We are just ELEVEN days out from Christmas! ELEVEN PEOPLE! I haven't finished shopping (who I am kidding? I'm still in our newborn bubble with Miss Lexi, I barely just began shopping!) - we haven't planned our Christmas menu (the horror for a baker and chef!) and the house is mostly decorated.

At least we will get to enjoy the festive decor throughout January when I probably would have it all finished by, haha. My husband still has to build our mantle (if you are new, we renovated a 1950's farmhouse late last year and we are doing project by project on a fun never-ending improvement spree on our sweet place.) 

I HAVE however been successful at delivering magic for our four year old. Christmas light drive-thrus and ALL the baking and he is a happy camper. So, I bring you our latest baking endeavor that's a hit here and sure to be a hit in your home as well. 

One of my FAVORITE holiday recipes is the classic Pumpkin Roll - but this spin makes it an Allergen Friendly Pumpkin Roll. It's one of the recipes my dad would make from scratch EVERY year for Thanksgiving or Christmas. 

(If you've watched my show, The Clean Plate with Mandi on Amazon Prime, you'll know I've spoke about how much my dad would cook and bake for us.)

It's rich pumpkin flavor, moist cake and creamy center makes it a craveable treat year after year. And it presents beautifully, a must for when I'm choosing what to serve for family and friends. ​

Ingredients:

Dry:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract

Filling:

• 8 ounces vegan cream cheese , softened (I LOVE GoVeggie brand!) 
• 2 TBSP vegan butter , softened (I use soy-free Earth Balance)
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar + more for dusting (I get corn free at Sprouts or Trader Joes)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper, leaving an extra inch of parchment sticking up on both long sides of the pan so that you can easily lift the cake out after baking. 
• In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, sea salt, baking soda and cinnamon.
• In a separate small bowl mix the eggs, coconut sugar, vanilla and canned pumpkin until smooth.
• Add wet ingredients to the dry mix bowl and stir until combined well.
• Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
• Bake for 14-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Immediately lift the payment paper and hot cake out of the pan and onto a flat surface - such a your flat stove top.
• While the cake is hot, starting at one of the short ends, use your hands to gently and slowly roll the cake (and parchment paper!) all the way up. Allow it to cool completely, on top of a wire cooling rack. (This allows it to cool underneath the roll, and keeps the cake from sweating).
• While the cake roll is cooling, mix the vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together with an electric mixer until it is fluffy and smooth.
• Once the cake roll is cooled completely, unroll it very carefully. Gently smooth the filling in an even layer over the cake.
• Roll up the cake without the parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, before serving.
• Dust the top with powdered sugar, if desired.
• Cut into slices and serve.
• Store in the fridge, covered, for up to three days.
• You may also freeze and enjoy within 2-3 weeks. 

Do you have a favorite family recipe you enjoy during the holidays? Need help making it allergen-friendly? Leave it in the comments below! 

My healthier Rice Krispy Treat got a cute Halloween Fall make-over and I wanted to share it with you all for something fun and festive (and super easy!) to make with your kids this season. 

Before our new baby arrives (possibly this week!) I've been trying to squeeze in all the Halloween and Fall fun with Grey before we enter our newborn bubble. 

These are healthier because they use organic brown rice cereal, corn free marshmallows and vegan butter - making it a better option than store bought treats! 

The recipe below is from my original Rice Krispy Treat post - all you need to add to this recipe is vegan chocolate sauce to make the face and the cookie cutters of your choice! 

Well, we hit six months pregnant today and the countdown is on to prepare for little baby girl! 

We are so beyond excited, have a short list of name ideas (although we can't decide/agree on any quite yet) and instead of prepping at the speed I feel I should be, I've been mainly baking. 

We are trying to stay entertained and connected through these weird quarantine times of 2020. Which proves difficult most days for a very active 3.5 year old, but we're making due and God has blessed us with some beautiful mornings and evenings outside of the 110 degree days, which allows for some fresh air, sunshine and free play. 

