Dairy Free Hot Chocolate

Fall is coming, and it's time for some hot chocolate! (Did anyone else notice how many posts I've done lately that involve chocolate? I must be craving some!)

The first time I made this I used white crystals from a ziploc in my cupboard assuming it was beet sugar. Then I discovered it was salt!

This is one of our family's favorites. We take a mug full of rice milk. Then we add 1 tsp of dairy free cocoa powder, and two tsps of sugar (or xylitol, coconut sugar, maple, etc). Mix and nuke for 1 and a half minutes. We like to add chocolate chips, marshmallows and Tempt mint chocolate ice cream. I am posting this at Allergy-free Wednesdays.

The Best {Gluten, Dairy, Sugar Cane Free} Chocolate Cake

photo from Nourishing Meals

Here is the recipe for the cake that I love. No eggs, dairy, sugar, gluten, nuts. . . what's in this thing? Go find it at Nourishing Meals. The photo is from their site. One of my favorite blogs!

The arrowroot powder I have found is way cheaper at Manna Mills in the herb jar section, but Freddies has it. I use grapeseed oil instead of coconut oil, pomegranate juice instead of the apple cider vinegar,and don't put the beet juice or almond extract in the frosting.

Even my gluten-tolerant family likes this cake.

Review of Trader Joes Gluten Free Brownies

I love me some Trader Joes. I decided to give you my two cents about their chocolate brownies. These brownies are gluten free, soy free, dairy free, egg free (if you use egg replacer), and nut free. They are not sugar free.  I found them delicious, but a bit greasy. My suggestion would be subbing half of the oil for unsweetened applesauce. I have done this with regular cake mixes for my kids and they actually turn out more moist than normal.  All you do is add 3 ingredients and throw them in the oven. I saw one person who reviewed these and didn't like them. Someone else served them to  people who do not eat gluten free and they didn't even notice. I'd say, for something this easy, I wouldn't complain. But if I wanted something a little more like the real deal, I'd probably make one from a cookbook I trust. For a quick treat, these definitely get the job done.

We served it with coconut whipped cream (see my blog here for directions), bananas, and strawberry sauce. The combo was amazing.

Raw Chocolate Pie

Oh, my this looks delicious! www.nourishingmeals.com ,one of my favorite blogs, put out this recipe. Go here to see more. You will love what they have to offer! I would use sunbutter instead of the cashew butter. It will make it taste like a chocolaty-peanut buttery pie.
Raw Chocolate Pie

Crust:
2 cups pecans
8 to 10 medjool dates, pitted
1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 pinch ground cardamom (optional)
Filling:
1 cup raw cashew butter
1 small avocado
½ cup + 2 tablespoons GF cocoa powder (Dagoba is GF)
½ cup raw agave nectar
½ cup barely melted coconut butter*
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon non-alcoholic vanilla
Place nuts into food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add remaining ingredients for crust and pulse until thoroughly ground and mixed. Press crust into the bottom of a 9.5-inch deep dish pie plate. Place into refrigerator to chill.

Place all ingredients for filling into food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add a little more water for a thinner filling, one tablespoon at a time. (It will take longer to set if you do this). Note: if you do not like a strong chocolate flavor then start with less cocoa powder and gradually add more as your taste suggests.

Pour chocolate filling into pie plate. Spread out evenly with a rubber spatula and place back into the refrigerator to chill. Chill for 3 to 4 hours. Slice and serve with fresh berries if desired.

*Be sure to just barely warm the coconut butter on very low heat, it will quickly burn otherwise. Also, this is coconut butter, not coconut oil. Coconut butter is made from the whole coconut, flesh and oil.

