Chocolate Pumpkin Olive Oil Muffins
PIN IT!Grab one of these delicious chocolate pumpkin olive oil muffins for your busy morning breakfast! They taste so good, you’ll never know they are light!
I’m not a news watcher. In fact, I’d rather watch ANYTHING else than news. Now, I don’t live under a rock. I have an iPhone with the CNN app. Anytime something happens, I get an alert. And to me, that’s really all the news I need. I don’t need to hear eye witness accounts from 15 people. I certainly don’t need to hear Republicans and Democrats arguing with each-other for 6 hours because they can’t agree on something. Sadly, my hubby’s job is directly related to the government so the news was on FOR 7 HOURS last night as we watched the “SHUTDOWN COUNTDOWN.”
Which is also why I consumed half a bottle of Merlot and caught up with Teen Mom 3 on my computer. This whole shutdown business kind of bugs me. When my hubby doesn’t work, well, he doesn’t get paid. Luckily he has like 300 PTO days saved up so he’ll be fine if the government stays down for a bit. But you know what? That sucks! Why should he have to use his vacation days that he’s earned by working ALL THE TIME because stupid old men can’t agree on something?
Just talking about it pisses me off. I mean, it’s human nature. We disagree. I’ve gotten in many an argument with friends and family. But you know what? My decisions don’t affect an entire country. I think I would feel just a little bad if my decision was the reason thousands of employees aren’t getting paid.
But enough about that. Can we talk about these chocolate pumpkin olive oil muffins for a second? I LOVE olive oil with chocolate. It’s the most unbelievably amazing combination. Funny enough, I added olive oil to these because I ran out of applesauce and I hate canola oil. I honestly didn’t think they would turn out THIS GOOD.
Topped with luscious chocolate glaze and more chocolate chips, these muffins are so sweet they could be passed for cupcakes. But I’d rather call them muffins so I can eat 3 of them for breakfast without judgement stares.
Chocolate Pumpkin Olive Oil Muffins
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Yields about 16 muffins.
Prep time: About 5 minutes
Cook time: About 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- Dash of salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- About 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons skim milk
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12 cavity muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. In another bowl, beat the pumpkin, oil, vanilla, sugars and eggs together until creamy. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the wet mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon.
- Once mixed, stir in the chocolate chips. Fill each muffin cavity about 2/3 the way full with batter. Bake for about 18 – 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool on a wire cooling rack.
- Whisk the sugar, butter, vanilla and skim milk together. Glaze each muffin and garnish with additional chocolate chips.
Nutritional information per muffin:
Calories: 223
Fat: 8 grams
Carbohydrates: 38 grams
Fiber: >1 gram
Protein: 2.3 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 6
Claire
Tags:chocolate pumpkin muffins, chocolate recipes, fall recipes, olive oil recipes, pumpkin recipes
Indulgent Fridays: Sweet Potato & Nutella Donuts
These Sweet Potato & Nutella Donuts are the perfect fall breakfast treat. Each ooey, gooey bite is the perfect balance of earthy and sweet!
That’s right friends, going forward, every Friday I’ll be sharing a luscious, fat-filled, deliciously indulgent recipe! Because it’s Friday and life is all about balance. Which means it’s okay to eat creamy pastas, butter-filled donuts and bacon, anything.
Now, can we talk about how flipping excited I was the moment I opened a box and found my beloved donut pan? I squealed. I danced. I might have even kissed it. My rejoice easily explains why my kitchen now looks like those donut racks inside of Dunkin Donuts.
Donuts will always have a special little place in my heart. My grandpa loves them. Anytime I go home for holidays, weddings or reunions, you better believe there is always a box or two of freshly baked donuts on the counter upon my arrival. Even though I’m perpetually on a diet, I still indulge in at least one of those cream stuffed, glazed dough rounds of perfection. He loves seeing us happy and if enjoying a donut here or there does that, I’ll happily oblige.
I can’t tell you how many days I woke up in the apartment craving a donut. I’d wake up with these insane combinations in my head (I’M SO MAKING A PISTACHIO DONUT WITH PEPPERMINT AND CREAM CHEESE!) I’d rush to the kitchen, tear open all the drawers and cabinets and find that my donut pan was nowhere in sight. Then I’d remember what happened and fall into the fetal position. There are somethings in life that only a donut can cure, and those sad mornings were it.
