Wholesome Pitas

Whole grain pitas are both delicious and nutritious. It is a great way to get your whole grains without heading into starch city on overdrive.

Ingredients:
3-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons yeast
1-1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all the ingredients and mix and knead them together, by hand or mixer, until you have a soft, supple dough. This should take about 8 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in the mixer. You may need a bit more flour, but remember whole grain dough starts out a bit stickier and absorbs liquid as it develops, so don't add too much at the beginning of the process; you'll regret it later. You want a soft dough that feels tacky to the touch.

Scoop up the dough and form into a ball and place in a greased large mixing bowl. Cover the bowl tightly and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours.

Place a baking stone or cookie sheet on the bottom rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 450.

After it's risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut it in half. Divide one half into 4 or 8 equal portions and form each into a rough ball. Let the balls rest for 10 minutes, covered, while dividing the second half of dough in the same way. This rest makes dough easier to roll out.

Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball to a circle about 6 inches in diameter and less than 1/4" thick. Use only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the pin and the work surface. Too much flour allows the dough to skid around. Keep the waiting balls of dough covered as you work.

Flour a spatula and load 2 or more pitas at a time directly on the hot baking stone or cookie sheet. It should take 3 to 4 minutes for the pitas to go into a full balloon.

Turn them once they're baking to assure a speckled, brown crust on each side. Total cooking time is approximately 5 minutes.

Remove the pitas from the oven and repeat with the remaining pieces. Stack the warm pitas together in a kitchen towel to keep them from crisping as they cool.

Cranberry Orange Dark Chocolate Cookies

A unique flavor combination of orange, dried cranberries, and dark chocolate creates a complex burst of flavor. Try these ...

Cranberry Orange Dark Chocolate Cookies

1 1/4 Cups Whole wheat flour

3/4 Cup White flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 large egg

zest of one orange (about 2-3 tsp)

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light.

Beat in egg and orange zest.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring only until just combined.

Stir in the cranberries and chocolate chips.Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls (about 1 1/4-inch balls) onto prepared cookie sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes, until edges are very lightly browned.

Cool for 3-4 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen.

White Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

These sugar cookies have half the fat as usual sugar cookies and have a crisp outside, yet chewy center.

Chewy Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 White Whole Flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups butter
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup white sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just blended.

Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets and flatten slightly.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned at the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Rocky Road Brownies!!

For those of you that like Rocky Road Ice cream, I think you might like these awesomely rich rocky road brownies made out of whole wheat. No one can even tell they are made out of whole wheat because they are so lush with chocolate.

"Rocky Recchiuti Brownies" - adapted from the cookbook Chocolate Obsession by Michael Recchiuti

Flavorless vegetable oil for the pan

5 1/2 ounces unsweeted chocolate, coarsely chopped

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs - room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 Cups sugar

1/3 Cup walnut halves, chopped

6 marshmallows, cut into quarters

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and liberally coat the paper and the pan sides with flavorless vegetable oil.

Put 3 oz. of the chocolate and the butter in a medium stainless-steel bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter melt and are fully combined and the mixture is smooth. Lift the bowl from the pot. Set aside.

Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl. In another bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk together by hand until blended. Whisk in the sugar.

Whisk the egg mixture into the chocolate. Add the flour and the remaining 2 1/2 oz. chocolate to the batter and, using a rubber spatula, mix well. Then mix in the walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread it evenly with a small offset spatula. Scatter the marshmallow pieces evenly over the surface and push them halfway into the batter. The tops should remain uncovered.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven until the marshmallows are browned and a skewer inserted into the center of the brownie sheet comes out with some batter clinging to it, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.

Run a table knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the sides of the brownie, and then slide the brownie, still on the paper, onto a work surface. Using a ruler to guide you and a sharp knife, cut into 16 2-inch squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Chewy Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These cookies are great. They are adapted from other oatmeal cookie recipes, has half the butter and whole wheat instead of white flour. To replace the moisture of the missing butter, water is used, and you can't even tell the difference in these cookies. Also white chocolate chips are added and give a tasty twist on traditional oatmeal raisin cookies.


Chewy Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1/2 Cup Butter(1 Cube)
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
3 Tbs. Water

1 Egg
1 t. Vanilla

1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

3 Cups Oats (instant or non)
1 1/2 Cups Raisins
1 Cup White Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and water.
3. Add in egg and vanilla and continue to beat.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the flou, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Add the dry mixture to the large bowl mixture and blend well.
6. Add in the oats and raisins and blend until uniformly mixed.
7. Drop by rounded tablespoon on to cookie sheet and press down each mound so they are not upright balls but somewhat flattened(because there is less butter).
8. Bake for 8-11 minutes.

Yummy Whole Wheat Carrot CupCakes

I grew up with this carrot cake recipe that my mother would always make. But she would always use whole wheat instead of white flour to make her not feel as guilty eating such a rich dessert. It is better tasting than any other carrot cake I have eaten, and so I decided to post this first and turn the cake into cupcakes with marzipan carrots on top. Enjoy the recipe:


Yummy Whole Wheat Carrot CupCakes


2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour (Or you could do half white/half whole wheat)
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Cinnamon
2 Cups Sugar

1 Cup Oil (Vegetable or whatever you prefer)
4 Eggs

2 Cups Grated Carrots (About 6 carrots)
8 1/2 oz. Can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 Cup butter
8 oz. package of Cream Cheese (Or 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 lb. Powdered Sugar



Use Marzipan and food coloring to create cute carrots to put on top of the cupcake.


Yum!

Sweets to Come!

Desserts that can be healthy for you, mixed with desserts that are sinfully rich.

• Rich and Delectable Treats
• Whole grain desserts- which are just as yummy and barely a difference in flavor from non whole grain sweets!
• and cooking!