Chocolate Plantain Brownies

Plan-what? Last week, a friend handed over a bag of produce because she was going to head out of town in a few days, and she wanted to make sure that her goods went to good use. Inside the bag was some kale, some celery, bananas, and a bunch of plantains. Kale, celery, and bananas–we can make short work of that in our house.  Plantains?  Now, I like to think that I’m fairly well-versed in the world of produce, and I do know what a plantain is, but admittedly, I’ve never had a plantain.

Such began Erika’s research mode. Pancakes, cookies, truffles, bread, tortillas, chips……who knew that there are so many recipes involving plantains out there! Given that I was super hungry during my “research” and that chocolate was seeming to call my name, I settled on brownies.   I don’t know why—maybe because it was way past my bedtime—but the fact that these brownies have no flour of any kind seemed so amazing to me! In my amazement, though, I was skeptical. Could they really turn out cakey like a brownie? Could you really cut them into squares? Could they really taste like a brownie? Well, there’s only one way to find out—you gotta dive right in and try!

First, though, I am going to let you in on a little secret—posting recipes is hard work. I had no idea when I started on this little blogging adventure just how hard! 🙂 I love to bake, I love to share, so what’s the problem? Well—I have a tendency to guesstameasure. Guessta-what? I often find myself putting in a little of this, a little of that, and then palm measuring a good deal. Palm measuring—according to the dictionary of Erika means pouring the ingredients into your palm and guess measuring that it’s the right amount. I know that I’m not the only one to do this ;-), but when you try to write the recipe out for others to duplicate, it makes it a bit more challenging. Sometimes, I find myself going back and redoing the recipe just so I know how much of what I put in–much to our “dismay” when it’s a good recipe! So, what does this little tanget have to do with plantain brownies? Well, when it came to the coconut oil, my ability to actually measure was drained—enter the guesstameasure, and I’m pretty sure that since my brownies were a bit on the oily side (but still oh-so-delicious), I guessed high! So, this would be my only caution with these brownies—don’t use too much oil! 🙂

Okay—off tanget now and back to the main topic at hand—these truly scrumptious brownies. They are rich, not too sweet, and I couldn’t tell that there was no flour. Add in that you’re making the batter in a food processor, and you’re golden! 🙂 It’s so simple and ingenious—throw everything in the food processor and turn it on. No mixing ingredients in separate bowls and combining later. No individual beaters to have to wash. A-ma-zing!

• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Adapted from Preparing it Paleo

2 peeled plantains
2 flax eggs (2 TBSP ground flax meal and 6 TBSP water)*
¼ cup melted coconut oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Peel the plantains and cut each into four sections. Toss plantains and everything but the chocolate chips into a food processor. Blend until you have a smooth batter. Now pulse in the chocolate chips. Pour into an 8-inch square baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

*Make the flax eggs first. After combining the ground flax meal and the water, stick your combo into the refrigerator while you get the rest of your ingredients out. I find that this helps the flax eggs to “gel” up a bit more.

So, if you’re in the mood for something chocolaty and rich that’s also super easy to make, you’ve found it! Or, if you’re just wanting to experiment with plantains, you’ve found it too!

Do you have any favorite recipes with plantains?

Peppermint Cream Brownies and Young Living

It all started with a snoring hubby. Several months ago, I talked about not sleeping well because of the hubsters snoring, and a friend recommended that we try using some essential oils on his big toes at night. We (I) were at the point where we (I) were willing to try just about anything, so we gave it a try and purchased our first bottle of Valor essential oil. I don’t know who was more excited to open that little box…me or the hubs (okay…okay…I’m sure it was me! 😉 )

Two drops on each big toe…three nights later…no snoring! We couldn’t believe it! So, me being me, I got to thinking…what else is out there? I started researching and looking into essential oils, and I really found so much great information about Young Living Essential Oils—they are therapeutic grade and are only made from chemical free plant material—umm—yes please! I’ve had some oils before, but as I compare them, there is a definite difference in quality, smell, and effect.

So, for my birthday I talked to the hubster about really getting more involved with Young Living Oils and in expanding my collection beyond the Valor. We got the premium started kit, and we haven’t looked back since! I use the peppermint oil (one of my faves) for headaches/migraines—gone within minutes and I haven’t had to take migraine medicine in months—lavender for scrapes and bites on the kids—redness and swelling goes down/is gone within minutes—and the kids will ask for either some Joy or some Peace and Calming depending on their moods! It’s so great to have this be a family affair!

