Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Carmen

Well I’ve finally decided to take the plunge! This is the year, the one where I go big or go home! For the last couple of years a number of people have been suggesting to me that I write a recipe book. There are lots of books out there on eating gluten free and some dairy free, but very few sugar free and often if they are dairy or gluten free there may still be sugar present.

For a number of reasons I delayed and delayed in doing this, even though I was confident that it would many people would be interested in it and likely be a success. For whatever reason I have decided it’s time and am diligently outlining and creating.

Part of the fun in creating is that I am taking my old tried and true family recipes and methodically, one by one, making the appropriate adjustments and trying it out. I am a big believer in making sure it works out before actually sharing it and publishing it for others. It only makes sense to me. Besides my family is enjoying being my guinea pigs and making sure that it tastes good 🙂

On the weekend I tried out my Mum’s coffee cake recipe, which I have always loved, making the appropriate adjustments. I was pleased that it turned out fabulously and to be honest if you had tasted the original and the sugar free one side by side you would not know the difference. I guess that is one advantage I have growing up with these recipes as I know what the originals taste like, so I can compare as to whether the new versions measure up.

Everyone gobbled it up and is now asking for more. But I am onto the next recipe to try…which I have not decided which one yet, but I am sure it’ll come to me soon enough. In the meantime if you are looking for a sugar and dairy free coffee cake, I would definitely give this one a try.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Batter:

1/2 c. Earth Balance vegan spread

3/4 c. coconut sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

1 c. vegan sour cream

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Topping:

1/2 c. coconut sugar

1/2 c. walnuts, finely chopped

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. Earth Balance vegan spread

Mix Earth Balance, coconut sugar, vanilla and eggs. Add vegan sour cream. Mix separately flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients into sour cream mixture.

Spon half batter into well greased bundt pan. Sprinkle half topping over batter. Spoon in rest of batter. Pat firmly with remaining topping.

Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes.

Mushroom Turnovers

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Carmen

When I was in Junior High, a group of my girlfriends and I were into having dinner parties. We took turns hosting, dressed up and made a fancy meal complete with dessert for everyone. It was fun, each host making different meals, decorating the table, and trying new things.

On the evening that I hosted I, wanting to ensure everyone could enjoy what I was making, checked with the girls in regards to any allergies and/ or dislikes. Interestingly, they all came back with a resounding, “We don’t like mushrooms”. I clarified whether this was a dislike or an allergy and when they confirmed it was simply a dislike, I secretly smiled.

I had found this fabulous recipe for mushroom turnovers which I was dying to try and since they weren’t allergic to it… I made them and served them as the appetizer, saying nothing about what was in them. They LOVED them! No one noticing at all that it was mushrooms that they were eating. They thought it was ground beef.

After we were done the appetizer I then revealed to them that they had actually eaten mushrooms and no ground beef was present whatsoever. They were surprised (and thankfully not mad), and we went on to enjoy the rest of our meal and evening (which I have no idea what the rest of the meal was).

Needless to say, this recipe became a family classic in my house. My Mum and sisters using it over the years for many events and parties. My Mum often has 4 dozen or more in the freezer at Christmas, ready to pull out and heat up whenever we want snacks or guests pop by. I have adopted the same philosophy and you’ll easily find turnovers (and other goodies) in my freezer this time of year.

The original recipe does contain dairy, calling for cream cheese and sour cream, but I have been able to adapt the recipe. Using vegan cream cheese and vegan sour cream they are still just as fabulous! (which having had the original I can fairly compare)

Mushroom Turnovers

Pastry:

9 oz. vegan cream cheese

1/2 c. Earth Balance vegan spread

1 1/2c. flour

In a medium bowl, cream vegan cream cheese and Earth Balance. Add the flour and work with fingers or a pastry blender until smooth. Chill well for at least 30 minutes.

Filling:

3 tbsp. Earth Balance vegan spread

1 large onion, finely chopped

*1/2 lb. mushrooms, finely chopped

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. sea salt

pinch black pepper

2 tbsp. flour

1/4 c. vegan sour cream

In a skillet, melt the Earth Balance. Add onion and brown lightly. Then add mushrooms and cook, stirring often about 3 minutes.

Add the thyme, salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Stir in sour cream and cook until gently thickened.

Preheat the oven to 450F. Roll the pastry dough to 1/8″ thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using a biscuit cutter, cut into 3″ round circles.

