When I was a kid, every once in a while my mom would buy those Entenmann%u2019s marbled loaf cakes, (she still might) and I loved them. Chocolate and vanilla swirled into every slice. Super moist and rich with the soft, fluffy top. I would cut a big slice, toast it, then smother it in peanut butter.
Now when I see these cakes, well honesty, I think they kind of look sad. A cake such as a marbled cake, should not be squashed into a box, stacked away on some display case. No cake should have to deal with that. Cakes should be made then oohed and awed at from the comforts of home, only boxed if 100% necessary like in the case of bringing to a friend or giving as a present. Basically, what I am saying is don%u2019t buy pre-made cakes friends, make the cake at home yourself. The cake will like you better for it.
Anyway, I just was thinking about those cakes and my childhood in general and it made me want to make a quick cake all marbled because of the nostalgia and also, I mean, marbled cakes are pretty pretty and why the heck not. And because it is pumpkin season I had to go with pumpkin and chocolate instead of vanilla and chocolate because we all know it was the right thing to do.
Pumpkin spices, rich chocolate. Two flavors in one bite. Who could complain? I don%u2019t think my 10 year old self would have. I think she would have eaten the whole damn loaf (toasted with peanut butter of course).
Nw to the chocolate and pumpkin loaf cake..
The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, oil, almond milk, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spices, coffee, and apple cider vinegar.
Quick and easy. Oil and sugars get a good mix in a big bowl then in goes the pumpkin puree. Mix that in with the milk and apple cider vinegar. Ina separate bowl, mix the flour baking soda and powder and salt. Mix the dry into the wet.
Split the mix in half (eye ball it) and add the spice mix to one bowl and the cocoa and coffee to the other. Mix them until the new ingredients are incorporated. You will then have a chocolate batter and pumpkin spice batter.
Grease a loaf pan then layer dollops of each of the batters into the pan until both batters are gone.
Before the oven and after of the oven.
Place cooked loaf on a wire rack to cool. Really. It needs it. Just wait a least 15 minutes, you can do it.
And then you cut into the load, marvel at the marble, and then eat it.
Two flavors, one mouth.
-C
makes 1 loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup neutral flavored oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup plant milk
2 tablespoon coffee (or water if you don%u2019t have coffee)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or 2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and clove
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, mix together the white and brown sugar with the oil until combined and there are no chunks of sugar. Add in the pumpkin puree and the milk and vinegar and mix until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet and gently mix until just combined. Scoop half of the batter (eye ball it) into other bowl. Add the pumpkin pie spices to one bowl and fold it into batter until incorporated. Add the cocoa and coffee to the other batter and fold it in until incorporated.
Interchange scooping the batters into greased loaf pan. One, then the other, to create the marbled effect, until both batters are gone. Place pan into oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Remove pan from oven and pop bread out and place on a wire rack to cool.
Cut a slices, eat, be happy.
Store bread in airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature or just slice it up and freeze pieces.
Corn is the name of the game, and this game I won!
The mr doesn%u2019t much like to eat corn. But I do. And this time of year I get like 10 ears of corn every week from farm share, which is a lot of corn for one person to have to eat every week and sometimes I just can%u2019t do it. So every now and then I make something that I think the mr will tolerate, if not like, to get him to help me eat the stash of a hundred ears or corn that I have going on in the fridge.
These fritters helped me with that and I think with all the future corn that I will get from the farm. They are soooo good! The mr liked them! As for me, I couldn’t stop eating them and almost didn’t want to share because they we just so dang good. Sweet fresh corn, nutty and slightly chewy oats. Scallions. And that%u2019s pretty much it. So fresh and clean and yummy tasting. A summertime fritter situation that takes corn to a place where even the corn hater likes it.
Although who the hell hates corn? I know one person. One. And I live with him. Weirdo.
Anyway, to the fritters!
The stuff. Fresh sweet corn, old fashion rolled oats, and a few scallion. Also some ground flax seed, water, baking powder, salt and pepper, and a little oil.
Start with oats. Add most of what we need to a blender and blend until it becomes oat flour.
Then the corn. Remove the kernels from the cobs. Best way is to hold corn in a large bowl and cut downward. Don%u2019t want corn flying all over the place!
Add most of the corn you just cut off the cob to the blender with the oat flour, along with with flax and water. Blend until smooth.
Chop the scallions into thin and tiny pieces.
Now dump the contents of the blender into a bowl, add in the scallions, the baking powder, and the extra oats and corn. Mix it all up and then let the batter rest for a few minutes (like 10) so the oats have a chance to really absorb all the liquid.
And then to cook them. Heat a lightly oiled skillet to medium high heat. Once skillet is hot, drop scoops of batter into it. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the bottom is a nice deep golden brown. Flip and cook the other side the same.
When fritters are done cooking, place them on a wire rack. So they don%u2019t get soggy.
And then serve them right away. I ate mine with fresh salsa. Definitely the way to go. So GOOD!
Now eat your corn.
-C
makes about 12 fritters
3 ears fresh corn ( about 1 1/2 cups of kernels)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 scallions
1 tablespoon flax meal
3 tablespoons water
salt and pepper
a little oil for skillet
Combine water and flax meal, mix and set aside.
Place 1 cup of oats into blender or food processor and blend for about a minutes or until the oats are a fine flour.
Grab corn and remove from cob. Best way to do this is to place corn vertically in a big bowl and cut downwards so the bowl catches all the kernels. Cut enough corn until you have about 1 1/2 cups of kernels. Also, garb scallions and chop into very small, thin pieces.
Add in a cup of the corn, the flax and water mixture, baking powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse or blend until completely combined and the mixture is mostly smooth.. Dump mixture into a bowl and add in the remaining corn, chopped scallions, and oats and mix together. The mixture should not be runny, but also should not be dry enough to pack together. If the mixture seems too dry and tight, add in a tablespoon or two more or water. To wet, add in a small handful of oats.
Once batter is mixed, set aside for about 10 minutes to rest.
Grab skillet and place on medium high heat. Add a touch of oil to pan and make sure it evenly coats the bottom. Once pan is preheated, add scoops batter into pan (about 2 tablespoons each). Cook first side for about 3-4 minutes or until dark golden brown, then flip and cook the other sides for another 2-3 minutes until a dark golden brown. Remove from pan and either place on a wire rack or a plate. ( I recommend a wire rack just to keep them from getting soggy.)
Serve right away. Fresh salsa goes amazingly with them!
Any left overs can be stored in fridge and reheated in the oven.
When your sister drops off 50 lbs of beets, on top of the 50 lbs that you have to harvest that are growing in your garden, what do you do?
Well chips of course.
