Whole Wheat Date & Nut Cake(Eggless)

Baking is definitely therapeutic, if you love to bake you know what I am talking about. I used to bake a lot few years back when gluten was still a part of our diet. It is definitely lot of fun and very easy to bake with flours containing gluten. So I seriously look forward for opportunities to bake with wheat and make it for people who include them. My Parents include wheat in their diet and I baked these cup cakes few months back and sent it to them. This recipe I saw in a magazine  few years back and the recipe was for making the cake in Microwave. This is such a simple recipe and a definite keeper. I have changed the recipe slightly replaced the all purpose flour with whole wheat,  added more dates, as I had ton of them and cut down slightly on the sugar.

Dates are healthy alternate for refined sugar, but still are sugar and in fact very high in sugar. All dried fruits have more sugar than when they are fresh. So this recipe is not recommended for people with diabetes. If you can include gluten and dates in your diet, do give it a try and let me know how you liked it.

Preparation Time – 20 Minutes

Cooking Time – 12-15 Minutes

Makes - 24 mini cup cakes + 4 regular cup cakes

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 1/4 Cups

Dates - around 25

Raw sugar - 1/2 cup

Brown butter/Clarified butter/Ghee - 1/4 cup

Warm Milk - 1 + 1/4 cup

Salt – pinch

Baking Soda - 1 tsp

Chopped walnuts - 1/2 cup

Vinegar -1 Tbsp

Vanilla extract – 1 Tsp (Cardamom + Nutmeg + Cinnamon also will work to give a fruit cake flavor)

Method

1) Soak the dates in warm milk and set this aside for an hour till the dates are soft and tender.

2) Puree the dates in a food processor to a fine a paste.

3) Add salt, baking soda, chopped walnuts  to the whole wheat flour, combine it and set it aside.

4) To the date and milk puree, add the melted clarified butter, raw sugar, vanilla extract and combine well.

5) Preheat a baking oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit and  line a 24 mini cup cake mould  cups and also another 4 cup cake mould with paper cups.

6) Slowly add the combined dry ingredients to the wet ones and gently stir and combine well with a spatula without over mixing. Now add the vinegar and give one last stir.

7). Fill the lined moulds till 3/4th of their height and bake for 12-15 minutes till a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8) Cool in a wire rack and enjoy!!

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Orange flavored Whole Wheat Fruit & Nut Cake(Egg free)

Happy New Year to all my Friends & Readers. Wishes for a Happy & Wonderful 2012. This is one of the cake which my Mom & Dad both love. Even though gluten is a rarity in my house, my parents do include wheat in their diet. So I make these and send this across to them whenever possible. So thought will share this recipe with you all and send this virtual treat this year to them. As long as you don’t have an issue with gluten and include wheat as part of your diet, do try this out and let me know how you liked it. This recipe is very versatile and simple to make. You can make it vegan by substituting butter with coconut oil and either way tastes great, presoak the dry fruits if you plan ahead or just toss them and simmer in the mixture and you are ready to bake the fruit cake.

Preparation Time – 10 Minutes
Baking Time – 40-50 Minutes
Makes one 9 inch round cake


Ingredients


Chopped Nuts - 1 Heaped Cup
Chopped Fruits - 1 Heaped Cup (Black & Golden Raisins, Dates, Apricots, Prunes)
Baking Soda - 1/2 Tsp
Whole Wheat Flour - 1 1/2 Cups
Clarified butter (Ghee) or Coconut Oil  - 1/4 Cup
Raw Sugar -  1/3 (Make it 1/2 cup for a sweeter cake)
Water - 1  Cups
Orange Juice - 1/2 Cup
Date Syrup - 1 Tbsp
Grated Orange Peel – 1 Tbsp

Method


1) Mix water, raw sugar, clarified butter, date syrup, chopped fruits, nuts and simmer on medium heat till the sugar dissolves and you get a nice brown color. Now switch off the stove and let this mixture cool to room temperature.

2) Mix the baking soda, whole wheat flour, salt and keep it aside.

3) Preheat a baking oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9 inch baking pan with oil and dust with flour.

4) To the fruit and nut mixture add the orange juice and orange peel and mix it nicely. To this slowly add the whole wheat flour little by little and mix it gently without lumps.

5) Pour the mixture in to the baking pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the middle rack till a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

6) Cool in the wire rack and leave it overnight and slice it next day.

Note – I added date syrup for the traditional fruit cake brown color. If you are planning ahead to make this cake, soak the chopped fruits in orange juice for a day or two. Reserve the liquid and add the soaked fruits to the sugar mixture. Measure this reserved liquid and add more orange juice if required and use it as mentioned in step 4.

Events

Sending this to Yummy Dessert 4 New Year by Prananti’s Kitchen.

Sending this to Baker’s fest New Year 2012 an event started by Vardhini.

