Grain Free Blueberry Muffins (Gluten Free and Refined Sugar Free, too)

Sometimes I miss a good muffin.  You try to make a perfect one gluten and refined sugar free.  I realized I had some organic blueberries and that muffins should and could be made.  I checked out a number of different recipes online and went with a grain free one made with almond flour.  I am super happy with how these turned out.

My favorite part (besides the blueberries) is the coconut almond topping.  These were so easy to make.

 Grain Free Blueberry Muffins (Refined Sugar Free), by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/4 cup (56 grams) coconut oil (the oil I used was already melted, it’s summertime)

1/4 cup (84 grams) raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 tablespoons full fat coconut milk

2 large farm fresh eggs, room temperature

2 cups (224 grams) almond flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and set out in an even layer to dry

2 tablespoons chopped almonds (or pre-sliced)

2 tablespoons unsweetened flaked coconut

*Optional, 1 teaspoon lemon zest would be great added to the batter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a muffin tin (only 9) with coconut oil, just put a couple drops of coconut oil in each one and rub it around evenly with your fingers.  Set aside.  In a medium sized bowl, add the coconut oil, raw honey, almond extract, vanilla extract and coconut milk.  Whisk together until well combined.  Whisk in the eggs.  Add the almond flour, baking powder and salt and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined.  Fold in the blueberries.  Fill each of the 9 muffins cups using a medium sized cookie scoop if you have one.  Combine the almonds and coconut together and sprinkle some on the top of each muffin.  Bake for 14-16 minutes.  Let sit for a few minutes in the tin, then carefully remove each just using your fingers.  None of them broke when I removed them from the pan.  If you tip them upside down out of the tin, you’ll lose a lot of the topping.  Let cool on a wire rack until you can’t stand it any longer and have to eat one…..or two.

These have a perfect slightly crisp outside and are tender and muffin-y on the inside.

The raw almonds and coconut toast perfectly on top of the muffins.  Sliced almonds would be great, but I didn’t have any.  Chopping whole almonds worked just fine!

Canadian Honey Drop Cookies, Gluten Free—Secret Recipe Club

I am a big cheater.  Besides making these cookies gluten free and using unrefined sugar (no big deal), instead of sandwiching them with jam/jelly which was indicated in the recipe, I used chocolate and peanut butter.  I can’t help it.  I didn’t have any sugar free jam, so it’s not really my fault and these are then healthier than if I would have used a sugar-laden jam.  Am I right?  Instead I used a combination of all natural peanut butter, a touch of raw honey and some melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips.  Win---WIN!

These cookies were really good.  I found them on my Secret Recipe Club blog assignment for May.   My blog assignment was Anna’s blog, Cheese With Noodles.  Anna lives in Alaska with her husband, bunnies and cat.  She’s crafty, likes gardening and cooking and baking.  I like her!

She got this Canadian Honey Drop Cookies recipe from the 1963 Betty Crocker Cooky Book.  I would love to have a copy of that one!  I like that she pointed out that these cookies aren’t Canadian and they aren’t drop cookies, really.  But that doesn’t matter if you make them and like them, right?  When I saw that they are made with brown sugar and I had just recently bought some organic brown sugar, as well as with honey, I knew these were the cookies I had to make.  I’m happy I did.  I actually ate most of these cookies individually with no filling to sandwich them.  They are good by themselves!  I was thinking of drizzling them with melted chocolate, then I thought of what my favorite thing is with honey and knew I needed to put some peanut butter in them.  Man, I sure miss a good ol’ peanut butter and honey sandwich! 

Yes, I could have just eaten one cookie topped with the peanut butter-chocolaty goodness, but that would not have been very lady-like and would have been kind of a drippy mess.  So, a sandwich it was!  Check out the recipe Anna posted.  Here’s my gluten free version.  I also used coconut oil instead of shortening, though I might try them again with some organic Spectrum palm shortening.  Anna’s cookies were pretty thick and mine were soft and flat (still good!).  If I make them again and don’t plan to sandwich them, I will use shortening.  I have found that coconut oil really spreads with cookies.  I knew it would when I made them this way, so it is all good.

