HappyTummy              

I can’t believe it’s been more than two years since I first joined the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group. You’d think that with that much time, I’d have thought way in advance about which recipe I’d want to pick when my turn came around. But no, I hemmed and hawed for weeks; the decision wasn’t easy. Should I go with a rich and chocolate-y dessert? Should I pick a cookie, always popular with everyone? I love a good bread pudding–how about that? Maybe a buttery, dense bundt cake that would go great with ice cream?

In the end, I picked the humble but wholesome Great Grains Muffin, something that had caught my eye a while back. While all of the other options sounded wonderful, these muffins felt the most “right” for me. I started my blog three years ago with the intention of documenting healthy, wholesome and delicious foods that reflected my high-fiber, low-fat diet. Things that make my tummy happy. These muffins are exactly that–chock full of whole grains, dried fruit and heart-healthy nuts.

If you follow my blog, you know I always make small changes. For these, I didn’t use any of the white flour–I just used white whole wheat flour. And instead of 8 tablespoons of butter, I used 7 tablespoons of Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend. I replaced the maple syrup with raw honey. And finally, I added three tablespoons of ground flax seeds.

These were perfect in every way for me. I loved the nutty flavor and the light sweetness. I loved the crunchy grittiness of the cornmeal. And I loved the plump raisins–they added a lovely chewy texture.

I hope everyone liked these as much as I did!

Recipe: Great Grains Muffins
From Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Makes 12 muffins

Made with three different grains and plenty of buttermilk, eggs and maple syrup, these have character, great texsture and a heartiness that satisfies without a trace of heaviness. I like to add quartered prunes to the mix, but the muffins are also good with raisins, dried apricots, dried cranberries, a few chopped pecans or nothing additional at all. Ditto when it comes to spreads–they’re great with butter, cream cheese, a slice of cheddar, some jam or plain.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup quartered moist, plump prunes or other dried fruits ( cut up as necessary) and/or chopped nuts (optional)

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, maple syrup, eggs and melted butter. Pour the liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough–if the batter is a bit lumpy, that’s fine. Stir in the fruit or nuts, if you’re using them. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully lift each muffin out of its mold and onto the rack to cool.

I love breakfast foods. I could eat them all day long…and in fact, I oftentimes do! On many Mondays, a group of coworkers and I head to a nearby cafe, and I always order an omelet with brunch potatoes. Many times for dinner, I’ll eat a big bowl of cereal with banana slices and chopped walnuts. I love pancakes, waffles, eggs of any kind, English muffins, granola, scones…pretty much any breakfast.

So these Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins were right up my alley. They were the perfect breakfast for a very snowy day. Bright, tangy, citrusy flavor…but also rich and creamy, thanks to the yogurt. As always, I used raw sugar, which gave it an unexpectedly delicious crunch. Dorie suggested drizzling the muffins with icing, but I didn’t…and really didn’t miss it at all!

These muffins lasted just long enough for me to take a few pictures. My brother-in-law’s family came over to visit, and everyone devoured them.

Thanks for picking this winner, Betsy! My adapted version of Dorie’s recipe is below, but for the original, visit Betsy’s blog, A Cup of Sweetness.

Recipe: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
Makes 12 muffins

• 2/3 cup turbinado sugar
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend, melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the yogurt, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – a few lumps are better than over mixing the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Happy New Year!

What delicious little nuggets of chocolaty goodness these are. And easy to make, too!

The best thing about these cookies was the addition of the cinnamon. I actually omitted the cloves, but the next time I bake these, I’ll actually replace the cloves with extra cinnamon.

I bet the ginger variations are yummy too.

My whole wheat, non-clove version of the recipe is below, but for Dorie’s original, please visit the official Tuesdays with Dorie blog!

Recipe: Midnight Crackles
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

• 10 tablespoons Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend, cut into 10 pieces (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
• 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs

Put the butter, sugar and chocolate in that order into a 2 quart saucepan. Put the pan over low heat and warm the ingredients, stirring occasionally, until they are melted and smooth. Scrape everything into the bowl of a mixer or into a large bowl.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Working with a mixer with a paddle attachment, if you have one, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating until the eggs are well blended into the chocolate. With the mixer still on low, add the dry ingredients, mixing just until the dough is smooth and shiny; it will clean the sides of the bowl and form a ball. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide it in half, wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or for up to 3 days. (If the dough is solid, leave it on the counter for 30 minutes before proceeding.).

