Valentine's chocolate yogurt snack cakes

Chocolate Yogurt Snack Cakes

From David Lebovitz’s The Sweet Life in Paris on Smitten Kitchen's blog

Makes 16 or so mini muffins

Ingredients

7 ounces (200 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable oil
1/2 cup (125 ml) plain, low-fat yogurt (mine was 9% fat from Central Market brand)
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I didn't have any, tasted fine!)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter the pan or coat w/non-stick spray.

In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate with 1/4 cup of the oil. Once melted and smooth, remove from the heat. You could also melt the chocolate in the microwave by zapping and stirring in 15 second increments.

3. In another bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup oil with yogurt, sugar, eggs and vanilla and almond extracts.

4. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the yogurt mixture. Stir lightly a couple times, then add the melted chocolate and stir until just smooth.

5. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake for 20ish minutes or until they feel barely set in the middle and a tester or toothpick comes out clean.

6. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Dust w/powder sugar and serve. I added hearts because I baked them for my boyfriend his roommates on Valentine's day. Needless to say, they all love me (and the muffins!)

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

I am a sucker for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so it's only appropriate that I learn to make a "healthy" version of my favorite treats. I use the term somewhat loosely, since I do not skimp on the amount of chocolate chips in the dough. However, the recipe does eliminate processed sugar and uses whole grain flour. Close enough... right? Because of the honey, these cookies are not overly sweet and, depending on how long you leave them in the oven, the consistency can range from soft and chewy to a little crunchy.

Before you put on your apron, beware- they never last longer than 2 days in my apartment. A friend of mine can devour a entire batch in a matter of hours. Don't say I didn't warn you....

Dark Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from a Whole Grains Gourmet recipe

Dry ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour from the bulk foods section of Central Market)
1 1/2 cups of large flake rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg (optional)

Wet ingredients

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup olive ol
1/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1 Tablespoon Maple syrup or Molasses
1 egg (beat with 1 Tbsp Water)
1 tsp Vanilla

Optional ingredients

1/2 cup dark choc chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or favorite nuts

Preparation:

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.

In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together. Note: Spray the measuring cup with a little pam to prevent your honey from sticking to slides.

Mix the wet stuff with the dry stuff. Add the choc chips/dried fruit. If the mixture seems too wet, add a bit of flour. This dough will seem a bit wetter than normal cookie dough and will be pretty grainy because of the oats. It's okay though!

Cool the mix for about 20 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 335 degrees (honey burns more easily, so the temp needs to be lower).

Use a teaspoon to drop the dough on to a baking tray (spray with pam to prevent sticking!) Press down with a fork to ensure even cooking.

Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until golden on the bottom of the cookie. Makes approximately 20 cookies, depending on size.