Simple Carrot Cupcakes

Although I remember carrot cake being my dad's favorite kind of cake and the one he requested for his birthday every year (my mother actually made cakes from scratch for family birthdays), I was never a fan of it myself... not even the cream cheese frosting that my finicky sister liked to scrape off by the fingerful. The few times I tasted carrot cake as an adult- in a bid to expand my culinary palate, so to speak- I just wasn't a fan of the cloying sweetness coupled with spice that seemed to overwhelm the natural sweetness of the star ingredient. That being said, since tomorrow is Easter and I have to work, I decided to tackle the recipe myself so I could tweak it more to my taste... which doesn't include raisins, pineapple, or coconut. AND, the only nuts are the few that I sprinkled on top. Also, instead of making a big cake, I decided to make individual cupcakes to share with my co-workers.

Simple Carrot Cupcakes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrots (and no, I didn't bother to peel them first, just scrubbed 'em)

cream cheese frosting (recipe to follow... or you could cheat and use canned frosting... I'm not judging)
1 Tbs. walnuts, finely chopped (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by spraying with non-stick spray and lining with paper cups.

In a medium bowl, whisk (or sift) together the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients. Dump in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick blah blah blah. Cool the cupcakes in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, slather on the cream cheese frosting and top with a sprinkle of nuts if desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting: (whip the following ingredients together until light and fluffy)
4 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature (I used neufchatel instead of the full-fat version)
1 Tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Scones

2nd batch: crisp exterior, light and airy on the inside

I came across this interesting article written by L.V. Anderson while doing some research on scones a few weeks ago and decided to give the recipe a try; I liked the taste of the scones (not too sweet), but the texture was a little off. Perhaps this was one of those times when environment/weather played a part in the final product, but I found the dough to be entirely too wet (and yes, I actually followed the recipe *mostly* as written) which then led to scones that were more cake-like in texture with a barely there nod to the biscuit-like texture I was expecting. Well, after much thought, I made the scones again this morning with several tweaks to the original recipe... you can decide which you prefer. But trust me, mine are better. ;)

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Scones

1st batch: soft and cake-like

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups AP flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
7 Tbs. cold butter, diced (*use non-dairy butter for vegan)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (*non-dairy for vegan)
1/2 cup fat-free half & half (*use soy or almond milk for vegan... and in case you were wondering, I keep half & half on hand for my dairy tolerant, coffee-loving friends)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbs. vanilla soy milk (you can always use more half & half, milk, cream... whatever)
1 tsp. sugar

1st batch: incredibly wet dough needed LOTS of bench flour

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together all of the dry ingredients until well mixed then rub in the cold butter with your fingers (or cut in with a pastry blender, if you have one) until the mix resembles coarse crumbs. Toss in the chocolate chips. Pour in the half & half and vanilla and stir just to combine (I find a fork to be most effective). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed it 4 or 5 times until it comes together. Using your hands, pat out the dough into a rectangle, roughly 8"x 10" and about 1/2" thick (make sure you have easy access to more AP flour, sprinkling it on the dough as needed to prevent sticking). Once the dough is shaped, use a sharp knife (I actually use a pizza cutter) to cut out 12 triangles. Carefully transfer the triangles to the prepared baking sheet, making sure to leave about an inch of space around each scone since they puff up as they bake. Brush the tops of each triangle with your dairy product of choice and sprinkle on a very scant dusting of sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until the scones are light golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container... that is, if you can resist eating them right away. ;)

Enjoy!

*Cook's note: The traditional British scone is meant to be eaten warm, straight from the oven, the same day it's made. However, I've found that these particular scones hold up very well texture-wise for up to a week when stored in an airtight container which makes them a little more accessible to my mind.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

I really like the classic Italian biscotti cookie, but I don't make them very often. Why, you ask? Essentially, I'm just too lazy. It's not that they're difficult to make, it's more so because they're time consuming what with the whole twice baking thing and my attention span (when it comes to baking) usually doesn't allow for something that takes longer than, say, 20 minutes. So saying, I found this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs (Closet Cooking) and really liked the fact that it's sort of a scaled down version; it only makes one log which translates into about 12 cookies. Yes, you still need to bake them twice- otherwise, they wouldn't be called biscotti- but hey, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make every once in awhile. And of course, I had to tweak them ever so slightly... I swapped out the pistachios for almonds, and used plain ol' vegetable oil instead of olive oil. Now, if only I'd had some dried cherries on hand... oh, well. Next time, eh?  ;)

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
6 Tbs. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
splash of vanilla extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. (In this case, the sugar counts as a "dry" ingredient.) Stir in the remaining ingredients until just combined. Pour the dough onto a baking sheet and, using slightly damp hands (it helps to combat the stickiness of the dough, trust me), form it into a log about 8 inches long and about 2 inches wide. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes then allow the log to cool on a wire rack for 35-40 minutes.

Drop the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Once fully cooled, use a serrated knife to slice the log into 1/2 inch cookies. Place the cookies cut-side down on the baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes, flip them over, and bake on the other side for another 10 minutes. Allow the biscotti (twice-baked cookies) to cool on a wire rack then pour yourself a strong cup of coffee and dig in.

