Fall has just officially arrived in Arizona. I say just simply because since September 21st, the first "official day of fall" to all other U.S. states but us desert dwellers, it's averaged about 108 degrees during the day. But since last week it's been a steady, refreshing 70-80 and I couldn't be happier.
Today I actually got outside for a workout, took the pup on a walk and spent the evening baking. That's the other thing about fall. The baking. Oh, the baking.
Mr. Charming and I have had a lot to celebrate as of late, and although we are planning on cutting out grains and all sweets for a while again as we continue our TTC Journey, we are both celebrating new jobs, I recently graduated school for Personal Nutrition, we found a new bible study home and the holidays are around the corner.
And that always calls for celebrating. So naturally, cupcakes. When I was in Las Vegas for the FABlog Conference, I met the lovely Soy Nut Butter Company and got to sample some yummy products. You may remember my Pumpkin Maple Granola from last fall using their nut-free granola after a lot of readers requested more nut-free recipes. I use soy in moderation, (a good gluten-free soy sauce on my takeout recreations is a must) and I only use Non-GMO soy when I do. I.M Healthy, the company that created Soy Nut Butter makes delicious non-nut butters from roasted soybeans that taste extremely close to classic nut butters but are safe with kiddos with nut allergies. They are also low in sugar, have zero sodium and can be used in a variety of ways.
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Instead of using my jar of Chocolate Soy Nut Butter as a simple spread, I was inspired to create a frosting, and with some simple experimentation, my German Chocolate Cupcakes were born. They are rich and chocolaty and make the perfect fall treat.
For the cupcake you can use a traditional gluten-free chocolate cake box mix (just watch the sugar content) or for a healthier option you can use my Paleo coconut flour chocolate cupcake base. ​For foodies who can tolerate almond, you can also use my Paleo almond flour chocolate cupcake base. This is personally my favorite when it comes to texture. In the picture I used a rice and sorghum based chocolate flour. For the frosting, which couldn't be simpler, and of course is always the best part... Ingredients: 1 C. Chocolate Soy Nut Butter - ENTER TO WIN A FREE JAR BELOW! 2. C. Coconut Whipped Cream or other Dairy-Free Whipped Cream or Cool Whip Equivalent 1 tsp. organic vanilla extract Directions: Mix thawed coconut whip and vanilla with room temperature soy nut butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Scoop into piping bag or ziploc bag and pipe onto FULLY COOLED cupcakes. Top with shaved coconut. Serve immediately or chill in fridge until ready to serve. | ​ENTER TO WIN |
For those of you new to Rafflecopter, each activity listed above gets you a certain amount of entries to the contest! Good luck to everyone who enters!
I would love know your favorite way to use Soy Nut Butter if you've tried it before, or your favorite Fall cupcake recipe!
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So, MONTHS ago, Mr. Charming and I invested in a hand pie maker. And it sat. And sat and sat and sat in the cupboard until one night recently when I was craving pie and remembered it was there. Sad and lonely and gathering dust. I'd been on a kick with Strawberry Pie since our coastline trip, but since I am watching my strawberry intake due to trying out a low-histamine diet, I thought the tried-and-true traditional apple pie sounded delicious. And I wanted to see if I could get them to come out cute & plumpy. That & the idea of getting A WHOLE PIE (in theory) to myself sounded really fun. If you know me, I'm not a big sweets person anymore since adopting a primarily Paleo lifestyle. But sometimes, a girl just has to have pie. And I have now find my favorite new way to eat it. I fell in love with how perfectly symmetrical, flaky and golden brown these came out. The mini pie maker I use is by Sunbeam and can be found online and in stores. I picked mine up on sale at a Fry's Grocery Store as an impulse buy. Below you will find my recipe for the gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free, egg-free, low sugar (depending on the pie crust you choose, the one I buy had under 2g.) pie we made and it is DELICIOUS. I always surprise myself sometimes with how decadent and sweet my confections come out sometimes without using sugar in the mix. The crust was buttery, flaky and the apples, with no added sugar, were the perfect mixture of tart and sweet. My plan is to now make a million other pie variations just so I can enjoy these little cuties again. Next up: A dairy-free turkey pot pie, then maybe a shepherd's pie variation, then something for fall, then maybe a sugar-free chocolate pie for Christmas. Seriously. It's an addiction now. These things are just too cute. Ingredients: 6 Medium or 12-13 Mini Organic Gala Apples 2 Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Pie Crusts Of