convenience – zezoo cooks

Chai-spice Pumpkin Brownies

american, baking, black tea, chocolate, cookies, dessert, fall, freezer friendly, gluten free, seasonal, snack, sweet, tea, tea pairing, tea pairing cover, vegetarian, winter

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The Simple Loose Leaf Pumpkin Spice Black tea is Fall in a cup for tea lovers. It is the tea lover’s answer to all the “Pumpkin Spice Latte” madness that takes over the United States come September – temperatures in the 90s notwithstanding – and can be a bit much if you are not a fan of adding cinnamon to everything just because its “Fall”. As it usually is with tea, the Pumpkin Spice Black is understated, warm and delicious, and a perfect accompaniment to these easy, one-bowl, gluten-free pumpkin brownies.

To elevate the brownies to the tea’s level, I added some homemade ground Chai Spice to the mix, along with cinnamon (I’m strong but not that strong…it is October after all). It adds a layer of warmth to the brownies that goes really well with chai spice in the tea itself, making this a perfect fall treat!

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[baby friendly] banana oatmeal cake with greek yogurt frosting

american, baby and toddler food, baking, birthday, cake, celebration, dessert, frosting, make ahead, recipe card, refined sugar free, snack, sweet, themed, vegetarian, whole grain

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For our little one’s first birthday, we wanted to make something that he can actually eat (as opposed to staring at us over a bowl of oatmeal cereal while we feast on his birthday cake). That’s how this quick and easy food processor cake came along, and with a few tweaks, you can make it yours for your little one!

You can substitute part of the liquid ingredients (mashed bananas, milk) with applesauce. You can use any nut milk, or cow’s milk (after it has been properly introduced per your pediatrician’s guidance), or even water. You could also use thinned out yogurt in place of the milk. Our munchkin loves cardamom, but you can swap it out for cinnamon (and a tiny pinch of nutmeg), or leave out the spices entirely. You can sweeten it with jaggery, which is my favorite refined sugar free sweetener for baby/toddler food, but you could use date sugar, coconut sugar, or any other sweetener you typically use.

The cake is really great also as a snacking option sans frosting. A great option for smash cakes and such to celebrate his first trip around the sun.

Our jubilant and slightly confused 12 month old (having seen a lit candle for the first time)

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Blueberry cupcakes with blueberry cream cheese frosting

american, baking, birthday, celebration, cupcakes and muffins, dessert, freezer friendly, frosting, seasonal, snack, summer, sweet, themed, vegetarian

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Another no-brainer of a selection for my seasonal cupcake project – blueberries for July! No other berry, nay fruit, is better than blueberries in the month of July…at least until the peaches take over come August.

I’ve made a lot of blueberry muffins and crumb cakes over the years, and they all have a more rustic, wholesome quality to them, which I totally adore, but for these cupcakes, I wanted something more decidedly “cake” like, something more ‘dessert’ and less ‘snack’. This recipe below fits the bill perfectly. Please don’t skip the streusel-ish brown sugar and cinnamon topping – it adds amazing crunch and a really unique texture contrast with the plush cupcake and the smooth, creamy frosting! If you didn’t know already, the combination of blueberry, brown sugar and cinnamon is to die for. Now you know!

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Lemon cupcakes with lemon icing

american, baking, birthday, cake, california, celebration, cupcakes and muffins, dessert, make ahead, seasonal, snack, spring, sweet, winter

An ultra-luxe pound cake recipe adapted to cupcake format, with a lemon flavor so bright and cheerful, it will make all the zesting and juicing well worth the effort! The citrus plays beautifully with the buttery poundcake here. As a poundcake purist I can safely say that if you are going to mess with a classic, you better do it right!

We start by zesting and juicing a whole lot of lemons for this cake. 8 lemons sounds like a lot, but you are doing the work for the batter, the syrup (to soak the cupcakes and make them extra moist and lemony) and the sharp, tart glaze that will wake you up!

Put on some nice music and get right to it!

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Cupcakes and Gratitude

american, baking, birthday, cake, cake art, california, celebration, chocolate, christmas, cupcakes and muffins, dessert, european, fall, farm to table, freezer friendly, frosting, general announcements, german, holidays, make ahead, recipe card, snack, southern, spring, summer, sweet, thanksgiving, whole grain, winter

Final Update: August 25, 2021!

When I was pregnant last year, there were so many reasons it felt like a cloud was hanging over us, the pandemic being just one of them. Most of the time we powered through, busy with work, getting the house ready for the baby, and like everyone else in the world, tracking down toilet paper and disinfecting our groceries took up 80% of whatever time was left over! The upcoming early months with the baby seemed very daunting at the time, especially since we were not going to have anyone to help out at home, so to make it fun and to have something to mark the milestones and celebrate the fact that we were “surviving” early parenthood, I planned this very special little side project: I decided that for each of our baby’s monthly birthdays (the 25th of each month), I would make a seasonal cupcake recipe, and take his picture with the cupcakes!

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Noodles with Chicken and Mushrooms

asian, chicken, chinese, chinese new year, dairy free, dinner, eggless, lunch, main, savory, weeknight, whole grain

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An easy and flexible weeknight recipe for noodles involving ground chicken, mushrooms and a quick sauce that comes together from pantry/fridge ingredients. Add more vegetables if you have them, make it as spicy as you’d like, it’s all good!

Off late I’ve found ground chicken to be so convenient, to put together quick and delicious meals in so little time! No chopping and dicing and browning required, and it gives the recipe some heft without weighing you down. It’s a perfect ingredient for busy weeknights, as you’ll see with this recipe adapted from Bon Appetit magazine!

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