Avocado Brownies

Brownies are a perfect place to slip in some creamy avocado. In place of some of the butter, avocado adds creaminess with more nutrients and fewer calories. You will never know there's a healthy fruit in there, thanks to the cocoa and vanilla. 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup mashed avocado (1 large or 2 small)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil or 1 stick melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda, crushing any lumps of cocoa with the back of your spoon.
3. In a food processor, puree the avocado until completely smooth. Add the white and brown sugars and process, then add the eggs, oil or butter and vanilla and process until smooth. Scrape the avocado mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top looks dry and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out with big wet crumbs attached-not dry. Don't overbake, if you like a gooey brownie, take it out while a little gooey in the middle and chill to make it easier to cut.
5. Cut into 16 squares and serve.

Serving Suggestions

Serve these tasty brownies plain or dusted with powdered sugar. For a super-chocolate treat, drizzle with melted chocolate.

Authored by Robin Asbell. Reprinted by permission from StrongerTogether.coop. Find articles about your food and where it comes from, recipes and a whole lot more at www.strongertogether.coop

10 Ways to Cook with Ginger

Ginger is a great source of vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, copper and manganese. It's also widely studied for its medicinal benefits, including aiding nausea and vomiting, relieving the pain of osteoarthritis, and possibly a factor in treating heart disease. Of course, it's also delicious in all sorts of dishes and versatile. Try it using one of the techniques below.

1. Make sauces, dressings and dips all perk up with the addition of ginger. For a simple dipping or marinating sauce, add minced ginger to soy sauce. For a salad dressing upgrade, stir a bit of minced ginger to an otherwise plain vinaigrette.

2. Combine it with red miso and tahini in this colorful Kale Salad with Ginger Miso Dressing

3. Enhance flavor. This Ginger Beurre Blanc Sauce would nicely flavor any seafood or chicken, for starters.

4. Add it to grain dishes and mashed sweet potatoes.

5. Spruce up a simple stir fry with beef, chicken, or veggies. In this Grilled Tofu with Cilantro Ginger Pesto, ginger combines with cilantro.

6. Add fruit. Apples, pears and other fruit are delicious when seasoned with ginger. Sprinkle minced ginger on top of the fruit before baking or cook the fruit in gingered butter until softened.

7. Pickle it. Pickled Ginger is great for cleansing the palate or a light snack. This version is easy to make and, unlike many commercial varieties, uses no food dyes.

8. Add it to sweets. Dried and ground ginger performs well in desserts, like spice cookies, carrot cakes, or pumpkin and apple pie fillings.

9. Stir into cream cheese for spreading on fruit bread.

10. Serve it with curry. Offer tasty little bites alongside curried dishes.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Gingerbread is already a celebration of spices and deep, sweet molasses, and when you make it into a cupcake and add delicious cinnamon frosting, gingerbread becomes even more celebratory. The creamy frosting is a perfect foil for the dense, rich cupcakes.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 large eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup hot coffee or black tea

Frosting

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a 12 cupcake pan with paper liners, and butter the top of the pan as well. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, then the molasses and honey. Beat until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the pastry and unbleached flours, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, clove and black pepper. Stir to mix, then beat into the butter mixture. Pour in the hot coffee or tea and stir to mix well.
3. Portion into the 12 cupcake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out dry.
4. For frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese, scraping down and beating until smooth. Add the cinnamon and powdered sugar and beat until smooth, drizzle in the vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread or pipe a 2 tablespoon portion of frosting on each cupcake.

Maple and Dried Fruit Stuffed Baked Apples

Baked apples are one of those old-fashioned desserts that should not be forgotten. Simply core whole apples and fill the cavities with crunchy nuts and chewy fruit, then baste them with cider and maple syrup for a timeless delicious treat.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 4 medium dried figs, chopped
• 2 tablespoons sliced, almonds
• 2 tablespoons pecan pieces, chopped
• 6 large apples
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 equal pieces
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the sliced almonds in a small sauté pan over medium heat and toss, moving constantly over the heat until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes, cool and chop. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, dried fruit and nuts. Cut off the tops of the apples with a paring knife, to make a little lid like on a Jack-O-Lantern. Set the apple tops aside. Remove the cores of the apples without cutting through the bottom using a small melon baller or paring knife. If using a paring knife, cut a circle straight down. Use the tip of the knife to cut the core into pieces, angling across the cylinder to disconnect the pieces from the bottom and pull them out.
2. Place the apples in a baking pan or casserole dish and stuff the cavities with the fruit and nut mixture. Place a piece of butter on top of the mixture.
3. Mix the apple cider and maple syrup together, pour into the bottom of the baking pan and bake the apples, uncovered, basting every 10 minutes, until they are tender when pierced with a paring knife, 30 to 40 minutes. Carefully place the reserved apple tops on the apples at 20 minutes.
4. When the apples are tender, transfer them to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Pour the pan juices into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer the mixture until it becomes syrupy and reduces to a sauce, about 10 minutes. Serve over the apples.

Authored by Robin Asbell. Reprinted by permission from StrongerTogether.coop. Find articles about your food and where it comes from, recipes and a whole lot more at www.strongertogether.coop

Eggnog Spiced Sugar Cookies

Total Time: 15 to 25 minutes

Servings: Approximately 2 dozen cookies

If you love eggnog (and even if you don't), the delightful aroma and flavor of cinnamon and nutmeg make these perfect holiday treats.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup eggnog

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix butter and sugar until creamy, then add egg, vanilla and eggnog; mix well. When liquid mixture is combined, add the flour mixture and stir until well blended.
3. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut with cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Or roll dough into balls and slightly press on to an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8-12minutes (depending on thickness) or until golden brown on the edges.

Authored by Organic Valley and Simply Organic. Reprinted by permission from StrongerTogether.coop. Find articles about your food and where it comes from, recipes and a whole lot more at www.strongertogether.coop

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Total Time: 1 hour; 15 minutes active. Servings: 8

This classic, easy pumpkin pie is one you'll want to make over and over again.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups (or 1 15-oz can) pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 9-inch homemade pie crust or prepared pie crust
• Whipped cream (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400⁰F.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except pie crust and optional whipped cream and beat until smooth.
3. Pour into pie shell and bake at 400⁰F for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350⁰F and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Cool on a wire rack for 2-3 hours before slicing. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if using.

Reprinted by permission from StrongerTogether.coop. Find articles about your food and where it comes from, recipes and a whole lot more at www.strongertogether.coop