Our Little Secret

I have a thing for individual portions.

It's a weird obsession, I know. But for some reason when the word "mini" and "individual" are used in the same recipe, I'm 98% more likely to make it.

That's what happened when I stumbled upon a recipe for individual mini apple pies.

I haven't had a slice of apple pie in forever because of the crust. When I saw this recipe, I knew that it would be so simple to modify and make gluten-free.

These are honestly the best thing ever. They take a little elbow grease, but the outcome is a wonderful, warm apple pie. And your house will smell amazing.

Have I convinced you yet?


















First take 6 apples. I used Granny Smith because they seem to be the best for baking.

You're going to want to cut the top off the apple. Then, using a melon baller, scoop out and core the apple. Don't throw away the inside. Once you have hollowed out the apple, submerge into a mixture of lemon juice and water, then turn upside down to drain.

I didn't get any pictures of this step because I had to work fast to make sure the apples wouldn't get really brown.

Once all the apples are hollowed out, throw away the core and chop the insides into small pieces.

Mix the pieces with sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.

Place the apples into muffin tins. Spoon the mixture into the apples until they are full.

In a bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, oats and cut in cold butter. 

Place crumb mixture on top of the apples.

It's messy, but beautiful. You'll see.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees.

Mini Apple Pies
Adapted from Jo In The Kitchen 

Apple Pies:

• 6 apples
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• Juice of 1 lemon + 1 cup water

Crumble:
Recipe from Simply Recipes

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup cold butter

 
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cut tops off and hollow out apples.

3. Submerge apples into lemon water mixture and turn over to dry.

4. Cut up the insides of the apples and mix with sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.

5. Place apples in a muffin tin and fill with mixture.

6. Top with crumble mixture.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

***

I took mine and nestled it up to a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled some caramel sauce on top.

This is seriously indulgent. Plus, I don't feel too bad about eating one of these since there is no crust on it. Right?

Don't answer that.

These are so yummy and such a treat.

They would be so nice on a crisp fall afternoon or a great 4th of July snack for all your friends and family. They would be so impressed with your culinary skills.

I mean, I even impressed myself with these! But that will be our little secret.

Enjoy!

Kaci

When Life Gives You Bad Bananas...

You know those days where something really bad happens and your day is ruined and all you want to do is crawl in your bed and sleep for a week straight? 

Then someone close to you tells you to look for the good in the situation and honestly, it kind of ticks you off, even though you know they are right.

Know what I'm talking about? 

That's kind of like the recipe that I'm sharing today. 

Okay, not really. 

Anyways, 

Enter the bad bananas.















Poor bananas. They no longer have a purpose. They are brown and squishy. Nobody wants them. Except you.

You want them.

At least you will by the time you're finished reading this.

Mash up 3 of your abandoned bananas like so...

Toss them into a mixture of sugar, margarine and eggs.





















It will be kind of clumpy and that's okay. Throw in some flour, vanilla, baking soda and salt.
Mix.





















Once it's all mixed, pour batter into cupcake tins.

*BAKING TIP: Use an ice cream scoop to put batter into tins. It's the perfect amount and it's so easy!





















Bake until they are a gorgeous golden brown.





The bananas in the background? Total coincidence. Promise. 

While your reject bananas turn into golden brown deliciousness, make some cream cheese frosting y'all.*
*something as decadent as cream cheese frosting deserves to be made while adopting a Paula Deen accent. 

Throw in a soft cream cheese and a soft stick-a-butta y'all. 

4 cups of powdered sugar (!!!) and a little bit of vanilla later, you have the most luscious cream cheese frosting this side of the Mississippi, y'all.

Wow. I just annoyed myself. 

I apologize. 

Moving on.

When the golden brown babies are cool, spread the cream cheese goodness on the top.

I actually cannot eat these anymore because of the flour, but my mom has been making these all my life, so I can tell you that these are outstanding. They are easily in my top 5 of desserts ever consumed.

And...just because I can't eat the bread part, doesn't mean I can't partake in the frosting. Not saying that I did, though.

Banana Bread Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
*Yields 24 cupcakes

• 1/2 cup margarine, soft
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 pinch salt

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, soft
• 1 - 8oz. cream cheese, soft
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla

1. Mix bar ingredients and scoop into lined muffin tin.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and the toothpick comes out clean.

3. While baking, mix up the frosting ingredients.

4. Allow cakes to cool completely and frost. Store in airtight container.

***

Enjoy!

Kaci

Let's Get Together!

There is something I feel you should know about me.

I don't like chocolate. 

I know. You don't have to say it.

I can eat a little chocolate every once and a while and I think it tastes great, but I don't crave it. I don't need it to survive. I could live without it.

That's why when I came across this recipe for Lemon Muddy Buddies, my heart skipped a beat.

Let me break this down for you:

If lemon bars and muddy buddies got together, this would be the result.

In my opinion, these are so much better than the original muddy buddies.

Trust me. These will rock your world. 

Start with Rice Chex in a large bowl

Then in a smaller bowl, combine margarine, white chocolate chips, lemon zest and lemon juice.

After the mixture is melted, pour over the cereal and stir well.

Pour mixture into a bag and add powdered sugar. Shake well to coat.

You need to make this immediately.

