Cranberry Oatmeal Buttons

Cook’s notes: Adapted from a recipe by Sunmaid Raisins (link). These are tasty, low-fat cookies. As the original recipe said, “This is one recipe where low is good. Low sodium, low fat, and low cholesterol — now that’s a really good cookie.”

Tasty and low fat

The recipe has several options: I used white whole-wheat flour, canola oil, plain yogurt (instead of vanilla, to keep the sugar down), and quick oats. You could even reduce the amount of brown sugar to 1/2 cup. If you like oatmeal raisin cookies, try these button-shaped cookies, which are tasty and very satisfying.

1 cup white whole-wheat flour (from King Arthur) or whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt (or fat-free vanilla yogurt)
1/8 cup (1 oz) canola oil (or corn oil)
1 large egg
1 overflowing teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats (or uncooked old-fashioned oats)
1 cup dried cranberries (5 oz package)

Heat oven to 350∫ F. Cover 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt together.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine brown sugar, yogurt, oil, egg, and vanilla. Beat to combine. Add flour mixture; beat just until combined to make blended dough. Beat in oats and cranberries. Dough will be quite sticky.

Using a small cookie scoop, drop mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. They will puff slightly when cooking, but they will not spread out flat.

Bake for 12 minutes until very lightly browned. Check them at 10 minutes — do not over bake.

Slide cookies from parchment paper onto countertop to cool.

Makes 40 cookies.

Estimated nutrition information per serving (1 cookie): Calories 42; Protein 0.9 g; Fat 1 g; Carbohydrate 7.6 g (net carbs 6.9 g); Dietary Fiber 0.7 g; Cholesterol 5 mg; Sodium 52 mg (from http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php)

Dietary exchanges for 2 cookies: 0.9 bread/starch

Blackberry Pie

Cook’s notes: We made this pie for a potluck recently, and it was very popular with guests as well as easy to make. Simple ingredients let the berry flavor shine through. I reduced the sugar by 1/2 cup, and it was still delicious. Next time, I’m tempted to cram 4 boxes (6 oz) of berries in it. Blackberries are very high in fiber. According to the allrecipes site, each slice (1/8 pie) has 4.6 g fiber. I would definitely make this delicious pie again.

 

Excellent berry pie

Tips: Frozen or fresh blackberries can be used. Make sure that you combine the berries with the sugar and flour well until you no longer see any white coating on the berries.

Yield: 1 pie, 9-inches

4 cups fresh blackberries (3 x 6-oz boxes)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 x 9-inch pie crusts (store-bought), made without lard
2 tablespoons milk

Combine 3.5 cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup uncoated berries on top of the sweetened berries, and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with milk.

Bake at 425 F (220 C) for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 F (190 C), and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

Halloween Candy Corn Mix

Cook’s notes: A simple blend of dry roasted peanuts, candy corn, and plain M&M’s in fall colors. I made a double batch for a bake sale at work. I did one batch with “Indian corn”, which are candy corn with a cocoa base. This recipe can easily be halved: blend 16 oz peanuts, 22 oz bag candy corn, and 3 cups M&M’s.

Mix and go

Double batch:
2 x 16-oz jar of dry roasted peanuts (6 cups total)
2 x 22-oz bag candy corn (6 cups total)
42 oz bag plain M&M’s (6 cups total)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, and stir well to combine. Package in treat bags, about 2/3 cups mix per bag.

Yield: 27 servings (2/3 cup each), at a cost of about 80 cents each

Two kinds of candy corn

Banana Pudding Pie

Cook’s notes: This recipe is quite easy and very flexible. When you have ripe bananas, and it’s too hot to bake banana bread, pudding pie is a great alternative. This lovely summer dessert can also be made with strawberries instead of bananas. The plain yogurt cuts the sweetness of the instant pudding. Also, I was very excited to find the truwhip brand whipped topping in my local market: it has better ingredients that a standard brand of whipped topping. It’s still a treat, not health food, but pudding pie needs whipped topping.

For a tropical-tasting pie, use whipped coconut milk for the topping.

1 x 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
2 to 3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
1 cup milk (we like 2%)
1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt
1 box instant vanilla pudding
Whipped topping or whipped cream

Place banana slices in the graham cracker crust. Whisk the milk and yogurt together. Whisk in the pudding mix. Pour pudding over the bananas. Refrigerate for about an hour. Serve immediately with whipped topping.

No-bake Coconut Loaf Cakes

Cook’s notes: For me, it just isn’t Easter without the yellow cake and coconut frosting. The night I wanted to make this cake, I was also roasting broccoli…which should not be in the oven at the same time as cake. I came up with this no-bake version. The amount of sugar in the filling is greatly reduced (the traditional recipe calls for a gagging 2 cups of sugar with just 8 oz of sour cream). I also want to try this with fat-free plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

2 frozen loaf cakes, 10.75 oz (such as Sara Lee All Butter Pound Cake)
16 oz container light sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
14 oz bag sweetened flaked coconut, about 5-1/3 cups

Remove the cakes from their foil containers and slice them horizontally into 3 layers. Layers don’t have to be perfectly even. Put the bottom layer back in the foil pan.

Make the filling: Combine the sour cream and sugar in a medium-size bowl. Stir in the coconut.

Spread 1/3 of the coconut filling on the bottom layers. Cover with the second layer of cake. Spread another 1/3 of the filling on the second layer; top with the last layer of cake. Use the remaining 1/3 filling to cover the tops of the cakes (it will be mounded up).

Cover the cakes with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. You may wish to have them sit overnight.

