Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits with Chives

These chive-flecked cornmeal biscuits taste best made with extra-sharp Cheddar, but any type of Cheddar will work.


Ingredients


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal, preferably stone-ground (see Shopping Tip)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon honey, (optional)

3-5 tablespoons low-fat milk
 
Preparation


1.Preheat oven to 400°F.

2.Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Add cheese and butter and pulse again until the mixture looks pebbly with small oat-size lumps. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

3.Add sour cream, chives and honey (if using) and stir with a rubber spatula until almost combined. Add 3 tablespoons milk, stirring, just until the dough comes together; add more milk as needed until the dough holds together in a shaggy mass. Don’t overmix.

4.On a lightly floured surface, lightly pat the dough into a rectangle about 9 by 5 inches and just over 1/2 inch thick. Using a large chef’s knife, divide the dough evenly into 12 biscuits. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.

5.Bake the biscuits until lightly browned on top, 14 to 16 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips & Notes

Shopping tip: Find stone-ground cornmeal in the natural-food sections of supermarkets, in natural-foods stores or online at kingarthurflour.com and bobsredmill.com.

Nutrition

Per serving: 131 calories; 5 g fat (3 g sat, 1 g mono); 15 mg cholesterol; 17 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 1 g fiber; 318 mg sodium; 39 mg potassium.



1 Carbohydrate Serving



Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fat

Dark Chocolate Meringue Drops

These meringue cookies have a puffy, fragile exterior and a moist, soft interior. They deliver an enticingly bold, knock-your-socks-off bittersweet chocolate experience.


5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60-75% cacao), divided


2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process), sifted after measuring if lumpy

3 tablespoons cocoa nibs, (see Shopping Tip), optional

1/3 cup egg whites (about 3 large), at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar, divided (use 1 1/2 teaspoons less if cocoa nibs are omitted)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
Preparation


1.Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray.

2.Coarsely chop 3 ounces of chocolate and place it in a small microwave-safe bowl. (Alternatively, see “No Microwave?” below.) Microwave on Medium for 1 minute. Stir, then continue microwaving on Medium, stirring every 20 seconds, until mostly melted. Stir until the remaining chocolate melts completely.

3.Chop the remaining 2 ounces chocolate into pieces the size of mini chocolate chips. Combine in a small bowl with cocoa and cocoa nibs (if using).

4.Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean medium mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, then at medium speed until soft peaks start to form. Immediately add about 2 tablespoons sugar; beat for 1 minute. Slowly, about a tablespoon at a time, add the remaining sugar, then vanilla, continuing to beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, opaque, glossy and thickened, about 2 minutes longer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, raise the speed to high, and beat for 30 seconds more. Lightly fold in the chocolate-cocoa mixture and the melted chocolate just until evenly incorporated and no streaks remain; do not overmix. Immediately drop the batter by rounded teaspoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheets.

5.Bake the cookies, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through, until just firm when gently pressed on top but still soft inside, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let stand for 1 to 2 minutes. Then slide the paper from the pans to a flat surface and let the cookies cool completely, about 15 minutes. Gently lift the cookies from the parchment paper using a wide-bladed spatula.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: These are best enjoyed fresh, but can be stored flat with wax paper between layers in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. Thaw before serving.

Tip: If you add the optional cocoa nibs to the batter, the flavor-texture combination will be even more interesting and complex. Nibs, which are bits of roasted and hulled cocoa beans, are crunchy and have a pure (unsweetened) chocolate taste. Some brands of nibs are coarser than others. For these cookies, the nibs should be the size of finely chopped nuts. If necessary, simply chop them to obtain the right consistency.

Nutrition

Per cookie: 28 calories; 1 g fat (1 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrates; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 4 mg sodium; 10 mg potassium.



Exchanges: 1/2 other carbohydrate

Vanilla and fresh berry mini cheesecakes

This recipe comes from a British Newspaper. Click on this post title to be taken t original article if you want

Makes 12


500g Philadelphia cream cheese (at room temperature)

100g caster sugar
3 large eggs, whisked together
1 vanilla pod
175g double cream
200g white chocolate, chopped
1 punnet raspberries
1 punnet blueberries
1 punnet blackberries

Preheat the oven to 130C/250F/Gas Mark ½. Beat together the cheese and the sugar. Gradually add the eggs and whisk until combined. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod, add them to the cheese mix and stir in well.

Pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it melt thoroughly. Give it a good stir, then pour into the cheese mix, making sure there are no lumps.

Line a 12-cup cake tin with paper cases. Mix together the berries and divide half of them between the paper cases. Pour the cheesecake mix over the berries, then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until set but still quite soft in the middle. They should remain white. Cool the cakes to room temperature, then place in the fridge overnight. To serve, divide the remaining berries over the cakes and sprinkle with some icing sugar.

Try This Blossom for Lower Blood Pressure

Tea brewed from lovely flower buds may help keep your blood pressure in check -- if those buds are hibiscus.




In a study, drinking 3 cups of hibiscus tea per day appeared to help lower systolic blood pressure by an average of seven points in people with prehypertension or mildly elevated blood pressure.



Happy News About Hibiscus

Assuming you don't load it up with sugar, brewed tea is one of the healthiest drinks around. And the flavonoids and polyphenols in hibiscus tea may be the reason for the blood-pressure-busting benefits observed in the study, which was funded jointly by the USDA and the tea industry. More research is needed to confirm the findings



You can blow the whistle on "brain attacks" by turning on your teapot.




That's right. If you've got green tea brewing in there, it's one celestial seasoning that can extend your earthly stay. If you drink enough, you just might lower your risk of dying from a stroke by up to 42 percent!



Holy Teacup, Batman

In a large study of women, those who sipped at least five cups of green tea a day had a 42 percent lower risk of death due to stroke, compared with women who drank less than one cup a day. Other research shows that just two 8-ounce cups of tea daily can dramatically reduce the risk of dying from heart disease -- most likely because of the artery-friendly polyphenols in tea

Pumpkin Pudding

Ingredients
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
2 to 4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, optional
2 large eggs (the SuperFoods authors recommend eggs with extra omega-3s)
One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
One 12-ounce can evaporated nonfat milk (or evaporated 2% milk)

Preparation
Mix all the ingredients together and pour the mixture into an 8-by-8-inch casserole. Bake it in a preheated (350 degrees Fahrenheit) oven for about 30 minutes. Don't overbake; the center should be slightly wiggly. Cool and enjoy, or refrigerate for later use.