Raspberry Sauce

½ cup water
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
¼ cup agave nectar
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 to 2 teaspoon vanilla

Place the water and arrowroot into a small saucepan and stir to dissolve the arrowroot. Add the agave nectar and raspberries and heat over medium heat. Simmer until the sauce is translucent and the raspberries have broken down. I use a wire whisk to help with this. Turn off heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Allergy-friendly Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

You heard me. Cookie dough ice cream. I was hankering this the other day. I have taken it from Annalise G Roberts cookbook on the side bar called "Gluten Free Baking Classics". I will include her original and then put in some changes I made. You can make half the dough into balls, freeze them and then add to TEMPT vanilla ice cream. This was my all time favorite dessert before going off foods that bothered me. I welcome it back like an old friend.

1 cup vegetable shortening (not butter or margarine) * I used Spectrum palm shortening
1 cup granulated sugar (you can use 1/2 cup pure maple syrup in liquid form and 1/2 cup xylitol instead of both sugars)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs (I used egg replacer)
1 TBS pure vanilla extract (I used GF Costco brand)
2 cups plus 2 TBS Brown Rice Flour mix (the ratio is 1 cup brown rice flour to 2/3 cup potato starch to 1/3 cup tapioca starch) * I added one more TBS to balance out the liquid from using maple syrup
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz chocolate chips (I use "Enjoy Life")
1 cup nuts, optional (I didn't add these)

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Position rack in the center of oven. Lightly grease cookie sheet with cooking spray. 
2. Beat shortening and both sugars at medium speed in large bowl of electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
3. Add flour, baking soda, and xanthan gum, and salt; mix at medium speed until well blended. Mix in chocolate chips and nuts.
4. Drop heaping teaspoons of dough onto cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake in center of oven for 8-10 minutes until light golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container
5. Best when eaten within 3 days of baking. After 3 days store in the fridge. Can be kept in fridge up to two weeks or frozen up to one month. Unbaked dough can be kept in the fridge up to three days if sealed in a tight container or frozen up to one month. To freezer cover dough with plastic wrap and place inside tightly sealed plastic container so no air touches dough.

Sugar-Free Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

Get ready for a treat. I made this  into a pie with a crust of macadamias and dates (a handful of each pureed in the food processor, and then pressed in a pan). It was great. I really enjoyed it. I think that if I were to do it again I would try the version without the bananas.  It was good, but I prefer a fully chocolate pie. I love that it uses only natural sweeteners and is sugar free. Go here to see for yourself.

Chocolate Chocolate Ice Cream Squares and Another Blog

This one looks fabulous with a great way to start. If you can have coconut and almonds this recipe is for you.  The blog has a lot of other things to peruse, as well! It says that the recipes are gluten, casein and sugar free. I want to look at this blog more in the future!

"Enjoy Life" Chocolate Chips

It's not easy finding soy-free, dairy-free chocolate chips. These aren't cheap, but are dynamite! This is what amazon says about them. . . .(If you haven't noticed, I'm a fan of Amazon).

• Certified gluten free
• No wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish or shellfish also made without casein, potato, sesame and sulfites
• No trans fat or cholesterol, certified kosher, vegan - no preservatives, all natural
• Made in a dedicated nut- and gluten-free bakery
• Contains evaporated cane juice, chocolate liquor, and non-dairy cocoa butter
• Soy free, semi sweet chocolate chips

Go here to learn more. . .or have 6 bags of this yummy goodness shipped right to your front door.

Vegan, Sugar-free, Gluten, Nut-free BROWNIES

I stumbled upon this here at elanaspantry.com

Vegan Nut Free Gluten Free Brownies

printer friendly

• 2 small bananas
• 1 cup sunflower butter
• 2 tablespoons ground chia seeds, mixed with 3 tablespoons water to form a paste
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
• ¼ cup xylitol
• ⅛ teaspoon stevia
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup cacao powder
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

1. In a food processor, combine bananas, sunflower butter and chia seed mixture
2. Pulse in coconut oil, honey, xylitol, stevia and vanilla until smooth
3. Pulse in cacao, salt and baking soda
4. Transfer batter into a well greased 8x8 inch Pyrex baking dish
5. Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes
6. Serve