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Crockpot Pumpkin Custard (GAPS-legal, nut free, egg white free)

Over the weekend I tried a new fall recipe for pumpkin custard. Another delicious recipe from Cara at Health, Home and Happiness. We all enjoyed it. Plus it’s grain and nut free.

I did modify it a bit. I only used egg yolks so I could eat it. I also used raw cream instead of coconut milk. And I mixed it by hand instead of in a blender. I also added more honey…and it still wasn’t very sweet. I had to drizzle extra honey over top for Rebecca to eat it. Else it almost tasted more savory (the pumpkin flavor was very strong). I didn’t make a full batch either.

Overall it was a great recipe. And I love that it cooks in the crockpot. I prepped it when I got up. Then it was ready for the family when they got up.

I’ll post the recipe the way I made it. Check out Cara’s site for the original.

Crockpot Pumpkin Custard
makes 4 1/2pt. jars

2 cups cooked pumpkin or butternut squash
5 egg yolks (or 3 whole eggs)
1/4 cup raw cream or coconut milk
1/3 – 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of sea salt

Fill the crock pot with 1 inch of water and turn on high. Allow it to preheat for 30-45 minutes.

In a blender, puree all ingredients or simply mix by hand if your pumpkin is already pureed. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.

Pour the mixture into oven/heat proof ramekins or mason jars, filling 2/3 full. Gently set the jars into the water. Cover. Allow to steam for 4-6 hours.

Turn the crock pot off, and it will continue to stay warm for another hour or so. Serve warm or cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge to serve chilled.

Baked Apples

I’m always looking for new breakfast ideas. This week I came across Cara’s recipe for slow cooker baked apples.  It was just what I needed – grain and nut free and easy prep.

I was going to make them in the crockpot, but then I changed my  mind. Since I was only making a few I didn’t want to get my big crockpot dirty. So I just prepped them this morning and baked them in the oven.

So easy and so delicious! Justin said they were great. He had his topped with homemade vanilla yogurt.

I will definitely be making these again. Such a great idea for a healthy breakfast. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly since I was going from memory when I made it. It still turned out great.

The next time I make it I might modify things and just do a pan of sliced baked apples**. Then you don’t have to worry about the apples opening/the toppings falling out. And you can serve up as much or as little as you want. Plus I don’t have to worry about a picky eater complaining about apple peels 😛

Baked Apples

6 medium apples
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup honey (I also added a little organic cane sugar)
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. coconut oil, butter, or ghee (I forgot this…oops)
 
Core apples. To core, using an apple corer or paring knife, cut around the core (about ¼ inch from the stem all the way around) but leave about half an inch at the bottom. Use the knife to ‘drill out’ the core.
 
Divide raisins, honey, cinnamon, and coconut oil between the apples.
 
Place apples in a crock pot and add ½ inch of water. Cook on low overnight and enjoy a hot breakfast in the morning!
 
Alternatively, bake covered at 350 degrees in a glass dish for 45 minutes-1 hour in the morning.
 
**Next time I will try peeling and slicing the apples. Place them in a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon, honey and raisins. Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Top with with cream, yogurt, coconut milk, or just eat plain.

Dutch Apple Tart

I recently pulled out my Old Pennsylvania Dutch Recipes book again. As I flipped through it I realized there are so many recipes in it that I want to try! I was specifically looking for some kind of apple dessert.

There were quite a few. I chose Dutch apple tart…very fitting for me 🙂

It is a pretty simple recipe, and it turned out great!! It is a little messy since the sugar creates a syrup. But so delicious.

Serve it with ice cream and drizzle the extra syrup over top.

I did have a little problem with the pastry being too dry. It needs more water than the recipe calls for.

It’s not a very photogenic dessert, but I did what I could 😛

Dutch Apple Tart

1 pastry recipe, prepared (recipe below)

1 Tbsp. flour (I used organic all purpose, but whole wheat would probably work fine as long as it’s finely ground)
1 cup organic cane sugar
5 medium-size apples, pared, cored and quartered
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter

Pastry:
1 1/2 cups flour (organic all purpose or whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup lard, butter or palm shortening
3-6 Tbsp. cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly (I use a food processor for this). Add water gradually until the dough just holds together.

Line an 8″ round baking dish with the pastry. Sprinkle a mixture of the flour and 1/4 cup of the sugar on the bottom of the pastry.

Put apples cut side down on the pastry. Sprinkle with a mixture of the remaining sugar and nutmeg.

