Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Cranberry Almond Bread with Orange Glaze

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XmasBrunch2011

Welcome to our first brunch recipe of 2014! You’re going to love this one. It’s great with a cup of coffee. <— You know, this time last year I was just beginning to realize how awesome coffee is. Oh how far I’ve come in a year. Mmmmm, coffee with cream during my Bible time each morning. How I love it.

This bread is also great with a cup of hot tea, hot chocolate, Warm Vanilla Soother, or a cold glass of milk. Pretty much it’s great with anything you like to drink. It’s also very easy to make, and can be baked ahead of time if you’d like to wake up on Christmas morning to a delicious ready-made breakfast.

cranberry bread 3

Cranberry Almond Bread with Orange GlazeYum

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (regular whole wheat works okay, but pastry flour is perfection in this!)
¾ cups sucanat
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
3 eggs
1 cup melted butter or coconut oil
1 cup fresh or dried cranberries

Mix flour, sucanat, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, milk, extracts, and oil. Mix well. Fold in cranberries. Pour batter into 2 well-buttered loaf pans (or six small loaf pans). Bake 45-60 minutes at 350°. Makes two loaves.

Orange Glaze

¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Heat orange juice and honey in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and almond extracts. Pour mixture over loaves of cranberry bread about 3 minutes after they have been removed from the oven, but before removing the loaves from the baking pans.

Cranberry Bread with Orange Glaze

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Easy Peppermint Milkshakes

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It’s easy, filling, healthy, and delicious – a perfect treat anytime, but especially during the Christmas season. Serve a Peppermint Milkshake for a perfect side dish or snack!

Easy Peppermint MilkshakesYum

2 cups milk
1 Tablespoon real maple syrup
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract

Blend and serve!

We always add organic, farm-fresh raw eggs to our milkshakes for added nutrition. I believe this simple recipe would work great with coconut milk as well. :)

Easy Peppermint Milkshake

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How To Cold Brew Coffee

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Why? Why would we want to cold brew coffee instead of sticking with regular hot brewing methods?

Well, so that you can make iced coffee. Or iced coffee cubes for your iced coffee. Or so you can make this awesome and healthy Chocolate Frappe.

In the past, I’ve simply hot brewed coffee as normal, then chilled it for about 24 hours until it’s cold enough to make cold coffee drinks. That has worked just fine, and I assumed I needed some sort of special equipment to make cold coffee brew. Thanks to those of you who shared your easy cold brew coffee methods, I now know it’s as easy as can be – without any special equipment!

Cold brew coffee is less acidic, and has a wonderful, smooth taste. I’m loving this variety of coffee on a hot afternoon. My favorite way to drink cold coffee? Coffee ice cubes, cold coffee, and a shot of real cream. It is heaven. (And not at all sweet. I love it that way, but my family thinks I’m crazy. Yup.)

How to Cold Brew Coffee

How to Cold Brew Coffee

  1. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup ground coffee (or more if you like your coffee really strong) in a French Press or quart-sized jar.
  2. Add 4 cups cold water.
  3. Allow this to sit on your countertop for 8-24 hours. I usually start mine at night so it’s ready in the morning.
  4. If using a French Press, simply press filter down to separate liquid from coffee grounds.
  5. If using a quart jar, carefully pour your cold brew coffee through a coffee filter to separate liquid from coffee grounds.
  6. Refrigerate. Or make Coffee Ice Cubes. Or you can do what I do and make some coffee ice cubes then refrigerate the rest to use them together for cold coffee drinks.

Some instructions I’ve read suggest using quite a bit more coffee in this brew. What has been your experience with this?

Are you a fan of cold coffee?

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Orange Creamsicle Recipe

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Did you like the Strawberry Creamsicle recipe I shared? How about an Orange Creamsicle recipe to add some variety? For that matter, you can sub just about any fruit you like to make creamsicles. Such a refreshing treat!

