Crafting the perfect caption isn’t always a piece of cake, though. It requires a dash of creativity, a sprinkle of wit, and an understanding of what makes your audience crave more. That’s why we’ve whipped up a delectable list of over 100 baking captions for Instagram to help your posts stand out. These captions are the perfect ingredient to complement your stunning visuals, ensuring that your baking masterpieces get the recognition they deserve.

As you scroll through these sugary suggestions, you’ll find the right words to accompany your confectionery creations. Whether you’re showcasing a towering layer cake, a batch of chewy cookies, or artisan bread fresh from the oven, these captions will add flavor to your feed and engage your followers. So, preheat your social media presence and get ready to rise to the occasion with captions that are sure to rack up the likes.

1. Punny Baking Jokes

Baking puns are a delightful way to add a sprinkle of humor to your posts. These witty wordplays will bring a smile to your followers’ faces and make your baked creations even more memorable. Perfect for showcasing your fun side in the kitchen.

1. Donut worry, be happy.
2. Muffin compares to you.
3. You bake me crazy.
4. Whisking you a great day!
5. Life is what you bake it.
6. Batter up!
7. Let’s get baked.
8. Bake it till you make it.
9. I like big bundts and I cannot lie.
10. You’re the icing on my cake.

2. Baking with Love Captions for Instagram

Baking is often a labor of love, and these captions highlight the warmth and affection that goes into each creation. Perfect for sharing those heartfelt moments when you bake for family and friends. Show your followers the love that goes into every bite.

11. Baked with love.
12. Home is where the oven is.
13. A little slice of heaven.
14. Made with love and butter.
15. Baking memories.
16. The secret ingredient is always love.
17. Sugar, spice, and everything nice.
18. Love at first bite.
19. Baking brings people together.
20. Sweet moments, sweet memories.

3. Baking Fails Captions

Even the best bakers have their off days. These captions embrace the humor and reality of baking mishaps. Perfect for sharing those less-than-perfect creations and connecting with your audience through shared experiences.

21. Nailed it… not.
22. Baking fail, but it’s the thought that counts.
23. When life gives you lemons, bake something else.
24. Burnt but still delicious.
25. The struggle is real.
26. #BakingFails
27. Tried to bake a cake, ended up with a mess.
28. Baking: 1, Me: 0.
29. Flour everywhere.
30. Cake gone wrong.

4. Seasonal Baking Captions for Social Media

Celebrate the flavors and festivities of each season with these captions. Perfect for posts that highlight seasonal ingredients and holiday baking. These captions add a timely and festive touch to your baking creations.

31. Pumpkin spice and everything nice.
32. Winter wonderland of cookies.
33. Spring into baking.
34. Summer treats and sweets.
35. Fall in love with baking.
36. Holiday baking magic.
37. Warm and cozy bakes.
38. Easter egg-citement.
39. Festive flavors.
40. Seasonal sweets.

5. Healthy Baking Captions for Instagram

Baking can be both delicious and healthy. These captions highlight your nutritious and tasty creations. Perfect for sharing recipes and tips that balance health and indulgence, showing that you can have your cake and eat it too.

41. Healthy bakes, happy heart.
42. Guilt-free goodness.
43. Baking with a healthy twist.
44. Sweet but healthy.
45. Indulgence without the guilt.
46. Good-for-you goodies.
47. Baking healthy, living happy.
48. Nutritious and delicious.
49. Healthy treats for happy hearts.
50. Baking up some health.

6. Classic Bakes Captions for Instagram

Classic baked goods are timeless and beloved. These captions celebrate the tried-and-true recipes that never go out of style. Perfect for showcasing your favorite traditional bakes and sharing a piece of baking history with your followers.

51. Classic comfort bakes.
52. Timeless treats.
53. Baking oldies but goodies.
54. Tradition in every bite.
55. Classic flavors, endless love.
56. Bakes that stand the test of time.
57. Old-fashioned goodness.
58. Vintage vibes, modern taste.
59. A taste of nostalgia.
60. Keeping it classic.

7. Baking for Kids Captions

Baking with kids is fun and educational. These captions highlight the joy and creativity involved in baking with little ones. Perfect for posts that showcase your kid-friendly recipes and baking adventures.

