Orange Honey Browned Butter “Bee” Cupcakes

I had a lot of fun making cupcakes for a special party a few months ago. Orange Honey Brown Butter Cupcakes with Orange Honey Cream Cheese Frosting and edible “bees” with yellow peanut M&Ms and Tootsie Rolls.

I used seville oranges, which are a bitter/sour orange. Navel oranges or lemon or even grapefruit would also work.

Whenever I plan to bake for a party or special occasion, I try to think about how I can get ahead so I am not stressed on the day of the event. Good news is that these cupcakes can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored at room temperature, or they can be made a week ahead and frozen. Anyway, it is best to frost cakes and cupcakes when they are completely cool or even chilled.

Frosting can be made up to 3 days ahead of time as well. Just re-whip prior to frosting the cupcakes so that the consistency is smooth.

Savor Health “Savor Cooks” Posts from 2018

Just wanted to share the recipes that I created and photographed for the Savor Health blog in 2018. Each month on the blog, there is a featured seasonal food, usually a fruit or a vegetable, and I create a recipe. It was a delicious year. Here’s a look back:

January 2018: Grapefruit Substitutes Citrus and Greek Yogurt Tart with Oat Flour Crust

February 2018: Brussels Sprouts Simple Skillet Roasted Brussels Sprouts

March 2018: Ginger Super Smooth Ginger Hummus

4 Ways to Use Winter Squash Puree

I’ve been roasting Thai Kang Kob squashes, a variety of winter squash, for two weeks straight have been using the puree in anything and everything I can think of, including:

-Winter Squash Cookies (they’re vegan!)

-Pumpkin (aka winter squash) Spice Lattes (actually contains the squash puree!)

-Pumpkin Pie Filling Smoothies (but dietitian approved!)

-Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal (attention meal preppers!)

The recipes all call for a mix of fall spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. What can I say, I’ve got pumpkin pie spice fever this year. You can substitute store-bought pumpkin pie spice if preferred, or make your own version.

Read on for a how-to on making the squash puree and for all the details on the above recipes.

Fuyu Persimmon Crumble

For a fun twist on a fall inspired crumble, try using persimmons instead of apples or pears. Here I used fuyu persimmons (see photo above), which are the ones that look like tomatoes and can be sliced and eaten like an apple (Hachiya persimmons are more tear-drop shaped and need to be super soft before using. The flesh typically gets scooped out and pureed.).

I call this a crumble rather than a crisp because the topping is softer as supposed to crunchy or crispy. For something more along the “crisp” lines and a bit heavier on the oats, try my Cran-Apple Persimmon Crisp, which also happens to be vegan.

As with a lot of crumble and crisp recipes, I find that using a denser whole wheat or spelt flour in place of all purpose is often fine, does not affect texture that much, and still tastes great. I just decided to use all purpose flour this time. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans added to the topping would also be nice.

Also for texture reasons, you could peel the persimmons before slicing. I chose to keep the peels mostly out of laziness but also because of the extra fiber and to reduce food waste.

Bon Appetit’s Miso-Tofu Ranch Dip

I usually cook with firm tofu, but recently bought a pack of silken tofu at the store by accident. What a great excuse to try out a new recipe!

I made this dip and took it to a dinner party, and it was so good that the next day I whipped up another batch to keep at home.

The recipe is lighter than traditional ranch because of the tofu, but still has a creamy flavor and texture due to the sour cream (so unfortunately it is not a vegan-friendly recipe, although one could try it with all tofu or a vegan mayo or sour cream). The miso paste adds a savory and saltiness to the ranch, so there is no need to add any additional salt.

What should you do with the rest of your unused silken tofu? Here are some ideas:

-Make a second batch of this ranch because it is SO delish.

-Get your soup on and cook this Tofu and Kimchi Stew (I made this a while back and highlighted it on my Instagram stories).

-Add extra protein to a smoothie. Try my Cocoa Tofu Smoothie.