Place a teaspoon of mushroom filling on each circle and fold over so that the edges touch. Press the edges together using fingers and prick the tops to allow for steam to escape.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

*To finely chop mushrooms I use a food chopper from The Pampered Chef. This makes it quick and easy to get them to the right size.

Makes about 3 dozen

Sun Dried Tomato & Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Carmen

I love appetizers! They are small bite size morsels full of flavour and delight! You can sample many different ones without feeling full, guilty or like you’re overindulging. And there are so many good, delectable recipes out there, I’m never at a loss for variety or a recipe to choose.

Mushroom Turnovers

Of course I have my favorites, like Mushroom Turnovers and good old fashioned meatballs in a sweet and sour sauce, but like with everything else in food I like to branch out and try new things. A couple of years ago I found this recipe in a magazine at the gym. It looked good so I copied the recipe and tried it. It was an instant hit with everyone! Matthew, my spouse and dinner guests. So much so that my dinner guests asked for the recipe.

I loved it too and made it often over the next few months, sharing it with different guests or enjoying it ourselves. Then I went for a while without making it, until recently when I hosted a wine and cheese with friends and decided to pull it out and dust it off.

Tragedy struck though when I realized I could not find the recipe! A little while back I was organizing recipes and putting them onto my computer. When I did, I would throw away the paper copy. I thought I had done this with this recipe but I hadn’t. What I had done was post it on my first blog which I could no longer access, and then thrown it away, thinking that I would be able to access it forever. I was wrong and completely saddened that I no longer had this recipe.

But you know what they say, nothing on the internet is ever lost if you know where or how to look. It took a bit of figuring and looking but I found it. I was overjoyed to have it once again. I quickly copied it onto my computer and now keep it safe and sound in my files.

It also inspired me to have appetizers at my Christmas party this year. I will make some of my own and asked guests to please bring one to share. It’s a great way to discover more great appetizers and share some of my favorites with friends.

So if you’re an appetizer lover and looking for something new, I highly recommend the Sun Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta. Sugar and dairy free, you won’t be disappointed.

And for all fellow appetizer lovers 5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a Twitter party tonight at 8 pm Eastern where everyone will share their favorite go to holiday recipes. Go here for details.

Sun Dried Tomato & Goat Cheese Bruschetta

1/3 c. sun-dried tomatoes, coarsley sliced

1/3 c. roasted peppers (bottled), patted dry and coarsely diced

1/3 c. artichokes (canned or bottled in water)

1 large garlic clove, finely minced

6 medium leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Pinch ground pepper

12 thick, sturdy crackers or slices of whole wheat baguette

1/3 c. goat cheese

1/4 tsp. salt

In a medium bowl, gently fold together sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, artichokes, garlic, basil, olive oil balsamic vinegar and ground pepper. Spread each cracker or baguette slice evenly with goat cheese. Top with vegetable mixture. Sprinkle bruschetta with grains of salt, if desired.

Makes 12 pieces

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Carmen

One of the many things I have always enjoyed about the holidays is all the treats and goodies that come with the season. Yummy cookies and squares, family favorites and traditions that I grew up with.

Slowly I have been adjusting these favorites, such as Chocolate Peanut Butter Cereal Squares, Candy Cane cookies and Isch Tartlets, to name a few, to a sugar and dairy free version for us to enjoy. But I love it when I find a new recipe that I think fits the ‘holiday bill’, that requires no adjusting. This was the case with the Sweet Potato Pecan Pie which I found in Clean Eating magazine. The picture alone looked scrumptious so I knew I had to try it!

I have to admit I did make some adjustments to the original recipe, not because it was not fine as it was, but because I decided to make some different choices. For instance it called for olive oil in the crust and though I am sure it would have turned out fine, the thought of it made my stomach roll, so I used coconut oil instead.

The pie was a hit with everyone, all the kids loved it and my Mum, as she was visiting (though she loves sweet potatoes so it wasn’t a hard sell). Of course it is super good for you too!

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 ¼ c. rolled oats

¾ c. pecan halves

1/3 c. almond flour

¾ c. coconut sugar

2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. coconut oil

1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/8 tsp. plus ¼ tsp. sea salt

1 cup organic firm silken tofu

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

½ c. unsweetened golden raisins

2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

Place potatoes in medium saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are tender, 12-15 minutes. Drain potatoes and transfer to a food processor. Puree until smooth. Transfer to fridge and chill completely about 30 minutes.

