Protein-Packed Banana-Date Muffins

Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Simple and Delicious by serendibbeginnings

Adapted from a Cooking Light (July 2007) recipe, these muffins were just what I needed to make use of two ripe bananas!

I modified the original recipe by adding in more protein and cutting down on sugar. These muffins use predominantly white whole wheat flour, some soy flour and Greek yogurt. Although the muffins are on the dense side, they are very flavorful and not overly sweet. Banana-date combination yields a wonderful natural sweetness – so much that I might be tempted to cut down the sugar a little more from the 1/2 cup. Best part yet is that these muffins have barely any added oil or butter. Just 2 tablespoons for 16 muffins! Original recipe does not have any though.

These muffins store well for a few days and can even be frozen and thawed to serve for a grab ‘n go breakfast or snack.

If you plan to use Greek yogurt instead of regular plain yogurt, you might want to consider adding few tablespoons of milk to loosen up the batter a bit and add little extra moisture. Since Greek yogurt is double strained, it is much thicker than regular yogurt. I will certainly be adding the extra milk in my next batch. Also, although the original recipe does not mention any flavorings, I think either cinnamon, vanilla or almond extract will round off the flavor of these muffins.

All in all, a winning recipe and would be keeper! Try a batch and let me know what you guys think!

Protein-Packed Banana-Date Muffins

Servings: 16 muffins
Time: 45 min
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Ingredients
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon wheat bran
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup yogurt
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 large egg
2 tablespoons oil
3/4 – 1 cup chopped dates tossed in a tablespoon of flour
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans or almonds
3 tablespoons ground flax

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with liners or lightly spray with cooking spray and a dusting of flour.
2. Combine flours with oats, brown sugar, wheat bran, baking soda and salt.
3. Combine yogurt, banana oil and egg.
4. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and stir gently to combine.
5. Fold in dates and nuts.
6. Spoon into muffin cups and top with a light sprinkling of ground flax.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes till muffins are golden brown on top and are baked through.
8. Remove from oven, let stand in the muffin pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
9. Store them tightly covered.

(NOTE: Tossing the dates in flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.)

26Apr2014

Layered Cherry Coffee Cake

Posted in Breakfast, Desserts, Simple and Delicious by serendibbeginnings

Last night was one of those busy evenings when I was trying to make multiple treats almost simultaneously – occasionally confusing myself as to which sifted flour mixture went with which recipe! 🙂 All fun though! I ended up baking a batch of funfetti sugar cookies, low sugar almond-orange biscotti and this amazing layered cherry coffee cake.

You see, I have had this canned lite cherry pie filling in the pantry for couple of months waiting for me to do something with it. I would think of many ideas, but never really took the next step to actually making them. So, in an effort to bake some sort of a little breakfast treat, I looked for ideas when I came across this amazing recipe (courtesy Rose Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast). I made a few minor changes such as using lite cherry pie filling, light sour cream and half white whole wheat flour. Also, I toned down the topping by using half the sugar and just about 1/3 cup of flour.

I have to make a special note about this recipe/batter. My batter was very thick, so after starting to spread half the batter in the 13″X9″ pan, I started to wonder if I should scoop it out and bake as layered muffins. It just didn’t seem like enough batter. Also, after layering the cherry filling, the top batter layer was even more challenging. As you see in my pictures, there are swirls of red from trying to smooth out the batter to cover the entire top surface of the cake. I figured if the taste is good, who cares about the looks. However, to my pure joy and satisfaction, the cake baked perfectly.

I am planning to make this again over summer with fresh summer berries lightly coated in sugar instead of pie filling and also baking them in individual muffins cups/liners. Who knows, maybe I will even replacing all of the flour with white/regular whole wheat. Can’t wait! In the meantime though, I hope you guys give this a try at your earliest! It will make even an April showers day seem enjoyable!

Layered Cherry Coffee Cake

Servings: 13x9 cake
Time: 1 hr 15 min
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Cake Ingredients1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 can lite (low sugar) cherry pie filling

Cake Topping
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease and flour a 13″ x 9″ baking pan and set aside.
2. Sift flours with salt, baking powder and baking soda.
3. Cream butter. Add sugar and beat till creamy and light, adding eggs one at a time.
4. Add sour cream and extracts and mix well.
5. Slowly add dry ingredients, mixing well to incorporate. You can use a spatula or your electric beater on low setting.
6. Spread half the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing with a butter knife or spatula to cover the bottom. This will be a thin layer.
7. Spread the pie filling over the batter. Follow with the remaining batter, again smoothing to cover the pie filling.
8. Combine all topping ingredients to resemble bread crumbs and spread over the top of the cake.
9. Bake for 50-55 minutes till cake is done.

