Agave Holiday Cookies

It's holiday time, and with Christmas just around the corner, the baking has begun. We have several ingredient issues in our family; This Sister can't eat sugar, That Son can't eat dairy, This Blogger can't eat gluten, soy, or dairy, and it wouldn't hurt her to avoid sugar as well. SO, when my friend asked if I had a sugar free sugar cookie recipe that she could make with her grandkids, I was more than motivated to see what I could find. 

I scoured all my allergy-friendly cookbooks before turning to my new Almond Flour (by Beverly Lynn Bennett) cookbook. With some tweaking, Cut-Out Sugar Cookies has become "Agave Holiday Cookies". They are good plain, with frosting, with a dusting of sugar sprinkles (that and frosting kind of defeat the purpose... but...) and with a candy cane window. They roll out well, and bake up nicely. If you, or someone you love, has dietary issues, I'd encourage you to try these cut-out cookies. 

2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Becel Vegan margarine
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot starch and salt. With a silicone spatula, mix in margarine, agave nectar and vanilla. Mix well. When all ingredients are well combined, divide into 2 parts and wrap each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate about an hour to chill.

Meanwhile, cover your cutting board over with plastic wrap and preheat the oven to 325*F. When dough is chilled, place half at a time on wrapped cutting board, cover with a second large piece of plastic wrap and roll between the plastic with a rolling pin to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness. Make shapes with cookie cutters. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet with a flat silicone lifter. Decorate with coloured sprinkles, raisins or nuts if desired.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on thickness, until light golden brown. Let stand on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before removing to wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

* To make candy cane windows, cut a smaller shape in the centre of a large cut-out cookie. Fill the smaller shape with crushed candy canes or crushed clear, coloured hard candy. Fill the window generously as the candy shrinks when melted. Bake as directed above.

Sunny Girl Porridge

I like porridge. Cream of Wheat, oatmeal, Red River Cereal or Sunny Boy... love 'em all. The problem with being off gluten, is that Cream of Wheat is out. Regular oatmeal, which seems to give me a reaction, is also out. The nutty brilliance of Red River Cereal or Sunny Boy, because of the added wheat germ, likewise nixed. What then?! I gave Oat Bran a try, and found that it didn't affect me the way mealed oats did, and it was nice and very reminiscent of Cream of Wheat. First hot cereal victory! Then I thought of adding flax to it, and after perfecting the formula, I have a delicious porridge that reminds me of both Cream of Wheat and the hot flax cereals. Thought this snowy spring morning would be a good time to finally share the recipe here. A lovely hot breakfast cereal that is guaranteed to keep you warm and happy inside until lunch. 

1/3 cup oat bran
1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) ground flax
1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) whole flaxseed
1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) raisins (or dried cranberries) optional
1 1/3 cups water

Put all ingredients into a small saucepan. Stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stirring frequently, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Doctor it up with a bit of milk and sugar. Equally delicious with almond milk and a sprinkle of Splenda.

Serves 1.

Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free Brownie Bites

I am still in love with the Babycakes cookbooks. They have brought some joy back to this diabetic, gluten, dairy and soy-free woman's life. One of my favourite recipes has been adapted from "Brownies", in Erin McKenna's first cookbook. This is a smaller version of the original, with a few modifications. They are completely delicious, and as they are very quick to mix up and only take about 15 minutes to bake, it's super easy to whip up a batch while Brownies for everyone else are baking. Bonus: they freeze well, and even taste good before they thaw... 

1/3 cup garbanzo-fava bean flour

4 teaspoons potato starch

2 teaspoons arrowroot or tapioca starch

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup granulated sugar (*A combination of 3 Tbsp sugar + 2 Tbsp Splenda works)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum

3 Tablespoons Canola oil

3 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons hot water

1/3 cup vegan* mini chocolate chips (I used "Enjoy Life Mini Chips" that I purchased at Nutter's Bulk & Natural Foods) OPTIONAL

Preheat oven to 350* F. Lightly grease a 12-cup mini muffin tin. (have a second tin ready to grease and fill as needed)

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, potato starch, arrowroot, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum (or guar gum) and coffee granules. Add the oil, applesauce, vanilla and hot water, and stir until the batter is smooth. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips, just until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. 

Divide the batter into prepared muffin cups. Fill to the top of each cup; grease additional cups as needed. I generally get 14-16 brownies per batch. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the center brownie comes out clean, and the tops have a firm edge with a softer center. Let stand in pans 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack. Fabulously, decadently delicious when served warm. Equally delicious any time. Store in airtight container in the fridge, or freeze. 

Serve iced (making a dairy-free frosting with Becel Vegan Margarine), dusted with confectioner's sugar or plain. The chocolate chips give them a "frosted" taste. 

Have I mentioned that these are delicious?

Makes 14-16 brownie bites.

Pineapple, Upside Down Oatmeal Cake

It's MOPS time again, and for our Tropical Beach Party theme we thought an upside-down pineapple cake might be fun. I had a vision of a kind of pineapple-oatmeal cake, and so I went looking. In one of my favourite cookbooks (Cooking From Quilt Country by Marcia Adams) I found both an upside-down pineapple cake and an oatmeal cake. I envisioned a mash-up of sorts and so putting them together, came up with this. The first trial was pretty good, but deemed a little too sweet, and since I had added ground flax I thought I might be able to leave out the egg. The second trial turned out nicely; with a few maraschino cherries sprinkled in for a festive colour and the egg replaced with a flaxseed substitute, either regular or gluten-free it's a delightful breakfast or dessert treat. In place of crushed pineapple I used pineapple tidbits the second time around, breaking up the chunks with the sharp edge of a plastic spatula. It worked just fine.

