Sweets

I only make this holiday bread once a year (okay, maybe twice ?) because it may be called bread but let’s face it… it’s dessert. Here are a few progress photos of how to make my Spiral Chocolate Cinnamon Christmas Bread. First, you divide the dough in half, roll & press each half into a rough 9 x 9-inch square, and spread the chocolate/butter mixture all the way to the edges.

Next, you cover each half with the brown sugar/cinnamon/cocoa mixture, all the way to the edges.

Now roll each of them up, starting at the right and left edges, rolling them towards each other. It’s a little messy but that’s okay. Oh, one more thing. You can also scatter about 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips on each half before rolling them up.

The fun part is twisting the logs into a loaf. Bring the logs together (it doesn’t matter where the seams go) and twist them together 3 or 4 times (like you’re wringing out a towel) to make a spiral, but messy, loaf. Tuck the edges under and plop it into your parchment paper-lined loaf pan.

Bake for 30 minutes but after 15 minutes, put a foil tent on top to avoid over-browning. I hope these photos are helpful. For the recipe click here. – Jenny Jones 

What can I say? This is not a dessert to have every day but for holiday baking, pecan pie is a must. But I prefer pecan pie bars because the bars can be cut into smaller pieces than a round pie and no one should eat big pieces of pecan pie! I always use an oil crust and my oil of choice is cold pressed avocado oil. I tried using maple syrup in the filling but did not like the result so I went with the traditional corn syrup, which, by the way, is not the same a high fructose corn syrup.

I only make pecan pie or pecan pie bars twice a year for Thanksgiving and Christmas and it’s a good thing because holiday recipes can be dangerous to have around. This recipe is really simple with just the basic ingredients so it comes together quickly. What I can’t figure out is why my pecans sometimes rise to the top and sometimes don’t, but these easy pecan pie bars are always so gooey and sweet and delicious. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Every time I run out of these delicious crispy top oatmeal bars, I need to make more. They are one of my all time favorites and for lots of reasons. There is no white flour, lots of dark chocolate chunks, and the recipe is easy to put together. The crispy top is the best part, made with pecans, brown sugar, and coconut. I have made the top with avocado oil and with melted butter and there’s not much difference to me.

I like something sweet after every meal, even breakfast, and this is my favorite breakfast dessert. Well, between the fig bars and these oat bars, maybe it’s the fig bars, no,,, the oat bars… oh well. I just love sweets so I have to keep finding  ways to make them healthier. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I was surprised how well these turned out. I never thought I could make cookies without flour but for anyone looking to reduce carbs, or wanting gluten-free cookies, you can still make delicious healthier cookies at home. These really are chocolate chunk cookies because I rarely use chocolate chips any more, preferring to use a healthier dark chocolate bar. To get the health benefits of dark chocolate you need a bar with at least 70% cacao and that’s what I use for chocolate chips. I just take a 70% bar and cut it into strips and then the strips into chunks.

I’m also reducing sugar in my baking these days so these low carb cookies have less sugar and I don’t miss it at all. The texture of cookies made with almond flour is a little more chewy, but I really like it.

I’m planning to try more baking with almond flour and reducing carbs wherever I can so I’ll be posting anything I make that turns out. And these easy almond flour dark chocolate chunk cookies did turn out. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Everybody stay calm! There is no cinnamon in my crispy top apple cake. You can add some if you like but I tried using cinnamon and I prefer it with just a little vanilla. This way the apples are the star. This is another easy one-bowl recipe for an easy light dessert that I absolutely love. Here’s why:

~ No mixer
~ No butter
~ Uses less sugar
~ Has lots of fruit
~ Minimal cleanup

This fresh apple cake is healthy enough to include with breakfast. (notice I said “with” and not “for!”) 🙂 Be sure to keep the apple pieces small, no bigger than 1/2-inch so they cook through. I use Granny Smith apples. 🍏 You can also make this cake using half whole wheat pastry flour + half all purpose flour and it turned out well. I’m loving my one-bowl recipes and am always looking for an easier way to make my favorite foods. And it doesn’t get much easier than this. With or without cinnamon, this is still the easiest apple cake you will ever make. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Are you getting enough fiber? You will if you make these super high fiber, soft and delicious oatmeal fig bars. I make the crust/topping with oats, whole wheat pastry flour, and vegetable oil (cold pressed avocado oil is my preference). The filling is simply cooked figs with a little added sugar. I have these healthy fig bars for dessert after dinner and after breakfast too. I love them.

