There are as many variations of basic cornbread recipes as there are of chili. Bread-like or souffle-like. Sweetened with honey, sugar, or even maple syrup. Moistened with oil or butter. Baked in a muffin tin, baking pan, or cast-iron skillet. Made with just cornmeal or in conjunction with flour… etc.

And then there are the recipes that call for additional ingredients. Bacon. Goat cheese. Creamed corn.

Clearly, I decided to go with the latter category of cornbread. Quite literally “loaded” with tasty flavor elements, this cornbread is delicious solo and even better when smothered with your favorite chili.

Minced serrano chili peppers and pepper jack cheese serve up a double kick of spice, sliced green onions add a mellow onion-y flavor, and fresh corn kernels contribute a sweet crunch.

The recipe is versatile, so if any of the above ingredients aren’t to your liking, feel free to either omit them or use a substitution.

Loaded Cornbread

adapted from Mollie Katzen’s The New Moosewood Cookbook

Ingredients

• cooking spray
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 2 Tbsp evaporated cane juice or granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted and cooled
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears… or can substitute defrosted frozen corn)
• 1/2 cup grated 50% reduced fat jalapeno cheddar or pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 serrano or jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup sliced scallions

Directions

I had Lily in mind when I made these fun little treats, even though she’s still too young to experience the deliciousness that is chocolate & peanut butter (baby girl has NO idea what she’s missing!). She LOVES bananas, though, and the petite stature of these cracker bites deems them kid-friendly.

They’re also perfectly healthy – and not too sweet (we’re making our own chocolate for this recipe!) – for mindful parents to give to their kiddos.

Trader Joe’s carries these mini whole grain crackers – which taste like a popular buttery cracker – that I really like (and can pop like candy if I’m not careful). For this recipe, we’re spreading ‘em with a bit of peanut butter, sandwiching a frozen banana slice in between a pair, and dipping the whole shebang into an easy & healthy homemade chocolate sauce.

When you combine melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, and maple syrup, you’re rewarded with a delicious refined sugar-free chocolate sauce that hardens when chilled.

The recipe makes more chocolate sauce then you’ll need for the cracker bites, but please don’t toss it! You can warm up leftovers until liquified and drizzle over ice cream for a homemade chocolate shell, spoon it over oatmeal for a decadent breakfast, or, (as I’ve been doing), eat it by the mini spoonful.

These little bites would be perfect for a kid’s birthday, but would also go over quite well at an adults-only get-together. Or just make them for yourself!

I can’t wait to make – and enjoy – these with Lily when she’s older :).

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Banana Cracker Bites

by Lauren Zembron (inspired by “Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches” by Two Peas and Their Pod)

Keywords: dessert snack peanut butter banana chocolate

Ingredients (10 bites)

• 20 round whole grain mini crackers, such as Trader Joe’s 12 Grain Mini Snack Crackers
• 1 small banana, peeled, sliced into 10 “coins”, and frozen in advance
• ~2 Tbsp natural smooth peanut butter, well-stirred
• 2 1/2 Tbsp virgin coconut oil, melted and then cooled to room temperature (you want the oil to be liquid, but not warm)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted to remove any lumps
• 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup, preferably grade B, at room temperature (if you add cold ingredients to melted coconut oil, the oil with solidify)

Instructions

If you haven’t already, peel, slice, and freeze the banana.

Spread a bit of peanut butter onto the bottom of each cracker.

Place a frozen banana slice onto one of the pb-covered crackers. Top with another pb-covered cracker.

Repeat previous step with remaining crackers & bananas.

Place assembled cracker bites back into the freezer.

In a bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil, sifted cocoa powder, and room-temperature maple syrup until very smooth.

Dunk half of each cracker bite into the chocolate sauce. Place chocolate-dipped cracker bites into the freezer for a third time, until the chocolate sauce has hardened into a shell, about 5 minutes.

Store in freezer.

