Part 2 - Brownies w/ Irish Creme Frosting

I used the recipe from my Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake, but doubled it and baked it in a 9x13 pan.  And then made Irish Creme Frosting using flavored agave. (What I REALLY wanted to do was incorporate whiskey flavor using my whiskey flavored tea from Scotland.... but then I forgot it at work!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

THE RECIPE:

1 c coconut oil
1/2 c ghee (or more coconut oil)
2 c coconut sugar
1/2 c light agave          ---> if oil is solid, heat on stove until melted; whisk together/stir continuously. Let cool slightly.  (the components may remain separate, but that's okay for now)

4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla    ---> after wet ingredients cool slightly, whisk in eggs and vanilla. At this point, stir until all ingredients are mixed.


Combine in a separate bowl:

1 1/3 c flour combination: oat, GF all-purpose, brown rice, millet, tapioca  (basically whatever you have!)

1/2 tsp guar gum

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 c cocoa powder    ---> combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add them to the wet ingredients. Mix well.

Pour batter into pan, and bake ~30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool.

IRISH CREME FROSTING:

I made this in a very small quantity, since I'm basically out of irish creme agave. Multiply the proportions as necessary:

1/4 c coconut oil  (softened, but not melted)

1/4 c irish creme agave   ---> whisk together until frothy/creamy

1 tbs cocoa (or more/less to taste)

1/8 tsp lemon juice (makes it less sweet)

If you want it thicker, place in fridge for a while.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! - Savory Basil Pancakes

I'm back!

 

After a long hiatus, I'm ready to start making fun food again. For St. Patrick's day lunch today, I made "green" shamrock savory pancakes.  They aren't really green in color, but they COULD be, if the basil/spinach that they contain were pureed. I based the batter off of my standard waffle recipe proportions, and threw in the greens.  Here's how it worked:

THE RECIPE:

Combine in a 2c measuring cup:

1 egg   -----> beat with fork

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil   ---> beat into egg

1 cup almond milk      ------> add and stir

1 c fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 c baby spinach leaves, chopped

a few sprigs of lavender leaves, chopped  ---> add all chopped greens

1/8 tsp salt (or to taste- should taste a bit salty)

dash pepper

2 dash onion powder

dash garlic powder  ----> add all seasonings, stirr

1/2 c garbanzo bean flour

1/2 c amaranth flour       ---> combine and stir. (millet instead of amaranth would also work, or all garbanzo)

Cook on a non-stick frying pan. To make a shamrock shape, pour four small circles of batter in the pan, and let them blend together in the center. Spread with ghee or EarthBalance, and top with avocado slices.

International Waffle Day Update:  this recipe is also AWESOME as waffles!!!!!

Povitica v.2.0

Yum yum yum yum yum!

Much tastier version than the last, albeit not quite as authentic as far as the thin-rolling goes.

The following recipe makes FOUR LOAVES plus a bit extra filling.


THE RECIPE:

Dough:  Cream together...

1/2 c coconut oil
1/2 c ghee
1.5 c coconut sugar
4 eggs
1/2 c brown rice syrup

Mix and add....

2 c brown rice flour
1/2 c garbanzo bean flour
2 c millet flour
1 c gluten-free oat flour
1 c tapioca flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt


Filling:   Melt together...

1.5 c ghee
1.5 c almond mulk
1 c agave nectar
1 lb ground walnuts
3 tbs cinnamon
2 tsp guar gum (to thicken)


Separate the dough into four quarters- one for each loaf.  Roll out one portion between plastic. Spread cooled filling onto dough, then roll dough. Fit each portion into a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for ~40 minutes.

Slice and enjoy!

Gingerbread S'mores Cookies

 

Happy New Year!

I know I've continued to be AWOL for a while, but I have several holiday recipes to post in the next few days. Also, will probably be updating my health saga on a separate page, since of course there's a new development on that front as well.

The good stuff: Gingerbread Marshmallow S'more's Cookies! Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Dairy-free, as always.  These were my favorite Christmas cookies this year- festive and quite delicious!

THE RECIPE:

Dough:

Look at that creaming action! So light! So fluffy!

1/4 c (non-virgin) coconut oil
1/4 ghee
3/4 c coconut sugar             

--> cream fats and sugar until mixture lightens in color and increases in volume (takes 5-10 minutes)

2 eggs
1/4 c brown rice syrup         

--> add wet ingredients, mix thoroughly

1 1/4 c teff flour
1 c millet flour
1/2 c tapioca flour
1/2 c gluten-free oat flour     --> combine flours

2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt                          --> add other dry ingredients to flour mixture

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients; mix thoroughly.

Roll out a portion of cough between two sheets of waxed paper, until 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick.  Cut with your favorite cookie cutters.  Grease cookie sheets with an acceptable oil/fat, or line with parchment paper to prevent cookie-sticking.

The un-broken (aka, un-eaten) batch.

Bake at 350 for ~6 minutes, or until top of cookies just begins to be firm to the touch.  They won't brown much, so don't wait too long to take them out!

If you didn't use parchment paper (which I did not), use a metal spatula to remove cookies immediately from sheet. If you wait til they cool (or the usual 10 minutes), they will stick and break! And then you will be forced to eat stomachfuls of headless, armless gingerbread girls to destroy the evidence.

At this stage, cookies can be eaten as-is, OR they can be TAKEN TO THE NEXT LEVEL and s'more-ified.


S'MORE-IFICATION:

You will need these two essential components:

Two gingerbread girls: one light, one dark...

1. vegan marshmallow fluff   (ingredients: brown rice syrup, guar gum... plus MAGIC)

2. chocolate filling/frosting:   (extra can also can be used as truffle shells!*)

4 oz unsweetened solid chocolate
3/8 c coconut sugar
3 tbs agave nectar
2 tbs coconut oil    --> use a double-boiled to melt chocolate over medium heat, then mix in other ingredients.

S'mored!

Take two cookies of corresponding shapes. Spread marshmallow fluff over one, and chocolate over the other-- then BAM sandwich them together.

Decorating options based on how lazy you are feeling:

Pretty Lazy - dip a toothpick into chocolate filling and 'paint' chocolate onto cookies
Medium Lazy - put chocolate into a piping bag, and pipe on decorations
Zero Lazy - make some other frosting, all-natural-food-color it, etc., and knock yourself out.

 

S'mored AND beautified. Check out Slutty New Year's Dress Girl on the left there.

* To use this as truffle coating:

Option A, and Option B. Option C? Eat that chocolate plain!

a) use silicone ice-cube trays, preferably pre-greased with coconut oil, and coat with chocolate. Add a dollop of whatever filling, then cover that with a layer of chocolate. Place in freezer to set, then move to fridge. (They will look pretty!

b) use waxed paper - place a 1cm-to-1inch sized dollop of chocolate on waxed paper. Then dollop your filling on top of that, and then seal it all in a final coat of chocolate. Place in freezer/fridge to set. (Lots of dollops. And they will look lumpy.)


I used extra povitica filling for the inside of the truffles... this recipe will be up next! Stay tuned.