Life as a Dill

Almond Banana Coconut Muffins {Gluten Free}

Unbelievably moist.  Also quite nutritious, so I didn’t hesitate when Finnian requested one for breakfast.

Only added coconut to the original recipe found on Honest Fare since I didn’t want to open up a brand new bag of almond flour.  It was a great move :)

Almond Banana Coconut Muffins {Gluten Free}

8 oz. almond meal
2 oz. unsweetened dried coconut
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
3 oz. sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 ripe bananas (lightly spotted)
extra ½ banana, thinly cut, and sliced almonds for topping

Preheat oven to 300F. Grease muffin tin and dust with flour or line with shallow baking cups.
 
Mix together almond meal, coconut, and baking powder.  Set aside.

Process eggs, sugar, bananas and cinnamon for 3-5 minutes in a food processor.  Stir into the almond meal mixture.

Divide into 12-15 muffins, filling about 2/3 full.  Top with thinly sliced bananas and almonds. Bake about 35-40 minutes or until top is browned and toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in muffin tin for several minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

Zucchini Nutella Muffins

Substituted white whole wheat flour and decreased the butter in this yummy-looking recipe found on Pinterest.  Can you really lose if using Nutella?

Zucchini Nutella Muffins

Ingredients:
1 ½ c white whole wheat flour
½ t salt
½ t baking soda
1 t baking powder
½ t cinnamon
½ stick butter, softened
¼ c applesauce
¾ c sugar
1 extra large egg
1 c grated zucchini
zest of one lemon
~½ cup Nutella
 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and applesauce together until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg.  Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in thirds until just combined, then stir in the zucchini and lemon zest.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, and dollop 1 teaspoon of Nutella on top of each scoop.  Swirl with a toothpick.  Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes.  Muffins are done with a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Mango, Avocado, and Mint Salsa

Mint adds an element of surprise to this chunky, fruity salsa that is packed with summer flavors. 

Mango, Avocado, and Mint Salsa
 
1 ripe mango, peeled and pitted
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
¼ cup finely diced red onion
1 roma tomato, diced
½ jalapeño pepper, finely minced and seeded
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together.  Serve with tortilla or pita chips.

Homemade Vanilla Yogurt

So good and so easy-- great for kiddos!

Homemade Vanilla Yogurt

Makes 2 quarts, which will keep for at least a month in the fridge.

1/2 gallon whole or 2% milk
1/2 c yogurt starter(I use FAGE or Chobani)
1 T Vanilla
1/4 c sugar

Place glass canning jars, lids, and screw-tops in a large pot. Fill with an inch of water; cover with lid and heat to boiling. Boil for ten minutes. Leave the lid on the pot and move it off the heat until you are ready to use the jars.

Pour milk into a large, heavy bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven. Heat the milk to 185 degrees (F).

Place the pot on the counter to cool.  Stir in vanilla and sugar. When milk has cooled to 120 degrees, stir in the yogurt starter using a whisk.

Pour the milk into jars, and put the lids and bands on. Place them into a cooler.

Heat 1/2 gallon of water to 120 degrees and pour into cooler.

Shut cooler lid and leave in a warm place for three to four hours. Then, remove yogurt from containers and strain with cheesecloth in the fridge for 2-3 hours.  I like to clean and sterilize the jars in the dishwasher during this part.  When time is up, return strained yogurt to jars, and store in the refrigerator.

Sweet Potato "Fries"

Weelicious

1 Large Sweet Potato
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut sweet potato into 2" batons which resemble french fries.  Place them on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss until
the sweet potatoes are coated with oil.

Place cookie sheet in the middle of the oven and bake for 15 minutes (Keep an eye on these little suckers. They go from golden to burnt quick!)  With a spatula, flip the potatoes, and continue to bake another 15 minutes or until they have a golden color.

Cool and serve.

Chocolate Macarons with Salted Peanut Butter Filling

These are hubby’s favorite, and one of mine as well.  Too much cocoa powder in the macaron shells can cause their tops to wrinkle.  I’ve found that 12g is a small enough amount to prevent wrinkling, and gives the shells a “cocoa-kissed” flavor—not strong, but definitely there.  The salted peanut butter filling is the star.

Chocolate Macarons with Salted Peanut Butter Filling

Shells:
100g egg whites (aged 24 hours at room temperature)
1 1/2 t dehydrated egg white powder
12 g unsweetened cocoa powder
28g granulated sugar
125g almond meal
225g confectioners’ sugar

Filling:
125 grams creamy peanut butter
70 grams powdered sugar
25 grams softened butter
25 grams milk
5 grams vanilla extract
3 grams fine sea salt

Measure all ingredients using a kitchen scale.  Then, process the almond meal, powdered sugar, and cocoa in a food processor for 1-2 minutes.   Afterwards sift them into a large bowl, discarding the large pieces of almond meal that don’t make it through.

Weigh egg whites and begin beating them on medium speed until foamy.  Slowly sprinkle in the powdered egg white and sugar mixture as you beat.  Then increase the speed to medium high and beat until a firm meringue forms.  Stop when the peaks are firm and glossy, but not stiff.  I usually take the bowl and hold it upside down.  When it gets to the point where all of it stays in the bowl without budging, you are ready! 