I love that these are gluten-free and I can make them easily, unlike gluten-free lemon bars.

Lemon Muddy Buddies

Adapted from Smashed Peas & Carrots

• 9 cups of Rice Chex
• 1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup margarine
• zest of a lemon
• juice of a lemon
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Put chocolate chips, margarine, lemon zest and lemon juice in a microwaveable safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir and put back in the microwave for approximately 30 more seconds. Stir until melted.
* Carefully (it's hot!) test the lemon mixture and make sure it suites your taste. I usually add another splash of lemon juice.

2. Pour mixture over cereal and coat well.

3. Transfer cereal to a bag and add in powdered sugar. Shake until coated.

4. Consume.

***

Give these a try. I promise you won't be disappointed. They are phenomenal.

Make sure to store them in an airtight container overnight. However, they probably won't last that long. 

Enjoy!

Kaci

Pronunciation Station

A few days ago, my dad was reading a recipe that I had pulled up on my iPad. He was saying the name of the recipe out loud and when he got to the the word "quinoa" he got the "qu" sound out, then proclaimed, "if you can't pronounce it, you shouldn't eat it." I promptly told him that it is pronounced keen-wa. He pretended not to hear me. I think that was his attempt to ensure he will never have to eat quinoa.

I'll keep you updated.

Speaking of being able to pronounce ingredients, have you ever read the ingredients of a granola bar? No? Let me help you out with that.

Kinda gross, right? What are glyceryl lacto esters of fatty acids and BHT? I don't really want to eat that.

That being said, I introduce to you Homemade Granola Bars!

These babies are crazy addictive and contain no suspicious ingredients. The best part? They take 10 to 15 minutes to throw together. 

 In the food processor goes almonds, pecans and oatmeal.

Process until crumbly. Don't over process though! 

 

Now, pour into a large bowl. Roughly chop the remaining pecans and almonds, then add them, the remaining oats, and craisins to the processed mixture. 

Go ahead and set them aside. In a saucepan, combine coconut oil, honey, salt and almond and vanilla extract. Stir and set over medium heat.

We will return to this recipe, but first, a message from coconut oil:

I've never cooked with coconut oil before, but let me tell you, it gives these granola bars the best buttery flavor. You can find it at Food Pyramid in the health food section.

Back to the show.

Go ahead and keep stirring. Don't leave the pan though, it heats up pretty quick. Once it starts to foam, give it 15 more seconds, then remove.

 

Pour your hot mixture into the dry ingredients and stir like crazy. 

Once it cools down a little, not a whole lot (Sorry. This blog isn't called Adventures in SPECIFIC Cooking), stir in some white chocolate chips.

 

Once you stir it in, the white chocolate will melt a little. That's okay. A little melted chocolate never hurt anyone. Right? Well, maybe it has. Okay, don't quote me on that. 

After you stir it all together, pour into an 8x8 pan lined with waxed paper

At this point, you can use the bottom of a glass, a spatula, or like me, a mixture of both. Either way, flatten the mixture. You're going to want to push on the stuff really hard so it stays together. 

After it's all together, go ahead and sprinkle some more white chocolate chips on the top and push in gently with your fingers. 

Now comes the hardest part. Fold the excess wax paper over the top and put in the refrigerator for 4 hours. I know. I know that it's going to be hard and you're going to want to eat them immediately, but I promise you that it will be worth it. 

After 4 long, agonizing hours, pull out the bars and cut into 16 pieces. Then, using the wax paper, pull the granola bars out of the pan. They will easily break apart. Resist the urge to eat the whole pan and store in the fridge. If you store it on the counter, the bars will fall apart. Not that I know from experience or anything.

These bars are amazing. I think one of the greatest parts about them is that they are customizable to your tastes. Do you like pretzels and chocolate? Totally doable. Just substitute the craisins and white chocolate chips. Or what about raisins and butterscotch chips? The possibilities are literally endless. 

These bars are out of this world. I love eating one for breakfast with my coffee. It keeps me full for a few hours without weighing me down like a heavy breakfast usually does. They are something you can feel good about eating and giving to the ones you love.

Homemade Granola Bars with Craisins & White Chocolate
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

• 1 cup whole almonds
• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1 cup old fashioned oats*
• 1/2 cup Craisins
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. honey
• 3 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

 *I don't have a reaction to normal oatmeal, so I did not use gluten-free oats.

1. Add 1/2 cup of almonds, pecans and oats to a food processor. Process until crumbly, then add to a large bowl. Roughly chop remaining almonds and pecans and add them to the bowl. Throw in the remaining oats and 1/2 cup of craisins.

2. In a saucepan, add honey, coconut oil, salt, vanilla and almond extracts and put over medium heat. Stir continually. Once it starts to foam, keep on heat for 15 more seconds. Pour over dry ingredients and stir. Add in the white chocolate chips and stir.

3. Pour in an 8x8 pan lined with wax paper and flatten. Chill for at least 4 hours.

4. Cut into 16 pieces and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

***

I hope you enjoy these! Please comment below and tell me if you made them and what combinations you used or just let me know what combinations you would use. I love new ideas!

Kaci

P.S. What is the one thing you snack on everyday?

For me, it's cheese. It's so not waistline friendly, but I love it.