Canadian Honey Drop Cookies, Gluten Free, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/2 cup coconut oil, 112 grams (or organic Spectrum palm shortening)

1/2 cup organic cane brown sugar, not packed (80 grams)

1 large egg

3 tablespoons raw honey (63 grams)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1  3/4 cup gluten free flour blend (196 grams) (I used Premium Gold ancient grains gluten free blend)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

*Optional filling

Jam/Jelly of your choice

Natural Peanut Butter

Combination of peanut butter, honey, melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Beat together well the oil/shortening with the brown sugar.  Add the egg and beat well.  Add the honey and vanilla a mix until fluffy.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda.  Stir it into the sugar mixture until all combined.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate dough for a couple hours (be careful, refrigerating something with coconut oil, hardens it up quite a bit, but I was still able to form dough balls).  The chilling step may not be necessary if using shortening. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll dough into one inch balls.  Place on baking sheets about 3 inches apart.  You can flatten them slightly with your hand if you’d like them flat, which works well for a sandwich cookie.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies are lightly browned.  Let cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.   Fill cookies with jam or optional peanut butter/chocolate mixture, if desired.  Makes 16 cookies

I filled one with just peanut butter and it was a bit runny/messy.  Still tasted great though!  The melted chocolate really helped hold the filling inside, especially after I refrigerated it for a short time.

My newest plan/goal with my Secret Recipe Club assignments is to also make a savory dish from the blog.  You might have noticed, I always go right for cookies or some other dessert.  That’s just who I am.  But I actually eat quite healthy as well, especially after being diagnosed with MS and going gluten free and off refined sugars and most processed foods.  It’s been an interesting road to go down.    I miss certain things, like a good old plate of pasta or some delicious homemade whole grain bread……….so looking through Anna’s blog, I wanted to find something to make for dinner one night.  My family seems to get tired of the same number of things we have often.  While I make spaghetti a lot and one other pasta dish that is made with an Alfredo sauce, I wanted to find something else.  I ran across the Dreamy Baked Ziti she posted in March of last year.  I decided we need to try a new pasta.  Anna spoke about how this was a new favorite with lots of creamy cheese and a flavorful tomato sauce.  I liked that it did not have ground beef in it.  I was a little skeptical that my family would not like it having no meat in it, so at the last minute, I tossed some chopped pepperoni into the sauce.

Besides that addition, I made just a few slight changes, so I’m not going to retype the recipe, that Anna got from Mel’s Kitchen Café, who got it from Cook’s Illustrated.  It’s like making a lasagna with an ample amount of a creamy cheese mixture full of lots of mozzarella and parmesan.  This mixture called for some dried parsley, but I used fresh chopped parsley. 

Just before I added the pepperoni to the sauce, I took a scoop of it and a scoop of the cheese mixture and made me a little portion of gluten free pasta.  I made a perfect one-serving ramekin of this Dreamy Baked Gluten Free Ziti for me.  I thought it was delicious!

I sure wish I would have made more of it for me for other meals!  This was a heavenly “splurge” meal for me and I would do it again in a heartbeat. ; )

I will for sure make the ziti again…..sometime….soon.  So many delicious recipes on Anna’s blog, Cheese With Noodles. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Lime Honey Almond Cookies—Six Years of Blogging!

I started my little old blog six years ago today!  So hard to believe and while my blog hasn’t evolved into the great food blogging websites that some have in that time, I’m happy to still be here.  I have discovered that baking and cooking and blogging and sharing are truly some of my passions in life and combining them all here on my little spot on the internet have been one of the greatest things for me. 

Yes, life is certainly crazy with four boys and I certainly could not be who I am in that part of my life without my amazing husband and all the wonderful family and friends around me.  I have found that I have needed and love being a small part of the food blogging world.  Times have certainly changed.  Six years ago, food blogging was still a rather new thing.  There were those already known.  When I started my blog, I actually didn’t even know about food blogging.  I just wanted to start keeping a written account of things going on with my family so I could share it with the rest of my family and friends. 

Just a few short weeks after starting to blog things that were going on, my youngest son, Sam, turned one and I posted about the lame cake I made for his birthday.  (How cute is my baby!  This picture is a lot better than the ridiculously not-that-great turtle cake I made for him.)

All my boys are growing up too fast!  Here they are almost six years ago.

Scott is now almost 16, is at least six inches taller than me, and has his driver’s permit.  Parker is 12 and finishing up the sixth grade accelerated program and getting ready for junior high (Yes, I know, for some reason it’s not called junior high anymore and is called middle school.  I was just telling Parker yesterday I will always call it junior high.  It’s kind of like how hard of a time I’ve had calling them flip flops now, they will always be that other word to me.)  Taylor is ten and lighting up our lives with his awesome talents of origami and balloon twisting that he has taught himself.  And little Sammie, he’ll be seven soon.  I can’t believe my baby is almost seven!  We need a new family picture!  That is on the list of things to do in the next year!

