These homemade Crescent Rolls are everything a store-bought tube can’t deliver. Rich, with real butter, perfectly soft and flaky, and made for gathering. They take about 2 hours total to make and worth every second of your time!

If there’s one thing my family can’t resist, it’s fresh bread. These crescent rolls barely make it to the table before they start disappearing. And don’t even ask about leftovers! I’ve doubled the batch more times than I can count, and somehow there’s never one left behind.

One year, I slipped little notes of gratitude inside the rolls before baking, like buttery fortune cookies for the soul. It was such a simple gesture, but my kids still talk about it. We laughed, we cried, and I think it made the bread taste even better. That’s what I love most about recipes like this — they don’t just feed your people, they create moments.

Learning how to make crescent rolls at home might sound intimidating, but this from-scratch recipe is simple, approachable, and perfect for holidays, Sunday dinners, or any time you want to add something warm and comforting to the table. Plus, they freeze and reheat beautifully.

These are a favorite at our holiday table, see my Thanksgiving Recipes for more holiday ideas.

Ingredient Notes For Homemade Crescent Rolls

A few details about the ingredients I chose for this recipe that will help you succeed.

• Whole Milk– offers the richest result, I highly recommend. You can use 2% if you’d like, it will still turn out, but the whole is better.
• Sugar- To keep things simple, I just used regular white granulated sugar.
• Unsalted Butter- If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to 1 1/2 teaspoons instead of 2 teaspoons.
• Salt- It helps strengthen the gluten structure, which improves the roll’s texture. It also enhances flavor and balances the sweetness in the dough.
• Yeast- use instant yeast (also called “rapid rise” or “bread machine yeast”). It doesn’t need to be proofed before mixing, it can be added directly to the dough. It activates faster than active dry yeast, which means shorter rise times.
• Warm water- The ideal temperature is around 105–115°F — warm to the touch, but not hot. I recommend a thermometer, but if you don’t have one, test on your wrist, it should feel like warm bath water. If it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast.
• Eggs- Adds richness, structure, and a soft crumb to the rolls. They also help the dough rise higher because of their protein and fat content. Use room temperature eggs if possible, they incorporate more easily and help the dough rise more evenly.
• All purpose flour- I like the King Arthur Brand, and always use unbleached flour.
  

How to Make Crescent Rolls From Scratch

Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list in the recipe card below.

1. Heat 1 cup of milk in a small saucepan until hot to the touch, but not boiling. Add the hot milk to a mixing bowl along with the sugar, butter, and salt. Mix until combined.
2. Add the yeast, 2 eggs, 1 cup of flour, and the warm water to the mixing bowl. Mix again to combine. 
3. Add the remaining flour in 1 cup increments until the dough is soft. It should still be slightly sticky but should also pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl while mixing. Form the dough into a ball in the center of the mixing bowl.
4. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rise 45-60 minutes or until the dough has doubled.
5. Roll out the dough into a circle until it is about ½ inch thick. (Don’t worry if you’re circle isn’t perfect– neither is mine! 😜).
6. Using a large knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half repeatedly until you have 16 triangular wedges. 
7. Take each wedge and roll it in on itself, starting at the wide end and rolling towards the tip. Place the rolled wedges onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1-2 inches between each roll.
8. Cover the baking sheets with a kitchen towel and let rise for 25-30 minutes. Use a pastry brush or basting brush to spread an even layer of the egg wash over each roll.

Bake, cool, and Enjoy!

These crescent dinner rolls go with just about everything! You’ll definitely want them with your Roasted Turkey, we also eat them with Braised Beef, Meatloaf, and any of our Soup Recipes (check out the Lemon Orzo or Pasta Fagioli-YUM!)

Tips & Tricks

• I used a stand mixer for this recipe with the paddle attachment. The speed should stay at ‘stir’ or the lowest setting. If you don’t have one, start with a wooden spoon in mixing your dough together and finish with your hands.
• Work quickly between the first and second rises. The dough will continue to rise during this time, and if it rises too much, it can become more difficult to cut and roll up the wedges.
• To ensure that the rolls maintain their shape in the oven, roll the wedges somewhat tightly, but not so tight that you have to excessively stretch the dough.
• Feeling indulgent? Make this Texas Roadhouse Butter Recipe to serve with it!

Frequently Asked Questions

Please share

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Crescent Rolls

Buttery, flaky, and melt-in-your-mouth good — these homemade crescent rolls are a tradition in the making.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Rise time (includes both rises) 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 16 rolls

Calories 219kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Cost $5

Equipment

• sauce pan
• stand mixer (can be made without one too, see notes)
• large bowl (stand mixer bowl if using a stand mixer, otherwise large glass bowl)
• Wooden spoon (if not using a stand mixer)
• measuring cups and spoons
• Rolling Pin
• kitchen towel or shower caps for covering dough I use disposable shower caps, they work like a charm. You will need a towel to cover the shaped rolls during their rise.
• pizza cutter or large knife to cut the dough
• baking sheet
• parchment paper
• pastry brush

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1 cup whole milk
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 5-6 cups all-purpose flour

Egg wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon whole milk

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Heat 1 cup of milk in a small saucepan until hot to the touch, but not boiling. Add the milk to a mixing bowl along with the sugar, butter, and salt. Mix with a spoon until combined, or until most of the butter has melted.
  1 cup whole milk, ⅓ cup sugar, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons salt
• Add the yeast, 2 eggs, 1 cup of flour, and the warm water to the mixing bowl. Mix again to combine. Add flour in 1 cup increments until the dough is soft. It should still be slightly sticky but should also pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl while mixing. (This took me about 5 ½ cups of flour in total.)
  2 tablespoons instant yeast, 2 eggs, 5-6 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup warm water
• Form the dough into a ball in the center of the mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rise 45-60 minutes or until the dough has doubled.
• During the rise, line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• After the rise, place the dough on a floured surface and sprinkle an additional thin layer of flour on top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circle until it is about ½ inch thick.
• Using a large knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half repeatedly until you have 16 triangular wedges. Take each wedge and roll it in on itself, starting at the wide edge and rolling towards the tip. Place the rolled wedges onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1-2 inches between each roll.
• Cover the baking sheets with a kitchen towel and let rise for 25-30 minutes.
• During this second rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare the egg wash by whisking together an egg and 1 tablespoon of whole milk.
  1 egg, 1 tablespoon whole milk
• After the rise, use a pastry brush or basting brush to spread an even layer of the egg wash over each roll.
• Bake the rolls for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a baking sheet. Serve warm.

Notes

• I used a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Use the lowest setting on your stand mixer to mix the dough, If you aren’t using a stand mixer, start by mixing the dough with a wooden spoon, and finish with your hands.
• Instead of a kitchen towel to cover the dough during rising, I use disposable shower caps. They cling to the bowl and work perfectly. You will need a towel or a few though to cover the shaped rolls during their rise. 
• You’ll want to work quickly between the first and second rises. The dough will continue to rise during this time, and if it rises too much, it can become more difficult to cut and roll up the wedges.
• To ensure that the rolls maintain their shape in the oven, roll the wedges somewhat tightly, but not so tight that you have to excessively stretch the dough.
• While these rolls taste great on their own, they also pair very well with butter or jam. 
• See the post for flavor variations. 

Nutrition

Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 310mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 202IU | Vitamin C: 0.001mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2mg

Trouble Shooting Tips

Bread baking can feel a little intimidating, but don’t worry — these rolls are pretty forgiving. If something feels off, here are a few quick fixes to help troubleshoot.

My dough didn’t rise.

• Check your yeast. Make sure your yeast is fresh and not expired. If using active dry yeast, it must be proofed first.
• Water temperature matters. Water that’s too hot (over 120°F) can kill yeast; too cold won’t activate it properly. Aim for warm, bath-like water (about 105–115°F).
• Give it more time. If your kitchen is cold, your dough may just need longer to rise. Try setting the bowl near a warm oven or use the “proof” setting if you have one.

My dough is too sticky to work with.

• That’s normal early on! The dough should be slightly sticky but not wet. Add flour a tablespoon at a time while kneading until it’s manageable. Avoid adding too much — over-floured dough leads to dense rolls.

My rolls came out dense, not soft and fluffy.

• Over-flouring and under-rising are common causes. Make sure the dough doubles during both rise times.
• Also, check your shaping — if they’re too loosely rolled or under-proofed, they won’t bake evenly.

My rolls unrolled or spread out in the oven.

• Try rolling them a bit tighter next time and be sure the tip is tucked underneath on the baking sheet.
• Also, let them rise the second time after shaping — this helps them hold structure.

My rolls browned too quickly or unevenly.

• Make sure your oven is fully preheated. An oven thermometer can help ensure accuracy.
• Rotate your pans halfway through baking if your oven has hot spots.

My egg wash made the tops too dark.

• Use a light hand with the egg wash. A thin, even coat is all you need. If you’re concerned, bake for a few minutes less and keep a close eye at the end.

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The post Crescent Rolls appeared first on Art From My Table.

Boursin Mashed Potatoes are rich, creamy, and irresistibly flavorful thanks to the addition of Boursin cheese. The soft, garlicky herb spread melts seamlessly into the fluffy potatoes, creating a side dish that feels both indulgent and comforting. Perfect for holidays, weeknight dinners, or anytime you want give your usual dinner an upgrade.

If you’ve never cooked with Boursin cheese before, you’re in for a treat. This soft, spreadable cheese is packed with garlic and herbs (also comes in other flavors), and it melts beautifully into warm potatoes. No extra chopping or seasoning required.

It’s one of my favorite real-food shortcuts that delivers major flavor with almost no effort. You can also stir it into pasta, soup, spread on a sandwich, or even dolloped on roasted vegetables. I use it to create the silky sauce in this Boursin Chicken Pasta — no roux required.

Growing up I didn’t like mashed potatoes. As a young adult I was at a Friends giving and I put some on my plate to be polite. They were so good! Turns out my mom used potato buds and my friend made hers from scratch. Now that I’ve made them with Boursin cheese, I don’t know that I’ll ever go back! Potatoes are awesome because there are so many ways to enjoy them. These Twice Baked Potatoes are another favorite.

Ingredient Notes

Here’s some info on why I chose what I chose for this recipe and any substitutions that will work.

• Yukon Gold Potatoes or Baby Potatoes – These have a naturally buttery flavor and a creamy texture that’s perfect for mashed potatoes. They’re also lower in starch than Russets, which helps prevent them from becoming gluey. Baby potatoes (especially yellow ones) work great too. No peeling required if you like a more rustic mash. Russet potatoes can be used, but you’ll want to peel them and be extra gentle when mashing. Red potatoes can also be used, but they tend to be a bit heavier and a little more waxy.
• Boursin Cheese – This is the secret shortcut that brings rich, herby flavor without extra work. The garlic and fine herbs blend melts smoothly into the warm potatoes and adds a savory depth that tastes like you did a lot more than open a package.
• Butter – Unsalted butter gives you more control over the seasoning, and adds richness that rounds everything out. Room temperature butter melts more easily into the warm potatoes.
• Whole Milk + Heavy Cream – This combo gives the perfect balance of creaminess and body without feeling too heavy. Warming the dairy before mixing helps it incorporate easily and keeps the potatoes smooth and fluffy.
• Fresh Parsley for Garnish – A sprinkle of parsley on top adds color and a fresh finish that brightens up the richness of the dish. Optional, but such a nice touch. Fresh chives are also a nice option.

How to Make Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list in the recipe card below.

1. Boil the potatoes. Start with cold water, potatoes and salt in the pot and heat until it boils. Cook until fork tender.
2. After draining the potatoes, return them to the pot and mash them.
3. Flavor the potatoes by stirring in the butter, milk, cream, Boursin cheese, salt and pepper.
4. Gently stir until well combined.

These are so creamy and flavorful! My family said this is the only mashed potatoes recipe we need!