Yeah, chips. That%u2019s right. When I got home from camping on Monday and there was a humongous pile of beets sitting next to my front door, I am not going to lie, I was a little shocked. I mean there wasn’t just a few little ones. These beets were freaking huge, like the size of my arm, and so many. But pretty much right after my initial shock I knew what needed to be done. First, eat a few roasted, second, roast extra to freeze for later, and lastly, make a few bunches of chips.
Have you ever had beet chip? They are amazing. Crispy, crunchy, tasty as all heck. If you like beets, even in the slightest, you will love these. If you hate beets, well maybe don%u2019t? Either way, beet chips are the best chip. Wha’t%u2019s not to love? Pink, and chippy. Sweet, and salty. And then you add the fact that making beets into chips is a good way to get your veggies in and that you can eat a whole bowl full and feel zero guilt because you are just eating beets. Plus making beets into chips is a good way to use up any extra beets you might have laying around or that have been dropped off at your front door.
These chips, once they are made, will not last long. So when you do make them, know you will probably be making them again soon there after. Me, I have still have to harvest all my garden beets so beet chips are happening again soon. Real soon (like this afternoon!)
To the beets!
The stuff. Beets (these are Formanova beets but any variety works) salt and pepper ,and oil.
Ok so you need to cut these bad boys reallllllly thin. Like 1/15th a inch. So, what I am saying is, use a mandolin. If you don%u2019t have one, a knife will do, but you are going to have a hard time getting them as thin as you need to and all of them consistent so baking is going to be a little more tricky so maybe you should just go borrow or invest in a mandolin.
Grab baking sheets, oil, and salt and pepper. You can either dump the oil directly onto the pile of sliced beets and really toss to make sure each one has been coasted or do what I did which was I drizzled oil into my hands and rubbed each sliced beet between my oiled hands before placing on the sheet.
After you get them on there, single layered with no overlapping, sprinkle tops with a pinch of salt and pepper.
On the way into the oven.
After the oven. Baked for about 18 minutes. You really have to watch after the first 13 or so minutes to make sure you catch them at the perfect time. Crispy, but not burnt.
A side by side shot. Crazy shrinking will happen!
Oh man, so delicious. And so pretty!.
Let the chips cool before eating, you know, so you don%u2019t burn your tongue. Plus they crisp up a wee bit more.
Once cooled, pile them into bowl, and then eat them. And eat them all. They are only beets after all. And you won%u2019t be able to stop yourself anyway. Ha
-C
Makes enough for an evening of chip eating for 1-2 people
2 Large beets (think softball sized)
a tablespoon or two of oil (I used grape seed but really any would work)
salt and pepper
Note. Making these without cutting with a mandolin will be a pain in the ass. It can be done, but if you have a mandolin, use it.
Preheat oven to 350
With a mandolin, slice the beets about 1/15 inch thick. (No need to peel the beets unless you want to.) Once beets are all sliced, either drizzle them all with a tablespoon or so of oil and toss until all are coated. OR what I did and found worked really well was drizzled oil into my hands and rubbed each beet between my oiled hands as I was placing them on the baking sheets. Either way.
Now place oiled beets, single layered, without overlapping, on baking sheets. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and place into oven. Bake for about 13 minutes without worrying then start to check every minute or so until the beets are a deep golden brown and crispy ,which will be between 15-20 minutes. Also, even though you cut them all the exact same thickness, some might crisp up faster so you should remove done chips as they happen. Once they are done, place on a rack to cool. And then do another batch. And not, they do crisp up a tiny bit more as they cool.
Once chips are cool and crisp, eat.
Store uneaten (how did you not eat them all?) chips in an air tight container. If you notice that they turned a bit chew, just place them back into oven while preheating oven to 300 then turn oven off and let sit in there for a few minutes.
We have officially kicked off our summer camping adventures. And with camping comes all the greatness of all the things, including camping food.
Recently a friend asked me what it is that we do for camp food. So I told her. Camp food is basically aways the same and consists of a big pot of spiced warm lentils or split peas (both cook really fast and have lots of protein), a shredded summer squash in the summer, or pumpkin in the colder months, maybe fresh tomatoes or a bunch of kale to chop and mix in, and a side of cut up carrots, cucumbers, green beens or whatever else I have.. Then I’ll bring a hunk of bread for the mr to eat and me, usually a small head of cabbage to squirt mustard on and crunch into. (Always have the mustard on hand.) And I bring apples to snack on too, but that usually it. (Sometime I%u2019ll back a desert for the mr. If I am feeling nice.)
She was a little taken aback. Said when she (and basically everyone in the world, which I disagreed with) goes camping it is bags of chips, cookies, meat, and everything and anything that she (they) wanted. Basically that camp food was junk food and that she though we were weirdos. But cool weirdos so you know.
So our camp food%u2026 not like many others. But honestly it is everything that I want to eat and I love it so whatever whatever. As for the mr, he is happy with the food and when he is not, he brings along something else, but that rarely happens because my lentils be so good. HA!
But she got me thinking that I should have a few more snack options beside cut up carrots and apples. So that is why I made crackers. These chickpea chili lime, freaking amazing crackers. Because crackers are a very appropriate snack food, and these crackers in particular are even greater because they are made with the goodness of chickpea flour which is packed full of protein and is well received after a day of hiking or other fun outdoor camping activities. And how can you go wrong with chili lime? Well i%u2019ll tell you, you really can%u2019t
So the plan was to make a batch, eat a few, save the rest for this camping weekend. But guess what? I have to make another batch. They didn%u2019t make it. We ate them all. (not sorry) At least I know we will be liking our new camping snack addition well and right.
So if you like crackers, camping or elsewhere, you should really gives these a go. They will not disappoint.
Now to the crackers!
The stuff. Chickpea flour, chili powder, a lime, a little baking powder, olive oil, salt and pepper, and water.
Combine the flour, zest of the lime, half the chili powder and half the salt, and the baking powder and some pepper in a bowl. Mix until completely combined then add in the oil, water and the juice of the lime.
Mix until dough forms. It might feel a little sticky, if that is the case, just mix other tablespoon of chickpea flour.
Knead dough on a well chickpea floured surface for a good minute until the dough is a even consistency then let it sit for a few minutes to rest. Once rested, cut dough into 2-3 pieces because working smaller is easier.
Roll out your first piece of dough about 1/8 inch thick. (Again, make sure to really flour your work surface and rolling pin.) Mix salt and chili powder together and sprinkle on top. Cut out your crackers (squares are nice but triangles would be nice too) then poke each cracker with a fork.
Crackers on a baking sheet before baking and after baking looking all crackery and delicious. And yeah, they shrink a bit.
And lastly, cool the crackers on a cooling rack. They will crisp up a even more. Then it%u2019s all you.
Ready to eat whenever you make the move. You can pack them away for later or place these delicious crackers in a very pretty bowl and eat them away. Or both.
