Baked sweet potato rice dumpling (tang yuan)

I always remembered how I started baking these gluten rice balls.

It’s summer all year around in Singapore. My son missed the celebrations and activities for the fall and winter especially Halloween (who doesn’t like Halloween?). So before our first Halloween in Singapore, I bought couple pumpkins and invited kids’ friends over for a pumpkin carving party. Then, I ended up having a lot of inner pulp. Despite of making pumpkin breads sharing with friends, I came up with the idea of mixing gluten rice flour and pumpkin purée together. Adding some cinnamon, forming them into 1″ balls and baking them at 350F. With a dusting of powdered sugar, these baked sweet rice balls were a big hit with my kids and their friends. These also resembled mini munchkins. So every now and then, I would make these sweet rice balls with pumpkin or sweet potato (yellow or purple kind) purée in Singapore if kids asked for donuts.

There was a Chinese New Year related celebration and performance in kids’ Chinese school on Sunday. I decided to contribute these treats and as usual, my daughter was very excited to help.

Ingredients:

1 cup gluten rice flour

1-2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

1/2 cup sweet potato purée (see note)

1/4-1/2 cup organic raw sugar (see note)

Mix all ingredients in the bowl.

Roll them into balls as the size of the cherry.
Since I had 1/2 cup gluten rice flour and a little less than 1/4 cup red beet juice (from making Chocolate beetroot cake) left, I decided to do an experiment. I poured the beet juice into the gluten rice flour, and add 2 tablespoon unsweetened apple sauce and 1/2 cup organic raw sugar. Woops! The dough was too soft to be form into balls. So I just scooped them out and flattened them like cookies. Baked them together at 350F for 20-25 minutes.

The ones with sweet potato purée tasted like small bites of pumpkin pie with a bit chewy texture. They were gone pretty fast after they were placed on the dessert plate at kids’ school. They were simple and delicious. The ones with beetroot juice lost pretty pink color after baking. My son joked that they looked like sliced pepperoni. Since they were plain gluten rice flour without any fat and much fruit/vegetable purée, they were chewier and turned harder the next day. They were best to be served warm.

Note:

I used the orange flesh kind of sweet potato purée, and found that they were sweet enough with 1/4 cup of sugar. But if you prefer them sweeter, use up to 1/2 cup of sugar. Or you can use honey (maple syrup for vegan).

If using different kind of sweet potato purée, you may need to adjust the amount of gluten rice flour and sugar. I made them with yellow and purple yams in Singapore. The purée were much sweeter but drier. So I didn’t use as much flour and at times even skipped sugar all together.

You can also add sprinkles of your preference before baking.

 

February 23, 2016 by tracy1153 Categories: Dessert, recipe, SnackTags: 4 ingredient snack, Cookies, Easy, Fat free, Gluten free, Gluten rice flour, Kids friendly, Oil free, Pumpkin, quick, Snack, Sweet potato, Sweet rice dumpling, Tang yuan, Vegan, Yam Leave a comment

banana cookies

These were really out of nowhere..

I promised my daughter to make treats for her to bring to Chinese school this afternoon. But I couldn’t make up my mind, either making mini muffins or cookies><. So I ended up meshing ripe banana, adding some apple sauce (to conceal the banana taste and smell), and this and that. As the result, these were chewier than muffins, but softer than cookies. These were really quick, healthy and kids’ friendly treats except those Sweethearts… Oh, well. It’s Valentine’s Day. Plus, my daughter had fun making them with me and claimed the ownership of them all afterwards:-).

ingredients:

1 medium ripe banana

1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

3 tablespoon organic unsweetened apple sauce

1 tablespoon avocado oil

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt (optional)

1 cup organic quick cooking oats

3 tablespoon organic raw sugar

In a bowl, meshed the banana with a fork.

Added the vanilla extract, apple sauce, and avocado oil, and mix well.

Folded in the flour, baking soda, salt if using, oats, and sugar.

The batter was quite sticky. So I used a teaspoon and the fork to scoop the batter into the mini muffin tin instead of shaping them into cookies.

Baked at preheated oven 350F for 10 minutes.