Enjoy!

*Cook's note: These aren't overly sweet cookies so you may want to use milk chocolate or even semi-sweet chocolate instead of the dark that I used. *I* happen to like the fact that these turned out deeply chocolatey without being terribly sweet, but I can see where the addition of dried fruit (like cherries, prunes, or even apricots) would make for an interesting contrast in flavor.

(Addendum: So it's now been several days since I made these cookies, and I have to say that I'm not as impressed with them as I was when they were just an hour out of the oven. The texture is just not quite right; they're not nearly as crisp as they should be even though I've stored them in the same air-tight container I've put previous batches. So, while I do like the flavor, I don't think I'll be using this particular recipe again... instead, I'll probably just use this flavor profile and apply it to one of the other biscotti recipes I've used in the past that I know hold up well.)

Cookie Palooza 2012

Cookie Palooza 2012

The 2nd annual Cookie Palooza started Saturday night and continued through Monday; surprisingly (sadly?), I have to say it wasn't as much fun as last year.

Maybe if I had stopped Sunday after making 3 different kinds of bar cookies as well as the first batch of cheesecake cookies, well then, perhaps I'd feel differently. Instead, I'm just plain sick to death of all things sugar at this point and, in fact, couldn't bring myself to write this post last night because it was sounding way the hell too whiny even to me.

So. New day, no more sugar, and my house no longer smells like baked goods after making spicy tacos, lentils primavera, and stuffed mushrooms; lots of savory smells to cancel out the sweet, thank goodness.

Cookie Palooza 2012

3 different bar cookies

I started out by making this recipe for PB&J blondies, except I left out the "J" part. They turned out pretty well... okay, REALLY well based on the fact that my roommate inhaled 4 of the cookie bars before I could even put them away. Now, the cookie exchange at work this year doesn't have as many participants as last year so we only need to make 2 dozen of our chosen cookie/dessert. A pan of these bars slices quite nicely into 24 pieces which is the perfect amount. However, since my roommate had already eaten several of them, I knew I would need to make another batch which would also give me the chance to tweak the recipe a little more to my liking, namely, using a little less sugar and adding in some chocolate chunks. The second batch, made yesterday, turned out beautifully (even if I couldn't taste them) and I was sure to package and label them immediately as OFF LIMITS so that these can make it to work tomorrow for the exchange.

Because I was so pleased with how the first cookie bar turned out, I decided to try out another recipe for Oatmeal Scotchies that I pulled off the bag of Nestle butterscotch chips. Again, being me, I couldn't leave well enough alone and added chopped pecans to the recipe and baked them in a pan rather than as a drop cookie. (There was a note at the bottom of the recipe with instructions on how to make them a bar cookie.) Maybe it was because my pan wasn't big enough and the bars were a little too thick (in my opinion), but I wasn't terribly impressed with the way these cookies turned out. Yes, the flavor was good, but the texture left a little something to be desired. Eh. Live and learn, right? (Of course, my roommate didn't find fault with them given the number she's already eaten.)

cheesecake cookies with graham cracker crust

Next up were the cheesecake cookies. I found this recipe online from The Brown Eyed Baker after doing quite a bit of searching, and these cookies were fantastic! What I really loved about the recipe (besides the taste, of course) was how simple it was. I read many other recipes that involved rolling the dough into a log and rolling the log in the crumb of choice before refrigerating, slicing, and baking. Not only are there very few ingredients, but once the dough comes together, you roll it into golf ball sized balls (maybe a little smaller), roll them in your crumb of choice (I used graham crackers for the first batch, then crushed Oreos for the 2nd batch at my roommate's insistence), and bake.

cheesecake cookies with oreo crust

Now, I will say that I doubled the recipe because the original recipe only makes about 12 cookies, and maybe I did make them smaller than I was supposed to because I got 34 cookies out of my doubled recipe. Plus, I refrigerated the dough to let it firm up a bit before rolling/coating/baking, but other than that, I pretty much followed the recipe to a T and these were, far and away, the star of Cookie Palooza 2012.  :)

Again, maybe if I had stopped there- on a high note, as it were- then I'd be more apt to label Cookie Palooza 2012 a success. Instead, I continued on to make these Holiday Biscotti with almonds and dried cranberries, dipped in melted white chocolate (which I've made in years past and really like), another bar cookie that I found the recipe for in a book my roommate gave me for my birthday (white chocolate fudge bars from 500 Chocolate Delights: The Only Chocolate Compendium You'll Ever Need by Lauren Floodgate), AND a second batch of the peanut butter blondies with the addition of chocolate chunks. By the time Cookie Palooza 2012 came to an official end on Monday, just the smell of sugar and vanilla was enough to make me nauseous! So now I've got a kitchen full of yummy cookies and no desire to eat any of them... good thing my roommate and co-workers have no such compunctions, eh?

