Gluten Free Applesauce Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

 This gluten free cake was so good!  I'm trying to get some of my favorite things posted on my ol' neglected blog for safe keeping, but it's just not been easy for me--don't get me wrong, I feel good!  I just can't seem to get it done. Also had computer issues for a few months.  I won't complain.  And I'll just be short on words and see if I can get it done.

I've made this fabulous Apple Spice Cake before which I first got to experience from some cooking classes I was taking from my friend, Paige, in Kansas.  She has a great post on her blog for the Applesauce Spice Cake here.  With my autumn birthday recently (November 15) and it falling on National Bundt Day, I decided this is the cake I wanted to make gluten free for me.  Sometimes I'm not sure something will turn out well and I'll have lots of testing to do--but I sure love it when I first change a recipe and it turns out great!  So happy!

It was perfect and I have one slice left that is still perfectly moist.  My family doesn't really like when I've made something and I tell them it's gluten free.  They often won't even try it.  Sam ended up eating two or three slices and said it was pretty good!  It's not only made gluten free, but I used coconut sugar and raw honey for the sweetener!  Love it! I wanted a cream cheese icing on it since it was so good on the original cake so I made some to drizzle on the bundt cake with as little sweetener as I could and used a couple tablespoons of organic powdered sugar and then pure maple syrup.  I'll try it again to see if it's fine with just maple syrup another time.  But it turned out great and I used a lot less icing than the cake that is usually completely frosted with it.  So good though!

We had some apples here that were near "death", so I made homemade applesauce!  I peeled, cored and sliced the apples into pretty big chunks.  Then I put them in the Instant Pot with a little water and cooked them on the manual setting for ten minutes, then let it naturally release for another 10 minutes.  They were pretty well done/soft!  But it worked great!  I put them in the blender and within seconds they perfectly became applesauce! No sweetener added!

Gluten Free Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, by Katrina Smith, www.bakingandboys.com

2 cups (240 grams) gluten free flour blend (with xanthan gum)

½ teaspoon xanthan gum (yes, extra)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup coconut sugar

½ cup raw honey

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce (I used homemade!)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 cup non-stick Bundt cake pan (or you can also use a 10 inch round cake pan) with cooking spray. I use a non-aerosol cooking spray.  Set aside.  Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.  Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter with the coconut sugar and honey until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes on medium high speed, stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides after each addition. Beat for another 2-3 minutes.  With a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the applesauce (add the vanilla with the first half of the applesauce), beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, until they are fully incorporated.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean—about 35 to 40 minutes.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.  Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Turn onto cooling rack and let cool completely.  It should come right out of the pan.  Carefully move cake to serving dish or airtight cake keeper. Prepare icing while cake is cooling.

Cream Cheese Icing:

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

Dash of salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons organic powdered sugar

½ tablespoon almond milk

2 tablespoons walnuts, lightly toasted, chopped (optional)

 

Whisk together the softened cream cheese, salt, vanilla, maple syrup, and powdered sugar until well combined with no lumps.  Add almond milk starting with ½ tablespoon and possibly a little more until desired consistency.  Drizzle over cooled cake.  Sprinkle with walnuts.

Love my bundt pan.  I've never had anything stick and I always only spray it with a non-aerosol spray.  Though I think I want to start collecting different bundt pans.  Seems like a perfect birthday/bundt day thing to do!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Browned Butter Pecan Streusel

This was the birthday cake I made for my birthday which I've mentioned before is also National Bundt Day (November 15).  I NEED to share it with you all here!  I turned this fantastic Pumpkin Cake recipe I've made before from my friend Paige at For Love of the Table, whose cooking classes I used to take and love and endulge in all the deliciousness when we lived in Kansas, into a gluten free, refined sugar free divine bundt cake!  It was so moist and flavorful and exactly how I wanted it.  I'm planning to make it again next week for Thanksgiving.  There are always so many pies at our huge family gathering and I've tried making decent gluten free ones in the past, but haven't been as in love as I want to be with gluten free crust.  CAKE--this is just what I was hoping it would be like with it's spot on pumpkin and spice flavors.

If you want, you can see my post for the original pumpkin cake (linked above) and Paige's, too.  It's a must-make sometime.  Most know I am a chocolate lover and my favorite desserts usually have chocolate, but this cake is right there at the top of my list, especially now that I've made it gluten free.

