Chocolate Vegan ‘Everything’ Cookies

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Donna Miller

I am bad about throwing the ‘kitchen sink’ into a lot of my recipes, but this one really lends itself to some fun mixtures of textures and odd selection of mix-ins.  

I hope you will enJOY these Chocolate Vegan ‘Everything’ Cookies!

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Ingredients:

  • 1 TBS Ground Flax Seed
  • 1/4 Cup Water
  • 2 TBS Organic Non-Hydrogenated Shortening
  • 2 TBS Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 Cup Freshly Milled All-Purpose Flour (from the Wondermill)
  • 1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
  • Up to 2 1/2 of misc. ‘mix ins’ (In this case it was raisins, pumkin seeds, toasted sunflower seeds, pecan pieces, toasted oats and the *shavings from the bottom of the frosted shredded wheat cereal bag) 🙂

Directions:

Pour Water over Ground Flax Seed and stir.  This must ‘sit’ for at least 30 minutes before the next step.

In the WonderMix (with the four blade mixing beaters) cream together the Coconut Oil, Shortening and Ground Flax Seed Mixture. Add Vanilla and mix again.

Slowly add cocoa powder and flour until combined.

Add in each ingredient left one at a time – pulsing (barely mixing) in between each.

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*shavings from the bottom of the frosted shredded wheat cereal bag

Now in approximately 3 TBS sized amounts – spoon and shape if needed onto a greased cookie sheet as the oven pre-heats to 375.

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Bake at 375 for 9-12 minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool!

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Whole Wheat Fruit Cake

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Donna Miller

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Fruit Cake gets a bad reputation as a door stop or something that you try to pass off as a gag gift, but I for one like Fruit Cake.  Especially when I can control the contents. 🙂

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole red and green candied cherries
  • 1 cup diced candied pineapple
  • 1/4 Cup Chopped walnuts
  • 1/4 Cup Candied orang peels
  • 1/2 Cup Golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups Freshly milled all-purpose flour Milled in your Wondermill
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 300°. In a large bowl, combine cherries, pineapple, walnuts, candied orange peels, and raisins or other dried fruit; set aside.

In another large bowl or your WonderMix, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add by half cups at a time to creamed mixture and mix well.

Pour over fruit mixture and stir to coat.

Pour batter to a greased and floured loaf pan.

Bake 2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Wrap tightly and store in a cool place.

Slice with a serrated knife for serving. 

*Optional: Make this about 5 days ahead of time for the loaf to gain the best flavor.

*Optional yet traditional: Brush with a high-quality rum once per day until you’re ready to serve.  Each time re-wrapping to ensure moist and dense fruit cake.

Fruitcake 1

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Whole Wheat, Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Donna Miller

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I’m going to admit that the look wasn’t really what I was going for – but the taste sure is!  So if you get a better looking cookie than I do – I’d love to see it! 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 2 3/4 cups freshly milled all-purpose flour (half hard white, half soft white wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp Sea salt
  • 1 1/4 cups butter
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Peppermint Pieces Crushed

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  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
  3. Use the WonderMix to cream together the butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
  5. Gradually add the dry mixed ingredients until just blended.
  6. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shaped sheet.
  7. IMG_2614Now spread the Peppermint Pieces over 4/5ths of the surface.
  8. IMG_2620Roll the dough up into a tube shape with peppermint on the inside.
  9. Now slice off a piece of dough for each cookie.
  10. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheets and smoosh a bit together make sure they don’t come apart as they bake.
  11. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges.
  12. Keep on baking sheet for 2 minutes of cooling before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

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No Knead, Whole Wheat, Cranberry Cloverleaf Rolls

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Donna Miller

No Knead Cranberry Cloverleaf Rolls

 

Tasty and Tangy these No Knead, Whole Wheat Cranberry Cloverleaf Rolls add a pop color and flavor to any table.  It is my hope that you enJOY the ease of making them as well as eating them!  By the way, the dough freezes great too!