They have the mini muffin look but with the cookie taste. I couldn’t taste much of the banana in them^^. Somehow my daughter hates banana smell and taste after we moved back home. They were a bit too sweet to my taste but perfect to kids. The 3-ingredient banana cookies that I made before became a bit rubbery the next day. So I added a little bit oil to improve the taste. My daughter was smiling from ear to ear to present and share these cookies with her friends and teachers.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

February 14, 2016 by tracy1153 Categories: Dessert, recipe, SnackTags: Banana, Cookies, Dairy free, Easy, Healthy, Kids friendly, Oats, one bowl, quick, Vegan, Whole wheat Leave a comment

Beetroot cookies

My kids always had hard time getting up early on Saturday morning. Though I was determine to use up the last roasted beetroot, my daughter’s swimming class made pancake breakfast impossible. Then, my son had a play date in the afternoon. So I came up with a plan, using beetroot to make cookies (similar to my earlier posting of Avocado cookies). If the cookies were successful, boys would gobbled them up. That put this beetroot nightmare in rest (somehow, I can’t get rid off the earthy flavor in my head><. Now who is the picky eater?). What if the cookies failed? I chose not to think about that…

ingredients:

1 medium size roasted organic red beetroot  (about 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup organic raisins

3 tablespoon + 1/3 cup water (note)

3 tablespoon grounded organic golden flaxseed

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon organic apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup Bob red mill organic buckwheat pancake mix (note)

2 tablespoon organic raw sugar or more to your preference

2 cup organic rolled oats

In a glass measuring cup, stir 3 tablespoon grounded flaxseed into 1/3 cup of water and set aside.

Add roasted beetroot, raisins and 3 tablespoon of water in the food processor, and pulsed couple times until raisins break down into paste like texture. My aged food processor still left beetroot in some shreds. Scrap out the mixture in a bowl, add cinnamon and apple cider vinegar and mix well. Then, fold in the buckwheat pancake mix and sugar, and last the rolled oats.

Use a tablespoon to scoop them out on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Depending on the size of your cookies, bake at 375F preheat oven for about 20-30 minutes.

I got 21+1 2″ cookies. I ate one right after I took them out of oven^^. They are in this funky red color, very pretty from my point of view. I could taste the apple cider vinegar but couldn’t taste much of beetroot (ya!!). They are soft inside and a bit crunchy outside. 4 kids quickly finished 12 of them. At the pickup time, one boy said to his mom “the craisin cookies are delicious”. Shush! Don’t tell him what’s inside…

Note:

Depending on the moisture of your roasted beetroot, you may need to add more or less than 3 tablespoons of water in the food processor.

Bob’s red mill organic buckwheat pancake mix contains: buckwheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, wheat gulten, cane sugar, baking powder, sea salt. I just happened to have it and used it. I am pretty sure that you can use buckwheat flour, whole wheat flour (if not gulten free), or a combination of both. You may need to add 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, pinch of salt, and adjust the sweetness to your preference.

For any health reasons, you can also skip the sugar since the raisins add enough natural sweetness. They are much sweeter than my avocado cookies. I didn’t use the juice of beetroot from the roasting process. The juice is sweet but has stronger earthy smell that I am trying to cover up.

February 7, 2016February 7, 2016 by tracy1153 Categories: Dessert, recipe, SnackTags: beetroot, Buckwheat, Cookies, Easy, Egg free, Healthy, Kids friendly, Oats, Oil free, quick, Vegan 1 Comment

Banana breakfast cookies

During holidays, it’s really hard to stop kids from eating treats with artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives. The best way is to make your own. This morning I got up late. But I was determined to keep my promise, making my kids chocolate chip cookies to exchange the candies they have received from the school. I mashed three very ripe bananas (about 1 1/4 cups) and used them for two “simple and easy” kinds of cookies. They are definitely not the best cookies but at least pack with healthy grains and natural sweetness.

 

Ingredients for the first batch of cookies:

Half of the mashed bananas, a bit over 1 cup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt (optional)

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup instant cooking oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used 85%)

In a bowl, measure and pour in ingredients following the order and combine them together. Use the tablespoon to scoop them on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes.

 

Ingredients for the second batch of cookies:

Half of mashed bananas, a bit over 1 cup

3/4 cup instant cooking oats

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt (optional)

1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

In a bowl, measure and pour in the ingredients following the order and combine them together. The dough was a bit sticky. Again, use the tablespoon to scoop them out on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 350F for about 12 minutes.

