Dark Chocolate Cherry Heart Smart Cookies

Sweet Treats

Happy (early) Father's Day to the most incredible dad in the universe...

To properly show my appreciation for everything this amazing man has done for me, I did what I do best...BAKE! My dad is obsessed with dark chocolate. Yes, he is a member of the chocolate of the month club. Now that you all know how to get on my dad's good side, here is a recipe I know he will love...

Dark Chocolate Cherry Heart Smart Cookies (picture)

Sorry for ruining the surprise, Dad, but there is a batch of these delicious (and healthy) cookies in the mail as we speak!

Ingredients:

*recipe from Cooking Light magazine

**makes about 25 cookies at 100 calories/cookie!

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 & 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tbs unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used a Ghirardelli 70% chocolate bar)

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Spoon flours into measuring cups, level with a knife, and combine the flours. Add the oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a whisk:

3. Melt the butter in small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and add the brown sugar. Stir until smooth then add the sugar mixture into the flour mixture:

4. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended:

5. Add the cherries, vanilla, and egg. Beat until combined:

6. Fold in the chocolate. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet:

7. Bake at 350F for 11-12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the pan for a few minutes until almost firm. Move the cookies onto wire racks and let cool. Serve with some milk and enjoy!

All wrapped up and ready to send to Dad!

Recipe to print:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Spoon flours into measuring cups, level with a knife, and combine the flours. Add the oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a whisk.
3. Melt the butter in small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and add the brown sugar. Stir until smooth.
4. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.
5. Add the cherries, vanilla, and egg. Beat until combined.
6. Fold in the chocolate. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet.
7. Bake at 350F for 11-12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the pan for a few minutes until almost firm. Move the cookies onto wire racks and let cool. Serve with some milk and enjoy!

Light Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Sweet Treats

A few of my Twentysomething and the City followers requested a light dessert recipe for the summer. You ask, I deliver. Ever since I was a kid, I've had a love affair with glazed lemon poppy seed muffins (Gelson's muffin tops to be more specific)...

Whoever invented the muffin top is a genius.

...so when I stumbled upon this heavenly Lemon Poppy Seed Cake recipe, I nearly fainted. After baking this amazing, light, and "sweet-but-not-too-sweet" cake, I ate it for breakfast and dessert.

Ingredients:

*I halved the following recipe to make 1, 9-inch round cake

**8 servings, 250 calories/serving

• Cake
• 3 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose flour and it turned out great)
• 1 & 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup poppy seeds
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 1 & 1/4 cups reduced fat buttermilk
• 5 egg whites
• Lemon Glaze
• 1/3 cup water
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• 1/4 cup sugar

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour your cake pan(s).

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and poppy seeds in a mixing bowl:

3. Add butter and most of the buttermilk (set aside a few tablespoons of buttermilk). Mix until fully incorporated by beating for 1-2 minutes:

4. In a separate bowl, whisk remaining buttermilk with the egg whites. Gradually pour this egg mixture into the batter and mix until combined. Pour the batter into your baking pan(s) and bake for roughly 25 minutes (do not overbake - immediately remove from the oven when inserted knife comes out clean):

5. While cake cools, mix the water, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, continue to boil, then reduce down until the glaze appears to thicken up and reduce in volume:

6. Brush the hot syrup over the cake and let it cool completely before serving. The cake will last (in an airtight container) for a few days and is even tastier once the syrup fully soaks into the cake! Enjoy!

This cake is essentially Angel Food Cake (my favorite, yum) with poppy seeds and a hint of lemon flavor. It is moist, fluffy, and to die for. I know this is extremely hard to believe, but if you halve the recipe and make one single-layer cake with glaze, a slice (1/8th of the cake) is only 250 calories!!! Quite a light dessert if you can stop yourself after one slice...

Recipe to print:

Homemade Black & White Cookies

Sweet Treats

It's a beautiful day in New York City. The forecast for the rest of the week is high 60's/low 70's and clear skies...therefore, I'm in a New York state of mind. To capitalize on this mood, today's post is all about NYC's favorite treat: The Black & White Cookie...

Black & White Cookies are my mom's all-time favorite so I whipped her up a batch and shipped them to California for her birthday. They were more than perfect. This is the one and only B&W Cookie recipe you'll ever need.

Ingredients:
*Makes about 8 gigantic cookies

• Cookies
• 1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg

• Icing
• 1 & 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (for the chocolate icing only)

Recipe:
*From Gourmet
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup:

3. Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes) then add egg, beating until combined well:

4. Mix in the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, alternately in batches at a low speed, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth:

5. Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven until tops are puffed and pale golden (cookies should spring back when touched) - roughly 15-17 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool:

6. Meanwhile, to make the icing, stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of the icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin the chocolate icing to the same consistency as the white icing:

7. Turn the cookies flat side up and spread the white icing over half and the chocolate over half. Voila!

Wrapped up and ready to be shipped to California for my mom!!

Recipe to print:

*From Gourmet

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
3. Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well.
4. Mix in the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, alternately in batches at a low speed, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
5. Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven until tops are puffed and pale golden (cookies should spring back when touched) - roughly 15-17 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
6. Meanwhile, to make the icing, stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of the icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to the same consistency as the white icing.
7. Turn the cookies flat side up and spread the white icing over half and the chocolate over half. Voila!