Tag: menu

Small Batch Double Chocolate Muffins (Lower Calorie Version)

This is a lower calorie version of this original recipe. See notes below.

INGREDIENTS

  • 140 grams all purpose flour (or 140 grams of Kodiak Cakes Buttermilk protein pancake mix)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 40 g of sifted cocoa powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar substitute (I use Splenda)
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (I do not like Mott’s as it is too green apple-ish. Aldi has a great option!)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup almond milk (or other milk alternative)
  • 95 g chocolate chips, divided (I used 75g of chocolate chips and 20g of chocolate chunks)
  • 1/2 tbsp turbinado sugar, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place 6 liners in muffin tin, alternating cups to leave a cup between each muffin if possible.
  • In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
  • Add salt, sugar substitute, unsweetened applesauce, vanilla, and almond milk (or other milk alternative) to dry ingredients and stir until combined. Try not to overmix.
  • Stir in 75g of chocolate chips.
  • Fill 6 lined muffin tins with mixture, overfilling to achieve a bakery-style muffin.
  • Dot top with remaining 20g of chocolate chips (I love using semi-sweet chocolate chunks on top).
  • Sprinkle turbinado sugar over muffins before placing in pre-heated oven. This is optional, but we enjoy the crunchy texture on top.
  • Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes until set.

NOTES

Depending on your texture preferences, you may enjoy these even more than the original recipe!

At only 213 calories per muffin, these definitely hit the spot when watching the blasted scale. If you want to save a few more calories, using Kodiak Cake mix instead of AP flour slightly lowers the calories to about 201 calories per muffin. It also provides some extra protein and gives the muffins a little more lift, so you feel like you are getting a much larger muffin. My kids prefer the Kodiak Cake version the most.

Calorie breakdown:

IngredientsCalories
140g AP flour510
1 tsp baking powder5
1/4 tsp baking soda0
40g sifted cocoa powder92
pinch of salt0
1/2 cup splenda3
1 cup unsweetened applesauce100
1 tsp vanilla extract0
1/2 cup almond milk21
75g chocolate chips410
20g chococolate chunks109
1/2 tbsp turbinado sugar30
Total:1280
Per muffin:213.3333333

Enjoy, kiddos! I love you so very much. Thank you for all the support you’ve been giving me lately as I strive towards better health. The greatest gift I’ve been given is watching you all grow into the beautiful adults that you are, and I want to make sure that I’m around for many years to come. You have so much living and growing ahead of you, and I can’t wait for all the memories we have yet to make together! I am so very proud of each and every one of you.

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Apple Jelly Cake

INGREDIENTS

  • Any moist and delicious yellow cake baked into 2 rounds
  • 1 large jar of apple jelly (18 oz)
  • 2/3 cup sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Once your yellow cake is prepared and cooled enough to handle (but still warm), prepare your “icing” by combining one large jar of apple jelly (18 ounces) with 2/3 cup sugar. Mix until combined.
  • Poke holes in the tops of both layers of cake.
  • Place one layer of the cake onto your serving plate. Slather top with jelly icing, making sure to get into the holes of the cake before frosting sides.
  • Place the top layer of the cake on previous layer and slather the top with jelly icing as well, making sure to get into the holes of the cake before frosting sides. There should be enough jelly mixture to be really generous but reserve enough of the jelly icing for a second coat.
  • Allow cake to completely cool and add the remaining jelly onto the top of the cake, focusing on filling the holes as much as possible.
  • Enjoy!

NOTES

This is an old-fashioned cake that a co-worker used to talk about with fondness. I made it one day, and it become one of our favorites. Zach has requested this cake often for his birthdays instead of a traditional cake with buttercream icing. We have also tried this same method with different cakes and jellies, namely a white cake with blackberry. It was also delicious!

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Waitress’s In-the-Dark Dark Chocolate Pie

Original recipe: Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Pie — The BEST Chocolate Pie Ever!!

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

  • 1 package (about 36) whole Oreos
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter (*will need additional butter for the filling)

Caramel filling:

  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (*will need additional cream for ganache)

Ganache topping:

  • 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • 1 (12 oz) bag dark chocolate chips
  • Flaky salt like kosher salt or fleur de sel

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Finely crush the Oreos with a food processor or blender. Stir crumbs together with 8 tablespoons melted butter until well combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Freeze crust for 10 minutes until set.
  • Combine remaining 8 tablespoons butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to bubble. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream until smooth. Cool caramel about 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the Oreo crust, then return to freezer for about 30-45 minutes until just chilled and set. (You don’t want the caramel to fully freeze.)
  • Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl. In a saucepan, bring 1 cup heavy whipping cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth. Pour the chocolate over the caramel and freeze for a final 30 minutes, until just chilled and set. OR refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve. Before serving, sprinkle the top with a flaky sea salt like kosher salt or Fleur De Sel.

NOTES

I first tasted this delectable pie at a national tour of the Broadway musical Waitress in St. Louis. They were selling small jars of various pies prior to the show. The layers of caramel and ganache with a hint of salt made my toes curl. It has been a family favorite for special events ever since!