A lot has happened in these six years.  When I started my blog, we lived in Kansas as Kevin taught accounting at the University of Kansas.  We lived there for a total of five years, but when he did not get tenure there in 2010, we moved back home to Utah where he got a job at Utah Valley University and got tenure a year later.  We are here in Utah to stay and are happy to be near family.

Another change in our lives—in April 2012 I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.  Can’t tell you how much I hate saying those words.  My grandmother died in 1947 at the age 24 from MS.  My mother was only about two years old.  We have always been told she had MS.  Not enough was known in 1947 to fight the things that come along with it.  It is believed she had an unknown infection that took her life.  THEN, in 1999, my sister, Mandi,  passed away at age 33 after being diagnosed at age 19 and having quite the big trials MS inflicted in her life.  We watched the disease take things from her as the short years went by.  It was definitely totally unexpected and a big shock to also be diagnosed. 

It has definitely changed my life and my family’s life.  But I plan to fight this little annoyance in my life with all I’ve got.  Right now, my biggest issue is that I always just feel tired and fatigued.  It wasn’t until all of this hit me that I really understood the difference between being tired and feeling fatigue.  Fatigue takes more out of you, you feel weak, like you just can’t do as much even if you want to.  I feel happy and blessed that I have never had to stay in bed and that I can’t take care of my family.  It has been hard for me to right how give up exercise as I was doing it before.  I will be making more adjustments, but know that getting back to some form of daily exercise for my body will be helpful.

Another thing I’ve changed is my diet.  I know it kind of stinks for a food blogger who loves baking goodies to have given up gluten and refined sugars (as well as most processed foods and some dairy).  That said, I am enjoying finding new things in the gluten free world and how enjoyable things still are using honey and dates and coconut palm sugar instead of refined sugars.  I consider it a fun challenge.  Does that mean all you’ll find on my blog now are those things?  No, I still love baking for my family and friends and do plenty of that.  I just no longer eat it.  Do these diet changes help with MS and other auto immune diseases?  Well, for myself, I don’t really know.  Everyone asks.  I made those changes last June.  I don’t know.  But I don’t really want to find out that I’d be a lot worse by trying to go back.  So here I am.

Six years later.  Happily plugging along.  This is the main reason why—Thank you, Kevin, for EVERYTHING!

Can we move on to cookies already?  I thought it would be so hard, almost impossible, to give up sweet things.  It hasn’t been that hard.  What do I really miss the most?  Sometimes I just want a good whole grain peanut butter and honey sandwich.  I have yet to find a gluten free bread as good.  I will keep searching and so far all the ones I’ve made are pretty good.  And you know what, I’m not gluten intolerant, so when really “necessary”, I do cheat.  A few times when Kevin and I have gone to dinner, I have taken a bite of one of our favorites—molten lava chocolate cake or some heavenly battered and fried artichokes we had once.  Delicious.  But I have found a bite or two and I’m okay, it’s not going to hurt me.  I’m sure I could even cheat more than that.  But I’m fine eating the things I do and don’t feel deprived.  Maybe that’s helped by not giving up chocolate.  I switched from my favorite 70% dark chocolate to eating 85%.  Now when I eat even 70%, it’s SO sweet to me.  Gotta have a little bite or two of my 85% just about everyday. 

Sometimes I don’t even have to have chocolate.  Like when I come up with cookies as good as these Lime Almond Cookies I am sharing today.  They are SO good.  And the are not only gluten free, but grain free (Paleo) as well.  They are sweetened with just a little raw honey—in other words—they are good for you! ;  )

Lime Honey Almond Cookies, (Grain Free, Paleo, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free) by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1  1/4 cups (120 grams) almond flour

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup (84 grams) raw honey

zest of 2 limes (about 1 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon lime juice

1/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.  Combine the almond flour, arrowroot, salt and baking soda in a food processor.  Pulse until combined.  Add the honey, zest and lime juice.  Pulse until well combined and the dough is all moist.  Add the chopped almonds and pulse a few times.  (You can also just stir them in if you want the nuts in bigger chunks.)    Form the dough into balls with a cookie scoop.  Press the dough firmly into the scoop with your fingers.  When the dough is released from the scoop, it should stay in its shape.  (You could also just form balls of dough with your hands.)  Bake for 10 minutes.  Let cookies sit on baking sheet for a couple minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.  Makes about 16.

