Granny Cookies

Is there anything better on a cool Fall day than coming into the house and smelling the aroma of the season's best fruits? Well, feeling the warmth of the oven might be a close second. Here are some recipes to enjoy this Fall and Winter (or anytime of the year), using some of our Fall favorites - pears, apples, and blackberries. Grab a cup of coffee, hot tea, or hot chocolate and enjoy a real treat.

SNAPPING CRANBERRY-PEAR CRISP

FRUIT MIXTURE:

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
2 tbsp flour
5 med pears, peeled and sliced*

TOPPING:

1 cup coarsely crushed gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the fruit mixture, combine cranberry sauce and flour in a medium mixing bowl; mix well. Add the pear slices, toss to coat evenly. Place fruit mixture in a baking dish and set aside.

For the topping, in a small mixing bowl, combine cookie crumbs, flour, brown sugar, and butter; mix well. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the fruit mixture. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the pears are tender and the topping is golden brown.
Note: This is just as good when you substitute apples for the pears.

Oregon's Blackberry-Apple Crunch

Filling:

4 cups sliced Granny Smith apples
2 cups fresh blackberries (may use frozen but do not thaw)
3/4 cup sugar

Topping:

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the apples, berries, and sugar. When well combined, pour mixture into a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan or dish.

In another large bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, walnuts, butter and cinnamon; blend together using your fingers. Sprinkle over the top of the fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately an hour or until the top is brown and fruit is bubbly.

Enjoy!

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There are many delicious low-fat, high-fiber snacks and desserts available these days in grocery stores and natural food stores. The new nutritional labeling makes it easier than ever to know what is in a product. Be sure to look for filling low-calorie foods. Also be on the look out for trans-fats! Many store bought products have this unhealthy fat lurking inside them. Usually the most filling foods have high fiber content. High fiber is key for making the hunger pains go away and for sweeping your digestive system. You also want to look for a low sugar count as well as low sodium. Too much sugar or sodium in a food will cause you to retain water and make you feel bloated.

Some of the absolute best choices are just about any kind of fruit. Strawberries, bananas, blueberries and apples are some of the most filling fruit. Mix the fruit with a cup of low-fat yogurt for added calcium and acidophiles.

Vegetables are also great to eat with hummus or a yogurt dip. Sugar snap peas, celery, carrots and cauliflower are all easy to pack and eat. A little bit of peanut or almond butter is tasty and nutritious on celery stalks.

Homemade snacks are great too. It's easy to make homemade applesauce. All you do is peel and cut apples (Granny Smith is great because they are tart), put them in a baking dish, add honey or agave syrup and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Mix well and bake in the oven at 350* degrees for about ½ hour or until tender. Delicious!

Cookies are easy to make healthy! Old Fashioned Molasses cookies are a fantastic treat and so good for you to! So are Chewy Oatmeal-raisin cookies. The best way to make a cookie healthy is use honey or agave syrup for the sugar substitute. Also, use unbleached flour or whole wheat pastry flour instead of bleached white flour. Applesauce or yogurt is a good substitute for oil and or butter.

For desserts, a fruit crisp or cobbler is easy and delicious! If you like chocolate, these Dutch cocoa fudge brownies will surprise you with their rich chocolate flavor and fudge like texture. They're a fast and simple treat. Combine 2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup of sugar, ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, 1 egg, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla in a bowl and mix. Then slowly beat in ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder and ¾ whole-wheat pastry flour. Bake for 25 minutes in a 350* degree preheated oven. Quite a treat!

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