Home » Kid-friendly Recipes » snack » Page 18

Category: snack

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Last week I got a request from a friend for a lemon poppy seed muffin recipe. I’ve never made anything lemon poppy seed. Truth be told I’ve probably only tasted something lemon poppy seed once or twice in my life.

I’ve just never been a big fan of lemon flavored baked goods – bars, pies, muffins, cakes, anything.

At first I was just going to redirect my friend to another blog/recipe. But I quickly realized that none of the food blogs I read had lemon poppy seed recipes either!

So I had to come up with my own.

I did a little recipe searching and experimenting. Here is what I came up with. Moist. Slightly sweet. Lots of lemon flavor.

A real food recipe for lemon poppy seed muffins. I would actually eat these! Especially warm from the oven with lots of real butter.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
makes 12 – 18 muffins

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup organic cane sugar
2 eggs
2 cups organic whole wheat or all purpose flour (or a combination)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
6 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup plain yogurt

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Mix well. Add 1 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix. Add milk + lemon juice. Mix. Add remaining 1 cup flour and poppy seeds. Mix. Add yogurt. Mix.

Fill paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes.

Homemade Oat Squares

Earlier this week we had a long snowy day with nothing to do. And as usual Abram was begging to bake. So I brainstormed what new recipe we could try.

I was thinking a new cereal. I looked up the ingredients for Cheerios. There really isn’t much to them. So we tried to make something similar – taste and texture. I have no idea how you’d copy the shape 😛

It took about 3 minutes to mix the dough. And it tasted really good. Abram actually ate a bunch of it…and he NEVER eats the stuff we bake (either the dough or after it’s baked). He just doesn’t have a sweet tooth.

The end result? NOT Cheerios 😛  But to my surprise they taste and look a lot like Quaker Oat Squares. This used to be one of my favorite cereals. They are very easy to make.

They did end up a bit harder than I’d like. Maybe next time I’ll add some baking soda to help soften them just a bit. Otherwise these are actually really good. And they make a great portable snack.

Three ingredients is all you need to recreate a delicious cereal. Simple. As an added bonus they are dairy, gluten (if you tolerate oats), egg, nut, soy and corn free.

Homemade Oat Squares
makes about 2 cups

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup water
——————————————————————————————————–
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
(I have not tried it with these added yet, but I think it would improve the texture a bit.)
——————————————————————————————————–

Create oat flour by processing oats in a blender.

Mix oat flour, sugar and water until dough forms.

Using a scoop at a time, roll the dough into a small log. Cut into “squares.”

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Turn off oven. Leave the cereal in the oven to crisp for another 5-10 minutes.

Remove from oven. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Homemade Cocoa Puffs

Cereal. It’s one of the foods we gave up when we switched to a Real food diet. But I think it’s one of the foods my husband misses the most. And once in a while I do too. I used to be a cereal junky (seriously…I HAD to have it for breakfast every single day for about 10 years).

I’ve made soaked cereal (which I think tastes like Wheaties), granola and homemade golden grahams/cinnamon toast crunch. Yesterday I decided to try cocoa puffs.

I never liked cocoa puffs. So it’s not something I was missing. But my husband liked them. Especially for a bedtime snack.

The kids and I made a batch yesterday. They turned out pretty well. Little crunchy chocolaty bites. They aren’t little balls, but you still get the same effect. The butter gives some crunch, while the coconut oil gives the light/crispy texture.

I like to use them to make cookies and cream yogurt. Simply mix a handful into plain or slightly sweetened whole milk yogurt. A real treat.

**You can make this gluten free as well!!!

Do you still eat cereal? Did you give up cereal but miss it? What’s your favorite kind? Are there any real food versions of cereals you’d like to see?