A cracker win!
-C
make 75 crackers
1 1/2 cups chick pea flour plus about 1/3 more for dusting and rolling
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup room temp water
1 teaspoon chili powder split in half
1 lime
1 teaspoon salt split in half
1/2 teaspoon fresh crackers pepper
Preheat oven to 350.
In a bowl combine the chick pea flour, baking soda, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, and half a 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix until evenly incorporated. Add in oil, the juice of the lime, and and water and mix until a dough forms. Dump dough onto counter and knead until completely uniform in texture. Add more flour if the dough is really sticky. Set dough aside for a few minutes to rest.
To make the crackers, really dust the counter with chickpea flour. Cut the dough into 2-3 pieces and roll1 piece out at a time to about an1/8 inch thin. Again, really flour the surface and rolling pin or else the dough will stick Once rolled, combine the remaining chili powder and salt and sprinkle the top with it. And then cut the crackers. Take a knife of bench scrapper or pizza cattier and cut the dough into inch long strips vertically, then diagonally. Poke each cracker with a fork then gently place them onto a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bake crackers for 15-20 minutes or until a nice deep golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
And then eat.
Store uneaten crackers in an airtight container for about a week.
I recently found my old cast iron muffin pan hiding in the basement over at the loft. I totally forgot I had it and was very much happy to find it not covered in rust and still looking all nice and basically ready for use. Not even the seasoning and non stickness that I worked hard to produce on it was messed up, which is amazing because I also found another cast iron pan that I left down there and it did not fair as well. It had a little rust and was grimy. Fine by me, I didn%u2019t even want that pan anyway.
And that is basically why I made muffins. Because I wanted to use my muffin pan again.
These muffins. First off, muffins are muffins and are not meant to be a pain in the ass to make. This muffins are not, unless you think pitting cherries is a pain. For that I am sorry, but that is a small price to pay for a tasty ass muffin situation. Secondly, these muffins are well worth the tiny effort it takes to pit cherries because you end up with cherry muffins, and that alone should be enough of a reason. And the fact that they are damn tasty. The mr, who eats everything but never says too much about whatever is going into his mouth, texted me at 630 in the morning while I was at the gym just to tell me how amazing he thought they were%u2026.
Amazing at 630 am. That%u2019a validation.
Now go get yourself some cherries and make some muffins. And it is ok if you don%u2019t have a super sweet cast iron muffin pan. Most don%u2019t. But you are still cool, don%u2019t worry.
To the muffins!
The stuff. In the bowl is flour, rolled oats, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon. Also have cherries, brown sugar, almond milk, canola oil, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and a lemon.
Hardest part of the whole shebang%u2026 pitting the cherries. Not my favorite thing to do, but definitely not the worst.
Do it any way you see fit, but I just cut them in half and kind of wedge the pit out with my thumb.
Once all the pits are removed, chop those sherries up into small pieces.
Then make the batter. Mix the dry together with the sugar and the zest of the lemon. Just make sure there are not huge clumps of the sugar in the mixture. Then add in all the wet and gently mix until combined. And then fold in the cherries.
Fill up well grease muffin pans with the batter then sprinkle a little brown sugar and a few oats on top.
Pop those soon to be muffins into a hot oven.
Remove the muffins from pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Cherry oat muffins. You are good.
-C
makes 11-12 muffins
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup of old fashion rolled oats (plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle tops with)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle tops with)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
A lemon (juice and zest)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup plant based milk
1/3 cup canola oil
Preheat oven to 350
First thing first, remove steams and pits from cherries. Do it any way that you want, but I find just cutting them in half and kind of popping the pit out with my thumb works best for me. Anyway, once the pits are remove, chop cherries up into small pieces.
Place flour, oats, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, and zest of lemon into a big bowl. Mix together until completely incorporated. Make sure there are not huge clumps of brown sugar, if there are, break them up with your fingers. Add in the milk, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and juice of half a lemon. Gently mix until just incorporated. Now fold in chopped cherries.
Evenly scoop the batter into a well greased muffin tin. (There is enough batter for12 normal sized muffins.) Sprinkle the tops with the extra brown sugar and oats then pop the pan Ito the oven. Bake for 28-32 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are a nice golden brown and a taster poked into one of the muffins comes out clean.
When fully baked, remove muffins from oven and pop them out of the pan. Let cool on a wire rack but feel free to eat one or two warm.
Store any extra in an airtight container on counter for a day or two but in the fridge for about a week. Individual muffins can be wrapped and frozen for a good long will too.
It%u2019s a smoothie. And no, we have never really been smoothie people in this house, but what can I say, sometimes smoothies happen, especially when you have about 20 ripe bananas in the fruit bowl with no room in the freezer and no need for 7 loafs of banana bread.
So I smoothied. And I like it (a lot).
This is a smoothie of simplicity. Nothing fancy. Simplest of simple. Straight to the point. And all sorts of good.
You might think, does this simple smoothie you speak of taste very good? Yes, yes indeed it does. It is all sorts of fantastic. Basically if you like creamy, nutty, oaty, bananery things, you will like this. And it%u2019s a perfect breakfast, snack, dessert, or just wanting a little treat like thing that is not garbage food. A smoothie of all smoothies with the most basic ingredients. And takes about 15 seconds to whip up. Can%u2019t complain about that.
To the smoothie goodness!
The stuff. A ripe banana, some old fashion rolled oats, a pinch of salt, water, and a smidge of maple syrup if you want it.
Everything goes into blender.
And blended until smooth. Hence the word smoothie.
Pour it into a cup (or if you are feeling primal, drink it straight from the blender%u2026 it%u2019s totally cool)
And done.
A banana oat smoothie.
Let the good time roll!
-C
makes 1 smoothie
1 very ripe banana
1/3 cup raw old fashion oats
1 1/2 cups water
pinch of salt
a tablespoon or two of any sweetener you like (optional)
a pinch of cinnamon (optional)
Place everything into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a cup, sprinkle with cinnamon if you wish, and drink right away.
I have a bag of coconut flour that I need to use up so I have made coconut snack cake a few times the past couple weeks. Once with orange instead of lime. Once I added chocolate chips. This time I stepped it up made a little glaze action, toasted a little coconut for some extra coconutiness and took these here pictures and wrote down the recipe. Just. For. You.
Not that I don%u2019t know already that my snack cake creation is good, but I guess it was just super A+++. I threw this one together right before the mr and I headed down to PA to hang with my dad. As soon as he (and sister and nephews) started in on it, well the responses were more then average. My dad even snuck a piece off and hid it for later. They really, really, really were into it. Wanted me to make another right then and there. Normally I would but my dad doesn%u2019t keep coconut flour on hand and I don%u2019t make it a habit to travel with any myself. (I might have to change that.) Next time he will know to stock the coconut flour.
