Boozy Butterfinger Caramel Apples

 
 I really adore fall. I love sweaters and moccasins and, you know, caramel apples. Chocolate Butterfinger Caramel Apples to be precise.
 The best part is, you can choose the level of homemade-i-ness you would like to achieve with this recipe. You can do this the really really easy way (The way I happened to have done this time): Melting down some already made ca

Secretly Healthy Chocolate Muffins!

 So a couple of days ago I was browsing the aisles of our local grocery store hoping for inspiration to jump out at me from the shelves. As if by magi
c, a bag of caramel pieces, apples, and caramel whiskey appeared in my cart.
 So I came home, carefully sliced 3 cups of apples and marinated them in caramel whisky overnight.
 In the morning I looked up some apple muffin recipes, modified one and added caramel pieces.
 So I was extremely excited for my boozy caramel apple muffins. They turned out beautifully as I took them out of the oven.
 After about ten minutes, the unthinkable happened.
 They collapsed. 

 My beautiful masterpiece... And this wasn't the first time it had happened to me. My quick bread often collapses.
 I think this particular issue was that I added 1/2 a cup of extra sugar. Threw off the chemistry, I suppose.
 But I did not give up. The next morning I threw on my apron and once again attempted to create a muffin recipe.
 This time, I baked two muffins as tests. The first one partially collapsed. So I added more flour and tested it again. The second one was the charm. I baked the rest and they turned out perfectly! So don't worry, this recipe is completely collapse-proof.
 Not to mention they are made with apple sauce, less sugar, and canola oil instead of butter, and Oat flour! Which means they are entirely gluten free! So they're a lot healthier than most muffins which makes them perfect for breakfast.

So as you probably know, two days ago was the first day of fall. Which made me feel like an idiot because I wrote a post three days ago and kept ranting about how it felt like fall but wasn't yet, whereas in reality it was only one day until fall. Ugh. Well, by now I'm sure you have already figured out how stupid I am.
 I look doubly stupid actually, because since I didn't realize fall was coming so quickly, I forgot about finishing my summer project. Doi.
 I did manage to work on it a lot, but it's' not finished. Oh well. I still have these delicious chocolate muffins to comfort me...

  I think I'll make those Nuttella Cinnamon Rolls. We're going to have company this weekend, and cinnamon rolls always seem kind of impressive. Okay, they're REALLY impressive. At least I am impressed by them.
 Maybe I'll change up the flavors in favor of Autumn. Pumpkin cinnamon rolls? Maple pecan cinnamon rolls? I don't know, what do you think?

 Well, I'd really love to chat with you, but I need to relax and watch an episode of Monk. Wait, you don't know the show "Monk"? The Obsessive Compulsive Detective? My childhood obsession? The dorkiest show ever aired? Wait, I really have to go, Monk just accidentally deleted all the police computer case files while cleaning crumbs off a keyboard and now this Commissioner with a toupe is about to fire him.

 What you will need...

1 Cup Apple Sauce
2 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Cup Oat Flour
1/2 Cup Coco Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

 What you will do...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place muffin liners in muffin tin and grease with Pam lightly.
Mix together wet ingredients.
In separate mixing bowl whisk together dry ingredients.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Batter will be pretty thin.
Fill muffin holes about 5/6 of the way full.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until you can press your finger lightly in the center of a muffin and it bounces back. Toothpick should come out with only a couple crumbs.
Enjoy!

Apple Hand Pies!

 I stepped outside this morning to a beautiful crisp fall morning. The smell of leaves and the hint of smoke from somewhere nearby. Leaves slapped me in the face as they raced down from their trees. It's finally time for sweaters, tea, and most importantly: Apple p

PB&J Pinwheels Kid's Lunchbox!

 So... You may have noticed the sudden and severe drop in the frequency of my posts. But it's not my fault, you see. I've been terribly busy. As you may

Painted Dried Flower Keepsakes

 So a couple weeks ago my most loyal reader (AKA, my grandma) gave me a call and said she had something she thought I might like to use in a craft for my blog. Curiosity pe

Banana Split Bites

 These bite-sized banana splits are perfectly chocolate-y, refreshing, and secretly healthy!
 Bananas are a perfect ingredient to help satisfy your sweet tooth, as well as having some fantastic health benefits. For instance, did you know bananas contain Dopamine, which is an important chemical responsible for affecting emotions and a person's sensation of pain or pleasure?
 For more interesting facts about bananas click HERE.



