Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting

I still have my maiden name even though my husband and I have been married over 10 years. The thought of changing to my husband's name was never something that I ever really though about. My husband and I were both working on our master's degrees when we got married and professionally it made more sense to keep my maiden name. Plus I joked with my husband that I wasn't property and there was no reason I needed a new identity just because we got married. Oftentimes I have to explain to people that yes my husband and I are married, no I did not change my name. Honestly, I find the whole thing a big hassle and not something that makes my marriage any stronger. A commitment is a commitment whether I took his name or not. I'm no more likely to get divorced due to a different last name than if we shared the same. My oldest uses my different last name as a source of pride, he tells people that his mommy is strong enough to be different. I love his saying and it's the perfect description of how I run my life and the values that I want my kids to understand. A unifying bond has nothing to do with a shared last name, it has to do with the love that connects the people within it.

One thing that brings my family together is dessert. We all love dessert. My husband is picky about the kind of dessert, but my kids and I will pretty much eat anything with sugar. Since sugar should be eaten in moderation, we don't enjoy dessert all the time. When I do make sweet goods I also try to modify the ingredients to be healthier by using alternative flours and natural sugars. Recently I tried a new recipe for Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting. The recipe is as follows.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living.

Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting

Recipe Type: Dessert

Preparation Time: 0h, 15m

Cooking Time: 0h, 20m

Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon grate lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest.
4. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes.
5. Add in lemon juice, vanilla, and egg.
6. Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients.
7. Add yogurt just until the batter comes together.
8. In a paper lined or greased muffin tin add the batter to each cup 3/4 of the way full.
9. Bake 18-20 minutes.
10. Let cool before frosting.

Fresh Raspberry Frosting

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Place berries and sugar in a food processor and puree.
2. Using a sieve or cheesecloth pass mixture through pressing out solids.
3. Beat butter until fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
4. Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time.
5. Add berries until frosting is light and fluffy.
6. Store in the fridge for up to two days.

Tips: 

• Paper liners make it much easier to take the cupcakes out of the muffin tin. 
• I have used both Greek yogurt and regular and they both worked well, plus the Greek yogurt has added protein. 
• Don't worry if a few seeds get into the frosting, after they are pureed in the food processor they really aren't noticeable. 
• I tried the frosting with a small amount of almond extract and it was delicious. A small amount of vanilla extract would also work. 

A Great Way to Celebrate Summer Berries: Dark Chocolate and Fresh Raspberry Mix-It-Up Muffins

Gluten-Free Fresh Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins

Fresh berries never last long in my household. Between my two boys and I we are able to eat almost our weight in blueberries, blackberries and raspberries during the summer months. Growing up there was a large patch of wild blackberries that we would go every summer to pick. We would collect as many fresh berries as we could carry home and my mother would bake pies and desserts for weeks. I remember being covered head to toe in berry juice and being as happy as can be. My two boys seemed to have inherited my love of all things berries, they will go into the fridge and sneak as many as they can get their hands on. Luckily berries have been inexpensive recently so I have been baking and cooking with them frequently and allowing my boys as many bowls as they can handle (within reason). This week I tried a new recipe for Mix-It-Up Muffins from the June 2013 issue of Parents Magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 10 muffins. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First, I made two batches of muffins, one gluten-free and one regular. I made half the muffins with carrots and raisins (not pictured) and half dark chocolate-raspberry. As I always do when making muffins I used foil liners. They are so much easier to unstick the muffins from, especially when using gluten-free flours. One step that the recipe leaves out is to roll the berries in a small amount of flour before adding them to the batter. This allows the berries to not 'bleed' into the rest of the muffin batter.

My youngest son was a larger fan of these muffins than my oldest. I would suggest a few changes to the original recipe. First the raspberries ended up a little soggy in the recipe. I would cut the overall amount used or switch to using blueberries and roasted cut-up almonds instead. The recipe would also work well with the dark chocolate chips and dried blueberries, cherries or cranberries. This would also keep the berries from making the muffins soggy. The nice thing about this recipe is that it can be modified very easily to suit your tastes and what you have in your pantry. White chocolate chips, nuts, raisins and dried coconut would all work very well with the original recipe.

