Apple Cinnamon Granola

I am always going through food phases, especially breakfast phases. Sometimes I'll be eating oatmeal every morning, every day, indefinitely. Sometimes I'm really into soft-boiled eggs. Right now I'm into granola, and thankfully it is the easiest thing to make at home. I love to eat mine with almond milk and some berries on top but it's great with yogurt too (obviously, if you didn't know that, get with it)! For this granola recipe I wanted to make use of our delicious Ontario MacIntosh apples, and I also added in some cinnamon to spice things up. Feel free to  change up the flavours with different fruits, nuts, and spices.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup ground flax

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 small apples, chopped

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup olive oil

6 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 325 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients until everything is well mixed, and the oats and seeds are moistened. The mixture should clump together slightly, but if it is still looking dry add in a little more oil and/or maple syrup until moistened. Evenly spread the mixture out on your baking sheet and bake for one hour, stirring half way to avoid burning. Allow to cool completely before storing.

Note: Feel free to change up the olive oil for coconut oil or the maple syrup for honey! If you're going to add any dried fruits add them after baking so they're still soft.

Carrot Muffins with Oat Streusel Topping

As mentioned in a previous post, I received the Bouchon Bakery cookbook for Christmas. It really is a beautiful book filled with lots of pictures and delicious sounding recipes. Wanting to try something simple to start, I decided to follow the carrot muffin recipe. Now, muffins are a seemingly easy thing to make. You mix the dry ingredients, add in the the wet, give a little mix and into the pan and oven it goes - piece of cake. However, Bouchon Bakery makes their recipe a little more complicated with awkward measurements and lengthy resting times. This being said, I tweaked the ingredients and measurements a bit to make them simpler, but kept the resting time in just in case. They were delicious! Not too sweet, very moist and a nice crumb to follow. If you have the time for muffin batter rests then follow through - I really think it took a leading role in the moist muffin that resulted. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup All-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

1 3/4 cup shredded carrot

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and oil together with an electric mixer on low speed. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until just incorporated. Gradually mix in the flour mixture, on low speed, until combined. Gently scrape the bowl with a spatula to ensure all the ingredients are mixed, and stir in the shredded carrot. Cover and refrigerate up to 36 hours (or if you're really impatient I would wait at least three hours). Preheat the oven to 325 F. Pour the batter into a greased muffin pan. Sprinkle the oat streusel topping on top of the muffins and baked for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Oat Streusel Topping 

(this recipe was way too big for my liking, so again the measurements were reduced)

1/2 all purpose flour

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 a stick)

Stir together all ingredients except the butter. Cut the butter into pieces, and using a fork, mix until it is well incorporated - the butter should be no bigger than pea-sized chunks.

These muffins are a great breakfast on-the-go, or the perfect companion to your mid-afternoon cup of coffee. The oat streusel topping adds an extra sweetness, to the slightly spiced muffin. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

Okay, okay, I know I just wrote about pumpkin taking over the world, and butternut squash still holds a place in my heart, I promise! Last night though, I just really need some of that deliciously spicy pumpkin tastes and I needed it in the form of biscotti. It was one of those nights where I needed to clear my head and make something. I needed a project. I've made biscotti a couple times before, with some success, and was inspired by Cupcakes and Cashmere to give this pumpkin spice version a try. Though the drying times were a bit tricky to figure out, this italian cookie is coffee's perfect match - especially in this rainy weather. What made the cookies even better was a light drizzle of white chocolate. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs pumpkin and vanilla. Mix together the flour and pumpkin mixtures. Use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl, combing all ingredients together, until it forms a ball of dough. On a floured surface shape the dough into two small logs approximately 1/2 inch thick and place on the baking sheet. Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes, until firm to touch. Remove from the oven, lower the temperature to 300 F, and allow the logs to cool for 10-15 minutes. Slice the logs, diagonally, into 1 inch pieces and lay face down onto the parchment. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the biscotti and bake for another 15 minutes. Allow the biscotti to cool for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, melt your white chocolate chips (I used about half a bag) in the microwave, in 30
second intervals. Pour into a ziplock bag, snip the corner, and drizzle over the biscotti. Allow to dry.

