Desserts

Flourless Monster Cookie Bars

January 22, 2018

Just when y’all thought I was off the cookie train and on to other things… More cookies. I mean, it’s a cookie bar, so that’s different, right? Whatever, haters gonna hate and bakers gonna bake. I absolutely love all the baked things. And I can’t remember if I shared this with y’all yet, but things are about to change over here. As much as I love cooking and sharing all sorts of dinners and snacks and other random ideas with y’all, my heart is in the oven. Okay, not really. But baking is my passion. And I have also found that most of you engage more with my baked goods posts than anything else. So you’re going to see a lot more stuff coming out of the oven. And don’t worry, it won’t just be sweets. It will include breads and pizza doughs and homemade pretzels.

And cookies. More and more cookies….

Almond Flour Freckled Blondies

January 9, 2018

Well, y’all, I think my goals are taking a bit of a turn this new year. Currently I am trying to find a way to consume as many desserts as possible without gaining sixty-two pounds. It’s way easier said than done. Okay, I’m just kidding. I am not really trying that. But I do want to be able to enjoy desserts without feeling guilty. Or more importantly, without feeling sick. And since I am working on my very first hard copy cookbook this year, I feel like it’s the perfect time to experiment with all of these factors. These almond flour freckled blondies are the product of my weekend experimentation tradition….

Grain Free Chocolate Donuts

January 4, 2018

I don’t miss a lot of things being gluten free, but I can unashamedly say that I drool over the thought of donuts. My husband and I traveled quite a bit over the holidays, and while in the South we passed more Krispy Kremes than you could imagine. I have never been so sad to not have something… while also being thankful that I couldn’t. Because we all know I would have gone NUTS and experienced the fullness of regret. Luckily for me, my husband surprised me with a brand new donut pan for Christmas. That was the missing piece that prevented me from coming up with a recipe. So now that I am free of excuses, I am going to be bringing y’all all the donut recipes you could ever ask for! These grain free chocolate donuts are first on the list.

While these are rather simple, it’s important that you follow the instructions. Because there’s nothing worse than a ruined donut. Except for not being able eat a Krispy Kreme donut, but I am working through my emotions on that one.

These are a great cake-y donut, and can be altered to make a large number of flavors.

This particular grain free chocolate donut is a great base, but you can swap out the vanilla for peppermint, cherry, almond, or raspberry. The icing I chose is also one of many options. You can really alter these to meet whatever flavor palette you are searching for… or in the mood for!

One of the most important tips I can offer for these grain free chocolate donuts is to pipe the batter into the pan. I know many people might think to just spoon the batter in, but you’ll get a more perfect donut if you pipe it. You will also have donuts that bake more evenly and are less likely to stick./

The other tip I would offer is to really wait until they are cool to remove from the pan. I know we are all anxious to get them out and ice them, but they might fall apart if you remove them too soon!

Finally… eat more than one. Because everyone deserves a treat here and there, and these are about as guilt free as it comes with a donut.

Enjoy!

Grain Free Chocolate Donuts

Here's What You Need

1 1/2 c almond flour
1/2 c coconut flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c coconut sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder + 1tbsp
3/4 c melted coconut oil
4 eggs
1/2 c almond milk
1 tsp vanilla

For Chocolate Icing

1/2 c dairy free chocolate chips or baking chocolate
2 tbsp peanut butter

Here's What You Do

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Make sure to mix well to fully incorporate baking powder.
Slowly stir in coconut oil and eggs, followed by almond milk and vanilla. Do not overmix, but make sure it is well combined.
Pipe batter into nonstick donut pan.
Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.
After donuts have cooled and have been transferred out of pan, making icing by melting chocolate and peanut butter over medium-low heat. Drizzle over donuts and allow to dry.
Serve and enjoy!

The Best Chocolate Chip Muffins

December 11, 2017

Alright, my muffins lovers, this one is for you. I have been wanting muffins for the last few weeks, but we are a strict diet (not a “diet,” but a strict lifestyle to heal my husband’s gut). Eliminating things often means sucking all the fun out of life— like baking. But for real, I love fun, and I love baking. So I got to work to come up with the perfect chocolate chip muffin that my husband could enjoy.

I could have come up with a lot of other things, but here’s the deal: we love chocolate chips in the Crawford home. We literally eat a few for dessert… like every night. (I know, I know, it’s not really dessert. But it does the trick for us and probably saves us a few hundred calories).

…

Sweet Potato Pecan Muffins

December 4, 2017

Anybody else LOVE muffins? Raise your hands please. I can’t see you, but I feel it because muffin lovers feel the love. And I love everything about muffins except for one thing. I don’t love how I am hungry 30 seconds after eating one. No one likes that, right? The good news is, I have been busy coming up with muffins that will fill you up. These way too delicious sweet potato pecan muffins leave you feeling anything but empty. They are truly love at first bite….