Optional: Cake layers can be spread with melted apricot jam before topping with the coconut filling.

Shaker-Style Lemon Pie

Cook’s notes: Start the recipe on the day before you wish to bake; the sliced lemons need time to macerate in the sugar. Food writer P. Allen Smith says, “This lemon pie is excellent served with fresh whipped cream, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and a sprig of mint for a beautiful presentation. It’s a delicious taste of summer anyone would want to try.”

Day 1 Ingredients
4 large lemons
2 cups of sugar (or less)

DAY 1 Steps
Zest each lemon over a large plastic (or non-reactive) bowl. Cut off and discard the remaining lemon peel and white pith. Slice each lemon into thin slices, removing seeds. Pour any juice created during this step into the large bowl. Combine lemon slices, zest, juice, and sugar in the large bowl. Gently combine with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Fully coat the lemon slices with the sugar.

Cover the mix of lemon parts and sugar. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Day 2 Ingredients
2 deep dish pie crusts (store-bought frozen crusts made without lard work great)
2 Tbsp butter, softened
4 eggs, beaten

DAY 2 Steps
Heat oven to 375F. If crusts are frozen, thaw them.

Spread the softened butter on the bottom pie crust, as if you are buttering bread.

Add beaten eggs to lemon mixture; mix well. Pour mixture into crust, arranging lemon slices evenly. Cover with the top crust. Cut several slits near center.

Bake for 45 minutes. The pie may need an additional 15 minutes in the oven until done: crust is golden and the filling doesn’t jiggle.

Adapted from a recipe originally printed in Norma MacMillan’s book In a Shaker Kitchen: 100 Recipes from the Shaker Tradition with refinements from Nigella Lawson’s book How To Eat.

One-Bowl Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

Cook’s notes: The batter puffs up over the fruit. Frozen and canned fruit work just as well as fresh in this delicious recipe. Double the recipe: Use a 9×13-inch dish.
1 cup buttermilk pancake mix
4 Tbsp (1/2  stick) butter
1/3 cup sugar (reduced from 1/2 cup)
3 cups sliced peaches (1 x 25 oz jar peaches, 14 oz net weight, drained)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberries (we use frozen)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 F. Coat a 2-quart glass pan (either 8-inches square or a 9-inch glass pie pan) with cooking spray.

Melt butter right in the baking dish and use it as the mixing bowl. Add pancake mix, sugar, and milk to the melted butter. Stir with a fork until just combined. Batter will be lumpy — do not overmix. Scatter peach slices and blueberries evenly over batter. Lightly sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake 30 minutes or until light golden brown.

Adapted from Cooking with All Things Trader Joe’s

Mini Apple Pie in Muffin Tins

Yield: 6 pies

Cook’s notes: When you make these delightful little pies, remember to chop the apples much smaller than you would for a pie, about 1/4-inch cubes. The smaller pieces, for the smaller pies, will make eating easier and the appearance more appealing.
2 Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 pre-made pie crusts (store-bought, without lard)

Heat oven to 425F. If pie crust is frozen, begin thawing it.

Peel, core and chop the 2 Granny Smith apples. Toss the apples, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.

Unroll the pie crust on your work space. Use a rolling pin to press it flat and smooth. With a four-inch diameter cup, glass, or bowl, cut out six circle pieces of crust. Place one crust circle in each of six muffin spaces. Press the dough to mold it to the inside of each muffin cup. Evenly divide the apple mixture into the six crusted muffin cups.

Knead the leftover crust pieces and roll it out with your rolling pin. Cut thin strips of crust and place them over the little pies, first one way then the other, making a crisscross on each. Or use a second pie crust, cutting three-inch diameter pieces and covering the entire top of each tart. Make slits to allow the steam to escape.

Cut off any excess crust from the thin strips (or top crust) and press the edges of the top and bottom crusts together by pinching or using a fork.

Bake the muffin tin apple pies in a preheated 425 degree oven for 16 to 18 minutes. Check the pies at 16 minutes. Allow the tiny pies to cool within the muffin tin before removing them.

Adapted from ehow.com (link)

9 Apple Pie

Cook’s notes: This is a truly amazing pie. Roll the top crust out, because you have a lot of apples to fit in there! This pie is a hit at Thanksgiving or any holiday.

Mile-high apple pie...with almost no sugar

Pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie (I use two store-bought pie shells without lard)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
9 apples — peeled, cored and sliced: use 3 Fuji, 3 Granny Smith, and 3 Gala apples
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter
Heat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl mix together flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add apples and lemon juice. Toss until apples are thoroughly coated. Allow mixture to sit for 10 minutes.

Pour apples into pastry-lined pie plate (bottom shell). Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Seal edges and cut steam vents in top crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
Adapted from a “No Sugar Apple Pie” recipe

French Apple Cake with Yogurt

Cook’s notes: This recipe is adapted from one that was published in the Washington Post prior to 1994. The original recipe said to use the empty yogurt container to measure the corn oil, apple, and chocolate chips. However, now that a single serving of yogurt tends to be a 6-oz container instead of an 8-oz container, you’ll have to break out the measuring cups. But this cake is worth a few dirty dishes. You can also make muffins with this batter. Bake 25 minutes.

8 oz container plain yogurt
2.5 cups sugar
3 cups flour
3 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup corn oil
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped apple

Heat oven to 350F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, flour, and eggs and beat on low speed. Beat well.

Add the baking soda and corn oil. Beat until smooth. Add the chocolate chips and apple. Pour batter into pan. Bake 45 minutes until done.