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Homemade Caramels

Last week I made an overnight french toast casserole. I’ve made it quite a few times now. The best part? The syrup you make to go in it. As I was making the syrup I thought it seemed a lot like caramel. Maybe I could use that same recipe (slightly tweaked) to just make caramel?

This week I gave it a try…success!! It really could not be any easier. No candy thermometer. No standing around with bubbling sugar and heavy cream. No artificial ingredients.

This caramel comes together in minutes and is so good. You can add extra salt to make it salted caramel. Or go with the traditional flavor. Either way you can’t go wrong.

Do you like caramels? Give this simple recipe a try. I promise, you’ll be glad you did.

Need an easy Christmas present? Wrap these individually in parchment paper or wax paper and bag them. Perfect.

Homemade Caramels

3 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown cane sugar or sucanat
1/4 – 1 tsp. sea salt (to taste)
In a pan on the stovetop, combine the honey, butter, salt and brown sugar. Simmer until all of the sugar is dissolved and the ingredients are well combined, about 5 minutes. Adjust salt to taste.

Pour into a parchment lined 8″ or 9″ pan. Allow caramel to cool in the refrigerator about 30 minutes.

Cut or break into small pieces. Return to the refrigerator to cool/harden completely (do not put pieces on top of each other or they will stick).

Store in a bag or glass jar in the refrigerator.

Homemade Go-gurt

Yogurt in a tube…sounds kind of gross to me. Which is why I’ve never tried it. But kids seem to love them. Sadly my daughter was introduced to go-gurts in preschool this year.

In an effort to help her enjoy the foods she likes in a healthy manner we decided to make our own version of go-gurt.

I tried a couple methods that were ok but kind of tough to eat. Finally we came up with a good one.

I used my vacuum sealer to make a go-gurt package. Then we filled it with thick smoothie.

This go-gurt has a two-fold benefit. It does not have the fillers, sweeteners, etc. that you’d find in the boughten version. And it does have tons of nutrients – egg yolks, kefir, fresh fruit, avocado.

You can use any type of healthy yogurt or smoothie you like. Smoothies work well since you can make them very thick.

You can also turn this into a frozen treat (or use fruity water to make homemade ice pops) . Simply fill it, stand it upright and stick it in the freezer. What a great snack on a hot summer day. You could also fill it with fruity water, homemade pudding or homemade ice cream and freeze it…homemade ice pops, pudding pops or ice cream pops!

This isn’t really a recipe. It’s a how-to. Now whenever your kids want go-gurt you can give them one…and feel good about it.

My daughter wanted to decorate it, but we didn’t have time. Next time we’ll use some permanent markers to write on the bag before filling it.

This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday.

Homemade Go-gurt

Using a vacuum sealer create a “bag” with an opening about 1 1/2 inches wide. Use a funnel to pour in smoothie or yogurt of your choice. Enjoy!

Here are a few smoothie ideas: fruit smoothie, pumpkin pie smoothie, green smoothie

Real Pumpkin Pie

 

I don’t make many pies. Why? I just don’t like them that much.

Well, I should rephrase that. I used to not like pie. I would basically only eat blueberry pie.

Now that I make all of our food from scratch, I know what REAL pie tastes like. Let me tell you – it’s good!

The Best Pumpkin Pie

The first time I made pumpkin pie I figured I’d just follow a standard recipe. But they all have sweetened condensed milk.

So I just made my own modifications to create a truly REAL pumpkin pie.

It was delicious!!  I, Mary, ate and enjoyed pumpkin pie!  For the first time in my life. Even crazier…I enjoyed it with whipped cream on top…I don’t like whipped cream. Or so I thought. I guess I actually like REAL whipped cream as well.

How to Make Real Pumpkin Pie

A combination of my personal tastes changing over the years and using quality, real ingredients means a delicious nutritious dessert that I could finally enjoy. 

But to be honest, my favorite way to eat pumpkin pie is for breakfast! Eggs and veggies are a great way to start the day. Just be sure to eat protein with it and limit sweets the rest of the day to avoid a blood sugar roller coaster.

Do you enjoy pumpkin pie? How do you make yours?

Real Pumpkin Pie

2 cups cooked, pureed pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream or whole milk (can be replaced with coconut milk)
2 eggs OR 1 egg + 2 yolks OR 4 yolks
3/4 cups organic cane sugar (you can substitute maple syrup for some of this)
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Single pie crust (wheat)**

1 1/4 cups organic whole wheat or all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. palm shortening or cold butter or lard
1/8 cup + 2 Tbsp. water w/ 1/2 tsp. vinegar

Pie Crust:
Sift flour and salt. Cut in 1/2 shortening until it resembles corn meal. Cut in other 1/2 until it looks like small peas. Add water + vinegar and mix well. (You can do this all in a food processor for a very quick dough). Roll out and place in 9″ pie plate.
 
