Crafxzen

Grandma’s Healthy Homemade Apple Pie

On July 2, 2021

Fall + fresh apples = homemade apple pie! YUMMM!
This is my mother’s apple pie recipe updated to make it easier on my blood sugar.

2 pie crusts
6 – 8 cups sliced & peeled apples
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbs stone ground whole wheat flour
1 tbs unbleached white flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tbs butter, optional

Mix together brown sugar, flours, cinnamon & nutmeg. Mix through apples. Place apple mixture in crust lined pie pan. Dot with butter, if desired. Put top crust over apples, flute edges & poke vents in crust.
Bake at 425, 50 – 60 minutes. Pie is done when apples are tender when you stick a knife through them.

This was the original recipe, if you don’t worry about sugar consumption:

2 pie crusts
6 – 7 cups sliced & peeled apples
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tbs flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs butter

Mix together sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt. Mix through apples. Place apple mixture in crust lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Put top crust over apples, flute edges & poke vents in crust.
Bake at 425, 50 – 60 minutes. Pie is done when apples are tender when you stick a knife through them.

The pie crust recipe I use is:

1/2 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup canola oil
2 1/2 tbs water

Mix together all ingredients with a fork. Roll out between 2 pieces of floured wax paper. Makes one crust.

The original pie crust recipe my pie crust recipe above is adapted from is:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs water

Mix together all ingredients with a fork. Roll out between 2 pieces of floured wax paper. Makes one crust.

More Pie Recipes

Aunt Sherry’s Strawberry Apple Pear Pie

By crafxzen

On July 2, 2021

In Baking Recipes, Pie

Bottom Crust with Filling

This is similar to strawberry rhubarb pie. I substituted the apple and pears for the rhubarb because that was what I had on hand. The strawberries made it look like strawberry rhubarb pie.
It’s super easy and tastes great!

Makes 1 Pie Crust:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup canola oil
2 1/2 tbs water

Filling:

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, diced
2 pears, peeled and diced
1 apple, cored, peeled, and diced
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/6 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
squirt of honey

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine all ingredients for the pie crust. Roll out dough between 2 pieces of wax paper and put bottom pie crust in a glass pie pan.
Combine all filling ingredients and put in glass pie pan on top of the pie crust.
Combine all ingredients for the pie crust. Roll out dough between 2 pieces of wax paper and put top pie crust on top of the filling in the glass pie pan.
Pinch the edges of the top and bottom pie crusts together. Poke a few holes in the top crust using a fork.
Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, or until bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting.

#ads
More Pie Recipes

Ultimate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

By crafxzen

On July 2, 2021

In Baking Recipes, Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are a combination of chocolate chip cookie recipes from the Nestle Toll House chocolate chippackage, Subway Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from the Fast Food Fix, and Sneaky Chef Flour Blend recipe.
They are so good, I have a hard time not eating them. Even my picky eaters like them.

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt, if desired
1/4 cup butter, unsalted, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.
In a small bowl, combine whole wheat flour, unbleached all-purpose flour, wheat germ, oatmeal, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, beat butter, applesauce, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix on medium speed until well blended.
Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until well blended. Add chocolate chips and stir.
Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake 8 – 12 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen.

#ads
More Cookie Recipes

Homemade Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

By crafxzen

On July 2, 2021

In Baking Recipes, Bars

I was craving chocolate yesterday, so I made some homemade chocolate chip granola bars. YUMMMM! They were super good!
I modified the Chewy Peanut Bars from the book Living the GI Diet by Rick Gallop.
Here’s the homemade chocolate chip granola bar recipe I came up with:

1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 wheat germ
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 – 3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
squirt of honey
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, oat bran, wheat germ, flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
In another large bowl, combine the egg, brown sugar, vanilla and honey. Add the oat mixture and stir. Add the chocolate chips and stir.
Spray an 8 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and add the dough. Pat and spread the dough evenly.
Bake 12 – 15 minutes until firm to the touch.
Cool and cut into bars.

More Cookie Recipes

Gingerbread Men Cookie Recipe Healthy

By crafxzen

On July 2, 2021

In Baking Recipes, Cookies

This recipe is modified from here. I modified it by adding extra flour. The dough in the original recipe is very sticky and impossible to work with.

My Gingerbread Men Recipe:

1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, I used my homemade canned applesauce
1 egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and applesauce until smooth. Add egg and molasses. In another large bowl, combine flours, baking soda and spices. Add to sugar and molasses mixture, stirring well. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough to 1/4 or 1/8-inch thickness. I roll out the dough between two heavily floured pieces of wax paper to help cut down on sticking. Cut gingerbread men, or other shapes, with a cookie cutter. Place on baking sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake 8 – 10 minutes. Decorate as desired when cool.

