Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Devilish Oreo Truffles.

by Filed Under: Desserts, No bake/cooking required!, Valentine's Day Leave a Comment

Happy 100th Birthday Oreo!  Seriously, 100?

In honor of Oreo’s 100th, I decided to put my spicy, devilish side to work on transforming this simple, yet beloved cookie, into something a hot!

Meet the darker side of the Oreo 😉  (insert evil laugh here)

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreo cookies (I used the less fat version)
1 8 oz cream cheese brick (again, low fat), room temperature
6 oz of dark chocolate chips (for melting)
1-2 tsp of cayenne pepper

Directions:

To make the truffles –

In your food processor, blend all of the cookies down into a fine crumb mixture.  This takes about a minute or two.  When done, add the room temperature cream cheese brick and cayenne and blend again.  When it’s completely blended, it will form a ball inside your food processor (my visual clue it’s done).

Remove that and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes.

I then melt the chocolate chips in a microwaveable safe bowl.  My microwave has a melting chocolate setting so I follow that option.  You can melt them slowly over a double-boiler or melt them in your microwave, checking often so it doesn’t burn.

Give that a good stir and set aside.

I line my cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper and then use my tiny scooper to scoop out the truffle filling and roll into balls.  Once complete, I toss them into the yummy chocolate pool for a coating and then place on the cookie sheet. If you opt to top your truffles with additional cayenne, as I did, dust them while they are wet from the chocolate.  This is my indicator for which type of truffle I’ve made – if I make a variety of flavors.  Then they head back into the fridge or freezer to set up for 15 minutes.  They can be served right after that or stored in a tupperware container for 3-4 days.

Watch out… they’re spicy!

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Cranberry Orange Chobani Pound Cake.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Desserts, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

My lovely friend Mia just reminded me that today is National Pound Cake day and YES I have a lovely recipe I wanted to share with you all.  This is a delectable & super moist (thanks to the Chobani) cake that is perfect for breakfast or with your afternoon cup of tea.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 c all purpose, unbleached flour
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 c freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest from one orange
1 tsp orange extract
2 tbl melted butter
2 tbl hot water
3/4 c of non fat or 2% Chobani
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl combine all of your dry ingredients. In your mixer bowl beat the egg, orange juice, zest, orange extract, butter and hot water together. Add the flour mixture to the wet batter and beat only until incorporated. Add the Chobani yogurt. Mix until blended. Add by hand the cranberries and walnuts. Spoon mixture into mini loaf pans or muffin tins that have been sprayed and floured. Bake at 325 for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I also dusted a few loaves with turbinado sugar from a crunchy top. Cool in the loaf pan for about 10 minutes then remove. Cool the remaining time on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

— Knead to Cook

Chocolate Tart Cherry Bread.

by Filed Under: Breads, Desserts, Vegetarian 4 Comments

Okay seriously… dark chocolate and tart cherries – how can you go wrong?  I thought it would be fun to create a dessert bread for my girls.  I was right – they love it!  Perfect to slice and eat or top with Nutella or peanut butter.

Ingredients:

4 c of bread flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp of salt
2 tbl of olive oil
1.5 tbl yeast
1/2 c of warm water (use only enough to achieve a nice dough consistency)
4 oz of canned tart cherries (drained)
5 oz of dark chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large bowl combine flour, salt, olive oil and the yeast.  Then slowly pour in the warm water.  You will only use as much as you need to make the dough pliable.  Then on a floured surface, take the dough and knead it for about 8 minutes.  Cover and let rest for one hour.

You can divide the dough into two balls or for a larger loaf, use one.  Incorporate the cherries and then the chocolate into the dough.  The dough will become quite messy due to the juiciness of the cherries.  Add enough flour to make the dough pliable.  Press the dough down into more of a disk shape (about 2 inches thick).  Let rest for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400.  Before placing the bread on a cookie sheet, score the bread with diagonal lines (using a filet knife).  Bake for 25-35 minutes or until nicely browned.

— Knead to Cook

Meyer Lemon Cake.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Vegetarian 8 Comments

This cake is UNBELIEVABLY delicious.  I bought many boxes of Meyer lemons yesterday, because I admittedly love them so, and I thought I better get my creative juices (no pun intended) flowing to use them up.  I’m so happy with how fabulous this turned out.  I hope you give it a try 🙂
Ingredients:

1 c of cake flour (I used King Arthur’s)
1/3 c of almond flour* (see below how to make your own)
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/8 tsp of table salt
1.5 sticks of I can’t believe it’s not butter (or regular butter)
1 c of sugar
2 eggs, @ room temperature
2 tbl of Meyer Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Zest from those two lemons
1 tsp of vanilla extract
2/3 c of plain Chobani yogurt
Powdered sugar, for dusting

*To make the almond flour:  Simply grind up 1/3 c of raw almonds (with or without skins) in your blender.  A food processor will work but the blender yields a more delicate flour texture.  Process on high until a fine powder is achieved.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

I used a springform pan but you can use any round cake pan.  Spray with baking spray w/flour or butter/flour your pan and set aside.