23Apr2014

Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Quick Bread

Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Simple and Delicious by serendibbeginnings

Don’t you agree zucchini is one of the most underrated vegetables? It has a mild flavor that works well for slicing it up to enjoy with your favorite dip. It’s flavor could be amped by sautéing with garlic and other seasonings. It could be grated into pasta sauces and quick breads as a way to increase the nutritional value without altering the taste.

Although my kids will eat pretty much any veggie, there are few veggies that I need to be creative with so I don’t have to listen to too much whining. 🙂 Zucchini is one of them! However, this quick bread with grated zucchini and chocolate chips was a winner! Yes, tiny specks of green did give away the hidden secret, they still continued to bite into the bread! This to me means a winning recipe.

The original recipe is from King Arthur Flour website. I modified it only slightly by replacing some of the flour with ground flax. I did not add any nuts in this attempt, but I would love to throw in some chopped walnuts or pecans in my next batch.

Give it a try! I think you will enjoy it!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Quick Bread

Servings: 12 slices
Time: About 1 1/4 hours
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Ingredients
2 large eggs
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Thoroughly whisk eggs, honey, oil, brown sugar and vanilla.
3. Sift together, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir in ground flax.
4. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients, stirring till well combined.
5. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.
6. Transfer batter into a 9″ x 5″ lightly greased and floured loaf pan.
7. Bake for 50-55 minutes till top the bread is baked through.
8. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and serve or store well covered.

15Apr2014

Baked Chocolate Donut Holes with Citrus Glaze

Posted in Breakfast, Desserts by serendibbeginnings

Let me start off by saying I am not a huge donut fan. However, occasionally I do enjoy a Boston cream donut or a maple glazed donut with some walnuts on top! Yum! I guess I would enjoy them more willfully if they were not so darn loaded with calories. But then again, all delicious things are, right?!

Anyway, since I have had my cake-pop maker hiding in the pantry for a while, I figured I will try a “baked” donut hole recipe as a treat for my kids. I have seen many recipes for chocolate muffins and cakes and oodles of other things made with sour cream. In fact, my sweet potato pie bread is one of them as well. So, when I came across a Huffington post recipe for a chocolate donut hole, I figured I could modify the recipe using sour cream instead of buttermilk. Also, since I am not crazy about plain vanilla flavored glaze, I wanted to switch it out for something more flavorful and fresh – hello lemon glaze! Now, my first choice would have been orange, but lemon is all I had on hand, and lemon it will be for this batch! In addition, since I couldn’t really stomach the idea of attempting to make a healthier version of this already empty calorie treat by frying, I opted to cook these in lightly sprayed “cake pop” maker! Bye bye added fat calories and hello deliciousness!

Baked Chocolate Donut Holes with Citrus Glaze

Servings: About 30+ donut holes
Time: 45 min
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Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder*
1/2 teaspoon baking soda*
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light sour cream
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
Nonstick cooking spray
Colored sprinkles, sparkling sugar, finely chopped candy bits or nuts, optional

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Preparation
1. Sift the flours, ground flax, baking soda, cocoa, baking soda and espresso into a medium bowl. * If using regular unsweetened cocoa powder, remember to add 1 teaspoon baking powder as well.
2. Whisk together sugar, sour cream, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
3. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and combine just until a dough forms.
4. Preheat the cake-pop maker.
5. Scoop dough into each well filling only half-way. Close the top and bake until ready.
6. Transfer the cooked donut holes to a wire rack placed on top a baking sheet.
7. Prepare the glaze: Stir all the glaze ingredients till smooth.
8. Gently spoon the glaze over the donut holes and let set for 10-15 minutes. If using any topping, sprinkle them on or roll the donut hole in them immediately after dipping in glaze and then let them set.

11Apr2014

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Posted in Breakfast by serendibbeginnings

Here is a yummy recipe just in time for your weekend breakfast, although this could be whipped up for a weekday starter as well.

