healthy desserts

Nov 7, 2020

Quick & Easy Pumpkin Bars

Quick & Easy Pumpkin BarsTry to eat just one of these light and delicious bars! They seem to melt in your mouth. This is a quick recipe that uses less sugar than most and even less butter and cream cheese in the frosting. There’s only one ounce of cream cheese and one tablespoon of butter in the frosting.

I can never seem to get the top smooth but it doesn’t matter since they’re frosted anyway. Plus, you can always frost them upside down. My oil of choice for baking is avocado oil but they’re not all the same. Look for one that is light colored and flavorless. (see my brand under “Products I Use”). I line my pan with foil for easy cleanup and I frost these bars right in the pan.

Some days I crave pumpkin pie but don’t want to work that hard. These fragrant bars are the next best thing. (My husband calls them pumpkin brownies – sounds like a ploy for me to put in some chocolate chips ? – maybe next time.)  Click here for the recipe  – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Sweets
2 Comments
May 18, 2020

Better Blondies

Dark Chocolate Chunk Blondies

I’m always looking for easier ways to cook and bake and now my blondies are even easier to make, and a little healthier. I’ve been replacing chocolate chips with dark chocolate chunks in most of my baking because dark chocolate (70% cacao) has health benefits. I chop up some of a dark chocolate bar and they are now my chocolate chunks for baking. (I like Lindt 70% bars)

My blondies are now super easy to make, using only 3 tablespoons of butter, lots of dark chocolate chunks & toasted nuts, and you can even use some whole wheat pastry flour (if you can find it!)

Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Sweets
1 Comment
Apr 30, 2020

Fudgy, Chewy, Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Brownies

Fudgy Chewy Gluten Free BrowniesI like these brownies just as much as my regular and very popular chocolate brownies. I was surprised how well gluten free flour works in brownies, both my lemon brownies and these dark chocolate ones. I think it makes them even more fudgy and chewy. The only gluten free flour I could find was Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour and it works really well. I’m hoping if someone makes this recipe with a different gluten free flour, they will report back on the result.

I make them with avocado oil but you can also used melted butter. Surprisingly, I prefer the ones made with oil and saw no improvement in flavor using butter. That may be because there is so much rich chocolate flavor in these decadent brownies. I use a whole 3-ounce dark chocolate bar and Dutch process cocoa, which is very rich and dark. I also use dark chocolate chips so that would make them triple chocolate brownies that just happen to be gluten free. Click here for the recipe – Jenny Jones

Oct 1, 2019

I Should Have Called Them Breakfast Bars

Crispy Top Oatmeal BarsEvery 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

Jan 13, 2019

Oatmeal Bars With a Crispy Topping

Oatmeal Bars Cripsy Coconut TopI 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. ?

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

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

Aug 30, 2018

Carrot Cake with Chocolate Frosting? Yes!

Carrot Cake Chocolate FrostingI didn’t have any cream cheese. But I wanted carrot cake. My husband said, “How about your chocolate frosting?” (He loves chocolate!) Once I stopped laughing, I decided to make my whole wheat carrot cake with chocolate frosting, knowing once he had a taste, he would agree to never make a baking suggestion again. Well after I ate some of the cake, I had to eat crow. It was delicious!

Homemade carrot cake is a real treat and worth the effort of shredding a big carrot. I’ve simplified my recipe so it works with or without crushed pineapple and this time I didn’t have pineapple either and this cake is really delicious without it, especially with chocolate frosting. I used my 2-Minute Chocolate Frosting and frosted only the top of my cake right in the pan.

Mine is a healthier whole wheat carrot cake make without butter so the only butter here is in the frosting. I sometimes double the frosting, split the cake and make it a 2-layer treat. If you want to try something different and delicious, make homemade carrot cake with chocolate frosting, or use the traditional cream cheese topping.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Oct 1, 2017

What I Cooked in October

Most people know that my favorite place to be is in the kitchen and to show you how much I enjoy “playing” there, I thought I would share what I cooked all this month. On the days I didn’t cook, we usually had leftovers as I prefer to eat at home than go to a restaurant. I hope my joy of cooking and baking will spark a similar passion in others to cook more at home.  And now, here’s what I cooked this month…

Oct. 31 – Tortillas, salad, baked ziti, tapioca pudding with chocolate swirl. (photo below)

Chocolate Tapioca PuddingOct. 30 – Asian salad, vegetable chicken soup

Oct. 29 – Granola, Greek salad, salmon patties, Greek spinach rice, dark chocolate almond clusters

Oct. 28 – No knead whole wheat bread, chicken noodle soup, my butter mix

Oct. 27 – Tuna salad, chicken stock, two bean turkey chili (photo below), whole wheat blondies