The Best Apple Cobbler

November 20, 2017

Want me to be real honest? I’m not really a fruit pie kind of girl. I’m a pecan pie all the way sort of girl. Like, if pecan pie is on the dessert table, I don’t even need a single taste of all the others. Because I am that loyal. And I also just realized that this is about apple cobbler, not pecan pie, so I will move on. My point is, it takes a BOMB apple cobbler (or any fruit dessert) to win my heart and a spot on my plate.

This gluten free, entirely clean, totally delicious apple cobbler did just that. There’s something really special about this one. Perhaps it’s the perfect fruit to topping ratio, or perhaps it’s the tanginess that comes with raw apple cider vinegar. Whatever it is, it’s totally on point. (Side note, does anyone even know what that means or how it became such a popular thing to say?)…

Maple Pumpkin Pop Tarts

November 13, 2017

Well, here it is. I have been promising a pop tart recipe for nearly a year, and I am finally delivering. Just so y’all know, it’s not like me to hold off that long. The problem with making these pop tarts was that I was totally intimidated! I don’t know why, honestly. I just was. Maybe because the ridiculously processed store-bought ones are just so perfect in appearance. They have a completely smooth surface, the icing is a perfect rectangle, and they are basically all identical. Like zebras. I digress. I just felt afraid of not being able to get it “right.” But the people spoke. YOU spoke. You asked me to come up with a gluten free, clean eating pop tart. And I love you, so I did. These maple pumpkin pop tarts are everything I ever dreamed of and more.

So here’s what I think you want to know. Was it difficult? Absolutely not. It was no more difficult than making a muffin or a cookie or a pie. It just required following the directions and following them carefully. Did it take a long time? Nope. It took about 15 minutes of prep and then they baked for about 27 minutes. So unless you count the time I spent cleaning up, I really only spent 15 minutes or so hands on.

Was it delicious? Hell yes. In fact, my husband ate so many that I won’t have another one. (I love you, Daniel, but you’re one of those treat snatching, dream crushing types)….

The Perfect Cookie Skillet

November 6, 2017

I just literally cannot stop with the cookies. I thought I was changing it up by doing a cookie skillet, but it’s still a cookie. I just really love cookies. I love them almost as much as I love cake, and y’all know that is a big deal.

So why the cookie skillet? Here’s the honest to goodness truth… Everyone has been raving about this “cookie skillet” that someone famous made, and I just had to do it myself. I joked with my friend that I was going to “one-up” the famous cookie skillet, and I really meant it. But here’s the other unfortunately honest truth… sometimes I am too stubborn to try other recipes. So I basically hear about something and just do it myself. I’d love to say I tried the other recipe first and gave the famous person the benefit of the doubt, but I would be lying. And no one likes a liar. So there’s that.

Here’s what I do know: my friend (the one I referred to earlier) is basically the world’s best cookie connoisseur and she had previously had the famous person’s cookie skillet. I had her tell me all the qualities of the other skillet that just weren’t “doing it” for her, and I asked her what would really make it the best in her opinion….

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

September 25, 2017

I promised y’all about two hundred and sixty-seven more pumpkin recipes this Fall and I like to be a woman of my word… So I figured I better get right to it. There’s no better way to start a Monday than with cookies, and there’s no better way to experience this cooler weather than with all things pumpkin. These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are just about the best thing for both.

I have been wanting to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for quite some time now, but I needed to wait for the rest of the world to decide it was officially pumpkin season. I was also working on a base for the cookie that was entirely grain free so it would be that much more healthy. Because healthier cookies means eating more cookies… and duh.

These chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free, and entirely delicious. One nice thing about baking with pumpkin is that it often eliminates the need for oil. That’s a plus because it means less fat. So basically I’ll just eat pumpkin all Fall and get skinny… or something like that….

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

August 28, 2017

white chocolate macadamia nut cookies

It’s that time again. What time, you ask? It’s cookie time. And today the cookie of choice is a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie! Let’s just say my Monday is a whole lot better with a few of these in my hand.

This cookie is part of my You Asked For It series, and it was requested by a dear friend! I have been working on getting these just right, and I am beyond pleased with the result.

There’s just something about a macadamia nut. Another friend and I always joke that they are like little balls of crunchy butter. They are just so dang good. Also, every time I get my hands on a macadamia nut I am immediately taken back to our honeymoon in Maui. We snacked on macadamia nuts the entire time and even brought back a huge load of them. Unfortunately they are long gone. They truly are so satisfying though. Any chance we have to fit them into our budget, we load up….