Orange-Ricotta Pancakes

Pancakes are simple yet delicious, especially when you mix in various add-ins like nuts, chocolate chips, diced fruits etc. One of my favorite type of pancake is the one using ricotta cheese. Ricotta goes incredibly well with citrus, specifically orange or lemon – either combination is irresistible. I have made these pancakes with both orange and lemon and I must say each had its own nuances when it came to taste and flavor and I enjoyed both types.

This recipe is a spinoff from the original found on Williams-Sonoma website. I made couple of changes including using a combination of all-purpose flour plus cornstarch instead of cake flour and replacing some of the flour with ground flax. I also used 2 extra large eggs and juice from only 1/2 the lemon – although next time around I will try a whole lemon. Lastly, you can certainly add in some chocolate chips to these pancakes – who can resist the combination of citrus and chocolate?!

These pancake are already slightly sweet, so they just need a light drizzle of maple syrup or honey – or as suggested in the original recipe, raspberry sauce! Yum!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Servings: 12-14 pancakes
Time: 40 min
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Ingredients
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup 1% milk
2 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon (could use up to a full lemon)
1 1/4 cups MINUS 1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup ground flax
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt, divided
Chocolate chips, optional

Preparation
1. Mix ricotta, milk, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
2. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, ground flax, baking powder and 1/8 tsp salt.
3. Stir in dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined.
4. Whisk egg whites till frothy. Add remaining 1/8 tsp salt (I used kosher) and continue whisking until soft peaks form.
5. Slowly fold in about 1/2 the egg whites into the pancake batter and follow with the rest.
6. Heat a griddle over medium heat. Lightly grease and prepare the pancakes as usual.
7. Serve immediately with your favorite syrup or raspberry sauce.

10Apr2014

Sweet potato pie bread

Posted in Breads, Breakfast by serendibbeginnings

If you give me a choice between pumpkin and sweet potato pies, I would definitely pick the latter! Not that I don’t like pumpkin, but more like I have a little more love for sweet potato. I enjoy them so much that I can happily enjoy a bowl of plain roasted sweet potato – with absolutely nothing added in!

Sweet potato takes on a whole new flavor dimension and sweetness when you roast them in the oven. You simply scrub and wash them, wrap them in pieces of foil and bake for about 45 minutes at 375F. Voila! You have divinely flavorful bright orange spuds with caramelized sugars oozing out of them!). Roasted sweet potato can be used in soups and other dishes, but I chose to make a quick bread using them. Yes, you can certainly substitute canned version, but as you can imagine, oven roasted spuds taste far superior!

This quick bread has notes of cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Next time, I will also add a bit of ground cardamom for an exotic flair. I replaced half the butter with pureed prunes. This not only reduced the amount of fat, but also added a rich color to the finished product. Also addition of sour cream in this recipe makes the bread very moist.

Although my kids usually turn up their noses for roasted sweet potato, they devoured this bread. Certainly a keeper recipe!

Sweet potato pie bread

Servings: 12
Time: 60 minutes
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Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup pureed prunes
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cut pureed roasted sweet potato
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, optional

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly spray a loaf pan and set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk together butter, pureed prunes and sugar.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking to combine. Stir in vanilla.
4. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and ground spices.
5. Add the sweet potato and sour cream to the butter mixture.
6. Stir in dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in pecans if being used.
7. Scoop the batter into the loaf pan and smooth out the top.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes, till toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Let cool and slice.

4Mar2014

Swiss Style Muesli with a Twist

Posted in Breakfast by serendibbeginnings

20140304_062728 Muesli brings to mind the Kashi type of cereal, doesn’t it? Well, that’s pretty much what it is! A mix of wholesome cereal like oats, fresh/dried fruits and nuts softened in milk or yogurt. Identical twin of granola cereal perhaps? With everyone going bananas for healthy eating, this could potentially become your favorite breakfast item to enjoy at home or pack to work so you could be the envy of your colleagues! 🙂 You know what is the best part – only your imagination is the limit to making every bowl taste! Now, how many wholesome breakfast meals can do that!!!! Honestly, I could occasionally have this for lunch or light dinner as well, especially in the summer months!

So, what has long been a popular breakfast or light evening meal in Switzerland and Germany has now found an ardent following in North America. You will hear it being referred to as overnight oats or if you are familiar with Chicago breakfast scene, “Swiss Oatmeal”. You can amp up the goodness with the addition of chia seeds or even ground flax.