**You can make this gluten free using a soaked gf pie crust or a regular gf pie crust.

Pumpkin Pie:

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Beat with mixer until smooth.

Pour into unbaked pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425, reduce temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 40 to 50 or until knife comes out clean.

Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake Ice Cream

Sea salt caramel cheesecake ice cream is a delicious dessert. It combines gooey caramel with rich cheesecake in a creamy treat – a perfect match.

Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake Ice Cream | Homemade Dutch Apple Pie

I make ice cream all the time. I make all different flavors. I don’t post recipes very often because I just mix and taste as I go.

This week I made sea salt caramel cheesecake ice cream. It was divine.

This recipe does take some prep work since you need caramel and graham crackers. But the end result is worth it.

This can be made gluten free by using gluten free graham crackers, pumpkin spice graham crackers or soaked gluten free graham crackers.

If you really want to put a tasty spin on it try gluten free chocolate grahams!!

You can also swap coconut milk for the heavy cream. I have not tried making the caramel dairy free, but I bet you could!

Lots of egg yolks makes sea salt caramel cheesecake ice cream extra rich, just like real cheesecake.

Caramel and cheesecake are a match made in heaven. Now you can enjoy them together in one delicious dessert.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday.

Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake Ice Cream | Homemade Dutch Apple Pie

Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake Ice Cream

1/2 cup salted caramel (divided)
1 cup graham cracker pieces (whole wheat, soaked,  sourdough, gluten free or soaked gluten free)
3 cups heavy cream (preferably raw)
4-5 egg yolks
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Blend cream, egg yolks, honey, syrup, salt and 1/4 cup caramel. Taste for sweetness/caramel flavor and add more honey, maple syrup or caramel if necessary. It should be a little overly sweet.

Process in an ice cream maker. One minute before the ice cream is done add the graham cracker pieces.

Transfer the ice cream to a shallow freezer safe container. Gently swirl in dollops of the remaining 1/4 cup caramel (so it is still visible/not mixed in).*  Freeze until solid.

*You can also add fudge swirls, chocolate chips and/or chopped crispy nuts for turtle cheesecake ice cream. Or you can freeze chunks of homemade cheesecake and add them as well.

Holiday Oreos®

A while back I made a homemade version of Oreos®. They were delicious!! These holiday Oroes® are a spin on the classic that is perfect for parties and family gatherings.

This week for our baking project Rebecca wanted to make a new batch with a twist. She came up with three filling flavors to try for a special holiday treat – mint, peanut butter and chocolate.

Wow!! The original was good. These are even better. Plus we had extra filling so we made mint, peanut butter and chocolate filled graham cracker sandwiches. Also very good.

If you want to really impress your guests this year try homemade holiday Oreos® with a special filling. They are sure to be a hit.
Rebecca is already planning our next batch. She said we need to make more the day after Thanksgiving to be ready for Christmas 🙂  We’re thinking chocolate mint, chocolate peanut butter and caramel next time.

And maybe we’ll go all out and dip them in chocolate. A chocolate covered caramel filled oreo made with all real ingredients? Yes, please!

The possibilities are endless…pumpkin, gingerbread, butterscotch, raspberry, orange…We’ll have to work on the inside out version sometime too. I’ll update this post each time we try a new flavor.

What is your favorite holiday Oreos® flavor?

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday and From the Archives Friday.

Holiday Oreos®

makes 17 – 20 cookie sandwiches (depending on the size of your cookie cutter and the thickness of your dough)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3-4 tsp. chocolate extract
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, room temp (you can substitute coconut oil or palm shortening)
6 – 8 Tbsp. honey

To make the cookies:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add cocoa and chocolate extract. Blend well (a hand mixer works well). Taste. Add more chocolate extract until strong enough. Add flour, baking soda, salt and honey. Blend well. If dough is still crumbly slowly add extra honey until dough will hold together when squeezed with your hand.

Place 1/3 of the dough onto parchment paper. Place another layer of parchment paper over top. Roll the dough between the parchment paper until it is 1/8 – 1/4″ thick. Remove top paper. Cut circles and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat this process until you have used all of the dough.
Bake the cookies for about 13 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
________________________________________________________________

Mint Filling:
1/4 cup organic palm shortening
5 – 6 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 – 2 tsp. peppermint extract
Peanut Butter Filling (you can make this a stiffer or softer filling):
1/4 cup organic palm shortening (reduce this to 3 Tbsp. for a stiffer filling)
5 – 6 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 – 4 Tbsp. natural creamy peanut butter
Chocolate Filling:
1/4 cup organic palm shortening
2 Tbsp. organic cocoa powder
4 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 – 1/3 cup maple syrup
1 – 2 tsp. chocolate extract

To make the fillings*:

Cream the shortening, flour, maple syrup and cocoa/peanut butter/extracts in a small bowl. Add more flour for a stiffer cream (note that it will firm up/become solid when chilled). Add more maple syrup for a sweeter cream. You can prep the filling ahead and store it in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature before filling cookies.

