Category: Snacks

When you need something on the go

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

It is my belief that almost anything and everything can be cooker in a slow cooker. Of course, this includes apple butter. Not only does it give you a velvety smooth and flavorful condiment – it is also guaranteed to make your entire house smell amazing! Imagine coming home on a cold rainy day to a house smelling of warm apples and fall spices. God yes! And oh yes – cooking really does not get any easier!

Apple butter is again one of those things that we don´t have or know in Denmark and I was therefore only introduced to it through – you guessed it – my American fiancé Lance. Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical to begin with. I imagined that apple butter could not be all that different from apple sauce, in which case why would anyone bother with the extra effort? After making this and having one single spoon lick (that quickly turned into several) I knew the difference instantly. Apple butter is so much thicker and velvetier than apple sauce. As I also added a few spices to mine,  it is also much more flavorful! Many apple butter recipes call for a ton of sugar, which I think is a real shame. Why take something as good and healthy as apples and ruin the flavor by overpowering it with zero-benefits refined sugar? That is why I only used dates and apple cider as sweetener in this recipe. And trust me – it is plenty sweet  – all while at the same time allowing the flavors of the apples and spices to shine through.

This stuff tastes amazing and is so versatile. From not having any idea what to do with apple butter before knowing what it was, I now cannot wait to add it to absolutely everything! I´m thinking apple butter oatmeal, lattes, chia puddings and even salad dressings! I also have an intense desire to go experimenting with some apple butter turnovers right this instant!

Anyways, before going to experiment with all the recipes that will require apple butter, I should first of all give you the actual apple butter recipe.

Slow cooker apple butter

Makes 2.5 cups 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 kg apples (2.2 lbs)
  • 3/4 cup pitted dates
  • 1/2 cup apple cider
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

METHOD

  1. Core and chop the apples. (I used an apple slicer which made this step very quick). Leave the skin on the apples. Not only does it save you some effort, it also gives you the most nutrient rich apple butter as most of the vitamins can be found in the peel
  2. Pour the apples into a slow cooker
  3. In a blender of foodprocessor combine dates, apple cider, lemon juice and spices. Process until smooth.
  4. Poor the blended dates over the apples in the slow cooker
  5. Slow cook on low for 10 hours, stirring once or twice in between to make sure the apples don´t burn on the bottom
  6. Once the apples are done slow cooking, pour the entire apple mixture into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
  7. Pour the apple butter back into the slow cooker. Now cook uncovered on high for an additional 2 hours. This will let some of the water evaporate and give you the thickest apple butter. Trust me. Don´t skip this step!
  8. Once done, pour into a jar and keep refrigerated for up to three weeks.

NOTES

  1. I recommend using a mix of sweet and tart apples for the most flavorful butter. The more varieties, the more flavor!
  2. Next time, I think I might make a double batch and freeze half. You can never have too much apple butter and this way you can have it ready in a snap when you run out.

 

As an apple butter newbie (yes, there is such a thing) I´m curious to hear what your favorite ways of using apple butter are. Let me know in the comments below!

StephLeave a comment

Pumpkin Apple Pancakes

Before I started dating Lance 10 years ago, I had never in my life had American pancakes before. Can you believe that!? In Denmark, pancakes normally refer to crêpes, which is usually a dessert and not a breakfast. Although of course I had to create a breakfast crêpe version as well. You can find my recipe for banana oat crêpes right here: https://www.sweetpotatoesandsunshine.com/2017/08/06/easy-peasy-banana-oat-crepes/

Anyways, 10 years later, I wonder how it was even possible to live 20 years of my life without this number one weekend breakfast treat! We have pancakes at least every other weekend. Weekends are for hygge (Danish word for coziness) and that means that breakfast should be a step-up from the rushed breakfasts that we have on weekdays. The answer: Pancakes.

Of course there are about a million different pancake recipes out there – and you will certainly also be able to find more variations on this blog in the future – but I have to say that this pumpkin apple version ranks at the top of my favorites. Pumpkin and apple is the perfect fall combination and it makes for a very flavorful pancake! They taste so good that I will often eat them by themselves without bothering with toppings. No joke.