Combine all of your dry ingredients and whisk.  Set aside.

In your mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together.  This will take several minutes to yield a fluffy combination.  Add eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.  Then add the juice, zest and vanilla.  Mix until incorporated.  Then in 3rds add the dry mixture.  Add, mix and then repeat.  Add the Chobani and mix until just combined.  Avoid over mixing.  Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool completely.  Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Valentine sweetheart cake.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Holiday, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian 7 Comments

This cake is so much fun & quite the surprise for your Valentine!  My daughter helped me make this one and it turned out great.  I’m not a baking connoisseur but I think this is quite fitting for tomorrow’s big day ♥.

I admit *gasp* that I used a boxed cake mix but I did make my own icing.  I was more concerned with form than taste (function).  🙂  I normally never cut corners when cooking but I was more stressed with getting this right.

I did take a photo tour of the how-to.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

First you need two boxes of white cake mix.  I made one box to start according to directions.  From there I removed about 60% of the batter from my mixing bowl and reserved it for later.  The 40% I dyed with crushed strawberries (3) but you can use food coloring (pink or red).  Mix it well until fully colored.  I then poured this into a 9×9 square pan lined with parchment paper (or you can spray it with non stick spray).  It won’t be a lot of batter in the pan but you don’t need it super thick.  Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let this fully cool.  Once cooled, insert your heart cookie cutter into the cake.  Cut as many hearts out as you can.

Now set all of those hearts aside and take a loaf pan and spray it with nonstick spray.  Pour the 60% of the white cake batter into the bottom of the pan.  Then line the hearts up down the middle butting up against one another.

Then make the second box of cake mix.  Pour that on top of the hearts and the other batter anchoring them down.  Try not to overfill or you will have spillage when baking.

Bake according to the package.  I did notice that I had to add about 12-15 extra minutes to the baking time. Just keep a watchful eye on it.  Once a toothpick inserted comes out clean, it’s done.  Remove it and let it fully cool.

I trimmed any irregularities off the cake and then prepared the icing.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons warm water
16 oz confectioners’ sugar

Add to your mixing bowl and beat until fluffy.  I added additional strawberries for color but you can use food coloring.

Ice the cake and decorate.  Slice and enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Cannoli cream.

by Filed Under: Desserts, No bake/cooking required!, Valentine's Day Leave a Comment

 

 

Calling all cannoli fans!!!  This cannoli cream can be served in individual ramekins, as filling for your favorite cannoli shells or in little cups for shooters.

If making it to serve in ramekins, it can be made in advance and are always well-received!  You can opt to use berries instead of chocolate as well.  This is a super easy recipe with a lot of impact 🙂

For the cannoli cream:

Ingredients:

16 oz of low fat ricotta cheese
3 tbl of granulated sugar
3 tbl of powdered sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tsp of almond extract
1/4 c of chocolate chunks

In a food processor, add the ricotta cheese and blend until creamy.  This step takes about 2-4 minutes.  It should look like this – very creamy and smooth.

Then add the remaining ingredients till almond extract.  Pulse till blended.  Then you can hand mix in the chips/chunks of chocolate or process until well-blended, like I did in the photo above.  Spoon into individual glasses or ramekins OR if filling cannoli shells – spoon the mixture into a ziploc baggie and store in the refrigerator.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or more.  Just before serving, cut a tip off the bottom of the bag and pipe the filling in to the cannoli shells.

To make the chocolate bowls…   
To make chocolate bowls (yum) – blow up however many balloons (for the bowls) that you need.  I made 5 bowls and used the extra chocolate to cover some pretzel rods.  Okay back on task… I melted about 1 c of chocolate chips in the microwave (on the melting chocolate setting).  Once melted, whisk the chocolate and let it cool down to warm to room temperature.  DO NOT try this with hot chocolate or the balloons will explode and chocolate will go everywhere!

While I wait, line your baking sheet with wax paper.  Then when you’re ready, dip the bottom of the balloon in the chocolate.  Go over it a few times and then place the balloon on the wax paper.  Repeat until all of your balloons have been used.  I then placed my tray in the freezer for about an hour.  Once they were solid, I poked each balloon with a pin and let the air deflate  Work carefully and remove the balloon from each bowl (this takes a careful hand).  Then I placed the bowls back in the freezer until I needed them.  You can fill these with fruit, pudding, ice cream or whatever your heart’s desire.  Super fun!

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Low fat Mint Cheesecake Brownies.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Snacks Leave a Comment

Admittedly, I’m not a huge brownie fan but my girls love them!  They also both love anything mint & cheesecake.  These brownies are definitely a favorite.  I adapted this recipe from an old Cooking Light recipe.

