monster cookies. you know, the kind that have a bunch of mix-ins dumped into the batter. well, i went ahead and adapted my own version of some monster cookies i’ve seen lately. one of the major things in my recipe is that it’s double peanut butter. not only is there a full cup of natural PB in the batter, but i switched some of the ratios, & added PEANUT FLOUR. peanut flour jumped out at me a few weeks ago at trader joes; it’s literally dried peanuts ground into a flour. basically peanut powder. but when it mixed in with my monster cookie dough, it doubled the peanut butter and made these cookies so freaking creamy.
Continue readingCategory: sweets
gf carrot cake w/ df cream cheese frosting
made this dream cake for my mom’s birthday and it was too good not to share, especially right now!! carrot cake is her fave, and it’s also the cake we usually have for easter. given that easter is going to be different from usual this year (our whole fam at home, separately), i had to go all out with the birthday cake. usually, i’d bake with coconut sugar or maple syrup or honey as the sweetener, to keep it less processed, but i didn’t want to F up the carrot cake, so i used organic cane sugar aka white sugar. so glad i did 😉
Continue readingpeanut butter oatmeal cookies
these cookies are based on a recipe that comes with the oats i buy. the oats themselves are gluten-free, which means the absolute and only ingredient in them is the actual oats themselves. win. these cookies are free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar.
i made some changes to the recipe that the oats suggest… i wanted to use unrefined sweetener, and i also wanted to make them dough edible before cooking [cause i always dig in to the dough]. i used coconut sugar to sweeten the dough, and used a few flax eggs so that the batter would be completely appropriate to eat ‘raw.’ still, i can’t decide if the dough is better or the baked cookies. you let me know!
the other ingredients on the list for these PB OATMEAL COOKIES include peanut butter, obviously, along with vegan butter (i used myokos’s vegan butter that is coconut oil-based), vanilla extract, baking soda, & dairy-free chocolate chips. it pretty much all comes together in one bowl, but you still combine the ingredients like most baking recipes, starting with the wet ingredients, and working towards adding the dry ingredients at the end.
here’s the full recipe!
INGREDIENTS >
>1/4 cup [dairy-free] butter, softened or at room temperature
>1 cup coconut sugar
>2 flax eggs [2 tbsp flaxseed with 5 tbsp water]
>1 tsp vanilla extract
>1 cup peanut butter
>1 1/2 tsp baking soda
>3 cups gluten-free oats
>1 cup DF chocolate chips
HOW TO MAKE >
- set oven to 350F.
- using a mixer, cream DF butter and coconut sugar.
- add eggs and vanilla, mix until incorporated.
- mix in peanut butter until well combined.
- add baking soda & mix.
- stir in oats gently until completely mixed/covered in wet ingredient mixture.
- finally, fold in chocolate chips and any other add-ins you choose!
- place dough in fridge for 20-30 min until formed.
- bake on 350F for 12-15 min or until edges start to turn color and cookies appear baked.
- (or don’t bake into cookies, and just eat the oat cookie dough).
- ENJOY any way you want!
classic banana bread (paleo)
i am beyond excited that i have FINALLY achieved a complete replica of my mom’s traditional banana bread !! mine uses a different flour and some other substitutes, but even she said that this one tastes exactly like hers!!
we always had banana bread or zucchini bread in the kitchen when we were younger, thx mom for baking weekly 😉
this banana bread is legit the perfect texture. it’s not grainy like baked goods can be with certain GF flours; it’s also not doughy or super dense like other paleo baked goods are when there is less flour involved, i mean it when i say it’s literally perfect.
i considered using organic cane sugar for this bread in order to make it JUST like the recipe of my mom’s… but i decided not to when i came to the realization that the main reason i wanted to do that was for the sake of the color of the inside of the bread. no. chose to stick to my intention of keeping it refined-sugar free, and it truly couldn’t have turned out better. i went with coconut sugar for the sweetener, used a dairy-free butter (myokos!) instead of regular, and used Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour (all purpose flour mixture, 1:1 sub for regular all purpose flour… yesss). the flour mixture (Bob’s Red Mill Paleo) is key in this recipe, so any other flours likely will not substitute accurately for the same ratio. be careful, i’d recommend follow this recipe with this flour! [or if you don’t care so much about it being grain and gluten free, you could use regular AP flour]
C L A S S I C banana bread has been a challenge for me to recreate in a grain-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar free form, but i finally did it and it’s perfect in all ways!!
