Chocolate Pane Francese

Yesterday during some downtime at work I stumbled across a recipe for a heavenly treat. It was over at Chocolate and Zucchini, but, though it looked so deliciously decadent, a sourdough starter is a teensy bit out of my comfort zone. However I was not to be deterred! Armed with this awesome bread idea, I turned to that bread baking cookbook my mom gave me to suit my novice bread making skills!

I took the Pane Francese recipe and altered it a bit to include the ingredient of the hour! Since I had never made such a bread before, I went light on the cocoa powder and added in some chopped up bittersweet chocolate.

We were having issues with our internet service so we had to wait around all day for the company to come out and reattach the apartment to the telephone line... Then we had to reset the router... Only the determined bread maker can maneuver around the modem and router that have taken up a temporary residence under my mixing cart!



Haha!

Let me say this: the bread smelled utterly amazing while it was baking. Kyle and I were chomping at the bit to try it. Normally I can control myself and at least wait until the next morning to slice into a loaf - but not this bad boy! It made it about 5 minutes before the knife came out and the beautiful crust was broken.

Oh. My. God.

This bread was heavenly. Chocolatey but not sweet, crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. Wow. Perfection in loaf form.

This is going to be a staple in my house for sure.

Chocolate Pane Francese
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup ice cold water
1/4 cup skim milk
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water, mix with fingers and let stand until foamy. In stand mixer, using hook attachment, combine flour, cocoa, sugar and salt. Add yeast mixture, milk and water then beat on medium speed until well blended, adding bittersweet chocolate about halfway through. On low speed, beat the dough until elastic and shiny, adding flour by teaspoons if the dough is too sticky. The dough should be sticky, but touchable.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap, a towel or the lid to a large bowl (as long as the dough can breathe it's all good) and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Sprinkle dough with flour and turn out onto a well floured surface. Knead by hand for a few minutes to incorporate the flour and make the dough easier to work with. Cut the dough in half and roll each half into long rectangles. Starting at the short side roll dough tightly, pressing down each seam as you roll. They will be long loaves, so don't worry!



Cover lightly and allow loaves to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 475. Transfer loaves to greased cookie sheet (or sheets in my case since my oven is so tiny). Set aside for 15 minutes to allow them to get slightly puffy.

Place bread in the oven and reduce heat to 425. Bake 20 minutes or until crust is nice and crispy feeling. Turn off the oven, crack the door and allow bread to sit in the cooling oven for 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a cooling rack. Then DIG IN!

Red, Brown and Blue! How... American...?

Ever since I was young, my dad would go on the ocassional trip into the Canada. Each time he would bring home Canadian candy. Sometimes it was good, sometimes it was chocolate covered Smarties. (YUCK!) My favorites are these malted candy bars I can never remember the name of. But they're in French and they're in a big pale yellow package! This time he brought me some Canadian Raisinettes! YUM! =)

On a semi-unrelated topic, I just recently started following Peas and Thank You, a really awesome vegan blog! Now, I'm not a vegan but somehow stumbled across her blog while perusing one day and couldn't stop laughing at her stories about her adorable girls. She had hooked me! I signed up to recieve updates.

Yesterday morning at 4:30, nature woke me up in that unpleasant way it has gotten into the habit of doing. As I stumbled back to my room and flopped back onto my bed, I checked my email. Hooray, an update from P&TY! It was for vegan brownies. "Mmm... brownies..." I muttered into the pillow. Crap, I don't have applesauce. It's ok, I'll use tomato sauce I thought as I drifted back to sleep.

Fast forward 3 hours. Now fully awake, I still want to make these brownies with tomato sauce. So I did! And with honey instead of sugar, cornmeal for some of the flour, I was a substituting maniac!! And you know what?



They were pretty delicious in my opinion. Addictive even. I ate a whole row out of the pan before lunch. An acquired taste, definitely, but so am I.

Tomato Laden Brownies
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup blue cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup canned tomato puree (for more concentrated flavor you could use tomato paste)
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup raisinettes (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together tomato, honey and extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined, then fold in raisinettes. Pour batter into prepared pan, then bake for 20 minutes or until the sides start the pull away from the pan. Cool and enjoy! Or.. eat hot and enjoy!

Whip it Gewd!

I’ve been waiting for three months. It finally happened today! Christina Aguilera’s new CD was released! I rushed out to buy it… see…



I love it! Totally worth the wait!

What’s the best way to listen to a new CD? Cranking it in the house while whipping up something yummy!



