen, remove and allow to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to remove from pan. Working in small batches, puree frozen sorbet using food processor, blender or immersion blender.
Scoop the puree into freezer safe containers, leaving ½ inch headspace at the top. Label and return to freezer if not enjoying immediately.

Notes

Don’t have strawberries or peaches? No problem. Any soft fruit will do. Think, berries of any kind, nectarines, even melon perhaps?

You may be tempted to skip the second blend step. Don’t! It’s critical for the sorbet to be fluffy, just the way you remember it.

Keyword clean, peach, sorbet, strawberry, sweets

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

June 29, 2020June 7, 2021

JessLeave a comment

Quick Strawberry Bread

I never knew I needed strawberry bread in my life until I tried this recipe. A number of years ago, I was minding my own business at my end of the hallway while at school when three students ran over to me and HAD to share what they had just created in their Family and Consumer Science class. It was this bread. Let me tell you, it was delicious. If three teenage boys could create such a delicious treat, I knew I needed to give it a try on my own.

I immediately went to the teacher and asked if I could have the recipe. She shared a folded up copy students had left in her classroom, and it went straight into my files. Now it’s a sheet of paper I hold dear because not only is it full of stains from repeated use (aren’t those THE best recipes?!), but it also reminds me of those awesome students I got to teach so early on in my career.

Wondering what makes this strawberry bread so good? I believe it’s the Greek yogurt (or sour cream, if that’s what you have on hand). It makes for this moist, delightful summer bread. In fact, when I want an indulgent quick bread, I look for Greek yogurt in the recipe. It’s a secret, take this recipe to the next level, kind of ingredient.

Now, I know most recipes I share have had a “let’s make it healthier” make over. This strawberry bread will not be one of those recipes. Sometimes you just need to follow your taste buds and enjoy a little sugar and sweetness, right?

Your ingredients

1 ¾ cup flour (I used whole wheat)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
½ cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cup finely chopped strawberries

Your Steps

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugars and beat until light and airy. Beat in eggs, ideally one at a time. But let’s be real, who remembers to do that? I mean, I don’t ⅔ of the time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until well combined.

Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Avoid over mixing. Fold in strawberries. Be gentle with them or you will end up with a pink bread. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 60-65 minutes in the center of the oven.

A few notes:

I know I said mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl. But for real, I hate extra dishes. I am the kind of cook that will intentionally use a smaller measuring cup to measure out 1 cup measurements if it means using one less dish. That being said, I have often made this recipe by adding the dry ingredients to the top of the wet, mixing slightly to blend the spices, and then stirring it all together. But you do you 🙂
I ADORE my flexible cutting boards for all sorts of cooking. They are actually the only kind of cutting boards I use (if I can help it). If you haven’t used them before, check out the link below. They are color coded for different types of food and make scraping into a bowl or pan easy as can be.
I used fresh strawberries from our garden, which are generally smaller than store bought. Because of this, I simply sliced them rather than chopping them small. Again, do what you prefer.

Looking for other sweet treats to bake? Check out my baking page here!

Quick Strawberry Bread

Greek yogurt and strawberries combine to make a perfect addition to your breakfast table.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

1 ¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter softened
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs room temperature
½ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cup finely chopped strawberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, beat butter until creamy.
Gradually add sugars and beat until light and airy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Avoid over mixing.
Gently fold in strawberries.
Pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 60-65 minutes in the center of the oven.

Keyword Breakfast Bread, Quick Bread, Strawberries

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

June 27, 2020June 16, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Banana Ice Cream

Ice cream. It’s the go to treat at my house after dinner. My husband LOVES it, and has instilled the love to my children. I mean really, what’s not to love in terms of flavor?! For me, I indulge maybe once a week. Not because I am lactose intolerant or dieting. More so, I know my taste buds will want more than a servings’ worth and my “health conscious” stomach won’t dig the aftermath. Then I discovered chocolate banana ice cream and I instantly fell in love. It’s creamy, the right amount of sweetness, and full of good for you ingredients. A dessert I can enjoy a serving (or two!) a few times a week and know I’m actually fueling my body. In fact, I realized it makes a great pre-workout snack before my longer runs. How can it get much better?!

To create this delicious treat, it will take a little planning and ideally a large food processor. No 5-7 cup food processor? No worries! An immersion blender will work well in a pinch. Just know that it will likely need some help along the way as you blend the frozen bananas. (And this may seem like common sense, but make you unplug it before clearing the blades out. Believe me, I have the hospital bill and scar on my finger to prove it’s a good idea. Yikes!) Let’s get started!

Your ingredients

3 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons nut butter, your choice
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon almond milk (or other milk), as needed

Optional mix ins:

Coconut flakes, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, you name it!

Your steps

Line a jelly roll pan with wax or parchment paper. Slice bananas into ½ inch slices and place on paper. Stick the pans in the freezer and allow the bananas to harden, generally over a few hours. (If you are like me, you’ll forget about them for a few days, open the freezer and declare, “OH! MY BANANAS!” It’s okay, I get you 🙂 )

Remove bananas from pans and place in food processor. Add remaining ingredients and pulse to blend until smooth. This will take some time, but be patient. Add more milk if necessary to get desired texture. Add optional mix ins and pulse just a couple times to incorporate them into the blended bananas.

Use a spatula to smooth banana ice cream into a freezer safe container and return to the freezer. Since there is minimal milk in the blended banana, it will freeze harder than normal ice cream. I usually take it out 5-10 minutes before I want to eat it to allow it to soften slightly. My absolute favorite is to sprinkle a little coconut and some salted nuts on top. SO GOOD! And even better news? You now have another idea for those overripe bananas you have sitting on your counter.

As for the equipment I use

Initially, I used an immersion blender and loved it. I didn’t want to drag out my large food processor. Like I said earlier in the post, this did result in me being silly and trying to clear out the frozen mess with my finger and heading to the hospital. Learn from me, don’t do that 🙂 However, my mind was changed once I brought out my 7 cup food processor. It’s SO much easier to use and clean up isn’t bad at all. That being said, I ADORE both kitchen tools and they get used often in my home. Check out the links below if your interested in adding to your kitchen tool collection!

Banana Ice Cream

No added sugar and all the chocolate. A velvety smooth alternative to dairy ice cream made with good for you ingredients.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Freezing Time 3

Total Time 3 30

Course Dessert

Servings

Equipment

Immersion Blender or Food Processor

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons nut butter your choice
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon almond milk or other milk, as needed

Instructions

Line a jelly roll pan with wax or parchment paper. Slice bananas into ½ inch slices and place on paper. Stick the pans in the freezer and allow the bananas to harden, generally over a few hours.
Remove bananas from pans and place in food processor.
Add remaining ingredients and pulse to blend until smooth. Add more milk to gain desired texture, if necessary.
Use a spatula to smooth banana ice cream into a freezer safe container. Enjoy right away or return to the freezer for a snack later.

Notes

There are lots of optional mix ins you can add to this ice cream: coconut flakes, chocolate chips, nuts, etc. Add after you have done the initial blending and pulse a few times to incorporate.

Since there is minimal or no dairy in this ice cream, it will freeze quite hard. You will likely want to take it out of the freezer to soften 5-10 minutes before serving.

Keyword Banana, Banana Ice Cream, Vegan

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other sweet treats to create in your kitchen? Check out the baking page here!

June 25, 2020March 9, 2021

JessLeave a comment

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

Jump to Recipe

As spring makes way to summer, gardeners all around Wisconsin watch for the rhubarb to break through the ground and produce stems of tart goodness. Then you can pair that with the strawberries that are turning red right now, and you have some tasty baking and cooking that happens. Rhubarb pie. Jams and jellies. However, my favorite is probably strawberry rhubarb bread.

Springtime on a cutting board: strawberries and rhubarb

Here, the sweetness from the berries and the tart from the rhubarb mix perfectly. And the color! It brings me so much joy. My mother-in-law has a fantastic recipe for strawberry rhubarb bread; however, I try to be mindful of the amount of sugar I serve my family and friends so I began to play with a few recipes to make my own, healthier version.