INGREDIENTS >
> 1 cup coconut sugar
> 1/3 cup dairy-free butter (myokos vegan butter), softened
> 2 eggs
> 1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (3-4 medium ripe bananas)
> 1/3 cup water
> 1 2/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour (1:1 flour sub)
> 1 tsp baking soda
> 1/2 tsp salt
> 1/4 tsp baking powder
HOW TO MAKE >
- set oven to 350F. line a 9×5 bread pan with parchment paper, & oil the parchment.
- mash bananas with fork/whisk/mixer until smooth; set aside.
- cream DF butter + coconut suar together with mixture until combined.
- add in eggs, mix until smooth.
- add in the mashed bananas + water at this time, and combine until incorporated.
- mix paleo flour mixture, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
- incorporate the flour mixture into the wet mixture in sections, mix until combined.
- pour banana bread batter into greased/lined 9×5 bread baking pan.
- bake on 350F for 50min-1hr or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean!!
- let cool before cutting, then enjoy!!
* other flours likely will not substitute accurately here, use the one mentioned!
tahini banana nut bread
new banana bread on the loose!! i kind of dressed up my normal banana bread recipe with some additional add-ins… so decided to make a new recipe out of it!
the differences in this banana bread start with less flax & a little more almond flour + when it comes to additions — i threw in chopped walnuts, additional CINNAMON (hello hi fall), & the best one yet, chopped fresh banana pieces. big YES
this is also different from the banana nut muffins on my blog cause i didn’t use any mix this time… all individual ingredients and measurements, all came out to reflect the perfect BANANA NUT flavor i grew up on.
so in banana bread, of course, there is already banana mashed up and mixed into the entire batter, but something in me told me i needed more banana this time, so i used a perfectly ripened, yellow banana, sliced it down the middle and then into chunks, and tossed them into the batter with the walnuts. i stirred gently, saw the chunks in every turn, and knew it was gonna be perf.
left chocolate chips out of this round cause i really wanted to see how it came out as banana nut bread. it’s perfect, let me just say. chocolate chips will only make it 100x better, so go for it if you want!
here’s the full recipe — TAHINI BANANA NUT BREAD.
INGREDIENTS >>
-2-3 mashed, ripened/overripe banana
-1/3 cup tahini
-1/3 cup maple syrup
-1/3 cup almond milk
-2 tbsp coconut sugar
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1 egg
-2 cups almond flour
-1/4 cup ground flaxseed
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tbsp cinnamon
-handful of walnuts, chopped
-1 banana, sliced + chopped, in chunks [not mashed]
HOW TO MAKE >>
- set oven to 350F.
- mix all wet ingredients together — mashed banana, tahini, egg, almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract — until incorporated.
- add coconut sugar, mix well.
- add ground flaxseed, almond flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.
- continue to mix until combined.
- using a spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold in walnuts + chopped banana to batter.
- pour into lined + greased loaf pan.
- bake at 350F for 45-55 minutes.
- store in refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for months!
cinnamon no-atmeal raisin cookies
Continue readingoatmeal raisin is a classic cookie flavor combo, & part of what makes the cookie so good is that it’s so chewy and dense, thanks to the addition of oats. in my recipe here, i use a combination of flours with raisins and shredded unsweetened coconut in order to achieve the chewiness of an oatmeal raisin cookie, minus the oatmeal part 😉
lemon poppyseed muffins
 can you get more springy than a lemon poppyseed muffin?!  i simply do not think so.  a light, fluffy, lemony yellow muffin, eaten as part of a breakfast, snack, or dessert, you just can’t go wrong!! my new lemon poppyseed muffins are grain-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar free, aka PALEO + delish!!
