Banana Buckwheat Muffins

Banana Buckwheat Muffins

Being home during the pandemic has allowed for a lot more time to bake.  This is evident for many people it seems as it is getting increasingly difficult to find flour and yeast. 

So I decided to try a recipe I have never tried with some other flours I had in the house.  This is a slight adaptation from the original recipe found in Nourishing Meals by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre.

Banana muffins are a staple in my house, so I thought this would be a easy recipe to try and especially test out on the kids to see if they would notice a difference.  These muffins are dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free and refined sugar-free.  They are great for anyone who has allergies to any of these ingredients.

I've never used buckwheat flour before, but I had recently picked up a small bag by Bob's Red Mill to try out.    The muffins smelled amazing - just like any other banana muffin I've made before.  They had a much darker colour, almost like I had mixed cocoa in it.  The muffins were a little denser than I'm used to, but they still had a very texture.  The flavour is distinct; I'm assuming it is the buckwheat flour.  It was not subtle and the kids definitely picked up on the flavour and of course for them it was "not a banana muffin" anymore.  That is not to say that it was still not good.  My husband and I enjoyed the muffins, but it is definitely different from what I was used to.

So without further ado.....here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
Dry:
2-1/4 cups buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Wet:
2 cups mashed bananas (about 5 bananas)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup avocado oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

3. In another (medium) bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.  Begin with about 1/2 cup of the milk.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together.  If the batter is too thick, add more milk up to the other 1/2 cup.  The batter should come off the whisk, but not so much that it is thin and runny.

4. Fill each cup all the way.  If you fill 3/4 of the way, you will get about 18 muffins instead.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.

Tahini Cookies

I remember seeing a recipe for Tahini Cookies once.  The writer said that it was a great alternative to peanut butter cookies.  It looked easy enough and the reviews were good, so I went out to buy tahini.  Of course life got in the way and the tahini sat in my cupboard for awhile.

Today was a snow day so I decided to bake cookies with my eldest while the baby napped.  I thought about those tahini cookies, but couldn't remember if I had saved that recipe so I looked for a new one.  This one had a lot a great comments and very few ingredients - all great things when I didn't know how much time I'd have before the baby woke up. (Original recipe: http://sweetpotatosoul.com/2014/12/life-changing-tahini-cookies.html)

These cookies came together really easily - perfect for little hands!  And the batter itself is delicious to eat - and safe since there's no raw egg.  This recipe is nut-free, dairy-free and egg-free, and also vegan!

Ingredients:
1 cup tahini
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup  honey
2 tsp cinnamon
1.5 cups rolled oats
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Mix the tahini, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt until well combined.

2. Add rolled oats and stir to combine.

3. Scoop out some dough into your hands and roll into a ball.  Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet and flatten slightly.  Repeat with remaining batter.

4. Bake in a preheated 350Ff oven for 10 minutes.

5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes approximately 16 cookies.

Try adding chopped walnuts or chocolate chips for added flavour!

Classic Belgian Waffles #2 - Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Waffles - one of my most favourite "breakfasts that doubles as dessert" of all time.  You can top them with nutella and bananas, nutella and strawberries, whipped cream, maple syrup, icing sugar; the list is really endless.

I have a recipe that I've used for years to make them from scratch and they turn out delicious!  My husband promised my little one that I would make them this morning for her, only for me to realize that we were completely out of flour and pancake mix.  I didn't know what I could do until I remembered I had some gluten free flour left from my gluten-free stint a few months back.  I have adapted my recipe to be dairy free, so why not substitute the flour and make gluten free ones as well.

The result was a much thicker and fluffier waffle.  As I was making it I wasn't sure if it would turn out because the batter was so thick, but they really turned out so good.

You can find my original recipe here or read it again below.  At the end of the post I have provided my gluten free and dairy free substitutions.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk

Directions:

1.  Preheat the waffle iron according to its instructions.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a second bowl use the wooden  to beat together the egg yolks and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and eggs have turned a pale yellow.  Add vanilla extract, melted butter and milk to the eggs and whisk to combine.
4. Combine liquid mixture with flour mixture and whisk just until blended; do not over mix.
5.  In a third bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 1-2 minutes.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter.  Do not overmix!
6.  Coat iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour enough batter in iron to just cover the waffle grid.  (I have a Cuisinart iron with 4 squares.  I always put about 1/3-1/2 cup into each square.  This normally prevents it from oozing out the sides.)  Close and cook per its instructions, about 2-3 minutes.
7.  Top with your favourite ingredients and serve immediately.

