chocolate chips – Oven Love

Healthier Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Giants

Natalie — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:19:15 +0000

Hold on to your hats, people!

I actually captured a photograph of something edible. Something delicious. Something for YOU!

You guys, I have to confess that I have been mentally opposed to #pumpkiningallthethings this season. It could be because I took a beach vacation at the end of September, or maybe because the food industry has really out-pumpkined itself this year. I mean, Pumpkin Spice Pringles is taking it past the point of no return. Put your thinking caps on, guys. You can do better!

Nevertheless, I had a can of pumpkin in the pantry and I remembered this old Oven Love recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Giants. I hadn’t pulled it up in a while, and when I did, I saw some ingredients in that recipe that I’m not really friends with anymore- namely white sugar and canola oil (all-purpose flour and I only see each other when absolutely necessary). So I embarked on some kitchen experimentation to see if I could substitute some pantry items and make it work.

I swapped out the white sugar for coconut sugar, used coconut oil instead of canola and substitute freshly-milled soft white wheat flour for the all-purpose. I knew by looking at the batter that they wouldn’t come out exactly the same, but I was hopeful.

The cookies bake up nice and puffy- no spreading, which I love. The texture isn’t quite as airy with the coconut sugar and whole grain flour, but I kind of liked it that way. The cookies had a nice nutty flavor that they didn’t before. You’ll definitely need a glass of milk with these if you eat them straight out of the oven, but they will relax after resting for a day or two.

If you loved the original recipe, I’d encourage playing around with it and substituting your own favorite pantry items. Recipes are more flexible than you think!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Healthier Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Giants

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: dessert

Serves: 16

Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup coconut sugar
½ cup melted coconut oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon milk, dairy or non-dairy
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole grain flour (I used soft white wheat that we grind at home, but you could use a store-bought whole grain flour of your choice. I would think you could substitute a cup-for-cup gluten-free blend here as well with no problem.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups chocolate chunks or chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk pumpkin, coconut sugar, coconut oil, egg, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. In another bowl, stir the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix well. Add chocolate and stir to combine.
Scoop batter with an ice cream scoop and drop onto the parchment paper, leaving space between the cookies. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotate in the oven, then bake 8-10 minutes more until puffed and set in the center.
Let cool on wire racks before serving and store in an air-tight container.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Natalie — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:12:00 +0000

I love posts that have the labels “chocolate” and “vegetables” together. Sometimes it seems my main goal in life is figuring out how to fit chocolate into every meal.

Still working on it.

Chocolate-covered broccoli probably wouldn’t go over well with my crew. Or would it..

Back to reality!

I made this cake last night because

a) we had nothing sweet in the house to consume (????)

b) we have a fridge bursting with garden produce

c) I need chocolate to survive.

I really want to say this cake is healthy, but it would be more accurate to say it is healthier than most cakes. It has lots of ingredients I deem healthy (zucchini, olive oil, greek yogurt, whole wheat flour), but also a few of the usual suspects like sugar and chocolate chips and butter (which I actually think is not so bad if you get it from a good source- we need good fats, people!). If you are feeling like a super-healthy person, I’m sure you could sub out the sugar for another sweetener and switch out anything else you don’t like, but it will probably taste less like cake and more like a chocolate-flavored brick. But, by all means- eat, drink and make chocolate bricks if that’s your thing.

I’m going to be real and tell you the reason I didn’t photograph the full cake is because I cut two giant slices for the hubs and I to eat not more than 10 minutes after it was out of the oven. Hot chocolate cake with smooth chocolate ganache running down the sides is like a big chocolate party in your mouth. For research purposes only (ahem), I tried it at room temperature today- it was still tasty, but I could tell it was losing a little moisture (due to all that healthiness inside). This can surely be remedied with another batch of ganache. Or some ice cream. Or a giant glass of cold, cold milk.

Raise a glass of raw milk and get your forks. Here’s to your health!

(Recipe adapted from Buttered Up.)

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup olive oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
½ cup yogurt (I use greek)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1¼ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder (optional)
2 cups shredded zucchini
½ cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cake pan (I used a 10-inch round springform pan because there’s a lot of batter) with butter and flour or baking spray.
Cream the butter, oil, sugars, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder and salt together until well-combined. Beat the eggs in one at a time. Add half of the flour, stir; add the yogurt, stir; and add the rest of the flour, cocoa powder and espresso powder (if using) and stir again. Add the zucchini and chocolate chips and stir to combine. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Meanwhile, place the chocolate into a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream, sugar and water until warm (not boiling) and pour it over the chocolate. Stir to combine. Let sit until thickened.
When you’re ready to serve, you can pour the chocolate sauce over the whole cake or on individual sliced. You can serve hot or at room temperature, but it is best enjoyed in the first day or two of baking.

Coconut Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Natalie — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:15:00 +0000

Lesson learned so far in life with two babies: sometimes you will just need to make cookies.

In some ways, parenting two has been easier than I thought. I bounced back from the birth easier, I am actually able to get us all out of the house in a decent amount of time, I can manage them both by myself. Some days I think I’m doing pretty great at this mom thing. Other days, when one is screaming, then the other is screaming, then they’re both screaming.. well, cookies happen.

These cookies have been on my list to try for a long time. They didn’t turn out quite like Joy’s, but I like the changes I made and they sure are addicting. I love the addition of coconut to a basic chocolate chip cookie, but the browned butter and coconut oil mixture takes this one over the top. My cookies didn’t spread much, so I like to think of them as little nuggets of deliciousness (see recipe below for my thoughts on that).

So the next time you’re having one of those days with all the screaming, make these cookies after things quiet down. They’ll help you forget all about it.