Cookie Palooza 2011, A Retrospective, Part 2

Original post date: Monday, 12/6/11

The last day of my 3-day weekend, and what did I do? Bake. Again.

cranberry bread

Well, I also swept, vacuumed, and did a load of laundry, but mostly I was in the kitchen. I made another 2 loaves of cranberry bread because, really, you can't have enough and I'll probably bring a loaf or 2 to work again for the overnight doc since she decimated the first loaf I brought her. Plus, it freezes beautifully, so if I decide to be greedy and keep it all to myself... well, there you go.

meringue cookies

In addition to the cranberry bread, I also tried out yet another new-to-me recipe for meringue cookies. They were pretty easy to make, but I won't know how they taste until tomorrow since they will cool in the oven overnight. Normally, when I try a new recipe for the first time (at least when it comes to baking) I stick pretty close to the recipe as written. Not today, though. Nope. I changed up the flavoring in these meringues by using dark chocolate chips (60% cacao) and orange zest, one of my favorite flavor combinations, so I can't wait to taste them.

Addendum: The most IMPORTANT lesson I learned about making meringue cookies is to line the damn cookie sheets with parchment paper like the recipe tells you!

Cookie Palooza 2011, A Retrospective, Part 1

ultimate ginger, pb&c biscotti, triple chocolate

Original post date: Sunday, 12/5/11

Care to guess what I did today?

This being my 3-day weekend, I decided to take advantage of my time off and spend it in the kitchen, trying out new cookie recipes. We're having a cookie exchange at work next week and I can't decide what to make; too many choices, and you know I have to make something to put all other cookies to shame. To that end, I've got a stack of recipes I've been wanting to try and so I've been planning to have a cookie palooza this weekend. My best friend and her kids were originally supposed to join me, but she's not feeling well this weekend so we had to postpone. However, I've got the supplies and the burning need to make cookies... so that's what I did.

Yesterday, I made 2 loaves of cranberry bread and promptly wrapped them and put them in the freezer to make room for cookies. I then got a jump start on cookie palooza and tried out one of my new recipes, the ultimate ginger cookie. It's funny, really, because I always thought I didn't like these spicy cookies; we never made anything like them when I was growing up. The thought of making a classic gingerbread man cookie never really appealed because it's more work than I'm interested in. On the contrary, these were fairly easy to make and turned out pretty damn good; my roommate certainly liked them given the fact that she ate 2 handfuls of them this morning for breakfast.

So that brings me to today and my continued cookie experimentation: I started with a variation of a recipe that I've used before, one for biscotti. Previously, I've made them with pistachios and dried cranberries, dipped in white chocolate, but today's version was a peanut butter chocolate biscotti. Huh man. Those were some freakin' awesome cookies... perfect for dunking in a cup of coffee as the Italian's intended. While those were cooling, I got started on the next new-to-me cookie, a triple chocolate cookie. This was the pseudo-healthy recipe I had picked out to make with the kids because I know how their mother feels about baked goods and her desire to make them as low fat as possible (no butter or oil, egg substitute instead of whole eggs, and splenda where possible).

(*Side note: I have a different, decidedly decadent chocolate cookie recipe waiting in the wings, just for me. This one is NOT to be shared so the "healthy" version is the decoy version.)

Again, these cookies turned out really well. But honestly, how bad can triple chocolate cookies be? Maybe not as rich and chewy as I would have hoped for, but still. It's chocolate.

lemon ricotta with lemon glaze

The last cookie I decided to try my hand at was a light and almost fluffy lemon ricotta cookie with a lemon glaze. I'm a big fan of lemon so this was at the top of my Must Try list; I was definitely NOT disappointed. Just sweet enough with the tart bite of fresh lemon... yum. Only problem is, I still can't decide what to make for the cookie exchange we're having at work. Guess this means I need to do some more experimenting. There's always the good old stand-by recipes that I make every year: classic chocolate chip, peanut butter (with or without thumbprints), oatmeal raisin, and my all-time favorite oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Hmmm... what a delicious dilemma.

Happy Friendsgiving!!!

Thanksgiving is, by far, my favorite holiday of the year. Why? The food, of course!

Having ditched my birth family years ago, I don't have "family obligation" holiday meals to suffer through which means I get to cook everything myself, exactly the way I like it. Now, despite the fact that I had to work on Thanksgiving Day and was too tired to come home and cook anything- let alone the full monty- this year was probably the best Thanksgiving I've had in years because I was able to share it with friends... and my friends are more important to me than pretty much any of the folks out there with whom I share a genetic link. You see, I am of the opinion that family is what you make of it... and I have a pretty cool family, if I do say so myself. And I'm pretty sure Kailan would agree with me since he had an awesome time playing- and begging for food- with his friend Tater Tot. :)