I didn%u2019t realize my people were such coconut people. Good thing for them that I like coconut people. As a matter of fact, I consider myself a coconut person. And coconut is not code for awesome, but I am that too. HA
Anyway enough about me. Coconut snack cake is what you want to know about. It is soft and dense. Moist, not overly sweet. Lots of lime and coconut flavor and is just perfect for snack time. Eat it with a fork on a plate with coffee or tea or grab an piece and eat it walking down the street while thinking about green leaves and warmer weather. Or wherever and whenever. If you make it then it%u2019s up to you when and where you eat it. That only seems fair.
Now to the snack cake of your coconut lime dreams.
The stuff. Gonna need all purpose flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, a couple flax eggs, some warmed coconut oil, plant milk, brown sugar, vanilla extra, apple sider vinegar, a couple lime, some powdered sugar, and some lightly toasted shredded coconut.
Grab a big bowl. Add in the brown sugar, flax eggs, warmed coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Mix it all up until evenly incorporated.
Dump in the flours, baking soda and powder, and salt. Zest in lime, squeeze in lime juice and start to mix. Add in the milk as you are mixing.
Cake batter mixed and done. Now to bake it.
Dump the cake batter into a well greased baking pan and level it off with a spoon or spatula.
Now it%u2019s oven time to bake into a great and well cake.
A cake out of the oven, great and well. Golden brown and smells of all the goodness that a coconut cake could possible smell.
While cake is cooling, which it should be now, make the glaze. Powdered sugar, lime zest, and lime juice. Mix until it%u2019s glazy.
Pour the glaze all over cooled cake.
Don%u2019t forget the shredded coconut. Get it on before the glaze starts to set.
And then it%u2019s just the matter of cutting cake%u2026%u2026.
You know once you cut it, that means snack time right? Coconut lime snack cake for all of your coconut time, lime time, hungry snack time needs.
Keep it good.
-C
Makes a 9×9 cake
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
3/4 packed cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup coconut oil (warmed to liquid)
1 1/4 cup plant milk (I used almond)
2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax seeds with 1/2 cup warm water)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
A lime
For the glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
a lime
1/4 cup or so toasted shredded coconut to sprinkle on top (optional)
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, mix together the bbrown sugar, flax eggs, warmed coconut oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar until completely incorporated. Next dump in the flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Zest the lime into bowl. Start mixing, adding in the juice of the lime and the plant milk. Mix it all together until completely incorporated.
Dump mixture into a well greases 9×9 baking pan and level off with a spoon or spatula. Place into oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and a tester stuck into the middle of cake comes out clean.
Once baked, remove from oven, let cool in pan for a few minutes then carefully remove cake from pan and let cool on a wire rack.
While cake is cooling, make the glaze. Just zest other lime into powered sugar then add the juice (or as much juice as you needed) of the lime until a pourable glaze forms. If your lime is not particularly juicy enough and the glaze is still really thin, just add a splash of water to thin out as needed.
And when cake is completely cooled, pour glaze all over cake and cover with toasted coconut flakes.
Now cut. And eat.
Store left over cake in a air tight container for 3-4 days. Individual pieces freeze well for all your future snacking needs.
What with all the holiday and family get togethers we have had over here at my house the past few week, we have had quite a few bags of chips and pretzels left over. Always almost empty%u2026 Always dumped into the compost because I mean, I am not so keen on seeing bags of little bits of chips and pretzels in the pantry that I know will never get eaten. Plus it is not like I am saving carrots or grapes or anything I would eat, it%u2019s junk food. But still. I hate the food waste. That is why I made these cookies. To not waste food. And because we had people coming over to the house for dinner and I cannot not have something for dessert. That would be just wrong. And lastly because I am pretty sure that chips and pretzel pieces only make a plain chocolate chunk cookie into an amazing sweet and salty cookie that will just blow your mind.
And I was right. I made the cookies, I feed them to the mr, the sister, friends and all the littles and they just couldn%u2019t get enough.
Current thought. I am sitting here typing and have come to the conclusion that I should start a bakery that makes cookies out of people almost empty bags of chips, like a Cheeto dust cookie, or a peanut butter Funyun cookie or chocolate chocolate chip Dorito cookie.
Yes. this is a good idea. Oh man, I am a genius.
But back to theeese cookies. Start with these. I%u2019ll let you know when I open the storefront to Garbage Cookies (that is what I’ll call the place) You can stand in line for the peanut butter Funyun cookies. I have a feeling about that flavor. Until then%u2026
To the cookies!
The stuff. The small bowl has flour, baking powder and baking soda. The big bowl has brown and white sugar. Then you need oil, almond milk, vanilla, chocolate chunks, some pretzels and some plain salted potatoes chips.
Start with the wet. Mix the oil, the milk, and the vanilla into the sugars until completely smooth
Whisk together the dry stuff.
And mix until its a cookie dough. Now here is the thing, you need to stick the dough in the fridge for a couple hours and if you mix in the chips and pretzels now, well I think that might make them extrealemy soggy, so hold off. For now, cover dough and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
When the time comes for baking, grab the mix ins and with whatever method you chose, crush the chips and pretzels into small bits. (avoid turning into a dust, you want bits)
All salty and crumbly and ready to go
Grab the dough from fridge and dump in the stuff that needs to go in (crushed chips and pretzels and chocolate chunks).
Scoop dough into balls and place on a baking sheet.
Into the oven and out they come all golden brown and smelling like yes and mmmmmm.
Get those cookies on a wire rack to cool and to free up the baking sheet to keep baking.
Look at this proud cookie. Chips, pretzels, and chocolate chunks all on display.
Now is when you get yourself a plate, pile it up high, and eat.
Remember, sharing is caring so maybe share a cookie or two. (but like you don%u2019t HAVE to)
Stay happy this weekend.
-C
makes about 2 dozen cookies
2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons plant milk
1/2 cup crushed potato chip
1/2 cup crushed pretzels pieces
3/4 cup chocolate chunks or chips
In a large bowl, mix together the sugars, oil, milk, and vanilla until completely combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda. Dump the dry into the wet and mix until the dough comes together. Gather the dough together in the bowl and cover with plastic and stick in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hour and up to a day.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350
Right before you take the dough from fridge, get your chocolate chunks, pretzels, and chips out. If the chips and pretzels are not already in little bits, place them in a bag (just use the chip bag if you have it) and smash with a heavy object until you turn the chips and pretzels into bits. Be carful that you don%u2019t turn it all into a dust, look for small bits. Pull dough from fridge and mix the stuff in. Scoop out balls of dough and place on baking sheets. Bake cookies in oven for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browed. Remove from oven and immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
And now you eat.