*Note that if you make the full recipe of all of the fillings with one batch of cookies you will have leftover filling. You can use it on graham crackers or as frosting for cupcakes. One batch of filling is enough for 7 – 12 sandwich cookies depending on how big your cookies are and full you like them.

To assemble the cookies:

Place the cream filling in a small plastic bag. Cut off one of the corners of the bag for a pastry bag. Pipe some cream onto the center of one cookie, leaving space at the edge . Top with another cookie. Press together just until the cream reaches the edge. Repeat this process until all of the cookies are filled. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the cookies

Baked Apples

I’m always looking for new breakfast ideas. This week I came across Cara’s recipe for slow cooker baked apples.  It was just what I needed – grain and nut free and easy prep.

I was going to make them in the crockpot, but then I changed my  mind. Since I was only making a few I didn’t want to get my big crockpot dirty. So I just prepped them this morning and baked them in the oven.

So easy and so delicious! Justin said they were great. He had his topped with homemade vanilla yogurt.

I will definitely be making these again. Such a great idea for a healthy breakfast. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly since I was going from memory when I made it. It still turned out great.

The next time I make it I might modify things and just do a pan of sliced baked apples**. Then you don’t have to worry about the apples opening/the toppings falling out. And you can serve up as much or as little as you want. Plus I don’t have to worry about a picky eater complaining about apple peels 😛

Baked Apples

6 medium apples
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup honey (I also added a little organic cane sugar)
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. coconut oil, butter, or ghee (I forgot this…oops)
 
Core apples. To core, using an apple corer or paring knife, cut around the core (about ¼ inch from the stem all the way around) but leave about half an inch at the bottom. Use the knife to ‘drill out’ the core.
 
Divide raisins, honey, cinnamon, and coconut oil between the apples.
 
Place apples in a crock pot and add ½ inch of water. Cook on low overnight and enjoy a hot breakfast in the morning!
 
Alternatively, bake covered at 350 degrees in a glass dish for 45 minutes-1 hour in the morning.
 
**Next time I will try peeling and slicing the apples. Place them in a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon, honey and raisins. Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Top with with cream, yogurt, coconut milk, or just eat plain.

Dutch Apple Tart

I recently pulled out my Old Pennsylvania Dutch Recipes book again. As I flipped through it I realized there are so many recipes in it that I want to try! I was specifically looking for some kind of apple dessert.

There were quite a few. I chose Dutch apple tart…very fitting for me 🙂

It is a pretty simple recipe, and it turned out great!! It is a little messy since the sugar creates a syrup. But so delicious.

Serve it with ice cream and drizzle the extra syrup over top.

I did have a little problem with the pastry being too dry. It needs more water than the recipe calls for.

It’s not a very photogenic dessert, but I did what I could 😛

Dutch Apple Tart

1 pastry recipe, prepared (recipe below)

1 Tbsp. flour (I used organic all purpose, but whole wheat would probably work fine as long as it’s finely ground)
1 cup organic cane sugar
5 medium-size apples, pared, cored and quartered
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter

Pastry:
1 1/2 cups flour (organic all purpose or whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup lard, butter or palm shortening
3-6 Tbsp. cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly (I use a food processor for this). Add water gradually until the dough just holds together.

Line an 8″ round baking dish with the pastry. Sprinkle a mixture of the flour and 1/4 cup of the sugar on the bottom of the pastry.

Put apples cut side down on the pastry. Sprinkle with a mixture of the remaining sugar and nutmeg.

Dot with butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes, or until apples are tender and a rich syrup has formed.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

I’ve had a recipe for a chocolate chip cheese ball in my list of recipes to try for a long time. I finally decided to make it. I modified it to use real ingredients. I did use regular chocolate chips. I still need to get to the store to try to find better quality chips. Or I need to find time to make my own again. But aside from that it was all good stuff.

It turned out great! A real treat. It’s kind of like eating cookie dough. I served it with a fresh batch of homemade graham crackers. A sweet twist on a cheese ball. Delicious.