Sending this to  Ramya’s ABC Series - Dessert

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Eggless Whole Wheat Tropical Banana Bread

I hope all of you had great week end and those of you in US had a great Thanksgiving and long weekend. Even though I avoid gluten because out of four people in house hold,  two are on a gluten free diet because of various health reasons. But I love to bake and I jump on opportunities when I have to bake it with gluten based flours and have to give it out to others. The moment I saw this tropical banana bread recipe in the good house keeping book – recipes for children which my elder one had got it for me, I was totally tempted to bake. I baked this quick bread for one of my friend few months back and got a great review. Do not be intimidated with the long list of ingredients, once you get a grasp of the ingredients this is very easy to make.  If you are not on a gluten free diet, do try this out and I am sure you must be surely happy with the out come.
Preparation Time – 15 Minutes
Cooking Time – 30 to 40 Minutes
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour - 1 3/4 Cup
Bananas - 3 (Small to medium)
Juice of 1 Orange
Coconut - 3/4 Cup
Pecans - 1/2 Cup
Yogurt - 1/4 Cup
Ener-g or Corn Starch - 1 1/2 Tsp + 1 Tbsp Warm Water
Baking Soda - 1 Tsp
Baking Powder - 1 Tsp
Oil or Melted butter or clarified butter anything will work - 1/4 Cup( I used clarified butter)
Salt - 1/4 Tsp
Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 Tbsp
Raw sugar - 1/2 Cup(Optional and I left it out as the sweetness of banana was just enough)
Water – 1/4 Cup(Check point 4)
Flaked Almonds – Handful to put as a topping
Method
1) Combine whole wheat flour, pecans, salt and keep it aside.
2) Squeeze out the orange from orange juice. Add 1 Tbsp warm water to the ener-g egg replacer and beat till frothy. Puree the ripe bananas.
3) To the yogurt add the baking soda and baking powder, combine and leave this for some time and you will see the yogurt mixture has started bubbling out. To this add the orange juice, banana puree, raw sugar(if using), ener-g egg replacer mixture, clarified butter and combine thoroughly till well mixed.
4) To the wet mixture add the grated coconut and wheat mixture and combine thoroughly without over beating the mixture. The consistency of the mixture depends on how ripe the banana is and also the size of the orange you are using. If the orange is big one and the banana is over ripe the batter should be just fine. But if you find the batter too thick, then add 1/4 cup more of water.
5) Now add the apple cider vinegar and mix till well incorporated. Pour the batter in a loaf pan and add handful of almond flakes on the top and spread it evenly. Baket for around 30-40 minutes in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit till a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Events

Sending this to Breakfast Club #17 - Breads hosted by Krithi's Kitchen an event started by Fuss free Flavors.

Sending this to Edible Entertainment’s Jingle all the way.

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Eggless Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are not health food to do a write up about the nutritional value. But they are any time better than the store bought one with no preservatives and additives.I have been baking these chocolate chip cookies for a long time and continue to bake them when I have to do a nut free baking.  This is the recipe which you can find in the Nestle Chocolate Chip Bags and I just substituted with whole wheat instead of refined flour and raw sugar instead of white sugar and are egg free. Personally I prefer my Almond Flour Chocolate chip cookies over these but I had to make these for some body who is allergic to nuts. So if you are looking for a chocolate chip cookie recipe to bake this holiday season do try out this one and do let me know how you liked them.

Preparation Time – 10 Minutes

Cooking Time – 25-30 Minutes(10 – 12 Minutes for each batch)

Serves – Makes around 3 1/2 Dozen Cookies



Ingredients



Whole Wheat Flour – 2 1/4 Cup (The original recipe used All purpose flour)

Butter – 1 Cup(2 Sticks)

Raw sugar – 3/4 Cup(Original used 3/4 Cup White Sugar + 3/4 Cup Light brown sugar)

Semi sweet chocolate chips – 1 Cup

Vanilla extract – 1 Tsp

Baking Soda – 1 Tsp

Salt – 1/4 Tsp(1/2 Tsp if using 1 1/2 Cups sugar as per original recipe)

Warm Water – 3 Tbsp

Ener-g egg replacer or Corn flour – 3 Tsp



Method





1) Beat the ener-g egg replacer by adding the warm water till frothy and keep it aside.



2) Beat the butter till creamy, add the sugar, egg replacer + water, vanilla essence and keep it aside.



3) Combine the whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips and add it slowly to the wet mixture and combine thoroughly.



4) Preheat a baking oven to 350 Degree Fahrenheit and like cookie trays with parchment paper.



5) Take the cookie dough with an ice cream scoop or a spoon and spoon out equally with enough distance between each of them. Slightly flatten the cookie dough with your fingers after spooning.



6) Bake for 10-12 minutes till the cookies are completely baked. Cool in a wire rack and store in a airtight container.



Note – The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of sugar and I halved it and with 1 cup of chocolate chips this sweetness was good enough. But if you have a sweet tooth, then stick on to the original recipe of 1 1/2 cups and also you can add 1 cup of chopped nuts to cookie dough. Because the kid for whom I was baking had nuts allergy, I couldn’t add any nuts.

Events

Sending this Krithi's Kitchen - Serve it Series Sweet an event hosted by Kirthi and Denny's

Sending this to Simply Food's Let's Cook for Christmas Red and Green Event.



Sending this to Edible Entertainment's Jingle all the way.

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Mango Mania - Vegan Whole Wheat Mango Cake

Even though my house hold is gluten free and I am moving more towards Almond flour for all baking needs. I do get requests to make certain cakes from my other  family members and this is one of the cake which I made for my Parents couple of weeks before I went on vacation.  Very easy to make and was liked by everybody for whom I made this. So if you are not on a gluten free, grain free diet do try this out.  I am sure you will like this.

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 1/2 Cups

Mango Puree/ Pulp home made - 1 Cup

Raw Sugar - 1 Cup

Sunflower Oil - 1/2 Cup

Baking Powder - 1 Tsp

Baking Soda - 1/2 Tsp

Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 Tbsp

Salt - 1/4 Tsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 Tsp

Nuts - Handful

Method

1) Sieve and combine the dry ingredients Whole wheat flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and keep this aside.

