Carrot & Quinoa Muffins

Hello?  Are you still reading?  I was worried that I would lose a number of you immediately after you read the title of this post.  I, too, was a skeptic.  When J mentioned Carrot & Quinoa Muffins as one of the many items in her Kentucky Derby party spread, I stared at them in disbelief.  I've never been a huge fan of carrots in baked goods and, frankly, they sounded too healthy to be good.  I should have known better than to doubt J, the woman who introduced me to my all-time favorite Kale and Pear Salad.

My Dad had the same reaction to these muffins.  I offered to send him home with a few and he wrinkled his nose at me like he wouldn't possibly enjoy them.  Then he tried one.  He left our place with a bag full of muffins.  Later, my Mom called for the recipe.

 What I'm trying to say is do not be dissuaded by the healthful ingredients in these muffins.  The carrot flavor is subtle.  The coconut oil provides undertones of coconut, but nothing overpowering.  The quinoa gives the muffins a wonderful texture.  These are dynamite. 

I've made these three times and have a few tips as a result.  First, I think the coconut oil makes a huge difference in how these taste and I'd recommend using it.  I found mine at Sunflowers Market and I am sure they have it at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.  The first time I made these, I used 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil.  The muffins tasted great but were a bit greasy.  The second time around, I made these with butter and I frankly didn't like them as much. The third time (I know...ridiculous), I made them with 1/3 cup of coconut oil and they were tasty and less greasy.  Finally,don't overfill the muffin cups!  3/4 of the way full produces lovely muffins that stay in the confines of their wrappers.  Trust me on this one... 

Carrot & Quinoa Muffins
Yield = 16 muffins
Adapted from Fresh365 

1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpose flour works well, too)
3/4 cup almond flour (again, all-purpose flour works well, too, but I like mixing in almond flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (substitute 1/2 cup unsalted butter if you prefer)
1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup loosely-packed, grated carrots
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease or line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together quinoa, sugar, flours, baking soda, and salt.  In a small bowl, mix together the coconut oil (allow to cool), Greek yogurt, vanilla, and eggs.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing well.  Gently fold in the carrots and walnuts until just mixed.

Divide batter evenly such that none of the muffin tins is filled more than 3/4 full.  For me, this yielded 16 muffins.  Transfer the muffins to the oven.  Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Happy National Chocolate Chip Day!

I found myself dreaming of a chocolate chip scone on the way to work and it must have been my subconscious knowing that today is National Chocolate Chip Day!  I was reminded when I arrived at work to see a most welcome sight.

Is it wrong to have a cookie for breakfast?  Have I mentioned before that I have the best co-workers?

Should you feel inspired to bake something using chocolate chips today, may I suggest Jim Lahey's Chocolate Chip Cookies (if you like your cookies thin and crispy), Ali's Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (if soft and chewy is your thing), Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, or Chocolate Chip Scones?  Regardless of what you make, it is a great excuse to get to the kitchen to bake something delicious.

Double Stuff Oreos

The last four weeks were a whirlwind of house hunting and negotiating, a wonderful weekend in Chicago, a (very hot) trip to Boston for the marathon, and a visit from a dear friend and her boyfriend who we met for the first time.  Between all of that, life in general, and work (oh, yes, that -- I do have a job), I feel like I've been largely absent from cooking and blogging and doing things at home that I love.  The glorious spring weather we have had is a contributing factor... I just feel guilty being inside!

A major contributing factor to feeling overwhelmed is that we are under contract (!!) on a home.  If all goes well, we'll be home owners in mid-June.  When I think about cooking, I now see myself in our new kitchen and cooking in our current place just isn't as enticing.  The prospect of owning our own home is both amazing and terrifying.  I don't want to share any details about the house until things are official, but below is a glimpse at a lovely little something from the backyard.

Thankfully, S's birthday party this weekend snapped me out of my house dreaming and back to reality - I promised to bring dessert to the party and the clock was ticking until party time.  Initially, I offered to make Rhubarb Buckle.  If you love rhubarb, you must make Ali's version of Rhubarb Buckle.  Seriously.  It is a must.  We made it during the aforementioned trip to Chicago and I had four pieces in a 24 hour period.  Are you judging?  If so, just wait until you make it! 

