Raspberry Almond Chia Muffins

This past Friday I went raspberry picking with one of my good friends out in the subdivision that I live in. The rain has been so sparse lately that I didn't expect a lot to be out but there was quite a bit, and definitely enough to make some baked goods with. I love wild raspberries and blueberries for that matter because they may be tiny, but they have SO much more flavor. This is definitely in the top 10 muffin recipes that I have made so far!

Ingredients:

1 stick margarine, softened
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sour cream, light
3 tsp. chia seeds
1 c. wild raspberries (or store-bought big ones)
1/4 c. slivered almonds (plus a few for the top)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In an electric mixer, combine the margarine and sugar until creamy. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients until the combination is mixed well. Stir in the sour cream, raspberries, almonds and chia seeds with a spatula. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups. Add a few slivered almonds on top. I also added some coarse sugar (sugar crystals). Bake in the oven for 23-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the batter is fully cooked. Transfer out of the pans and let cool fully on a wire rack.

(Makes 12 muffins, 6 WW points per muffin.)

Banana Cupcakes with Golden Raspberry Frosting

Ingredients:

2 2/3 c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 stick margarine, softened
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 c. 1% milk
1 recipe Golden Raspberry Buttercream Frosting (about 1/2 of recipe)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In an electric mixer, blend the margarine, brown sugar and sugar together until well combined. Add in the eggs and bananas. Add the dry ingredients alternating with the milk, ending with the dry. Divide into 2 cupcake containers lined with paper liners (or sprayed with non-stick spray). Bake 18 minutes in the oven until the tops get golden brown. Let cool fully before adding the buttercream frosting on top.

Golden Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

This recipe is great for many reasons, but one being that the golden raspberries fool people because they are not expecting it to taste like raspberries when they eat it. It's a process, but it's well worth it! 

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened
6 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 c. golden raspberries

Step 1: Place the raspberries into a food processor and pulse until the raspberries are pretty broken up.

Step 2: Using a cheese cloth, squeeze the juice out of the pureed raspberries until all you are left with for the most part is a thick pulp.

Step 3: Beat the butter with a whisk attachment of an electric mixer and slowly add in the powdered sugar. Whip for about 3-5 minutes. Add in the raspberry puree and whip for another 2 minutes. The end result is a fluffy light pinkish-orange color.

Raspberry Marmalade Almond Bars

I was trying to come up with a recipe for coffee-cake-like bars that felt like summer and was packed with a citrus punch. These bars turned out perfect! Tangy raspberries with baked on gooey orange marmalade and drizzled with an orange powdered sugar icing!

Ingredients:

2 sticks margarine, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. almond extract
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 - 1 c. fresh raspberries
1/4 c. slivered almonds
1/4 c. orange marmalade

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with non stick cooking spray and set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the sugar and margarine together until it forms a creamy consistency. Add in the eggs, almond extract, flour and salt and mix just until everything is combined together. Pour out into the greased pan and spread evenly. Using a small spoon, place a few spoonfuls of marmalade randomly on top and using a knife, make a cross pattern through the marmalade integrating it into the batter. Add fresh raspberries and slivered almonds. Bake for 23-26 minutes until the sides are golden brown and the center is cooked through (use a toothpick if you need to). Let cool fully on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 c. powdered sugar and 1 tsp. orange extract. Add water if the consistency is still too stiff. Drizzle on top of the cooled cake and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into bars.

Raspberry Lemon Layered Pound Cake

If you are looking for a simple dessert recipe for spring/summer that takes less than 5 minutes to put together and is packed with bold flavors, this would be it. I love the combination of raspberry and lemon, and this recipe pairs them together so well. It is also low in fat and perfect for people (like myself) on Weight Watchers.

Ingredients:

1 fat free or low fat frozen pound cake, thawed according to directions
4 oz. low fat Cool Whip (or any whipped topping)
1/4 c. lemon curd (from a jar)
1 1/2 c. fresh raspberries

Cut the pound cake into 3 or 4 layers and set aside. Using a spatula, fold the lemon curd into the whipped topping until well combined (it is okay to leave bits of lemon curd throughout the whipped topping so that you get more of a bite from the lemon curd). Slice the raspberries in half lengthwise, leaving 5-6 whole for decoration.

Assemble as follows:

Pound cake, whipped topping, raspberries (repeat this two more times), and on the top layer, leave whole raspberries to garnish with. 

(Makes 8-10 servings. If you slice in 8 servings, 5 WW points per serving)

Pink Raspberry Meringues

Ingredients:

3 egg whites
1/8 tsp. salt
1 small pkg. raspberry Jell-o mix, sugar free fat free
3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbs. white distilled vinegar
Sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Beat the egg whites and salt together with an electric mixer on high speed until foaming. Add the Jell-O and sugar, and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Add vinegar on slow speed until well incorporated. Pipe by the tablespoon full on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add sprinkles to the top, and bake for 25 minutes. Turn the oven off and let sit another 20 minutes before removing from the oven and cooling fully on a wire rack. Store  in a container that has venting. If you store in an air tight container, the moisture will cause the meringues to disintegrate.

Raspberry Semi Sweet Dessert Bars

A year and a half ago I made some amazing bars that I re-made only used slightly different ingredients. The recipe I adjusted was my Raspberry Streusel Squares recipe. I used 1 stick of butter instead of 1 1/2 so that the mixture was more crumbly and the streusel that ended on top stayed loose. Instead of using my husband's Aunt Jean's raspberry jam, I used my cousin Jen's raspberry jam that she had given us for Christmas (soooo good!). And instead of using white chocolate chips, I used semi-sweet. This version for some reason seemed to taste more like a dessert bar, where as the previous recipe tasted more like a granola bar with white chocolate. No matter what type of jam or chocolate you use for these, they are unbelievably delicious!

Fresh Berry Tarts

Ingredients:

1/2 pkg. refrigerated pie crust (you only need one crust)
8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 c. blueberries
1 c. raspberries (I used red and golden)
1/4 c. sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, unroll the pie crust. Roll the crust out with a rolling pin until 1/8 inch think. Use a circular cookie cutter and cut as many as you can. Ball the remaining crust back up and flatten again using the rolling pin. I ended up with 18 mini pie crusts. Place on an ungreased baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart and prick the top with a fork. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the baking sheets and cool on wire racks. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar and almond extract together until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture in a thin layer on top of the crusts. Top each with a few blueberries and raspberries. Add a few sliced almonds on top.

(Makes approximately 20 tarts, 4 WW points each)

Raspberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1 c. raspberries
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 c. fat free sour cream
3 Tbs. Imperial Margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg, sour cream, melted butter and vanilla together. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon. Spray a quiche pan or pie dish with non stick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, toss the raspberries and brown sugar together. Spread over the top of the batter. Bake for 25-27 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool fully before adding icing (1/4 c. powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. 1% milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla). (Makes 6 slices, 5 WW points per slice.)

Raspberry French Vanilla Mini Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 box French vanilla cake mix
1 1/3 c. water
1/3 c. oil
3 eggs
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 1/4 c. frozen thawed raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first four ingredients with a whisk until mostly smooth. Stir in the lemon juice and raspberries (with the raspberry juice). Spray mini muffin tins with Pam cooking spray. Spoon the batter into the cups about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

*I flipped the cupcakes over and glazed with store bought whipped milk chocolate frosting that I melted in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

White Chocolate Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients:
2 c. chocolate animal crackers
2 Tbs. Fleischmann's spreadable olive oil butter (you can use any kind)
1/2 c. sugar
2 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz. each)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. white chocolate chips, melted in the microwave (30 seconds, stir, and then 15 second intervals)
1-1 1/2 c. Raspberries, frozen and then thawed (need the juice, don't drain)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, combine the chocolate animal crackers and 2 Tbs. butter until soft crumbs form. Line mini muffin tins with cupcake liners. Spoon about 1 1/2 tsp. (eyeball it) into each cup, and don't worry about pressing down, it will melt and form a bottom in the cooking process. In an electric mixer, beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Be sure and wipe down the sides because the cream cheese tends to stick. Add the vanilla and the 2 eggs on low speed. Beat in the cooled white chocolate and let mix until light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes). Spoon into each mini muffin cup (ends up making 48 mini). Add a raspberry and some of the raspberry juice to the top of each cheesecake bite. Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Raspberry Streusel Squares

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. Quaker Oats (quick, uncooked)
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 stick margarine, cut into pieces
1 c. Raspberry preserves or jam (I used my husbands Aunt Jean's Raspberry Jello-Jam)
1/2 c. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the flour, oats, sugars and baking powder in a large bowl (with high sides). Cut the margarine in with a pastry blender. Reserve 1 cup of the oat mixture for streusel. Press the oat mixture 1/4 c. at a time into a sprayed square muffin pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Spread the preserves evenly over the hot crust. Sprinkle the white chocolate chips, and then the remaining streusel evenly over every square, patting gently. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing. Makes 12 squares.

You can use any type of jam, nuts, dried fruits and chocolate. 

The above picture is apricot jam with chopped walnuts.

White Chocolate Mousse with Raspberries and Almonds

 I had a Pampered Chef party this past weekend and there was some great food there! For dessert I made something from the Pampered Chef website, but I twisted the recipe a little bit. The original recipe is called "Double Chocolate Mousse Cups" but I only used the white chocolate and nixed the waffle cone, and instead put the dessert in individual cups, used frozen raspberries so that there was a sauce, and chopped the almonds instead of sliced. Here is the recipe for the version that I made....

Ingredients:

1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1 c. cold milk
1 pkg. (3.3 oz) white chocolate instant pudding
1 (8 oz) container frozen light cool whip, thawed
1/4 c. chopped almonds, toasted
1 bag frozen raspberries, thawed in the refrigerator

Place the white chocolate chips into a microwavable bowl. Microwave on thirty seconds to begin with and stir. Heat in 15 second intervals until the chocolate is melted. Combine the milk and the pudding mix in a bowl until thick, using a whisk. Add the melted white chocolate and whisk until smooth. Fold in the cool whip. In a small saucepan heated on medium heat, add the almonds. As soon as you can start to smell the almonds toasting, stir repeatedly for about 3 minutes until the almonds are crispy and have a slight brown color. Set aside. To assemble, spoon the mousse into your serving dish. Spoon some of the raspberries in their natural juice on top, top with the toasted almonds, and I added a few white chocolate chips on top. (* If you want to pipe, use a freezer bag and fill with the mousse mixture. Cut a small hole in the corner and pipe into your serving dishes. Then assemble like above.)


Pampered Chef Recipe

Blue Raspberry Jello Martini

Ingredients:

1 pkg. blue raspberry jello 

Chocolate chips

Cool whip

Blueberries, smashed a little bit to release some juice

Prepare the jello as directed on the box. When you have the liquid mixture ready, pour into mini martini glasses. Place in fridge to set. Pour the blueberries into the cool whip and mix together. Place back in the fridge. Melt the chocolate chips in a Ziplock bag and cut a small part of the corner of the bag off. On a baking sheet lined with wax paper, squeeze the chocolate out into whatever shapes you want on the wax paper. Place in the fridge to set. When the jello is set, place a dollop of the cool whip on top. Garnish with one of your chocolate shapes.