Lightened Up Carrot Cake Scones with Cream Cheese Frosting

Disclaimer: I'm going to be optimistic for a moment and say "now that winter is officially over" even though I live in the Midwest and we all know how untrue that may be....

Now that winter is over, I'm ready to make the switch to lighter spring time foods. This means I can safely tuck my trusty Crockpot back into its home right above the fridge and start planning for meals with fresh ingredients instead of canned ones. April starts in just a few short days and I am beyond ready to step my cooking and baking game up. With that said, I decided to finally take the plunge and make something I have been talking about for at least a year: scones. I'm not exactly sure why I thought that making scones would be such a tedious process but it was actually quite easy. I let this thought stop me from trying time and time again....but not today! Today was the day I finally faced my baking fears and made scones, healthier ones at that.

I'm not going to lie, I enjoy a good scone. I am quite picky about my scones though, so I thought I would make something that I hadn't tried before so I could A) force myself to try something new and B) finally make scones! Plus, who doesn't love a good carrot cake? For those of you who do, you're welcome. For those of you who don't, try again, you're still welcome.

Yield: 8 scones

Scones

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground all spice
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup grated carrot (about 3 large carrots)
• 4 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 2 oz chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
• 1 egg white
• sugar in the raw for sprinkling

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 3 oz fat free cream cheese
• 4 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 375° and line a large baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add both flours, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, and salt. (If you do not have a stand mixer, feel free to use a whisk or hand mixer). Mix until combined. Add the grated carrot and mix again - you may need to mix this a little with your hands to ensure that the carrots do not clump together. Add the cold butter and mix until the butter becomes the size of a pea. 

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chopped walnuts. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the buttermilk. Using your hands, stir the milk into the dry ingredients until the dough comes together. Place dough onto a floured surface and knead until just combined - this should only take about 10 seconds. Be careful not to over knead the dough - this can cause the butter to melt. Form the dough into a 10" circle, about 3/4" thick. Using a pastry cutter, or a knife, cut the dough into 8 equal sized triangles.

Brush each scone with the egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden, about 20-22 minutes. Allow scones to cool completely. Once cooled, begin making the cream cheese frosting. Either in a small bowl or a small food processor, add all frosting ingredients and mix until smooth. Transfer to a Ziploc bag. Cut a small piece off the corner of the bag and use to pipe the frosting on the scones.

Chicken Bruschetta Burgers

As usual, it's been a while since I've posted anything but now that I have morning hours, I'm going to try my best to at least post once a week. Almost every weekend for the past month, I have gotten most of my meals from restaurants and lost most of my motivation to make new things. Eating out all the time obviously isn't good for my health or my wallet so it's time to make a change and what better way to do that then with an American favorite turned clean eating.

I found this recipe a while ago on Skinny Taste and was dying to try it but of course it ended up in the back of my mind and I forgot all about it. Today however, I finally remembered and luckily for me, I had a pound of ground chicken in my fridge waiting to get used up. This recipe is also great for those who are trying to sneak some extra veggies into their meals.

Now, I am the kind of person who likes to make a lot of extra toppings and sides so that I can use them throughout the week for different recipes. In this case, I made a ton of bruschetta so that Adam could toss some on his omelettes and I could put it on chicken and in wraps. If you do not want a lot of leftover bruschetta, feel free to cut that portion of the recipe in half.

Yield: 4 burgers, 3 cups bruschetta

Bruschetta

• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp white Balsamic vinegar
• 5 medium vine ripe tomatoes, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 4 sticks reduced fat mozzarella string cheese, cut into small cubes
• salt and pepper to taste

Burgers

• 1 lb 90% lean ground chicken (I like Gold'n Plump)
• 1/2 large zucchini, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup plain whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 4 cups organic spring mix salad (for serving)

In a medium bowl, combine the red onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, garlic, and basil. Stir and season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use. When ready to serve, stir in the mozzarella cheese. 

While bruschetta is chilling in the refrigerator, begin the burgers. Grate the zucchini then squeeze the excess moisture from it using a paper towel. It is important to get as much moisture out of the zucchini as possible so it does not cause the burgers to be too wet. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, ground chicken, bread crumbs, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Form into 4 equal sized patties.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and lightly spray with cooking spray. Add patties and cook for 3 minutes on each side. To serve, place 1 cup spring mix on plate, add burger then top with bruschetta (make sure to add the cheese to the bruschetta before topping).

Recipe adapted from: Skinny Taste