They come together quite quickly and with their high vitamin content and no refined sugars, they are an excellent way to start the day. Guilt free. Kids, adults and dogs have tasted these in our home and it seems to be a winner with all. 😉

PUMPKIN APPLE Pancakes

SERVES 2 (Makes 8 pancakes) 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin pure (fresh or canned)
  • 1/2 cup greek yogurt (or skyr or quark)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 apple (I prefer using a tart variation)
  • Coconut oil for baking
  • Toppings of your choice (I like this version with greek yogurt, blueberries, apples and maple syrup)

METHOD

  1. Grind the oats into a fine flour in a food processor
  2. Add all other ingredients, except for the apple, and process until well combined
  3. Shred the apple and fold it into the batter
  4. Grease a pan lightly with coconut oil and and bake pancakes at medium low heat
  5. Serve immediately with your preferred toppings

NOTES

  1. Resist the temptation to bake the pancakes at a higher temperature. The batter is rather wet, so the pancakes need to be cooked at a fairly low temperature to ensure they get done all the way through.
  2. I often make a double batch and freeze half for lazy weekends where I don´t have time or energy to be early in the kitchen.

Let me know how you like them! If you are vegan please note that I will be working on creating a vegan version of these babies as well. Stay tuned for it.

StephLeave a comment

Vegan Banana Bread

I am currently reading Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition by T. Colin Campbell (also the author of The China Study). Mr. Campbell advocates for a plant based diet, and reading his highly researched and fact based argumentations, it is hard not to want to go fully vegan / plant based in an instant. Although I am not vegan, or even close to being it, I do aspire to work myself towards a more plant-based diet as I fully believe this to be the healthiest. On top of that, it also means being good to animals and the environment so really, what is the excuse?

Well, in any case… On my path to transitioning to a more plant based diet, I recently came up with this delicious banana bread. I was actually just playing around in the kitchen, thinking that I needed to use the brown bananas I had had sitting on my countertop for almost a week. I didn’t expect anything extraordinary to come out of it, but oh my was I pleasantly surprised! Let me tell you all: this banana bread is a winner! Said in all modesty, the consistency of this bread is perfect: super moist but without being the least bit underdone or soggy. On top of that, it´s healthy and fairly low calorie. No refined sugars, no oil, no gluten and only 124 calories per slice. And oh yes, let´s not forget the fact that it tastes exactly as banana bread should. Full of banana flavor and just the right level of sweetness. I really can´t think of any reasons why you should not go make this bread right this instant! 

Be ready to have your house smelling heavenly! Here goes:

Vegan Banana Bread

Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tablespoons flaxseed flour
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1 cup green banana flour (or substitute 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 1/3 cup mashed bananas (about 3 large bananas)
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

METHOD

    1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celcius and grease a loaf pan
    2. Combined the flaxseed flour and almond milk and set aside
    3. In a small sized bowl, combine all dry ingredients (banana flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon)
    4. In a medium sized bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, coconut sugar, apple sauce and vanilla extract)
    5. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, being careful not to overstir
    6. Fold in chopped walnuts, if using
    7. Bake on the middle oven rack for about 40 minutes

NOTES

    1. Everyone likes their banana bread a little differently so feel free to adapt the recipe to your own liking by adding different nuts, raisins or chocolate chips!
    2. My loaf was done perfectly at exactly 40 minutes, but check on it after 35 minutes as each oven is a bit different
    3. It is best served warm so I recommend reheating leftovers – that is if there are any! 😉

Go ahead and try to stick to just having one piece. I dare you! 🙂

StephLeave a comment

Koldskål – A Danish Summer Speciality

As a Dane, there is no summer without koldskål and no koldskål without summer!

Having lived abroad for most of my life, I have always been fascinated with the cultural differences when it comes to food. Here in Switzerland, local dishes are dominated by the use of cheese in for example raclette, rösti and cheese fondue – dishes that people eat frequently but that you would never find outside of Switzerland. Similarly, Lance, my American fiancé could not believe that I had never in my life had pumpkin pie before we started dating. Given how much I love pumpkin pie now, I cannot believe myself either how I could possibly miss out on this for the first 20 years of my life!

From a Danish perspective, there are also several dishes/foods that you wonder how other people get by without. Proper dark bread, Danish pastries (trust me – what they sell in other countries marked as “Danish Pastries” is nothing like the real thing!) and koldskål, just to name a few.