Weekly I get a craving to bake something fun or sweet and these Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are refined sugar free, dairy free and gluten free and SO good.

And the BEST part, was I didn't realize how dense the dough would be with the two butter mixture and this made FORTY cookies. YES, FORTY. So feel free to make them all and gift them/save them, or cut the recipe down for a smaller batch. 

But I always say, if you accidentally make 40 cookies you just roll with it and keep this recipe real close, haha. 

Ingredients:
​

• 2 1/2 C. All-Purpose GF Flour (you may use cassava flour for grain-free cookies!) 
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt (and optional rock sea salt to sprinkle on top)
• 1 1/2 C. coconut sugar
• 1 C. vegan butter, softened
• 1 1/2 C. almond butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 C. vegan chocolate chips

Directions: 

​

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two large cookie sheets with parchment. 
• In a standing mixer (or medium bowl with handheld mixer), mix flour, baking soda, sea salt and coconut sugar. 
• Once mixed, remove from mixing bowl and use bowl to  cream coconut sugar, almond butter and butter together. 
• Add eggs one at a time, mix and add vanilla
• reintroduce the dry ingredients and mix all together.
• Pour in chocolate chips and mix a final time.
• Using a teaspoon, drop dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet (for more rounded cookies, I rolled them with my hands and then patted them down on the pan. It gets messy, but worth it for pretty cookies!) 
• I baked forty cookies on two large cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are golden and cookies are still soft. 
• Allow to cool a bit before transferring them and cool for an additional ten minutes before enjoying!
• I saved these for a week in an airtight container and shared them with family! 

​
A great recipe for a party or to take to your neighbors!

This morning was an absolute blast! To see our segment and how to make these live you can see our clip on our channel by clicking here! 

I was invited on AZ-TV 7's morning show, The Arizona Daily Mix, to present a recipe for #NationalChocolateLoversMonth, so along with Wholly Wholesome we whipped up these easy, family friendly and wholesome S'Mores Pie Pops just in time for Valentine's Day. 

The set environment was really fun and even Grey and Doug got to tag along and hang in the green room to watch all of the action. Brad Perry was super sweet and the segment aired at 8:45 on channel 7 in AZ. 

In honor of National Chocolate Lover's Month these S'mores Pie Pops are kid-friendly, vegan, gluten-free and DE-LICIOUS. 

My easy recipe is below, along with where you can get Wholly Wholesome ready-to-bake products as well as Blissfully Better Chocolate, a low glycemic chocolate sweetened only with coconut nectar! 

Ingredients

• 1 Package of Wholly Wholesome Pie Crust
• 1 C. mini marshmallows
• 4 oz. vegan chocolate or Blissfully Better low-glycemic chocolate
• 1 egg white (omit if vegan or egg allergy)
• 1/8 C. sugar for sprinkling
• 1/2 C. GF flour for dusting surface
• Avocado Oil (for your baking sheet)
• Vegan chocolate sauce to drizzle (optional)
• 4 Cake Pop Sticks

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease your baking sheet with avocado oil.
• Transfer your thawed pie crusts (use both in the package) to a well floured surface and roll out. 
• Using a rectangle cookie cutter or with a knife, cut 4 rectangles, gather scraps, roll out once more and cut 4 more rectangles.
• Lay out your first four rectangles and place a cake pop stick about half the way up. 
• Layer the centers of the rectangle with chopped chocolate and mini marshmallows.
• Place your additional 4 rectangles a top your stuffed pops, press down edges and seal lightly with a fork. 
• If your fork sticks, you can use a little avocado oil on your fork to keep it from sticking in your pie crust. 
• (Optional) Brush with an egg wash to give it a golden top and sprinkle with organic sugar or coconut sugar. 
• Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Wait to cool COMPLETELY before transferring on cake pop sticks to a container or serving tray or your stick will come out. 
• Enjoy with chocolate drizzle! 

