Recipes in Review

So, this week is March Break, and I have 3 bored, snacky teens who insist there is "nothing to eat in this house!"  So, I thought I'd do a bit of baking today.  I used to be pretty good with baking.  I could spot a good recipe from bad.  But this whole paleo thing has done a number on my recipe-radar, and I really have to bake each recipe to know if its any good or not. 

Now, taste buds are a personal thing.  In this household, we have not evolved to the point where we do not like sweet things anymore. That just hasn't happened.  These are teens I'm baking for, and they still eat crap, so my baked treats must still stand up against traditional wheat-containing versions.  Here's what I made today....And what I thought of it.

These Mudslide Fudge Cookies came from HealthBent.  The recipe says it makes 12 cookies, I think I actually managed to make 15.  They're made with egg whites--no almond flour or coconut flour.  Just cocoa, egg white, vanilla, honey and dark chocolate chips.  They were ridiculously simple to make--just mix and drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet--no whipping of egg whites required.  (I bake all cookies on an insulated cookie sheet so they never burn)

The verdict?
Soft, slightly merangue-like texture.  There was no grease slick on the tongue that almond-flour cookies sometimes create (a taste I like, don't get me wrong).  Very rich, dark chocolate flavour, almost sucked the saliva out of my mouth for a second (dark chocolate can do that sometimes).  Not terribly sweet, but just sweet enough.  Very satisfying.  One cookie is enough.  I would bake these again. 

These Carrot Muffins came from Chowstalker's sister site Dessertstalker.  I love these sites.  Don't be fooled by the shape of these--I use silicone muffin moulds that are slightly larger than normal so my baked muffins come out bigger and flatter than you may be used to seeing.  I added raisins because we like our carrot cakes and muffins that way--no chunky nuts in our cakes, please!  The recipe says it makes a dozen muffins, I managed to make 11, but that's probably my pan shape.

The verdict?
The texture was perfect--you would not know these were not traditional carrot muffins.  Moist, soft and delicate.  The taste was not quite as sweet as I am accustomed to.  I will make these again, but next time, I will increase the honey from 2 tbs to 1/3 cup.

So, what's on your baking list this week?  Anything new and exciting?

I'm still hoping to take the time to make an almond-flour pastry crust so I can make a quiche...  Maybe tomorrow?  And I found a recipe for a cheese-biscuit I still want to bake, maybe on stew night, we'll see.

What're you eating?