Category: Recipes

As soon as the weather turns cool and rainy, I start thinking about fall baking. I crave warm, comforting breads and baked goodies with plenty of spices and flavors of apples and pumpkin. These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins have been one of my go-to recipes for quite a few years. I can whip up a batch in about 5 minutes now, so you know I have made this recipe pretty often!

There are a couple of things which set this recipe apart from other pumpkin muffins. First, many pumpkin bread or muffin recipes call for quite a lot of vegetable oil. I don’t like to use heavily processed oils like that, so I usually substitute olive oil in recipes which call for vegetable oil. But nobody wants their pumpkin muffins to taste like olive oil! I solved that problem by using applesauce in place of the oil!

You do need some type of fat or oil, or the muffins won’t have the right texture. But I’ve found that a little bit of melted butter in addition to the applesauce works well. Thus, I get both apples and pumpkins in these muffins, though the apple flavor isn’t strong enough to taste.

Making a better muffin

Applesauce makes these muffins especially moist, without the residual greasiness you sometimes get with muffins that have lots of oil in them. So these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are healthier and have a better texture! That’s a double win!

To increase the nutritional value of these muffins even further, use whole wheat flour for all or part of the flour this recipe calls for. I’ve written the recipe for using 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour, but you are welcome to use all whole wheat flour if you like. I recommend using a whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour in this recipe.

Method

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Butter your muffin tins, or line them with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the applesauce, pumpkin puree, eggs, melted butter, and sugar. Stir well to combine. In another bowl, sift the flour with the salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir the flour mixture gently into the pumpkin mixture. When it is almost combined, stir in the chocolate chips until no streaks of flour remain.

Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. (If you are using large bakery-size muffin tins, fill them about 2/3 full.) Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the top of a muffin springs back when touched lightly. Cool in pans for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

When the muffins are cool, store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Enjoy!

Note: This recipe makes more or fewer muffins, depending on what size of muffin tins you use. For example, the last time I baked these, I made 18 standard-size muffins and 6 large bakery-size muffins, for a total of 24 muffins. If you use all standard-size muffin tins, expect to make 30 muffins. If you use all large-size muffin tins, expect to make about 15.

If you like these muffins, try some of these other fall recipes: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles or Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal!

Fresh cranberries in a cookie? Yes indeed! There’s something about these cookies that makes them an instant family favorite. In fact, they have become legendary in my family, thanks to my sister Bethany who loves to bake them.

While they are quite simple to make, the white chocolate and tangy cranberries make an unforgettable combination that will have you baking them again and again. And don’t expect these cookies to sit around in your cookie tin–once your family gets a sniff, they will be gone as soon as they’re cool enough to touch! (My husband admitted to consuming five cookies in one sitting the last time I made them!)

Method

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. You will need to bake these cookies in several batches, so it is helpful to have at least two baking sheets. Lightly butter the sheets and set them aside. While these are buttery drop cookies, the fresh berries tend to stick to the pans, so that’s why I recommend buttering them. Alternatively, you may line the baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Brown sugar makes these cookies soft, and lends a subtle depth of flavor. You may find it easier to use an electric mixer to make the dough, but if your butter is soft enough, a wooden spoon works just fine.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and stir well to combine.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, sift together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Add them to the creamed mixture, and mix thoroughly. Fold in the white chocolate chips and cranberries.

Using Fresh Berries in Cookie Dough

For this recipe, I use lingonberries, or lowbush cranberries, as they are commonly called in Alaska. This is a smaller cousin of the cranberry, which tastes very similar. (They are more intensely tart, if you ask me.) These berries grow wild in Alaska, Canada, the Pacific Northwest, and parts of Northern Europe.

Lingonberries are ideal to use in this recipe because they are small and firm. If you cannot get lingonberries where you live, you may substitute regular (fresh) cranberries. Since those are bigger and tend to be less juicy, you may wish to chop them coarsely before adding them to the cookie dough.

When folding berries into cookie dough, you must work quickly and gently, or the berries will burst. Then you will have pink-streaked cookies and flat, chewy berries instead of whole, juicy ones. I like to use frozen berries, so they don’t burst or squish as easily. If you have trouble incorporating the berries into the cookie dough, err on the side of less mixing. You can always press stray berries into the top and sides of each cookie after you form them on your baking sheet.

Baking the Cookies

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the buttered baking sheets, spacing them 2″ apart. Press any stray berries and white chocolate chips into the cookie dough. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned.

Let the baked cookies rest on the pans for 2 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will be fragile at first, so letting them rest on the pans for a few minutes gives them a chance to firm up.

These cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. They also freeze well, and may be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Enjoy!

Chocolate for breakfast? Usually I’d be skeptical, but this granola packs a lot of protein, not too much sugar, and incredibly luscious flavor. Pair it with whole milk yogurt and some fresh cherries for a decadent yet healthy treat!

If your yogurt-and-granola routine is getting a little boring, try this twist on traditional granola recipes! Dark cocoa powder and ground cinnamon provide a welcome change of pace for this morning staple. Paired with oats, almonds, and coconut, the flavors really shine.

