Ambitious Kitchen Tahini Brownies - GF and fabulous!

I am still enjoying cooking and baking with Tahini and trying new things.  This recipe was on the Soom (my favorite tahini) website and I have been eager to make it.  Trust me - it doesn't disappoint.  Even better, these brownies are gluten free, grain free, and have no refined sugar (if you don't count the chocolate chips!)  These are delicious on their own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  Major YUM!  I will be making these often!


AMBITIOUS KITCHEN'S TAHINI BROWNIES
adapted from Soom Foods

1/2 c. Chocolate Tahini
1/2 c. Tahini
1/3 c. coconut sugar
3 T. vanilla infused maple syrup (regular pure maple syrup is fine)
1 t. vanilla bean paste
2 eggs
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T. coconut flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the chocolate tahini, regular tahini, coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla bean paste and eggs until smooth.

Gently fold in the cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking soda and salt until combined.  The batter will be thick.  Finally, fold in the dark chocolate chips until they are well distributed.

Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan.  Bake for 23-26 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

Cool the brownies completely on a wire rack before cutting.  Enjoy!

Makes 16 bars



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Dark Chocolate Raspberry Muffins - gluten free and no processed sugar!

These are so good and so moist and made even better because they have no processed sugar.  I have made these several times and they are delicious every single time.  There is nothing like the combination of raspberries and chocolate -  YUM!

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Muffins
adapted from Easy Flourless Muffins, Bars and Cookies by Amanda Drozdz

1 c. almond flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T. ground golden flaxseed
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2 eggs, large
1/4 c. (72 g) unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c. almond butter (I like the Bare brand with no additives)
6 T. raw honey
1 T. vanilla extract (if you have Mexican vanilla, it enhances the flavor of the chocolate)
1 c. raspberries, fresh if you have them, but frozen works as well
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with parchment liners.  Set aside.

Mix the almond flour, cocoa powder, ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a blender and pulse a few times until all of the ingredients are mixed well.

Pour this mixture into a medium bowl and add all of the remaining ingredients except the chocolate and raspberries.  Blend with a hand mixer on medium speed for about 39 seconds or until creamy and smooth.  Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to be sure all of the ingredients are well blended.

Fold in the raspberries and chopped chocolate or chocolate chips just until mixed.  Using an ice cream scoop, fill the lined muffin cups with one scoop of batter. They should be about 3/4 full each.

Bake for 24-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.  Let the muffins cook in the pan for 10 minutes, and the place on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

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Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake - Grain Free

This recipe is worth every effort and fills the kitchen with the most wonderful aroma.

Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake - Grain Free

adapted from Everyday Grain-Free Baking by Kelly Smith

TOPPING:
1 T. butter
1 T. plus 1 t. raw clover honey
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 c. pecan pieces, finely chopped

CINNAMON SWIRL:
1 T. butter
2 T. raw honey
1 1/2 T. cinnamon

COFFEE CAKE:
3 1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 c. coconut flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. raw honey
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. full fat coconut milk
1 T. vanilla extract
2 t. apple cider vinegar
4 eggs,  plus 2 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 315 (that is not a typo!).  Lightly grease a 9x9" baking pan and set it aside.

Topping:
In a small bowl combine the butter, honey and cinnamon until very well blended. Add the finely chopped pecans and mix until well combined.  Set aside.

Cinnamon Swirl:
In a small bowl, whisk the butter, honey and cinnamon until well blended.  Set aside.

Coffee Cake:
Combine the almond and coconut flours, baking soda and salt in a food processor.  Add all of the remaining ingredients except the eggs and egg whites to the top of the dry ingredients in the order listed.  Cover and pulse a few times to combine.  Then process until the batter is smooth and creamy, about 20-25 seconds.

Scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl and add the eggs and egg whites.  Cover and pulse a few times to combine.  Then process just enough to blend the eggs into the batter, about 10-15 seconds.  Scrape down the sides again as needed.

Pour about half of the batter into the square baking pan.  Spread it out evenly using an offset spatula.