Paige's original cake has a most delicious browned butter pecan streusel on top that bakes with the cake.  While making this into a bundt cake, I realized I wasn't sure how I was going to make the best part of the cake work for it since a bundt is baked upside down, then turned out of the pan.  I didn't want to have the streusel making a caramel-like topping while it baked, so I baked it separately and decided to make it stick to the top of the cake some other way.  I made a simple cinnamon glaze using organic powdered sugar and I drizzled that over the cooled cake.  The streusel then adhered to the cake just as I'd hoped.

The cake is so moist like a great pumpkin bread and the streusel adds a perfect cinnamon, nutty crunch.  Nothing else is needed to enjoy this but some whipped cream on the side would be great.  I've known Paige for over ten years and she's always had no problem admitting she had cake for breakfast.  She is a fantastic chef and I've always loved her cakes and cookies and pies and all desserts, I'm just a sweets kind of gal. (Check out her blog, linked above!  Best photos, descriptions and instructions ever!) Cake for breakfast?  I've never really endulged that way, but after making this cake and having some for my birthday, there it sat on the counter the next morning and it was calling my name.  So I had cake for breakfast.  It was delicious every time I had a piece of it over the next couple days.  This cake needs to be posted here and made again and again!

GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE WITH BROWNED BUTTER PECAN STREUSEL, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

Streusel Topping:

¼ cup gluten free flour blend (I like Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking mix)

3 tablespoons coconut sugar

½ tablespoon raw honey

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, browned in a small saucepan*

¼ cup pecans, chopped

Cake:

2 cups gluten free flour blend (I like Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking mix)

½ teaspoon xanthan gum (add this even though the flour blend has some)

2 teaspoon baking powder

½ teasoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup coconut sugar

½ cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

½ cup almond milk (or any milk you choose)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

1 cup organic powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon milk (your choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. *Brown the butter for the streusel in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk together while it melts and foams a little.  When almost no more bubbles form, let it heat until the butter gets a nice brown color and has a nice nutty aroma.  Pour it until another container to stop the browning/cooking process.  In another bowl, mix together the streusel ingredients, pour the brown butter in last, mix to combine.  Pour the mixture onto a foil lined small baking sheet and spread evenly, some clumps are good. Bake for 8-10 minutes.  You just don’t want it to brown too much.  Remove from oven and leave on sheet to cool.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for a minute, add the coconut sugar and honey beat and until light and fluffy for about 3 minutes, scrape down the sides. Beat in the eggs for a couple minutes. Whisk together in a bowl the pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla.  Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl.  Whisk together.  Add a little of the dry ingredients to the mixer and beat together.  Then add half the wet ingredients and beat well.  Scrapes sides of bowl.  Add more of the dry ingredients, beat well, then the rest of the wet ingredients and the rest of the dry, beating well after each addition.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.  Spray a bundt pan with non-aerosol cooking spray (some instead butter and flour the pan, I’ve never had one stick just using spray).  Pour the cake batter into the pan and spread evenly.  Bake in preheated oven on middle rack for 35-40 minutes.  Test at 35 minutes with a toothpick to see it comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs.  When fully baked, remove from oven and let it sit in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.  Turn cake over onto a wire rack to remove from pan and let it cool completely. 

Make the quick glaze, whisking the ingredients together.  Drizzle over the cooled bundt.   Immediately after, sprinkle/spread evenly the streusel around the top of the cake.  Store in an airtight cake server.  Serve cake with some fresh whipped cream, if desired.

TEN YEARS BLOGGING! Gluten Free Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Hello, Everyone!  Would you believe it’s been 10 years since I started my blog!  Ten Years!  That’s so crazy to me.  Even crazier—I started my blog just before my baby turned one.  Yep, he’s almost 11 years old!  I keep wishing I could take the time to share things with you like I used to way back when.  Times have changed.  Blogging isn’t the same.  My boys aren’t the same and I think I’m definitely busier with three teenagers and a 10 year old.  My health isn’t the same.  So much change.  In my heart though, I’m the same—I still love food (treats especially) and want to share my favorites here with a good dose my life and family.  Sigh.  So here I am, blogging sparingly, but still here nonetheless.