This isn’t one of those granola recipes that calls for 26 different ingredients and whatever fruit and nut combinations you happen to have on hand. Instead, the carefully matched flavors provide a nice balance of deep and rich cocoa with the classic almond + coconut combination.

Even better, you control the amount of sugar that goes into the mixture. If you’re like me and don’t prefer overly sweet breakfast foods, just decrease the honey or brown sugar a bit to get the level of sweetness you want.

Method

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Set aside one or two large, rimmed baking sheets. (If you only have one, you will need to stir the granola very carefully as it cooks! Two pans just makes it easier.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, almonds, coconut, and brown sugar. The recipe calls for rolled oats, but you can use quick oats in a pinch. It won’t affect the flavor or consistency of the finished granola.

After you’ve made your brown sugar and combined it with the dry ingredients, get another medium-size bowl or large liquid measuring cup to mix the wet ingredients. Melt the coconut oil, either in the microwave or on the stovetop, over low heat. Add the cocoa powder, honey, cinnamon, and salt. It might seem odd to add these to the liquid rather than the dry ingredients, but this step does seem to help spread the flavors out evenly through the granola.

Once everything is combined thoroughly, spread the granola mixture out on your baking sheets. Try to spread it as evenly as possible, without a mound in the middle. Bake the chocolate granola for 45 minutes to an hour, checking it every 15 minutes.

When you check the granola, remove the pan from the oven and place it carefully on top of the stove or a heatproof surface. Stir through the mixture with a large wooden spoon, being careful not to spill any granola out of the pan. This is where splitting the mixture between two pans makes things easier! You want to stir from the outside of the pan in towards the center, because the edges will bake faster than the middle. Then spread granola from the center outwards, toward the edges.

This granola doesn’t get much darker in the oven, due to the already-dark color from the cocoa, so it can be hard to determine exactly when the granola is done. It’s best to watch the almonds and coconut carefully for a change in color. They start out white or nearly white, and they should turn light brown when the granola is finished. Smell is also a good indicator. When you start smelling toasted coconut and almonds, your granola is likely done!

Remember that the granola will continue to harden as it cools, so don’t worry if it seems a little soft when you take it out of the oven. The enticing aroma will likely draw everyone in the house, so good luck cooling it completely before everyone wants a taste!

This chocolate coconut granola may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks, so don’t be afraid to double the recipe!

For more breakfast recipes, try Apple Streusel Cream Cheese Bread Pudding or Overnight Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal!

What captures the sun-drenched essence of summer better than ripe apricots? This sunny apricot iced tea will transport you to lazy afternoons on the front porch swing with the first sip! Sweet and fruity, with a bit of fizz just for fun, this is one recipe you will find yourself making again and again this summer.

Iced tea is perfect for hot days when you need a cool, refreshing drink. Make it with strong black tea for a garden tea party, or use decaf or herbal tea for a drink the kids will love.

Method

Make one quart of strong apricot-flavored black tea. I used 5 tea bags to one quart of boiling water. The tea I used was a Decaf Apricot Black Tea from The Republic of Tea. You can use regular black tea, but the flavor will not be as strong. If you desire a lighter, fruitier flavor, try an herbal blend instead of black tea: the Cinnamon Apricot Tisane from Monterey Bay Spice Company would work very well here.

Do make sure you brew your tea double-strength if using an herbal blend, or even with black tea if you want a strong tea flavor. The juice and seltzer water will dilute the tea to about half-strength. I was making this recipe with kids in mind, so I was happy with the less intense tea flavor.

Chill the tea for at least one hour in the refrigerator. You may add some sugar while the tea is still warm if you prefer.

Prepare the apricots: drain one 15-ounce can of apricot halves and reserve the juice. Mash the apricots with a fork or a potato masher, or in a food processor. Canned apricots are pretty soft, so if you don’t have a food processor, don’t worry!

When the tea is chilled, pour it into a 2-quart (or larger) pitcher or jar. Add the mashed apricots, reserved apricot juice or syrup, and two 12-ounce cans of peach or apricot-flavored seltzer water. Apricot-flavored seltzer water can be hard to find depending on where you live, but peach works just fine.

Stir well and taste for sweetness. Depending on whether your apricots were canned in juice, light syrup, or heavy syrup, you will need to add more or less sugar. I used apricots that were canned in extra light syrup, and I added 6 tablespoons of sugar to the final mixture. If you aren’t sure how much sugar you will need, try adding just one or two tablespoons at a time; stir; and taste again for sweetness. That way, you won’t end up accidentally adding too much!

Add 2-3 cups of ice cubes and serve immediately. Be sure to stir or shake before pouring the tea, or the apricot bits will all fall to the bottom of the pitcher.

If you are making this tea ahead, don’t add the seltzer water or ice until just before serving. You can mix the tea, mashed apricots, and apricot juice in a pitcher (with some sugar if desired) and store in the refrigerator for a day or two before serving.

After adding the seltzer water and ice, the tea is best drunk the same day. You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator, but you will lose the bubbles!

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like my Butterscotch Creme Iced Tea!