Now I can have donuts whenever I like! Which is why I made 4 kinds yesterday. Don’t worry, I didn’t eat all of them. It got to the point though that E almost had to restrain me with a straight jacket to keep me out of the kitchen.
Can you blame me? Look at that oozing Nutella and that salty, crunchy pretzel topping. Try telling me you wouldn’t take that to the justice of the peace and marry it on the spot. Maybe even have little sweet potato Nutella donut hole babies.
Sweet Potato & Nutella Donuts
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Yields 6 donuts. Donuts inspired by SheKnows.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: About 15 minutes
Ingredients:
For the donuts:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 medium size ones)
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons light cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- 2 ounces fat-free cream cheese
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 -1 tablespoon milk
- About 1/2 cup chopped pretzels
For the filling:
- 6 tablespoons Nutella
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. To make the donuts, beat the applesauce, butter, eggs, vanilla, sugar, sweet potatoes and cream together in a KitchenAid mixer. Beat until creamy.
- In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon together. Add the flour to the butter mixture and beat until mixed. (DO NOT OVERMIX! The batter will come out gummy).
- Grease a nonstick donut pan with cooking spray. Fill each cavity halfway with dough. In the middle of the cavity (right on-top of the greased metal part) add a teaspoon of Nutella. Cover the Nutella with more sweet potato dough. (The cavity should be filled to the top with dough and you should see no Nutella or metal).
- Bake for about 13 – 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let chill on a wire cooling rack for about 5 – 6 minutes.
- While the donuts bake, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, milk and butter in a mixing bowl until creamy.
- While the donuts are still a bit more, glaze with cream cheese. Top with crushed pretzels.
Nutritional information per donut:
Calories: 400
Fat: 9.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 55 grams
Fiber: 3 grams
Protein: 7 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 9
Vegan Pumpkin Carrot Bread
This fluffy, soft and nutrient-rich vegan pumpkin carrot bread is the perfect snack to enjoy with your favorite cup of coffee!
Want to see a glimpse into my life lately?
Well, not quite as bad as that, but I’m still living amongst all the boxes. We’ve powered through and unpacked ALMOST all of them, but there are still about 100 hanging out, taunting me as I sit here writing. I hate clutter. I hate mess. I’m a little OCD when it comes to my surroundings, so living in piles of disarray is making me twitch.
On the plus side though, I love our new place. It’s so light, open and quiet. We have a gorgeous view and a patio, which is something we’ve never had. I seriously can’t tell you how much I love sitting on the patio, sipping my coffee while the morning sun beats down on me. It’s literally night and day from how we were living at the apartment.
Another plus of finally having a solid place to call home is the excitement that comes with unpacking the boxes we had in our storage unit. With every box we pry open, we’re finding pieces of our old life that we missed desperately in those 3 months at the apartment. Framed wedding photos, my favorite dishes, our beloved juicer. Plus, boxes and boxes of clothes I thought were lost in the fire surprise me with each rip and tear of packing tape. It’s like Christmas morning, but better. Each box contains a piece of me I thought I’d never get back, a memory I thought was lost in the flames of June 1st.
Things may be a little quiet as I continue to unpack and finish my book, but I couldn’t leave you hanging this week knowing I had this vegan carrot and pumpkin bread in my arsenal. That would be cruel.
For the amazing quick bread recipe, grab it here on Chef Mom!
Nutritional information per slice:
Calories: 279
Fat: 7.62 grams
Carbohydrates: 52 grams
Fiber: 2.2 grams
Protein: 4.25 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 8
Claire
Tags:bread recipes, carrot recipes, healthy recipes, pumpkin recipes, vegan bread recipes, vegan quick bread, vegan recipes
Vegan Parmesan & Herb Popcorn
Craving popcorn without the dairy? Enjoy a big bowl of this popped vegan parmesan & herb popcorn!
I know, parmesan isn’t vegan. Duh. I’m not stupid. But it’s just too ridiculous to type Vegan GO VEGGIE PARMESAN ALTERNATIVE Rosemary popcorn. I’m also sure no one would click on it and this post would disappear into shameful obscurity faster than Dina Lohan.
