Paleo Pecan Raisin Bread!

And the best part is (1) it's like bread, (2) it is super easy to make and (3) NO AGAVE!!!

Seriously, try this today.

Pecan-Raisin Bread

3/4 c creamy roasted almond butter @ room temp
4 lg eggs
1/4 c blanched almond flour
1/4 c arrowroot powder
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c pecans, coarsely chopped **
1 c raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 7x3 loaf pan with grapeseed oil and dust with almond flour.

In a large bowl, mix the almond butter with a handheld mixer until smooth, and then blend in the eggs. IN a medium owl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Blend the almond flour mixture into the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined, then fold in the pecans and raisins. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake for 45-50 min on the bottom rack of the oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 1 hour, then serve.

To store: wrap the bread in a paper towel, place in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate. WIll keep for up to six days (as if it would last that long!).

Thanks Elana's Pantry for the recipe!

**the only change I would make would be to toast the pecans first.

Very Vanilla Cupcakes - Paleo!

A co-worker is having a birthday and she actually eats like me (well, almost)! So, I thought I'd make her some paleo cupcakes. They are as paleo as a cupcake can get (let's not get into the Agave debate!!!). So, vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting, yum!!!

Ok, I'm going to try 2 different recipes for this! I'll let you know which one is better!!

Cupcake 1:
½ cup coconut flour, sifted
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
½ cup grapeseed oil
½ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

-In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda
-In a small bowl, blend together eggs, grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
-Mix wet ingredients into dry and blend with a mixer or hand blender until smooth
-Pour batter into well oiled muffin tins
-Bake at 350° for 20 minutes
-Cool completely
-Top with chocolate frosting

Cupcake 2:

2 large eggs, separated
1/4 c grapeseed oil
1/2 c agave nectar
1 T vanilla extract
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 & 1/2 c blanched almond flour
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t baking soda

-Preheat oven to 350. Line 10 muffin cups with paper liners.
-In a large bowl, whisk the eggs yolks until pale yellow with a handheld mixer, then whisk in grapeseed oil, agave, vanilla, and lemon juice. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs whites to stiff peaks with a hand held mixer. Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixtures.
-In a separate bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda, then gently fold into the egg mixture. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
-Bake for 20-30 min, until the tops are golden brown or a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 30 minutes; the center will sink just a bit - that is normal. Frost, if desired, then serve


Chocolate Frosting:

1 cup dark chocolate 73%
½ cup grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
pinch celtic sea salt
-In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and grapeseed oil
-Stir in agave, vanilla and salt
-Place frosting in freezer for 15 minutes to chill and thicken
-Remove from freezer and whip frosting with a hand blender until it is thick and fluffy
-Frost over cake, chocolate or vanilla cupcakes or between cookies

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Blueberry Banana Muffins:

3 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 t sea salt
1 & 1/2 t baking soda
2 T grapeseed oil
3 large eggs
2 c (4-5) mashed very ripe bananas
1 c frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

in a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the grapeseed oil and eggs. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir the bananas into the batter, then fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the muffin tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 30 min, then serve.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

I made these for a work celebration today, they were a huge hit! And oh so yummy! I doubled the recipe and highly recommend doing the same!

Black Bottom Cupcakes

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
** I added about a tsp of vanilla to the crm chz recipe

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter muffin tins and set aside.

Beat together the cream cheese, egg, sugar and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Batter will be thin.

Fill muffin cups 1/3 full with the chocolate batter. Top each one with a spoonful of cream cheese mixture.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.** I found that 25-30 (I did 27 minutes) was perfect

Zone Blueberry Muffins

If you can't find oat flour, you can grind old fashioned oats in the blender or you can find them in the natural/health food store/section at the grocery.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups oat flour
4 - 1 oz. scoops vanilla whey protein (84g of protein)
(2 & 1/4 t pumpkin or apple pie spice - optional)
1 T nonaluminum baking powder
(1 T grated orange rind - optional)
4 whole eggs or 8 egg whites
5 1/3 teaspoons unrefined canola oil
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 c fresh or 1 & 1/3 c frozen blueberries


Preheat oven to 350. Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and set aside (makes 16 mini muffins). Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Stir and set aside. Combine the wet ingredients (except blueberries) in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides. Or, whisk the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir just until evenly mixed, scraping the bottom of the bowl to incorporate the flour and removed lumps. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough. Gently fold in blueberries.

Bake until firm to the touch and golden on top and around the edges 12-15 minutes. Cover and refrigerate muffins. Use the muffins within 1 week or freeze them. Best kept in the fridge!