It’s worth your small investment to get a box of small 3-ounce cups and a package of popsicle sticks. These truly are so easy to make and everyone at my house loves them!

Make them with a little maple syrup, or with stevia if your family likes it. (Stevia is an herb that is naturally sweet – not artificial, not a sugar – perfect! However, if you use too much, it can have a bitter aftertaste. You have to get used to how much to use to make it sweet enough without overusing it!)

Orange Creamsicle Recipe

Orange Creamsicle Recipe
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • ½ cup orange juice concentrate
  • 1 Tablespoon real maple syrup (or about 10 drops liquid stevia)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy.
  2. Pour mixture into popsicle molds or 3-ounce cups.
  3. If using 3-ounce cups, place a popsicle stick into the middle of each after these have been in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
  4. Freeze for about 2 hours before serving. Makes about 12 small creamsicles.

 

 

Orange Creamsicles

 

Other variations:

Use a mixture of berries (like raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries) for these. Use different varieties of 100% juice – any of your favorites. Use whipping cream instead of milk to make them even more rich and creamy. Make them in popsicle molds instead of with cups and popsicle sticks.

What else can you think of to make these delicious?

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Icy Cold Milkshake Treats

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I’ve been sharing quite a bit about coffee treats lately. Iced Coffee, Homemade Chocolate Frappe, Chocolate Whipped Cream for Coffee…yum. This is great for everyone except for those who don’t like coffee, right? Yes, well. This post should take care of that.

My family definitely fits into the “don’t like coffee” category of people. In fact, they really don’t understand why I’ve suddenly started loving the stuff. Okay by me. It’s the one and only food/drink in this house I get all to myself. Ha! It’s mine. All mine!! (she says, lovingly.)

So for all the “don’t like coffee” people out there, including my family, who thinks my Homemade Chocolate Frappe looks really good but tastes really bad – here’s what I’ve come up with as a delicious alternative. Icy Cold Milkshake Treats.  Instead of starting out with coffee ice cubes, simply start out with regular ice cubes. Instead of adding cold coffee and milk, simply add cream and milk. Instead of adding chocolate…oh wait. We’re still adding chocolate. Unless you want straight up vanilla. That works too.

Icy Cold Milkshake Treats
 
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Prep time
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Author:
Recipe type: Milkshake
Serves: 3 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 cups ice cubes
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Liquid stevia to taste (I use about 10 drops NuNaturals brand)
  • 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (omit if you prefer a vanilla milkshake)
Instructions
  1. Blend ingredients together until slushy-like. Serve right away.

You’ll love how easy this is, how “real food” this is, and how it’s a treat completely void of sugar. It doesn’t get any better. (Unless you add coffee, but we’ve been through this already.)

 

Icy Cold Milkshake Treats

Most of the ingredients in the list are in “give or take” proportions. You’ll figure this out if you actually try to measure 2 cups of ice cubes. Rectangle shaped ice cubes don’t cooperate very well in a round measuring cup.

In addition, you may want your shake to be creamier, smoother, sweeter, chocolatier, or with coffee. Oh wait. This one doesn’t have coffee in it. Well anyway, feel free to add more or less of any of the above listed ingredients to make this shake just what you want it to be.

As for me, I’m going to stick with the Homemade Chocolate Frappe. And I’m going to drink the entire blender of coffee goodness all by myself because no one else in my house likes it so I don’t have to share, so ha! (she says, with kindness.)

What do you think? Which will you like better? And which will your family members like better?

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Healthy Homemade Chocolate Frappe

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This frappe recipe has nothing to do with me and everything to do with: you all totally rock. Thank you for reading my posts and then sharing your great ideas too. YOU are Heavenly Homemakers that I am so thankful to call friends. Plus, you give me more delicious chocolate ideas, so of course I love you.

