If your parchment paper stuck it’s from using an inferior brand. Reynolds brand always works for me. I got a cheaper parchment paper once and everything stuck to it. I only use Reynolds brand – it never sticks. (This is not a paid endorsement, I’m just sharing what works for me). NOTE: Wax paper is NOT the same as parchment paper. DO NOT USE WAX PAPER in the oven because it will melt onto your food.
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Double Chocolate Cookies
There are three ways to make these cookies depending on the amount of flour you use. You can make them more chunky and firm or softer and spreadable. My original recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour. But you can use less flour for a softer cookie. See my examples below:
You can never go wrong with a chocolate dessert. I always use Dutch processed cocoa for two reasons. One, it’s less bitter than regular cocoa and two, it produces a rich dark color as you can see. It’s not always easy to find but right now my store carries Droste brand cocoa so that’s what I use. Always looking for ways to reduce saturated fat, I reduced it even more today. Instead of 1/4 cup of butter I used 3 tablespoons and then I increased the oil from 1/2 cup to 1/3 of a cup. No matter how good something sweet looks, if the butter is measured in sticks, I always pass. I know from experience that you can make delicious, healthier desserts with very little and many times, no butter at all. For dinner I made a salad and my vegetable-bean pasta and cookies for dessert. Did I say cookies? I meant “a cookie” for dessert. That’s right. One cookie. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ?
I usually add toasted walnuts and pecans to my cookies. The reason for the mixed nuts is I can never decide, plus using both nuts seems to add even more flavors but I always toast the nuts first. In fact, I toast a whole bag of nuts and then keep them refrigerated for all my baking. To learn how to toast nuts, see the “How To” section of my blog. You’ll be glad you toasted the nuts for these delicious cookies. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Simple Whole Wheat Bread
Wait ‘til you see how easy it is to make your own homemade whole wheat bread, from scratch, in 90 minutes. This is a delicious, soft loaf that I use for things like sandwiches, French toast, and bread crumbs. It makes fantastic soft bread crumbs like I use in my salmon patties and you can use it to make healthy dry crumbs, the ones I use in my chicken parmesan.
My simple one-rise recipe takes only 15 minutes of hands-on time and the rest is just rising and baking. You’ll save money too. So take bread off your shopping list and make your own. There’s nothing like the smell and taste of homemade bread so I hope you’ll try it. It’s really easy. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Family Eats
My sister is in town visiting from Canada so I made something quick and easy for dinner. Since we’re both grown up now, I made my grown up mac & cheese. It only takes 30 minutes so we had more time to hang out. You can add different vegetables but I stuck with my original combination of purple cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, and tomato. (here’s the recipe)
Then yesterday I made my giant breakfast cookies and besides breakfast, they came in handy as a snack during the day. Sis said she’s going to make them when she gets home. It’s probably the recipe I make the most because I know how important it is to eat fiber and these have 4 grams of fiber each! (here’s the recipe)
So that’s what I cooked today. …just sharing… – Jenny Jones
Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Brownies
What’s wrong with a few chocolate chips for breakfast? It’s okay with me if you’re getting whole grains, oats, banana and walnuts in a delicious breakfast brownie. This new recipe replaces my old breakfast brownie because this one uses ingredients that are more available to everyone.
There are lots of reasons to eat bananas. They’re a good source of vitamins C & B6, manganese, potassium, fiber, biotin, and copper. And the riper the banana, the sweeter it is and the easier it’ll be to mix into the batter. Walnuts provide heart-healthy fats and protein but for the best flavor they really should be toasted first. I toast a bunch at a time and keep them available, refrigerated, for baking. To toast nuts spread on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Oats are breakfast superstars – high in soluble fiber, which is known for lowering cholesterol and keeping things moving. I use regular Quaker rolled oats in this recipe and extra light olive oil but you can use another oil of your choice like canola. So this is my new Breakfast Brownie and I hope you like it. I’m not saying it should BE breakfast, but I am saying why not dessert AFTER breakfast? Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Healthier Canadian Butter Tarts
Butter tarts are a distinctly Canadian treat and anyone who grew up in Canada like I did has probably had a butter tart, or two, or three. They don’t exist in the U.S., which is probably a good thing because they are so good. Every once in a while I just have to have a butter tart so of course, I had to find a way to make it a little healthier. But let’s be clear: There is nothing healthy about a butter tart. The best I could do is make the crust without butter, using oil instead.
So there you have it. Now we Canadians can have our occasional fix and the rest of the world can try something new. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Kitchen Gadgets
Blueberries for Breakfast
This morning I had blueberries for breakfast. Did I mention they were wrapped in delicious, light, fluffy buttermilk pancakes? Making pancakes from scratch is one of the easiest things to do. Honestly, it takes five minutes to put the batter together – it’s basically just flour, buttermilk and egg with leavening and a little oil. Oh… and blueberries. These blueberry pancakes were so delicious I didn’t even use syrup.
With summer coming it won’t be long before you won’t need a loan application to buy fresh blueberries. In the meantime, these breakfast beauties are really good with diced apple and even plain. Yesterday I made potato pancakes for lunch and I’m keeping the leftovers for tomorrow’s breakfast.
My mother used to cut potato pancakes into strips and cook them with scrambled eggs. It’s one of my favorite breakfast dishes. So that’s what I cooked today so far. (& yesterday) … just sharing… – Jenny Jones
Grown Up Mac & Cheese
I LOVE this dish. I’ll say it again. I LOVE this dish!!! It’s easy to make and has three vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower,and tomato) and everything is coated in a light creamy, cheesy sauce. It’s mac & cheese for grownups but don’t you think kids would like this too? If they’re picky, use white cauliflower and they’ll never even see it. It’s soft and blends right in with the pasta. If you make it, let me know if it passes the kid test.
It’s important to do all your prep first because everything cooks quickly. It won’t take long if you buy the already-cut vegetables but I cut all of the veggies myself. The prep includes cutting the vegetables, shredding the cheese or slicing it really thin. Hey, you’ll be cutting the cheese!
Speaking of cheese, please don’t buy pre-shredded cheese. It has an additive and will never melt as well as a block of cheese. I’ve made it with reduced fat cheese and whole milk cheese.
This recipe is similar to my Quick & Easy Mac & Cheese but with less pasta and added vegetables but it’s still a quick and easy dinner. I wasn’t sure what to call it… veggie mac & cheese or mac & cheese with vegetables or maybe rainbow mac & cheese. I decided on “Grown Up” because we grownups know how important it is to eat vegetables at every meal. And if they’re buried in my delicious mac & cheese, it’s a win-win. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Apple Pie
Apple pie doesn’t have to be full of butter and shortening to be awesome. My healthier apple pie uses an easy oil crust and I use extra-light olive oil for that. And the filling! OMG, it’s so good!! I use three pounds of granny smith apples with a deep dish pie pan.
Homemade apple pie is something special and I hope my video shows that it’s not hard to make, especially with an oil crust. I used to make pie crusts with shortening and ice water, etc. so forget that method. It’s too much trouble. An oil crust is healthier, way easier, and bakes up beautifully.
So I hope this video gets you to make the ultimate American dessert – apple pie. Once you taste this delicious & healthier pie, you will make it again. I also find it to be a useful negotiating tool. “Honey, I’m thinking about making apple pie today. How is that garage coming along?” Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones