After I started baking this morning, it hit me that these muffins would be the most wonderful way to use leftover sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving!  I know most people doctor them up with sugar and marshmallows.  In that case, I would back down on the 1/2cup of sugar that is called for in the recipe.  If I were using Thanksgiving leftovers, I would start with 1/4c. sugar and taste the batter before adding the eggs at the end.  At that point I would add a bit more if it needed more.

Start by mixing the wet ingredients together.  In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together – using only 3/4 c of the crumbs.  Combine the two bowls of ingredients and mix well.  Fill 12 muffin liners 2/3 full and top with remaining 1/4 cup wafter crumbs.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

I think you’ll find these to be so moist and fluffy because of the use of moist sweet potatoes and sour cream.  I used freshly milled spelt and I was amazed that it can turn out such a beautiful texture in a muffin!  I would never believe it’s completely whole grain if I hadn’t made it myself!  I hope you love them.  Happy Thanksgiving!

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I went to IHOP once and got these things they call a cinnastack.  It was sinful.  They should have called it a sin-a-stack.  This week IHOP was offering a free small stack if you made a donation to their cause.  I tried to go with the kids but there was barely standing room in the lobby because the line was so long!  We left and I promised to make the kids IHOP style pancakes this morning.  Here’s what I came up with!

First I made Grandma Ware’s pancakes.  Today I used flax milk with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice in lieu of buttermilk.  I also ground the spelt in my vitamix so I could feel like they were a little bit healthy under all that sugar and butter!  While those were cooking, I mixed up the cinnamon sugar butter.  It was just butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, pinch of salt and vanilla, mashed it up with a fork until it’s combined.  Spread a bit of this on each pancake.

Then I made the drizzle on top and based it loosely on my cream cheese frosting recipe.  Butter, cream cheese, milk, powdered sugar, vanilla, pinch of salt whisked together.  I ended up adding a bit more milk to mine because the drizzle was less drizzle and more clumpy.  See?

It tasted great, though!  Anyway, I added a little more milk and got it to be more like this.  If you want it even fancier for company, you could put it into a zip top bag, cut off the corner and drizzle it on really pretty.

So that’s it! If you want a deliciously sinful breakfast treat, this may be the one you need!

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The post “Cinnastack” craving satisfied! appeared first on Little Reasons.

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Start by mixing your dry ingredients together.  I usually pour them all in the bowl and give it a little whisk to incorporate.  

Mix the wet ingredients in a separate glass measuring cup.  Add zucchini and wet ingredients.  Stir to combine.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Cook on greased griddle.  And there you have it!

We served these with just butter on top.  The original recipe that we adapted recommended topping with syrup.  I thought with the chocolate chips, it was altogether unnecessary.  Even without syrup, these were such a hit that my kids asked for them over and over!  I ended up running out of zucchini and replaced it one day with yellow squash. Total success.  So if you have either one sitting on your counter, I think this would be a perfect Sunday morning breakfast tomorrow!

The post Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Pancakes appeared first on Little Reasons.

The post Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Pancakes appeared first on Little Reasons.

I love this recipe.  I found it years ago when someone shared it on Facebook, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t find the original location to give credit!  One of the things I love about this recipe is that it contains 6 bananas.  That’s a ton!  I don’t know about you, but when I have extra bananas, I have quite a few and my regular banana bread only takes 1!  So this is a great solution for the over ripe banana problem.  Second thing I love about it is that it holds up beautifully to substitutions.  I have a Vitamix dry container and use it to grind local wheat and spelt for flour.  But when I do that, some things just turn out really dense and wheaty.  In this recipe, I cannot tell that I used wheat flour, or raw sugar, or greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  It’s just amazing and decadent every time!  So without further ado, here is your next party pleaser.  Make sure you bring copies of the recipe with you when you take it somewhere because people will be asking!

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened

2 c.  sugar

4 eggs

6 bananas, mashed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 c. whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 c. sour cream or plain greek yogurt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda, and cocoa powder; mix well. Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

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