A few weeks ago, I tried to tweak this great banana bread recipe to work as a strawberry rhubarb bread. Let me tell you, it was a fail. Maybe not an EPIC fail. But I will say, I don’t waste much food, and it went in the garbage after a few days.

Determined not to fail, I wrote in my planner, “FIX THE STRAWBERRY RHUBARB BREAD,” everyday. I found the time, sat down with the banana bread recipe and my mother in law’s recipe and boom…this recipe was born as a hybrid of them both. A cleaner, healthier Strawberry Rhubarb Bread.

As an aside, my husband is my go to recipe tester when I try to make it healthier. He isn’t quiet about when I “ruin” things by cutting too much sugar or replacing pasta with vegetables. He hated the first “banana bread” try. However, he gave glowing reviews to the one you’re about to bake. It’s tasty, just the right amount of sweetness, and perfectly moist. Yum. I can’t wait for you to try it and let me know what you think! Let’s get baking 🙂

Your Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats (I get these fantastic thick oats from the natural food store in town)
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup chopped nuts (I did walnuts)
1 cup peeled and chopped rhubarb
1 cup chopped strawberries
½ cup honey or maple syrup (I did honey)
¼ cup coconut oil, melted (but any oil will do)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten
6 tablespoons milk (I did almond)

Your Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare one loaf pan (or three miniature pans) by spraying with cooking spray. Combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda, and nuts in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine honey, vanilla, egg, and milk.

Add the honey mixture to dry mixture along with rhubarb and strawberries. Stir until just combined. (Be sure to mix all the way to the bottom. I can’t tell you how often I pour my batter into a pan and find dry ingredients I missed while mixing to “just combined.” Alas, I will learn someday.)

Quickly pour in oil and stir. Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake for 40-55 minutes, depending on the depth of your batter. Finally, use a toothpick or knife to check if it is cooked all the way to through. Enjoy!

A few notes

The batter will seem dry. That’s okay. It will moisten up at it bakes.
You should be able to switch up the ratios of strawberries and rhubarb. Just shoot for about 2 cups of cut up fruits/vegetables. (Did you know rhubarb is technically a vegetable?!
I add the oil last and stir fast so that it doesn’t have the time to begin to turn solid. This was a recent “ah ha” moment I had while making my own waffles with friends. Get that recipe here!

Looking for more baking recipes? Click here!

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

Sweet Strawberries and Tart Rhubarb join together in this cleaner version of a classic combination.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 50

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped rhubarb peeled
1 cup chopped strawberries
½ cup honey (or maple syrup)
¼ cup coconut oil melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg beaten
6 tablespoons milk your choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease bread pan.
Combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda, and chopped nuts in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, combine honey, vanilla, egg, and milk.
Stir wet ingredients, strawberries, and rhubarb into dry ingredients until just combined.
Stir in melted coconut oil.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40-55 minutes, until cooked all the way through. Test using a toothpick or knife. If it comes out clean, it is done.

Notes

The batter will seem dry. That’s okay. It will moisten up at it bakes.
You should be able to switch up the ratios of strawberries and rhubarb. Just shoot for about 2 cups of cut up fruits/vegetables. (Did you know rhubarb is technically a vegetable?!)
I used almond milk in this recipe, but I am certain any milk will be fine.

Keyword Bread, Breakfast, Rhubarb, Strawberries

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

June 14, 2020May 16, 2021

Jess2 Comments

Apple and Oatmeal Muffins

At our house, we get very few days where both my husband and I are not working, getting to enjoy a true “weekend.” He’s a property manager of a state park which means his busy time is the opposite of my teacher schedule’s busy time. When we do get those special days that we are both home, breakfast can be a production. He’s in charge of the eggs (for all of the cooking I love to do, he still makes the best eggs…scrambled, omelette, you name it, he can do it). As for me, I love to put together some sort of baked good, warming the house with the oven and making the house smell just delightful.