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Yes, although it is a No Knead Recipe I did indeed use the WonderMix to mix the dough using the cookie mixing tools.  🙂

Ingredients: 

  • 2 to 2 1/4 Cups freshly milled All Purpose Flour (half hard white, half soft white) – You will use only half of this flour at first…add the rest later.
  • 1/4 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp of instant yeast
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 1/4 Cup butter
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/2 Cup Fresh or Frozen Cranberries Chopped
  • 1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries

In a large bowl combine about half of the flour, all the sugar, all spices and all the yeast. Blend well and then add all the salt. Mix dry ingredients again.

Toss all cranberries (dry and chopped) into the flour mixture and coat by mixing.

In a small saucepan, heat water and butter until very warm (115 max) and butter is melted.

Mix Egg to water/butter liquid and mix.

On low, mix egg, water, butter mix into the bowl and beat for about 2 minutes.  

Then by hand, stir in the remaining flour about 1/2 a cup at a time.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2hrs and up to 4 days.

No Knead Cranberry Cloverleaf Rolls Closeup

 

As needed, but not kneaded… 🙂 … pinch off and make three small balls for each greased muffin tin.

Bake at 375 for about 13-15 minutes.

Serve warm with honey butter and enJOY!

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Whole Grain Breakfast Cookies

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Donna Miller

Apology:  Sadly, I don’t have step by step pictures of these awesome cookies because, well 1. There were a lot of steps and I wasn’t sure it was going to work out and 2. The finished product was absconded faster than the camera could be located.  So, I have only the image of my trusty WonderMill as I milled the flour for this experiment.

 

Nothin’ says ‘LOVE’ like starting off the day with something warm and homemade in the tummy, especially on a cold winter day.

Mornings can be amazingly busy, weird and sometimes down right funny (in hindsight anyway) around our house, but when the kids told me they wanted to leave the house at 5:00 AM to go work out together, I kind of felt like a ‘bad mom’ because there was NO WAY I was going to get something homemade or warm in them before they left the house. I mean, come on. Be real.

What was I to do?

Well, after wrestling with my own perfectionism and annoying ideals of what a ‘good mom’ should do, I got to work. Then out of my test kitchen came the answer to at least the homemade part…(: …I  relaxed on the ‘warm’ part…Whole Grain Breakfast Cookies.

Cookies for Breakfast? Sure! Sounds like a treat to start off the day to me.  Cookies and milk, cookies and coffee, cookies and juice. A nice plan.

These quick, grab and eat-on-the-run Whole Grain Breakfast Cookies work great for rushing out the door late for work (or too early for any other human person to be coherent at some pre-dawn hour) and are full of nutrients, whole grains, good carbs and proteins to satisfy you while breaking your overnight fast.

They also work well as an afternoon snack. 🙂

Wondermill with Flour

WHOLE GRAIN BREAKFAST COOKIES

Time:  35 minutes total

Special Utensils and Items Needed:

  • Parchment paper
  • Cookie Sheet
  • 2 mixing bowls
  • Measuring spoons and cups

 Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup fresh milled soft wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup fresh milled hard wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, but use some spice)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg or allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons of butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup sucanant or brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup ecosweet organic cane crystals
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 of any puree fruit or veggie (think baby food)*
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup whole rolled oats (toasted)**
  • 1/3 -1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choice
  • 1/2 cup of bran breakfast cereal or the crumbs from the bottom of the bag ***
  • 1/2 cup dried fruits of your choice

* applesauce, apple butter, mashed bananas, or a jar of baby food foods like carrots, pineapple-banana, etc….get creative to add nutrition.

**Toast oats and nuts together on a cookie sheet once oven is preheated for about 8-10 minutes while mixing other ingredients.

*** Raisin bran if you like raisins or just the all bran cereal without fruit or grape nuts work well too.

 

Steps:

Preheat oven to 35O degrees being sure the rack is in the middle of the oven.

Watch those toasted oats and nuts carefully. Set a timer.

