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Dessert

Breakfast, Dessert, Lactose Free, Recipes

Cream Cheese Scones

April 24, 2018

Tart Cherry Cream Cheese Scones

Scones have now become one of my favorite pastries.  They don’t require planning ahead and can be made in less than an hour from start to finish.  And though many think of a scone as a breakfast treat, I very much enjoy them as a dessert warmed and topped with a pat of Earth Balance Buttery Spread.  What sets these scones apart, is the rich flavor from the cream cheese. This creates a very tender and moist crumb.  The house is filled with wonderful aromas as they bake.  Having tried numerous recipes I can now say that I can’t imagine a better scone than this one.

Tart Cherries

The original recipe calls for dried apricots.  I have made the scones with apricots and cherries. Both versions are excellent so use what’s readily available or make a double batch, half with cherries and the other half with apricots.  These scones freeze well.

Apricot Cream Cheese Scones

Turkish Apricots

Turkish apricots are soft and sweet which makes them ideal for baked goods and for snacking.

Tart Cherry Cream Cheese Scones

Cream Cheese Scones
 
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Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Author:
Serves: 14
Ingredients
  • 3¼ cups all-purpose flour (390 grams)
  • ½ cup granulated sugar (99 grams)
  • 2½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon if using unsalted butter)
  • 1 (8 ounce) container cold Green Valley lactose free cream cheese (or regular cream cheese)
  • ½ cup (8 tablespoons) cold Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (or unsalted butter)
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries or diced apricots (150 grams)
  • ¼ cup lactose free milk (or regular milk)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • For the glaze
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 - 2½ tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • sparkling sugar for garnish, optional
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  3. Cut in the cream cheese and butter, using a pastry blender, fork, or your fingers, until the chunks of butter are the size of peas. Stir in the cherries or apricots.
  4. In a small bowl whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir with a fork until the dough is evenly moistened.
  5. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and fold it over several times, until it holds together. Pat the dough into a ¾" thick rectangle. Cut the dough in to 14 squares or 16 for smaller scones. Bake on the middle rack for about 13 minutes, until the tops are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove scones to a cooling rack and cool completely.
  6. Whisk powdered sugar with orange juice until smooth. The glaze should be thick yet easy enough to drizzle over the scones with a spoon. Once the scones are completely cool, drizzle or brush glaze over the tops and immediately sprinkle on the sugar if using.

 

 

 

Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Fruit, Lactose Free

Crisp Sugar Topped Blueberry Muffins

September 9, 2017

Crisp Sugar Topped Blueberry Muffins

One of my favorite uses of the nutritious blueberry is in muffins. They are one of the easiest breakfast (or dessert) snacks to make.  All you need is a bowl for the dry ingredients and a measuring cup for the wet ingredients. Combine the two, fold in the blueberries and your batter is ready.  In less than 20 minutes you’ll have warm, crispy topped muffins with just the right amount of blueberries.  These are delicious split down the center, toasted and served with a pat of butter.

Crisp Sugar Topped Blueberry Muffins

The sparkling sugar ensures the muffins have a perfectly crisp top that is not only a delight to eat but also gives the muffins that certain je ne sais quoi. Bob’s Red Mill decorative sparkling sugar works perfectly.

Blueberries

Muffin Liners

It’s best to use liners in your muffin tin to ensure that the muffins won’t stick to your pan.  Liners also mean easier clean up.

Crisp Sugar Topped Blueberry Muffins

These are beautiful muffins with crackly and crispy tops.  If by chance you have any leftover muffins, store them in the freezer in a heavy-duty plastic bag. They will keep well for more than a month.

Crisp Sugar Topped Blueberry Muffins

 

Crisp Sugar Topped Blueberry Muffins
 
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Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all purpose-flour
  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup lactose free milk (or regular milk)
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 4 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, melted and cooled for 5 minutes (or regular salted butter)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) fresh blueberries
  • Sparkling sugar such as Bob's Red Mill Simply Sweet Decorative Sparkling Sugar
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Line muffin tin with muffin/cupcake liners.
  3. In a large bowl whisk to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  4. In a 2 cup measuring cup, measure ½ cup milk. Add ¼ cup canola oil, melted Buttery Sticks, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk ingredients together.
  5. Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter between a 12 cup paper-lined muffin tin. Sprinkle each muffin with ½ teaspoon of sparkling sugar.
  6. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

 

Dessert, Fruit, Lactose Free, Recipes

Mango Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Popsicles

July 31, 2017

Mango Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Popsicles

Most of us loved eating popsicles as children, a favorite summer treat. Embrace your inner child with these homemade delights. You won’t regret it and neither will your children, grand children, friends, and whoever else is lucky enough to eat one of your homemade creations.  All you need for this recipe is fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream.  Since our mango trees are at their peak summer harvest now they are the major ingredient here.  Strawberries and vanilla ice cream added a beautiful color palette to the bright orange mangos.  If mangos are not available, fresh peaches would be an excellent substitution.

Strawberries

Pirie and Rapoza Mangos

Our Pirie mango tree is 30 years old and is a heavy bearer that produces the sweetest mangos I have ever tasted.  It has a long production period of at least 6 months.  The large and beautiful Rapoza mango is delightfully smooth and sweet with a texture similar to a peach.

Mango Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Popsicles

Swirl the ingredients around a bit to make beautiful popsicles that taste delicious especially on a warm summer day.

Mango Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Popsicles

There is a myriad of popsicle molds available on-line.  I bought this inexpensive Norpro Frozen Ice Pop Maker and it works like a charm.  The popsicles are just the right size and the entire mold fits nicely in the freezer. Plus, you get 10 popsicles at a time.

Mango Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Popsicles

 

 

Mango Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Popsicles
 
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Author:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 6 ounces strawberries, chopped
  • 1¾ cup (heaping) chopped mango
  • ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1½ cups lactose free vanilla ice cream slightly softened (or regular vanilla ice cream or non-dairy vanilla ice cream)
Preparation
  1. Mix chopped strawberries with ¼ sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
  2. Using an immersion blender puree chopped mango, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon lime juice until mixture is smooth. Pour into a 2 cup measuring cup. You should have 1½ cups (or more) mango puree.
  3. Rinse immersion cup and puree strawberries with remaining 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Pour into a 1 cup measuring cup. You should have 1 cup of strawberry puree.
  4. Layer popsicle molds beginning with mango puree, followed by strawberry puree, and ice cream. Continue to layer with fruit purees and ice cream leaving ¼-inch space from the top to allow for expansion. Using a chopstick or wooden skewer, lightly swirl the mixtures together. Place lid on mold and insert sticks. Freeze at least 8 hours or overnight. Run popsicle mold under warm water for easy removal.

 

 

Cookies, Dessert, Lactose Free, Recipes

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies

July 3, 2017

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies

I was intrigued by this chocolate chip cookie recipe after David Lebowitz raved about it on his blog.  A chocolate chip cookie made with tahini?  This was a recipe I needed to try for myself.  I love tahini and have often used it in savory recipes such as hummus or dressing. After doing a bit of research I found that it is not uncommon to use it in desserts as well.  These cookies are the best of both worlds.  They are delightfully rich with just a hint of tahini and lots of chocolate in every bite. The fleur de sel is the “icing on the cake.”

Chopped Semisweet Chocolate

David recommends using chocolate chunks.  I bought chocolate bars and chopped them into pieces larger than regular chocolate chips which are fairly small and tend to get lost in a cookie. David’s recommendation was spot on. Who wouldn’t want more chocolate in every bite?!

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Dough

I used a cookie scoop but you can certainly use a tablespoon and form the cookies with your hands.

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies
 
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Adapted from David Lebovitz's recipe
Author:
Serves: 24 cookies
Ingredients
  • 1 stick (4 ounces) Earth Balance Buttery Sticks at room temperature
  • ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon tahini, well stirred
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
  • Flaky sea salt such as fleur de sel or Maldon
Preparation
  1. Beat the Buttery Stick, tahini, granulated sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for 2 - 3 minutes, until fluffy. (The dough can also be made in a large mixing bowl stirred wth a spatula).
  2. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Continue to mix for another minute, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Be sure the eggs are well incorporated.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Cover and refrigerate the dough until well chilled, at least 6 hours or overnight.
  4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  5. Form the cookies into rounds using a medium sized (#40) cookie scoop. Place them evenly spaced on the baking sheets, about 3 inches apart (they spread a lot). Bake one pan at a time on the middle rack of the oven rotating the pan from front to back midway during baking. Bake cookies for about 14 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and sprinkle with a bit of fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Continue to bake the remaining cookies.

 

Dessert, Lactose Free, Recipes

Baked Sour Cream Donuts with Chocolate Frosting

May 22, 2017

Baked Sour Cream Donut with Chocolate Frosting

Homemade donuts in 30 minutes?  With no deep frying involved, these baked sour cream donuts are incredibly easy to put together.  It takes less than 10 minutes to mix up the batter and pipe it into the donut pan, 10 minutes for the donuts to bake, and 5 minutes to dip them into a delicious chocolate frosting.  A tasty homemade donut brings a smile to everyone’s face.