Store uneaten cookie in a airtight container for up to a week or freeze them but I doubt you will have too. The cookies went fast.
THE LOVELY CRAZY
December 30, 2019 by maximios • Blog
When I was a kid, every once in a while my mom would buy those Entenmann%u2019s marbled loaf cakes, (she still might) and I loved them. Chocolate and vanilla swirled into every slice. Super moist and rich with the soft, fluffy top. I would cut a big slice, toast it, then smother it in peanut butter.
Now when I see these cakes, well honesty, I think they kind of look sad. A cake such as a marbled cake, should not be squashed into a box, stacked away on some display case. No cake should have to deal with that. Cakes should be made then oohed and awed at from the comforts of home, only boxed if 100% necessary like in the case of bringing to a friend or giving as a present. Basically, what I am saying is don%u2019t buy pre-made cakes friends, make the cake at home yourself. The cake will like you better for it.
Anyway, I just was thinking about those cakes and my childhood in general and it made me want to make a quick cake all marbled because of the nostalgia and also, I mean, marbled cakes are pretty pretty and why the heck not. And because it is pumpkin season I had to go with pumpkin and chocolate instead of vanilla and chocolate because we all know it was the right thing to do.
Pumpkin spices, rich chocolate. Two flavors in one bite. Who could complain? I don%u2019t think my 10 year old self would have. I think she would have eaten the whole damn loaf (toasted with peanut butter of course).
Nw to the chocolate and pumpkin loaf cake..
The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, oil, almond milk, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spices, coffee, and apple cider vinegar.
Quick and easy. Oil and sugars get a good mix in a big bowl then in goes the pumpkin puree. Mix that in with the milk and apple cider vinegar. Ina separate bowl, mix the flour baking soda and powder and salt. Mix the dry into the wet.
Split the mix in half (eye ball it) and add the spice mix to one bowl and the cocoa and coffee to the other. Mix them until the new ingredients are incorporated. You will then have a chocolate batter and pumpkin spice batter.
Grease a loaf pan then layer dollops of each of the batters into the pan until both batters are gone.
Before the oven and after of the oven.
Place cooked loaf on a wire rack to cool. Really. It needs it. Just wait a least 15 minutes, you can do it.
And then you cut into the load, marvel at the marble, and then eat it.
Two flavors, one mouth.
-C
makes 1 loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup neutral flavored oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup plant milk
2 tablespoon coffee (or water if you don%u2019t have coffee)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or 2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and clove
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, mix together the white and brown sugar with the oil until combined and there are no chunks of sugar. Add in the pumpkin puree and the milk and vinegar and mix until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet and gently mix until just combined. Scoop half of the batter (eye ball it) into other bowl. Add the pumpkin pie spices to one bowl and fold it into batter until incorporated. Add the cocoa and coffee to the other batter and fold it in until incorporated.
Interchange scooping the batters into greased loaf pan. One, then the other, to create the marbled effect, until both batters are gone. Place pan into oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Remove pan from oven and pop bread out and place on a wire rack to cool.
Cut a slices, eat, be happy.
Store bread in airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature or just slice it up and freeze pieces.
Corn is the name of the game, and this game I won!
The mr doesn%u2019t much like to eat corn. But I do. And this time of year I get like 10 ears of corn every week from farm share, which is a lot of corn for one person to have to eat every week and sometimes I just can%u2019t do it. So every now and then I make something that I think the mr will tolerate, if not like, to get him to help me eat the stash of a hundred ears or corn that I have going on in the fridge.
These fritters helped me with that and I think with all the future corn that I will get from the farm. They are soooo good! The mr liked them! As for me, I couldn’t stop eating them and almost didn’t want to share because they we just so dang good. Sweet fresh corn, nutty and slightly chewy oats. Scallions. And that%u2019s pretty much it. So fresh and clean and yummy tasting. A summertime fritter situation that takes corn to a place where even the corn hater likes it.
Although who the hell hates corn? I know one person. One. And I live with him. Weirdo.
Anyway, to the fritters!
The stuff. Fresh sweet corn, old fashion rolled oats, and a few scallion. Also some ground flax seed, water, baking powder, salt and pepper, and a little oil.
Start with oats. Add most of what we need to a blender and blend until it becomes oat flour.
Then the corn. Remove the kernels from the cobs. Best way is to hold corn in a large bowl and cut downward. Don%u2019t want corn flying all over the place!
Add most of the corn you just cut off the cob to the blender with the oat flour, along with with flax and water. Blend until smooth.
Chop the scallions into thin and tiny pieces.
Now dump the contents of the blender into a bowl, add in the scallions, the baking powder, and the extra oats and corn. Mix it all up and then let the batter rest for a few minutes (like 10) so the oats have a chance to really absorb all the liquid.
And then to cook them. Heat a lightly oiled skillet to medium high heat. Once skillet is hot, drop scoops of batter into it. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the bottom is a nice deep golden brown. Flip and cook the other side the same.
When fritters are done cooking, place them on a wire rack. So they don%u2019t get soggy.
And then serve them right away. I ate mine with fresh salsa. Definitely the way to go. So GOOD!
Now eat your corn.
-C
makes about 12 fritters
3 ears fresh corn ( about 1 1/2 cups of kernels)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 scallions
1 tablespoon flax meal
3 tablespoons water
salt and pepper
a little oil for skillet
Combine water and flax meal, mix and set aside.
Place 1 cup of oats into blender or food processor and blend for about a minutes or until the oats are a fine flour.
Grab corn and remove from cob. Best way to do this is to place corn vertically in a big bowl and cut downwards so the bowl catches all the kernels. Cut enough corn until you have about 1 1/2 cups of kernels. Also, garb scallions and chop into very small, thin pieces.
Add in a cup of the corn, the flax and water mixture, baking powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse or blend until completely combined and the mixture is mostly smooth.. Dump mixture into a bowl and add in the remaining corn, chopped scallions, and oats and mix together. The mixture should not be runny, but also should not be dry enough to pack together. If the mixture seems too dry and tight, add in a tablespoon or two more or water. To wet, add in a small handful of oats.
Once batter is mixed, set aside for about 10 minutes to rest.
Grab skillet and place on medium high heat. Add a touch of oil to pan and make sure it evenly coats the bottom. Once pan is preheated, add scoops batter into pan (about 2 tablespoons each). Cook first side for about 3-4 minutes or until dark golden brown, then flip and cook the other sides for another 2-3 minutes until a dark golden brown. Remove from pan and either place on a wire rack or a plate. ( I recommend a wire rack just to keep them from getting soggy.)
Serve right away. Fresh salsa goes amazingly with them!
Any left overs can be stored in fridge and reheated in the oven.
When your sister drops off 50 lbs of beets, on top of the 50 lbs that you have to harvest that are growing in your garden, what do you do?
Well chips of course.
Yeah, chips. That%u2019s right. When I got home from camping on Monday and there was a humongous pile of beets sitting next to my front door, I am not going to lie, I was a little shocked. I mean there wasn’t just a few little ones. These beets were freaking huge, like the size of my arm, and so many. But pretty much right after my initial shock I knew what needed to be done. First, eat a few roasted, second, roast extra to freeze for later, and lastly, make a few bunches of chips.
Have you ever had beet chip? They are amazing. Crispy, crunchy, tasty as all heck. If you like beets, even in the slightest, you will love these. If you hate beets, well maybe don%u2019t? Either way, beet chips are the best chip. Wha’t%u2019s not to love? Pink, and chippy. Sweet, and salty. And then you add the fact that making beets into chips is a good way to get your veggies in and that you can eat a whole bowl full and feel zero guilt because you are just eating beets. Plus making beets into chips is a good way to use up any extra beets you might have laying around or that have been dropped off at your front door.
These chips, once they are made, will not last long. So when you do make them, know you will probably be making them again soon there after. Me, I have still have to harvest all my garden beets so beet chips are happening again soon. Real soon (like this afternoon!)
To the beets!
The stuff. Beets (these are Formanova beets but any variety works) salt and pepper ,and oil.
Grab baking sheets, oil, and salt and pepper. You can either dump the oil directly onto the pile of sliced beets and really toss to make sure each one has been coasted or do what I did which was I drizzled oil into my hands and rubbed each sliced beet between my oiled hands before placing on the sheet.
After you get them on there, single layered with no overlapping, sprinkle tops with a pinch of salt and pepper.
On the way into the oven.
After the oven. Baked for about 18 minutes. You really have to watch after the first 13 or so minutes to make sure you catch them at the perfect time. Crispy, but not burnt.
A side by side shot. Crazy shrinking will happen!
Oh man, so delicious. And so pretty!.
Let the chips cool before eating, you know, so you don%u2019t burn your tongue. Plus they crisp up a wee bit more.
Once cooled, pile them into bowl, and then eat them. And eat them all. They are only beets after all. And you won%u2019t be able to stop yourself anyway. Ha
-C
Makes enough for an evening of chip eating for 1-2 people
2 Large beets (think softball sized)
a tablespoon or two of oil (I used grape seed but really any would work)
salt and pepper
Note. Making these without cutting with a mandolin will be a pain in the ass. It can be done, but if you have a mandolin, use it.
Preheat oven to 350
With a mandolin, slice the beets about 1/15 inch thick. (No need to peel the beets unless you want to.) Once beets are all sliced, either drizzle them all with a tablespoon or so of oil and toss until all are coated. OR what I did and found worked really well was drizzled oil into my hands and rubbed each beet between my oiled hands as I was placing them on the baking sheets. Either way.
Now place oiled beets, single layered, without overlapping, on baking sheets. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and place into oven. Bake for about 13 minutes without worrying then start to check every minute or so until the beets are a deep golden brown and crispy ,which will be between 15-20 minutes. Also, even though you cut them all the exact same thickness, some might crisp up faster so you should remove done chips as they happen. Once they are done, place on a rack to cool. And then do another batch. And not, they do crisp up a tiny bit more as they cool.
Once chips are cool and crisp, eat.
Store uneaten (how did you not eat them all?) chips in an air tight container. If you notice that they turned a bit chew, just place them back into oven while preheating oven to 300 then turn oven off and let sit in there for a few minutes.
We have officially kicked off our summer camping adventures. And with camping comes all the greatness of all the things, including camping food.
Recently a friend asked me what it is that we do for camp food. So I told her. Camp food is basically aways the same and consists of a big pot of spiced warm lentils or split peas (both cook really fast and have lots of protein), a shredded summer squash in the summer, or pumpkin in the colder months, maybe fresh tomatoes or a bunch of kale to chop and mix in, and a side of cut up carrots, cucumbers, green beens or whatever else I have.. Then I’ll bring a hunk of bread for the mr to eat and me, usually a small head of cabbage to squirt mustard on and crunch into. (Always have the mustard on hand.) And I bring apples to snack on too, but that usually it. (Sometime I%u2019ll back a desert for the mr. If I am feeling nice.)
She was a little taken aback. Said when she (and basically everyone in the world, which I disagreed with) goes camping it is bags of chips, cookies, meat, and everything and anything that she (they) wanted. Basically that camp food was junk food and that she though we were weirdos. But cool weirdos so you know.
So our camp food%u2026 not like many others. But honestly it is everything that I want to eat and I love it so whatever whatever. As for the mr, he is happy with the food and when he is not, he brings along something else, but that rarely happens because my lentils be so good. HA!
But she got me thinking that I should have a few more snack options beside cut up carrots and apples. So that is why I made crackers. These chickpea chili lime, freaking amazing crackers. Because crackers are a very appropriate snack food, and these crackers in particular are even greater because they are made with the goodness of chickpea flour which is packed full of protein and is well received after a day of hiking or other fun outdoor camping activities. And how can you go wrong with chili lime? Well i%u2019ll tell you, you really can%u2019t
So the plan was to make a batch, eat a few, save the rest for this camping weekend. But guess what? I have to make another batch. They didn%u2019t make it. We ate them all. (not sorry) At least I know we will be liking our new camping snack addition well and right.
So if you like crackers, camping or elsewhere, you should really gives these a go. They will not disappoint.
Now to the crackers!
The stuff. Chickpea flour, chili powder, a lime, a little baking powder, olive oil, salt and pepper, and water.
Combine the flour, zest of the lime, half the chili powder and half the salt, and the baking powder and some pepper in a bowl. Mix until completely combined then add in the oil, water and the juice of the lime.
Mix until dough forms. It might feel a little sticky, if that is the case, just mix other tablespoon of chickpea flour.
Knead dough on a well chickpea floured surface for a good minute until the dough is a even consistency then let it sit for a few minutes to rest. Once rested, cut dough into 2-3 pieces because working smaller is easier.
Roll out your first piece of dough about 1/8 inch thick. (Again, make sure to really flour your work surface and rolling pin.) Mix salt and chili powder together and sprinkle on top. Cut out your crackers (squares are nice but triangles would be nice too) then poke each cracker with a fork.
Crackers on a baking sheet before baking and after baking looking all crackery and delicious. And yeah, they shrink a bit.
And lastly, cool the crackers on a cooling rack. They will crisp up a even more. Then it%u2019s all you.
Ready to eat whenever you make the move. You can pack them away for later or place these delicious crackers in a very pretty bowl and eat them away. Or both.
A cracker win!
-C
make 75 crackers
1 1/2 cups chick pea flour plus about 1/3 more for dusting and rolling
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup room temp water
1 teaspoon chili powder split in half
1 lime
1 teaspoon salt split in half
1/2 teaspoon fresh crackers pepper
Preheat oven to 350.
In a bowl combine the chick pea flour, baking soda, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, and half a 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix until evenly incorporated. Add in oil, the juice of the lime, and and water and mix until a dough forms. Dump dough onto counter and knead until completely uniform in texture. Add more flour if the dough is really sticky. Set dough aside for a few minutes to rest.
To make the crackers, really dust the counter with chickpea flour. Cut the dough into 2-3 pieces and roll1 piece out at a time to about an1/8 inch thin. Again, really flour the surface and rolling pin or else the dough will stick Once rolled, combine the remaining chili powder and salt and sprinkle the top with it. And then cut the crackers. Take a knife of bench scrapper or pizza cattier and cut the dough into inch long strips vertically, then diagonally. Poke each cracker with a fork then gently place them onto a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bake crackers for 15-20 minutes or until a nice deep golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
And then eat.
Store uneaten crackers in an airtight container for about a week.
I recently found my old cast iron muffin pan hiding in the basement over at the loft. I totally forgot I had it and was very much happy to find it not covered in rust and still looking all nice and basically ready for use. Not even the seasoning and non stickness that I worked hard to produce on it was messed up, which is amazing because I also found another cast iron pan that I left down there and it did not fair as well. It had a little rust and was grimy. Fine by me, I didn%u2019t even want that pan anyway.
And that is basically why I made muffins. Because I wanted to use my muffin pan again.
These muffins. First off, muffins are muffins and are not meant to be a pain in the ass to make. This muffins are not, unless you think pitting cherries is a pain. For that I am sorry, but that is a small price to pay for a tasty ass muffin situation. Secondly, these muffins are well worth the tiny effort it takes to pit cherries because you end up with cherry muffins, and that alone should be enough of a reason. And the fact that they are damn tasty. The mr, who eats everything but never says too much about whatever is going into his mouth, texted me at 630 in the morning while I was at the gym just to tell me how amazing he thought they were%u2026.
Amazing at 630 am. That%u2019a validation.
Now go get yourself some cherries and make some muffins. And it is ok if you don%u2019t have a super sweet cast iron muffin pan. Most don%u2019t. But you are still cool, don%u2019t worry.
To the muffins!
The stuff. In the bowl is flour, rolled oats, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon. Also have cherries, brown sugar, almond milk, canola oil, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and a lemon.
Hardest part of the whole shebang%u2026 pitting the cherries. Not my favorite thing to do, but definitely not the worst.
Do it any way you see fit, but I just cut them in half and kind of wedge the pit out with my thumb.
Once all the pits are removed, chop those sherries up into small pieces.
Then make the batter. Mix the dry together with the sugar and the zest of the lemon. Just make sure there are not huge clumps of the sugar in the mixture. Then add in all the wet and gently mix until combined. And then fold in the cherries.
Fill up well grease muffin pans with the batter then sprinkle a little brown sugar and a few oats on top.
Pop those soon to be muffins into a hot oven.
Remove the muffins from pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Cherry oat muffins. You are good.
-C
makes 11-12 muffins
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup of old fashion rolled oats (plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle tops with)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle tops with)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
A lemon (juice and zest)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup plant based milk
1/3 cup canola oil
Preheat oven to 350
First thing first, remove steams and pits from cherries. Do it any way that you want, but I find just cutting them in half and kind of popping the pit out with my thumb works best for me. Anyway, once the pits are remove, chop cherries up into small pieces.
Place flour, oats, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, and zest of lemon into a big bowl. Mix together until completely incorporated. Make sure there are not huge clumps of brown sugar, if there are, break them up with your fingers. Add in the milk, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and juice of half a lemon. Gently mix until just incorporated. Now fold in chopped cherries.
Evenly scoop the batter into a well greased muffin tin. (There is enough batter for12 normal sized muffins.) Sprinkle the tops with the extra brown sugar and oats then pop the pan Ito the oven. Bake for 28-32 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are a nice golden brown and a taster poked into one of the muffins comes out clean.
When fully baked, remove muffins from oven and pop them out of the pan. Let cool on a wire rack but feel free to eat one or two warm.
Store any extra in an airtight container on counter for a day or two but in the fridge for about a week. Individual muffins can be wrapped and frozen for a good long will too.
It%u2019s a smoothie. And no, we have never really been smoothie people in this house, but what can I say, sometimes smoothies happen, especially when you have about 20 ripe bananas in the fruit bowl with no room in the freezer and no need for 7 loafs of banana bread.
So I smoothied. And I like it (a lot).
This is a smoothie of simplicity. Nothing fancy. Simplest of simple. Straight to the point. And all sorts of good.
You might think, does this simple smoothie you speak of taste very good? Yes, yes indeed it does. It is all sorts of fantastic. Basically if you like creamy, nutty, oaty, bananery things, you will like this. And it%u2019s a perfect breakfast, snack, dessert, or just wanting a little treat like thing that is not garbage food. A smoothie of all smoothies with the most basic ingredients. And takes about 15 seconds to whip up. Can%u2019t complain about that.
To the smoothie goodness!
The stuff. A ripe banana, some old fashion rolled oats, a pinch of salt, water, and a smidge of maple syrup if you want it.
Everything goes into blender.
And blended until smooth. Hence the word smoothie.
Pour it into a cup (or if you are feeling primal, drink it straight from the blender%u2026 it%u2019s totally cool)
And done.
A banana oat smoothie.
Let the good time roll!
-C
makes 1 smoothie
1 very ripe banana
1/3 cup raw old fashion oats
1 1/2 cups water
pinch of salt
a tablespoon or two of any sweetener you like (optional)
a pinch of cinnamon (optional)
Place everything into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a cup, sprinkle with cinnamon if you wish, and drink right away.
I have a bag of coconut flour that I need to use up so I have made coconut snack cake a few times the past couple weeks. Once with orange instead of lime. Once I added chocolate chips. This time I stepped it up made a little glaze action, toasted a little coconut for some extra coconutiness and took these here pictures and wrote down the recipe. Just. For. You.
Not that I don%u2019t know already that my snack cake creation is good, but I guess it was just super A+++. I threw this one together right before the mr and I headed down to PA to hang with my dad. As soon as he (and sister and nephews) started in on it, well the responses were more then average. My dad even snuck a piece off and hid it for later. They really, really, really were into it. Wanted me to make another right then and there. Normally I would but my dad doesn%u2019t keep coconut flour on hand and I don%u2019t make it a habit to travel with any myself. (I might have to change that.) Next time he will know to stock the coconut flour.