2) In a wide bowl add the mango puree, raw sugar, sunflower oil and combine thoroughly with a whisk.

3) Preheat a oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit and grease and flour a 8 * 4 baking pan.

4) To the wet ingredients add all the dry ingredients and using a spatula fold the batter without over mixing other wise the cake will be very hard. Now add the apple cider vinegar and combine thoroughly one more time.

5) Pour in the baking pan, top with the handful of nuts and bake for 35-40 minutes till a tooth pick inserted at the center comes out clean.

6) Cool in a wire rack and slice once cooled completely.

Recipe adapted from Champa's Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen.  Thanks Champa for the wonderful recipe.

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Whole Wheat & Oats Digestive Cookies/Biscuits

 Do you like the taste of digestive biscuits? Then you should try this. These taste so good and a much healthier choice than store bought one made with partially hydrogenated oil or high fructose corn syrup. But if you are on a grain free diet or gluten free diet these cookies are not for you.



I made this cookie recipe an year and half before ( a long time) before gluten was eliminated from our diet. Now a days I use only Almond flour for any kind of cookies. Even though I don't make them now, you will still continue to see quite a few of my recipes made with flours containing gluten like wheat. The simple reason is I have couple of them lying in drafts and this will be useful for people who still use whole wheat and oats in their diet.



Preparation Time - 15 Minutes

Cooking Time - 15 Minutes

Makes - Around 24 Cookies





Ingredients



Whole Wheat Flour - 1 Cup

Oats - 1 1/2 Cups

Baking Powder - 1 Tsp

Butter - 1 Stick (1/2 Cup at room temperature)

Salt - 1/4 Tsp

Raw Sugar - 1/4 Cup(Increase this to your taste, but normally digestive biscuits are a tad less sweeter)

Milk - 2 Tbsp (if needed)



Method



1) Grind the oats in your food processor to a powder form.



2) Combine the whole wheat flour, oats flour, baking powder, salt and raw sugar. Mix them evenly.



3) To this add the butter stick and form a dough. If the dough is too thick then add 1 to 2 Tbsp of Milk. Roll this dough into a cylindrical shape and wrap them with parchment paper and keep them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Do not keep this for more than 15 Minutes else it will be rock hard.



4) Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit and line two cookie trays with a parchment paper.

Take out the dough and cut them into even circles and place them in the cookie tray and bake for 15 Minutes.

I poked few holes using a fork.



5) Cool them in a wire rack and enjoy with some hot tea or store in an Airtight container.

Recipe Source - Swirl & Scramble.

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Eggless Whole Wheat Black Forest Cake

  Black Forest cake consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer. Then the cake is decorated with additional whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and chocolate shavings.

 I made this Black Forest Cake exactly a year before and wanted to make it with Whole Wheat and with no refined sugar and with minimally processed ingredients without any additives.  I decided to make two layers of Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake then fill the layers, sides and top with Heavy Cream whipped with Xylitol. The toughest part was to find cherries, because it wasn't in season and the cherry pie filling or canned cherries all had high fructose corn syrup which I don't buy and was finally able to get hold of the Tillen Farms brand which had whole cherries in water and sugar. This is a very easy to make cake and is absolutely delicious, well worth the effort.



Preparation Time - 30 Minutes

Cooking Time - 30 Minutes

Serves - Makes 2 9 inch layer cake



The recipe will be for 3 steps making the cake, prepare the cherry filling and the whipped cream icing.



Ingredients for the Cake

White Whole Wheat Flour - 2 Cup

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour - 1 Cup

Baking Soda - 2 Tsp

Salt - 1/4 Tsp

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 1/2 Cup

Vanilla Extract - 2 Tsp

Unflavoured Oil like Sunflower oil - 2/3 Cup

Raw sugar - 1 1/2 Cup

Warm water - 2 Cups

Apple Cide Vinegar - 2 Tbsp

For the cake please look into the Basic Chocolate Cake Recipe and bake two 9" inch cake and cool them in a wire rack and set them aside.

Ingredients for the Whipped Cream Frosting

Heavy Cream - 1 Pint(Increase this if you want a thick layer of frosting)

Xylitol - 1/4 Cup (Adjust this to your sweetness level)

Clear Vanilla extract - 1 Tsp

1) Beat the heavy cream till stiff peaks. (This will take at least 10 to 15 Minutes)

2) Add the vanilla extract and Xylitol to your sweetness and beat once to combine nicely.

3) Take the frosting and apply it one side of each cake and set them aside.

Ingredients for the Cherry Filling

All Natural Raspberry Fruit Preserves - 18 oz (Sweetened with fruit juices and no added sugar)

Merry Maraschino Cherries - 14 oz

Water - 1/4 Cup

1) Drain and rinse the cherries. Keep aside few cherries for decorating the top.

2) Add the fruit preserves, water  to a blender and blend till smooth, to this add the halved cherries and simmer for 5 minutes and let this cool.

3) Take this simmered fruit preserve with cherries and spread evenly to one of the cake layered with whipped cream frosting.

4) Now take the other cake spread with whipped cream frosting and place it gently on top of the cake layered with whipped cream and cherry preserves.

5) Now take the rest of the whipped cream and using a spatula spread on the top and the sides.

Finishing Touches

1/4 of 72% Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Bar  grated into chocolate shavings.

1) Take handful of these chocolate shavings and slowly put on the top and the side portions, decorate the top with cherries.

2) Refrigerate overnight and serve. The xylitol in the whipping cream, gives an ice cream effect to the whole black forest cake.