61. Little hands, big bakes.
62. Baking fun with the little ones.
63. Kids in the kitchen.
64. Sweet moments with my mini chef.
65. Baking memories with my kids.
66. Flour power with the kids.
67. Tiny bakers, big smiles.
68. Fun and flour everywhere.
69. Little chefs at work.
70. Baking up childhood memories.

8. Baking with Friends Captions

Baking with friends makes the process even more enjoyable. These captions celebrate the joy of collaborative baking. Perfect for posts that feature your group baking sessions and the fun of creating delicious treats together.

71. Baking buddies.
72. Sweet times with sweet friends.
73. Flour power with my friends.
74. Baking + friends = perfect mix.
75. Friendship goals: baking together.
76. Sweet creations with sweet friends.
77. Teamwork makes the dream work.
78. Flour and fun with friends.
79. Bake dates with the besties.
80. Friendship is the best ingredient.

9. Baking for Special Occasions Captions for Instagram

Baking for special occasions adds an extra touch of love and celebration. These captions highlight the joy of creating baked goods for birthdays, holidays, and other special events. Perfect for posts that showcase your festive and celebratory bakes.

81. Celebration cakes and happy moments.
82. Baked with love for special occasions.
83. Party time with homemade treats.
84. Making occasions sweeter with cake.
85. Baking up some celebration.
86. Special bakes for special days.
87. Festive baking fun.
88. Celebrating life, one bake at a time.
89. Birthday bakes and happy faces.
90. Sweet treats for sweet occasions.

10. Experimental Baking Captions

Experimental baking is all about creativity and trying new things. These captions highlight your adventurous side in the kitchen. Perfect for posts that showcase your unique and innovative baking creations.

91. Baking outside the box.
92. Experimenting with flavors.
93. Creative baking adventures.
94. Breaking the mold with baking.
95. Innovation in the oven.
96. Sweet science in the kitchen.
97. Baking up a storm of creativity.
98. Dare to bake different.
99. Unique bakes, unique flavors.
100. Pushing the boundaries of baking.

11. Baking Tips and Tricks Captions for Instagram

Sharing baking tips and tricks can help others improve their skills. These captions highlight your expertise and offer helpful advice to your followers. Perfect for posts that provide valuable insights and techniques.

101. Baking tips from the pros.
102. Tricks of the trade.
103. Mastering the art of baking.
104. Helpful hints for perfect bakes.
105. Pro tips for home bakers.
106. Elevate your baking game.
107. Secrets to success in baking.
108. Little tricks for big results.
109. Baking wisdom shared.
110. Expert advice for every baker.

12. Baking for Beginners Captions

Encouraging new bakers can be very rewarding. These captions are perfect for posts that offer simple recipes and easy techniques for beginners. Show your followers that anyone can bake with a little guidance and practice.

111. Baking basics for beginners.
112. Simple steps to delicious bakes.
113. Everyone can bake!
114. Easy recipes for new bakers.
115. Start baking with these tips.
116. Baking made easy.
117. Beginner-friendly bakes.
118. Step-by-step to baking success.
119. Simple and sweet for beginners.
120. First-time baker? No problem!

13. Gluten-Free Baking Captions for Instagram

Gluten-free baking can be both delicious and satisfying. These captions highlight your gluten-free creations, perfect for followers who have dietary restrictions. Show that gluten-free can be just as tasty as traditional baking.

121. Gluten-free goodness.
122. Deliciously gluten-free.
123. Baking without gluten, full of flavor.
124. Gluten-free treats for everyone.
125. Tasty and gluten-free.
126. Baking gluten-free with love.
127. No gluten, no problem.
128. Flourless and fabulous.
129. Gluten-free and happy.
130. Sweet and gluten-free.

14. Vegan Baking Captions for Instagram

Vegan baking is all about creating delicious treats without animal products. These captions celebrate your plant-based creations, perfect for followers who embrace a vegan lifestyle. Show that vegan treats can be just as indulgent and satisfying.

131. Vegan bakes, full of taste.
132. Plant-based perfection.
133. Baking with compassion.
134. Vegan treats for everyone.
135. Deliciously vegan.
136. Cruelty-free baking.
137. Baking the vegan way.
138. Sweet and vegan.
139. Plant-powered bakes.
140. Vegan baking bliss.

15. Holiday Baking Captions

Holiday baking is a time to create festive and delicious treats. These captions highlight your holiday-themed bakes, perfect for spreading cheer and joy during special seasons. Share the magic of holiday baking with your followers.