Spread the cinnamon swirl mixture over the batter and carefully spoon the remaining batter on top of the cinnamon swirl..  Use the offset spatula to smooth the top of the coffee cake batter.

Finally, crumble the topping mixture over the top of the batter, covering as evenly as possible  Gently press the topping into the batter.

Bake the coffeecake for about 45 minutes of until light golden brown along the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

Let the cake cool for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving.  Serve warm or freeze individual slices for future use.

When baking something that is primarily almond flour, it is best to serve it as soon as possible.  If there are leftovers, keep them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.  I like to rewarm baked goods in the microwave to improve the flavor after storage.


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Almond Flour Blueberry Lemon Scones - Grain Free

These are a treat any time of the day, but I love starting the day with a fresh scone.  I am learning that when baking with almond flour, things are best eaten fresh - right out of the oven.  These are literally bursting with lemon and blueberry.  The texture is a little different, but the flavor is unmistakably summer at its best!  Enjoy.


Almond Flour Blueberry Lemon Scones
adapted from The Nourishing Home

2 3/4 c. almond flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
2 T. cold unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 T. full fat coconut milk
1 T.. lemon zest
2 t. fresh lemon juice
1 T. raw clover honey
1/3 c. dried blueberries

Combine the almond flour, baking soda and salt in a food processor.  Pulse in the cold butter until the butter resembles pea-sized.  Use a pastry cutter as an alternative to a food processor.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, lemon zest, lemon juice and honey until well mixed. Using a spoon, stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture and blend until thoroughly combined.  Fold in the dried blueberries.  Place the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill.

While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  Sprinkle the counter or work surface with a handful of almond flour.  Melt 1 t. of butter or coconut oil to brush on top of the scones.  Set aside.

Once the dough is chilled,  shape it into a ball and place it on the floured surface.  Shape the dough into a 6" square - it should be about an inch thick.  Cut the dough in half twice to form 4 small squares.  Then cut each dough square in half diagonally to form 8 small triangles.

Carefully place each triangle (scone) onto the prepared cookie sheet.  Brush the tops of the scones with the melted butter or coconut oil.  If desired, sprinkle the tops with a little coconut or maple sugar.

Bake about 16-18 minutes or until the scones are slightly golden along the edges.  Serve warm and enjoy.

The dried blueberries plump up perfectly and add great flavor.

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Almond Flour Pizza Dough on the Grill!

Making grain free pizza just got easier with the Simple Mills Pizza Crust Mix.  I have several of their mixes in my pantry and this is the first one I have tried and I am so glad I did. It was excellent.

This is the dough before it is baked on the grill (or in the oven).

The box makes 2 - eight inch pizzas.  I followed the package directions and parbaked them first on the grill at about 350, then added the toppings and baked for close to 15 minutes as they were a bit heavy on the toppings (I seem to get a bit carried away when it comes to adorning my pizza!! :)

I had two sets of toppings for these 8 inch wonders.  The first was pizza sauce (just a little - I don't like a lot of sauce!), parmesan cheese, sauteed sliced red pepers, mozzarella cheese.  After baking I added a little more parmesan along with chopped fresh basil.

Roasted red pepper and cheese pizza

The second one had pizza sauce, uncured natural pepperoni slices, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.  So simple and so delicious.

Pepperonii and cheese pizza

No "grain-free" or "gluten-free" crust is going to taste as wonderful as "regular" gluten flour bread pizza crusts, but this was actually a better than expected alternative.  The toppings were so good that the "different" crust didn't matter as much - and it was honestly tasty.

I will continue my experimentation, but it's nice to know I have something reliable to fall back on as needed when that pizza craving hits! Pin It Now!

