oat & nib "blondies"

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is it just me, or do all bakers eat their food while they photograph it? izy? does this ever happen to you? it happens every. single. time. (see first .gif for reference).

well i just created this whip-up-anytime recipe with some medjool dates i had bought from our family lunch date/shopping spree at eataly. medjools alone are soft and so incredibly sweet that you could enjoy them on their own, stuffed with almond butter, or even some homemade (1-hour ground in-frustration) hazelnut butter.

don't ask.

just know that my food processor broke, and my last resort was a magic bullet. yes. it was an hour or so.

but seriously, i've seen so many raw/non-raw bars using medjool dates, walnuts, cacao etc. so i knew i had to try to make something of my own.

oat & nib "blondies" + chocolate "frosting"

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for the blondies:

1 cup packed + pitted medjool dates (soaked)

1 cup oats

1/4 walnuts or almonds

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup cacao nibs

handful of chopped figs (optional)

shredded coconut (optional)

for the frosting:

a ripe banana

heaping tbs cacao/cocoa powder

(00). bring a small pot of water to a bowl and pour over pitted medjool dates in a bowl. let sit for 3 minutes

01. in a food processor, blend oats, almonds, and salt until ground into a flour 

02. drain water from soaked dates, and add medjools. blend until a ball of dough is formed

03. add cacao nibs, figs, and other miscellaneous toppings that fancy you and pulse until just combined

04. in a small plastic container or tuppaware, place dough in center and firmly press down until it reaches the sides in an even layer

05. in the same processor (cleaned if necessary), blend banana and cacao powder until smooth

06. pour frosting over blondie and spread in yet another even layer

07. sprinkle with coconut and enjoy!

08. i recommend refrigerating it for at least 3 hours before eating, but you can eat it right then and there if you'd like!

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have a fantastic and rain-free weekend everyone!

olive oil oatmeal cookies

good morning from new york! it's been such a great weekend… baking… indoors… while the sun is out and it's the first time in months where the temperature has actually peaked 50 degrees. yup, i know, BAKING IS TOTALLY WORTH IT. the feels, people! the FEELS!

anyways, i haven't shared my favorite links from this week…

• dominique ansel has created another fad, and the sheeple (aka sheep-people. google it.) have gone at it once again

• this salad might give me superpowers. it's awesome and i need to try it.

• i might have finally found a recipe for the super-duper-good coconut curry cashews that i found at the chelsea market a few weeks ago!

• i could marry this illustration

• but then again...

my favorite song for this week is seriously amazing, and you should listen to it….

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moving on...

woahahahhhhh.

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i don't think it can get better than these babies right here.

(hint: roll over the image below with your mouse)

INSTANT BAKING. yeah, that's right. throwing some of my html skills at you.

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here we are. with these fantabulous cookies. i mean just YOU and these cookies. because once you eat them you'll be tempted to eat them ALL. 

but that's okay. *whispers* because they're healthy.

*continues whispering* and they're flourless. and vegan.

*dracula laugh*

olive oil oatmeal cookies – w/ toasted coconut, raisins, cacao nibs, and anything else you can think of

makes 12-16 cookies

adapted from mangia

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten-free if necessary)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (or less if you don't like the sweet-salty profile)

heaping 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup + 1 tbs unsweetened almond milk (more if needed)

1/4 cup raisins

large handful of cacao nibs

1/3 cup toasted coconut flakes (on a pan on medium-high heat, toast coconut flakes for about 3 minutes, or until golden)

00. preheat oven to 375 degrees

01. use a food processor to grind the oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar into a fine flour

02. pour "flour" into a large bowl and fold in olive oil, almond milk, and raisins, and cacao nibs

03. gently fold in coconut flakes, as not to break them (entirely)

04. take small piece dough, and roll into a ball (be sure to taste test, just to make sure that it's not poison or anything…) and place on a baking sheet. repeat.  

05. flatten balls into round disks (unless you want baked cookie truffles, which is totally OK.)

06. bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes. i baked mine for 7.