When I first tasted these, I thought they weren’t sweet enough and wasn’t all that thrilled with them.  After tasting more than one and having a few the next day, I’ve decided they are delicious.  They have a perfect chewiness to them and the lime and honey are great with the almond nuttiness.  I like them so much I came up with another version that doesn’t have lime but includes chocolate.  Stay tuned for those—and more—as I continue sharing all the things that make my life what it is.

And thank you so much to all my readers over the years.  I have made some of the greatest friends of my life, and it seems so silly to say since many I haven’t even met face to face yet.  How awesome is that!  It has been such a joy to actually meet some as well.  Kindred spirits, all of us food bloggers—what could be better than food, family and friends.

Almond Joy Fudge Bars, Two Ways—Gluten Free or Grain Free, Refined Sugar Free

Almond Joy Fudge Bars with gluten free oats

I’ve been meaning to get these posted because they are SO good.  I’ve made them twice in one week.  The first time I made them with gluten free oats.  As I ate them and loved them, I decided they don’t really even need the oats in them, so they can also easily be made without any oats/grain.

These are really easy to make, the hardest part is waiting while they chill in the fridge for an hour.

Almond Joy Fudge Bars with gluten free oats, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/2 cup (128 grams) almond butter (I use homemade)

1/3 cup (120 grams) raw honey

1/4 cup (56 grams) organic coconut oil

3/4 cup (4 1/2 ounces) refined sugar free chocolate chips (Equal Exchange or Enjoy Life, etc)

1 cup minus 3 tablespoons gluten free oats

3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes (toasted, optional)

1/3 cup almonds, toasted and chopped

Line an 8 inch square baking pan with nonstick foil (or coat with coconut oil).

In a saucepan, heat together over medium heat until all combined the almond butter, honey and coconut oil.  Turn heat off and add the chocolate chips.  Stir until melted.  Stir in the oats, coconut and almonds.  Pour and spread evenly into pan.  Chill in refrigerator for an hour.  Remove bars from pan using foil edges and cut into squares.  Store in refrigerator.

adapted from Mommy's Kitchen

While eating and loving these, I couldn’t help but think they would be really good without the oats (grain) and how kicked up they would be with more coconut and almonds, so I made them again replacing some of the oats with more coconut and almonds.  Delicious!  Can’t decide which I like better.  You decide.  When I made them without the oats, I toasted the coconut.  I’ll probably toast it every time now.

Almond Joy Fudge Bars, grain free, refined sugar free

Almond Joy Fudge Bars, grain free and refined sugar free, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/2 cup (128 grams) almond butter (I used homemade)

1/3 cup (120 grams) raw honey

1/4 cup (56 grams) coconut oil

3/4 cup (4 1/2 ounces) refined sugar free chocolate chips (Equal Exchange or Enjoy Life, etc)

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted lightly (350 degree oven for 5-8 minutes)

1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped (350 degree oven for 10 minutes)

Line an 8 inch square baking pan with nonstick foil (or coat with coconut oil).

In a saucepan, heat together over medium heat until all combined the almond butter, honey and coconut oil.  Turn heat off and add the chocolate chips.  Stir until melted.  Stir in the coconut and almonds.  Pour and spread evenly into pan.  Chill in refrigerator for an hour.  Remove bars from pan using foil edges and cut into squares.  Store in refrigerator.

adapted from Mommy's Kitchen

You’ve got to try these!

Paleo Breakfast Bread—It’s Cinnamon Goodness Is Not Just For Breakfast!

Hi!  Besides not feeling well lately, I’ve also had to deal with some family issues.  (Don’t worry, all is or at least will be fine.)  Just know that it’s nearly killing me to have ignored my blog for so long.  So I had a few minutes today and wanted to get a post up for you.  I sure do appreciate all my readers and hope you’re still around waiting patiently for me to post something.

You may have noticed I’ve been trying a lot of Paleo (grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free) recipes lately and posting some of them.  Here’s another.  I hadn’t realized I never blogged it, but it’s good and SO easy to make, so I wanted to share it with you.  I take no credit for it and didn’t even change anything in the recipe that Elana from Elana's Pantry came up with.  Love this lady and her blog.  We could be twins. (Ha!)  We do have a few things in common.  She has MS.  I have MS.  She has all boys (2) and I have all boys (4).  She’s got a great blog.  I’ve got a blog. ;)  But really, she is an inspiration to me and I have found many recipes on her blog that I enjoy.  She is a cookbook author and blogs great gluten free and Paleo recipes.