For the recipe go to Dark Chocolate and Fresh Raspberry Muffins.  (registration required)

Lemon Raspberry Coffeecake

Don't you love how school starts and then everyone in the house gets sick? Well, that has been my week so far. My oldest started school last Monday and this morning we all woke-up sick. Love how that works. In order to make myself feel better I baked blueberry biscuits for dinner. They did make me feel better, so I say my cooking medicine must work. Growing up whenever I got sick my mom would cook and bake whatever I wanted. This was especially great when I started to feel better and I was allowed to eat brownies for breakfast to get me to eat. Granted most of the time I hadn't eaten for days and my mom was just trying to get me to eat something regardless of if it was healthy. I just remember lots of ice cream breakfasts, which were pretty great. Today my son ate nothing all day until I baked blueberry biscuits. I sat there watching him eat and thought of my mom and ice cream for breakfast. I love how food can evoke such powerful memories. Before I got sick last week I made another recipe which I think of in relation to my mom, coffeecake. She loved baking and eating pretty much any variety of coffeecake, so I was interested when Better Homes and Gardens had a recipe for Lemon-Raspberry Coffeecake in the April issue.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 60 minutes of total time (plus cooling), 15 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients, most of them I already had in my pantry cupboard. For the raspberries I used fresh since they were easy to find and I prefer them to frozen when they are in season. I am horrible about remembering to set out my cream cheese to soften so I take the easy way out and zap it in the microwave for a couple of seconds. I did not put parchment on the bottom of my pan like the recipe suggested. I know every baker but me swears by this method. I prefer to just use baking spray and I have never had a problem with any baked goods not coming out of the pan. My total baking time was slightly longer than the 30 minutes suggested by the recipe. I also turned my pan halfway through the baking time. Finally, I chose not to top the cake with powdered sugar, I thought it was great the way that it was. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was very pleased by how great this coffeecake came out looking. It was beautiful and it tasted just as great. Even my husband who doesn't like cake had a slice, which is saying a lot. I really like that the coffeecake has a nice taste from the cream cheese without being too rich or sweet. The raspberries are sweet and provide a nice taste and texture to the recipe. Overall, a recipe that I would definitely make again.

For the recipe go to Lemon-Raspberry Coffeecake.

Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins

I am horrible about breakfast foods. I have tried unsuccessfully over the years to encourage myself to like breakfast and all my attempts have failed. Really I can look all the way back to my childhood and see the basis for my breakfast issues. When I was a senior in high-school my idea of a healthy breakfast entailed a cup of coffee and a spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar. This wasn't the best beginning to my day which started with working two hours before I went to a full day of classes, then hours of swimming and dance classes in the evenings. College was even worse, I moved from a scoop of peanut butter to chocolate chip scones or giant cookies (and still lots of coffee). After having kids I started to try to change my habits. I was successful at getting my kids to eat healthy every morning, as for me I'm still a work in progress. Some days I do great, others I have a large cup of coffee and a scoop of peanut butter. Oh well. One breakfast food that I have found that my whole family enjoys is muffins. Last week I tried a new recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins which looked very easy and a great way to start the day.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes a total of an hour and 25 minutes and makes 12 servings. I did make a few modifications based on ingredients that I already had in my pantry. I did not have dark chocolate chips so instead I used semi-sweet. For the raspberries I used frozen since the raspberries available locally lately have been pretty mediocre. Instead of a 1/2 cup of butter I substituted unsweetened applesauce. I have discussed before how I prefer to substitute applesauce for butter or oil in a large number of baked goods. It keeps the baked goods moist while greatly reducing the fat. Finally, instead of adding vinegar to milk I used the low-fat buttermilk I already had in the fridge. Since my muffins had applesauce instead of butter my overall cooking time was much longer, approximately an additional 10 minutes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved these muffins and didn't notice the substitution of applesauce for butter. I liked how they were great for breakfast or a snack and had a taste that was appealing to both my kids and my husband and I. These muffins could be modified to use a variety of fillings. They would be delicious with chopped apples and nuts, especially with the applesauce modification. Overall a very easy breakfast muffin recipe.

