Whole Wheat Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes - egg free recipe

Whole Wheat Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

I am always looking for recipes that can be easily adjusted or modified for special needs and small batches.  When I have one or two guests for breakfast, I don't want to use a recipe for twenty.  So, I love recipes like this one.  Whole wheat (whole grains), cornmeal and blueberries with no added sugar, no eggs, and the milk can be replaced with almond, soy or coconut milk for a vegan option.  And, they actually taste good, too!

A couple of notes about this recipe, the batter is very thin, but, the pancakes puff up nicely, as you can see.  I used frozen blueberries and placed 8 - 9 berries on each pancake immediately after pouring the batter on the hot griddle.  I prefer to make sure every pancake has the same number of berries.  Lastly, I did use butter to grease the griddle.  If there was not enough butter on the griddle, they did stick.

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn blog.  Please let me know how this recipe works for you.

Love,

Susan

Whole Wheat Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

Whole Wheat Cornmeal Pancakes - egg free recipe (can be vegan)
Yield:  12 pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk (can use almond, soy or coconut milk for vegan version)

1/2 cup water (can use orange juice or some lemon juice for a variation)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (8 - 9 berries per pancake)

1. Mix together the whole wheat flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a separate small bowl, combine milk and water. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Batter will be quite liquid.
3. Let batter sit for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken.
4. Ladle onto buttered griddle set to medium heat. Quickly, place 8 - 9 blueberries on each pancake.  Flip when bubbly on top, golden brown, and edges are slightly dry.
5. Enjoy with some fresh maple syrup.

Gluten Free Brownie Muffin Tops - vegan and grain free

Brownie Muffin Tops - Gluten Free

 Sometimes, I just want to have something fudgy and full of chocolate.  That is when I start experimenting to see if I can satisfy my craving.  I've been playing with this combination of ingredients and I'm ready to share the results.  Kim and I both loved the flavor of these muffin tops.  He would have liked them to be baked a little longer so they were not so fudgy.  I liked them this way.  You know how some people like the edges of the brownie and some like the middle?  You now know which of us likes which.

Fudgy Brownie Muffin Tops - gluten free and vegan

This recipe made just 6 muffin tops which I made using a jumbo muffin pan with regular paper liners.  For "garnish", I used 3 Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips per muffin top.  If you let them cool for a while and set, they will be more like traditional brownies.  But, if you are like me and you can't wait, they will be softer and more gooey.  There are no grains, no dairy and no eggs in this recipe.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Gluten Free Brownie Muffin Tops

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast.  Hope you'll come back, soon.

  Love, 

 Susan

Fudgy Brownie Muffin Tops - gluten free, dairy free, egg free - small batch

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon coconut oil, melted

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup almond flour

1 heaping Tablespoon cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons dark chocolate chips

18 Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare 6 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Combine dry ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a separate bowl.  Mix in 2 Tablespoons of chips.
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet just until combined.
5. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups (about a heaping Tablespoon per muffin top)
6. Place 3 Ghirardelli chips on top of each muffin top.
7. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.  They will still look moist but edges will be firming up.  If you want them less gooey, bake them to desired consistency.
8. Remove from oven but allow to cool in the muffin pan until set.  Try to resist the urge to eat them right out of the oven.  They really are better when allowed to cool.
9. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Almond Crispies Cookies

Best Almond Crispies Cookies - gluten free made with rice flour 

It's a dreary rainy day.  The perfect day to try a new recipe.  I found this recipe on Bob's Red Mill website and decided to give it a try.  What made this recipe appealing, to me, is that it is gluten free and it uses no eggs and no dairy.  I love finding recipes for special diets that actually taste good to everyone.  I only made 1/4 of the recipe and using my small cookie scoop, it made 10 cookies.  Small batch baking is my favorite, especially for gluten free baking as the gluten free products are very often best consumed right away.  So, give it a try and let me know how it turns out for you.

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn blog.