I first made this “breakfast bread” back in July and it was great.  I can be an easy thing to grab for breakfast as you and/or your kids are running out the door, but it also makes a great little snack when you just need something.  It is full of protein with almond butter and eggs and has just a few other ingredients, like honey, salt, baking soda and the star of the show—cinnamon.  This is packed with cinnamon.  You can add less if you’d like, but it’s pretty tasty.  Oh, it has a touch of Stevia drops, too.  Get some and keep it for recipes like the ones Elana shares and that I link.  It’s a great all natural sweetener and just a little dab will do ya.

Check out Elana's recipe for Paleo Breakfast Bread.  Better yet, make it.  I’m going to again right now.

It bakes in 12 minutes in an 8x8 square pan.  So easy. 

Just takes a couple minutes to mix up the ingredients in a bowl and stir them with a spoon.  Bake and done.  It can even be enjoyed warm.  Yep, see, ya gotta go make some right now.

Honey Nut Popcorn—Secret Recipe Club

In my new adventures of giving up gluten and refined sugar, I am sometimes finding it difficult to find treats that will cure certain cravings I have.  I’ve been using raw honey in many things.  When looking through my October blog assignment for the Secret Recipe Club, I found one of the things I’ve been wanting—something crunchy with a little sweetness!

This Honey Nut Popcorn hit the nail on the head!  I was assigned Kate’s blog, Kitchen Trial and Error.  There is definitely lots to see and try on her blog.  The cookies alone that she’s posted made me pine for those good ol’ days of making lots and lots of cookies.  You know, I haven’t given up on making goodies for other people, so I do still get to dapple in the good stuff when I want.  Kate lives in New York state, has a hubby and a cute baby boy (Boys rule!).

While we always have a full fruit basket here and plenty of other healthy choices for snacks, there is definitely a fair share of other treats available often.  As I mentioned, I’ve been craving popcorn.  My current favorite is white popped corn that I make with our Presto Stirring Popcorn Popper.  You put a little oil in the bottom of it, then add the popcorn and a little arm turns it around and around as it pops.  I’ve been loving using coconut oil and just putting salt on the popcorn.  You’ve got to try the white popcorn, the kernels are smaller and more tender.  You can get the white popcorn in most stores. 

Along came this honey nut popcorn and I was sold on trying it.  I did adapt Kate’s recipe that she got from Healthy Food For Living.  That recipe used some honey and some corn syrup.  I just used all honey.  Also instead of vegetable oil, I used coconut oil.  The honey nut popcorn is great!  Some peanut butter and peanuts are added to make it nutty.  It would be fun to try with almond butter and almonds.  That’s it, I’ve just decided, as soon as the honey nut popcorn I made is gone, I’ll have to try that.

Such simple ingredients and still a great treat.  Sure, it might not be just the same as a buttery caramel popcorn, but it works for me.  The boys tasted it and like it okay, but are leaving it alone and I’ve been enjoying it here and there throughout this week. 

Honey Nut Popcorn, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Kate at Kitchen Trial and Error

4 quarts popped popcorn (1/2 cup kernels) *I used white kernels

1/2 cup salted peanuts

2 tablespoons organic coconut oil

1/2 cup raw honey

1/4 cup smooth, natural peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. 

Put the popped popcorn in a large bowl with the peanuts. 

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the coconut oil, honey and peanut butter.  Stir constantly and cook for two minutes.  Remove from heat and mix in the vanilla and salt.  Pour the peanut butter/honey mixture over the popcorn and peanuts and stir to coat evenly using a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula.  Spread the popcorn in an even layer on the baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  Cool completely before eating and store in an airtight container.

Great sweet, crunchy treat for snitching a handful now and then!  Great blog, Kate!  Really enjoyed it and will be back.

Grain Free Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

I wasn’t planning to go all pumpkin crazy like all the food blogs are starting to do and I probably still won’t have like 30 days of all pumpkin posts or something like that, but I was actually just walking by the pantry one day recently and right there staring at me was a can of pumpkin.  It was a sign.  I needed to make something with it. 

After searching for just the thing I was craving, I found this cake.  It was everything I was looking for and craving.  It’s got those fall spices we all love and has healthy pumpkin in it, not to mention almond butter and raw honey to sweeten it.  Can hardly believe making a cake with no flour turned out so well.  You really wouldn’t know there is no flour.  It would be fun to have someone try it who didn’t know and see if they could tell what was different.  I’ve made a couple other things that are completely grain free, like brownies and they are really good.