Each muffin contains 1 protein, 1 carb, 1 fat! Perfect for snacks and oh so delicious!!!

Variation: You can also make large muffins making it 4 - 4 block muffins. Fill 4 muffin tins with batter and bake 20-24 minutes.

Amazing Cupcakes

These are not at all healthy, but they are oh so good. Imagine a Hostess cupcake with cream filling, only homemade and 10x better. They are time consuming to make, but are great! Make sure the icing on top is in swirls just like the Hostess ones!!

Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:

* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
* 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
* 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the Filling:

* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 tablespoons heavy cream
* 1 cup marshmallow creme

For the Ganache and Icing:

* 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon milk
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Place paper liners in two 12-cup muffin pans.
Prepare the cupcakes:

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Bring the sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Pour into a large bowl; add the chocolate and butter and let sit, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture has cooled slightly. Stir in the vanilla. Using a mixer, beat in the eggs, then mix in the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (about 1/4 cup batter per cupcake) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 25 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling:

Using a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon heavy cream; beat until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in batches, alternating after each addition. Beat in the marshmallow creme; set aside.
Prepare the ganache:

Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid.

Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a medium tip. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake top; fill until the cupcake is heavier (do not overfill). Dip the cupcake tops in the ganache. Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing: Using a mixer, beat the remaining 1 stick butter, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, the milk and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spoon into a pastry bag with a small tip; pipe onto the cupcakes to decorate.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

A friend made this bread and it is awesome! I had to get the recipe.

The best zucchini bread I've ever had!

* 3 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 1/4 cups white sugar
* 2 cups shredded zucchini
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
* 1 pint fresh blueberries


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
3. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Skillet Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie

Another great recipe from Martha Stewart. This one comes from her Good Things for Easy Entertaining cookbook. This is my new FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's so easy to make! You don't have to go through all the measuring for dropping the cookies and rotating cookie sheets and all that; just put it in the skillet and bake! YUM! Click here to link to the MS site for the recipe.

Official Taste-Tester loved these cookies and they barely lived 1 day before being demolished!

I didn't use the caramel sauce or the ice cream, I enjoyed them alone, and they were delicious!

Directions

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (about 9 ounces) mixed milk- and semisweet-chocolate chips
2 pints vanilla ice cream
Caramel Sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix until they are fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Transfer dough to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, and press to flatten, covering bottom of pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Don't overbake; it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges. Serve warm; top each wedge with a scoop of ice cream and some caramel sauce.

Click HERE for the caramel sauce recipe!

Cupcakes

After eating all these great cupcakes in Chicago, I decided to try and make my own.. this recipe makes 4 cupcakes. Just enough for 2 people :)

Pretty good stuff..

2 T butter
1/2 c flour
1/4 c buttermilk
1/8 t baking soda
yolk of 1 large egg, room temp
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 c plus 2 T sugar
1/8 t salt

heat oven to 350 and place muffing cup liners in muffin pan.

combine buttermilk and baking soda in a small bowl, and stir to mix. Gently whisk in the egg yolk and vanilla.

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and whisk to blend well. Add half of the buttermilk mixture. Beat on a low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat until the mixture is lightened and has slightly increased in volume about 45 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Pour in remaining buttermilk mixture and beat on medium speed until well blended 20 seconds.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20-23 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 min. let cupcakes cool completely. Frost with your favorite frosting or:

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz cold cream cheese
2 T butter
3/4 c confectioners' sugar
1 t grated orange zest
1/2 t vanilla
1 T thawed frozen OJ concentrate (I used normal OJ and it tasted fine)

Mix cream chz and butter until blended. Add sugar, orange zest, and vanilla, beat to mix. Add OJ and beat until fluffy. Use right away or cover and let stand for up to 1 hr before using.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and cookie baking advice

Cookie making time is here! I have been practicing the art of cookies, and it truly is an art. I have found that the key is consistency in heating and rotation. To accomplish this, I've found that it's a one cookie sheet at a time process. If you put two cookie sheets in the same oven and they are over each other, there isn't even distribution of heat. So, one cookie sheet at a time!

The other key is rotation. If your cookie recipe says bake for 10 min, set another timer for 5 min and rotate the cookie sheet 180 degrees and you'll have a more even baking. That way, the cookies towards the back turn out as perfect and the ones in front and don't get overdone and too crunchy.

Make sure that your oven is the correct temperature (using an oven thermometer). Trusting your recipe is important. If your recipe says 10 m and your oven temp is correct, they should be done in 10 m. You'll get the intended result of the recipe if you follow the minute advice.