141. Holiday baking magic.
142. Festive flavors in every bite.
143. Baking up holiday cheer.
144. Sweet treats for the holidays.
145. Christmas cookies and cozy vibes.
146. Holiday baking happiness.
147. Tis the season to bake.
148. Winter wonderland of bakes.
149. Festive baking fun.
150. Holiday treats made with love.

<p>The post 100+ Baking Captions for Instagram: A Baker’s Guide to Trendy Tags first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

Sourdough bread has become a treasured staple in the home-baking world, intertwining simplicity and complexity to create a loaf with a distinctive tangy flavor, crunchy crust, and chewy interior. Venturing into sourdough baking can seem daunting with its talk of starters, hydration levels, and fermentation times. However, it’s possible to craft a homemade sourdough bread recipe that’s straightforward and forgiving for beginners.

As you can see by this graph below, the search for sourdough bread is constantly on the rise. We even passed the peak it reached during the COVID quarantine.

There is an endless list of YouTube videos, recipes, Instagram scoring patterns, you name it.

However, most people still shy away from it because it is perceived as too complicated and hard to make.

The truth is actually the opposite. This is one of the easiest things to make. It requires around 10 hours to be ready but only 10 minutes of work.

Imagine pulling out a beautiful, artisanal-style sourdough loaf from your own oven with a process that requires minimal hands-on time and basic ingredients. The key to easy sourdough bread lies in understanding the essentials—flour, water, salt, and starter—along with simple techniques to nurture the dough during its journey from mixing bowl to bread oven. By focusing on the basics, you can achieve a delightful and hearty loaf that’s perfect for everything from your morning toast to a savory sandwich base.

With patience and a few tried-and-true tips, you’ll be able to create a simple sourdough bread that rivals those found in boutique bakeries. Embrace the process as you watch your dough transform and bloom into a golden, rustic round of sourdough, all from the comfort of your home. Whether you’re a first-time baker or looking to streamline your current method, the easiest sourdough bread recipe awaits to fill your kitchen with the warm, irresistible aroma of freshly baked bread.

The Basics of Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe

Unlike many other recipes and videos out there, my recipe is so simple you will not go back to any other recipe after you try it.

There are only 5 ingredients: whole wheat flour, bread flour, sourdough starter, water and salt.

There is no fancy way to combining them. I just put them in the mixer for a few minutes, let it go for about 6 hours, make the shape, find something else to do for 3 hours, score it and bake it.

How simple is that?

And the results? Well, you either need to take my word for it or try it yourself and see.

YOU DON’T NEED FANCY STEPS!!

The sourdough starter

As you can imagine, the core of the bread is the starter. It is what gives it its flavor and rise. So it is important you have a good starter.

I am using the same starter for over 10 years now so the taste is fabulous.

If you don’t know how to start your sourdough starter, check my guide here.

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour – Very healthy for you!

Bread flour – I tried many ratios but the one I found to be the most balanced is the 50/50 between whole wheat and bread flour.

Starter – Some people recommend you will use one you fed a few hours before you make the bread. While this is better, I found that using it an hour after you took it from the fridge is also pretty good.

Water – Lukewarm

Salt – I use the granulated sea salt

How To Make The Easiest Sourdough Bread: Step-By-Step Instructions

This is a simple, no sophistication recipe. I don’t pull and fold (because it is an easy recipe), I don’t use Dutch oven (same reason as before). The result will be better if you do, but it is pretty good even without.

Making the dough

Mix two cups of whole wheat flour and bread flour in a mixing bowl with one cup of sourdough starter and two cups of water.

Run the mixer slow at first to avoid flour spreading everywhere.

Add two tbsp of salt and continue mixing on medium speed for 6-8 minutes.

Shape the dough into a ball, cover it and let it rest for about 6 hours.

Shaping the loaf

After 6 hours, take the dough into a floured surface. I use this amount to make two medium size loaves of bread.

Let it rest, covered, for about 3 hours.

Then heat the oven to 450F.

Scoring the dough

This is one of the places where things can go wrong but they don’t have two.

On your first few attempts making sourdough bread, don’t go for fancy scoring.

Just run a few line across the loaf, it should be just fine.

Don’t be afraid to use a lot of flour.

Bake

Insert the tray to the oven and reduce the temperature to 350F.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Cool down

It is important that when you take it out of the oven, you will place it on a cooling wire rack.