This past weekend, I was inspired by all the muffins I saw on social media. What resulted was this clean, healthy apple and oatmeal muffin. Texture in the oatmeal and apple and just the right amount of cinnamon. My family approved and ate them all week. I loved them for a mid morning snack while I have been checking up on my students virtually. If you have a busy lifestyle, mix up a double batch and throw them in the freezer.

Note that I have been into using maple syrup for my sweetener because we have it on hand and it’s a fun way for me to challenge myself to make the swap for refined sugar. If you don’t have access to maple syrup there are a few options here:

Use honey instead
Use regular sugar (or maybe brown for a hint of molasses?) and leave out the flax to compensate for dry ingredient addition.

Okay, enough talk. Let’s get baking so you and your family can enjoy these muffins too!

Your ingredients (for approximately 18 regular sized muffins):

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (If you don’t have this, you can leave it out, but I would replace with flour to keep the consistency right)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup milk
¾ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup oil of your choice (vegetable, olive, coconut)
1 egg, beaten
1 apple, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
½ cup chopped nuts (optional-if you dig additional texture)

Your Steps to Apple and Oatmeal Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and move a rack to the center of the oven. In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix milk, maple syrup, oil, egg. Mix into the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Fold in apples. Pour into greased or line muffin tins approximately ¾ of the way full. Bake for 16-22 minutes. Enjoy right out of the oven with just a hint of butter, because if you ask me, there isn’t much better than a baked good straight out of the oven with a very small tab of butter. Yum!

Looking for more baking recipes? Check out my baking page here!

Apple and Oatmeal Muffins

Light and full of good for you ingredients, these muffins will hit the spot and be on the table in 30 minutes.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 18

Servings muffins

Ingredients

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed If you don’t have this, you can leave it out, but I would replace with flour to keep the consistency right
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup milk
¾ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup olive oil
1 egg beaten
1 apple peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
½ cup chopped nuts optional-if you dig additional texture

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and move a rack to the center of the oven.
In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
In a separate bowl, mix milk, maple syrup, oil, egg.
Mix into the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Fold in apples and nuts.
Pour into greased or line muffin tins approximately ¾ of the way full. Bake for 16-22 minutes.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

April 25, 2020November 17, 2021

JessLeave a comment

Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

I have loved my sourdough starter from day one. I named it “Fred” (I mean, it rhymes with bread) and put a reminder in my phone to remember to feed it. Once I felt I had “mastered” (Do we ever really master anything?!) regular sourdough bread, I immediately got on Pinterest and started looking for other recipes to use my starter discard. Anything that I could bake with or without yeast, I wanted to use my sourdough starter. It was a challenge I made for myself and I loved bringing in new recipes for my colleagues at school to share and get input.

Like so many things, that wained over time. I still baked beyond bread, but generally not more than once a month. Then I decided to teach a few friends how to bake with sourdough and my passion was re-lite. (Thank you new sourdough friends! I appreciate you all so much!)

Enter this sourdough chocolate cake.

Before I share the recipe for sourdough chocolate cupcakes, I want to give just a little background. Working from home with my kids has brought some unexpected perks, one being a newfound kiddo interest in cooking and baking with me in the kitchen. My 10 year old has kicked butt and my 5 year old daughter is just itching to help. For Easter, she insisted she wanted to make cupcakes from scratch. “Great,” I say. “What kind?” “CHOCOLATE!” she says. I tried to convince her we should do a carrot cake but there was no talking her out of chocolate.

Then I saw my healthy, just doubled starter sitting on the table in all it’s glory. Inspiration station baby. I did a little research and I stumbled upon this recipe from King Arthur’s Flour. After some tweaking here and there and came up with my own version. I know I haven’t had a chocolate cake in quite some time, but I did declare one of the best I have had. They turned out marvelous, light and fluffy, sweet but not overly so. I hope the next time you either have excess starter or are just in the mood, you give these a try! –Jess

Your ingredients

1/2 cup sourdough starter discard, recently fed
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (regular milk would do just fine too!)
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (I used Nestle’s dark chocolate chips…a recent obsession at our house)

Your Steps for Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes

In a small bowl, combine starter, almond milk, and flour. Cover and set aside for 1/2 hour to an hour.

