All posts by Melissa

Cornbread Muffins {recipe}

Cupcakes and Muffins,

Cornbread MuffinsThese cornbread muffins are the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table. They are slightly sweeteened so they can work perfectly as a side dish, but they can also be enjoyed as a breakfast muffin or as a dessert. The yellow cornmeal gives these a great slight crunchy texture. These muffins come together so quickly and can be made in advance. You can easily double the recipe. One can of coconut milk has less than 2 cups of coconut milk so when I double the recipe I just add enough water to the coconut milk until there is 2 cups of liquid. No need to open a second can. Here’s my dairy free recipe:

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Cornbread Muffins {recipe}
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Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup coconut milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line one muffin tin with paper liners, set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir to combine.
  3. Add in the oil, egg, and coconut milk.
  4. Mix on low until combined.
  5. Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups.
  6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and spring back to the touch.

 

Fudgy Brownies {recipe}

Bars & Squares,

Fudgy Brownies - Lil Miss Cakes

My goal when developing my perfect brownie recipe was to create a dairy free brownie that tasted like it came out of a box when in fact it’s made from scratch. Why was this my goal? Because boxed brownie mix is just so good-one of the ultimate comfort foods from childhood. I tested and tested until I came up with a recipe I was really happy with, but couldn’t figure out the best way to bake them until I came across Alton Brown’s new technique for baking his brownies. The method worked for my dairy free recipe too! It creates a dark and fudgy brownie with a crispy, crackly top.  It’s kind of a weird technique but it does result in fudgy fudgy brownies. His way takes a bit longer because you bake the brownies for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven for 15 minutes. After that you bake again for a final 30 minutes resulting in dense and fudgy greatness. If you aren’t loving that method, simply bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
Some notes to consider: I like to use Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, in this recipe, but you can use any cocoa powder you have on hand.
I bake my brownies in a true 9×13 inch baking pan. I don’t recommend using a disposable tin for this recipe. Those tins are smaller even though everyone calls them 9×13 inch size. Your baking time will be different than I have listed.

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Fudgy Brownies {recipe}
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup oil
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • ¼ cup chocolate chips, melted
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Prepare a 9x13" baking pan by lining it with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl stir together the oil, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, eggs, salt, and vanilla.
  3. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or on top of a double boiler. Stir in the melted chocolate.
  4. Pour the brownie batter into the pan and carefully spread it to the edges. The batter will be thick.
  5. Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
  7. Return to oven and bake for another 30 minutes.
  8. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

 

Iced Oatmeal Cookies {Recipe}

Cookies, ,

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

These iced oatmeal cookies remind me of those store bought ones you would get as a kid but these are even better! They are crispy on the edges but thick and chewy in the center. There are a few tricks to making these cookies: one is to ground the oats up a bit after measuring them. This gives the cookies a great thick texture. The other trick is to dip the cookies straight down into the icing, then pull the cookies straight out. The icing should stick onto the tops of the cookies and not settle into the crevices, making these looks just like the store bought kind. I usually make this with a classic glaze icing, but my husband loves these topped with lemon icing. To make lemon icing, just add some fresh lemon juice to the powdered sugar before adding the water. Adjust the water as necessary so your icing is not too thick or thin. Here’s my dairy free recipe adapted from Mother Thyme.

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Iced Oatmeal Cookies {Recipe}
Author: 
Serves: 3 dozen
 
Ingredients
Cookies
  • 2 cups old fashioned oats
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 Tbs. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
  • ¾ cup oil
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
Icing
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 Tbs. water
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Measure out the rolled oats and then pulse them in a food processor for about 10 seconds until they are coarsely ground.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the oats with flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  4. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the oil with the sugars until combined.
  5. Add in eggs one at a time and then vanilla extract.
  6. With the mixer running on low, add in flour mixture until combined.
  7. Scoop dough (I like to use the OXO brand medium cookie scoop) into 2 Tbs. sized balls and bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown.
  8. Cool completely before adding the icing.
  9. In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar with the water. You may want to add the water a little at a time to make sure it doesn't become too thin. The key to icing these cookies is to dip the cookies straight down into the icing and then lift the cookie straight up. That should create the cool store bought effect.