Healthified Cosmic Brownies

February 19, 2021 Amanda Plott

So… I’ve been missing for 3 days now. I live in Texas and in case you didn’t hear the news, the entire state was basically without power for the most of this past week - during some of the coldest weather we’ve had in decades. It wasn’t fun. On top of being without power, we were also put on a ‘boil water’ notice. Anyone know how to boil water when you don’t have power? It’s tricky.

Thankfully, my home got it’s power back yesterday morning. And we’re (so far) one of the few houses to have both heat AND running water for the time being. I’m still being cautious with how much electricity being used as we try and keep the grid stable, but as soon as the lights and heat came on, I was ready to get baking. Nothing much is more comforting than chocolate. And these Healthified Cosmic Brownies are chocolate on top of chocolate and rainbow bits!…

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake (Instant Pot)

January 22, 2021 Amanda Plott

So, here’s the thing. Sometimes when you’re trying to eat better, feel better, and be better… you need to indulge a little bit. One of the many mantras that I try to keep in my own mind is that you can ‘eat whatever you want so long as you cook/make it yourself.’ I think the idea behind it is that you would burn off as many calories in making your food as you would eating it, or at least enough to counter balance it.

That means, today we’re having a Triple Chocolate Cheesecake and I’m not going to feel guilty about eating it. Why? Because I made it from scratch and I did my very best to make it better-for-you while still tickling that chocolate craving itch with all the richness and decadence that comes along with it….

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…

Pineapple Juice Cake

August 17, 2020 Amanda Plott

Guys, there isn’t enough good I can say about this Pineapple Juice Cake. It’s truly and honestly, one of my most favorite cakes. Even next to pineapple upside down cake. And yes, there is a reason I haven’t yet posted a recipe for a pineapple upside down cake here. - And the reason is that it’s one of my all time favorites and I want to be sure it’s healthier version is every bit as delicious as the original.

This cake, takes the cake! It’s sort of similar in texture to a tres leches cake in that the cake has time to soak up all the pineapple juice goodness to leave you with one deliciously moist and gooey cake. I would eat this cake for breakfast, snack, dessert… anything and everything! It’s just that damn good…

Skinny Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls

March 28, 2020 Amanda Plott

When I originally made these Skinny Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls it was for my daughter’s third birthday. Today we are just about a week and a half away from her turning ten! Happy early birthday Lily!

In honor of my sweet princess, I decided to whip up another batch of special homemade cinnamon rolls, and in the process, give the images a bit of a facelift. The recipe has remained the same because it’s just that damn good. Tried and true, it has held strong through the years. And once again, I’m secretly hoping that this recipe will be the one to get her back on board with enjoying cinnamon rolls…

Baked Strawberry Donuts

January 25, 2020 Amanda Plott

I’ve been wanting to make some donuts again for a good long while now, and while the day ahead is going to be crazy busy - I took the time this morning to whip up these delicious Baked Strawberry Donuts! To really back in the strawberry goodness, I took out all the stops. The cake part of the donut has a homemade strawberry puree mixed right in. And the frosting? Ooooh… the frosting.

The frosting is made with freeze-dried strawberries and is LOADED with strawberry flavor. The secret is in the dried strawberries, I swear! I decided to finish the donuts off with some sweet little heart shaped sprinkles annnd… as you can see, they’re pretty damn cute!…