gluten free vegan cinnamon swirl banana bread

banana bread yumminess 

this is a recipe i found on pinterest that i wanted to try gluten free, which i successfully completed, but with  some of my favorite people having to cut out not only gluten but dairy and eggs as well i gave myself the challenge of doing this bread vegan as well as gluten free and it turned out so well i had to share! this is what you need:

3 overripe bananas
1/6 cup smart balance butter like spread (i noticed they have a soy free version as well)
1/6 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 dash salt (i put a few dashes)
3/4 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour

for the swirl and topping:
1/3 brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1. preheat oven to 350
2. grease a loaf pan (it only makes 1 loaf)
3. mix together bananas, sugar, vanilla and salt
4. melt the butter spread and coconut oil in microwave and add to banana mixture
5. sprinkle baking soda and mix
6. sprinkle xanthan gum and mix
7. add the flours and mix till just mixed together
8. mix together the swirl topping in separate bowl
9. put in a little less than half the batter into the loaf pan
10. sprinkle half the swirl mixture on top of the batter
11. add the rest of the batter to cover the sugar mixture (it's ok if some is peaking through just try to cover as much as you can)
12. add the rest of the sugar mixture to the top
13. bake for 35-45 minutes (checking for doneness to make sure it doesn't get dry)
14. enjoy all you sensitive stomached lovelies!

samoa brownies aka german chocolate brownies

the question on your mind is, "do they taste as good as they look?" the answer, yes.... yes they do. they are caramely and chewy and pretty much as sweet as you can possibly make something. i converted this recipe from one i found called samoa brownies but in retrospect they are much more like german chocolate brownies than anything else, so if you like caramel, chocolate and coconut, read on brother, read on. there are basically 3 elements to this decadent dessert, making the brownies, toasting the coconut and making the caramel, the rest is just flair to make it look good. i started with the caramel first because it needs to cool a little before adding the coconut and being poured on the brownies. a word to the wise, this dessert needs time to cool, you can't just eat it hot or it will be, literally, a hot mess. so here we go!

the caramel sauce is the same that is in my previous post, i doubled the recipe and that was the perfect amount for topping of the brownies. let it cool in fridge but not till it gets hard.

Fudgey Dark Chocolate chip brownies (amazing by themselves too!)

Ingredients:

1. 5 unsweetened chocolate squares
2. 1 1/2 sticks of butter
3. 4 eggs
4. 2 cups of white sugar
5. 2 teaspoons vanilla
   
6. 1 1/3 cups gluten free flour combo (i use 2/3 cups potato starch 2/3 cup brown rice flour)
7. 2 pinches of salt
   
8. 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
9. 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350
2. grease 9x13 baking dish
3. in saucepan over med heat melt together unsweetened chocolate squares and butter, stirring occasionally. set aside and let cool slightly.
4. in a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla until creamy
5. whisk in melted chocolate, slowly pouring in the chocolate (so you don't cook the eggs)
6. switch to a large spoon and mix in the flours, salt and xanthan gum
   
7. fold in cup of chocolate chips
   
8. pour batter into pan and smooth top
9. bake for 20-30 minutes (check after 20, do not over cook, the world hates a dry brownie) test with a toothpick in several places
10. let cool (for this recipe put in the fridge to cool quickly)

melted chocolate squares and butter

eggs
sugar added to the eggs
vanilla

adding the chocolate to the eggs
the flour
flour added to mix
mix till smooth
add chocolate chips

pour into the pan

toasted coconut:

1. take 3 cups of shredded coconut (i use sweetened, next time i might do unsweetened since it is smothered in caramel anyway!) and place in a large non-stick pan
2. turn burner to med high heat and stir coconut continuously until golden brown
3. set aside

coconut in pan

the toasted coconut

the toasted coconut added to the caramel

assembly:

1. take all but 1/2 cup of the toasted coconut and pour into the bowl of caramel, stirring until the coconut is covered thoroughly
   
2. pour and smooth the coconut/caramel mixture onto the brownies
3. let cool in fridge for at least an hour
   
4. once cooled , take 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (i did not mention this earlier but you should have some left over from the bag you opened to add to the brownies) put in a bowl and microwave it until melted and smooth
5. drizzle the chocolate over the bars, not to cover completely but so you can see little chocolatey squiggles over the top of them.
6. take the 1/2 cup toasted coconut that you had put aside and sprinkle over the top of the bars.
   
