Cowboy Coffee Cake

This is the coffee cake that my mom used to make me and my little friends every time I had a sleepover growing up. Now I make it all the time! It is my go-to coffee cake recipe and we love it. It goes great with eggs and fruit salad and I make it to complement our dinner meals too! Very versatile and super yummy!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup egg beaters or 2 egg whites
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

filling and topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons tub butter, melted
walnuts (if you want)

glaze: powdered sugar
milk

1. Oven to 375. Combine the applesauce, eggs, and milk in a large bowl. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until everything is combined.

2. Next, mix up your filling and topping ingredients. Just stir them all up in a bowl then pour it into a zip lock sandwich bag.

3. Ok, pour half of your batter into a greased 9x9 baking dish. Then snip off one corner of your zip lock bag and drizzle HALF of the filling on top of the batter. Then pour the rest of the batter on top and drizzle the rest of the topping onto the top of your cake. If you like walnuts....add them now! Right on top!
4. Bake or 20-25 minutes until the cake is cooked through. While it is baking make a quick glaze by mixing 1/2 cup powdered sugar with a couple of teaspoons of milk. Just find the consistency you like by adding more milk to thin it out or more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
5. When your cake comes out of the oven let it cool for a couple of minutes then drizzle your glaze on top. I poured my glaze into a zip lock bag also and drizzled it on top. Super easy and less messy! Serve this with breakfast items like eggs, sausage, omelets, fruit salad.....or dinner!

Before you dig in......

Glazed Baked Donuts

My husband started a mountain biking club at the high school where he works. So...what we have here is a bunch of high school boys riding around in the mud every other Saturday morning working up an appetite. I thought this is the perfect opportunity for me to try new recipes out on these boys. I mean they are high school boys. They will eat anything :) I made these a couple of weeks ago and they were a hit! I am pretty sure the plate came back with lick marks on it. They loved them and so will you!



Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fat free milk
2 beaten eggs or 1/2 cup egg beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons melted butter (I used tub butter)

Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
(you want this glaze to be thin!)

Frosting: 1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk
(you want this frosting to be thick, spreadable, but thick so adjust according)

* DONUT PANS: ok, so you can use different pans for this recipe. I have a donut pan. I LOVE it. It is so much fun to use! I have seen them at walmart, target, target on-line, cooking stores, amazon..... If you want to make these without the pan you can use a mini muffin tin and they will be more like donut wholes. You could also use a mini bunt pan. Look for the dount pans.... the 12 bucks is totally worth it!

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Beat together until well blended.
2. Spray you pans with non stick spray. Pour all your batter into a storage sized zip lock bag. Snip the end and pipe the batter into the pans about half full. They get puffy. Just start in one spot and pipe around in a circle until you meet up with your batter.
3. Bake at 400 for 8-9 minutes until they spring back when touched. Give them a few minutes to cool before you put them on a cooling rack.
4. Now I did a double glaze for extra yumminess, but you could just frost them or you can dip them in the thin glaze. Totally up to you.
5. For the double glaze you dip both sides of the donuts into the thin glaze. Then but them back on the cooling racks for excess glaze to drip off. Once the glaze is cooled and hardened you can go ahead and frost them. Add sprinkles, nuts, chocolate chips, coconut....whatever you want!

Halloween Goodies

Ok, you have just a few days to make a couple more Halloween treats soooo.... here are a few to snack on! I hope you enjoy!

Witch Broom cookies

Ingredients:
Peanut butter Cookies: (you could use your favorite recipe in place of this one if you wanted)
1/2 cup butter, soft (for low fat use a 1/4 cup applesauce)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour

honey wheat pretzels
chocolate melties
sprinkles

1. Mix up your cookie ingredients by creaming your butter (or applesauce) with sugars, peanut butter, and egg. Stir in the vanilla. Go ahead and add your dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
2. Next you are going place 6-8 pretzels on ungreased cookie sheet. Using a small cookie scoop make a ball of dough. Press each ball onto the end of each pretzel. Press the dough with a fork to resemble "bristles" of broom. Bake at 350 for about 8-9 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet before carefully removing them onto a wire rack.
3. Heat up your chocolate in the microwave until smooth. Using a spoon, drizzle chocolate over the cookies and pretzel. You can also put white chocolate chips, peanut chips, or butterscotch chips in a zip lock bag and melt them, snip the tip of the bag, and drizzle over for a little more decoration. Sprinkle with sprinkles and enjoy!