Prepare crust by putting rolled oats and ¼ c. of pecans into food processor. Puree until in a fine powder. Add almond flour, ¼ c. coconut sugar, 2 tbsp. coconut oil, ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice, 1/8 tsp. sea salt. Pulse until combined. Gently press mixture evenly into the bottom of a non stick 9 inch spring form pan. Place pan in oven and bake for 18-120 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let crust cool completely.

Pecan topping

Prepare filling by pureeing tofu, remaining ½ c. coconut sugar, vanilla, remaining 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice and remaining ¼ tsp. salt until smooth.

Add chilled potato puree and pulse until just combined and smooth. Pour into cooled pie crust and smooth top with spatula. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until filling is just firm in the center, light golden on top and cracks begin to form in the center of the filling. Remove from oven and let cool completely, about 2 hours.

While pie cools, prepare pecan topping. In a small saucepan on high, heat remaining ½ c. pecans, raisins, maple syrup, 2 tsp. coconut oil and 2 tbsp. water until simmering. Reduce heat to medium and simmer stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until no liquid remains in pan. Transfer mixture to bowl and let cool completely.

To serve run a sharp paring knife around the outside of pie to loosen from sides. Remove sides from spring form pan. Sprinkle pecan topping over top of pie and slice.

Serves 10

Butternut Squash Soup

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Carmen

A couple of weeks ago I was visiting my sister in Vancouver, having a little me time and also there to attend my friend Stuart’s 40th Surprise Birthday; she made this fabulous Butternut Squash soup. Now I have not been a huge fan of squash in the past but this soup was really yummy!

I had found that the texture of squash was not always to my liking, it felt kind of grainy on my teeth so I avoided squash in general. But lately I have been finding many recipes with squash that I and the kids have quite enjoyed. Like Spaghetti Squash with chicken and pears from Clean Eating Magazine, Acorn Squash with harvest rice stuffing and now this soup!

Butternut Squash

It is a dairy free, sugar free and gluten free soup, of which I think I had 3 bowls for dinner that night and then another 2 for lunch the next day!

I found the flavors delicious with coconut milk and cinnamon. The original recipe calls for 2 butternut squash but that day my sister used acorn and butternut squash and it was very tasty.

I was so excited about this soup when I returned home I went straight to the store to buy what I needed. Unfortunately, as life would have it, I did not make it until the other day as I could not get all the ingredients I needed, and then of course there was time and real life to get back to – you know 3 kids, running a household…

I made it with the 2 different squashes which I think just adds lovely flavor and served it to the twins for lunch. Both of them gobbled it up, asking for a second bowl, while I scarfed, I mean enjoyed, my own soup.

It is super easy to make as well and easily frozen if you don’t wish to eat it constantly for a week.

Butternut Squash Soup

2 medium butternut squash, or 1 butternut and 1 acorn

1 pink lady or royal gala apple

1 medium onion

1/4 c. Earth Balance vegan spread

900 ml chicken broth

1 c. coconut milk

1/2 tsp. dried sage

generous pinches of cinnamon and salt

1 tbsp. maple syrup (optional)

Chop and peel squash; cut in half and seed, then chop into small pieces. Chop onion and apple.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt Earth Balance, add onion and apple and saute until onion is soft. Add broth, squash, and coconut milk. Bring to boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

For the last 5 minutes add sage, cinnamon and salt. Squash should be very tender when done.

Use immersion hand blender in pot to blend until smooth or ladle soup into blender and whip on high until pureed. Pour back into pot and reheat if necessary. Serve.

You may add optional garnishes such as maple syrup drizzled on top, vegan sour cream, slivers of apple or dried sage.

Soup will keep well refrigerated for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Homemade Marshmallows

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Carmen

Well it’s official! I can now make anything without sugar in it. When we went sugar free we really struggled at first, having to avoid things that we loved and enjoyed. But it was just going to take time to figure out how to make these things like cakes, cookies, chocolate, etc. without the sugar in it. What were the substitutes? How did you do it? It was a huge learning curve.

I assured Matthew, my oldest son that I would figure it out. Cause one of the things I did not want to happen in going sugar free was for him to feel denied. That he could still have the yummy treats that his friends did, with the difference being healthier, better for you.

