Category Archives: Baking

Cream Cheese Cranberry Chocolate Chip stuffed Cinnamon Rolls

Woo Hoo! I am so happy to share this recipe with you. I have been wanting to make these for a while but I was waiting for the perfect moment. So that was this past weekend. I had the whole recipe figured out in my head, ingredients, cooking times, the whole shebang, I just hadn’t actually made them yet because I wanted it to be closer to Christmas. And since today I was having my Christmas tree delivered I had to stay home, and it seemed like the perfect moment had come.

Now about that christmas tree, does anyone else have their tree delivered? Because I had never heard of it. It felt very luxurious somehow. I live in an apartment and the thought of me struggling alone with a giant Christmas tree all the way from the parking lot to the building was more than I could bear so I researched and sure enough you can actually order them online and have them delivered to your living room.

No needles in my car, big hurray to that.

Anyway, I for one, am going to serve these on Christmas morning, among other things but they will have a place on the table. (…like, in front of me)

They are just so crazy delicious. Slightly crispy on the outside, and then a whole lot of oozing soft sweetened cream cheese, cranberry and chocolate chips all mingled together in perfect harmony.

I think I actually jumped a little when I tasted them, I was so excited. Normally I behave like an adult, but with all things Christmas going on I get a little excited and forget my poise.

What’s even better is that I made them with a can of croissant dough, that I had frozen in the can. Yes you can freeze a can of croissants! I took out the frozen can, wiggled off the wrapping (you know, the ones you twist) and defrosted the dough in the microwave for two minute and I was ready to roll, literally.

You don’t have to have anything at room temperature either. So you can decide spur of the moment to bake them without planning.

Serves 4

Ingredients;

1 can croissant dough

3/4 C. Cream Cheese mixed with 2 tablespoons of sugar of choice

1/2 C. cranberry jam / jelly / sauce or Holiday Cranberry and Pear Sauce with Star Anise.

cinnamon sugar made with 1 tablespoon sugar of choice + 2 tsp. cinnamon

1 beaten egg

1/3 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate

icing sugar for dusting

Method;

Flour your work surface and pre heat the oven to 180° C / 350 ° F.

open the can of croissant dough and roll it out. You will have a long strip. I flattened it even more with a rolling pin so that it would seal the perforations in the dough.

Sprinkle over the entire length, the cinnamon sugar leaving an inch from the seam free so that it will stick when closing.

With the help of a small spoon, place the cranberry jelly on top, followed by the cream cheese.

Divide the chocolate chips over the entire length.

Brush the seam with the beaten egg. Carefully roll the strip over to close it.

Divide into four pieces with a knife, sealing the edges a little with your fingers. Carefully roll each one into a coil.

Put onto a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper.

Brush the tops with the remaining egg.

Place in the middle of the oven and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack before dusting with icing sugar.

If you try this recipe let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #thecookingspoonblog on instagram! You’ll make my day.

Almond Cherry Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

9 Replies

With Halloween behind us it’s time to get back on track, at least until Christmas. Can you believe it’s only seven weeks away.

These bars are the bomb. No refined sugar and no added fat whatsoever, just a tiny bit from the sunflower seeds. The chocolate I’ve used is sugar free which you can get at any health store or good supermarket.

Basically super healthy and trust me, you really can’t tell they’re sugar free and fat free, they taste as if they are very naughty. So it’s a win win.

Makes : 16 squares

Needed: Baking dish 8 x 8″

Ingredients;

2 C. Gluten Free Oats
1/2 C. Vanilla Protein Powder
1/2 C. Xylitol (or sweetener of choice)
1/2 C. Sunflower Seeds
1/4 C. Ground Flaxseed
1/4 C. Almond Flour
1 tbsp. Stevia Extract
1 tbsp. Lucuma Powder (optional)
1 tbsp. Psyllium Husk Powder
pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt
2/3 C. Applesauce
1/4 C. Unsweetened Soy milk
1 C. Frozen Cherries, cut in half
1/2 C. Sugar Free Chocolate Chips

Decoration:

2 oz Chocolate
3 – 4 Pistachios
chopped Goji Berries (optional)

Instructions;

Preheat oven to 400° F/ 200° C

prepare your baking dish by spraying it with oil, then lining it with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients in the order stated above. Mix well but carefully. Press firmly into the prepared baking dish with the back of a spoon. I find that metal spoons stick less than wooden spoons.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before decorating.

To decorate, chop the chocolate fine and put in a glass bowl. Microwave until melted at 20 second intervals. When melted spoon over the bars with a zigzag motion. Grate pistachios over the bars with a fine mandolin.

Enjoy!

Myra XO

Not quite what you’re looking for? How about these bars Macadamia-Cashew Bars

Caramel Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal

7 Replies

This oatmeal bake is so comforting, it has the warm spices we typically associate with fall, and it warms you up from the inside. I usually make it in the weekends and it may or may not last for a day or two. You can heat up any leftovers the next morning adding a splash of milk. And since it’s “Pumpkin Season”, yes, it has lots of pumpkin in it, so nice and creamy with a slight caramel flavor, you’ll love it.

Serves 6

Needed: Baking Dish 8.1″ Square (2 quart)

Ingredients;

1 lb. peeled pumpkin cubes

1 tbsp. melted butter

1/4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 tbsp. Organic Coconut Sugar

2 tbsp. milk of choice, I use Unsweetened Organic Soymilk

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2 2/3 C. Breakfast Oats (gluten-free)

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/4 tsp. Pink Himalayan Salt

1/2 C. Dark Chocolate Chips

2 C. milk of choice, I Use Unsweetened Organic Soymilk

2 large eggs

5 tbsp. Maple Syrup

1/2 tsp. Caramel Extract

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Method;

Preheat oven to 350° F

Place the pumpkin cubes in a bowl, add the spice, melted butter and coconut sugar. Toss to cover. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place all the pumpkin on the sheet distributing evenly. Bake for 25 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork.

Let cool. Place the pumpkin in a food processor and blend until smooth with 2 tbsp. of milk. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk the two eggs with the milk, extracts and maple syrup. Stir in the pumpkin mash. Mix well, but it doesn’t matter if there are a few little lumps.

In an other bowl combine, oats, baking powder, spice, chocolate chips and salt. Stir to mix.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Grease an oven dish and add the mixture.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until set and slightly wobbly in the middle. Let sit for a few minutes before serving and pour over some Maple syrup.

Serve warm with some crème fraîche, sour cream or thick greek yoghurt and more maple syrup. Leftovers can be heated with an extra splash of milk.

High Fibre Health Bread

11 Replies

Here is my go to bread, for daily use. Very high in fibre and super healthy. It’s a small compact loaf, but one slice is an equivalent to a normal sized slice of bread, only ten times healthier. Pure grains and goodness and very filling.

Makes 1 small loaf

Needed : 8 Inch x 4 Inch Loaf Pan

INGREDIENTS:

1 C. + 2 tbsp. milk of choice, warm about at 100 ° F
2 tsp. Yeast
1 tbsp. Organic Coconut Sugar
2 C. Dark Rye Flour
1 C. Plain Spelt Flour
1/4 C. Oat Fiber
1/4 C. Ground Flaxseed
1 tsp. Pink Himalayan Salt
2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 C. Cooked Rye or Organic Spelt Berries

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a bowl, mix the warm milk with the sugar, add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes until frothy. Add the olive oil.

In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the hook attachment, place the flours, the fibre and flax. Stir to mix a little.

When the yeast mixture is ready pour is slowly into the bowl with the flour. With the machine running on low. Once the yeast liquid is mixed in add the salt.

Knead for ten minutes on medium. The last minute add the whole cooked grains and mix in gently with the machine on low.

Turn out the dough, Knead a little and form in to a ball. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with oiled cling film. Let rise for at least two hours. Although is doesn’t rise much leave for this amount of time.

After this time, place the dough into the oiled baking tin, sprinkle over some oat fibre if you like. Cover loosely with oiled cling film and leave to rise again for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile pre heat the oven to 375 ° F / 190 C

Place the tin in the middle of the oven on a rack, bake for about 40 minutes. Tap to see if it sounds hollow after this time. Remove from oven and leave to cool completely before slicing.