The thumbprint cookies pictured above are delicious (and healthy, too). They are a little different to regular thumbprint cookies, with a splash of lemon and a sprinkling on ground almonds.

I’m sharing the recipe and a few tips for baking with whole wheat flour at Simple Organic today.

Here’s an excerpt:

The holiday season often finds us in the kitchen baking treats or at gatherings eating treats!

One way to take the load down is to replace ingredients with whole food alternatives. For example, substituting butter in place of margarine, exchanging canola oil for the healthier coconut oil, and including natural sweeteners whenever possible are all excellent methods for making sweets a little healthier.

Trading bleached, white flour for whole wheat is another recipe tweak that will bring some extra nourishment to desserts and snacks.

Read the rest here.

And it’s made with whole wheat flour! Woo hoo! (Recipe below)

Thanks to Smart Sweets we have an abundance of healthy treats available that actually taste good. And I don’t have to cringe as I pass the cookies!

Isn’t it nice to serve (and eat) sweets that are made with real food ingredients?

It certainly gives me peace of mind knowing my kids are eating treats that have some nourishment factor!

My favorite thing about Smart Sweets is that it is for everyone. Katie provides so many options that the die-hard natural foodist will be happy while those still using white sugar here and there will have plenty to work with.

Smart Sweets is a great educational tool rather than a simple collection of recipes.

Katie clearly explains each type of sweetener and also shares details about different flours.

After each and every recipe Katie shares variations, faqs, and notes from the kitchen. These sections offer a lot of detailed information. I mean a lot!

For example:

• After the coconut macaroon recipe, you’ll find links to recipes for using the leftover egg yolks.
• After the Sourdough Chocolate cake recipe you’ll find out how to make a dairy free version.
• After the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, cookie dough lovers will be warned that using sucanat will not make a pleasing dough for muching on!
• And so on. . .

I hope I’m conveying the message that this book doesn’t skimp on details!

Smart Sweets doesn’t skimp on recipes either. There are 30 recipes in this book. For me it is a great mixture of new and delicious treats and healthier versions of beloved favorites.

Some of the recipes that caught my eye:

Cider Doughnut Spiced Cupcakes
Fudgy Brownies with Chocolate Chips
Peanut Butter Bars
Kelly’s Probiotic Fudge Bars
Pumpkin cookies (my daughter and I made these yesterday. They just melt in your mouth! Really yummy).

And these three are perfect for gift-giving:

Peppermint Coconut Bark
Dark Chocolate Truffles
Peanut Butter Kisses

See the complete list of recipe here.

Now, onto the cookie recipe and giveaway:

Isn’t that some good looking dough?

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from Smart Sweets by Katie Kimball)

Makes about 30 cookies

1 ½ cups sucanat ( or ¾ cup white sugar and ¾ cup brown sugar, packed)
½ cup butter,
½ cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips
optional: ½ – 1 cup walnuts (or pecans – our addition)

Method

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream sugar, butter and oil in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

Add egg and vanilla and beat again until well combined.

Add flour, baking soda, and salt, beating again until evenly distributed. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop rounder teaspoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes (we rarely went over 8 minutes) until light, golden brown. Take out of the oven and allow cookies to rest on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving each cookie to a cooling rack.

The Giveaway

To enter: leave a comment on this post.

For Optional Bonus Entries (please leave a separate comment for each ):

• Check out the table of contents and tell me which recipe you’d most like to try.
• Download the free Apple Crisp recipe from the book.

Giveaway will end on Monday at 5pm PST.

A Discount Code

If you’d rather not wait and want to get baking right away, use discount Code Delightful25 to get 25% off. Code expires Dec. 23. 2011

https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?ii=1018358&c=ib&aff=121480&cl=114298

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Smart Sweets for review. I baked recipes from it and I liked it
This post contains affiliate links.

Up until a few years ago, I had no idea!

It was a wonderful discovery, because coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils on the planet.

I’m sharing a rundown of the benefits of coconut oil, tips for using it in baking, and lots of recipes over at Simple Organic today.

I’d love to know if you use it in baking and if so, how?

Read the post here: How to Bake with Coconut Oil

The above pictured Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars are made with coconut oil. They are delicious.

This cake-like fall cookie is fairly healthy (as far as cookies go). Made with wholewheat flour, applesauce and coconut oil, it provides some decent nutrition along with some sweet satisfaction.

Pumpkin Gems

This recipe has been adapted from Sue Gregg’s Frosted Pumpkin Gems recipe in her book: Desserts.

Ingredients

1/3 cup coconut oil, softened slightly (or use solid, just beat a little longer)
2/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
3 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional extras: chocolate chips or dried cranberries

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
optional extra: 3/4 teaspoon orange extract

Method

Beat together the coconut oil and honey.

Add eggs, pumpkin, applesauce and vanilla, then beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients then add to the liquid ingredients. Stir to blend.