Homemade Cocoa Puffs
makes about 4 cups

1 3/4 cups flour (organic whole wheat, all purpose or a combination)
1/3 cup organic cocoa powder
1/2 cup organic white and/or brown cane sugar or sucanat
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2-3 Tbsp. honey
1 – 2 tsp. organic chocolate extract
1 tsp. organic vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted (you can replace this with coconut oil or palm shortening to make it dairy free)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Heat oven to 350. Melt butter and coconut oil in sauce pan. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the liquids: honey, chocolate extract, vanilla, butter/oil. Stir well. Taste dough and adjust honey and chocolate extract to your liking. Mix until a nice ball of dough is formed.  The dough should not be crumbly.  If it is gradually a couple Tbsp. of water.  If it is still crumbly gradually add more honey.

Split dough into 2 equal parts. Cut 3 pieces of parchment paper the size of a cookie sheet. Lay one piece on table. Put 1/2 of dough on the paper. Lay a 2nd piece of parchment on top of dough. Squish the dough down a little with your hand. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough between the parchment paper. Roll until the dough is about 1/8″ – 1/4″ thick. Remove the top piece of parchment paper. Cut into very small squares (with pizza cutter). Place on a baking sheet (on the parchment paper…just move the whole thing onto the baking sheet). Repeat for other half of dough.

Bake for 11-12 minutes. Turn off oven, but leave cereal in to get crisp. Remove after about 10 minutes (if some of the puffs are burning remove the pan). Let cool completely. Separate squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer.

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.

Graham Griddle Cakes

Last weekend I decided to make pancakes for breakfast. I flipped through all of my usual recipes and came across one that I haven’t made in years. They are called graham griddle cakes. You replace some flour with crushed graham crackers. Brilliant! Perfect for this graham cracker lover 🙂

You can use store bought organic grahams or homemade. Let the food processor do all the crushing and mixing for you.

I adjusted the recipe so that it doesn’t contain baking powder (cornstarch) or egg whites.

Slightly sweeter than your typical pancake, these are a real treat. Cover them with lots of real butter and pure maple syrup…yum!

I’m a big fan of salty/sweet combinations. And I’ve been sticking to yeast-free “breads” lately. So these were just what I needed. I used one as bread for a bacon avocado sandwich. I also ate some like bread – warmed, topped with butter and a little sea salt. Delicious!!

Tired of your usual pancake recipes? Try adding a touch of sweetness with graham crackers.

Graham Griddle Cakes (or yeast free sweet bread)
makes 6-8 pancakes

3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp. sucanat or organic brown cane sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 egg yolks (or one whole egg)

1/2 cup chopped crispy nuts and/or soy free chocolate chips (optional)

Process graham crackers in food processor until turned into crumbs. Add flour, sugar, soda and salt. Pulse to mix. Pour mixture into a bowl.

Add milk, butter and eggs. Stir well. Add nuts or chocolate chips if desired.

Scoop 1/4 – 1/3 cup batter onto a hot buttered griddle per pancake. Cook until bubbly. Flip and cook for another 60 seconds.

Serve warm with butter and maple syrup or honey.

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

Holiday Brie En Croute

Every so often Justin points out a recipe in our local newspaper. I usually glance at it and comment on how junky it is or that I have no need for more recipes to set on my counter and forget about.

Last week he saw a recipe for brie en croute. Basically brie cheese in puff pastry. Normally I wouldn’t make it. But we were having a guest over last night. So I decided to make it for our appetizer.

I can’t say it was the healthiest appetizer…I used store bought puff pastry…which has HFCS and soy lecithin.

But the rest of it was quality food (homemade jam, crispy nuts, organic dried cranberries). And it tasted really good 🙂

If your body can handle a little bit of “not so real” food once in a while give this a try! Even my kids liked it.

It is a great appetizer for a holiday gathering.

What would make it better? Homemade puff pastry. Maybe someday I’ll have to try that (a fun project with the kids). Have you ever made puff pastry?

I could only find an 8 oz. package of brie, so I made a slightly smaller version than the original recipe. I’ll post it the way I made it.

