Sally McKenney's Blog, page 185

Skinny Chocolate Cherry Muffins.

Moist, fudgy 110 calorie chocolate muffins filled with juicy cherries. You won’t miss all the calories and fat, trust me!

Fact: I accidentally typed “Skinny Chocolate Cheery Muffins” as the title of this post. I think I’ve had… no, wait… I’ve definitely had too much chocolate recently.

You’re looking at batch #2 of chocolate cherry muffins here. Batch #1 was baked early in the morning the day this happened. I’m sure you can imagine the results. Tasty.

The flood was actually a blessing in disguise. Though dealing with the renter’s insurance company has been a huge pain, the flood gave me a chance to clean some things out, decorate a new apartment, and bake an even better batch of these muffins.

You’re absolutely going to love them.

They don’t taste lightened-up. They are full of chocolate. Seriously, they don’t taste lightened-up. They are only 110 calories. They are only 110 calories.

So um, did you get that? 110 calories. That is not a typo. How can it be? Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming.

Continue reading:Skinny Chocolate Cherry Muffins.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Baked Funfetti Donuts.

Glazed donuts filled and topped with sprinkles. These funfetti donuts are baked, not fried and are so simple to make!

When life throws you a curveball, you have 3 choices.

Let it define you. Let it destroy you. Let it strengthen you.

Or just eat sprinkles. So really, you have 4 choices.

Let’s stick to number 3 and number 4 today.

After quite the chaotic week, we are finally getting back to normal. My mom came to visit and helped us get organized, Kevin set up the office and living room, and the kitchen’s all ready for work. Jude even got some 50 degree weather sunbathing in.

All I wanted this morning was a donut with my coffee. It was time to test out my new oven, so rather than picking up a half dozen vanilla frosted with sprinkles, I baked a quick batch. And by quick, I mean super quick.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Flooded Apartment.

I’d like to say thank you to all of my readers who have reached out to me with an outpouring of love during this very stressful week. Your prayers, emails, tweets, messages, and comments have meant the world to Kevin and I.

Before I get back to work with some new recipes for you, I’d like to quickly share a few photos from our apartment flood this week.

One day after the coldest day Baltimore has seen in decades (3 degrees F, wind chill -16 degrees F), the pipes in our ceiling froze.

The next day, as the sun warmed up around 2pm – the pipes burst and flooded our apartment. We were forced to pack up our lives with water dripping everywhere, no electricity, and no heat within a few hours and move.

Continue reading:Flooded Apartment.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie.

Easy, healthy peanut butter chocolate smoothie tasting just like a peanut butter cup with 28 whopping grams of protein!

I’m publishing this post from Kevin’s parents’ home. Our apartment’s pipes bursted today and our home flooded. Water gushing from the ceilings and up through the floor. I pre-wrote this recipe about 1 hour before it all happened. We had to pack up our lives, without any notice, and move to a new apartment. Our new place does not have internet or running water yet. Some things were destroyed but thankfully, nothing of large value was ruined and we have renter’s insurance. Everything will be just fine. Worse things have happened to better people, at least that’s what I always think in a calamitous situation.

Ok, let’s move onto more positive things!

Alternate names for this recipe: Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Dairy Queen Blizzard, Healthy Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake, Heaven On Earth.

If you’re anything like me, when life throw’s you a curveball – the only thing to keep you afloat is a spoonful of peanut butter studded with chocolate chips. And/or a sale on boots at Nordstrom. Peanut butter and chocolate is a winning combination no matter how it’s paired. I mean a batch of dreamy Reese’s Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies could probably change lives. Don’t believe me? Try them.

I’m a self proclaimed peanut butter chocolate addict. Don’t send help.

Despite the 3 degree temperature outside (with -15 degree windchill – it’s even colder in the midwest!) I’ve been drinking my weight in cold, creamy smoothies. Earlier this week I made a concoction with blueberries, frozen bananas, strawberries, almond butter, spinach, and everything but the kitchen sink. Purely delightful.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Crispy Baked Onion Rings.

This is how I make onion rings in the oven, not the frier. They are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside without getting soggy.

Like most of us, I made a resolution to keep January on the healthy side. To me that means not saying “no” to any food, but rather watching my portions. Except when it comes to this. I want to eat the whole batch.

Other resolutions? Get more organized, do more DIY stuff (thanks Pinterest), and work on my time management. I’ve been getting to the gym regularly, wearing out my daily planner, and consuming more veggies than I did the entire month of December.

One thing on my planner this month is onion rings. Because everyone has onion rings on their calendar, right?  Such is my life.

Have I ever told you about my love for onion rings before? To be honest, they’re really just a vehicle for ketchup. I’ll have a little onion ring with my ketchup, please.

True story: my sister almost bought me an ”I put ketchup on my ketchup” t-shirt. I wish she had. I’d wear it all the time.

Continue reading:Crispy Baked Onion Rings.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Skinny Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars.