I take no credit for the cake.  I found this at Mel’s blog, The Clothes Make the Girl.  Haven’t seen or heard of this blog before, but I love discovering new ones and will be back.  I didn’t change a whole lot of Mel’s recipe, but will retype it with my changes.  She also frosted her cake with a maple-vanilla frosting that is made with coconut butter.  This cake doesn’t even really need anything, it’s a great snack cake.  I certainly played around with toppings though.  Melted chocolate is my favorite way to top a slice of this cake.  I just love chocolate with fall spices like cinnamon and ginger.  I also topped some with some whipped coconut cream and while that’s good, too, I prefer the chocolate.  (Go figure.) ;)  Stock up on almonds and make your own almond butter, it’s much cheaper than buying almond butter.  Mel used Justin’s Maple Almond Butter and suggested if you didn’t use that to add some maple syrup, so that is what I did.  I’m tempted when I make this cake again to use maple syrup for the sweetener instead of honey to really bump up the maple flavor.

Grain Free Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Mel at The Clothes Make the Girl

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup almond butter

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/4 cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Topping (optional):

1-2 ounces Enjoy life mini chocolate chips, melted

coconut cream, whipped  (or heavy whipping cream)

maple syrup or honey to drizzle over slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line an 8 inch square baking pan with nonstick foil (foil is optional), coat the bottom and sides with a light coating of coconut oil. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, almond butter, maple syrup, honey and eggs and whisk together.  In a small bowl, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom and lemon zest.  Add to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.  Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 30 minutes.

When the cake is cooled, remove from the pan by lifting the foil edges.  Cut into desired sized pieces.  Drizzle with melted chocolate or top with whipped coconut cream (or heavy whipping cream).  A drizzle of maple syrup or honey is great on the whipped cream.

 You could also put all the toppings on the cake to really kick it up! ;)  I still like the melted chocolate the best though.  Heck, it’s a great snack cake with no toppings as well.  Try it.

Grain Free Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Refined Sugar Free)

Yesterday I posted the Healthy Fudgy Brownie Bites and mentioned how they are now one of my favorite treats.  On Facebook I also mentioned that besides those I have found some fantastic, perfectly chewy, you'd-never-know-they-were-healthy chocolate chip cookies.  I think I might just keep a running stock of these two things and I’ll be good for a long time—though that wouldn’t be fun to not keep trying new things, would it? ;)

Well, these are definitely great chocolate chip cookies and if you didn’t tell anyone, I think they’d never know they didn’t have flour or refined sugar.  I plan to make them again, maybe even today.  They have some coconut in them, which might add to the chewiness.  I think I’ll try them without the coconut, but with lots of nuts and see if they are still pretty much the same.  These also have no added oil or butter—just almond butter.  Instead of loads of sugar they just have a little honey in them.  I used the Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips, which happen to be soy free, dairy free, refined sugar free and grain free.  You could use any kind that suits your diet needs. 

Once again I found these cookies at Jennifer’s blog, Unrefined Kitchen.  She has so many recipes that I want to try.  SO glad I tried these.  Looking through the recipe, I didn’t really change anything, so the link goes to her recipe.  She mentioned using 1/3 cup of honey and more if you’d like—I only used 1/3 cup and they are perfectly sweet.  She also suggested trying nuts in place of some of the coconut, so that is what I did—1/3 cup of unsweetened coconut and 1/3 cup of pecans.  My next try (today?) will be leaving out the coconut.  I love the coconut, but some people who are taste testers of mine don’t like it.  I baked the cookies about 10 minutes.  My scoop must be a bit bigger than Jennifer’s scoop, as I only got 16 cookies and she said the recipe makes about 20.  I used homemade almond butter.

Yep, just finishing up this post and seeing these photos, I need to make these again—today.  Need to run and get more chocolate chips first.  Give them a try.

Here’s the link again for Jennifer’s Almond Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies at Unrefined Kitchen.

I tried, but you still can’t see the amazing texture and chewiness these cookies have in the crosscut photo, you’ll just have to taste them for yourself.

Healthy Fudgy Brownie Bites (Grain Free, Refined Sugar Free, Paleo)

Yay for another perfectly simple and deliciously chocolaty treat that is also healthy, grain free, refined sugar free and did I mention so simple to make.  They are also no-bake treats.  I’m loving these kinds of things.  Plus when I make a batch and I’m the only one here who will eat them, they last me days and days.

