Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Vegan raw mint brownies.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brownies, Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, No bake/cooking required!, St. Patrick's Day, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 6 Comments

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I’ve been dabbling a lot in eating raw, vegan foods lately.  I know the minute I say that, many will shutter at the thought.  But honestly, many dishes, desserts and snacks are so awesome and taste so good!  Trust me… don’t cringe.  It’s fine every once in a while to eat something totally raw and vegan.  These fun “brownies” have no oils or refined sugars in them and for those of you that have a gluten allergy – these have no flour in them as well.

Mint – people either love it or hate it.  You can control the amount of mint you add to them so if you have total mint lovers (like I do) you can be a bit heavy-handed with the extract. If you don’t care for it – omit it!  These are the perfect treat running out the door in the morning, post workout snack or after-dinner dessert when you crave something chocolately and sweet without blowing all of your workout efforts.  You can also use a smaller pan if you want your brownies thicker too.

These can be made in absolutely no time and keep in the fridge for about a week – but they won’t last that long!

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— Knead to Cook

Healthy Protein Blondies.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brownies, Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Party Foods, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free 18 Comments

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As I’ve shared in past posts, my family is doing a 40 days to a revolution (mind/body/yoga/mediation/diet) program by Baron Baptiste.  It makes you pause and really examine what’s going on inside your life and  thoughts, what you’re eating and reactions to being present in your life.  I don’t know about you but all areas I need to improve.  I rush from one thing to another not really stopping to be present in the moment.   I have made some significant changes in my life over the last year and want to continue to evolve because after all, if you aren’t moving – you’re stagnating.  

I whipped up these non-chocolate blondies because my husband is allergic to cocoa along with the fact that I wanted to continue to make clean recipes that I can share with my fellow 40 day students as we go through this journey together.  

I made these… didn’t tell anyone what the ingredients were.  Everyone ate them not missing a beat.  In fact, we were in Philly yesterday and came home and I just noticed that they are all gone!  Love it!  No one is the wiser.  Protein packed minus the “junk” found in regular blondies.  Now if you’re expecting the full on fat blondies… you won’t be happy with these.  But if you’re looking for a clean snack idea for your kids or yourself that won’t blow your gym efforts or make you riddled with guilt over eating something less than healthy… these are for you!  When I did reveal my food source for these to my husband he was flabbergasted!  Ha… fooled him.

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— Knead to Cook

Peppermint Simple Syrup.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Brownies, Candy, Desserts, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Party Foods, Smoothies, Vegan, Vegetarian 3 Comments

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Are you ready for peppermint week?  I hope so!  There is nothing that embodies the flavor of this season to me other than peppermint.  I love it.  I always have.  Peppermint patties, candy canes… you name it!  I’m all over it.  We keep a stash in our pantry for our peppermint hot chocolate recipe and it has endless uses.  It always calls my name when I see them adorning desserts or cocktails.  I have a weakness.  This recipe is so versatile.  It can be used in coffee, tea, hot chocolate, whipped cream or cocktails.  Once cooled, refrigerate and it will last for weeks.  I will be sharing recipes all week that use this simple syrup if you’re looking for inspirations.  Stay tuned.

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— Knead to Cook

Caramelized vanilla blondies.

by Filed Under: Brownies, Cookies, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Party Foods, Vegetarian 7 Comments

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These blondies are perfect for baking and holiday gift-giving.  They have a caramelized flavor making them irresistible.  Not clean-eating by any stretch of the imagination but everything in moderation.  With a husband who is allergic to chocolate (yes, gasp!) these are the perfect treat.  I’ve had this recipe for about 20 years – my little stained index card.  A true favorite I always make around the holidays.  Flaky tops.  Ooey gooey centers, does it get any better?  Commence drooling.

So in my house, I always try to have a wide variety of “treats” for my kids and I made protein bars yesterday… today I knew I had to make a fun sweet for an after-practice/dinner dessert option.  Perfect wrapped up in a cellophane bag with a plaid ribbon.  Pay a bit of happiness forward and make someone’s day extra special or eat them all yourself and then hit the gym hard tomorrow…. it’s your choice!

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— Knead to Cook

Clean Eating Peppermint Brownie Bites.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brownies, Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Gluten Free, Holiday, No bake/cooking required!, Snacks, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free 8 Comments

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This weekend we popped by the most enormous Trader Joe’s that I’ve ever seen and I was thrilled with their holiday section.  I stumbled upon my favorite Peppermint extract and wanted to create something chocolate/pepperminty.  The girls in my family are all huge fans of the combination.  The flavor combination is reminiscent of the holidays and today, with our frigid temperatures, are also pushing me in that direction.  Hard to believe that in just a few weeks we will have a Christmas tree in our house!  Wasn’t it just summer?

