Flourless Applesauce Cinnamon Cake

There are some lovely flourless chocolate cakes, but I've had trouble finding non-chocolate ones so I started experimenting and this came out well so I'm sharing.  This is not very sweet--almost like a muffin--and it's low sugar and fat as well. I think I'll be eating it for breakfast!

4 eggs--divided

1 cup rolled oats

1cup applesauce

1-2 Tbs cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar (optional--depending how sweet your applesauce is)

Put the oats in a food processor or blender or run through a grinder so they are a coarse flour. Add the applesauce, cinnamon and egg yolks so it makes a thick paste. 

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add in the sugar to the whites. 

Gently fold the apple-oat-cinnamon mix into the egg whites. 

Put into a greased 7x11 or 9x9 baking dish. Bake at 300 for about 45 minutes (check with a toothpick to make sure it's done). 

It's really good warm with butter :)

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

We like muffins for breakfast.
Or rather, the kids like muffins, and I like making them the night before so that they are ready for breakfast and I don't have to make anything right when I wake up!
Since we're eating them for breakfast though, I try to have them be on the healthier side. It's not a 'health food' by any means, but it's definitely not the cakey 'muffins' they have at grocery store bakeries. I also like that these are not too sticky, so they're easy to pack for a snack or a lunch and they won't stick together.

2 c rolled oats (I threw them in the food processor and pulsed them a few times so they were  chopped a bit. This isn't vital, but un-chopped rolled oats can be a bit chewey)
2 c applesauce
1/2 c honey
1 c oil
3 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbs cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Put the oats in a large bowl with the applesauce, honey, and oil and mix. Let sit for a few minutes to soften the oats. Add dry ingredients and mix just until blended.
If it seems too thick, add 1/2 c water. (Depending on what kind of applesauce you have or whether you chop the oats it might affect the consistency.)

Bake at 375 for about 18 minutes for standard muffins or about 9 minutes for mini muffins.

Granola

Take this recipe as a guideline...I have indicated things that I adapt, but honestly I do it a little differently every time, and I don't usually measure very carefully... I've been complimented on this granola many times. Enjoy!
Oh, and use a big bowl. A really really big bowl. Or do a half recipe.

• 14 cups of rolled grain (the original says 8 cups oat and 6 of wheat, but I usually do more like 10 oat and then a little barley, rye, wheat, whatever I have around. If you can't have gluten, you can do this with all gluten-free grains!)
• 2 c untoasted wheat germ (or not, if you don't have it or can't do gluten if you don't do it, then do the higher amounts of coconut and/or nuts)
• 2-3 c shredded coconut (do the larger amount if you don't do the wheat germ, or add nuts)
• 1-2 c nuts if desired (I like doing sliced or slivered almonds. You can also add them at the end, but I like them to get coated in all the good stuff...)
• 1 T salt (yes that's a tablespoon)
• 1 1/4 c brown sugar

Mix dry ingredients together. Then pour the following over the top.

• 1 c oil (I strongly recommend coconut oil--melt it before pouring it in)
• 1 c water
• 1/2 c honey
• 1 T vanilla

Mix the liquids into the dry ingredients until all flakes are moistened and separated. (It will seem like it's not enough liquid, but just keep stirring, it will work out I promise!) Spread the granola onto 2 cookie sheets and bake for 2 hours at 200* or until golden. Stir them every half hour or so to break up the bigger chunks and to make sure it dries out evenly. (But don't stir TOO vigorously or it will all be separated flakes with no awesome crunchy chunks!)

If desired, add dried fruit, seeds, nuts, etc. (I prefer to add a cup or two of sliced or slivered almonds with the dry ingredients, so they get coated and toasted.


Store in an airtight container.

Scottish Oatcakes

These are somewhere between a biscuit and a cookie...they're a bit sweet, but definitely have a bready aspect to them. I got the recipe from epicurean.com, where they were recommended to serve with Stovies. I've copied the recipe here just as it is on the site, but added some notes of my own.