_

Event Participation

This goes straight to Crazy for Cakes an event by Priya of Now Serving.

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Eggless OatMeal & Whole Wheat Cranberry Cookies

If you are do include Wheat and Oats in your diet, you should definitely try this one. Absolutely tasty and you can't taste the whole wheat flour at all in this cookie. I came across this recipe in the Quaker Oats Container and made few modifications, like replacing the eggs with ener-g egg replacer and substituting Whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour and also omitting the white chocolate chip cookies. With sweet and tart taste of cranberries and with the texture of Oats and the raw sugar, they taste just perfect. Do try this out and let me know how it turned out.



Gluten is a special type of protein that is commonly found in wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt and triticale. So if you are sensitive to gluten this recipe is not for you.





Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 15 Minutes

Serves





Ingredients



Butter - 2/3 Cup

Raw Sugar - 2/3 Cup

Ener-g Egg Replacer - (3 Tsp + 2 Tbsp Warm Water)

Old Fashioned Quaker Oats - 1 1/2 Cups

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 1/2 Cups

Baking Soda - 1 Tsp

Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Dried Cranberries (Sweetened with fruit juice) - 1/2 Cup



Method



1) Beat the Ener-g Egg replacer with the warm water till frothy.



2) Cream the butter and sugar and then add the ener-g and water mixture.



3) Combine the whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, salt and dried cranberries.



4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie tray with parchment paper.



5) Now add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and combine with your hands to form a dough.



6)  Place small amount of dough(a small ball sized) in the parchment paper and  flatten them using your hand.



7) Leave enough space as the cookies will expand while baking and bake for 10-15 minutes till they are completely baked.



8) Cool in a wire rack and transfer to a airtight container. Keeps well at temperature for at least a week.



Notes - I left out the chocolate chips, so if you have sweet tooth, add more sugar instead of the sweetness of the chocolate chips. When you are adding more sugar, you might need to add little more of water to hold the dough, so add in small amounts and see. You can also add little bit of milk instead of water but the cookies will become very soft. If  you don't have ener-g egg replacer, replace it with corn starch and corn starch will give a very crunchy cookies.

Event Participation



1) This dish goes to Cooking with Wheat event hosted by Suma and started by Priya.

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Eggless Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake

If you go and google Vegan Chocolate Cake or Eggless Chocolate Cake, this is one of the most popular recipe you will run across in several sites. Looks like this whacky vegan chocolate cake recipe is around for years and is a definite  keeper. I just made a few changes to suit my preferences by substituting All purpose flour with Whole Wheat flour and refined sugar with raw sugar. Absolutely moist and delicious, the apple cide vinegar used in the cake is not reflected in the taste at all.

I have made this cake several times with whole wheat flour alone and whole wheat pastry flour alone. The regular whole wheat gives a very dense texture and the whole wheat pastry flour gives a crumbly texture, the combination of these two give a soft, moist and real nice texture. Also in the photo above, I made it using 1/4 Cup butter instead of Oil but it gives a slightly lighter color. This recipe works well only with Oil and not so good with butter. You can see the difference in color in the photo below made using Oil.

Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 15 to 30 Minutes(For Cupcakes around 15 or 9 Inch Cake 30 Minutes)

Serves - Makes around 12 Cupcakes or a 9 Inch Cake

Ingredients

White Whole Wheat Flour -1 Cup

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour - 1/2 Cup

Baking Soda - 1 Tsp

Salt - 1/4 Tsp

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 1/4 Cup

Vanilla Extract - 1 Tsp

Unflavoured Oil like Sunflower oil - 1/3 Cup

Raw sugar - 3/4 Cup

Warm water - 1 Cup

Apple Cide Vinegar - 1 Tbsp

Method

1) To the Warm water add the raw sugar and let this sit while we get ready with the other things. The raw sugar has a coarse texture, so it gives a rough and uneven surface on the top when baked as it is. So by dissolving it little bit the coarse surface can be avoided.

2) Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenhiet.

3) Sieve the White Whole Wheat Flour and Pastry flour, to this add salt and baking soda and make a well in the center.

3) To the water and sugar mixture, add the cocoa powder and combine to form a nice brown paste, to this add the oil and combine.

5) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine without over mixing. If you over mix, the gluten in the wheat hardens and you will get hard, dense cake. It is ok to have some lumps.

6) Line a baking pan with parchment paper or cup cake moulds with cup cake liner.

7) To the cake mix, add the apple cider vinegar and combine. You will see the batter is raising, pour the batter to the lined baking pan and bake till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

8) Cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes - The cake is not that sweet and is perfect with Icing. For icing on the top, I whipped some butter with maple syrup and Chia powder(egg substitute) for the cup cakes. The one below, I used some raw whipping cream with Xylitol and served.

Events



1) Sending this to Delicious Dessert Event.



2) Sending this to Best Western Desserts - Valentine's Special hosted by Priya Mahadevan.



3) Sending this to Food Palette Series - Brown.

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Eggless Whole Grain Oat & Wheat Carrot & Walnut Cake

Cakes synonym of carb and sugar. I wouldn't say this cake is  guilt free nor I am promoting this as a health food, however i used whole grain, raw sugar, carrots and walnuts. This is a much better choice than sugary processed store bought cakes. Also used Xylitol for icing instead of icing sugar. I made this cake almost a year back, now i am more into baking with Almond Flour instead of grain flour will post them soon but I still have couple of Cakes and Cookies made using Grain. So after finishing the back log of recipes using whole grains will post the Almond Flour recipes.