You can find more Wholly Wholesome goodness at www.WhollyWholesome.com. 

Blissfully Better Chocolate can be located through Blissfully Better.com. 

What chocolate treats are YOU celebrating with this month?

For those of you that have been following the blog for a while know I like to make a celebration out of Grey's half birthday. (Ok, I really love the opportunity to make a celebration out of anything) but half-birthdays have just been a special thing since my little babe hit his first half-bday milestone at just six months old. 

Each year we bake cupcakes and just talk about his year so far and I always write an open letter to my sweet little guy. You can read this years, as he turns 3 and a half, here, as well as reflect back on our previous celebrations. 

As I said in that post, I would share a recipe for gluten free lemon cupcakes that you all could whip up, that is allergen friendly and toddler approved. We Disney-fied it a bit for fun! 

DIrections

Lemon Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 c. gluten-free flour 
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 c. softened vegan butter
• 1 cup coconut or date sugar 
• 2 TBSP. lemon zest
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. vegan sour cream (Follow Your Heart is soy free!)
• 3 TBSP. dairy-free milk
• 3 TBSP. lemon juice from a fresh lemon

Vegan Buttercream

• 3/4 cup softened vegan butter
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 - 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (Trader Joes is corn-free!)

Directions 

Lemon Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
• Line a muffin pan with parchment cup liners. 
• In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
• In a standing mixer bowl, or in a large bowl with a handheld, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy. 
• Add in eggs and vanilla. Beat until mixed. 
• In a small bowl whisk together the sour cream, milk substiture and lemon juice. 
• Add 1/2 of your flour mixture into the butter mixture, followed by 1/2 of the sour cream mixture. Make sure to scrape the sides of your bowl as needed. Repeat the process once more.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each liner about 3/4. 
• Bake for 17-19 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean.

The Frosting

• In a large bowl beat the butter until light and airy.  
• Add in your salt. 
• Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix. 
• Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time until the desired consistency. 
• Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a large tip and frost in a dollop as shown above.

Do you have a favorite cupcake flavor? Grey's changes daily, but such is the life of a three year old. 

Do you do anything special for half-birthdays in your home?

Hello my lovelies! 

With this being a very busy year that included renovating our new home, moving into said home, buying a new business, growing our current ones and raising and homeschooling a busy toddler, I have intentionally decided to slow waaaay down in December. 

It has felt so good.

It's hard for me to lay things down. Especially when they feel like they are 'good' things. Yet I had so many balls in the air that I just couldn't handle all I was juggling and I was starting to get sick more often (which hasn't been the case in our home since we went more natural), and I was just run down and on edge and I finally said, no more. 

Our month has looked a lot like more intentional family time, date nights, traditions new and old, a lot of Christmas movies and baking. All. The. Baking.

We have some exciting news announcing in January, and it's sure to be a new season of busy, so for now I will bake and ice to my hearts content and enjoy every moment of peace this season of our Savior offers my weary heart. 

These Gingerbread Men are gluten-free, dairy-free, extra moist and subtle. 

We served them to family before a night of looking at lights and we got an overwhelming response of these being the "best gingerbread cookies ever!"

So, not to toot my own horn, but I've heard these are pretty good. ;) 

If you're looking for a Paleo/Grain-Free version, you can swap the All-Purpose Flour for Almond Meal. 

Ingredients

• 2/3 c. molasses
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 c. vegan butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. coconut or maple sugar
• 3 1/2 c. all-purpose GF flour (almond flour for paleo)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 TBSP. ground ginger
• 1 TBSP. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves 

optional: royal icing or allergen-friendly, dye-free white icing. 