Now, I’ve been whipping up lots of calorie-laden treats lately, so I decided to switch it up and try some meringue cookies. I realized I’d never actually eaten one, let alone baked one. Up for the challenge, I altered a recipe to use honey instead of granulated sugar.



Now, some came out slightly burnt, some came out a bit sticky, (I need a grown-up oven that cooks evenly...) so they need a bit of work. Let me know if you've got any opinions! I was thinking next time I'd try using some more CoT or even make them with granulated sugar the way they're supposed to be!

Fifty!!

Huzzah to Post Number 50! And what a perfect way to hit 50 it is!



My momma needs some cheering up. What do I do? Make her cupcakes! Cupcakes always cheer people up, right?

That’s what I thought! It’ll turn her frown upside down!

I just knew that the recipe I spotted from Cupcake Project for Black Bottom Cupcakes with Goat Cheese would be the perfect thing! I added some cinnamon to the goat cheese mixture and cut the recipe in half so I wouldn’t be swimming in cupcakes.



Hmm… synchronized cupcake swimming… Think it’ll catch on?

Black Bottom Cupcakes with Goat Cheese
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 tablespoons milk
2 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted

4 ounces goat cheese
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Half a beaten egg
Handful of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and baking powder. In a kitchen aid mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, yogurt, extract and milk. Beat in chocolate, then slowly add in flour mixture until well mixed. Fill cupcake liners until 2/3 full. Clean mixer bowl and beater, then return to mixer. Beat together goat cheese, egg, sugar and cinnamon until well combined, then toss in chocolate chips. Top each cupcake with a heaping tablespoon of the mixture. Bake for 30 minutes.

Have Some Seeds with your Chocolate

It hit the 90s here and I got to wear a tank top!

>insert chorus of angels here<

Needless to say, I'm a little pink. With this goulishly fair skin I burn at the drop of a hat. It's that time of year to stock up on SPF600! Hehe!

Even though the heat is climbing here, I still feel the need to bake. I wanted to make up for the fact that my oatmeal cookies turned out to be such a disaster last night. After all, Kyle is still waiting on a care package for this month! Unfortunately I misplaced the chocolate white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe he loved so much. I finagled a few recipes around to come up with a chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe with raw pumpkin seeds thrown in.

please excuse the camera shadow... technical difficulties!

They're not too sweet, since I cut way down on the sugar, and just a touch on the salty side. Plus this is a combination you don't see every day!

Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Cookies
2 squares bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a cookie sheet and set aside. Mix flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter, molasses and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and almond extract, beating until well combined. Add chocolate and do the same. Gradually beat in flour mixture, then stir in seeds and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the greased cookie sheet. Bake 11-13 minutes, cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Makes about 15-16 cookies.

The Amazing Purple GF Torte

I’m not gluten-free anymore, but I still enjoy baking that way once in a while. It’s refreshing to say that you’ve created something without flour! Though the torte was super difficult to get out of the pan, I enjoyed the bittersweet chocolatey pudding-y solidity of its consistency.

Yes that’s my technical term for the consistency of this cake.

Pudding-y solidity.

Want to hear the absolute best part of this recipe? I know you do...

It has 500 calories. No, not for a slice, for the whole entire cake! I know, it doesn’t seem possible, but oh my it is. I am tempted to sit down with a fork and the pan to eat the whole thing. Somehow I feel that would be a bad idea for my poor tummy, though. But hey, where else can you get such decadence for so few calories?

Purple GF Torte
1 14 ounce can beets (the kind with just beets and water), rinsed
1/4 cup cranberry sauce (I used canned, but you could probably use fresh, too)
1 tablespoon molasses
2 eggs
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan, then dust with powdered sugar. Set aside for later use.

In a food processor, add beets, cranberry sauce and molasses. Puree together, then pulse in eggs, cocoa, extracts and salt until well blended. Pour mixture into the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and sprinkle with coarse salt. Cool the torte, slice and serve as desired.

Who Wants a Special Homemade Brownie??

Nutcrackers, giant rats, dancing sugar plum fairies...



It's Christmas in May! I have discovered a new (to me anyway) blog that has tickled my fancy like it’s never been tickled before. Normally I will not openly drool all over my keyboard at work, but that is exactly what the recipe for Mayan Mudslide Brownies over at Sugar Plum had me doing. Chocolate... mmm… avocado… mmmmmmm… more chocolate…Yep. Big ole’ puddles of drool shorting out the keyboard.



I made a few smallish adjustments to the recipe, so I’ll reprint it here, but I cannot take any of the credit for this idea! It was all Miss Sugar Plum. Her website is truly amazing. I spent hours reading through her recipes and laughing aloud at her fun-loving rambling wit. In one post she even remarks that she has an ice cream truck that drives down her street playing Christmas melodies… that’s quite a distance for that guy to travel in a few months just to sell ice cream, let me tell you.

