PROTEIN BITES

ALMOND COCONUT PROTEIN BITES

1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 c honey
2 T coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 cup oat flour
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 serving protein powder
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt

Mix ingredients together.  Scoop onto cookie sheets and chill.  Store in fridge or freezer.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PROTEIN BITES

1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 T honey
1 T peanut butter
1/2 T unsweetened coconut flakes
add water as needed, will vary depending on protein powder used

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Use a fork to smoosh it together. Add just a little bit of water at a time until mixture is moist enough to form a ball.  Divide 1 serving into 3 balls and roll in coconut flakes.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY CAKE

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BARS
These are Lisa's favorite bars and one of my favorites too.  My family loves them.  Took them to EPM for Valentine's Day.  They disappeared very quickly.  I like to cut them in serving sizes, wrap in saran wrap and freeze them.  Let them slightly defrost before eating.  Yum!

1      package  Pillsbury + Chocolate Devils Food Cake Mix
21    ounces cherry pie filling
1      teaspoon almond extract
2      eggs -- beaten

---Frosting---
1      cup sugar
5      tablespoons   butter or margarine
1/3  cup  milk
1      cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 15x10" jelly roll pan or a 13x9" 
pan. In large bowl, combine first four ingredients. Stir by hand until 
well mixed. Pour into pan. Bake 15x10" pan for 20-30 minutes or a 13x9" 
pan for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes 
out clean. In small saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk. Bring to 
boil, stirring constantly, and let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat 
and stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Pour over warm bars. Cool until 
frosting is set and cut into bars. Makes about 3 dozen.


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NOTES : This recipe is from my great-aunt, Gloria Zehr of Gouverneur, 
NY. It is definitely a Tried-N-True (TNT) recipe and is without a doubt 
a keeper. Kudos to my Aunt Gloria for an excellent recipe !

~ Jackie Hall found this recipe.  I love it partially frozen.

FRUIT PIZZA (NO SUGAR)

http://courtneycrozier.com/no-sugar-added-fruit-pizza-yum/

Made this for Jenna's b-day (2017).  She really liked it and requested it for Thanksgiving.

Sugar Free Sugar Cookie Crust:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (I use Kerrygold)
1/3 cup baking stevia or no-calorie sweetener of choice (I like to stick with Stevia here to keep it natural!)
1 whole egg OR 2 egg whites (I used the full egg)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (a little goes a LONG way here! don’t overdo it!)
1 cup gluten free flour (you can also use whole wheat pastry flour, which is what my original recipe called for. I am going to try it with almond flour soon!)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions to make cookie crust:

1) In a medium bowl, cream together butter, and sugar substitute with a hand mixer. Add egg/egg whites, and extracts and beat until it is combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, until just combined. Do not over mix to avoid toughness! — Wrap dough and place it back in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes, or until dough is cold.

2) To make one BIG pizza, roll the dough out on a baking sheet or pizza pan to the sizing of your choice. If you want to make personal fruit pizzas, cut the dough into shapes/sizes that you wish. Cook on a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let it cool COMPLETELY before adding the toppings! (I let mine cool for 3 hours).

Cream Cheese Frosting/Topping:

8 ounces low fat or regular cream cheese
1/4 cup baking stevia/truvia (you might have to tweek this depending on the brand you use!)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions to make frosting:

1) In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to mix cream cheese, stevia, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Place in the fridge for a half hour.

Directions to put the fruit pizza together:

At this point, the recipe is simple! All you have to do is throw your ingredients together! Take the fully cooled cookie crust and spread the cream cheese frosting all over the top of the crust. After this is done, pick your FAVORITE fruits to add to the top! My two favorites are blueberries and strawberries (you can cut them anyway you’d like), but in the photo above you can see we also used kiwi and raspberries too! Try any type of fruit and I’m sure it will be delish!!!

SIMPLE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

SIMPLE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
We got some cherries from Bountiful Baskets. Abagail was treats for FHE so of course she wanted to make cupcakes with a cherry on top (she says this every week).  She wanted white frosting.  I had a cherry chip cake mix that we used.  I don't normally like white frosting but this was really, really good.  I cut the recipe in half.  It didn't frost all of these (12 big, 24 small) but that is okay.  I added the full amount of vanilla and about 1/2 tsp of almond extract.  Only added 1 T of milk. 

This is found in the OurBestBites cookbook pg 58.

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (no substitutions)
1 pinch salt
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4-6 T cream or milk - more or less as needed
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (use clear vanilla if want it more white)
almond, lemon, or peppermint extract, to taste, optional

Beat butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.  Sift powdered sugar and add to butter.  Beat on low speed until combined and then on medium-high sped for a full minute.  Add extracts.  Reduce speed and add milk, on tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition, until desired consistency is reached.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

For chocolate buttercream add 1/3-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, to taste, and additional cream as needed.

