Cherry Pie Snack Bars

I recently gave up desserts for Lent. Because of this, I've put a lot of baking on hold until after Easter (I know that you can bake other things besides desserts, but I've not been into bread lately. Horrors!). I've noticed, however, that I've been eating far more nut butter than I did, and I've been looking for other ways to snack other than sweets.

I bought a few Larabars, and discovered that the only one that I really enjoyed was the Cherry Pie flavor. Curious to make them myself (that's just how I roll), I found this recipe, and decided to share it here.

Recipe adapted from cleaneatingonline.com

Yield is 4 bars

About 7 dates
1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries

2/3 cup of walnuts (pecans would work as well -- I just had walnuts)
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Am I the only one that thinks that date pits look like something from Star Trek?

Remove the pits from the dates and chop them up into small pieces. Dump into a food processor, then add the berries, cinnamon, and nuts. Pulse until very mushy (see pic for texture example).

Line a cutting board with plastic wrap. Scoop the mixture onto the cutting board, dividing into 4 parts. Pat each part into a bar shape, and wrap securely in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate and enjoy as a healthy snack!

Homemade Vitatop Chocolate Muffin Tops!

After hearing about them for over a year, I finally decided to purchase a small box of Vitalicious Muffin Tops. In the mood for a treat, of course I chose chocolate! The other flavors sound yummy, but the selection in the store was pretty limited. I was pleasantly surprised by the softness and flavor, surely food worthy of a low-calorie, healthy dessert. However, the price tag was not so impressive. $4 on sale for 4 muffins? I knew that if I wanted to continue to enjoy these treats, I would have to figure out a way to make them, and so I set to work. I managed to get this low-calorie, similar recipe. It's lower in fiber than the Vitatops, but very good and so much cheaper! The cost of making this recipe, which yields about 8 muffin tops, was $1. Nice!

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/3 cup sucanat

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1 egg

1/4 cup natural applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, sucanat, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips.

Once the wet ingredients are mixed smooth, add to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined, taking care not to overmix. Mix in 1/4 cup of the chips.

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or a silicone baking mat (I love, love these!) and using a large spoon, ladle the mix onto the sheet into larg-ish circles. Sprinkle a few chips on the top of each muffin top, then bake for 10 minutes.

Place aluminum foil on top of the cooling muffin tops for ten minutes, then enjoy, or place into small freezer bags and freeze until ready to enjoy.

Homemade Apple Butter (sugar free)

If you follow my tweets, you will know a bit about my reasoning for trying to make apple butter, but the logic follows my usual "make my own" line of reasoning.

1. I love a food to the point of obsession
2. Said food is either extremely expensive to obtain, or grossly unavailable in the area (ie, Korean-style froyo in Baltimore circa summer 2009)
3. The Internet is free!
4. I make the said thing...sometimes with results indicating that buying the expensive item is absolutely worth it!

None of these reasons really apply to making your own apple butter. The germination of the idea of making my own apple butter came about from my frustration at being unable to find apple butter free of HFCS that wasn't $6 a jar...so I guess it was expense related. However, considering the number of apples necessary to make the 18 oz. jar of apple butter....well...unless you've an apple tree in your back yard, financially it's a wash. 

However, for fresh taste, nothing beats homemade, and that's that. :)

Recipe adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

You will need:

approx. a dozen apples, depending on their size (I used granny smiths, but you could use any style you desire, even mixing types)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

The best way to make the apple butter is in the crockpot. Since the apples must cook so long, it's nice to be able to leave or sleep without worry. 

Peel and core the apples, then slice into quarters. Dump them into the crockpot, and cook on low for 8 hours, leaving the lid ajar, checking periodically and stirring. 

Add the spices, and cook an additional 6 hours on low until brown and mushy. Smooth out with an immersion mixer, if desired. 

Place in sealed containers and keep in the fridge. If you want to do full out canning, some amazing sources are here. 

And that's it! See? Easy, just a little plan aheady (yep, I made up that word). 

Sandwich Thins

Everyone seems to be talking about the low-fat, healthy sandwich thins made by Arnold. Always interested in trying to substitute more healthy foods into my diet, I was anxious to try them. I've seen them turned into French toast, bagel substitutes, and of course, burger buns. Sure, I could have just went to a local grocery and bought them, but I had all of the items to make them on hand, and I love the challenge of something new. This recipe is a simplified version of the one found on Food.com.


This makes about 14 thins, depending on how you roll them out. They also freeze beautifully!


As always, first, the ingredients:

1 1/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1 1/2 cup bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp rolled oats (optional)

In a large bowl, combine water, sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit for 10 minutes. 

Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (start with only 1 cup of the wheat flour) and add half to the mixer bowl. 

Add the oil and egg and combine. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest 1 hour.

Add the remaining dry ingredients and knead for 5 minutes. Add additional more wheat flour by the tablespoon so that dough forms a ball. 

Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Spray your hands with cooking spray, as this dough is sticky!Pinch a small piece of dough from the ball, and roll in your hands to form a ball, and then flatten it between your palms. 

Place it on the baking sheet and press down, working the dough into a thin 5-inch round. Repeat until dough is fully divided. Brush the tops with water and then sprinkle with rolled oats, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while you let the buns rest for 30 minutes before baking for 12-15 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.