Flax Muffins Recipe

Want to add more omega-3 fatty acids to your diet? Need a bran boost for fiber? Step away from the fish counter and the cereal section, brothers and sisters. Head over to the baking aisle for some flax seed meal, instead.

Flax, both seeds and oil, are great sources of fiber and alpha-linolenic acid, the plant version of omega-3. In fact, it contains 150% more fiber than oatmeal, and 500% more omega-3 than the next highest plant based sources, canola and walnut. With all health benefits, you’d think it would takes like a box of cardboard. Instead, flax has a wonderful nutty flavor.

Flax meal, oil, or whole seeds, can be added to a wide variety of baked goods, cereals, or fruit smoothies.. One of my favorite things to do with flax meal  is to make tasty whole-grain muffins. Who said you can’t have your whole-grains and enjoy them, too?

This recipe is chock full of tasty stuff that just happens to be good for you. For sweetness and moisture we add brown sugar, carrots, apples, and raisins (optional). For increased nuttiness and texture you can add chopped nuts or sunflower seeds. The addition of oat flour adds even more robust flavor. In spite of all of this, these muffins won’t weigh your gut down. They’re actually quite light.

Equipment needed
Measuring cups and spoons
Muffin pans
Paper baking cups
Mixing bowls
Large spoon
Whisk
Cooking spray

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup flaxseed meal
3/4 cup oatmeal or oat flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 /2 cups shredded carrots
2 apples, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease muffin tins with cooking spray, or line with paper baking cups and set aside. Grind the oatmeal to a fine powder in a spice grinder, or use oat flour.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the different flours, flaxseed meal, oat flour, brown sugard, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the apples, carrots, raisins (if using) and chopped nuts or seeds. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until all is well moistened. Do not over mix!

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with the batter and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer to cooling racks to completely cool.

Makes approximately 15 muffins.

I like to eat them with jam or cream cheese.

Super Easy, No-Cook Fondant

Fondant is an amazing confection. It can be used to decorate cakes, or rolled into balls and dipped into chocolates to make delicious candies. It’s also a pain to make, at least it used to be. Many fondant recipes I’ve found use marshmallows, melted in a double boiler and put through their paces to finally come up with something that can either be tasty, or disgustingly bland. This recipe is different. It requires no cooking and a minimal mount of work. It also tastes good. The secret is using a ready made product as it’s base: marshmallow fluff.

Equipment Needed
large mixing bowl
large spoon
plastic wrap

Ingredients
1 7.5 oz. jar marshmallow fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 - 3 cups confectioners sugar
Cooking spray

Directions
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Pour in the marshmallow fluff. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, mixing until it loses its stickiness.

Dust a clean counter with more confectioner’s sugar. Pour out the fluff and sugar mixture and knead like dough, adding more sugar as needed to make a stiff dough. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days, until needed.

This makes a bright white fondant, but food coloring or other flavorings can be used as desired for different flavors and colors. It also freezes well.

Cranberry-Raisin-Spice Biscotti

The holidays, and first part of this year, have been a rough and tumble time around the Mormon Foodie house. Family health issues, along with the normal stresses of the holidays, really slowed down my output. Consequently, you missed a few things I made over the holidays. On the tasty treat front, was a tasty holiday themed Cranberry-Spice Biscotti.

In case you don’t already know, biscotti is made by baking an over-large cookie, cutting it into long, relatively thin slices, and then cooking it again, making them hard as rocks by design. They’re supposed to be dunked in some hot drink or other. In my house that means hot chocolate, herbal tisans, or Pero.

The trouble is, I still think they’re too hard. My solution? Don’t cook them for as long. I prefer my biscotti to have some “give” when I bite into it.

This recipe uses ginger, coriander, and cardamom to bring out the flavor of dried cranberries and raisins. Feel free to substitute other dried fruit as inspired. A combination of white and milk chocolate add a bit more complementary sweetness and flavor depth. This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies, making it perfect for a cookie exchange, or a gift for your home/visiting teaching families.

Equipment Needed
Large baking sheet
Parchment paper
Mixing bowls
Measuring cups and spoons
Hand mixer
Plastic wrap
Sandwich bags
Scissors

Ingredients
1 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
1 cup raisins, finely chopped
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

for the glaze
4 ounces white chocolate chips
4 ounces milk chocolate chips
4 teaspoons vegetable shortening

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, coriander, cardamom, ginger, and salt. Mix well.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter together, using a hand mixer at medium speed, until light, fluffy, and well blended. Add the eggs, lemon juice, corn syrup and vanilla. Beat until blended.

Warning! The mixture may look curdled. This is perfectly normal. Don’t freak out.

Gradually add the flour mixture into the egg mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in the chopped cranberries and raisins until evenly distributed.

Divide the dough in half. Roll one-half on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Shape into a 15 inch x 2 inch log, rolling it up in the plastic wrap like sushi to help you shape it. Remove from the plastic wrap and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Arrange the logs as far apart as possible on the baking sheet and press down to 3/4 inch thickness.

Bake for 30 minutes on the center rack of the oven or until browned and slightly cracked. Remove from the oven and let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Keep the oven on.

Transfer the flattened logs to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut diagonally into scant 1/2-inch thick slices. Lay the slices cut side down back on the parchment lined sheet. You may need a second sheet, or you can do this in batches. Bake for 5 to 7 more minutes in the oven, or longer if you want them hard. Turn them once. Remove from the sheets and let cool completely on wire racks. You can turn your oven off at this point.

Once the biscotti are cool, place them on a flat surface, like a table or a cool baking sheet, lined with wax paper.

Now to make the glaze. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the white chocolate chips and 2 tsp of the shortening. Microwave on medium for 1-2 minutes, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds until the chocolate is almost melted. Continue stirring until the chocolate mixture is completely melted and smooth. Pour into a small, disposable plastic bag, a sandwich bag works great, and push the chocolate to one corner. Snip a tiny bit of the corner off with a pair of kitchen scissors and pipe the melted chocolate over the cookies in thin lines. Repeat this with the regular chocolate chips, melting, mixing, and piping.

Alternately you can melt chocolate and dip the ends of the biscotti in it. I just like the way this technique looks. It’s quite impressive, but super easy to do. For more tips on how it works, see this recipe for Holiday Orange-Spice Sugar Cookies.

Let the biscotti stand for 20 minutes until the glaze hardens. Store in and airtight container at room temperature and they will keep for up to 3 weeks, assuming they aren’t eaten before then.

Makes just about 4 dozen cookies.