Pie Hearts

Stress Baking + Stress Eating = BFF's

Woke up this morning and started going over today's to-do list, at which point I immediately needed a few "me" moments. Its been one of those weeks where nothing I did felt enjoyable, more like everything was a chore that I needed to get done. And while the week is coming to an end, the to-do list is as long as ever. So on a whim, I decided to carve out a little time for myself this morning to de-stress doing one of my favorite things...baking. 

 Best part of this recipe is how completely simple and quick it is. I had time to make it, bake it, eat it, and share it all before my morning class and a full day of clinic today. If you're always on the go like me, but want a little something special to add to your list of treats, this is it. 

clean chocolate chip cookies

If you follow along in my insta-stories, you saw that I did a little baking on Sunday morning. With it being the new year, January is always a month of healthier eating so I decided to make this clean version of chocolate chip cookies. 

They still have sugar in them of course, because honestly I wouldn't want to eat a cookie that has no sugar. What's the point? But these are a much healthier version of classic chocolate chip cookies because they have no flour and no butter.

pumpkin cornbread & sweet potato crockpot chili

This is how we celebrate fall in the South...taking classic Southern recipes and adding a taste of Autumn into the mix. 

Birthday Donut Cake

Kicking off the B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y celebrations bright and early this morning!
There is nothing fun about having a Monday Birthday. But at the very least, I think waking up to this donut cake makes today extra special for Husband. He loved my Apple Cider Donuts last Fall, so when I was thinking up a special birthday breakfast to make, I knew homemade donuts would be perfect. Since traditional birthday cakes are either vanilla or chocolate, I decided to go with a combination of both…vanilla donuts with a chocolate glaze. And I figured, why not cover everything in sprinkles while I'm at it?  

 These donuts are the simplest things to whip up. I didn't even have to break out the stand mixer, which was important since Husband was still sleeping while I baked. I needed to be extra quiet as not to ruin the surprise. 

INGREDIENTS 

For the Vanilla Donuts

1 cup flour 

1 tsp baking powder 
¼ tsp baking soda 

¼ tsp nutmeg 

1 egg 

⅓ cup brown sugar 

¼ cup milk 

 ¼ cup vanilla greek yogurt 

2 tbsp melted butter 

1½ tsp vanilla extract 

For the Chocolate Glaze  

(the best part) 
½ cup chocolate chips 

2 tbsp butter 

2 tsp dark corn syrup 

2 tsp water 

jimmies/sprinkles

Cooking Tools 

Donut Pan OR Mini Cupcake Tray 

DIRECTIONS

Yields 6 donuts or 15 donut holes

1.) Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a donut pan OR a mini cupcake tray {to make donut holes} with a non-stick spray. 
DONUTS 

2.) In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg together. 

3.) In a separate bowl, whisk egg, brown sugar, milk, and yogurt together. Slowly whisk in melted butter and vanilla extract. 

4.) Pour the wet ingredients from Step 3 into the dry ingredients from Step 2. Whisk to combine.  

5.) Pipe batter into donut pan, filling ¾ full

6.) Bake ~10 minutes 

While the donuts are baking, it's time to make the glaze…with sprinkles on top!

GLAZE

7) In a medium bowl, combine chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup, and water. Melt in the microwave for 30sec increments, stirring in between. 

8.) Dip warm donuts into chocolate glaze and then dip directly into sprinkles 

 These donuts are quick and easy for a breakfast on the go. And as an added bonus, they are baked (instead of fried), which means not having to feel guilty about eating so many of them. But most importantly, they made for the best birthday surprise!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUSBAND 

Linking up with blovedboston//morepiecesofme 

Catching the Gingerbread Man

Blogmas Day 19 

I finally caught up with the Gingerbread Man! 

I'm so excited to be sharing another holiday recipe fav. But can I just start by saying that this recipe is a million times over inspired by the cutest little baking kit. Seriously, the I came up with these cupcakes only because I wanted an excuse to buy this. Plus, I've been baking so many cookies lately that I was happy to have a reason to do something a little different. 

Yields 24 cupcakes//Prep Time~20 minutes//Bake Time ~20 minutes 

Gingerbread Cupcakes 
2⅔ cups of flour 
1 tsp baking soda 
1 tsp baking powder 
1½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger  
½ tsp allspice 
///
1 cup softened butter 
1 cup brown sugar 
2 eggs 
1 cup water 
¾ to 1 cup molasses  

(it all depends on how much you want the gingerbread flavor to pop)

Instructions: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 and fill two muffin trays with cupcake liners. 
2. In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Set aside. 
3. Using the paddle attachment for a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar. Once it's light and fluffy, add in eggs, water, and molasses. 
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix Well. 
The batter may not be smooth, but that's ok. 
5. Fill your cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes. 


