Tag: dessert

February 28, 2013

Soaked Gluten Free Graham Crackers (gluten free, egg free, dairy free, nut free, corn free)

No need to reach for a box. These soaked gluten free graham crackers are easy to make and properly prepared. Your kids will love them. And so will you!

If you’ve been reading my blog for very long you know that I have a small obsession with graham crackers.

I don’t know why. But they have been one of my absolute favorite foods for many many years now.

They are my go-to snack when I don’t feel well. Not too sweet. But just sweet enough. Always the perfect treat.
I’ve made quite a few varieties of graham crackers over the years. Every time I have a new dietary restriction I think…will I have to give up my beloved graham crackers?!

Recently I started eating gluten free. Which means I can’t have my yummy homemade whole wheat grahams.

So of course I got to work creating a gluten free version. Pure heaven.

These crackers are very easy to make, the grains are soaked (which makes them easier to digest) and they are very allergen friendly.

No eggs, dairy, gluten, rice, corn, oats or nuts. I think they are even vegan (although I don’t know much about it…is honey vegan?).

I’m so happy that I don’t have to give up one of my favorite foods…and that I can eat it without getting a stomach ache (or a whole host of other symptoms).

Do you like graham crackers?

Give these soaked gluten free graham crackers a try. Even if you don’t have to eat gluten free these are a great snack to get some variety in your diet.

Want to learn more ways to feed nutritious food to kids with allergies or picky eaters?

Check out my book Why Won’t My Child Eat?!

Soaked Gluten Free Graham Crackers

2015-11-22 19:26:25

Yields 40

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Ingredients

1 1/2 cups "whole grain" gluten free flour(s) (amaranth, brown rice, teff, sorghum, garbanzo bean, oat)
1/2 cup starchy gluten free flour (tapioca, cassava, white rice, arrowroot, potato starch)
1/2 cup coconut oil, butter, lard or tallow, melted
1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup cane sugar
4 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. molasses (you can skip this and add more honey or use maple syrup)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Instructions

Mix the flours, oil, water and lemon juice. Cover and let soak for 24 hours.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add the remaining ingredients to the flour mixture. Mix until well combined.
Add more sugar, honey or molasses to make them sweeter if desired.
Spread half of the batter on each pan.
Bake 10 minutes.
Using a pizza cutter, cut into squares (if they are sticking to the pizza cutter try again in 3-5 minutes). Return to the oven for 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and transfer the crackers on the parchment paper to dehydrator trays. Dry at highest heat setting until crisp, removing the parchment paper part way through (about 6 - 8 hours).
Let cool. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

These crackers freeze well.

By Mary - justtakeabite.com

Just Take A Bite https://justtakeabite.com/

In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. It will not change the cost of any products or services for you.

November 23, 2012

Real Pumpkin Pie

I don’t make many pies. Why? I just don’t like them that much.

Well, I should rephrase that. I used to not like pie. I would basically only eat blueberry pie.

Now that I make all of our food from scratch, I know what REAL pie tastes like. Let me tell you – it’s good!

The Best Pumpkin Pie

The first time I made pumpkin pie I figured I’d just follow a standard recipe. But they all have sweetened condensed milk.

So I just made my own modifications to create a truly REAL pumpkin pie.

It was delicious!! I, Mary, ate and enjoyed pumpkin pie! For the first time in my life. Even crazier…I enjoyed it with whipped cream on top…I don’t like whipped cream. Or so I thought. I guess I actually like REAL whipped cream as well.

How to Make Real Pumpkin Pie

A combination of my personal tastes changing over the years and using quality, real ingredients means a delicious nutritious dessert that I could finally enjoy.

But to be honest, my favorite way to eat pumpkin pie is for breakfast! Eggs and veggies are a great way to start the day. Just be sure to eat protein with it and limit sweets the rest of the day to avoid a blood sugar roller coaster.

Do you enjoy pumpkin pie? How do you make yours?

Real Pumpkin Pie

2 cups cooked, pureed pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream or whole milk (can be replaced with coconut milk)
2 eggs OR 1 egg + 2 yolks OR 4 yolks
3/4 cups organic cane sugar (you can substitute maple syrup for some of this)
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Single pie crust (wheat)**

1 1/4 cups organic whole wheat or all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. palm shortening or cold butter or lard
1/8 cup + 2 Tbsp. water w/ 1/2 tsp. vinegar

Pie Crust:

Sift flour and salt. Cut in 1/2 shortening until it resembles corn meal. Cut in other 1/2 until it looks like small peas. Add water + vinegar and mix well. (You can do this all in a food processor for a very quick dough). Roll out and place in 9″ pie plate.