Drop slightly heaped tablespoons of dough into a lightly greased cookie sheet (coconut oil works well for greasing). Leave about an inch between each cookie.

Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly brown.

Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely.

To Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:

Blend the cream cheese, butter, and honey together until smooth. If using the orange extract, add it now and blend to distribute.

Once the cookies are completely cool, frost each with the cream cheese frosting. Decorate with a small piece of pecan, if desired.

Enjoy!

I’m sharing this recipe at Beauty and Bedlam’s, Tasty Tuesday.

I enjoy dessert even more than usual when its made with real food ingredients.

In fact, when dessert is made with real food ingredients I just get plain excited about the whole thing. Nourishing my family with dessert . . . what could be better?

Kate of Modern Alternative Mama has written a wonderful eBook that shows you how to make dessert using real food ingredients. I just love it.

You won’t find any white flour, white sugar or crisco in this book!

The recipes in Treat Yourself are made with ingredients such as sprouted flour, almond flour, maple syrup, honey, and butter.

There’s even a few grain free recipes.

The recipes are also low-sugar. Yay for that.

Check out the list of recipes included (the ones marked with an asterisk * are grain free):

Cakes and Frostings

• Vanilla Cupcakes*
• Chocolate Cake I
• Chocolate Cake II*
• Vanilla Sponge Cake
• Lemon Cake*
• Spice Cake*
• Carrot Cake I*
• Carrot Cake II
• Cream Cheese Frosting*
• Chocolate Frosting/Sauce*
• Whipped Cream*
• Vanilla Bean Cheesecake*

Cookies

• Brownies*
• Chocolate Cookies*
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Butter Cookies
• Chocolate-Mint Filling*

Ice Cream and Frozen Treats

• Strawberry Yum Yum
• Chocolate Gelato*
• Mocha Gelato*
• Strawberry-Peach Frozen Yogurt*
• Strawberry Ice Cream*
• Strawberry Lemonade Freeze*

Other

• Cinnamon Rolls
• Crepes
• Chocolate Éclairs
• Scones*
• Pie Crust*
• Strawberry Pie*
• Chocolate Pie*
• Strawberry Short Cake*
• Chocolate-Hazelnut Sauce*

Yum!

To be entered to win a copy of Treat Yourself: Real Food Desserts, simply leave a comment below.

For extra entries do any of the following and leave a seperate comment for each:

·         Tell me which recipe you’d like to try.

·         Tweet the giveaway

·         “Like” A Delightful Home on Facebook

·          Follow MAM on Twitter

·         “Like” MAM on Facebook

If you don’t want to wait and would like to buy the book right now, use the code HOMETREAT to get 25% off the book (Making it $5.96) Code expires on: 11/3/11.

Giveaway ends 10/31 at 8 pm PST

Good luck!

Sweet apples and tangy cranberries. Yum.

This dessert is a real fall treat.

I’m sharing the recipe at Keeper of the Home today. Go and take a peek.

UPDATE: There have already been a few comments from people who made this cake over the weekend and loved it. I wish I could tell you just how good it is. It’s good. It’s really good.

I’m sharing this post at Tasty Tuesdays.

Nothing says fall to me like freshly picked apples!

I planned to share an applesauce recipe with you, but there are so many great tutorials on the web already, it seemed a bit redundant to add another here. So, after you’ve made (or bought) some appleauce, you might enjoy this healthy treat: Applesauce cake.

This cake is made with whole food ingredients and whispers Fall with each bite.

Applesauce Cake

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Stir together the flour, soda, baking powder, and spices.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined, then  add a cup of the dry ingredients, then add 1/4 cup of the applesauce and stir to incorporate.

Continue alternating wet and dry ingredients.

Add the raisins, walnuts, and vanilla and stir to distribute evenly.

Pour  into a greased and floured bundt pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a  toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan and turn onto a plate or serving platter.

Leave the cake unfrosted for a tasty, quick-bread snack. If you would like more of a dessert feel, drizzle with you favorite cream cheese frosting. I love this Maple cream cheese frosting from Smitten Kitchen. The original recipe calls for the cake to be dusted with powdered sugar (which is not a real food ingredient! So you make the call of that one).

Visit the other High Five Moms:

Andie @ Happy Andersons

Jasmine @ Ponder the Path

Brandy @ The Marathon Mom

Keri Mae @ The Happy Home

This post is being shared at Raising Homemakers and Real Food Wednesday.

In preparation for writing this month’s post at Keeper of the Home, I made and consumed the following: blueberry sauce, blueberry pie, blueberry crisp, blueberry compote, and blueberry pear tarts.

All in the name of research, of course.

It was very delicious, but I am paying the price and need to do a few extra workouts to make up for it.

Included in the post are two recipes: one for a lovely blueberry sauce (pictured above) and . . .

. . . a new favorite dessert: Summer Berry Crisp (I had to make it twice just to get a picture. They ate it so fast!).

