Paleo Banana & Chocolate Chip Muffins (but I call them cupcakes)

I really enjoy treats, but I enjoy them more, when they are made from WHOLE ingredients. I've slowly made the move to consuming more Paleo desserts, and this banana muffin/cupcake is so moist and is a perfect replica of the regular "white flour" version....that I had to include it on my own blog.

I took this recipe straight from http://paleomg.com/banana-nut-chocolate-chip-muffins/

so, I give all the credit to Juli Bauer for her amazing Paleo blog. Go check it out!

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas, mashed with a fork

• 3 eggs, whisked

• ¼ cup maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ½ cup smooth almond butter

• ¼ cup coconut flour

• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• pinch of salt

• ½ cup chopped walnuts (I actually Omit these when I cook mine)

• ½ cup 72% Eating Evolved Baking Chocolate, chopped into pieces (or other chocolate chips you like)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mash bananas in a large bowl. Add eggs, maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla extract and mix together.
3. Then add coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda and powder and a pinch of salt and mix well.
4. Lastly, fold in walnuts and chocolate chips.
5. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop batter into 9 cups of a silicone muffin pan.
6. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool before removing from silicone pan.

Special thanks and credits given to: http://paleomg.com/banana-nut-chocolate-chip-muffins/

"Peanut Butter" and Jelly Ice Cream

Oh man, I was craving Ice Cream!! 

I started surfing the Paleomg.com website and stumbled upon this one! Holy LOOKS AMAZING!!! 

So here we go! I had to have it.

First off, this recipe called for Coconut Sugar. 

Hmmmm.....never have used it before. I needed to go find this ingredient and I did!

Well, I am pleasantly surprised by this "sugar".

It's amazing the type of ingredients I am finding by diving into the Paleo food world.

Ingredients:

2 (14 oz) cans of coconut milk
3/4 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup sunflower seed butter

1/2 cup homemade jam

Instructions

1. Place two cans of coconut milk in a large bowl and whisk in coconut sugar until well mixed.
2. Pour coconut milk in to ice cream maker and follow ice cream maker directions. Once ice cream begins to churn and thicken, add sunflower seed butter and let fold into mixture.
3. Pour mixture into a bread pan (9×5) then pour in jam and use a knife to fold mixture around. Make sure not to over mix because you want those big chunks of jam to come out when you scoop it.
4. Place in freezer and freeze for 2-3 hours before scooping to help the ice cream not melt as quickly (sometimes it melts quicker coming straight from the ice cream maker)
5. Serve up, butter”peanut”cup.

Notes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Ice Cream Mix Time: 10 Minutes
Freeze Time: 2-3 hours

Recipe courtesy of: http://paleomg.com/peanut-butter-and-jelly-ice-cream/
Go check out www.paleomg.com for more INCREDIBLE recipes.

Paleo Raspberry Almond Muffins garnished with Cacao chocolate

When Josh and I were in Utah, my mother in law made these AWESOME muffins! 

They are paleo-style muffins and are dairy and grain free. 

I've made them ever since Christmas and my boys LOVE these 'cupcakes'

This recipe makes 12 muffins (cupcake size)

Ingredients:

1 C. Almond Flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp pure almond extract

3 eggs, whisked

1 cup fresh ground almond butter (you can use organic too)

1/3 C. raw honey

1/3 C. slivered almonds (I actually don't use them in mine, but it adds a great crunch)

1/3 C. Coconut Oil, melted

1 C. fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried
Dark chocolate chips, for garnishing

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl, set aside.

Mix eggs, almond butter, honey, almonds, almond extract, and coconut oil together in another medium bowl. Combine with dry ingredients and mix together.

FOLD in fresh raspberries.

Scoop batter evenly into 10-12 muffin cups (lightly greased with coconut oil or lined with a paper muffin liners)

I garnish my muffins with a few dark chocolate chips and just place them on TOP of the batter and slightly press into the batter.

Bake for about 15-20 min. REALLY watch your muffins to be sure they DO NOT overcook.

Enjoy!
I love these because they don't leave me feeling heavy and taste delicious!
My boys love them because they are soft  like cake and have a very nutty taste!

