Christina's Apple Butter Poptarts with Maple Glaze and Pecans

from Morgan Crumm

Apple Butter Poptarts
1 recipe Butter Crust dough (using whole-wheat pastry flour, if desired)
1 cup apple butter
2 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup pecan halves
2 tsp cornstarch

~for the maple glaze~
1 T butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans, for garnish

Place the apple butter, cream cheese, pecan halves, and cornstarch in a food processor and process till completely smooth. Set aside. The filling can be made up to a week in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge until 30 minutes before use. Excess filling can be added to oatmeal or used as a filling for stuffed French toast.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/8-inch. Use a pizza cutter to trim the dough into a rectangle, using a ruler or tape measure to help divide into even, 2x3-inch rectangles. 

Spread a heaping tablespoon of filling over half of the rectangles, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Place a naked rectangle on top of each filled rectangle. Use the tines of a fork to crimp and seal the edges. Poke a few rows of holes in the tops of the tarts with the fork to create a steam release. Re-roll and repeat with dough scraps.

Carefully transfer the tarts to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 17 minutes or baked through and just golden around the edges. 

Let cool a minute or two on the baking sheet; then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Tarts may be prepared ahead of time up to this point and frozen for up to one month if desired. Before freezing, wrap very well in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. To defrost, leave out at room temperature, still wrapped, for 3-4 hours or until thawed.

Toast the chopped pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat just until fragrant, being careful not to burn. Set aside. 

To prepare the glaze, melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl or Pyrex measuring cup. Whisk in the remaining ingredients until smooth. Use a spoon to spread the glaze over the tarts, sprinkling each tart with the toasted pecans as you go (if you wait until they are all glazed, the pecans won't adhere as well). To reduce mess, you can place the cooling rack over a sheet of aluminum foil or the baking sheet lined with parchment before glazing.

Let the glaze set for a few minutes before trying to stack or layer on a platter.

Note: For another festive alternative, make Pumpkin Pecan Poptarts by swapping out the apple butter with 1 cup pumpkin puree, plus 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp 5-spice powder (optional).

Christina's Breakfast Cookies

from my mom

2/3 C butter
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Beat together well.

3/4 C flour (1/2 C white, 1/4 wheat)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Combine and add to butter mixture.

1 1/2 C quick oats
1 C (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 C wheat germ or finely chopped nuts (such as almonds or pecans)
6 crisp bacon slices, crumbled

Stir all together and add to dough.

Preheat oven to 350. Place cookies on greased cookie sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges golden.

Christina's Pumpkin Pancakes

from Our Best Bites

I made this without the whipped cream because I felt like that was way too much sugar for first thing in the morning, but I think it would be great for a brunch or dessert or something. 

3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
2 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin puree

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
4 ounces cream cheese (low fat is fine, no fat free)
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whipping cream (heavy or regular) whipped until medium peaks form

Maple syrup for serving

Instructions

Prepare whipped cream by beating cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy.  Take 1/2 of the whipped cream (that you already whipped) and beat it in until smooth.  Add the rest of the whipped cream and use a spatula to gently fold in (do not beat).  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.   

Prepare pancakes.  Whisk together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.  Make sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar.  In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, oil, eggs and pumpkin.  Combine wet ingredients with dry and gently combine until mixed.  Do not overmix.

Heat a nonstick griddle to medium heat.  When hot, use butter or nonstick spray to coat the pan.  Drop 1/4 cup pancake batter to form each pancake and cook until edges set (if you wait until they bubble, it might be just a bit too long).  Flip pancakes and cook remaining side.

Serve warm pancakes with a dollop of cream cheese topping and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Makes 12-14 large pancakes.

Christina's Blueberry Muffins

from my mom


2 c blueberries
¼ c flour
1 ¼ c white flour
¾ c whole wheat flour
¾ c sugar
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
6 Tbsp butter
¾ c milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ tsp vanilla


Preheat oven to350*. Grease & flour muffin tins. Place blueberries and 1/4 cup flour in small bowl and gently stir. Set aside. Stir dry ingredients including sugar together in large glass bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles small peas. Combine wet ingredients in measuring cup. Stir into flour mixture just till mixed. GENTLY fold in berries. Divide out into muffin tins. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Christina's Overnight Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole

from Our Best Bites

6-8 slices bread
about 1/4 C softened butter (just for buttering the bread slices)
4 C grated cheese (Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, Cheddar or some combination)
12 oz pork sausage, browned and drained if necessary
1 4 oz or 7 oz can green chiles
6 eggs
2 C milk
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dry mustard

Lightly butter one side of each slice of bread. Place bread butter side down in a 9×13 baking dish. I usually need 6 pieces of bread, plus 1 cut in half to finish up the bottom row. You just want the bottom of the pan covered with no big gaps.