Choice (I use Wholly Wholesome) 1 Tbsp. of Dairy-Free Butter or Coconut Oil Cinnamon to taste Directions: Thaw pie crust per package requirements but make sure dough is chilled before rolling/cutting. Wash and skin apples. Cut and cube apples into small cubes. You do not want large chunks in the mini pies. Cook apples, mixed with cinnamon, in a Tbsp. of dairy-free butter or coconut covered over medium heat until soft. I like my apples super cinnamon-y and cinnamon carries a lot of anti-inflammatory properties. If you tolerate cinnamon, use as desired. I probably used 1-2 tsp. to my 12 mini apples. Once apples are soft, turn off heat and set pan aside. Prep dough on a floured surface (I used a little coconut flour on my cutting board) and roll out to about 1/8 in. thick. My pie maker came with round cutters to fit my pie pan, and most will, so cut pie bottoms and pie tops according to your pie maker. As I stated before, if your dough is still slightly chilled it will cut, transfer and take to the hot pan much easier, put in the bottom pie dough and spoon in cooked apples until nearly full. Top with smaller cut pie top. Repeat for up to 4 pies and close the lid. Ours took 10 minutes for perfect, golden brown little pies. Remove from pan with a wooden spoon or spatula and let cool for ten minutes on a wire cooling rack. Serve & enjoy with a cold glass of almond or coconut milk or a scoop or dairy-free vanilla ice cream for a la mode. Have you made hand-pies before? What's your favorite variation? This week has been a good week. We are halfway to the weekend. So, that's awesomesauce. I personally loathe the phrase "Hump Day", I prefer the nice simplistic "middle of the week" when referring to this glorious Wednesday. Although my hormones have pushed my anxiety to un-fun levels and I was back at the doctors, there is always good to be found. Like how Mr. Charming and I have a meeting to be Pre-Marital coaches through church! How two of my girlfriends had babies this week! Or how Wanderlust is taking off, sending me to amazing destinations where I get to WRITE and SEE COOL THINGS. And then there is chocolate. Enter brownies. Gluten-free, dairy-free, probiotic packed brownies. I'm thankful for the relationship that this journey has given me with food. I feel like I'm not all the way there yet, as I'm still apprehensive to eat things that are probably ok for me to consume, I like that I don't view foods as "good" or "evil" anymore. (Except for man-made Frankenfoods, we can just go ahead and say those are evil.) But real, natural foods like fruits, vegetables, natural starches, natural cacao... those are God made foods that while some of us cannot tolerate them or need to watch our portions, they aren't good or bad. They just are. But I'm getting off topic. Back to brownies. As I've given up sugar 90%, except for natural sugar in my fruit & sparse honey intake, I do still believe in the occasional treat. I had these delectable little babies on my birthday and on Thanksgiving morning I will bake my grain-free donuts and top them with Enjoy Life chocolate chips. There is no because. It's simply the relationship I'm learning to have with food. The relationship that works best for me. Mr. Charming and I made a delicious dinner of grilled basil and oregano pork chops and sweet potato last night and we were going to turn in early for a movie marathon night and so I thought brownies would be perfect addition. They were super easy to make. Seriously 4 steps. 1. Open Enjoy Life Foods Brownie Mix & pour in bowl. 2. Add water and a oil of your choosing (I usually ALWAYS use coconut oil when baking, but I was out and thought I'd "wing it" with some olive oil, which is an unconventional option in baking sweets, but it actually came out GREAT.) 3. Bake. 4. NOM NOM. For being a gluten-free ancient grain mix they were surprisingly moist - and the flavor on the brownie scale was an 8.5 out of 10. They are that deep, rich chocolaty chocolate. Mr. Charming even took a batch in to his work meeting today as a treat for his staff. He's totally got them used to gluten-free treats over there. I make my banana oat muffins for them occasionally. Such a good house wife I am, haha. This is a sponsored post. I received free product from Enjoy Life Foods in exchange for writing this review. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions on its deliciousness, as well as the photography, are my own. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new Enjoy Life brownies if you've tried them. Or your favorite gluten-free brownie recipe. Kick back, brew a pot of coffee, pop some treats in the oven and let's talk dessert! ;)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup raw cocao powder 2 ripe avocados 3/4 cup agave nectar, Grade B maple syrup or honey 3 tablespoons coconut oil 1 tablespoon vanilla dash sea salt Directions: Combine all ingredients in your Ninja blender until creamy, fluffy and smooth. Spread on the brownies. You can also chill and serve with chopped berries & bananas for a raw treat. INGREDIENTS