Otherwise, it will become soggy.

Also, don’t try to slice it right away. It will be too hot. You have to let it cool down to a reasonable temperature that is not too hot but still nice and warm.

What to Eat the Sourdough Bread With?

This really goes with almost everything. You can make sandwiches, eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Nothing will be as good as it will be with some butter while the bread is still warm.

I like to use it for the spicy shashuka, Greek Salad, babaganosh, etc.

Variations and Flavors

The bread will be with a lot of flavors. Still if you are interested in adding some twists, here some suggestions:

• Sun dried tomatoes
• Caramelized onions
• Olives
• Nuts and seeds

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Easy Sourdough Bread

Forget all those complicated sourdough bread recipes. This is an easy, simple yet extremely delicious and healthy sourdough bread that only takes 10 minutes of work.

Course Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword baking, bread, sourdough

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Resting time (for the bread – not for you) 10 hours hours

Total Time 10 hours hours 55 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Author Jessica

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp sea salt

Instructions

• Add the whole wheat flour, the bread flour, the sourdough starter and the water into the mixer bowl.
• Mix for 2 minutes and add the salt.
• Continue mixing for another 7-9 minutes.
• Form into a ball and let it sit, covered, for 6-7 hours.
• Split the dough into two. Shape each part to your desired shape and let it sit for another 2-3 hours.
• Heat the oven 450 F.
• Once the oven is ready, score the bread anyway you want (but you must score it otherwise it will just explode).
• Put the bread in the oven and reduce the heat to 350F. Bake for 45 minutes.
• After 45 minutes, carefully take the bread out and put it on a wire cooling rack so that air can circulate and prevent the crust from becoming soggy. Let the bread cool completely before cutting or wrapping it.

<p>The post The Easiest Sourdough Bread Recipe: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

When I first started pondering what to make, the dessert that popped into my mind was the mini-cupcakes at Whole Foods. I have a weak spot for them. I love that they are small enough that I can happily have two (or, let’s be honest, often three) and that they give me a nice hit of chocolate without being too much. So I thought I would try and come up with a homemade version.

If you have been following me for a while, you have probably caught onto the fact that I am a big fan of using yogurt in baking. I like it for three reasons: 1) like buttermilk, it makes things fluffier, 2) unlike buttermilk, I almost always have it in the house, and 3) it adds some protein to whatever I am baking. My love for using yogurt in cakes was firmly solidified a couple of months ago when I came across the yogurt cake recipe on the Kitchn. No beating or stiffening of eggs, only one bowl used, and yet out comes a fluffy, delicious cake—it is a lazy cook’s dream cake recipe! So I adapted it a little to make it a smidge healthier by including some spelt flour and cutting down on the sugar and the outcome was outstanding! (Note: I have found that using whole grain flours, like whole wheat or spelt, in cakes works better in cupcakes than it does in full-sized cakes, it just doesn’t rise quite enough as a big cake because the flours are denser…)

For the chocolate glaze, I also wanted the tangy-ness of yogurt to enliven the flavor and bulk up the nutrition, even if just by a little bit. So I tweaked a Cabot recipe by decreasing the sugar (why does every frosting recipe call for so much sugar?!). All I can say is that if I could eat these cupcakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I totally would. And, in fact, I just might have them for breakfast tomorrow…

Happy Birthday, The Recipe Redux!

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Vanilla Mini-Cupcakes with Tangy Chocolate Glaze

Cupcake recipe adapted from: The Kitchn Yogurt Cake Glaze recipe adapted from: Cabot Chocolate Layer Cake

Course Dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 48

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• For the cupcakes:
• 1 ½ cups whole milk plain yogurt
• 2/3 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup spelt flour or white whole wheat flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• pinch freshly ground nutmeg
• For the glaze:
• ¼ cup plain whole milk yogurt
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¼ cups confectioner’s sugar

Instructions

• To make the cake:
• Preheat the oven to 350 and line two mini-cupcake pans with liners.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
• Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg and stir until there are no lumps.
• Distribute the batter amongst your muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes. Place them on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before glazing them.
• To make the glaze:
• Combine the yogurt, cocoa powder and vanilla in a large bowl.
• Using an electric mixer, slowly beat in the confectioner’s sugar until there are no lumps.
• Carefully dip the top of each cupcake into the glaze, turn onto its side, and spin gently to let any drops fall off, then place them on a tray. Place the tray into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the glaze firm up a bit.

