Wednesday, September 12, 2012

...did somebody say....AUTUMN?!?!?

Oh, my favorite time of year. Squash, cool weather, cider, and running! 

I'm going to just act like the last few months (of me not blogging) didn't happen...and continue on as if I never left ;) After all, its not like I relocated, got a new gym home, and discovered a new skill of mine (ACE hardware is my new BFF....and apparently I love home improvement projects. Come check out the new kitchen!)

So...back to the squash....particularly PUMPKIN! Got 2 new recipes to share...pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and vegan pumpkin cranberry scones. Both variations on goodies I found floating around online...with my own little twists. Here we go!

(adapted from afoodiestaysfit.com...)
Even Healthier-fied "Healthified Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies"


RECIPE
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
  • 2 tsp Stevia (get the natural stuff. I used what comes in a tall spice-looking type container from good ol' Trader Joes)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup egg whites
  • 1 Tbs. vanilla
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Combine pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, egg and vanilla and mix well (wet mixture)
  3. Combine by whisking: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a separate bowl (dry mixture)
  4. Gradually add DRY mixture to WET and mix until just combined
  5. Fold in chocolate chips
  6. Grease cookie sheet and use an ice cream scoop to measure out
  7. Bake for about 10 minutes until they no longer look wet
  8. Let sit on pan for 2 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool
I cut a ton of calories out via excluding sugar in the original recipe. And I'm not huge on major sweetener subs, so I drastically cut the conversion of the sugar-to-stevia...so the cookies have a hint of sweet, but not overly sweet. They seem to still be a hit! 


Next up....(adapted from the hungryherbivore.com)
Vegan (until I added eggwhite wash before sprinkling turbinado sugar on top for a little finesse) Pumpkin Cranberry Scones
Ingredients:
1.5 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tbsp raw honey
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup cranberries (if using dry- plump them as you would raisins, by adding them to some water or orange juice and allowing them to get rehydrated)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice and whisk together to ensure even distribution of the ingredients.
3. Add wet ingredients; pumpkin, honey, and also your cranberries. Incorporate all ingredients together, scones make a dry dough(like biscuits) but if you think your dough is too dry and all your flour hasn't been incorporated, add non-dairy milk 1 tbsp at a time.
4. You can make these 'drop' scones by using a measuring scoop and dropping the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet, or you can cut them into triangles (like Starbucks!). To make triangles, roll dough into one large ball and then flatten slightly. Cut the dough like you would cut a pizza! I first cut in half, and then divide each section into 'slices'.
5. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until firm to the touch.


Not gonna say these are fabulous...they're a bit tart, but not too bad! Nice w/ a hot cup of Chai on a rainy afternoon ;) 

....Got any autumn recipes that you've been waiting all summer long to make? Shoot me an email with them and share! I'll post it up for all to see! :) wearebetterthan@gmail.com

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