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— Knead to Cook

Pumpkin Spice Blondies.

by Filed Under: Brownies, Candy, Desserts, Halloween, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Party Foods, Snacks, Yogurt Leave a Comment

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I feel compelled to make this disclaimer… if you’re looking for healthy clean eating, this is NOT your recipe. I have to be honest, I don’t eat refined sugars or processed anything but I realize that’s my choice and sometimes an indulgent, fun treat is good when you’re a kid and I have two of them so here it goes!  I spotted these Pumpkin Spice M&M’s yesterday and thought they would be fun in some pumpkin spice blondies.  So I bought a bag and off I went.  It’s a fun treat for the fall season. Again, everything in moderation.

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— Knead to Cook

Dark Cocoa Orange Chobani Low Fat Brownies.

by Filed Under: Brownies, Desserts 12 Comments

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I, like most people, are glued to my television today watching the events in Boston unfold with horror.  I bake when I’m upset so I whipped up a small batch of dark cocoa (from my Vermont trip to King Arthur) Chobani brownies.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of all-purpose flour (King Arthur)
1/4 cup of whole wheat flour (King Arthur)
1/3 cup of dark cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
3 oz of dark chocolate (chopped)
3 tbl of butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
Zest of one orange
2 tablespoon of Chobani (vanilla)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of orange juice (from the orange you zested)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional:  1/4 dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line your spring form (8 inch pan) pan with parchment paper on the bottom and then spray the entire interior with baking spray.  Set aside.

In your stand mixer bowl, sift flours, cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Then in a separate bowl melt the dark chocolate chips and butter in the microwave.  Mix together when melted.  Add to the dry mixture.  Then add the sugars and Chobani.  Blend.  Add the eggs, extract, juice and zest.  Blend until incorporated.  The mixture will be sticky and thick.  Dump into your prepared pan.  Try to spread out evenly – it will self-level while baking.  Bake for 20 minutes.  I undercook a bit to keep the brownie super moist.

Optional:  You can add some dark chocolate chips into the batter at this point.

— Knead to Cook

Thin Mint Brownies.

by Filed Under: Brownies, Desserts, Vegetarian 1 Comment

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It’s that time of year again and the Girl Scout cookies are out!  I purchased many boxes as a donation but one to keep for baking purposes.  I knew I wanted to create some fun recipes with these cookies and this is the first of many.  Tonight we’re hosting some swimmers and coaches for a carb fest before our Championship swim meet tomorrow.  I thought everyone would enjoy these after their pasta dinner.  They smell like minty heaven sadly, I wish I loved brownies as much as everyone else does!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of a good quality cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup of boiling water
2 cups of sugar
2 eggs, room temp.
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur’s)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp mint extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mints, roughly chopped

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray your 13×9 glass pan with baking spray and then line it with parchment paper – spray again (over the parchment).  Set aside.

In your stand mixer, blend the cocoa, soda, boiling water and 1/3 c of vegetable oil.  Mix until blended.  Then stir in the sugar, eggs and remaining 1/3 cup vegetable oil.  Finally, add the flour, vanilla and salt.  Mix until combined only.  Avoid over-mixing.  Then blend in by hand the crushed up Thin Mints.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Remove and let cool completely (for about an hour) and remove by gently pulling up on the parchment paper.  Slice and dust with powdered sugar or leave plain.

*Brownie recipe adapted from Food.com.

— Knead to Cook

Butterscotch Chobani Pumpkin Blondies.

by Filed Under: Brownies, Snacks, Vegetarian 11 Comments

 

 

This has been a challenging week for me.  I’ve been sick for the past 4 days and unable to go to the gym or run.  I’ve been trying, much to my chagrin, to calm down, relax and try to heal.  Today I had an overwhelming urge to bake a treat for the weekend.  My daughter is off tonight to a camping out party and I thought it would also be a nice treat to take to share.  It is quintessentially fall recipe and quite tasty as my taste testers have reported back to me.  I’m hoping to try it tomorrow sans Halls cough drops.

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups of all purpose King Arthur’s flour
2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon flax seed meal (or wheat germ)
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter, softened (half of a cup)
1/4 cup of Chobani vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup of white sugar
3/4 cup of light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 -15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips (you can use peanut butter chips or chocolate chips too)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray your 13×9 pan with flour baking spray or line it with parchment allowing the paper to hang over so it’s easier to remove.

In a mixing bowl combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, flax and salt.  Whisk to combine.  In your stand mixer, paddle attached, blend butter, Chobani and sugars.  Then incorporate egg and vanilla.  Next beat in the pumpkin puree.   Once blended, turn the speed to low and slowly, in thirds, incorporate the flour mixture.  Scrape down the side of the mixing bowl as needed.  Then add the chips.  Stir with a spoon to avoid breaking them down.  Then pour your batter into your prepared pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let cool before removing and slicing.

— Knead to Cook