Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Cream Cheese Pastries – the Healthier Way

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Cream Cheese Pastries were one of my favorite treats when I was a kid. I finally got the idea to try and make them at home with freshly ground flour!

Have I ever told you how I like to keep recipes as simple as possible? Oh yes. I think I’ve mentioned that here a time or two. ;)

So that is why I decided to make these with my Stir-and-Pour Bread recipe. SO EASY! Mix the bread ingredients together. Walk away. Then you spoon the bread dough onto a pan, scoop on some cream cheese filling, and bake. Drizzle on the glaze. Enjoy your delicious treat!

I was thrilled with how these turned out, and I love that they are made with whole grain flour and less sugar than a typical pastry recipe. My pickiest eater ate three right in a row. :) Ready to give them a try?

Cream Cheese PastriesYum

Cream Cheese Pastries - the Healthier Way
 
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Serves: 15
Ingredients
  • 4 cups whole grain flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
  • 2 teaspoons active rise yeast
  • 2 Tablespoons sucanat or sugar or honey
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 egg (optional)
  • ¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
  • 2 cups warm water
  • CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
  • 8-ounces softened cream cheese
  • 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • ¼ cup sugar or maple syrup
  • 1 egg
  • GLAZE:
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
  1. Mix together the bread ingredients.
  2. Cover and allow the bread dough to rise for at least 30 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, blend Cream Cheese Filling ingredients until smooth.
  4. Scoop small mounds of bread dough onto a buttered cookie sheet.
  5. Spoon the cream cheese filling onto each bread dough mound evenly.
  6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.
  7. Meanwhile mix up the glaze.
  8. Drizzle glaze over the baked pastries and serve.

One more quick piece of info:

I finally invested in a Bosch Stand Mixer. I can’t even tell you how much I love it! I used it to mix the dough for these Cream Cheese Pastries so of course, that made this recipe even easier to make, if that’s even possible. More about my Bosch coming up soon!

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Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt Cake

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Don’t let the “whole grain” part of this Pumpkin Bundt Cake scare you. If you use the right kind of whole grain, no one is the wiser.

I prefer to use freshly ground soft white wheat when I make cakes like this. The flour is light and fluffy, acting much like all-purpose white flour. I love it! (Here are more posts sharing about grinding flour and choosing the right grain.)

You might notice that this recipe is quite similar to my Pumpkin Breakfast Cake recipe. See, the fun thing about recipes is that you can simply tweak them just a little, pour them into a different type of baking pan, and create a whole new treat!

Need a bundt pan? I have this one, and it sure makes holiday baking more fun!

Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt CakeYum

Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt Cake
 
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Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour (I used freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups pureed pumpkin (or one 16 ounce can)
  • 1 cup melted coconut oil (or butter)
Instructions
  1. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Pour into a well-buttered bundt cake pan.
  3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  4. Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
  5. Glaze with any of the tasty frosting recipe options below.

Glaze or Frosting Recipes

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces softened cream cheese
¼ cup softened butter
3-4 Tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

With a hand mixer (or in your blender), whip together all ingredients until smooth. Spread over cooled cake.

Stevia Sweetened Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Liquid stevia to taste (I use 2 droppers full)

Whip ingredients together until smooth. Spread over cooled Cake.

Orange Glaze

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

Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.

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Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Recipe

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If you love chocolate, and you love pumpkin spice, then you are going to love, love this Chocolate Pumpkin Cake!

I love any treat that includes ingredients healthy enough for us to serve for breakfast.

What? Cake for breakfast? Oh yes. All year long. And since this one includes pumpkin, it’s a step above. #veggiecake

Of course, the pumpkin in this recipe makes it super moist. And the chocolate in this recipe? Well, that makes it chocolate. Need I say more?

You’ll love that this cake is topped with a thin layer of Honey-Sweetened Chocolate Frosting. Sigh…while I sure do love summer best, NOTHING can beat fall baking!!

Enjoy this fun video we put together, sharing how to make this cake!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake RecipeYum

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Recipe
 
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Serves: 15-18
Ingredients
  • 1 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • ½ cup sucanat
  • dash of sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 eggs
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sucanat, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
  2. Set aside. In a saucepan, bring oil, water, and cocoa to a boil.
  3. Pour liquid mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredient mixture.
  4. Stir well.
  5. Add pumpkin puree and eggs, mixing well.
  6. Pour batter into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
  7. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

Low Sugar Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons milk
2-4 Tablespoons honey (sweeten this to your taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan combine butter, cocoa, milk, and honey. Cook and stir over low heat until ingredients are well combined and mixture begins to thicken slightly. Removed from heat. Stir in vanilla. Spread over cooled cake.