Preparation Time - 5-10 mins

Cooking Time - 15-20 mins

Serves - Around 12 cakes





Ingredients



Oat Flour - 1 Cup

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

Raw sugar - 1/2 cup (Increase this if you want a sweeter version)

Baking powder - 2 teaspoons

Baking Soda - 1/2 teaspoon

Ener-G Egg Replacer - 1 1/2 teaspoons

Salt - 1/4 teaspoon

Cinnamon powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Warm water - 3/4 Cup

Oil or Clarified Butter(Ghee) - 1/4 Cup

Apple cider vinegar - 1 tablespoon

Grated Carrot - 3/4 cup

Chopped Walnuts - 1/2 cup

Pureed Banana - 1/2 cup



Icing



100% Unsweetened Chocolate -  Around 6 pieces

Xylitol - 2 Tbsp or more if need a sweeter taste

Cream - 4 Tbsp

Butter - 1 Tsp

Vanilla extract - 1/2 Tsp



Method



1) Combine the Ener-G Egg Replacer with warm water and beat till fluffy,  now add the sugar, banana puree and oil and keep it aside.



2) Now add the grated carrots and chopped walnuts to the above mixture.



3) Combine Oats Flour, whole wheat flour, salt, cinnamon powder, baking powder, baking soda, sugar.



3) Add the flour mixture to the carrot mixture and stir thoroughly. Add Vinegar and combine it evenly.



5) Line a muffin mould with pape cups and fill till 3/4 .



6) Bake in a preheated oven set to 350 F for 15-20 mins until a knife inserted comes out clean.



7) Once baked, let it cool for couple of minutes.



8) Now brake the chocolate into few pieces add cream, butter and Xylitol to the mixture and heat till the chocolate melts, once the chocolate is in spreadable consistency using a spoon spread it on top of the baked and cooled cakes.



9) Sprinkle with powdered almonds and let the chocolate Gnache cool before you serve.

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Home Made Healthy Multigrain Graham Crackers

Know what you Eat – Graham Crackers comes under the list of healthy snacks but if

you read the ingredients most of them are made with partially hydrogenated oils and

very few are made with whole grains. Typically to make graham crackers one has to use

graham flour which is made by grinding finely the endosperm of winter wheat. The bran

and germ layers are returned and mixed in, resulting in a coarse, brown flour with a

nutty and slightly sweet flavor. Today, some commercial granaries remove much of the

wheat germ to prolong the shelf life of the flour. So most of the brands available in the

store all you get is stripped out and processed graham cracker.



Graham cracker was in my must bake list for a long time and instead of just going for

whole wheat flour, i used whole wheat, brown rice, oats, sorghum and coconut flour.

Yeah my pantry has you name it will have it kind of different flours stocked, so went for

this multigrain and was planning to bake a vegan version but the coconut flour absorbed

all the moisture, so had to add some milk to roll the dough and cut out the crackers.

Yes it did taste good.







Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour – 1 1/2 cups

Oats Flour – 1/2 Cup

Brown Rice flour – 1/4 cup

Coconut flour – 1/4 cup

Barley flour – 1/4 cup

Sorghum flour – 1/4 cup

Baking powder – 1/2 tsp

Canola or Sunflower oil – 1/2 cup

Maple syrup – 1/2 cup(Make it 3/4th cup if you want it sweeter)

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Ener-g Egg replacer – 1 1/2 tsp

Warm Water – 1 Tbsp

Milk – 1/4 cup

Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp



Method



1) Mix all the dry ingredients – Whole wheat flour, oats flour, brown rice flour, coconut flour

sorghum flour, barley flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder.

2) Add water to the egg replacer and beat till fluffy.

3) Now add the oil, maple syrup to the ener-g mixture and combine thoroughly,

now add all the flours to this mixture and combine to get a well moistened dough.

4) Preheat baking oven to 350 Degrees fahrenheit.

5) Because you are using coconut flour it will start absorbing the moisture, so keep 1/4th of cup

of milk handy. Take half the dough and add little bit of milk and roll out into a  1/8” thick

on a greased and floured baking sheet. Cut into desired shapes with a knife or a cookie

cutter. I just used knife and cut out square and rectangles.

6) Bake in a cookie tray lined with parchment paper for 8-10 minutes till they are golden.

7) Now flip them back and bake for another 3-4 minutes to make it really crisp.

8) Once completely cooled, store in a air tight container

9) I had these crackers for 4 days in room temperature and  made a no bake chocolate cake

with the remaining graham crackers, so not able to tell you the shelf life of these crackers.

10) Do the same to the remaining dough, because of the coconut flour you had to keep

adding little milk as when rolling out the dough. Repeat procedure from 5-7.



Notes – I came across this recipe from a magazine in the local library,which had used 3 cups of

Whole wheat graham flour, because i had so much of all these other flours i combined all of them. This

is the first time i am making crackers with coconut flour, when using coconut flour

it just absorbs all the moisture and make it dry so i had to keep on adding milk to

roll out cut into desired shapes. Next time when i am making i am planning to add

finely ground almond meal. The original recipe uses honey, whereas i substituted it

with maple syrup.







Event Participation –

This goes to Whole Grain Baking – Brown Rice an event hosted by Madhuram

of Eggless Cooking.