I’ve had a bag of Bob’s Red Mill popping kernels (I feel fancy and old-fashioned saying that) in my pantry for, oh, 3 months. In fact, they even moved from our old house to our temporary apartment and made it through a fire. Sadly, it wasn’t until last week that I decided to use them. Poor little guys were stuck in the back of the pantry, next to the panko bread crumbs and half used packages of spaghetti. They really only saw the light of day because I was watching a ridiculous scary movie, needed popcorn and was not going to drive all the way to the store.
Fast forward an hour later and I’m face first into my bowl of vegan popcorn, eating it like a pig eats from a trough. It wasn’t pretty. Luckily, El was out and didn’t have to witness my shameful popcorn binge. Nobody should see that. I’m pretty sure even my dog was looking away in pure disgust. My dog, the one who licks his..ya know, was judging me.
And you know what? I don’t care! This amazingly light, super easy and oh-so-cheesy snack deserves to be enjoyed, even if that means you need to shower after you eat it.
Or you could just be a human being for 5 minutes and eat it normally, a few handfuls at a time. That works too.
Vegan Parmesan & Herb Popcorn
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves about 4. Inspired by Two Peas & Their Pod.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: About 7 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
- 1/3 cup Go Veggie Parmesan flavored topping
- 1/2 teaspoon minced rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon minced tarragon
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Place the olive oil in a deep (at least 3 quarts) saucepan. To test the heat, add some kernels. If they pop, it’s warm enough.
- Add the rest of the kernels into the pan in an even layer. Cover with a lid, remove from heat and then wait about 30 seconds. Return the pan to the stove and shake gently. The popcorn will start vigorously popping. To keep the popcorn crisp, leave the lid slightly ajar.
- Once the popping starts to stop, remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Immediately top with grated cheese (start with1/3 cup and add more if you want to), rosemary and tarragon.
Nutritional information per serving (about 2 cups):
Calories: 203
Fat: 13.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 10.75 grams
Fiber: >1 gram
Protein: 1.75 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 5
Banana Nut Smoothie
This luscious banana nut smoothie is the perfect healthy, protein-packed and delicious breakfast for when you’re on-the-go! Plus, it’s a drink that tastes like banana bread, what’s better?
Eat. Sleep. Cookbook. Repeat. That’s my life until October 7th. I’m REALLY feeling good about the recipes and I’m almost done whipping them up. But you see, the cooking is the easy part. The hard part? Writing it. Which really shouldn’t be so hard since I’m, ya know, a writer. But it is. This isn’t just another blog post that I can quickly go in and edit. My words are going to be immortalized, written in stone, stamped to my forehead for the rest of eternity. If you think “shoot, I sound really stupid in that intro” you can’t just go in and change in when you’re feeling dashing. You can’t change anything.
Sure puts a lot of pressure on a few words, wouldn’t you say? And I know, I have less than 2 weeks to make sense of it all. But I’ve always been a “crunchtime” person. In college, the papers I waited until the last possible second to write were always my best. The poems I wrote when feeling the most vulnerable and terrified were always the most raw, intense, truly incredible. It’s not that I don’t think I can get it done, it’s just…well, “holyshitthisismycookbookithastobeperfect.”
Don’t worry, that won’t be in the book. But heavens do I wish this banana nut smoothie was going to be. I’m too late in the game to make revisions, but I WISH I had made this one before. So creamy, so luscious, so protein and antioxidant packed, this is the world’s most powerful (and absolutely delicious) smoothie. I promise you that. If you’re worried about the carbs or fat, don’t be. You won’t be hungry until dinner after this (trust me).
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have 6 recipes to make, photograph and write about. If you could be so kind as to shoot a coffee IV my way, that’d be fabulous.
Banana Nut Smoothie
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves 1.
Prep time: >5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 2 tablespoons oats (I used quick-cooking)
- 1 tablespoon Bob’s Red Mill almond meal
- 1 cup skim milk
- 2 tablespoons non-fat Chobani Greek yogurt
- Dash of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon honey
Directions:
- Place the banana, oats, almond meal, milk, greek yogurt, cinnamon, honey and about 1 1/2 tablespoons walnuts in the blender. Blend until completely smooth.
- Pour the smoothie into a jar and garnish with crushed walnuts and a few banana slices.
Nutritional information per smoothie:
Calories: 372
Fat: 13 grams
Carbohydrates: 42 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Protein: 17 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 9