Good old fashioned Brownies

I found the super yummy old fashioned brownie recipe online and I was so excited when I found it!  These are the brownies I remember as a kid...the best brownies EVER!

Ingredients:
2 c. Flour
2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Cocoa powder
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
4 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan.  Beat together the eggs, vanilla, and butter in a mixing bowl.  Add in flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and walnuts.  

Mix all ingredients together well, then pour brownie mixture into the lightly greased baking pan.  Bake for 25 min. (or until the toothpick comes out dry).

Frosting Directions:
1/4 c. Cocoa powder

3 c. powder sugar

1/4 c. butter (softened)

1/4 c. milk (I used whole milk)

Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

Allow the brownies to cool.  Then frost as desired and ENJOY!

Sherry's Granola

We've always just purchased granola. 

It's something I've never really thought to make on my own... Until I tried Sherry Erickson's (She's a really amazing mother and friend to our family) granola.

  Ummmmm.....YES, I needed the recipe!

Ingredients:

4 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (if you have a WINCO store, that's the best coconut to use that's in the bulk bin)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup coconut oil (bring to a liquid state)

1/2 cup real/pure maple syrup 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium/large mixing bowl.
(Oats, pecans, almonds, coconut, salt, sugar and cinnamon)

Mix together.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
(Coconut oil and Maple syrup)

Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.

Spread it ALL onto a cookie sheet.

Bake at 300 degrees for 40 min.

Stirring after every 10 min.

...and then it's ready to be consumed!
My kids LOVE this with almond milk for breakfast.
This can also be used as a topping over Greek yogurt or ice cream (hey now....WHY NOT?)
YUMM!!!

Recipe courtesy of Sherry Erickson, a great friend and wonderful mother.

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

If you are in the mood for an EASY yet DELICIOUS Mint Chocolate Cupcake, here's a great recipe for you.  Plus, it's surprising a light chocolatey minty flavor, which satisfies that chocolate craving.

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix
1 Package Keebler Grasshopper Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.  Mix the chocolate cake mix as directed on the box and set aside.  Place a Grasshopper Cookie in the bottom of each cupcake tin.  Then pour the chocolate cake mix in each cupcake tin.

Bake in the oven as directed on the cake box.  Use a toothpick to poke into the middle of a cupcake.  If toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are fully cooked.  Take the cupcakes out of the oven and place them on a cooling rack.

Frost and ENJOY!!!!

 Frosting Recipe:
1 Carton Real Whipping Cream
1/4 cup Powder Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla extract
(*red food coloring was added in this pic)

Directions:
Add all ingrediants into a glass or metal bowl.
Beat whipping cream until it turns into a fluffy whipped texture.

"Firework" Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

I call these "Firework" treats because they make a great 4th of July treat!

This recipe is just a slight SPIN on the classic Rice Krispie treat.

Ingredients:

6 c. Rice Krispie cereal

20 oreo cookies, chopped

8 c. mini marshmallows

4 tbsp. butter

1/2 bag ghirardelli white chocolate chips

(not pictured: colored M&M's)

Coarsely chop the oreos and place in LARGE bowl with cereal. Set aside.

In large saucepan, melt 4 tbsp butter and 8 cups mini marshmallows together.

Stir constantly.

Melt completely together.

Pour in cereal and oreos into large saucepan.
Stir and combine.

Pour in ANY type of colored M&M.
(I used 4th of July colors)

Combine.

Pour into greased 9x13 casserole pan.

Use a buttered spatula to press and form into pan.
Pour addt'l M&M's on top.

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler.
Place 3/4 cup water into pot. Bring to a light simmer.
THE WATER IN THE POT SHOULD NEVER BOIL.
White chocolate is VERY sensitive and only needs a light simmer (from the water below) to melt.

Stir constantly.

...and VOILA...Melted white chocolate!

This is the consistency you will want.

Drizzle chocolate over Oreo rice krispie treats.

Let the chocolate set up and then cut into 24-32 bars depending on how big or small you want them.

Enjoy!
We're off to a 4th of July BBQ and I hope you are too!!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I always thought you had to have special "melting" chocolate to do this wonderful dessert. 

 Nope. You just need a double boiler and some good Ghirardelli chocolate.