<p>The post Vanilla Mini-Cupcakes with Tangy Chocolate Glaze first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

Spinach Salad with Pita, Almonds, & Dates from Jerusalem

Replaced the pita with matzah for Passover. So, so good. Crunchy, satisfying, great balance of salty and sweet. And since it was made with sturdy baby spinach, even though it was already dressed, the leftovers even worked the next day! Note: this recipe calls for sumac, which I happened to have, otherwise I would have used another dried herb in its place such as basil, oregano, or thyme.

Make Again? Definitely! With pita, next time!

Butternut Squash with Tahini Dressing from Jerusalem

This recipe was awesome! First of all, it was super easy to make (did you know you can roast butternut squash without peeling it?! Hello, time-saver!). Second, the tahini dressing was simple to throw together and everyone loved it. The dressing recipe definitely makes more than you need for the dish, so I would recommend using it sparingly and then saving the leftovers for salad dressing.

Make Again? Absolutely! I think this will become a fall/winter staple in our house!

Fried Cauliflower with Tahini Dressing from Jerusalem

I roasted, instead of fried, the cauliflower and didn’t use sunflower oil or pomegranate molasses (because, what?!). I also skipped the green onions because I didn’t have any. Again, the tahini dressing recipe makes way more than you need, so just save the leftovers for other salads. I did a lot to adjust this one and will likely blog the adapted recipe soon because even with all the changes it was delicious! The grown-ups at the table were falling over themselves for this. One of my kids was super into it because of the tahini dressing, the other one not so much.

Make Again? Definitely! In fact, just thinking about it makes me want to add it to my meal plan for next week…

Lavender-Lemon Cake from Eat Real Live Well

This cake was AMAZING. Really, really amazing. I used my go-to yogurt cake recipe as the base, but subbed in some almond flour to add a little more nutritional heaft and density, sort of like a coffee cake. It was so, so good.

Make Again? FOR SURE! I think I might even make it for my own birthday cake next month.

Calzones from The Kitchn

Instead of using my go-to pizza dough recipe for my calzones this time, I decided to use the thin crust pizza dough recipe recommended in the recipe and I actually think it made a big difference. The crust was nice and crunchy along the edges, but soft in the pocket. Added bonus: you don’t need to allow for rising time if you don’t have the time to do that, so it can become a pretty simple weeknight meal.

Make Again? YES!

* This is an affiliate link, which means is that if you were to purchase this cookbook through this link The Balanced Kitchen would receive a small percentage (with no added cost to you!) of the sale price. Thanks for your support!

<p>The post Recipe Roundup: April Edition first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

Spring Clean the Kitchen. Cook with at least 3 ingredients that are actually in your refrigerator or pantry right now. Try not to go to the store to buy anything new. Give tips on how to make a healthy dish out of whatever you have on-hand.

This topic is near and dear to my heart and is tied to one of the complaints I hear from people over and over again—that they struggle with food waste—vegetables go bad before they can use them all up, meat is forgotten and goes off, and they are reluctant to buy recipe-specific ingredients because they aren’t sure how they will use the remainders in other recipes. I have even spoken with people who have decided that they’d rather order out instead of grocery shop and cook because the food waste stresses them out so much. I am very sympathetic to this struggle as it is one that I experienced for years when I was first becoming comfortable with cooking. I vividly remember going into my produce drawer and finding slimy green things that made my stomach turn. I also remember struggling with what to do with leftover ingredients from new recipes I had tried (I used to avoid buying cabbage and bok choy at all costs for this reason). Over time, though, as I became more comfortable with cooking and improvising, I found this source of stress started to dissipate and I developed a couple of tricks that were really helpful in avoiding food waste.

To use up vegetables:

• Roast, roast, roast! I have roasted many different vegetables that I have discovered kicking around in my produce drawer from cabbage to rubbery carrots. Once roasted, I use them as a flavor and texture boost in salads or as a topping on my favorite lunch: tostadas.
• Pureed vegetable soup! Anything can go into a pureed vegetable soup: bok choy, lettuce, herbs, celery, it is all fair game in a pureed soup.

To use up meat:

• Freeze it. Just throw it in a freezer Ziploc bag, label it, and freeze for another time.
• Roast it and use in salads, pastas, fried rice, or burritos (that’s what I did when I made the recipe below!).

