• Healthy Baking

    Little Lemon Olive Oil Cakes

    If you’re trying to bake and cook with more olive oil rather than butter, then you simply must try baking this cake. It’s the perfect Fika cakes and the frosting is particularly wonderful, but sweetened with honey for a more natural and organic taste! The topping of sliced almonds looks delightful. All together, it’s a homey cake, ideal for any season. Your can make it into a small 6 inch cake, as well as cupcakes! 

    Ingredients for Cake:

    • 4 eggs
    • 1 lemon
    • 1 cup Olive oil
    • 2/3 cup bakers sugar
    • 3/4 cup very fine polenta
    • 1 cup almond meal

    Ingredients for Frosting:

    • 3/4 cups mascarpone
    • 2 tbsp honey
    • 1/2 teaspoons vanilla paste
    • 1/4 cup greek yogurt

    Method for Little Lemon Olive Oil Cakes

    Preheat your oven to 325. Grease a muffin tin and a 6 inch cake tin.

    Cook the lemon for 20 minutes in water. Once cooled, cut it the lemon into small pieces, and remove the seeds. Blend the lemon with the olive oil in a cuisenart or blender.

    Whisk your eggs and sugar together, then add in your olive oil and lemon mixture.

    Add in almond meal and polenta. 

    Bake at 325 for 28 minutes. Make sure a toothpick comes out cleanly. 

    For the frosting, mix together the mascarpone, honey, vanilla paste and greek yogurt. 

    Lastly, you know what to do! Once the cakes are cooled, spread the frosting on them, and enjoy them for your afternoon Fika!

  • Food & Drinks

    Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Loaf

    This light loaf is the perfect addition to your Sunday morning coffee. It’s light, yet rich and lemony too! You could also add a blueberry compote with a scoop of ice cream and serve it for dessert. Yum, Yum!

    Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

    Ingredients for Blueberry Lemon Cake

    • 2 cups flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • pinch of salt
    • 1/2 granulated sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/4 cup coconut oil
    • zest of 1 large lemon (add more if you want a pucker!)
    • 3/4 vanilla extract
    • 1 1/4 cups greek yogurt
    • 1 cup fresh blueberries (if using frozen, thaw before adding and drain out water)

    Method

    Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

    In the bowl of a mixer, whisk sugar and eggs together until pale and smooth, add olive oil, coconut oil, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix until combined. Stir in yogurt.

    In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

    Fold in blueberries. Place the batter in the prepared baking dish, smooth the top and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly.

    Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

  • Food & Drinks

    Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

    These cookies are perfect for Valentine’s, Galentine’s, or any “tines” day! Cake-like, full of flavor, and fun to make, bet you can’t just eat one!

    Makes 20 cookies 

    Ingredients

    • 1 1/3 cups flour
    • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
    • 1 tsp baking powder 
    • 1/4 tsp baking soda 
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/3 cup brown Sugar
    • 1/3 cup white sugar 
    • 1/4 cup butter (room temperature) 
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 1/2 tsp vanilla 
    • 1 tsp red food coloring 
    • 1/4 cup powdered sugar 

    Method for Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

    In a bowl combine your dry ingredients; flour, cocoa powder, baking powder & salt. Give it a quick whisk and set aside.

    In a large bowl cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix together until combined. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix together until thoroughly combined. Add in red food coloring a few drops at a time while mixing until a deep, bright red hue is achieved.

    Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour powdered sugar onto a plate or in a shallow bowl. Scoop chilled cookie dough into small balls and roll in powdered sugar. Once you’ve rolled all the cookie dough balls in powdered sugar repeat this step one more time, roll in the powdered sugar once more to get a good coating of powdered sugar on each cookie.

    Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before you transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for later.

  • Food & Drinks

    Festive Chocolate Drizzled Pretzels!

    These chocolate covered pretzels are so delicious, they add the perfect amount of savory and sweet, and are the perfect treat with a cup of coffee or tea! 

    The beauty of these, is that you can really make them for any holiday or season. Just change up the sprinkle colors for Halloween, Christmas, or even Easter with pastels and white chocolate!

