Monday, February 23, 2015

gluten-free, nut-free version of my {totally decadent} cinnamon chocolate brownies as a school-safe birthday treat



I promise this is the last TREAT post for a while. I don't know about you, but I am feeling the need to dial it back a little. So, the next few posts will be all about delicious, clean eating ideas that are quick and easy. But not today!! Because today is my older son's 12th birthday, and this calls for a celebration-- and some of my {totally decadent} Cinnamon-Chocolate Brownies. {Which I made nut-free and gluten-free this go round, so they could be brought into his classroom and shared with his middle school friends who have allergies and food intolerances.)


To make them nut-free and gluten-free, follow my same recipe {found here} but use Ghirardelli chocolate {or other chocolate you know is gluten-free, I used this one} and King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose flour.









Mmm, enjoy, either made traditionally or nut-free and gluten-free. Either way, this recipe is a keeper.


And if you happen to see this sweet kid around town today, be sure to wish him a happy birthday!!

Sunday, February 15, 2015

snow day baking: banana chocolate oat muffins with almond meal


On a recent snow day,


when the playroom looked like this {by 7am},


I'd made my coconut oil coffee and


snuck into the living room to quietly read. Dinner was made, thanks to a well-stocked freezer. But something nagged at me. I couldn't go a whole day without cooking something…. and, truth be told, I wanted chocolate.


I'm not a big baker, but three ripe bananas winked at me from the kitchen counter. I had some cashew meal in the fridge, along with a few eggs and oats... Perfect, banana-chocolate chip muffins it would be. I improvised a recipe, adding a little of this, a little of that, while asking myself whether baking soda was really necessary? But imagine my dismay when I realize the bag of chocolate chips I thought I saw in the pantry was actually black beans. Dismay doesn't adequately describe my emotions at that moment. 


I blame Captain Holly Short for distracting me. {Artemis Foul reference, for those who aren't listening to the book on CD during drives to and from skiing this winter…} But the bananas were mashed, and the nut-based batter was ready to go. All I needed was chocolate.


I had some high quality, unsweetened cocoa on hand and, after a little more scrounging, I sprinkled the last of my foodie crush Cacao Prieto hot cocoa into the bowl.



And then I popped those bad boys into the oven and 


went back to my fire, as the smell of molten chocolate and baking bananas filled our house.


Oh my.

I ate more than my fair share. I gave some warm muffins to the snow plow guys. I had the kids walk some to a neighbor.


And continued to enjoy them for snacks the next few days.

They were so good that I was a little miffed that I hadn't jotted the recipe down. Who knew if I could recreate them?…


As a ate the last muffin, I decided this recipe was worth figuring out and saving.


The second go round, I made sure to have chocolate, not black beans.


I recreated the batter, while jotting down notes.


Then held my breath...


Actually, I didn't hold my breath. I took deep inhales of sweet goodness


and went back to recipe testing for the Second Edition of Stock Your Freezer in a Snap.


Batch two lacked eggs. Because I forgot to put them in. Apparently this recipe doesn't need egg(s). And now I knew how to make them again. And again. To rave reviews.


Banana-Chocolate-Oat Muffins with Almond Meal
(makes 24 muffins)

3 or 4 large, ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups almond flour or cashew meal
1 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour)
2 cups oats (or gluten-free oats)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
4 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons vanilla
3 Tablespoons dark cocoa
1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with muffin cups. Add all ingredients to mixing bowl and blend using a hand mixer. Divide evenly among muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, or until muffins sprain back when touched. 


This post contains affiliate links, meaning same price of goods to you, but the small commission I earn keeps the blog from turning into "hobby" status.

Monday, February 2, 2015

{heart-shaped} egg-in-hole


It's snow day season in the Northeast! 


Whether the call from school comes in at 5am, or you go to bed knowing you'll have a 'leisurely' morning ahead, we might as well embrace the extra time we have to make breakfast, right?


"Egg in Hole" has become my go-to these past two weeks of {seemingly} endless snow days and delays. Any shape cookie cutter will do, but since it's February, I'm mortifying my boys with lovey dovey hearts.


All you do is cut the center out of piece(s) of bread, and


pop that center piece into the toaster. {You'll be treating the cut-out piece like toast.}


Then the outside crust goes into a buttered fry pan, and you crack an egg into the center.


Use a butter knife to scramble the egg a bit {if your kids are like mine and will avoid the yolk if it's whole…}.


Flip it when the egg starts to set.


My kids love this meal a) because it takes a few extra minutes for me to make, which means a few extra minutes for them to play with their LEGOS and b)


b/c they can pick it up with their hands.


Voila! Egg in Hole. So easy, but seems special. Especially on a snowy morning.