Cranberry Oat Scones

Nutrition per scone (10 scones): 155 calories

Ingredients:
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• ½ cup kamut flour (or whole wheat or all purpose flour)
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats – not instant
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup plain yogurt (I use low fat) or buttermilk
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp honey
• Optional - 1 tsp cinnamon

Cranberry Orange Oat Scones – add 1 tsp orange juice & 2 tsp orange zest (no cinnamon)

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix yogurt, oil, honey, cranberries and orange juice and zest, if using. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix with a fork quickly until it is just blended – do not overmix. Pat it out gently in a ¼” circle on a floured surface. Don’t knead. Cut into 8-12 wedges and bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes until they begin to brown. Tap them on the bottom to see if they are done – it will sound hollow.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Makes 12 muffins, 195 cal each

Ingredients
• 1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp applesauce
• 2 tbsp canola or olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk (to make yourself: 2/3 c milk + 2/3 tbsp vinegar - let sit 5 minutes)
• Optional - chopped pecans, to garnish
• Optional - honey cream cheese frosting (2 oz cream cheese + 1 tbsp honey + 1/8 tsp vanilla)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, honey, oil, and eggs until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla.
4. Stir in the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk, just until combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each one about two-thirds full (not more), and sprinkle the surface of each with chopped pecans, if desired. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
7. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Enjoy warm or let cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Pastry Crust

Ingredients (single crust)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tbsp butter (cut into small pieces and frozen for 20 minutes)
• ½ cup all purpose or whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
(use up to 2 tbsp for a sweet crust)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 5-6 tablespoons cold low-fat milk (more, if needed)


Directions
1. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a food processor or bowl. Pour the oil and butter in and pulse until you've got pea-sized clumps of butter (you can also do this by cutting the oil and butter in with a fork). A light touch is important here and you want clumps of fat, which is what makes the crust flaky - the final blending will happen during rolling.
2. Distribute the milk over the mixture and pulse until it just begins to form a ball (again, use a light touch). It should just stick together if you squeeze a piece between your fingers, but not crumble apart. The mixture should still look crumbly.
3. Decant the loose dough onto a floured surface and lightly form a round disk using the back of your hands, so as not to melt the butter.
4. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour to hydrate the bran and let the dough relax. This will make it easier to roll, prevent shrinkage during baking, and make a more tender crust.
5. To roll, flour surface and rolling pin. Let the dough rest at room temperature for five minutes. Roll center out and don’t roll over the edges, turning ¼ turn each few rolls until it is 1/8” thick. Check your pan to make sure the crust is big enough to fit in shell and hang over the edges. It may crack on the edges when rolling - just smoosh it back together.
6. Roll onto rolling pin and into pan – brush away excess flour as you roll onto pin.
7. Pack it in to the pan nicely, but don’t stretch it or it will shrink during baking. Flute by pushing finger of opposite hand between two mid-finger knuckles, or use fork tines.
9. To prevent a soggy bottom blind-bake the crust: cut a square of foil about 4 inches larger than pie plate. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake in a 425°F oven for 10 minutes or until set. Remove from oven. Gently remove foil lining and beans. Prick all over lightly with a fork, return crust to oven and bake 5 minutes or until very light brown.
10. Cool completely before filling, then bake as directed according to recipe.
NOTE: Because this pastry dough is made with oil, it must be used right away. After a day in the refrigerator, the oil will start to separate and seep out.

Almond pastry crust

This is a great crust for no-bake pies and tarts. However, nuts burn easily, so take care if using it for pumpkin or fruit pies, which need to cook for longer periods of time. I have had success with pumpkin pie by skipping the first high temperature step and cooking the pie at no higher than 350 for 50 minutes. However, I have also cooked the filling separately and then smoothed it into the pre-baked crust, and it worked beautifully. Similarly, for fruit pies you can partially cook the filling in a saucepan on the stove to reduce the baking time. Always use a crust protector to avoid burning the exposed edges of the crust.

Version 1 Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups finely ground almonds/almond meal (can sub. flour or oats for some of the meal)
• 1 tbsp unsalted melted butter
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp honey & 1 tbsp sugar (omit for savory pies like quiche, etc.)
• Cold water



Version 2 Ingredients

• 2/3 cups graham crackers, finely ground (use a blender to prevent hard lumps)
• 1 cup finely ground almonds/almond meal (I sometimes substitute ¼ c oats)
• 1 tbsp unsalted melted butter
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Version 3 Ingredients

• 1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
• 1/4 cup finely ground almonds/almond meal
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions
1. Mix dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
2. Blend oil, water and honey in measuring cup with fork or small wire whisk until emulsified.
3. Add oil mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. If needed, add a small amount of water to hold mixture together. Not too much, though, because you don't want it to be soggy.
4. Press firmly and evenly into a well-sprayed 9-inch pie pan so that the bottom is completely sealed.
5. Chill 30 minutes, to prevent crumbling after baking.
6. For pies that call for a pre-baked shell, bake at 350°F for 8-12 minutes on a cookie pan until lightly golden (use a crust protector if it starts to get dark). A few minutes after removing from the oven, brush the bottom and sides with egg white to seal the crust and prevent a soggy bottom. Cool completely before filling.
7. For baking pies directly in this crust pre-bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes, until just set but not brown (use a crust protector the entire time). A few minutes after removing from the oven, brush the bottom and sides with egg white to seal the crust. Cool completely before filling and baking. Adjust crust protector before filling so that the pie can go directly into the oven as soon as it is filled, which will help prevent a soggy bottom. Bake as directed in recipe, but don't use temperatures higher than 350 and don't bake on a cookie sheet, which conducts heat to the bottom of the pie and could cause it to burn.

No-Bake Apple Walnut Tart

I got the recipe for this tart from the world's healthiest foods website, which is one of my favorite websites (www.whfoods.com). It's rich in both nutrients and omega-3 fats.

Calories per 1/8 of tart using oats: 375 calories
Calories per mini tart using oats (makes 16 tarts in a muffin tin): 185 calories

Crust
• 2 ½ cups walnut halves (I substitute 1/2 cup with rolled oats)
• 1 ½ cup pitted dates (not date paste)
• Pinch of salt

Filling
• 3 green apples, peeled and sliced
• Juice of 1 lemon in 2 cups water
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp honey
• ½ cup apple juice
• ¼ cup raisins

Directions:

1. Combine walnuts and dates in food processor or blender. Make sure you remove pits and cut off end where stem was. Process until well mixed and ground, but not smooth (about 40 seconds). It should be a coarse texture when done. This crust is fantastic if prepared correctly. First of all, it is important to choose dates that are firm and not too gooey. Process well, but do not make the mixture too smooth. You want to have a coarse texture that is ground enough to hold together when pressed. Take a pinch of crust between your fingers and press it together. If it is over processed the crust will end up pasty and will not be good. If it is not quite ground enough it won't hold together.

2. Press evenly into a 9-inch tart pan, pie plate, or individual muffin cups. Set in refrigerator while making the filling.

3. Slice apples by cutting into quarters. Cut out core and slice crosswise in ¼ inch thick slices. Put into lemon water while you finish cutting apples. Drain well in a colander when done.

4. Place apples in a large skillet with rest of the ingredients cook for about 10 minutes, until softened, stirring frequently on medium heat and adding water as necessary so the apples soften, but don’t brown.

5. Remove apples with a slotted spoon from hot pan to a bowl and cool completely.

6. Spread apples evenly over crust. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for one hour before serving.