This recipe uses a mix of old fashioned oats and chia seeds, the latter adding such a wonderful textural element and a boost of wonderful nutrients! Also, the fresh and dry fruits in the muesli provide the natural sweetness that you may or may not need to sweeten it further.

To make it even better…..here is a time saving tip. Double the recipe and save for breakfast next morning with perhaps different topping for a different taste!

Swiss Style Muesli with a Twist

Servings: 4
Time: 20 min plus overnight mellowing
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Ingredients
Muesli Base
1 heaping cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 heaping cup chia seeds
1 1/4 cups skim, 1% or almond milk (enough to mellow the oats and chia)

Toppings/Stir-ins (LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD WITH THIS!)
1/2 Granny Smith or other sweet-tart apple, grated
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 large banana, halved and sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries or cherries
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 6-oz container Greek yogurt (I used pineapple Chobani)
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons honey and additional milk and , if needed
Freshly grated nutmeg or ground cinnamon

Preparation
1. Combine oats, chia and milk in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or at the very least few hours).
2. Either prepare the toppings the previous night (saves time in the morning) or in the morning.
3. In the morning, remove the muesli bowl from the refrigerator. Add the Greek yogurt, orange juice, honey and additional milk, if needed and stir well.
4. Stir in grated apples, dried cranberries and golden raisins.
5. Layer like a parfait with bananas and strawberries and finish with chopped nuts and a sprinkling of nutmeg or cinnamon.

28Feb2014

Rice and Wheat Flour Puttu

Posted in Breakfast by serendibbeginnings

Puttu is a staple of Sri Lankan cuisine, and is also enjoyed in parts of India and countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere where migrants have settled down.

It is typically made with rice flour – either from white or red rice mixed with some steamed all-purpose flour. In northern part of Sri Lanka, puttu is frequently made using toasted red rice flour. You can find this product online or if lucky, in a well-stocked Indian grocery store.

A simple dough is made using the chosen flour(s), bit of salt and hot water. The dough is then broken into tiny bits (much like coarse bread crumbs, perhaps a bit larger) either by hand, or using a food processor. The latter is a much easier if you use the pulse function.

Once the dough bits are formed, they are steamed in a special puttu equipment or regular steamer. If you use the special equipment, you get the traditional cylindrical pieces of puttu with each cylinder separated by a thin layer of grated coconut. More common steamer option yields equally delicious soft, fluffy puttu with a light touch of coconut that can be enjoyed in myriad ways.

Puttu can be eaten with some sweetened coconut milk (paal puttu), any spicy curry, coconut (pol) sambol, seeni sambol or spicy scrambled eggs. As kids, we also enjoyed puttu with ripe mango, banana or jackfruit (similar to durian fruit), especially for breakfast. So, if you have made up your mind to make it, enjoy it with whatever is on hand. It will be delicious.

My favorite way to enjoy it – mixed with spicy scrambled eggs

Rice and Wheat flour Puttu

Servings: 4
Time: 45 min total
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Ingredients
1/4 cup toasted red rice flour
1/3 cup steamed* all purpose flour
1/2 cup toasted** wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (or bit more) hot water
1/2 cup freshly grated or thawed frozen grated coconut

Preparation
1. Mix all flours and salt.
2. Slowly add just enough hot water to the flour mix to be able to form “crumbs”. Be careful not to add too much – you are not trying to create a dough that comes together in a ball like a pizza dough. You are just wetting the flour enough to form crumbs.
3. If using special puttu equipment, alternate about a handful of dough crumbs with a teaspoon of grated coconut till the top of the cylinder. Place it on the steamer base with hot water and steam the puttu till steam escapes from the top. This should take about 7-10 minutes.
4. Alternatively, if you are using the more commonly available steamers, line the steamer top with a white kitchen towel and place the dough crumbs in a donut shape, leaving a gap in the middle for steam to circulate through (to hasten the cooking process). Sprinkle with grated coconut. Cover and steam for 10-15 minutes till dough is cooked through.

* Steamed all purpose flour – Line the top portion of your steamer with a kitchen towel. Place about a cup of all-purpose flour. Cover and steam for about 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and sift using a sieve. As the flour gets steamed, it will tend to clump up. Just break it up and sift.
** Toasted wheat flour – Heat a pan under low heat. Toast the wheat flour in the pan for about 5 minutes till you notice a distinct toasted flour smell. Be careful not to let the flour burn.

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Category Archives: Breakfast