I paired my cupcakes with this sweet cream cheese frosting and it was the perfect combination for these  molasses based cupcakes. 

Cream Cheese Frosting
8oz cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter 
1tsp vanilla extract 
4 cups powdered sugar 

Instructions: 
1. Using a mixer paddle attachment, mix cream cheese and butter. 
2. Add in vanilla extract. 
3. Slowly add in powdered sugar while mixing
The frosting should be a whipped consistency

Now onto the best part…decorating and eating your cupcakes! 
Enjoy

Follow along with Blogmas to see more holiday fun everyday this month

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Peppermint Marshmallow Creme Sugar Cookies

Blogmas Day 12 

It's a Saturday in December, which meant that I spent a good chuck of the day baking. I made lots of homemade goodies to send off for family and friends as Christmas gifts. Husband was my official taste-taster and this recipe was his favorite. On that note, I thought I would share. 

I wanted to make a peppermint based sugar cookie and I had the best intentions of getting creative, but then I decided to cheat! I simply substituted some of the vanilla extract in my regular sugar cookie recipe with peppermint extract. It was pretty unimaginative, but no need to fix something that isn't broken. 

Peppermint Sugar Cookies  
½ cup softened butter 

1 cup sugar 

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract 

 ¼ tsp peppermint extract 

1 tsp baking soda 

 ½ cup sour cream

3½ cups flour 

 Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar together to a consistent texture. Gradually add in egg, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and baking soda while continuing to mix. Add in sour cream. Then gradually add in flour while mixing. Sprinkle your surface with flour and roll out the dough. 
Time to cut out the cookie shapes. 

Marshmallow Creme Frosting
16oz of marshmallow fluff 
1½ cups softened butter 
1 cup powdered sugar 
½ tsp peppermint extract 

Start with marshmallow fluff in a large bowl. Gradually whip in bugger, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. 

Spread frosting onto sugar cookies and add crushed peppermint for a bit garnish. 

Enjoy! 

Follow along with Blogmas to see more holiday fun everyday this month

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Cranberry-Orange Muffins

Blogmas Day 6

Happy Sunday! 

Today is going to shape up to be a great day. Firstly, we will be decorating our tree today. We had planned on decorating it Friday, but that just didn't happen. But at this point in the weekend we are now relaxed and rejuvenated so that's happening today. Also, I normally make a special breakfast on Sundays. And today was these festive cranberry-orange muffins…

This is the third time I've made these since Thanksgiving {yes they are that good} so I think I've got my recipe all figured out and ready to share. The original recipe is great but there were a couple things about it that I wanted to change. Most of the ingredients involved are pantry staples, but there were a few that were not. The original recipe calls for orange juice and orange zest, which are things we may or may not have in our kitchen at any given time. And it's kind of ridiculous to go buy a gallon of orange juice just to make a batch of muffins. On the other end I didn't want to be juicing oranges either. 

When Husband would come to me with those beautiful blue eyes and ask me to make him muffins {again}, I hated having to say no simply because we didn't have the ingredients on hand. For me, one of the best parts about baking is the fact that you can easily make variations of cakes and cookies and cupcakes simply from the flour and sugar already sitting in your pantry. So I wanted a recipe that I could easily make at any given time with pantry staples. I decided to replace the orange juice and orange zest with orange extract because extract is something that can sit in the fridge for months, making it easier to have this on hand. As an added bonus, the orange flavor pops much more with using the orange extract. 

Yields 12 muffins//Prep Time~15 minutes //Bake Time~20-25 minutes

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup softened butter 
1/2 cup granulated sugar 
1/4 cup brown sugar 
///
2 eggs at room temp 
1/2 cup greek plain yogurt 
2 tsp vanilla extract 
1 tsp orange extract
/// 
1 and 3/4 cups flour 
1 tsp baking soda 
1 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp cinnamon 
3 tbsp milk 
1 and 1/2 cup frozen cranberries 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a muffin tray with non-stick spray. 
We use a healthier coconut oil spray.  
2. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to cream butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together. 
3. Once the texture is consistent, gradually add in eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, and orange extract. 
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon together. Add the wet ingredients to these dry ingredients. Whisk ingredients to a creamy texture. Use a baking spatula to mix in milk and cranberries. 

 5. Spoon batter into the muffin tray, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake muffins at 425 degrees for 5 minutes. Then lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool before serving 

We love these muffins and how festive they are, especially the fact that they use seasonal fruit. We have a few pounds of frozen cranberries in our freezer right now, so this is a great way to use them. 