paleo banana nut muffins w/ chocolate chips
the words “banana nut muffin” remind me of a very specific muffin that i used to eat a LOT when i was a lot younger. Â the big muffins that came in a 3 pack and were topped with walnuts — i used to eat those for breakfast, at volleyball tournaments, any time. Â they were so sweet and dense, & when i saw this SIMPLE MILLS banana mix, i knew i had to try my own version of banana nut muffins!! these are perfectly dense but still light, filled w/ walnut pieces & sweet n light banana flavor, i could go on. Â here’s how to make them!
paleo carrot cake loaf
so carrot cake is like THE cake that is a true treat in my mind. Â i don’t know if it’s the cream cheese frosting or the multiple additions of raisins, walnuts, or even coconut/pineapple, but every time i hear or see or eat carrot cake, i want some more. Â this loaf is truly PERFECT for any day of the week as a breakfast, snack, or dessert, because it checks off all those boxes and fixes the craving, but it isn’t as heavy or sweetened as a full on cake might be. Â it’s a recipe that’s honestly just necessary, and i’m SO EXCITED to share it today!
espresso walnut brownies
okay so i came up with this brownie recipe and ingredient combination by the request of my mini me (@jozlow) to make a bar with espresso in it!!
to be honest, you might not know there was straight coffee or espresso grounds in this, but it enhances the brownie flavor so much that you just can’t leave it out! [realistically, you can leave it out if you want, lol, but it really does make the flavor that much better].
even the walnuts come THRU in this brownie batter and batch… they make it SO indulgent and so good.
in this recipe, i use the SIMPLE MILLS chocolate muffin & cake mix, which i picked up at whole foods [they also have it at mariano’s]. Â it’s a paleo baking mix that you can use to make muffins or cake or cupcakes, or now with my recipe: BROWNIES!!! to be honest, one of the things i legit love about this is that a serving size is 2 brownies, & the nutrition facts are outrageously flattering. Â for 2 brownies… it’s… just over 100 calories… how is that possible?! the mix is made with clean ingredients, keeping it free of gluten, dairy, grains, soy, refined sugar. Â which means it really fits my blog and everything i make on here!! so i can have a brownie with lunch [or breakfast if you are feeling bold] without feeling weighed down by the density of those normally heavier baking ingredients!
okay! here’s how i make the brownies:
i started by melting the coconut oil, and letting it cool to room temperature, because i mix it with eggs, and the last thing i want is for it to be too hot that it starts to cook the eggs. NO. so let the coconut oil cool on the side before you start mixing!
to the cooled melted coconut oil, add eggs and vanilla, and mix until they are combined. Â next, you’ll add the coffee grounds or espresso grounds. Â a lot of recipes prefer using espresso or instant coffee powder, and that’s because normal coffee grounds could really change the texture of the brownie if they aren’t used appropriately, or are used in excess. Â my recipe & the way i tested it was completely successful and DELISH using plain old coffee grounds, (just 1.5 tbsp!). Â so combine the coffee grounds to the wet ingredients, and combine. Â next, add your coconut sugar. Â once combined, finish the mixture by adding the SIMPLE MILLS chocolate muffin & cake mix! Â lastly, you can add the walnuts to the batter here, or just sprinkle them all over the top once your batter is poured.
when everything has been mixed, pour the batter into a parchment-lined or greased 9×13 baking dish or pan. Â and bake on 350F for ~30-35 minutes.
INGREDIENTS »
› 1 box SIMPLE MILLS chocolate muffin & cake mix
› 7 tbsp coconut oil, melted + cooled
› 3 eggs
› 1 tbsp vanilla extract
› 1.5 tbsp espresso or coffee grounds
› 3/4 cup coconut sugar
› 1/2 cup walnut pieces
HOW TO MAKE »
- set oven to 350F.
- melt the coconut oil, & let it cool to room temperature.
- to cooled melted coconut oil, add eggs & vanilla. Â mix until combined.
- add coffee grounds or espresso grounds. Â stir to combine with wet ingredients.
- add coconut sugar. Â stir to incorporate.
- add the SIMPLE MILLS chocolate muffin & cake mix to wet ingredient mixture.
- add the walnuts to the batter [or sprinkle them all over the top once your batter is poured in baking pan]
- pour brownie batter into a parchment-lined or greased 9×13 baking dish or pan.
- bake on 350F for ~30-35 minutes.
rachel tiedmann 