(Low fat) Pumpkin Bread

2 cups brown sugar

4 egg whites
2 cups pure pumpkin
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. vanilla
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 cups white flour
3/4 c. wheat flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans.
In a large bowl, with wire wisk, combine brown sugar and egg whites. Add pumpkin, oil, yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmet, baking soda and salt.

Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
Add 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Pour batter into preapred pan. Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan 10 minutes before putting on wire rack.
Yield - 2 loaves

This recipe comes from Good Housekeeping and it is fabulous on it's own. I may be wrong to even mess with it. Click Here to view the original.

It bugged me because it only made one loaf and who wants to make just one loaf of bread? I tried to keep it low fat by keeping the oil the same with the recipe doubled.

If you don't have applesauce handy you could use 1/2 cup oil or you could use 1/4 cup oil and 1 cup plain yogurt.

The cookie Edward makes for Bella (Dark and Dreamy Chocolate Chip Cookie)

Using a Bosch mixer with wisps,
3/4 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) soft butter (room temperature)

Cream very well, 3 minutes

Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Cream again.

Change to dough hooks and add

*3 rounded cups flour

Add

1 bag milk chocolate chips 

1 bag of Dark Chocolate m&m's (12.6oz.)

When flour is mixed in and dough starts to take shape, it's ready. This should not take more than around one minute.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

* Rounded to me, means a round surface on the top, a little less than a heaping cup, but more than a level cup.

Remember that Bella's Birthday is Sept. 13

Pioneer Sheet Cake

Cook 1 cup raisins in 1 1/2 c water. Bring to a boil.
Drain and save 3/4 cup liquid, let mixture cool.

Combine
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup soft butter
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. soda dissolved in raisin liquid
2 cups flour
(Add this last and mix as little as possible.)
Add cooled raisins (or chocolate chips if you don't care for raisins.)
Spread in greased and floured 9x13 pan and cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Frosting:
2 Tablespoons soft butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tablespoon milk
Enough powdered sugar to make a glaze, or a thicker frosting if you like.

This is one of those old fashioned desserts. Couldn't even tell you where the original came from. I know my version is written on a paper sack! Double this to make cookie sheet size.

My kids won't eat raisins in a cake, so I hold them back and sprinkle 1/2 with raisins and 1/2 with chocolate chips. You could go straight chocolate chips if you wanted and skip the first two steps. This just reminds me of something the pioneer's would make, although I have no proof. But, they did make lots of things with raisins.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 large (32oz.) can of pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
3 cups sugar
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup plain yogurt or applesauce
Cream very well.

Add:
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
A sprinkling of nutmeg
A sprinkling of cloves

Mix again then add:
6 and 1/2 cups of flour
Mix until flour is incorporated.

Add 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Yes, you heard it right. This recipe is low-fat! These are spongy cookies that freeze very well and make for a great treat for a school lunch. You can feel good about eating two, three, maybe even four of these babies.

The original recipe calls for 5 cups of flour but with the extra yogurt and banana it is just too wet. I bumped it up to six but seven is way too much, so be careful you don't over-do your flour. I've done it many times and they get a bit too chewy.
This makes 80 cookies.

Chocolate Chip m&m Cookies

Using a Bosch mixer with wisps,

1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 lb. (4 sticks) soft butter

Cream very well, 3 minutes

Add:
4 beaten eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
Cream again.

Change to dough hooks and add

6 heaping cups flour
Add
1 bag milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 - 2 cups m&m's

When flour is mixed in and dough starts to take shape, it's ready. This should not take more than around one minute.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

This is the best cookie you will ever make. I have never met it's equal.

This cookie is great on it's own, but it can also turn into a fabulous holiday cookie by adding the pink and white m&m's for Valentines Day, red, white and blue for Independence day, or the red, brown and gold, for Halloween. Christmas m&m's are also available in their season.