Maple Pumpkin Muffins

January 31, 2011 1:25 pm

Here’s another great recipe from Steph Chows. Muffins are her specialty – so trust that these are delicious!

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup bran flakes (crushed)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash of salt
1/4 cup splenda
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup maple pumpkin better butter
1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk

Directions

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a medium bowl beat together the sugars and egg. Stir in maple pumpkin better butter and yogurt, finally stir in the skim milk. Add wet to dry and stir until just barley combined. This only made 9 muffins… whoops. Next time I’ll either 1.5 times the recipe… or just make 6 really big muffins!

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.

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Nutty Chocolate Crispy Treats

January 17, 2011 10:37 am

About 3 years ago I discovered blogging, and more importantly bloggers. It was a network of thousands of women, who like me, had some sort of corporate job and found their creative outlet through sharing recipes, fitness goals and weight loss goals. Before I found healthy living blogs, I felt emptier…like how could I be the only person who had an interest outside of work that I found so much better than work? Now that I’ve been reading healthy living blogs for about 3 years, its a part of my everyday routine. I start the morning with a cup of coffee and go to my google reader to see what my fave bloggers have to say.

One of the blogs that I fell in love with 3 year ago was Steph Chows. Whenever I need to “healthify” a cookie, pie or muffin, Steph’s blog is the first (and usually only) place that I have to go. Rather than playing around with how much pumpkin or applesauce to add, I just use Steph’s research! A handful of Better Butter recipes found their inspiration from Steph Chows.

I sent Steph a few Better Butter samples and to my delight she’s created a recipe for me. Of course she made something that I’ve been intimated by and she did it with ease. Thanks Steph!!

Nutty Chocolate Crispy Treats

adapted from Kellogg’s site recipe, photo by Steph

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups crispy brown rice cereal
1/2 cup Nutty Chocolate Chip Better Butter

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add Better Butter until totally stirred in, then stir in brown rice cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares.

Steph writes “These were happily devoured at work and everyone loved the slightly softer texture the crisp squares had. (I hate when a rice crispy treat is rock hard don’t you?)”

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Decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

January 13, 2011 4:03 pm

Its cookie exchange time! It might seem like the sort of thing you do in December, but Steph, the organizer of our cookie exchange realized its good to look forward to something sweet in January. For the last two years, Steph’s organized bloggers and readers into pairs to exchange jams, cookies and other fun treats. I was paired up with a blogger from Denver, CO who sent me not one, but two types of creative cookies: Earl Gray Cookies AND Gouda Apple Cookies.  The Early Gray cookies were enjoyed with afternoon tea, while the Gouda Apple were eaten with hot bowl of chili.

I wanted to make some cookies with Better Butter that Christie would enjoy. The cookies are OOWEY, GOOWEY, CHEWY. Its brownie meets cookie. Yummers!

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 jar Nutty Chocolate Chip
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup sugar + 1 tsp molasses (or just 1 cup brown sugar)
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 2 whole Eggs, Cold
  • 2 cups All-purpose Flour
  • ½ cups Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder1¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat together the butter, peanut butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract. Scrape the bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips and peanuts.

Drop by two heaping tablespoonfuls of dough, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the outside of the cookies are set but the middles are still soft. Cool cookies on the baking sheets. Yields 24 cookies.

Send to cookie exchange buddy!

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Chocolate Apricot Muffins

January 10, 2011 10:30 am

This recipe was created by one of our favorite bloggers, Elina at Healthy and Sane. Check out her blog for many more creative and healthy recipes.

Wet ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 1 egg
  • 1T canola oil
  • 2T Better Butter nutty chocolate chip

Dry ingredients:

  • 4oz whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2.5T cacao powder
  • 1t instant coffee
  • 1t baking powder
  • 1/2t salt
  • 4T sugar (these were not too sweet, use more if you prefer sweet muffins)
  • 1 cup apricots
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Mix all wet ingredients in one bowl. Mix all dry ingredients in second bowl. Combine the 2, add mix-ins. Bake at 350 for 16 minutes. Makes 6 muffins.

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Maple Pumpkin Granola Bars

January 3, 2011 1:51 pm

Maple Pumpkin Granola Bars

After an all-you-can-eat-and-drink-run, starting on Thanksgiving and ending on New Years Day, I think most people are ready for a bit of detox. Salads, lean protein and healthy fats all of a sudden seem more appealing than cookies and roasts, so below you’ll find a granola recipe to satisfy those clean eating cravings. Honestly, this is one of the best granola bars I’ve ever tried. You can wrap the bars individually and bring as a healthy snack or breakfast, but you can also crumble the bars into your yogurt for a little morning mix.

Ingredients

  • 3 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1 jar of maple pumpkin peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • ¾ cup organic cane sugar (or brown sugar)
  • ½ cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup cranberries
  • 1/4 cup almond slivers

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Using a mixer, whisk together Better Butter, pumpkin, sugar, honey, and vanilla extract until blended. Slowly pour oats and stir into mixture. Add coconut, cranberries and nuts (or your choice of additions).
  3. Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Determine time based on preference: crunchy bars or soft. We prefer crunchy and did 45 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars.

Nutritional Stats

Calories 165, Fat 5.8g, Carb 26.7g, Fiber 2.1g, Protein 3.5g, Vitamin A 42%

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Better Butter Heath Bar Cookies

December 26, 2010 9:03 am

As 2010 comes to a close, I find myself examining the previous year and like most, making ambitious plans for the next. Exactly a year ago I was working for one of the biggest corporate giants, IBM, traveling non-stop-living-out-of-a-suitcase and wondering how I would ever be able to make a living in the nutritious food space. Two months later I was writing a business plan and hoarding money like there was no tomorrow. And, two months after that I was phoning the manager I had never met to inform him I was pursuing other opportunities. In the past 8 months I’ve gone through the legal aspects of food licensing, started at one production kitchen and moved to another, learned what it meant to be at the other side of a farmers’ market, made it to the shelves of local stores and launched online sales. Not bad for year 1, but a long way to money being brought home. In the year to come, I hope to become better at handling the highs and lows of owning a small business with an even-keeled approach.