Blueberry Lemon Muffins - Grain Free

This is the time of year that I seem to be stuck on all things lemon, blueberry, zucchini etc - and this post will be no different.  I am chuckling to myself as I share this recipe, knowing that I currently have two pints of beautiful blueberries waiting to be baked into a new concoction. And who knows - I may just eat them as is or roast them with some fresh strawberries.  Yep - that's it!  With Memorial Day weekend around the corner, roasting the berries will be the perfect treat to spoon over homemade strawberry "coconut" ice cream.  Yum!  The ice cream is already in the freezer so the hard part is done!  Recipes to follow soon - once I get it all made and take some photos..... :)

But back to the task at hand - these delicious muffins.  And they truly are just that - DELICIOUS!

And let me just add, I love this cookbook, especially because the quantities are given in regular measurements and grams. With the different and sometimes challenging textures of almond and coconut flours, using a gram measurement makes me feel much more confident in my final result.  I will share both measurements, but I strongly suggest you use the gram measurement, especially for the dry ingredients. It is SO easy and much more accurate.  End of lecture! :)

Looks so simple and unassuming from the outside.... 

but inside it hides so much goodness!

Blueberry Lemon Muffins
adapted from Every Last Crumb by Brittany Angell

180 g.(1 1/2 c.) finely milled almond flour
132 g.(3/4 c.) sweet potato flour (can sub with potato flour, but the sweet potato contains a resistant starch that is better for the body)
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. sea salt
174 g. (about 1 1/2 c plus 1 1/2 T.) of maple or coconut sugar - I used both for added flavor so 87 g. maple sugar and 87 g. coconut sugar
60 g. (about 1/3 c.) melted coconut oil (melt first and then measure)
4 eggs
grated zest of 1 lemon (2 T.)
1 T. vanilla extract
1 t. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a muffin pan with parchment liners.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, sweet potato flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended.  Add the remaining ingredients (except the blueberries)  and stir well to combine.

Gently fold in the blueberries.

Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

Cool on a wire rack.  They will keep in a sealed container on the counter for 1-2 days, or place in the refrigerator for a few days or the freezer for longer storage.

These were a hit with all of the neighbors!

Look at that blueberry vein running through the center of the muffin - 

Blueberry Gold!

And this is just sheer blueberry overload!

Fruit indulgence is NEVER a bad thing.  So good!

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Chocolate Zucchini Bread - Grain Free

This recipe was a delicious adventure into grain free baking and it turned out great.  I am still not used to the way breads "don't rise" - but I am working on getting the best results I can - and accepting this "new normal".  The rich taste makes up for the fact that it looks different than my baking used to - but that's ok.

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD

adapted from The Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook

2 c. grated zucchini, peeled (peeling is optional)
4 eggs
2 T. coconut oil
1/3 c. maple syrup (Grade B)
2 t. vanilla extract
1/3 c. coconut flour
1/4 c. cacao powder
1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. dark chocolate chips (I like to use the Enjoy Life brand - also love Ghirardelli or Guittard)
1-2  T. dark chocolate chips (for top of bread)

Preheat the oven to 350. 

Grease a medium loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Dust the sides of the pan with coconut flour.

Place the shredded zucchini in between several layers of paper towels or roll it up in a dish towel and wring out the excess moisture.

In a food processor or mixer, combine the zucchini, eggs, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.  Add the flour, cacao powder, baking soda and salt and stir until well blended.  Let the batter rest for a few minutes.

Ready for the oven with extra chocolate chips on top!

Then mix in chocolate chips and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan** (I like to sprinkle 1-2 T. chocolate chips on top for a little extra goodness and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Store covered at room temperature for several days or in the refrigerator for a few weeks.  It also freezes well.

Delicious!

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Stuffed Southwestern Bell Peppers - Grain Free

This was one of the first main dishes I made using "faux rice" - otherwise known as grated or chopped cauliflower.  And let me tell you - I had my doubts about what it would really taste like.  The good thing is that I don't mind cauliflower - I actually like it most of the time so I was trying to keep an open mind.  BUT..... I was totally surprised. What happens, at least in this case, is that the cauliflower takes on the flavors that surround it - so you end up tricking your palate. Sure the texture is different, but when the taste is there, you really don't mind! I served it to my youngest son for our standard "family" Sunday dinner and he loved it!