Halloween Lunch


Sandwich of any kind : pb & J, turkey and cheese, tuna, whatever you and kids like
Halloween cookie cutters
carrots
pears
mozzarella cheese
gummy worms

1. Make your sandwich and using a pumpkin cookie cutter cut out your sandwich.
2. Next cut your veggies, fruit, and cheese and place them on a plate to look like candy corn.
3. For a sweet treat add some gummy worms and you have a fun lunch!

Pumpkin Gingerbread
I was going through my mom's recipes and I came across this one. I totally forgot about it and it is so good with tons of flavor! Perfect if you have some leftover pumpkin that needs to be used up! Moist,dense, and delicious with butter!



Ingredients:

2 cups flour (you can do one white and one whole wheat pastry flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 egg whites
1/2 cup fat free vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup fat free milk
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
dash of salt

1. Preheat our oven to 350. Spray your loaf pan. Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients in another bowl. Pour wet into dry and mix until just combined.
2. Pour into pan and bake for 35-45 minutes. I start checking my bread at about 30 minutes. When you are baking low fat breads it is really important to NOT over bake. It will lead to a dry bread. So start checking your bread early and take out as soon as your toothpick comes out clean.
3. Let cool before you wrap in plastic wrap for freshness. Yum!! This is really yummy, especially warm out of the oven!

Lemon Poppy Seed Snack Cake

This snack cake is soooo good!! It is a All-Bran recipe and it is loaded with whole grains and fiber and is low in fat, but you can't tell! Seriouly, I wouldn't lie! I made it after dinner and everyone loved it, the kids all asked for seconds :) It tastes like a sweet muffin and it's the perfect snack.




Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 cup ALL-BRAN bran buds or original cereal
1/4 cup fat free milk
2 egg whites
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup fat free lemon yogurt
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup powdered sugar
juice from lemon

1.Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt and poppy seeds. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine ALL-BRAN cereal, milk, egg whites, oil, lemon peel and yogurt. Slice your lemon in half and squeeze 1 half of your lemon in there too :) Save the other half. Let your mixture set for 5 minutes to soften the cereal. After 5 minutes add flour mixture and stir just until combined.
3. Spread evenly in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan that is coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes (Mine was done after about 21 minutes so start checking after 20). Check with a toothpick to make sure center is done.
4. Combine powdered sugar with the juice from the remaining half of lemon and stir until smooth. Add a bit of milk if you need to thin it out. Pour and spread over warm cake. Cut and Eat!!!

Apple Snack Cake

I love this snack! I found a similar recipe in family circle, but changed it to make it my own! It is really healthy and perfect for a mid afternoon snack. Good for lunches, after dinner, anytime! Kids love it too, and it is full of healthy fruit! Enjoy!




Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup diced golden delicious apples
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. This is so easy! Heat oven to 350. Spray a 9x9 or 8x8 square pan REALLY well with non-stick spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed blend together sugar, egg whites, applesauce and vanilla until fluffy. About 2-3 minutes.
4. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add flour mixture. Mix just for a minute until just Incorporated. Stir in diced apples, raisins, and nuts. Spread into pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees fro about 30-35 minutes or until center is cooked through. Let cool all the way before eating!!

* Whole wheat pastry flour does make the batter a darker color as opposed to using white ! BUT, No one will be able to tell you used whole wheat flour because the cinnamon makes the batter darker, disguising the whole wheat flour. I use this technique in pancakes, waffles and muffins! Just add cinnamon!