Pineapple Upside-Down Oatmeal Cake

1 -14oz can crushed pineapple

5 maraschino cherries, finely chopped (optional)

1 cup Gluten-Free Oatmeal  (or regular, but not instant, rolled oats)

2 Tablespoons ground flax* (or 1 egg/egg substitute)

pineapple juice + water to make 1 cup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Canola oil

1 cup all-purpose flour or Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (if using gluten-free flour)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground mace or nutmeg

1/3 cup Canola oil

1/2 cup Agave nectar OR 1/4 cup brown sugar+1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a 9inch square pan with parchment paper or lightly grease with spray oil.

Drain pineapple through a sieve into a microwave safe bowl or glass measure.

Add water to pineapple juice to make 1 cup. Microwave 2-3 minutes on high heat. Stir in oatmeal and flax, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix first amount of brown sugar and canola oil together and spread over bottom of prepared pan. Spread drained pineapple over brown sugar mixture, sprinkle maraschino cherry pieces (if used) over pineapple, and set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, xanthan gum (if used), salt and mace. When pineapple juice is cooled to lukewarm, add second amount of oil, agave nectar or sugars, and vanilla. *Mix in egg or egg substitute if ground flax wasn't added to the oatmeal.  Stir together until well blended. Add to flour mixture, and fold together until fairly smooth and well blended. Pour over pineapple in pan and bake for 25-40 minutes until cake is browned, springs back when lightly touched, and a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Let stand for 15 minutes, then invert onto large serving plate. Peel off parchment. 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

If you like to bake, or to eat baking, and you have food sensitivities, you must-must-MUST get yourself one of the Babycakes cookbooks by Erin McKenna. "Babycakes" and "Babycakes Does The Classics" are both awesome vegan cookbooks. This Pumpkin Spice Muffin recipe is in the first book, but I've replaced 1/4 of the flour with ground flax and quinoa flour. I also added pumpkin seeds and raisins because I like raisins in spice cake and muffins, and because I thought the texture of the seeds would be nice. These muffins freeze well and travel well. They are equally fabulous with  Becel Vegan margarine or Kraft No-Sugar-No-Salt-Added Peanut Butter. Easy to mix up and satisfying for breakfast, lunch or snacks on the go.

1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour*
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup quinoa flour*
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum*
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 cup Canola oil
2/3 cup agave nectar*
2/3 cup rice milk
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
1-398 ml (about 13 oz) can pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds
*readily available at Nutter's Bulk and Natural Foods

Preheat the oven to 325*F.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Add oil, agave nectar, rice milk and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir with the whisk until batter is smooth and thick. Using a plastic/silicone spatula, fold in the pumpkin, hot water, raisins and pumpkin seeds until batter is smooth and everything is evenly distributed throughout.

Fill paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Muffins won't rise much during baking. Bake on center rack for 22-30 minutes, switching the pans and rotating them 180* after 12 minutes. Finished muffins will be soft to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let muffins stand in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer. Pop a frozen muffin in the microwave for 15-20 seconds or so to heat it up, or throw it in a bag or reusable container and take it along to eat at your next Starbucks coffee date.

Makes 18-22 delicious muffins

Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes

As if being diabetic wasn't bad enough, I had to go and decide to give gluten and dairy free eating a try. The good news? I feel 100% better. The bad news? I feel 100% better. At least, after two months without the gluten and dairy, I have the energy and imagination to feel like baking again. I discovered Erin McKenna's cookbooks, "Babycakes" and "Babycakes Covers The Classics". If you're living in a gluten-dairy-egg free world you MUST investigate these cookbooks. Life changing. At least you'll be able to make some pretty awesome snacks and goodies. This recipe is half of the Vanilla Cupcakes recipe in the first Babycakes cookbook. I've added a little strawberry jam goodness. These were a delightful Canada Day treat (strawberries = red + vanilla cupcakes for the white) but they'd be good any time and I guarantee they'll turn any day into a celebration. All the "strange" ingredients (agave nectar, coconut oil, xanthan gum) and the flours can be found at Nutters. In a pinch you can try Canola oil instead of coconut oil.

1 cup garbanzo-fava bean flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup arrowroot

2 teaspoons + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup coconut oil (melted before measuring, and measured in dry ingredient measures not liquid)

2/3 cup agave nectar (again, use dry ingredient measuring cups to measure the liquid ingredients)

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup (or so) Strawberry jam

Strawberry-vanilla frosting: (Mix together 2 cups icing sugar+2 Tablespoons Becel Vegan margarine + 2 Tablespoons strawberry jam+ boiling water to make spreadable.)

Preheat oven to 325*F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. (I got 14 cupcakes out of my batch)

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce and vanilla to the dry ingredients and combine. Stir in the hot water and mix until the batter is smooth.

Spoon 2 Tablespoons of batter into each prepared cup. Drop a generous teaspoon of jam into the centre of each cup on top of the batter. Cover with another spoonful of batter.

Bake on the centre rack for 22 minutes, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 15 minutes. The finished cupcakes will be golden brown and will bounce back when pressure is applied gently to the centre.

Let the cupcakes stand in the the tins for 20 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely. Frost with the strawberry-vanilla frosting. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Makes 12-14 cupcakes.