Estimated Nutrition Per Serving

• Calories: 120 calories
• Total Fat: 7g
  • Saturated Fat: 3g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 75mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 14g
  • Dietary Fiber: 2g
  • Sugars: 8g
• Protein: 2g
• Vitamin D: 0%
• Calcium: 1%
• Iron: 4%
• Potassium: 120mg

Thanksgiving is, without a doubt, my favorite day of the year. Sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends as the sun sets on a cool Autumn evening is the perfect occasion to ruminate over what we are thankful for.  My family’s tradition for the last Thursday in November commences with a hearty breakfast followed by “stuffing and trussing” the turkey.  Once the bird is tucked into the oven, we convene for a leisurely hike to stretch our legs, admire the migrating geese and give the dogs a good run-around. Once back home, we shed our fleece jackets, knit hats, and woolen gloves into a pile by the front door, and congregate around a roaring wood fire. Some fold themselves into cozy love seats accompanied by a soft blanket and captivating novel, while others gather around a board game. We all take frequent trips into the kitchen, unable to ignore the incredibly tantalizing aromas wafting throughout the house.  Handfuls of nuts and bites of light hors d’oeuvres whet our appetites for the impressive spread of golden-brown roast turkey, baked stuffing, sweet potato casserole, sauteed green beans with toasted almonds, jeweled cranberry sauce, and waldorf salad. After sharing stories and many laughs, we convince ourselves that there is room in our distended bellies for a sampling of pecan pie, apple crisp, and pumpkin pie.  Then we roll ourselves back into the living room and lounge until we can no longer keep our eyes open.

It is a good day.

This year marks my first Thanksgiving away from my parents and brother, but I will be surrounded by family and friends nonetheless.  My husband and I will be making the short drive down to Connecticut to spend the festive holiday with his family. Although I will miss the traditions that I have enjoyed in years past, I am looking forward to participating in those of my new in-laws.

Speaking writing (?) of new traditions, a friend of ours is hosting a pre-Thanksgiving feast this weekend.  Mike will provide the bird, and his guests will adorn the table with a variety of side dishes and desserts. John and I were asked to bring mashed potatoes, so I set to work on Saturday morning whipping up a Thanksgiving-worthy version of this classic turkey accompaniment. I prefer the chunkier texture of “smashed” to “mashed” potatoes, but you could certainly peel the potatoes prior to cooking and whip them after cooking to achieve a smoother consistency. I lightened this typically heavy dish by subbing in 2% milk for the heavy cream and 2% Greek yogurt for the sour cream, as well as significantly cutting down on the amount of butter. To pump up the flavor factor, I added in a generous amount of roasted garlic. Two whole heads of garlic may sound excessive, but the roasting process does a beautiful job of mellowing out the naturally pungent flavor of the raw vegetable.

Ingredients

• 2 heads fresh garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4 lbs red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups 2% reduced fat milk
• 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450*F.
2. Slice each head of garlic in half widthwise, and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Wrap garlic in foil and roast for 30-40 minutes, until the garlic cloves have softened. Let cool, then squeeze  the garlic pulp out of the papery skin. Mash in a small bowl.
4. Cover the potatoes with cold water in a large stock pot. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until easily pierced with a knife.
5. Drain the water from the pot, and add to the potatoes the mashed roasted garlic, milk, butter, and Greek yogurt. Smash with a potato masher until desired texture is achieved. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Although I would never part with my favorite sweet potato casserole, these smashed potatoes are good enough to earn a place on the Thanksgiving table.

Perhaps I’ve stumbled upon a new tradition.

Estimated Nutrition Per Serving

• Calories: 239 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 32g
• Protein: 3g
• Fat: 11g
• Saturated Fat: 5g
• Cholesterol: 21mg
• Sodium: 84mg
• Potassium: 713mg
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 2g
• Vitamin A: 279IU
• Vitamin C: 31mg
• Calcium: 39mg
• Iron: 1mg

As much as I adored my Flourless White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies, these dark chocolate peanut butter spin-offs might be even better.

Flourless chocolate desserts – such as cakes or tortes – are known for their exorbitantly dense fudge-like texture, and can be difficult to get through without a few sips of water, milk, or wine in between each decadent bite. Although those rich treats have their loyal followers, I typically prefer a dessert with a lighter consistency. Regardless of which category you fall into, these flourless cookies are sure to win you over as they strike the perfect balance of intense chocolate flavor and light chewy texture.

The best word I can think of to describe the texture of these cookies is pillowy. The slightest bit of crisp coating gives way to a soft and brownie-like interior dotted with creamy peanut butter chips.  A word of caution: don’t be tempted to bake the cookies until they’re completely firm; in order to achieve the right lightness, they must be taken out of the oven while still seemingly under-baked. As they cool, the cookies will set up a bit, but will remain soft and chewy.

I can’t imagine that this will be the case, but if there are leftover cookies, they can be stored in – and enjoyed straight from – the freezer.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams
• 2 Tbsp Sucanat or brown sugar
• 1 egg white, lightly whisked
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-natural peanut butter chips (such as Sunspire)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the peanut butter through vanilla extract.
3. Fold in the peanut butter chips.
4. Using a mini ice cream scoop, spoon batter onto prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F until the cookies are lightly crisp, but still very soft, about 10 minutes.
6. Let cool for about 5 minutes on baking sheet, then cool completely on a wire rack (cookies will harden slightly upon cooling).

Estimated Nutrition (Per Serving)

• Calories: 145
• Total Fat: 9g
  • Saturated Fat: 2g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
• Cholesterol: 9mg
• Sodium: 90mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 15g
  • Dietary Fiber: 2g
  • Sugars: 11g
• Protein: 4g

Please note that the nutrition information is an estimate and may vary depending on the specific brands and quantities of ingredients used.

I can’t seem to stop coming up with dried fruit & nut truffles.

I’ll assume that this isn’t problematic for you, and proceed with presenting the newest flavor!

I was inspired by my Blueberry-Coconut Baked Oatmeal, as the interplay of blueberries and coconut is quite delicious.

These truffles are comprised of medjool dates, apple juice sweetened dried blueberries, cashews, and unsweetened coconut flakes. I entertained the idea of playing around with coconut extract, cinnamon, and salt for added flavor, but ended up really enjoying the truffles as they are.

I’ve actually never had blueberry coconut pie, but it sounds pretty amazing, no? I envision a coconut crust with a sweet blueberry filling – which is precisely what these truffles are.

Most of the dried blueberries are processed into a paste with the dates, but I reserved a few whole dried berries for texture and aesthetics.

These truffles keep quite well in an air-tight container at room temperature for about a week; even longer if stored in the refrigerator.

I’m sure it won’t be long before the next truffle recipe idea comes to fruition ;).

Ingredients

• heaping 1/4 cup chopped soft Medjool dates (about 3 pitted dates)
• heaping 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp dried blueberries, (preferably unsweetened & unsulfured), divided
• heaping 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Place chopped dates and heaping 1/4 cup dried blueberries into the bowl of a food processor, and process until they form a chunky paste, about 20-30 seconds.
2. Place cashews into the food processor bowl along with the dried fruit paste, and process until mixed, about 10-20 seconds. Remove mixture from food processor.
3. “Knead” the remaining 1 Tbsp dried blueberries into the dough, until well-incorporated. The mixture will be sticky.
4. Form 8 small balls out of the mixture by rolling them between your palms. Set aside.
5. Place the shredded coconut onto a cutting board or plate and roll the balls around in the coconut until fully coated.
6. Once again, roll the balls between your palms so that the coconut adheres and creates a “crust”.
7. Store in the refrigerator.

Estimated Nutrition Per Serving (1 truffle)

• Calories: 100 kcal
• Total Fat: 6g
  • Saturated Fat: 4g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
• Cholesterol: 2mg
• Sodium: 20mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 11g
  • Dietary Fiber: 1g
  • Sugars: 9g
• Protein: 1g

Please note that these nutrition values are approximate and can vary based on the specific brands and ingredients used.

A few things:

In case you missed my recipes for Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting and/or Fiery Red Chili with Loaded Cornbread, head on over to Living Graciously and check ‘em out!