Pumpkin Muffins (Gluten + Dairy + Refined Sugar Free + Vegan Option)

I seriously looooovvvvveeee pumpkin. Anything pumpkin, especially once the weather changes, is the best. thing. ever. Hot cup of coffee & a pumpkin muffin? Yes please!
These totally hit the spot & have become my families favorite treat. My husband loves his packed with chocolate chips. They're gluten + dairy free and have refined sugar free + vegan options, so they please everyone in my house! Enjoy!

PUMPKIN MUFFINS (Gluten & Dairy free with Refined sugar free and Vegan options)

• 1 Cup Gluten Free Flour Blend (I use and love Sarah's G/F flour blend recipe) 
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 eggs* (vegan notes below)
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1 cup coconut sugar (substitute up to half with honey or maple syrup)
• 1/3 cup applesauce or apple butter
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2-3/4 cup chocolate chips or carob chips (optional) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl mix the gluten free flour blend, baking soda & salt. Set aside.

In a medium size bowl combine eggs, pumpkin, sugars, applesauce, coconut oil & cinnamon. Mix together until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet & stir until combined. Don't over mix.

Place 12 paper liners into a standard size muffin tin. Use an ice cream scoop to fill each cup & then bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Muffins are done when the center is pushed on and is firm and doesn't sink but springs back.

*To make vegan, replace eggs with 4 1/2 teaspoons of ener-g egg replacer blended with 6 Tbs water until frothy. I also added 1 tsp baking powder to the dry ingredients to give the muffins a little more rise.

OMG Chocolate Chip Cookies! (Gluten Free, Vegan, Refined Sugar Free)

The thing I have missed most since eating differently are chocolate chip cookies. Is there really anything better than a moist, chewy, chocolatey cookie fresh from the oven? Here is the problem; My taste-buds wants Toll House. As you can imagine, I'm ALWAYS disappointed with the gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free options. I mean, is it even possible to have chocolate chip cookies that don't taste like sawdust with those kind of restrictions? Until recently, the answer would have been NO, but this recipe puts the option of chocolate chip cookies back on the table. Preferably with a glass of ice cold homemade almond milk.

You may not believe what's NOT in them, but you also won't believe what IS in them!

It was quite the feat coming up with a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie that was gluten free, vegan, refined sugar free, xanthan & guar gum free, and didn't use any processed egg replacer!
Seriously? It took me five gazillion tries. All fails in my book because they just didn't have that quality I was looking for. UNTIL, I finally said "OH MY GOSH! These are the ones." Then I shoved them down my husbands throat (ok, maybe he willingly ate them) and stared intensely at him as I waited for his every critique. He's not very critique-y, but I forced him to tell me EVERYTHING he thought of them. (I sound really pushy.) He chewed slowly, shook his head amicably and said "Mmmm. Yum. Good." My husband is not a caveman, I promise. But this was all I needed, because my husband looooovvvveeeesssss chocolate chip cookies more than any other dessert in the world. Mission accomplished.

OMG Chocolate Chip Cookies 

• 1/2 Cup oat flour (I like THIS one! Sign up through my referral link & get $10 off!) 
• 1/4 Cup brown rice flour (I've been using THIS brand & love the texture)
• 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 Cup white navy beans, drained ( Crock Pot Beans Recipe, use water and leave out the salt & garlic!)
• 3/4 Cup Spectrum Organic Shortening, melted
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2 Tablespoons honey (or two more Tablespoons coconut sugar) 
• 15 drops liquid stevia
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon golden flax meal + 2 Tablespoons water (make sure to use golden flax!!) 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup favorite chocolate chips/chunks, homemade or store bought
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In a very small bowl mix golden flax meal with 2 Tablespoons water & let set for a few minutes while preparing other ingredients

3. In a separate small bowl, mix oat flour, brown rice flour, coconut flour & baking soda

4. In the bowl of a food processor, add drained navy beans, melted shortening, coconut sugar, honey, stevia, vanilla, salt & prepared flax meal. Process until very smooth, letting the processor run for about 30-60 seconds. Scrape down sides and process again for a few seconds if needed

5. Add the dry ingredients to the food processor and process for another 30 seconds, scraping down sides as needed. 

6. By hand, stir in chocolate of choice & walnuts if desired. Scoop the dough into tablespoon size dollops and place on a silpat liner or parchment paper 3 inches apart. You can also put the dough in the refrigerator for an hour and roll it into balls once it's chilled. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges of cookies are pale golden brown. Let sit on pan for 5 minutes after taking out of oven. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.

