Baking with the Bolliers

It's fall break and I wanted to bake up something special for the boys for breakfast. We have a bunch of raisins and dates, and to be honest I'm getting sick of working with apples. We've made apple butter, apple pie, apple cider donuts, apple cake, and batches of dried apple chips...   You could substitute any dried fruit you had on hand in these muffins. In fact I'm thinking of doing an apricot and apple version in the future with some of the fruit we dried. You could also sub out the nuts easily. Just use this recipe as a base for whatever calls to you. If I wasn't allergic I bet coconut and chocolate chips would rock these muffins too with the hints of orange and cinnamon.  Makes 15 muffins 1 cup of rolled oats 1 cup of all-purpose flour 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/4 cup of finely chopped walnuts, toasted 1/3 cup of raisins 1/2 cup of chopped dates 1 stick...

When someone gives you several pounds of raisins, your apple trees are loaded with fruit, and it's you favorite season of all you make a cake. I had zero direction when I set out to make this. All I knew was that I wanted to make an apple dessert and use up some of the raisins I had. I had soaked some raisins in brandy the week before to use in oatmeal cookies but wasn't thrilled with the results.  The raisins took on the flavor of the rum and created a nice filling with the brown sugar (I may add nuts next time for a little something extra). The cake came out beautifully but I felt it looked a bit plain so I decided to use the rum I drained off the raisins for a butter rum glaze. I boiled it for a few minutes to take the alcohol bite out of it and make it a bit more kid friendly. River loved it but Madden picked out the apples and raisins. The adults gave it high marks so we are sharing the recipe.  For Swirl 1/2 C Brown Sugar 1C Raisins  3/4 C Rum For Cake 2...

My friend Maia sent me a text asking if I had tried this Vintage Whipping Cream Cake that was taking the internet by storm. I think either the headline was a bit misleading or I'm even more disconnected than I thought.  This cake should however be showing up in kitchens and gatherings all over this summer. It's delicious! The biggest surprise for me was the super crunchy, sugary crust that forms all over the exterior from baking the cake slowly and starting out in a cold oven.  Ingredients 1 C Butter, softened 3 C Sugar 6 Eggs 3 C Flour 1 C Whipping Cream 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 1/2 tsp Almond Extract Leave butter to soften at room temperature. Pull eggs and whipping cream out about half an hour before you plan to assemble the cake so they can come to room temperature for best results.  In a large mixing bowl add butter and sugar, cream well. Next add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg. Pour extracts into whipping cream then add flour and...

I asked River what kind of sweet treat we should bake this weekend and he said "Cookies!" I wasn't really sure what kind of cookies they should be, since River is allergic to chocolate he has forced me to step outside the box more when coming up with different flavors.  I knew I wanted to do something with one of my nut flours and bake a gluten free treat. I went to Instagram for some inspiration and found a brown sugar cookie that looked good. I decided to change up a few things including the flavor profile and chai spice these crispy treats.  The hubs immediately went back for seconds and proclaimed they were good with beer which is the highest of complements and Madden said all he needed was a cold glass of milk. Whatever beverage you choose I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.  Makes 3 dozen cookies 1 1/2 C Butter, softened 1 1/2 C Brown Sugar (not packed) 1 Egg,  plus 1 Egg Yolk 1tsp Vanilla 1 tsp Chai Spice * recipe below 2 C Cashew Flour, finel...

I wanted to create a cookie that was reminiscent of one of my favorite childhood sandwiches; peanut butter, banana, and honey on whole wheat bread. It is a comfort food with the right balance of sweet and salty, smooth and creamy, with just a touch of wholesomeness. It has been a hit with tasters, let me know what you think in the comments. Makes 22 Large Cookies Ingredients: 1/2 C Butter 1/4 C Peanut Butter 1/2 C Honey 1/2 C Sugar 1 Banana 1 Egg 1 tsp Vanilla 1 1/2 C Flour 1/2 tsp Baking Soda 1 C Oats 8 oz Peanut Butter Chip (optional but tasty) Preheat oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat. In a large bowl beat together butter, peanut butter, sugar, and honey until smooth and creamy. Add in banana, egg, and vanilla, beat until combined. Next add in flour and baking soda stirring until just starting to come together, then add in oatmeal and peanut butter chips. Scoop  6 or 7 cookies onto parchment paper lined sheet pan using an ice cream ...

My grandmother made Harvey Wallbanger cake at every family function for as long as I can remember. Birthdays, holiday parties, anytime we'd all get together this cake would be at the center of the table, but after grandma passed away and I became more conscientious of the ingredients that we were eating I stopped making the cake. It her version was made with yellow cake mix vanilla pudding mix which both contained artificial colors and flavors and oftentimes palm oil which I'm allergic to. For a few years I've been trying to find a recipe that matched what I remembered from Grandma's Harvey Wallbanger cake but was unable to find it from scratch recipe that really seemed to hit the mark. Finally I've come up with a recipe that matches the taste and texture of my grandma's Harvey Wallbanger recipe but without any of the artificial ingredients that they put in cake mixes and putting mixes now. I hope you enjoy it! Ingredients:  1 3/4 C Sugar 3/4 tsp Sal...

My cashew flour arrived a few days ago and I was really excited to try it. Since cashews are slightly sweet and neutral in flavor I thought it would be perfect for the blueberry muffins I wanted to make.  Nut flours do burn at higher temperatures so it was a bit risky cooking these at a high temperature for 8 minutes, but the trade off was I got a gluten free/ grain free muffin that looked more muffin-y. These were the most like what you would expect taste and texture wise from a traditional muffin. They were super moist and bursting with fresh juicy blueberries. If you have followed me for a while you know my muffin recipes are not super sweet cupcakes without frosting. They are lightly sweet breakfast treats that won't leave you with a sugar high. As an added nutritional bonus these babies are packed with protein from the cashew flour, a great way to start the day. -This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase after clicking the link I get a ...