Tips & Tricks

• Use Yukon golds for the creamiest texture.
• Cut potatoes evenly so they cook at the same rate.
• Give the potatoes a minute or two in the pot after draining to steam off excess moisture before mashing.
• Use a hand held masher or ricer for the smoothest mash. For a whipped texture, you can also use a hand mixer, which will incorporate more air, just don’t overdo it.
• Don’t over mix or they can become gluey.
• Always warm milk and cream before adding.
• Crumble the Boursin cheese and add it last so it melts smoothly into the potatoes.
• Top with a pat of butter just before serving for richness.
• Garnish with fresh herbs for a restaurant-worthy presentation.

Serve these delicious Mashed Potatoes with Boursin Cheese at your holiday table alongside Roasted Turkey or Braised Beef with Cranberries. Or for everyday goodness, eat them with Air Fryer Pork Chops, Meatloaf, or Stuffed Flank Steak.

Frequently Asked Questions

Variations & Flavor Ideas

This recipe is super flexible. Here are a few ways to change up the flavor profile if you’re someone that likes to change things up often.

Try different Boursin flavors. The garlic and fine herbs is classic, but the shallot & chive, caramelized onion, or rosemary and garlic varieties are equally delicious and bring a unique twist. Just swap in the same amount.

Make it extra creamy. Stir in a few tablespoons of sour cream along with the Boursin for an ultra-luxurious mash.

Add roasted garlic. If you’re a garlic lover, roast a whole head of garlic (cut off the top, douse with olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast at 375 for 30-40 mintues until soft) and mash it into the potatoes for deeper, sweeter garlic flavor alongside the herby cheese.

Loaded mashed potatoes. Fold in crispy bacon bits, shredded cheddar, and chopped green onions for a loaded version. Great for game day or a casual dinner.

Make it baked. Spread the mashed potatoes into a casserole dish, top with a little extra Boursin or shredded cheese, and bake until golden for a more structured, dinner-party-ready version.

Please share

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

If you’re building your full holiday menu, browse all my Side Dishes for more inspiration.

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Tap the heart symbol in the lower right hand corner of your screen, and the recipe will be saved in your own personal recipe box.

Print

Boursin Mashed Potatoes

These boursin mashed potatoes are rich, creamy, and irresistibly flavorful thanks to the addition of boursin cheese. The soft, garlicky herb spread melts seamlessly into the fluffy potatoes, creating a side dish that feels both indulgent and comforting. Perfect for holidays, weeknight dinners, or anytime you want to elevate your meal, this recipe is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 233kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Cost $10

Equipment

• large pot
• Colander
• Potato masher or ricer
• Wooden spoon or spatula
• measuring cups and spoons
• cutting board
• chef's knife

Ingredients

• 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes or baby potatoes cut into chunks (peeled or unpeeled)
• 1 tablespoon salt for boiling water
• ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1/2 cup whole milk warmed (more as needed)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream warmed
• 1 package 5.2 ounces boursin cheese, garlic and fine herbs flavor
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Fresh parsley or chives for garnish

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15–20 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and return them to the hot pot for a minute or two to steam off excess moisture.
  3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes or baby potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt for boiling water
• Mash the potatoes using a masher or ricer or hand mixer until smooth. Add the butter, warmed milk, and cream. Stir gently to combine.
  ½ cup unsalted butter, 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Crumble the boursin cheese into the potatoes and stir until melted and fully incorporated. Adjust consistency by adding more milk if needed.
  1 package
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh chives or parsley. Serve warm.
  Salt and black pepper to taste, Fresh parsley or chives for garnish
• Storage
 Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of milk to restore creaminess.

Notes

• Use Yukon golds for the creamiest texture.

• Cut potatoes evenly so they cook at the same rate.

• Don’t over mix or they can become gluey.

• Dry potatoes in the pot after draining to remove excess moisture (just returning them back to the hot pot for a minute or two will steam off the moisture).
• Use a ricer for the smoothest mash.

• Always warm milk and cream before adding.

• Add boursin last so it melts smoothly into the potatoes.

• Taste before adding extra salt since the cheese is seasoned.

• Top with a pat of butter just before serving for richness.

• Garnish with fresh herbs for a restaurant-worthy presentation.

Nutrition

Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 15mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 797IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 0.1mg

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The post Boursin Mashed Potatoes appeared first on Art From My Table.

Summertime is the perfect time for refreshing drinks. I love a good Strawberry Mocktail or Cherry Cooler while reading in the sun. Ahh, summer…

Okay, back to reality! No need to interrupt your day with a trip to Starbucks. Now you can make your own delicious Strawberry lemonade and save yourself a few bucks!

My version of this drink uses simple syrup, fresh strawberries and lemons. You can make it even healthier by using honey rather than sugar for your simple syrup. I’ve done it both ways and it’s delicious!

Something I love about this recipe is that it’s very versatile, and you can truly customize it to your tastes.

Key Ingredients

• Lemon Juice from fresh lemons – Fresh is best! Use a citrus press for easy juicing.
  
• Strawberries – Freshly picked (or from a farm market) is extra good. You can also use frozen strawberries.
  
• Sugar– You can substitute honey if you prefer.

This copycat Starbucks strawberry lemonade is tangy, sweet, smooth, and so refreshing! Strawberries and lemons can be found year-round, and compliment each other so well.

Even if you make this drink in the dead of winter, it’ll feel like summertime as soon as you take that first sip.

How to Make Strawberry Lemonade

This is an overview of the instructions, be sure to see the recipe card for all the details.

1. Make simple syrup by heating water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Continue stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Move the syrup into the fridge to cool completely before mixing it into the drink.
   
2. Use a citrus press to juice your fresh lemons until you have 1 ½ cups of juice.
   
   
3. Hull (take the stems off) the strawberries and place them in a blender or food processor..
   
4. Blend until puree’d. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain and remove the seeds from the puréed strawberries.
   
   

5. Add the lemon juice to a pitcher.

6. Add strawberry puree’, syrup, and cold water. Stir well.

Allow to chill for a bit in the fridge, and serve in tall glasses with ice. 

Expert Tips

• Simple syrup can be made with more or less sugar depending on how sweet you like the syrup. The standard is equal parts, but I did a little less here because I like a good balance of tart from the lemons.
  
• For a less processed version, use honey instead of sugar in the simple syrup, same amount.
  
• You can also make the simple syrup as is, but use less if you like a less sweet lemonade. The extra can be used in Mocktails or Cocktails.
  
• Straining the seeds of the strawberries is optional. If it doesn’t bother you, skip this step.
  
• Sugar-Free option: You can use a stevia based sweetener such as Truvia, or Swerve to make the simple syrup. Check a conversion chart as not all sweeteners measure the same as sugar. I recommend an all natural sweetener, not a chemical one.
  
• Prep the purée.  Puréed strawberries last for a couple months in the freezer. Have some ready to go any time by creating strawberry purée ice cubes that you can thaw and mix in any drink at any time.
  
• For a fun frozen treat, pour the lemonade mixture into popsicle molds and freeze.

Storing and Freezing

The Strawberry Lemonade will keep for a week in the refrigerator, however, we’ve always devoured it before then.

As far as freezing goes, you can freeze it in an airtight container, but most people don’t freeze their lemonade unless they’re making popsicles, which I mentioned under the “Expert Tips” section.

Related Recipes

If you love lemonade, try my Lavender Lemonade Mocktail and my Blueberry Lemonade! Both are chef’s kiss delicious!

Please share

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

Print

Strawberry Lemonade

Lemon juice, and strawberries, and simple syrup make up this delicious Starbucks Strawberry Lemonade in just 15 minutes. Cool, sweet, and refreshing, this blended beverage is like summertime in a glass.

Course Beverage

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 403kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Cost $5

Equipment

• Blender or food processor
• Pitcher
• Citrus press or Lemon Juicer (optional, but handy)

Ingredients

For the simple syrup:

• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup water

For the lemonade

• 1 ½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice about 8-10 lemons
• 1 cup strawberries
• 1 cup simple syrup
• 6 cups cold water

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

For the simple syrup

• In a small saucepan over medium low heat, add water and sugar. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved.
• Cool completely. Can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

For the lemonade

• Juice the lemons and add the juice to a pitcher. (link to citrus press)
• Place the strawberries in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
• Strain out the seeds by putting the puree in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Gently push the mixture through with a wooden spoon.
• Add the pureed strawberries and simple syrup to the pitcher.
• Add the cold water and stir until well combined.
• Chill and serve over ice.

Notes

• Simple syrup can be made with more or less sugar depending on how sweet you like the syrup. The standard is equal parts, but I did a little less here because I like a good balance of tart from the lemons.
• For a less processed version, use honey instead of sugar in the simple syrup, same amount.
• You can also make the simple syrup as is, but use less if you like a less sweet lemonade. The extra can be used in Mocktails or Cocktails.
• Straining the seeds of the strawberries is optional. If it doesn’t bother you, skip this step.

Nutrition

Calories: 403kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 103g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 57mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 3mg

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The post Starbucks Strawberry Lemonade appeared first on Art From My Table.

These delicious Glazed Pecans are a satisfying treat on their own, or a crunchy, sweet enhancement for salads, desserts, or even a fruit parfait. Cooked on the stovetop with low-carb sweetener, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon, they make a lovely treat for the holiday season or wrapped up as a gift for friends and neighbors. If keto isn’t your thing, I’ve included how to make these the indulgent way too.

Key Ingredients

Here’s some useful information about the ingredients I chose for this recipe.

• Pecan halves – Halves are best to use especially if you want to snack on them. You can use chopped pecans or pecan pieces, which is great for toppings, but not quite a finger food. Walnuts are the closest to the pecan and can be substituted. 

• Swerve Brown Sugar – This brown sugar alternative does not affect blood sugar. Therefore, the calorie count for one teaspoon is a big zero. You could also use a brown monk fruit sweetener. However, regular brown sugar (or regular sugar ) works just fine if you’re not counting calories. If you like something a little more pure, use maple syrup. In my opinion, the brown Swerve is the best option.

• Vanilla Extract – Pure vanilla extract is best, I prefer to not use imitation. If you want to infuse some maple flavor, you can use pure maple extract instead of, or in addition to, the Vanilla. I really like the vanilla, so I’ll do half and half.
• Ground Cinnamon– I buy the big container from Costco, it’s the best value and the cinnamon is a nice flavor.
• Salt– I typically use Himalayan pink salt, but any salt will do in this recipe. It’s a small amount, and we are using it to balance the sweetness.

How To Make Keto Candied Pecans

Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list in the recipe card below.

Before you begin, prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and set it aside. I love this easy and inexpensive set. Nordic Ware Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Half Sheet. 

1. Mix water, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla together.
2. Toast the pecans on medium heat in a saucepan. Stir occasionally until they become fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. Pour the sauce mixture over the pecans in the pan and stir well to coat.
4. Spread the coated pecans on the parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer and cool at room temperature. The pecans will harden in a few hours.

Tips & Tricks

• Fresh is best! For best results, fresh pecans are a must-have. If you have some pecans that have been in the cupboard for awhile, check the date. Nuts can go rancid (you’ll know by the smell and taste). You can always store them in the refrigerator or freeze them in an airtight container if you don’t think you’ll use them often. Costco usually has the best price for a large bag of them. Or I’ll shop Aldi for a smaller bag.
• Glazing- When coating your pecans in the saucepan, be sure to stir constantly just until the brown sugar is dissolved. They don’t need much time and you want to watch closely so they don’t burn.
• Prep– Don’t forget to have your cookie sheet ready. When the pecans come out of the pan, they need to go straight onto the parchment paper and cookie sheet to cool.

These sweet and crunchy pecans are perfect for snacking or gifting. And they pair perfectly with an Espresso Martini Mocktail on the side.

Storing and Freezing

Store glazed pecans in an airtight container for two weeks, or freeze for up to six months. 

