Healthy mini apple pies!

Yep, Good news, I know. Healthy pie. Personally, I am a pie addict....and today I've been doing some serious researching in order to find a healthier way of making the pie crust. And I would say I've succeeded. This recipe makes about 20 low cal mini pies. Enjoy!

Paideig
125 gram hvetemel || 125 grams all purpose flour

50 gram fin sammalt hvete || 50 grams whole wheat flour
50 gram margarin/smør || 50 grams butter
75 gram cottage cheese || 75 grams cottage cheese
Litt vann om deigen blir litt for tørr || Water if the dough is too dry or dense

Bland melene i en bolle. Smuldre i smøret. Rør i cottage cheese'n og klem sammen til en deig. Det er godt mulig du trenger littegrann vann om deigen behøver mer fuktighet. Denne paideigen kan erstatte alle paideiger, både i middagspaier og dessertpaier. Om du på død og liv ønsker en søt deig, er det bare å tilsette litt søtningsmiddel, sukker eller vaniljesukker.

Mix the flours in a bowl. Crumble the butter. Add cottage cheese and squeeze it all together into a dough. You might need some water if the dough is too dry or dense.

Fyll
2 små epler || 2 small apples

1 ts kanel || 1 tsp cinnamon
2 ts sukker || 2 tsp sugar
2 ts potetmel || 2 tsp cornflour
Litt sitronsaft || A little lemon juice
2 ss cognac || 2 Tbsp cognac

Skrell og rens eplene. Kutt dem i små biter (0.5x0.5 cm) og ha dem i en bolle. Tilsett sitronsaft, kanel, sukker og potetmel. Rør godt. Ha så i cognac eller bourbon. Dette er selvfølgelig ikke nødvendig, men ga en veldig god smak. Det lille ekstra.

Kjevle ut deigen til den er noen milimeter tykk. Press ut sirkler. Jeg brukte en pepperkakeform som var cirka 8 cm i diameter. Legg en liten skje epleblanding på hver sirkel. Klem deigen sammen på tre steder (se bilder nedenfor). Pass på å klemme godt sammen, eller eventuelt bruke litt vann for å få deigen til å feste seg, for ellers løsner de ved steking. Dette er selvfølgelig ingen krise - de smaker like godt.
Plassér dem på to stekeplater, og stek dem etter tur ved 190 grader Celsius i 20 minutter. Sett til avkjøling eller spis varme. Smaker nydelig med is, kaffe eller ingenting.

Peel the apples. Cut them into 0.5x0.5cm big pieces and put them in a bowl. Add lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and corn flour. Stir well. Add cognac or bourbon. This is not necessary, but it sure does the trick - it adds the x-factor.

Roll out the dough. It should be a few millimeters thick. Press out circular shapes. 8 cm in diameter. Place a small spoon of the apple mixture on each circle. Squeeze the dough together in three places (see picture). Squeeze tightly or it will come undone in the oven. Place them on two baking sheets and bake in the oven one at the time at 190 Celsius degrees for 20 minutes. Take them out and let them cool down or serve them warm. Delicious either way! Especially served with ice cream, coffee or nothing. 

Alternativt tilbehør
Liten håndfull valnøtter
Liten håndfull rosiner
2 ss yoghurt naturell
Litt cognac
1/2 ts kanel
1 ts vaniljesukker
Noen dråper sitronsaft

Hakk valnøttene. Bland dem med rosiner i en skål. Tilsett yoghurt, cognac, kanel, vaniljesukker og sitronsaft. Bland godt. Servér en liten klatt ved siden av paien eller oppå is.

Simple chocolate soufflé

I will switch between blogging in English and in Norwegian. Feel free to use the translate button on the left if your Norwegian skills are failing you. However, it is powered by Google Translate, and personal experience suggests it is not perfect.. Oh well. To the recipe!

Egg har flere fabelaktige egenskaper. Det kan heve, tykne, binde, emulgere, skinne, klare, og eggehviten alene kan gi de mest luftige kaker. Det er den sistnevnte egenskapen som gjør denne sjokoladesuffleen så fantastisk. Eggehviten danner små luftbobler som utvider seg og stivner når kaken er ferdig.



