Recipe: Caramelized Oatmeal Raisin Mini Muffins

I saw this recipe on Allrecipes.com and knew I had to try it!

Of course, I modified it slightly.  And made it mini.  Because that's what I do.

My take on the recipe is below.


Caramelized Oatmeal Raisin Mini Muffins

1/4 c butter
2/3 c rolled oats
2/3 c brown sugar, divided
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 c water (or liquid whey)

1 c all purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c rolled oats
1 Tbsp baking powder
4 Tbsp flax seed meal (I used beveri)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c liquid whey or skim milk
1 1/3 c raisins
1 Tbsp  flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly grease a mini muffin pan, or use paper liners.

Browning oats, spices, and brown sugar

Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook 2/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until golden brown.

Bubbling away with whey and remaining brown sugar

Stir in 2/3 cup whey or water and remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar. Cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Mmmmm. Caramelized goodness

In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup uncooked oats, baking powder and flax seed meal. Whisk together egg and whey or milk. Make a well in the center of flour mixture, and pour in egg mixture and cooked oatmeal. Mix just until combined. Dredge raisins in 1 tablespoon flour, then fold into batter. Spoon into muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for ~15 minutes.

Product Review: Beveri Flax Seed

A while back, I was contacted by the good people at beveri nutrition to ask if I would be interested in trying out some of their products and reviewing them. 

How could I say no?  You may have noticed that I love love love using flax seed.

So, for the past few weeks, I've been using the Organic Whole Golden Flaxseed and the Golden Flaxseed Fine Milled with Mixed Berries that I received from beveri.  I've used them in pancakes, in chewy granola bars, in homemade instant oatmeal, in pain de mie, and more.

Like other flax seed that I've used, the beveri flax seed nearly disappears in recipes.  It imparts a slight nuttiness to baked goods, which we all enjoy. The beveri are higher quality than other flax seed I've been using, and can stay fresh at room temperature.  That's nice.  I have always refrigerated my other flax seed to keep it from going bad.  Not necessary with beveri.

I really like the flax that is milled with mixed berries.  It is a subtle difference in flavor, but it is there.  Adds a little extra something. 

And now, for my wonderful readers, the folks from beveri are offering free samples!  The first 500 people to enter their information into the button in the sidebar will get free samples.  No catch.  Nice, huh?  So, go ahead, try them out!  I've got plenty of recipes for you to try them in!

Disclaimer:  I received two free bags of beveri flax seed in exchange for this review, but otherwise I have received no other compensation.  All the opinions are my own completely.

Recipe: Banana Flax Pancakes Gone Wild (Modified slightly from King Arthur Flour)

I was looking for a good recipe for breakfast on the first day of school.  The Girl asked for pancakes.  I have some bananas that need using.  Once again, I was perusing the recipes on King Arthur Flour, and I found Pancakes Gone Wild.  I have some malt powder.  Perfect.

Ok, so they are not exactly gorgeous, but what they lack in appearance, they make up for in yum.

Here's the recipe as I made it:

Banana Flax Pancakes Gone Wild (Modified slightly from King Arthur Flour)

1 egg
2/3 c skim milk
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c all purpose
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp malt powder (or 1 Tbsp sugar)
1/4 c ground flax (I used beveri)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 banana, sliced thinly


In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla.
Combine the dry ingredients.  Stir in the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined.  A few small lumps are ok.
Set the batter aside to rest at room temperature about 15 minutes.
Preheat a griddle to 350 F. Brush with butter.

Place slices of banana on the preheated griddle to cook briefly.
Scoop pancake batter on top of the banana slices.  Cook until bubbles start to form on the surface. Flip pancakes and cook until browned on the other side, about 1-2 minutes. Nice and fluffy and full of goodness! Serve with maple syrup or other desired topping.

Recipe: King Arthur Flour Chewy Granola Bars

I was perusing the King Arthur Flour website, and found this recipe for Chewy Granola Bars - no nuts required, no peanut butter either (and while I *think* the Girl's classroom doesn't have any nut allergies this year, just to be safe...), and great reviews.  Sounds like a winner to me!  I made some granola bars last year, but I was kind of disappointed in them.  These look much better.
If you follow the link, you will see the King Arthur Flour Recipe.

I did not have their sticky bun sugar, so I used the substitution recommended in the side bar of the recipe.

For add-ins, I used a mixture of chopped dates, jumbo raisins (yellow and regular), cinnamon chips, cinnamon flav-r-bites, and beveri flax seed with berries.  For the liquid sugar, I used real maple syrup.  Because I'm a Vermonter, and maple calls to me.  I did not add in the extra 1/3 c of sugar.

I lined the pan with foil and sprayed it with cooking spray, and pressed the mixture down pretty tightly before baking.

