Holiday Gingerbread Cake

Inspired by Starbucks Holiday Gingerbread Loaf, this cake is quite similar to the one sold there. However, I'm not going to say it's an exact recipe, because it definitely is not. This variation may be baked in a loaf pan or a cake pan, and it looks beautiful with cream cheese frosting and candied orange bits on top.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup sliced ginger
• 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F , and place rack in center of oven. Butt

er and flour a square cake pan with

2 inch (5 cm) sides, or a loaf pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

In bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter

and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and molasses and beat to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients and milk, alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just until incorporated. Fold in the sliced ginger pieces.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan a

nd smooth the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing cake from pan. Let cool completely and then, if desired, frost with the cream cheese fro

sting and top with candied orange bits.

Cream Cheese Frosting with Candied Orange Bits:

• 1 pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, softened
  
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla
• 1 cup (250 mL) icing sugar
• 3 Oranges

In bowl, beat cream cheese with butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Beat in icing sugar, one-third at a time, until smooth. Spread over top of cake.

The Ultimate Chewy Coconut Chocolate Cowboy Cheerio Bars

If you loved my Chewy Coconut Cowboy Cookies, you're going to love these... finally a healthier option!

Have you ever made Rice Krispies treats as a child? I sure did, and I still make them today! Lately I've been on a coconut binge, and nothing goes better with coconut than chocolate IMO. :) I must admit, this recipe KIND of spawned from Kashi's new Coconut Dark Chocolate bars, which may I add,.. taste AMAZING. This is a "grown-up", slightly healthier version of the well known, nostalgic crispy rice treat, but it doesn't mean it has to sacrifice flavor!  These little bars can be customized to your heart's desire, tweaked until they are just the way you like them!

This recipe may also be suitable for vegans, coincidentally, check to make sure Cheerio's or any other brand your using in place of it is vegan.

Here we go...

The Ultimate Chewy Coconut Chocolate Cowboy Cheerio Bars

• 6 cups Cheerios (or similar cereal)... and not the HFS Honey-Nut version!
• 1 bag (10oz) Marshmallows
• 5-6 tbsp Virgin Coconut Oil -> works great for skin, hair and nails might I add (& deo..)
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup Shredded Coconut, Unsweetened
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, cherries (or fruit of your choice)

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt 5 tablespoons of the coconut oil (reserve the rest for later) and marshmallows. Stir frequently until marshmallows are almost completely melted. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt. Stir in the Cheerio's, dried fruit, and half of the portion of shredded coconut. Pour into a medium baking dish, pressing it into the corners, using coconut oil as needed to "un-stick" yourself from the gooey marshmallow. Now, melt the chocolate and remainder of the coconut oil in a double boiler or in the microwave (do not over heat!) and drizzle over the slab of cheerios. Sprinkle the rest of the shredded coconut over the entire slab. Allow to cool, and enjoy!

The result is a chewy, crunchy bar packed with fruit and whole grain oats, and believe me it tastes great. I used coconut oil in place of butter in this recipe because it actually melts just above room temperature, but butter can be substituted if you don't happen to have coconut oil around. Coconut oil gives these bars a really soft and chewy texture. These bars aren't overly sweet either, if you want something sweeter, use the Honey-Nut version of cheerios, and sweetened shredded coconut .

Lemon Poppy-Seed Bundt Cake

Ah, the classic tangy lemon and crispy poppy-seed combination that just screams sunshine and warm weather. What a great way to celebrate spring and Easter with a lovely glazed lemon poppy-seed cake. I was inspired by a lemon poppy-seed loaf that Starbucks sells, but wanted a prettier shape to accentuate the lovely cake, so I settled for a bundt pan. I modified this recipe from Canadian Living, and it features this dazzling dessert on the cover page of April's issue.

Note: This recipe was modified to a 8-inch Bundt cake pan, however it can be used in a 8" by 4" standard loaf pan or tube!

Lemon Poppy-Seed Bundt Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 1/2cup cup(125 mL) (125 mL) butter, softened
• 1cup(250 mL) 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar 2egg
• 2 eggs 1-1/2cups(375 mL)
• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
• 3tbsp(45 mL) 2 tbsp (30 mL) poppy seeds 1tbsp(15 mL)
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) grated lemon rind
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder 1/4tsp(1 mL)
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt 1/2cup(125 mL)
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) milk

Lemon glaze:

• 1/3cup(75 mL) 1/3 cup (75 mL)
  
• granulated sugar 1tsp(5 mL) 1 tsp (5 mL)
  
• grated lemon rind 1/3cup(75 mL) 2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice
• 1 tsp (5mL) pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, poppy seeds, lemon rind, baking powder and salt ; stir into butter mixture alternately with milk, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of milk. Spread in greased and floured 8-inch Bundt Pan or a 8- x 4-inch (1.5 L) loaf pan.

Bake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven for 1 hour or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Place pan on rack.

Lemon Glaze: In a bowl whisk together the confectioner's sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla until a thick glaze forms. If glaze is too thick, add a small amount of water. If glaze is too thin, add additional confectioner's sugar, until desired thickness is achieved. Allow cake to cool completely and spoon glaze over cake.

Let loaf cool in pan for 30 minutes; turn out onto rack and let cool completely. Let stand for 12 hours before slicing. (Make-ahead: Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or overwrap with heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.)

Apple Crisp Granola

I came up with this recipe when I was thinking of making something sweet, but not too unhealthy. I wanted to recreate something healthy and portable that he could take to school or work to snack on, and would last a little longer than the comforting fall-like dessert.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (genuine is preferred!)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup dehydrated, unsulphered apple slices (can be found at Bulk Barn)

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 275 F. Combine oats and cinnamon and mix thoroughly.
2.) Combine water, melted butter, brown sugar and maple syrup in a saucepan on low heat, just to combine the ingredients and dissolve the sugar.
3.) Pour mixture over oats and combine well, making sure the oats are evenly coated.
4.) Bake for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally and rotating pan as necessary.

Chewy Coconut Cowboy Cookies

If you've never heard of a 'Cowboy Cookie' before, you have probably never tried one, or perhaps you have and were completely unaware of their peculiar name. Cowboy cookies usually contain flour, oats, chocolate chips and sometimes nuts, they are a chewy cookie with a satisfying array of textures and flavours. The inspiration for these Coconut Cowboy cookies came to me when I was eating a Bounty bar recently and decided I would like to see a cookie that tasted similar yet contained oats and was chewy and sweet. Here's what I came up with..

The original recipe that I followed is here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oatmeal-Chocolate-Coconut-Chewy/Detail.aspx but check out my version below!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut or almond butter
  
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup sweetened condesnsed milk
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar until smooth. Add the peanut or almond butter and sweetened condensed milk mixing until well incorperated. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture until well blended. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips. walnuts and coconut until evenly distributed. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes for chewy cookies, extend the baking time to 14 for crispy cookies.
   
4. Cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet and then remove to wire rack. Cool completely and then store in tightly sealed container.