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Please share

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Keto Candied Pecans

These delicious Keto Candied Pecans are a healthy treat on their own, or a crunchy, sweet enhancement for salads, desserts, or sweet potato recipes.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 minute minute

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Cooling time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 6 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 172kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Cost $8

Equipment

• Rimmed baking sheet
• parchment paper
• small sauce pan

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ tablespoons Swerve brown sugar or regular if Keto isn't important to you.
• 1 ½ tablespoons water
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pecan halves

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS

• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Mix water, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and vanilla together.
  1 ½ tablespoons Swerve brown sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons water, ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Heat a small saucepan to medium heat. Add the pecans and stir occasionally until they become fragrant, about 5 minutes.
  1 cup pecan halves
• Pour in the cinnamon sugar mixture and stir to coat. Remove from heat.
• Spread the coated pecans in a single layer on the prepared pan.
• Cool at room temperature. The pecans will harden in a few hours.

Notes

• If you’re not into Keto, just use regular brown sugar.
• Brown Monk fruit sweetener can be substituted for Swerve Brown, but I do prefer the Swerve.
• When coating your pecans in the saucepan, stir constantly just until the brown sugar is dissolved. 
• When the pecans come out of the pan, they need to go straight onto the parchment paper and cookie sheet. They do continue to cook for a few minutes, that’s why it’s important to get them out of the pan and onto the baking sheet. 
• For a flavor variation, substitute all or some of the vanilla extract for maple extract.

Nutrition

Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 73mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

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The post Glazed Pecans {Keto Friendly} appeared first on Art From My Table.

Whether you’re looking for traditional Irish recipes to enjoy on the holiday or just some fun-themed treats that everyone in the family will love, these St. Patrick’s Day recipes are sure to hit the spot.

I’m not even Irish, but I love a good celebration with food!

I’m not sure how we landed at green beer and parties for this holiday when the real reason for this day is to commemorate St. Patrick who brought Christianity to Ireland.

There are so many delicious Irish recipes to make that there’s no way you can squeeze them into one day. That’s why you should celebrate all month. 😁

Traditional St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

These are some of my favorite comfort foods for the season.

Cottage Pie/Shepherd’s Pie

Cottage Pie Recipe

We ate this dish when I was growing up. My mom always called it Shepherd’s pie, but she made it with ground beef instead of lamb. So, technically it was “Cottage Pie”.

I’ve put a healthy twist on this dish and made it low-carb and Keto friendly. The filling is delicious, and you could easily make it with a mashed potato topping if you prefer.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

What’s traditional in America, is not necessarily a tradition in Ireland. However, it’s still tradition!

And that’s why I’m including this Slow Cooker Corned beef and Cabbage from Life Love and Good Food. (Did you know this isn’t Irish tradition?)

This easy recipe uses the slow cooker to make this yummy dish even easier to cook. We all love our Crockpots!

Irish Stew

It doesn’t get any more comforting than enjoying a warm bowl of Irish stew.

This traditional recipe from Beyond Mere Sustenance is modernized by using an Instant Pot to speed up the cooking time.

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda bread is another popular recipe that pairs well with just about anything.

Traditional Soda bread is made with flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk. I like the twist that Spoon for Bacon adds– dried blueberries!

Colcannon

Who doesn’t love creamy mashed potatoes? Colcannon is an Irish potato and cabbage dish. Create Kids Club uses the Instant Pot, so it can be made in under 20 minutes.

Low Carb Colcannon

Many of us have adapted to a Low Carb or Keto eating style. I love this Healthy twist on Colcannon from Health Starts in the Kitchen.

Boxty

Boxty is also known as potato pancakes. This simple recipe from Lana’s Cooking is delicious. The toppings of sour cream and green onions bring those pancakes to another level!

Rueben Irish Nachos

This unique dish combines a variety of traditional Irish flavors into one fun meal that’s perfect for a party.

Rueben Irish nachos from Two Healthy Kitchens feature a bed of potatoes topped with chopped corned beef and sauerkraut. 

Irish Scones

Enjoying a scone with a cup of warm tea is a classic Irish tradition. These Irish scones from Sweet and Savoury Pursuits are perfect for tea time, breakfast time, or anytime!

Traditional Desserts

Shamrock Shake

St. Patricks Day would not be complete with out a Shamrock Shake! Again, I’ve put a healthy twist on this recipe (I can’t help it–it’s what I do!).

It’s all-natural, no processed ingredients, and no food coloring. So much better for you than that fast food place.

Chocolate Pudding with Mint Whipped Cream

Did you know it isn’t that hard to make pudding from scratch? This dessert is rich and chocolatey and topped with homemade whipped cream.

It’s a delicious way to enjoy the chocolate-mint combination that is so well loved.

Irish Tea Cake

If you’re searching for a traditional sweet treat to make this year, you’ll love this recipe for Irish tea cake from Mama’s on a Budget.

It’s a fluffy cake that’s not too sweet, ensuring it pairs perfectly with an afternoon tea.

Irish Bread Pudding

Another yummy dessert you could serve after enjoying your traditional dinner. This easy recipe for Irish bread pudding from Sidewalk Shoes features a caramel whiskey sauce for added flavor.

Apple Cake with Whiskey Cream

I had not heard of Irish apple cake when I was doing my research, but I was happy to find it!

This dessert from Bacon is Magic, is a not too sweet option. It’s also very versatile. If you want to skip the Whiskey cream for kids, you can serve it with ice cream.

Fun St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

Making authentic meals for the holiday is a great way to bring a taste of Ireland to your home. But there are also so many fun St. Paddy’s day themed recipe ideas as well.

Here are some fun one that are just as cute as they are delicious!

Lucky Charms Cookies

These adorable Lucky Charms cookies from Lemon and Zest are delicious and fun. What kid wouldn’t be lucky to eat these? (see what I did there?)

Lucky Charms Ice Cream

And while we’re on the topic of magically delicious, how fun is this? This Lucky Charms ice cream recipe from We are not Martha uses cereal infused milk to make a delicious ice cream treat.

Grasshopper Pie

Childhood memories right here!

This grasshopper pie from Real Housemoms reminds me of the one my mom always made when I was growing up. It is a delicious dessert that’s perfect for this season.

St. Patrick’s Day Meringues

These St. Patrick’s Day meringues from Frugal Mom Eh are adorable! I know meringues can seem intimidating, but she makes it easy.

Irish Cream Dream Bars

Are you drooling over this yet? Irish cream, chocolate pudding, and shortbread cookies! This is what dreams are made of.

These Irish cream dream bars from 365 Days of Baking are calling my name! They’re a simple no-bake dessert.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

It doesn’t get more Irish than when you combine stout with Bailey’s!

These sweet and salty chocolate stout cupcakes with Bailey’s buttercream and caramel sauce from Sense and Edibility are sure to be a hit.

St. Patrick’s Day Peek a Boo Cake

Talk about wow factor, this is it! Cakes with a surprise inside are loved by all.

This St. Patrick’s Day peek a boo cake from Moore is Less Cooking, features candy and gold coins inside.

Do you have any favorites I didn’t list here? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

Have a wonderful time celebrating!

Your shares are how this site grows and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this post?

I’d love it if you would share it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook!

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

The post 21 Tasty St. Patrick’s Day Recipes appeared first on Art From My Table.

WARNING! HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!

Caramel corn is a delightful treat to enjoy any time of year. But, when you add a few holiday spices into the mix, you get a heavenly Christmas treat!

This recipe is a fun way to enjoy the classic flavors of a gingerbread cookie combined with a crunchy snack. It’s perfect for holiday parties or to package up and give as a gift (if you can keep your hands out of it–ha!).

Ingredients

Gingerbread caramel corn uses a combination of gingerbread cookie and caramel corn ingredients, resulting in a spice-filled snack that’s perfect for the holidays.

Key Ingredients

• Popcorn– Plain popcorn is best for this recipe. You can use an air popper to make it, or cook it on the stovetop. I use and highly recommend a Whirly Pop. Best. Popcorn. Ever.
  
• Butter– The fat from the butter will help meld your sweet ingredients together, giving your caramel corn a smooth, silky texture.
  
• Molasses– This sweet syrup is a staple in any gingerbread recipe, so you can’t forget it when you’re making gingerbread caramel corn!
  
• Corn syrup– This prevents the sugars from crystallizing, so it is an important ingredient.
  
• Brown sugar– The rich flavor of brown sugar is a must when making sweet popcorn – especially when you add the gingerbread spices to the sauce.
  
• Salt– Adding a small amount of salt to your caramel sauce enhances the flavor and adds a nice contrast to the sweetness of the caramel.
  
• Vanilla– Mixing in vanilla extract will add flavor to your caramel corn to complement the sweetness of the corn syrup and brown sugar.
  
• Baking soda– The secret ingredient to smooth caramel corn is baking soda, which reacts with the acid in the brown sugar and corn syrup to give your caramel a softer texture to make it easier to eat.
  
• Gingerbread spices– To give your caramel corn a gingerbread flavor, you need a handful of gingerbread spices, including ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

How to Make Gingerbread Caramel Corn

There are two main parts to making caramel corn.

1. Make the caramel sauce.
2. Bake the caramel corn, this is what makes it crunchy.

STEP ONE: MAKE THE SAUCE

Pro-tip– Before you begin, have your popcorn popped and in the roasting pan. Pre-measure all your ingredients because this moves fast!

1. Place the butter, corn syrup, molasses, brown sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan.

2. Cook the ingredients over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from burning on the bottom of the pan.

3. When the butter is melted, stop stirring and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Give the sauce a chance to boil for around five minutes without stirring or disturbing the mixture.

4. When your sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat and immediately stir in the vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

5. Pour the baking soda into the caramel sauce and stir until the sauce begins to bubble and foam.

STEP TWO: BAKE THE CARAMEL CORN

1. Pour the caramel sauce over the top of the popcorn. I recommend using a roasting pan for this because there is ample room to stir and mix it.
   

2. Stir the caramel and popcorn together until all the popcorn is well coated.

3. Spread the popcorn in an even layer over the pan and place it in the oven at 250° to bake for one hour.

4. Every 15 minutes, give the popcorn a good stir.

5. When the baking time is up, transfer the homemade caramel corn to two rimmed baking sheets and allow it to cool completely before serving.

Once you make homemade caramel corn, you’ll never want store bought again! This can be a really fun family tradition. I know my kids LOVE to help in the kitchen.

Serve this festive treat with an Espresso Martini Mocktail for a fun and cozy combo.

Storing

Once it’s completely cooled, store the caramel corn in an airtight container or bag. It will stay fresh at room temperature for up to two weeks.

If you’re making it for yourself, it probably won’t last that long. But, if you’re making it to gift, you can certainly make it a bit ahead of time.

You can also freeze caramel corn! Who knew? Make sure it’s in an airtight container, and you can freeze it for up to a year.

Notes & Tips

• Use a roasting pan to mix the caramel corn– it’s large and deep, which makes it much easier to mix without it spilling over.
• Pre-measure your ingredients- The recipe moves quickly, and you don’t want the sauce to set up before you can mix it well.
• Use freshly grated nutmeg– This is my secret to taking the flavor up a notch and standing out! Freshly grated nutmeg is soooo much better than prepackaged. And it literally lasts for years. (um, the nutmeg, not the caramel corn). Use a Microplane or the small side of a box grater to grate it. The same one you’d use for citrus zesting or chocolate.

That being said, NO PRESSURE! It’ll still be great (and completely addicting) even if you use already ground nutmeg.

And when you run out of caramel corn, because you will, move on to this Crockpot Christmas Candy, another deliciously addicting treat.

FAQ’S

More Holiday Recipes

• Peppermint Bark Popcorn
• Salted Caramel Sauce
• Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail
• Peppermint White Russian Mocktail
• Egg Nog Dip
• Eggnog French Toast with Cranberry Syrup
• Braised Beef with Cranberries
• Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Pie

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Please Share!

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

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Gingerbread Caramel Corn

Sweet and crunchy, this easy homemade Caramel Corn with warm gingerbread spices is perfect for the Christmas season! 