Now, you may wonder why I’m going on and on about these oils when this is supposed to be a blog about what I bake? Well…I bake with my oils too! Remember my Lemon Blueberry Glaze Donuts? The lemon part of the donuts comes from my Lemon Essential Oil. This time I wanted something a bit different, so, using Peppermint Essential Oil, I whipped up a batch of Peppermint Cream Brownies! O….M….G!!!!

I thought I made them for other people (ummm…I think I ate four), my mom intended to eat ¼ of one (first of all…who does that…second of all…she had two), and my aunts took some home for later! I think that they were a hit! The brownie is moist and chewy, and the peppermint cream? Oh…the peppermint cream! It just melts in your mouth and leaves you wanting more….and more…

I’ll be honest—I wasn’t entirely sure about the brownie part as it was baking up. It was a little bubbly and I was convinced it was never going to bake all of the way through. I gave it extra time and then hoped for the best…and I was not disappointed! The brownie came out slightly fudgy and chewy—the best kind of brownie if you ask me!

Peppermint Cream Brownies

• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Adapted from the Sweet Vegan cookbook

Brownie Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups evaporated cane juice sugar
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla

Peppermint Cream Ingredients:
½ cup Earth Balance butter at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
8-10 drops Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil
2-4 TBSP almond milk

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:
1 cup chocolate chips
6 TBSP Earth Balance butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
2. Using a stand mixer combine the flour, cane juice, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the water, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Blend on medium speed for 1 minute or until well combined. Pour into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then cool in the pan on a wire rack for one hour.
3. Once the brownies are cool, make the peppermint cream. Using a stand mixer, whip the Earth Balance butter until smooth. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the powdered sugar and the Peppermint Essential Oil and blend for 1 minute. Slowly add the almond milk, one tablespoon at a time until you get your cream to a nice, spreadable consistency. Once you get the peppermint cream nice and creamy, spread it evenly on the top of the cooled brownie.
4. To make the chocolate Ganache, melt the chocolate chips and the Earth Balance in a microwave safe bowl for one minute in the microwave. Stir the mixture until it is completely melted and pour it over the top of the peppermint cream. Spread the Ganache evenly over the peppermint cream (this is best done with an offset spatula).
5. Cover the brownies with plastic wrap and immediately place in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.
6. Cut the chilled brownies into squares with a sharp knife. When cutting the brownies, it is easier to warm the knife under hot water, wipe it dry, and cut the brownies. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

If you’re interested in more information about Young Living and the positive impact essential oils can have on you and your family, then click here for more information or simply contact me below.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!

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Pecan Pie Cookies

It happened—I knew it would at some point—I missed a week! My goal has been to post twice a week while being okay with the once a week posts that typically happen. Last week came and went with no post, and I feel so guilty…probably to no one but myself…but guilty nonetheless! In my defense, I was home with the kids for a week, so we tried to jam the days with fun activities and games. We made an outdoor waterbed, PVC bows and arrows, and sidewalk chalk paint. At the end of the week, we were even able to make a trip out of town!

My family has a cabin down in southern Colorado, and we try to make it down at least once a year. We so love going down there and being totally disconnected from the “real” world (another reason I haven’t posted—excuses, excuses). While we’re there, we have no TV, no phone, and no internet. I love that we have to create our own fun, and it’s fun with no interruptions—we go hiking, read books, play darts, practice “fishing” (it’s not really fishing when you’ve got five kids, two working poles, and no bait :-)), and play a ton of board games. The best part is that we always come back feeling recharged and reenergized as a family unit. Sometimes we just need a bit of that!

One of the other super fun things about going out of town is that it means there’s one more excuse for yummy treats (because clearly…I look for excuses for yummy treats). The hubs loves pecan pie, but the poor guy only gets it twice a year—Thanksgiving and Christmas. What a fun surprise I thought that it would be for him to get a taste of pecan pie in the summer—but in a cookie format. Yep. That’s our kind of fun.