To use up dairy:

• Heavy or whipping cream can be used to make a soup or pasta creamy.
• Sour cream and yogurt can be used in soups or in baking.
• Cheeses can go into a mac n cheese, burritos, as a variation on top of pizza, or on salads.

“That’s all fine and good,” I hear you saying, “but when am I supposed to cook those things?” Next week. Seriously. Here’s what I mean: when you sit down to come up with your meal plan or shopping list for the next week, the first step should always be to check your fridge and pantry for things that need to get used up. That way you can include them in your planning. If you take this step and successfully use up the food that is already in your fridge I guarantee that not only will you feel better about cooking, but your grocery bills will drop, too! It’s a win-win.

Ok. So now that I’ve shared those tips with you, let’s talk about waffleritos. I love these so, so much. I first discovered the idea of making cornbread waffles on the Hilah Cooking blog and was blown away by the simplicity and flexibility of them. We enjoy them as sandwiches with cream cheese, topped with maple syrup like classic waffles, and, of course, as waffleritos.

So this week what I had to work with was two eggs, collard greens, black beans, two chicken thighs, a couple of grape tomatoes, and a stub of cheese. I thought of doing some sort of fried rice, but then decided that I wanted to push the envelope a little with these waffleritos. What is a wafflerito? It is a cornmeal waffle used as the base for burrito fillings. In other words, heaven on a plate. When I made this for my family they were an instantaneous hit! Everyone got to top them with their favorite toppings, it was just different enough to be fun but not so different that it was intimidating (for over-tired kiddos after a long, fun weekend), and it was on the table in 30 minutes. I put out black beans, roasted chicken, Brazilian-style collard greens, chopped tomatoes, avocado, grated cheese, and salsa. Any toppings you would put on a burrito would work with these, or really whatever you’ve got in the fridge. In other words, make them your own!

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Waffle-ritos: And How to Use Up the Food You Already Have in Your House

Course Brunch, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Mexican, Tex-Mex

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• Waffles:
• 2 cups cornmeal
• ¼ cup corn starch
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ cup frozen corn
• 1 ½ cups plain yogurt could also use up buttermilk or sour cream here
• 2 eggs
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• Toppings pick your favorites or work with what you have on hand:
• 1 15- oz can black beans drained and rinsed (or 2 cups homemade black beans)
• 1-2 cups diced cooked chicken or another protein
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• Chopped vegetables of your choice tomatoes, lettuce/greens, bell peppers, green onion, avocado, leftover roasted vegetables, etc.
• Salsa or hot sauce
• Chili powder garlic powder, and oregano can all be used to season the beans and meat, if desired.
• Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on meat if cooking.

Instructions

• To make the waffles:
• Spray your waffle iron with cooking spray and set it up to preheat.
• In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chili powder and mix it well.
• Mix in the frozen corn. Then mix in the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
• When your waffle iron is ready, start making your waffles, setting a timer for each waffle so you don’t forget them but can also work on preparing the toppings at the same time.
• To make the toppings:
• If you will be cooking chicken, preheat the oven to 425.
• If you will be cooking chicken, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay your meat on top. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Place in the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.
• Put your beans into a small saucepan and warm over a medium-low heat. If you are using canned beans you can add extra flavor by seasoning with chili powder, oregano, and/or garlic powder, if you wish.
• Prepare your vegetable toppings and grate your cheese.

Notes

Adapted from Hilah Cooking Cornbread Waffle

<p>The post Waffleritos: And How to Use Up the Food You Already Have in Your House first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

These muffins are super simple to make (especially if you cheat and buy the already cooked beets like I did)! It is pretty much a dump, mix, and spoon out muffin mix. They are sweet enough to be a tasty breakfast or a healthy snack for the big day.

So whip these up this weekend for a nice little surprise for your family, your co-workers, or anyone else who could use a little extra love!

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Beet Rosemary Muffins

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 small to medium cooked beets
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups spelt or whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 and spray your muffin tin or line it with muffin liners.
• Cream the butter and honey in a food processor. Add the beets and eggs and puree until the beets are smooth.
• Add the flour, rosemary, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined.
• Add walnuts, if using, and mix until well combined.
• Spoon out batter into muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cool on rack.