So what did we eat? Well, I spent a chunk of Saturday getting a jump start on the Friendsgiving Day feast I had planned, so to that end, I made a salted caramel apple pie (mostly) from scratch which was a first for me. Because I really don't enjoy making pastry dough, I see nothing wrong with using the pre-made, refrigerated pie dough. However, that doesn't mean I can't make the filling myself (no canned pie filling here!) and it was surprisingly easy.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

salted caramel apple pie... all that was left

Peel and core 6 cups of apples (I used a mix of granny smith and golden delicious) and slice into 1/4" pieces before tossing them with 2 Tbs. of fresh lemon juice. Meanwhile, in a large heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium-high heat, cook 2/3 cup of sugar until it melts and turns dark amber, swirling occasionally, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 6 Tbs. of butter and 1 Tbs. of heavy cream, swirling to combine. Return the sauce pan to the stove over medium heat and add the apples, stirring to coat in the caramel. Cook the apples until softened, about 3-5 minutes and remove from the heat once more before stirring in 2 Tbs. of AP flour and 1 tsp. of sea salt. Set aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the pie dough from the fridge and bring to room temperature while the oven is preheating, about 15-20 minutes. Once the dough is room temperature, press one crust into a 9" glass pie dish before dumping in all of the apple mixture. Top with the remaining crust and cut several slits in the top to allow the steam to escape during baking. Now, I like to put my pies on a baking sheet for easier handling as well as to catch any drips if the pie bubbles over while it's baking... but you don't have to. Although, I'm pretty sure you're an idiot if you don't, but whatever. Put the pie on the middle rack and lower the heat to 375 degrees. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until the pie is golden brown. You may need to cover the pie crust with foil in the last 10-15 minutes of cooking to prevent over-browning, but surprisingly, I didn't need to this time. Cool the pie for at least an hour before cutting into it and enjoying the salty sweet goodness. Mmmmm....

In addition to the pie, I also made (vegan) sweet potato gnochi which was a first for me. Because I wanted to make sure they would be a success, I needed to do a trial run with them first so once I made the dough, I cooked up a small batch- definite success!- and ate them for dinner. Again, these were surprisingly easy to make, although I have to admit that I'm not a fan of working with sticky dough and these certainly fell under that heading.

(Vegan) Sweet Potato Gnochi

vegan sweet potato gnochi dough

Bake 2 pounds of whole sweet potatoes (2-4 potatoes, depending on size) in a 425 degree oven for 45-55 minutes until fork tender. Set aside until cool enough to handle then slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out all of the flesh into a large bowl, discarding the skins. While the potatoes are still warm, mash them (I just used a fork) with 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp. of black pepper. Once the sweet potato mash has cooled, stir in 3-4 cups of AP flour in 1/2 cup increments, stirring after each addition until the dough reaches a rather sticky consistency but comes together to form an actual dough. (I think I used a little more than 4 cups, actually.) Once the dough comes together, divide it roughly into 6 parts. On a floured surface, roll out each part of the dough into ropes about 10-12 inches long and about 1/2 inch in diameter. I can't stress this part enough: Make sure you've got plenty of flour on your work surface AND your hands because this shit is sticky! Flour a knife and cut the ropes into 1 inch pieces, pressing each piece gently with the tines of a (floured!) fork to make decorative ridges.

... sauteed in vegan butter

Once the gnochi are formed, you can either cook them right away or store them in the fridge (for up to 3 days) or in the freezer (for up to 1 month). To cook them, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Dump in about 20 gnochi at a time and reduce the heat to a simmer, cooking the gnochi until they float to the top, about 4 minutes. Transfer the floating gnochi to a separate pan over medium heat and saute them in butter (or vegan butter as the case may be) with your favorite herbs (I used sage and thyme), turning them every minute or so to brown/crisp all sides. It's a bit of a process having to cook them in batches, but it's totally worth it...

So the rest of the meal, I put together on Sunday. To ease myself into it, I started with my favorite cranberry sauce which is more like a relish or chutney: Bring to a boil 1 bag of whole cranberries + 1 cup each of sugar and water (I actually use apple juice) and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Once the berries start popping, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until most of the cranberries have popped and the sauce has thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Cool before serving.

roasted turkey breast, already carved

Keeping in mind that I had carnivores, vegetarians, AND vegan guests coming, I only had to make a few small adjustments to keep the majority of the dishes suitable for everyone. Of course, there's no way to veganize actual meat, so the herb roasted turkey breast and whole roasted chicken were the (tasty) exceptions to that rule. Oh, and my traditional sausage-bread stuffing with dried cranberries was the other exception, but I also made a vegan version with mushrooms and pecans which turned out pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

sausage stuffing, green bean casserole, vegan stuffing

In addition to the stuffings (yes, I still call it "stuffing" instead of dressing even though the only thing it's stuffed in is a casserole dish), I also made chunky mashed potatoes (skins still on- I don't peel potatoes) with parsnips, veganizing them with vegan cream cheese and butter, plus a whole bunch of fresh herbs. There was also a green bean casserole (not vegan) as well as the more vegan friendly version of sauteed green beans with mushrooms and onions. To round things things out, I also roasted some chunks of butternut squash and fresh Brussels sprouts, both simply dressed with a little vegan butter and salt & pepper. Nothing terribly difficult to make, but juggling the timing of everything was a little challenging and dinner started about 45 minutes later than I had originally planned.

Eh. No big.

(vegan) sweet potato gnochi, roasted butternut squash

roasted Brussels sprouts, vegan sauteed green beans, vegan mashed potatoes & parsnips

And, because I was feeding a dozen people, it was easier to just put all the dishes out buffet-style so everyone could help themselves before getting comfortable and settling in the living room to eat while watching football. See? And you thought Friendsgiving wasn't the same as Thanksgiving...

vegan mixed berry crisp... again, all that was left...