Get the recipes and read the post here: 5 Ways to Use Blueberries this Season

What is your favorite way to eat or preserve blueberries?

I do have two more blueberry recipes to share here, but didn’t want to overwhelm you all! I’ll post them over the next few weeks.

I have never cared for blueberry pie. In my experience it has always been rather boring and tasteless.

That was until I made this recipe (you knew I was going to say that didn’t you?)!

Honestly, this is the best blueberry pie I have ever tasted.

The great part is that the filling can be made ahead and frozen. So, if you happen to like the recipe, and you are blessed with an abundance of blueberries this season, double or quadruple the recipe and stock the freezer (I’ll include instructions for freezing below).

Fresh Blueberry Pie (with freezable filling)

I adapted this recipe from Alton Brown’s Frozen Blueberry Pie by changing a few of the ingredients to make it fit my real food style!

Ingredients:

4 cups blueberries
½ cup sucanat (or regular sugar is you don’t have sucanat).
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 tablespoons arrowroot
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
Egg wash – 1 egg and 1/4 cup of milk, whisked together

Pie dough – enough for 2 pies (or one double  crust pie) Smitten Kitchen has a good recipe for flaky pie crust.

If you want to make the pie right away, don’t forget to make the pie crust ahead of time, since pie dough usually needs to sit for an hour or so before use (so it will be good and flaky!).

Method

Wash blueberries and pat gentle with a towel to dry. In a small bowl mash half of the berries.

Measure the sugar, sucanat, salt, and arrowroot into a medium bowl and stir to combine. Add the orange juice, orange zest and mashed blueberries. Stir to combine. Leave the mixture to sit for about 15 minutes.

Add the rest of the blueberries, folding them in gently.

If making immediately, pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly dust a board or the counter top with flour, then roll out half the pie crust and line a 9-inch pie plate with it. Prick the sides and bottom of the crust with a fork. Set aside.

Roll the second half of the dough into a rectangle (as best you can. Mine was quite warped looking, but it still works). Cut strips about 1 1/8 inch wide (if you want to be particular), or just eye-ball it and cut them roughly 1-inch wide (that’s what I did).

Pour the pie filling into the pie pan (or place frozen filling inside if using.) Brush edges of crust with egg wash.

Lay 4 strips of pie dough horizontally on top of the filling, leaving an equal amount of space between them.

Make a lattice top by folding up two alternating strips, then laying another strip across the pie perpendicular to the first strips. Lay the folded strips back down. Fold up the ends of the other two and lay another strip perpendicular to them. Lay the folded end back down. Repeat on the other side of the pie.

Honestly, you don’t really have to weave the top. It looks fine without it. Just lay the perpendicular strips across the top, If that makes no sense, I found this video explaining how to do it (she explains the easy way at the end of the video).

Brush the all of the strips and the edges of the pie crust with egg wash.

Trim any excess dough and crimp the edges to seal.

Place pie on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 90 minutes. This gives the filling time to set. Resist the urge to cut into it early! You will have a runny mess if you do.

Eat and enjoy!

To freeze the pie filling:

Line a pie plate with foil (I had to use two pieces) and pour the pie filling inside. Set in the freezer and allow to freeze solid. This takes about 6 hours. Remove foil and wrap in plastic wrap, then store in a freezer bag.

When ready to use, you can unwrap and place the frozen filling directly into the pie crust, the bake as directed above.

You could also freeze the filling in freezer bags, but it would need to thaw before baking since it won’t be the right shape.

After typing all this up, I think I might have to go to the freezer and get one out! Yum.

Do you like Blueberry Pie?

I’m linking up to the Homemaking Link-Up at Raising Homemakers.

Sometimes a light and healthy, no-fuss dessert is in order. I have just the one.

Warm summer evenings (or afternoons) are perfect for enjoying this fruity yogurt dessert. Well, actually, just about any time of day would be good. I’d eat if for breakfast!

This sweet treat couldn’t be easier to make; five ingredients gently stirred together and chilled. That’s it.

This recipe uses blueberries and cherries, which is lovely, but I’m sure we could come up with lots of other delicious combinations, like banana and strawberry, or peach and raspberry, or blackberry and mango, or . . . (I’m sure there is a way to add chocolate to this as well!)

Fruited Yogurt Dessert with Blueberries and Cherries

1 cup blueberries, washed
1 cup cherries, washed, pitted and sliced
3 cups plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla paste
a drizzle of maple syrup to taste

Measure yogurt into a medium bowl.

Add vanilla and maple syrup and gently stir to blend.

Add blueberries and cherries and fold carefully to distribute somewhat evenly.

Chill.

Serve chilled in small dishes.

This tastes so fresh and healthy. I’ve been eating it intermittently over the past few days and am addicted!

What other fruit combination do you think would go well in a fruited yogurt dessert?

This post is participating in the  Flu-Fighting Foods Link-up (featuring probiotics) at The Purposed Heart.