Foodie Friday: Baby Shower Biscotti

Today is a big day and I can’t believe it’s already here. It’s my last day of work before the big move. In fact, it’s my last day at a full-time job for an indefinite amount of time. It’s really crazy to think about it like that, but I’m really excited to have the option to explore new options when we move! [Know about any fun jobs in San Francisco?!]

Seriously, I can’t believe we’re moving in a week! Here comes the excitement/stress/anxiety.. take your pick haha. I really am excited though; this is an entirely new world of experiences and opportunities and I can’t wait to start exploring. I also can’t wait to share all of my new food experiences with you! There will be many.

Speaking of food, last week I shared some of my pictures of the food I made for my sister-in-law’s baby shower and today I’m going to start breaking out the recipes! Remember these bad boys?

Mexican Chocolate Biscotti & Snickerdoodle Biscotti

Yea, they were pretty delicious. They were also pretty easy to make too! The Mexican Chocolate Biscotti recipe is straight from Martha Stewart. I swapped out half of the sugar for xylitol and because I was making mini biscotti, I halved the recipe and made 2 smaller loaves. They were a big hit! As were the snickerdoodle biscotti..

Mini Snickerdoodle Biscotti

Makes 24-26 Mini Biscotti

Ingredients
– 1 large egg
– 1/4 cup sugar + more for sprinkling
– 1/4 cup xylitol* [or more sugar]
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1/4 cup pumpkin puree [not pumpkin pie filling!]
– 1 tsp cinnamon + more for sprinkling [this Ceylon Cinnamon is my new fave]
– 1/8 tsp salt
– 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
– 1/4 cup pecans; toasted
– 4 oz white chocolate
– 1/8 cup half & half

*You can find xylitol on iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 to receive $5-$10 off of your first order.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

In a medium bowl, beat with a whisk the egg, sugar, xylitol, and baking powder together until the mixture turns a pale yellow. Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Continue to whisk and aerate the mixture. Next, fold in the flour. Once that is incorporated, fold in the toasted pecans.

Shape the dough into 2 flat logs about 3″ x 8″. Sprinkle each side of the logs with cinnamon and sugar. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack for 15-20 minutes.

Slice into 1/2″ slices and place back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and sugar and bake for another 20-30 minutes, flipping half way through. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack.

Finally, melt the white chocolate with the half & half and drizzle on the biscotti. Sprinkle with a little bit more cinnamon and sugar and let that set before serving.

Enjoy!

Mexican Chocolate Biscotti & Snickerdoodle Biscotti

These biscotti are not too sweet and I found are the perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of coffee. Because everyone needs a little something sweet in the morning, right? 😉

Nutritional Information

Per biscotti

59 Calories  /  2g Fat  /  12g Carbs  /  1g Fiber  /  4g Sugar  /  2g Protein

Food for Thought

Are you a crispy or chewy cookie kind of person?
I’m 100% chewy but if I have a cup of coffee or milk for dipping, I’ll go crispy 🙂

What I Ate Wednesday #28 – A Jewish Christmas

I can’t believe it’s the last WIAW of the year! 2012 has flown by faster than I ever thought possible and I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season. I have absolutely loved seeing all of the posts and pictures with all of your holiday traditions. It definitely made me wish I was celebrating Christmas this year! But since we don’t, yesterday was a pretty normal day for us.. besides sleeping in on a Tuesday 😉

[Breakfast]
I reached the end of a jar of JIF Natural, so naturally my sweet breakfast scramble was dumped right in there! And of course, it was topped with a little extra PB and some homemade almond butter (I started with Chelsey’s recipe as a guide). A side of freshly brewed cinnamon coffee was more than welcome.

[Lunch]
I didn’t snap a shot, but we went to my parent’s house for “brunch”.. aka bagels, lox, whitefish, etc. Imagine it looked something like this..

Except I had a salad with chicken on top and some lox and whitefish on the side. My mom makes all of the fish herself, so I can never pass it up!

I also brought over a blueberry crisp that made almost exactly like my apple crisp. This time, knowing that it would be going into the oven the next day to warm it up, I decided to bring the blueberries to a boil on the stove with lemon juice, lemon zest, xylitol, and cornstarch to thicken it up. Then I refrigerated it overnight, topped it with granola right before going in the oven, and baked for about 20 minutes. It was heavenly!

And since I didn’t get to snap a picture of my lunch, I decided to share with you my gangster look. What can I say, it got warm in the car!

[Snack]
Homemade almond butter mixed with Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter on celery sticks. Try this.. you won’t be disappointed!

[Dinner]
Leftovers galore! I mixed the last of my roasted squash and turkey stew with some Asian style tofu macadamia nut stuffing, quinoa, roasted broccoli, pecans, and a little chili sauce. It was delicious!

[Dessert]
Sliced apple with peanut fluff and 1/2 crumbled white chocolate cherry macadamia nut cookie.

I certainly didn’t have the typical Christmas day meals but they definitely hit the spot!

Food for Thought

What was your favorite dish this holiday season?

White Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Nut Cookies

The holidays are a time for baking and I’m always looking for new cookie recipes to try. I’ve recently seen tons of cookies with dried cranberries but in my house, we’re big dried cherry fans. They’re bigger, juicier, and more flavorful than cranberries so wherever I can substitute, I do!

Makes 20-24 Cookies
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients
1/2 cup unbleached cake flour [I use King Arthur]
1/8 cup vanilla protein powder [I use PlantFusion]
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup Brummel & Brown
1/4 cup xylitol* [You can sub regular white sugar or other sugar substitute]
1/4 cup demarara sugar* [You can sub regular dark brown sugar]
1 egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup white chocolate chunks [I use Ghirardelli White Chocolate]
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries

*These ingredients can be found on iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 to receive $5 off of your first order.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream Brummel & Brown, xylitol, and demarara sugar until light. Add egg white and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Finally, gently fold in oats, white chocolate chunks, macadamia nuts, and dried cherries.

Roll dough into 1″ balls, place on baking sheets, and flatten tops just a little. Bake about 12-14 minutes until slightly browned, turning halfway through. Let cool on the baking sheet for a couple minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Nutritional Stats
Per cookie

75 Calories  /  3g Fat  /  9g Carbs  /  1g Fiber  /  4g Sugar  /  2g Protein

Food for Thought

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

What I Ate Wednesday #25 – Healthy Holiday Recipes

Have you entered my Hail Merry Macaroon giveaway? Only 2 more days!

I can’t lie, my meals have been pretty less-than-interesting over the last week. I’m a creature of habit and when I do a lot of food prep on Sundays, I tend to eat a lot of the same meals during the week. But I’ve been having fun in the kitchen and am happy to be sharing a couple healthy Hannuka recipes just in time for the holiday!

[Breakfast]
Like I said, creature of habit. I’m still going strong in my Sweet Breakfast Scramble obsession!

[Lunch]
Tone It Up‘s Carrot & Pumpkin Soup and a Jamie Eason turkey meatloaf muffin. This was seriously the easiest lunch and so delicious. I didn’t mind having it almost everyday.. in fact, I enjoyed it!

[Dinner]
Sushi! It was a nice night for a date so we hit up a happy hour for a glass of wine (or beer) and some delicious sushi.  I didn’t snap pictures of the edamame and pork shumai but they were delicious, as always. Salmon and avocado wrapped in cucumber is also always a great choice, but my treat roll was the crab stick, cucumber, and avocado topped with more avocado, salmon, tuna, and a little eel sauce. SO yum! Nathan got pork yakisoba and it was equally as wonderful. If you’re in Baltimore and looking for good sushi, I highly recommend Naname Cafe!

[Snacks] not pictured
Apple, Madagascar Vanilla KIND Bar, and 1/2 of a blueberry ricotta muffin. I love having 1/2 muffin in the afternoon to help hold me over.. so tasty!

Onto the fun stuff!

I’m so glad we’re sharing healthy holiday recipes because I just tested a few for Hannuka!

Sweet Potato & Zucchini Latkes

Makes 18 latkes

Ingredients
1/2 cup zucchini, shredded and drained
2 cups sweet potato, shredded
2 large egg whites
2 tbsp coconut flour* [I use Bob’s Red Mill, but you can sub other flour if you don’t have coconut!]
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp xylitol* + extra for sprinkling [You can sub regular sugar or other sugar substitutes]
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, shape into 18 equal balls, and flatten into pancakes. Bake about 1 hour, flipping half way through.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack. Sprinkle with a little extra xylitol and cinnamon and enjoy!

Nutritional Stats
Per pancake without toppings

21 Calories  /  0g Fat  /  4g Carbs  /  1g Fiber  /  0g Sugar  /  1g Protein

Baked Sufganiyot

Makes 12 minis

If you’re not familiar with sufganiyot, they are jelly-filled donuts that are a staple during Hannuka. But of course jelly-filled donuts are not exactly on the healthy treats list, so I wanted to create a more figure-friendly way to enjoy these tasty treats.

Ingredients
1/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 large egg white
1/4 cup xylitol* + extra for sprinkling [You can sub regular sugar or other sugar substitutes]
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk [I use Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk]
4 tbsp your favorite jam [I used blackberry preserves]
~1/2 – 1 tbsp agave nectar*
~1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients from flour through milk until just incorporated.

Fill each muffin tin with about 1/2 tbsp of mix to just cover the bottom. Place about 1 tsp of jam in the middle of each “donut” and then top with the rest of the mix. Bake for about 12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (minus the jam!), turning half way through.

Remove from the oven and let cool about 5-10 minutes. Drizzle with agave nectar and sprinkle with cinnamon and xylitol. Enjoy guilt-free!

Nutritional Stats
Per mini “donut”

52 Calories  /  0g Fat  /  14g Carbs  /  1g Fiber  /  5g Sugar  /  1g Protein

*These ingredients can be found on iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 to receive $5 off of your first order.

Food for Thought

What are some of your favorite holiday recipes? Do you go towards the healthy options or the unhealthy treats?