Love,

Susan

Almond Crispies gluten free made with coconut flour

gluten free almond crispies made with coconut flour

Update:  1/13/14 top photo shows the new batch

I made these cookies again today.  Yesterday, I used coconut flour for part of the all purpose GF flour. You can see in the pictures above labeled "with coconut flour",  that there is a grainy texture. Today, I used rice flour.   The appearance of the cookies was a huge improvement.  I liked the flavor of both variations.  Neither came out "crispy", but, I preferred the version with just rice flour and almond meal/flour.  I am continuing to perfect my own variation and will post my small batch version on facebook, soon.  Be sure to visit us on Facebook.

Almond Crispies Contributed by: Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods A delightful gluten-free almond cookie everyone will enjoy. Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Low Cal, Low Carb. Ingredients 1 cup GF All Purpose Baking Flour 1/2 cup Almond Meal/Flour 1/4 cup Sugar 1 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Cinnamon 1/8 tsp Sea Salt 1 tsp Almond Extract 1 Tbsp Water 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil 1/3 cup Honey 1/2 cup chopped Almonds (Whole Shelled) Directions Step 1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray; set aside. Step 2 In a bowl combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  In another bowl combine almond extract, water, oil and honey. Step 3 Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold in chopped almonds. Form dough into balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Step 4 Bake 8-12 minutes until lightly golden. Let cookies set on baking sheet 10 minutes; remove carefully to cooling rack. Enjoy.  Makes 24 cookies.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Biscotti - Vegan recipe

It's the time of year when everyone is baking cookies.  With so many people dealing with food allergies and intolerances, I decided to look for a biscotti recipe that I could adapt to be gluten free, dairy free and egg free.  I found a recipe on the PETA website.  Yes, there are recipes on the website for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

I halved the recipe  and used white rice flour in place of the wheat flour.  Two small Macintosh apples yielded the perfect amount of applesauce for the recipe.  (I peeled and cored the apples, then, microwaved them until soft - just a few minutes was perfect.)  And, I melted a little extra chocolate to drizzle over the top.

The result?  Beautiful biscotti!   I thought they were delicious.  Kim said he couldn't believe how good they were, considering they were gluten free and vegan.

Let me know if you try the recipe and how it comes out for you.  Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn.  Hope you'll visit again, soon.

Love,

Susan

Almond Chocolate-Chip Biscotti (slightly adapted from "Biscotti Bliss")

Yield:  15 - 18 biscotti

1 1/2 cups rice flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 ounces applesauce (2 small apples, peeled, cored, microwaved, mashed)
1 1/2 teaspoons  oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup  dark chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper..
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, applesauce, oil, and extracts.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. As a firm dough starts to form, knead in the chocolate chips with your hands.
• Shape the dough on the parchment paper on the cookie sheet into a log.
• Bake for about 25 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven and let cool on a cooling rack for 10 - 20 minutes.
• Carefully slice biscotti to desired thickness - about 1/2".  If the slices fall apart a little, just press them back together.
• Place the slices back on the cookie sheets, cut side down.
• Bake for 10 minutes, flip the slices and bake the other side for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
• Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let the biscotti cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
• If desired, melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and drizzle over the top of the biscotti.)
• Store in an airtight container.  

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut - no gluten, dairy or eggs

chocolate chip cookies with coconut - gluten, dairy and egg free

I've been working on this recipe for over a week and I am finally ready to share.  Today, I made these cookies as bar cookies and sliced them into the triangles you see above.  Of course, you can scoop them into traditional round cookies, too.  This recipe uses rice flour, but, you could use regular all purpose flour if you do not need to be gluten free.  If you don't like coconut, don't try this recipe.  The warm cookies are reminiscent of a Mounds chocolate candy in cookie form.  The golden edges are crispy and the center is a little soft and chewy.  Bake them longer for extra crispy, less for extra chewy.  I know some of you might resist the corn syrup.  But, just like in pecan pie, corn syrup provides that extra special textural component that no other sweetener can do.  And, if you don't want to use the coffee, simply substitute a Tablespoon of whatever liquid you prefer, almond, soy or coconut milk would be great.