An easy and delicious recipe for 128 calorie lightened-up chocolate chip cheesecake bars, sacrificing none of the creamy texture and flavor! 

I’m currently suffering from a sugar hangover.

Alright, let me rewind. Last night we went out for a friend’s surprise birthday party. Seth, the lucky man marrying this beauty, is turning 30 and we celebrated by renting part of a bar in Baltimore.

(Rowhouse in Federal Hill – go there for Sunday morning Chicken ‘n Waffles & Spicy Bloody Marys if you’re ever in the area and want some brunch.)

Kristen brought a buttercream-frosted cake to surprise Seth and I brought a peanut-butter-packed cookbook recipe that knocked some socks off. I ate a salad for dinner so I could enjoy a lot of dessert. It’s all about balance, folks.

I also brought these skinny chocolate chip cheesecake bars to the party. They look pretty diet-busting, right!? They certainly taste that way too.

These bars defy all sorts of baking science rules. They’re so rich-tasting, yet made with lightened-up, protein-packed ingredients. The cheesecake layer is so thick and undeniably creamy. I don’t even how it’s possible. None of the party goers even knew they were lighter than regular cheesecake!

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Giveaway!

Attention all photographers, food photographers, wedding photographers, aspiring photographers, and folks interested in putting life back into your photos through editing.

This giveaway is for you!

Are you looking to produce top quality photos? In addition to learning how to use your DSLR, I highly suggest looking into a premium editing software.

Adobe Lightroom is a supreme editing and organization software for your photography. Lightroom makes everything about digital photography easier, from organizing to editing, and everything in between. I’ve been using it for 2 years. Every single photo on my blog has been through Lightroom editing. It puts the life back in my photos! Life that cameras just cannot capture on their own.

The best part?

Lightroom is SO easy to use. For the first month I got it, I didn’t even read the manual and dove right into editing my photos. It’s so easy, I understood what to do in minutes. Since then, I’ve obviously taken the time to learn my way around Lightroom.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Taste testers didn’t miss the flour in these simple, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies! Only 5 ingredients needed to make them.

Greetings from my chilly little apartment currently blanketed with 6 inches of snow! I meant to publish this cookie recipe earlier this morning, but there was some much needed playtime outside.

Sitting here with a warm cup of cocoa, I’m ready to talk about all things almond butter. Do you like the stuff?  It’s like a toasty, almond-y spread (duh) that’s a bit more grainy than peanut butter. And I know exactly what you should do with it. Besides eat it with a spoon, which I’ve been caught doing many times. It’s all good.

Make 5 ingredient almond butter chocolate chip cookies. Ditch the flour, ditch the butter. You only need a few ingredients to make these simple gluten free cookies!

Everyone and their brother has their own version of a flourless cookie. It’s certainly nothing new. While I may be late in the game to try a recipe like this, I’m quite thankful I joined in.

I was inspired to make these cookies last weekend for some friends we had over. Kevin and I had been eating so many cookies during this madness, that I wanted to serve something a little more healthful. A little less grain, a little less saturated fat.

The best part? Kevin’s friends had no idea these cookies were healthy. They thought the cookies were butter-filled, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Ha! There aren’t any oats in the recipe at all! Silly boys.

Let’s discuss how these 5 ingredient cookies are made.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes.

Made with Greek yogurt, ripe banana, whole wheat flour, and not much else. They don’t even taste healthy!

Welcome to a new year. A fresh start. And a giant stack of healthy banana pancakes.

I made these banana pancakes on a day I was feeling extra productive. You see, I plan on sharing a bijillion healthy recipes with you this month and I got an early start preparing for Healthy January a few weeks ago.

I am not one to sacrifice great taste for health food, so if you’re looking for a treat to keep your tastebuds and your skinny jeans happy… you’ve come to the right place this month!

You may recall my Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes posted last November. I have received so many emails about this pancake recipe! Who would’ve known pancakes would be so popular? Well, I’m happy they have taken the world by storm because that recipe? It’s a goldmine. They don’t even taste healthy! Kevin once made me a stack of them with chocolate chips and a drizzle of melted peanut butter. OH my gosh. Try it.

Continue reading:Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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2013 Recipe Superlatives.

The year 2013 was an incredible year for Sally’s Baking Addiction because:

I signed a cookbook deal.
I wrote and fully photographed my cookbook within 5 months.
I made my blog my full time job.
You supported my dive into the savory recipe world! And my dentist thanks you.
Sally’s Baking Addiction got a makeover.
Sally’s Baking Addiction quadrupled in traffic.
I crossed Danish pastry, the perfect pie crust, and the perfect pizza crust off my recipe bucket list.

 

This is madness! In the best way possible, of course.

Over the past year you’ve showed me how much you love cookies, chocolate, sprinkles, and learning more about the girl behind the blog.

You’ve shared my recipes with loved ones, written me emails, tweeted, pinned, clicked, commented, and showed your support for my baking addiction.

Continue reading:2013 Recipe Superlatives.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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