3 Berry Pie

To celebrate 4th of July, I wanted to bake a berry pie. We went to Trader Joe's today and they had beautiful blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. I decided to find a recipe that I could modify to include all three. I've made berry pies in the past, but this is definitely my favorite so far. It was delicious and the perfect end to a nice holiday weekend.

Ingredients

2 unbaked pie crusts - see my favorite recipe here

4 1/2 cups of fresh berries; I used:

-2 cups blueberries

-1 cup blackberries

-1 cup raspberries

-1/2 cup mix of all 3 types of berries

1/2 cup white sugar

cinnamon (optional)

1/4 cup cornstarch

Line a pie dish with one of the unbaked crusts.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.

Add the berries and gently toss until the berries are well coated. Let stand for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place a baking sheet in the oven.

Pour the berry mixture into the pastry-lined pie pan. With the second unbaked pie crust, create a lattice crust on top of the berries.

Cover the edge of the pie with foil, to prevent the thicker crust from over browning. 

Bake in the preheated oven on the baking tray for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden.

Enjoy!

Healthy Cookie Dough Balls

I always crave sweets, so I am constantly looking out for healthier dessert ideas. I stumbled on this recipe. While the dough balls don't look very pretty, they're actually really good and easy to make. When we have them around, I can't stop eating them. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups raw cashews (I'm allergic so I use roasted, unsalted)

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons brown rice syrup

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place the cashews and oats together in a food processor and blend on high for about a minute, or until they are finely ground (like flour). 

Pour the flour into a mixing bowl and add the maple syrup, brown rice syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.

Roll into 10 or 12 equal balls and enjoy!

Any leftovers should be stored the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-5 days.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookie Footballs

Happy late Super Bowl! Here are some cute and delicious cookies that are perfect for a football party or gathering.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (softened)

1 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Design:
1 - 2 cups of chocolate chips
white frosting

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine the butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar and blend until smooth. Next, add the eggs and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine and mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Once mixed, slowly add it to the bowl with the wet ingredients while mixing.

Once well mixed, refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.

After the dough has been refrigerated, form about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons sized dough balls into football shapes and place on a greased (or a foil lined) cookie sheet.

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Once the cookies have cooled, outline the shape of a football using the melted chocolate. If you do not have piping materials, you can use a Ziploc bag by cutting the corner of the bag. Fill in the outline with more of the melted chocolate.

Finally, once the chocolate has hardened, use the white frosting to make the laces.

Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate "Cheesecake"

An old coworker gave me this recipe and it is one of my favorite "healthy" desserts as of late. It's pretty easy to make, but is best made a day in advance.

Ingredients

Crust:

2 cups almonds

1 cup dates

"Cheese":

3 cups cashews (soaked for at least an hour)

3/4 cup raw honey

3/4 cup coconut oil (should be in liquid form)

1 1/4 cup almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional berry sauce:

3 cups frozen berries

1/4 cup honey

Place the almonds and dates in a food processor and process until fine. Press the crust mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.

Put all of the "cheese" ingredients in the food processor or a Vitamix (make sure the coconut oil is melted first) and process at high speed until very smooth. Adjust to taste.

Pour the mixture onto the crust. Tap the pan on your countertop a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Put the "cheesecake" in the freezer until firm, at least three hours but if possible overnight. 

Transfer "cheesecake" to the fridge for at least an hour before eating.

To make the berry sauce, blend or process ingredients until smooth, and adjust to taste. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and spoon a couple of tablespoons onto slices when serving. 

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Mini Cheesecakes

My parents have always had a Valentine's Day tradition of surprising my brothers and I with gifts on the kitchen table the morning of Valentine's Day. There was something so special about running down the stairs to find wrapped gifts at each of our places on the kitchen table. Although I live across the country, my sweet mom has kept up the tradition by sending me a gift every Valentine's Day. A couple of years ago she gave me mini heart shaped spring form pans. It gave me the perfect excuse to bake some mini cheesecakes for V-Day yesterday.

