Carob Chip Graham Cracker Bread

The Sister scolded me the other day for not sending her any baked goodies in over a year.  How thoughtless of me!  What kind of sister am I?!  I’m surprised I haven’t been disowned yet.  How lucky I am to have such a forgiving, patient sibling to put up with my lack of baking generosity.

Yes, she is that dramatic.  But only sometimes.  Love you Amanda!

So I asked her what she wanted!  One of her suggestions was a s’mores-inspired treat.  LOVED that idea!  And I knew just what I wanted to make – a sweet, quick bread made from graham cracker crumbs and laced with carob chips and naturally sweetened marshmallows.  It would be perfect.  Except I couldn’t find naturally sweetened marshmallows anywhere!  (Side note: If anyone knows where this can be done, let me know!) Bummer, for sure, but the show must go on.  I forged ahead with my marshmallow-less bread and out of the oven came Carob Chip Graham Cracker Bread.

The recipe is below.  It’s fun and easy and low-fat to boot!

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup applesauce

1 cup whole wheat graham cracker crumbs

1 flax egg

1/3 cup honey

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 cup vegan carob chips

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Spray an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together white whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix applesauce and graham cracker crumbs (I ground 14 of these crackers in my food processor to get 1 cup) until well combined.  Add flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax seed whisked with 3 tablespoons water) and mix until well combined.  Add honey and mix until well combined.  Alternatively mix in flour mixture and almond milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Stir in carob chips.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing.

This was my first time baking with a flax egg substitute – why I have no idea! – and it worked wonderfully.  I will definitely be using it more in the future!  As for the bread itself, how ’bout we turn to The Sister for her thoughts?

When I first received the package that contained the bread, I didn’t have any silverware nearby but couldn’t resist trying a piece. I used my hands to tear off a chunk. It took every ounce of restraint in me not to eat half of the loaf then and there with the plastic wrap still on it. It was so moist, so flavorful and so tasty!

So I guess it’s a keeper!

Do you have any favorite graham cracker treats?

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Macaroon Muffins

Coconut flour is trickier to work with than I anticipated my friends…

Despite the time lapse between posts, I can assure you that I have not been totally out of the kitchen over the past weeks.  No, I haven’t been in there as much as usual – who can blame me with work piled up to my head and these cute little distractions running around? – but baking attempts have indeed been made!

I tried a couple times to make another all coconut flour treat – as I enthusiastically stated I would.  After such delicious success with my Mini Chocolate Cupcakes, I thought it would be easy peasy.  Hmmm…not so much.  First up was my own attempt at a banana-cocoa-coconut muffin, using banana as an egg replacer.  FAIL.  Too crumbly!  No rise!  Next I tried to play it safe and follow an already tested recipe.  FAIL numero dos.  Too eggy!  Not enough flavor!

Sigh…

Instead of continuing my seemingly futile experiments and denying you all a new recipe even longer, I decided to temporarily put my all-coconut-flour-treat dream on hold and bake up something sure to work – still using coconut flour of course!

So today we have Macaroon Muffins!  What else would you call a goodie made from coconut flour, coconut milk AND shredded coconut?  Yum.

Here’s the recipe:

1 egg

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together egg, coconut milk, applesauce, vanilla extract and maple syrup until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix whole wheat pastry flour, coconut flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and shredded coconut. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just blended. Spoon into prepared pans (top with extra shredded coconut if you want to have some fun!) and bake for 16-18 minutes. Makes 8 muffins.

These muffins are scrumptious!  Thank goodness, right?! They are packed with coconut flavor thanks to copious use of coconut-y ingredients and pretty light too from using “light” coconut milk and applesauce instead of oil.  And I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: maple syrup makes the BEST sweetener.  If you like coconut, I’m pretty sure you’d be a fan of these.

What’s your favorite coconut recipe?