Slowly I began to build my reperatoire, cookies, cakes, muffins those were easy. Bread, new sweet treat recipes, chocolate…we were getting there. Matthew was pretty happy too, except for one last thing, marshmallows. There was no substitute in the store to buy and I had no idea what to do to make them.

He reminded me of this when we went camping this summer, mentioning that it would be nice to roast marshmallows… “I know” I said and assured him that I was on a mission; as marshmallows were the only thing that I could not make sugar free but I knew there had to be a way.

A little while back I found this recipe for homemade marshmallows on Facebook and just about died! This was the ‘missing link’ that I was looking for. The recipe I needed, and it was totally healthy! Sweetened with honey and very easy to make.

So yesterday was the big day. I tried it out and Wow they were stupendeous! They look and taste like an original marshmallow and I don’t care how many my kids eat!

Unfortunately the marshmallows had to sit to set, but I let the kids lick the beaters. As you can see Luke and Chloe were thoroughly enjoying it! Attacking the beater with vigor. Matthew has attested that they taste just like regular marshmallows and just in time for our Halloween campfire tomorrow night.

We are also set for camping next summer! S’mores, rice krispie squares and other marshmallow treats here we come!

A couple quick tips when making this marshmallow recipe:

When letting it sit to set don’t worry about covering it. I made this mistake and ended up losing some because it stuck to the cover. Oops! lesson learned.

When storing them make sure you line the bottom of your container with parchment paper, and layer it with paper in between. Again, they’ll stick and they’ll peel right off the parchment paper. Don’t forget to put one on the top before you put on the lid!

The mixture starts to set quite quickly so have your pan ready to go, and as soon as the soft peaks form, pour it right into the pan. Don’t worry about the beaters you can take care of those later 🙂

Spooky Halloween Appetizers – Bat Bites

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Carmen

One of the things that I have enjoyed about Halloween over the past few years is the unique fun recipes that I have discovered. Now when I say unique and fun I mean ways of taking healthy food and making it into something Halloween themed.

I know I could have been doing this years ago, but since eliminating sugar and going to a sugar free Halloween, my focus has shifted to seeking these things out. I wanted to take the focus off the sugar fest at Halloween and show the kids the other fun aspect of things, like the decorating, festivities and food.

As a result I have made things like Boo-nanas and Apple Bites, which are banana ghosts and ghoulish looking smiles with teeth. I have found veggie platters made into skeletons and this year Bat Bites!

Apple Bites

These I think are by far the most fun yet. They are made from goat cheese, cream cheese and pesto (of which I have all non dairy substitutions for) and they are not only easy to make but look super cool. These treats are likely more for the adult crowd as some kids may not like the tastes and texture of them.

The trick was when do I make them? Luckily I had planned a wine and cheese for my neighbors and friends very close to Halloween, so I was able to try them out. Of course they were a hit! People loved them, not only how they looked but how they tasted as well.

So if you’d like to get a little creative this Halloween with your eats definitely give these a try! And there are all kinds of ideas out there. Hop on the net and Google it to find a variety of ideas to fit every taste bud.

Bat Bites

4 oz. vegan cream cheese

8 oz. soft mild goat cheese

1/4 c. pesto

2 tbsp. coarsely ground pepper

2 tbsp.poppy seeds

8 pitted olives, sliced

32 triangular corn chips (I just used Tostitos and broke them into smaller triangles)

Mix together cream cheese, goat cheese and pesto. Chill for 40 minutes.

Shape mixture into 16 2 inch balls, about 1 heaping tsp. each. Mix pepper and poppy seeds together in a bowl. Roll balls in poppy seed mixture to cover. Press olives into ball for eyes and insert chips on either side for wings.

Boo-nanas

Happy Halloween!

Amazing Homemade Pesto

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Carmen

In our journey to eliminate sugar and dairy from our diets I am constantly on the lookout for new recipes as well as ways to still make the recipes we love without having to ‘sacrifice’ an ingredient. I have found that in many cases it means I am making my own salad dressings, condiments and even pasta (I made an italian sausage tortellini soup in the slow cooker which was fabulous btw! but all the tortellini in the store had some kind of cheese in it – so I grabbed a recipe and made my own substituting with vegan cheese. It worked perfectly!) Yes it means more time in the kitchen, though I am learning how to cut that down, but it also means better healthier and tastier meals.

