Tag Archives: baking

Cakes & Muffins

Butternut Squash Muffins

So, most of the time when I make muffins, I generally use what I have around the house whether it be fruit, nuts, or veggies. I had some butternut squash this time. I still have not found a muffin that this kid will not eat. You guys are going to get so sick and tired of muffins, but hey, it’s what my little guy likes!

What will you need:

  • 3 cup of flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp pink salt
  • 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1.5 cups of pureed butternut squash

Let’s get baking!

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • While the oven is preheating, cut the squash in half and scoop the seeds out.
  • Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the squash is easily mashed with a fork.
Bake your squash open side down so that the moisture from the squash steams it and cooks it faster.
This is what your squash should look like when it is ready to come out of the oven.
  • Mix all of your ingredients together (sorry every single recipe and cookbook that I have ever read but I don’t do dry in one, wet in the other, then combine… I just dive on in!)
  • Fill your muffin cups almost to the top. This recipe made 18 muffins but if you “follow the rules” and fill your muffin cups 2/3 of the way full, it will make 24.
  • Bake muffins at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. I always check them with a toothpick at 20 minutes to see if it comes out clean. If it doesn’t add another 2 minutes and check again. Do so until they are ready.
This is why I fill those bad boys up! Look how big those muffins are!!!

What can I do to make these muffins even more yummy?

  • Sprinkle some sugar on the muffins before baking them
  • add some chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans for some crunch
  • chocolate chips

Tell me what you thought about this recipe if you try it. Just remember until next time, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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Cakes & Muffins

Oatmeal Apple Pie Muffins

My 3 year old son is obsessed with muffins. I make fresh muffins 2-3 times a week. So far I haven’t found one that he doesn’t like. I usually look around in my cabinets, on my food shelf, my fruit bowl, and my veggie box to figure out what kind I am making that day.

It warms my hear when I feel him tugging on my apron yelling muffin!!! I barely got them out of the oven and he’s already waiting for the first one. Everyone else in the house knows better than to try and take that first one.

What you will need

  • 1 apple peeled, cored, and cut into small cubes
  • 1.25 cups of flour
  • 1/2 cups of rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pink Himalayan salt
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/4 cup of vegetable oil or coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup of applesauce (usually unsweetened but I use whatever I have made at the time)
  • 1/3 cup of non dairy milk
  • 1.5-2 tablespoons of my apple pie spice (click here for my personal recipe: https://misscherise.home.blog/2019/06/23/apple-pie-spice/ )

How do you make it?

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • grease up some baking cups. I finally found my love of silicone cups!
  • In a stand mixer or a bowl, mix together your flour, oats, brown sugar, and the apple pie spice.
  • Add in the applesauce, vegetable oil, and non dairy milk.
  • Stir until moistened
  • Fold in chopped apple pieces.
  • Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way full (or whatever, lol. So what if they go a little over the top when they bake)
  • Sprinkle the top of your muffin with a little bit of sugar and pop those bad boys into the oven for 20 minutes.
  • Check with toothpick, it should come out clean.

Storage tip:

When storing your brown sugar, you should invest in a clay disc. They are probably one of the most useful but random things that you could probably have in your kitchen. All you do is soak it for 30 minutes in a bowl or cup of water, pat dry, and put it in your air tight container of brown sugar. The moisture in the clay will keep your brown sugar from getting all hard and crunchy.

Until next time, leave me some ideas and always remember that anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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Seasonings & Dressings

Apple Pie Spice

This is a must have staple in my house. I definitely use it more than I thought I would. It’s a simple mix of spices that is convenient to have on hand.

What you will need

  • 1 cup of ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup of ground nutmeg
  • 1.5 tablespoons of ground ginger
  • 1.5 tablespoons of ground allspice

How to make it

  • Put it in a pint size mason jar or airtight container and shake the shit out of it

Really, that’s it. It’s made and ready to go. Now you just use it!

How can you use it?

  • In applesauce
  • Muffins
  • Cake
  • Baked apples
  • I put some in my coffee
  • On oatmeal

The possibilities are endless!

Send me some ideas for next time. Just remember, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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Cakes & Muffins

Zucchini Cake

I haven’t found a recipe for zucchini that I didn’t like so far. Zucchini bread, or cake, has always been one of my favorites but I haven’t made it in years. I decided to make it last night.

What you will need:

  • 2 cups of grated zucchini
  • 3 cups of all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon of all spice (if you have it)
  • 1 cup of brown sugar
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 cup of vegetable oil
  • 1 cup of non dairy milk
  • 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar -or- white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to make it:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • start with your wet ingredients including the grated zucchini.
  • In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (I try to add at increments of 1/2-1 cup at a time.
  • Using baking spray or Crisco to a fluted bunt pan
  • The batter is going to be runny like typical cake batter.
  • Pour the batter into the fluted bunt pan or into 2 8″x 4″ bread pans
  • Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean without any batter stuck to it.

I let my cake cool overnight on a cooling rack upside down with it still in the pan so that it doesn’t lose its pretty shape.

How can this cake get any better?

Use some of these to make your cake even better.

