Fruit Pizza

A delicious dessert with sugar cookie crust, cream cheese frosting, and summer fruit.

Crust:
2/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered honey granules
1 egg
4 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tarter
1/4 tsp salt

Thoroughly cream the butter, honey granules, and vanilla . Add the egg and milk and beat until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cream of tarter, and salt. Gradually stir in the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Press dough into a parchment linned pizza pan. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

Frosting:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered honey granules
2 Tbs milk
2 tsp vanilla

Cream all ingredients. Frost the cooled crust. Arrange desired fruit on top of frosting and chill.

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Zucchini Bread

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 C coconut oil or olive oil
  • 1/2 C applesauce
  • 3/4 cups sugar
  • 2 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 T vanilla
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 2 t cinnamon
  • 3 cups flour

Whisk the eggs and oil in a large bowl. Add applesauce, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in zucchini. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

This is a healthy version of the recipe that was passed around the teacher’s lounge when my mother-in-law was a teacher’s aide in the 1980’s. 🙂

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Summer Squash Bread

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 cups flour
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 3 cups shredded summer squash
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy using an electric mixer. Beat in the sugar, oil, and vanilla. Gradually mix in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fold in the squash. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Adapted from www.allrecipes.com

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Coconut-Crusted Chicken with Mango Salsa

  • 1/2 pound mango, chopped (about 1 1/2 C)
  • 1/2 C red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/3 C onion
  • 2 T chopped cilantro
  • 1 T rice vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 C shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 3 pounds  boneless chicken breasts
  • 3 T coconut oil

In a small bowl, combine the the first six ingredients.

In a shallow bowl, beat the egg with 1 t water and 1/2 t salt. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the chicken into strips and dip in the egg mix before placing in the skillet. Cook, turning once, until golden brown.  Transfer the chicken to a parchment lined jelly roll pan. Sprinkle coconut over the chicken and bake at 350 degrees until cooked through, about 12 minutes.  Serve over brown rice, and top with the mango sauce.

adapted from http://www.rachaelraymag.com

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Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars

Cookie:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup honey granules (sugar)
1/3 cup cocoa
1 large egg, beaten
1  cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup  sweetened coconut (shredded or flaked)
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

Peanut Butter Filling:
1/3 cup  butter, softened
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered honey granules (or confectioners’ sugar)

Chocolate Glaze:
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter

Directions
Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, with long flaps hanging over each edge.

For the cookie: Put the butter in a heatproof medium bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer over medium-low heat. Set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Once the butter is melted, add the honey granules and cocoa, and stir to combine. Add the egg and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until warm to the touch and slightly thickened (it should be about the consistency of hot fudge), about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in graham crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press the dough firmly into the prepared pan. (Save the pan of water for melting the chocolate.)

For the filling: Beat the butter, peanut butter and powdered honey granules together in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light. Spread over the cookie and freeze while you prepare the chocolate glaze.

For the glaze: Put the chocolate chips and butter in a medium heatproof bowl, and set over the barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.  When cool but still runny, pour the chocolate layer over the chilled peanut butter layer and carefully smooth out with an offset spatula. Freeze 30 minutes.

To serve, remove from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Pull out of the pan using the foil flaps and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Adapted from www.foodnetwork.com

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup honey granules (or sugar)
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

Cream the butter and honey granules until light and fluffy. blend in the egg; add the flour and salt, mix well. Press dough on the bottom of a greased 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Poke the dough with a fork to eliminate air bubbles. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12  minutes; cool.

Filling:

1 can (1 1/2 cups) pumpkin purée
3 (8-0unce) packages cream cheese, softened
6 Tbs  butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar (I use honey granules ground fine in a blender)

 

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and the cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the mixer.
  2. Add pumpkin purée and mix to combine. Add vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and combine until smooth. Reduce speed to medium low and add sugar 1/4 cup at a time; beat until smooth.
  3. Transfer pumpkin mixture to prepared pan, spreading it out evenly over the cooled crust.
  4. Cover and chill until set, about 6 hours, or overnight. Remove outer ring of pan. Cut into slices and serve topped with Homemade Whipped Cream if desired.

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Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

 

2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can, rinsed and drained)
3 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil (or melted butter)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey (or 1 cup sugar)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In a food processor bowl or blender, combine the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, vanilla, and sugar. Pulse or blend until smooth (or as smooth as possible).
2. Grease an 8×8-inch glass baking dish. Pour the batter into the greased dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and use a spatula to push them down into the batter just a little (but not too much; they will sink some while the brownies bake).
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, until brownies are set in the middle. Watch the edges for excess browning if you’re not sure they’re done. (Mine seem to take a full 50 minutes, and are still chewy but not gooey.) Cool and then chill before serving! Store in fridge.

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Unleavened Breadsticks

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbs honey
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Combine the butter, milk, and honey. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and Italian seasoning. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture; stir until the mixture forms a ball. Roll dough to 1/2″ thickness. Cut into finger-width slices. Cut slices in half (roughly 4″ long). Roll each bread stick in Parmesan cheese, lengthening the dough as you go so that the final product is approximately 6″ long and 3/4″ thick. Bake on a parchment paper lined jelly roll pan at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

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Caramelized Butternut Squash

1 large butternut squash
6 Tbs coconut oil (or butter)
1 Tbs sucanat (or brown sugar), optional
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Cut off and discard the ends of each butternut squash. Peel and cut the squash into 1/2″- 3/4″ cubes, removing the seeds from the center of the squash. Place chopped squash in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and add the oil, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together and spread out evenly. Roast at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize.  Serve hot.

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Matzo Candy

3 matzo square (I use lightly salted matzo)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup honey granules (or sugar)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
peanuts (optional)

  1. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Place the matzo squares on the tray in a single layer.
  2. In saucepan, melt the butter and sugar over medium heat. Cook and stir constantly until mixture boils. Boil and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over matzos, covering completely.
  3. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the candy as it bakes to ensure that it doesn’t burn.
  4. Remove the pan from oven to cooling racks. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Smear the chocolate chips over the matzos. Sprinkle with peanuts if desired.
  5. Cool; then refrigerate (on the sheets if possible). Break into pieces and store in the refrigerator.

Adapted from Tammy’s Recipes

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