Sour Cream Donut Batter

I bought my Wilton donut pan from Amazon for less than $10 and have put it to good use.  I have already placed an order for another pan so that I can make a dozen donuts at a time. The donuts freeze beautifully which means I am able to have a sweet treat any time.

Baked Sour Cream Donuts

Even though this is a non-stick pan be sure to coat it with non-stick cooking spray because the wet batter has a tendency to stick to the pan.  Once baked, the donuts will be lightly browned on the bottom with a very light golden color on top.

Baked Sour Cream Donuts with Chocolate Frosting

Sprinkles add color and a bit of crunch to the donuts however if you prefer a smooth chocolate frosting you can skip the sprinkles.  I make some of each and let everyone choose their favorite donut.

Baked Sour Cream Donuts with Chocolate Frosting

Baked Sour Cream Donuts with Chocolate Frosting

Baked Sour Cream Donuts with Chocolate Frosting
 
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Donut recipe adapted from the Semisweet Sisters blog Frosting recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • For the doughnuts:
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • ½ cup Green Valley lactose free sour cream (or regular sour cream)
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • For the frosting:
  • ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (or regular butter)
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 6-cavity donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl whisk together the oil, sour cream, egg, vanilla extract and sugar. (Measure the oil in a 1-cup measuring cup then transfer it to the bowl. Use the same measuring cup for the sour cream. The oil coats the measuring cup so the sour cream releases easily). Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine ingredients well.
  3. Transfer batter to a quart sized bag. Snip a very small piece off of the corner of the bag. Pipe the batter into the donut pan filling each cavity about ¾ full. You may not use all of the batter. If there is too much batter in the pan the donut holes will close up as they bake. Bake for 10 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick. If the donuts need to bake longer set your timer for another 1 -2 minutes. The donuts will be browned on the bottom side and very light golden on the top. Allow donuts to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  4. Combine all of the frosting ingredients in a pan and heat over medium-low heat until everything is melted. Whisk the frosting to ensure it is smooth. Remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl, just wide enough to dunk the donuts in. I usually let the frosting cool for about 15 minutes before I frost them. You may also melt all of the ingredients in the microwave (stop and stir often).
  5. Dunk the top of the donuts in the frosting and place on a wire rack (use foil under the rack to catch any drippings). Sprinkle with decorations if desired. Let frosting set for 15 minutes before serving.

 

Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Lactose Free, Recipes

Amazing Whole Grain Muffins

May 8, 2017

Whole Grain Muffins with Tart Cherries

These little beauties are my favorite mid-morning snack.  They are 100% whole grain muffins that have the perfect texture and flavor.  Sometimes I add dried tart cherries to the batter but they are just as good without adding any additional ingredients.

White Whole Wheat Flour & Wheat Bran

Whole wheat flour and additional wheat bran make this a very nutritious muffin.  I take one to work each day and enjoy it with my morning cup of coffee. They are low in calories, high in fiber and protein, and just plain delicious.

Apple Bananas

A very ripe banana helps to moisten the batter as well as improve the flavor. These are not tall domed muffins.  The batter makes just enough to fill a dozen standard 12-cup muffin pan.  Use a spoon to fill each muffin cavity 1/2 full then divide any leftover batter between the 12 cups.

Whole Grain Muffins

Whole Grain Muffins with Tart Cherries

I love to split the muffins and toast them until they are nicely browned and crisp around the edges. Slather some Earth Balance Buttery Spread and homemade lilikoi jelly over the warm muffins and serve them for breakfast with cheesy scrambled eggs and bacon.

Toasted Whole Grain Muffins with Lilikoi Jelly

 

Whole Grain Muffins
 
Save Print
Adapted from Cooking Light
Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 6 ounces white whole-wheat flour (about 1⅓ cups)
  • ¼ cup wheat bran
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ scant teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, melted
  • ¾ cup plain 2% lactose free yogurt
  • ¼ cup lactose free sour cream
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large ripe banana, mashed (1/2 cup)
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped dried tart cherries, optional
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan (I use a non-stick pan lightly buttered)
  2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
  3. Combine flour, wheat bran, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine ingredients.
  4. Combine 2 tablespoons melted Buttery Sticks, yogurt, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, banana, and egg in a bowl. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin cups (fill each cup ½ full then divide the remaining batter between the 12 cups)
  5. Bake for 15 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

 

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