    Makes 16 Pretzels

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, melted
    • 16 pretzel rods 
    • Valentines day sprinkles 

    Method

    Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minutes at 50% power, remove from microwave and stir. The chocolate chips won’t be fully melted so continue to microwave on high in 10-15 second intervals, stirring in between until all chips are melted! Set aside. 

    Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat, lay 16 pretzel rods on the cookie sheet and drizzle chocolate over them. Keep drizzling until you’ve reached your desired “chocolaty-ness”

    While the chocolate is still wet, add your sprinkles and place in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. The chocolate will be set and your chocolate Valentines day pretzels are ready to serve! 

    Enjoy, Friends!

  • Food & Drinks,  Wellness

    “Healthy-ish” Peanut Butter Cups

    These “healthy-ish” Peanut butter cups are really tasty, loaded with protein and refined sugar-free these peanut butter cups are sure to please. These are a great snack with a cup of tea or perfect for the kids lunches! 

    Makes 6-8 Peanut Butter Cups

    Ingredients

    Chocolate Layer

    • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
    • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
    • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

    In a mixing bowl, Mix together the coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup and vanilla until combined. Layer into a square baking dish or muffin tin (since these are for valentines day you can use a heart shaped mold!). and place into the freezer for 15-20 minutes. 

    Peanut Butter Layer

    • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
    • 1/2 cup peanut butter (salted, chunky peanut butter)
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup 
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
    • 2 tablespoons of chia seeds  (optional) 
    • Powdered Sugar for garnish

    Mix together Coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla until combined. Pour on top of chocolate layer, Sprinkle with chia seeds. Freeze for 15-20 minutes. 

    At this point you can either slice with a warm knife or cookie cutter, or unmold! 

    Place on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

    Enjoy!

    xx,

    T

  • Food & Drinks

    Rustic Cheesecake Bites

    These cheesecake bites are rustic and delicious! They’re lightened up so you can eat two or three and not feel guilty! They’re also not super sweet either, with just 1/4 cup brown sugar, you don’t have to worry about that sugar high. (wink wink) You can also make these ahead of time so they’re the perfect little bite for an afternoon tea or dessert with guests!

    Makes 30 mini cakes

    • 1 1/4 cups crushed Graham Crackers
    • 4 tablespoons butter, melted

    Preheat oven to 350

    Line a mini muffin tin with mini cupcake liners. Put 1 package of Graham crackers into a Ziploc and whack with a wooden spoon to make crumbs! Mix crumbs with butter and place in the bottom of each baking cup, press firmly to pack and create the crust! Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and let cool completely (about 10 minutes).

    For the Cheesecake

    • 1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
    • 1/2 cup Ricotta cheese at room temperature
    • 1 cup fat-free yogurt at room temperature
    • 1/4 cup brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
    • 1 egg at room temperature

    Place all ingredients in a large bowl, mix together with a whisk until well combined and smooth. Using a teaspoon, spoon cheesecake on top of each graham craker crust, tap gently on table to remove any bubbles and ensure the tops are smooth after baking.

    Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes, remove cheesecakes from muffin pan and let cool an additional 10 minutes. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Chill completely before serving (chilling ensure they’re properly set!).

    Special note: The reason for the “room temperature” ingredients is that it helps keep the cakes from cracking after baking and further ensures that smooth top!

    Enjoy these tasty morsels, if you want to get extra fancy, top each one with a fresh raspberry! Yum Yum.

    xx,

    T

  • Food & Drinks

    Butterhorn Cookies

    I love the taste of Butterhorn cookies and have recently learned that they’re quite hard to find. I checked our local coffee shops, even Starbucks and Nordstrom cafe with no luck, so on a rainy Monday afternoon I decided to make my own, and I really liked the result (By liked the result I mean I ate 5 in the first 20 minutes of cooling!!) 

    Preheat oven to 350

    • 2 cups flour 
    • 1 tsp. Salt
    • 8 Tbsp Cold Butter (1 stick)
    • 5 Tbsp. Cream Cheese (2.5 oz)
    • 3/4 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
    • One Egg yolk

    Filling:

    • 3/4 Cups Brown Sugar
    • 1 Tsp. Cinnamon

    Mix flour, salt, Butter and Cream cheese until crumbly. Stir in Greek Yogurt and Egg yolk. Just until combined (You’re basically making pie crust!). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight. Remove dough from Fridge, Cut dough into 3 equal pieces and roll out into a thin 12” diameter circle. 

