Four Healthy Mug Cakes
My first mug cake recipe appeared in a newspaper circular. Later I read that there are hundreds of mug cake recipes online. I looked into that claim and discovered that most of them have been developed as desserts—good for homebound singles, maybe, but, taste-wise, not worth the time, trouble or calories. The mug cakes below have healthy ingredients with comparatively little sugar or fat and are ideal for small meals taken alone: breakfast, lunch, or afternoon snack.
As indicated by the term “mug cake,” most of these can be mixed up, microwaved, and eaten in the same large mug.
Cocoa-Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Whisk together:
3T whole wheat flour
2-3t unsweetened cocoa powder
2t sugar
¼ cup milk
2T peanut butter
¼ baking powder
Microwave for 90 seconds.
Almond Mug Cake
Whisk together in the following order:
1 large egg
1T maple syrup
2T milk or buttermilk
¼t almond flavor
3T almond meal or flour
¼t baking powder
Microwave for 90 seconds.
Carrot Mug Cake
Whisk together in the following order:
1 egg
1T maple syrup
½t vanilla
2T milk
2T whole wheat flour
¼ t cinnamon
pinch of salt
¼ baking powder
dash of nutmeg and/or cloves (opt.)
2T chopped or ground nuts
1 small carrot, peeled and grated
1T raisins
Microwave for 90 seconds.
Chocolate Banana Mug Cake
This one comes out more like a pudding. A large banana and the chocolate chips may make it sweet enough without the sugar.
Put the following in a food processor or beat vigorously by hand:
1 ripe banana
1 egg
2T almond butter
2T cocoa powder
2t sugar (opt.)
Place the mixture in your mug and drop 2T chocolate chips on top.
Microwave for 2.5 minutes.
These cookies make a delicious, healthy snack, low in fat and sugar.
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup flour
½ t baking powder
1/8 t salt
¼ t cinnamon
Beat until stiff:
5 egg whites
Add:
3 T sugar
1 t vanilla
to the egg whites; continue beating for 5 minutes.
Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the coconut mixture by hand. Use a teaspoon to drop the batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.
Amazingly delicious with or without whipped cream!
2/3 cup of sugar
3 T butter
1 t grated lemon rind
3 juiced lemons
4 eggs, separated
1/3 cup flour
1.5 cups milk
Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg yolks; beat until light yellow. Sift and add in the flour, beating on a lower speed, then add the milk, lemon rind and lemon juice. Beat the egg whites and fold them into the lemon mixture. Pour into a casserole dish and place it in a pan with water. Bake for 45 min - 1 hour at 350°.
Toast ½ cup of pecans in a 300° oven for 10 minutes, then chop.
Combine:
1.25 cups flour
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
Cut in: 2.5 T butter (by hand or in a food processor)
Place 1 egg in a measuring cup and whisk until it is uniform in color; add buttermilk to the cup until you have ½ cup liquid. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated into the dough. (To keep the dumplings tender, do not over-mix or knead.) Split the dough into 10 golf-ball-size balls and place them on a cutting board or plate.
Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil:
1.5 cups water
¾ cup maple syrup
¼ t salt
Turn down the heat and drop half of the balls of dough into the pan. Cover and let them boil for 8-10 minutes. Remove them to bowls and place these in a warming drawer or warm oven. Add 1.25 cups water to the liquid remaining in the saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil once more and repeat this process with the remaining balls of dough.
While the dough is cooking, beat 1 cup of whipping cream and stir in 2T maple syrup.
Serve the dumplings in bowls, topped with the remaining liquid from your saucepan, whipped cream and chopped pecans.
Light and not too sweet, this cheesecake is amazing!
8 double graham crackers
¾ cup walnuts
2 T brown sugar
2 T melted butter
Food process the graham crackers and walnuts with 2 T sugar. Add 2 T melted butter. Press the mixture onto the bottom of a 10” spring-back pan and bake for 10 minutes in a 325° oven.
***
4 8-oz pkgs Neufchatel (low fat) cream cheese
½ cup brown sugar
½ t cinnamon
¼ t ginger
1/8 t allspice (or cloves)
1/8 t nutmeg
1 cup low fat sour cream
½ cup maple syrup
4 eggs
Beat the cream cheese, spices, and sugar in a mixer until blended. Add the sour cream and maple syrup and mix. Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating on low. Pour this mixture over the crust.