<p>The post Beet Rosemary Muffins first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

Other than my mom’s poached pears, however, there are few dessert recipes that are considered essential (and even that one isn’t made every year). So when The Recipe Redux announced the challenge for this month: “The holiday baking season is upon us. Time to pull out all the stops. Show us the healthy holiday dessert you will be sharing with family and friends this season.” I was excited to see what I could come up with. I wanted to create a recipe that would not only have some redeemable nutritional aspects to it, but that would also be a simple one that anyone could do. My goal of simplicity was a bit selfish because I hoped that in making one that was easy, perhaps I could entice the boys to start making it with me and that over time it could become their special recipe to contribute to future holiday meals.

Outside of its simplicity, I love this recipe for a couple of reasons. The first is that it is not too sweet. Don’t get me wrong, it is sweet and definitely tastes like dessert, but it tastes like a refreshing end to a meal rather than another brick in the stomach. Another is that I love the tartness of the cranberries. They enliven my senses and remind me that desserts should have layers of flavor and interest to them. Plus I think the specks of red throughout the cake is really pretty. And finally, I enjoy knowing that the moistness of the cake is due to the yogurt rather than a heavier alternative.

Yogurt in general is a great ingredient to use and you can quickly prepare other snacks, dips and sides like the 1-Minute Dessert: Sweet Yogurt Dip.

This cake is so easy to prepare! No beating of eggs, no sifting of flour, just simple mixing and baking. It is also easy to adjust. If cranberries aren’t your thing, you could add raisins or other chopped dried fruit instead. If you do this, I would recommend cutting the sugar down to one cup since you won’t need to counterbalance the tartness of the cranberries. And chopped nuts would make a delicious addition as well! If you want to boost the nutritional content even more, you could use white whole wheat flour or replace half of the all purpose flour with spelt flour. It may come out a little bit more dense, but the moisture of the yogurt will keep you in the delicious zone.

If you don’t feel like making the glaze, you can also just dust the cake with a little bit of powdered sugar, which you should do just before serving, as it will soak into the cake.

So whether it is for Thanksgiving or some other holiday celebration this season, I highly recommend trying this cake out and please let me know what you think!

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Cranberry Yogurt Cake with Maple Glaze

Course Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole milk plain yogurt you could also use lowfat yogurt, if you prefer
• 2/3 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoons cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoons ground clove
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries chopped
• For the glaze optional:
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a Bundt pan with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
• Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Make sure that all of the flour is mixed in well (no little lumps).
• Chop the cranberries and gently mix in.
• Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and immediately, but gently, turn it over.
• Let the cake cool completely. While it is cooling make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk together in a small bowl.
• Once the cake is completely cool, place it on a serving plate or platter and drizzle the glaze over.

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<p>The post Cranberry Yogurt Cake with Maple Glaze: A Simple Dessert for the Holiday Season first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner?! It completely snuck up on me. Luckily, this year is kind of like my year off. Our family has a tradition of staying in the DC area for one year and then going up to extended family in New Jersey the next. When it is nearby I am in charge of the Turkey (high stakes cooking!), but on the New Jersey years I am usually assigned a simpler, more transportable set of dishes. This year I am responsible for the corn bread and an appetizer. I will likely bring some classic cornbread so as not to rock the boat too much, but I also like to bring a new and different spin on recipes and now I’ve got two contenders: last week’s feta jalapeño corn muffins and this week’s wild blueberry corn muffins. It is going to be a hard call…

When I was invited by The Recipe Redux to come up with recipes made with wild blueberries my mind went into overdrive. You see, when I was a kid growing up in New England we used to eat wild blueberries right off the side of the trail on hikes. As my brother and I would start to tire out, my mom and dad would encourage us to keep looking for blueberries and those little blue berries were so good that it kept us going. So then I got to thinking about Thanksgiving coming up and how it is actually kind of likely that these little guys were served on those early Thanksgiving tables in pies or breads and that is when wild blueberry corn muffins came to mind. It felt like a natural pairing!

What really makes these muffins great are the wild blueberries because they bring so much flavor. You see, wild blueberries have a much stronger, more complex flavor than the big cultivated ones that we are all used to these days. That pop of flavor really makes these muffins fun and delicious! It also makes them healthier because wild blueberries have 2x the antioxidants, 8x the manganese, 72% more fiber, and 32% less sugar than cultivated blueberries. Plus the fact that they are frozen immediately after harvest locks in the nutrition and flavor. More flavor and more health benefits?! Yes, please!