Easy-Bake Apple Cider Donuts

My favorite part about Fall in New England is the Apple Cider Donuts!

 They have the perfect texture and are so very sweet, plus there are apples mixed in, which means these donuts are actually good for you. Seriously, they are the best! I have been making all kinds of goodies since our apple picking adventure...apple pie, apple crisp, even apple butter. But the treat we love most are these apple cider donuts. This is what Fall is supposed to taste like! 

Easy Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars

Whenever Tom and I go on vacation, I tend to eat a whole lot of “whatever the heck I want”. You can be sure to find us sampling everything from sweet treats to local brews. Thankfully, calories don't count when your on vacation. If only right? In an attempt to keep our eating habits somewhat healthy, I like to pack homemade snacks. And our trip to Canada called for something extra special…

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Oatmeal Bars

When Life Gives You Lemons....

I cannot express how blessed Tom and I are to have both been accepted into doctoral programs, especially so early in our lives. Real life dreams coming true right here people! But we were tossed a big ole sour lemon when we realized that we would be attending schools in different parts of the country. Living apart isn't exactly ideal for a newly married couple, but these are the cards that we were dealt and we're making the situation work the best way that we know how. 

Créme de Menthe Brownies

Top of the morning to ya Lads and Lassies and Hooray for St. Patty's Day 2015! What better way to celebrate a holiday (or any day for that matter) than with some sweet treats? And nothing pairs together quite like chocolate and mint. I love chocolate in any form really, but my absolute favorite way to have mint is with a créme de menthe liquor. I knew I needed to figure out a way to merge these two loves and today seemed like the perfect time to debut the 

choclatey gooey minty goodness 

that is these brownies!  

Afternoon Tea at the Jefferson Hotel!

Husband and I were in Richmond Virginia this weekend for a wedding. And if you're ever in Richmond, there is one place that you have to visit...

The Jefferson Hotel! 

High class elegance with a unique history...this place has it all. And since it was a dreary day outside, I couldn't think of a better way for Tom and I to spend the afternoon than cozying up inside with hot tea and scones.

We headed to Richmond's historical district and while all of the buildings there were beautiful, nothing stands out quite like The Jefferson. 

3.14-15 Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day Everyone! This one is particularly special indeed because today's date makes up the first 5 digits of Pi...that won't happen again for another 100 years! Husband double majored in math and finance so we always celebrate Pi Day. With everything I've been trying to cram into this past week, I kind of forgot to plan ahead for it. But we couldn't let today go by unacknowledged so at the last minute, I used ingredients that I already had in my kitchen to whip up this triple berry pie to help us celebrate 3.14-15 right!

"No Bake" Peppermint Bark

Blogmas Day 20

Christmas break officially began at 5PM last night and I kicked things off right with a bake-a-thon. I know right, I'm so young and hip. It's hard to keep up with me. Many yummy treats were made, but one of my favorites didn't require any baking at all. Thought that I should definitely share it. Seriously, it's so easy and so delicious. 

Cookie Exchange: Double Chocolate Chip

Blogmas Day 17 

Tonight I took a little study break and attended a cookie exchange where I shamelessly stuffed my face with lots of yummy treats. My absolute favorite club at school, "Scrubs and Stilettos" hosted our annual holiday cookie exchange.This club is my dental school's chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists, so it was just us girls. Love it! 

While I have gone overboard making elaborate cookies in the past, I've learned that basic crowd pleasers are best at events like this one. So I decided to put an extra chocolatey spin on a classic. And as usual, I baked these from scratch. Thought I'd share this easy recipe. 

Enjoy!  

Best Sugar Cookies Ever!

Blogmas Day 13

My amazing parents gave me some of my Christmas presents early so that I could start using them right away. One of those just so happened to be the most beautiful KitchenAid Stand Mixer. As a result I have been looking for any and every excuse to bake. I just love watching the paddle spin around that beautiful silver bowl while it's making me yummy treats. Betty Sue (that's the mixer) and I will be spending a lot of time together. And Yesterday's Excuse? Well, it was Friday!

 Cookies: 

3½ cups flour 

1 cup sugar 
 ½ cup softened butter 

½ cup sour cream

1 egg 

2 tsps vanilla extract 

1 tsp baking soda 

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla extract, and baking soda. Add flour while continuing to mix . Roll out dough (sprinkling in flour helps) and cookie cut away.  Bake for 10-15 minutes. 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

4oz oz cream cheese at room temp

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup butter

½ tsp vanilla extract 

Combine and mix well