RASPBERRY SCONES (2 different recipes)

RASPBERRY ALMOND BUTTERMILK SCONES
http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/06/09/raspberry-almond-buttermilk-scones/
Really good!  They went flat for me but I think maybe because I added all the buttermilk instead of keeping out the 2 T for the top.  They still tasted really good.  We liked better the next day. Loved the addition of almond extract.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup (120ml) + 2 Tablespoons (30ml) buttermilk, divided
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 package (6 ounces; 170g; 1 and 1/4 cups) Driscoll’s raspberries
• 1/3 cup (37g) sliced almonds

Fresh Raspberry Icing

• 1/2 package (3 ounces; 85g; or about 1/2 cup) Driscoll's raspberries
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners' sugar (only did 1 cup)
• 1 Tablespoon (15ml) cream or milk (only used 1/2 T)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Adjust baking rack to the middle-low position. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Grate the frozen butter (I use a box grater to grate it; a food processor also works for grating - here is the one I own and love). Toss the grated butter into the flour mixture and combine it with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup buttermilk, egg, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract together. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then toss the mixture together with a rubber spatula until everything appears moistened. Slowly and gently fold in the raspberries.1 Try your best to not overwork the dough at any point. Dough will be a little wet. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can and transfer to a floured surface. Press into a neat 8″ disc and cut into 8 equal wedges with a very sharp knife. Place scones at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush scones with remaining buttermilk, then sprinkle almonds on top.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes as you make the glaze.
5. Make the glaze: Toss the raspberries and granulated sugar together. Vigorously stir to break up the raspberries. Allow to sit for 5 minutes as the raspberries let out their juices. Strain the raspberries through a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl. Use a spoon to press them through, extracting all the juices. You'll have about 3 Tablespoons of juice. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar and milk. Add a little more confectioners' sugar to thicken or more milk to thin, if desired. Drizzle over warm scones.

Make ahead tip: Scones are best enjoyed right away, though leftover scones keep well at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2 extra days. Unglazed scones freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then heat up to your liking before glazing and enjoying.

Additional Notes:

1. It can be difficult to avoid smashing the raspberries as you work with the dough. That's OK! Handle the dough with care and always use floured hands and a floured work surface.

WHOLE WHEAT RASPBERRY RICOTTA SCONES

http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/07/whole-wheat-raspberry-ricotta-scones/

These were really good and easier to make than I thought they would be.

The trickiest thing about these is the dampness of the dough. Yet that same trickiness is they bake into something that seems impossibly moist for a scone, and especially a whole wheat one. Keep your counter and your hands well floured and you won’t have any trouble getting them from bowl to counter to oven to belly, which, after all, is the whole point.

1 cup (120 grams) whole wheat flour
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 cup (136 grams or 4 3/4 ounces) fresh raspberries
3/4 cup (189 grams) whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup (79 ml) heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.

With a pastry blender: Add the butter (no need to chop it first) and use the blender to both cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in raspberries and use the blender again to break them into halves and quarter berry sized chunks.

Without a pastry blender: Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Roughly chop the raspberries on a cutting board and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.

MAKE SURE AND HAVE FLOUR ON THE SURFACE AND A SCOOPER TO PUT THE FLOUR ON YOUR HANDS BEFORE GETTING HANDS DIRTY. IT IS REALLY STICKY! (nylon scraper works great getting off hands)

Both methods: Add the ricotta and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl. Don’t fret if the raspberries get muddled and smudge up the dough. This is a pretty thing.

With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more. I know, way to be a big meanie, right?

Do ahead: Scones are always best the day they are baked. However, if you wish to get a lead on them, you can make them, arrange them on your parchment-lined sheet and freeze them. If you’re prepping just one day in advance, cover the tray with plastic wrap and bake them the day you need them. If you’re preparing them more than one day in advance, once they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag or container. Bring them back to a parchment-lined sheet when you’re ready to bake them. No need to defrost the froze, unbaked scones, just add 2 to 3 minutes to your baking time.

RASPBERRY SHORTBREAD

RASPBERRY SHORTBREAD

This is so delish! I think any jam would taste good.

Best of the Best from Oregon pg. 222

3/4 c butter (no substitute)

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla, then flour. Press in greased 9" square pan. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Remove.

TOPPING:

1 c raspberry jam

1 tsp almond extract

1/2 c chopped almonds

Mix jam with almond extract and smooth over shortbread; sprinkle with almonds. Bake another 15 minutes. Cool and cut.