7. get a HUGE glass of milk and enjoy!
   

salted caramel sauce

i have, what you call, an obsessive nature, it's a good thing drugs never had any appeal to me, what does appeal to me is sugar. especially browned delicious caramel-y sugar. i have made this recipe several times and it is always amazing and so very easy to make (in fact a little TOO easy since i could sit with a spoon and just eat a bowlful myself). make this recipe to top on ice cream or throw it on your brownies to make them even more decadent. once you see how easy it is you to will be eating everything with caramel on top, trust me on this one.

salted caramel sauce

ingredients:
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons water

1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

get er done:
1. put the white sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan over low heat and let the sugar dissolve completely (stirring occasionally)
2. bring to a boil and cook until the syrup turns to an amber color (no stirring necessary)
3. take off the heat for a moment and add the brown sugar and butter stirring until dissolved
4. put back on medium heat and add cream stirring until incorporated and the caramel is coating the back of the spoon (you have to be your own judge in this, i wait till it is a thicker coating on the back the thinner it looks the thinner your caramel will be)
5. take off heat and add the sea salt
6. put it in a dish and place in the fridge to thicken it up more. i often double this recipe and it works great in larger volumes as well.
7. enjoy!

the water and sugar
getting to the caramel color
adding the butter and brown sugar
adding the cream
waiting for it to cover the back of the spoon
adding the sea salt

done!

gluten free chai tea cake with honey ginger cream cheese frosting

i have done a lot of baking since the last post and for some reason i can never find the time to post the recipes! lameous o'mally. ANYWAY i love converting gluten filled recipes to gluten free ones. it makes me feel like i am adding 1 more thing to someones arsenal that they wouldn't try on their own. when i saw this recipe on pinterest i knew it was a must make. i love spice-y cakes and i love honey even more, how could i go wrong?! so here is the converted recipe from tender crumb

1 and 1/3 cups of milk
6 chai tea bags, without added sweetner, such as Tazo
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups potato starch
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp xanthan gum
4 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 sticks butter at room temp.

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of the pans and line with parchment paper. Grease the paper as well.

In a small saucepan bring the milk to a simmer over low med-low heat. Add the tea bags, careful not to let the paper tag fall into the milk. Remove from heat and allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the teabags and squeeze out the milk. Let the chai milk cool completely.(i put mine in the fridge)

In a medium bowl mix the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and 1/3 cup of the chai milk. Whisk together.

Combine the flour, potato starch, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Beat on low for 30 seconds. Add the butter and the remaining chai milk, on med-low speed.

Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture in three additions scraping the between additions. Divide the batter evenly among the pans.

Bake the cakes for 26-28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes.Remove cakes from pans and peel off parchment paper. Cool completely.

To assemble the cake place one layer flat side down a serving plate and top with 1/2 the icing. Spread to the edge and repeat with second layer. then frost sides.

Honey-Ginger Cream
2 and 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar (i increased it about 1 1/2 cups to make it thicker)
6 ounces of cream cheese at room temp.
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temp.
1/2 cup of honey (any kind as long as liquid)
1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger

whisk together the butter, honey, ginger and cream cheese and slowly add the sugar till whipped to perfection.

flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

so many people have been asking for this recipe as of late that i needed to post it, the thing is i never remembered to take a picture of said delicious cookies! so forgive the post without the picture but here are the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies ever and there is NO flour and NO butter in site!

1 cup chunky salted organic peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla

mix all these together in a large bowl then add
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (if i double the recipe i add 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup butterscotch chips but it doesn't work as well with a single batch)

grease or use parchment on a cookie sheet and drop tablespoon sized dough balls on to cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. you will know they are done when they are SLIGHTLY browned on the top.

these are amazing cookies but are very dense. i calculated it out one day and it was about 120 calories per cookie, but because of all the peanut butter that is to be expected. there are the easiest cookies i have ever made and the ones i get the most requests for. i hope you enjoy them!

chocolate chip crackle cookies

i'll make this short and sweet (haha punny) these cookies were one of my favorites before going gluten free but with just a few tweaks i made them just as delicious as i remember.

chocolate chip crackle cookies
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup confectioners sugar (for rolling the dough in)

1. in a bowl sift together flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
2. using fingers blend in butter till the dough looks like coarse sand
3. stir in both the eggs and vanilla
4. add chocolate chips and stir until incorporated
5. spread dough in a thin layer along the sides of the bowl and pop into the freezer for 10 min to firm up the dough.
6. preheat the oven to 375
7. put powdered sugar in a bowl and once you get the dough out of the freezer take teaspoon sized dough balls and roll one by one in the powdered sugar until the dough ball looks completely covered and place on greased cookie sheet or parchment paper 2 inches apart.
8. bake for 7 to 8 min or until you see the chocolate peeking through the sugar.

maple pecan pie gluten free

one of the easiest pies to make and SO delicious! sorry my picture uploader is not working so i will be posting a picture as soon as i can.

maple pecan pie:
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter


3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (gluten free)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

1.stir syrup, brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
2.increase heat and boil for 1 minute
3.cool till lukewarm (about 45 min, wait to start #4 till cooled)
4.preheat oven to 350
5.whisk eggs, vanilla and salt in a medium sized bowl.
6.gradually whisk maple syrup mixture into egg mixture.
7.stir in pecan halves
8.take strips of foil and cover edges of pie crust, leave on while baking until about ten minutes before it's done
9. pour mixture into unbaked pie crust.
10.bake for 40-55 min depending on oven heat, watch for a slightly puffed area around the edges and the center to be set.
11.cool completely and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream
enjoy!