Category: Baked Goods

Holiday Goodies: Gingerbread, Paper Snowflakes and Decorations

I LOVE gingerbread.

Okay… that’s a slight understatement. I’m obsessed with it!

Seriously! Its true!
Hi, I’m Kate and I have a gingerbread addiction! I think about it, want it, and crave it as much as an addict would their drug of choice! It would be ridiculous if I heard anyone else explain to me like I am to you, how much they love gingerbread.

Everyone has their vices, and while I have a few year-round vices, my holiday “drug of choice” is gingerbread. SO, to celebrate my deep love affair with this delicious little cookie I’m throwing a party. I’ve rounded up some of the gang that enjoy gingerbread (or could it be the wine and champagne I also promised would be flowing?) to come celebrate this wonderful blessing to all mankind that is the gingerbread cookie.

So I’ll be using both my tried and true Gingerbread Cookie recipe and my  gluten-free gingerbread cookie . Now, you might turn up your little nose and say.. “ewwww! What’s the point of eating a gluten-free cookie! Is it even a COOKIE still!?” Well, I’ll have you know I snuck a batch into my Gingerbread party last year and no-one had ANY idea! They’re delicious!! So, I’m looking forward to baking up a large batch of gingerbread men, women, dog bones, stars, trees… well you get the picture and decorating for the party!

To help gather some decor inspiration, I started a Gingerbread Party Pinterest Board . So far, I’m thinking about kicking it old school and making paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling with red ribbon.

I also want to pick up a few of the trimmed Christmas tree branches from my fruit stand boys at Corner Produce down at Pike Place (where we got our tree this year!) and decorating the table with some variation of this lovely idea using pine cones, candles and branches in glass jar! (pictured at left).

When I saw the package of Kikkerland Biodegradable Red and White Striped Paper Straws, I grabbed the package because our little house simply NEEEEEEDED an adorable package of straws! So, I’ll be putting these out in a mason jar…which is a little silly because we’ll be serving one of my favorite “go-to” wineries, Folie A Deux Menage A Trois in both the  Table Red (I call it the gateway red!) and Table White. A party can’t be complete without some bubbly so we’ll also have that! To remember who’s wine glass is who’s, I’ll get some various ribbons and tie them to the stems and also have another scrap that you can tie to your wrist or pin so for a fun party game of remembering which glass is yours!

Now that the party is planned, gingerbread must be baked and decorations gathered and put out! Tune in this weekend for an updated post with pictures from the party! And, YES,  I WILL be eating gingerbread while I type that post…and everyday for the next two weeks!!

Protein Pumpkin Bran Muffins with Walnuts & Raisins

Who doesn’t love muffins? Delicious, warming, hearty and the thing I love the most is the crunchy muffin top! On more than one occasion I’ve eaten the muffin top and left the rest, usually because there isn’t enough goodness throughout the rest of the muffin to keep my interest. I might have muffin ADD. That’s one of the reasons I LOVE making muffins at home, not only does the whole house smell amazing, but I love baking and it’s fun to make them exactly how I want and they are a wonderful easy breakfast option!

 

Wednesday night I roasted my own pumpkin (you can read the post here) in the effort to prepare the delicious pumpkin for baking. Pumpkin muffins have been on my mind for WEEKS! Well, last night was FINALLY the night! We had dinner plans with friends so it was the perfect time to make them and then LEAVE them to cool while we went out. This was my tricky methodology to keep myself from eating one… two …tasting my wonderful pumpkin creation!

I…LOVE…BAKING!! Fresh roasted pumpkin!? Check! Throw a few raisins and walnuts in there… let’s see what other spices can I throw in this bowl? Cloves are one of my favorite holiday spices because it always remind me of gingerbread, which is tied for first favorite holiday flavor right along with Pumpkin and Gingersnap.

The first words as he walked in the door were: “It smells like CHRISTMAS in here!” Holiday baking is one of my favorite hobbies of the entire year, and that declaration my foodie friends  made my little baking heart well up with joy! Those muffins smelled as amazing when they were cooking as they did this morning for breakfast! Now, he’s NOT a pumpkin fan so I figured I’d be eating a dozen by myself (Oh darn), but dolled out some high compliments this morning as we both enjoyed them for breakfast. I reduced the sugar from the original recipe and they were still the perfect mix between spiced, pumpkin and sweet flavors and hearty enough to be satisfied with one muffin and some yogurt. It was the perfect fall breakfast!  The garbanzo flour and Greek yogurt gave an extra protein punch which I appreciate in a muffin.  I can’t WAIT to get home and eat another one two wonderful pumpkin creation! 🙂