For the “pie” crust of the cookie, I opted for a sugar cookie molded into a mini-pie shape and then filled them with gooey yumminess! I’ve seen the posts on Pinterest where someone much more clever than me put cookie dough on the outside of the muffin tins to make little cookie cups for ice cream, and I’ve wanted to try it for ages. Instead of using a cookie cutter (because who can find one when they need it?) I placed different cups on the outside of the muffin tins to find the cup that would give me the right size for my tin—just fitting over the tin. It took a bit of trial and error getting the height of the sides of the cookies right, but I figured, who really cares if a cookie is high on one side and low on another if it tastes good all around? We certainly don’t!

The filling for the cookies is super easy to make, takes just a few minutes, and settles into the cookie cups beautifully. The stage of the filling that was the most work was chopping the pecans (I recommend buying chopped pecans…that’s what happens when you send the hubsters to the store with an order for pecans), but after that, it’s smooth sailing. I, of course, had to taste-test a few right away…and a little later for quality control. Let me just say that the quality stayed the same from beginning to end to the next day.

• Servings: 36
• Print

For the cookie cups:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 ¾ cups sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 TBSP water
1 cup Earth Balance butter

For the filling:

6 TBSP Earth Balance butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
3 cups chopped pecans
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Flip your muffin tins upside down and place your muffin tin liners on the outside of the muffin tins.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Blend the sugars and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and blend until pale and fluffy. Mix in water. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture.
4. With your hands, divide the dough into two mounds. Lightly flour your countertop or other flat surface and roll dough out to ¼ inch thick. Dip the rim of your cup or cookie cutter into a bit of water, and cut out cookie circles. Center cookie rounds on top of the outside of muffin tins, and using your fingers, gently fold the dough over the edges and up the sides as needed. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the muffin tins.
5. While the cookie cups are cooling, prepare your filling. Place the butter, light brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn on medium heat and boil for 2 minutes.
6. Remove from heat, stir in pecans and vanilla.
7. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of pecan filling into each deep dish cookie.
Allow filling to cool and set up before serving.

These babies didn’t last long, so grab a tall glass of milk, sit back, and enjoy!

Have you made cookie cups before? I may be hooked and looking for inspiration 😉 So, what did you fill yours with?

**If you have left over cookie cups, freeze them for later, fill them with ice cream, but just don’t throw them away! I froze mine for a treat later on! 😉

Marvelous Mango Muffins

Dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner…that’s what we’ve been doing this weekend! One of the kids made a joke about it at the dinner table the other night, and we thought—why not?!?! So, while we dine on pizza for breakfast, I’ve got all day long to come up with a scrumptious breakfast item for dinner.

Today, for the first time, we headed north to the Denver Zoo. It was such a beautiful day, with the sun shining and a slight breeze, and the kids were able to run around, scouting out the animals that they all love. As we flitted from here to there, I found a little piece of my mind focusing on what to whip up for our breakfast dinner. As I was thinking, the hubster reminded me that mangos have been on sale lately, and if you remember, I tend to have a slight obsession with mangos from time to time (Mango eggrolls anyone?). So, enter the mango muffins…with a hit of healthy packed in there. I so love when I can incorporate some healthy components—whole wheat flour, chia seeds (my other new obsession), and fresh fruit—into something so yummy.

When thinking of spices for the muffins, I referred back to my mango egg rolls and decided to mirror the spice combo. Pure scrumptiousness!   And to break open a warm muffin and see those little bits of mango baked right in…pure heaven!  I base so many “reviews” and feedback from the hubster and the kids, but since we’re talking breakfast for dinner—I looooove breakfast for dinner—I made sure I had my fair share too!  In all honesty, we had to put the kibosh on how many muffins the kids were eating just so that we’d have enough for another time–and this recipe makes two dozen! 🙂

 

• Servings: 24
• Print

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cup of diced fresh Mango (roughly 1 mango)
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 cup Sugar
2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cardamom
1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
½ cup Applesauce
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Almond Milk
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

Topping Ingredients:

½ cup brown sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line 24 muffin tins.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, spices, and chia seeds.
3. In a separate bowl, stir the applesauce, almond milk, vanilla and oil.
4. Make a “well” in the flour mixture and then pour all of the liquid mixture in.
5. Mix the dry and liquid ingredients until just moistened. Fold in the fresh mango.
6. Evenly pour the batter into paper lined muffin pan cups, approximately ½ to 2/3 full.
7. Prepare the topping—mix the brown sugar and 1 TBSP cinnamon together in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly on the filled muffin cups.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown

 

So, do you ever treat yourself to breakfast for dinner? What’s your favorite breakfast item?