Cinnamon Mocha Mix

Raise your hand if you like to make homemade Christmas gifts for friends, neighbours, teachers, & co-workers.

Now, raise your hand if you don't have a ton of time to spend on said gifts.

I hear ya.

This Cinnamon Mocha Mix is so easy to put together, you'll have your gifts done in a flash! Oh, and it's delicious too! Try some before you package it up. And try to remember to share. :)

It's really cute packaged in small jars or in a ziplock bag inside a decorated paper bag. Just be sure to include the serving instructions. Two cups of mix is a good gift-giving size.

Cinnamon Mocha Mix

makes about 14 cups

2 cups dry coffee creamer

2 cups dry chocolate mix - the kind used to make chocolate milk. I used was Nesquik.

2 cups confectioner's sugar

6 cups non fat dry milk powder

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 cup instant coffee granules

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Store in airtight container or divide into smaller portions for gifts. Be sure to include the serving instructions if you're giving it away. :)

To Serve: Pour 6 ounces hot water over 2 1/2 heaping tablespoons mocha mix; stir & serve. 

If you're looking for more food gift ideas, also check out the recipe for Cajun-Spiced Snack Mix that I've made for years!

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Double Banana Bread

Am I the only one who ends up with loads of rotten bananas in my freezer every few months? You wanna know what my go-to recipe is when that happens? This is it!

It's so full of banana flavour, I'm sure you'll love it too!

Double Banana Bread

makes 1 loaf or 4 mini loaves

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cup mashed, overripe bananas (7-8 bananas)

Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, soda, & salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter & sugar. Stir in eggs & mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes (less for mini loaves - about 35 minutes), until a toothpick inserted into centre of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Come on & make some - you know you want to! ;)

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Chocolate Chip Candy Cookies

  

  Do you still have Halloween candy kickin' around? Ya, we do too. :) This week, with permission from our kids, I harvested all the boxes of Smarties (similar to original M&M's for you Americans) they had & made cookies with them. Our kids were pretty excited to help out & be able to contribute one of the yummy ingredients! 

  I promise you'll like these chewy, gooey, chocolatey cookies!

Chocolate Chip Candy Cookies

makes 2 dozen

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup Smarties or M&M's

Preheat oven to 350º F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter & sugars until fluffy & light in color. Add egg & vanilla & blend in.

Mix in dry ingredients & chocolate chips. Slowly stir in candies. 

Using a tablespoon, drop dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just lightly browned. 

Let cool, on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Pour yourself a glass of milk & enjoy a couple. :)

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Pumpkin Spice Muffins - Delicious & Low Fat!

  Confession: I like to bake from scratch. I don't like to use mixes unless I have to. I know, I know. Most of you are likely doing a facepalm thinking, "WHAT?!"  But hey, don't judge. ;)

  It's cheaper in the long run & I like knowing what's going into my food & not having all the "extras" that I can't pronounce. Can I get a witness?

  I have two favourite from-scratch pumpkin muffin recipes & this is one of them! It's low fat, has extra veggies snuck in, & is packed with yummy fall flavour!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

makes 12

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat bran

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. allspice or cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup pureed pumpkin (canned or pureed from your baked fall pumpkins)

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup honey

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375º. Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray & set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients - flour, wheat bran, baking powder, spices, & salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients - pumpkin, carrots, buttermilk, honey, butter, egg, & vanilla. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture & stir just until moistened. Batter will be thick.

Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in centre of muffin comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan & let cool on a wire rack. 

What are some of your favourite from-scratch baking recipes? I'd love to hear about them!

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Apple Streusel Muffins {Revisited}

Last week, I had a HUGE surprise! My chai loaf went crazy on Pinterest & exploded in views in just one week! Thank you, everyone! 

I figured after updating the photos on that recipe, it took off, so I should do the same with some others. 

My next update:

These tasty, moist muffins have a crumbly brown sugar topping - so delicious! You can also reduce the fat by using a bit of applesauce, but not sacrifice any of the flavour. Enjoy!

APPLE STREUSEL MUFFINS
makes 12

Topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/8 tsp. cinnamon

In small bowl, rub together topping ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil (or to reduce the fat, use 1/8 cup unsweetened applesauce & 1/8 cup canola oil)
3/4 cup finely chopped or shredded apple

Mix dry ingredients. Set aside. Mix wet ingredients. Combine both until just moistened. Do not over mix. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with topping. Bake in 400º F oven for 15-20 minutes.

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Chai Loaf with Cinnamon Glaze {My Favourite Fall Treat, Revisited}

Last fall, I shared with you my favourite fall treat - Chai Loaf. That's all well & good except for the fact that my blogging photography was pretty poor when I first started out. (Last year's photo - epic fail. Not pin-worthy. At. All.) Not that I'm so amazing now, but I like to think my photography skills have improved somewhat. 

So today, I'm revisiting my favourite fall recipe with new & improved photos. :)

Chai Loaf

Prep time: 15 min. Total time: 3 hrs. 55 min (includes cooling time)

Makes 1 loaf or 4 mini loaves (as pictured above)

Bread

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter or marg, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup prepared tea (I like to use Pumpkin Chai from David's Tea)

1/3 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

3-5 tsp. milk

additional ground cinnamon

1) Heat oven to 350 F. Grease loaf pan with cooking spray.

2) In large bowl, beat sugar & butter with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in eggs, tea, milk, & vanilla on low speed until ingredients are well combined (will appear curdled) . Stir in remaining bread ingredients just until moistened. Spread in pan.

3) Bake 50-60 minutes for a full loaf (35 minutes for mini loaves) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean & slightly golden (do not underbake). Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool 30 minutes.

4) In small bowl, stir powdered sugar, vanilla, & 3 tsp. of the milk, adding more milk by the teaspoonfuls, until spreadable. Spread glaze over bread. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly & store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Note: I've had some feedback on some people having their loaf come out flat. You'll get the best results with a glass meat loaf type pan. If you're using a metal bread making type pan, you may end up with a loaf that isn't rounded at the top.

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Dutch Crumb Cake

Fall. It brings with it visions of colourful leaves, hot drinks on cool evenings, & homey flavours in the kitchen. 

For as long as I can remember, my mom has made this cake during the fall & winter months. I specifically remember my Grandpa really liking it & therefore receiving it for his birthday almost every December (along with a package of smoked cheese, a block of halva, & a bowl of marinated vegetable salad - funny the things we remember about our loved ones... those were some of his favourite foods.)

Anyway, back to cake.

As a kid, I didn't enjoy raisins in baking, so when my mom made this I would often eat the yummy crumb topping & then make up some excuse not to eat the rest. Happily, my tastes have become more refined over the years & now I enjoy this cake in its entirety. I think you will too. 

Dutch Crumb Cake

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 cup butter

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp. baking soda

1 egg, beaten

2 Tbsp. molasses

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350º & grease a 11"x7" baking pan.

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles cornmeal. ***Reserve 1 cup of mixture for topping.***

Combine lemon juice & milk. Add baking soda & stir to dissolve. Add to flour mixture in bowl along with egg, molasses, & raisins; stir until dry ingredients are moistened. (Batter will be lumpy.) Turn into pan. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over top. Do not stir.

Bake 35-45 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. May be served warm or cooled - delicious either way!

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Strawberry Punch {Back At It}

  School starts today for our kids & it's a great time for me to get back into the swing of things here on the blog too. We've had a wonderful summer, but I'm ready for fall... crunchy leaves, warm drinks, baking, & autumn decor.

  In the spirit of bidding summer goodbye, I have one last summer recipe to share with you. I made this for our Labour Day BBQ & it was a hit! I've had this recipe clipping in my stash for years, but just had never made it. I believe it originated with Taste of Home.

Strawberry Punch {Printable Recipe}

makes 14 cups

1 can pink lemonade concentrate, thawed, undiluted

2 1/2 cups frozen unsweetened strawberries, partially thawed

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups strong brewed tea, chilled

2 liters ginger ale

In a food processor or blender, combine lemonade concentrate, strawberries, & sugar. Cover & process until smooth.

Transfer to a large pitcher or punch bowl; stir in tea. Add ginger ale. 

Enjoy!! 

I hope you all had a great summer!

~~~~~

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Strawberry Daiquiri Pops

Are you spending these hot summer days outside or in? We love to enjoy the warm weather outdoors, so that means we need to have plenty of cold drinks & frozen treats to cool us off!

Our whole family enjoys this refreshing summer treat.

The first time I tasted an actual strawberry daiquiri was in Mexico at a fabulous natural water park. 

Since I don't drink alcohol, I ordered a virgin daiquiri. I tell you - delish!!

Strawberry Daiquiri Pops  {Print recipe}

makes 14 Dixie cup sized pops

1 can frozen strawberry daiquiri mix (I use Bacardi mixers - found near the frozen juice), slightly thawed

2 cups frozen strawberries (in syrup or not - it's up to you)

1 1/2 cups water

~Combine all ingredients in blender & blend until mixed, but strawberries are still a bit chunky.

~Pour into Dixie cups, cover with plastic wrap & put a popsicle stick through the plastic wrap.

~Freeze overnight. 

~To serve, run the Dixie cup under warm water for a few seconds to loosen the pop.

Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this super easy summer treat!

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Piña Colada Pops

"Hot enough for you?" 

How many times have you heard that recently? 

I know many of my friends in the States are experiencing very hot weather. 

(We can't wait to join you all in the States for our Disneyland vacation soon. Only 12 more days!)

And at last we are experiencing hot weather in Saskatchewan. Summer is finally here.

We enjoy sitting outside in the yard with a frozen treat after supper on these hot summer days. The treat I have for you today is perfect for just such an occasion & is family friendly (non alcoholic). 

I've created another frozen pop recipe to help you take the edge off of the heat. 

Piña Colada Pops {Print Recipe}

makes about 7 Dixie cup sized pops

1/2 of a fresh pineapple, peeled, cored & chopped

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1 cup coconut milk (I had unsweetened on hand so that's what I used)

1/4 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup sugar

Place all ingredients in the blender & puree until smooth.

Pour liquid into Dixie cups & freeze until solid.

Super easy & yummy!

~~~~~

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Stay cool & enjoy your day!

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