Protein Pumpkin Bran Muffins with Walnuts & Raisins
Yield: 12 muffins

Photo from: Green Lite Bites

Adapted from Green Lite Bites Recipe

  • 1 ½ c. Flour ( I like garbanzo, Whole Wheat or Almond but any flour will do)
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. ground ginger
  • ½ tsp. ground cloves
  • ½ tsp. fresh grated nutmeg (you can also use ground if you have/prefer)
  • 2 cups of fresh roasted pumpkin (or 1 15oz can of pumpkin)
  • 2 tbsp. molasses
  • 1 tbsp. honey (double if you like sweeter muffins)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 egg whites
  • ¼ c. unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ c. vanilla Greek yogurt
  • Raisins and crushed walnuts to taste
  • ¾ cup Wheat Bran

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and grease your muffin tin or line with festive muffin cups

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg in a medium bowl. The recipe called for double sifting, but since I don’t have a sifter and I’m way too lazy I just too my pastry blender (or you can use a whisk) and added a little fluffing to it!

In another large bowl, add the pumpkin, molasses, honey, egg, egg whites, applesauce and yogurt. Beat until all ingredients are mixed well.

Add the wheat bran to the flour mixture and mix.

Pour the flour/bran mixture into the pumpkin mixture and combine until just moistened. Don’t over mix. Add raisins and walnuts if you like them and pour into greased muffin tin. These muffins are pretty moist and I like the crunchier outside so I don’t use the paper cups since the muffins tend to stick. Don’t worry, they’ll be full and the pan will feel a bit heavy but they bake up with nice muffin tops! Optional: sprinkle the top with oats, wheat bran or pumpkin seeds.

Bake for 20 minutes in pre-heated oven. Muffins are cooked when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean. Cook on wire rack and enjoy!

Carrot Raisin Walnut Muffins (Dairy Free)

Carrot Walnut Raisin Protein Muffins
Carrot Walnut Raisin Protein Muffins

Well she’s at it again… the one who can’t rest when she’s sick! What can I say!? I was tasted up for a carrot raisin muffin and there were carrots in the fridge! Now, on a note to my future self, baby carrots are NOT the optimum for baking and I’m actually amazed that I didn’t grate my fingers in the process! But, as I previously stated, in my defense that’s all that was in the fridge and I was in no condition to be baking… let alone traipsing out to the store in the Seattle rain! So, I worked with what was in the pantry!

I cut the original recipe in half since my other half doesn’t enjoy vegetables in his baked goods and I can’t..er… shouldn’t eat a dozen by myself in a week. Although after tasting one fresh out of the oven just now, I’m pretty sure I could happily live off of these and soy foam americanos for at LEAST the next week. These are THE best muffins I think I’ve ever made! And let me tell you, I’ve made a LOT of muffins in my lifetime! They were perfectly moist yet dense and hearty enough that I wasn’t reaching for a second just to feel full. The balance between the  walnut, carrot and raisin to “bread” ratio was superb!

When it comes to breakfast, I start with my “protein” and build around that. Garbanzo bean flour has twice the protein that other flours have and mixed with the other goodies in the muffin, it’s just a perfect delight to grab in the morning and doesn’t leaving me reaching for a loaf of bread by 10am or feeling bad about eating a muffin for breakfast! One of these guys with some yogurt or cottage cheese and a coffee and you’ve got a happy morning!

I was short on eggs and long on garbanzo bean flour so I figured I’d noodle around with the recipe a bit. After all, I strongly believe that recipes are simply “ratio guidelines” for us to play with! And I like raisins so I threw a few handfuls in there! When it comes to “wet” ingredients in baking recipes I cook a lot “to taste” making sure to keep the same ratio of wet to dry ingredients while making sure to keep an eye on the leavening agents. I learned that last one the hard way, you don’t want to omit those or you’ll have dense flat baked goods!

Carrot Raisin Walnut Muffins (Dairy Free)
Yield: 6 muffins 
Recipe adapted from PCC’s Market recipe: Carrot-Walnut Muffins 

Ingredients
1 1/2 c Garbanzo Bean Flour
1/2 c wheat bran
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 c  + 2 tbsp apple sauce
2/3 cup vanilla soy yogurt
2 1/2 cups grated carrots
chopped walnuts & raisins to taste

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, one at a time, and stir to blend. Spoon into oiled muffin tins or paper muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Nutritional Value

Calories Fat(g) Sat Fat(g) Cholesterol(g) Sodium(mg) Potassium (mg) Total Carbs (g) Dietary Fiber (g) Sugar(g) Protein (g)
1 Dozen 175 2 0.75 3.75 346 226 31.5 6.6 16.8 8.6
Half Dozen 351 4.5 1.5 7.5 692 451 63 13 34 17

Variations:

  • Any flour can be used, but keep an eye on the baking time if you’re using whole wheat as it tends to burn quicker
  • 1/4 c apple sauce replaced one egg
  • 2 tbsp apple sauce replaced 2 tbsp oil
  • I added raisins to my recipe since I like them, but you can omit or add whatever other ingredients you wish (coconut, chocolate chips, other nuts, etc)