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Whole Wheat Soft Pretzel(Guilt Free Snack)

Know what you Eat - Wheat, in its natural unrefined state, features a host of important nutrients. Therefore, to receive benefit from the wholesomeness of wheat it is important to choose wheat products made from whole wheat flour rather than those that are refined and stripped of their natural goodness.  Whole wheat is a very good source of dietary fiber and manganese. It is also a good source of magnesium. Whole wheat flour is rich in B1, B2, B3, E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, iron, and fiber  when compared to refined flours, as the processing involves the loss of this nutrition.



Who should avoid Wheat - However Wheat is fattening so if you are on weight loss program, cut down on grains like this and go more towards protein (legumes and bean). Individuals with already existing and untreated kidney or gallbladder problems may want to avoid eating whole wheat because of its measureable oxalate content. Wheat has gluten, a protein which people with celiac disease cannot tolerate. Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.



Ingredients



1/4 c. water

1/2 Tbsp. yeast

1/2 Tsp. honey

5 oz milk

2 Tbsp butter

1 oz Honey

1 Tsp salt

2 cups Whole wheat flour



I found the recipe here and check out for step by step tutorial to make the pretzels.



Method



1) In a large bowl, mix the water, yeast and 1/2 tsp of honey. Stir this together and to dissolve the yeast. Let this sit for a few minutes .



2) Melt 2Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan.



3) Add 1oz of Honey, Salt and 5oz of Milk.Warm this for 5 minutes on low heat.



4) Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir.



5) Stir in the Whole wheat flour.



6) Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.



7) Cover it and let it rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.



8) Pull it out of the bowl and knead it a few times to get the air out.



9) Pull a ball of dough, about the size of your fist off and get ready to make your very first pretzel! (such a proud moment) Roll it into a long snake.



10) Then twist it and shape each pretzel, put them on a cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.



11) Melt a stick of butter in a saucepan.



12) Right when you take the pretzels out of the oven, slather them with butter or Olive Oil(I didn't do this step but still the pretzel tasted great without the grease).  Then sprinkle salt over them and eat this guilt free snack warm and enjoy.



Will try to get the step by step pictures next time and post them back here.



Event Participation



This goes straight to the WYF Tea Time Snack event hosted by EC.



Sending this to Food for 7 Stages of Life - Healthy Fast Food hosted by Radhika and Sudeshna.

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Eggless Whole Multi Grain Thumbprint Cookies

Thumb print cookies are not only feast to eyes but to the mouth too. When i saw this recipe in Eatingwell.com i wanted to try out immediately. I modified it slightly to suit my needs. Instead of using white flour this recipe uses Whole wheat, Oats, protein rich Almonds. The cookies are eggless, no white sugar, no butter and they are vegan. With not the usual ingredients in them, but they taste absolutely delectable. Do try out and let me know.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 15 Minutes

Makes around - 20 Cookies



Ingredients



1 cup whole almonds

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup oat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Sunflower Oil - 1/3 cup

Maple syrup - 3/4 Cup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Raspberry preserves - 1/3 Cup



Method



1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

.

 2. Process almonds in a blender until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl and add whole-wheat flour, oat flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk oil, maple syrup and vanilla extracts in a medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; stir to combine. Use your hands to knead the dough together.



3. Form level tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten each ball into a disk, then make an indentation in the center using your thumb or a small spoon. Place 1/4 teaspoon preserves in each of the indentation.



4. Bake the cookies, one batch at a time, until golden around the edges, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and store in a airtight container.



5. My cookies were good for atleast 5 days in room temperature and after that i didn't have any left to store longer.



Event Participation



Sending this to Priya's CWF-Oats an event started by Kiran

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Quick Whole Wheat Bread Sticks

Are you looking for an instant whole wheat bread stick to go with a soup. This is one of the best recipe i found. This recipe is so easy to make and takes very less time. You can bake a batch while making your soup and enjoy the warm bread sticks with some fresh healthy vegetable soup. Try this out and let me know how you liked it.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 15 Minutes

Serves - 4



Ingredients



Whole Wheat Flour - 1 Cup

Raw Wheat Germ - 1 Cup

Whole milk - 5 oz

Sunflower Oil - 1.5 oz

Honey - 1 Tbsp

Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Butter - 1 Tbsp

Sesame Seeds - 2 Tbsp



Method



1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.



2) Mix and knead the flour, wheat germ, milk, oil, salt and honey until the mixture holds together well. On a floured surface roll the dough 1/4 to 1/2" thick (the thinner, the crisper the bread sticks will be). Cut into sticks about 4" long. Place on the prepared baking sheet.



3) Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with butter, and sprinkle sesame seeds, place back in the oven, and toast for few minutes.



4) Remove and serve warm with some hot soup.



Note - Check out the original recipe in Arrow Head Mills website.

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Eggless Vegan Whole Wheat & Oats Peanut Butter Criss Cross

Cooking with unrefined flours are not that difficult and also they taste great with the mix and match of these ingredients. With the added protein from the peanut butter and fiber from the whole wheat flour and Oats, they are a good after noon snack. Better than a store bought one with all the refined flours, sugars and additives.





Preparation Time – 15 Minutes

Cooking Time – 15 Minutes

Serves – Makes around 18 Cookies





Ingredients

3/4 c Whole wheat flour

3/4 c Whole Oat Flour

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Cup Organic Smooth Peanut Butter

1/2 Cup maple syrup

1 1/2 Tsp Ener-g Egg Replacer

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Tbsp Warm Water



Method

1) Combine the whole wheat flour, oat flour, salt and baking soda.

2) In a wide bowl, add warm water to the ener-g egg replacer and beat it till frothy.