Two Bean Turkey Chili

Oct. 26 – Granola bars, sesame seed breadsticks

Oct. 25 – Deviled eggs, tortillas, vegetable soup, pork fried rice

Oct. 24 – Pork loin with roasted vegetables

Oct. 22 – Multi grain no knead bread, Caesar salad, fast rice & beans, tapioca pudding

Oct. 21 – Eggs & hash browns, no knead raisin walnut bread

Oct. 20 – Granola, salad, pesto pasta with chicken

Oct. 19 – Egg salad, marinated beets, stuffed grape leaves (photo below)

Oct. 18 – Tortillas, chicken noodle soup, chocolate loaf cake

Oct. 16 – Beet & cabbage borscht, salad, skinless chicken drumsticks

Oct. 14 – Chocolate loaf cake (photo below), vegetable-bean soup

Dark Chocolate Loaf Cake

Oct. 13 – Wound healing soup, faster whole wheat no knead bread, biscotti (for a gift)

Oct. 12 – Granola bars, deviled eggs

Oct. 11 – Chicken and mushrooms with steamed broccollini

Oct. 10 – Granola, vegetable-bean soup

Oct. 9 – Chewy chocolate clusters, tuna salad

Oct. 8 – Deviled eggs, caesar salad, leftover turkey chili

Oct. 6 – Multi grain no knead bread (photo below) It’s one I make the most.

Whole Grain No Knead BreadOct. 5 – Whole wheat french toast, chicken soup, spicy cabbage salad, turkey chili, double chocolate biscotti

Oct. 4 – Hard boiled eggs, granola bars (photo below), tomato salad, cabbage soup, tortillas, leftover baked ziti

How To Make Granola BarsOct. 3 – Simple whole wheat bread (photo below), whole wheat french toast, croutons, salad, leftover chicken pot pie, crispy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Best Whole Wheat Bread RecipeOct. 2 – No knead bread, salad, baked ziti, chocolate loaf cake

Oct. 1 – Sesame seed breadsticks, salad, chicken pot pie, dark chocolate fudge brownies.

May 13, 2017

Easy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

Whole Grain Oatmeal Chocolate Chip BarsI love this! It’s a healthy dessert full of fiber and dark chocolate. It’s made with no white flour, no butter, and it’s a super easy one-bowl recipe. And if you line your pan with foil, there’s almost no cleanup. You can use walnuts but I find that pecans, especially when they are toasted first, have so much more flavor so they are my nuts of choice for most baking. In fact, I toast one bag at a time and keep them refrigerated for all my baking.

Now about the chocolate: Using a 70% dark chocolate bar is the healthiest choice and I like to use the 72% bar from World Market but you do have to chop it up so chocolate chips are definitely easier. I recently discovered Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips and they are great but bigger than most so I did not like the result when I added them whole. So I chopped them into smaller pieces and an added benefit was there was more chocolate in every bite.

These are the chocolate chips I used, but I chopped them up first:

And here is what the World Market bar looks like:

My favorite thing, besides the delicious, chewy taste of this healthy dessert bar, is how incredibly easy it is. One bowl, no mixer, just mix it all up and bake.  These healthy oatmeal chocolate chip bars are not just dessert – I must confess I also have them with breakfast. For a healthy dessert or a chewy oatmeal breakfast bar,  just click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Sep 30, 2016

Easy Zucchini Chocolate Cake

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

Not eating enough vegetables? Here’s one way to eat a little more. Besides adding a bit of nutrition to this easy cake, zucchini also makes it beautifully moist. This yummy cake is made without butter, only using vegetable oil or extra light olive oil instead. Most cakes tend to get overdone around the edges so I recommend using a cake strip. Click here to learn more.

Have some fun and serve this “chocolate cake” to your family and ask them to guess what’s in it. Nobody would guess zucchini. I’m always finding new ways to bake without butter so the only butter here is a little in the frosting if you choose to use it. As for this delicious cake, you can just call it what it is –  a delicious, moist, and a little bit healthier chocolate cake. Click here for the recipe.  – Jenny Jones

Aug 14, 2016

Remember Tapioca Pudding?

Recipe for Homemade Tapiolca Pudding

Light and fluffy tapioca pudding was my favorite dessert growing up. I still make it today and it’s so easy to make.  Classic old fashioned tapioca pudding is plain, flavored only with vanilla but I have also made a butterscotch version as well as chocolate and coconut. But plain old vanilla childhood tapioca is still the best. Thank goodness they still sell Minute Tapioca in the red box.

1540a0e0-978c-4681-9ba9-c6ec518d9694_1.b1d199bf452adc3194a91138f0b30210

It’s easy to forget but you should shake the box before measuring. I actually keep my tapioca in a jar so I just stir it before measuring. Tapioca is naturally fat free and sodium free. I make my pudding with low fat 1% milk and it’s a very light dessert. I hope this takes you back to your childhood too. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Sweets
2 Comments