( You can visit my facebook page for a short video of how these are made! )

So I used a mini muffin tin for these delectable, bite-sized banana splits. And as I was writing the recipe, I was trying to describe where to put the banana slices... I realized there is no acceptable term for large... indentation... thingys which... contain muffins....

So I have created my own term for them. Drum roll please.....

                                                   MUFFIN HOLES 
Yes. Now no one will ever suffer from terminology confusion again. 

    I think I'll write my own book. It will be called, "Giving names random features of cooking tools that no one knows what they are called, but to be honest, you probably won't ever need to know the name of anyways because it's so random."
 Anyways... So you can really get creative with these banana split bites. You could make... strawberry sundae bites! Or you can use different flavors of ice cream! I made a few with mint chocolate chip ice cream (Shown below)!

Banana Split Bites!
What you will need:

2 Bananas
About 8oz Vanilla Ice Cream
2 Cups Chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
Funfetti Sprinkles

What you will do:

Lightly grease a mini muffin tin
Place one slice of banana in each Muffin Hole
Scoop a tablespoon of ice cream on top of each banana
Press a sheet of parchment paper on top, and press down
Freeze 15 minutes

While these are freezing, put peanut butter, coconut oil, and chocolate chips in a medium sauce pan. Melt on low heat until smooth.
Get the icecream covered bananas out of the freezer, remove the parchment paper and pour chocolate to the brim of each Muffin Hole. Chocolate will begin to freeze, so hastily sprinkle sprinkles on.
Freeze for at least 15 minutes. Loose edges of chocolate with a knife and remove from tin with a knife or spoon
ENJOY!

Overnight Sourdough, Perfect French Toast Bread

 I want to tell you about my grandpa. Why? Because I have the best grandpa on earth. I'm sitting in his room while he is lying in his bed watching the news. A woman came on screen and was reporting the weather, she mentioned there would be "High clouds", in other words, many clouds. But my grandpa can never pass up the opportunity to exercise his wit.
 "Really, Lady?? All clouds are high!"

 Aside from his fabulous wit, he's also handsome, kind, wise, and is playing the harmonica for me right now.
 It's a very rare treat for him to play his harmonica. He's very good at it. I mean, you would think anyone could blow on a stick and make a song come out, but... I can't. And he definitely can. It takes way more talent than you might think.
 As I am writing right now, he is still playing, and everyone in the house is gather around to hear. 8 people crowding around him to hear his songs.

Above, my grandpa with his kitty- he loves that cat so much! This picture was taken a few days ago on grandpa's 87th birthday. That pink cube the cat is in was my present for grandpa. Grandma said it was more like Kitty's birthday, because we get so many gifts for the cat. We do it because we know how much he loves his cat.

 Okay, I could talk about my grandpa all day, but for now: Bread.

Overnight Sourdough Perfect French Toast Bread

3 Scant Tablespoons Active Dry Yeast
2 Cups warm Water
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Salt
3-4 Cups Flour

Directions:

The water should be comfortably warm to your finger before you add the yeast. If the water is too hot it will murder the yeast. Murder, I say. It will not rise. You will be left with no bread and no friends. 
Whisk in the yeast with a fork. Let sit for 3 minutes to do its business.
Stir in the sugar and salt. Stir in 2 cups of the flour.
Get a cloth damp and drape it over your bowl. I like to use a textured dishcloth which leaves a beautiful design.
Let rise overnight.

In the morning add one cup of flour. Move dough to a stand mixer with dough hook attachment. Beat for 10 minutes. If your dough is runny, add another cup of flour. Dough should be sticky.
Move the dough to a well-greased cast iron pot.
Let rise 1 hour, then bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
After the fifteen minutes are up, turn down the heat to 350 and bake another 45 minutes and check if it is done: Your bread should be golden brown on top, and if you knock your knuckles on the top the crust should be hard and it should make a very hollow sound.
Run a knife along the edges and then turn the pot up-side-down, the bread should come out very easily. Let cool, and slice into thick pieces

For french toast

2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup milk
Fresh Strawberries
Nutella

Whisk together in a shallow, wide bowl. Lay a thick slice of your bread on the egg, and flip it over until ALL the egg is absorbed. Fry with butter. Coat strawberries with Nutella. ENJOY! 

Easy Spinach Artichoke Dip

There are days in all of our lives when we are consumed with laziness. My life is one of those