3) Now add the maple syrup, peanut butter and vanilla extract to this mixture and combine to a smooth paste.

4) To this paste add the flour mixture and mix thoroughly without any lumps.

5) Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and make a small lemon sized ball out of the dough and flatten it using your palm.

6) Using a fork do a criss cross to get nice lines.

7) Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 degrees till they are thoroughly baked.

8) Remove it out of the parchment paper and cool them in a wire rack and store in an airtight container once it is completely cooled.

9) Keeps good for at least a week without refrigeration.

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Eggless Fat Free Apple Upside Down-Banana Nut Cake

How many versions of Banana Nut cake do you make? I have been baking these banana nut bread, muffin cake for the past 10 Years and each and every time i make i try out something new. I love the flavor of banana in these baked goods so much, and never get tired of them. This is a lovely banana cake recipe. Bake it in a bundt pan and make little bit of icing and of course it is a cake. This recipe doesn’t use oil or butter and the only fat comes from the nuts used. So try out, enjoy and let me know how it came out.



Preparation Time – 15 Minutes

Cooking Time – 35-40 Minutes

Serves – 10



Ingredients



Bananas - 7

Whole wheat flour – 1 1/2 cup

Whole Oat flour – 1 1/2 cup

Ener g- 3 Tsp

Baking soda – 1 Tsp

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Vinegar – 2 tbsp

Raw sugar – 1 cup

Chopped Walnuts – 1 Cup

Apple sauce – 4oz(This is the fat substitute)

Salt – 1/2 Tsp

Water – 2 Tbsp

Sliced Almonds – 2 Handful



Method



1) Puree the banana in your blender and to this add, raw sugar, apple sauce and keep it aside.

2) In a wide bowl add the ener-g egg replacer and to this add the warm water and beat till frothy.

3) Preheat the baking oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.

4) Grease a baking pan with baking spray.

5) To the wet ingredients add all the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly without any lumps.

6) To this mixture add the vinegar and combine.

7) Pour the cake batter into the greased pan and on top place the sliced almonds bake around 30 minutes till the cake passes the tooth pick test.

8) Cool in a wire rack and go ahead with icing if you want to add few more calories to this cake.

9) Enjoy.

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Eggless Whole Wheat Fruit & Nut Cake

Know what you Eat – This is not a health food and nothing much to brag about, instead of all

purpose flour i have used white whole wheat flour. So slice them and watch out on portion

control and have them in between meals, so the indulgence will be less.

I made this for Muskaan’s sister who was visiting her with a new born, since she was on a

dairy free diet i used clarified butter instead of butter for making this cake. Yes clarified

butter is the only dairy product which will not cause any allergies. One of my friend’s son has

sever allergies and any ingestion will cause hives and breathing difficulties, but this clarified

butter(ghee) doesn’t cause any problem. So if you have dairy allergies check out with your Doctor and

try out clarified butter instead of butter next time. I  got this recipe from somewhere on the web

when i searched for eggless tutty fruity cake and noted it down, don’t remember from where i got this

recipe.

Ingredients

White whole wheat flour - 1 cup

Mixed spices powder(Cardamom, Nutmeg, cinnamon) - 1 teaspoon

Clarified butter(ghee) - 1/2 cup

Candied fruit - 1/3 cup

Chopped nuts - 1/4 cup

Brown sugar - 1/4 cup

Water - 3/4 cup (**)

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Salt  - pinch

Flaked almonds handful



Method

Put the mixed spices, clarified butter, dried mixed fruit, sugar and water into a saucepan.

Place them over a medium heat and stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool until lukewarm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add the baking soda, baking powder, pinch of salt.

Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre of it.

Pour the lukewarm mixture into this.

Mix well and pour into a greased cake tin.

Smooth the top of the mixture and sprinkle with a few flaked almonds.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes at till a knife inserted in

the center comes out clean.

Turn onto a wire rack to cool. Cool them overnight and slice the next day.

Notes – I used White Whole wheat flour which was coarsely ground, if you are using

all purpose flour or finely ground whole wheat flour increase the water from 3/4 to 1 cup.







Event Participation



1) Sending this to Cakes & Cookies event hosted by Mahimaa of Indian Vegetarian Kitchen.



2) Sending this to Cakes & Cookies event hosted by Sara's corner.

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Whole Wheat Sweet Appam

Know what you Eat - Whole Wheat is rich in dietary fiber. High fiber foods reduces cholestrol in the digestive system that would otherwise end in the blood stream. Coconut is fruit rich in protein and helps to keep your soft wrinkle free. Panela(jaggery) is a nutritious form of sugar and rich in iron.

Cooking Time - 15 minsPreparation
Time -10 mins
Serves - Makes around 10

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 1 Cup
Jaggery powder - 1/2 cup or to taste
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Rice Flour - 2 Tbsp (I used brown rice flour)
Coconut(Small Chopped pieces not grated) - 2 heaped table spoons
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Water
Coconut Oil - 4 tsps

Method

1) Add little bit of water to the jaggery and heat it till all the jaggery dissolves. Switch off and let this cool for few minutes.
2) Add cardamom powder, salt and the coconut pieces to the dissolved jaggery.
3) Now combine the flours and add the jaggery mixture to this and add enough water to make pancake batter consistency.
4) Heat the appam pan and add drops of oil in each of them and then pour the batter. Cover it and let it cook till one side is completely cooked.
5) Now turn it and leave till the other side is cooked.
6) Enjoy these guilt free snacks.