Meanwhile, mix cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Combine maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, and egg (beaten ahead of time) in a large bowl. Stir cocoa powder mixture and chopped dark chocolate into the liquid ingredient bowl. Add starter, milk, and flour mixture. Mix until well combined. It will seem as though it won’t combine. Be patient and take your time. I used a large fork to combine the sourdough starter and chocolate mixture, using a gentle lifting motion.

It may take a few minutes, but suddenly, it will look like a chocolate cake batter rather than a strange marble cake, I promise. Once fully mixed, place in a lined or greased muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 14-18 minutes. Mine were done in exactly 16 minutes, bouncing back when I touched them. Allow to cool, then, if you are feeling especially “from scratch,” check out the frosting below!

Note: You could totally double this recipe and have a whole 9 by 13 cake. I just know my family didn’t need that much hanging around our house (We still have slices of lemon pound cake in the fridge that my son put together!)

For the frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons almond milk

I am not calling myself a frosting expert by any means, but I will say that my husband ate ALL the leftovers with pretzels as soon as he got home from work, so it must have been pretty good?

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Sprinkle with a dash of salt. Add vanilla and almond milk. Mix an additional 30 seconds to a minute. Frost your sourdough chocolate cupcakes. Then try a favorite “delicacy” from my childhood: Frosting on saltine crackers! Might I recommend frosting the non-salted side so that the salt goes on your tongue when you eat it? Yum!

Looking for other sweet treat inspiration? Check out my baking page by clicking the link below:

Baking

Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes

Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting: Simple in flavor profile but oh so delicious and a great way to bake sourdough style!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Rest Time 45

Course Dessert

Cuisine Sourdough

Servings cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2 cup sourdough starter discard recently fed
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or regular milk
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg beaten
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate

Frosting

1/2 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons almond milk

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine starter, almond milk, and flour. Cover and set aside for 1/2 hour to an hour.
Meanwhile, mix cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Combine maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, and egg (beaten ahead of time) in a large bowl.
Stir cocoa powder mixture and chopped dark chocolate into the liquid ingredient bowl. Add starter, milk, and flour mixture. Mix until well combined. It will seem as though it won’t combine. Be patient and take your time.
Once fully mixed, place in a lined or greased muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 14-18 minutes, until they bounce back when touched.

Frosting

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy.
Gradually add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.
Sprinkle with a dash of salt. Add vanilla and almond milk.
Mix an additional 30 seconds to a minute. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Keyword chocolate, cupcakes, dessert, sourdough

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

April 13, 2020September 29, 2021

JessLeave a comment

Coconut Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

I have this awesome friend. We will call her Britt, which makes sense since that’s her name 🙂 She and I tend to bring out the best in each other and challenge one another at all the appropriate times, namely when it comes to taking chances and embracing the space outside our comfort zone. We also seek each other out when we need to hear, “It’s okay to rest…slow down and enjoy the ride.” If you don’t have a Britt in your life, I hope you find one soon. She’s a real keeper. And she’s the reason for these Coconut Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies.

How you ask?

Recently, Britt said, “I want you to develop a 4 ingredient baked good for me that’s good and I can make because I suck at baking.” Well, she’s generally healthy, avoiding extra sugar and wheat. Gluten free with less sugar? Challenge accepted. Well, sort of. I definitely missed the mark on 4 ingredients and I think this guy is still a work in progress, but aren’t we all?

And because I LOVE to embrace the work in progress life, I thought I would share this out to the world. Give me all the feedback. I am not gluten free, so there is a definite learning curve there. I wanted this to be a recipe you could make without purchasing a whole bunch of crazy ingredients, and I had all of these in my pantry. Give them a try. I personally think they go great with a late morning coffee, but that’s just me!