Course Dessert, Snack, treats

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 20

Calories 806kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Cost $5

Equipment

• medium saucepan
• roasting pan
• rimmed baking sheets

Ingredients

• 20 cups popcorn
• 1 cup butter 2 sticks
• 1/4 cup corn syrup light or dark
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 250°.
• Place the popped corn in a roasting pan.
• Heat the butter, corn syrup, molasses, brown sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and everything is combined.
• Allow the mixture to come to a boil, and let it boil for 5 minutes without stirring it.
• Remove it from the heat, quickly add the vanilla extract, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir to combine.
• Add the baking soda and stir. Mixture will bubble up and become foamy.
• Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir so that all of it is coated.
• Bake in the oven for one hour, stirring every fifteen minutes.
• Pour the caramel corn onto two rimmed baking sheets and allow to cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

I recommend using a roasting pan because it’s much deeper and therefore easier to stir the caramel corn without it spilling over the sides.

Once the caramel is made, the recipe moves very quickly, so it’s a good idea to have your extract, spices and baking soda pre-measured and ready to go.

Using freshly grated nutmeg makes this even better!

Nutrition

Calories: 806kcal | Carbohydrates: 150g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 274mg | Potassium: 543mg | Fiber: 21g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 284IU | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 5mg

The post Gingerbread Caramel Corn appeared first on Art From My Table.

Key Ingredients

• Chocolate Chips and butterscotch chips– I love this combo! Semi-sweet chocolate chips balance the flavor really well so it doesn’t get too sweet. Feel free to use your favorite.
  
• Peanut Butter– I recommend an all natural brand with no sugar. If you only have one that contains sugar, it will be alright, this recipe is very flexible.
  
• Chow Mein Noodles– This is what gives it the nest appearance, they look like little sticks.
  
• Candy Eggs- The mini size eggs fit best here and you have a lot of choices. What’s pictured are the Hershey’s chocolate eggs, they are more pastel in color. Cadbury mini chocolate eggs are a little brighter and also delicious.

How To Make Birds Nest Cookies

This is an overview of the instructions, be sure to see the recipe card for all the details.

1. Melt the chips together over low heat in a double boiler. If you don’t have one, put a few inches of water in a pan, bring it to a simmer, and place a bowl over the top (you can see this in the video).
   
2. Stir in the peanut butter until well combined.
   
3. Add the chow mein noodles and stir until coated.
   
4. Divide the chocolate mixture into the wells of a muffin pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden. Remove from the pan, and fill with candy eggs.

Aside from being the most delicious Birds Nest dessert you’ve ever eaten, these double as super cute table decor. We also love these Easter Cookie Cups, so adorable!

Entertaining or hosting is a big responsibility, so it’s nice to have a simple seasonal recipe as easy and as quick as this one to take some of the pressure off.

Variations

Please Share!

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

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Bird’s Nest Easter Treats {No Bake}

Bird's nest Easter treats are adorable no bake cookies topped with mini chocolate eggs. The perfect blend of chocolate, peanut butter and butterscotch give them ultimate flavor. 

 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 0 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

chill time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 12 cookies

Calories 319kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Cost $8

Equipment

• silicone muffin pan or liners OR traditional muffin tin
• heat safe glass bowl
• medium size sauce pan
• rimmed baking sheet if using silicone muffin pan.

Ingredients

• cooking spray or butter for greasing the muffin tin This is only if you are NOT using silicone
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 oz butterscotch chips
• 1 cup creamy all natural peanut butter I like all natural, any peanut butter will do.
• 5 oz chow mien noodles
• 1 package of Hershey’s milk chocolate mini eggs or candy of your choice

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Grease the muffin tin if using a traditional one. Silicone needs no prep.
• Melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips over a double boiler, or in a heat safe glass bowl over a sauce pan with simmering water. Alternatively, you can use the microwave, using 20 second increments, stirring in between.
• Add the peanut butter and combine well.
• Fold in the chow mien noodles and gently stir to coat.
• Fill each of the muffin cups with the mixture, making a well in the center.
• Cool in the refrigerator until hardened, about 30 minutes.
• Fill each ‘nest’ with a few mini eggs.

Video

Notes

• If you don’t want to mess with the stove, you can melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips in the microwave. Use 20-second intervals and stir each time until they are completely melted. 
• Silicone muffin pans, or silicone liners work the best, but, you can also use a regular muffin tin, just oil it first. Once hardened, let them sit a few minutes at room temperature before removing them. 
• If you do use a silicone tray, be sure to place it on a baking sheet BEFORE filling it. Much easier to move around that way.
• In a hurry? Pop them in the freezer to cool, about 10 minutes or so will do it!

Nutrition

Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 256mg | Potassium: 234mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 2mg

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The post Bird Nest Cookies appeared first on Art From My Table.

It’s that time of year again, the short season when those delicious minty green shakes are available from McDonald’s.

Did you know there are 54 ingredients in McDonalds Shamrock Shake? Yes, 54!

Let’s just take 5 minutes, and make a much better for you option that’s also much less expensive and won’t require you to drive anywhere.

I’ve got 4 kids, half of them are teenagers, but all of them eat like teenagers. I’m all about saving money.  

But I also don’t want to sacrifice taste. So I was thrilled when I tested this recipe and everyone loved it! No green dye here folks, it’s naturally green!

How is it green without food coloring?

Let me just assure you, it’s not spinach or kale. This seems to be the “go-to” for making green smoothies. But not here.

It’s fresh mint! So it’s still sweet and very refreshing. If you didn’t know, mint has some great benefits. 

• It can help with tummy troubles, nausea, headaches
• It’s anti-inflammatory
• It’s immune-boosting

So let’s break out the Mojito’s! For all the nerdy details, you can read more about the health benefits of mint.

What does it taste like?

The two main flavors are vanilla and mint. Mint as in fresh mint, spearmint, not peppermint. 

I love to garnish mine with some shaved dark chocolate. The chocolate mint combo is a popular favorite too, and if you like that you’ll love this homemade chocolate pudding.

Ingredients

• Vanilla Ice Cream- I recommend an all-natural vanilla bean ice cream.  Hudsonville ice cream makes a great one, no artificial ingredients or high fructose corn syrup.
• Mint Extract– Make sure you use mint extract and not peppermint extract. The true flavor of a shamrock shake copycat is mint. Peppermint is stronger and has more of a spicy tone. 

Instructions

Step One: Place the ice cream, mint, mint extract, and milk in a blender

Step Two: Blend on high until smooth and all the mint leaves are completely broken up.

Step Three: If desired, drizzle the glass with some chocolate syrup. Then pour the shake in, garnish with whipped cream and enjoy!

Notes about the recipe

• Reduce milk for a thicker shake if desired.
• If you don’t have a high speed blender, like a Vitamix, it can take a couple of minutes to really blend up the leaves, don’t worry, it will get there!
• If you don’t have mint extract, you can use peppermint, but use half the amount. 
• For more subtle mint, leave the extract out completely. 

Garnishing ideas

• Whipped cream– personally, I’m a big fan of this! I recommend buying heavy whipping cream and whipping it yourself. Here’s how to do it with a stand mixer. You can also use a hand mixer. 
• Chocolate Syrup- Drizzle with homemade chocolate syrup, or you can use your favorite brand. PRO-TIP- drizzle some chocolate sauce on the sides of the glass before pouring the shake into it. 

• Fruit- Top it with a cherry, or to keep with the ‘natural/dye-free theme, use a strawberry slice
• Grated Chocolate– Use a Microplane to sprinkle some chocolate on top, or here’s How To Make Chocolate Shavings.
• mini chocolate chips
• fresh mint leaf

Be sure to check out my collection of St. Patricks Day recipes. For more sweets, check out my dessert page.

Please Share!

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

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Naturally Green Shamrock Shake

Cool, Creamy, Minty, Refreshing! This homemade shamrock shake recipe is naturally green, and has only 3 ingredients and no preservatives! You're 5 minutes away from a delicious St. Patricks Day treat!

Course Beverage

Cuisine English, Irish

Prep Time 3 minutes minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes minutes

Blend time 1 minute minute

Total Time 4 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 470kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Equipment

• Vitamix or blender

Ingredients

• 3 cups natural vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup milk more or less depending on how thick you like it
• 1 cup Fresh mint leaves stems removed, loosley packed
• 1/2 tsp pure mint extract
• real whipped cream and homemade chocolate syrup for topping.

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Place ice cream, milk, mint leaves, and mint extract into a high-speed blender.
• Blend until smooth.
• Pour into a glass and garnish with any of the following: whipped cream, shaved chocolate, chocolate syrup, strawberries

Video

Notes

• Add more or less milk, depending on the thickness you like
• If you don’t have a high speed blender, like a vitamix, it can take a couple of minutes to really blend up the leaves, don’t worry, it will get there!
• If you don’t have mint extract, you can use peppermint, but use half the amount. 
• For more subtle mint, leave the extract out completely. 
• Makes 2 large shakes, to fill milk shake glasses, or, several smaller shakes. (about 4 cups total depending on the amount of milk

Nutrition

Calories: 470kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 217mg | Potassium: 715mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 2039IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 458mg | Iron: 1mg

Update Notes: This post was originally published on March 3 of 2016, but was republished with better information, some new photos, step by step instructions, and tips in February of 2020.

The post Naturally Green Shamrock Shake appeared first on Art From My Table.

Fresh cranberries are in season this time of year. I love to stock up on these tart little berries and use them in all kinds of seasonal dishes, like my Squash Bake, Homemade Cranberry Sauce, and Eggnog French Toast.

In this braised beef recipe, the cranberries are not only pretty and festive, but the combination with the savory beef is magical.

What does it mean to braise beef?

Before we get into the how-to, you might be wondering what exactly is braising meat.

Braising is a cooking method that combines both wet and dry heat. First the food is sauteed or seared at a high temperature, then it is finished in a covered pot at a lower temperature with some liquid.

How to make Braised Beef with Cranberries

This method is ideal for tenderizing less tender and typically less expensive cuts of meat. I’ve made it with both beef brisket and beef chuck roast and they both turn out fabulous. The pictures in this post reflect chuck roast.

Key ingredients

1. Beef Brisket or Chuck Roast
2. Flour- this is what gives the juice or gravy it’s thickness
3. Red Wine- I recommend a dry red wine such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. This adds fullness and flavor
4. Pearl Onions
5. Cranberries

Step One: Sear the meat

• Season the beef with salt and pepper. Be generous on the salt.
• Heat a small amount of oil over high heat in a 5-quart dutch oven or heavy pot. 
• Add the meat and cook until browned, rotating once, about 8-10 minutes.
• Remove the beef from the pot onto a plate. 

Step Two: Make the Gravy

• Add the flour and stir for about 30 seconds.
• Add broth, wine, water, molasses, half the cranberries, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Return beef to the pot, and cover.

Step Three: Bake

• Transfer to a preheated 350° oven and bake for 3 hours.
• After 3 hours, remove the pot and stir in onions. Cover it again and return it to the oven. Cook another 30 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the oven and stir in the remaining cranberries. This time leave the braised beef uncovered, and return it to the oven 30 minutes more.
• Remove the bay leaf before serving.

And there you have it! It’s very little hands-on time that results in a super impressive dish.

You can slice it up and serve it with the gravy on top, or just grab it straight out of the pan. It will be fork tender and melt in your mouth.

Braised Beef with Cranberries is fantastic served with Boursin Mashed Potatoes, mashed cauliflower or rice and a green vegetable like brussels sprouts, green beans, or asparagus. Don’t forget to finish it off with a show stopping dessert, my No Bake Cranberry Cheesecake is the perfect ending to this meal.

Freezing and Storing

The leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

To reheat them, you can place it all back in a pan and gently reheat it over the stove, covered at medium heat, occasionally stirring. Or, to reheat it in the oven, put it back in the pot, cover it and heat at 300 until warmed throughout, about 30 minutes.