 

I still have this idea to revamp some of my favorite treats into healthier and gluten free versions, so I’ve done it again today with this Gluten Free Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake—which I’ve taken from this heavenly Chocolate Zucchini Cake.  Took a few tries, but THIS recipe I’m sharing here today is great!  It’s not as healthy as it could be, but it’s still gluten free and refined sugar free and I’m happy about that.  I will work on another version that is grain free and maybe dairy free, but I’ve sure decided with baking lately and trying to make things vegan for one of my sons, that baked goods benefit greatly from eggs and butter!

Never, ever would someone even guess this decadent chocolate cake has a vegetable.  You cannot tell there is zucchini in it. 

Gluten Free Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1 ¼ cups gluten free flour blend

6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon xanthan powder (even if your flour blend has some, add this extra)

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup coconut sugar

6 tablespoons raw honey

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)

1 cup finely grated zucchini, liquid squeezed out in a tea towel

½ cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Ganache—

3 ounces heavy cream

4 ½ ounces Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with non-stick foil (optional, but I love doing this for easily removing the baked cake from the pan), spray with cooking spray (here I prefer the no-propellants coconut oil spray). Set aside. Add gluten free flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan and salt to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Cream the butter, coconut sugar and honey in mixer for 3-5 minutes, until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat another couple minutes, scrape the bowl to make sure all is combined. Add the zucchini and mix together. While the mixer is going, add part of the dry ingredients, then some of the milk, then more dry ingredients, the rest of the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Beat it in the mixer for 3-5 more minutes. Since it is gluten free, it will be fine! Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with just moist crumbs. Let cake sit on a wire rack to cool.

Make the ganache. In a glass microwave safe bowl, heat the cream in 20-30 second intervals until it’s bubbly around the sides (this can also be down in a pan on the stove). Pour the chocolate over the cream and let sit for a minute. Slowly stir the chocolate and cream until smooth. Remove cake from pan with the foil edges. Carefully remove the foil from the bottom, let cool completely while ganache cools more and thickens slightly. Spread the ganache evenly over the cake. Store in an airtight cake holder. Cut into nine squares and serve. (Next I’m going to bake this cake in a 9x9 inch pan for the cake to ganache ratio to be a little better!)

Here’s what’s happening with my family lately--

Scott proposed marriage to his girlfriend!  He told us on Christmas, even though he asked Diana to marry him back in August.  Little sneak!  They are happy and plan to get married in a couple years after they get things more set financially. ; )

Parker has been busy with his first job at Target during the holidays.  He works at a thrift clothing store right now, but plans to go back to Target when they hire him back in March.  He’s also busy with school trying to get enough credits to graduate a year early.  He’s ready to go places!

Taylor is busy in 8th grade with percussion and loves drumming!  He’s actually taking drum lessons on the side through someone Kevin knew at UVU.  It’s nonstop drumming around here, on drums and drum pads and counters and anything!  He was selected with a couple others to be in the school drumline and they got to go to all the home boys’ and girls’ basketball games and play during timeouts and halftime.  He loved it!  I enjoyed going and watching him and recording lots of his beats!  He’s actually written a couple of his own cadences.

 

Sam recently “earned” a trip to Disneyland with me, so we went and had a blast for two days with my friend, Bonnie, and her four girls.  Sam had never been to Disney or California.  We flew over in a flash and played hard and it was over before we knew it.  Sam LOVED Guardians of the Galaxy at California Adventures (me, not so much).  He also loved the Raging Waters ride.  That one WAS pretty fun—and wet.  My favorite at C.A. was Soaring Around the World.  So awesome!  It was fun to see Mickey and a bunch of other characters and lots of fun hanging with friends!

You might be wondering about my health.  My MS (multiple sclerosis) is 100% stable and I’m doing well!  I’m super blessed and the medication I get (by a two hour infusion every 36 days) seems to be doing it’s job of keeping the MS in remission.  Lots of prayers and fingers crossed!  Again, I cannot believe ten years have passed since I started this blog.  It breaks my heart to not be doing as much as I used to with it, but we just go with the flow of life and do what we can, right?  I’m still going to keep updates around here from time to time and hope to keep sharing my healthier changes to the treats and desserts I make.  I still make “regular” things as well.  When I have something to share, I hope to get it done.  February 17, 2018—can you believe it? 

Gluten Free Apricot Betty Bars, Gluten Free Apple Betty Bars, Or Any Fruit Oat Bars

Gluten Free Apricot Betty Bars (no refined sugar)

These fruity oat bars are so good.  You must try them.  I’ve adapted a recipe for Apple Betty Bars and made them gluten free and used coconut sugar and some raw honey so they are also free of any refined sugars.

