Count this recipe as one of the healthy pancakes, and one of your kid’s favorite too!

Ingredients:

Dry:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet:

2 eggs, separated (you will need 1 egg yolk and 2 egg whites)

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon homemade berry jam (or any of your favorite store-bought jam)

1/2 cup very ripe mashed banana

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil + 1 tablespoon, separated

Preparation:

1. Sift together in a medium bowl all the dry ingredients.
2. In another bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients but the 2 egg whites and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
3. Beat the egg whites in a separate, dry bowl until stiff.
4. Add all the wet ingredients and stiff egg whites to the dry ingredients.  Fold until just mixed.  Do not over mix or beat.
5. Heat a pan at medium and brush with olive oil.  When ready, ladle about 3 to 4 tablespoons of pancake batter and spread over the pan.  Lower heat (because honey and olive oil burn easily).  Turn over when the top of the pancake starts to bubble, and continue cooking until the other side turns golden brown.  Brush again with olive oil (if necessary) for the next batch.
6. Serve warm with honey (I always use honey for my kiddo), or a pure maple syrup.

If there is a healthier way to serve a dessert or snack for kids, I’m there.

So I got a pack of Betty Crocker’s Hershey Original Supreme Brownie, and on that very day, I wanted to make a muffin or cupcake where my daughter, along with her friends could decorate it – with their favorite icing and sprinkles.  Brownie is a rich, decadent dessert.  I love it, but I am experimental.  I thought of turning it into a muffin.  But then I was confused, because when it was done, it tasted like a chocolatey cupcake-but-not. It turned out though that kids love them, other than having fun decorating.

Anyway, after that tasty confusion, I finally called it Supreme Strawberry Brownie Cupcake, according to majority vote of 3 little girls who tried it.  This cupcake is a little bit tougher/thicker than the usual cupcake.

Addition of whole wheat is what makes it healthier.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Wet ingredients…

1 1/2 tbsp Heshey’s Syrup (comes with the brownie mix package)

2 large eggs

1/3 c vegetable oil

1/4 cup milk

1 cup diced strawberry (if none, add 1/4 cup milk or orange juice)

Dry ingredients…

2 cups Betty Crocker Hershey’s Original Supreme Brownie Mix

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsps baking powder

Preparation:

Preheat oven at 350 F

Using a whisk, mix together all the wet ingredients in a medium mixing bowl; and the dry ingredients in separate, larger mixing bowl.

Fold in wet ingredients to dry ingredients until just mixed (do not overmix, or your cupcake will get tougher).

Spoon the batter into baking cups leaving 1/4” empty from its top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  I like mine a little bit burnt (25 minutes) because it gives me that crunch.

Makes 12-14 cupcakes.

Serves these babies with your favorite toppings, or simply none at all.   Great as your kid’s snack at school.  It is more filling than the usual cupcake.

Below are some photos showing how much fun they had:

...and yes, she loves frosting!

Filipino Macaroons

This recipe is scrumptious, and even great for gift-giving too.  I used this for our daughter’s birthday favor.  Kids love ‘em!

Ingredients:

14 ounces (about 400 grams) Sweetened Coconut Flakes

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

14 ounces condensed milk

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Soften butter (set outside the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes), add sugar and beat (using electric mixer – if no electric mixer, manually whisk strongly) until it reaches a creamy texture (about 2 minutes).

Mix in condensed milk until well blended.

Fold in coconut flakes and mix well.

Place small paper cups in a baking sheet with sides without leaving any space in between.  Fill with batter two-thirds full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until color turns golden brown.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

This dessert or snack tastes better a day or 3 later.

Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for later use.  Thaw overnight.

Best New York Style Cheesecake topped with cherry and blueberry in syrup.

After a bunch of trial and error making the perfect New York Style cheesecake, I finally got this one.  My father-in-law asked, “This is really good cheesecake.  Did you get this from Cheesecake Factory?”

I call this Best New York Style Cheesecake, because it is!

My primary advice:  use a springform pan when baking cheesecake, otherwise it will be difficult to slice it up when serving.

Warning though, this dessert brings a guilty pleasure.  Eat with moderation.

This makes 2 (9-inch) batch of cheesecake. Reduce the ingredient to half when making only one batch.  I made this plenty because this was for my husband’s birthday bash, and he loves cheesecake.

Now let’s start:

Ingredients:

For the crust:

4 cups finely crushed graham crackers, or you can use ginger snaps; oreo cracker with no fillings and vanilla wafers.