Directions
​

• In a large bowl beat butter for 30-60 seconds with a hand mixer until creamed. 
• Add coconut or maple sugar and molasses and mix again until blended. 
• Beat in the egg and vanilla on high speed for 1-2 minutes. Scraping bowl as needed. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk your GF flour, baking soda, salt and spices until mixed well. 
• Add the dry mix into your wet ingredients and bear on low until combined. Your dough will be very sticky.
• Divide dough into two halves and wrap each in plastic wrap, forming into a thick disc. 
• Refrigerate for a minimum of four hours, overnight is best. We did ours for six hours. 
• Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a few baking sheets with parchment. 
• Remove one disc of your dough and on a generously floured surface roll out 1/4 inch thick. Use your cookie cutters to make your desired shapes and transfer to your sheets.
• Bake for 10 minutes for medium shape cookie cutter cookies, for smaller cookies, bake for 8 minutes and for oversized or large cookies bake for 12 minutes. 
• Allow to cool for ten minutes before transferring to cooling rack. 
• Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating.  
• Enjoy your little festive friends!

As a mama who strives to make better choices for my family year round, I've been frustrated in years past when it comes to finding a balance of avoiding all that's unsafe for my son's body (food dyes, artificial flavoring, and ingredients I just don't feel great about such as gluten, dairy or possible GMO ingredients) and allowing him to feel like he got to have a fun holiday. 

Now, we are BIG promoters that holidays are NOT about candy. That they aren't about food or treats in general, but as he gets older and participates with family and friends, I do allow him to have fun and have some treats. Thus the inspiration for this post. 

I wanted parents, grandparents, teachers and anyone who will be treating kids to candy this season to a guide to all of my favorites as well as a couple of tips to keep your kids safe. 

Summer and me have a love/hate thang. On the one hand we get swimming, beach days, staycations, all the popsicles we can take, celebrating our independence and sunshine into the late evening

On the other we get temps hitting 115. And all the bugs. 

So I’m all about making happier moments INDOORS when it’s positively scorching outside and getting into the kitchen with my little sous chef was a perfect summer activity.

He loved helped molding the BIGGEST cookie he's ever seen, helping me spread on the cream cheese frosting and placing the berries. When it came to the whip cream dollops, I think he ate more than he placed haha, but such is true with toddlers.

This recipe is extremely kid friendly from prep to enjoying a slice with a tall glass of icy lemonade and we will definitely be making again, fourth of July or not. 

Ingredients
​

• 12-16 oz GF/DF sugar cookie dough (refrigerated)
• 8 oz softened vegan cream cheese 
• 1/8 c sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• Vegan whipped topping (I use almond milk Reddi Whip) 
• 12 oz organic raspberries  2 c. organic blueberries 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Open tube or pack of cookie dough and place on a lightly greased 12 inch pizza pan and roll or press into an even layered circle. (You may use a pie tin or large bowl to get a perfect circle)
• Bake cookie crust 11-12 minutes until lightly browned.
• Cool cookie completely. 
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. 
• Scoop cream cheese mixture onto the cookie crust once cooled and spread it to the edges. 
• Use blueberries to outline the pizza and create the blue portion of the flag. 
• Use raspberries to create your flag stripes. 
• Use your vegan whipped cream to create dollops in between rows of raspberries.
• Keep in fridge until ready to serve.

There's something that feels so quintessential motherhood about baking a fresh batch of cookies from scratch with your little one. Grey and I have been trying to make one new recipe a week together, or at least baking a batch of muffins or fresh pancakes on the weekends, to help foster bonding and education on creating food fresh and healthy at home. It also helps in teaching kitchen safety, which you can never start too young. 

This super easy recipe is below and utilizes coconut sugar to cut out refined sugar and lends a warm, spicy note that elevates the traditional oatmeal cookie to a new level. 

We also use organic raisins due to grapes being a highly contaminated fruit when it comes to pesticides and sprays. 

INGREDIENTS:

wet

• 1 C vegan butter
• 1 C coconut sugar
• 2 organic eggs
• 2 tsp organic vanilla

dry

• 2 1/2 C. All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 3 C gluten free oats (not instant!)
• 1 1/2 c raisins

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
  
• Whisk all dry ingredients except for raisins and oats; set aside.
  
