photo credit:  food.com

For this recipe, you will need:

• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. each sea salt and nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. chopped candied ginger
• 3/4 cup each skim milk and sucanat (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 cup pears, peeled and chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 400°F.  Line 12-well muffin pan with paper liners.  in bowl, blend first 6 ingredients.  In separate bowl, whisk together milk,sucanat, oil and egg.  Stir in flour mixture.  Add pears.  Divide batter evenly among wells of prepared pan.  Bake 2o minutes, or until toothpick inserted in muffins comes out clean.

For the dough you will need:

• 1/4 cup warm water (105° to 115°)
• 1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest
• 1 1/4 teaspoon. salt
• 4 to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

For the filling you will need:

• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

For the topping you will need:

• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans (I used cashew and I added raisins)

Directions:

1)  Make the dough. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine warm water, yeast and 1 tsp. sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Here’s a good photo and description of what the yeast should look like after several minutes.

Add milk, butter, remaining sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, salt and 3 cups flour. Mix on low speed until blended. Switch to a dough hook and then, again on low speed, slowly incorporate the remaining 1 cup of flour. Increase speed to medium, kneading dough until smooth and slightly sticky (adding a little more flour if too wet), 3 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large, buttered bowl. Turn dough over in bowl to coat with the butter from the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour (or 2 hours if not in an entirely warm place). After the dough has risen, punch down. Turn out onto a lightly floured cutting board and let sit 20 minutes.

2)  Make the filling. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt butter; keep separate.

3)  Roll dough out into a 12″ x 18″ rectangle. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Starting with the long side, roll dough into a cylinder. Place seam side down on a flat surface and cut crosswise into 15 slices.

4)  Make the topping. In a 1-quart saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, honey and corn syrup over low heat; stir until sugar and butter are melted. Pour mixture into a greased 9″ x 13″ pan and sprinkle pecans on top.

5)  Place dough slices, flat side down, on top of prepared topping. Crowd them so they touch. Cover with plastic wrap, leaving room for the buns to rise, and refrigerate overnight.

6)  Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature while the oven pre-heats. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake buns until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove pan from oven and immediately (and carefully as not to spill hot topping on your toes!) invert onto a serving tray or baking dish. Let buns cool slightly and serve warm.

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 box (1.3 oz.) fat free, sugar free cook and serve chocolate pudding mix
• 2 cups chocolate skim milk
• 2 oz. chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup fat-free whipped topping

Directions:

In medium sauce pan over medium heat, bring chocolate pudding mix and chocolate skim milk to a boil, stirring constantly.  remove from heat.  Add chopped chocolate; stir until chocolate is melted.  Divide pudding mixture evenly among 4 serving bowls; cover with plastic wrap.  Chill 1 hour, or until set.  Top each glass with whipped topping.  Garnish each glass with chocolate shavings, if desired.

For this recipe you will need:

• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, toasted
• 1 cup sliced or whole almonds, toasted

Heat oven to 350°F.  In bowl, whisk together first five ingredients.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Press mixture into greased foil-lined 9″ square baking pan.  Bake 20 minutes.  Let cool completely.  Cut in to squares or bars.

Here’s another simply delicious way to enjoy the fruit.

Apple Crisp

Mix 3/4 cup of whole-wheat flour, 4 tablespoons of butter, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/3 cup of brown sugar and sprinkle over 8 cut-up apples.  Bake in 375°F oven for 1 hour.  Top it with vanilla ice cream before serving , if desired.

Orange help lower cholesterol levels.  Thanks to the fruit’s high supply of herperedin, it alleviates high blood pressure and reduce levels of LDL or bad cholesterol.

Italian Orange Cheesecake

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 box (11 oz.) mini brownie bites
• 1 orange, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 box (3 oz.) orange gelatin
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1)  In bowl of food processor, pulse brownie bites 2 minutes, or until finely ground.  Press brownie crumbs into bottom of 8″ springform pan.  Arrange orange slices around sides of pan.

