Sweet & Spiced Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds from 1 Pumpkin Pie pumpkin, mine was 8" tall
1 tbsp. melted butter/margarine (or spray margarine)
1 tbsp. brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. ea. ground cinnamon, nutmeg 
*optional (ground allspice, cloves, cardamom)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove seeds from pumpkin (take off pumpkin strings), rinse in a strainer, and blot dry with a paper towel. Place in mixing bowl, stir in melted butter, and sprinkle in sugar and spices. When mixed, spread in one layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Don't be tempted to put any excess butter/sugar mixture on the seeds, the extra sugar tends to burn. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Watch carefully so the sugar doesn't burn! You might hear some popping noises while baking when the seeds puff up and dry out. 
Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Scrape seeds off foil with a spatula.

The final product reminds me of CornNuts. Nice and crunchy and sweet! I'm sure these would also be great with smoked paprika instead of the pumpkin pie spices as well. Wrapped up in a cute jar they would make a great stocking stuffer!

Warm & Chewy Cranberry Walnut Bread

Makes 8-10 slices

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1/2 cup whole wheat flour, sifted

2 tbsp. agave syrup + 2 tbsp. sugar (or your favorite combination of sweeteners)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

1 cup chopped fresh cranberries (it was half of the small bag of fresh berries for me)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 egg

3/4 cup orange juice (& orange zest if you have some)

2 tbsp. canola oil

1/2 tsp. ea. of ground cinnamon and nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the white sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

Chop the cranberries in a food processor until the berries are at least cut in half or smaller. Stir the chopped cranberries into the dry ingredients and coat. Create a well in the dry mixture and combine the beaten egg, agave syrup, orange juice, oil and chopped walnuts. Mix until everything is moist. 

Spray a 9x5x3" loaf pan with oil and fill with bread batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let cool before slicing.

I love to eat this for breakfast in the winter. I warm up a slice and smear with cream cheese! Of course it is great on its own... or with yogurt on top. It makes the house smell great and is a hit with guests.

Chewy Fruit & Nut Granola Bars

• Once you make these simple and tasty granola bars at home, you will think twice about buying store-bought bars filled with preservatives. When you make your own you can add your favorite ingredients and mix it up each time. Sometimes I cut these into bite-size pieces to serve as bar cookies at parties.

Makes about 16 rectangular granola bars

• 
  
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup puffed rice or kamut (I use Arrowhead brand)
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp honey (optional)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup of diced dried apricots
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (or nuts of your choice, chopped cashews or peanuts are tasty)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp each of ground cloves and nutmeg
• Splash of vanilla extract
• Optional: 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine and stir all the dry ingredients together. Pour sweetened condensed milk over dry mixture until it is just sticking together (if it seems too wet, add more oats). Evenly spread over a cooky sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (Silpat), and press with spatula to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 20-25 minutes until just golden around the edges. 

Let cool, then transfer to a cutting board to cut into your desired bar size. Enjoy for a snack or dessert! Customize with your favorite fruit and nut combos.

Quick & Delicious Flaky Biscuits

I love to eat these fresh and steaming out of the oven. You can even add your favorite herbs, cheese, or dried fruit to this recipe to spice it up. Such a treat!

Note: In an air-tight bag you can refrigerate the dough for a day if you want fresh biscuits right out of the oven 2 days in a row!

Makes about 15 biscuits, depending on size

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or you can just use 2 cups of AP flour if that's all you have)
1/2 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. cold butter (cubed)
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk + 1/2 tsp. lemon juice)
3 tbsp. honey


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a food processor, combine both flours, salt, butter, and honey. Pulse the food processor a few times until the butter is coarsely mixed into little balls covered in the flour mixture.

Pour the milk into the food processor with the blade running. The mixture should come together to form a ball of dough. (Only add as much milk as it takes to combine into a ball, it might vary in your climate.) Do not over mix! You can always just mix the last bit of flour stuck to the bowl in by hand.

Either roll out and cut the dough with a biscuit cutter or roll into little palm-sized balls and place on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes until fluffy and golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack, or just smother them in butter, honey, or jam and eat them as soon as possible. :)

Moist Banana Nut Bread

My recipe was inspired by one I saw on Skinnytaste.com. I made some changes to my personal taste. I make this weekly - at my boyfriend's request. It makes a great snack any time of day.

3 ripe medium bananas, smashed
1/4 cup natural apple sauce
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. softened butter
1/4 cup molasses
2 tbsp. sugar (or the equivalent of your favorite sweetener)
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Add to your taste:
2 tbsp. walnut pieces
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine the two flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add butter, molasses, and mix with an electric mixer. Then add the egg, bananas, apple sauce, vanilla, spices, and beat until batter thickens. Be sure to incorporate all the dry ingredients.

Add walnuts and gently blend until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake on the center rack for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the bread cool to room temperature before slicing.