Dot with butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes, or until apples are tender and a rich syrup has formed.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

I’ve had a recipe for a chocolate chip cheese ball in my list of recipes to try for a long time. I finally decided to make it. I modified it to use real ingredients. I did use regular chocolate chips. I still need to get to the store to try to find better quality chips. Or I need to find time to make my own again. But aside from that it was all good stuff.

It turned out great! A real treat. It’s kind of like eating cookie dough. I served it with a fresh batch of homemade graham crackers. A sweet twist on a cheese ball. Delicious.

The original recipe says to coat it in nuts. I didn’t do that since I can’t eat nuts. I just added some extra chocolate chips to the outside. Dried coconut flakes would be good too. It’s mostly for looks. You really don’t need to coat it in anything.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

5 oz. homemade cream cheese
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour (you can use cornstarch or arrowroot. Use a little less than 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp. vanilla
5 Tbsp. butter, softened
2-4 tsp. molasses
mini chocolate chips

Beat the cream cheese and butter. Mix in the flour, syrup, vanilla and molasses. Taste for sweetness. Add extra syrup or molasses if needed. Stir in chocolate chips (as few or as many as you like).

Refrigerate for two hours.

Scoop onto plastic wrap and form into a ball.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

You can roll the ball in chopped crispy nuts, coconut or more chocolate chips.

Real Cheesecake

I love cheesecake.  It comes in a close second for my all time favorite food. Right behind ice cream. I don’t make it often. And I haven’t made it in quite some time. I’ve been wanting to make a REAL cheesecake for a while. But it takes work to make all of the ingredients before you can even make the cheesecake.

This week it just so happened that we had a lot of yogurt (I made a little extra to use up milk) and some sourdough graham crackers that needed to be used up. So it was the perfect time to experiment.

I used the yogurt to make real cream cheese (next time you want to buy cream cheese at the store check the ingredients…you might be surprised by the fillers/thickeners they add). I also made raw sour cream this week.

Then it was cheesecake time.

The outcome…AMAZING! Real cheesecake with totally real ingredients. I’m  in heaven 🙂  It did turn out a tiny bit softer than I like (I like my cheesecake really firm…like almost crumbly…I usually let mine sit in the freezer for a while :). But for most people it would be just right. I scaled back the cream in the recipe below. You could also add a little arrowroot, cornstarch or AP flour to make it thicker.

This is about as real as it gets when it comes to dessert. A totally from scratch cheesecake. A cheesecake I feel comfortable calling healthy 🙂  It’s great on its own…even better with some homemade fudge sauce over top.

This can be made gluten free by using gluten free or soaked gluten free graham crackers. Or you can make a special holiday dessert using pumpkin spice graham crackers or chocolate graham crackers!

Do you love cheesecake? Give this version a try. Let me know if you love real cheesecake as much as I do.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday.


Cheesecake

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (whole wheat, sourdough, gluten free, soaked gluten free, pumpkin spice, chocolate or soaked) (pulse in food processor to make crumbs)
1 1/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil (or a combination)
2 cups homemade cream cheese (It took about 1 1/2 qts. of homemade yogurt to get this)
1 cup homemade sour cream
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (optional)

Melt the butter and stir into the crumb mixture. Press into the bottom of a greased 9″ spring form pan. Set aside.
 
Using an electric mixer blend the cream cheese, sour cream and the remaining sugar until creamy, wiping down the sides of the bowl and the beaters with a spatula to incorporate all the cheese. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Slowly stir the lemon juice into the cheese mixture.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350. Place aluminum foil under the springform pan and up the sides (this prevents any water from getting in). Put the prepared pan into a slightly larger rectangular pan. Pour cheese mixture into the springform pan. Set both pans in the oven and fill the rectangular pan with water, half way up the sides of the round pan. Bake until firm and golden brown, about 90 min. Turn off oven, open slightly and let cheesecake set for about 30 min. Remove from water bath. Let cool on counter for 60 min. Cover and let cool completely in refrigerator (at least 4 hours).

Place cheesecake in the freezer for an hour or two before serving to make it really firm.

Sourdough Brownies

Yesterday I tried another sourdough recipe from Cake Walk for brownies. This recipe is very simple to make. And the brownies are delicious! They definitely don’t taste like sourdough.

I added a few chocolate chips instead of nuts. They turned out the slightest bit crumbly. Maybe next time I’ll add an extra egg. But overall very good. Rebecca had no problems eating one 🙂  A healthier version of brownies – sourdough and whole wheat.

