Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

My friend LK baked some yummy looking muffins over in St Kitts and blogged about it. They looked delicious and so I thought I'd try to make them GF and SF

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, GFSF

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese Mixture:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons maple syrup


Strussel Topping:
4 1/2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill GF Flour
3 mini scoops powder stevia (or 6 teaspoons sugar3sugar)
1 tablespoon Trader Joes Pumpkin Pie Spice
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts


Pumpkin base
1 1/2 cups Sorghum
1 cup BRM All GF Flour
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup agave syrup
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon Trader joes Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin
1/3 cup grape seed oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine ingredients for each part of the recipe in separate bowls.

Fill greased muffin tins 1/2 full with pumpkin base. Place about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture in the middle of each muffin. Sprinkle the strussel topping on top.



Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Frosted Maple Nut Muffins SF, GF

Sorry blog-sphere for not updating. I started classes with my 2 1/2 hour commute each way so I've been plenty busy driving, homeworking, and working. For anyone dying to know, I survived Hood to Coast.

Clearly, this is pre-running enthusiasm.

I got home from work today planning on going for a run. It literally looked like a monsoon outside, so I decided to make cupcakes instead.

Frosted Maple Nut Cupcakes- SF and GF

Ingredients:

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1 cup rice milk

1 egg

1/4 cup grape seed oil

1 cup rice flour

1 cup millet flour

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

2 tablespoons flax meal

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Beat liquid ingredients together using a stand mixer. Slowly add in flours, xanthan, and flax meal and return the mixer on high. Once the ingredients are thoroughly blended (it will be pretty liquid), pour into a well greased muffin tin. Sprinkle walnuts evenly over batter and bake for 22 minutes in a 425 oven.

Maple Nut Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 8oz package of neufchatel cheese at room temperature

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons almond butter

1 teaspoon of cornstarch

Cream ingredients together until smooth. Spread on top of cooled cupcakes.

Lemon Bars

I've had lemon bar pictures on my camera for a good month now. I thought I'd finally share them:



SF, GF Lemon Bars
*Adapted from Gluten-Free Baking Classics

Ingredients

Filling:
3 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons GF flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 FRESH lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 Lemon extract

Crust:
1 cup GF flour
1/4 teaspoon Stevia powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter


Combine ingredients for the crust until crumbly. Press into a baking dish and pre bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

While the crust to baking, combine filling ingrediants and mix on high speed in a stand mixer for about 2 minutes, or until well blended.

Pour filling into baked crust and stick back into the oven for an additional 20 minutes.
Remove form the oven and let cool.

Cut into triangles and enjoy!

Aw... Lover-face.

Whoopie Pies

So I have started baking again. I saw a recipe online for Whoopie pies. I have never eaten one in my life so I don't know how close to the real thing I created. I think they came out alright. Kind of like a cakey Oreo? The original recipe calls for shortening. I'm anti hydrogenated-crap... so I used butter and applesauce instead. Probably would have had a better texture if I used shortening, but I'll take my applesauce over the artery clogging white stuff.

Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cup GF flour mix
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
12 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup applesauce
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon xanthan

Mix all liquid ingredients until blended. It helps to melt the butter first. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Once all the ingredients are together beat on high for about a minute remembering to scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle. Place by the tablespoonful on a greases cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz Cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup butter softened
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
a few drops of red food coloring (not necessary but more fun)

Whip butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Whip in honey, vanilla and food coloring.

Frost 1/2 of the cooled "cookies" and place the other 1/2 on top to make sandwiches.


Additionally, You can add about 1/4 cup cocoa powder to the frosting to make it chocolate flavored.

The left is plain and the right is chocolate. :)

This has been linked to Amy's Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients:

I large banana

Slice the banana into small pieces. Place the slices in the freezer for about 2 hours.

Once the slices are frozen stick in the food processor and blend away until smooth and creamy.

One banana fits perfectly in a mini-food processor and makes the perfect single size portion. I sometimes sprinkle the top with cocoa powder but today I used chocolate syrup. YUM! A friend of mine blended cherries with hers. I have been tempted to also blend other fruits and almond butter. This recipe is easy and can be vamped up in more ways than one.

Pumpkin Cookies

Finals are underway and that means: COOKIES. I swear everyone is eating, baking, giving out cookies.

I want in. :(


Pumpkin Cookies


Ingredients
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 can (15 oz) canned pumpkin
1/2 cup cooked millet (or any other cooked grain of your choice)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons allspice
1 cup millet flout
1 cup rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
Almond meal for sprinkling

Combine all ingredients except flours. Once thoroughly combined, stir in flour until well blended.
Drop by the tablespoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle cookies with almond meal. Press each cookie with a fork to flatten. Bake at 375 for 14 minutes.


Results:
So... these came out more cake-like than anything else. I should have called these Pumpkin Cake-bites. They are also a little "gummy". Either way. They are delicious, sugar-free, diary-free, egg free, vegan (I'm 99% sure), and gluten free. YUM.

Multigrain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Finals are approaching and that means emotional eating. I know this is not a habit I need to be supporting, but I have had an uncanny desire for chocolate cookies. Seeing that I am trying to clear out my cupboards, I altered the traditional recipe and made it gluten free.

Multigrain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon potatoe starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup oil (I didn't have butter so oil it is)
3/4 cup brown sugar or sweetener of your choice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup chocolate chips

Combine oil, brown sugar and mix until thoroughly combined, stir in egg, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and xanthan gum. Mix in flours and once combined, stir in chocolate chips.

Drop 1/2 tablespoon blobs of dough onto a ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 11 minutes.

This is not a sugar-free recipe. I needed to get rid of brown sugar I had laying around and well, chocolate chips are obviously not SF. If I make this recipe again I will replace the sugar with agave nectar and maybe some SF cocoa nibs


.

Fridge dump Crumble

I've had a jar of canned peaches sitting around in my fridge for about a month now. I don't even know why I buy canned peaches in the first place. I don't like them. After a short gym session with Miss A-G, I was craving something yummy and sugary. I'm out of eggs so cookies and cake is out of the question. I was determined to use those peaches before they started growing some fuzz.

After throwing together random things I had in my fridge, I was able to create something edible and delicious. Here's my creation.


Fridge Dump Crumble

Ingredients:

Crumb topping

3/4 cup Rice flour
1/4 cup Tapioca flour
1/2 cup sugar (I should have used less or used dates instead...)
4 tablespoons of butter.
dash of cinnamon and allspice.

Filling
About cup of canned peaches, rinses and broken into bite-sized chunks
about a 1/2 cup Raisins
about a 1/2 cup Dried cranberries

Mix filling and stick in a small casserole dish
Mix the crumb topping into fine "chunks" and sprinkle on top of filling.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350.
Stick under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until the top is brown.

At this point I was a little unsure of the results...

But no worries, it was rather tasty.

This will definitely go in my recipe collection. Next time I'll either add more fruit, or less topping, or go run for 20 minutes before eating it. :)


On an other note, I found out that I don't like parsnips. I roasted some with a lil balsamic vinegar and oil (my go to roasting flavors) and I will not be making that again. On the upside, I turned the left overs into a delicious stir fry. yum.

FAIL