Bake at 325° for 70-90 minutes until the center is almost set. Run a knife around the rim of the pan to loosen the cake. Cool completely before removing the rim. Refrigerate the cake for 4 hours or more.
***
½ cup whipping cream
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup chopped walnuts
Remove the cake to a serving plate. Bring the cream and maple syrup to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Simmer 10-12 minutes or until reduced to about 2/3 cup. Cool mixture completely, then drizzle it over the cheesecake and sprinkle the nuts on top.
Add the orange juice to this recipe if you enjoy a hint of orange flavor in your food. Leaving out the OJ out will preserve more of the pure maple flavor.
Maple Salmon
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup maple syrup
1 T brown mustard
2 T orange juice, opt.
* * * *
1 lb salmon filet
salt, pepper to taste
Mix up the marinade, pour it into a baking dish or shallow plate, and place the salmon, skin-side up, in the marinade. Let it rest there for at least 20 minutes. Then place the salmon in a broiling pan, skin-side down, pour the marinade over it, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil for 20 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Open the oven and spoon the marinade back over the salmon from time to time while it is cooking. To serve, place the broiled salmon on a plate and pour the remaining marinade over it.
This maple treat will brighten up a cold afternoon.
Maple Popcorn
a fun and healthy country treat
1/2 cup unpopped corn
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/8 t salt
1 T butter
1/4-1/2 cup of peanuts (optional)
Dry pop the popcorn. Pick up the popped corn in your hands and remove to a large mixing bowl, leaving the unpopped kernels behind.
Heat the butter, salt, and maple syrup in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens and becomes slightly stiff when a few drips are dropped into cold water. If you use peanuts, add them to the maple mixture when you take it off the stove.
Pour the maple mixture over the popped corn, mixing quickly with a wooden spoon until each kernel has a touch of maple on it.
The maple popcorn will form into small chunks and can be eaten this way by hand. To form popcorn balls, double the maple syrup and butter, and, after pouring the thickened maple syrup on the popcorn, form it quickly into firm balls.
This is a popular Christmas cookie in Germany. It’s easy to make and, with no added fat, will keep throughout the Christmas season.
250 grams ground hazelnuts or 2 cups whole, roasted and blanched hazelnuts.
4 egg whites
½ cup sugar
whole hazelnuts for decorating
If using whole hazelnuts,* chop them as fine as possible in a food processor. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add the sugar slowly with the mixer still running. Set your timer for 10 minutes and continue beating. A very stiff meringue will form. Add the hazelnuts to the meringue and mix by hand.
Drop spoonfuls of this mixture onto cookie sheets covered with pergament (parchment) paper. Place a whole hazelnut in the middle of each cookie and bake at 325 for 18-20 minutes. Cool and store in airtight containers.
*Ground hazelnuts may be available somewhere in the U.S., but I don’t know where. Blanched, roasted hazelnuts are available at Trader Joe’s.
This comfort food from France is easy to make. It can be served for breakfast (or breakfast-like dinners) or you can add more sugar, make it in a pie pan and serve it for dessert.
4 eggs
2-3 T sugar
1 t vanilla
2 cups whole milk or 1 cup ½ & ½ and one cup low fat or skim milk
¼ t salt
¾ cup flour
12 oz. canned cherries (about 2 cups)
2 T melted butter
Beat the eggs with the sugar (by hand is fine) and add the vanilla, milk, salt, and flour. Drain any liquid off the cherries. Grease a square baking pan and place the cherries in the bottom. Pour half the batter over the cherries. Make sure the cherries are more or less evenly spaced, but try not to discolor the batter too much. Place the pan with the cherries and batter in the oven for 20 minutes.
Melt the butter and mix it into the remaining batter. Upon removing the pan from the oven, pour the batter with the butter over the partially baked clafouti and return it to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until the center is set.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
This childhood favorite may derive from the Hudson River Valley, where my mother grew up. While acquaintances in both the Midwest and East Coast are invariably unfamiliar with it, our friends in Western Massachusetts nod knowingly when presented with a loaf. (Anyone with more information on the origins of this treat, please be in touch!) It is, in any case, a delicious and, when sliced, decorative alternative to the obligatory, often untouched, fruitcake. Like many traditional European Christmas treats, Bishop’s Bread has no shortening, so it keeps well throughout the Christmas season.
Bishop’s Bread
Beat until frothy:
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs.
Sift and mix in:
1&1/2 cups flour
1&1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt.
