Thursday, May 29, 2014

Cinnamon Pancakes with Peach Sauce

Cinnamon Pancakes with Peach Sauce

It's the last week of school before finals for my little sister, and today is a big test day. What better way to start the day than homemade pancakes? Actually, I just wanted to make pancakes and this was a good excuse. As has been previously stated in my past two pancakes recipes here and here, I love pancakes. If I had to choose one food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be pancakes, hands down.

Cinnamon Pancakes with Peach Sauce

This recipe was super simple, and the pancakes turned out amazing. I dare you to only eat one. These pancakes are very fluffy and light, which makes eating six of them easy to do. The applesauce in the recipe is used to replace the oil, contributing to the light factor and the overeating factor. The original recipe called for all whole wheat flour. In order to make them a little more sister-friendly, I replaced half with all-purpose flour. Both versions would work well! I also altered the pancakes by adding extra cinnamon and a little maple syrup in order to make them more flavorful.

The sauce here is optional, but it adds a great deal of flavor to the pancakes, so I would highly recommend it. I would argue the sauce is what makes these pancakes almost addicting. It is sweet from the syrup with a great fruity flavor, and of course, more cinnamon. The peaches are perfect for the summer season we are entering into, but could be replaced by apples if you wanted to. I wouldn't mind eating this sauce plain. at all.

Cinnamon Pancakes with Peach SauceAdapted from Hungry Happens
Makes 20-24 pancakes
60 calories per pancake; 30 calories per Tbsp sauce

Ingredients:

Pancakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 egg whites, beaten
1 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp maple syrup

Sauce:
1/2 tsp coconut oil
5 Tbsp maple syrup
2 peaches, peeled and sliced OR 1.5 cups frozen peach slices
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Whisk dry ingredients together in medium sized bowl then add wet ingredients and stir until combined.
2. Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat.
3. While pan is heating, combine all sauce ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer and thicken while pancakes cook (or about 15 minutes).
4. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto pan and cook a couple of minutes until bubbles form. Flip, then cook other side.
5. Repeat with next several batches.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins



Blueberry Muffins

Finals are done, I am home in Minnesota, and summer is here! This also means I am finally able to spend some much needed time in my (mom's) lovely kitchen. My stay will be short this time, as I am heading to Nepal on a 7 week missions trip in less than 3 weeks (eek). I am maximizing this time with days filled with friends, the vegetable garden, pilates, and making delicious food.


Blueberry Muffins

First on the list was blueberry muffins. I found this recipe in a book my sister-in-law gave my mom for Mother's Day called Superfood Kitchen by Julie Morris. I'm loving the recipe book so far and the extra health info it gives on many superfoods.

These muffins are more dense than your average bakery muffin, which makes them very filling despite their smaller-than-a-bakery size. They are the perfect sweetness for a breakfast muffin; the fresh blueberries help hit the sweet tooth, but they don't make me feel like I just consumed a dessert. They are made with 100% whole wheat flour and are vegan since they are made with almond milk, maple syrup, and coconut oil. The applesauce replaces some the the coconut oil, so if I wanted to I could give it a "low-fat" label. I'm not usually about labeling foods with health claims though, and would rather just enjoy a good, fresh-baked muffin.

Here's to summer!


Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12 muffins; 150 calories per muffin

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup almond milk (or nut-milk of choice)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Stir together  flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
3. In a large liquid measuring cup measure and stir together the nut milk, apple sauce, maple syrups, coconut oil, and lend zest. (The measuring cup doubles as the bowl and the measuring cup very nicely.)
4. add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over stir, as the batter is supposed to be lumpy.
5. In a small bowl, measure out the blueberries and add a handful of flour to the bowl. Toss the berries, making sure they are fully coated with flour. This will keep the berries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin tin while in the oven.
6. Scoop the batter equally into the prepared muffin tins. This makes exactly 12 muffins; there should be no batter left over.
7. Bake the muffins for 24-28 minutes, or until tops turn golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.