To freeze leftovers, place the meat and the gravy in two separate containers. Ziplock bags work great too. Thaw before reheating.

More Holiday Recipes

whether your entertaining or just serving up seasonal dishes for your family, check out these recipes!

• Mini Stuffed Meatloaves
• Perfect Roast Turkey
• Eggnog French Toast
• Eggnog Dip
• Sparkling Brie Bites

Let’s connect! You can follow me on YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. 

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Braised Beef with Cranberries

This juicy braised beef recipe is so tender and flavorful! The gravy is infused with red wine, molasses, cranberries, and onions. It's perfect for cold nights or holiday entertaining. The best news, it's super easy to do!

Course dinner, Main Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 479kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Equipment

• Dutch oven or large oven proof pot

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef brisket chuck roast works great too
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 15 ounces can beef broth
• 1 cup dry red wine merlot or cabernet Sauvignon
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbs unsulfured molasses
• 2 cups water
• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 16 oz frozen pearl onions

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 with rack in lowest position.
• Season beef with salt and pepper.
• Heat a 5 quart dutch oven or heavy pot over medium high.
• Add brisket, cook until browned, 8-10 minutes, rotating once.
• Transfer beef to a plate
• Add flour to pot and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.
• Add broth, wine, bay leaf, molasses, half the cranberries, and 2 cups of water; bring to a boil. Return beef to pot, and cover.
• Transfer to oven; bake 3 hours.
• Stir in onions; cover, and return pot to oven. Cook 30 minutes more.
• Stir in remaining cranberries; return pot to oven. Cook uncovered, until beef is fork-tender, 30 minutes more.
• Discard bay leaf before serving.

Video

Notes

• You can use beef brisket or chuck roast, both work beautifully.
• If you are serving more than six, you can easily double the amount of beef, but the amount of cranberries, onions, and everything else can stay the same. It produces plenty of gravy. You may need to use a larger dutch oven. 

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 479kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 454mg | Potassium: 1043mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 34IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 5mg

The post Braised Beef with Cranberries appeared first on Art From My Table.

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I used to be completely intimidated by preparing a whole turkey. It seemed like so much pressure! No matter where we were on Thanksgiving, there was talk of how the turkey turned out.  

Aunt so and so’s turkey was too dry, someone else’s turkey didn’t cook long enough. My mom’s secret was always to cook it upside down, but that one doesn’t have a great presentation. And trying to time it all so it’s all finished at the same time… stressful!

Just let me bring some side dishes, like cranberry sauce, or green bean casserole (my from-scratch version can’t be beat!), Boursin Mashed Potatoes, or my personal favorite this squash apple cranberry bake.

But then my turn came and I was determined to learn how to do this. I practiced with cooking a whole chicken. And soon I learned, it wasn’t really that hard! I found 3 secrets that guaranteed a perfectly roasted turkey every single time.

I’ve now been making this same recipe for years. There’s just one warning: 

you may win the honor of making the turkey every year with this recipe. 

Secrets for the Best Roast Turkey

So what’s the secret? Well, there are a few proven ways to a perfect turkey. If you use all three, it’s the ultimate recipe. But if that’s too much work for you, then use Secret #3. It’s THE most important one.

Secret #1 Buy a fresh turkey

Fresh is best. I recommend finding a local turkey farm. You’ll need to check with your farm on their practices but here’s what we love about buying fresh particularly from Otto’s:

• naturally grown
• open-air, free-range barns
• Non-GMO feed is grown, mixed and milled at the farm
• anti-biotic free
• hormone-free

This all makes for high-quality meat.

Secret #2 Brine

It’s all about the brine! To brine or not to brine? How do you know? What’s the best recipe? I’ve got you covered.

• only brine fresh turkeys
• never brine a frozen turkey.

Here’s why: Frozen turkeys are injected with a salt solution to help preserve it. This is pretty much brining, except there may be other ingredients in there that you may not be fond of. If you brine that frozen turkey, it will result in a too salty turkey.

Why brine?

Well, think of brining as your insurance. If you’re concerned your turkey might be dry, brining will keep it juicy and moist, even if you overcook it a bit. BUT– you won’t overcook it due to Secret #3.

During brining, the turkey absorbs extra moisture that keeps it moist during and after cooking. And, since it also absorbs the salt, it gets seasoned from the inside out.

It may seem like a big extra step, but I promise you, it’s worth it! And once you get the hang of it, it’s no big deal. Trust me on this. Last year, I cooked 3, yes, count them, THREE turkeys in preparation for my live cooking show on Facebook.

You can watch it here!

Facebook
You Tube

It’s an hour long show, so grab a cup of tea or coffee and hang out. Or, just skip through for the highlights.

Secret #3 Use an Oven Thermometer

If you’re going to skip #1 and #2, this is your guarantee. Secrets #1 and #2 give you the best flavored turkey, #3 gives you a perfectly cooked turkey.

To use an Oven Thermometer, stick it in the breast, kind of at an angle, on the side. The ideal temperature should be 165°. 

The #1 mistake people make when it comes to turkey is overcooking it. Trust the thermometer, it is fail-proof!

How to make Perfectly Roasted Turkey

Step One: Brine Turkey

Only brine if you are using a fresh, never frozen, turkey. Start this process the day before you’re cooking it. It needs to brine 16-18 hours. If you’re not brining, skip to the next step

• Combine ingredients for the brine in a large pot. We’re using Apple cider, water, salt honey, rosemary leaves, orange peels, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
• Bring it to a boil, and then let it cool. 
• Immerse the turkey into it and let it brine for 16-18 hours.

The biggest challenge is finding space in your fridge to store it for the 16-18 hours. This is one of the times I can be thankful for our cooler climate this time of year. Our garage was at about 39 degrees. So we plop our turkey in a brining bag in a bucket and let it do its thang.

If you’re in a warmer climate, use a cooler to store things from your fridge that you won’t necessarily need access to for the day or two. 

Then, still using a brining bag, place the turkey with the brine in the bag, and then in an extra-large bowl in your fridge. It should be fully immersed, so if it’s not, make sure you are rotating it during the brine time.

Step two: Roasting 

Roasting will happen in two stages at two different temperatures. 

• Heat the oven to 275°.
• Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it well and place it breast side up in a roasting pan on a rack. 
• Cover it completely with heavy duty aluminum foil. Roast the turkey for 10 minutes per pound.
• While the turkey is roasting, make the flavored butter to baste it with. Combine the butter, orange zest, and rosemary leaves and mix well so all is combined.

• After the first stage of roasting, remove the turkey from the oven, remove the foil and rub the butter mixture all over the skin.
• Raise the temperature of the oven to 350°.
• Insert an ovenproof meat thermometer into the side of the breast of the turkey. Return the turkey to the oven, uncovered.
• Baste with the juices every 30 minutes until the internal temperature has reached 165° and the skin is golden brown.
• Tent it with foil, let it rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Notes

• You may have heard a thermometer has to go into the thigh. Our oven came with a built-in thermometer, and it’s instructions say to stick the probe into the breast. It’s worked every time.
• There are 2 stages of cooking. The first will be 10 minutes per pound, the second stage will be with your trusty thermometer. In my experience, the timing has turned out to be another 3-5 minutes per pound. 
• Let the turkey rest, loosely covered when it’s finished, for about 15 minutes before you carve it. Roasting brings all the juices to the surface, letting it rest allows the juices to soak back into the turkey resulting in an ultimately juicy turkey.

Serve this gorgeous juicy turkey with Sweet Potato Crunch, Homemade Crescent Rolls, and Green Bean Casserole.

How long do you roast a turkey?

How long it takes depends on the size of your turkey, and the temperature. For this recipe, in stage one, it’s ten minutes per pound at 275° In stage two, it’s 3-5 minutes per pound at 350°.

If you had an 18-pound bird, stage one would be 180 minutes, or three hours. Stage two would be from an additional 54 – 90 minutes.

How to keep the turkey warm if it’s done early

Or, maybe the guests are late. Let it rest, loosely covered, 20-30 minutes. Then cover tightly with foil. You can also add some heavy towels on top to maintain the heat. 

How to reheat a turkey

If you want to roast your turkey a day ahead, there are two options for reheating it without drying it out. 

Option 1: Reheat a whole turkey

• Preheat the oven to 350.
• Make sure there are juices in the pan, if there aren’t, add a can of chicken broth. You should still have the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan.
• place an oven thermometer in the breast. Cover the turkey tightly with foil. Heat until the thermometer reads 130°. 

Option 2: Reheat a sliced turkey

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• Place the sliced meat and legs and wings in a baking dish.
• Pour some broth over the top (about a cup, don’t drown it) and add some pats of butter. 
• Cover tightly with foil and heat for 30-35 minutes.

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Please share

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

This recipe was adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

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Perfect Roasted Turkey

This will be the Best Roast Turkey Recipe you ever eat! Crisp and golden on the outside, infused with citrus butter and herbs, perfectly juicy and moist on the inside. Here I’m sharing my 3 secrets to perfect roast turkey every time.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Brine time 18 hours hours

Total Time 22 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 13kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Equipment

• Roasting pan with Rack
• Brining bag
• Oven thermometer

Ingredients

Turkey Brine

• 3 cups apple cider
• 2 gallons of water
• 1 1/2 cups fine sea salt
• 2 cups honey or brown sugar
• 4 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 3 oranges
• 5 garlic cloves pressed or minced
• 3 tablespoons tri color peppercorns
• 5 bay leaves
• 1 18 lb turkey

Roasted Turkey

• 1 18 lb brined turkey
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 stick butter softened
• 2 fresh rosemary springs leaves removed and finely minced
• 3 leaves fresh sage finely chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves removed, finely chopped

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

For the brine

• Remove the rosemary leaves off the sprigs. Peel the oranges being careful not to get the pith. A vegetable peeler works great.
• Combine apple cider, water, salt, honey, rosemary leaves, orange peels, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Allow it to cool and immerse the turkey into it. Store it in the fridge. Brine for 16-18 hours.
• After the brining process, rinse the turkey very well under cold water.

For the turkey

• Heat the oven to 275.
• Place the turkey breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Cover completely with heavy duty aluminum foil. Roast the turkey for 10 minutes per pound.
• While the turkey is roasting, combine the butter, orange zest, and rosemary leaves and mix well so all is combined.
• After the first stage of roasting, remove the turkey from the oven, remove the foil and rub the butter mixture all over the skin.
• Raise the temperature of the oven to 350.
• Insert an oven proof meat thermometer into the side of the breast of the turkey.
• Return the turkey to the oven, uncovered.
• Baste with the juices every 30 minutes until the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees and the skin is golden brown.
• Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

• If you don’t have a pot big enough for all the liquid in the brine, start with just 1 gallon of water. Once you’ve boiled and cooled it, and you have your bird in the brining bag and container, you can add the rest of the water.
• The long prep time includes the brining time, which is 16-18 hours. The cook time will vary depending upon the weight of your turkey.
• An oven thermometer is KEY.
• You may have heard a thermometer has to go into the thigh. Our oven came with a built-in thermometer, and it’s instructions say to stick the probe into the breast. It’s worked every time.
• There are 2 stages of cooking. The first will be 10 minutes per pound, the second stage will be with your trusty thermometer. In my experience, the timing has turned out to be another 3-5 minutes per pound. 
• Let the turkey rest, loosely covered when it’s finished, for about 15 minutes before you carve it. Roasting brings all the juices to the surface, letting it rest allows the juices to soak back into the turkey resulting in an ultimately juicy turkey.

Nutrition

Calories: 13kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 58mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 55IU | Vitamin C: 0.6mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.5mg

The post 3 Secrets to Perfect Roast Turkey appeared first on Art From My Table.

These are a real treat in the fall when we’re loving all things pumpkin. Who doesn’t want to start their day out with pumpkin? Pair it with a pumpkin latte for all the fall feels.

Tis the season for all things pumpkin, right?! Around here we can’t get enough– pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup, and pumpkin breakfast cookies.