Stir in:
4 oz. chocolate chips (c. 1/2 cup)
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup candied cherries
Pour batter into a well-greased loaf pan and bake at 325° for c. 50 minutes or until no batter sticks to a knife or other testing device. When the loaf has cooled completely, wrap it in foil. Slice it thin when ready to serve.
* * * * *
Incredibly thick and rich, this eggnog is a meal in itself. We drink it for breakfast on Christmas morning while we open our presents. Multiply the recipe by however many people you are serving.
Christmas Eggnog
1 egg, separated
1t sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup whipped cream
1/4 t rum flavoring (or as much real rum as you wish to consume)
nutmeg to taste
Beat the egg whites, then whip the cream. Set each aside. Beat the egg yolks and the sugar until they are a light yellow. Add the milk and rum flavoring and blend. Fold in the beaten egg whites and whipped cream. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.
* * * * *
The sweet taste of bananas contrasts deliciously with the tart cranberries. I put them into the bread whole to intensify that delightful burst of sour.
Banana-Cranberry Bread
½ cup sugar
5 T butter
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
3 ripe bananas
***
2 cups flour
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
***
1 cup walnuts
2 cups cranberries
Prepare a loaf pan. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer; add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add the bananas by breaking off pieces and mixing until there are no lumps left.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the banana mixture, mixing by hand until just moist. Stir in the walnuts and cranberries.
Bake at 350 for 70-90 minutes or until your tester comes out clean.
I have wonderful childhood memories of big frosted sugar cookies encrusted with non-pareils. This delicious low-sugar, low-fat recipe makes thin, crisp, wafer-like figures that can be frosted and decorated. No matter how many fancy cookie recipes I make, these are always the favorites.
Crispy Cut-Out Cookies
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2/3-1 cup sugar*
2 eggs
2 T cream
2 t vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 t soda
1/2 t BP
1/4 t salt
1 t nutmeg
Cream the butter and the sugar. *(Use less sugar, 2/3-3/4 cup, if you intend to frost the cookies, more, c. 1 cup, if you sprinkle colored sugars directly on the cookies instead of frosting them.) Beat in the eggs, cream and vanilla.
Sift the flour, soda, BP and nutmeg together. Add it to the butter mixture and mix on low.
Form the dough into a ball and chill it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or more. Roll it out to about 1/4 in thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Sprinkle with colored sugar at this stage if you do not intend to frost the cookies. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Let them cool completely before applying frosting.
Frosting:
Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix with 3/4 cup cream and 1 t vanilla. For colored frosting, divide frosting into separate bowls, depending on how many colors you want. Add 1-2 drops of the desired food color to each bowl. Spread the frosting on the cookies and sprinkle with non-pareils** or colored sugar.
Makes c. 5 dozen cookies.
**To encrust the cookies with non-pareils as shown in the picture, you will need close to 1 pound. Many grocery stores sell 13 oz. jars of non-pareils. Otherwise, try to buy them in bulk at a bakery or specialty shop.
I used to think that making a pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin would entail a huge amount of work and maybe not taste all that good. Wrong on both counts! After Libby’s pumpkin crop failed several years ago and the cost of canned pumpkin went sky-high, I decided to try a real pumpkin. The results were amazing: light, sweet, smooth, the best pumpkin pie I’d ever had. I even reduced the fat content by using fat-free evaporated milk, and it was still tastier than any previous pie.
The difference is that canned pumpkin is made from big ordinary pumpkins like the ones we carve for Halloween. Sugar pumpkins, on the other hand, are small but incredibly sweet. One medium sugar pumpkin is good for one pie, but you can save time and money if you buy several, seeking out the largest. Prepare the pumpkin as per the recipe below and freeze enough for future pies. I love this fruit so much I started growing it and harvested 20 pumpkins last year, enough for years of pies!
Sugar Pumpkin Pie
Preparing the pumpkin:
Cut a sugar pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Place each half, flesh side down, on a jelly roll baking pan (cookie sheet with sides); add 1 cup of water and bake at 400 for about 30 minutes or until a fork can pierce the flesh and it comes away from the skin easily. When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh away from the skin and puree it in a food processor.
Crust for one pie:
(Use your favorite recipe, a store-bought crust or the recipe below. Prepare the crust while the pumpkin is baking.)
Cut 1/3 cup butter into 1 cup flour and 1/4 t salt. Add 2-3 T water and mix quickly until the flour mixture is moist and clingy, but not too wet. Roll out the dough and place it into a 9” pie pan. Crimp the edges and prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. (If you have a food processor, process the butter, salt and flour, then add the water and pulse a few more times.)