So....here is one EASY peezy strawberry dessert.

Ingredients:

-Bag of chocolate

-Strawberries--Rinse them and FULLY DRY THEM!! 

I don't have an official double boiler, so this is my makeshift one.

Put about 3/4 C. water into the pot.
Bring to a light boil.

Pour entire bag of chocolate chips in bowl.
Stir constantly while water in pot is still boiling.

This process should take place rather fast.
As soon as the chocolate is fully melted, turn the heat off.
(It will stay warm enough for you to cover all your fruit)

Cover your fruit!

Place on parchment paper OR foil.

The best results are this:
Place in fridge for a few min., then let them come to room temperature and consume.
Placing them in the fridge will harden the chocolate shell faster (which isn't a bad thing)
but if left in fridge too long then the strawberries underneath will start leaking juices.

So we like to eat the strawberries really fresh after we have them dipped.

ENJOY!

Snicker Bar Cheesecake

I made Homemade Snicker Bars....again. I had a half of a pan leftover.
What to do? What to do?

That's it....I'm making a cheesecake and perfecting the consistency.

My dad makes the MOST PERFECT cheesecakes and I'm trying my best to make them rich and creamy like his. Honestly, his are the best. I love challenging my baking skills to see if I can perfect certain recipes.
This time I wanted to see if it really made a difference to cook a cheesecake in a water bath. So I needed to get heavy duty, wide foil and a roasting pan. (The water bath is optional, if you feel like that is just too much work, you may omit the water bath step. You can surely cook this without the water bath.)

So, here I go. Let's try this recipe!

Ingredients:

CRUST:

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

pinch of sea salt

FILLING: (make sure all ingredients are ROOM temperature)

2 pounds cream cheese (four 8 oz. packages)

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups sour cream

6 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp. pure almond extract

1 C. chopped up snicker bars

TOPPINGS:
Snicker bars, chopped up
chocolate chips and peanut butter, melted together in microwave
1/2 bag of caramels and 1/4 C whipping cream melted in a saucepan together over low heat.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

For the Crust:

 Melt the butter, covered in the microwave safe bowl, or a saucepan. Brush a 9-inch spring-form pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter together with the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and salt. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the pan, taking care to get the crust evenly into the edges. Place in oven and bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 min.
Cool.

For the Filling:

Beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and beat just until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed.
Slowly beat in the sour cream, then eggs, then vanilla:

Take care NOT to over-whip.
Then, add the chopped snicker bars and gently fold in.
Pour the filling into the  spring-form pan.


Water bath step: (optional)
Then, wrap the bottom and UP the sides of the spring-form pan with foil. 
(I used the HEAVY duty, wide foil for this part)
Then, put the spring-form pan in a roasting pan.
 Now, bring a medium saucepan or kettle of water to a boil.
Put the spring-form pan in the roaster.
Put the roaster in the oven.
Pour in enough HOT water to come about HALFWAY up the side of the spring-form pan.

Time to Bake:
Bake the cheesecake for 70 min.---the outside of the cake will set, but the center will still be loose.
Turn the oven off, cook the cheesecake in the residual heat in the oven for about 1 hour.
This gentle finish minimizes the risk of the dreaded crack in your cheesecake.

Remove cheesecake from the roasting pan to a rack.
Run a knife around the edges and cool to room temperature.
Cover and refrigerate 8 hours OR overnight.

 The next day, I take my cheesecake, chocolate chips, snicker bar block and caramels, whipping cream and prepare the toppings.

I cut up as much of the snicker bars as I want to decorate with.
I melt my chocolate and caramels. (The melting strategies can be found on the snicker bar recipes)

Then, I decorate it up to my hearts content!

 Bring the cheesecake to ROOM temperature before cutting, because the toppings create a thick crust and it can be hard to cut if it's directly out of a fridge.

It's a VERY creamy version of a Snickers Bar cheesecake!
It was fantastic. I think the water bath was the trick to keeping it moist and crack free.

I love baking my family treats.
We like to workout hard so that we CAN enjoy some yummy treats every now and then.
Try this! It's worth the work!

Recipe courtesy of: http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipe/36437 (with a few variations of my own)