Are you ready to experience the pure joy of whole grain shortbread? We can’t wait to share with you the most delectable recipe that will leave you craving for more.

We can enjoy the health benefits of whole grain shortbread while indulging in a delicious treat. When it comes to the nutritional value of whole grain shortbread, using whole oat flour in baking is key.

Whole oat flour adds a unique flavor profile to the cookies, with its pleasant sweetness and nuttiness. Not only does it enhance the overall flavor and enjoyment compared to white flour, but it also contains more nutrients and fiber.

This means that while we satisfy our sweet tooth, we’re also nourishing our bodies with wholesome ingredients. By incorporating whole oat flour into our shortbread recipe, we can enjoy a guilt-free indulgence that’s both tasty and beneficial to our health.

Exploring the Unique Flavor of Whole Grain Shortbread

Unleashing the Delight of Whole Grain Shortbread

Our taste buds are delighted by the unique flavor of whole grain shortbread. Exploring the unique flavor profiles of this delectable treat opens up a world of possibilities.

The nuttiness and sweetness from the whole oat flour adds a delightful twist to the traditional shortbread taste. It’s a flavor that brings warmth and comfort, perfect for creating a sense of belonging during the holiday season.

To enhance the experience, try pairing whole grain shortbread with different toppings. Dipping one end of each cookie in chocolate adds a touch of indulgence and creates a visually appealing presentation. Other options like caramel drizzle or crushed nuts can also complement the slightly sweet shortbread, elevating the overall cookie experience.

The Mouthwatering Texture of Whole Grain Shortbread

The mouthwatering texture of whole grain shortbread is a delightful combination of flakiness and crumbliness. It’s like biting into a cloud that gently melts in your mouth, leaving a satisfying sensation. Unlike traditional shortbread, which can be dense and heavy, whole grain shortbread offers a lighter and more delicate texture that’s truly irresistible.

When exploring different variations of whole grain shortbread, you’ll find that the texture can vary depending on the ingredients used. Adding a touch of almond flour or ground nuts can enhance the crumbly texture, while incorporating rolled oats or coconut flakes can add a delightful chewiness to the cookies.

Comparing the texture of whole grain shortbread to traditional shortbread, you’ll notice that the whole grain version has a unique character. It’s not as dense or buttery, but it still maintains that melt-in-your-mouth quality that shortbread is known for. The slight graininess adds a wonderful depth to the texture, making each bite a truly enjoyable experience.

Whole Grain Shortbread: A Standout Holiday Treat

These whole grain shortbread cookies are a definite standout on any holiday treat platter. Their unique and interesting texture, with a delightful melt-in-your-mouth quality and a slight chewiness, adds another dimension to the eating experience.

Not only are these cookies delicious and flavorful, but they also add a touch of uniqueness to the cookie plate. One of the things that make whole grain shortbread so versatile is the ability to incorporate different flavors into them. Whether it’s adding a hint of citrus zest, a sprinkle of cinnamon, or a drizzle of caramel, there are endless possibilities to dress up these cookies and make them even more irresistible.

Step-by-Step Recipe for Whole Grain Holiday Shortbread

We absolutely love baking, so here’s our step-by-step recipe for whole grain holiday shortbread.

First, gather your ingredients:

1 cup of softened butter

1 cup of sugar

4 cups of whole oat flour

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Gradually add the oat flour, mixing until the dough forms a ball.

Roll the dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch on a lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes and bake at 325°F for 14-18 minutes until lightly browned.

Now, let’s talk about some variations of whole grain shortbread recipes. You can add a tablespoon of cocoa powder for a chocolate twist or incorporate spices like cinnamon or nutmeg for a festive touch.

When it comes to storing your whole grain shortbread, make sure to keep them in an airtight container to maintain their freshness. They can be stored at room temperature for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months. Just remember to separate layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Enjoy these delicious treats throughout the holiday season!

Tips and Tricks for Perfectly Baking Whole Grain Shortbread

For achieving perfectly baked whole grain shortbread, we recommend using a lower oven temperature and longer baking time. Baking techniques play a crucial role in ensuring that your cookies turn out just right.

To prevent the shortbread from spreading too much, it’s important to chill the dough before baking. This allows the butter to solidify, resulting in a tender and crumbly texture.