Grate your cheese and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the bread.  Spread the browned sausage on top of that, and top with the green chiles.

In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk eggs. Add milk and then seasonings and whisk to combine well.  Slowly stir the egg mixture while you pour it evenly on top of the assembled casserole. You’ll want to keep stirring or else the spices will all gather in one spot and drop onto one single piece of casserole.

Cover well and place in the refridgerator overnight.

In the morning preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pop the casserole in there and bake (uncovered) for 50-60 minutes. You’ll want the center to be set and the outside edges to be golden brown. It’s important to let it cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it or it will just fall apart.

Christina's Double Coconut Muffins

from Smitten Kitchen


1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup full fat Greek-style yogurt, at room temperature is best (or use coconut cream)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature is best
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut, divided

Preheat oven to 375°F. Either grease 10 muffin cups with butter or coconut oil, or line them with papers.

In a small saucepan, warm your coconut oil just until it melts. It should still be on the cool side.

In a medium bowl, whisk together your flours, baking powder and salt. Stir 1/2 cup shredded coconut. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, coconut oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups then sprinkle the top with remaining 1/4 cup coconut, about 1 to 2 teaspoons on each.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out batter-free, about 20 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack and let cool.


You could make mango-coconut muffins by adding a cup or so of diced mango chunks to the batter; pina colada muffins would use the same volume of pineapple chunks. You could replace the yogurt with mashed banana or banana puree to make a banana-coconut muffin and if you’re into that whole lime-in-the-coconut thing, you could add a teaspoon of lime zest. Chocolate chips? (1 cup), Macadamia nuts? (1/2 to 3/4 cup, toasted and chopped). If adding a moist ingredient like mango or pineapple, reduce the amount of yogurt or coconut cream by 1/3.

Christina's Slow Cooker Yogurt

source unkown

8 cups milk (the more fatty the milk, the richer the yogurt will be)
1/2 already-made yogurt for starter

Put milk in crockpot. Turn on low for 2 1/2 hours. Let sit for 3 hours. Remove about 2 cups of milk from the crock pot and stir in the starter. Add it all back into the crockpot and cover with a lid. Wrap a large towel around the crockpot (helps it keep its warmth longer) and let sit overnight. In the morning, you'll have plain yogurt!

To make other flavors, add in sweetener/vanilla/fruit at the end or use as a base for savory sauces, etc.

Christina's Breakfast Quinoa

2 cups almond milk, rice milk or water

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Zest from 1 orange (I didn't have one, so I used 1 TBSP orange concentrate)

1 cup quinoa

3 T honey

1/4 C pecans, walnuts or almonds

fresh or frozen fruit (optional)

yogurt, milk or cream (optional)

Bring liquid and quinoa and cinnamon (and orange) to a boil, then set heat to medium low for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes. Add fresh berries. Top with nuts and honey, fruit and yogurt. Yummy!

Christina's Super Green Breakfast Smoothie

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup chia seed gel
2 cups loosely packed spinach
1 beet (root and leaves)
8 baby carrots (or one large carrot)
1 8 oz can pineapple in juice
1/3 cup raw cashews
2 frozen bananas
honey to taste
frozen blueberries to taste

Blend it all together!

Christina's Super Granola

from my mom

9 cups rolled oats--not quick oats or instant
1 cup chopped raw peanuts or almonds
1 cup hulled sunflower seeds or chopped pecans
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sesame seeds (or 1/4 each of chia and sesame)
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup coconut oil or olive oil--NOT extra virgin as you want the flavor to not be strong
1/2 cup honey
2 TBSP vanilla
2 TBSP molasses

Preheat oven to 275.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Whisk liquids together and add to dry ingredients. Mix until dry ingredients are coated, but not lumped together. Spread onto two cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir thoroughly. Bake for another 15 minutes and stir again. Bake another 15 minutes then allow to cool completely before storing.