So you can imagine how happy I was to find this homemade pesto recipe. The ingredients are simple and it was super easy to make! I love pesto for pasta dishes and for this slow cooker Lemon Pesto Salmon I make – oh my gosh soooo good! And I always cringed when I used it because of the dairy in it. But making my own allowed me to substitute the vegan parmesan and presto I had a delicious and super tasty homemade pesto! It was so good my daughter and I were eating it with a spoon BEFORE we added it to anything else.

This recipe calls for pine nuts, which are quite expensive, but you only need a small amount and if you buy them in bulk you can get only what you need; then it’s not so bad. And honestly I don’t think you’d want to leave them out as they add to the overall result!

It also calls for fresh basil, which I love! the scent is so refreshing. I recently bought a basil plant which is producing way more fresh basil than I am using, so I was happy to discover this which calls for a good amount of it.

The thing that impressed me the most with this recipe was how easy and fast it was to make. Within 5 minutes it was all together and done.

If you’re looking for a great pesto recipe definitely try this one out, cause you know it does go with just about anything (yes I am thinking of other recipes I can make that use it so I can make some more 🙂 and for my fresh basil too.

Homemade Pesto

3/4 c. packed basil leaves

3 tbsp. pine nuts

1 clove garlic

1/4 c. vegan parmesan cheese

1/2 virgin olive oil

Place basil, pine nuts, garlic, vegan parmesan cheese and oil in hand food chopper (I use Tupperware’s Quick Chef® but any small hand food chopper will work). Turn handle until finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 2/3 cup

Pumpkin Cheesecake – Absolutely to die for!

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Carmen

It’s coming… Thanksgiving and all things pumpkin! Big feasts, meals with friends and did I mention pumpkin? I love pumpkin and all things related to it, especially pumpkin pie. And Thanksgiving seems to be the only time of year that I make or get some.

Of course with any pie you can make any kind any time you want. But I seem to fall into the times of the year when they are most prominent, as I imagine do many of us. So though I love pumpkin pie and it is my favorite, I do only get it once a year.

Every year at Thanksgiving I decide I am going to try a new pumpkin recipe, as my sister often makes things like pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin tarts and pumpkin cheesecake. And though I love to branch out and try new things I tend to fall back to my pie. What can I say? It seems just wrong to not have it.

This year I truly did branch out and I made a pumpkin cheesecake for the first time. Not specifically for Thanksgiving, because of course I will make pie, but around the right time 🙂 I found a recipe on Pinterest that looked really good and thought that I would try it.

Being dairy free I thought that I would just have to avoid cheesecake altogether. During the summer my friend decided to try a tofu chocolate cheesecake, which gave me hope. I thought that it would prove to be quite good. Not so much. Though not terrible we both agreed that we would not make it again. Then, I remembered that they make non dairy cream cheese and I had tried it before and liked it, so why not just substitute that into a regular cheesecake recipe? This got me very excited so I went to work.

After I got over just how much cream cheese this recipe called for; I went out got the ingredients and looked at what other substitutions I needed to make. The crust was a bit of a challenge as it called for graham wafers, but I came up with a solution using almond mash leftover from making almond milk, as I had done something similar making a pie before. I substituted coconut sugar for the sugar and then of course the non dairy cream cheese and sour cream (yes this recipe called for sour cream which was another reason why this particular cheesecake recipe intrigued me).

Now this recipe is not one that you can just whip up and have ready in an hour. In fact when I finally went to make it I looked at the recipe, and in reading it more closely almost aborted the whole idea. It was a lot of time, a number of steps and would not be fully ready until the next day (as when it was finished baking you had to let it sit in the fridge overnight).

Let me tell you it is totally worth it! This cheescake is absolutely fabulous, moist, creamy and flavourful. All the kids asked for a second piece and D’Wayne looked like he was in heaven. It was absolutely delicious! I think Matthew even licked his plate and then asked for a third piece of cheesecake (to which of course I said no).

So if you are a fan of cheesecake and even a remote fan of pumpkin this recipe is worth the time and effort put into it. And the nice thing is, dairy free, sugar free, gluten free all equals guilt free and will impress every one of your guests this Thanksgiving.

Or you could just go with plain old pie…

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:

12 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan spread

2 1/2 c. almond mash (leftover from making almond milk)

1/4 c. coconut sugar

dash of salt

Cheesecake:

4 – 8 oz. vegan cream cheese

1/4 c. vegan sour cream

2 1/2 c. coconut sugar

15 oz. canned pumpkin

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp. vanilla

1 tsp. sea salt

2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or 2 drops of Cinnamon Bark essential oil

1 tsp. ginger or 1 drop Ginger essential oil

1/4 tsp. cloves or 1 drop Clove Bud essential oil

Postion rack in center of oven. Preheat to 325 F.