I’ve been roasting pumpkins like crazy to make fresh pumpkin puree for all of these delicious recipes.

I know that overnight oats are not a new invention, but I think they’re still all the rage. This healthy pumpkin recipe takes 5 minutes to prep, then throw it in the fridge and eat it the next day. Better yet, make a few to last you all week.

Benefits of Pumpkin

Did you know that pumpkin is good for you? Let’s look at some of the benefits~

• Keeps your eyesight sharp, it’s loaded with Vitamin A
• Good source of fiber. Fiber seems to help people eat less, which results in shedding pounds
• Reduces cancer risk, due to the anti-oxidant beta-carotene which may play a role in cancer prevention.
• protects your skin
• Beats bananas in the potassium category. Great for post work out!
• Boosts your immune system due to Vitamin C.

If you make pumpkin puree´ from scratch, or just happen to carve some pumpkins, the seeds are good for you too. They boost your mood because of the tryptophan, which produces serotonin.

Some studies have also shown that the seeds reduce your LDL, or “bad” cholesterol.

Ingredients

• old fashioned rolled oats- rolled oats are best, quick oats could get too mushy.
• protein powder– I like 100% whey protein isolate, but you can use your favorite.
• pumpkin puree– homemade or canned, make sure it’s puree and not pie filling
• almond milk– I choose this because it has fewer calories and carbs than milk, but any milk is fine.
• pumpkin pie spice– this has all the spicy warm goodness.
• maple extract– this boosts the maple flavor without adding sugars.
• dark chocolate chips– you could also use milk if you like it better, or if you like the really dark stuff, chop up a bit of a bar and use that.
• chopped pecans– for garnish and texture
• pure maple syrup– to sweeten in an unprocessed way.

Instructions

There are a few different options when making Overnight Oats. The main thing is that the oats are going to soak in the liquid to soften, rather than cooking them.

Many of my other overnight oats recipes (Carrot Cake, Toasted Coconut, Apple & Peanut butter) contain Greek yogurt, which really amps up the protein.

But for this recipe, I’m only using almond milk as the liquid and adding some protein powder. 

STEP ONE: Place the oats, protein powder, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, maple extract, almond milk, maple syrup and chocolate chips in a pint-sized mason jar, or other container.

STEP TWO: Cover the jar and shake well. Alternatively, you can stir it. I like to use 8 ounce mason jars, or these adorable weck jars.

STEP THREE: Place in the refrigerator overnight. After the oats have set up, garnish with a few chocolate chips and some chopped pecans.

It only needs 4-5 hours to soak and set up, but typically this recipe is made the night before and stays in the refrigerator overnight, which could be 8+ hours, depending on when you make it.

Pumpkin Overnight Oats will last in the fridge in an airtight container for 5 days.

The longer it soaks, the creamier the texture will be. It can be eaten hot or cold. 

Make it “Trim Healthy Mama” friendly

For those of you following the THM plan, sub out the following:

• Use chopped dark chocolate (70-80%) in place of the chocolate chips, and maybe just garnish or use a little less.
• Use an on plan sweetener in place of maple syrup.

This is an “E” meal. 🙂

Faq’s

More overnight oatmeal Flavors

• Carrot Cake 
• Toasted Coconut 
• Apples & Peanut Butter
• Pineapple Coconut
• Chunky Monkey
• Raspberry Vanilla
• Blueberry Maple

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Please share

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Overnight Oats

This Pumpkin Overnight Oatmeal with pecans and chocolate chips is not only delicious, but good for you too! Healthy, quick, easy AND delicious, that’s the perfect way to start your day!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Resting time 5 hours hours

Total Time 5 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Calories 462kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Equipment

• mason jars, weck jars, or other container with lids

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 scoop protein powder
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup Almond milk
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 tsp maple extract
• 2 tbsp dark chocolate chips plus more for garnish
• 1 tsp chopped pecans for garnish
• 2 tsp pure maple syrup

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Place the oats, protein powder, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, maple extract, almond milk, maple syrup and chocolate chips in a pint sized mason jar.
• Cover the jar and shake well. Alternatively, you can stir it.
• Place in the refrigerator overnight. After the oats have set up, garnish with a few chocolate chips and some chopped pecans, enjoy!

Notes

Ground cinnamon can be used instead of pumpkin pie spice.

Truvia, or another stevia based sweetener cab be substituted in place of the pure maple syrup. 

Any milk or milk alternative works great here.

Nutrition

Calories: 462kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 728mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 10285IU | Vitamin C: 11.6mg | Calcium: 383mg | Iron: 4.7mg

The post {Healthy} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Overnight Oats appeared first on Art From My Table.

This is a dish that was inspired by my sister. She brought this one year and now no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without it.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I’m sure you can figure out why, the food of course!

I know the Roasted Turkey is supposed to be the star of the show, but how about those sides? The Green Bean Casserole, the Cranberry Sauce, the Sweet Potatoes, and let’s not forget the Dinner Rolls! I’m getting hungry.

We’re using buttercup squash in this dish because of its sweet flavor and creamy texture. 

Ingredients

• buttercup squash- this is a variety of winter squash that starts early fall and lasts through winter.
  • It looks like a small pumpkin with green skin and orange flesh. 
  • The taste and texture are similar to butternut squash, but they look completely different on the outside. Buttercup squash is a little sweeter.
  • butternut squash works well as a substitute if desired.
• apples- a sweeter apple that cooks down easy is preferred. I use honey crisp.
• fresh cranberries– this will give it tartness. Find these in the produce section of your grocery store.
• butter
• maple syrup– only the real stuff here! 100% pure.
• ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground allspice– perfect warm fall spices.
• pine nuts- toasting these bring out the flavor. you could also use slivered almonds. Pine nuts do tend to be pricey.

Helpful equipment

• Cutting board
• 10 inch Chef’s knife– There are many good brands, this one is a Wusthof. Make sure your knife is sharpened.
• Flat edge ice cream scoop
• Casserole dish

Instructions

There are only a few steps to making this dish come together. Below I will go into more detail for each step.

1. Cut the squash and apples
2. Make the brown butter
3. Assemble the ingredients and bake
4. Toast the pine nuts and garnish

How to cut the squash

There are several ways to prepare buttercup squash, but today’s recipe calls for cutting it into cubes. We’ll need to both cut it and peel it. 

Here’s what I found to be the least complicated.

•  Cut it in half stem to root. Cut it a little off-center, not right through the stem.
• Once you get your big kitchen knife firmly in there, keep pushing the knife down, with a flat hand to protect those fingers! (If it’s really tough, I have been known to pick it up–squash, knife and all– and give it a good whack, then another to cut it through).
• Scoop out the seeds, then turn it flesh side down and cut it into slices.
• Then cut the flesh away from the skin, as if you are taking the rind off of a watermelon.
• Then cut it into bite-size pieces.

Tips for working with squash

•  Put the squash in the microwave for a few minutes to soften the skin. 
• Use an ice cream scoop with a flat edge (like the one shown) to scoop out the seeds. Life-changing!

Make the brown butter

Brown butter is the secret ingredient that takes this dish over the top. It has a lovely nutty flavor.

• Melt one stick of butter on medium heat in a small saucepan. Make sure your pan isn’t a really dark one so you can see the color of the butter. 
• It will foam up, let it continue to cook, stirring occasionally until you have a nice golden brown color, about 3 minutes.
• You’ll get some solid bits on the bottom of the pan. To get rid of those, run it through some cheesecloth, or a fine mesh sieve. If you don’t have either of those a coffee filter will do. 

Assemble the ingredients

• Combine the cut squash, apples, and cranberries in a large bowl.
• Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup, and brown butter and stir to combine.
• Transfer the mixture to a 9×13 dish and bake at 375° for 35-45 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Toast The Pine nuts

You can toast the pine nuts either in a small pan over the stove or in the oven. They’ll take about 5-10 minutes.

On the stovetop: Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pine nuts, toss occasionally, until they start to deepen to a nice golden color and release a nutty aroma.

In the oven: Place the pine nuts on a baking sheet, place in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove, give them a toss, and return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes. They will deepen to a nice golden color and release their nutty aroma.

Keep in mind, ovens vary, so the times may vary as well. To keep things low maintenance, after the squash is finished, remove it from the oven, and put the pine nuts in. Let them toast, garnish, and serve.

Tell me! What are your favorite Thanksgiving Dishes? What makes it to your table year after year?

More Thanksgiving Show Stoppers

• Sweet Potato Crunch
• Pumpkin Soup
• Apple Crisp
• Chocolate Mousse with Pumpkin whipped Cream
• Turkey Cranberry Pizza (perfect for leftovers!)

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Please share

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

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Squash Apple Cranberry Bake

Buttercup squash, apples and cranberries drizzled with brown butter and dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg, topped off with toasted pine nuts

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 221kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Ingredients

• 2 medium buttercup squash peeled and diced
• 3 apples peeled and diced
• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 8 tbsp butter
• 2 Tbs pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted (slivered almonds can be substituted)

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Toast pine nuts, place in a small fry pan over medium heat, tossing every couple of minutes. Alternatively, place them on a rimmed baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.
• Brown the butter: Place 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan on medium heat. Allow the butter to foam and continue cooking, stirring occasionally. After 5-7 minutes, the butter should be a nice golden brown color. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove solid bits at the bottom of the pan.
• Combine squash, apples and cranberries in a large bowl.
• Pour browned butter, maple syrup and spices over top and toss to coat well.
• Place mixture in a 9×13 casserole dish and bake at 375 until squash is tender, about 45 minutes.
• Sprinkle toasted pine nuts on top and serve.

Video

Notes

Butternut squash can be substituted for buttercup squash if desired.

Tips for working with squash:

• put it in the microwave for a few minutes to soften the skin, which makes it easier to cut and peel
• Use an ice cream scoop with a flat edge (like in the picture) to scoop out your seeds. This is a game changer! 

Nutrition

Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 881mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 3411IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Squash Apple Cranberry Bake appeared first on Art From My Table.

Perfect to give your kids for Valentine’s Day, or, make them for the class party.

Any sugar cookie recipe will do, but I’ve adapted my Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies to more of an Old Fashioned Sour Cream Cookie type recipe. They’re a little softer and fluffier in texture, and we really like them.Plus, they have plain Greek yogurt in them, this way, we at least get some protein in. 😉

Valentine’s Day baking is all about the little details. If you love fun cookies like these, you will also enjoy these Jam Filled Heart Cookies, they’re just as festive and perfect for sharing.

How to make Valentine Secret Message Cookies (de-coder cookies)

STEP ONE: Make the dough (instructions in recipe card)

STEP TWO: While the dough is chilling, take red hard candy (I like Jolly Ranchers), place it in a bag and crush it with s mallett or rolling pin.

STEP THREE: Cut out the cookies. Using 2 heart shaped cookie cutters (a larger and a smaller), cut out the cookies and place them on a foil lined sheet sprayed with coconut oil.

STEP FOUR: Fill the center of each cookie with the crushed candy. Bake, on a rimmed baking sheet, cool, enjoy!

How to make secret messages

You can very easily make your own by using a blue pen or light blue marker to write your message.

After that, just doodle right over it with red, orange and pink markers. The message you wrote will appear when you put the Sugar Cookie over top of it.

No time to doodle? No worries, I found some on the internet, and this is a much quicker route.

Check out this post from Moments to Live By. Each of these sites have a free printable of secret messages. 🙌🏼

I had a lot of fun making a healthier option for my kids when they were quite a bit younger. Now that they’re older, they love to help make them and give them away as Valentines to their friends.

Happy Valentines Day!

Here’s about a 12-minute video walking you through the steps. Enjoy!