I didn%u2019t realize my people were such coconut people. Good thing for them that I like coconut people. As a matter of fact, I consider myself a coconut person. And coconut is not code for awesome, but I am that too. HA
Anyway enough about me. Coconut snack cake is what you want to know about. It is soft and dense. Moist, not overly sweet. Lots of lime and coconut flavor and is just perfect for snack time. Eat it with a fork on a plate with coffee or tea or grab an piece and eat it walking down the street while thinking about green leaves and warmer weather. Or wherever and whenever. If you make it then it%u2019s up to you when and where you eat it. That only seems fair.
Now to the snack cake of your coconut lime dreams.
The stuff. Gonna need all purpose flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, a couple flax eggs, some warmed coconut oil, plant milk, brown sugar, vanilla extra, apple sider vinegar, a couple lime, some powdered sugar, and some lightly toasted shredded coconut.
Grab a big bowl. Add in the brown sugar, flax eggs, warmed coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Mix it all up until evenly incorporated.
Dump in the flours, baking soda and powder, and salt. Zest in lime, squeeze in lime juice and start to mix. Add in the milk as you are mixing.
Cake batter mixed and done. Now to bake it.
Dump the cake batter into a well greased baking pan and level it off with a spoon or spatula.
Now it%u2019s oven time to bake into a great and well cake.
A cake out of the oven, great and well. Golden brown and smells of all the goodness that a coconut cake could possible smell.
While cake is cooling, which it should be now, make the glaze. Powdered sugar, lime zest, and lime juice. Mix until it%u2019s glazy.
Pour the glaze all over cooled cake.
Don%u2019t forget the shredded coconut. Get it on before the glaze starts to set.
And then it%u2019s just the matter of cutting cake%u2026%u2026.
You know once you cut it, that means snack time right? Coconut lime snack cake for all of your coconut time, lime time, hungry snack time needs.
Keep it good.
-C
Makes a 9×9 cake
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
3/4 packed cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup coconut oil (warmed to liquid)
1 1/4 cup plant milk (I used almond)
2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax seeds with 1/2 cup warm water)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
A lime
For the glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
a lime
1/4 cup or so toasted shredded coconut to sprinkle on top (optional)
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, mix together the bbrown sugar, flax eggs, warmed coconut oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar until completely incorporated. Next dump in the flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Zest the lime into bowl. Start mixing, adding in the juice of the lime and the plant milk. Mix it all together until completely incorporated.
Dump mixture into a well greases 9×9 baking pan and level off with a spoon or spatula. Place into oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and a tester stuck into the middle of cake comes out clean.
Once baked, remove from oven, let cool in pan for a few minutes then carefully remove cake from pan and let cool on a wire rack.
While cake is cooling, make the glaze. Just zest other lime into powered sugar then add the juice (or as much juice as you needed) of the lime until a pourable glaze forms. If your lime is not particularly juicy enough and the glaze is still really thin, just add a splash of water to thin out as needed.
And when cake is completely cooled, pour glaze all over cake and cover with toasted coconut flakes.
Now cut. And eat.
Store left over cake in a air tight container for 3-4 days. Individual pieces freeze well for all your future snacking needs.
What with all the holiday and family get togethers we have had over here at my house the past few week, we have had quite a few bags of chips and pretzels left over. Always almost empty%u2026 Always dumped into the compost because I mean, I am not so keen on seeing bags of little bits of chips and pretzels in the pantry that I know will never get eaten. Plus it is not like I am saving carrots or grapes or anything I would eat, it%u2019s junk food. But still. I hate the food waste. That is why I made these cookies. To not waste food. And because we had people coming over to the house for dinner and I cannot not have something for dessert. That would be just wrong. And lastly because I am pretty sure that chips and pretzel pieces only make a plain chocolate chunk cookie into an amazing sweet and salty cookie that will just blow your mind.
And I was right. I made the cookies, I feed them to the mr, the sister, friends and all the littles and they just couldn%u2019t get enough.
Current thought. I am sitting here typing and have come to the conclusion that I should start a bakery that makes cookies out of people almost empty bags of chips, like a Cheeto dust cookie, or a peanut butter Funyun cookie or chocolate chocolate chip Dorito cookie.
Yes. this is a good idea. Oh man, I am a genius.
But back to theeese cookies. Start with these. I%u2019ll let you know when I open the storefront to Garbage Cookies (that is what I’ll call the place) You can stand in line for the peanut butter Funyun cookies. I have a feeling about that flavor. Until then%u2026
To the cookies!
The stuff. The small bowl has flour, baking powder and baking soda. The big bowl has brown and white sugar. Then you need oil, almond milk, vanilla, chocolate chunks, some pretzels and some plain salted potatoes chips.
Start with the wet. Mix the oil, the milk, and the vanilla into the sugars until completely smooth
Whisk together the dry stuff.
And mix until its a cookie dough. Now here is the thing, you need to stick the dough in the fridge for a couple hours and if you mix in the chips and pretzels now, well I think that might make them extrealemy soggy, so hold off. For now, cover dough and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
When the time comes for baking, grab the mix ins and with whatever method you chose, crush the chips and pretzels into small bits. (avoid turning into a dust, you want bits)
All salty and crumbly and ready to go
Grab the dough from fridge and dump in the stuff that needs to go in (crushed chips and pretzels and chocolate chunks).
Scoop dough into balls and place on a baking sheet.
Into the oven and out they come all golden brown and smelling like yes and mmmmmm.
Get those cookies on a wire rack to cool and to free up the baking sheet to keep baking.
Look at this proud cookie. Chips, pretzels, and chocolate chunks all on display.
Now is when you get yourself a plate, pile it up high, and eat.
Remember, sharing is caring so maybe share a cookie or two. (but like you don%u2019t HAVE to)
Stay happy this weekend.
-C
makes about 2 dozen cookies
2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons plant milk
1/2 cup crushed potato chip
1/2 cup crushed pretzels pieces
3/4 cup chocolate chunks or chips
In a large bowl, mix together the sugars, oil, milk, and vanilla until completely combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda. Dump the dry into the wet and mix until the dough comes together. Gather the dough together in the bowl and cover with plastic and stick in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hour and up to a day.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350
Right before you take the dough from fridge, get your chocolate chunks, pretzels, and chips out. If the chips and pretzels are not already in little bits, place them in a bag (just use the chip bag if you have it) and smash with a heavy object until you turn the chips and pretzels into bits. Be carful that you don%u2019t turn it all into a dust, look for small bits. Pull dough from fridge and mix the stuff in. Scoop out balls of dough and place on baking sheets. Bake cookies in oven for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browed. Remove from oven and immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
And now you eat.
Store uneaten cookie in a airtight container for up to a week or freeze them but I doubt you will have too. The cookies went fast.