Another benefit of these muffins is that they are super easy to make. Really! This is a recipe that my boys could make on their own, no problem. So whether you are the main Thanksgiving cook and are looking for a simple recipe to fill out your meal plan or you are a novice cook looking for a recipe you can’t mess up, this is the one!

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Wild Blueberry Corn Muffins

Course Breakfast, Side

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 1 cup cornmeal I like to do ½ a cup of the coarse and ½ a cup of the fine to give more texture
• 1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg beaten
• ¼ cup butter melted
• 1 cup milk
• ¾ cup frozen wild blueberries

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 and spray or grease muffin tins, or line with liners.
• In a large bowl, mix together the corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• In a small bowl, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, crack the egg into the butter and lightly beat with a fork so it is well combined. Pour the butter, egg, and milk, into the dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin.
• Gently fold in the frozen wild blueberries.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a cooling rack.

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<p>The post Wild Blueberry Corn Muffins first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

And yet for years I experienced a combination of craving and guilt when it came to baked goods. I was constantly trying to control myself, which often left me wanting more and thinking about the leftovers incessantly. I would negotiate with myself, finding ways to get another cookie or rationalizing why I should have “just one more.” It was exhausting and stressful and, honestly, took a lot of joy out of eating the treats. So finding a balance in my life where I could eat what I enjoyed and not feel deprived was essential. One of the ways to find that balance was to find ways to make some of my favorite baked goods healthier, but still deliciously satisfying. The interesting thing is that once I found the right balance and was comfortable with the foods I was eating, the intense cravings started to dissipate. The enjoyment was there and the forbidden-ness was gone. It was a revelation!

One of the recipes that helped to get me there was this Oatmeal Cookie recipe. In developing this recipe I started with a favorite from my childhood and tweaked until I found the balance that would work for me. The sugar is cut in half, they are made with whole wheat flour, and they hold the benefits of walnuts and dried fruit. And the best part? They are AWESOME! I even have one friend who requests these as a Christmas gift each year! I hope that you will enjoy them as much as my family, friends, and I do and that they help you on a path to guilt-free enjoyment of food.

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Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 36

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter chopped into smaller pieces
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup walnuts
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup rolled oats
• ½ cup raisins currants, or dried cranberries

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a food processor, cream the butter and sugar until smooth.
• Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
• Add walnuts and mix until they are well chopped up.
• Add in flour, salt, and baking powder and mix until just blended.
• Add oats and dried fruit and pulse once or twice, then finishing mixing in with a spoon.
• Spoon out small amounts, about 1 ½ Tablespoons, onto the baking sheets.
• Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets at 5 minutes, if necessary.
• Remove from oven and cool on cooling racks (or eat one or two warm!).

<p>The post Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

The base for these muffins is quite simple and could be used with any sort of berry you want to add. Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries would all be delicious! The trick with all the delicate berries is to fold them in very gently at the last minute. This will minimize how much they get broken up and, therefore, how much juice they release in the batter.

Cooking Tip: If you aren’t an experienced baker, “folding” something into a batter means that you gently and carefully mix an ingredient into the batter using a lifting motion rather than a stirring one. The best way to do this is to use a rubber or wooden spatula to go down to the bottom of the bowl, scrape across the bottom, and come back up “folding” the batter on top of the newly added ingredient. You do this gently and carefully until the new ingredient in incorporated. This technique is used for delicate ingredients, such as berries, and also for whipped or beaten ingredients, such as eggs and cream, where you want to keep as much of the air you have added through the whipping or beating as possible.

So give these muffins (and folding ingredients, if that is a new concept to you) a try! I think you will find they are a wonderful way to celebrate this wonderful, and all too brief, strawberry season!

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Strawberry Muffins

Course Baked Good, Breakfast, Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries sliced
• 2 cups spelt flour or one cup all purpose and one cup whole wheat
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup coconut oil or canola
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 and spray the inside of a muffin tin. Wash and gently dry the strawberries. Hull them (cut off the tops) and slice them relatively thinly, about ¼-inch thick.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon.
• In a medium bowl, combine the egg, sugars, yogurt, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Gently whisk them together so that the egg is well blended. With a rubber or wooden spatula, mix the wet into the dry ingredients. When it is well combined, gently fold in the strawberries.
• Distribute amongst the muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.

<p>The post Strawberry Muffins: A Seasonal Treat first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>