Ingredients

1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used a food processor)

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

3 8oz packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

Stir-In Options (for each 1/4 of batter)

Peanut butter - 2 tablespoons peanut butter and 1 tablespoon milk (or almond milk)

Chocolate chip - 1/4 chocolate chips

Other options from the recipe that I haven't tried:

Apple pie - 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 cup warm apple pie filling, 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

New York cheesecake - 1/4 cup sour cream and 1 tablespoon flour

S'mores - 3 tablespoons chocolate chips, 1/4 cup mini marshmallows, 1 tablespoon broken graham crackers

Mocha - 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules mixed with 2 teaspoons hot water, 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted

In a small bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. With a spoon press about 1/3 cup of the mixture onto the bottom of each of four mini spring form pan. 

Bake at 300 degrees for about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing at a low speed until just blended. Pour about 1 cup of the batter into each of the four spring form pans, unless you are planning to do a stir in option.

If you are doing the stir in option pour the batter into 4 separate small bowls. Add in the stir in ingredients, mix well and then pour into the spring form pans.

Bake at 300 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until the centers are almost set. Run a knife or metal spatula around the rims of the pans. Let the cakes cool before removing the rims of the pans. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Enjoy!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Michael and I were with a friend today and we stopped in a really cool European/Middle Market to get some baklava. They had a great display of all kinds of nuts, which reminded us that we had been talking about making white chocolate macadamia nut cookies sometime soon. We had some white chocolate chips leftover from making carrot cake bites so we bought some macadamia nuts and started looking for recipes. I quickly found a recipe that was rated well and had several great reviews with different tips and tricks. The cookies turned out perfectly. This will definitely be a repeat recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup macadamia nuts (if they are whole you might want to chop them up into smaller pieces, depending on how large of chunks you would like in your cookies)

1 cup white chocolate chips

In a large bowl mix the butter, shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. While mixing the wet mixture, gradually add in the flour mixture.

Fold in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate.

Form the dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cookies begin to turn a golden brown.

Enjoy!

{Vitamix} Chocolate Cashew Ice Cream

About a year and a half ago we went to a coffee and tea festival here in New York City. One of the first booths we came upon was a Vitamix booth where they were demoing different recipes. The sales rep made a healthy chocolate ice cream from cashews, ice, cocoa powder, and agave. It was amazingly delicious. From that point on I knew eventually I had to have a Vitamix. Michael and I decided whenever we moved to a new apartment that would be one of the first things we would get.

Flash forward and we are now in a new apartment with a new Vitamix. The first recipe we made was none other than the chocolate ice cream. This recipe makes plenty of enough for the two of us and is one that will likely be in our regular rotation of daily desserts.

Ingredients

1 cup of cashews (we used roasted, unsalted)

1 small tray of ice (we have the IKEA ice trays which are a bit smaller than a normal tray of ice)

about 2 to 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder

about 4 tablespoons of agave nectar (can be substituted with maple syrup or honey and at some point we are planning to try dates as a substitute)

Load the ingredients into the Vitamix in the following order: cashews, cocoa powder, agave, and ice. Using the tamper stick and a high speed blend the ingredients for about a minute or until it has a creamy consistency. You made need to stop halfway through the minute to scrape the sides so everything gets mixed in well. It is now ready to serve. Feel free to garnish with some fruit or ice cream toppings.

Enjoy!

Healthy Carrot Cake Bites

One of our favorite friends sent me a link to an article with a bunch of no bake dessert recipes. I immediately started going through the list and choosing which ones I wanted to make first. These carrot cake bites really stood out and I already had most of the ingredients around so I thought I would give them a shot. They are no match for the true carrot cake but if you want a healthier and bake-free alternative these are pretty good!

Ingredients

1/2 cup pitted dates, packed

1/2 cup golden raisins, packed

1 cup warm water

1 cup roasted cashews

1/4 cup roasted carrots, sliced or cubed

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of sea salt

1/8 cup white chocolate chips

2 teaspoons coconut oil

In a small bowl, soak the raisins and dates for about 5 minutes and pat dry. If the raisins and dates are already soft you can skip this step.

In a food processor, blend the carrots and the cashews until they are broken up into pieces.

Next, add the shredded coconut, two tablespoons of the white chocolate, the cinnamon and nutmeg, and the salt. Process the ingredients until it turns into a dough-like consistency. 

Rough the dough into balls and put in the freezer for at least 5 or 10 minutes. As the balls are in the freezer, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave.