07. eat.

healthy(er) honey-roasted cayenne almonds (+ walnuts)

goodness gracious me.

delicious, crunchy, sweet, spicy, and salt-y. (ha! it rhymes…)

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the magnifying-circle-thingys practically speak for themselves!

this honey nut mix is a delectable after school/work snack that can be made in a spiffy, (which is perfect for people with homework to do. like me).

although these may be healthier than the typical handful of candied mixed nuts, they still have a lot of sugar because of the amount of honey in the recipe. (but still, they're scrumptious, so who cares).

honey-roasted cayenne almonds (+walnuts)

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1/4 cup honey

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2-1 tsp cayenne

1 heaping cup whole almonds

1/2 cup walnuts (whole or pieces)

1+ tbs sesame seeds

1 tsp salt

01. preheat oven to 325 degrees F. line baking sheet with parchment paper

02. in a pan/skillet on low, warm honey, cinnamon, and cayenne. (make sure the honey does not burn) (note: i sprayed the pan with canola oil so that the honey wouldn't stick to the pan)

03. once honey is warm, add almonds and walnuts, and coat in the honey

04. remove from heat, and spread an even layer of the sticky nuts on baking sheet

05. sprinkle with sesame seeds and salt. bake for 15 minutes. remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 hour (or until hardened)

06. endlessly snack!

oh, clementine

hello all!

as a lot of you may have noticed, i've changed platforms. which means that this blog is no longer supported by tumblr. to celebrate, my lovely mother and i created this scrumptious clementine cake. just for all of you clementine lovers to enjoy.

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okay, i lied. this cake wasn't exactly to celebrate my only somewhat successful platform transfer, but for a little party we were throwing at our apartment for a family-friends meet last night.

either way, i'd like to think it was for my success.

anyways, just look at this cake! i don't think there is a single flaw in this cake (other than the melting glaze that ended up soaking into all of the little holes in the cake and moistening it up. wait, there's a flaw in this flaw...)

BUT SERIOUSLY. CITRUS PEOPLE! CANDIED CITRUS! and CLEMENTINES! and KUMQUATS! i'm telling you now, no faults in this (delightful and aromatic) cake. 

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just a little frosting porn (?!) for you all before adding the citrus slices… 

as well as the finished piece, whose pictures are not as cheery because of the winter-where-the-sun-lasts-ten-minutes sunlight. 

and the drip… 

and the finale...

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almond clementine cake 

adapted from call me cupcake

makes 12-14 servings

the cake:

6 clementines

6 eggs

1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/3 cup almond flour

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

the candied citrus:

2 clementines

a lemon

a lime

1/2 punnet kumquats

1 cup water

1 3/4 cups sugar

the icing:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1-3 clementines

the cake:

01. place the clementines in a pot of water (enough to cover), bring to a boil, and cook for 2 hours (submerged). drain. when cooled,  mash/chop/process (juice, pith, peel, and all).

02. preheat oven to 375 degrees F

03. butter a springform pan (8-inch, or 9-inch)

04. in a standard mixer, beat eggs. add sugar, almonds, and baking powder. mix. add in clementine mixture, mix.

05. pour cake mixture into springform, and bake for 40-50 minutes on the middle oven rack. (start checking for doneness at 35 minutes with a skewer/toothpick)

06. remove cake from oven, and let cool on a rack, (cake still in the pan)

07. once completely cooled, remove cake from springform

the candied citrus:

01. slice clementines, lemon, lime, and kumquats thinly (as thin as possible without breaking the shape)

02. bring sugar and water to a boil in a rimmed saucepan. add sliced citrus and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. remove and let cool on parchment paper.

the icing:

01. sift powdered sugar in a large bowl. cut clementines in half, and squeeze juice into bowl like a lemon. start with 1 clementine, and add more until the desired consistency is reached.

02. pour over cake, let harden.

03. add candied citrus over top

maple buckwheat clusters

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look at that par-fait!

it’s the recipe you’ve all been waiting for!

maple-cinnamon buckwheat clusters aka the “gold” aka izzy’s golden goodness aka i-just-created-my-own-recipe-and-i-am-so-proud-of-myself clusters.

i’ve been reading a lot of recipes for buckwheat groat granola, and a lot of them require a dehydrator, a machine that i wish i owned. and recently i’d seen gracie’s comment that said she toasted hers on a pan. so i thought “why not?”.

…although, mine are clusters…

izzy’s golden goodness maple-cinnamon buckwheat clusters

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a large quantity of buckwheat groats (you can find them in the bulk section at whole foods)

1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon

1+ tbs maple syrup

01. preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

02. on a pan at medium-high heat, toast your buckwheat groats and cinnamon, making sure that all of the buckwheat is evenly toasted

03. once toasted, pour your maple syrup over the buckwheat (the pan should sizzle, and the syrup should bubble a bit)

04. stir the buckwheat groats so that clusters begin to form. it’s okay if some of the groats don’t cluster-up

05. put your sticky buckwheat clusters on the already lined baking sheet

06. bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the clusters are hard and crunchy

07. eat, nibble, and enjoy