Coconut Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

adapted for Joy The Baker- http://joythebaker.com/2011/04/brown-butter-toasted-coconut-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 24

Ingredients

¼ cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1 stick unsalted butter
4 oz coconut oil
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine grain salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On one baking sheet, spread out shredded coconut. Toast coconut for 4-6 minutes, until browned and fragrant. Sweetened coconut will brown faster, so watch it carefully. Remove from the oven, place in a small bowl and let cool.
Melt butter and coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam and crackle. That’s a great sign. That means that the water is evaporating from the butter. Once the crackling subsides, keep an eye on the butter. The butter solids will begin to brown. You’ll smell the butter as it browns. Once well browned, immediately remove the butter from the flame and place in a small bowl. Removing the butter from the pan will ensure that it doesn’t continue to cook and burn in the hot pan. Allow the butter to cool for a few moments.
**Joy suggests using ¾ cup of the melted butter mixture- I got closer to 1 cup but used the ¾ cup and my dough was a little drier than I’d like, so I would suggest trying the full amount. I think this is why the cookies didn’t spread much.**
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, measure granulated and brown sugar. Add the brown butter mixture and beat together, on medium speed, for about 2 minutes. The sugar may still look grainy. That’s ok.
Add the egg and egg yolk and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. The mixture should become silky smooth. Add vanilla extract and beat.
With mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients. Beat until just incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the toasted coconut and chocolate chips. Dough will be thick.
Cookies can be baked immediately, or the dough can be left in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Spoon balls by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown but still slightly soft in the center. Remove from the oven. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vegan CocoNana Mini Muffins

Natalie — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:49:00 +0000

Even though I’m not living the vegan lifestyle anymore, I’m still finding ways to enjoy vegan recipes in my diet. I saw this recipe this morning on Miss Mary‘s blog and I had to jump right in and make them! They looked delicious and simple, and they were.

The name CocoNana refers to the coconut milk, cocoa and banana in the recipe(the title of the original post was way too long and boring). I made just a few changes to Mary’s recipe- I used white whole wheat flour, added chocolate chips and upped the cinnamon a good bit. I also loved the idea of baking these as minis. They are a perfect small bite for the kids and you can easily pass them off as dessert.

The best thing about this vegan recipe is that you don’t have to use any strange, unfamiliar ingredients. You might have everything in your pantry (or an easy substitute). Thanks, Mary, for the excellent idea!

(adapted from The Food Librarian and Love&Olive Oil)

Vegan CocoNana Mini Muffins

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

adapted from The Food Librarian and Love&Olive Oil. Makes about 32 mini muffins.

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Dessert, Breakfast, Snack

Serves: 32

Ingredients

½ cup ripe banana (about 1 banana)
½ cup coconut milk (feel free to sub another milk if you like, dairy or non-dairy)
⅓ cup canola oil, melted butter, ghee or coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sugar
1 cup white whole wheat flour (use all-purpose if you don’t have this on hand)
⅓ cup cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin tins with mini muffin cups.
In a small bowl, mash the banana. Whisk in coconut milk, canola oil, vanilla and sugar. In a larger bowl, sift in white whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients in the center and mix with a spatula until just combined- don’t overmix! Quickly fold in the chocolate chips. Use a small ice cream scoop/melon baller to fill the mini muffin cups. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on wire racks and serve.

Part-Time Vegan, Day 4

Natalie — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:31:00 +0000

I ate too many cookies today.

‘Cause, you know.. sugar’s vegan. (Woo hoo!)

Breakfast was a peanut butter banana wrap with almond milk.

Lunch was the salad bar at Lane’s.

Snack was (too many!!) vegan chocolate chip cookies.

Dinner was leftover pasta.

Let me just tell you about this banana wrap. I make this for breakfast ALL. THE. TIME. It’s my go-to, seriously. Thank goodness I can still eat it! I usually use honey, but I can handle the small switch to agave nectar. So, so easy and quick- a great snack, and a hit with the little ones.

And these chocolate chip cookies? Hold the phone. I didn’t know butter-less, egg-less cookies could be so yummy! They remind me of my pumpkin chocolate chip giants without the pumpkin. Where have these been all my life? Someone restrain me.

Things I learned today:

Vegan baking can be pretty awesome.

I need more nutrients (even with all my vitamins above, haha).. I’m tired! But that could also be all the running around after my baby, who knows.
The vegan trial is really making me think about what I’m putting in my mouth. If I’m not sure, I won’t eat it, but if I’m sure, I might overdo it (seriously, someone hide the cookies). I should really apply the discernment to my normal diet.

Recipes below..

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

27 mins

adapted from Steph Chows

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 24

Ingredients

⅓ cup sugar (I used organic)
⅓ cup brown sugar
¼ cup canola oil, coconut oil, melted butter or ghee
¼ cup apple butter (apple sauce would probably work, too)
½ cup almond milk (or non dairy milk of your choice… or use milk, they just wont be vegan anymore)
2 Tbs cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Mix sugars and oil for a minute, then add in milk and tapioca flour, beat until all incorporated. Add half the flour baking soda, salt and mix well. Add in remaining dry and then fold in chocolate chips.
Drop rounded tablespoonfulls of dough onto parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, press down slightly with your fingers. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Peanut Butter Banana Wrap

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

2 mins

Total time

7 mins

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Snack

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 soft whole wheat tortilla
1 banana, peeled
1-2 tablespoons peanut butter
1-2 teaspoons honey or agave nectar
2-4 tablespoons granola or other crunchy cereal
also feel free to switch it up, adding dried fruit and nuts is a good option, too!

Instructions

Spread your peanut butter on your wrap, sprinkle with honey or agave nectar, granola and any extras. Wrap it up and enjoy!