In the ‘dry’ bowl – put flours, baking soda, spices, and salt. Use whisk or fork to mix while dry.

In ‘wet’ bowl – combine butter, oil and sugars using a mixer until well mixed and fluffy looking. Beat about 1 minute. Add egg, fruit/veggie puree and vanilla then beat an additional 30 seconds.

Now mix flour into the ‘wet’ bowl and beat about 30 seconds only (don’t over mix – we don’t want tough cookies).

Now stir in (not beat) with a fork or spoon the nuts, oats, cereal and dried fruit until just combined.

This cookie dough does not look like chocolate chip dough – it is ‘looser’ and more wet.

Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Drop batter in 3-4 tablespoon size dollops on paper with 3 inches between each. Wet hand and gently pat any hills down to level out cookie.

Bake about 12 minutes on center rack. When done, leave them on the sheet for 1 -2 minutes to cool, then transfer to a cooling rack. That will crisp up the bottom but not the whole cookie.

Repeat with remaining batter.

Makes about 12 good sized cookies for a fast and wholesome breakfast on the go.

It is my sincere hope that you try and enJOY these! Please leave a comment and let me know how they turned out! Or even better send me a picture on my facebook page and I’ll add it here and give you props! 🙂

Best Blessings!

Donna Miller

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Corn Meal Dipping Sticks

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Donna Miller

Corn Meal Dipping Sticks

These are best if baked low and slow and allowed to get crispy and crunchy. They are a dry, crispy stick ideal for dipping into an olive oil sauce or marinara sauce.

First break out your WonderMill and your WonderMix to make it easy! Mill the dry corn (or popcorn) and Hard White Wheat  into the appropriate amount of meal and flour.

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Corn Meal Dipping Sticks

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Cup Warm Water
  • 1 1/4 tsp Active Instant Yeast
  • 2 TBS Sugar
  • 1 Cup + 2 TBS  Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Fine Cornmeal
  • 2 TBS Butter
  • 1 EXTRA TBS Cornmeal (set aside)
  • 2 EXTRA TBS Melted Butter (set aside)

Combine first three (3) ingredients in the WonderMix, Bowl or Bread Machine.   Mix until combined.

Add 1/2 cup of flour, and mix.

Add Salt and mix.

Add Cornmeal and remaining Flour while mixing (or on top if bread machine).  Knead approximately 10 minutes.

The Dough will feel a bit more stiff than traditional yeast bread due to the density of the meal.  It will also not rise as much traditional yeast bread due to lower gluten content of cornmeal. This is a heavier, more dense dough.

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When finished kneading, place in an oiled, covered bowl in a warm (80-90 degree) place and allow to rise for about 30 minutes.

Once risen, shape in long thin ‘snake-like’ sticks on a greased baking sheet. See below:

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Allow to slightly rise again in a warm place for only about 10-15 minutes while you pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Once risen, gently brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the set aside cornmeal before baking.

Place on center rack of 350-degree oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.  Keep an eye on these since they are thin and will bake at differing speeds due to differing oven temperatures.

Once done, remove from oven and from baking sheet to cool on a wire rack.

Dip in ranch dressing, melted cheese, marinara sauce, pesto, hummus… really just about anything you’d like for a savory snack or side addition!

It is my sincere hope that you enJOY this recipe, tweak it and make it your own!

Best Blessings!

Donna Miller

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Whole Wheat Peach Poppers

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Donna Miller

Whole Wheat Peachy Poppers

Where this recipe came from, I have no real idea.  I looked in my fridge and saw about 3 slices of peaches from a can and a quart of frozen peaches in my freezer and thought….”Well, sure, I could do something with those!” This is the results:

Whole Wheat Peachy Poppers Recipe

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Gather all your ingredients, your WonderMill and your WonderMix.

Dough Ingredients:

Extra Ingredients:  More sugar! 🙂

IMG_2562Combine first six (6) ingredients in the WonderMix and take it for a short spin to mix.

