Graham Crackers

Graham Crackers. What's not to love? These have always been one of my weaknesses; I could literally eat them all day. They go well with coffee, milk, applesauce, yogurt, peanut butter, frosting, and of course, in s'mores. But what did I find out last week? They are made with high fructose corn syrup. This did not sit well with me. Even people who don't know a lot about nutrition know that this ingredient is bad; basically, it's a big no no. When I was talking to one of my closest friends, Lauren and she said she had made graham crackers, I knew I had to try as well. Lucky us, Lauren has a blog too, so that's where I found the recipe.

This was no easy feat though. I ended up making the recipe 3 separate times because I wanted to perfect it. Lauren made them gluten free using spelt flour, but I was in a whole wheat flour mood (which is what the original recipe uses). The first time I made them, they tasted too much like molasses cookies. The second time, they were too dry. The third time, after adjusting the molasses, coconut milk, and honey, I did it. They were perfect; or at least perfect to my tastebuds.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 + 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, separated
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. mollasses
3 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. coconut oil
2 Tbs. unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. coconut milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine dry ingredients (except 1/2 cup extra flour), and whisk until combined.
3. Add wet ingredients, stir until combined.
4. Using the 1/2 cup of flour that was set aside, flour surface then slowly add flour to dough as needed, combining as you go, until dough is kneadable.
5. Knead dough on floured surface, using remaining flour (remember the less you touch the dough, the better). divide the dough in 2 and form into balls, let the balls of dough sit for 10 minutes.
6. Place a ball of dough on each baking sheet and roll out until 1/8 inch thick, or thinner. Once rolled out, cut into pieces using a pizza cutter and poke holes with fork ( I used a shish-kabob stick so they would look more like graham crackers, but this is more tedious). Separate the pieces from one another; this will help them bake evenly.
7. Place baking sheets in oven one at a time for 10-12 minutes, until edges are barely brown.
8. Let cool completely before storing.

Banana Pancakes

 Breakfast for dinner is always one of my favorites. This past week it was just Emma and me for dinner, so breakfast for dinner it was! I am still on my banana kick, so of course the pancakes were going to be banana. Plus, it's a good excuse to Jack Johnson's song "Banana Pancakes." Since Emma is gluten-free (more like gluten-light) and I am dairy free, I decided to give Sarah Britton's gluten-free banana pancakes a go. I made them once before for the family, but they weren't the biggest fans. This time I changed them up a little, and Emma couldn't even tell they weren't normal pancakes. Actually, she loved them and so did I! Basically, my mission was a success; so for future reference mom, this is a good recipe for pancakes for Emma!

These pancakes are nice and moist from the bananas. They take a little extra time on the pan, but it is worth the wait. I added some dairy-free chocolate chips to some of them too for a little treat. Sarah tops hers with walnuts, bananas, and maple syrup. I am always a fan of applesauce on my pancakes (got that one from my grandpa).

Makes 8 medium size pancakes; 105 calories per pancake

Ingredients:

Dry

1/3 cup almond flour

2/3 cup oat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

pinch sea salt

Wet

1 very ripe banana

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. coconut oil, melted

2/3 cup nut milk (I used coconut)

2 tsp. maple syrup

Directions:

1.  Add both flours, baking soda, sea salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. 

2. Mash banana with fork in a separate small bowl. Add remaining wet ingredients and stir to combine. The tricky part I run into here is keeping the coconut oil from becoming solid again, make sure if the banana was frozen beforehand that it is completely thawed now; this will keep the coconut liquid.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until the two come together. Let batter sit for 15-30 minutes at room temperature. 

4. Heat a little coconut oil in a skillet and drop 1/4 cup of batter onto skillet. Spread slightly with the back of the spoon to even out the batter. Turn heat down to medium-low. Let cook on the underside until you can see the edges browning and the topside has become glazed over a little, which will take more time than a regular pancake. Flip over to cook the other side. Cook until the underside is crispy and brown (although the middle is a little moist, this is okay).

Scotcheroos, The Right (Fat) Way

This type of food is way out of my normal food repertoire, but I was assigned to make these bars for my mom's best friends 50th birthday party this weekend. Specifically, I was told to make "fat bars," which is what my high school calls the bars. Of course, there is not recipe online for something with the name "fat bar," so scotcheroos were the closest I could find.

The thing about the fat bars my school makes is that they are at least 10 times better than scotcheroos. They are creamier, richer, and bigger. They have lots of peanut butter and are coated with thick chocolate. They stick all over your teeth and you have to have milk to wash one down. Basically, everything about them is completely indulgent and I ate them a total of one time my entire high school career.

In order to make the scotcheroos into a fat bar, I had to change it up- I had to make them more fat! For the bars I used more peanut butter to make them gooey and rich and I crushed the Krispies so make them more dense and one texture. For the top I decreased the butterscotch chips and increased the chocolate chips to make them more rich and chocolatey and I added shortening to give the top a shiny hard look. Basically, this is a recipe for scotcheroos, the right way.

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1/2 cup butterscotch chips
2 1/2 cups chocolate chips
large spoonful vegetable shortening (do not substitute)

Directions:

1. Place wax paper in a 9x13 inch pan; set aside. Pour cereal in large bowl, crushing it with your hands as you go. The cereal doesn't need to all be crushed, this is done to make the bars more dense and less airy. Some pieces will be whole, some will be near powder. Set cereal aside.

2. Place sugar and corn syrup in microwave-safe bowl and microwave  until sugar is dissolved and mixture is almost boiling. Microwave at 50% power and stir every 20-30 seconds to prevent burning. Stir in peanut butter until melted and combined; you may need to place it back in the microwave a little bit to soften the peanut butter.

3. Pour liquid over measured cereal and stir until well-coated. Press the mixture into the prepared pan using a rubber scraper.

4. Melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a microwave-safe bowl at 50% power; stirring every 20-30 seconds. Spread evenly over cereal, make sure to get all the way to the edge (no one wants a piece with no chocolate on top). Let sit to firm, or refrigerate for faster firming time.