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°F Line two baking sheets with parchment or a silicone mat.

Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll the dough between your palms to form firm, shiny balls. (If the dough breaks as you work, squeeze and knead it a bit, then reroll it between your palms.) Place the balls about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets and lightly press each one down a bit with your fingertips.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies should be delicately firm and crackled across the top. (It’s better to under- than over bake.) Remove the sheets from the oven, let the cookies rest on the sheets for 2 minutes, then, using a wide metal spatula, gently transfer the cookies to a rack; cool to room temperature.

Dorie’s Translucent Maple Tuiles just may have been my biggest kitchen disaster to date, haha. Which is too bad, because the very few I was able to salvage were delicious, and it would have been nice to have had more.

These tuiles were supposed to come out paper thin, lacey and pliable, so that you quickly remove them from the baking sheet to a curved rolling pin to dry. My first batch came out smoking and completely burnt, even having baked them for under the requisite seven minutes. For the second batch, I was scared to leave them in the oven for too long, so I pulled them out early, hoping that the cookies would continue to cook on the sheet pan. But I took them out too early, at four and a half minutes, and never got the “translucency”—basically the dough just melted into one big mess, and I got cookies that looked more like Pringles.

The third batch was going to be my last—I used up all the dough. I lowered the temperature a smidgen and instead of relying on the timer, I kept a close eye on the cookies as they were in the oven. At about five minutes, the cookies were bubbling nicely (which gave the cookies their lacey quality), and the edges were looking like they getting dark and crispy. Just a few seconds longer, and they probably would have burned again.

I pulled them out and let them bubble on the cookie sheet just a bit more. I tried my hardest not to let the cookies fall apart as I slid them on the spatula, but as you can see, some of them didn’t make it. I draped them over a rolling pin, and was lucky to get two decent-looking tuiles. The rest ended up as lacey shards. That’s OK though. They tasted lovely, of maple and butter, and had a satisfying crunch.

Thanks to Clivia of Bubie’s Little Baker for picking this recipe. Sorry I didn’t do it justice! You can get Dorie’s original recipe on Clivia’s blog. My adapted version using white whole wheat flour is below.

Recipe: Translucent Maple Tuiles
Adapted from Baking from my Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon white whole wheat flour, sifted

In a small bowl, using a sturdy rubber spatula or a hand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup together until light in color and texture. Gently stir in the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated. Cover the bowl, pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or for up to 1 week.

Getting ready to bake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Have two unlined baking sheets at hand and, if you want to curve the cookies into their traditional tile shape, a rolling pin or a slender bottle.

Roll small scoops of dough between your palms to form balls the size of small cherries or hazelnuts, and put the balls 2 inches apart on the unbuttered baking sheets (I recommend parchment).

Bake for about 7 minutes, or until the cookies spread and are golden colored and honeycombed. Immediately remove the baking sheets from the oven, let the cookies rest a few seconds and then, using a wide metal spatula, lift them from the sheets: The best way to do this is to carefully work the spatula under a cookie edge, then push the spatula beneath the cookie with a quick jerk. If the cookie crumples a bit, as it might, don’t worry—it will straighten out on the rolling pin or rack.

For curved cookies, moving with alacrity, lay the cookies, a few at a time, over the rolling pin. Transfer the cookies to a rack after they have set—under a minute—or, if you want flat cookies, just cool them on a rack. If the cookies cool and stick stubbornly to the baking sheet, slide the sheet into the oven for another minute to warm them.

If you are making another batch of cookies, make certain the baking sheets are clean and cool.

So I was looking back at some of my posts, and it appears that I’ve made several different versions of banana bread over the life of this blog: Coco-Nana Bread, Chocolate Banana Bread with Teff Flour, Banana Bundt Cake and Banana Pineapple Bread. But wouldn’t you know, I’ve never blogged about plain old banana nut bread!

So here’s the classic banana nut bread…and it’s healthy to boot! The original recipe called for vegetable oil, but I replaced it with heart-healthy canola oil and ground flaxseeds. I also replaced the two eggs with two egg whites.

The resulting loaf was extremely moist and light. Absolutely delicious!

Recipe: Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites
•  1/4 cup mashed bananas
• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

In a large bowl, beat oil and honey together. Add eggs, and mix well. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt.

Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then add to batter. Blend in chopped nuts. Spread batter into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 1/2 hour before slicing.