After food and drink, there was even more drink and games (Apples to Apples and Scattergories) before we dove into dessert: salted caramel apple pie, (vegan) mixed berry crisp, and pumpkin cheesecake (an oft-requested specialty of one of my guests).

A good time was most definitely had by all... the only downside being that there weren't nearly enough leftovers for me to enjoy the rest of the week! ;)

Veggie Pot Pie

Pot pie is another one of those comfort foods that I like to make every couple of weeks. Not only is it yummy, but it's easy to switch things up flavor-wise and make it with pretty much any vegetable and protein combination I've got on hand. Plus, it's pretty hassle-free because I like to use refrigerated pie crust... which also makes it easy to throw together either a full-size dish to share, or a single-size casserole like today's version. Truth be told, I kind of prefer making this smaller version because the crust just seems to turn out better, and you're pretty much guaranteed a bite of crust with each forkful. ;)

Veggie Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. onion, diced (you guessed it- straight from the freezer!)
1/2 tsp. herbes de provence
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
pinch of garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
4 ounces mixed vegs (again, straight from the freezer)
1 Tbs. AP flour
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
protein of choice, pre-cooked: chicken, turkey, beef, tofu, beans
1 refrigerated pie crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove pie crust from the fridge and set aside to come to room temperature, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the onion and all spices in olive oil until slightly softened, about 2-4 minutes. Stir in the mixed vegs and continue cooking for another 2 minutes or so until defrosted and starting to warm. Sprinkle on the flour and cook for another minute before adding the vegetable stock. Bump the heat up to medium and stir the veggie mixture until thick and bubbly, about 7-9 minutes. Stir in your protein of choice (I went with cannellini beans today) and set aside to cool slightly.

Unroll the pie dough and cut it to fit the casserole dish of your choice. (Because I decided to use an individual-size dish, I cut the rest of the dough into strips, sprinkled it with cinnamon & sugar, and spread them out on parchment paper to bake alongside the pot pie.) Spoon the veggie mixture into the casserole dish, cover with pie dough, making sure to cut several vent slits in the top to allow the steam to escape. Bake at 400 degrees until the crust is golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before breaking into the creamy goodness.

Enjoy!

(Vegan) Mixed Berry Crisp

Okay, so this recipe was based on one from my good ol' standby reference cookbook, Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook. The original recipe is for an apple crisp (which is certainly delicious in its own right!), but I made a few tweaks so that my vegan co-worker would be able to take part in the fruity goodness with everyone else when I brought this to work the other night.

Sorry... no photo to go along with this one. I forgot to snap one before leaving my house and taking it to work, and of course there was NOTHING left when my co-workers were done with it. :)

(Vegan) Mixed Berry Crisp

Ingredients:
(for the filling)
6 cups of mixed berries (I used what was already in my freezer: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and sliced strawberries)
4 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs. AP flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

(for the topping)
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
2 Tbs. AP flour
2 Tbs. whole wheat flour (or you could omit this and just use 4 Tbs. of AP flour, but I like to split the difference)
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. ground flaxseed
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. spice of choice: cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger are all good here
4 Tbs. of non-dairy butter, chilled
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the berries (the original recipe says to defrost them first, but I didn't bother) with the sugar and flour, stirring to coat before adding the vanilla and pinch of salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, stir together the oats, flour, brown sugar, flaxseed, spice, and salt. Using a fork (or a pastry cutter) cut in the non-dairy butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand with pea-sized chunks of the butter. Stir in the nuts if using.

Pour the berry mixture into a glass baking dish (I didn't bother to spray or butter mine) and top with the crumb mixture. Place the dish on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet (to catch any juice that may spill over, thus causing a big mess in your oven... duh), and bake at 375 degrees for 35-55 minutes, until the berries are hot and bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Why such a varied cooking time? Well, if you use fresh fruit or frozen that's been defrosted, it only needs about 35-40 minutes. If, however, you're lazy like me and use fruit straight from the freezer, it needs a little more time to cook. I will caution you to keep an eye on the topping if you use frozen fruit with the longer cooking time: you may need to cover the dish with foil to prevent over-browning. Serve hot from the oven or at room temperature, straight up or with a scoop of ice cream or whipped topping. Yummm...

Enjoy!

Spinach Pies

Spinach and feta being a classic flavor combination (for good reason!), spanakopita, otherwise known as Greek spinach pie, is one of my favorite ways to enjoy it. However. Actually making the dish is not exactly my idea of a good time since it's fairly labor intensive what with the whole phyllo dough thing. Don't get me wrong... I've made it before; I just don't enjoy the process. On the other hand, puff pastry is MUCH easier to work with than phyllo is, and you get that same light and crispy texture to the final dish which makes me just as happy as the original. Now, I try to keep a package of puff pastry in my freezer at all times because it makes for great savory pies, appetizers, AND desserts... but that's another post.

Spinach Pies

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
6 ounces of spinach (fresh or frozen, dealers choice)
1 shallot, minced
2 Tbs. sun dried tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper (or plain pepper)
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of red pepper flakes
3 ounces of feta, crumbled
1 Tbs. breadcrumbs
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. of water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the spinach, shallot, sun dried tomatoes, and all spices in olive oil until the spinach is wilted and most of the moisture has evaporated, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from the heat to a bowl before stirring in the feta and breadcrumbs. Set aside to cool.