• Combine wet ingredients, on the low setting,  mix with a hand mixer.
  
• To cream, increase speed to high and beat until fluffy.
  
• Stir the dry mixture into the creamed mixture until well mixed.
  
• Add the oats and raisins; stir to incorporate.
  
• Drop 1-2 TBSP. dough with a spoon about 2-inches apart onto baking sheet sprayed lined with parchment or coated lightly with coconut oil. 
  
• Bake 11-13 minutes on center rack until golden. 
  
• Remove from oven; allow to cook for five minutes, transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy warm or save in fridge for up to one week. 

There is something about Spring that gets me in the mood to bake, bake, bake!

Celebrating Easter and Christ's resurrection is such a holy time and we adore hosting picnics and brunch in celebration. I wanted to make something that embodied spring harvest and the Easter holiday to bring to the table this year and my Carrot Cake Cupakes were born.

Sweet, moist and OH SO DECADENT, these are HANDS DOWN the BEST cupcakes I've EVER made to date. They taste like traditional cupcakes and will be gobbled up by even the pickiest little bunny in the patch. 

The added touch of these dyed chocolate carrots were work but SO SO worth it. They add such a festive touch and hold up quite nice.

The cupcake itself is packed with carrots and cinnamon goodness and are SO moist and flavorful. The mix of coconut sugar and brown sugar help cut down on the refined sugar of a traditional cupcake, and while you could omit the brown sugar, it does help the cupcake have the traditional carrot cake flavor.

The cream cheese frosting is so spot on and I'm so thankful Miss Jones Baking Co. makes a dairy-free, high quality, low ingredient organic frosting. You can't have carrot cake without cream cheese frosting. That would just be WRONG. Wouldn't it? Yes. Yes it would be. (also, not sponsored but its the only frosting I keep in my cupboard so I have to give them praise.)

Grey couldn't keep his sweet little hands off of these, which you'll see below and we are excited to make them again soon. 

INGREDIENTS:

Dry

• 2 C. All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (I use Bob' Red Mill One to One)
• 1 3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
• 3/4 tsp. Cream Of Tartar
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon (Ceylon Cinnamon for boosted health benefits)
• 3/4 c. Coconut Sugar
• 1/2 c. Organic Brown Sugar
• 2 C. Grated Carrots (I whipped up 1/2 bag of baby carrots in my Ninja)

Wet

• 1/2 c. Avocado Oil
• 3 Organic Eggs
• 1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 c. Dairy Free Milk (I used almond)

For the carrot toppers

• Dairy Free White Chocolate or DF White Melts (I get these online)
• Orange Food Coloring (You can get dye free, as we opt for)
• Green Food Coloring (You can get dye free, as we opt for)

​DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake tins with parchment cupcake liners.
• In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients, adding your carrots in last.
• Add in wet ingredients and mix very well until a smooth batter forms.
• Pour batter in liners about 3/4 full and bake for 21 minutes.
• Once cupcakes are in the oven, prepare your carrot toppers.
• Melt two small bowls of dairy free white chocolate or melts over the stove top or in the microwave until nicely melted. Add 2-3 drops of orange dye in one bowl and green in the other, adding dye until you reach desired color. 
• Lay out a piece of parchment on a small cookie sheet.
• Spoon each colored melted candy into a small ziploc bag, cutting a small hole in each so that the candy may be piped onto the parchment.
• Pipe the orange in a zigzag pattern, making a carrot shape. Pipe the green at the top, making sure it overlaps the orange to form one piece. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
• Once cupcakes are done, allow to cool COMPLETELY before frosting. Frost with dairy free cream cheese frosting and add solid candy carrot a top each cupcake.

Share and enjoy!

Happy Easter beautiful friends!