the recent drop in temperatures here had me craving some hot chocolate and since it’s not something I normally have on hand, I had to take the diy route.
- diy hot chocolate - - 1/2 cup to 1 cup milk of choice - 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder - 1 T (or more) vanilla silk creamer or sweetener of choice - optional: 1/4 tsp coconut, mint, almond, vanilla extract
heat milk in microwave. add cocoa powder, creamer, optional extract and stir with spoon or frother til combined.
ahhh, there’s nothing more soothing in the morning than stirring up a brand new jar of almond butter.
especially when you know you’ll be spreading it on some crunchy, fluffy, buttery french toast {doused in maple syrup}.
Which is exactly what I had this morning. yum.
When it comes to french toast, i think the bread is one of the most important components.
I’ll use anything from cinnamon raisin eziekel bread to brioche. This time, i chose a fresh loaf of challah.
pretty, yes?
I sliced it into thick slices, so it could soak up all the eggy goodness.
Using a shallow dish, i stirred together some eggs whites {it’s all i had on hand}, almond milk, cinnamon, & vanilla extract.
Soaked the challah slices until they completely absorbed the egg mixture.
{they soaked up the mixture like sponges! – which is what I wanted because it adds to the soft and chewy texture of the french toast when cooked}
Heated up some coconut oil in a pan {on medium} and added the challah slices.
A couple minutes on each side and they were browned and ready to go.
I loved how the outside crust was crunchy, but the inside was soft and chewy.
so. good.
what’s your favorite bread to use when making french toast?
- now that i think about it…i don’t think i’ve ever met a bread i don’t like.
- 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup ground almond meal/flour [I used trader joes almond meal]
- 1/4 cup peanut flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 t baking powder
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/2 T pure vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
- 1/3 cup light agave syrup
- 2 T honey almond butter
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3 squares endangered species dark chocolate [chopped into mini pieces]
Mix wet ingredients into dry and bake at 350 F/175 C for 20-25 minutes. After baking, allow muffnies to set for a bit in the muffin tin (~10 mins), then move onto wire rack to finish cooling. Don’t leave in the muffin tin until completely cooled because moisture will build at the bottom. Best if stored in fridge once cooled.
They look like brownies on the top and are slightly dense, yet still uphold a partial muffin like texture towards the bottom. Plus the tiny endangered species chocolate pieces melt into the muffnies making them more chocolatey while the larger remaining pieces leave a yummy surprise when you bite in.
It’s perfectly delicious eaten on its own and just as delicious as a topping on some chocolatey overnight 20 minute oats.
Which is the way I’ve been enjoying the muffnies every morning.
I’m not going to lie, I totally think about this breakfast during my workout. Motivation to finish strong? I’ll take it!
