So I was asked to make dessert, Part I…

Last weekend my Dad asked me to bring a dessert to dinner at his house. Background: my father’s chocolate cake is award winning, his desserts are creative and always delicious. So I was more than a little nervous about baking something that would meet my family’s high hopes for desserts with limited time and resources.

I glanced at Pinterest and settled on a cross between about 11 recipes. Loaded brownies seemed like a solid plan!

I started with a boxed brownie mix, a bag of chocolate chips, pretzels, peanut butter and a food processor (I borrowed and must return to Cait!)

I was about to go hard in the paint with these because I try to limit my sugars and naughty treats. I was set on over the top brownies to enjoy while watching some March Madness.

Recipe:
1 box of fudge brownie mix
1 handful of chocolate chips
Several handfuls of pretzels
1/2 melted peanut butter

Follow the directions on the brownie box. I put mine into an 8×8 and they were super thick, so if you want a thinner brownies opt for a 9×13 or 9×9. Next up, chop those pretzels! Not super fine but not huge pieces. I started with a handful and added more to ensure there we’re be several pieces in each brownie. At the same time I was melting my peanut butter on the stove. Then mix in the chocolate chips. Then I poured my batter into the pan and swirled the peanut butter. But I also think you could just mix it right in with the batter in the bowl. Either way it’s going to be legit.

 

Newest Obsession: Over Night Oats

My roommate is on a health kick and she is really into spinach oatmeal. Kid makes a huge batch and eats it all week. I’ve also agreed to give her a ride bus station at 6:45 this morning.  The combination of these two factors has led to my new obsession: OVERNIGHT OATS. (aka the EASIEST and most versatile breakfast you can make the night before)

There is even a buzzfeed

The whole idea here is you throw together some liquid and essentially whatever else you want with oats, cover it and toss it in the fridge overnight. Voila- healthy and fantastic! Feel free to experiment because it looks like you can add anything from chia seeds (the K/Caits are serious about their chia seed love) to fruit and blended up vegetables.

As a vegetarian I am always looking for sneaky ways to add protein to everything, so I adjusted the measurements a little and added flaxseed. Flaxseed ads a little protein but it also high in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids (something vegetarians often miss)  No, seriously, start eating flaxseed 

  

I went for a take on this recipe (except I don’t understand the “scant” blueberries. Look lady, there are like 80 calories per 1 cup of blueberries, why are you cutting us off at barely 1/4c.- ADD ALL THE DANG BLUEBERRIES YOU WANT.

[editor’s note: I followed the suggestion and used 1/4 cup because some days i’m a rule follower]

Like there recipe cited above I went for a greek yogurt, soy milk, flax seed, oats and banana/blueberry combo.

My math is pretty close here (used a calculator). The health benefits come in at about: 15g of protein and under 300cals. (~260 unless you had the other half of the banana as a topper <– my morning plan)

BOOM- Perfect breakfast on the go!

This picture would be cuter if I hadn’t lost all the lids to the mason jars. #whoops

Lastly, Kait asked for a verdict on the texture. We weren’t sure if it was going to be more rice/bread pudding like. Nope, basically just like oatmeal.

Now go eat flaxseed,

Margaux

Who doesn’t love a bagel?

I’ve thought about this first post about 1000 times. And I’ve decided to just shoot from the hip.

I don’t really eat a ton of bread because I like to save those calories for wine or spirits. But today I wanted bread…specifically of the bagel variety. So I went to town eating a sad bagel from the local grocery store and thought to myself “I can totally make these better.” I wanted a crispy bagel that was still soft and chewy inside. I took to Google while eating my breakfast and found this recipe. [Side note: I never read entire recipes because I have a short attention span and I like to make things up. But I know from 4H, home & careers and cooking school as a kid…don’t mess with baking. So I read the whole thing…twice.] First thing to overcome, they use a food processor to mix the dough. Considering my food processor is the size of my hand — I opted to throw everything in my standard mixer and hope for the best. Second hiccup, the original recipe called for 3.5 cups of flour but after several minutes my hunk of dough was still very drippy. It needed more flour in order to actually turn into a dough-ball. I threw in another half cup of flour and we were good to go!

I followed all of the steps and ended up with a great product. I just wish they were prettier. I will need to master my twist technique. I followed the videos from Cooking Dish in hopes of mastering it on my first try. If you have some feedback on getting a smoother product I’d appreciate any guidance!

Below are my edits to the recipe.

• 4 cups of bread flour (I used King Arthur  Whole Wheat White Flour)
• 1/4 ounce instant dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons; or 1 envelope active dry)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups, 120°–130°F
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar for my “malting liquid”
• No toppings on the first time around, just a sprinkle of salt

And so it begins.

Don’t kill your yeast, keep the water between 120-130 degrees.

Rise and shine.

One minutes in the boiling water, then pat dry.

The final product, crispy and chewy!

This guy baked together.

EDIT: I’ve been obsessing over these for the past 24 hours. I read this recipe and have decided mine failed a bit because they did not sink to the bottom of the boiling water like they were supposed to. I’ll work on it.