Do you love fall baking like I do? Will you be eating this cake for breakfast? :)

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No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites – (Gluten and Dairy Free)

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You might notice that this No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites recipe looks identical to our No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars recipe. This one is a fun one to make with your kids!

Yep. You figured it out. Same recipe. One shaped into bars. One shaped into balls. We are so creative, are we not?

Speaking of creative, we’ve got three other simple varieties of this recipe here. Just a few ingredient variations will give you one of these!


Grab the No-Bake Cookie Dough Bite recipes here:

Need Coconut Flour?

I found a great price here!

Need Almond Butter?

It’s hard to find a good price on this! Aldi has been my best option, if and when I can make it there to shop. (I live an hour away from the closest Aldi, boo!) Try to find one without added sugar. Or better yet, if you can find a good price on almonds, make Homemade Almond Butter!

Need Honey?

I much prefer and recommend buying local honey! Otherwise, I recommend buying a big jug from Azure Standard if that is an option for you.

Need Chocolate Chips?

My very favorite chips are these Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips! They are usually more expensive in the summer as they don’t ship well in the heat. So watch for them to go down in price in the fall and winter months, then stock up!

Need Vanilla Extract?

Oh how I love making it myself! Unfortunately, the price of vanilla beans has gone up over the years. Boo. Still, I think it’s best to make it ourselves if we can! Learn how here!

And now, grab your kids and let them help you make these awesome little treats!

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough BitesYum

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites - 5 Ingredients
 
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Serves: 12-15
Ingredients
  • 1 cup natural creamy almond butter
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup coconut flour
  • ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
  2. Roll the mixture into teaspoon-sized (or whatever sized) balls.
  3. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

We like using a cookie scoop like this one to make these Cookie Dough Bites.

Looking for more help as you pull your kids into the kitchen with you?

If you really want to go all in and teach your kids to cook this summer, I encourage you to invest in Katie Kimball’s Kids Cook Real Food eCourse. I used this course with Malachi and plan to use it with Bonus Boy too. It is FANTASTIC!!! Get the details here. And pick up her awesome FREEBIE —>

 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Sweet and Simple Cranberry Cookies

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You all know I’m not into anything fancy. The simpler the better when it comes to pretty much everything from food to clothes to schedules. So it probably doesn’t surprise you that I took my basic Sweet and Simple Butter Cookies recipe and added one tiny ingredient to make these Sweet and Simple Cranberry Cookies. Hmmm, I bet you can’t guess which ingredient I added. (Indeed, my ways are so mysterious.)

I’m not a big fan of raisins in my cookies. But adding dried cranberries to this simple butter cookie? Well, that takes them up a notch without adding any effort. Phew, no added effort? Well, that’s a relief. We cannot be expected to add effort to our cookie-baking endeavors. That takes all the fun out of eating a cookie.

Oh! But don’t you worry about me giving you permission to eat a cookie. These are low in sugar, with just a little extra added sugar when we toss in the dried cranberries. And check out how few ingredients these have? Just 5 simple items to grab to make these delights!

Sweet and Simple Cranberry CookiesYum

Sweet and Simple Cranberry Cookies
 
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Serves: 15-18
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups melted butter
  • ½ cup sugar (raw, white, brown, or sucanat)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
  1. Cream butter and sugar together in a bowl.
  2. Stir in vanilla extract.
  3. Mix in flour until well combined.
  4. Fold in dried cranberries.
  5. Scoop Tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto cookie sheets.
  6. Press the dough down with your fingers or a fork.
  7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

Want more fun low-sugar cookie recipes?

Here’s a great list of all we’ve come up with to share so far!

Want more fun recipes that include 5 or fewer ingredients?

There are over 100 reasons this is our most popular eBook!

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What’s your favorite kind of cookie? Ever tried cutting down the sugar in the recipe to see how it turns out?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

29 Fun Treat Recipes for Valentine’s Day – With NO Red Food Dye

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Low Sugar Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait 1

Traditionally we think of red or pink food dye squirted into white frosting to make festive Valentine’s Day cookies and cupcakes. Want to put some fun Valentine meals and treats on the table this year – but want to keep the food real and avoid food coloring?

It is a true fact that food exists that is red without any help from outside sources. There’s also this lovely thing we like to call chocolate. It’s not red, but it certainly says, “I love you,” don’t you think?

Here are 29 great recipes for you that can be turned into Valentine’s Day goodies for your family. You might be able to tell that I am desperately hoping for fresh strawberries to be in season and on sale THIS WEEK.

