CHOCOLATE AVOCADO MUFFINS

 If I am ever playing, Well I Never, I can no longer say, "Well, I have never eaten avocado." I told my friend Sandi that when she brought her Chocolate Avocado Mini-Muffins to the Morning Walkers last week for us to enjoy. She had made them and after telling her. husband Lynn they had avocado in them, he wouldn't eat them. Needless to say they were well received by the group during our "Cool down". I asked for the recipe and bought an avocado the next time I went to Aldi to give them a try.

Wayne loves avocado so I was not worried that he wouldn't eat them, but I didn't get around to making them right away as I had to wait for the avocado to ripen. By the time I made some, life happened so Wayne didn't get an opportunity to taste them. My battery died in my car and I had to buy a new one. Then because Costco didn't install them, I had to get our neighbor to install it for me. I needed something to take to church for the Cafe Treats. Sandi said they made 36 mini-muffins for her, but I made 48. Maybe I used more chocolate chips. Anyway, I set aside 36 for church and gave Peter a dozen for installing my battery. 

SO----I guess I need to buy another avocado when we go to Aldi so I can make some for Wayne to enjoy.

They are moist and have a different taste, I guess because of the avocado, but delicious enough to make them again and again and again.

Oh I am sorry I forgot to take pictures after I took them out of the oven. I attended to take a picture at church, but they didn't last long enough. They were all gone by the time I came down from Sunday school.

Print recipe.

CHOCOLATE AVOCADO MUFFINS

1     cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1     teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1      teaspoon cinnamon

1      large ripe avocado, mashed

3/4 cup milk

1/2  cup maple syrup

1      teaspoon vanilla

2     eggs

1/2 - 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. (I used two - 24-cup mini cup muffin pans.) Set aside.

Stir the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon well in a mixing bowl with a whisk. Set aside.

Mash the avocado and

add to a blender. Add the milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and eggs and blend until smooth.

Pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and

stir just until well blended and all wet.

Add the chocolate chips. Since I was making mini-muffins, I used mini-chocolate chips, about 3/4 cup. 

Spoon into muffin pan until cups are 3/4 full. (I used a cookie scoop.)

Bake for 20 minutes for mini-muffins or 25 - 27 minutes for regular muffins. Cool slightly before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. (I used a plastic knife.)

FUDGY OATMEAL COOKIES

 Ever have a day when you just really  wanted a cookie? I did the other day, but there was not one cookie to be found in our house. How could this be, you might ask?

I have no idea, but that's what happened at our house Sunday afternoon.

I had this recipe from Friend Jean who had made them for the Cafe Treats and couldn't resist trying one. I told her to send me the recipe and she did a couple of days later.

I love recipes that use a cake mix, especially Devil's Food ones or yellow cake mixes. (I will even do this if the recipe calls for a white cake mix.) The reason I love them is because then I can substitute a Zero Sugar cake mix for the cake mix. Pillsbury (no I am not be paid to mention them) makes a Zero Sugar Devil's Food cake mix and a yellow one. They also make a Zero Sugar brownie mix that makes fantastic brownies. 

Anyway as soon as I saw the recipe, I knew how I would make them. 

When Jean made her cookies for the Cafe Treats, she omitted the nuts and substituted white baking chips. Since I was making these cookies for us and we love nuts in our baked goods, I used the nuts instead. I also used old fashioned oats because I like them in baked goods. They really show in the cookies though so if you prefer, you should use the quick oats.

Well, they are so fudgy tasting and you would never guess the only sugar in them came from the chocolate chips. If you want to adventurous, you could use any flavored chip. I just might do that next time. Peppermint baking chips would taste divine, for example.

(print recipe)

FUDGY OATMEAL COOKIES

1        package Devil's Food cake mix (I used a Zero Sugar one.)

1-1/2 cups oats (quick or old fashioned) (I used old fashioned oats.)

3/4   cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, melted

2       large eggs

1        tablespoon oil

1        teaspoon vanilla

1-1/4 cups mini chocolate chips

1/2     cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and oats.

Add butter, eggs, oil, and vanilla until well blended.

Add the chips and nuts, if using.

Drop by a tablespoon cookie scoop about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

Flatten with your fingers 

unless you want a round looking cookie.

Bake for about 10 minutes and cool briefly on the cookie sheet before removing to finish cooling on a rack.

 

CHOCOLATE OATMEAL CAKE

See UPDATE below.

This just might be the first time I have been served a dessert that I really enjoyed and a couple of days later I made it -- not once but twice in one morning. 

Friend Vicky had the group over on Tuesday for an afternoon of canasta and served this Chocolate Oatmeal Cake. She said it was one of her mother's recipes. She has served us other family recipes and they have always been delicious and just a little bit different. (Vicky is from Canada and so I don't know if that's why they always seem to be just a little bit different.)

When I decided to try the recipe this morning, I allowed my creative juices to flow and made a couple of changes. Nothing extreme. I have friends who like my recipes because they are diabetic and need to avoid the sugar. I am not diabetic, but I try to avoid using real sugar as much as I can. I do this with regular recipes so I always say you can make it using sugar if you like.

If the recipe calls for brown sugar, I just substitute my truvia (brown) sugar complete. For sugar, I substitute stevia. If the recipe calls for a cake mix, I substitute the Zero Sugar yellow or Devil's food cake mix.