I personally think these cookies taste the best once they've been out of the oven for about 15-20 minutes. They're still warm and so soft and gooey.

*I've made these a few times trying different things to see how they hold up, and they seem pretty versatile! I didn't have any navy beans on hand, so I used canned garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed) & they worked great! I'm pretty confident any white bean would work, they will just vary in taste slightly. I also tried them using 100% pure dextrose instead of coconut sugar & that also worked great!

Fancy Food Thoughts contains some contextual affiliate links which advertisers have agreed to pay a commission if a purchase is made from that click-through. Everything I recommend are products I use & love!

Sweet Potato Casserole (Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free, Gluten Free)

Sweet potato casserole (a.k.a. the best thing in the entire universe) is possibly my favorite thing to eat. Loaded with tons of sugar, gluten, fat and cinnamon spice goodness, it's like Christmas in a casserole dish. Only problem is, I can't eat any of those things anymore. What on earth will I do? Oh yeah, just figure out a recipe that tastes equally as delicious so I don't have to suffer in a world without it.

Sweet Potato Casserole (Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free, Gluten Free)

• 4 Cups sweet potatoes, cubed (5 small/medium sweet potatoes)
• 2 Tbs honey
• 1/2 packet stevia
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 Tbs coconut oil
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice 
• scant 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Bring a medium size saucepan of water to a boil on medium high heat. Add cubed sweet potatoes & boil until tender. Drain off water and mash. Add all of the other ingredients and mix completely. Pour into an 8x8 casserole dish and spoon topping on (recipe follows). Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until top is nice and golden & casserole has set. 

Topping

• 1-2 Tbs honey
• 1 packet stevia
• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats

Combine all ingredients. It will be thick like a paste. Spoon it on top of casserole and bake as directed above.


Fancy Food Thoughts contains some contextual affiliate links which advertisers have agreed to pay a commission if a purchase is made from that click-through. Everything I recommend are products I use & love!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing (grain free, vegan, refined sugar free)

I cannot tell you how good these cupcakes taste! I was DYING for a chocolate cupcake & tried a bunch of different recipes but couldn't find one that had the right texture & taste combo. The texture is so good for being grain free! The coconut milk and avocado make these nice and moist, and although if you're trying (when they are plain) you can taste the avocado a little bit (I don't mind it) once you put the peanut butter frosting on them, they are perfection! My biggest pet peeve on blogs is when they post a baked good & DON'T include a picture of the inside, so of course, I added one. Enjoy! 

Chocolate Cupcakes (grain free, vegan, refined sugar free) 

• 3 cups almond meal (Spoon measured) 
• 2 level TBS coconut flour
• 1 cup cacao powder
• 3/4-1 cup coconut palm sugar (depending on how sweet you like them)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup coconut milk, full fat
• 1 small avocado (mine was a very large avocado so I only used half!)
• 6 tsp egg replacer blended with 6 TBS water in the blender or processor 
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2-3 tablespoons raw honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

 In a large bowl mix the almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, palm sugar, baking soda & salt. (Make sure to spoon measure the almond meal! Using a spoon, scoop into measuring cup & level off.) 

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add the egg replacer and water and process or blend until its thick and frothy. Add coconut oil, coconut milk, avocado, vanilla and honey and pulse or blend until completely smooth. 

With a rubber spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry just until moistened.  It may seem dry at first, but will become thick and moist as you keep folding in. Put cupcake liners into a muffin tin & scoop batter into liner almost to the top. They will puff up a bit. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. I made mini cupcakes & took them out after 15 minutes so I'm guessing at the time for bigger cupcakes! They may require longer. They should be slightly firm to the touch when finished. 

Peanut Butter Icing 

• 1 Cup natural peanut butter
• 1 Cup spectrum palm shortening
• 2-4 TBS raw honey
• 2 tsp vanilla 

Add all ingredients to the bowl of a mixer and beat until fluffy, scraping down sides as needed. Pipe onto cupcakes. 

Chocolate Icing (if you want a swirl) 

•  2 TBS cocoa powder
• 1/4 Cup spectrum palm shortening
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 TBS honey

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a mixer and beat until fluffy.

Fancy Food Thoughts contains some contextual affiliate links which advertisers have agreed to pay a commission if a purchase is made from that click-through. Everything I recommend are products I use & love!