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn blog.  Hope to see you soon.
Love,
Susan

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut (no egg, no dairy and no gluten)

Yield:  12 cookies

3/4 cup rice flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch salt

1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 Tablespoon corn syrup

1 Tablespoon hot coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together rice flour, baking powder and salt.  Add coconut and chips.  Mix and set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the coconut oil, brown sugar, corn syrup, coffee, and vanilla with a rubber spatula, stir until completely combined.
5. Stir dry into wet ingredients, using rubber spatula stir until combined.
6. Scoop the dough into 12 equal portions and press into shape on prepared cookie sheet.  (Or, press dough into an 8 x 8 square pan, lined with parchment)
7. Bake for 10 – 14 minutes or until golden around the edges.  Cookies will still be soft.
8. Cool on cookie sheet for five minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. They will crisp up as they cool.  (If baking in 8 x 8 pan, using parchment paper, carefully remove from pan on parchment paper after the 5 minutes cooling time and cut into desired shapes while still warm and soft)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes, you just want a chocolate chip cookie.  You want it now and you want it to be homemade.  I've been holding onto this recipe for several years (I have no idea where it came from) and I decided to try it.  Kim said they were really good, although, not as good as the ones with butter and eggs.  But, for a vegan recipe, he said it was a winner.  Hope you like it!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Makes 8 - 12 cookies depending on size

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup real maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon  molasses

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup chocolate chips

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt, and stir until well combined. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, molasses and vanilla, then stir in the oil until well combined. 
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry, along with the chocolate chips, and stir through until just well combined (do not overmix).
5. Place large spoonfuls of the batter on the cookie sheet and flatten a little.
6. Bake for 11 minutes, until just golden (if you bake for much longer, they will dry out). 
7. Let cool on the sheet for no more than 1 minute (again, to prevent drying), then transfer to a cooling rack.
8. Let them cool a little before eating.
9. Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn blog.  We hope you'll come back soon.

Nut Muffins - gluten free, soy free, egg free, dairy free

I've noticed that a lot of you are like me - we need recipes that are gluten free, soy free and egg free, either for health reasons or by choice. This recipe is for you. It only makes 2 muffins. Perfect for when you need a muffin fix, but, don't want to make more than you need right now. I've made them twice - once with pecans and once with almonds. I used apple puree the first time and pear puree the second. Both came out delicious. They did brown very quickly, so watch the oven. 

Nut Muffins
Yield: 2 muffins
3/4 cup nuts
1/4 cup fruit puree
1 TBS honey
1/8 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 2 foil muffin cups on a baking sheet.
2. In a small food processor, grind the nuts to the consistency of flour (not to butter).
3. Add remaining ingredients and combine.
4. Scoop into foil muffin cups.
5. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 325 and bake an additional 5 – 10 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

  (May take a little longer depending on the puree.)

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast.  Hope you'll come back soon.

Love,

Susan

Coconut Macadamia French Toast - vegan and gluten free

Vegan Coconut Macadamia French Toast - gluten free



For some unknown reason, blogger will not allow me to post the rest of the photos for this recipe.  I know you want to see how to make this delicious vegan recipe made with gluten-free bread, so, please visit our facebook "notes" and you will find the recipe.  While you are visiting us on facebook, please "like" us!

Vegan Coconut Macadamia French Toast

Thanks for visiting our blog.  We hope to see you in Americus soon.

Love,
Susan

Banana "Surprise" Muffins with Chocolate Hazelnut Spread - VEGAN and GLUTEN FREE

Almost every morning, I bake something delicious for our guests.  Unfortunately for me, I cannot enjoy most of these goodies due to  food intolerances.  But, sometimes, I just want to have what everyone else is having.  When I saw my guests' delight over the banana "surprise" muffins, I just knew I had to see if I could make them gluten, soy and egg free.  This is what I had on hand.  If you haven't tried the Jif Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, it is delicious.

 I decided to use my vegan banana muffin recipe and just substitute the gluten free flour.  I whisked together the flour, baking soda and salt.

 I measured the coconut oil and decided to use hot coffee.