Brush a 10 inch springform pan with 1 tbsp. of Earth Balance. In a bowl, stir the remaining Earth Balance in with almond mash, coconut sugar and a pinch of salt. Press mixture into bottom of pan and up the sides. Bake until golden brown about 15-20 minutes.

Cool on a rack, then wrap outside of pan in tin foil and place in a roasting pan.

In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add coconut sugar and beat until just light. Add sour cream, then pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, 1 tsp. sea salt and spices and until just combined. Pour into cooled crust.

Gently place roasting pan into oven (do not pull the rack out). Pour boiling water into roaster until water is about half way up springform pan. Bake until the outside of cheesecake is set but the center is still loose, about 1 h 45 min. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let out some heat.

Close oven door and let cheesecake sit for 1 more hour. Carefully remove from roasting pan and let cool on rack. Run a knife around the edges, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

A Few Apple Muffins

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Carmen

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

For those of you who caught up with me last week, you’ll be pleased to know that I am still plugging away at using up the apples from my apple tree. Which is really good for you because I am finding and testing some great apple recipes which I then share. Plus my kids and D’Wayne are thoroughly enjoying being the taste testers, as are some of my neighbors.

Like I said there is a serious amount of baking at my house right now. There is not a day that goes by that I am not whipping up something in the kitchen and I am getting good at doing it quickly. Yesterday morning I whipped up some apple muffins between breakfast and heading out to my friends for coffee at 10 am.

Yesterday’s Apple Cinnamon muffin was a gluten, dairy and sugar free muffin, sweetened with maple syrup with coconut oil and flax seed meal. I am finding that I really like those recipes with that little extra kick of nutrition in there. You just mix it in and can’t even taste it.

I found this recipe on another blog site called the The Simple Veganista who shares raw and vegan recipes – who actually found it originally on the blog The Vanilla Bean. And I have to say these muffins are very good! In fact my oldest son Matthew’s response when he came home afterschool was “Damn these are good!” with his face all lit up with excitement.

They are super moist and very tasty. The only downside to this recipe is that one batch does not make enough – only 9 muffins! I did stretch it to 12 but got some very small muffins out of it.

Apple Cake Muffin

Last week I tried the Gluten Free Goddess’s Apple Cake muffin recipe, which we also enjoyed as this muffin has chunks of apple in it which I really liked. Many of the recipes I found called for grated apple and though this was good I wanted to really taste and notice the apple, so I liked the chunks. Her recipes still call for refined sugar so a quick substitution of coconut sugar and I was able to whip these babies up! It even called for powdered sugar sprinkled on top once they were done baking and I was able to substitute for this as well! See recipe below.

I love muffins that have a little sprinkle of something on top, and both these muffin recipes do -the first being a coconut sugar and cinnamon mixture. Yum! There is just something fun about sprinkling something on top 🙂

The only thing I find with the Gluten Free Goddess is many of her muffin recipes are the same base with slight changes in them to make them apple, blueberry or whatever kind of muffin it is. Though I do admire her, as all her recipes are original, tried and true; I like a little more variety in my muffins, which is why I search out other recipes to try. Regardless I do have to say even though her base is the same, I have never gone wrong with one of her recipes. They are always delicious!

Either way I would recommend either recipe if you are looking for a gluten free apple muffin, though the Apple Cinnamon one is the favorite at our house (I used coconut milk for our non-dairy milk, though you can use rice or almond milk if you prefer).

I still have a huge basket full of apples and am not sure what to do with them next as I am really looking for something that will use them up in large amounts! If you have any apple recipes to share please post them in the comments for everyone to try, especially me.

In the meantime go whip up one of these and then sit down for a few minutes and enjoy, savor, maybe grab a cup of coffee, while the kids play quietly….ha ha oh I’m dreaming again!

Regardless enjoy!

Sugar Free Powdered Sugar (replacement for regular icing sugar)

1 cup nonfat dry milk (for dairy free use powdered coconut milk)

1 cup cornstarch

2/3 cup Krisda Stevia for baking

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and whip until blended and powdered. Store in an airtight container.

This replacement can be used in any recipe calling for icing sugar.