Note to self, even though there’s no money being made, there is an unlimited supply of Better Butter. With that said, here’s a great recipe for a lighter peanut butter Heath cookie. We use the same base as the Better Butter & Jelly thumbprint cookie so really you can use this base for any cookie. Instead of creating a thumbprint we added Heath bar crumbs to the batter and topped off with some peanut butter chips.

Better Butter Heath Bar Cookies

1/3 cup Earth Balance (or butter)

½ cup light brown sugar

¾ cup Honey Nut Banana Better Butter

2 tbsp almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 Heath bars (or 1/2 cup of crumbles)

2 tbsp peanut butter chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, Better Butter, milk and vanilla extract until creamy. In a large bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet in mixer. Add Heath bar crumbles. Decorate top with peanut butter chips. Roll batter into 1 inch balls and place a dozen balls on each cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Press ball flat with spatula or hand.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Start keeping close eye at about 9 minutes to avoid burning. As soon as bottom starts to brown, remove. Transfer cookies to cooling rack. Makes about 30 cookies.

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Better Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

December 20, 2010 10:22 am

Its that time of year, everywhere you turn, you’re bound to run into cookies. The pants get tighter and your appetite bigger. Cookies become an expected norm and the thought process is “I just had lunch, now I need a cookie”, and the same goes for dinner. Since we’re obviously going to have those cookies, we wanted to create a few recipes that wouldn’t make the pants tighter. A cookie party commenced and we created a lighter version of 4 holiday cookies. Trust us, you give nothing up on taste.

Better Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

1/3 cup Earth Balance (or butter)

½ cup light brown sugar

¾ cup Honey Nut Banana Better Butter

2 tbsp almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp preserves or jam (strawberry, apricot, whatever your preference)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, Better Butter, milk and vanilla extract until creamy. In a large bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet in mixer. Roll batter into 1 inch balls and place a dozen balls on each cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Press ball flat with spatula and then use your thumb to make indentation. Add about 1/2 teaspoon into indentation.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Start keeping close eye at about 9 minutes to avoid burning. As soon as bottom starts to brown, remove. Transfer cookies to cooling rack. Makes about 30 cookies.

Nutritional Stats

Calories 79, Fat 3.8g, Carbs 10.2g, Protein 1.4g

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread

December 12, 2010 6:16 pm

This recipe comes courtesy of our very own web developer, Heidi! For the original musings please visit her blog, 33flavors.

One of our favorite things about baking with Better Butter, is cutting out the butter from the recipe. Unlike butter, nutbutters have healthy fats so its a great switch. Heidi stuck to her favorite banana bread recipe but replaced the butter (3/4 stick)  with Nutty Chocolate Chip Better Butter. It gave the bread just a hint of chocolate flavor with tiny chocolate chips strewn throughout.

Adapted from The New Best Recipe

 Ingredients

2 cups (9 oz) flour
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large ripe bananas
3 oz (6 tbsp) Nutty Chocolate Chip Better Butter
1/4 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a nonstick loaf pan, or just the bottom of a regular loaf pan. (I use an 8″x4″ pan although the original recipe suggests a 9″x5″ pan. Bake it about 10 minutes longer if using the smaller size pan.)

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.

Mash together the bananas, Better Butter, buttermilk (or yogurt), and eggs in a medium bowl. I used a potato masher for this but a hand mixer or even a blender would work. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape the batter in the prepared pan.

Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes (65 minutes for a smaller pan). Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (The bread can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

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Better Butter Parties with the Locals at a Holiday Cocktail Event

December 6, 2010 12:08 pm

What did Better Butter get up to over the weekend?  It hit the town for a party appearance at On the Vedge Night at Tu Belleza Studio in Northern Liberties.

The festively-dressed tarts (find the recipe here) were the perfect two-bite treat for the guests at this Vegan Cocktail Party. At only 50 calories per tart,  this recipe proves that peanut butter can be a light and forgiving dessert that you can still enjoy a glass of wine with.  The guests could not believe that the filling was only creamy peanut butter. There was even a Better Butter Giveaway at the end of the night.

Both the Nutty Chocolate Chip and the Maple Pumpkin (our two vegan flavors) were piped into mini pastry shells. The Chocolate was topped with Cranberry Preserves, but feel free to experiment. We think some crushed candy canes or leftover holiday cookie crumbs would both work quite nicely as toppings.

Remember, Better Butter loves to party and is quite a crowd pleaser. Check out our Events Page to find out where we’ll be next.

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Better Butter Just Got Better: Buy Better Butter Online!

December 1, 2010 8:19 am

So you’ve tried Better Butter while visiting Philadelphia and then we broke your heart and sent you back home to That Other Brand.

Cheer up, Peanut Butter Connoisseur. Better Butter is now available online!

See, it’s almost 2011, and we’re ready to spread the joy that Is Better Butter for those want a healthier, delicious option made with all natural ingredients and half the fat and calories of other nut butters.

We’re now shipping to all 48 contiguous states. Just pick your flavor, place your order, and we’ll ship to you in our insulated foam containers with Ice-Brix. We ship Monday – Wednesday via FedEx Ground Shipping.

You better make sure you have some clean spoons ready. Then tweet @mybetterbutter to let us know where you’re enjoying Better Butter. We’d love to know!

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