**You can make this gluten free using a soaked gf pie crust or a regular gf pie crust.

Pumpkin Pie:

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Beat with mixer until smooth.

Pour into unbaked pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425, reduce temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 40 to 50 or until knife comes out clean.

November 16, 2012

Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake Ice Cream

Sea salt caramel cheesecake ice cream is a delicious dessert. It combines gooey caramel with rich cheesecake in a creamy treat – a perfect match.

I make ice cream all the time. I make all different flavors. I don’t post recipes very often because I just mix and taste as I go.

This week I made sea salt caramel cheesecake ice cream. It was divine.

This recipe does take some prep work since you need caramel and graham crackers. But the end result is worth it.

This can be made gluten free by using gluten free graham crackers, pumpkin spice graham crackers or soaked gluten free graham crackers.

If you really want to put a tasty spin on it try gluten free chocolate grahams!!

You can also swap coconut milk for the heavy cream. I have not tried making the caramel dairy free, but I bet you could!

Lots of egg yolks makes sea salt caramel cheesecake ice cream extra rich, just like real cheesecake.

Caramel and cheesecake are a match made in heaven. Now you can enjoy them together in one delicious dessert.

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

Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake Ice Cream

1/2 cup salted caramel (divided)
1 cup graham cracker pieces (whole wheat, soaked, sourdough, gluten free or soaked gluten free)
3 cups heavy cream (preferably raw)
4-5 egg yolks
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Blend cream, egg yolks, honey, syrup, salt and 1/4 cup caramel. Taste for sweetness/caramel flavor and add more honey, maple syrup or caramel if necessary. It should be a little overly sweet.

Process in an ice cream maker. One minute before the ice cream is done add the graham cracker pieces.

Transfer the ice cream to a shallow freezer safe container. Gently swirl in dollops of the remaining 1/4 cup caramel (so it is still visible/not mixed in).* Freeze until solid.

*You can also add fudge swirls, chocolate chips and/or chopped crispy nuts for turtle cheesecake ice cream. Or you can freeze chunks of homemade cheesecake and add them as well.

November 16, 2012

Holiday Oreos®

A while back I made a homemade version of Oreos®. They were delicious!! These holiday Oroes® are a spin on the classic that is perfect for parties and family gatherings.

This week for our baking project Rebecca wanted to make a new batch with a twist. She came up with three filling flavors to try for a special holiday treat – mint, peanut butter and chocolate.

Wow!! The original was good. These are even better. Plus we had extra filling so we made mint, peanut butter and chocolate filled graham cracker sandwiches. Also very good.

If you want to really impress your guests this year try homemade holiday Oreos® with a special filling. They are sure to be a hit.
Rebecca is already planning our next batch. She said we need to make more the day after Thanksgiving to be ready for Christmas 🙂 We’re thinking chocolate mint, chocolate peanut butter and caramel next time.

And maybe we’ll go all out and dip them in chocolate. A chocolate covered caramel filled oreo made with all real ingredients? Yes, please!

The possibilities are endless…pumpkin, gingerbread, butterscotch, raspberry, orange…We’ll have to work on the inside out version sometime too. I’ll update this post each time we try a new flavor.

What is your favorite holiday Oreos® flavor?

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday and From the Archives Friday.

Holiday Oreos®

makes 17 – 20 cookie sandwiches (depending on the size of your cookie cutter and the thickness of your dough)

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 – 8 Tbsp. honey

To make the cookies:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

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 extra honey until dough will hold together when squeezed with your hand.

Place 1/3 of the dough onto parchment paper. Place another layer of parchment paper over top. Roll the dough between the parchment paper until it is 1/8 – 1/4″ thick. Remove top paper. Cut circles and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat this process until you have used all of the dough.
Bake the cookies for about 13 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
________________________________________________________________

Mint Filling:
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 – 2 tsp. peppermint extract
Peanut Butter Filling (you can make this a stiffer or softer filling):
1/4 cup organic palm shortening (reduce this to 3 Tbsp. for a stiffer filling)
5 – 6 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 – 4 Tbsp. natural creamy peanut butter
Chocolate Filling:
1/4 cup organic palm shortening
2 Tbsp. organic cocoa powder
4 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 – 1/3 cup maple syrup
1 – 2 tsp. chocolate extract

To make the fillings*:

Cream the shortening, flour, maple syrup and cocoa/peanut butter/extracts 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.