Holiday Brie En Croute

1/2 package frozen puff pastry dough
1 egg
1 Tbsp. water
1/3 cup preserves or jam of choice (I used homemad strawberry raspberry jam)
1/4 cup dried cranberries, softened in hot water for one minute
1/4 cup crispy nuts of choice, sliced or chopped (I used chopped pecans)
1 8 oz.l round of brie cheese

savory crackers of choice
_________________________________________________________________________

Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix egg and water. Set aside.

Unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Roll into a 12 inch square. Cut off corners to make a circle.

Spread preserves to within 1 inch of the pastry edge. Sprinkle cranberries and nuts over preserves.

Top with cheese (I’ve never used brie cheese before…I think you can eat the white stuff on the outside…but I cut it off :).

Brush the edge of the circle iwth the egg mixture. Fodl two opposite sides over the cheese. Fold the other sides over the cheese. Press the edges to seal (be sure to seal it well!…mine leaked a little filling out).

Place seam-side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Decorate the top with the puff pastry scraps if desired.*  Brush the top with the egg mixture.

Bake 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand one hour before serving.

Serve with crackers and vegetables.

*I sprinkled my pastry scraps with cinnamon and sugar and baked them at the same time.

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.

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

Corn Free "Cornbread"

I never had cornbread growing up (so sad). The first time I tried it was probably when I was in college. And I’ve loved it ever since!

Corn has been out of my diet for over a year now. And I miss cornbread. It’s my go-to accompaniment for chili. Corn muffins are great with just about any kind of soup. It’s easy and delicious.

So recently I decided to try a corn free version. I know it sounds crazy. But it can be done.

I used my usual cornbread recipe and made some modifications to remove the corn (including removing the baking powder…yes, that has cornstarch!). I also made it egg white free so that it’s better for me.

The result is a lightly sweetened cake that tastes almost just like cornbread. It even looks like cornbread…the egg yolks give it a nice golden color. All the picky eaters in my family loved it just as much as the original version.

It’s also very easy to make. Add the ingredients to a bowl, mix with a spoon, pour it in the pan and bake. My 18 month old helped me make it last night (he did some pouring, mixing and egg cracking…while I held him…the whole time…yes, it’s easy enough to make one handed while keeping a little one from spilling everything).

It makes a great pairing with chili. Or it’s a delicious breakfast topped with butter and honey or maple syrup. My personal favorite way to eat it is with lots of butter and a little sprinkle of sea salt. I love anything with a salty/sweet combo.

I have also added a soaked gluten free version. It is just as good as the original and easy on the tummy.

Can’t have corn? Try this corn free version of cornbread. You don’t have to go without anymore 🙂

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

Corn Free “Cornbread”

1/2 cup organic all purpose flour (or 1/2 cup white rice or tapioca flour)
1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour (or 1/2 cup amaranth flour)
1/3 – 1/2 cup organic cane sugar (depends how sweet you like it)
4 Tbsp. melted butter (you can also used coconut oil. It will give a little different texture)
1/2 cup milk or milk substitute
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
4-5 egg yolks (more yolks will make it more moist and more yellow)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9″ round pie pan.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix. Add the butter and milk. Mix. Add the egg yolks. Mix.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until golden and baked through.

 

Soaked Gluten Free Corn Free Cornbread

1/2 cup tapioca or white rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup milk or coconut milk
1 Tbsp. lemon juice, yogurt, whey or kefir
1/3 cup organic cane sugar
3 Tbsp. melted butter or coconut oil
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar

In a medium bowl combine the flour, milk and lemon juice. Cover and let sit for 24 hours.

Heat the oven to 400*F. Grease a 9″ round pie pan.

Add the sugar and oil to the flour mixture. Beat well.
Add the eggs and sea salt. Beat well.
Add the baking soda and cream of tartar. Mix until just combined.
Immediately pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.