Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Blueberry Almond Turtles and Quinoa Waffle Cones

I can't believe Christmas is in three days. I'm so close to being "ready" (what does that really mean, anyway? When are you ever "ready" for the holidays?). I've put off a lot of my baking for today and tomorrow (I get two days off in a row, which is unheard of!). Today I'm planning on making pepperoni bread (eight loaves) and Joanna's pumpkin butter. I am going to make three of the breads whole wheat, but then I'm taking off my dietitian hat and just using white bread. I have also decided to use turkey pepperoni and organic cheese. Yeah, I know, organic cheese isn't healthier, but I almost always buy organic dairy products. I don't really have any reason for using turkey pepperoni, other than the reduced saturated fat content.


Last year's pepperoni bread. Yum.


The other day I made these fantastic blueberry almond turtles. Here is a similar recipe that I found online (can't find the original!). The only difference is that I used fresh blueberries, not dried ones.


The lighting is bad in this picture, but you get the idea, right?!


What You Need

- Some dark chocolate (I used one bag 60% cacao chocolate chips)

- Blanched almonds

- A few cups of fresh blueberries

- A double boiler or just a microwave safe bowl

- A cookie sheet lined with wax paper

Basically all you do is create several little mounds of blanched almonds on the waxed paper. Then melt the chocolate and toss the blueberries in the chocolate. Get them nice and coated, then drop about 5-7 chocolate-covered berries onto the almond mounds. Put in the freezer for about 30 minutes to get them nice and hard.

This is the bottom of the turtles.


Nutrition Highlights

- Low calorie
(~50-80 calories, depending on how big you make them)

- Contains magnesium, vitamin E, fiber, and flavanols, all of which play vital roles in chronic disease prevention.




My mom and I also experimented with quinoa flour the other day. We ground up some quinoa into a flour and tried making our waffle cones and bowls with the flour. They definitely tasted and looked a little different, but they were still a huge hit!

We made a few cones and waffle bowls.


Plus some waffle chips. The chocolate we used was simply melted Dove chocolate.


QUESTION:
What's your favorite holiday dessert? I think mine is Great Lakes' Christmas Ale :) But if I had to choose a food, it would be my cousin's rocky road fudge!


It's the one in the top right corner. Oh my gosh. It's to die for.


I hope everyone has a great Christmas! If you don't celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful week and weekend. I will be back on the 26th with an "Almost Wordless...Sunday??" post! I will share photos, plus an update on how I have done with the Holiday Challenge. Have a great one!

23 comments :

  1. I love holiday baking and gifts from the kitchen. I need to hit the grocery store TODAY as snow is in our forecast...perfect baking weather!

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  2. I love the idea of those blueberry turtles! Yum!

    Favorite holiday food...that is TOUGH! We get a rum cake every year from a family friend that is PRETTY spectacular :-)

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  3. Blueberry almond turtles look delicious! And I'm very impressed with your quinoa waffle cones. Good luck with your baking, I have lots of baking to do in the next two days as well.
    Merry Christmas :)

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  4. No wonder those blueberry turtles were a hit. They sound GREAT! Simple recipes like this are often really the best!

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  5. i can just imagine the bread--how soft/chewy and nice it is on the photo :)

    dessert...my favorite is a leche flan :)

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  6. Oo those truffles look delicious! Blueberries and dark chocolate are a perfect pair, for sure. Good luck on getting ready for the holidays! I agree-that is a strange thing to say. :)

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  7. The blueberry turltes look fantastic! They wouldn't last long around, that's for sure!!

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  8. Quinoa waffel cones.It looks absolutely delicious. I'm pretty sure it tastes amazing too.

    I'm a big quinoa fan and I can see you too.

    Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas!

    Naomi

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  9. i love a whole variety of desserts. dessert platters rock! i think my favs tho would be nanaimo bars and turtles..hmm also love guylian sea shell chocolate!! <3

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  10. Those blueberry turtles and waffle cones look so good!

    Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  11. Wow those turtles look really yummy. I used to work at a chocolate store in high school and turtles were one of my favorite things :)

    I am going to save my baking for tomorrow so everything will be fresh. I agree though, you are never 100 % ready for the holidays.

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  12. i'm friggn obsessed like utterly OBSESSED with rainbow cookies haha i'm on the hunt to find the best ever. so if you find any and you're needing an opinion you can send them my way ;)

    okay! i've been meaning to email you but i've been loosely following your fodmaps diet! i stopped using garlic powder, onions, brussel sprouts and some of the other things and i feel so much better! any recommendations??

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  13. I loved your waffle cones, they were fabulous! I shared one with Mark...lucky guy!!!

    I remember your pepperoni bread from last year. You have no idea fast Mark would INHALE a loaf of that stuff. Pepperoni and bread are his 2 favorite foods. It's just like pizza!!

    I love the Great Lakes Christmas Ale - so good! But edible, is either Christmas Crack or Pineapple Souffle :)

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  14. Those look like some great treats! I love how simple the turtles are, too.

    I think that part of being a dietitian is practicing moderation. Sometimes recipes are just too good to alter!

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  15. Cinnamon Rolls on Christmas Morning...hands down my favorite sweet. And next time I make cookies, I am making these blueberry babies. For Christmas tomorrow, I am making homemade coco-ginger fondue with pears, walnuts and blue cheese for dipping together. Yummy!

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  16. Those turtles look great. So nice that you get some time off from work. I am sick so keeping my cooking to a minimum to spare others from the sickness. I will be cooking some dinner tonight though since everything will be closed. I like your creative use of the quinoa flour. I will confess I never got a round to trying my quinoa milk. I plan to, so I hope it is still good. My favorite holiday treat is gingerbread. I searched out in town last night but it was late so many places were closed.

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  17. Those turtles look delish..and simple!!
    I love desserts that don't have a lot of ingredients.
    Have a great Christmas, Gina!!

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  18. Merry Christmas!! :) Your blueberry almond turtles look AMAZING!!!

    St Peter's Cream Stout would probably be my favorite holiday dessert... ;) or pecan pie! :-)

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  19. p.s. SO excited about the idea of quinoa flour!!!! where did you find this fabulous creation?

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  20. Do you people have a facebook fan page? I looked for one on twitter but could not discover one, I would really like to become a fan!

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  21. This post has made me really hungry! Those blueberry turtles look and sound awesome. I love blueberries! (and chocolate of course)

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  22. this post is very usefull thx!

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