Anyway, for months I’ve been looking for a brownie recipe I can be satisfied with. I usually end up with something too sweet, too fluffily cakey, too ordinary. I like my brownies uniquely dark tasting and dense. I believe I’m nearing the end of my search for Brownie Perfection with help from the SP Fairy!

Have a chocolate filled day!



Mayan Mudslide Brownies (the reproduction)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I’d say unsweetened baking chocolate would work here too)
3/4 teaspoon coffee grounds
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, finely ground up plus 1/8 teaspoon
1 large avocado, peeled and pitted
1 cup granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1/4 cup chocolate chips, give or take depending on taste
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup dulce de leche, canned

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 8x8-inch baking dish with foil and coat with canola oil.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low to medium heat. Turn heat off and stir in chopped chocolate and coffee until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt until well combined. In Kitchen Aid mixing bowl, beat avocado on medium speed until it starts to get creamy. Beat in sugar and molasses until well incorporated, then add in vanilla and egg until combined thoroughly. Beat in melted chocolate mixture, then reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until combined.

Spread batter evenly into prepared dish. It helps to oil the spatula you’re spreading the mixture with so it doesn’t stick. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the surface of the batter, followed by the peanuts, coconut and the remaining salt; bake 15 minutes. Remove dish from oven and heat dulce de leche in microwave until its liquid-ish then drizzle over brownies. Return the dish to the oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until well risen and set. I stuck a toothpick in the center and when it came out mostly clean along with the other signs I decided it was done. Cool completely on a wire rack (or upside-down pizza pan if you’re ghetto-ing it up like me) and refrigerate for easier slicing.

To slice, lift out foil and slice brownies into bars. Supposed to make 16 brownies.

Update: These brownies were a HUGE hit both with my mom and at the bank. One of the loan officers even asked for the recipe. I happily passed it on! =)

Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins

More chocolatey goodness here - dark chocolatey goodness. Let's put it this way: this recipe is for the serious chocolate lover. I took a chocolate oatmeal muffin recipe I had found, used dark chocolate powder, and cut the sugar amount in half. I also added in some blueberries since I'm obsessed with fruit and chocolate combinations lately. I've actually been crumpling up the muffins, heating them in the microwave, pouring milk on top and eating them as cereal. Yes it's a bit strange, but man is it delicious!

Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar plus enough milk to equal 1 1/3 cups
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Handful blueberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tin with the paper cups and set aside.

Stir together oats and milk mixture, allow to stand while you gather other ingredients. In another bowl, stir together oil, sugar, egg and vanilla. Add oats mixture and stir well. Mix together flours, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Toss in the blueberries now, too. Blend into oats mixture until just moistened. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Enjoy!

(Chili Pepper) Sugar Cookies

TADA! The surprise is revealed!



Cute huh??

So it took a few days to make these delicious treats, but boy were they worth the wait! I finally got to use my little chili pepper cookie cutter to make these little bite sized cookies to send to Kyle for Cinco de Mayo. I even made my own frosting - how very Martha of me! I had cookies coming out of my ears and was so proud I brought them everywhere I could think of! I adapted the recipe from Alton Brown's recipe on the Food Network's website, but I added some lime zest to give them some flair! I still have some of the original dough in the fridge and have since I've adapted the recipe yet again - chocolate with orange zest. So if you've got some time on your hands - I advise whipping up a batch of these buttery, limey, sugary treats! Enjoy!



Sugar Cookies with Lime Zest (original recipe courtesy of Alton Brown via foodnetwork.com)
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Zest of one lime
Powdered sugar for rolling out dough

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. Whip together butter and sugar until light in color. Add egg, milk and lime zest, continue mixing. Turn mixer to lowest setting and slowly add flour mixture. Beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (now normally I'm not a very patient person when it comes to waiting and food, but it's definitely worth it)

Preheat oven to 375.

Remove dough from the fridge. I found that it was a tad easier to roll if it sat out at room temperature for 3 or 4 minutes. Sprinkle work surface with powdered sugar before setting dough down. Sprinkle the top of the dough with powdered sugar before rolling so the rolling pin doesn't eat the dough! The recipe says to roll the dough until it's roughly 1/4 inch thick. I'm horrible at knowing how thick my cookies are, so I just guestimated and rolled the dough out to my liking. Cut out the cookies with your favorite cookie cutter and place the dough on a greased cookie sheet, just far enough apart so they don't touch. Bake 7-9 minutes or until they start to brown around the edges. Let sit on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove and place on a cooling rack. Make sure the cookies are completely cool before frosting, or eat them warm (or cooled) without frosting! They're quite delicious!

