White Whole Wheat Apricot Muffins.

One of the biggest side effects of losing weight for me is that now I will basically click the "x" in Firefox if I see a recipe with more than a stick of butter.  This recipe is one of those that make me realize you don't need a lot of butter to make baked goods taste really amazing.  In fact, these muffins taste buttery!  With only 4 tablespoons of butter!  They don't require any silly "health food" ingredients either - real eggs, butter, sugar and flour. There's definitely a time and place for rich coffee cakes and danishes on the brunch and breakfast table, but if you can get rich-tasting goodies without the calories and fat, why not?

I followed the original recipe as-is, only substituting white whole wheat flour for the whole wheat called for.  I loved the apricots here, but next time I'm going to try a mix of dried fruit - dates, cherries, raisins, cranberries, etc.  Have fun!

White Whole Wheat Apricot Muffins
Adapted from Cooking Light
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (I used fat free)
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons, 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup chopped dried apricots

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, zest, baking soda and salt and set aside.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, extract and egg.  Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry, stirring until almost mixed, then add in the dried apricots and stir just until they're combined.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake until lightly golden on top, 12-15 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack and store at room temperature, up to 3 days.

Nutella and Toasted Coconut Bread.

I know, I know.  World Nutella Day was back on February 5th!  But to be honest, I didn't have any in the pantry at the time and there was a snow storm that day if I remember correctly.  But now that I had some, I wanted to do something different with it.  The website has a lot of great recipes listed, but I'd say 95% of them are way too decadent for what I had in mind.  I found this recipe suited my needs perfectly.  I was nervous that the lack of butter would create a rubbery loaf, but the fat in the Nutella must have prevented that from happening because this was so good!  Not moist like a cake or brownie, but not dry either, perfect for breakfast.  If you'd like to make things over-the-top, do toast it and spread with butter, jam, or more Nutella, but I found it perfect on its own with coffee or tea.  I baked mine in mini loaf pans (since my family eats smaller loaves more quickly, then froze the others), but this also works in a regular 9x5" loaf pan.

Nutella and Toasted Coconut Bread
Adapted from ShowFood Chef
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut, toasted and cooled
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
1 cup skim milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and grease a 9x5" loaf pan, or 5 mini loaf pans and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and coconut together.  In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, Nutella, milk, egg and vanilla extract.  Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until everything just comes together and there are no dry spots left.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s), and bake until the bread is dry on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  The smaller loaves take about 20 minutes, a larger one could take up to 55 minutes to an hour.

Let cool completely on a wire rack, then store airtight for up to 3 days. 

Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies with Dulce De Leche.

Last weekend I found 4 cans of sweetened condensed milk in the cupboards.  With one of the cans, I decided to make some dulce de leche.  It was super easy (just pour a can into a large microwave-safe bowl, zap for 10-15 minutes on 30% power, stirring every few minutes until it's golden), but left me with a jar of dulce de leche.  So last night I had this genius idea to make some brown butter cookies and sandwich them with the dulce de leche.  Sounds delicious, right?  They were!  However these cookies were almost TOO tender - they crumbled into pieces at the most gentle touch, so they were smashed into bits after this photo shoot and will hopefully make a super crust for something in the future.  I'm going to post the recipe here, maybe someone can tell me what I did wrong?

Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies
Adapted from Blue Ridge Baker who adapted it from Flo Braker
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, browned and cooled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Sift or whisk the flour, baking soda and salt into a small bowl and set aside.  Transfer the browned butter to a medium bowl and add half the sugar, stirring until it's dissolved, then the other half, then the vanilla extract.  Stir the flour mixture into the butter until everything is combined, then let it rest for 10 minutes so the flour can absorb the butter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Form the dough into small circles or balls and bake until they're golden brown around the edges, 15-25 minutes, depending on how large or small you've made them.

Let cool completely on a wire rack.

About Me.

 

Hello!  My name is Beth Hyzy and I've loved to bake for as long as I can remember.  There aren't many things better in this world than the warm scent of cinnamon bread baking in the oven or the sight of chocolate cupcakes being frosted with big gobs of swirly, fluffy buttercream.

In the fall of 2004, I attended a 2-year culinary arts associate's degree program at Erie Community College and worked in restaurant kitchens as well as bakeries.  Food preparation in a professional setting can teach you a lot about the process of cooking and how it can be manipulated to your advantage as well as applied to every day home cooking and baking, which is ultimately what I find most rewarding.  Providing delicious food for the people I love is one of my favorite things in the whole world.  (My sister-in-law Rachel has a wheat allergy, which is why you'll see a few gluten free recipes here from time to time.)

In December 2009, I began the process of losing about 100 pounds.  It was one of the most difficult and life-changing things I've ever done, but it's nice to know that after all that, there's still room in everyone's diet for sweets and carbohydrates.  Everything in moderation is repeated so often, but it is absolutely true.  If you don't think you have the willpower to bake a batch of cookies without eating all of them, I find that people rarely say no to a few in a Ziploc bag or plastic container and it makes their day that much sweeter :)

Thank you for stopping by my little blog!  Any other questions, please feel free to e-mail me at elizabeth.hyzy@gmail.com or soundless.space@gmail.com.  I'd love to hear from you!