Whole wheat cinnamon buns

This recipe is adapted from my friend Danielle's sweet roll recipe with the following subsitutions:
- half whole wheat flour instead of only all-purpose flour
- coconut sugar instead of more refined sugars like white or brown sugar

These substitutions allegedly improve the way in which your body digests the food (so many sources but here's one from the Mayo Clinic) but let's get real. Do you think I only frost one bun of the whole batch? Pfffft. These are a treat. But I still let Grace eat one for breakfast!

Yield: about 24 rolls. Calories based on VeryWell Fit Recipe calculator: ~300 

If you're not a baker, I produced a 33-minute video for my 6 (SIX) year old nephew who wanted to learn how to make these. And he did it!

Ingredients for the rolls:

½ cup coconut sugar (can substitute with regular or brown sugar)
4 teaspoons dry yeast
1 stick butter
1 ¼ c buttermilk (can substitute with regular milk + 1 T white vinegar or lemon juice)
 
2-3 c whole wheat flour
2-4 c all purpose flour
3 extra large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
 
Ingredients for the filling:
1 stick of butter, melted
2 tablespoons cinnamon mixed with about ¾ c coconut sugar (you can substitute with brown sugar for a gooier bun, but trust me, these are amazing with the coconut sugar)
 
1.       Put sugar and yeast in a large glass or pottery mixing bowl. 
2.       Melt butter stovetop in a 1-quart pan. Turn off heat an add the buttermilk. The temperature should be warm but not hot (about 90-110 degrees F, or dip a finger in to test that it’s not too hot to touch. This is important because if the milk plus butter is over 120^◦, it will kill the yeast. Add this mixture to the mixing bowl that has the sugar and yeast. Gently stir then set aside till the mixture bubbles or creates some tan swirls at the top (an indication that the yeast is activated) (do not pour ice cold milk in boiling butter- you risk curdling the milk)
3.       Using a wooden spoon, mix in the whole wheat flour. Add the eggs one at a time, alternating with the white flour. Add the salt when you add the 3rd egg (you do not want to add salt earlier than this because you risk killing the yeast). At some in adding flour after the 3rd egg, the mixture will become difficult to stir. This is an indicator that it’s time to turn the dough onto a floured surface to begin kneading it.
4.       Put the flour you have not yet used onto a clean dry surface in a pile. Dump all of the sticky dough from the bowl onto the flour. Push the extra flour aside that doesn’t coat the dough ball. Start kneading your dough, adding flour to keep it from being so sticky that your fingers are gooey. The dough ball should be just dry enough that it doesn’t cling to your fingers, but it should be just slightly tacky that it's on the edge of sticking to your fingers. Keep kneading, adding flour only to continue to keep it the right tacky texture (as you knead, you'll add flour at first because it'll keep getting too gooey. But you'll require less as the dough comes to form and have a good balance of wet-to-dry ingredients. Knead the dough until it is slightly stretchy, about 8 minutes. I have used a stand mixer to knead but unless you have a large professional kitchen one that is bigger than the standard Kitchen Aid, you will ruin your machine. Besides, it’s fun to knead the dough!
5.       Clean your large ceramic or glass bowl and then grease it with butter. Put your dough ball in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap then a towel, and set in a warm (about 70-90 degrees), dry place for about an hour, till it rises to double in size. 
6.       Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Cut the dough in half. Using your hands, gently flatten the half into a plump square-ish shape. Then using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large square. I like lots of layers in my buns, so I roll out the dough pretty thin – about ¼”. (You’ll do this twice because you split the dough in half)

7.       Melt stick of butter (you will use half of this melted butter per rolled out dough). Pour half of the butter on the rolled-out dough. Spread butter evenly to coat the whole surface of your rolled out dough.
8.       Sprinkle about ½ c of coconut sugar all over the buttered rolled out dough. Sprinkle cinnamon all over the rolled-out dough.
9.       Using your fingers, start curling up the dough to roll it up into a log along the long side. Cut the log to make the buns about 3” wide, each (about 10-12).
10.   Place each cut bun on its flat side on the sheet and gently press the bun down. Cover sheet pan with a towel and let the buns rise for about 20 minutes in a warm dry place.
11.   Do the above steps 6-10 again for the second half of your dough.
12.   Bake the buns for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.
13.   Remove from oven and while cooling, make the frosting.
 