You know what else is dangerous?  These Double Stuff Oreos.  Looking at my photos, these look more like whoopie pies than Oreos.  If you look at the photos on Smitten Kitchen, the cookies are much flatter and thinner.... I was worried that the cookies would flatten considerably during baking, but they didn't.  Next time I make these, I'll press them down more before baking.  I do, however, stand by my change to make fewer cookies but to add more filling.  The filling really complements the intense chocolate flavor (with a touch of saltiness) of the cookies and I think the cookies as a whole benefit from just a little more filling.

If you have a cookie thief in your household, beware!  I had to stop Rob not only from eating the cookies, but also the frosting.  Under the guise of helping me spread the filling, I caught him sneaking tastes of both.  Consider yourself warned!

Double Stuff Oreos
Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen

Yield = 20 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor or the bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar.  While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter and then the egg.  Continue processing or mixing until the dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart.  With moistened hands, flatten the dough.  Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking.  Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla.  Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, use either a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip to pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie or use a butter knife (I used a knife and it worked well).  Apply filling to half of the cookies and then apply any remaining filling to the cookies until you use all of the filling.  Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the filling.  Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie.  Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched. 

Update on Friday, May 25, 2012 at 12:43 AM by Darcy Eden

After making these for a second time, I wanted to report back about making the cookies thinner.  The second time around, I used approximately 1 rounded tablespoon of dough per cookies.  I rolled the dough into a ball, placed it on the parchment paper, and used the bottom of a glass to flatten the cookie to approximately 1/4" in thickness (as pictured below).  The end result is a much flatter, more Oreo-like cookie.  I kind of like the look of my first (very thick) batch, but these were more manageable to eat!

Midnight Cowboy Cookies

One of the oddest things about the internet is how you can become friends with someone you haven't ever met in person. I was e-introduced to Jackie at dessertification by my dear friend Sarah - Jackie and Sarah went to college together. I love reading about her creative desserts and thoroughly enjoy her wry sense of humor... and I suspect that if we went shopping together, we'd have an excellent time and purchase many similar items!  Hopefully we'll meet in person at some point.

Rob sneakily depleted our frozen cookie dough supply and I wanted to mix things up a bit on the cookie front when I refreshed it. I've been on a chocolate chip cookie kick for awhile and these were a delicious discovery - I love that the dough base is peanut butter, and that with each bite you taste chocolate and pecans. These are crunchy and seriously addictive.  I'm psyched we now have a stash of these in the freezer.

Midnight Cowboy Cookies
Recipe from dessertification as adapted from Holiday Baking
Yield = approximately 4 dozen

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup vegetable shortening
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted and cooled
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.


• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.


• In a stand mixer, beat together the peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for approximately 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and then beat the eggs into the wet ingredients one at a time until fully combined.


• Using a low mixer speed, combine the flour mixture with the wet ingredients. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut until just combined.


• Make tablespoon-sized balls of dough (I use a melon baller) and place them at least 1" apart on the baking sheets. At this stage you can also freeze the dough balls for baking at a later time. Bake the cookies for approximately 15 minutes, until the edges are just turning golden brown.

Parmesan & Rosemary Crackers

Colorado is known for its fickle weather.  Saturday I enjoyed a day at the swimming pool.  It was over 80 degrees outside and in one hour in the sun I managed to get a sunburn.  We had a picnic, including a few of these Parmesan & Rosemary Crackers.  

Today it snowed.  The spring flowers are in full bloom, the lilac bushes have buds, and the air smells of spring.  One can only hope that this April (snow) shower doesn't ruin it all.

Spring or winter, I think you'll enjoy these crackers.  At our March cooking club, three people mentioned how much they loved these and how easy they were to make.  What isn't to love about a cheesy cracker, particularly for a cocktail party or to bring to someone's house as a hostess gift?  Double the recipe and freeze a log so you'll always be able to pop a tray of crackers into the oven.  And while I made these with fresh rosemary, the original recipe calls for thyme and I think you could use any fresh herbs you have on hand.

Parmesan & Rosemary Crackers
Adapted slightly from the Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces grated Parmesan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary sprigs (stems removed)
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper 

Directions
1.  Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until creamy. Add the Parmesan, flour, salt, rosemary and pepper and combine.

2.  Dump the dough on a lightly floured board and roll into a 1 1/2-inch wide log (mine was approximately 12 inches long).  Wrap the log in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.*

3.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the log crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a sheet pan and bake for 22 minutes.

* I made a double recipe and froze one log to bake later.  I let the log thaw at room temperature for about 15 minutes and then proceeded with step (3) above.