Makes about 8-10 waffles.

Gluten Free Option: I substituted the flour for a gluten-free all-purpose flour.  I really like the PC Brand.

Dairy Free Option: Substitute 1/4 cup vegetable or coconut oil for the butter.  Substitute almond milk for the regular milk.  I love using the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.  When I'm short on almond milk, I often do 1 cup almond milk and 1 cup water - it still turns out delicious!

Gluten and Dairy Free Belgian Waffles

Yummy Pancakes!

There's nothing worse than promising your daughter pancakes on a rushed morning to discover you are out of pancake mix.  That's what happened this morning, so I had to whip up an easy "from scratch" pancake recipe.  This recipe came together quickly and was really quite light and fluffy.  It just soaked up the maple syrup and was absolutely delicious!

For a dairy-free alternative, use unsweetened (vanilla) almond milk and oil (vegetable, canola or melted coconut) instead of milk and butter.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar
1-1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla


Directions:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk, egg and butter; mix until smooth.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat.  Scoop the batter onto the griddle (approximately 1/4 cup each pancake).  Brown on both sides and serve while it's ot.

Feel free to add in your favourite mix-ins: chocolate chips, cinnamon, berries, etc.

Makes approximately 10-12 pancakes.

Gluten Free Apple Crisp

I love apple crisp - it is one of those easy comfort foods you can bake up in a matter of minutes.  I even have my little cheats - using oatmeal cookie mix mixed with cinnamon and a touch of brown sugar as my topping drizzled with maple syrup and corn syrup.

But my easy quick go to dessert is no longer possible on my gluten free diet.  So I went on a search for a gluten free version.  I mostly found recipes that used "gluten free oats" but this was not going to be an option.  I thought about the quinoa flakes I had sitting in my cupboard with all the other "gluten free" flours I bought and thought I'd be able to mimic the oats by using them.  So I narrowed down my search some more - and here is what I came up with:

Ingredients:

6 apples (I used Gala), peeled, cored and sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice (to prevent browning)
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp tapioca or arrowroot starch
1 cup quinoa flakes
3/4 cup sorghum flour
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup coconut oil (if you don't need to be dairy free, you can use butter - I find that it adds extra flavour.  For this recipe I used half butter and half coconut oil.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x11" baking dish.  Set aside.

2. Toss the sliced apples in a bowl with lemon juice.  Add the maple syrup and stir.  (At this point I like to sprinkle the apples with some brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to add some extra flavour.)  Dust with tapioca starch to coat the slices.  Pour the slices into the baking dish.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the quinoa flakes, sorghum flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and whisk to blend.  Add the coconut oil in pieces and cut it into the flour using a pastry cutter.  It should resemble a sandy mixture.

4. Spoon the mixture over top.  Drizzle with some maple syrup and dab with butter or coconut oil.

5. Bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes.  Cover loosely with foil paper and bake for another 20 minutes.  (Depending on the size of your slices, this could take longer.)  The apples should feel tender and the sides should be bubbling.

6. Allow to cool a bit before serving, but it is served best warm.

The results were pretty good. My husband and I definitely missed the bigger clumps/chunks that happen in the crisp when you use oats.  Maybe next time I would use more butter/coconut oil to make it a bit clumpier, but I think the size of the quinoa flakes are the main reason for this.  But for a gluten free version of apple crisp, you really can't go wrong.

The apples

The crumble part

The prepared crumble prior to baking.

The final product (well half of it!)

Valentine's Day Cookies

My little one and I decided we wanted to bake heart cookies for daddy and for Valentine's Day.
Of course I love baking sugar cookies and they are pretty simple.  They also roll out nicely so we could roll them and cut them out into hearts. And then I remembered that I can't eat gluten so I would have to make something that I could also enjoy.  And thus started my internet / pinterest search for gluten free sugar cookies.

So we made two batches of cookies: the gluten ones that would chill in the fridge for a couple of hours and the gluten free (and dairy free) ones.  And we baked them and then we got the fondue pot going and dipped them in chocolate.  It was a wonderful afternoon and here are our recipes:



Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter until fluffy and pale.  Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating on low speed for 2 minutes after each addition.
2. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended.
3, Sift the flour and salt together and add to the butter mixture in batches.  Mix on low speed just until blended.
4. Divide the dough into four parts.  Shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours.
5. Remove the disks from the fridge and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
6. Roll out the dough on floured wax paper to a thickness of about 1/4".  Cut into your shapes using cookie cutters.  Gather up the scraps and re-roll them.  If they become sticky, refrigerate them for 10 minutes before re-rolling.
7. Bake the cookies until they are lightly golden on the bottom, about 12-15 minutes.  Let the cookies cool briefly on the pans on wire racks before transferring them to the racks to cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies


Gluten (and Dairy) Free "Sugar" Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup almonds (I mixed about half and half with hazelnuts)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tbsp tapioca flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 cup honey

Directions:
1. Do not preheat your oven! Grind the nuts into a flour in a blender or food processor (I used my Vitamix).
2. Mix together the nut flour with coconut flour, salt, baking soda and tapioca flour until well combined.
3. Next add the coconut oil, vanilla, egg and honey.  Beat together until it forms a cookie dough.
4. Roll out the dough on floured wax paper and cut with cookie cutters.  Place them on a piece of parchment paper and place them in the oven.
5. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan for a few minutes before transferring them to wire racks to continue cooling.

Makes about 20 cookies.

Chocolate Banana Bread

You may not know that I have been going gluten-free for about a month now.  While I haven't been diagnosed with anything, it is likely that the gluten has been causing (or at least contributing to) my thyroid problems as well as digestion problems.  So I've tried to cut it out.  Needless to say, I have been miserable, miss my foods and haven't seen a difference.

A few days ago I hit up my bulk barn and bought a bunch of different flours that are gluten free.  I love baking, and as I've come to realize, baking gluten free is definitely not the same.  Substitutions don't work and you need several different ingredients to mimic flour and gluten.  Today was my first attempt at gluten free baking.  I've had these ripening bananas sitting on my counter and banana muffins and bread are kinda my thing, so I was determined to keep it as my thing.

I have this book called Nourishing Meals so I decided to work with one of their recipes.

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup teff flour

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour or arrowroot powder (I did about half and half)

6 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

2 tbsp ground flax seeds

1/4 cup warm water

1-1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 5-6 for me)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted coconut oil (or any oil really)

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Optional:

chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.

3. In a separate (large) mixing bowl, add the ground flax and warm water; whisk together so the flax doesn't clump up.  Then add the remaining wet ingredients and whisk together.

4. Pour the wet ingredients in to the dry and mix together with a large wooden spoon.  Fold in your optional ingredients above (I did both!).  Pour batter into your bread pan.  Bake for about 45 minutes.  Cool for 20 minutes and then remove from pan and continue to cool on a wire rack.

My little one helped me with the baking and had a blast.  We also enjoyed licking the batter!  Surprisingly that batter didn't look all that much different from other batters I've worked with.  All my reading online caused me to think it wouldn't look "normal" but it did; maybe it was a little thicker than I'm used to. I probably kept the loaf in for about 50 minutes, but it could have used another 5-10 more as the middle still seemed a little moist.  Since it was my first time, and the batter is dark, I didn't want it to turn out too dry or hard.

The loaf turned out amazing!  You would never know that there wasn't flour in it.  The cocoa adds a richness to it that is almost fudgey or like a brownie!  It is definitely a hit in my house and my banana bread loving friends!

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

Technically I am not supposed to eat dairy; I don't digest it well. For awhile (before I got pregnant) I was pretty good about not eating dairy, but that didn't stop my love (or cravings) for it. Once I was pregnant I found that I could digest it a lot better, so I was back on the dairy bandwagon. And I love it too much to give it up again. With that said, I try to limit my dairy, and I always look for good recipes that don't have dairy. A lot of vegan recipes fall under that category, but I am not a big fan of the flavor. When I found this recipe I decided to try it out, and it turned out really good.

The recipe is originally from this site: http://www.cookingandme.com/2012/11/vegan-avocado-chocolate-cupcakes-eggless-cakes.html#

And the frosting isn't vegan (or dairy-free!) so you'll have to find another frosting recipe if you want a true vegan cupcake.

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
6 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped avocado (approx. 2 small avocados)
2 cups water
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line or grease 2 cupcake trays and set aside.
2. Chop up the avocado and add to a blender or a food processor.
3. Top off with oil, water, vanilla, vinegar, and sugar.
4. Blend well until the avocados get puréed completely.
5. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt in a bowl. Slowly add the wet ingredients while whisking.
6. Gently whisk together until you see no traces of the dry mixture in the batter.
7. Fill cupcake trays about 3/4 full.
8. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean or with dry crumbs. Tops may crack., but that's okay.
9. Cool completely before icing.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Ingredients:
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:
Beat together all the ingredients until stiff. If the frosting is too dry, add some milk (by the drops) or butter. If it's too runny, add more icing sugar.