I just found these Healthy Fudgy Brownie Bites at Averie Cooks this morning and whipped some up.  They have raw cashews in them and I bought a big bag of them from the bulk bin at the grocery store a couple days ago. 

Put cashews and cocoa powder in a food processor.  Pulse (carefully, it leaves a nice dusting of cocoa powder all over) until the mixture is coarse ground.  Chop the dates—I always rough chop them because I have learned that even though something says “pitted”, there is always a surprise pit left in one or two and the food processor doesn’t like that. ;)  (Found one today!)  Add the dates to the food processor and pulse until everything is coarsely chopped.  Add the vanilla and a tablespoon of honey.  Pulse some more, then add more honey if it is not all starting to stick together.  I ended up using three tablespoons of honey.  Roll them into balls about an inch in diameter.  I then ground some cashews in my small food processor just until they were a fine powder and rolled half the balls in the ground cashews.  Averie rolled hers in colorful sprinkles, which would be fun, but since I didn’t want any added sugar, I didn’t do that.

Here’s the raw dough, ready to roll.  It was a perfect consistency to just pinch off amounts and roll them into balls.  I got 16 of them, plus the little bit I ate before they were finished being rolled, so maybe even 17. ;)

For anyone (like me) who wants to know, these are gluten free, grain free, soy free, refined sugar free, Paleo and could be vegan if you use agave nectar or maple syrup instead of honey.  Did I mention they are really good?

Healthy Fudgy Brownie Bites (Grain Free, Paleo, Refined Sugar Free), adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys! from Averie Cooks

2/3 cup raw cashews plus 1/4 cup raw cashews (divided use)

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of sea salt

1 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3-4 tablespoons raw honey (or agave nectar or maple syrup)

In a food processor, add the 2/3 cup of cashews and the cocoa powder, pulse until coarsely ground.  Add the chopped dates and pinch of salt.  Pulse until all is coarsely chopped.  Add the vanilla and one tablespoon of the raw honey.  Continue pulsing until a dough begins to form.  Add another tablespoon of honey and pulse more.  Add another tablespoon of honey and continue pulsing until it all begins to stick together and forms a ball of dough.  Roll about one inch balls of dough and put them on a wax paper lined plate or baking sheet.  Optional, grind 1/4 cup of cashews just until they are finely ground.  Roll some or all of the brownie bites in the ground cashews.  Store in the refrigerator.  Makes 16.

You know what I think I kind of like about these?  They have just a hint of taste and chewiness that reminds me of Tootsie Rolls.  There are definitely some candies I miss and Tootsie Rolls (my homemade recipe here) are one that I love.  These are similar with just a little nuttiness.   Happy me!

Homemade Nut Butters—Honey Peanut Butter, Almond Butter and Sunflower Seed Butter

Homemade Honey Peanut Butter, July 2013

I’ve been making homemade nut butters and promised a few people I’d post about them.  There is something about making nut butters homemade that is fun and in my opinion taste better.  I love knowing exactly what is in them and controlling how much salt goes in as well.  It is also more economical than buying them.  I’m sure I’ll still buy my favorite ones from time to time, but I’ve really enjoyed the ones I’ve done so far.

Besides for health reasons, I started  making these after ordering five pounds each of raw sunflower seeds, raw almonds and raw pecans.  I love eating raw nuts and seeds.  I actually prefer sunflower seeds raw rather than roasted and salted.  For the nut butter, I did roast and salt them.

I just made the Honey Peanut Butter yesterday.  I might be my favorite one so far!  I had some raw peanuts and roasted them on a baking sheet.  When they came out of the oven, I sprinkled just a little salt on them.  After they had completely cooled, I put them in the food processor and pulse them until they were chopped finely.  Then I turned the food processor on and let them go until they became a paste.  I would stop and scrape the sides of the bowl from time to time.  It only took about five minutes until they became a great peanut butter.  I sprinkled in a little bit more salt.  Then for kicks, I decided to add some raw honey.  I added a tablespoon.  The peanut butter thickened up quite a bit after I added the honey.  I wasn’t sure if it would smooth back out if I just kept the food processor running, so I decided to add some organic coconut oil to it.  That smoothed it right out and the peanut butter tastes fantastic!  I love just the ever-so-slight hint of coconut flavor and the perfect amount of honey.  This might be my favorite nut butter I’ve made so far, but every time I make one, I think that.  They each taste so different, it’s really hard to say.

