July 2010 - Pumpkin Muffin/Pie
This recipe makes 2 dozen muffins, or 2 pies. OR - if you're like me and you only have one muffin tin and one pie pan, do both! I put half the batter into a 9-inch glass pie pan, and the other half into an aluminum muffin tin. The muffins (since they are smaller = more surface area) are fluffier and more fully baked. The pie is a bit soft in the middle, but this gives it a nice pie-like texture - it's like pie with a built-in crust.
Ingredients:
1 small pumpkin, cooked (about 3 cups worth of pumpkin "meat")
1 banana
1 can coconut milk (the "fatty" kind, not the "lite" stuff!)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup almond flour (a.k.a. "almond meal")
1 cup dried coconut, medium shred
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 of a nutmeg nut, freshly grated (or use 1/2 tsp pre-ground nutmeg)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
olive oil for greasing pie pan/muffin tin (or butter or any other oil/fat that you prefer)
Instructions:
a) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
b) Blend the pumpkin in a food processor.
c) Add the banana, coconut milk, honey, and molasses to the food processor and blend together.
d) In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, dried coconut, baking soda and spices.
e) Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.
f) Spoon batter into olive-oiled muffin tin or 9-inch pie pan. Makes 2 dozen muffins or 2 pies, or one of each.
g) Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees F.
These muffins were difficult to photograph because we ate them all so fast.
May 2010 - Savoury Biscuits
I used chives in these because I have several bushes in the garden that are ready for harvest. But you could substitute any kind of herb or spice, or just leave them plain.
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup chickpea/fava bean flour blend (I usually use pure chickpea flour but it was out of stock)
1 tbsp gluten-free and corn-free baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin [optional]
1 cup chopped chives and chive flowers [optional]
1 can coconut milk (400mL inc. guar gum) - ONLY the fatty stuff at the top
Olive oil to grease the muffin tin
Instructions:
--> Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
--> In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, salt, baking powder and cumin. If desired, omit the cumin or substitute other spices.
--> Add the chives to the dry ingredients and mix. If desired, omit the chives or substitute finely chopped onion, or other savoury herbs. Generally I use whatever is in the garden, or cheap at the market.
--> Add the coconut milk... if you open the can carefully, the coconut milk should be separated into a fatty layer at the top (about 2/3 of the container) and a translucent liquid layer at the bottom. I have a friend who sticks his cans in the fridge to help separate the layers. Carefully spoon off the fatty stuff at the top and add it to the mixing bowl. Discard the liquid layer, or drink it - it's pretty tasty!
--> Mix the coconut "cream" into the dry ingredients. It should be completely mixed in, and have a fluffy texture like mashed potatoes.
--> Spoon mixture into an olive-oiled aluminum 12-muffin-tin. Bake for 25 minutes at 450 degrees F.
--> Remove the cooked biscuits from the muffin tin, but let them sit for about 10 minutes to finish cooking on the inside.
March 2010 - Apricot Cake
I liked the apricot cookie recipe so much that I adapted into a cake recipe. This cake is very moist and dense - it crumbles a bit when hot but sticks together well after cooling in the fridge.
Ingredients:
3 cups almond flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup dried coconut, medium shred
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 - 400mL can of coconut milk (inc. guar gum)
1 can of water
1/2 cup millet grits
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup honey
2 bananas, mashed
Instructions:
--> Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
--> In a large mixing bowl, combine almond flour, rice flour, dried coconut and baking soda; set aside.
--> Add dried apricots, coconut milk, and water to a saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Add millet grits and lower heat, simmering until millet is soft (about 7 minutes). Stir in rolled oats, then cover and remove from heat; let sit for 20 minutes. Remove cover, add honey and bananas to saucepan, mix well.
--> Add saucepan mixture to dry ingredients, mix with a wooden spoon - batter should be thick and fluffy.
--> Pour into 9"x13" glass cake pan. I like to line my cake pan with parchment paper because I'm lazy and it makes cleanup much easier :) Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. I slice it into 24 pieces.
December 2009 - Christmas Cookie #1 - Chocolate
I made three different cookies for Christmas, all variations on a theme. This was my "basic" recipe. I've been working on this chocolate cookie for a while now... if you don't feel like spending the time rolling these into cookies, you can pat it down into a parchment-paper-lined 9x13-inch pan and call it brownies.
Ingredients:
2 cups hazelnut flour
2 cups walnut flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup dried coconut, medium shred
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup honey
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup raisins
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the flours, coconut, cocoa and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mash the banana into the honey with a fork. Stir the raisins into the honey. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a wooden spoon or with hands. Form 1-inch balls with hands, use spoon if desired. Place in mini-baking cups in glass pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Makes 70.
December 2009 - Christmas Cookie #2 - Cranberry Gingerbread
I made three different cookies for Christmas, all variations on a theme. This was a gingerbread variation... it needs about 5 minutes more in the oven than the chocolate ones.
Ingredients:
2+1/2 cups walnut flour
1 cup hazelnut flour
1 cup almond flour
1+1/4 cup brown rice flour
1+1/4 cup dried coconut, medium shred
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg (one half of a nut)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup molasses
2 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup dates, chopped
1 cup frozen cranberries, halved
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the flours, coconut, baking soda and spices in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mash the banana into the molasses with a fork. Stir the dates and cranberries into the honey. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a wooden spoon or with hands. Form 1-inch balls with hands, use spoon if desired. Place in mini-baking cups in glass pan. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees F. Makes 80.
December 2009 - Christmas Cookie #3 - Almond Apricot
I made three different cookies for Christmas, all variations on a theme. This one is totally my favourite! It uses almost all almond flour, which is lighter in flavour than the walnut, and lets the apricot come through. This one may need less time in the oven - check on it 5 minutes before the end to make sure they're not burning.
Ingredients:
3+1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup hazelnut flour
1+1/4 cup brown rice flour
1+1/4 cup dried coconut, medium shred
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup honey
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the flours, coconut and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mash the banana into the honey with a fork. Stir the apricots into the honey. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a wooden spoon or with hands. Form 1-inch balls with hands, use spoon if desired. Place in mini-baking cups in glass pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Makes 70.
April 2009 - Molasses Macaroons - Gluten-Free, and Vegan!
I'm particularly proud of the fact that these don't taste like a gluten-free cookie! I tested them on my unsuspecting office co-workers and got lots of compliments! They also freeze well, so says my boyfriend who takes them for lunch - he heats them for 2 minutes in a convection oven at his work.
Ingredients:
1 banana, mashed
1/2 cup molasses
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups dried, medium-shred coconut
1+1/2 cups walnut flour
1+1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup almond flour
1 cup raisins
Instructions:
-> Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
-> I mash the banana first, then mash the molasses and baking soda into it... it gets nice and fluffy. Then I dump all the other ingredients in and mix. The mixture is pretty loose, but should stay together when squeezed into clumps. I shape the batter into 1-inch-diameter balls and place on an olive-oiled pan. Last time I made these I got 67 cookies.
-> 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until they are nicely browned on the outside. I usually check them at the 20-25 minute mark to make sure they're not getting too brown.
-> FYI: Oats are technically gluten-free, but are often contaminated with wheat. You could omit the oats if you wanted, and you would have fewer cookies and a stickier batter. I've also had good luck replacing some of the nut flour with buckwheat, millet or quinoa flour.