2 sjokoladesuffléer

50 gram kokesjokolade
25 gram sukker
2 egg
Litt salt, 1/8 ts

Forvarm ovnen til 200 grader Celsius. Smør to ildfaste former (jeg brukte creme bruleé-former), og strø et tynt lag med sukker i dem.
Smelt sjokoladen i et vannbad. Skill eggene. Ha eggeplommene og sukkeret i en bolle, og tilsett den smeltede sjokoladen. Rør godt. Stivpisk eggehvitene med litt salt i en annen bolle. OBS: Pass på at bollen du bruker ikke er fettete, for fett på redskaper fører til at eggehvitene ikke blir stive. Bruk en slikkepott og bland de stivpiskede eggehvitene forsiktig inn i sjokoladeblandingen. Fordel røren i de to formene.
Stek nederst i ovnen i 12-13 minutter. Serveres varme! Litt melis på toppen, klementiner eller appelsiner, nøtter og blåbær smaker nydelig. De tilfører litt friskhet til retten.

Espresso cookies

Okay, these might be my all time favorite cookies. They're sweet, flavorful and light. The two servings of espresso add just the right amount of coffee flavor, and to me they're perfect. This recipe makes about 36 cookies.

220 grams flour
25 grams oats
1 ts baking soda
1/4 ts salt
1/8 ts nutmeg
165 grams butter (preferably slightly soft)
105 grams sugar
105 grams brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla/vanilla sugar
2 espresso cups of espresso (60 ml) 1 egg
200 grams white/regular chocolate

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
Mix the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a bowl. In another bowl, cream sugars and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and the egg to the butter&sugars, and blend it. Pour in the espresso and stir well, before gradually adding the flour mixture. Beat well. Chop the chocolate into pieces. I chose to use 100 grams of white chocolate and a 100 grams of dark. Delicious. Add the chocolate to the dough.
Place the dough in 36-ish small portions on three sheets, 12 per each. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, one sheet at the time, until the cookies are lightly brown at the edges. Let the cookies cool down on the sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a rack.
Amazing with a cup of coffee, fruit or ice cream!

Cinnamon Bread

Post no. 1. Oh the pressure. I wanted to make a type of bread for this special occasion. A cake might've been more appropriate, but I'll save it for later.

Norway is freezing cold at this time of year. It's down to 0 Fahrenheit....gosh, I think I might die soon. I get cold way too easily to live this far north... I end up wearing ten layers of clothes, at least, and waddling around the house grunting and complaining. Still, there are little things I enjoy, too. Like the fire crackling in the fireplace, and the snow glittering in the sun. It sounds like the perfect cliché, and it is, but at the same time it is beautiful. (I keep reminding myself of this when the temperatures drop to low..."you LIKE this, Merete. It is NICE, right?")
I believe all of you know the satisfaction of eating a piece of warm bread in the morning when it's too chilly outside. One should bake bread on cold mornings. I heeded this call; I decided on making a cinnamon bread. It is light and slightly sweet - perfect for a snack or afternoon coffee. Or breakfast. Or comfort food. What is more, the smell of bread in the oven is the best. Aaagghh, just thinking about it.

This cinnamon bread is a low fat bread. You can regulate the amount of sugar as well. I found 60 grams to be just perfect. It is definitely not sweet like a cinnamon bun, just sweet enough to work perfectly with black coffee.


1 packet of dry yeast
2.5 dl milk
60 grams sugar
375 grams flour
0.5 ts salt
30 grams butter

Sugar
Cinnamon
Egg/milk

Heat the milk to slightly above room temperature. It will cool down when pouring it into a bowl. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into the milk and stir well. Let it stand for 10 minutes. The yeast is supposed to skim and you should see a reaction there. If not, the yeast is dead, and you need to start over.

Mix the flour, salt, and the rest of the sugar in another bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the flour. Crumble it and mix well. Make a crater in the flour and pour the yeast&milk into the middle. Stir to a dough. Knead the dough. You might have to add a little more flour, but be careful or the bread will be too dense.

Rub some oil in a bowl and put the dough in it. Cover it with a moist towel and let it rise until it's twice as big.
When ready, take out the dough, knead it for a couple of minutes. Use a rolling pin and roll it out to a 20x40 cm square. Cover it with cinnamon and sugar. Roll it from the short side (so you'll have a 20 cm long roll).

Butter a baking tin for bread (one that's approximately 21x8 cm). Put in the bread. Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius while letting the bread rise under a moist towel for 30 minutes. Brush on some egg or milk on the top of the bread before putting it in the oven.

Bake it in the oven for about 30 minutes. Take it out and let it cool down in the tin for 5 minutes before taking it out. If you have buttered the tin well, it should come out nicely when you turn it upside down. Let it cool down for 15 minutes more.

Serve as it is, or with a thin layer of butter, cheese or jam.

Soft winter sky.

Coffee.

Warmth in the cold. To body and soul.