*Note that if you make the full recipe of all of the fillings with one batch of cookies you will have leftover filling. You can use it on graham crackers or as frosting for cupcakes. One batch of filling is enough for 7 – 12 sandwich cookies depending on how big your cookies are and full you like them.

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

September 19, 2012

Banana Split Ice Cream

If you know me, you know I LOVE ice cream. I only eat my homemade ice cream since I know exactly what’s in it. My body does not tolerate all of the fillers, starches, etc. in store-bought ice cream. I’m always trying to come up with new flavors.

On Sunday I had some cream that needed to be used…which means ice cream. I had some bananas that were getting ripe. So I thought I’d make strawberry banana. Which then morphed into banana split ice cream.

I did a strawberry banana ice cream with walnuts and fudge swirled in. Delicious! And so easy. Using banana really thickened the ice cream. It was done in 10 minutes instead of the usual 20. Love it.

Banana Split Ice Cream

3 cups heavy cream (preferably raw)
3 egg yolks
1 ripe medium banana
1/2 cup frozen strawberries (fresh will work, but frozen helps it thicken and freeze faster)
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup maple syrup (you can do all honey or all maple syrup)
1/3 cup chopped crispy nuts
hot fudge sauce (recipe below)

In a blender mix cream, yolks, banana, strawberries, honey and syrup. Taste. Make sure it is a little overly sweet (the sweetness will go down after it freezes).

Pour into ice cream maker and process until done (mine took 10 minutes in a Kitchen Aid mixer attachment).

During the last minute of processing add nuts.

Put the ice cream in a freezer safe container. Drop small spoonfuls of fudge into the ice cream and mix very gently. Don’t mix it in. Just fold over the ice cream so the drops of fudge stay in tact as much as possible. It’ll be like pieces of fudge when it freezes. Freeze until firm.

Hot Fudge Sauce
(prepare this in advance so it is cold when you make the ice cream)

1 cup organic cane sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

2 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (or arrowroot or cornstarch)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup boiling water

1 Tbsp. butter

3/4 tsp. vanilla

Blend sugar, cocoa, flour and salt in sauce pan.

Turn on heat and add boiling water. Bring to a boil.

Cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 3-6 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Store in refrigerator.

September 2, 2012

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.

July 29, 2012

Red, White and Blue Parfait

I made this dessert for the Fourth of July…but never got around to posting the recipe. Oops. This was a simple, fun treat that everyone enjoyed. Layers of vanilla pudding, graham crackers, sweetened cream cheese and fresh berries – delicious! A perfect holiday summer treat.

Red, White and Blue Parfait

Vanilla Pudding (from Heavenly Homemakers)

2 1/2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup real maple syrup (grade B is best for you) or honey
4 T. arrowroot powder (or organic corn starch)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, egg yolks, maple syrup, arrowroot powder and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring CONSTANTLY until pudding begins to thicken. Stir over the heat for about 15 more seconds. Remove immediately from the heat, and continue to stir until pudding is creamy. Add butter and vanilla and continue to stir until mixed. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes. You can prep this ahead and keep it in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Filling

2 cups yogurt
3-5 Tbsp. sweetener (honey, maple syrup, sucanat)
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)

Strain yogurt in cheesecloth to make cream cheese (do this ahead of time). Stir sweetener into cream chhese until it is to your liking.

Parfait:

Crumble thin layer of graham crackers (organic store bought or whole wheat homemade, soaked homemade, sourdough or gluten free. Use gluten free grahams or cookies to make this gluten free.) into the bottom of small dishes or 1/2 pint mason jars. Layer pudding, then fruit, then cream cheese. Add another layer of graham crackers and repeat other layers. Repeat process until the jar is filled. Top with graham cracker crumbs and berries. Chill and serve.

I made a couple full jars, and I made a couple not quite so full for a kid’s portion.

March 28, 2012

Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Since learning just how healthy ice cream is (homemade of course) I’ve been making it a lot lately. Which means experimenting with new flavors.

This week I made cookie dough ice cream. One of my favorites! And it turned out great!!! I had some for snack last night and for breakfast today 😛 It’s just a basic vanilla with homemade cookie dough chunks. Yum!!

I baked cookies on Saturday. SoI made a full batch of dough and reserved about a cup of it for the ice cream. My son also got his first little taste of vanilla ice cream (his first taste of anything sweetened!). Just a couple little bites. He seemed to enjoy it.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager.

Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Ice Cream

3 cups cream (preferably raw)
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey)

Cookie Dough (full recipe for cookies…scale down for just one batch of ice cream, freeze it in one cup portions for future use or make some cookies with the rest 🙂

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (or any combination of gluten free flours)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup palm shortening (you can use all butter, but I like the combo of butter and shortening)
3/4 cups cane sugar
3/4 cups rapadura or brown cane sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups chcolate chips (optional…works well without chips for the ice cream)

Prepare the cookie dough:

Cream butter, shortening, sugars and vanilla. Add eggs, beat well.Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.

Place one cup of dough in plastic wrap. Flatten to about 1/2 inch. Freeze.

*You can make cookies with the remaining dough: Bake at 350 for ~ 10 minutes.
*You can freeze the remaining dough as one large batch to make cookies later or in one cup portions to make more ice cream later.

To make the ice cream:

Thaw dough for 5 minutes on counter. Cut/break into small chunks. Place in a bowl and return to freezer.

Mix cream, egg yolks, vanilla and syrup with a whisk until well combined. Process in an ice cream maker (takes about 20 minutes in my Kitchen Aid attachment). Add frozen cookie dough pieces during the last minute of processing. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

February 15, 2012

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

For Valentine’s Day yesterday my daughter and I baked a cake for my husband. It is a cake he grew up eating (I got the recipe from my MIL). It sure does taste good!

It’s like a combination of cake, fudge and pudding all in one. Top it with whipped cream or ice cream and you’ve got quite a treat. It is very easy to make too. This is a great cake option for anyone that can’t eat eggs.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

2014-07-22 05:40:18

A cake filled with fudge and pudding

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Ingredients

1 cup flour (whole wheat, all purpose or a combination of gluten free flours)
3/4 cup cane sugar
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
9 Tbsp. milk or coconut milk
3 Tbsp. coconut oil or butter, melted
1/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup brown cane sugar
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 cups hot water

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
Blend in milk and oil.
Stir in nuts.
Pour into an ungreased 1 1/2 qt. casserole.
Mix the brown sugar and cocoa. Sprinkle over batter.
Pour hot water on batter (don't stir).
Bake 30 minutes.
Serve warm.

By Mary - homemadedutchapplepie.com

Just Take A Bite https://justtakeabite.com/

November 25, 2011

Pumpkin Cheese Pie/Cake (Updated Version)

A while back I made a dessert called pumpkin cheese pie. It was pretty simple. Mostly buy a few things, mix them and bake them.

I decided to make it again for Thanksgiving this year…but revamp it to make it a lot healthier. My husband says I should call it pumpkin cheesecake to sound a bit more appetizing. And since I did a graham cracker crust instead of a pie crust that seems more fitting.

Since I was hosting Thanksgiving and only had so much time I did have to buy one canned ingredient…sweetened condensed milk. I would have liked to make my own, but I just didn’t have time. I did find a great recipe for it, though, at Kitchen Stewardship. You could also replace the sweetened condensed milk with a little milk and honey.

The crust was made of homemade graham crackers, and the filling was made with homemade cream cheese (from our homemade yogurt) and freshly baked pumpkin. Topped with a dollop of homemade raw whipped cream. Perfect.

Since this makes a lot of filling I used the extra to make a mini crustless version. It’s perfect if you are grain free.

This is a cross between pumpkin pie and cheesecake. It’s the perfect holiday dessert!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I make the crumbs in the food processor)
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil (or a combination)
3 Tbsp. honey or cane sugar (optional…depends how sweet you like your crust)

1 cup cream cheese
2 cups pureed pumpkin
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (or make your own!) OR 1 cup whole milk + 2 Tbsp. honey
3 eggs
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Prep ahead:

whole wheat graham crackers or gluten free graham crackers then make into crumbs
yogurt…then turn into cream cheese
pureed pumpkin

When ready to bake:

Combine graham cracker crumbs with butter/oil and sugar. Pat into pie dish. Put in refrigerator to get firm (this can be done well in advance).

Preheat oven to 350

Mix cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth (with mixer). Stir in the pumpkin, spice and eggs. Mix until well combined.

Pour into crust (this makes a lot…if you have extra pour it into a small baking dish to make a mini version).

Bake for 1 hour, or until knife inserted 1″ from the edge comes out clean. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve plain or with whipped cream.

Do you like graham crackers?

Want to learn more ways to feed nutritious food to kids with allergies or picky eaters?

The Best Pumpkin Pie

How to Make Real Pumpkin Pie

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