I used this buttercream frosting:

1/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbs half n half, or milk

Beat butter until creamy. Mix in 1 cup of sugar, vanilla, and half n half until smooth. Add the rest of the sugar and continue mixing until smooth.

These are really good!!! The original recipe says they are lowfat. It was the healthiest gingerbread men recipe I found. Next time I make them, I’m going to substitute more whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour. I would like to substitute something healthier for the molasses, but I have a feeling they just wouldn’t be the same.

More Cookie Recipes

Super Moist Banana Cake

By crafxzen

On July 2, 2021

In Baking Recipes, Cake

For my oldest’s birthday last week, I made a banana cake. Found a recipe at Allrecipes.com and tweaked it a bit.

Here’s what I came up with:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup + 2/3 cup plain low fat yogurt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter, 1/4 cup yogurt, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in the bananas. Add flour mixture alternately with the 2/3 cup yogurt to the creamed mixture. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
Top with whipped cream or try this cream cheese frosting I previously posted.

TIP: Make half a batch and bake for 30 minutes in a round 8 inch pan. You can also make this gluten free by switching out the all purpose flour for your favorite gluten free flour.

#ads
More Cake Recipes

Moist Red Velvet Cupcakes, Cream Cheese Frosting

By crafxzen

On July 2, 2021

In Baking Recipes, Cupcakes

These were very good! Very moist, rose really well, great tasting.

Here’s the original red velvet cupcake recipe which makes 16 recipe. I made a full recipe and a half recipe for a total of 33 cupcakes.

2 1/4 cup granulated sugar (next time I’m trying 2 cups)
9 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
3 1/3 cups + 1/6 cake flour
3 Tbsp cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups + 1 1/2 Tbsp plain, lowfat yogurt
2 1 /4 Tbsp red food coloring
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350º F.
In a medium bowl, combine cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In another medium bowl, combine yogurt, red food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well-beaten.
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Beat on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then increase to medium speed until all ingredients are combined. Add 1/3 of the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Continue the same process with the dry ingredients, alternating with the wet ingredients, and completing the mixing process with the dry ingredients until smooth.
Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Add 1/4 cup of batter to each cupcake liner. Bake 18 – 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

I used a cream cheese frosting from my Pillsbury cookbook. The cream cheese frosting is as follows:

1 package(8-oz) 1/3-less-fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese, room temperature
2 tbs butter, melted
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to a large bowl, beat until smooth and desired consistency is reached.

More Dessert Recipes

Healthy Zucchini Bread

By crafxzen

On July 2, 2021

In Baking Recipes, Bread

My refrigerator is having issues, so I had to relocate all my food in the fridge and freezer. Luckily I had room for just about everything in the two little mini fridges and mini freezer we have. I had some frozen zucchini I couldn’t fit though, so I made this zucchini bread recipe. This one is supposed to be a little healthier than the zucchini bread recipe I previously posted. Taste wise, they are both really good. I’m kind of favoring this one though.

1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup water
3 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 small apples, peeled and diced
2 cups zucchini, diced

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine sugar, eggs, canola oil, water and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine whole wheat flour, all purpose unbleahed flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add to bowl with egg mixture. Add apples and zucchini.
Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for 45 – 55 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes.

More Bread Recipes

Zucchini Bread

By crafxzen

On July 2, 2021

In Bread

We have an ton of zucchini in the garden, one of my favorite summertime vegetables. Last weekend I made this zucchini bread recipe, adapted to be somewhat healthier from my mother’s original recipe. It makes 2 loaves, so cut everything in half if you just want one loaf. DELICIOUS!!!

1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla
2 cups grated or small diced zucchini
1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tbs all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tbs whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt, if desired
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 bread pans with non sticking cooking spray.
Mix ingredients in order in a large bowl.
Bake at 350 for 50 – 60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely.

More Bread Recipes

Pumpkin Spice Cookie Bars

By crafxzen

On July 2, 2021

In Baking Recipes, Bars

I made these cookie bars for Thanksgiving. Quick, easy and delicious! Also contains lots of Vitamin A thanks to the pumpkin puree.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt, I didn’t add this
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 can pumpkin puree
1 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9x2 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, with an electric mixer on medium speed, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Add pumpkin, stir until well combined. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until blended. Optionally, fold in pecans with a spatula.
Spread batter in a 13×9 pan and bake 15 – 20 minutes or until edges start to turn lightly golden.

Icing:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 to 2 tbs half and half or milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
In a small bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, 1 tbs of the cream or milk, and vanilla extract. With a small fork or whisk, blend until icing is smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Add more cream or milk as needed to achieve the right consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookie bars.

More Cookie Recipes