Pumpkin filling:
2 cups pureed sugar pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves
1 12-oz can evaporated milk (fat free, 2%, or regular will all work)
By hand, beat together all the ingredients except the milk until the pumpkin is a uniform color. Beat in the milk, still by hand, and pour the mixture into your crust. Place in a 450 oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 and bake for another 40-50 minutes until done. (You can test doneness by inserting a knife in the middle. If it comes out clean, the pie is ready.)
Apple-Stuffed French Toast
Stuffing
Peel and slice thinly: 5-6 apples
Heat 1T oil in a medium-hot frying pan. Place the sliced apples in the pan and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook until they are soft but not mushy.
Place 8 oz. cream cheese or Neufchatel (low fat cream cheese) in a blender. Add 1 t sugar and 1/2 cup of the cooked apples and blend.
Reserve the remaining cooked apples.
French toast
Heat oven to 170.
Set out: 12 slices of dense bread, preferably slightly dry
Mix: 3 eggs
3 cups milk
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1 T sugar
Pour 1/3 of the mixture into a flat-bottomed pan and soak four pieces of bread in the mixture. Allow the mixture to soak into one side, then turn and allow the bread to soak until it is thoroughly penetrated with the mixture, but do not allow the bread to become so soggy that it breaks apart easily. You should be able to pick up each piece with a fork and transfer it to a frying pan. (If your bread becomes too soggy to lift with a fork, use a spatula.) Fry the bread slices in about 1 T. of oil until evenly brown on both sides and cooked all the way through.
Repeat this process until all of the slices are cooked. Store cooked slices on an oven-proof plate in the warm oven until all 12 slices are cooked.
Spread each slice of French toast with the cream cheese mixture. Spoon the reserved cooked apples onto six of the slices and spread them evenly. Top the apples with another slice of French toast, cream cheese side down. Repeat until you have 6 French toast “sandwiches.” Sprinkle the sandwiches with powdered sugar, cut in half, and serve with maple syrup.
Makes 6 servings.
One 8 oz. package of cream cheese makes enough for the six servings in this recipe. You can cut the recipe down by making less French toast (divide eggs and milk by six for each two slices; other ingredients to taste). The leftover cream cheese spread is delicious on anything.
Apple Soufflé
Unlike many other soufflés, this one is delicious hot or cold.
Peel, core, and slice 5-6 apples. Cook them in 3T butter over medium-low heat until they are soft.
Separate 8 eggs and beat the yolks in a large bowl with the rind and juice from 1 lemon, 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream, 2T sugar, 2T flour, 1/2 cup ground almonds, and a pinch of salt.
Spoon the cooked apples with their juice into the yolk mixture and mix. Allow the mixture cool, while you:
Beat the 8 egg whites until they hold a peak, then fold into the apple mixture.
Pour this mixture into an oblong, lightly greased baking pan, preferably glass, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.
Apple Crisp
A low fat version of an old favorite...
8 apples, peeled and sliced
1 T white sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 cup water
1 T lemon juice
*
2/3 cup flour
3 T butter or margarine
3 T brown sugar
1/4 t salt
2/3 cup quick oats
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Butter a square glass baking dish. Slice the apples into a bowl and mix with the sugar and spices. Place in the baking dish, add the water and lemon juice. Cut together the flour, butter, brown sugar, and salt. (This can be done by hand or in a food processor.) Add the quick oats, chopped nuts and cinnamon. Spread the topping over the apples and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.
Apple Cake with Walnuts and Cream Cheese
3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 T sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
pinch of salt
Combine sliced apples, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon; sprinkle very slightly with salt, toss, and set aside.
***
1.5 cups flour
1 t BP
1/4 t salt
1/3 cup sugar
3 T butter
1/2 cup Neufchatel (low fat) cream cheese
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup walnuts
1 T butter, melted
Sift flour, BP, and salt together and set aside. Cream the sugar, butter, and cheese. Add the eggs and vanilla. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beating only until combined.
Place the batter in a buttered, oblong baking pan. Sprinkle the walnuts on top. Place the apple mixture over the nuts and brush with the melted butter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
***
1/4 cup apricot jam
2 t fruit juice
Mix the apricot jam and the fruit juice over low heat in a small saucepan. Brush it over the apples while the cake is still hot. Let the cake cool before serving.