    Mix Brown sugar and cinnamon together and spread about 1/4 cup onto dough being sure to reach almost all the way to the corners. Cut into 12 triangles with a pizza cutter, roll them up and pinch together. Place on a cookie sheet seam side down. 

    Repeat with all remaining dough and filling. 

    Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely before serving. 

    Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee! 

    xx,

    T (Peanut Butter & Jelly Chronicles)

  • Food & Drinks

    Rustic Rhubarb Tart

    I recently was given fresh rhubarb from a friend and I’ll tell you what, I couldn’t get home fast enough to bake it into something scrumptious! Tart, sweet, and well downright delicious, this will have you sitting by the oven like a child on Christmas morning!

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees

    • 1 package store-bought pie crust
    • 4 Cups fresh rhubarb, sliced into 1/4″ slices
    • 1 cup fresh strawberries, quartered
    • 3 tbsp flour
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • ½ cup of sugar 
    • 1/4 tsp orange zest
    • 1/2  tsp cinnamon

    Slice rhubarb into 1/4 inch slices, place in mixing bowl, add sliced strawberries and mix with flour, vanilla, sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon. Set aside for 15 minutes so flavors meld. 

    Roll pie crust out into a 15″ diameter, place rhubarb/strawberry mixture in the center of the crust, leaving about 1.5 inches of crust around the filling. Fold crust over fruit creating the ‘rustic’ tart, brush crust with water (to keep it from burning) and sprinkle with granulated sugar if you’d like.

    Bake for 35-45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and crust is browned, take out and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

    Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

    Enjoy this tasty dessert!

    xx,

    T (Peanut Butter & Jelly Chronicles)

  • Food & Drinks

    4th of July Oreo Pops!

    These Oreo pops are so fun and festive! Easy to make and even easier to eat! All you need is a bag of Oreos, some candy melts, and cake pop sticks! This treat is loved by kids and adults alike!


    • 1 bag of Oreo cookies
    • 1 bag white candy melts
    • 1 bag red candy melts
    • 1 bag blue candy melts
    • cake pop sticks
    • festive sprinkles

    Separate Oreos

    Heat candy melts in microwave in 30 second intervals until fully melted, keep stirring after each interval

    Add a little dollop of candy melt on the non-filling side of Oreo, add the stick and sandwich together with the filling side of the Oreo. Let these sit for 15 minutes (this acts as glue so they candy melts harden) 

    Holding the stick dip or spread desired color candy melt over the oreo! 

    Decorate with sprinkles, other candy melt colors! 

    Wishing you a fun, festive and delicious 4th of July!

    xx,

    T (Be sure to share Peanut Butter & Jelly Chronicles with your Friends!)

  • Food & Drinks

    Monster Cookies

    Monster cookies are truly the perfect cookie. Once you make the ‘base’ dough, you can really add anything you’d like. Have fun and make these cookies your own! They’re the perfect companion for your afternoon cup of coffee or tea!

    Makes 30 scrumptious cookies

    • 1 1/2 cups creamy or chunky organic peanut butter
    • 3/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
    • 1 stick of butter at room temperature
    • 3  eggs
    • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
    • 3 1/2 cups rolled oats 
    • 2 tsp baking soda 
    • 1/2 cup walnut baking pieces 
    • 1/2 cup golden raisins 
    • 1/4 cup chia or flax seeds
    • 1/2 cup peanut butter M&M’s 
    • 1/2 cup peanut M&M’s 

    Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats

    In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the peanut butter, agave nectar, and butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla unti combined.

    Add the oats through flax seeds stirring with a spatula until all ingredients have been fully incorporated. With a medium ice cream scoop, drop batter onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place 3 M&M’s each cookie and flatten slightly before baking. I chose peanut butter and peanut M&M’s but you can choose your favorites. They taste amazing with caramel as well!

    Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes before placing them on metal racks to cool completely.

    Bet you can’t just eat one!

    Happy tea time!

    xx,

    T