Friday, August 27, 2010

Banana Bread





Time for something a little healthier! This recipe is pretty simple:
3 c flour
1.5 c sugar
3 eggs
1 c oil
3 c mashed up bananas
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Add the dry ingredients to wet, mix in the bananas, and bake at 350 for about an hour, or until the bread is golden brown.

I substituted in applesauce for 3/4 c of the oil to make them healthier, but either way is fine. This is pretty quick to whip up, the baking time is just a bit long. It is completely worth the wait though!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Thumbprint Jam Cookies

Another delicious treat! These thumbprint cookies take 2 hours to refrigerate after you've made the dough, with 10-12 minutes baking time. Be warned health-conscious people...for about 40 cookies you need half a pound of butter. But the fruit jam should make up for that, right?

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

For any ice cream lover, an ice cream machine is a necessary investment. But what to do with such an amazing addition to the kitchen? Using it to make a unique flavor! :-)

Behold, pumpkin pie ice cream!


The recipe is extremely simple (basic ingredients for a standard pumpkin pie): heavy cream, canned pumpkin, dark corn syrup, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, and milk.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse Cake (Not for the Healthy)

I decided that we were posting too many healthy desserts in a row. This cake seemed like a fantastic option, found at this link: http://www.grouprecipes.com/61604/hazelnut-chocolate-mousse-cake.html#.

Be warned, the recipe does take awhile.


But you will be rewarded at the end with this delicious, decadent treat.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Key Lime Pie Parfait


Another Happy Herbivore recipe! This one was a bit of a disappointment though; after seeing it on the blog, I was so excited to try it, but it ended up tasting just "okay".

Friday, August 6, 2010

Vanilla Panna Cotta

A panna cotta is similar to pudding though there is an option of chilling the mixture in chilled ramekins overnight for a firmer texture. It's one of the easiest desserts to make in my opinion. Sorry I can't post an official link to the recipe but basically...

Step 1: 2.75-3 tsp of unflavored gelatin sprinkled onto .25 cups of milk
Step 2: Just bring to a boil- 3 cups heavy cream with .75 cups of milk
Step 3: Combine hot and cold mixtures along with 2 tsp of vanilla and a pinch of salt
Step 4: Pour into desired container and chill for 3-4 hours.


Popovers: A biscuit exploded

My parents recently came back from Acadia National Park in Maine raving about popovers. Fortunately they also brought back the mix (shown below).



From their comments about how enormous these fluffy biscuits were I had some pretty high expectations. Needless to say the popovers certainly lived up to their reputation.

Here's a side profile of them...



They taste pretty similar to bread and are meant to be eaten with either butter or jam. I only wish my parents had gotten more mix!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Vegan Chocolate Glazed Doughnut Holes



We decided to try another Happy Herbivore recipe . . this is definitely not a indulgent/decadent dessert, however, for those looking for a healthy treat haha, it was pretty good. We substituted honey for maple syrup and dark chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips, but we don't think it really made a difference to the overall taste. All in all, it was a positive experience. :)