Grab your latte, cappuccino, espresso or whatever other hot beverage you're sipping and get dunking. One of the best parts of biscotti is they are a great excuse to have cookies for breakfast! If anyone questions it, say no words and pass them a biscotti, they'll understand.

Foolproof Pumpkin Pie

Well it's the end of Thanksgiving weekend here in the Great White North, which really only means one thing - pie! Though my weekend was spent with papers and books spread across the kitchen table in preparation for midterms this week, I am thankful that I was able to do said studying up at the cottage surrounding by trees, fresh air and my family.

I've never made pie from scratch before and this year I decided to give it a go rather than ordering from our usual bakery. Having glanced through this book so many times at my friend's house and at work, I decided to get myself a copy and put to test her foolproof pumpkin pie recipe. Ina was not kidding, it really was a simple recipe to follow and was a great addition to the end of our turkey dinner (though I ate fish). The book also includes a basic pie crust and rum whipped cream recipe, but I decided to use the crust recipe on the back of my Crisco tin instead. Here's the recipe for Ina Garten's foolproof pumpkin pie filling:

Ingredients

1 15oz can of pumpkin puree (appx. 2 cups)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons dark rum

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place your unbaked crust in the bottom of an 11-inch pie pan, and cover with parchment paper and dried beans (we actually used a bunch of muffin liners and river rocks, it worked okay?). Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, prick the bottom with a fork and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes, watch for browning.

Reduce the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the pumpkin puree, brown and white sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, eggs, cream milk and rum with a whisk. Pour the mixture into your pie dish and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a knife comes out clean. Allow it to cool completely and serve with fresh whipped cream.


We've been enjoying the taste of pumpkin all weekend! We had some leftover crust and filling so we also made some mini pumpkin tarts in a muffin tin as well - delish! I'd have this breakfast, lunch, dinner and every snack in between if I could, it's really that good. Enjoy with loved ones, a warm fire and a good movie - three things that will definitely ensure you have a happy thanksgiving.

Apple Butter Me Up!

My main intention for apple picking a couple weekends ago was to make apple butter. Having made so much jam this summer I figured it'd be a piece of cake and I can always use another spread! Apple butter is way easier than jam. Especially crock-pot apple butter - you basically do no work. I searched through at least a dozen recipes until I found one I thought was perfect - some have too many ingredients, some use the stove top, all too much work - I picked this one. It's simple, painless and the slow cooker does pretty much everything for you (I was also swayed by the beautiful jars they have)!

Ingredients

20 small McIntosh apples - peeled, cored + chopped 

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place your chopped apples into the slow cooker. In a bowl combine the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt, and pour over the apples, mixing until well coated. Set the slow cooker on low and cook for approximately 10 hours, stirring occasionally. Uncover and stir in the vanilla, cooking for another two hours uncovered, until thick. Using an immersion blender (or many stages of a regular blender), puree the mixture until completely smooth. Similar to with the jam, have the jars filled with hot water, and when ready to fill, pour out the water, fill the jar with apple butter, screw on the lid and wait for that popping seal of approval. Keep in the fridge for a couple weeks, or in the freezer for several months.

I've been spreading my apple butter on toast, stirring it into my oatmeal, and eating it with a spoon! It's the perfect combination of spicy and sweet and leaves my taste buds completely satisfied. 

Apple Oat Scones

Happy first day of fall! Even though technically it was yesterday I am celebrating today with hot cups of tea, snuggly blankets, cozy sweaters and everything pumpkin, apple and spice. School has been hectic and come October there will be even more to get done, but fall is my favourite season so I'm going to do everything I can to welcome it with open arms. These scones are perfect for just that. Our CSA shares have been filled with apples recently (and I know I didn't post Week 9, but it just came and went so quickly!) and the combination of oats and apples in Martha's scones were just perfect! Here's my version of the recipe:

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups of all purpose flour

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 1/2 cups diced apple 

2/3 cold buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix together the flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry blender (or two knives works well too) cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the apples and buttermilk just until mixed. On a lightly floured surface shape the dough into a large rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut the dough into 12 square scones and place onto the baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until lightly browned.

As with most baked goods, these scone are best served warm on the day of. They're moist, not too dense and have the perfect amount of apple and spice.