Saturday, June 11, 2011

AVOCADO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!

delish! fact: these delightful treats have ZERO butter, oil, or crisco in them! in fact, using avocado removes 75% of the fat content! each cookie has roughly 3.5 grams of fat, and about 90 calories! compare that to a normal chocolate chip cookie's 13 grams of fat, and 240 calories! (via deconstructing the home blog, and my own calculations!)

i have to admit: i was a little apprehensive testing these out. avocado isn't for everyone, but fortunately, it is for me! i probably eat 3 avocados a week. for breakfast, for lunch, mixed with salsa, on a sandwich, as guac. you name it. so i was eager to see if this superfood would wind up tasting okay with my other favorite: chocolate!

i am beyond thrilled with the results! these cookies have just the right amount of sweetness! they are not crispy, nor chewy, but are very moist, fluffy and spongey! they almost have the smooth texture of a muffin top, but with healthier ingredients, won't give you one! :)

i googled recipes, and found one that worked for me (via deconstructing the home blog), and made a few modifications:

preheat your oven to 290 degrees, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease. (i used my silicone baking sheet with a quick spray of pam!)

beat 2 small avocados (1/2 cup) with a mixer. i used my beloved kitchen aid stand mixer!
add in 3/4 cup brown sugar. to be honest, you could probably add 2 extra tablespoons too :)
add 1 large egg and 1 tsp of vanilla. mix together on high until it forms a smooth mixture.

the wet ingredients should turn into a smooth, greenish-tan mixture; sort of looking like split pea soup!

in another bowl, mix 1 cup of flour (white or whole wheat is fine! i only had white on hand), 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp of salt. next time, i am going to up that to about 1/2 a tsp of salt; i couldn't taste any, and i thought it might go well with the slight undertone of the 'cado!

slowly incorporate the dry ingredients to the mixer in about 4 equal parts. it should become much like a thick paste; it won't ever look much like a dough.

add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (i prefer the mini-chips!)

use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture out onto the cookie sheet. the original recipe called for 24, but i found that it made about 18 decent sized cookies (three wide across the baking sheet).

bake for 15-20 minutes, but i would suggest checking them at about 13. i have an older oven now, and 15 seemed perfect, but i have a feeling the temperature was higher than recommended. the cookies don't spread much like typical cookies, and they puff up. again, they are super light and fluffy, which i love because i am not a fan of the too-crisp cookie!
enjoy!



Thursday, July 29, 2010

Easy-bake banana loaf

This recipe was a happy-accident! :) i just love when those happen! Essentially, I added egg to the peanut-buttercream frosting in my last recipe, and once i saw the texture, I knew it was time to start over! So, I moved these ingredients aside and added a few more, and voila! A not-too-sweet version of banana bread, perfect for breakfast or a mid-day snack! Makes 16 servings (or cut it 5 rows by 5 columns for bite-size treats!)

***

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat 3 room temperature eggs with an electric mixer (i use my prized kitchenaid stand-mixer) for 5 minute on a medium-high speed.

Cut a stick of room-temperature butter into 1/2 teaspoon chunks and mix with the eggs on a high speed for 5 minutes.

add 1 cup of confectioners' sugar, and 1 tsp of vanilla. it will look like a soft yellow cottage cheese. (This is the moment I knew this would never reach its destiny as frosting!)

add 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, one banana, 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional). Mix until all ingredients are incorporated, scraping sides with a rubber spatula.

Grease the bottom of a 9" x 9" square baking dish. Cover the bottom in parchment paper, and grease the exposed side of the paper. Pour in batter. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes. Flip onto a cooling rack and remove parchment. Serve warm with honey-cinnamon butter. Yum!

Peanut-buttercream and Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

I'm hosting a dinner tomorrow night for 9 people. Everyone knows that a good hostess ALWAYS has dessert prepared! Even as I looked through recipes for tomorrow's menu, I coveted something sweet and rich. And there's nothing I hate more than making a dessert that I can't taste-test immediately! (Which would be rude to serve a half-eaten chocolate torte or layered cake!) That's when it hit me: AHA! Cupcakes! No one would EVER know I got to try it before I served it :)

Honestly, I'm not impressed with the recipe I used for the chocolate cake; I'll have to keep trying and improve upon it (I will be making the next one with mayonnaise, shh! don't tell; that is why they call it a secret ingredient!) I digress to say: Use your own cake mix recipe, or even your favorite boxed mix.

When the batter is ready, pour into the cupcake cups, filling about halfway. This should leave a reserve of about 1/3 of the batter. Mix in 1/3 of a cup of peanut-butter (I used the reduced-fat, all-natural kind, but I'm sure you can get away with just about anything). The new batter will be a bit denser, but that's okay. Scoop a spoonful into the middle of the half-full cupcakes (they will be about 2/3 full).

Bake at whatever temperature your recipe or mix calls for, cutting the time in half from the regular cake baking time for cupcakes (I always err on the early side, just incase!). Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 45 minutes. You don't want to melt the icing!

***

Melt 1/2 stick of butter and 6 ounces of milk chocolate pieces in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. When melted, remove from heat and scoop spoonfuls on top of each cupcake, allowing chocolate to cool slightly. Spread ganache thinly across the top of each cupcake and allow to cool. (i put mine in the fridge for about 5 minutes to allow the ganache to harden).

Beat 1/2 cup room-temperature butter (1 stick) on medium with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar in 1/2 cup increments. Incorporate each half-cup on a low speed, then mix for 20 seconds on a high speed. After 2 cups have been added, mix in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 cup peanut butter with an additional 1 1/4 cup of confectioners' sugar (3 1/4 cups total) 1/4 cup cocoa, and 1 tablespoon hot (not boiling) water. Continue whipping on a medium-high speed until frosting is full with firm peaks. Add an addition 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter to create a fluffier texture.

Using a rubber spatula, fold frosting into pastry bag. Using the open tip, pipe generous amounts onto each cupcake. Experiment with different tips and decorations. The recipes for the buttercream icing and the chocolate ganache are enough to cover 24 cupcakes; but you never have to tell your dinner guests that's how many you started out with :)

enjoy! xoxo

Friday, July 16, 2010