Ingredients for the frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese
½ stick butter
About 10 oz confectioners’ sugar (about 2-3 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Only if needed: 1-2 T milk, plain yogurt, sour cream, or Lebne in case there is too much sugar and your frosting is too stiff
 
Use a mixer to blend the cream cheese, butter, some of the powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. Slowly add more sugar then beat till light and fluffy. Frost the somewhat cooled cinnamon buns (I like them to still be a bit warm from the oven, because then the frosting melts into them a little).
 
Pro tips:
-          Since these do not have preservatives, the buns will get stale by the next day. Store them in a closed container or freeze some and warm them up in the microwave (start with about 30 seconds then try 10 seconds more at a time so they don’t burn)
-          Microwave a room temperature bun for about 20 seconds to make it taste like the day you made them.
 Enjoy!      

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24
Amount per serving
Calories	298
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8.4g	11%
Saturated Fat 5g	25%
Cholesterol 41mg	14%
Sodium 87mg	4%
Total Carbohydrate 51.5g	19%
Dietary Fiber 0.8g	3%
Total Sugars 27.2g
Protein 4.8g
Vitamin D 6mcg	30%
Calcium 28mg	2%
Iron 2mg	9%
Potassium 68mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Recipe analyzed by

Radish Top Cashew Pesto

Radish Top Cashew Pesto
Try this unctuous spread on pasta, fish tacos with pickled red onions and fresh jalapenos (pictured below), or on oven roasted cauliflower. Delicious!

 

3-4c tightly packed raw radish tops
2 c  tightly packed raw spinach
50g raw cashews
1 clove garlic
1-2t lemon juice
1/2c olive oil (or more as needed to get right consistency
1/2c shredded parmagiano reggiano (the good kind)
salt and pepper to taste

I use a Vitamix type blender but a food processor would work, too. Pulse together the radish tops, spinach, cashews, garlic, and lemon juice till the ingredients are chopped up and incorporated. Scrape the sides of the blender/food processor. With the speed on low, slowly drizzle the olive oil until the mixture is thick but smooth. Keep the blender going and add the cheese. Add the remaining olive oil as needed. Salt and pepper to taste (if you're using a high quality cheese, you will scarcely need salt since the cheese is already salty).

Store in glass jar up to a week.

Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies

Are the usual chocolate chip cookies feeling too traditional? Are you wishing you could eliminate a wee bit of the guilt that comes with eating cookies?  Look no further and get ready for a simultaneously chewy and crunchy triple-chocolate chip, triple-grain cookie that minimizes refined sugars and flours while maximizing taste. This recipe is deceptively simple but will bring new fans to their knees, insisting you're a pro.

Ingredients:
1 c. uncooked quinoa grains

1c. butter
3/4 c. coconut crystals
3/4 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

2 c. raw old fashioned oats
1 c. all purpose flour
3/4 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda

4 oz milk chocolate chips (I like <<this kind>>)
4 oz semi sweet chocolate chips (call me brand loyal, but <<these>> are good)
4 oz dark chocolate chips (please don't be surprised with <<this>> recommendation)

350 degree preheated oven

1. Toast the quinoa: in a dry, medium-hot pan, toast the quinoa. If you've never done this before, don't be put off. It's easy: Do NOT prepare the quinoa as instructed on the bag! Do NOT use water!

Pour the cup of uncooked quinoa in a dry saucepan (big enough so that the quinoa isn't more than an inch deep and so you have room to toss it around. I use a medium sized (2-4qt) stainless steel sauce pan like <<this one>>. The walls allow this amateur chef to practice the art of tossing- flipping the quinoa with the flick of a wrist while it's toasting rather than having to stir it). You'll know when to start tossing the quinoa - it'll start making a snappy-sound like mini popcorn. It'll start wafting a lovely nutty aroma and turning to a golden brown. If you leave it sit too long, it'll burn quickly! The whole process of toasting quinoa takes about 5 minutes.

Pour the toasted quinoa on a plate and set aside to cool.

