Tag: chocolate

Cookies, Desserts, Recipes

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Sarah

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I hope yours was nice… but I hope you aren’t sick of pumpkin yet, because these cookies are fabulous and I just had to share them, Christmas season or not!! I’m normally not an oatmeal cookie kinda girl–give me a chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie any day, but oatmeal? Meh. Aren’t they usually the weird leftover cookies abandoned at pitchins and other events? I think it’s usually cause they contain gross raisins and are slightly salty. Raisins are only good on their own, not in baked goods. But I digress. I shouldn’t use ‘gross’ anywhere near this post, because these Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies are anything but!!Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies | The Pajama ChefDespite my apathy towards classic oatmeal cookies, when I saw this recipe last month, I was intrigued. Pumpkin? Chocolate chips? Dried cranberries? All in one cookie, that wasn’t a soft cakey cookie?? Umm, how could I say no? Especially when they bore a slight resemblance to my favorite camp breakfast? Count me in! Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies | The Pajama ChefThese Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies are seriously a dream come true. Each cookie contains the perfect flavors of fall that I l-o-v-e [in case you were unaware]: pumpkin, spice, chocolate, and cranberries… all in a guilt free breakfast-resembling package. I mean, am I right??

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies | The Pajama Chef

They are hearty, chewy, and incredibly easy to make–they just take half an hour and you probably have all the ingredients available at home anyways. I know I do, practically all the time. You best believe that these will be popping up in my kitchen year-round from now on. They are that good!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies | The Pajama ChefThe fact that there’s no oil or butter in them is only a bonus… because I’m certain that eating 5 of them at once sort of negates the health benefits. But we can pretend, right?

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies [adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction and Love From the Oven]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla. In a larger bowl, stir together flour, oats, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Fold wet ingredients into the dry until just moistened–dough will be thick, but not un-stirrable. Stir in chocolate chips and cranberries.

Drop by spoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets, slightly flattening because dough does not spread much while baking. Bake for 13-14 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet for about 3 minutes, then remove promptly to cooling rack to cool completely.

Time: 30 minutes.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies.

Desserts, Other, Recipes

SRC: Chocolate Mousse

Sarah

First Monday in September! Even though it’s Labor Day, it’s still a Secret Recipe Club kind of day. 🙂 If you’ve missed past SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. Everyone else posts about their secret blog the same day. It’s fabulously fun to try out new blogs. If you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining! I highly recommend it.

This month I was assigned Veggie Grettie. This blog is written by Gretchen, who believes in food as the ultimate medicine. You can read her story here, and I suggest you do because her story is pretty inspiring, even though I don’t personally eat a completely plant-based or gluten-free diet. Gretchen has many awesome recipes, reviews, and educational posts on her site… it was so fun to peruse. Anyways, I must admit that I adapted the recipe I made from Gretchen’s blog… but simply because I already had regular milk, cocoa, chocolate, and sweetener at home and wanted to make this recipe right away. But do click over to the original to see her recommendations for ingredients. However, do not despair because [in my opinion] I did not change the biggest component of all from this vegan chocolate mousse recipe: TOFU!

Yes, that’s right. That smooth, creamy, chocolately mousse isn’t made with heavy cream or eggs, but rather a block of extra firm tofu. Whaaaat? And I promise you that you cannot taste any tofu at all. There is no tofu-y taste, no tofu-y texture, just a luscious chocolate dessert that can’t be beat. It’s fabulous!

Ben was a doubter when I told him about it. He thought it was weird, but since he’s such a great guy, he always is willing to try anything I make. 🙂 As I was dishing up this dessert last week, here are some of the names Ben came up with to call this dish rather than Chocolate Mousse:

  1. tofudding
  2. tofousse
  3. moufu

Which do you prefer? I actually like tofousse. Tofudding creeps me out, and moufu sounds like a character from a Disney movie.

But after a bite or two, here’s what I had on my hands…

He loved it! And when asked if he would have suspected tofu was in this dish had he not known, this was his reply: “when you put a chocolate dessert in front of me, the first thing that comes to mind is not tofu.” I think that about sums it up. I wish I had done a fake out test on him, but sadly I didn’t. However, you can! Because really, who would guess that this was a big bowl of anything but chocolate mousse?

It’s rich and creamy, while being fairly healthy and even vegan [if you want]. I’m so glad I got the chance to try this recipe from Gretchen… it is amazing and I hope you try it too! 🙂

Chocolate Mousse [adapted from Veggie Grettie]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, chopped roughly
  • 14 ounce package of extra firm tofu
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups skim milk
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 6 tablespoons sweetener [I used half honey, half sugar]

Directions:

Melt chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, combine tofu, 1 1/2 cups milk, cocoa powder, and sweetener in a food processor or high powdered blender [like a Vitamix] and blend until very, very smooth. Be sure to stop and scrape down the sides as needed.

After chocolate has melted, stream in with other ingredients, and continue to blend until smooth. Mixture will be warm and not quite the consistency of pudding. If it seems too thick, add up to another 1/2 cup of milk.

Place in a covered container and refrigerate at least several hours to thicken completely.

When ready to serve, spoon or pipe into individual bowls. Top with berries, whipped cream, spinkles, or my personal favorite, Trader Joe’s Sugar, Chocolate, and Coffee Bean Grinder.

Time: 15 minutes preparation, plus time to chill.

Yield: 4 1/2 cups.

Be sure to check out other posts from today’s SRC reveal. Happy Labor Day!

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Sarah

Need another Chocolate Zucchini recipe? Probably not, but I just had to share these muffins. I’ve tried many, many combinations of zucchini with chocolate… and this is my absolute favorite.

Truth be told, these muffins are probably my favorite thanks to the doubled up chocolate–cocoa powder and chocolate chips–as well as the slightly indulgent, rich buttermilk. You could definitely substitute another kind of milk or use lemon juice/vinegar with milk [which I personally do most of the time] but I think using the real stuff makes these muffins creamier, tangier, and lighter than they would otherwise be.

Fortunately for me [and others who aren’t quite fans of the true taste of zucchini or other squashes]… all that chocolate along with warm spices masks the veggie component… and that same veggie component conveniently makes these muffins healthy and the perfect addition to your breakfast. Right? 🙂

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins [slightly adapted from Coconut and Lime]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini, squeezed and drained
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners and set aside.

Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Next, in a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking pwoder, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then add zucchini and chocolate chips. Stir until just incorporated.

Fill each muffin liner 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool fully.

Time: 45 minutes [10 minutes active].

Yield: 12 muffins.

Cupcakes, Desserts, One Tablespoon Testosterone, Recipes

Man Cupcakes

Sarah

Hello! Ben is back with his guest post column entitled One Tablespoon Testosterone, or OTT for short. Enjoy!

———

The dog days of summer are the worst.  It’s not the heat or the constant reminder that I’m getting old because I don’t get a summer break; it’s the fact that football season is tantalizingly close, yet still outside my grasp.  So in order to build anticipation for the slew of meaty and manly foods I’ll be making for those thrilling fall weekends, I decided to make a manly dessert.

Now it’s fair to say that cupcakes are hardly manly.  They’re delicious and I would never turn one down, but they’re often decorated with icing flowers and other colorful and aesthetically pleasing designs.  So I set out to make cupcakes that were none of those things.  There’s nothing froofy about these cupcakes.  They’re not aesthetically pleasing, unless you consider a strip of bacon to be beautiful (and I do).  But they are delicious and can be appreciated by anyone (except maybe small children).  They make a great dessert for a Super Bowl party, or any old time.

Man Cupcakes [cupcake recipe from Betty Crocker, idea inspired by a newspaper clipping from my mother-in-law]
click to print

Ingredients:

for cupcakes

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 12 ounce dark beer, like Guinness
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 large eggs

for frosting

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2-4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1-2 ounces whiskey

toppings

  • chocolate chips
  • crispy bacon
  • salted peanuts

Directions:

We need to start by making the cupcakes.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all those delicious cake ingredients together in a bowl, starting on low and then increasing to high until smooth.  When choosing your beer, I recommend Guinness Extra Stout as it blends wonderfully with the cocoa.  I can imagine that any chocolate stout variety would also be fantastic.  Pour the very devilish food cake batter into your cupcake papers (it should make two dozen-ish) and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  While these are baking, lick the beaters and bowl.

Once the cupcakes are baked, remove from oven and allow to cool.  Now let’s make the frosting.  Combine the ingredients in another bowl and mix together until smooth.  Add more powdered sugar if it’s too thin (or more whiskey if it’s too thick!).  1-2 ounces of whiskey is enough to flavor it, but feel free to add more if you want your cupcakes to burn a bit going down (yum!).

When the cupcakes have cooled frost them and add toppings.  Peanuts and chocolate chips are good options; but sticking with the manly theme, we should add some bacon.  Cook a few strips, cut/tear them into pieces, and add it to the top of your cupcakes.  Now stand back, admire your work, and hold back the tears of joy that will inevitably want to come; there’s no room for crying in manly cooking.

Time: 1 hour active [plus cooling].

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Breads, Breakfast, Recipes

Garam Masala Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Sarah

So if you have a garden or know someone who does… or heck, ever go to the farmer’s market, chances are, you are practically swimming in zucchini by now. Am I right? Classic zucchini bread is good once or twice… but then, that starts to get a bit boring. What to do, what to do, what to do… I know, I know! Add some Indian spices to that classic quick bread. Since that’s the logical solution, obviously. 😉

Don’t run away now. Just think about it. Classic zucchini bread usually has sweet spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc., right? Well, what does garam masala have in it… ummm…. oh thanks Wikipedia… pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and sometimes other things like chiles, ginger, star anise, etc. See! Garam masala–a spice mixture–is just a fancied up mix of those familiar spices. And savory spices aren’t completely unfamiliar to baked goods. Have you forgotten about pfeffernusses?

If you like Indian flavors, I can guarantee that you’ll love this twist on classic zucchini bread. This version is just as quick and satisfying, and since it’s made with [some] whole wheat flour and applesauce instead of just white flour and oil, it’s a wee bit healthier too. Though truthfully, those health benefits are probably negated thanks to the chocolate portion of this bread. Oh well, the combination of those aromatic spices with the sweet chocolate just makes this bread even more utterly delicious than it could be otherwise. It’s the perfect summer treat and I hope you’ll give it a shot… even though it may sound a bit weird. Just don’t tell those who might freak out a bit about savory spices in quick bread… at least not before they give it a try! 🙂


Garam Masala Chocolate Zucchini Bread [adapted from allrecipes.com]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour [250 grams]
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour [120 grams]
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini, pressed with paper towels to squeeze out extra water
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, cocoa powder, garam masala, baking soda, and baking powder. In a large bowl, beat eggs with whisk until fluffy. Then add zucchini, applesauce, and vanilla to eggs and whisk to combine wet ingredients.

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing with a wooden spoon until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Fold in chocolate chips, then pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake for 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Check on bread at 50 and 60 minutes, and cover with foil if bread is getting too dark.

Time: 75 minutes [15 minutes active].

Yield: 16 servings.