After cooling, you can add up to 1 cup of All-Bran cereal (I don't do this since my children's digestive tracks don't handle it well) and any dry fruit you like.

Christina's Whole Wheat Waffles

from my dad

4 eggs, separated
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil

Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Sift together dry ingredients. Beat together wet ingredients and add to dry. Gently fold in beaten egg whites. Make into waffles.

Christina's Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones

from Smitten Kitchen

If you have white whole wheat, you can use two cups of it instead of the split flour ratio here.


1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.

Add the butter and use the blender to both cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in raspberries and use the blender again to break them into halves and quarter berry sized chunks.


Add the ricotta and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl.\

With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more.

Christina's Spiced Banana Bread

adapted from Sherbet Blossoms

1 1/2 cups sugar
2½ cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup oil (or applesauce)
3 eggs
2 cups mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Mix together and pour into greased bread pans (2). Bake for 1 hour at 350°.

Christina's Green Detox Smoothie

1 cup baby spinach
1 cup kale
1 1/2 cups orange juice
2 frozen bananas
1 apple or pear, chopped
1 TBSP chia seeds

optional: flax seed meal, wheat germ, whatever other healthy stuff you want to add

Christina's Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

1 frozen banana
1/4 C peanut butter
1/4 C milk
1/4 C cream
dash cinnamon
splash vanilla
1 TBSP wheat germ
1 TBSP flax seed meal

optional: cocoa powder, honey, spinach, whatever

Blend it all together and serve. Add more milk or cream as needed for consistency.

Christina's Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

original recipe

1 banana
8 large frozen strawberries
2 TBSP wheat germ
2 TBSP flax seed meal
1 TBSP honey
1 C milk
cream to taste

Blend all ingredients through milk; while blender is running, add cream until desired consistency. Eat and enjoy.

Christina's German Pancakes

from lots of places--everyone seems to have the same recipe!


6 eggs
1 c milk
1 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 c butter

Pre-heat oven to 425



Put all the ingredients except for the butter in a blender, and blend for 8-10 seconds. There will be flour etc. sticking to the side that didn't get incorporated, but just ignore it, and let the batter rest while the oven heats.


When oven is ready, slice butter into pads and place evenly around the bottom of a 9x13 non stick pan. Place pan in the oven.
When the butter is just melted, pour the batter in the pan, shut the oven, and set the timer for 25 minutes.
I like to crack the oven for the last minute of baking, so the pancakes don't collapse so easily when I take them out.

Squeeze with fresh lemon right out of the oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar. We like to serve ours with bananas, whipped cream, and syrup as well.

Christina's Pumpkin Waffles

adapted from Smitten Kitchen


2½ cups all-purpose flour ( or 1 1/2 C white and 1 C whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice (or 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger and 1/4 tsp cloves)
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat waffle iron.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks.

Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices.

Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until smooth. Fold egg whites gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Cook on waffle iron according to manufacturer instructions. Serve with cinnamon syrup.

Lorri's Cheddar, Onion, and Sour Cream Drop Biscuits

5 1/2 Tbsp cold butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsps chopped fresh basil
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
3/4 cup sour cream (or buttermilk)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1. Saute onion until translucent in 1 1/2 Tbsp butter. Add garlic adn cook for 30 seconds then remove the pan from the heat.
2. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl and add the basil. Cut the remaining butter into the mixture. Add the cheese and onions.
3. Blend the sour cream and milk together. Gently mix into dry ingredients and let stand until for 5 minutes.
4. Scoop blobs of dough onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes at 425.
(As a note - do not use silpat because you will never get them to smell the same. Onion and garlic taste delicious in a biscuit but not on a cookie.)

Lorri's Cottage Cheese Biscuits

I realize Christina has already posted her ultimate biscuit, which I have been meaning to try since I saw it on smittenkitchen but haven't yet. This is another alternative to baking powder biscuits for days when you bought a large vat from Costco on a craving and now it never piques your interest. They are delicious!
Taken straight from the Food Network - I didn't change a thing.

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1 16-oz. container low fat cottage cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 450. In a large bowl or the bowl place flour, salt and baking powder. Stir until combined. Add butter and mix until the size of small peas. Add the cottage cheese and stir until just combined.

Using a large spoon, drop onto a non-stick cookie sheet. Bake until golden, about 12-15 minutes. Serve immediately.