Your ingredients

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Your Steps to Coconut Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place oats in a food processor and blend them until an oat flour is formed. (I am obsessed with creating my own oat flour. It adds such awesome texture to baked goods. If you haven’t done it yet, you’re welcome 🙂 ). Add coconut flour, salt, and baking soda. pulse until well mixed. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, cream butter, coconut oil, and sugars until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Stir in flour mixture until just moistened. Then add coconut, pecans, and chocolate. Using a tablespoon, scoop cookie dough and roll into a ball. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with the palm of your hand. Bake for 7-8 minutes. They will not spread anymore than you flattened them. They should just become browned underneath. I think they are the best the next day, but any cookie right out of the oven is a good cookie, right?

NOTE: I toasted my coconut and pecans (and I just slightly salted the pecans). My favorite way to do this is by heating a small frying pan that is sprayed with some olive oil cooking spray. Add coconut (or pecans) and heat over medium heat for 4-7 minutes. You have to watch it carefully, but it is a snap to do. Make some extra. You’ll tastebuds will thank me later.

Butter and sugar make the world go ’round.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

A gluten free cookie full of flavor: pecans, chocolate chips, and coconut!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 8

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Servings dozen

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup butter softened
1/4 cup coconut oil melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place oats in a food processor and blend them until an oat flour is formed. Add coconut flour, salt, and baking soda. pulse until well mixed. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, cream butter, coconut oil, and sugars until well blended.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Stir in flour mixture until just moistened.
Add coconut, pecans, and chocolate.
Using a tablespoon, scoop cookie dough and roll into a ball.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with the palm of your hand. They will not spread anymore than you flattened them.
Bake for 7-8 minutes. They should just become browned underneath.

Notes

Keyword chocolate chip, chocolate chip cookies, coconut, Gluten Free, gluten free cookies, pecans

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

February 16, 2020March 6, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Energy Balls

Aren’t they pretty, all in a row? Albeit it crooked?

As an avid runner and overall fitness nut, I am always looking for healthy ways to fuel my body quickly and easily. I also enjoy snacking….a lot. My sister and I were just talking about how there has to be a snack break between breakfast and lunch. We can’t make it otherwise–and these are perfect for that!

When I am cooking and meal prepping, I can tell I have a winning clean eating recipe when my husband approves; With this recipe, he has been known to say, “You know what we are almost out of? Your yummy energy balls. You need to make more!” Guys, that’s a big deal. He is generally the biggest critic of my “overly-healthy” recipes so when he said that, you can bet I got into the kitchen and made another batch! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! (The original recipe came from Rachel from Clean Food Crush, but has been modified by me to meet our needs at home)

Here are your ingredients

2 cups ground old-fashioned oatmeal (see details in the recipe)
1/2 cup coconut flour ( It smells so delightful!)
1/2 cup real maple syrup (honey would work too!)
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 t kosher salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted (I accidentally forgot this once, and we didn’t even notice, so if you don’t have it, it won’t make or break the recipe)
1/3 semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon almond extract (I LOVE the flavor this brings in)

First, grind the oats to make a sort of oatmeal flour. To do this, place the old fashioned oats into a food processor and pulse them until you have a very coarse flour like texture. I like to be able to cook with what I have on hand so rather than buy oat flour, I did this and it worked great.

Then, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix them with a wooden spoon (or by hand!) until well mixed. Form them into 1-2 inch balls (whatever suits your family. We like 1 inch energy balls around here.). Place on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Place the cookie in the fridge for approximately an hour to harden. Remove from the pan, place in an airtight container, and store them back in the fridge. I have read that you can freeze these for up to 3 months as well so if you are a food prep kind of person, I would whip up a few batches and put them in the freezer for a grab and go snack that can thaw over a few hours. (I’m thinking they would be great packed in a lunch and used for that sweet treat at the end to finish up your meal. As for me, I like to pack a few for my morning and afternoon snacks at work (See, I love all the snacks. My husband calls me a squirrel because I always have some food on hand…). As for my kids, they eat them like an after dinner treat, so I think I am winning. I hope you enjoy! –Jess

February 4, 2020February 16, 2021

JessLeave a comment

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