29 Fun Treat Recipes for Valentine's Day with NO Red Food Dye

Red and Pink Treats (No Food Dye!)

Don’t forget obvious foods that are red – like tomatoes, sweet peppers, strawberries, grapes, cherries, raspberries, and oranges. Ha. Just seeing if you were paying attention.

Chocolate Treats

Do you have foods you traditionally make and serve on Valentine’s Day?

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The Easiest Cheesecake With The Lowest Amount of Sugar

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I push and I push when it comes to eating fruits and veggies. (We call these “freggies,” by the way. I’m determined to get this word into the dictionary. Freggies. Freggies.  Freggies.  Keep saying. Keep writing it. Pass it on. Freggies is a word because we all say so.)

So I highly encourage us to all eat an enormous amount of freggies each day. Our bodies need them and love them. I also encourage us to cut way back on the sugar. Our bodies need us to. Therefore this recipe, and all my recent healthier treat recipes are:

1) Your reward for eating so many freggies.
2) Your opportunity to enjoy a dessert that won’t give you sugar overload.

See, we can have our cake and eat it too. We just need to use wisdom. Sweets are a treat, not a food group.

I encourage you to read:  Breaking Free of Sugar Addiction ~ Should We Be Eating Stevia? for more of my thoughts on this subject. Then, I would like you to file this newest recipe away for the next time you need to make an easy treat to share. It is very low in sugar, but you’ll still be enjoying a rich, delicious treat!

When I posted the recipe for this Chocolate Cheesecake Dessert, several asked, “How can I make this without chocolate?” Ah…very simple. Just leave out the cocoa. And while you’re at it, if you’d like a pumpkin variety of this dessert, you’ll find it here:  Low Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake

Easiest Cheesecake Recipe

Easy Cheesecake DessertYum

Shortbread Crust:

3 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat for this)
1/2 cup sucanat (or brown sugar if you prefer)
1 1/2 cups melted butter

Stir flour and sucanat together in a bowl. Add melted butter, combining well. Press mixture into a 9×13 inch baking pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Cheesecake Filling:

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Liquid stevia to taste (I use 30-40 drops)
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Baked and cooled Shortbread Crust

Cream together softened cream cheese, vanilla, and stevia. Set aside. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold in cream cheese mixture until smooth. (I actually throw all ingredients together in my BlendTec and let it do all the work of whipping and blending at the same time.)  Spread mixture over cooled Shortbread Crust. Cover and chill for about two hours until set. Makes about 18 servings.

So freggies first, low sugar cheesecake second. It’s a win-win.

Which of the cheesecake recipes will be your favorite? The plain, the pumpkin, or the chocolate?

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7 Favorite {Real Food} Sweet and Savory Holiday Treats

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7 Sweet and Savory Holiday Treats

Yum

Today, instead of sharing a new recipe, I decided to post 7 of our family’s favorite treats from the past few years. From sweet to savory, all of these recipes are delicious and easy – perfect for the Christmas Brunch!

Orange Cranberry Scones

Orange Cranberry Scones

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls

Christmas Spice Cookies

Christmas Spice Cookies

Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping

Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping

Sweet Pepper Fritata

Sweet Pepper Fritata

Quick Eggnog Muffins

eggnog_muffins_2

Bacon Cheese Muffins

bacon cheese muffins

Be sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of five $10 gift certificates to our Heavenly Homemakers Shop!

XmasBrunch2011

If you haven’t picked up your free jar of coconut oil from Tropical Traditions, you need to get on it! Offer ends Christmas night, and I’m pretty sure we’ll all be just a little bit busy that day. :)  Free Coconut Oil!!!!!

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It’s Here Again! Our 5th Annual Christmas Brunch!

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The beauty of the internet is that while most of us can’t actually hang out and share a meal together (seeing as we’re located all over the globe), we can still enjoy community and fellowship. For the 5th year in a row, we’re inviting you to join us in a lovely Christmas Brunch, held right here every day through December 24.

XmasBrunch2011

What’s on the menu? Oh just wait until you see! You’ll get to enjoy new recipes each day, as well as have chances to win prizes. Now that’s always fun!

Each time you see the Christmas Brunch invitation (pictured above), leave a comment on that post to be entered into a drawing for one of five $10 gift certificates for downloadable items in our Heavenly Homemakers Shop. The day after Christmas, we’ll tally all the entries and do a random drawing. The more you comment, the more chances you have to win.

But don’t forget the recipes and fellowship. That’s the best part of all! So make plans to join us from now until Christmas. We have a lot of fun in store for you.

So let’s start now! Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of our Heavenly Homemakers Shop gift certificates!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!