Homemade Honey Peanut Butter, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 cups raw peanuts

1/8 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 tablespoons raw honey

1 tablespoon organic coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread peanuts on baking sheet in an even layer.  Roast for about 10 minutes.  After removing them from the oven, sprinkle a little salt over them.  Let cool completely.  Put the peanuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they are chopped finely.  Turn the food processor on and let them go until they begin to form a paste.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and process until it becomes a smooth peanut butter ( about 5 minutes total).  Sprinkle with a little more salt.  Add some raw honey (you don’t have to use raw honey).  After it combines, add coconut oil until it is all smooth.  Let the peanut butter cool, then store in a jar.  If it lasts more than a week, store it in the refrigerator.

 

Today I had some of the peanut butter spread on some Grain Free Sandwich Bread I made.  I found the recipe at Unrefined Kitchen.  It is my first try of a grain free bread.  It’s okay.  It’s my first bite of anything bread-like in about a month.  In the recipe, it gives the option of butter or coconut oil.  I used coconut oil.  It also suggested two tablespoons of honey, but more if you want a really sweet bread.  So I only used one tablespoon of raw honey.  I’ll eat the loaf slowly, I’m sure.  It will be fun to try different recipes until I find one that I really like.  It was certainly good with the honey peanut butter on it!

I enjoyed it with some apple slices yesterday not long after I made it.  It’s good enough that I could just dig my finger in the jar as well.  The peanut butter is a light color.  I think it is because the raw peanuts I used did not have skins.  I am assuming a lot of peanut butters are made with the skins on and/or they are roasted to a darker color.  This is perfect to me. ;)

I made sunflower seed butter about three weeks ago.  Loved it.  I need to make some more.  There isn’t really a recipe for that.  I roasted raw sunflower seeds (about 3 cups) on a baking sheet at 350 degrees F. for about 10 minutes.  I lightly salted them when they came out of the oven.  I let them cool completely.  I put them in the food processor and let it go, scraping the sides every couple of minutes until it formed a nice smooth butter.  This took probably closer to a total of 10 minutes until it was the consistency I wanted.  You can decide how smooth or crunchy you’d like any of these butters.

Here’s a couple pictures of the sunflower butter in process.

After a few pulses in the food processor.

After 2 minutes in the food processor.

 

After 4 minutes in the food processor.

After 6 minutes in the food processor.

 

After 8 minutes in the food processor.

My favorite thing to do with the sunflower butter, besides dipping carrot sticks in it, is make one of my breakfast smoothies.  I always put a tablespoon of peanut butter in it, but tried it with sunflower seed butter and it was really good.  I’ve always tried my smoothies with almond butter.  They are all good, but this particular one is really good with the sunflower seed butter.  This smoothie has a secret ingredient that one wouldn’t think of for smoothies, but I love it!

I kept forgetting exactly what I was putting in the smoothie, so I finally remember to take a picture of the ingredients once recently.  Funny thing is, I forgot to add the Greek yogurt in the photo. ;)

The secret ingredient is sweet potato!  So really this smoothie just has banana, sweet potato, nonfat Greek yogurt, sunflower seed butter and my vitamin powder and some almond milk.

Breakfast Banana Sunflower Smoothie, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/2 a banana, frozen

1/4 of a sweet potato, cooked and cooled, skin removed before adding to smoothie

1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter (or other nut butter)

1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2-3/4 cup almond milk (or any other milk)

1/2-3/4 cup crushed ice

vitamin powder (mine has a light orange flavor), optional

Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Pulse and puree until smooth, about 1 minute.

Although I often have green smoothies or put other fruit in them as well, this banana one is my favorite.  You can’t really taste the sweet potato, but it sure makes the smoothie creamy and adds a lot of nutrition!

Finally, I have made almond butter at least three times.  Super easy and great for so many things.  I just made another batch two days ago.

  Here’s one of my lunches recently with almond butter.

Homemade Almond Butter, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

4 cups raw almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Roast for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely.  Put the almonds in the bowl of a food processor.  Process (it’s pretty loud at first as they start to chop up!) the almonds until they become a smooth butter.  This takes a good 10 minutes.  Let cool (the food processor warms up a bit) before store in a glass jar.  This amount of almonds made 16 ounces of almond butter.

Almond Butter

Can’t wait to try all kinds of different things with all these nut/seed butters I’ve been making homemade!  I know that there are a lot of grain-free/gluten free recipes that use almond butter and have been enjoying looking at all the possibilities.