I was joking with my kids that the first batch were kids cookies and the second batch were adult cookies. They tried both and for sure voted for chocolate chip cookies. I am not a chocolate person and therefore prefer the buckwheat oat kind, tender with a nutty flavor. And I just love the combination of cinnamon and apple cider vinegar.

These cookies were done within 30 minutes from preparation to finish. They don’t just look/smell good but also taste good. You can swap different grains and also add in nuts and/or dried fruits of your preference. Quick and healthy choice is right inside your pantry, isn’t it?

December 21, 2015 by tracy1153 Categories: recipe, SnackTags: Banana, Buckwheat, Cookies, Easy, Gluten free, Healthy, Oats, Oil free, one bowl, quick, sugar free, Vegan, Whole wheat 3 Comments

Kabocha squash cookies

Honestly, I haven’t been baking for days except making mini banana chocolate muffins for my daughter’s star student celebration. Why? I received this 48oz coffee cake (OMG) from my prior boss and various treats for the coming holiday. I have been stuffing myself and feeding kids those festive food while feeling so guilty><. No wonder people set their new year resolution to start eating healthy.. I am definitely one of them!!

So finallly, I am making these guilt free cookies using homemade kabobcha squash purée left from making the soup the other day.

Ingredients:

1 cup kabocha squash purée (note)

2 heaping tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

1/3 cup crasin or dried fruits of your preference

1/3 cup pecans or nuts of your preference, roughly chopped

1 cup instant cooking oats

combine all ingredients together. use ice cream scoop to make them into ball shapes or use tablespoon to flatten them into cookies. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. My daughter already swallowed three of them before the picture was taken:-).

Note:

you can also use sweet potato purée but may need to adjust the amount of oats added in depending on the moisture level of the purée.

December 20, 2015 by tracy1153 Categories: recipe, SnackTags: Chia seeds, Cookies, craisin, Easy, Gluten free, Healthy, Kabocha squash, Oat, Pecan, Vegan Leave a comment

Avocado oat cookies

Avocado in cookies?! No way! Yes way! Did the conversation between my kids and I sound familiar to you?

For a while, I was all over avocado as I was trying to incorporate different ingredients into my breakfast baking, simple whole food and nutrious. Then, I came across a Recipe and modified to what I preferred.

Avocado oat cookies

Ingredients:

1. 3 tablespoon grounded flaxseed.

2. 1/2 cup spelt flour (or cornmeal for gluten free)

3. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4. pinch of sea salt (optional)

5. 1 ripe haas avocado

6. 4 tablespoon raw sugar (or adjust to the sweetness of your preference)

7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extra

8. 2 cups of rolled oats

9. 1/2 cup of raisins, craisin, or dried fruits (no sugar added) of your choice

10. 1/4 cup of chopped almonds, walnuts, or pecans.

 

First, mixed ground flaxseed with 1/3 cup of water (or milk of your choice) and set aside. Second, mixed 1/2 cup spelt flour or cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and pinch of sea salt in another bowl. Third, meshed avocado with a fork and mixed in raw sugar, then stirred in flaxseed mixture and the flour mixture, and folded in oats and raisins and almonds. I used the tablespoon to scoop them onto parchment paper and baked in the preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. Last but not the least, let them cool down and enjoy them as breakfast and/or snack. “Uh, yummy”, my kid said:-).

Note: we didn’t taste much avocado in these cookies. And they tasted even better the next day.

 Update: 

I have used rye flour for low gluten and buckwheat flour for gluten free choice.

I substituted diced dates (about 12 or more depending on your preferred sweetness) for turbinado sugar and mix them with meshed avocado. And I have used 1-2 teaspoon organic cinnamon instead of organic vanilla extract, just my personal preference. I also skipped nuts because of the allergy concern at kids’ school. 

Last but not the least, I mixed the dough the night before, covered it tightly and put it in the refrigerator, and bake it the next morning. So the sweetness from the dates incorporated into the dough. Seriously, you don’t miss the sugar:-). And don’t over bake them. Check them at 15 minutes. That taste moist after cooling down a little bit. Just perfect!

 

June 26, 2015November 17, 2016 by tracy1153 Categories: recipeTags: avocado, Cookies, Dairy free, Gluten free, Oil free, Rolled oats, Vegan 3 Comments