So what exactly is koldskål? I think the closest I can describe it is a cold sweet soup with a lemon vanilla flavor. It can be eaten as dessert, but us Danes like to eat it at anytime during the summer. Be it for breakfast, dinner, dessert or a snack in between meals! It is normally served with strawberries and kammerjunkere, which Lance claims taste exactly like Nilla Wafers. As I´ve never had Nilla wafers myself I can´t vouch for this but they are small compact and crunchy cookies that are only very lightly sweetened. Combined with the lemon vanilla flavor of the koldskål, this makes the dish refreshing rather than sweet. Which is why it can be enjoyed at anytime of the day! 🙂

Vegan koldskål

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

  • 400g silken tofu
  • 1 cup milk of choice (I used cashew milk)
  • 10 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
  • 4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • 1/4  cup granulated sweetener of choice (I used Xylitol)
  • Top with strawberries and kammerjunkere

 

METHOD
Grate and squeeze the lemons so that you have the lemon zest and lemon juice ready to go.

Add all other ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Gradually add the lemon juice and lemon peel until it has the desired taste. I like mine with a rather strong lemon taste for it to be more refreshing, so you may want to use less than what the recipe calls for here.

Pour into bowls and serve cold with strawberries and kammerjunkere.
NOTES

Koldskål is meant to be refreshing on a hot summer day. It is therefore best enjoyed very cold! If your ingredients aren´t cold when you blend them, put the koldskål in the fridge for half an hour before serving.

As mentioned, everyone likes their koldskål a little different. Experiment with the amount of lemon and vanilla you use until you find the level that is right for you.

I´m sure you´re wondering where the recipe for kammerjunkere is. I haven´t created this yet, but am working on it. Until the recipe is ready to be posted on the blog, serve either with just strawberries or with strawberries and Nilla Wafers.

What´s your favorite national dish? I can´t wait to hear!

StephLeave a comment

Slow Cooker Granola-Stuffed Baked Apples

Make ahead, warm, hearty, fall breakfast yumminess? Yes please!

As a European, I had never heard of a slow cooker before my American fiancé a couple of years ago mentioned that we should get one. So we did, and I have to say that it is now my favorite kitchen appliance! It is so easy to use, and I love how you can prepare meals in advance. That being waking up to ready-to-go breakfasts like this recipe, or coming home after a long day and dinner being on the table already. Not to mention the smell of delicious food that fills the whole apartment as the slow cooker is working its magic. Mmmm.

A lot of mornings we start our day early with a workout outside, regardless of the weather. Especially this time a year, coming back inside to a warm already prepared breakfast makes everything easier and better! It also allows me to take an extra long warm shower because I don’t have to worry about hurrying to make breakfast before Lance has to leave for work. It’s time saving, easy to use and makes delicious flavorful meals. Really, what is not to love??? Come to think about it, a slow cooker would make a great Christmas gift for my Danish family…

But enough about slow cookers and more about granola stuffed apples! When I made this I was a bit afraid that it would not be filling enough. We like a healthy filling breakfast to ensure high energy levels throughout the day, and that means that we often have a lot of grains in the morning. It turned out though that this breakfast was plenty filling – even for my fiancé Lance who has been known to have the appetite of a horse! 😉 I put everything together in the evening and set the timer for 5 hours. The slow cooker then kept the apples warm until we were ready to eat.

You can use any granola that you like, but the below granola recipe is one of my favorites. Unlike the ones that you buy in grocery stores it is actually purely based on healthy whole ingredients and is free from refined sugars. No more sugar spikes that leave you tired before lunchtime already!

Let me know how you like it.

Love,

Steph

 

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Slow Cooker Granola-Stuffed Baked Apples

INGREDIENTS (2 portions)

  • 4 large apples
  • Granola (see recipe below)
  • Yogurt of choice – for example coconut yogurt or Greek yoghurt
  • Honey

METHOD

Wash and core apples, leaving enough of the core at the base of the apple to contain the filling. Add the granola to the cored apples and place them in the slow cooker. Add about half an inch of water to the slow cooker and cover with lid. Cook on low for 5 hours. Serve with yogurt of your choice and a drizzle of honey for extra sweetness.

Super-fast Goji Berry Granola

INGREDIENTS (2 portions)

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1 cup almonds
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbs honey
  • 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup goji berries

METHOD

Put almonds in a food processor and blend slightly. I like to keep the pieces big and chunky! Heat pan over medium high heat and add almonds and rolled oats. Roast for about 2 minutes and add all other ingredients except for the goji berries. Roast for about 5 more minutes, stirring often not to burn. Take the granola off the heat and add the goji berries.

NOTES

I like to overstuff the apples for a more even balance between the apples and the granola.

StephLeave a comment