Once the balls are taken out of the freezer, drizzle the melted chocolate on top. You can serve as is, but likely you will want to put back in the freezer or refrigeration so the chocolate can harden before serving.

Enjoy!

Peach Raspberry Pie

Having found such an amazing apple pie recipe, I wanted to try out some raspberry peach pie recipes. Fortunately, I lucked out again in that the first recipe I tried was a winner! This will definitely be my go to recipe in the future.

Ingredients

about 4 cups of fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

about 1 cup fresh raspberries

3/4 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I may have added an extra teaspoon or so)

2 pie crusts (I highly recommend this recipe)

2 tablespoons butter (softened and cut into pieces)

1 tablespoon coarse granulated sugar (regular white sugar works too)

If the peaches and raspberries have just been washed or are very juicy, let them dry on paper towels or in a colander for about 15 minutes or so. Once the fruit has had time to dry mix them in a medium or large bowl, gently mix with sugar, flour, and cinnamon. 

Transfer to a pie crust that has been placed in a pie pan. Dot with butter, and top with second crust. Feel free to do a lattice crust or use the whole crust, but cut some vents into the top crust. Sprinkle the top crust with coarse sugar. 

Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I have been meaning to post this recipe for months. A while back Michael and I were both craving oatmeal raisin cookies, but I wanted to try to make a healthy version. After a few test batches I think ended up with a decent oatmeal cookie recipe. This recipe makes about 15 small cookies so depending on your appetite you may want to double it. 

Ingredients

1/4 cup coconut oil

about 4 dates

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

5 drops vanilla stevia

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup oat bran

3/4 cup quick oats

raisins (or chocolate chips) - if you have access to homemade raisins I highly recommend using them. Michael's mom makes the BEST raisins that I love to use in these cookies (thanks Barb!)

In a food processor, combine the coconut oil and dates until the dates become clumpy. Add the brown sugar, vanilla, stevia, egg, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and continue to process until smooth. Add the oat bran and pulse until it is well mixed into the batter.

Spoon the contents into a bowl and fold in the oats and raisins (or chocolate chips). Roll into tablespoon sized balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

 

This recipe is a must try! I think going forward it will be my go-to pumpkin pie recipe.

 

Ingredients

1 sugar pumpkin

1 premade (unbaked) pie crust

2 eggs

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

 

Note - this recipe make enough for two pumpkin pies or one large pumpkin pie. I had a deep dish 9 inch pan that I used but if I did not have deep dish I would have separated this out into two separate pies. If you do that just be sure to adjust the cooking time appropriately.

 

Cut the pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet lined with lightly oiled aluminum foil. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes, until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the peel. Puree in a food process (alternatively, you can use a blender or mash by hand). Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

 

In a large bowl, slightly beat the eggs.

 

Add brown sugar, flour, salt, 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and evaporated milk. Stir well after adding each ingredient. (I added some cinnamon, if you like cinnamon I recommend adding a teaspoon or so.)

 

Pour mixture into the unbaked pastry shell.

 

**Very important - place a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust to prevent over browning. Michael helped me with this. We figure out the best way to do it by looking up a video. Click here for a cheesy video that explains a simple process.

 

The original recipe says to bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes. I think a combination of our oven and the fact I was using a deep dish pie crush but this baby baked for about 3 hours (including the 10 minutes at 450 degrees). I would suggest giving yourself plenty of time in case the pie does take that long, but begin checking after about 40 or 50 minutes in the oven. The consistency of the pumpkin mixture will have a liquid consistency. Do not have fear - the pie will set eventually while baking. Try not to take the pie out until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. After 3 hours I became a little bit impatient and worried about overbaking so I took it out before it had quite reached that point, but it still turned out great.

 

If you end up splitting the pumpkin mixture into two separate pies, you should take off the aluminum foil when you believe you have 10-20 minutes of baking time left. Since mine took forever I left the aluminum foil on the whole time and I think it really helped save the crust from becoming too hard to eat.

 

Cool and refrigerate pie (after at least an hour of cooling) overnight for best results.

 

(pictured above with chocolate pecan pie and bourbon whipped cream)

Try serving this with some bourbon whipped cream!

 

Enjoy!