I poured the hot coffee into the coconut oil, which allowed it to melt without using the microwave and added the vanilla.

 I measured the sugar into a bowl and poured the coconut oil, coffee, vanilla mixture over the top.

 A quick stir is all it needed to combine.

 I decided to simply mash the banana with a fork directly into the bowl .

 That was really easy and combined all ingredients.

 At this point, I added the flour, baking soda, salt combo and mixed quickly with a rubber spatula.

 Using a 2 spoons, I carefully scooped half the batter into the 4 prepared muffin tins.

 About a teaspoon of the Jif Chocolate Hazelnut Spread looked like the perfect amount to go in the center.

 The rest of the batter was carefully divided and spread over the top so that the "surprise" center was totally covered.

 About 25 minutes later, they looked beautiful.

 Nicely browned and domed tops.

 I let them cool in the pan about 10 minutes before removing them to the cooling rack.

 The moment of truth - will the "surprise" be in the middle?

 PERFECT!

 Deliciously moist, banana and Jif.

 Here's a bite for you!

I must admit that although I love muffins hot out of the oven, the flavor on these was better when they had cooled.  Hmmm.  Most banana muffins are better the second day, aren't they?  This recipe was really perfect  because it only made 4 muffins.  You can make them with regular flour for some people and make them gluten free for those of us who are "special".

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast. Let me know what you think of the recipe.

With love,

Susan

VEGAN Gluten Free BANANA MUFFINS WITH Jif Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Yield:  4 small muffins

1/2 cup white rice flour

3/8  tsp baking soda

1/8  tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1.5 TBS coconut oil

1 ripe banana

1 TBS hot coffee

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

4 tsp Jif Chocolate hazelnut spread

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 4 small muffin tins with liners.
2. Sift dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
3. In another bowl, combine sugar and coconut oil, coffee and vanilla.
4. Mash the banana directly into the sugar mixture
5. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir to moisten.
6. Scoop half the batter into muffin tins.
7. Carefully spoon 1 tsp on chocolate hazelnut spread into center. 
8. Top each muffin with remaining batter.
9. Fill empty muffin spaces halfway with water.
10. Bake about 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean

Chocolate Banana Almond Milk Ice Cream

I recently bought an ice cream maker.  Of course, that means I've been trying ice cream recipes.  The first batch was the recipe that came with the machine.  Full fat, heavy cream, decadent and delicious but not exactly what I had in mind.  Second batch was ice milk - no cream.  Tasted like those fudge popsicles, more like sorbet.  Then, I decided to look for a non-dairy, no cook, no egg recipe and found this vegan recipe that uses only 4 ingredients.  Could this actually taste good?

 All of the prep is done in the blender.

 Almond milk

 cocoa

 stevia (called for sugar)

before blending

 after blending

 add the bananas to the blender

 blend again

 until mixture is smooth

 pour mixture into ice cream maker

 recipe said it would take about 15 minutes

 after 5 minutes

 after 10 minutes

 after 15 minutes

 I let it go for almost 20 minutes

 I spread it into a shallow pan to allow it to harden in the freezer.

 After about an hour or so I checked to see how it was coming along

 and, of course, there was some taste testing.

Finished product looks good enough to eat, doesn't it?

When it was first blended, the banana flavor was very strong.  As it froze, the flavors blended and the chocolate flavor came through.  I know there are some of you, like me, who can't have the same foods as everyone else.  This recipe was really exciting to me because there is no gluten, no soy, no dairy and no eggs.  Most importantly, however, it tasted delicious!  Hope some of you will try it and let me know what you think.  Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast.

Love,

Susan

CHOCOLATE BANANA ALMOND MILK ICE CREAM (vegan)

1 1/2 cups of vanilla almond milk

2 TBS of unsweetened cocoa

2 packets of stevia

2 ripe bananas

Place almond milk, cocoa and stevia in the blender.  Blend until combined.  Add bananas.  Blend until combined.  Pour mixture into ice cream maker and process until thick and almost frozen.  Spoon into a shallow pan and allow to freeze to desired consistency.  ENJOY!