Brownies (dairy-free and gluten-free)

Ingredients*

Brownies

1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Frosting

3 Tbs Earth Balance

3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tbs honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.

In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

To make frosting: Combine 3 Tbs Earth Balance, 3 Tbs cocoa, 1 Tbs honey, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while still warm. 

*Altered version of All Recipes' "Best Brownies" recipe.

Enjoy Life's Chocolate Chips - AMAZING! (& chocolate chip cookie recipe)

Yesterday, I ventured into the world of chocolate chip cookies for the first time since going dairy-free - and let me tell you, these chocolate chips made a world of difference! In contrast to all of the chocolate I've used in recipes before, Enjoy Life's chocolate chips do not taste super dark. Rather, they taste like normal semi-sweet chocolate chips. Amazing, right?

As for the cookies, I used my beloved Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, but substituted to avoid dairy and gluten. My altered version is as follows.

Ingredients 

2 1/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup Earth Balance or butter ghee
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs (for vegan version, 2 eggs' worth of egg replacer*)
2 cups (or one 10-12oz package) ENJOY LIFE semi-sweet chocolate chips (or morsels)
Optional:
1 cup shredded coconut (adds texture and taste - I HIGHLY recommend this)
1 cup nuts
1 cup oats


Directions


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

COMBINE gluten-free all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat Earth Balance/butter ghee, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and any optional choices (again, I highly, highly, recommend you add the coconut). Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for appx. 5 minutes; remove to wire racks or wax paper and cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes appx. 4 dozen bars.

Cookies may be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week of in freezer for up to 8 weeks - I think they'll be long gone by then, though!


*I recommend Ener-G Egg Replacer, generally available at Whole Foods, Jewel Osco/Albertson's, or Mariano's.

What is...Butter Ghee?

As stated by WhatsCookingAmerica, "Clarified butter and ghee are not the same. Ghee is clarified butter that has been cooked longer to remove all the moisture, and the milk solids are browned (caramelized) in the fat and then strained out. This gives a rich nutty taste. Ghee has a longer shelf life, both refrigerated and at room temperature."


Butter ghee, like Earth Balance, can be used in place of regular butter. However, unlike Earth Balance, butter ghee does come from a cow. The milk solids have been removed though, so for all us dairy-free people out there, this is a can-do for you.


While Earth Balance has more of a margarine-like texture, the consistency of butter ghee is more like...well, butter. I recommend using it as a substitute for butter in recipes where you want a thicker texture and taste than one would get with Earth Balance.

Dairy-Free Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Ice cream? But doesn't that have milk in it?

WRONG.

I recently purchased both Purely Decadent Coconut Milk ice cream and Rice Dream Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts (A.K.A., ice cream). I tried Rice Dream's strawberry, vanilla, and Cookies an' Dream, as well as Purely Decadent's mint chip, turtle tracks, and couple others.

Purely Decadent wins by far.

Purely Decadent's mint chip tastes no different from your standard mint chip ice cream. You can taste the rice and soy milk in Rice Dream's ice creams, but Purely Decadent's ice cream is simply delicious.

For those of you gluten-freers, Purely Decadent's SO Delicious line has a gluten-free Cookie Dough ice cream.

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Ingredients*:

2 cups gluten-free all purpose baking flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Earth Balance

1/2 cup turbinado sugar (white or brown sugar can be substituted)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons maple syrup

6 ripe bananas, mashed

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Stir in eggs, maple syrup, and mashed bananas until well-blended. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture; mix until batter is just moist. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. If using muffin or cupcakes tins, bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

*Altered version of All Reciples' Gluten Free Banana Bread.

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I highly recommend this banana bread. It is incredibly moist - so much so that you may initially believe that you've under-cooked it. It tastes amazing that you won't know by the taste that it is gluten- and dairy-free. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free AND Dairy-Free?!

Hello, world -

Long time, no post! I've got a little something to update you on; I'm going gluten-free!

Why? This itchy, unattractive rash developed on my right arm, and that, along with a couple other symptoms, made me wonder: am I gluten-intolerant, too?

So far, it looks like that was the key.

What can I eat now? Well, gluten-substitutes. And things that don't contain gluten or dairy, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish...etc.

So it goes. Together, it eliminates nearly all store-bought junk food, which is definitely a good thing. Time to become incredibly healthy! Or else, start baking more....

Help support me on my dairy-free, gluten-free endeavor by posting links to recipes in the comments. Thank you!

Superbly Chocolatey Cake

Ingredients*:

Cake:

2 cups white sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Frosting:

3/4 cup Earth Balance

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

5 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar

2/3 cup coconut milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Optional topping:

1 Ghirardelli Chocolate Intense Dark: Twilight Delight bar, shaved (using a potato peeler)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.

In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, coconut milk, oil, and vanilla, mixing with an electric mixer for appx. 3 minutes. Stir in the boiling water by hand. Pour evenly into the two prepared pans.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely (an additional 30mins - 1 hr). I recommend using a soft spatula to help ease the cakes out without breaking them.

For frosting, cream Earth Balance until light and fluffy. Sit in cocoa and confectioners' sugar alternately with coconut milk and vanilla. Beat to a spreading consistency, appx. 3 - 5 minutes.

Split the layers of cooled cake horizontally and cover the top of each layer with frosting, stacking them on a serving plate. Frost outside of cake, and serve!

*Altered version of All Recipes' Extreme Chocolate Cake.