For the recipe go to Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tofu Pie

One day in middle school I decided that I was going to be a vegetarian. I grew up in Seattle and it seemed that in the 90's everyone was turning away from meat. So I jumped on the bandwagon. Only problem was that both of my parents still ate meat and I had no idea what to eat. I would love to say that I was great about eating beans and a variety of healthy foods. That would be a lie. I was horrible with my diet. I was heavily involved in swimming and dancing in high-school and I lived on yogurt and fake meat products, and cheese. A lot of cheese. There was one other food that I feel in love with and still use frequently today, tofu. I love how easy and versatile tofu is to use in baking and cookies and my oldest son loves it! I eventually gave up on being a vegetarian after over ten years. I was a horrible vegetarian to begin with and I became very anemic. I didn't give up tofu though and I love to use it in recipes. This week I tried a new recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Tofu Pie from Eating Well Magazine, which looked very easy and delicious.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 2 1/4 hours of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. I did make a few modifications. First instead of semisweet chocolate chips I used dark chocolate chips. I'm a big fan of dark chocolate and use it frequently in recipes. For the raspberries I used frozen, the fresh raspberries at my local supermarket were less than stellar so I passed. Since my kids were going to be eating the majority of the pie I substituted a low-fat graham cracker crust instead of a regular. My blender had a horrible time with the tofu, I would suggest using a food processor instead. My pie came out much more purple than the magazine photo, but it was still yummy! I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With my oldest home for summer break we have been going through a ton of food. I literally have been baking twice a day to keep up with my two growing boys. I love that this recipe uses tofu in a dessert. The texture was delicious and both of my boys absolutely loved this recipe. I will definitely be making this again!

For the recipe go to Chocolate Raspberry Tofu Pie.

Gluten-Free Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Oftentimes at the end of the week I am left with ingredients that I didn't use all of in my weekly menu plans. With meat and commonly used items like bread flour that is never a problem. However, when I buy specialty items for a particular recipe, I am left with trying to figure out what to do with the remaining ingredients. A couple of months back, I made a batch of delicious spelt pancakes. The pancakes turned out great, but I was left with half of a package of whole grain oat flour and no idea what to use it for. Last week while trying to decide on an afternoon school snack for my oldest son, I came up with the idea of using homemade jam and the oat flour to bake Raspberry Oatmeal Bars. Here is the recipe:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
• 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup Oat Flour
• 1 cup Rolled Oats
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. grated Lemon Zest
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 2/3 cup Raspberry Jam

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 8 by 8 pan. Combine melted butter, and 1 tsp. vanilla in a bowl. Add flour, oats, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt until well mixed. Press 1 cup of the mixture firmly into bottom of the greased pan. Add remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla into raspberry jam and spread evenly over top. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over top and bake 20-25 minutes. Let bars cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. Makes 16 bars.

These bars only lasted a couple hours after I made them, they were delicious. I used homemade raspberry jam, which I had canned last month. The recipe would work just as well with store bought preserves or jam. A very easy gluten-free dessert recipe.

Adapted from the back of the Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Oat Flour package.

Taste of Home Raspberry Onion Relish and Mango Cuke Relish

Growing up hotdogs were a summer food in our household and normally included ketchup and mustard. It wasn't until I moved to the state of West Virginia that I found out that hotdogs were a whole meal onto itself. People here can get very opinioned about the right hotdog stand and way to make the perfect hotdog. After eight years I am slowly accumulating to this new hotdog state and have come to appreciate a well made hotdog with 'slaw and sauce. Recently, the June/July issue of Taste of Home magazine had a recipe for Raspberry Onion Relish and Mango Cuke Relish, which I thought would be got accompaniments to brats and a new twist on my family's hotdog routine.

These two relishes are very easy to put together. The raspberry onion relish prep time is literally a couple of minutes. The mango cuke relish, takes about twenty minutes of prep due to the fruit and vegetables needing to be chopped. I had no problem finding any of the ingredients for either relish and had more than half the ingredients already in my pantry. I followed the recipes as stated with no modifications. I used the relish on stadium brats which I grilled on my indoor grill and used Heiner's sunny buns. My husband and two boys insist that sunny buns are the best buns locally available.

These recipes were a huge hit in my household. My two boys love fresh fruit and were enthusiastic about the raspberry onion relish. My husband liked both relishes, but preferred the mango cuke relish. I liked how easy these relishes were to prepare and they were a great summer spin on a traditional brat.

For the recipe go to Mango Cuke Relish and Raspberry Onion Relish.