The desserts I make the most are always the ones without butter, with whole grains, and with some added health benefits like fruit or chocolate. And these fit the bill.

Figs are loaded with fiber but that’s not all. They also provide a wide range of vitamins and minerals.  If you like fig newtons, these easy homemade bars will taste even better. Doesn’t everything homemade taste better?  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Sunday is when I stock up on my homemade granola. It seems to disappear quickly around here but it’s no problem because this is one of my simplest, easiest recipes. I dump everything onto a baking pan, mix it up with my hands, and bake it. I stir it a couple of times and I like to bake it until it’s really well toasted and brown. I use thick oats or regular rolled oats if it’s all I have, along with lots of nuts, brown sugar, coconut, and real maple syrup, plus as little oil and that’s it. My oil of choice these days is cold pressed avocado oil. When something is this healthy and this easy, there’s no reason to eat the store bought stuff. Homemade always tastes better. Click here for the recipe.

Speaking of “homemade tastes better” I also stocked up on my soft & chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. Well, they are usually oatmeal raisin cookies but today I “accidentally” mistook my dark chocolate chunks for raisins so I guess I’m stuck with these soft oatmeal dark chocolate chunk cookies. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ?  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I took my treasured oatmeal chocolate chip bars to a new stratosphere today. Besides using chunks of a dark chocolate bar, I added a broiled coconut-pecan topping and all I can say is, “Somebody, please hide them from me!” This hybrid dessert has no white flour, lots of fiber, dark chocolate chunks, and a crispy topping — I love love love it!

All I did was use the topping from my Oatmeal Snacking Cake and put it on my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars. I broiled it for about a minute and I have a new dessert that is healthier than most and really easy to make. You can use butter or oil in the topping so anyone like me, who prefers baking without butter, will love this too. These healthy bars are so yummy, I froze some because… well I just had to. ?

I like this so much I added it as a new recipe. For my new Oatmeal Bars With A Crispy Coconut Top, click here– Jenny Jones

I’ve had a craving for soft oatmeal raisin cookies lately and never knew how to make them. My oatmeal cookies are always crisp so I decided to try making soft and chewy ones. It was easy. They turned out really well with several different variations.

My recipe works three different ways:

1) Made with only butter.

2) Made with half butter, half oil.

3) Made with only oil.

But here’s the surprise. I did a blind taste test (with my husband’s help) and I could not tell the difference between any of them. All of the cookies, made with butter, oil, or a mix of both, tasted the same to me. So if you’re like me and try to avoid butter, make them with oil. I use cold pressed avocado oil. If you prefer butter, use only butter. If you’re undecided, use a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of each. I think you’ll like them no matter what but keep in mind that they are large cookies because that keeps them soft, and also do not over bake them. If you bake them until they are too brown and golden, they may not be soft. But they’ll still taste good, though.

Oh, and one more thing: You can skip the raisins and use chocolate chips instead. (Do I hear applause??) Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Somebody please stop me from eating five! These oven-baked Polish doughnuts are so light and so delicious and filled with homemade custard, well….. I can only make these a few times a year. It’s too easy to eat five. Pączki are most often filled with jam but custard is my favorite by far. These Polish doughnuts are light and airy and really simple to make.

Filling them is the hardest part and a pastry bag does make it easy. I used to use a long, slender pastry tip but I find it easier to use a wider tip, something like these:

Pączki are traditionally fried but I avoid eating deep fried food – nobody needs that. Besides, I could never eat five fried doughnuts without requiring medical care. Oven-baked is the way to go. Fill them with jam or custard. Either way you will love these delicious pączki (pronounced potnch‘-kee). Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones