Wheat! and my favorite whole grain treats

I love baking and eating yummy treats, and I have a lot of wheat in my basement. Growing up, my mom baked a lot, and she had a funny lookin' wheat grinder with three legs. They don't make 'em like that any more. Mine looks like this:

If you don't grind your own flour, find a friend with a grain mill who will give you some fresh ground whole wheat flour. Use it or keep it in the freezer. Here are some of my favorite recipes. (One small disclaimer. These work great in Lehi, UT. Not a lot of humidity, and we're definitely not at sea level. If you're in a different elevation, you may need to use different amounts of flour.)

Bran Muffins

From my grandma Beulah Bare

To start, mix water and bran in their own bowl and set aside:

1 C boiling water

3 C bran (Kellogg’s Original All-Bran cereal)

Make the buttermilk and set aside, so it can get lumpy:

2 C regular milk

2 T lemon juice

In a separate bowl, Cream together:

1 C sugar

½ C shortening

2 eggs

Combine Dry:

2 ½ C flour (works well with white or 100% wheat flour)

2 ½ tsp bak soda

½ tsp salt

Don’t use a mixer. Muffins aren’t like cake where you want to beat it for a while. It’s okay if the batter is lumpy.

Bake at 400* for 20 minutes. Makes 24 regular muffins. My favorite thing to do is bake 12, and save half the recipe for next time. You can keep the batter in the fridge for up to two weeks. When you go to re-mix your batter two weeks later, remember to be gentle. The ingredients will have separated a little, so use a spoon and go easy. These muffins also freeze well. They are tasty and super delicious when they’re hot. High fiber is good for your system, and fills you up.

Granola

18 C rolled oats

1 ½ C shredded coconut

3 C chopped nuts

1 C pumpkin seeds

2 C nonfat dry milk

Anything else, ie sunflower seeds, sesame seeds

2 C oil (coconut or vegetable)

1 ½ C honey

6 T water

3 tsp vanilla

Combine wet ingredients, then pour over dry stuff. Makes four 9x13 pans. Spread evenly and bake 375* for 20 minutes. Stir halfway through. You want it to be a light, golden brown when it's finished.

After baking, add 3 C raisins

Store in a sealed container in the fridge for weeks. I keep a bunch in the freezer.

Brownies

(from my mom Kathleen Bare)

3 eggs

2 C sugar (I’ve tried a dozen ways to cut the sugar, but the texture doesn’t work w/o a ton of sugar)

1 tsp vanilla

1 C melted butter

1 ¼ C flour (I use 100% whole wheat flour)

2/3 C cocoa

½ tsp bak powder

½ tsp salt

Beat the eggs and sugar together, add the rest. Mix well. 9x13 pan

350* 20-30 minutes (once you see ridges in the top of the brownies, you can take them out)

Just a note on brownies. I've tried cutting the butter and using applesauce instead. It works, but it isn't really a brownie when you try to make it low-fat. Just give yourself a pat on the back for using whole grain flour. It has more fiber this way, tastes great, and is better for you than a regular brownie.

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

From Taste of Home

1 C Crisco

1 stick butter

2 C brown sugar*

1 C sugar

1 15 oz.can pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

3 C WW flour

2 C white flour

2 C rolled oats, quick or regular

2 tsp bak soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ginger

nutmeg

2 C semi sweet choc chips

*I don’t always buy brown sugar. It works to use 3 C white sugar and dump in a bunch of molasses.

Cream butter and sugars; beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in choc chips. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 350* for 10-15 minutes. Yield: 100 cookies? I usually do 20 cookies on a sheet, and then it makes like 5 pans. I think. This is another recipe where I like to bake half, leave the cookie batter in the fridge until we run out, and then bake the rest a week later.

Comments

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