Please share

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

More Valentine’s Day Treats

• Hot cocoa Bombs
• Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie
• Black Cherry Breakfast Cake
• Peppermint Bark Popcorn

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Valentine De-Coder Cookies

Delicious cookies and an activity all in one. Perfect for the Valentines Class Party, or just at home.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes minutes

Total Time 21 minutes minutes

Servings 36 cookies

Calories 81kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Equipment

• baking sheets
• heart shaped cookie cutters in different sizes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 bag of red hard candy such as Jolly ranchers

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Line cookie sheets with foil and spray with coconut oil (or any non-stick spray).
• Place the hard candy in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or cooking mallet and set aside.
• Beat and cream together shortening, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
• Sift together salt, baking soda and flour.
• Add to creamed mixture alternately with yogurt. Chill if desired
• Roll out dough on a well floured surface and cut with floured cookie cutters.
• Place each heart shaped cookie dough onto the cookie sheet and fill the center with crushed candy.
• Bake for 6-8 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet.

Nutrition

Calories: 81kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 14mg | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.4mg

The post Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies appeared first on Art From My Table.

I created this delicious Sangria Mocktail while in Utah at a conference last fall. Personally, I don’t drink. But there’s so much more to having a cocktail thank consuming it.

It’s about the experience of it: the taste, the atmosphere, the temperature, the way the glass feels in your hand. It’s all very festive.

The issue I have with ordering ‘virgin drinks’ is they taste like over sugary fruit juice. A good mocktail has all the components of a cocktail with out the alcohol~ a good base, sour, sweet, and garnish.

Ingredients for Sangria Mocktail

While the possibilities are endless, here’s what we’re using today:

• persimmon
• grapefruit
• lime
• pears
• cranberries
• red non-alcoholic wine (such as Sutter Home Fre Wine Merlot or Red Blend)
• Kombucha

How to make non-alcoholic sangria Mocktail

Step One: cut up fruit

• slice persimmon
• slice grapefruit
• slice lime
• slice or dice pear

Step Two: add fruit and liquid

• Place the persimmon, grapefruit, lime, pear and fresh cranberries into a large pitcher
• pour in the non alcoholic wine and Kombucha, stir

Step Three: chill

• chill the mixture for 3-4 hours before serving.
• kick back, have a snack, you’ve worked hard, you deserve it. 😉

When you’re ready to enjoy it, you can garnish each glass with a few fresh cranberries or a wedge of grapefruit.

Variations of  Sangria Mocktail

• Any fruit works with sangria. Try it with apples, oranges, lemon, strawberries, blueberries, pomegranate– the sky is the limit! Pick your favorites.
• You can use fruit juice instead of wine. Just know that the end result will be sweeter.
• In this recipe, I used pomegranate flavored kombucha. The kombucha here is acting as the sour or tart flavor. Most kombucha isn’t sweet, so pick a flavor you like, or just use plain.
• If you like a sparkling Sangria, leave the kombucha out of the pitcher, and instead add a splash or two to each glass. This will keep it nice and fizzy.
• You can use ginger ale, ginger beer, or citrus clear soda, in place of the kombucha. It will be a sweeter result (and not a healthy mocktail).

More Mocktail Recipes ~

• Strawberry Mojito Mocktail
• Coconut Creme Mocktini
• Cherry Cooler
• Peppermint White Russian

Print

Sangria Mocktail

A non-alcoholic sangria that tastes like the real thing. Loaded with fruit, non alcoholic wine and Kombucha. 

Course Beverage, Drinks

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

chill 4 hours hours

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 139kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Ingredients

• 1 persimmon sliced
• 1 grapefruit sliced
• 2 limes sliced
• 1 pear sliced or diced
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries plus more for garnish
• 24 ounces non alcoholic merlot such as Sutter Home Fre, or red blend
• 12 ounces kombucha pomegranate flavored or flavor of choice

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Add sliced fruit and cranberries to a large pitcher.
• Add non-alcoholic wine and kombucha, stir
• chill for 3-4 hours before serving. Serve garnished with cranberries and/or a wedge of grapefruit or lime

Notes

• Any fruit works with sangria. Try it with apples, oranges, lemon, strawberries, blueberries, pomegranate– the sky is the limit! Pick your favorites.
• You can use fruit juice instead of wine. Just know that the end result will be sweeter.
• In this recipe, I used pomegranate flavored kombucha. The kombucha here is acting as the sour or tart flavor. Most kombucha isn’t sweet, so pick a flavor you like, or just use plain.
• If you like a sparkling Sangria, leave the kombucha out of the pitcher, and instead add a splash or two to each glass. This will keep it nice and fizzy.
• You can use ginger ale, ginger beer, or citrus clear soda, in place of the kombucha. It will be a sweeter result (and not a healthy mocktail).

***nutrition info on this recipe is not 100% accurate because it couldn’t calculate non-alcoholic wine or kombucha. Non-alcoholic wine has less than half the calories of regular wine. So you can subtract about 70 calories per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 264mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 483IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Sangria Mocktail appeared first on Art From My Table.

Ahhh, Fall! The cooler crisp air, the vibrant leaves, and a whole new season of eating. It’s time for Baked Apples, your favorite chili, Apple Crumble Cake, and salted caramel everything! And of course, this Apple Crisp, which is what I’m sharing with you today!

I’ve taken all the things I love about Apple Crisp and made it into a better for you option. Can it really be? It’s a great question and fair for sure. I love taking indulgent desserts and creating a healthier option, and that’s exactly what we have here. 🙂

Clean substitutions

Apples are already good for you, you know what they say… “An apple a day…” It’s just that with traditional apple crisp, we load it up with sugar, and that’s where I think we can improve.

Here are ways to make that Old Fashioned Apple Crisp better for you:

1. Substitute the sugar with an all natural stevia based sweetener. I used Swerve in this recipe to replace the granulated sugar and the brown sugar, and I was VERY impressed. No one could tell.
2. Don’t use processed sugar at all. Using ingredients like 100% maple syrup and honey are great natural substitutes
3. Cut back on the sugar. In other words, use less, like 50% less. Depending on the apples you use, you can really cut back on the sugar and you still have an amazing dessert! Some apples are more sweet, some more tart. But either way, you don’t want to cover up the taste with too much sugar.
4. Replace the all purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour, or almond flour, or even a whole grain unbleached all purpose flour.
5. Add protein. You could add collagen protein right into the topping mixture to give it a boost.

Apple variety recommendations

• Granny Smith
• Honey Crisp
• Golden Delicious
• Baldwin
• Cortland
• Cameo
• Gala
• Ida Reds
• Crispin
• Empire
• Fuji

If you like a more tart variety, choose Cortland, Cameo, or Baldwin. If you like a sweeter variety, choose Honey Crisp, Crispin, Empire or Fuji. SO MANY APPLES! 🙂

Instructions

Step One: Make the topping

• Whisk the flour, sugars and salt.
• Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until it resembles course crumbs.
• Add the oats and walnuts with your hands and mix well.
• Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the other steps.

Step Two: Make the filling

• Place dried cranberries and apple cider in a small sauce pan, bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes to reconstitute the cranberries.
• Core, peel, and slice the apples and place them in a large bowl
• Add drained cranberries, salt, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon to the apples, mix well.

Step Three: Bake

• Place the apple mixture in a cast iron skillet or 9 x 13 inch pan. One of the things I love about cast iron pans is their versatitlity to cook everything from steaks to desserts.
• Add the streusel topping and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes

If you’d like to, you can serve this with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Okay, so that’s going to make it less healthy, but either way, you’ll enjoy it! This is seriously the best ever apple crisp!

More apple recipes

• Apple Butter
• Baked Apples
• Apple and Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
• Squash Apple Cranberry bake
• Apple Cider Pork Chops
• Apple Pie Smoothie

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Please Share!

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

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Healthy Apple Crisp

You’ll fall in love with this healthier version of the traditional apple crisp. We’ve lightened it up by using less sugar and all natural ingredients. Get ready to impress! 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 615kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

• 1 1/2 cups whole grain unbleached all purpose flour you can use almond flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or another variety as well.
• 3/4 cups Swerve granulated sugar can use regular sugar if desired
• 3/4 cups Swerve brown sugar can use regular brown sugar if desired
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter cold and diced
• 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup walnuts chopped

For the filling:

• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup apple cider
• 4 pounds apples cored, peeled, sliced (about 9 apples) I like Honey Crisp or Granny Smith
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 cup maple syrup 100% pure
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• Vanilla Ice Cream for serving, optional
• Salted Caramel Sauce for serving, optional

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

For the Topping:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• For the streusel, whisk together the flour, sugars, and salt in a bowl.
• Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs.
• Mix oats and walnuts into flour mixture with your hands until thoroughly combined; cover and refrigerate.

For the Filling:

• Place cranberries and apple cider in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes until the cranberries are plump.
• Toss together apples, cranberries, maple syrup, lemon juice, 2 tbs flour, cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp salt in a large bowl.
• Transfer apple mixture to a Cast Iron Skillet, or a 9×13 inch baking dish, (or 2 pie dishes work too).
• Cover apples with streusel and bake until apples are tender, about 50 minutes.
• Let apple crisp rest on a cooling rack 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce

Nutrition

Calories: 615kcal | Carbohydrates: 117g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 282mg | Potassium: 423mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 832IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Apple Crisp With Cranberries appeared first on Art From My Table.

These are my all-time favorite pumpkin muffins. I make them every year. Multiple times. To me, the addition of chocolate chips is what makes this recipe extra delicious. Especially dark chocolate!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Easy and quick to make.
• Better for you without sacrificing flavor.
• Freezes well.

Key Ingredints and Substitutions

• Flour– All purpose works great here, but if you want a little more nutrition, try whole wheat, or whole wheat pastry flour. Whole wheat flour will make them a bit more dense.
• Pumpkin Puree– FRESH IS BEST! But canned pumpkin will work fine. See my tutorial on how to make your own pumpkin puree’. If you use canned, make sure you are using 100% pumpkin, not pie filling or one with extra ingredients.
• Coconut Oil– Lighter and better for you than vegetable oil. If you want to lighten it up further, you can use apple sauce in place of it (in addition to the apple sauce listed below).
• Unsweetened Apple Sauce– An amazing substitute for fat in this recipe. Apple sauce keeps it moist and light but without the extra heavy calories.
• Sugar- Use regular sugar, or a sugar substitute such as Swerve. I only reccomend sugar substitutes that are stevia based, as they are all natural and not loaded with chemicals. You can also swap this out for maple syrup or honey if you want an unrefined sugar.
• Mini chocolate chips– My favorite is dark chocolate but use what you like best. If you want to reduce the sugar in this recipe further, Lily’s chocolate chips work great! They are made with stevia instead of sugar. I prefer the mini size here as I like how well it distributes througout the muffin, but regular size works fine.

How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

Step One | Combine the wet ingredients

• Add eggs, oil, applesauce, pumpkin, and sugar to a medium size bowl.
• Whisk together until combined.

Step Two |  Combine the dry ingredients

• In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice together.

Step Three | Blend

• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
• Stir until just combined.
• Fold in the chocolate chips

Step Four | Fill and bake

• Fill muffin wells 2/3rds of the way full
• Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top (optional).
• Bake at 400 for 16-20 minutes.

If you’re like me and can’t resist a cozy pumpkin bake, these muffins hit all the right notes — sweet, spiced, and just the right amount of indulgent. And if you’re leaning into all things pumpkin this season, these Pumpkin Pie Crescent Rolls are another fun and easy treat to try.

Chef’s Tips and Variations

• If your coconut oil is solid, gently warm it in the microwave until it is liquid and room temperataure.
  
• These work well as mini muffins too. Just make sure you check them after about 12 minutes, they shouldn’t need to bake as long.
  
• “Folding” in the chocolate chips simply means to gently turn the batter over with your spoon or spatula until they are evenly mixed in. It’s a very gentle way of mixing. Overmixing can result in tough or dry muffins. 
  
• I’ve lightened up these muffins by using coconut oil and applesauce to replace the traditional fats. You can take it a step further with any or all of these options:
  • Use unsweetened applesauce to replace all the fats (coconut oil here).
  • Use whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat white flour
  • Use unrefined sugar, such as maple syrup or honey.
  • Use 85% dark chocolate. This is naturally low in sugar. If you can’t find it in chips, get a bar and chop it up.
    
• You can use muffin liners, grease a traditional muffin tin, or use Silicone. I’ve become a huge fan of the silicone trays over the years. No greasing the pan, and you just can’t beat the clean up. Mine are from Bon Cook, but they are quite pricey, Here’s a more affordable one on Amazon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

These pumpkin muffins are perfect with a cup of coffee for breakfast. Or serve them alongside a tasty bowl of Healthy Turkey Chili or Butternut Squash Soup. They also make a lovely afternoon snack. There is no bad time to eat these!!

Storing and Freezing

You can store these in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days. Muffins are best stored at room temp. Refrigerating them can change the texture.

These muffins freeze very well! I love to have an extra batch in the freezer.

• Place them in a zip lock freezer bag or other air tight container.
• Release as much air as possible.
• Freeze for up to six months.

Don’t forget to label and date the bag.

You Might Also Like…

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Please share

Your shares are how this site grows, and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe?

I’d love it if you shared it on your favorite Pinterest board or Facebook! AND…if you like this recipe, please do me a favor and give it a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating! TIA 🥰

You can also follow along on YouTube and Instagram!

Print

Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

Perfectly moist soft pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips. With a few ingredient swaps these are lighter and better for you.

Course Dessert, muffin

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 16 minutes minutes

Cooling time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 36 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Calories 249kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Cost $10

Equipment

• Traditional muffin pan with liners, or silicone muffin pan

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil warmed to room temperature, you can substitute unsweetened applesauce if desired
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 cups pumpkin puree homemade is what I use, canned is fine
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces semisweet mini chocolate chips

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Mix eggs, oil, applesauce, pumpkin, and sugar together, stir well.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Do not over stir.
• Fold in chocolate chips.
• Generously fill 24 greased or paper-lined muffin cups (No need to grease if you're using silicone muffin trays).
• Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes.
• If using a traditional muffin pan, cool 10 minutes before moving muffins to a cooling rack. If using a silicone pan, cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.

Notes

• If your coconut oil is solid, gently warm it in the microwave until it is liquid and at room temperature.
• These work well as mini muffins too. Just make sure you check them after about 12 minutes, they shouldn’t need to bake as long.
• I’ve lightened up these muffins by using coconut oil and applesauce to replace the traditional fats.
• You can use muffin liners, grease a traditional muffin tin, or use Silicone. I’ve become a huge fan of the silicone trays over the years. No greasing the pan, and you just can’t beat the clean up.
• “Folding” in chocolate chips simply means to gently turn the batter over with your spoon or spatula until they are evenly mixed in. It’s a very gentle way of mixing. Overmixing can result in tough or dry muffins. 
• This recipe makes 24 generous muffins. If you want a smaller batch, hover over the number of servings in the recipe card and use the slider to adjust the amount.

Nutrition

Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 190mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 3227IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins appeared first on Art From My Table.

Eggnog French Toast ~enjoy the warm flavors of egg nog in the form of delicious french toast, topped with cranberry syrup.

Eggnog French Toast

This time of year, I’m crazy for cranberries and eggnog. Why not try them out together? This would be a perfect Christmas morning breakfast. Let me introduce you to Eggnog French Toast with Cranberry Syrup!

I never realized how easy it is to make different sauces from scratch until I tried my hand at jellied cranberry sauce. That inspired me to try more. 

This syrup is super easy to make. All you do is combine your cranberries with some real maple syrup and warm it up. If you want to, you can add a little cornstarch slurry to thicken it, totally preference.

Jam jars are the perfect way to store the syrup, um, if you have any extra. 😉  Better make a double batch because it’s good on pomegranate ice cream too!

Tips & Tricks~

• Use nice thick slices of bread. You want a little chewy crust and a soft inside.
• Soak those slices well! Really give the mixture a chance to soak in.
• The secret to perfectly cooked French Toast is using a good amount of fat. Butter makes everything better. That’s what the experts say. Just make sure the bottom of the pan is more than covered. We’re not deep frying here, but definitely pan frying.

Variation~

• Turn this Eggnog French Toast into a make-ahead casserole! Just layer the bread in a 9×13 and pour the eggnog mixture over the top. Make sure it’s all covered well. You may need extra for this version because the bread will have more time to soak it up.
• Let it sit in the fridge overnight, then bake it up the next morning. Drizzle with Syrup after baking.

This is so good, your mouth will be dancing my friends!

If you’re crazy for eggnog like I am, you’ll love this Eggnog Dip, and check out this stunning Eggnog Pound Cake.

Do you have a favorite Christmas Breakfast or tradition? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!

Looking for more delectable dishes?

Vanilla Fig Smoothie

Pomegranate Ice Cream

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Egg Nog French Toast with Cranberry Syrup

Warm flavors of egg nog like vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg surrounding thick slices of french toast, topped with cranberry maple syrup.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 209kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Ingredients

• 1 cup of fresh cranberries rinsed
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
• 1 loaf of thickly sliced bread
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup eggnog
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4-1/2 cup butter

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Place cranberries, water and syrup in a small sauce pan and heat until cranberries ‘pop’ and are softened.
• optional: add cornstarch slurry to thicken.
• Keep warm until ready to use.
• Whisk 6 eggs, eggnog, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg in a shallow bowl.
• Heat butter in a frying pan on medium heat.
• Working in batches, place the bread in the eggnog mixture and coat both sides well.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
• Serve immediately topped with Cranberry Syrup

Make ahead variation

• Make sauce and reserve until serving.
• Place bread slices in a greased 9×13 inch pan.
• Pour eggnog mixture over the top, cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Top with warmed cranberry sauce.

Notes

To freeze:
Prepare according to the Make-ahead variation but don’t cook it. Cover and freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 209kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 197mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 148mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 528IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Eggnog French Toast with Cranberry Syrup appeared first on Art From My Table.

This Fig Newton Smoothie is fiber rich, protein packed, and tastes like a cookie! A delicious blend of figs, yogurt, and cinnamon that will power you through your day.

What do you think about figs?

Possibly you’re more familiar with the cookie than you are the fruit. Figs are in season from August to October, so you can find fresh figs at that time. The good news is you can enjoy dried figs year round.

Fig Newtons were a staple in our house when I was growing up. We had these little cookies as a snack, often.

I know, they are not particularly ‘good for you’. Actually not at all. I was not raised in a home where healthy was a priority. My mom did cook everyday and we had a sit down family dinner every night.

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We were a meat and potatoes family with lots of junk food sprinkled in. Not even “sprinkled” in. We had every type of chips imaginable in our pantry.

And Little Debbie snack cakes, Ding Dongs, and Twinkies. Wonder bread, Ring bologna (gag!) and Spam (double gag!). Sorry to you Spam lovers, but I. Just. Can’t.

I’m not sure how I ended up in this healthy lifestyle category, eating things like Spaghetti Squash and Zucchini Noodles.

That wasn’t exactly the upbringing I had. But, I never really understood that we weren’t ‘healthy’ eaters. It was just what we knew as normal.

Are my children deprived because I don’t feed them potato chips in every flavor and Little Debbie snack cakes? I don’t think they are, but they might disagree. 😉

Or maybe not, because this is what they know.

Fig Newton Smoothie

And, when you feed them things like a Fig Newton Smoothie? How can they possibly be deprived? They’re loading up on fiber and protein, but they think they’re having a treat.

They don’t care if it’s healthy, they just want it to taste good. 🙂

And it does! When I had this smoothie, it brought me right back to those years of enjoying Fig Newtons. It is SO good! It’s like I couldn’t stop drinking it, and I was sad when it was gone.

So, what are you waiting for? Make one of these today! You’re 5 minutes away from deliciousness.

I love the stemless wine glasses for smoothies, feels so elegant! And, if you don’t have a Vitamix, it’s one of my must have kitchen tools! Love it!

I would love to connect with you! Leave me a comment and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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Fig Newton Smoothie

This Fig Newton Smoothie is fiber rich, protein packed, and tastes like a cookie! A delicious blend of figs, yogurt, and cinnamon that will power you through your day.

Course Breakfast, Drinks, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1 person

Calories 369kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1 scoop 100% whey protein isolate
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 4 reconstituted figs chopped
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 ice cubes

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Put all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.
• Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

To reconstitute figs- boil water in a small saucepan, add figs, simmer for 10 minutes. If your dried figs are really dry and chewy, this is a great step to loosen things up. Some dried figs are still quite soft and sticky and this step isn’t necessary. I have made this smoothie both ways and have had great results.

Nutrition

Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 144mg | Potassium: 662mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 65g | Vitamin A: 285IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 193mg | Iron: 1mg

Do you LOVE Smoothies? I have a whole book of them! You can snag your copy of Super Smoothies here!

The post Fig Newton Smoothie appeared first on Art From My Table.

It’s February. Gray, cold, blah. At least here in Michigan. Actually, I can’t complain because we did have 2 days of sunshine in a row! Woot Woot! Sunshine feeds my soul! February is a short month, but it does fall in the middle of winter. When my kids were younger and at home with me all the time, the days dragged on.

So we celebrated things like Groundhog Day, and President’s day simply to add some excitement to the winter. With Valentines Day in between, it made the month go by a little quicker and then we were that much closer to Spring.

Now, if you’re not from Michigan or nearby, I know, you may not quite understand what I’m talking about. But that’s okay, because if you didn’t celebrate President’s Day before, you will now, just so you can eat the President’s Day Parfait. 😉

One of the things I’m trying to cultivate in my kids is a love for learning. So this is just one way to make the most of every opportunity to learn something. Why do we have President’s Day? How did it start? Can you name the presidents? 

And, we love to eat. Think about it, most holidays have some sort of festive food to go with it, right? So why not? Parfaits are super easy and the combinations are endless. These are made just by layering ingredients. And they’re so pretty, right? This recipe is easy enough that the kids could make it on their own.

I love using mason jars, slap a lid on the jar and now you have breakfast (or snack or dessert) on the go. <3   But, any glass will do.

Here are some resources on President’s Day for kids:

• A brief overview
• A little history
• Activity Pages
• Crafts
• Coloring pages
• This song is what we used to memorize all the presidents up through Obama.

Another Red, White & Blue recipe:

Red, White, & Blue Salad

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President’s Day Parfait

Delicious enough for dessert but healthy enough for breakfast.  Layers of creamy coconut  yogurt and fresh berries.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Calories 32kcal

Author Chellie Schmitz

Ingredients

• 1 6 oz coconut yogurt
• 2 tbsp fresh blueberries
• 1 tbsp fresh raspberries
• 1 tsp unsweetened shredded cocount
• more berries for garnish (optional)

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Start with a layer of yogurt on the bottom of a pint size mason jar or other serving container.
• Place 1 tbsp of blueberries on top, followed by more yogurt.
• Place 1 tbsp of raspberries on top of that followed by another layer of yogurt.
• Place 1 tbs blueberries on top.
• Finish with another layer of yogurt, a few berries for garnish and shredded coconut.
• Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Notes

Can be made one day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 32kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 2mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin C: 7mg

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The post President’s Day Parfait appeared first on Art From My Table.

Eating seasonally is one of the things I enjoy about being in the great mitten state. And then there are those things that scream “holiday”. Eggnog is one of those things. We just can’t get enough of it around here. Have you seen my Eggnog French Toast recipe yet?

My kids have been begging me to buy the eggnog, then they beg me to drink it! Eggnog dip is a fun and different way to enjoy this classic holiday treat.

This recipe comes together in a snap. Need a quick and easy appetizer for your next gathering? Try this recipe, you won’t be disappointed!

If you like a more savory appetizer, try Bacon Wrapped Apricots, they are the hit of the party every single time! But back to the eggnog dip…

Just mix the cream cheese, nutmeg, cinnamon, and of course eggnog together. But don’t forget the secret ingredient…