Tasty, fun and easy to make…and a great gift for your dentist when you have your next appointment!
Ingredients
1 apple, your favorite kind
Jar of peanut, almond or other yummy nut/seed butter
Mini marshmallows, raisins and other things for “funny teeth”
Small mint or parsley sprigs (got something green in your teeth!)
Directions
Core apple, using a corer. If you don’t have one, cut apple in half lengthwise, scoop/cut out seeds in center and remove other stem/etc bits with tiny cuts to keep the halves as whole as possible. Making all cuts lengthwise, cut each half into quarters, then each quarter in half and then those pieces in half again. 16 total pieces. See *note* below if you’re not going to eat the smiles right away and want to keep apples from browning.
Spread about 1 tsp nut butter onto each apple slice. Put one row of mini marshmallows and other “teeth” across one apple slice. If you’re putting any herb springs in there, this is the time! Sandwich another slice together with that one, pressing firmly until they stick. Take some fun selfies with your new choppers and then eat ’em up!
Note: ** Making these ahead of time? Keep apple slices from browning by soaking for 10 minutes in a combo of 1 tsp salt in 2 cups water. Rinse and pat dry, and then store your smiles in airtight packaging until ready to serve.
Calling all strawberry lovers…this cake deserves a spot in your baking rotation. It’s easy to make and will give you sweet and simple satisfaction, perfect for any time of day.
Ingredients
½ lb strawberries, about 2 cups, hulled/halved
¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup fine-ground almond flour
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla
Zest of ½ orange
1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
¾ cup Greek yogurt, room temperature
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly butter a 9” x 9” square baking pan and line bottom with parchment.
In a small bowl, toss strawberries with 1 Tbsp sugar and set aside.
Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and orange zest in a medium bowl.
In large bowl, stir ¾ cup sugar and eggs until light and foamy – about 1 minute. Add yogurt, butter, vanilla and orange juice. Whisk until smooth. Add baking soda and powder, whisk until combined.
Gradually add dry ingredients, stirring between additions to combine. Add batter to prepared pan and smooth top.
Arrange strawberry halves, cut side down, in rows and avoiding edges of pan. Sprinkle with remaining sugar.
Bake 40-45 minutes, or until top is puffed and lightly golden-brown and tester in the center comes out clean.
Transfer pan to cooling rack and cool for ½ hour. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.
These scones have a nice balance of the moist denseness of almond flour and light, airy dryness of coconut flour. You can get away with one less Tbsp of honey, but the little extra adds nice moisture that only liquid sweetener can bring.
It’s better to use fresh blueberries or ones you’ve fresh-frozen yourself, as the pre-frozen store-bought blueberries can have too much frozen juice in them that can make the recipe too soggy. And, if you do use raspberries, halving them before mixing in will spread their color and flavor throughout the batter more easily.
Remember to zest that lemon before you juice it!
Ingredients
2 ½ cups fine-ground almond flour, like Bob’s Red Mill
½ cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
3 Tbsp honey
2 eggs
¾ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen-fresh (if you froze them yourself, not bought frozen)
Optional: 12-14 raspberries, halved
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients and lemon zest.
In a small bowl, mix together eggs, honey and lemon juice.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Mix ingredients together with a spatula. Fold in berries until fully incorporated.
Divide into six equal portions and one-by-one pat into burger-shaped discs about an inch thick.
Bake 15 minutes and then rotate tray front-to-back. Bake another 15 minutes or so until turning golden brown.
Remove from oven, wait a few minutes and then gently transfer to cooling rack.
Charoset is one part of the Passover seder, and it comes in different forms that might look similar to fruit and nut relish, a thick spread, or a pliable sweet truffle like you see here. Its name come from the Hebrew word for “clay,” and it’s meant to recall the mortar Jews used to construct the Egyptian pharaoh’s buildings.
Along with fruit and nuts, charoset is made with spices, wine or fruit juice and often a binder like honey. Ingredients depend on what’s abundant in the area where it’s made, like this Moroccan-inspired version that relies on dates and other dried fruit.
Ingredients
¾ – 1 cup Turkish dried apricots, cut into ¼’s
6 – 9 dates, pitted and crowns removed, roughly chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup almonds and shelled pistachios, mixed
2-4 Tbsp raw honey
2-3 Tbsp grape juice, kosher wine or pomegranate molasses (reserve for end)
Optional: Additional finely ground almond flour or shredded coconut, for rolling balls in
Directions
Make sure there are no crowns/pits/stems in dried fruit.
Pre-chop nuts in food processor so they’re close to the size you’d like. Remove from food processor and set aside. Separate and save any dust/crumbs for rolling the balls in.
Add dried fruit, cinnamon, honey to food processor. Blend everything together completely. If texture is too thick, add grape juice/wine/pomegranate molasses, to thin it out.
Add chopped nuts (minus dust) back into food processor along with fruit mixture. Pulse several times to incorporate into fruit mixture but not chop nut pieces too much smaller.
Roll mixture into balls about 1” inch diameter. Roll these in reserved nut dust, as well as additional ground almond flour and/or shredded coconut as desired.
Store in a cool place in a tightly sealed container.
These Turkish rolls are filled with herbed feta filling. This recipe calls for baking them, although you could shallow-fry them in olive oil for a more traditional preparation. Feel free to get creative with the cheese/herbs depending on what you’ve got on hand. No salt is needed if you’re using feta; if you use something else, adjust seasonings to your taste.
Ingredients
6 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cups feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 scallions, both white and green parts, chopped
1 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp fresh thyme, finely minced
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt/pepper to taste
Optional: 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Directions
Preheat oven to 375° and put one rack in the middle of the oven. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine cheeses, parsley, scallions and thyme. Add pepper flakes (if using) and a drizzle of olive oil.
Lay phyllo sheets flat on cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut into four equal strips along the long edge of the dough. Working with one strip at a time, spoon about 1 ½ Tbsp cheese mixture onto phyllo along bottom edge closest to you. Leave a little room on either side for filling to expand. Roll tightly away from you (4-5 times) so filling is encased in the roll. Repeat until strips/filling are used up and brush outside of rolls with olive oil.
Place rolls on sheet pans in a single layer. Bake on center rack of the oven for about 10 minutes; turn them over halfway through cooking, until golden brown and crispy on all sides.
This recipe is a great intro to Jazz apples, and perfect for topping burgers, mashed potatoes, pork chops, pancakes and grilled cheese. Other firm-fleshed apples will also work well.
Ingredients
6 oz. bacon, diced
½ yellow onion, diced small
3 Jazz apples, peeled/cored and diced small
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup & 2 Tbsp maple sugar
Directions
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add bacon and render until golden brown.
Add diced onion and sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced apples and sauté/stir 2 minutes more.
Add vinegar and maple sugar and simmer on medium-low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Eat immediately or spread evenly on a tray to cool. Can keep in the fridge for several days.