Vicky served her cake with whipped topping. I thought I had some canned Zero Sugar frosting, but didn't so I left the first one plain but topped the second one with coconut and then baked it. It gave it a slight German Chocolate Cake look. I could have added some chopped pecans with the coconut, but didn't. You can also sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the cooked cake, stick it back in the oven for about 2 minutes to heat up the chips and then spread the softened chips with a knife for a thin frosting. I thought the toasted coconut looked pretty on top.

Print recipe.

CHOCOLATE OATMEAL CAKE

 1/2     cup oats (I used quick oats)

1          cup boiling water

2         tablespoons cocoa

1          cup brown sugar (I used truvia brown sugar complete)

2         large eggs

1          stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

1          cup flour

1         teaspoon baking powder

1/2     teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1/4     cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 - inch square baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Measure the oats and add to boiling water. Stir. Set aside.

Combine brown sugar and cocoa in a mixing bowl until well blended.

Add eggs and softened butter. Stir until mixed together with a spatula.

Add cooled oats/water mixture. (All of the water should be absorbed.) Stir.(Forgot to take a picture.)

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together to blend. Add to the wet mixture along with the 1/4 cup of water.

Stir until well blended.

Pour into prepared pan

and bake for 30 minutes or until cake checks done with a toothpick. Cool on wire rack.

Serve with ice cream or whipped topping. You could also frost it if you liked with your favorite frosting. (When Vicky served it to us.)

The second time I made the cake, I sprinkled 1/2 cup of coconut evenly on the top of the batter and then baked it.

I took this one to our neighbors as a Thank You for allowing us to add a little bit to his load to the landfield. They were very pleased. Said it would be their dessert for the evening.

o

You could add chopped nuts also if you liked. Don't be afraid to experiment.

UPDATE: I challenge you to be creative and make this recipe your own and I would love to hear from you if you did.

My husband sometimes has difficulty eating chocolate and so he told me he didn't want a chocolate cake. I really wanted to make the recipe again and so I decided to make a coconut cake, one of his favorites. I omitted the chocolate thereby just making a light colored cake. I also added a capful of coconut flavoring and 1/2 cup of shredded coconut.

After I poured the batter into the pan, I sprinkled another 1/2 cup of coconut evenly to the top.

It took longer to bake it, about 40 minutes. I just kept checking the center with a toothpick until it came out clean. (They do make unsweetened coconut, if you are making the cake for someone who is diabetic.)

We enjoyed it with our favorite ice cream. (Who says it has to be vanilla?)

CRANBERRY CHEESE BARS

 Six months seems to go by so quickly when it means going to the dentist again. I love my dentist and his staff though so it isn't as traumatic as it has been most of my life. 

I started taking them a treat each time I went at some point (I don't remember when. I have been going to the dentist office for 17.5 years.). I told them it was a bribe so they wouldn't hurt me. Dr. G always tells me to not feel like I have to bring them something every time I come, and I just tell him - "I know." But I really enjoy giving them pleasure and know they are secretly wondering what I am going to bring. Chelsea, my hygienist apologized for her stomach growling. She said she started to get some M & M's to eat, but remembered I was coming so she decided she would wait to see what I brought. I can't disappoint now.

I saw this recipe and thought it would be something tasty to take to the church for Cafe Treats. I buy bags of fresh cranberries in season and then freeze them and use them all year long. The tanginess of the berries is just perfect with the sweetness of the rest of the dessert.  I used a gluten-free cake mix but would also feel comfortable using a Zero-Sugar yellow cake mix. I do all of the time to reduce the sugar. This time I didn't have any regular powdered sugar and had to use my stevia powdered sugar. 

They turned out just perfect.

print recipe

CRANBERRY CHEESE BARS

Cake Base:

1           box yellow cake mix (I used a gluten-free cake mix - could use a Zero Sugar cake mix)

1           stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted and cooled slightly

1           egg

2          teaspoons orange zest (I used the dried orange zest)

 Filling:

1           package (8-ounces) cream cheese, softened

3-1/2   cups powdered sugar (I used stevia powdered sugar)

1          stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted and cooled slightly

3         eggs

2         cups fresh or frozen (thawed) cranberries

Topping:

1          tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom only of a 9 x 13 - inch pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir the cake base ingredients together until no dry cake mix remains.

Press evenly in the pan.

(I also keep some of the mixture aside and

drop dollops of the dough across the pan. I press the dough across the bottom not worrying about any holes or thinner places.

Once I have the dollops flattened out, I will use the dough I kept aside and then just fill in where the holes or thin places are.)

In another large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, prepare the filling. Beat the cream cheese and the powdered sugar on medium speed until blended. (You should start with it on lowest speed at first or the powdered sugar will be thrown everywhere.)

Beat in the rest of the filling ingredients except the cranberries. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Then stir in the cranberries gently.

Pour batter evenly over the cake base.

Bake for 38 to 43 minutes or until golden brown and center is set. (Mine was only brown around the edges but at 40 minutes the center moved around as I checked it so I ended up baking mine the 43 minutes.)

Cool completely, about 2 hours before cutting to serve. (I made mine the evening before and after 2 hours just placed it in the refrigerator.)

When ready to serve, sift some powdered sugar to dust the top.

Cut in squares to serve. Store in the refrigerator.