You’d never know it.  I know I keep saying that.  But really, I’m serious!

I made a quick apricot jam with just apricots and some agave nectar.

You don’t have to be limited by apricot jam only.  I also made a quick apple filling.

Gluten Free Apple Betty Bars (no refined sugar)

My 16 year old son is vegan right now.  So I also made a version of these using coconut oil instead of butter and that is also the reason I made the apricot jam with agave instead of honey (which is my preference).  They turned out beautiful.  Tasted great, too.  But the ones with butter—BETTER!  Everything is better with butter, I’m a believer. ; )

Gluten Free Vegan Apricot Betty Bars (no refined sugar)

The vegan version is perfect for serving the day you make them.  The coconut oil makes them not stay as sturdy and they are pretty soft after the first day, so just don’t plan for leftovers.

The gluten free ones with butter are delicious for days after, so they are perfect for packaging up as grab and go treats.

Gluten Free Apricot Betty Bars, Gluten Free Apple Betty Bars or Any Fruit Bars, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 cups gluten free flour blend (xanthan gum included), Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 is great

1 ½ cups gluten free quick oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup coconut sugar

¼ cup pure maple syrup

1 cup butter or for vegan version use coconut oil, melted

1 cup Easy, Sugar Free Apricot Jam* or any fruit preserves/jam of your choice

Apple Filling**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together in a large bowl, the gluten free flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Add the coconut sugar and maple syrup and combine well. Stir in the melted butter or oil until mixture is all wet and combined. Press half the mixture (about 14 ounces) into a ¼ sheet pan (9x13 cake pan works, the short sides of the sheet pan are great, no need to butter or spray pan). Bake for 15 minutes.

*Easy, Sugar Free Apricot Jam, by Katrina, Baking and Boys! (Vegan, No Refined Sugar)

8 cups apricots, cut into pieces, pits removed

½ cup agave (raw honey is great, too, for non-vegan version)

¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Add the apricots, agave and almond extract to a blender. Blend until pureed. Pour into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until it thickens a bit. Pour into glass jars and seal. Store in the refrigerator (it is not sealed for shelf storage but will last a good couple weeks in the refrigerator). Makes about 4 ½ pints.

Spread one cup of the jam evenly over the partially baked bars. Scatter the remaining crumb batter evenly over the top of the jam. Bake for 25-35 minutes until nicely browned. Cool. When cooled, the bars should slide out of the pan nicely or you can cut them into pieces and remove each from the pan. Let them sit for a few minutes on a double paper towel to absorb an excess butter/oil (I have found this is sometimes not necessary, see what you think).

**Apple Filling

4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into cubes

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste

¼ cup raw honey or agave for vegan

¼ cup water

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and cook for 20-30 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Mash or blend with an emersion blender, leaving some chunks of apple. Makes 1 ½ to 2 cups. Spread evenly over first layer of oat bars.

These would be great with any jam or fruit filling.  I want to try raspberry or blackberry.  I love the hint of tart.  The apricots provide that, too.  What would be your favorite fruit filling?

MELT Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies and MELT Buttery Baking Sticks and Spreads

Have you seen or heard of MELT Organic?  It’s a company that makes organic coconut oil baking sticks and spreads. They sent me some samples.  They are really good!  They are made of all organic ingredients and are vegan.  This is good news for me, since my 14 year old is trying out being vegan right now.  Not sure how long he’ll go on with that diet plan, but it’s been interesting for me to try to keep him fed.  He seems to be living off peanut butter sandwiches right now.  But I hadn’t realized these baking sticks and spreads were vegan, so I can’t wait to tell him to have some toast!  It’s kind of a family joke—whenever the boys tell me their stomach hurts and that they’re hungry, I tell them to have toast.  It became such that they were really annoyed every time I’d say that.  So now lately whenever they have any issues at all, a stubbed toe, sunburn, headache, you name it, I tell them the best thing for them is to have toast.  They LOVE it. (eyeroll)  Try it next time you have any ailment, have some toast.  Try it with MELT.  I’ve made a couple grilled cheese sandwiches with it (with gluten free bread for me).  Good stuff!

 

Hello, back to cookies—you know, really what life is all about.