* When using whole wheat flour: Use whole wheat pastry flour in muffins, cookies, quick breads, pancakes, cakes, brownies...... anything besides yeast breads. This kind of flour is lighter and not gritty perfect for baked goods. You can find it in the bulk section or even in your baking isle. It is loaded with fiber and great for your whole body!!

** Don't forget to post for the giveaway. You can comment on this post or go back to the original!

Fresh Raspberry Coffee Cake

I made this for a brunch that we went to on a Sunday morning and it was a HIT! No kidding, gone in no time. Kids to parents, everyone loved it! It comes together fast and you don't even need a special occasion to make this baby!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 egg whites

2 cups flour (whole wheat pastry or white)

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons milk, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1. Oven to 400. Spray an 8 or 9 inch baking pan (I used a round cake pan).

2. In a medium bowl, beat applesauce, milk, vanilla, and egg whites with a spoon. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt just until moistened. Fold in raspberries.

3.Bake 20-25 minutes or until top is golden and when toothpick is inserted in center it comes out clean. Cool about 20 minutes.

4. Mix glaze ingredients together until thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over warm coffee cake.

*This is a great breakfast for a Saturday morning. Add some fruit and cheesy scrabbled eggs and you have a yummy treat in store for you!

* This is VERY low fat. No fat is added to this so you are looking at about less than 150 calories and and less than 3 grams of fat per serving!

Sooooooo so good!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

I am so sorry that I haven't posted in a while. It was killing me but my family has been so sick :( But I am back and I have LOTS of yummy fall food for you so check over the next couple of days! Ok today is pumpkin bread!! Yum! This is a copy cat Great Harvest recipe that I tweaked. SO GOOD perfect for fall!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

16 oz cooked or canned pumpkin (aprox. 2 cups)

1 cup applesauce

2 tablespoon oil

5 egg whites, lightly beaten

2/3 cup water

1 cup chocolate chips... or more :)

1. Oven at 350. Grease 2 loaf pans. This makes a lot!
2. Mix flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix pumpkin, applesauce, oil, egg whites and water together. Stir into dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Place batter into prepared pans. Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely and eat!! Store tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.

* I pour half the batter into one pan first and then add the chocolate chips to the other half, so I have one of each kind of bread
* Only fill your pans a little over half. If they are too full they take a really long time to cook. If they bake for over 75 minutes, the bottoms can tend to get darker than you will like. I fill both my pans a little over half full and then I still have enough to make about 6-7 muffins. But every oven is different. Mine is ghetto, so I have to adjust some recipes.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I got this recipe out of my Family Circle magazine and I love it! It is a great snack and I have changed a few things to make this actually healthy, so you can eat it anytime!!

Snack bread or....

muffins, this recipe is so good!! Muffins are great to put in the diaper bag for an afternoon snack for you or your kids!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour ( unbleached works good too!)
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup soft butter

1 3/4 cup sugar

3 egg whites

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350. In medium bowl blend flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon and slat. Set aside. Stir together milk and vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. In large bowl, beat butter, applesauce, and sugar on medium speed for a couple minutes until smooth. Add egg whites and vanilla. Beat until combined. Add milk mixture and beat well.
3. On low speed gradually add flour mixture. Beat until just moist. Stir in zucchini and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Fill bread pan or muffin tins. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips and nuts on top.

4. Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes and bread for 40-50 minutes. Check center with toothpick. Cool on rack.

Monkey Tail Bread

I love to have some kind of quick bread in the cupboard during the week. They are great for healthy snacks and easy to take along to the store for the girls. So I usually have banana, zucchini, or pumpkin, but this week I wanted to try something new! It is a twist on banana bread, you will love it! Moist and soft, with a little chocolate for a treat!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce

1 cup sugar

3 egg whites

1 cup mashed banana (3 medium)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan.
2. Beat applesauce and sugar in bowl until combined. Beat in egg whites until light and fluffy. Beat in bananas and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in flour, baking soda and powder, salt until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely about 1 hour.

* Tightly wrap in plastic wrap to keep fresh.