And finally, parchment paper. It makes clean-up easy, even cookie baking, and the bottoms are perfectly brown.

So in summary:
use a oven thermomter
rotate your cookie sheet half-way through baking
use parchment paper
only one cookie sheet at a time
trust your recipe

I am by no means a cookie baking expert. In fact, I think I have a lot to learn. So, I'm going to practice, practice, practice. These are just a few things that I've found helps me in baking!

and now for the recipe!!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour and chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Fall Muffins

These muffins are so great! They are made of apples and bananas! A couple changes to the recipe I made was substituing applesauce (unsweetened) for the shortening and I added walnuts. I recommend baking them for 23-24 min; I found that less than that made them a lil gooey (from the bananas) in the middle.

ENJOY!!!

Apple Banana Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup shortening (I used applesauce instead)
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
2 apples - peeled, cored and shredded (to save time, chopping is also a good approach- I like the chunks of apples and walnuts)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 24 muffin cups, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and buttermilk. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and shredded apples. Fill each muffin cup half full.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Pretzels

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I want to very soon!

I do love soft pretzels! YUM!


1 & 1/4 c warm water
1 T plus 1/4 t yeast
3 & 3/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 c plus 2 T powdered sugar
1 & 1/2 t salt
2 t vegetable oil

Bath:
4 c warm water
1/2 c baking soda
1/4 c butter, melted

Salted:
kosher or pretzel salt

Cinnamon topping:

1/2 c granulated sugar
2 t cinnamon

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or cup. Let it sit for a few minutes.
2. Combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add water with yeast and vegetable oil. Stir with a spoon and then use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Knead the dough for 5 min. on a lightly floured surface. Dough will be nice and smooth when it's ready. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and store it in a warm place for about 45 min. or until the dough doubles in size.
3. when dough has risen, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Make a bath for the pretzels by combining the baking soda with the warm water and stir until baking soda is mostly dissolved.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 8 even portions. Roll each portion onto a flat non-floured surface until it is about 3 feet long. Pick up both ends of the dough and give it a little spin so the middle of the dough spins around once. Lay the dough down w/the loop nearest to you. Fold the ends down toward you and pinch to attach them to the bottom of the loop. The twist should be in the middle.
6. Holding the pinched ends dip each pretzel into the bath solution. Put each pretzel on a paper towel for a moment to blot the excess liquid. Arrange the pretzels on a baking sheet sprayed w/non-stick spray. If you want salt, sprinkle pretzels w/salt. Don't salt any pretzels if you plan to coat w/cinnamon sugar. You will likely have to use 2 baking sheets, and to be sure to bake them separately. Bake the pretzels for 4 min, the spin the pan halfway around and bake for another 4 to 5 min. or until the pretzels are golden brown.
7. Remove the pretzels from the oven, and let them cool for a couple of min. if you want to eat some now, brush 'em w/ melted butter first, if desired, before serving. If you want the cinnamon sugar coating, make it by combining the 1/2 c sugar and 2 t cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush the unsalted pretzels you plan to coat w/a generous amount of melted butter. Sprinkle a heaving coating of the cinnamon sugar onto the entire surface of the pretzels over a place!


ENJOY!

Recipe Review: Perfect Pie Crust

As a Martha follower, I tried her recipe for pie crust, afterall.. I had to try out my new apple corer/peeler/slicer so.. Apple Pie.

It was a great recipe and I think it is totally work the little bit of extra work. So much better than store bought crust..

The link is:

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe1540048&search=true&resultNo=4

there are 6 pages of instructions w/ pictures so it sounds like a lot, but it isn't! Try it!


Pie Crust

Makes 1 crust; Prep time: 40 minutes; Total time: 3 1/2 hours


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

2 tablespoons ice water

1. In a food processor, pulse several times to combine 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and sugar.

2. Add 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining.

3. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if needed, add up to 2 more tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix.

4. Turn out onto work surface; knead once or twice, until dough comes together. Flatten dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

5. Place dough on a floured piece of parchment or waxed paper. Using knuckles, press edges of dough to help prevent cracking when you roll it out.

6. Roll dough to a 14-inch round. Using parchment, lift and wrap dough around rolling pin; carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and along sides of plate, being careful not to stretch or tear dough.

7. Using kitchen shears or a paring knife, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang; fold under, and seal to form a rim. Crimp rim with fingertips. Prick bottom of pie dough all over with a fork, to prevent it from puffing up or shrinking in the oven. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

8. If prebaking the crust, preheat oven to 350°. Bake until crust is firm and golden, about 20 minutes. Cool completely before filling.