The original recipe says to coat it in nuts. I didn’t do that since I can’t eat nuts. I just added some extra chocolate chips to the outside. Dried coconut flakes would be good too. It’s mostly for looks. You really don’t need to coat it in anything.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

5 oz. homemade cream cheese
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour (you can use cornstarch or arrowroot. Use a little less than 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp. vanilla
5 Tbsp. butter, softened
2-4 tsp. molasses
mini chocolate chips

Beat the cream cheese and butter. Mix in the flour, syrup, vanilla and molasses. Taste for sweetness. Add extra syrup or molasses if needed. Stir in chocolate chips (as few or as many as you like).

Refrigerate for two hours.

Scoop onto plastic wrap and form into a ball.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

You can roll the ball in chopped crispy nuts, coconut or more chocolate chips.

Banana Split Ice Cream

If you know me, you know I LOVE ice cream. I only eat my homemade ice cream since I know exactly what’s in it. My body does not tolerate all of the fillers, starches, etc. in store-bought ice cream. I’m always trying to come up with new flavors.

On Sunday I had some cream that needed to be used…which means ice cream. I had some bananas that were getting ripe. So I thought I’d make strawberry banana. Which then morphed into banana split ice cream.

I did a strawberry banana ice cream with walnuts and fudge swirled in. Delicious! And so easy. Using banana really thickened the ice cream. It was done in 10 minutes instead of the usual 20. Love it.

Banana Split Ice Cream

3 cups heavy cream (preferably raw)
3 egg yolks
1 ripe medium banana
1/2 cup frozen strawberries (fresh will work, but frozen helps it thicken and freeze faster)
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup maple syrup (you can do all honey or all maple syrup)
1/3 cup chopped crispy nuts
hot fudge sauce (recipe below)

In a blender mix cream, yolks, banana, strawberries, honey and syrup. Taste. Make sure it is a little overly sweet (the sweetness will go down after it freezes).

Pour into ice cream maker and process until done (mine took 10 minutes in a Kitchen Aid mixer attachment).

During the last minute of processing add nuts.

Put the ice cream in a freezer safe container. Drop small spoonfuls of fudge into the ice cream and mix very gently. Don’t mix it in. Just fold over the ice cream so the drops of fudge stay in tact as much as possible. It’ll be like pieces of fudge when it freezes. Freeze until firm.

Hot Fudge Sauce
(prepare this in advance so it is cold when you make the ice cream)

1 cup organic cane sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
2 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (or arrowroot or cornstarch)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup boiling water
1 Tbsp. butter
3/4 tsp. vanilla
 
Blend sugar, cocoa, flour and salt in sauce pan.
 
Turn on heat and add boiling water. Bring to a boil.
 
Cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 3-6 minutes.
 
Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Store in refrigerator.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

I’ve been wanting to make a batch of cinnamon rolls for some time now. I haven’t made any in years. I finally made some over the weekend. The recipe is from my MIL.

I made a few modifications to meet our standards of healthy. They turned out great!! Rebecca declared them the “best breakfast I’ve ever had.” You can’t beat that.

This is really two recipes – a basic sweet roll dough and the actual cinnamon roll. I prepped the dough Friday night, then made the cinnamon rolls Saturday morning. It worked out well.

I made my own version of frosting to top them. Delicious!

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet Roll Dough

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup palm shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet roll dough
2 Tbsp. butter, softened (room temp)
1/3 cup cane sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Frosting

1/4 cup palm shortening
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour (finely ground)
1/4 cup maple syrup

———————————
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a stand mixer bowl (or a large bowl if doing it by hand). Mix in milk, sugar, salt, egg, shortening and 1 1/2 cups of flour. Mix until smooth. Mix in remaining flour until a soft dough forms (add extra flour if it’s too wet). Knead by hand or with dough hook for about 5 minutes. Pour a small amount of oil on the dough and turn to coat.

At this point you can cover and refrigerate the dough for 3-4 days. Or you can use it immediately.

When you are ready to make the cinnamon rolls let the dough rise until double in size, about 2 hours (it could take longer if it was in the refrigerator…it has to come to room temp before it will rise).

Roll the dough into a 9×15 rectangle. Spread with the softened butter. Sprinkle mixture of sugar and cinnamon over top. Roll up the dough starting with the long side (so it is 15″ long). Pinch the edge of the dough to seal it.

Cut the roll into 15 equal slices.

Place slices flat side up in a greased 9×13 pan, leaving a little space between them. Let the rolls rise again until double (about 45 minutes).

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly.

While the cinnamon rolls are baking mix the shortening, flour and syrup to make the frosting.

When the cinnamon rolls are slightly cooled add the frosting on top. Serve immediately.

The cinnamon rolls can be frozen before or after frosting them.