Feel free to bypass a step and buy a store-bought chocolate crust, if needed. However, you will really be missing out as the homemade Oreo crust really adds heft and structure to this amazing pie.

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Zach’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 3/4 cups (248g) all-purpose flour, scoop and level to measure
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 12 Tbsp (170g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
  • 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup (70g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (170g) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or mix-ins of your choice – see notes)
  • Maldon sea salt flakes to sprinkle on top, if desired

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place butter into cast iron skillet and put into oven as it preheats. Once melted, leave about 1 tbsp of butter in pan and put the remaining melted butter into a large mixing bowl. Allow the melted butter to cool down a little bit before slightly adding additional ingredients.
  • Once cooled, add the following to the bowl with the melted butter: brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt.
  • Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and stir until combined.
  • Sift in flour and baking soda, then stir until combined.
  • Mix in chocolate chips.
  • Scoop dough out into prepared skillet and spread into an even layer.
  • Sprinkle with Maldon flaked sea salt, if desired.
  • Bake in preheated oven until cook appears slightly under-baked in center, it will continue to cook from the residual heat of the pan for a few minutes once removed from the oven, about 18 to 20 minutes.
  • Spoon out and serve warm with vanilla ice cream if desired or let cool at least 30 minutes to cut into slices.

NOTES

The above recipe is a template. Feel free to add in any number of mix-ins. One of our favorites is the addition of marshmallows (that have been halved and pressed into dough), white chocolate chips, and graham cracker pieces. I like to press in additional chocolate chips on top for decoration purposes. Not to mention topping with flaked sea salt!

Enjoy!

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Sopapillas

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons shortening
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 1 to 2 cups canola oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

  • In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually stir in water just until dough pulls together.
  • Divide dough into 5 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough on lightly floured board into an 8-inch diameter circle. Cut each circle into 4 wedges.
  • Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Add a few of the tortilla wedges at a time. The wedges will puff up. Turn once so they will puff evenly on both sides; then turn back to brown on both sides.
  • Drain on paper towels. While warm, coat each sopaipilla with powdered sugar or cinnamon-sugar, if desired. Serve with honey.

NOTES

On a road trip to the Grand Canyon, we once stopped at a restaurant in Albuquerque called El Patio de Albuquerque in order to try something local. One Google review said that it was a must to try to adovada as a stuffed sopapilla, and I’m so glad that I did.

When someone asks me what my favorite meal is, I often immediately think of that moment in time. A lot of what makes that meal special is the sentimental circumstances of that moment (sitting on that patio, eating an amazing meal with my brother, my oldest son who was moving soon to another state, and Juno, my new puppy, while enjoying a moment of rest and relaxation during a road trip West to see the Grand Canyon and Sedona via a new camper), but the meal itself was outstanding, especially the warm sopapilla and honey that was served to the table to compliment the meal. One of many, I will be chasing the warmth of that memory for as long as I breathe.

Since then, I found a few recipes for homemade sopapillas, and they hit the spot now and then even though they are never quite as soft and pillowy as those at El Patio de Albuquerque! I hope you enjoy them as well.

The above recipe is from Muy Bueno: Basic Sopaipilla Recipe (New Mexican Sopapillas) – Muy Bueno. Check out their video to get a sneak peek of these beauties:

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Audrey’s Favorite Cake Pops

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 freshly baked cake from this recipe (Preppy Kitchen’s Hot Milk Cake) or any box cake mix, if desired
  • 1 package almond bark
  • toppings (sprinkles, etc.)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Bake this recipe (Preppy Kitchen’s Hot Milk Cake) as instructed. Do not add powdered sugar topping.
  • While still hot, put the insides of the cake into the stand mixer, leaving the very edges that are crispy and brown in pan to snack on later. The tasty edges are the best part anyway!
  • Mix the cake at a low speed until the desired texture is reached.
  • Using a small cookie scoop, form dough into balls and place on a lined baking sheet.
  • Once all dough balls are formed, allow to cool completely.
  • Place cooled cake balls into the fridge while melting your almond bark and gathering toppings.
  • If you have a plastic fork available, remove all but the center tine. This will be used to spear each cake ball for dipping.
  • In a ceramic mug, melt a few almond bark squares at a time in the microwave. Start off with 30 seconds before stirring, and follow up every 10 seconds of microwave time between stirs until the almond bark is melted.
  • Using the single tine on your plastic fork, spear your cold cake ball and dip into melted almond bark to completely cover. Allow excess to drip back into the cup and then place covered cake ball onto prepared baking sheet.
  • Dip the tine back into the almond bark and place a small amount to cover the hole left behind by the fork’s tine. Swirl remaining almond bark on tine to decorate as desired.
  • Immediately use your sprinkles or other toppings to decorate your cake ball as the almond bark will harden quickly.
  • Continue to repeat process until all cake balls are covered.
  • Place covered cake balls into fridge to completely set.
  • Enjoy!

NOTES

I do not use a popsicle stick as with traditional cake pops. We just pop them in our mouths! Just a reminder to make sure that you allow excess almond bark to drip off of cake pops while coating to ensure that the coating is thin or it will be a struggle to eat them. Feel free to use a box cake, if desired. Do note that you may have to use a few spoons full of a complimentary cake icing into batter when using some boxed mixes as they tend to be drier than the homemade cake recommended above. Either way, they will be delicious, I’m sure!

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Hot Milk Cake

Original recipe: Hot Milk Cake – Preppy Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup whole milk (240mL)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter (113g)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with baking spray.
  • Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, just until bubbling and butter is melted, about 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the granulated sugar and eggs on medium-high until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the flour mixture and beat on low until just incorporated. With the mixer running on low, gradually pour in the hot milk mixture. Stir in vanilla extract. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan.
  • Bake for 28 to 32 minutes or until lightly browned, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Dust the cake with powdered sugar before slicing and serving.

NOTES

Please go to the linked original recipe or watch the embedded video below for detailed instructions regarding this amazing cake. I am copy/pasting for posterity’s sake, but the step-by-step instructions are recipe specific details provided in the original recipe are so important to understanding the magic of this recipe.

According to Zach, this is his favorite cake. It is also the cake that I use to make my cake pops. It is a great way to use up milk that is going to expire soon. There’s something so perfect about the crumb and the outer edges of this cake … and so simple with its coating of powdered sugar instead of icing. I will never tire of it!

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Easy Homemade Pretzels

Makes 4 large pretzels.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
  • 1 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs melted butter, salted

Please note: Will also need water and baking soda mixture to boil pretzels prior to baking and an egg wash + kosher salt for that perfect pretzel crust.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Whisk together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to bloom for 10 minutes. Mixture should be foamy.
  • In a stand mixture, add your flour, salt, melted butter, and wet mixture. Kneed for 10 minutes.
  • Kneed a few minutes by hand before adding dough ball to greased bowl.
  • Cover dough with towel and allow to rest for one hour.
  • Once rested, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface before dividing into four pieces.
  • Roll out into a noodle shape before shaping into pretzel. Grab the ends, cross x 2, and flip towards you.
  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • Boil water with baking soda.
  • Place each pretzel into boiling water — one at a time — for about 30 seconds.
  • Place boiled pretzels on a parchment lined baking tray.
  • Brush each pretzel with an egg wash and sprinkle generously with kosher salt.
  • Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes until brown and crispy.
  • Enjoy with your favorite cheese sauce or mustard.

NOTES

Original recipe was found on TikTok via user Revi (@reviskitchenn).

You can also just roll out as usual, and then instead of twisting into pretzel shape, divide roped dough into small pretzel bites before continuing the process. These would make amazing pretzel bites!

1

Peanut Butter Buttons (Also: Peanut Butter Blossoms)

Original recipe can be found here: Peanut Butter Blossoms – Preppy Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

  • ¾ cup creamy peanut butter (188g)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
  • ½ cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling (100g)
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar (110g)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 36 Hersey’s chocolate kisses unwrapped (or miniature Reese’s PB cups for Peanut Butter Blossoms – see notes)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the peanut butter, unsalted butter, sugars and salt. Cream together by beating on medium speed until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Scrape down the bowl. Add the flour and baking soda and beat on low speed just until combined.
  • Scoop the dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Coat in additional granulated sugar if desired. Place on a prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
  • Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies look puffy and cracked and the bottom just start to turn brown. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. (The cookies will crack and that’s okay!) Allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan, until the chocolate is set. Serve or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

NOTES

When making Peanut Butter Buttons, I like to press the tip of the Hershey Kiss into the cookie once slightly melted. This helps with stacking for storage. And while sprinkles are always a favorite for special occasions, my favorites will also be rolled in turbinado sugar instead.

And while I use this recipe primarily to make Peanut Butter Buttons, I also use the base recipe to make Peanut Butter Blossoms. For Blossoms, I press the prepared dough into mini muffin tins and bake about 10 minutes, until edges are lightly golden but still soft and gooey in center. Once out of the oven, I press unwrapped miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups into the center of each cookie while still warm. Once cookies are cooled slightly and set, I remove the cookies from the muffin tins and allow to cool on a cooling rack. No matter which way you prepare this dough, it’s the perfect amount of peanutty sweetness!

Please visit the original recipe via the link provided at the top of the page or watch the video embedded below for additional information about this amazing recipe.

1

Mexican Sprinkle Cookies

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2.25 cups all-purpose flour
  • Sprinkles for the occasion

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Cream butter and sugars together in mixer.
  • Add salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix just to combine.
  • Add in your egg and vanilla. Mix just to combine.
  • Add in flour and mix in until combined.
  • Form dough balls and then chill dough in the fridge for at least 5 minutes.
  • Roll dough balls in sprinkles and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

NOTES

This recipe was discovered via TikTok. The original creator who shared this recipe is C’s Kitchen.

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