(some more cookies I just "rolled out" last night to mail to a friend in Virginia!)

Alternate recipe:
Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Orange Zest
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract plus enough milk to make 1 tablespoon
Zest of one orange
Powdered sugar mixed with cocoa powder for rolling dough

Follow the above instructions, the outcome will just be CHOCOLATEY as all getout!

(Almost) Nestle Tollhouse Cookies

Ah the American Dream.. Nestle Tollhouse Cookies right from the back of the package. The deliciously perfect consistency is unlike anything else in the cookie world. Salty, sweet, buttery.. ok now I'm drooling. Well I decided to make these with some leftover Valentine's candy (haha I know, I even shocked myself there) and a dark chocolate mint bar I had broken up into pieces. As usual, I cut the recipe in half so I would be less tempted to eat them (it didn't work this time). I had no brown sugar, so I just subbed in some molasses and they came out just as delicious, though a bit richer in color and flavor. Let's just say that only half the batter made it into the oven and there were two cookie casualties after they came out. Mmmmm..

Perfectly Paired

I love red wine, I love chocolate, why not combine them and create the perfect cookie? In honor of my Uncle and Aunt journeying to London, I opted to make these uniquely decadent cookies. My Uncle also loves red wine; it's nothing for us to sit and drink a whole bottle together. And to think, a few years ago I couldn't stand the stuff! Well, it's too bad I thought of making these the day after their going away party. Perhaps I can mail him a box of these awesome treats.. Well, until I am able to do that, Amanda and I will enjoy their chocolatey wine-ness! I used Cabernet Sauvignon, but your favorite red wine will do I'm sure. Enjoy responsibly.. ;)

Chocolate Red Wine Cookies
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Blend butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and wine. Mix in dry ingredients until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop teaspoon sized globbies onto a greased cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes. They harden up a bit as they cool, don't worry! They do, however, taste wonderful warm..

My "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" Cookie

So after a slightly stressful day, I enjoy coming home and whipping up something in the kitchen. It's my relax time. I start with a recipe and change it up until it's no longer recognizable. This is what I did last night, creating what I call the Fruit Cookie (aka Everything but the Kitchen Sink Cookie). With no refined sugar and a bunch of fruit, it's a little more like a muffin than a cookie. Delicious with a dollop of peanut butter for breakfast. =) I think next time I might try adding in some fresh minced ginger..

Fruit Cookie
1/2 cup applesauce (I used homemade with plums in it)
1/2 cup tahini paste
1/4 cup butter
1 banana, mashed
1 egg
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup coconut, sweetened

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and set aside. In your trusty mixer, beat together applesauce, tahini, butter, banana and egg until well mixed. Incorporate flours, baking powder and salt. Stir in remaining ingredients until your yummy batter is created. Drop dough by spoonful onto cookie sheet, lightly spreading batter with the back of the spoon. I discovered after the first batch that this dough won't spread. If you want a more muffin-y cookie, you can skip spreading the batter out - they're just as yummy that way! Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, then place cookies on a cooling rack to cool.

Green is the New Red

They're having a St Patrick's Day party at the bank next Wednesday! Woo hoo for corned beef! So there we were, discussing what else to bring. The thought occured to me, why not make green velvet cake? You know, red velvet cake with green food coloring instead of red to make it Irishly festive! I found a recipe that was a take on Paula Deen's here and altered it a bit. I split the recipe in half and made it gluten free with white rice flour. It turned out perfectly, I had JUST enough sugar in the cabinet. Phew! In fact, they were so good that I took them to various friends this morning so I wouldn't be tempted to eat any more.

Disclaimer: Eating the batter will turn your tongue green.

Enjoy this early St Patrick's Day treat!

Green Velvet Cupcakes
1 1/4 cups white rice flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk(1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar rested for 5 minutes)
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon green food coloring
1/2 teaspoon distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together dry ingredients. Set aside. Mix together wet ingredients (be careful not to fling green everywhere). Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Divide the batter up into cupcake tins lined with those little papers. I used a mini cupcake tin since that's all I have papers for, but you could just as easily use a large cupcake tin. I didn't really time them, I just kept an eye on them and checked with my trusty plastic cocktail sword to see if they were done inside. I'd say about 8 minutes or so. Once the sword came out clean, I took them out. They were rich and moist and delicious. I plan on making these again Tuesday for the party on Wednesday, only with some melted white chocolate drizzled over the top.. yum!