On a lightly floured surface, unfold the puff pastry and cut into four equal squares. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture onto one side of each square. Using a pastry brush (or your finger), brush egg wash on 2 sides of each square. Fold the pastry squares in half, diagonally, into triangles. Crimp the edges of the triangles together with the tines of a fork, making sure the edges are sealed to prevent the filling from oozing out as the pies bake. Transfer the pies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper then brush the tops with more egg wash. Bake at 400 degrees for 14-15 minutes, until the pies are puffed up and the tops are golden brown.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups old fashion rolled oats
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter (I prefer using natural instead of the sugary stuff)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
optional add-ins: 1 cup chopped nuts/chocolate chips/peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours and oats then set aside.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer (I suppose you could go old school on it and break out the wooden spoon if you really want to) cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugars, baking powder, and baking soda until well mixed. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla, beating for another 1-2 minutes on medium speed. Stir in as much of the flour and oat mixture as you can using the electric mixer before switching to a wooden spoon to stir in the rest. Fold in whatever add-ins you want (I went with a mix of both dark chocolate chips AND peanut butter chips), then drop by the dough by rounded teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving about an inch of space between each cookie. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and set. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool for several minutes before diving in.

Enjoy!

Hurricane Preparedness

With Hurricane Sandy approaching, we had quite a bit of work to do to get the house ready to weather the storm; my roommate handled the outside work and I was in charge of the inside work. At the top of MY list of preparations was to make sure we had water and non-perishable food items for a 3-5 day power outage (my neighborhood is notorious for losing power during major storms). While I stocked up on the standards like bread, crackers, peanut butter, canned soup (canned?! desperate times... *shudder*), fruit cups and the like, I also wanted to do some baking. So, what did I make? Well, in the sweets department there's the French apple pie with crumb topping, loaded oatmeal cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and I still had a loaf of vegan banana chocolate-walnut bread in the freezer.

In addition to the sweets, we made a last-minute run to the grocery store to stock up on junk food like tortilla chips with salsa and queso dip, pretzels, and popcorn. Because I had several whole wheat pita pockets stashed in the freezer, I made pita chips (easy enough to slice and bake, spiced however you want) and my roommate requested spinach dip. For dinner last night, I made a rather simple (but delicious none the less) baked pasta with zucchini, mushrooms, marinara, and the last of the chicken breasts from the freezer.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

(based on the basic Oatmeal Cookie recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book)

loaded oatmeal cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups old fashion rolled oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1 Tbs. ground flaxseed
3/4 cup butter (that's 1 1/2 sticks, and make sure to bring it to room temperature- it makes mixing easier)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, and flaxseeds.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugars before adding in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined before mixing in the dry ingredients. Fold in the dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate chips. Drop cookies by the tablespoonful on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks before storing in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

peanut butter oatmeal cookies

*Even though these weren't the only cookies I made, as the day went on, snapping photos kind of fell by the wayside. Also, I'd like to point out that between the oats and dried fruits, these cookies are practically a breakfast food (I saw that eye roll!) and as such, a definite necessity for any power outage.

(Vegan) Pumpkin Spice Bread

After yesterday's meltdown fiasco with the gingerbread scones, I wanted to try another vegan recipe but one that I knew would be more, shall we say, foolproof. A basic quick bread, this recipe was certainly easy enough to put together (even with the distraction of watching football and entertaining a friend), and it had the added bonus of filling my kitchen with the warm, spicy scents of the holidays. It was hard to wait until it was cool enough to slice, but it was definitely worth the wait! Much like the (vegan) banana muffins, the texture of this bread was much lighter than I expected it to be, especially given the fact that I swapped out some of the AP flour for whole wheat pastry flour which is denser than its counterpart. Also, this bread was incredibly moist, with just the right amount of chew to it, living up to the promise of the warm spices which gave it a delightful richness. I will definitely be making this again!

(Vegan) Pumpkin Spice Bread

original recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets 

by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Ingredients:
3 Tbs. ground flaxseed
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 (14-ounce) can pumpkin puree (NOT to be confused with pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups AP flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup non-dairy chocolate chips (I like dark chocolate)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a glass measuring cup, whisk the flaxseed and water together until thick and creamy.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, apple sauce, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and flaxseed mixture.

In a separate bowl, whisk (or sift) together all of the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring just to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips then pour the batter into (2) 8"x3"x2" loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick blah blah blah. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes before turning the loaves out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and enjoy right away (after they've cooled, of course), or wrap in heavy duty foil and freeze for another day.

Enjoy!

(Vegan) Gingerbread Scones

First of all, let me preface this by saying I did NOT enjoy making these scones. Why not? I've been eager to try these for several days now so when I got up this morning, I thought, "What the hell?" and turned the oven on to preheat before I even started my coffee brewing.

That was my first mistake.