1 sweet potato 3 eggs (or egg replacer or flax-egg for egg-free) 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 1/3 cup honey 1/4 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 3 tbsp coconut flour 2 tbsp cocoa powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 425F Puncture the sweet potato with a fork several times and bake for 30 minutes Remove the sweet potato from the oven and reduce heat to 350F Peel the sweet potato and mash in a bowl Add the egg, coconut oil, honey and vanilla and mix well Add in all remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined Pour into a greased baking dish Cook for 35 minutes This is one of the few recipes on my website that is not 100% Paleo. In moderation (once or twice a month) I do consume gluten-free oat flour or oats, and for those of you that do/can, I have put just a couple of recipes throughout the site. This bread is a favorite of Mr. Charming's and I like to treat his office staff or our friends to this when we have pot-lucks. INGREDIENTS: Wet: 2 Large Eggs 1/2 C. Honey or Bee Free Apple Honee 3/4 C. Unsweetened Organic Applesauce 1 1/2 Tsp. Organic Vanilla 2 Medium Over-Ripe Bananas (Mashed) Dry: 1 1/2 C. Gluten Free Oat Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill) 1/4 Tsp. Sea Salt 1 1/4 Tsp. Baking Soda 1/2 Tsp. Cream of Tartar 1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon 1/2 C. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a small square cake pan or two bread loaf pans with a dairy free butter. Mix together applesauce, eggs, honey or apple honee and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl mix together all dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Mix into the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Mash bananas until creamy and mix in. Add chocolate chips and any other additions you prefer (nuts, dried fruit, etc.) and mix once more. I didn't need a hand mixer for this, as the batter was so smooth, I just used a wooden spoon and good old fashioned elbow grease. Poor into pan or pans and bake for 30-35 or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with cool dairy free butter. Delicious! 1 part baking soda
2 parts cream of tartar 2 parts tapioca starch OR 1 part baking soda 1 part cream of tartar Mix and use for baking! Ingredients:
•1 (5 oz) bag shredded coconut- unsweetened •2/3 cup melted coconut oil + 1 TBSP •1/2 cup almond butter (try Barney Butter's Cocoa + Coconut) (substitute Sunbutter for nut free) •1 tsp organic vanilla •1 cup dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life) Instructions: In medium bowl, mix the coconut flakes, 2/3 cup melted coconut oil, vanilla, and almond butter until well mixed. Using your hands, form into 1 inch balls and put on a plate. Place in the freezer until hardened. Once the coconuggets have hardened, melt the chocolate in a double boiler with the additional 1 TBSP coconut oil until smooth. Dip the clusters into the chocolate and put back on a plate or in a small baking dish and place back in to the refrigerator. Enjoy cold! Ingredients:
1 cup raisins 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life) 1-2 tsp virgin coconut oil (more for thinner chocolate, less for thicker) Directions: 1. Melt the chocolate in anyway you please. I did in a pot via stovetop on the lowest setting. 2. Mix in coconut oil and if desired, spices. 3. Add in raisins and mix until all is coated 4. Pour and spread out mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper 5. Place into fridge to harden 6. Once hardened, break up pieces and eat!! Like I said, super simple and delicious. Store the rest (if there is any left!) in the fridge. I hope you enjoy! INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup coconut flour 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 whole egg 6 tablespoons egg whites Dash of vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup Almond Breeze, Coconut Milk, or water, etc. INSTRUCTIONS In a medium bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whip together eggs, oil and honey until frothy. This will help keep the muffins light and allow them to rise. Fold in the dry ingredients. Line a cupcake pan with tin cupcake liners and fill a little less than half full. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool and serve with "Buttercream" frosting. |
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aboutNosh & Nurture was born of this journey I am on to better the health of myself, my family and those around me. What started as a simple compilation of recipes has grown to a all-around lifestyle journal with ways to incorporate organic products into your home, pantry and beauty cabinet. I also include stories on pregnancy, new motherhood, travel, Proverbs 31 marriage, and spiritual health, as I am a Christian who couldn't do any of this without my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. For more of my story you can click here.
All recipes are gluten-free and dairy-free with a lot of soy-free, grain-free, sugar-free options. |
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