A New Twist on Blue Cornmeal

I discovered this recipe months ago and finally made them last night. Boy were they worth the wait! The original recipe can be found here as I have changed some ingredients involved. Be careful, she wasn't kidding when she said the dough almost won't make it to the oven..

Blue Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup Smart Balance 50/50 butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup blue cornmeal
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together the Smart Balance and sugar, then add vanilla and yogurt. Add blue cornmeal, flour, and baking powder. Mix well. Add in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Place heaped spoonfuls of the dough on ungreased cookie sheet and pat down so they're sorta flat. Sprinkle some sea salt on the flattened dough. After the first batch, I noticed that my cookies didn't spread and the color doesn't change much. I altered my baking time to 15-20 minutes or until they were a nice golden brown on the bottom. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool.

Almond Sesame Truffles

So I didn't exactly measure out amounts in this recipe, so its more of an idea booster! Plus the picture was gorgeous and I wanted to use it! This recipe was inspired by the Sesame Seed Truffle recipe on Elana's Pantry. I took some tahini paste and combined it with some awesome ingredients to produce these decadent little treats. It was just an experimental recipe and only made about ten truffles. I brought them to a family gathering and those who were brave enough to try them enjoyed them (my family is a bit odd on the texture front). So here is my "sort-of" recipe!

Almond Sesame Truffles
3 tablespoons tahini paste
1/2 cup almonds
4 dried figs
1 teaspoon (give or take) milk
Agave nectar to taste
Mixture of unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon (to your tastes)

Mix tahini paste, almonds, figs, milk, and agave nectar in food processor until a smooth paste is formed. Refridgerate overnight. Roll mixture into balls and roll in cocoa powder mixture. Serve immediately - they're more firm when cold

Molasses Globs

It's that time of the month.. the time to send Kyle goodies through the mail! I really love to send him cookies or whatever I can fit into the mailbox and send out. I didn't have the ingredients for his favorites from the last time I sent him cookies, so I searched my cookbooks for a new one. I broke open this cookbook I've had for years, Milk'n'Honey Cookbook for Kids and altered the cookie recipe in it. The original recipe calls for margarine, honey, and raisins. Kyle doesn't like raisins, I don't like margarine, and I've been wanting to bake with molasses. These cookies turned out delightfully unique and tasty! I sent them out to Kyle and he absolutely adores them. Good thing I kept a baggie full of dough in the freezer to nibble on..

Molasses Globs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups rice flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
sugar and cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet (I only have one that I can use since my oven is the size of a tissue box..) with some olive oil. Mix together brown sugar, butter, molasses, and egg. Slowly add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and oats until well blended. Mix in chocolate chips until just blended. Roll dough into balls about the size of .. well.. it says walnuts but I just kinda guestimated since I have no idea what the size of a walnut is. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Press the balls flat with a spoon dipped in sugar and cinnamon. Bake about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and edges are set. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Then enjoy!!

Homemade Granola

So there I was at work, surfing the gluten-free blogs, when I ran across Gluten Free Mommy's recipe for homemade granola. Of course I printed it off right away! I've found a few recipes but I hadn't found any that really piqued my interest like this one! I tweaked it a bit since I've never ever been able to just follow a recipe to the letter. Here's my variation of GFM's granola! In fact, this recipe is so delicious it might even replace brownies in my book..

2 cups oats
1/3 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup banana chips
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
2 heaping tablespoons natural peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I LOVE Watkins)
3 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a small saucepan combine peanut butter, honey, butter, oil, and vanilla. Once the peanut butter mixture is combined, stir it into the dry ingredients until oats are well moistened. Spread granola onto a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. The granola gets crispier as it cools. Cool at least 20 minutes before storing in a sealed container.

Update: A few days ago I made this recipe with molasses instead of honey (not quite a 1/2 cup).. I don't think I've ever tasted such granola perfection. Munch munch munch..

Gluten-Free Banana Brownies

So the last time I experimented with making these brownies, my hand slipped with the nutmeg and it was a disaster. Round 2 with the recipe led me to the ripe bananas sitting on my counter. I altered the recipe a tad.. omitted the salt since I used salted butter, added whole flax seeds, and some mashed bananas.

I can't wait for them to be cooked!

Here is the recipe adapted from a recipe I picked up a few months ago from a fellow gluten-free blogger:

3/4 cup white rice flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt (omitted because of the salted butter)
5 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whole flax seeds
2 ripe bananas mashed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients (I added some chocolate chips) and spread into a greased 8x8 pan (or likeness) and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool, cut, wrap, and freeze.