  • confectioners sugar
  • orange marmalade glaze
  • vegan BUTTER

I have to say that this is by far my favorite recipe so far. The cake turns out moist with that bit of cozy bite from the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Send me some ideas for things to cook/bake! Just remember, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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Desserts

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

What is biscotti?

Biscotti (/bɪˈskɒti/; Italian pronunciation: [bisˈkɔtti]; English: twice-cooked), known also as cantucci, are Italian almond biscuits that originated in the city of Prato. They are twice-baked, oblong-shaped, dry, crunchy, and may be dipped in a drink, traditionally Vin Santo. (from Wikipedia)

Knowing the good stuff

Biscotti is a great cookie all around. Coffee or tea, they are by far the most perfectly paired cookie to either drink. The crispness of the twice baked cookie makes for the best cookie to dunk! Come on guys, live on the edge and dunk those cookies in your tea!

What you will need:

  • 1 cup of flour
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp of baking powder
  • 1/3 cup of sliced almonds
  • 1/3 cup of dark chocolate or vegan semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 – 1 1/2 tsp orange zest
  • 3 1/2 Tbsp water
  • 4 Tbsp sugar or granulated stevia
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract

Let’s get baking!

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F
  • Toast your almonds in the preheating oven. You will be able to smell when they are good to go, about 8 minutes.
  • Whisk flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and orange zest until completely combined. I like to keep my orange zest in longer pieces as opposed to finely diced. It gives you a big punch of citrus flavor once in a while.
My favorite zest tool. (Thank you Pampered Chef!)
Look at that beautiful orange zest!!!
  • Make a little well in the middle and add your sugar into the well.
  • Mix oil,water, and almond extract together and pour over the sugar.
  • Stir from the center of the bowl (as if you were making pasta). This incorporates the liquids into the dry mix better and more evenly.
  • Time to get messy! Once the mixture gets less sticky, get your hands in there (it’s the best part of baking).
  • Add in your chocolate chips and toasted almond slices.
  • Separate the dough into two pieces, about 2 inch wide flattened logs and place them about 3-4″ apart on a baking sheet. Tip: use parchment paper if you don’t feel like having more dishes to wash.
  • Bake for 20 minutes (adjust time and temps according to your elevation).
  • When you gently push on the dough after the 20 minutes, it should be firm.
  • Take the baked logs out of the oven to cool for 5-10 minutes or until easily sliced with a very sharp serrated knife. You want something sharp because of the almonds and the dryness of the cookie. If your knife isn’t sharp enough… well… that’s the way the cookie crumbles!
  • Reduce the oven temp to 320°.
  • Cut the slightly cooled log to 1/2 inch slices.
  • Put back on the baking sheet on the sliced side down.
  • Bake for 10 minutes, flip to the other sliced side, bake for another 10 minutes.
  • Take your biscotti out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes so that it gets that hardness to it that you look for in a good biscotti (or be like me and eat it straight out of the oven and burn your mouth on the molten lava chocolate chips. Ouch!).
  • Use an air tight container to store them or a Ziploc bag (make sure you press as much of the air out as possible) or they will get stale. They should be good for about 5-7 days, not that they will last that long.

Have an idea for something that you want me to make? Let me know and comment below!

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Breads & Rolls

Olive Oil and Rosemary Bread

You should use a cast iron skillet for the best results. It gives the bread an amazing crunch on top AND on the bottom!

What you’ll need:

  • 2 cups of lukewarm water
  • 2 1/4 tsp of dry active yeast
  • 1/2 tbsp of pink Himalayan salt
  • 4 1/3 cups of all purpose flour
  • olive oil
  • rosemary

How to make it:

  1. Combine water and yeast. I like to use my hand to mix these to make sure that there aren’t any yeast lumps left. Let sit for 1 minute.
  2. Mix in flour, salt, and some rosemary. I say “some” rosemary because I like a LOT of it and you might only like a little.
  3. Once all of your ingredients are mixed together, drizzle extra virgin olive oil into a cast iron skillet (just enough to coat the bottom but not enough to make your dough float).
  4. Put your dough into the pan. At this point I sprinkle a little bit of all purpose flour on top of the bread, then put wax paper on top, then put a dish towel on top of that. It keeps the warmth in the pan and helps the bread rise.
  5. Preheat the oven for 400ºF . I usually place the pan on top of the stove to rise so that the heat from the oven preheating helps it along.
  6. Let rise for 1 hour.
  7. Take the towel and wax paper off of the bread, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and then sprinkle with more rosemary, pink Himalayan salt, and some cracked black pepper. If you feel fancy, add some fresh parsley or basil leaves to the top. You know what? Just add both! Live on the edge.
  8. Bake 35-40 minutes.

So just eat it?

STOP! NO! Okay, eat it that way if you want. If you want to add some jazz hands to that, try some of these ideas:

  • Roasted garlic to spread on it
  • Extra virgin olive oil mixed with oregano, basil, and some crushed red pepper. Makes a great dipping oil!
  • Hummus (because it’s great on everything, let’s face it.)
  • Dip it in some fresh pasta sauce
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