Now add the 2 TBS Vital Wheat Gluten and one cup of flour. Then add the yeast and mix until smooth.

Now add one cup of flour at a time until it’s all in there. Cover and let knead for about 10 minutes until the two finger poke bounces back almost immediately. 

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Let dough rise in a warm place (80-90 degrees) until doubled in size. Remember, this is a cold dough so it will take a while, up to an hour and a half. Just be patient! 🙂

Separate dough into small balls and roll until round.

Roll them in some sugar to coat and place in mini-muffin tins or on a baking sheet.  Any extra dough can be made into min loaves of bread (pictured below).

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Bake at 350 for 15 minutes (too much longer and they will be dry).  Serve with home-made peach syrup for dipping!

The mini-loaves slice and are served with cream cheese or made into french toast to dip! 

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Whole Wheat Rosemary Bread (Vegan)

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Donna Miller

Rosemary Bread 3

If you are enamored with the bread that is served at Romano’s Macaroni Grill – but don’t like the white, processed flour that it’s made with – then you are in for a whole wheat treat! 🙂

Whole Wheat Rosemary Bread

Makes 2 Small Appetizer Loaves

First mill about 2 Cups of Hard White Wheat Grain in your Wondermill

Now, gather all the lovely ingredients below:

  • Rosemary Bread 11/2 Cup Warm (100 degree) water
  • 2 tsp Organic Sugar
  • 1 TBS Coconut Oil
  • 2 tsp Instant Yeast
  • 1 1/4 Cup Fresh Hard White Wheat Flour
  • 1 TBS Vital Wheat Gluten
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 1/2 TBS Rosemary (I used a combo of fresh and dried)
  • t TBS Melted Coconut Oil*
  • 1/2 tsp Rosemary Reserved*
  • 1/2 tsp Coarse Kosher Salt*

Three different directions below… (:

By Hand Directions:

Place first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl in the order given.  Using a spatula or large spoon, mix to combine. 

Mix next 4 ingredients in a separate bowl or baggie.  

Add to wet mixture 1/2 cup at a time while stirring with spatula or large spoon.  Remove to oiled surface for kneading when dough becomes too stiff.

Alternate between oiling the surface and flouring the surface and knead for at least 10 minutes or until two finger poke bounces back quickly.

Move to an oiled bowl to rise for about 25-30 minutes in a warm (80 -90 degree) area.

Once risen, punch down to remove air bubbles and see Shaping Directions Below….

WonderMix Directions:

Place first 4 ingredients in mixing bowl in the order given.  Using dough hook, take for a little spin. 

Mix next 4 ingredients in a separate bowl or baggie.  

Add to wet mixture 1/2 cup at a time while dough hook is going.

Cover with lid and let knead for 5 minutes.

Move to an oiled bowl to rise for about 25-30 minutes in a warm (80 -90 degree) area.

Once risen, punch down to remove air bubbles and see Shaping Directions  Below….

Bread Machine Directions:

Place first 8 ingredients in bread machine pan in the order given. Turn on to ‘dough setting’ and step away from the machine until duly noted otherwise by beep. 🙂

Rosemary Bread 2Shaping Directions: 

Cut dough into thick 5 x 5 squares leaving the edges exposed as cut.  This gives the dough a nice free from feeling and helps crisp up the edges while it cooks.

Place each on a cookie sheet or pan that has been sprayed or oiled. Now brush with melted coconut oil and sprinkle with remaining Rosemary and Coarse Kosher Salt.  Do a little PAT DOWN to push the toppings into the top of the dough.

Allow to rise for approximately 25 minutes in a warm  (80 -90 degree) area. 

Preheat oven to 375 

Once placed in the oven, lower the heat to 350 and bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown!

Serve (a whole one to yourself and share the other one on the table –  oh no, I mean) Serve with Olive Oil and herbs for dipping!

EnJOY!