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling: the ingredients for the filling below is good for 2 batches (use of 2 springform pans).  If you are using a standard-sized mixer, you may divide each ingredient below to half.

8 (8-oz) cream cheese at room temperature (full fat recommended)

2 cups granulated white sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour (unpacked, leveled)

10 large eggs at room temperature

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tbsp lemon zest (about 6 lemons)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Sour cream topping:

1 lb full fat sour cream

1/3 cup granulated white sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

This recipe calls for 2 springform pans.

Preheat oven at 350F. Spray or smear with a soft bar of butter each 9-inch springform pan.

Preparing the crust:

I recommend using a food processor.  If you are using a big one, simply drop in the crackers and pulse it until it is finely crumb.  If your food processor is smaller, you may want to crumb first the crackers into smaller pieces using your hands and drop it to the processor, then pulse until fine.  If you do not have any, just put it in a clean plastic bag, seal and place over a plate then crumb by rolling over it a thick mug until they are very fine.

Put the prepared crumbs in a medium bowl and mix in sugar and melted butter.  Mix well.  You can use spatula in doing this.

Pour in half of the crumbs into 1 springform pan, and pour in the rest to the other. Distribute the crumbs evenly in the bottom of the springform and press tightly.  Refrigerate while you make the filling.

The Filling:

1. Since I used a standard size electric mixer, I could only process half of each ingredient, which makes 1 batch of cheesecake.  So here you will mix in 4 cream cheese, 1 cup granulated white sugar and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.  Beat until smooth at medium speed at maximum of 2 minutes. Make sure your mixture is not clumpy, which may cause cracking. Overbeating may also cause your cheesecake to crack when baked.
2. Adding eggs.  When adding your eggs, break each one first in a separate, small clean bowl.  Just to make sure that is a good egg, otherwise you could be wasting your first ingredients. Add in eggs one at a time.  Mix well by beating as long as 30 seconds, but not more than it.  If it is already well mixed up before 30 seconds, that’s alright. Scrape down the sides after each mix.  Pull out some mixture stuck in the mixer/beater so it will be easier to mix up the ingredients again.
3. Add 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon (about 3 lemons) lemon zest and 1 tsp vanilla.  Mix well (about 1 minute or 2).
4. Get the crusted springform pan from the refrigerator.  Put it over a wider baking sheet (to catch its mess while baking).  Pour in this pan your cream cheese mixture.  Level with a spatula.  Set aside while preparing the next batch, which won’t take long, otherwise put the first mixture back to the refrigerator.
5. For second batch: Repeat the steps for Filling from 1 to 4 using the rest half of each ingredient.

Baking and Preparing the Topping

1. Position your bottom oven rack at least 7 inches away from the bottom.  Bake your prepared cheesecake for 20 minutes at 350F.  If you are making only one, bake for 15 minutes.
2. Reduce temperature to 250F.  After 30 minutes, change the position of your cheesecake (put the one in top to the bottom, bottom to the top).  Continue baking up to 1 hour.  Remove from oven.  Your cheesecake may look moist and soft in the middle.
3. Now prepare the sour cream topping.  Combine all of sourcream, granulated white sugar, and vanilla extract.  Mix well using a spatula.  Spoon will work well too. Divide the topping into two and spread it evenly over each warm cheesecake.  Spatula will work well on this.
4. Return to oven with the position changed again.  Bake for 20 more minutes, 15 if making only 1 batch.

Storing your Cheesecake

1. Let cool and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Carefully remove sides of springform pan by pushing its bottom up.  If you will serve this the next day, keep its bottom and put it over a big plate then refrigerate uncovered.  Do not cover this with plastic wrap.  It will stick on your cheesecake and it will not look good.  Same thing will happen even when using wax paper.
2. Return to refrigerator and serve the next day.
3. Repeat step 1 of cooling above.  Remove bottom by sliding it to a bigger plate (bigger or same size from bottom of springform pan), or a hard cardboard wrapped with aluminum foil.  Freeze uncovered for 30 minutes.  Wrap with heavy duty aluminum foil, or if you have the regular kind, wrap it doubled.  Do not freeze more than 1 month.
4. Thaw overnight.

To serve, top with cherry or blueberry in syrup.  I love topping both of them.