Cheesecake batter:

1 8 oz block of Reduced fat cream cheese
1/3 c of granulated sugar
1 tsp of mint extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 tbl of all-purpose unbleached flour

Chocolate Batter:
1 c of all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 c of unsweetened cocoa (I used Wilbur)
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 c of packed brown sugar
1/4 c of canola oil
1/4 c of buttermilk (low fat)
2 tsp of vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
Cooking spray.

Preheat your oven to 350.  Spray a 9 inch square pan with cooking spray with flour.

To prepare the cheesecake batter, place the cream cheese in your mixer bowl and beat until creamy.  Add sugar and mint extract, blend well.  Add 1 egg and 1 egg white; beat that well.  Add tablespoon of flour and beat until just blended.  Set aside.

To prepare the chocolate batter, spoon flour into a measuring cup and level with a knife.  Combine flour, cocoa and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir with a whisk.  Combine brown sugar and next five ingredients through egg.  Beat on high until well blended.  Add flour mixture to the brown sugar mixture and beat on low until just blended.

Reserve 1/2 c of the chocolate batter.  Pour the remaining batter into your prepared pan.  Carefully pour the cheesecake batter over top and spread completely over the top of the chocolate batter.  Dot the cheesecake batter together with the reserved chocolate batter.  Using the tip of a knife, swirl the batter.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the top is set.  Let cool for 1 hour before cutting.


Calories 210, fat 7.5g, protein is 4.4g, carb 32.3g, fiber .7g, cholesterol 37mg, iron 1.3 mg, sodium 169 mg, calc 32mg.

— Knead to Cook

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.

by Filed Under: Cookies, Desserts, Vegetarian 9 Comments

“These are heavenly little bars!” exclaimed my youngest daughter today after she ate one bite!  That, to me, is the greatest compliment as my children are my biggest critics.  I’m not a huge fan of making full-on-fat cookies for my kids/friends but there was just something calling me to make these – plus this is why I run so much – so I can eat.  That, along with the fact that I had some cream cheese that I wanted to use up and a recipe was born!   Five ☆ rating from my kids.  Hopefully the friends that I delivered these to tonight agree 🙂

Ingredients:

6 ounces of low fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 c of butter, softened
1 c of light brown sugar
1/2 c of granulated white sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
2 c + 2 tbl of all purpose, unbleached white flour
3/4 c of chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Spray your 13×9 glass pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

In your mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugars until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes.  Add the vanilla.   Then sift the dry ingredients into a separate bowl.  Then add to the butter/sugar mixture.  Beat until incorporated.  By hand, mix in the chocolate chips.

Scoop all of the dough into your prepared 13×9 pan and flatten out with a mixing spoon so it’s relatively level.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on the top.  Keep a watchful eye on it around 20 minutes depending on your oven.  Remove and let cool for 20 minutes then slice and serve.

 

— Knead to Cook

Orange cheesecake with gingersnap crust.

by Filed Under: Desserts 4 Comments

There are certain members of my family that ❥ cheesecake.  I thought it would be fun to create a recipe that combined her favor flavors & would allow me to use up some oranges from Florida that I received as a gift & some gingersnap cookies leftover from the holidays. Win-Win, right?  I was hopeful and enthusiastic!

The end result was fabulous!  I have to admit, the flavor combination was right on.  I did sneak a taste when cutting it.  😉  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family will tonight.

Recipe…

Preheat the oven to 325 degree.
Crust:
40 gingersnap cookies (small one bite sized cookies)
1 tsp of sugar
1/4 c of melted I can’t believe it’s not butter or butter

In your food processor, add all of the ingredients for the crust and pulse about 12 times.   Pour the crumb mixture on top of the parchment paper that is lining your glass 9×9 pan.  Push it down with a large spoon so it is evenly distributed and smooth.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Remove and let cool.

Next step:
I took my 9×9 glass baking square and coated it with butter.  I then cut a piece of parchment paper and placed that over the glass pan.  I pushed it down to fit inside, going up the sides as well.  See photo.


Cheesecake Filling:

2 -8 oz blocks of low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
Zest of 2 oranges
Juice from 1/2 an orange
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 c of granulated sugar

Add to your food processor and blend for about 1 minute.  Pour this mixture on top of the cooled crust.  I then took my 13×9 pan and filled it 1/3 filled with tap water, to make a water bath.  I then place my 9×9 into the water bath.  This will help the cheesecake cook slowly and it will help it not to crack.  See photo above for a reference.

Bake this for 40-45 minutes.  When you remove it, it should be slightly jiggly but not watery.  Remove the 9×9 pan and place on a cooling rack for 40 minutes.  After the 40 minutes, place in the refrigerator for 4 hours to overnight.

To remove, gently pull up on the parchment paper and lay on a flat surface.  Slice with a large, sharp knife.  Enjoy!

I need to give a shout out to the amazing artisan that made the spoon for me…
http://www.etsy.com/people/pumpernickelandwry
Carrie is a remarkably talented woman!!!

 

— Knead to Cook