Southwestern Stuffed Bell Peppers
adapted from "The Grain-Free Family Table" by Carrie Vitt

2 T. coconut oil

6 green onions, cut in quarter inch slices, with the white and green parts separated

1 lb. grass fed ground beef (it is worth the extra money to buy quality meat)

1 1/2 t. ground cumin

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 c. riced cauliflower (grated or chopped)**

1 small can diced green chilies (have always used Ortega or La Victoria)

2 c. grated Mexican blend cheese (the recipe called for Jack cheese, but I like the blend of cheddar and jack)

1/2 t. Celtic sea salt

4 large red, yellow, orange or green peppers, cut in half lengthwise with seeds removed

1/2 c plain Greek yogurt (you can use sour cream)

1/2 c. salsa (use your favorite)

**I like to take the cauliflower florets and grate them  in the food processor. It's easy and not quite as messy doing it that way.  And it's quick too. One head of cauliflower will yield about three cups of "cauli-rice".

Preheat the oven to 375. You want to bake this in the middle of the oven so change the rack if needed.

In a large skillet, melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the white parts of the green onions, half of the green parts (the remaining are garnish) and the ground beef.  Cook until there is no pink remaining in the meat.  Push the meat and onions over to the side of the pan, and place the cumin and garlic in the center of the pan.  Stir until the spice aroma is released and smells wonderful (about a minute) and then mix the meat into it. Add the grated or riced cauliflower, the canned chilies (drained), part of the cheese (about one cup) and the salt to the pan and stir just until they are all mixed well.

The peppers all lined up - just waiting to be filled.

Put the peppers cut side up in a 13x9 inch pan.  Divide the filling mixture evenly between the peppers.  Pour 1/2 cup hot water in the bottom of the baking dish, being careful not to get any into the peppers!  Cover the peppers with a sheet of parchment and then cover the parchment with a piece of foil and seal tightly over the top of the dish.  Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the foil and parchment and top each pepper with a spoonful of sour cream and salsa and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top of each. Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.  Sprinkle the remaining green parts of the onions over the peppers and serve and enjoy.

These are so yummy and reheat well too!

This is how they look ready to go into the oven - so colorful and good too!

Melted cheese makes everything better!

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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins - Grain Free

So this was one of my first ventures into grain free baking.  There is definitely a learning curve because batters are "wetter" and I just have no comfort level for what it "should" look like. And they can be a little more work because there is usually a second flour to balance the almond flour and additional baking soda to help with the rise.

Even though I have had some epic baking failures, the successes make it worth the effort.  And one of the big surprises for me is that I have not missed the sugar.  I am a bit amazed at what a good job the honey does to sweeten the recipes I have tried, yet I cannot tell that the sweetener is honey - the flavor does not overpower but blends with the ingredients.  I am eager to learn more, bake more, and have a lot more successes to share!  This one is a keeper!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

adapted from The Nourishing Home

2 c. blanched almond flour

2 1/2 t. poppy seeds

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. sea salt (I used Real Salt)

3 T. fresh lemon juice

2 T. lemon zest

3 t. whole coconut milk

1/4 c. raw honey (I use clover or wildflower)

1 t. almond extract

1 T. coconut flour

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 315 (that is not a typo - 315 is the temperature she uses for many of her recipes and since I am definitely learning, I am not about to change it...yet!) Line 8 of the muffins cups with parchment liners.  I use the "If You Care" large baking cups.  I love them - they don't stick to any kind of baked goods. They are wonderful.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the almond flour, poppy seeds, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, lemon zest, coconut milk, honey, almond extract, and coconut flour. Whisk until well blended.  Add the two eggs and whisk again until mixed well.

Add the almond flour mixture to the wet mixture and gently whisk, just until combined.  Do not overmix. Fill the 8 lined muffin cups evenly with the batter.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes clean and the muffin edges are lightly browned.  Cool in the pan for about 3 minutes and then finish cooling on a wire rack or serve immediately. They are delicious warm.

The muffins are a little smaller and the texture is different, but there is still

a nice crumb and the flavor was wonderful.  ENJOY!

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