They turned out perfectly!  I can't wait to pack these in school lunches (and my own, too!).  I'll wrap them up and keep them in the freezer.

Recipe: Homemade Instant Oatmeal

The Girl loves oatmeal for breakfast.  But, we've gone terribly wrong somewhere along the way.  She doesn't like honest-to-goodness cooked on the stove, old fashioned oatmeal.  No matter how much maple and brown sugar I put in it.  Nope.

She only likes instant oatmeal.

And that gets expensive.

So, I decided to see how homemade instant oatmeal works out.

Please ignore the directions on here - use a 1:1 ratio instead.

Homemade Instant Oatmeal (Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Variation)

3 1/2 c quick cooking oats
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c beveri flax seed milled with berries
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 c dry milk

In a food processor or a blender, pulverize 1/2 c of the oats.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Store in an air tight container.  For each bowl of oatmeal, add 1/4 c of the mixture to a bowl.  Pour 1/4 c -1/3 c boiling water over it (depending on how thick you like your oatmeal), stir, and let sit for about 2 minutes. 

The variations are endless - Stir in what you like, make it to your own desired sweetness, add peanut butter for a really interesting treat!

The recipe as written, per 1/4 cup mix =

Nutrition Facts
20 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		86.4
Total Fat		1.8 g
	Saturated Fat	0.3 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.5 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		146.5 mg
Potassium		89.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate		17.4 g
	Dietary Fiber	2.3 g
	Sugars	7.6 g
Protein		3.0 g

Vitamin A	15.2 %
Vitamin B-12	0.0 %
Vitamin B-6	18.3 %
Vitamin C	0.1 %
Vitamin D	0.6 %
Vitamin E	0.5 %
Calcium	9.8 %
Copper	3.1 %
Folate	12.1 %
Iron	18.7 %
Magnesium	5.6 %
Manganese	26.6 %
Niacin	13.5 %
Pantothenic Acid	1.8 %
Phosphorus	6.8 %
Riboflavin	8.3 %
Selenium	10.3 %
Thiamin	17.5 %
Zinc	2.9 %

Recipe: Whey Pancakes with Flax and Maple

Another use for that whey from straining my homemade greek yogurt!  This recipe is also modified from one on King Arthur Flour's site - they have some really amazing recipes!  I added in some beveri flax seed and some King Arthur Flour Maple Flav-r-bites.

Whey Pancakes with Flax and Maple

1 c white flour

1 c whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 c whey
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 c flax seed meal 

1/4 c maple flav-r-bites (optional)

 

Mix the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

In a smaller bowl, beat together the whey, eggs and vegetable oil.

Cook on a griddle, turning when bubbles form on the surface.  Serve with maple syrup or other desired toppings.

Recipe: Cinnamon Maple Mini Muffins (with flax and whey)

Always on the lookout for delicious things to make with whey from straining my yogurt, I found this recipe at King Arthur Flour and modified it to make these delicious little guys.  I also used some of my new Maple Flav-r-bites from King Arthur Flour, but you could use a little maple syrup if you wanted.  The flav-r-bites are really nice because they kind of dissolve and leave wonderful little maple pockets.  (King Arthur Flour also has some cinnamon flav-r-bites that I have used in the past).  To add a little extra something to these mini muffins, I also used some Cinnamon Mini Baking chips.  Mmmmm.

If you don't have any whey, you could use milk.

This is some whey.

I also used some of my beveri flax seed (nearly ready for the review!  Just a couple more recipes so I can have an informed review)


Cinnamon Maple Mini Muffins (with Flax and Whey)

1 c whole wheat flour

1 c all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c Maple Flav-r-bites

1/2 c cinnamon mini baking chips
1 c whey

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c applesauce
2 eggs

 

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Blend the dry ingredients. Mix in the cinnamon and maple chips Beat together the wet ingredients. Combine wet with the dry until just moistened.

Line mini muffin pans with liners or spray with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired.

 

Recipe: Chocolate Applesauce Cake

This was supposed to be brownies, but was definitely more cakey, so I'm not calling it brownies.  That would be misrepresentation.  It is not fudgey at all.  It's delicious, but it's not brownies.

A little piece would be lovely in a lunch.  Or, you could do it in mini cupcakes.  You know I love mini cupcakes and muffins.


Chocolate Applesauce Cake

1/2 c butter
2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened, homemade applesauce)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c flax seed meal (I used beveri flax seed milled with mixed berries)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Melt chocolate and butter together in the microwave or in a double boiler, stirring occasionally.  Set aside to cool.

In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla, and applesauce.

Add applesauce mixture to chocolate mixture and whisk together.

Stir in remaining ingredients and mix until well incorporated.

Pour into a greased 9"x9" pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool and serve, sprinkled with powdered sugar if desired.