Snacks and Appetizers Archives

May 13, 2015

Puffed Amaranth Crispie Bars {with Drizzled Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Flakes}

It was recently teacher appreciation week at my son’s school and I signed up to bring a sweet treat for “dessert bar” day. Deciding on what dessert to bring to events is always tough for me. Not because I can’t think of anything to bring, but my mind is always too full of ideas for what to bring. This time I wanted something sweet, salty, bite-size, and relatively healthy. I came up with these puffed amaranth crispie bars and felt so happy about being able to share with all of the hardworking teachers at school. These no-bake bars are chewy and crispy, bound together with a blend of almond butter and honey, and finished with a drizzle of dark chocolate and a sprinkle of salt. Amaranth, rich in nutrients and containing all of the essential amino acids, has recently made its way into our kitchen and I have been loving this supergrain. The amaranth along with sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds deliver a bit of crunch while the brown rice crisps make these bars crispy and light. Enjoy these for dessert, snack, or even as a quick breakfast.

Puffed Amaranth Crispie Bars

Serves: 15 2x1½-inch bars

Ingredients

¾ cup puffed amaranth (see note)
1¼ cup brown rice crisps
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup hemp seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds
⅓ cup creamy almond butter
⅓ cup honey
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ ounces dark chocolate
flaky sea salt for finishing, such as Maldon

Instructions

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, add the puffed amaranth, brown rice crisps, coconut, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
In a small saucepan, stir the the almond butter, honey, coconut sugar, and salt together over medium-low heat until sugar and salt are dissolved, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in vanilla.
Working quickly, pour the almond butter mixture over the amaranth mixture and mix together until thoroughly combined. Use the back of a rubber spatula or lightly oiled hands to press the mixture firmly into prepared pan. Chill until firm, at least an hour.
Set a small glass mixing bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and place the chocolate in the mixing bowl. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Use the parchment paper to lift bars out of the pan and onto a work surface. Use a teaspoon to drizzle the chocolate. Wait a few minutes for chocolate to begin to set and then lightly sprinkle sea salt flakes over the chocolate. Return to the refrigerator and wait for chocolate to completely set, about 20 minutes, before cutting into bars. These are best stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Notes

To make puffed amaranth, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes. (Do not use a small pot or saucepan. Even though the amaranth seeds are tiny, they need quite of bit of space in order pop properly.) Add amaranth 1 tablespoon at a time. Cover immediately and give the pan a quick shake to distribute the seeds evenly. The amaranth should begin popping right away if the pan is hot enough. Give the pan a quick shake every 3-4 seconds. After the popping begins to slow (usually around 12-15 seconds), remove pan from heat and allow amaranth to continue popping off heat for another few seconds. It's better to leave some seeds unpopped than to burn the whole batch. The unpopped seeds can be used along with the popped seeds. Transfer the popped amaranth into another bowl to cool and repeat with remaining amaranth. 3 tablespoons of amaranth will yield slightly more than ¾ cup of puffed amaranth. Sprinkle the extra on granola, cereal, etc.

Inspired by At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen

March 27, 2015

Pineapple Coconut Chia Shakes

Smoothies are always a welcome treat at breakfast and I like them because they are quick and a great way to load up on nutrients to begin the day. Once in a while I also like to surprise my kids with a smoothie for their afternoon snack while we chat about their school days. When it comes to smoothies, my style is more the “throw random fruits and vegetables into the blender” method rather than the “read and follow a recipe” method. I even have a beautiful smoothie cookbook, but it always seems so much easier to improvise. Despite the lack of measuring, the smoothies somehow always end up tasting fine. This is one combination that we enjoy so much however that I measured everything out just so that I could share it with you. Its flavor is similar to a pina colada minus the rum (since I’m usually making these for the kids) and it’s fun to dream about being at the beach on a sunny tropical island whenever we have these. The chia seeds thicken up the smoothie into more of a “shake” consistency while adding a healthy dose of Omega-3s. Just note that the chia seeds need at least a few hours to soak so this is probably best made the evening before if you’re planning for breakfast.

Pinapple Coconut Chia Shakes

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

2½- 3 cups fresh pineapple chunks
½ banana
1 13.5-ounce can light coconut milk, about 1½ cups
2 tablespoons chia seeds

Instructions

Place the pineapple chunks, banana, and coconut milk into the blender and blend on high until completely smooth and creamy.
Pour half of mixture into a quart size mason jar along with the chia seeds. Close lid and shake until chia seeds are well distributed. Add the rest of the pineapple mixture and shake again. Refrigerate for at least a 3 hours until thoroughly chilled and chia seeds thicken.

Notes

inspired by Amy Chapin's Peach Chia Shake from At Home in the Whole Foods Kitchen

February 23, 2015

Animal Crackers {Chocolate and Cinnamon}

These are the result of what happens when there are days in a row of negative temperatures, even more negative with the wind chills, and my kids are forced to stay indoors away from all of the magnificent snow. We bake. This time we invited our sweet next door neighbor girls over to join us and together we all had a wonderful and cozy time rolling dough and making lots of cute animal crackers. Coconut oil animal crackers to be exact. And along with using coconut oil, these also are made with whole wheat pastry flour, and sweetened with coconut sugar and a touch of honey. I like to think these are far more virtuous than any animal crackers bought in a store. We had a hard time deciding whether we enjoyed the chocolate or cinnamon crackers more, so I’m including both versions here. With more negative temps on the way, it’s time to start thinking about what my next kiddo baking project is going to be…

Cinnamon Animal Crackers

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup coconut sugar
½ teaspoon sea salt
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
¼ cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons dark molasses
2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

In the bowl of stand mixer, combine flours, coconut sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, coconut oil, honey, molasses, and milk. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix together on medium speed until just combined. Form dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Gently knead the dough on a floured surface until the dough is smooth. Roll out dough on a well-floured surface until it is about 1/16-inch thick. Use mini animal cutters to cut into shapes and transfer to prepared baking sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes until tops appear dry and edges start to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Notes

adapted from King Arthur Flour

Chocolate Animal Crackers

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup dutch processed cocoa powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
¼ cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons dark molasses
2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

In the bowl of stand mixer, combine flours, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, coconut oil, honey, molasses, and milk. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix together on medium speed until just combined. Form dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Gently knead the dough on a floured surface until the dough is smooth. Roll out dough on a well-floured surface until it is about 1/16-inch thick. Use mini animal cutters to cut into shapes and transfer to prepared baking sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes until tops appear dry. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Notes

adapted from King Arthur Flour