1 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups shortening (I use room-temperature butter or lard. If you do use butter it comes out a little salty, so either use unsalted butter or skip the salt!)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups bran flakes (I didn't have any, so I left them out...I honestly didn't notice them on the recipe until I had already started mixing ingredients... I'm sure you could do some extra oats, but it also worked fine to just skip this ingredient.)

Directions:
Add soda to boiling water and let stand until cool. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, bran flakes, rolled oats and sugar. Cut in shortening; add water and soda. Roll out thin on a floured board. Bake in hot oven until golden brown.
(I just lightly greased a cookie sheet and smooshed the dough around on it until it was pretty thin. It spread a bit as it cooked and ended up filling the pan, but it had not reached all the corners before I put it in. I baked at 400* for about 10ish min...I didn't set a timer, I just left the oven light on and kept an eye on them as I cooked other things...)

Rhubarb Crunch (or Strawberry-Rhubarb Crunch)

This is the only way I've ever really liked rhubarb. I have a tendency to eat it for breakfast, but it's also good a la mode.
The original recipe is made with just rhubarb, but I've found that substituting in as much as half strawberries (and cutting the sugar down by 1/3c per cup of strawberries) is also really yummy.

Makes 9x13 pan

1/3 cups brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup softened or melted butter
3 cups rolled oats
Mix together. Press half of the mixture into a 9x13 pan, reserve the other half for the top. (I often do closer to 2/3 in the bottom of the pan, as the under layer gets the juices soaked in and is better than the top in my opinion.)

6 cups finely chopped rhubarb
3 Tbs flour
1 cup white sugar
Mix flour and sugar together. Coat rhubarb by shaking them all together in a covered bowl (or just dump them all into a really big bowl and stir a lot). Put filling in pan on top of under-crust. Cover with remaining crust mixture.
Bake 1 hour at 350.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is light and yummy, but really fills you up.
As photographed here, I baked it in one big loaf in a deep cast iron pan. It came out really well that way. If not using stone or cast iron, then make sure to make two loaves rather than one, otherwise it will be too big to get cooked through evenly.
1/2 cup warm water
4 t yeast
Put together then set aside

1 1/4 cup water or milk
3 Tbs oil
6 Tbs honey
2 cups dry rolled oats
Mix liquids in a large bowl, then add oatmeal, and allow to soak for a few minutes before adding additional ingredients.

4-5+ cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
(if desired) enough powdered milk to make the water be 'milk' instead
Add some flour, then the yeast mixture, then the rest of the flour etc.
Stir until well mixed. It is a somewhat sticky dough, but add flour until you are able to knead it.
Set in the bowl in a warm place with a towel over the top and let rise until double.
Punch down, divide if necessary, and put into well-greased pan(s). Cover with towel and let rise a second time until double.
Bake at 375 for about 30-40 minutes.

Anyberry Streusel Bars

So, this isn't my recipe...but I will give credit to the person I got it from, so I figure it's ok for me to post it here.
I have not actually tried it, but it looks positively drool-worthy!
without further ado, from DomesticGoddess
Anyberry Streusel Bars
(I suspect it would also work with other moist fruits...peaches, cherries, etc)

Oatmeal is Awesome

Beware, for this post contains several hidden recipes!

I love oatmeal. It is so versitile! It is also a lactagogue (meaning that it increases milk supply for nursing mothers) so that is just an extra bit of grooviness right there!

Here are some of my favorite things to do with oatmeal:
**standard cooked oatmeal for breakfast.
**coconut oatmeal one can of coconut milk, 2 c of rolled oats, soak overnight in the fridge. In the morning, heat on the stove, adding a little additional milk as needed for texture. Quicker and sweeter than regular oatmeal.
**in fruit crisps, cobblers, and dutch apple pie topping.
**in muffins and breads.

Leftover oatmeal is just as good! It makes a delicious and hearty addition to pancakes, waffles or muffins. My 7yo is also fond of 'oatmeal pancakes' wherein I add a little flour to the leftover, congealed oatmeal, and then make patties and fry them up in a little butter. Serve like pancakes, with syrup or jam. Yum!