This recipe is a result of putting several of your comments together from both my Make Coffee Ice Cubes for Iced Coffee post and my Chocolate Whipped Cream – Perfect For Your Coffee post. I took all of your thoughts, advice, and suggestions – put them together with my ingredients and my blender…and what did I get? Chocolate Frappe perfection which is a completely guilt free treat on a hot day. Or a cold day. Or in the middle of the night. Not really. I sleep at night. But I dream of this Chocolate Frappe.

Healthy Homemade Chocolate Frappe

This frappe is stevia sweetened, which means there is no sugar in this – only wholesome, real food ingredients that won’t give you a sugar rush. Don’t like stevia? I didn’t like it either until I learned to use it correctly. I prefer NuNaturals Liquid Stevia (ordered through Vitacost). Use only a few drops – too much and your drink will have a bitter aftertaste. Get it just right and you’ll feel like you’re drinking something naughty. Oh lovely Chocolate Frappe fantastic-ness.

Healthy Homemade Chocolate FrappeYum

Healthy Homemade Chocolate Frappe
 
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Ingredients
  • 5-8 iced coffee cubes
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup coffee (cold brewed or hot brewed then chilled)
  • ½ cup (or more) Chocolate Whipped Cream
Instructions
  1. Mix ingredients in the blender until smooth.
  2. Feel free to add more or less of any of the above ingredients.
  3. Serve and drink immediately.
  4. Pass out from the deliciousness.
  5. Take joy in the non-guilty pleasure.

Some additional ideas I learned from you regarding the creation of cold coffee treats:

  • In addition to freezing coffee cubes, you can also freeze cream or milk to blend into frappe type drinks.
  • You can cold brew coffee in your French press if you have one. I’m definitely trying this.
  • You can cold brew coffee in jars. Well shucks, I have jars. I can do that.
  • You can freeze tea in ice cube trays so your tea doesn’t get watered down. This has nothing to do with coffee, but it’s worth sharing anyway because, duh. Why didn’t I think of that?
  • We should all get together and drink coffee, or tea, or something because wouldn’t that be so much fun?

Keep on sharing – What are your favorite coffee drinks for summertime?

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Chocolate Whipped Cream – Perfect For Your Coffee

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I was so excited about putting my Chocolate Whipped Cream on strawberries that I never thought to put some in my coffee. Thankfully, I have smart friends.

Earlier this week, I had 11 other women in my home for Bunco. (It was time for this Mama of boys to get some girl time!). I served BLT Wraps, veggies with Homemade Ranch Dip, chips and salsa, and Chocolate Whipped Cream on Strawberries. It was all simple to prepare and serve, which made it perfect for a fun night in with the ladies.

While many of us were enjoying bowls of strawberries with Chocolate Whipped Cream, one of my friends took her full coffee cup over and scooped in some of the chocolaty goodness. It didn’t take long for several of the rest of us to follow her lead. Before I knew it, I was brewing another pot of coffee and making another triple batch of Chocolate Whipped Cream. Mmmmm, so good.

Here, so that you can drop whatever you’re doing and run make this, is the recipe once again:

Chocolate Whipped Cream for CoffeeYum

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 rounded Tablespoon cocoa powder
Liquid stevia to taste (we used about 10 drops)

In a bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add cocoa and stevia, and whip again for a few seconds until ingredients are mixed well. Serve on top of sliced strawberries…or coffee!

Chocolate Whipped Cream - Perfect For Your Coffee

Now, a few days later, as if I wasn’t already beginning an addiction to putting Chocolate Whipped Cream on my strawberries, now I’m adding it by the huge spoonful(s) to my coffee mug in the morning. Ahhhhmazing. And no guilt. It’s all real food, and there’s no sugar involved.

If you don’t want chocolate, can I interest you in making Peppermint Cream for your coffee? And if you really want a sugar splurge, but you still want real ingredients, how about Homemade Chocolate Caramel Creamer?

Listen everyone – with goodness like this to put in our coffee, why would we ever need to buy coffee creamers that are full of not-so-real ingredients? Why??

So what do you think will be your fav? Chocolate Whipped Cream in coffee…or on strawberries?

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