The second mistake was in not eating breakfast before undertaking the task of mixing this very sticky dough. If you know me at all, you know that I don't function well in the morning- especially before caffeine- and that I tend to meltdown in spectacular fashion if I don't remember to eat and my blood glucose is too low. Tackling this particular baking project (a) in the morning, (b) before massive caffeine infusions, and (3) without eating first was like a perfect (shit) storm and I'm pretty sure I scared the dog when I started yelling at the dough, throwing utensils into the sink, and hurling the dishtowel across the room. Poor Kailan... he hasn't learned to ignore my ranting like Seamus used to; Kai takes everything personally.

Now, despite my meltdown and lack of enjoyment, the final product was definitely tasty. Will I make them again? I don't see that happening anytime soon.

(Vegan) Gingerbread Scones

original recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets 

by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Ingredients:
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used plain soy milk)
1 Tbs. white distilled vinegar
2 1/2 Tbs. unsulphured molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups AP flour
3/4 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed (I don't see why you couldn't use dark brown)
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup non-dairy butter, cold (I pre-cut mine into tiny cubes)
1/3 cup raisins and/or dried cranberries
2 Tbs. crystallized ginger, diced
non-dairy milk for brushing the tops (again, I used plain soy milk)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a glass measuring cup, combine the milk, vinegar, molasses, and vanilla. Set aside for 10-15 minutes to allow the vinegar a chance to "activate" the milk and essentially turn it into buttermilk.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using 2 knives (or better yet, a pastry cutter!), cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients; it should be crumbly (not pasty) with pea-sized chunks of butter. Fold in the raisins/dried cranberries and crystallized ginger before adding the wet ingredients to the dry. Stir just to combine, being careful NOT to over mix. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Using your hands, shape the dough into a disk, about 9" in diameter and 1/2" thick. Now, this is where I did quite a bit of cussing at the dough because it can either be too sticky or too dry, in which case you need to add more flour (as in my case) or more milk (you'd have to do that before turning it out onto the board), working quickly so the butter inside the dough stays mostly chilled. (I'm pretty sure the molasses was the cause of the ridiculous stickiness, and I ended up sprinkling on another 1/4 cup of AP flour.) Cut the disk into 8-10 slices (like a pizza) and carefully transfer each slice to a baking sheet (mine was lined with parchment paper), giving them room to grow (maybe a 1/2" apart?). Brush the tops with milk, and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick blah blah blah. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before diving in. (The original recipe also included a maple glaze which was drizzled on after the scones were cooled. I found it to be a little too sweet, so I'm leaving that part out of the recipe.)

Enjoy!

Banana Muffins, Revisited

Soooo... we've already established that I can't leave well enough alone when it comes to following an actual recipe, thus my decades long aversion to baking. That being said, I employed some of the same tweaks I've used in the previously posted banana bread recipe, and applied them to the vegan version of the recipe from my co-worker's borrowed cookbook. Again, I'm mighty impressed with the results!

(Vegan) Banana Chocolate-Peanut Butter Muffins

original recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets 

by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs. previously brewed coffee
2 Tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
1/4 cup nuts, finely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk (or sift) the dry ingredients together.

In a larger bowl, mash the bananas and peanut butter together before stirring in the sugar, oil, coffee, water, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until just combined. Spoon the batter into a lined muffin tin then sprinkle with the chocolate chips and nuts. This amount of batter will make 12 giant muffins if cups are filled all the way, or 18 regular size muffins if filled 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out mostly clean. Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

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Addendum: I resisted the urge to eat one of these muffins last night, instead, wanting to wait and have one for breakfast this morning. I mean, it IS a banana muffin which is totally a breakfast food, regardless of the fact that it has chocolate and peanut butter in it.

This muffin differs quite a bit from the other recipe I've been using in that it has a much lighter, more tender texture. If I hadn't made them myself, I'd swear that they were made with cake flour because my first bite was incredibly soft and practically melted in my mouth. Not that I don't still like the original banana bread/muffin recipe, but it's much more dense and, I don't know, chewy(?) but in a good way. On the other hand, these vegan muffins were sooooo light that the chunks of mashed banana were still discernible, rather than just a flavoring. I think adding the chocolate chips and/or nuts directly into the batter would take away from the incredible texture of these muffins, so I'll stick with the sprinkle on top... 'cause you know for damn sure I'll be making these again!

Yummmm....

(Vegan) Mexican Mocha Brownies

So we're planning another little fete tomorrow night at work to celebrate the birthday of one of the techs, and I was volunteered to make my Vegetarian Tofu Chili. While that was easy enough to throw together after work tonight (it's simmering away in the slow cooker even as I write this), I couldn't resist the urge to finally try out one of the recipes from the vegan baking cookbook another co-worker loaned me. I've been intrigued by the concept of vegan baking, namely, how in the hell that works without eggs and butter, and my vegan co-worker was all too happy to loan me her copy of The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. If nothing else, it was certainly educational reading and answered many of my questions with regards to vegan baking.

So. To go along with my chili, I decided to try one of the easier recipes and make brownies. However, being me, I couldn't leave well enough alone and put my own spin on it.

(Vegan) Mexican Mocha Brownies

original recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets 

by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

if they taste as good as they smell... yum!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 Tbs. previously brewed, strong coffee
2 tsp. ground flaxseed
1/2 cup previously brewed, strong coffee
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups AP flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup non-dairy dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, apple sauce, and 2 Tbs of previously brewed coffee.