Rosemary Bread 5

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Mini-Pumpkin Bundt Cakes (Vegan, Whole Wheat)

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Donna Miller

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Mini-Bunt Cakes Vegan

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Cup Nut or Coconut Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil
  • 1/2 Cup Honey (not always a vegan option) or Evaporated Cane Crystals
  • 1 TBS Ground Flax Seed
  • 1 Cup Freshly Milled Hard White Wheat
  • 1 Cup Freshly Milled Soft White Wheat
  • 2 tsp Aluminum Free Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
  • 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 TBS Powdered Sugar (set aside)

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0129151721 1028151049In the bowl of the WonderMix or a Mixing bowl combine the first six (6) ingredients.  Yes, the ground flax seed needs to go into the liquid so that it can begin to become gel like.

Using the cookie dough beaters (four wires) whirr the contents until just combined.  Set aside while you combine the dry ingredients.

1028151054aNow in a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients (items 7-14 in the ingredient list above).

 

Stir together to combine and mix spices, salt and soda evenly throughout the flour.

Return to the wet ingredients combination.  The liquid should appear a bit thicker thanks to the ground flax seed.

Add the Pumpkin Puree and Vanilla extract and whirr until combined.

Scrape sides if needed.

Add the dry mix in as the beaters are going on low.  Stop when all is combined (this is a super fast mix – resist going longer or baked good will be tough).

Pre-heat oven to 400

Prepare mini bundt pan.

Fill each to about 1/2 full so that the center stem is high above the batter. I filled mine too full, so the bottoms made a crown (like a muffin) which made it lose the better image of a bunt cake.  But hey, taste reigns supreme over looks anyway, right? 🙂

Bake for 20 minutes and when done turn out to a wire rack to cool.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enJOY!

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Nutty Indian Pudding Anadama Bread

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Donna Miller

Nutty Indian Pudding Anadama Bread

 

Well to be honest, this recipe was a happy accident.  I wanted something more substantial than Indian Pudding on this fall day, but something with a bit of a deep warmth and staple feeling to it.   So out of my desire to have the flavor of fall, the multiple grains and bake – I just made this up.  Yes, I’m sure the name is a dead giveaway that it’s not your average loaf of bread.

There are a lot of players on this team, but the variety of flavor and texture makes this a hearty bread that’s sure to be a star of the meal on it’s own.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 Cups very hot (130-140 degree) water
  • 1/2 Cup Freshly Milled Corn Meal
  • 1/4 Cup Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals
  • 2 TBS  Quinoa
  • 2 TBS Amaranth Seed
  • 1 TBS Peanut Oil
  • 1/4 Gluten Flour
  • 3 Cups Freshly Milled Hard White Wheat Flour
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp Instant Yeast
  • 2 TBS Toasted Sunflower Seeds
  • 2 TBS Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
  • 2 TBS Chopped Dates

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1026151021Combine first 7 Ingredients together in the base of your WonderMix or Bread Machine.

Take it for a little bit of a spin but let it all sit there for at least 15 minutes, potentially 30.  Mine sat for about 15 and the whole grains remained a bit crunchy, but I like that.  So it’s up to you.

1026151024aThen add the molasses and spin again.

Now add the yeast and at least one cup of the flour. Spin until smooth and glossy.

Like pictured below:

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Now add the salt and one Cup of flour at a time until dough ball begins to form.

Cover and let knead for about 8 minutes.1026151040

When that part of kneading is done you can add the pumpkin seeds, chopped dates and sunflower seeds.

Knead again for about 2-3 minutes.

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When the final kneading is done remove the dough into an oiled bowl and allow to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm (85-95 degree) place.

1026151121aAfter risen, remove from bowl and flatten out all the air bubbles.

Prepare a bread pan, shape bread into loaf as usual and let shaped bread rise a second time for about 25 minutes.

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<- Not Yet Risen1026151219a

     Baked ->

 

 

Bake at 350 degrees on a center rack for 23-25 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Oh who am I kidding?

I cut into this in 5 minutes… that’s why the pictures have a bite out of that end slice 🙂

EnJOY it warm and buttered…. HHhhmmmmmm!

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