Event Participation
1) This dish goes to the Janmashtami & Ganesh Chaturthi event hosted by Purva.
2) This dish goes to Cooking for Kids, evening snacks hosted by Divya started by Sharmi.
3) This dish also goes to Food for Seven stages of Life Stage 1 hosted by Radhika and co-hosted by Sudeshna.
4) This dish goes to Sweet & Savouries Event hosted by Sara's Corner.

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Blueberry & Strawberry Crisp

Know what you Eat - Blueberries are a source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and folate. Blueberries are very low in fat and sodium, and high in dietary fiber and potassium.Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese. They are also a very good source of dietary fiber ,iodine, potassium, folate, vitamin B2, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, copper, and vitamin K. These berries are rich in phytonutrients phenol, which makes them a heart-protective fruit, an anti-cancer fruit, and an anti-inflammatory fruit, all rolled into one.These berries are packed with antioxidants which neutralize free radical damage to the collagen matrix of cells and tissues that can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease and cancer.



I always love to try out new recipes, i get recipes from lot of sources. My Dad passes on recipes which comes in television shows over phone, my Mom sends across recipes from magazine cutting. This is one such recipe and my Uncle scanned and forwarded me this recipe, this crisp is very easy to make and a must try during the berry season.



Cooking Time - 20 mins

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Serves - 4



Ingredients



Strawberries - 2 cups(Chopped)

Blueberries - 1 cup

Brown sugar - 1 tbsp

Whole wheat flour - 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp



Whole wheat flour - 1/3 cup

Brown sugar - 1/4 cup

Oats - 1/4 cup

Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp

Chilled Butter - 2 1/2 Tbsp (Cut into pieces)



Frozen Vanilla Yogurt - 1 cup



Method



1) Preheat Oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Combine first four ingredients in a bowl and spoon into a baking dish.

3) Place the brown sugar, whole wheat flour, oats and cinnamon powder in a food processor pulse two times until combined.

4) Now add the cut butter pieces and pulse 4 more times till the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

5) Sprinkle over the berry mixture and bake at 375 until bubbly and the top mixture slightly browns and becomes crisp.

6) Top each serving with 1/4 cup of frozen yogurt and enjoy these guilt free snack/dessert.

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Whole(Multi) Grain Pizza

Know what you Eat - Whole wheat is good source of dietary fiber, Protein, Iron, B vitamins, Thiamin, Niacin, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc. If you are prone to migraines, try adding quinoa to your diet. Quinoa is a good source of magnesium, a mineral that helps relax blood vessels, preventing the constriction and rebound dilation characteristic of migraines. Oats, via their high fiber content, are already known to help remove cholesterol from the digestive system that would otherwise end up in the bloodstream. Pineapple is an excellent source of Manganese, vitamin C, B1, B6, copper, dietary fiber. Brightly colored bell peppers, whether green, red, orange or yellow, are rich sources of vitamin C and vitamin A (through its concentration of carotenoids such as beta-carotene), two very powerful antioxidants. Cheese is a good source of calcium.

Cooking Time - 20 mins
Preparation Time - 20 mins
Serves - 10 to 12 single serving pizza

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 3 cups
Quinoa - 1/2 cup
Oats - 1/2 cup
Gluten - 8 teaspoons
Raw sugar - 1 tablespoon
Yeast(dry for whole grain) - 5 tsp
Warm water - 2 cups
Salt - 3 tsp
Organic Pizza Sauce - 1 cup
Organic Rennetless Cheese(Mozzarella & Cheddar blend) - 6 oz
Red pepper flakes optional


Topping 1

Chopped Pineapple - 1 cup
Chopped Onion, red and green bell pepper - 1/2 cup
Chopped Jalapeno Peppers - 1 tbsp(Optional)




Topping 2

Chopped Onion, Red and Green bell pepper - 2 cups (Quickly saute the onion, red and green bell peppers and keep it aside)

Method

1) Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water, let sit for about 7 minutes.
2) Roast Quinoa until you get a gentle aroma and let it cool for 10 minutes
3) Grind Oats in a food processor to a fine powder.
4) Grind Quinoa in a food processor to a fine powder
5) Add Oats and Quinoa to the Whole wheat flour and stir in salt and gluten.
6) Add the dissolved yeast and the rest of the water and knead for 5 minutes. Add a tsp of olive oil to the dough's surface and leave in a covered bowl for 45 minutes.
7) Punch down and add one more 1 tsp of Olive oil and knead thoroughly and leave it once again for 30 minutes. It will rise once again.
8) I normally do double rise as you get a softer texture, or you can go ahead after single rise itself.
9) Punch down the dough and roll out into a ball and flatten it, glaze the top with few drops of olive oil and place in a Oiled pan and let it bake for 5 minutes.
10) Remove the pizza and put the pizza sauce, cheese and the toppings and bake for 15 minutes.
11) Remove from the oven and serve it hot.

Note - You can prepare dough and refrigerate and make pizza for lunch in the morning or make pizza and freeze and put in Toaster Oven and broil for 10 minutes till the pizza is evenly hot and pack for lunch.

Event Participation

This goes to Whole grain eggless baking(Wheat) event hosted by Madhu.

This goes to CFK-Healthy Lunch Boxes guest hosted by Neha of Tasty Recipes, event started by Sharmi.

This goes to the Yeast spotting event hosted by Susan.

This dish goes to Original Recipes - Monthly Round up hosted by Lorie.

This Vibrant Pineapple Pizza goes to FIC - Express your mood hosted by Nithya Praveen and started by Sunshine Mom.

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