Healthified 'Lofthouse' Soft Sugar Cookies

December 13, 2020 Amanda Plott

I've basically taken that original tried-and-true recipe and trimmed it down as best I could without losing the amazingness of that cookie.

The first thing I did was swapped out some of the regular flour for some whole wheat white flour. If you're going to be bad, you may as well get some good in there too! At least you can say you had some whole wheat, right?

I also substituted in some sweetener for about 1/3 of the sugar originally called for. Why? Well, if you can get away with less sugar, then why not? For the cookie dough, I used a light butter rather than full fat. Again, if you can get away with it... do it!

I made a few other minor changes as well, and still ended up with a perfectly light and decedent cookie that has over 50 calories less per serving than it's store bought counter part. Plus, I know exactly what in these cookies since well... I'm one that put it all there!

I'm telling you, they taste almost exactly like the original…

Gingerbread Cobbler

December 5, 2020 Amanda Plott

Sometimes you just have to shake dessert up. This holiday season would be the great time to start a new tradition. Instead of the usual pies and cookies, why not try out this Gingerbread Cobbler! This Gingerbread Cobbler is very similar to my Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cobbler, but more in line with Christmas or New Years than Thanksgiving!

Cobbler just seems like the perfect winter dessert. It’s warm, gooey, and filling too. My mom seems to think that this cobbler is like those old fashioned pudding cakes where you layer the batter on the bottom of the pan and pour hot liquid on top to bake. While baking, the cake bubbles up to the top and the gooey pudding cobbler goodness is on the bottom…

Instant Pot Tamale Bites

December 2, 2020 Amanda Plott

Ever wanted to make tamales but just weren’t completely sure how? These chicken Instant Pot Tamale Bites are not only easy to make, they are delicious and take hardly any time at all. To make these tamale bites, you do need a silicone egg bite mold, but you don’t need any corn husks at all!

You simple spread the masa dough into the silicone mole, fill, top, and cook in the pressure cooker. Yep! That’s all there is to them. I used chicken in these tamales, but you could really use any sort of shredded meat or vegetarian filling that you desire…

Cranberry-Orange Muffins

November 24, 2020 Amanda Plott

Just in time for the holidays! These Cranberry-Orange Muffins are a delicious way to start off any morning with a bright and colorful Holiday inspired breakfast bite. Cranberry and orange are one of my all time favorite flavor combinations. The tartness and sweet playing off one another is always tasty. I’ve used the dynamic duo in bread, cookies, and now muffins!

If the Holidays could baked and served for breakfast, I’m pretty confident that they would taste just like these muffins right here. A little sweet. A little tart. And a whole lot of yum. Plus, this is about as simple as you can get with a muffin recipe…

Goat Cheese & Pomegranate Tartlets

November 21, 2020 Amanda Plott

With the Holidays on our heels, we could all use a good, easy, simple recipe to have on hand as an appetizer. Let’s face it, sometimes the family gets hungry before the main meal is done, and these Goat Cheese & Pomegranate Tartlets are just that.

Small bite sized mini tarts that are filled with goat cheese and honey before being baked and topped off with crushed rosemary and fresh pomegranate seeds. They’re a little sweet, a little savory, and lots of good flavor. The richness of the goat cheese is cut with the bright pop of pomegranate for a seasonal treat everyone is sure to enjoy…

Easy 'Baked' Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

November 19, 2020 Amanda Plott

Oh, what? You didn’t know that you could ‘bake’ your sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot? Well, you totally can! It’s quick. It’s easy. And it frees up valuable oven space around the holidays! These Easy 'Baked' Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes can be done, perfectly soft and ready to go, in just 12 minutes. Really? Really!

I was able to cook more than 4 lbs. of sweet potatoes in no time at all, days ahead of when I needed them! This means that I can make my Yummy Yam Casserole on my own schedule and in my own time. (Don’t worry, we’ll get to the Yam Casserole another day.)…