Additionally, if you prefer a softer shortbread, you can try substituting some of the butter with cream cheese or sour cream. These ingredient substitutions can add moisture to the dough and create a more tender cookie.

Remember to experiment and find what works best for your taste preferences. With these tips, you’ll be able to bake whole grain shortbread that’s perfectly golden, melt-in-your-mouth, and absolutely delightful.

When it comes to packaging ideas, consider wrapping individual cookies in colorful tissue paper or placing them in small, decorative boxes tied with a ribbon. This not only adds an element of surprise but also makes them perfect for gifting to friends and loved ones. Another option is to create personalized cookie jars, filled with whole grain shortbread and decorated with custom labels, making them a thoughtful and memorable present.

While summer can be challenging for parents trying to balance work and their children, at least there’s no ticking clock dictating how much time you have to prepare snacks for your kids before hustling them out of the door. Trying to make back to school snacks as busy parents that are both good for your kids and something your kids will actually want to snack on is a whole other mountain to climb.

Fortunately, we’re here to help with some healthy, but delicious back to school snack ideas for busy parents, as well as some general tips on how to guide your children to a healthier diet in general. For school (or work!) lunch ideas, check out our previous blog post from this time last year: 9 Great Back To School Recipe Ideas. And without further ado, let’s get into it.

How To Encourage Healthy Eating Habits

Foods that aren’t very good for you unfortunately tend to be very delicious. They’re engineered that way, to be addictive, with their high sugar, salt, and fat content. Thus, even if you make healthy back to school snacks for your kids, it may be an on-going battle trying to get them to actually eat them, rather than let them go to waste. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it can take being exposed to a food up to 10 times before a child accepts it.

Offering healthy foods in different ways, such as cooked, seasoned, and raw, can help. Telling your child about how your taste buds may need to get used to a flavor before they like how it tastes may help, as can making healthy food fun. If your kids see you enjoying healthy foods, rather than having them because you “have to”, they’ll be more inclined to eat them. Likewise, if your kids see you obsessing over foods, that can impact their own relationship with food too.

Children model the behavior they see, so if you eat healthy, your child will learn healthy habits too. Preparing healthy snacks instead of offering chips and candy can shape your child’s diet in a healthy way. Guiding children to make healthy choices in meals helps them do this independently, as does steering them towards water and drinks with no added sugars, as opposed to sodas and the like.

Don’t “yuck” someone else’s “yum”, as it’s natural for people to like different things. For instance, one family member might love asparagus while another cannot stand it. Never bring weight into healthy eating conversations, as this can trigger eating disorders, low self-esteem, and unhealthy body image.

Ultimately, as long as you are presenting your children with well-balanced food options, this helps everyone in the family eat healthier, higher quality foods. And the following healthy back to school snacks do just that!

Healthy Back To School Snack Ideas

#1. Nuts

Provided that no one is allergic, of course! Nuts are quick and easy to grab and go and come with a plethora of health benefits. You can buy them in individual packets, or in bulk to put in little baggies for your kid to toss in their lunch bag.

Check out our previous blog: Go Nuts For Nuts: 5 Wonderful Health Benefits Of Snacking On Nuts, for more information about why these are a healthy back to school snack idea.

#2. Hummus With Veggies

Or pita or naan! Hummus comes in all sorts of flavors, from plain to red pepper to garlic, and it can even be sweet, for those who want something to dip their fruit slices in. You can buy hummus at the store, or, if you have the time in your busy schedule, you can make it yourself. Serve it up with some veggies (or fruit, if it’s sweet!), and you have an easy snack that boosts both energy and endurance.

#3. Banana Sushi

Slather a tortilla with a nut butter or jam of your choice, then roll a banana up in it and slice it up. These are sweet and easy to snack on, while helping your child get more fruit into their diet. This can be adjusted as desired to best suit your kids’ tastes. If your kids don’t like bananas, you can substitute another fruit instead.

#4. Apple “Doughnuts”

Remove the core of the apple and slice it up into rings. From here, the options are endless. You can use a nut butter or jam as the “doughnut”’s frosting, then garnish with chopped up nuts, betters, coconut flakes, chocolate chips, or whatever else your heart desires.