**If you do not toast the quinoa first, DO NOT MAKE THESE COOKIES**

2. Make your cookie dough the usual way:
(a) Cream butter, sugars, and vanilla in a stand mixer till it starts turning light in color. Add the eggs, scraping the bowl, and then let it mix for a few minutes till that gets nice and fluffy.

(b) Blend in the cooled quinoa and oats. Sift together the flour, salt, baking power, and baking soda and mix that in till just incorporated (do not over mix).

3. Optional: chill the dough for an hour or until you're ready to bake them. But to be clear, this is truly an optional step.

4. Using a bowl-shaped 1-tablespoon sized measuring spoon (like <<this one>>), scoop dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie using the bottom of a damp glass that can be dipped in sugar.

5. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes or no longer doughy.  Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes. They'll be tender till they're fully cooled down, so if you need to reuse your pan, then slide the cookies with the parchment to a countertop and reline with a new piece of parchment. Once the cookies are cooled, you can reuse the parchment for a subsequent batch.

Makes around 45-48 cookies. The below nutrition label is probably a good estimate (I used a recipe analyzer app called VeryWell Fit).

Gluten free option: cut the flour. Be sure your oats are the gluten free variety. Up the oats to 3 cups and once dough is made, spoon onto parchment paper and roll into log shape (about 2-3" diameter log will be about 18" long). Store in refrigerator 24 hours. The oats will "activate" and become the thickener instead of the gluten in flour. Cut cookies from the log, cook on parchment at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven).

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 48
Amount per serving
Calories	109
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2.5g	3%
Saturated Fat 1g	5%
Cholesterol 7mg	2%
Sodium 205mg	9%
Total Carbohydrate 19.8g	7%
Dietary Fiber 1.2g	4%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 2.3g
Vitamin D 1mcg	3%
Calcium 14mg	1%
Iron 1mg	6%
Potassium 73mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet.2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Recipe analyzed by

Coconut macadamia white chocolate cherry everything cookies

[Photo forthcoming... ]

Ingredients:

Wet ingredients:
1c room temperature butter
1 room temperature egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c coconut sugar
2/3 c white or light brown sugar
2 tbsp Greek yogurt (any fat content will work)

Dry ingredients:
1c all purpose flour
1c raw old fashioned rolled oats
1/2c uncooked quinoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Goodies:
1c raw unsweetened coconut
1 c coarsely chopped macadamia nuts (about 1-1/2c before chopping)
1-1/2c white chocolate chips
1c dried sour cherries (I buy these from Whole Foods. Don't start getting all uptight that they're infused with juice- you're making cookies!). The more sour the better, as they balance the white chocolate sweetness very nicely.

Directions:

1. Cream the butter, coconut sugar, and white (or light brown) sugar till fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and yogurt. Blend another 5 minutes till the color of the mixture lightens from the beating it's taken. I use a stand mixer.

2. While the mixer is doing its job in step 1, mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl

3. While the mixer is still going, put all of the goodies in their own bowl and give a quick stir so they're evenly mixed.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture that is in the stand mixer. Mix on low just before the flour mixture is fully incorporated. Then add the goodies, and give a final low mix with the stand mixer till fully incorporated. Do not over mix. Over-mixing activates the gluten and gives you tough cookies.

5. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour or overnight. I turn out the dough onto a length (2-3') of wax paper to make a log out of it. That way, once it's time to make the cookies, just remove the wax paper and cut wheels (about 1/2" thick) to bake. If you just refrigerate the dough in a bowl, then cover it with plastic wrap and spoon dough (I use a mini ice cream scoop like this one) and lightly flatten the dough balls on the cookie sheet.

6. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet in a pre-heated 375 degree oven until the cookies are lightly browned. For my oven, that's about 10-15 minutes (depends on the size of the cookies you make).

TECHIE FEATURE: If you have a convection oven, bake them on convection! Convection is great for better heat distribution in the oven and for make the cookies finished quickly on the outside but still moist on the inside. Cooking time may be less by as much as half of the time.)

Tri Color Pepper and Arugula Pizza

Ingredients
   1 recipe of whole wheat flatbread dough --Click here for recipe--
To cover a half-recipe of the whole wheat flatbread dough:
   5 cups thinly sliced tri color peppers (I like the mini ones bc the sliced rings are a better size for less messy bites)
   1 red onion (optional)
   1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
   1 Tbsp olive oil plus 1/4 c olive oil
   2 cloves garlic
   2 c chopped arugula

Directions

1. Roll out half of the flatbread recipe (if you don't need the other half of the dough, refrigerate it for a few days or freeze till needed). Move the rolled out dough to a lightly greased (I use cooking spray) cookie sheet or perforated pizza pan (like this one). Set aside.