Since I have My Favorite Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies already, I simply used the MELT Organic baking sticks in place of the coconut oil in the recipe and they turned out delicious and perfect.  I love them.  They are all for me.   One thing I realized as I made them a couple days ago, they seem to be better with age.  Which is quite the opposite with regular chocolate chip cookies.  If you’re looking for a grain free, refined sugar free chocolate chip cookie recipe, you should definitely try mine that I’ve linked here.  Try them with MELT! 

 

Want a cookie?  I’ve got plenty.

 

But hurry, they won’t last long…………..

 

Guess what, MELT also makes a Chocolate MELT Organic Spread!  (It’s not vegan, as it has some honey), but it’s good!  I actually haven’t tried it on just some toast, but all the sudden that sounds really good and now I must.  MELT Organic mention that even their spreads can be used for baking, so I have tried the Chocolate MELT Spread a couple times with a brownie recipe.  But I’m still tweaking it.  I don’t think it’s the MELT that is causing me to not be perfectly in love with the recipe yet, I think it’s my substitutes for regular granulated sugar (using coconut sugar and raw honey) that I haven’t gotten just right yet.  My goal (and we should all have goals, right?) is to keep making brownies, brownies, brownies until I get it right.  Then I’ll share the recipe.

 

Thanks for the samples, MELT!  Toast, cookies, brownies and grilled cheese sandwiches, gluten free and all pretty healthy.  Sounds good to me!  Check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

My Favorite Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have had My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe for years now.  I’ve tried so many different recipes over the years, even since finding THE one, but the one I always make holds true.  It is a perfect cookie dough and makes perfect cookies.  I’ve used the recipe to add all kinds of things to the cookie, including peanut butter yumminess, coconut and nuts, and freeze dried raspberries, just to name a few.  I adapted the Jacques Torres/New York Times recipe years ago and have made this one my go-to.  Everyone loves the cookies.  Check out the link for lots of mouth-watering pictures.  There was a problem—now that I don’t eat gluten and refined sugar, I knew I was really missing out on one of my favorite things.  In the meantime, I’ve tried many gluten free and grain free chocolate chip cookie recipes.  They are usually okay.  They usually “do the trick” for me, you know, get me over that “I need a chocolate chip cookie” fix. 



I need to tell you though—I’ve found My Favorite Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookie and need to share it with you all here.  I almost always make the regular ones into huge cookies, they are just perfect that way.  I give them away to lots of happy people and hear many compliments.  I recently needed to give some good gluten free chocolate chip cookies to someone who can’t have gluten (at all, I cleaned everything well and kept it well away from anything gluten), so I created this one and it’s the best one I’ve made.  Perfect combination of chewy on the inside and crisp edges and the flavor is great with what I think is just the right amount of sweetness from coconut sugar and a little honey.  Must make these again!



My Favorite Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, by Katrina Smith, Baking and Boys!
 

1 cup almond flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons coconut oil
½ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup raw honey
6 tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon pure almond extract (optional)
1 large egg
1 ¼ cup Enjoy Life chocolate chunks and mini chips (ingredients in the chocolate—evaporated cane juice, natural chocolate liquor (non-alcoholic), non-dairy cocoa butter—dairy, soy, nut and gluten free)
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a mixer, combine the coconut oil, coconut sugar, honey and almond butter. Beat until well combined. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chunks/chips with a spatula. Scoop the dough into cookies on the baking sheet and bake for 10-14 minutes (depending on size of cookies). Let cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
 

You know you want a bite.  Or maybe even your own cookie (s )!

Eight Years of Blogging! Chocolate Drizzled Toasted Almond Coconut Macaroons

Today it has been eight years since I started my blog!  I cannot believe it—eight years!  When I started it, just to keep track of and share happenings of my boys and my life with my family and friends, I had no idea I’d still be at it this many years later.  My boys are sure growing up!

 

It’s strange to think back to 2008.  Sam wasn’t even one when I started my blog.  He’s now almost nine!  Scott is 17, Parker is 14, and Taylor is 12!  Bah!!!  It’s too much to keep thinking about, so let’s talk macaroons instead.

 

I love coconut.  I don’t think I’ve ever met or made a macaroon I didn’t like.  But I think I’ve made one that might be my favorite now….and for always?  These have toasted almonds, ground nice and finely.  They are made with coconut sugar and raw honey, unsweetened coconut and egg whites.  Perfectly gluten free and refined sugar free, but you must believe me—they are so good.  Perfect, if I must say so.  Yes, they are great plain, as is.  But if you know me, I have to add a little chocolate to just about everything.  So I melted some Enjoy Life chocolate chips and drizzled it over the tops of the cookies, then sprinkled some more of the freshly ground toasted almonds on top.  Heavenly!

 

They really are great without the chocolate.  I know, I ate a few of them before the chocolate came along.  But come on—everything is better with chocolate.  It had to be done.  I just wouldn’t be me if I hadn’t.  You want the recipe, I know, that’s really why you’re here. 

 

Can you guess which one I ate first?  That’s right—the one where the bigger drizzle of chocolate fell upon it. ; )

 

Chocolate Drizzled Toasted Almond Coconut Macaroons, by Katrina, Baking and Boys! (Gluten Free, Grain Free, Paleo, Refined Sugar Free)

 

2 large egg whites, room temperature

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 cups unsweetened (dessicated) shredded coconut

1/2 cup freshly toasted, then finely ground almonds*

3-4 ounces Enjoy Life chocolate chips (3 ounces is 1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and begin beating them on high speed with the wire attachment until foamy.  Gradually add the coconut sugar then the honey. Scrape the sides of the bowl.  Add the vanilla, almond extract and salt and beat until soft peaks form.  Fold the coconut and ground almonds into the egg white mixture.  Using a cookie scoop, put the coconut mixture into mounds on the baking sheet, using your hands/fingers form each firmly together on the tops.  They can be fairly close together on the baking sheet as they do not spread.  Makes about 16 cookies.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheet until almost cool.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.  Melt the chocolate in a glass dish in the microwave in 20-30 second intervals, stirring in between.  When it is almost completely melted, add the coconut oil and stir until melted and combined.  This only takes about 90 seconds total.  Using a small spoon (or add the chocolate to a sandwich-sized plastic zip top baggie with the corner snipped off), drizzle the chocolate over each cookie.  I happened to have some extra ground almonds and sprinkled it over each cookie. 

 

I took the inspiration and basic recipe for these from a recipe for some macaroons I made a couple years ago that were also the bomb--White Chocolate Lime Coconut Macaroons and Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Coconut Macaroons.  These were also delicious!  Try them!  Credit goes again to What Jew Wanna Eat for the original recipe.

 

Happy Eight Years of Blogging to me.  Who knows—maybe another eight year or more?  I don’t even want to think about how grown up my boys would be then—and how old that would make me…..

Sweet Potato Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake (Gluten Free, Grain Free)

This was my birthday cake I made a couple weeks ago, but it would be perfect for your Thanksgiving desserts or Christmas, or any holiday or any occasion or just because you want cake—it’s practically healthy!  Get this—the cake is not only gluten free, but it’s grain free and it’s made with much healthier coconut sugar and raw honey for the sweetener.  Hello, it also has a vegetable in it.  The sweet potato acts like pumpkin.  I love the flavor.  With sweet spices added, sweet potato and and chocolate go together perfectly!  If you’re trying to find healthier desserts or have diet restrictions, this pretty bundt cake would be just right for you. 
It was certainly just right for my birthday, which just happens to fall on National Bundt Day, November 15.  I’ve enjoyed making a bundt cake for my birthday for a number of years now, ever since Mary at The Food Librarian started in with her love of bundts.  She has hundreds of bundt cakes posted on her blog.  She would even do 30 days of bundts leading up to my birthday National Bundt Day, and post a bundt a day before that.  She did that for a couple years.  She has some great round ups of all the cakes she’s made as well as some round ups of the bundts everyone makes to join in the fun and send her their links. 

I can’t wait to make this cake again.  I recently bought two sweet potatoes that were huge—one was over three pounds!  I baked it and used it to make a puree.  It was well enough for this cake and a lot more.  Some of it even went in the freezer since I went out of town and couldn’t eat it all up before it would have spoiled.  I still have the second big one and some smaller ones to use up.  I thought the big one wouldn’t be good (over grown) or as sweet or something, but it was great and perfect for this cake!
Sweet Potato Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!
4 ounces good chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips)
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 cup almond meal/flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup (168 grams) raw honey
1/2 cup (224 grams) coconut oil
1 cup (250 grams) sweet potato puree (Make sure it’s cool if you’re baking it right before using it. I baked mine the night before I made the cake, then cooled it and stored it in the refrigerator, then pureed it right before using.)
4 large eggs (I actually used 5 sm-med. farm fresh eggs, for a total of 202 grams out of shell)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips
Ganache Drizzle:
2 1/2 ounces chocolate (I used mini chocolate chips)
4 tablespoons heavy cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spread coconut oil evenly over the surface of the bundt pan.  (You’ll want at least a 6 cup bundt pan, but bigger will work, too, it’s not a super high cake that totally fills the pan.)  You can also dust it with cocoa powder or almond flour or coconut flour, but I didn’t, just oil.  (The cake stuck in one little place and usually doesn’t at all when I add some kind of flour after oiling the pan.)  Set aside.  Melt the 4 ounces of chocolate in a medium sized microwave-safe bowl.  Stir after 20-30 second intervals until all melted and smooth and let cool while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the arrowroot, coconut flour, almond flour, baking soda, salt and all the spices.  Whisk together, set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the coconut sugar, honey and coconut oil.  Whisk (or use mixer) until well combined.  Add the sweet potato puree and beat until combined.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix together until well combined.  Remove about 1/3 of the cake batter from the bowl into another pan and add the 4 ounces of melted chocolate to it, then combine well. 
Working in spoonsful or scoops at a time, put the batter in the pan, first the sweet potato cake batter, then in opposite places around the bundt the chocolate batter in spoonsful.  Continue in layers of both cake batters until you’ve used it all.  Take a butter knife and swirl the batter to make the marble effect (not too much swirling or it will not look marbled).  Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.  Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes.  Turn the cake over and let it sit for a couple minutes, then tap the sides and bottom of the pan to release the cake.  It should come out nicely!  Heat the cream in a microwave safe bowl until slightly bubbly (careful it doesn’t boil over, it can come to that stage pretty quickly, especially since it’s such a small amount.)  Pour the heated cream over the 2 1/2 ounces of chocolate, let sit for a minute.  Then slowly stir it together until the chocolate is all melted and you have a nice smooth ganache.  You can do this while the cake is cooling as it sets up a bit after it’s all melted.  Drizzle the ganache over the cake (I put it in a plastic zip top bag and snipped the corner off to drizzle it over the cake, you can also do it by the spoonsful.) 

As I wrote down the recipe, it seemed a little involved, but I have found if you get everything out and in place (Mise en place, I’m all for it!), it’s not bad at all.  Prep everything ahead of time, bake your potato, melt the chocolate, etc.—it’s really not too bad.  And fun.  And worth it for this cake!  Not only does it taste great—it looks great, too.  I think it’s a real show stopper.  If you had this on your dessert table and didn’t tell anyone it was grain free, I don’t think anyone would even know.  Only Kevin and my son, Scott, even tasted the cake.  But after that I hid the rest for the next couple days so they didn’t eat more, because it was all for me on National Bundt Day—MY BIRTHDAY!  I thought it tasted better the next day and the next.  Maybe because I’m kind of cake-deprived, but try it and tell me what you think!
I’m home for Thanksgiving in Idaho with my parents while my awesome husband is home with the four boys.  He’s amazing and I am so blessed and grateful for all the wonderful blessings I have been given.  He even spent the last two days repainting our bedroom—5 1/2 years in our home and we’ve never really liked the paint in our room.  Love it now!  Happy Holidays to all!

Chocolate PB2 Granola Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)

Sorry my blogging has been so intermittent.  I wish I had all the time in the world to share things here, but it just hasn’t been possible as of late.  That said, I don’t plan on just disappearing, me and my little ol’ blog.  So stick around!  You might recall not too long ago I shared some PB2 Chocolate Chip Cookies I made with PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter.  They were delicious.  In fact, Bell Plantation (the company that makes PB2) shared them on their Facebook page and they went crazy!  I knew they made a chocolate version of PB2 and had to get some and try it in cookies, but I couldn’t just stop there……

My friend, Paige, posted about David Lebovitz’ Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola.  It was calling my name and I had to make some.   I made it with changes using raw honey instead of maple syrup and coconut sugar in place of the brown sugar, I also used gluten free oats and Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips.  It was a great granola!  (I need to make more!)  I swear I wrote down my changes somewhere so I could share my version of the recipe, but I CANNOT FIND IT!  sigh  It’s okay, David’s recipe is pretty simple and I really only made the few changes I mentioned, so check it out if you’re looking for a quick treat or breakfast.

