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Carrot Banana Muffins {with honey cream cheese}

Carrot Banana Muffins {with honey cream cheese} | Gather & Dine

Last week’s spring break at home with the kids unintentionally resulted in a lot more baking and a lot less cooking.  Not quite sure how it ended up that way, but the days passed by quickly and I have no regrets of how we spent our time together.  One of the things my daughter looked forward to most over the break was being able to host a tea party for her grandparents.  According to her, it was to be a tea party featuring her scrambled eggs.  Scrambled eggs are her specialty; she loves to cook them for anyone who will eat them.  She has such a sense of accomplishment after she’s cracked her own eggs, whisked in the milk, sprinkled in the salt and pepper, and scrambled it together on the stove.  Although it may sound simple, to her it is not, and she is proud of being able to do everything on her own.  She couldn’t have been more excited about being able to cook for her grandparents.  It gives me great joy to see her taking initiative in bringing others together, to share good company and delicious food .

Along with Evelyn’s scrambled eggs, we served a bowl of fresh berries and arranged a tiered tray of cardamom vanilla breakfast cookies, mini-jars of soaked muesli with chia jam, and these carrot banana muffins.  I don’t know what else to say about these muffins besides that they are incredible.  They are sweetened almost entirely with dates, only a touch of honey, and made with a spelt and almond flour blend.  They are wonderful for breakfast, as a snack, or even as a healthy dessert.  The texture is fairly dense, but also very soft and moist. The honey cream cheese is a fun surprise in the middle and makes these taste like carrot cake without all of the added sugars.  Carrot cake for breakfast?  Oh yes, I can always be on board with that.

Carrot Banana Muffins {with honey cream cheese} | Gather & Dine Carrot Banana Muffins {with honey cream cheese} | Gather & Dine

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Carrot Banana Muffins {with honey cream cheese}
Serves: makes 16 muffins
 
Ingredients
  • 5 ounces cream cheese
  • 3½ tablespoons honey, divided
  • 1 cup spelt flour
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1½ cups mashed banana, (about 3-4 ripe bananas)
  • ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup pitted medjool dates, chopped (about 9-10 dates)
  • 2 medium carrots, grated
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
  1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and 1½ tablespoons honey until creamy and smooth. (Using a stand or hand mixer here is helpful.) Place in the refrigerator to chill while making the muffin batter.
  2. Preheat oven to 325. Lightly butter a 12-cup muffin tin and 4 cups of an additional muffin tin.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and coconut.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter, banana, vinegar, and remaining 2 tablespoons of honey. Stir in the dates. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the chopped walnuts.
  5. Place about 1 slightly heaped tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Transfer honey cream cheese to a piping bag. Cut the tip off and pipe a small amount of cream cheese in the middle of each muffin cup, dividing evenly among the 16 muffin cups. Divide the rest of the batter among the muffin cups, gently placing on top of the cream cheese.
  6. Bake 27-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. These taste delicious both at room temperature or chilled. Store remaining leftover muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
adapted from Andrew Weil's True Food
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Chocolate Amaretto Baked Donuts

Chocolate Amaretto Baked Donuts | Gather & Dine

It’s spring break and my kids are at home with me this week.  It’s a welcome break in the routine and I’ve especially enjoyed the slow mornings.  No alarm clocks, no last-minute lunch packing, no one frazzled running around trying to be on time for the bus.  Instead the kids have been enjoying some extra playtime while I work on special breakfast treats and fill the house with enticing scents of fresh-baked goodness.  For the longest time it seemed like mealtimes with small ones were always tiring, challenging, and frustrating.  If I wasn’t cleaning up a mess, I was up and down every five minutes getting something for someone.  I’ve recently realized that we’ve moved on from that phase of life and mealtimes with the kids are much more conversational, pleasant, and relaxing.  (Although we still have our fair share of sibling bickering at the table which is not at all pleasant and relaxing.)  For the most part, leisurely breakfasts are now a possibility.  And along with that comes so many more possibilities for what to make for breakfast.  I was fairly late to join the baked donuts fan club, but better late than never.  We are big fans of baked donuts now.  These Chocolate Amaretto Donuts have a classy rich grown-up flavor with the amaretto and a hint of  espresso, but they are still chocolate-y and sweet enough for the kids to enjoy.  Like most breakfast items I make, I prefer them not to be overly sweet, but feel free to increase the coconut sugar  by a tablespoon or two if so desired.

Chocolate Amaretto Baked Donuts | Gather & DineChocolate Amaretto Baked Donuts | Gather & DineChocolate Amaretto Baked Donuts | Gather & Dine

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Chocolate Amaretto Baked Donuts
Serves: 6 donuts
 
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup white whole wheat flour
  • ¼ cup dutch-process cocoa powder
  • ⅓ cup coconut sugar (add 1-2 extra tablespoons for a sweeter donut)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅓ cup buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons amaretto
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • powdered sugar or additional cocoa powder for dusting, optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt.
  3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, olive oil, egg, amaretto, and vanilla.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined. Do not over mix.
  5. Pipe the mixture evenly into the donut pan. (I use a small ziploc bag and cut the tip off one corner for piping.)
  6. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until donuts tops appear dry. Let cool in pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Donuts are best served slightly warm. Dust with powdered sugar or additional cocoa powder just before serving, if desired.
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Orange Cinnamon Scones with Dark Chocolate

Orange Cinnamon Scones with Dark Chocolate | Gather & Dine

On the days that I can manage to get myself up early enough to have some time before the kids wake up, I often choose to spend the quiet of the morning baking some sort of treat for breakfast.  I enjoy the peacefulness of being alone in the kitchen and the opportunity to temporarily set aside some of the more pressing tasks of the day.  It calms my spirit and is one of my best ways to begin the morning.

These orange cinnamon scones with dark chocolate are exactly what the title suggests- infused with hints of orange, warmly spiced with cinnamon, and studded throughout with chunks of dark chocolate.  They are completely whole-grain, but the texture is still remarkably light and tender thanks to the combination of the white whole wheat flour and the whole wheat pastry flour.  It’s a lovely way to take advantage of the bountiful citrus season upon us.

Orange Cinnamon Scones with Dark Chocolate | Gather & Dine Orange Cinnamon Scones with Dark Chocolate | Gather & Dine

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Orange Cinnamon Scones with Dark Chocolate
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • 2½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
  • 2 ounces chopped dark chocolate, about ⅓ cup
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest, from 1 large orange
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • ½ cup chilled heavy whipping cream
  • 1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Cut butter into small cubes and scatter over the dry ingredients. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter cubes into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate.
  3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, orange zest, orange juice, and cream. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
  4. Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and form two circles ¾" thick. Use a floured knife to cut each circle into 6 wedges. Transfer scones to the baking sheet, leaving at least 1" between each.
  5. Whisk together the egg yolk and water. Use a pastry brush to brush scones with the egg wash. Bake 13-16 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
Notes
adapted from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals
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