In a separate bowl (I used a glass measuring cup), whisk together the ground flaxseed and 1/2 cup of previously brewed coffee before adding it to the sugar mixture along with the vanilla.

In yet another mixing bowl, whisk (or sift) all of the dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips and pour batter into an 8"x 8" glass baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is still shiny. Cool before cutting.

Enjoy!

******************************************************************************************************************

all that was left... that's the mark of a great brownie!

Addendum: The brownies were a HUGE success at work tonight! I can't imagine making them any other way from now on because these were incredibly moist and fudgey... some seriously deep chocolately goodness. Yum... :)

Banana Bread... & Muffins

Pretty much, anytime I have bananas in the kitchen that are too ripe (for me) to eat, I make a batch of banana bread. I really like how it can be made into either a standard loaf OR in the form of muffins, and this time, I split the batter to make some of each. I like this recipe because it's pretty forgiving and easy to switch things up by adding in any number of tasty flavors to suit your mood. This particular batch included chocolate chips and chopped walnuts, but I think my all time favorite combination is with peanut butter and chocolate chips... or cocoa powder and walnuts... mmm... What was I saying? Oh, right. Whatever combination floats your boat will turn out great... and they're fantastic for breakfast or as a snack. This time around, I froze the loaf and put the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge where they'll last the rest of the week.

Banana Bread... & Muffins

this recipe made 12 muffins & 1 loaf

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple sauce (I keep jars of this in my pantry, usually the unsweetened kind)

3 eggs

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt (I always use fine sea salt)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Optional Add-ins: 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (or any nut butter would be tasty), 3/4 cup chopped nuts, 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the bananas, sugars, vegetable oil, apple sauce, eggs, and vanilla. I usually mash the bananas right in this bowl before dumping everything else in and stirring together with a wooden spoon. I suppose you could use an electric mixer if you really wanted to, but it's not exactly hard to mix these few ingredients together with a spoon... and it means fewer dishes to wash if you skip the mixer.

Anyway, in a separate mixing bowl, whisk (or sift) together all of the dry ingredients before adding them to the wet ingredients. As tasty as the final product is in it's basic form, I really like to play with my add-ins and hopefully, you thought about it before starting. If using the cocoa powder, whisk it in with the dry ingredients before adding to the wet. If you want to use a nut butter, stir that into the wet ingredients before adding the dry. If your preference is for the chopped nuts and/or the chocolate chips, I like to combine those with 1 Tbs. of flour to coat them before folding them into the completed batter. (Why the extra bit of flour? It prevents the heavier nuts/chips from sinking to the bottom of the pan during baking, allowing them to stay suspended throughout the batter as it bakes.)

For bread, I like to use 2 of the 8"x3"x2" loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes before turning the bread out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Like any quick bread, this stuff freezes beautifully... if you can resist eating it all right away. ;)

If your preference is for muffins, this amount of batter will make 18 large (if cups are filled all the way) or 24 standard (if cups are filled 3/4 of the way full) muffins. Bake at 325 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick blah blah blah. I only let muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning them out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Even though I took a major hiatus from posting new recipes- and, in fact, have actually moved to a new blog- I'm back and better than ever. (At least, in my humble opinion.) ;)

So where have I been? Well, I moved out of the ghetto to a much nicer neighborhood and a newly renovated house with a fantastic kitchen. I also have a new job which came with a consistent schedule (4pm-midnight) and I've finally settled into a comfortable routine which sees me playing in the kitchen every morning/early afternoon before work. And... with this great new kitchen, I have a renewed interest in pursuing my epicurean adventures and creating new recipes. Even more surprising (at least to ME), I've discovered a new found desire to bake. Why is this surprising? I'm a cook, NOT a baker. I don't like to follow recipes and even as I write my own recipes for friends, they come with the caveat that all measurements are more of a guestimation than anything else. Baking is more of a precise science which doesn't leave much room for experimentation and you actually have to follow the recipe and use exact measurements.

Or do you...?

To satisfy my need to experiment, as well as my defiant streak that doesn't like to follow a recipe, I like to make substitutions and try different add-ins with my baked goods. Plus, there's the added bonus of creating much more healthful recipes (lower in fat/sugar, higher in fiber and overall nutritional content) which goes a long way towards negating any guilt I feel about eating sweets.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups zucchini, shredded
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt (I use fine sea salt)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (or go for broke and use an 8 oz bar, chopped)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare loaf pan(s) by spraying with cooking spray and lightly dusting with flour to prevent sticking. I like to use 2 of the 8"x3"x2" pans rather than 1 standard size loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the wet ingredients: zucchini, vegetable oil, apple sauce, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together (or sift, if you prefer) the dry ingredients: flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don't over mix! Fold in the chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared loaf pan(s). Bake at 350 degrees for 50-65 minutes. Zucchini bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Cool the bread in the pan(s) for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. This stuff freezes beautifully so I usually make a double batch and wrap 2 or 3 loaves in foil to freeze for another day (like I did in this photo).

Enjoy!