Next: the macaronage.  Add the almond mixture in thirds, folding it in gently and scraping the sides of the bowl.  Be wary of over-mixing (and under-mixing!)  Practice makes perfect…

Add your batter to a piping bag with a round tip (Wilton size 12 works great) and pipe rows of macarons.  I use heavy-duty aluminum baking sheets lined with parchment paper for baking the macaron shells.  When piping, do so with the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet.  Aim to keep the shells one to one and a half inches in diameter as they will spread out just a little bit after piping.  If they spread out a lot, it means the batter was likely over-mixed.  It they retain a small peak after about 20 seconds, the batter may have been under-mixed.

Next pick up the pan with both hands, and holding it level, tap it firmly onto the counter several times. This will bring up any air bubbles in the cookies. If necessary, “edit” the macarons by popping the bubbles with a toothpick if they don't break while tapping.

Now—walk away!  Let the shells rest between 30-60 minutes, depending on the humidity.  More humidity = more rest time.  The shells will develop a relatively firm coating.  

While macarons are drying, preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Bake one sheet at a time for 16-18 minutes.  When time is up I like to test one along the edge to see if I can lift it from the parchment without breaking it.  Once this test is passed, remove from oven and let cool for ~10 minutes before carefully peeling away the parchment paper and placing them on cooling racks.

When shells are cool, make the filling: using a paddle attachment on a stand mixer, combine the peanut butter and butter on medium speed until combined. Add the powdered sugar and salt, and mix until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla, then slowly add the milk until well-mixed.

Pipe filling onto one of the shells, then top with another shell to make a small “sandwich”.  Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.  Before serving, bring to room temperature (about 15 minutes).  Macarons are best a day or two after they have been made!

Grandma Liz' Nut Rolls (aka Horseshoe Cookies)

The cookie to end all cookies.  The taste of my childhood.  The taste of Christmas.

Dough:

2 c butter at room temp.
1 t salt
2 c sour cream
8 egg yolks
7 c flour, about
zest from one lemon
 
Beat together the butter, salt, sour cream, egg yolks and zest.  Stir in the flour
in small batches.  Roll sections of dough into one inch balls (about 95 or so).  Put
in fridge overnight layered on sheets of waxed paper and cover the whole plate.
 

Filling:
 
5 egg whites
4 to 4 1/2 c ground walnuts
2 c sugar
 
Beat egg whites till white and frothy then keep beating while slowly adding
the sugar. Stir in the walnuts.  This gets sticky.
 

Making the cookies:
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out each dough ball thinly to about a 6 or 7 inch circle.  About a quarter of the way down from the top of each circle of dough, squeeze out a row of the nut filling across.  The nut filling is done best by putting into a cookie press and squeezing the line of filling onto the cookie.  Start rolling the dough down from the line of nut filling and mold into a long horseshoe shape.  Put on cookie sheets and bake 20 minutes.  When cooled, cover in powdered sugar.
 
Keep in an air tight container on rows of waxed paper.

Chocolate Truffles

Adapted from Epicurious

 

Ganache:
9 oz. heavy cream
10.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Coating:
9 oz. bittersweet chocolate, tempered

Garnish:
1 ½ c shredded sweetened coconut, toasted
1 ½ c toasted hazelnuts

Heat the heavy cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium-size mixing bowl. Make a ganache by pouring about half of the hot cream over the chocolate and letting it sit for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate. Then slowly whisk until smooth and homogenous. Add the remaining cream gradually and mix until all of the hot cream is incorporated and the ganache is smooth and homogenous. 

Pour the ganache onto a plastic wrap-covered baking sheet and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Cover the ganache with plastic wrap and allow it to cool for at least 4 hours at room temperature. I usually make the ganache at the end of the day and let it cool overnight. As it cools, it will thicken and set.

Spoon and drop small mounds of ganache onto the baking sheet using a teaspoon. Let the truffles harden in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, until they are hard enough to roll with your hands.

Using surgical gloves, roll the mounds into balls.  Next dip into tempered chocolate using two forks.  Hold the forks over the bowl for several seconds to allow the excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl, then drop into coconut or hazelnut coating and place on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet to dry.

*I added coconut butter and a bit of unsweetened, dried coconut to the ganache that was eventually coated in toasted coconut.  Major yum!

Toddler Granola Bars

 

2 c rolled oats
½ c packed brown sugar
½ c wheat germ
1 t ground cinnamon
1 c white whole wheat flour
¾ cup raisins (optional)
¾ t salt
1/3 c agave syrup
1 egg, beaten
¼ c canola oil
¼ c applesauce
1 banana, mashed
2 t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.   In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the agave, applesauce, egg, oil, banana, and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm.

*The possibilities for these are endless—will try different nut butters, seeds, fruits, etc. in future batches!

3-Minute Oatmeal Cookie

Adapted from the edible perspective

 

¼ c instant oats*

1 egg white

¼ t cinnamon

¼ t baking powder

splash of vanilla

1 T semisweet or dark chocolate chunks

1 T chopped walnuts

1 ½ t turbinado sugar

2 t flour

 

Mash everything together until combined. Pat down with the back of a spoon in a bowl.  Microwave for 50 seconds on high.  Let cool for 30 seconds and slide out of the bowl to serve.

 

*may substitute dry multigrain cereal packets for the oats and spices.  The possibilities are endless!  Above: used chai spiced multigrain hot cereal.