Applesauce Muffins

A few weeks or so ago, I came home from one of my favorite activities*, grocery shopping, and discovered that a huge jar of apple sauce that I did not purchase had somehow found its way into my shopping bag. I meant to take it back to the store and explain that apparently someone else did not receive the applesauce they had intended to purchase, but December is busy and I went home for almost 3 weeks. So now that February is here, it just seems silly to go an try to return it... Right? I am not stealing, right?

Anyway, so for now, this large jar of sweetened applesauce that I would have never purchased of my own volition is in my fridge, begging to be used before it begins to grow mold (hence, why I don't purchase even my preferred unsweetened appelsauce). Here is one of my attempts to use it up before it goes bad/is forgotten about.

P.S. Notice how little oil/fat is in these muffins?

*It is only one of my favorite activities when it does NOT include large bulk stores' harsh aesthetics and unhelpful employees who do not speak the same language as me and so cannot help me find anything in the hundreds of rows of primarily processed/manufactured foods. 

^please excuse my health-freak self, it gets a little stressed in certain stores^

Applesauce Muffins
Adapted from Rose Shulman

Yield: 12-15 muffins

170 grams (1 1/2 cups) whole-wheat flour

70 grams (1/2 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

45 grams (about 1/4 cup) packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened applesauce

3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (feel free to add in whatever mix-ins you like: craisins, chocolate chips, etc)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle. Prepare 12-15 muffin tins/cups with paper liners.

2. Sift together the flours, baking soda, spices and salt.

3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is thick. Beat in the oil, yogurt, and applesauce. Whisk in the flour mixture without overbeating, and fold in the pecans.

4. Evenly divide among 12-15 muffin cups that you prepared with paper liners. Bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then enjoy.

No Butter, No Oil, Ginger [Breakfast] Cake

Yes, I know that Christmas is gone and I should probably let go of gingerbread, but I love ginger so much. I just can't do it. Ginger is fantastic for you. I knew it was good for settling upset stomachs from my mom and for seasickness from my friend who was in the Navy, but my roommate (through a cooking magazine) just informed me that it is also good as preventive for muscle-soreness after a workout. And with it's kick, it has to be good for your spunk and livelihood, right?

In other words, ginger is awesome and you should totally make these little cakes for tomorrow's breakfast. You can top them with some vanilla yogurt and banana slices for a balanced meal that will have you ready to tackle in the dreariest of January mornings. Also, for those of you who are still going strong in your New Year/New You resolutions, these cakes are just under 200 calories and have over 4 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein. Woot!


Ginger [Breakfast] Cake
Adapted from Healthful Pursuit

2 eggs
1/2 cup raw lemon pudding*
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
2 teaspoons gingerbread spice**
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375F and grease or line [6-muffin] muffin tin (or a bigger one with only 6 lined).
Then, in a separate bowl, whisk the first 4 ingredients. Once mixed, stir in dry ingredients until thoroughly mixed throughout. Fold in pecans.
Pour mixture, evenly divided, into the 6 prepared muffin tins.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy. You can store in the fridge for 4-5 days.

*Lemon pudding (also from Healthful Pursuit): combine 6 pitted medjool dates, 1 pitted avocado, the flesh (the segments) of 2 lemons without pith or skin or seeds, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor and process until well-blended and looks similar to guacamole.

**Gingerbread spice: Mix together 2 tablespoons cinnamon, 2 tablespoons ginger, 1 tablespoon allspice, 1 tablespoon allspice, and 1 tablespoon cloves. Use as needed.

Kentucky Bourbon Balls

Christmas parties everywhere, every night. That's what December is for. Of Course, one should never show up to a party empty-handed, so here's a fun treat you can take with you next time you go to a holiday shindig. The glossy finish on the balls makes them a real treat that you can be proud of. They are a little labor intensive, but drag a friend into the kitchen and put on some dancing music and you will never notice.

Also, please please please keep these pure and use real Kentucky bourbon. I personally used Four Roses, but there are quite a number of good distilleries from Kentucky to choose from. These are not terribly strong, so you won't get tipsy off of them, but you can definitely taste the bourbon. This recipe is classic and definitely not that rum ball recipe that you find everywhere else. I personally much prefer these with their sweet, white insides.

Kentucky Bourbon Balls
From Beyond the Fence (a Kentucky cookbook)

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup bourbon
6 tablespoons butter, melted
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 block paraffin wax, shaved
Whole pecans, 1 to top each bourbon ball with

Spread chopped nuts in a shallow bowl and pour bourbon over nuts. Let soak overnight. The following day, in a separate bowl, combine butter, 4 cups sugar, and soaked nuts Mix thoroughly until mixture is consistent. Add remaining 1 cup sugar and mix well by hand. Using 1 tablespoon scoop, evenly scoop balls, rolling each into a sphere in your hand. Lay rolled balls on wax paper. Chill balls for at least 10 minutes in the fridge. In the meantime, prepare chocolate by melting chocolate and wax in a double boiler. Stir until melted and consistent throughout. Dip each ball into chocolate with a toothpick and allow excess chocolate to drip off before returning to wax paper. Place a pecan half on top of each ball before the chocolate hardens.

Should make 48 balls (I suggest to make them smaller than a tablespoon to get 48)

Fig and Walnut Waffles

Football season is here and that means that I can count on seeing a few of my friends when they come up for certain games. This past weekend, an old friend from middle school came up to photograph the game (he's a professional photographer). We went out to eat for the most part, just out of practicality while we were driving all over the earth to take advantage of the beautiful scenery, but I wanted to create something yummy for breakfast before he hit the road.

As I was looking for something special to make for breakfast, I came across the vegan version of this recipe at post punk kitchen and knew I had to try it. I was not disappointed at all and am glad I un-veganized it, because I have somehow acquired an incredibly large amount of eggs over the course of the past few weeks.



Fig and Walnut Waffles
Adapted from Post Punk Kitchen

2 cups milk

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (all purpose works, too)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup dried black mission figs, stem nub removed, thinly sliced

1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Measure milk out and add the apple cider vinegar, set aside to let curdle.

In the meantime, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Add eggs, olive oil, maple syrup and vanilla to milk mixture. Mix into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until mostly combined then fold in the figs and walnuts until all ingredients are moistened. If it looks to thick, add a tablespoon or so of water.

Preheat waffle iron and let the batter rest. Cook according to waffle iron directions, spraying the waffle iron liberally with oil or cooking spray between each waffle is made. Garnish with extra walnuts and fig halves.