Sourdough Brownies

1/3 cup butter
1 cup cane sugar
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I used 1 oz. unsweetened and 1 oz. milk chocolate)
1 egg (I’ll try 2 next time)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
(I added about 1 tsp. chocolate extract)
1/2 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Heat oven to 375. Grease a 9×9 inch pan with butter and set aside.

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat in a small saucepan. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and sugar and set aside.

Stir egg, sourdough starter and vanilla into cooled chocolate mixture, and mix until well blended.

Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir gently to combine. Fold in nuts, and spread into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until the edges begin to pull away from pan. Let cool before serving.

Homemade Whole Wheat "Oreos"

On Sunday Rebecca got to try an Oreo at church (slight cringe :P). Then she asked if we could make our own Oreos so we could make Oreo sundaes (love this girl…what four year-old asks if she can make something from scratch instead of going and buying more:). Why not? So that was our project yesterday.

I had no recipe and no real starting point. I just started experimenting. And I must admit I am quite impressed with what we came up with! Sometimes homemade baked goods taste good…but not quite like the “real” thing. These actually really taste like Oreos…but they are made with REAL ingredients.

These do not have all of the preservatives and hydrogenated oils that make them shelf stable for half a year. So I store them in the refrigerator. That also keeps the cream filling solid. You can make a big batch and freeze them.

There really isn’t much more to say except these are delicious! The whole family agreed. What could top homemade Oreos? We made homemade cookies and cream ice cream with some of them later in the day 🙂  I also used some leftover cookie to make cookies and cream yogurt. Yum! I’m taking a cookie break today, though 😛

I used butter in my cookie dough. I find that it gives the best consistency/firmness. But if you want to make them vegan/dairy free you could use coconut oil or palm shortening in place of the butter. I also used all purpose flour in the cream filling because that is what I tolerate. You could use organic corn starch or arrow root. I personally like the soft texture the flour gives. Maybe next time I make them I’ll even try soaking the cookie dough.

Please give these a try and let me know what you think! Can you make homemade Oreos? Yes you can! If you think they look good, wait until you taste them!

This post is  linked to Real Food Wednesdays and Fresh Bites Friday and Fat Tuesday.

Whole Wheat “Oreos”
makes 17 – 20 cookies (depending on the size of your cookie cutter and the thickness of your dough)

1/4 cup organic palm shortening
5 – 6 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3-4 tsp. chocolate extract
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, room temp (you can substitute coconut oil or palm shortening)
6 Tbsp. honey
water

To make the cookies:

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add cocoa and chocolate extract. Blend well (a hand mixer works well). Taste. Add more chocolate extract until strong enough. Add flour, baking soda, salt and honey. Blend well. If dough is still crumbly slowly add water, 1 Tbsp. at a time until dough will hold together when squeezed with your hand.

Place 1/3 of dough onto parchment paper. Place another layer of parchment paper over top. Roll dough between parchment paper until it is 1/8 – 1/4″ thick. Remove top paper. Cut circles and place onto parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat this process until you have used all of the dough.

Bake cookies at 350 for about 13 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

To make the filling:

Cream shortening, flour and maple syrup in a small bowl. Add more flour for a stiffer cream (note that it will firm up/become solid when chilled). Add more maple syrup for a sweeter cream. You can prep the filling ahead and store it in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature before filling cookies.

To assemble the cookies:

Place the cream filling in a small plastic bag. Cut off one of the corners of the bag for a pastry bag. Pipe some cream onto the center of one cookie, leaving space at the edge . Top with another cookie. Press together just until the cream reaches the edge. Repeat this process until all of the cookies are filled. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the cookies.

Sourdough Peanut Butter Blondies (vegan)

I’ve been searching for new sourdough recipes lately. I came across a recipe for sourdough peanut butter blondies on Cake Walk. They looked simple and delicious.

Yesterday morning both kids helped me make them (that’s how easy they are to make). It only takes a few minutes to mix the batter. Then pop them in the oven.

They turned out quite well. Very moist and chewy. They were a little heavy on the peanut butter taste for me. But Justin and Rebecca really liked them. I think they would be better with some chocolate chips to balance the flavor 🙂

I accidentally used more coconut oil than the recipe calls for. So mine were extra moist!

I don’t have any peanuts in the house, so I topped them with crispy almonds.

These happen to be vegan. I’m not sure I’ve ever made a vegan recipe before…at least not knowingly 😛  If you aren’t looking for a vegan recipe you could replace the coconut oil with butter.

And back to the original topic of sourdough. These do not taste anything like sourdough.

Sourdough Peanut Butter Blondies

3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup sourdough starter
1/6 cup oil (coconut oil works well)
1 cup brown cane sugar or sucanat
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup nuts (for topping)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8×8 baking pan or 8″ round cake pan.

In a large bowl, mix together peanut butter, oil and brown sugar. Mix well, until well incorporated. Add the sourdough starter and vanilla, and blend in thoroughly (kids are very good at this part:).

Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dough (using your hands if you need to) well. The batter is very thick, and doesn’t spread on it’s own. Transfer dough to baking tin, press into sides, and press the peanuts into the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until set and lightly browned on top. Cool completely in tin before slicing

Soaked Breakfast Bar ("Cereal" Bar)

I’ve been doing lots of baking and experimenting this week. Today I came up with a soaked breakfast bar recipe. When I made a batch of soaked graham crackers earlier in the week I realized that the dough was pretty good before dehydrating it. It was soft and chewy. The best part? My 14 month old could eat it easily…and loved it!

I set aside a couple of the graham crackers to eat as-is instead of drying them. They reminded me of cereal bars. Lightbulb…use the same dough to make homemade breakfast bars!

I used my soaked graham cracker recipe. I put half of the dough in the bottom of a 9×13 pan, baked it a little, then topped it with homemade apple butter and the rest of the dough. I baked it again and cut it into bars.

The verdict? Delicious!! A soft, chewy apple cinnamon breakfast bar. The grains are soaked, there are no vegetable oils, there is nothing processed. I feel good about giving these “cereal” bars to my whole family.

You can make them any flavor, depending on what kind of jam/butter you use. Or you can just make them plain bars without a filling. Either way they taste great. And they work really well for young children that are still learning how to chew. You can get really creative and fill them with things like nut butter, coconut, nuts, dried fruit or chocolate chips.

This is an easy grab-and-go breakfast. Make a batch. Freeze them. And you’ve got some on hand whenever you need something quick.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday and Fresh Bites Friday.

Soaked Breakfast Bar

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup kefir, yogurt or buttermilk
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup rapadura/cane sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. honey

1/3 – 1/2 cup jelly, jam or fruit butter

Mix flour, cultured dairy and oil. Cover and let soak 7 – 24 hours.

Mix in remaining dough ingredients until well combined. Spread half of the dough into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven. Spread an even layer of jam on top of dough. Spread remaining dough on top. Bake at 350 for another 25 minutes.

Cut into bars. Place bars on a separate baking sheet, with space in between bars. Bake another 5-10 minutes, until dough is baked through. Allow to cool.

A Berrylicious Cake

A couple years ago I got an old Strawberry Shortcake book at a second hand sale. It’s called The Berrylicious Bake-off. Rebecca has always enjoyed reading it. And every time we say we should try making a cake like the one in the book…someday.

Well, yesterday we finally did it! We made “the berry best cake ever.” We followed the steps in the book using what we had on hand.

We started with my usual yellow cake, substituting orange juice for some of the milk to make orange cake. We topped it with homemade strawberry jam (from the freezer).

For our “crispy cookie layer” we used some of the sourdough graham crackers we just made. Instead of huckleberries we used fresh blueberries. Finally we topped it with our homemade fudge (good thing I made a fresh batch this week :).

The end result? A berrylicious cake! It’s delicious. Plus Rebecca had so much fun following along with the book and making the layers/adding toppings. We also just happened to be making vanilla ice cream yesterday. They went very well together.

This isn’t so much a recipe post, but I wanted to share our fun experiment. If you want to make your own berrylicious cake, follow the steps below.

Berrylicious Cake

Orange Cake

2 1/4 cups organic AP flour
1 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
3/4 cups orange juice
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. organic vanilla
3 eggs

1-2 cups crumbled sourdough graham crackers, soaked graham crackers, whole wheat graham crackers, vanilla wafers or any cookie you like (the book uses gingersnaps) (you could substitute chopped nuts for a crunchy layer)

1/2 pint homemade strawberry jam or crushed strawberries mixed with honey

1 cup fresh blueberries (or whatever berry you have on hand)

1/2 cup fudge sauce

Mix cake ingredients. Blend 30 seconds on low, then 3 minutes on high. Pour into 2 9″ round greased cake pans. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until golden and baked all the way through. Allow the cake to cool completely.

Place bottom layer of cake on a dish. Spread half of the jam on top. Sprinkle crumbled cookies over jam. Place top layer of cake on top. Spread with remaining half of jam. Sprinkle blueberries over jam. Drizzle fudge over the whole cake. Enjoy! It tastes great with homemade vanilla ice cream too 🙂

Store cake in the refrigerator.