2)  In bowl, pour 2/3 cup boiling water over gelatin.  Stir 2 minutes or until completely dissolved.  Let cool slightly; transfer to bowl of food processor.  Add cream cheese and ricotta cheese.  Pulse 2 minutes or until well blended.

3)  In bowl, whisk together gelatin-cheese mixture and whipped topping.  Spoon into prepared pan;  chill 3 hours, or until firm.  Garnish with whipped topping, berries, kiwifruit and mint, if desired.

For the baked figs you will need:

• 24 figs, halved
• 2 clementines
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar

For the fig bruschetta you will need:

• 1 loaf of rustic bread, sliced
• hard or soft goat’s cheese
• a handful of walnuts
runny honey

To store you will need:

• 1 large jar runny honey

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 110ºC/ 225ºF/ gas ¼. Lay your figs, cut-side up, in a baking tray. Using a fine grater, zest your clementines over the figs then dust the figs with a sprinkling of cinnamon and a teaspoon of sugar. My flavoured sugar is also great for this so if you’ve made a batch of that, feel free to use that instead.

Pop the figs in the oven to bake for 4 hours, checking on them every hour or so. When they come out of the oven you’ll have semi-dehydrated figs, which will be a bit like wine gums.

Fig bruschetta
Get yourself a few slices of nice warm bread, crumble over some lumps of cheese, and a few pieces of walnut then put a few fig halves and a drizzle of runny honey over the top to finish it off. I think the combination of salty goat’s cheese with these figs and a bit of honey is absolute heaven.

Figs in honey
You’ll be able to put any leftover figs to good use in all sorts of ways. A really nice way of using them up Christmas is to turn them into a bit of a gift by popping a stack of them in a sterilized jar, covering them completely with honey then sealing the jar with an airtight lid. They’ll be beautiful as part of a cheese platter, baked in a tart, a sticky toffee pud, or even thrown into a roasting tray with some pork or other meat for a bit of added sweetness. Give them to your mates when you go round to theirs for dinner. They’ll love getting something unique, especially when you explain all the different things they can do with them.

Another way to strengthen your bones is to eat a handful of raisins.  They are loaded with boron, a mineral that shuttles calcium into bone tissue.  Studies suggest eating a quarter of a cup daily could slow calcium loss to 50 percent, and trigger new bone growth in as little as three months.  Don’t like raisins?  Try dates, they’re loaded with boron, too.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

For this recipe you will need:

• 4  tablespoons (1/2 stick) margarine, softened
• 2  tablespoons heat-stable sugar substitute equal to 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4  cup egg substitute or 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 3/4  cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4  cup frozen unsweetened apple juice concentrate (thawed)
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1  cup all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1-1/2  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1/3  cup raisins, chopped

Directions:

1)  Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2)  In large bowl, beat margarine and sweetener or sugar until creamy. Add egg substitute; beat well. Add applesauce, apple juice concentrate and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

3)  Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

4)  Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until firm to the touch and light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Want to stay sharp for life?  Top cereal or yogurt with fresh blueberries or have a blueberry muffin.  Studies show that just half a cup every other day or so improves learning capacity, motor skills and memory.  Here’s a recipe I got from Dinnercraft.com.

Blueberry Buttermilk and Flax muffins

For the muffins you will need:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup oat bran
• 3/4 cup ground flax seed meal
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup of unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 cups blueberries, divided
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2)  In a large mixing bowl, stir together flours, oat bran, flax seed meal, salt, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice  & baking powder. In another large mixing bowl, whisk together brown sugar, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and apple sauce.

3)  Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Stir until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter. Do not over-mix. Toss blueberries with the reserved tablespoon of dry ingredients. Fold 1-1/2 cups of the blueberries into muffin batter. Fill muffin tins with batter. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries on top of muffins, pressing down lightly.

4)  Bake 20-25 minutes until muffins are lightly browned.

For this recipe you will need:

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray

Directions:

1. Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
2. In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
3. Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

1. Combine the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
2. When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
3. Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners’ sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.