I decided to use the Chocolate PB2 and make more cookies.  To bump up the delicious peanut butter and chocolate combination, I added some of the granola to the cookies, as well as more peanuts and lots of chocolate chips.  Score!  These were so good!  If you’ve been putting off trying the peanut butter powders, do not hesitate any longer.  It’s good stuff!

 Chocolate PB2 Granola Chocolate Chip Cookies, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup organic brown sugar

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup raw honey

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola (or granola of your choice)

4 tablespoons Chocolate PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter

2 tablespoons raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

1 cup gluten free flour blend

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips (or chocolate chips of your choice)

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine the coconut oil and sugars.  Whisk together well.  Add the egg and vanilla and combine.  In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients (granola, PB2, cacao, flour, soda, baking powder and salt) and mix them together.  Add them to the creamed mixture (You can use a mixer, but it mixes just fine with a whisk!).  Stir with a wooden spoon until all combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips and peanuts.  Drop by tablespoonsful (or using a cookie scoop) onto the parchment lined baking sheets spaced about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Let sit on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool. 

 Come on—they look delicious, huh!  I need to make some more.  I’ll try to be better at posting on my blog.  I miss it, I really do. 

Gluten Free Peach Crisp

Wait!  Summer, Hold On!  Don’t go yet!  There’s still time.  Peaches are still available and you need to make this Gluten Free Peach Crisp.  It’s so good.  I’ve made it twice in the last couple weeks.  Do you realize how simple it is to turn a regular crisp into a gluten free one? 

I used this apricot crisp recipe and just made a few simple changes using gluten free oats and flour and some adjustments on the sweeteners.  Please don’t let summer fade away without making a fruit crisp.  The peaches are perfect right now!

Gluten Free Peach Crisp, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

For the peaches:

6-7 cups peaches (6-10 peaches depending on size), peeled, pitted and sliced**

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

2-3 tablespoons raw honey (to taste)

1 tablespoon gluten free flour blend

For the crisp topping:

1 cup gluten free old fashioned oats

1/4 cup gluten free flour blend

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup organic brown sugar (or 1/2 cup coconut sugar or organic brown sugar, you decide)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch or two of freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 cup butter, cold, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

**Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cut a criss cross slit (about an inch each way) in the bottom of each peach, not too deep, just enough to cut through the skin of the peach.  Set 3-4-5 (however many fit in your pot) peaches in the boiling water for 1 minute.  Remove them to a dry cloth using a slotted spoon.  While the rest are boiling quickly, start peeling the peaches.  Using the cut end the skin peels off with ease with the four slit corners.  Every now and then a peach will be stubborn, but you can still get it done.  If you have never tried the slit, try it.  You’ll never peel a peach another way again.  Best tip ever from my friend, Paige at For Love of the Table.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly grease a glass dish (mine is a 2.8 liters Pyrex dish) with coconut oil.  Peel, pit and slice the peaches.  Put them in a large bowl.  Add the honey, almond extract and gluten free flour and stir carefully to coat all with the flour.  Spread the peaches in the prepared pan and set aside.  In a medium sized bowl, add the oats, gluten free flour, coconut sugar, brown sugar, spices and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Add the pieces of butter and mix together with your hands, pressing the butter throughout the dry ingredients until well mixed and all the mixture is moist.  Stir in the almonds.  Sprinkle the oat mixture evenly over the peaches.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until peaches are bubbly and topping is golden and crispy.  Let dish set on a wire rack until mostly cooled.  This is great served still slightly warm topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

 The skin on the peaches just peels off so easily after making a slit in the bottom and boiling them for a minute.  These peaches pictured here were HUGE.  I got almost 2 cups of sliced peaches for each one!

You can leave the peaches in just sliced wedges, but I like cutting them wedges into cubed pieces. 

I made a simple dairy free vanilla ice cream with coconut milk, eggs, vanilla paste, raw honey and a pinch of salt, heated and cooked until thickened, then chilled, then churned and frozen.  Perfect for topping a crisp!

Don’t let summer slip away without making a peach crisp!  It’s so easy to make gluten free and cut the refined sugars.