Roasted Festive Vegetables

One day I was craving for an all-vegetable meal. So I researched on recipes that would have mixed vegetable ingredients involving simple preparation. After I gathered all the recipes, I learned to make this up: Roasted Festive Vegetables. Hmmm, Festive because they looked colorful together. My mother-in-law loved this, she asked me to prepare this for his son’s birthday party – who fortunately loved this as well. Okay, with no further ado, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 head broccoli (about 1 lb), broken into bite size florets (about 1″), peeled stalks and sliced thinly (about 1/4″ width)

1 head cauliflower (do the same with broccoli)

4 medium carrots, sliced (1/4″ thickness with 3″ length). This can be sliced in slanted direction so it will look prettier:)

1/2 of large bell pepper, sliced about 1/2″ width (and then halved if desired)

1/2 of large onion, sliced in quarters and layers separated

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

5 tablespoons olive oil

2 lemons (or 1 if you don’t want it to taste too lemony), thinly sliced

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Toss the vegetables, garlic cloves and sliced lemons in a big bowl and pour in oil on top evenly, then toss to mix well with the rest of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Distribute evenly the prepared vegetables on 2 rimmed baking sheets and roast up to 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Change the position of the sheets from top to bottom; bottom to top, tossing the vegetables halfway through.

Serve warm with toasted bread, hmmmm. Also good as side dish.

Serves 6. Less if they’d really love it:)
Total Preparation: 50 minutes

Tips: Vegetables can be sliced a day before and put in the refrigerator. It is a big NO to slice garlic ahead of time (unless you are using the prepared bottled garlic), even if you put it in sealed container. It has a pretty strong scent that may dominate inside your refrigerator.

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This is one delectable pineapple jam, I should say – one of the best tasting I ever had.  I love experimenting in cooking.  Sometimes it is nasty I’d have to toss it.  And when it’s this great tasting, I share it.  My picky daughter loves it in her sandwich.

Delectable Pineapple Jam

Ingredients:
5 1/2 c diced fresh pineapple (about 1 medium pineapple)
2 1/2 c sugar
1 c orange juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preparation:

1. Peel pineapple and completely remove the “eyes” (brown dots).  Dice into tiny pieces.
2. Get a pot that when you put all the ingredients together, it will be half-filled only.  This is so that as it boils briskly, it will not overflow.
3. Mix well with spoon all the ingredients in the pot described above.
4. Heat at medium (heat) until it boils, then lower the heat (ex., if # 5 is medium heat in your burner, put it to #4).  Let simmer uncovered and constantly stirring (every 3-5 minutes) to prevent it from scorching for 40 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken.
5. Pour in sterilized jar (See the how-to below). Refrigerate for best results.  Use within 1 year (it is naturally preserved with sugar).

Sterilizing Jar:

Boil a large pot of water enough for it to be an inch or so over the bottle.  Put the clean bottle and its lid (do not cover bottle with lid) over boiling water using a tong.  Sink the bottle down to the bottom, filling its inside with the boiling water.  Boil for 10 minutes.  Remove.  Let dry in a warmed oven (about 170F).

This is one of my toddler’s favorite.  Not so sweet, just right and healthy.  If your toddler does not like so much vegetable (even zucchini), you will make them like it here!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (rich in antioxidants)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c brown sugar (optional: if you want this sweeter, add 1 to 2 more cups of sugar)

1/2 c honey

1 c vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 c pure orange juice

2 c grated zucchini

1 tsp lemon juice

1 c chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans or slivered almonds)

Toppings (optional):

Powdered sugar or

Maple Syrup, or

Honey

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (first 7 ingredients). Blend well together the rest of the wet ingredients (honey, oil, beaten eggs, orange juice and zucchini) in another bowl. Pour in wet
ingredients to dry and mix well by hand using a spatula or wooden ladle.  Fold in nuts.

Butter or spray with oil 2 standard size loaf pans, and pour in prepared ingredients at equal volume in both pans.  Bake up to 1 hour. Test doneness by poking the middle with a toothpick or stick.  If it comes out clean, it’s done.  Serve warm.  If you like it sweeter, top with powdered sugar, or maple syrup, or honey.

Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days, or freeze right away for that fresher taste.  Heat in microwave oven for 40 seconds to warm.

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Toddler Food Tips:
Train your child to not have ‘sweet tooth’.  Don’t give them premixed cakes right from the counter of grocery stores. If you follow recipe, reduce amount of sugar used (I usually reduce it to 50%), using
raw or brown sugar and honey.  I used this technique on cookies as well, which our kiddo is so banana with.  In effect, I suppose, she bites the sweetest candy but not too crazy about it.  She licks lollipops, but leaves a lot behind.  She is not so interested at them at all.  She grabs one, yes, but won’t eat the whole thing.