#5. Nutritious Bars

6 Easy And Healthy Back To School Snacks For Busy Parents

From granola bars to protein bars to fruit bars, there are all sorts of options here. When doing this, watch the nutrition labels. Some protein and granola bars have very high sugar content, which isn’t the best for your little ones.

#6. Yogurt

Whether a yogurt drink or a yogurt bowl with berries and granola, this is an excellent easy and healthy back to school snack. Yogurts come in all sorts of different flavors and can be just enough to take the edge off of your kid’s hunger without spoiling their dinner.

These are just a few of the different health back to school snacks you can make as a busy parent without taking too much time out of your day.

Kitchen Kneads is here to help. Click on through our recipe section for all sorts of recipe ideas from snacks to dinners to desserts and more.

10 Essential Oils Every Family Needs

Here at Kitchen Kneads, we are advocates of natural health and healing. We use herbs and essential oils all the time. Why not just go to the doctor? We find security in taking our health into our own hands, being able to care for illness and injury ourselves, thus avoiding high healthcare costs.

Of course, there are some things that warrant a doctor’s attention. But that said, we also like the fact that essential oils are safer and have no side effects.

Every home needs 10 basic essential oils. You can buy them all together in one convenient family physician kit by clicking here (You’ll need to scroll down the page a little to find it.) We also have them in stock in our store. If you’d like to just scroll through the different essential oils DoTerra has available, you can check out our link here: DoTerra Kitchen Kneads link.

With the cold and flu season soon upon us, wouldn’t it be nice to have some of these around your house?

Top 10 Essential Oils

1. Lavender – It is a universal oil that has been known to balance the body and work wherever it is needed. It can soothe burns and insect bites. It works well as a sleep aid. When applied to the gums it can relieve discomfort in teething babies.

2. Lemon – Put a drop of lemon in your water every day to help alkalize your body. The better your acid/alkaline balance, the easier it is for your body to fight illness. It works as a powerful household cleaner and degreaser. When diffused aromatically it promotes healing and physical energy.

3. Peppermint – Rub on the forehead and down the spine to help relieve fever. Put a couple drops on your feet in the summer to keep them cool. The aroma of peppermint has been found to enhance memory and increase alertness.

4. Melaleuca (Tea Tree) – It is antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiseptic, and antiviral. Apply to feet to get rid of athlete’s foot. Use it to get rid of mold and mildew. Being antibacterial it works great for acne, since most acne medications are antibacterial creams.

5. Deep Blue – This is a blend containing wintergreen, camphor, peppermint, blue tansy, blue chamomile, helichrysum, and osmanthus. Deep Blue will soothe inflammation, alleviate pain, and reduce soreness. Apply on location for muscles, cramps, bruises, or any place that hurts.

6. Oregano – Oregano is antiparasitic. Put a few drops in a capsule and swallow to eliminate intestinal worms. Put five to seven drops in shampoo or conditioner to treat dandruff. If used externally, ALWAYS dilute it because it will burn your skin.

7. On Guard – This is a protective blend of wild orange, clove, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, and rosemary. Diffuse it throughout your house when sickness abounds to kill off germs in the air or diffuse as a protective measure during cold and flu season. Dilute with water and use as a kitchen and bathroom cleaner.

8. Breathe – Breathe is another blend containing laurel leaf, peppermint, eucalyptus, melaleuca, lemon, and ravensara. It is excellent for opening up the respiratory system. Diffuse to combat coughs, congestion, asthma, and snoring.

9. DigestZen – This blend of ginger, peppermint, tarragon, fennel, caraway, coriander, and anise may be useful for improving the digestive system. Rub four drops on the stomach to soothe acid reflux, diarrhea, constipation, IBS, etc. May be applied to animal paws for parasites.

10. Frankincense – Like lavender, frankincense is a smart oil, working where it needs to. It can be applied to cuts to speed healing and reduce scaring. Studies show that it can kill cancerous cells. It can be used for anything. When in doubt, use frankincense.

There you have it: 10 essential oils to help you get started being your family’s physician.

*The information contained in this post is for informational purposes only, and should not be a substitute for medical advice or treatment. It is recommended that you consult with your doctor or health care professional for the proper diagnosis and treatment.

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