Fix Me A Snack

These beet chips are yet another example of a supremely healthy snack that I probably never would have prepared if it hadn’t been for this blog. And my preschooler, who loves beets to begin with, said, “These are better than chocolate chips mama!” I kid you not.

She calls these “Swirl Chips”.

2 or 3 medium beets
Salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash the beets throughly. Cut off both ends and peel. Keep a towel on hand or do your peeling under running water in order to keep the juices under control.

Slice the beets very thinly (about 1 millimeter) with a mandolin. (This is a rare instance where the mandolin is actually necessary. Uniform thickness in the chips is required in order for them to bake evenly.)

Lay the sliced beets out onto parchment-lined baking sheets. They can be placed close together as they will shrink during baking. Sprinkle with salt, if desired.

Bake for 15-20 minutes keeping a close eye on them after 15 minutes as they burn easily. The beets will still be pliable when done and will crisp up as they cool. Serve. Store in an airtight container. Depending on how dried out the chips are, they are probably good for a few days.

I’m thinking these might be tasty served with Herbed Yogurt Dip.

Note: Beets that were at least three inches wide had less of a tendency to shrivel up during baking.

Yield: several handfuls of chips
Prep-time: 5 minutes
Bake-time: 15 minutes (per batch – one beet fills approximately two baking sheets)

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These moist, sweet, and satisfying muffins take my whole family to our happy place. They are great stand-ins for cookies; in some ways they’re even more enjoyable!

This recipe was inspired by one from Nook & Pantry - a very yummy looking blog.

For the muffins:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup finely shredded carrot
1/4 cup raisins, chopped

For the filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

In a small bowl, make the filling by mixing together the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and oil. Stir in the flour mixture until combined. Then add the carrot and raisins. Stir to incorporate.

 Spoon the muffin batter into a well-greased mini muffin pan, filling each cup only half way. Then place one teaspoon of the filling in each cup. Cover the filling with the remaining muffin batter.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the largest muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5-10 minutes before gently moving them to a cooling rack. Serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 48 hours or freeze in an airtight container in a single layer.

Yield: 24 mini muffins
Prep-time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 13 minutes

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I have no love for Kale Chips. But I know all the super healthy beautiful people out there are making them and getting healthier with every bite.

I have been munching on them all morning simply because there is a big pile sitting on the counter. My kids, however, are not big fans. My youngest helped me make them and happily tasted one. But a minute later she was at the bathroom sink rinsing out her mouth. My oldest tried them a couple hours later and enjoyed the crispy saltiness, but not the bitter aftertaste. My husband’s assessment was “they taste better than they smell.”

Regardless, these are worth a try if you have a sad and lonely bunch of wilted kale hiding out at the bottom of your crisper drawer like I did. I originally ran across a recipe at The Kitchn which points to a recipe at ChowMama.

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I’ve got way too much applesauce taking up valuable real estate in my fridge. These muffins are deliciously moist and sweet out of the oven and well into the next couple days (that’s as long as they lasted here).

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For directions on how to cook a sweet potato in the microwave, see my recipe for Halloween Mush.

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This recipe was inspired by Cranberry Applesauce at Simply Recipes (a wonderful website).

For more information about what apple(s) to use, the U.S. Apple Association offers a lovely Apple Usage Chart. I think the most important element is that the apples are fresh, as a recent artile in Saveur was kind enough to point out.

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When the apples are fresh, a little water to get things going is all you need. I used Millinium and Jonagold that we picked a week ago.

America’s Test Kitchen likes to use a few different varieties of apple in order to round out the flavor. According to my notes, they are fans of Jonagold, Jonathan, Pink Lady, and Macoun. Their second choices are Golden Delicious, Macintosh, Empire, and Rome. For more guidence on apple varities and their uses, the U.S. Apple Association offers a lovely Apple Usage Chart.

Once you’ve made this simple applesauce, adding a dollop of butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt is more than okay. The butter makes the applesauce so rich and lovely (especially if you add a few dollops).

I’m sharing this simple recipe today because, oddly enough, it was a bit of a revelation to me. I think so many cookbook authors are busy reinterpreting a classic that a simple recipe like this doesn’t appear very often. And like I said, if you have the right apples, this is really all you need. 

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The super sweetness of dates demands a counter-balance of, you guessed it, FAT. Cheesy, nutty sweetness, here I come. Seriously, take it easy with these. I read somewhere once that a dried date has more fiber than a prune.

If you’d like to learn more about dates, click on over to my Dried Dates page. (Yes, I have a page devoted to dates. Stop teasing.)

1 tablespoon cream cheese
1 teaspoon almond butter
1/4 teaspoon orange juice
Pinch salt, if the almond butter is unsalted
3 large or 4 medium dried organic dates, pitted

In a small bowl mix together the cream cheese, almond butter, cinnamon, and salt (if required) until smooth and uniform in color. Divide the cream cheese mixture between the dates. Serve.

Yield: 3-4 dates
Prep time: 5 minutes

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True, more of a dessert than a snack. How about a treat? Anyway, the kids loved it + it took no time at all to make + a serving of fruit = winner.

2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
Vanilla frozen yogurt

In a small bowl, mix together the maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg (if desired). Set aside.

Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add butter to pan and allow to melt. When butter starts to sizzle, add apples and stir to coat. Then add the maple syrup mixture and stir again. Cook the apples until they turn soft (approximately 5 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces).

Allow the apples to cool until they are warm instead of hot. Scoop frozen yogurt into small bowls, top with one quarter of the apples, and serve.

Note: In the picture above, I used pumpkin ice cream as my children selfishly ate all of the frozen yogurt before I had a chance to take a picture. Guess who got to eat the pumpkin ice cream version after the photo shoot? Yum.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep-time: 10 minutes

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I used some sweet and juicy Garnet Spy apples for this recipe today. Try to use fresh apples as I can see a mealy grocery store apple really ruining the party.

Adapted from “Apple and Sweet Potato Puree” in the Apple Cookbook by Olwen Woodier.

1 small sweet potato (yields approximately 1 cup of cooked potato)
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground ginger (optional)
Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
1/4 cup plain yogurt

With a knife or fork puncture the skin of the sweet potato a few times. Microwave on high for approximately 4 minutes or until soft throughout. Test by inserting a knife into the potato. If there is little resistance, it is cooked. Set aside and allow to cool.

Microwave apples in a small bowl for 3 minutes or until well cooked. Transfer apples to a blender along with any juices that were released while cooking. Slice the sweet potato in half lengthwise and remove most of the skin. Put the potato plup in the blender along with the apples.

Put the remaining ingredients in the blender (butter, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and yogurt) and puree until smooth. Allow to cool 2 minutes and serve in small bowls. If you feel like pulling out all the stops top with chocolate sprinkles. Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Yield: 4 servings (approximately 2 cups)
Prep time: 15 minutes

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