2. Cut your vegetables: slice the peppers and fennel so they are nice size for eating without strings of peppers hanging out of your guests' mouths. I use mini peppers so cut little wheels, like this:

3. Saute 3 cups of the peppers and the red onion till they're a bit caramelized.

4. Mince the garlic using a microplane (like this one). Mix the garlic into the olive oil and generously brush the mixture all over the rolled out dough (you may not need all of the 1/4c of olive oil, but be sure what you do spread includes all of the garlic)

5. Distribute the caramelized pepper mixture onto the rolled out dough.

6. Bake in as hot an oven as you have (mine goes up to 500 degrees) for about 10 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.

7. Remove from oven and distribute the remaining peppers along with all of the raw arugula and the fennel. Finish with salt (I *LOVE* this kind) and pepper to taste. 

Whole wheat flatbread dough

Whole wheat flatbread dough
    **If you are at altitude, you'll need to adjust the recipe accordingly or buy already made dough

Ingredients:
1c warm water (around 100 deg)
1 packet (about 1 tablespoon yeast)
2 Tbsp honey

2 c all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 Tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil

extra flour for kneading
extra flour for rolling out
1/4-1/2 c course cornmeal for rolling out

Directions:
1. In a pyrex measuring cup, combine warm water, yeast, and honey. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl (I use a heavy pottery bowl since it's nice for proofing the dough, too), combine both flours, salt, and olive oil. Don't worry about even distribution of oil... the point is to evenly distribute the salt so that the salt doesn't kill the yeast in the next step.

3. Once the yeast water appears to have generated some activity (the yeast will puff up as it activates), add that to the flour mixture in the large mixing bowl. Combine as best you can with a wooden spoon.

4. Dust clean counter with extra flour. Dump the dough on the floured surface and knead for about 5-8 minutes, until the dough is stretchy and smooth. Add flour if the dough feels too wet; wet your hands with water and shake them off to add an itty bit of moisture at a time if the dough seems too dry. The dough will eventually form into a nice, smooth ball.

5. Oil the bowl (I spray it with olive oil spray) and return the ball of dough to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place bowl in a warm area (around 75-90 degrees is good. In the summer, I set it on my porch but not in the sun. In the winter, I use the proofing setting on my oven. But do NOT let the temp go above 100 or you'll cook your dough instead of raise it). Leave the dough for about 1-2 hours, till it has doubled in size. Push it down and then let it rest again while you prepare the toppings for your flatbreads.

6. Dust clean counter with a mix of all purpose flour and the cornmeal. Place half of the dough on flour and coarse cornmeal-dusted counter. Pat flat and gently spread it with your hands, then using a rolling pin** roll it to about 1/8" inch thin (we like thin crunchy crust). Move the crust to a cookie sheet or pizza pan that's been lightly sprayed with oil. THEN put your toppings on it.

**TIP: if you don't have my preference, a french rolling pin (I use one like this), take a clean wine bottle, dust it with some of your flour, and use that! (My wine bottle is usually empty, so...)

Double Chocolate Whole Grain Cookies

These cookies are perhaps my best recipe yet. The nutty flavor and texture that steel cut oats bring makes a unique chewy delicious bite and lessens the overall guilt of this truth: you are eating more than one cookie, here.



Beat together till fluffy:
1 cup butter
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c coconut sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

Add till mixed in thoroughly:
1 c uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
1 c uncooked steel cut oats

Add till nearly mixed:
1 1/2 c all purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Then add 1c each of Guittard milk and dark chocolate chips till evenly distributed.

The dough needs to chill overnight in the fridge. I use a large ice cream scoop to create a log of dough down the length of some wax paper, then roll the paper around the dough tightly and twirl the ends like a candy wrapper so it doesn't dry out. Place the log in the fridge over night.

To bake: you can cut the dough into 1" wheels and place them on parchment lined cookie sheets. Cook for about 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies