gf pumpkin cake w/ df creamcheese frosting

soooo i adapted this recipe from a pumpkin spice cake recipe i made last year around thanksgiving from instagram. i remember the cake being unreal and everyone was so shocked at how GOOD it was. this recipe can be made into donuts like i did last night, because i had my donut pans back; or, it can be made into cupcakes or cake just as well! 

i used coconut sugar as the sweetener and kept it unrefined, and any gluten-free flour mixture will do. obviously if you don’t care for it to be gluten-full, you can just use regular baking/allpurpose flour! regarding the dairy free frosting, of course you can use normal cream cheese and make a normal cc frosting; or, to keep it dairy free, use kite hill almond based cream cheese + miyokos cashew-based butter, TASTES SO GOOD EITHER WAY.

ingredients >> 

pumpkin cake

-1 cup coconut sugar

-1 cup trade joe’s canned pumpkin (it’s special)

-1/2 cup coconut oil

-2 eggs or 2 flax eggs

-1 cup gluten free baking flour

-2 tsp cinnamon

-1/2 tsp nutmeg

-1 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp baking soda

frosting:

-3 oz kite hill df cream cheese

-1/4 cup miyokos df butter

-1 cup organic powdered sugar

-juice of 1/4 lemon

HOW TO MAKE >>

  1. Set oven to 350F
  2. mix pumpkin, coconut sugar, melted coconut oil, eggs together until fully combined.
  3. separately, combine gf flour with cinnamon & nutmeg, baking powder & baking soda.
  4. incorporate the dry mixture into the wet mixture in sections, mixing until fully combined.
  5. in a greased donut pan (or square cake pan or muffin pan), pour batter until each section approx 2/3-3/4 full. batter will fluff up into full donuts!
  6. bake for 12-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
  7. while baking, cream all frosting ingredients together using mixer until whipped and frosting-like 😉
  8. once donuts/cake/cupcakes have cooled, frost each one with df cc frosting. sprinkle with cinnamon on top before eating!
  9. store in fridge up to 1 week! 
by Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

gluten-free double PB monster cookies

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 reading →
by Categories: snacks, sweets, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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 reading →
by Categories: sweets, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

baked sweet potato fries

baked sweet potato fries can be tough to turn out… sometimes they come out soggy or undercooked, and on the flip side, they can burn quickly with high temperatures. i have tried a bunch of different methods, and i’ve recently found that the trick is in adding a little starch to help the potatoes crisp!

a starch that is used frequently in paleo baking and cooking is tapioca starch. it’s a grain-free alternative to corn starch, and it’s the trick to making baked sweet potato fries that get crispy on the outside and are fully cooked on the inside. because let’s be honest, who wants a soggy french fry that flops over when you pick it up? just no.

making these fries couldn’t be easier or require less ingredients and effort. literally all you have to do is chop the potato, coat it in olive oil, tapioca, and s&p, and put it in the oven for 40ish minutes. then you are DONE.

depending on how many fries you wanna end up with, use 1 or more sweet potatoes. first step (ALWAYS) in cooking with a sweet potato is giving it a solid scrub under water… these came from the ground and are covered in nasty ish. then, use a good knife to cut into fry shapes, obviously, and throw in a bowl. toss the sweet potato strips with olive oil, about 1-2 tsp tapioca starch, salt and pepper, and maybe some garlic powder. spread them into an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, & bake on 425F for 40ish minutes. keep your eye on them to watch for crispy edges, and save them before they get burnt!

eat right away [after cooling] with your fave dipping sauce or keep in the fridge for up to ~ 5 days. reheat in the oven or broiler to maintain crispiness. devour!!

INGREDIENTS >>

– 1 to 3 large sweet potatoes

– 1-2 tbsp olive oil

– 1 to 2 tsp tapioca starch, to coat

– garlic powder, to sprinkle

– salt & pepper, to sprinkle

HOW TO MAKE >>

  • set oven to 425F
  • using a good knife, cut the sweet potato(es) into strips
  • place potato strips in a mixing bowl. toss with olive oil, to coat.
  • add in tapioca starch, garlic powder, salt & pepper to potatoes, and toss to evenly coat.
  • place pre- fries in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, allowing each one to have it’s own space.
  • bake on 425F for 40ish minutes.
  • keep your eye on them to watch for crispy edges, & save them before they get burnt!
  • enjoy with your fave dipping sauce, or save in the fridge for up to ~ 5 days!
  • ( to reheat later, use broiler or high temp baking to maintain crispiness )

by Categories: add-ins, dinner, recipes, snacksTags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

peanut 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!

by Categories: sweetsTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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!

by Categories: breakfast, snacks, sweetsTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

baked pumpkin oat bars

recently, i reintroduced OATS to my almost-daily food situation after a while of focusing on grain-free recipes and meals. i have been making oatmeal with so many diff mix-ins and trying to change it up to keep it interesting.

i wanted to make a version of an oatmeal that was still nutritionally balanced but did was easier to take on the go, to have as a snack at work or for breakfast at any time. sooo… i made these pumpkin oatmeal bars! tested them out and knew even from tasting the batter that they were gonna be delish and just what i was hoping they would be!

these are still gluten-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar free, and even egg-free! the main ingredients are oats, oat flour [blended up oats, easy!], pumpkin, coconut sugar, and a few other goodies. you can mix in any sort of toppings like chocolate chips, a nut, or even coconut or raisins if you wanted, but i left these plain and they were GREAT.

INGREDIENTS >>

> 1 cup oat flour

> 2 cups GF oats

> 1 can of pumpkin

> 1/2 cup almond butter

> 1 cup nut milk (i used Trader Joe’s macadamia/mixed nut milk)

> 1/2 cup coconut sugar

> 1 tsp baking powder

> 1.5 tbsp cinnamon

> 1 tsp nutmeg

HOW TO MAKE >>

  • set oven to 350F.
  • combine oats, oat flour, & baking soda. set aside.
    • in a large mixing bowl, whisk pumpkin, nut butter, milk, & coconut sugar until incorporated.
  • add cinnamon + nutmeg to wet mixture; stir until combined.
  • add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until fully mixed.
  • pour into a parchment-lined + greased baking dish (i used a brownie pan), and press down to eliminate extra air within batter.
  • bake on 350F for 20-25 minutes or until top begins to brown and firm up.
  • cut into 8-16 bars, depending on the size you want! store on counter for a few days or in fridge for up to 1 week.
  • HAPPY FALL

by Categories: breakfast, snacks, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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!

by Categories: breakfast, snacks, sweets, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

cinnamon no-atmeal raisin cookies

oatmeal 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 😉

Continue reading →
by Categories: snacks, sweetsTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment